11.Nov.2009 And Then There Was Light

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Isaiah 62:1 & 2 (NLT): Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth.

Matthew 5:13 & 14 (NLT): “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

Arrange your life around the House. That is a concept that is difficult for most Christians to understand. Mainstream Christians have a habit of keeping the “God-thing” in their life separate from the “life-thing.” Isaiah is urging people to live IN the “God-thing.” The Prophet Haggai urged the People of Israel in much the same way. He urged them to repriortize their lives so that the House of God was in the center of all they did. But to those of us who understand and live this principle, we see the blessings.

Yes, it is difficult sometimes to combat the mistakes and overall bad history of the church when living in the world. It is almost too easy to keep the “God-thing” for Sundays. In doing this, we miss the message God is sending to us: A healthy Church is the greatest force on earth! Church is God’s business. He is building His church to be the mightiest force this world has ever seen! Now, it is understood that there is no such thing as a perfect church because there are no perfect people to run them. But if you are willing to invest into the church, you will reap the blessings.

Church is engagement. That is a lost factor in this day and age when people who have been offended by the Church stay at home to watch church on TV or listen to it in podcasts. There is no accountability, no relationship, no interaction. Church is all those things! Offense comes as a chance for us to push through and breakthrough! To conquer mountains in our lives and defeat giants standing in our way! Church is accountability; it is the opportunity to choose good over evil and see where those choices take us.

And when the people of God come into that healthy church, then ” nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory.” Matthew 5:14 says that we are “the light of the world.” The world is dying. Everyone born into this world is dying. We are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” Salt is used to preserve; Light is used to reveal! Suddenly, the darkness is chased away to reveal what is truly around us.

The Light is not about us. When you look directly at light, you hurt your eyes. You can’t look directly at the sun without doing damage to you eyesight. We are a light to the world; they are not to look at us (so beware of pride!); they are simply to see the truth when the light comes on. When the light comes on, the world changes!

Notice how Jesus used two different words in Matthew 5. He said “salt of the earth“ and “light of the world.” Salt, as previously stated, is meant to preserve. We dig deep into the earth–into the darkest depths of people’s lives where there is pain. We rub the salt in deep, preserving them by giving them hope when all seems lost, help when no one else is there, encouragement when they lose faith, love in a cruel world; we stay in the depths and we preserve!

The light has been there the whole time, but they can’t see it. You can’t force them to see it. Yet, we keep bringing the light. Sometimes, they catch a glimpse and it angers them, so they lash out. But keep holding on. Because, soon, God moves and the light is seen. Their world is illuminated around them, and they see the truth! The truth is revealed in the light. The light is the revelation that leads them to God, the source of all light.

So, be aware of your affect on the world around you. Don’t be afraid to invest in people. When you care, you can change the direction of a person’s life. When the light comes on, you can see where you are going. If the destination is destruction, you can change your direction now that you see that there is another path: God! “nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory.” The only hope the world has is in you and I preserving them long enough for them to see the light! Dial the “self” down and make it about someone else. We are going to change the world!