1. The Church as the Light of the World

2. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
At its simplest, we are light to the world around us because Christ is our light. We are light only as the light of Christ shines through us. We become as light when Christ makes us so.
God’s Plan A for His people is “Plan Be”.
Let us be the light Christ says that we are!

3. “… among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ”

4. “Therefore do not be partners with them
“Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

5. “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
 (Ephesians 5:3-17)
Paul directs us to be thankful, to be light in a dark world, and to be fruitful.

6. Issues of sexual immorality, impurity and greed were present in the early church.
Might we struggle with similar issues in our church today?
The response of the church has often been to focus on eliminating those behaviours from our fellowships.
Paul inserts a small but poignant word into this passage. It is the word “hint” and it moves us from the ‘realm of doing’ into the ‘realm of being’.
Faith in Christ is not about some external reorienting of one’s life, but about radical inner transformation.

7. Paul encourages us to be people who give thanks to God in all things - thanksgiving may just be a key.
We are encouraged to abandon the deeds of darkness, but it is when we recognize the amazing work of Christ in our lives, our utter dependence upon Him that we will experience this inner transformation.
Thankfulness forces us to focus less upon ourselves and more upon the object of our thankfulness – and in the case of the Christian this is Jesus Christ.

8. Paul strongly believes that evil is revealed through the shed light of the church – the people of God.
We have become people adept at identifying sin and have become quick to point out the sin in others’ lives. We focus light on specific behaviours, all the while allowing sin to grow in the dark recesses of our being.
The light we have become is by nature a reflection of the light of Christ shining upon us.
No longer should our lives cast dark shadows in a dark world, but our lives are now to shine brightly in exposing others to the light of Christ.

9. Not only does the church shed its light during its gatherings, but the church – the people of God – carry this light with them, illuminating their homes and neighbourhoods.
Is this true of our church? Does our light shine brightly in this building? Does our light shine just as brightly in our homes, neighbourhoods and places of work?
Rather than controlling or focusing the light we have received, we are encouraged to allow this light to flood the places around us, illuminating both sin in our own lives and exposing sin in others.

10. We are to bear much fruit and fill the earth with God’s presence through our fellowship and through His presence in us.
In this passage, Paul refocuses us, helping us to see that it is our lives that matter – that the fruit we produce is evidence to the world of the reality of Jesus Christ. .
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:19-23)

11. Paul again directs us to:
examine our attitude, character and nature rather than complete a simple checklist of behaviour.
ask whether when we look at our lives do we see the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
be filled with the Spirit, for it is through the filling of the Spirit that we produce spiritual fruit.

12. Truthfully, most of us know that if we really examined our lives this morning that we would fall short in one area or another.
Our connection to Christ is vital here. To produce fruit, we must remain in Christ. Apart from Him, we cannot and will not bear fruit for His kingdom.
Our lives in Christ are to be selfless outpourings of thankfulness to our heavenly Father.
Thankfulness prepares us to be receptive to the light of Christ. Our relationship with Christ ensures that we produce fruit – fruit that enables others to encounter and experience the light of Christ.

13. My prayer is that we be thankful for the blessings poured out upon us in Christ Jesus, that we be the light we have been called to be, and that we be fruitful in producing fruit for a tired, sad, sin marred world so sorely in need of it.
My prayer is that we recognize to whom we belong – Jesus Christ, the light of the world – and that we become this together – a family and fellowship that encourages and edifies one another, a church that acts out forgiveness and reconciliation, and a people in whom it is evident that the Holy Spirit dwells. May we “be” as Christ is.