Key verse:
“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. – Luke 8:16-17 NKJV

Introduction

There was an old song we used to sing years ago in church, not really sure if they still sing it nowadays but you may remember it – “This Little Light of Mine”.  The church would really get to rocking when the choir stood up to sing this song!  In that song would we eventually get to the part that said, “I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine”.  There was a great pride taken in being able to sing that ol’ song and by the end of this sermon I hope you share in that same pride.  Let’s take a look at that light today.  Are you letting your light shine?

What is that light?

We ultimately think of light as in something that we can see.  We think of light as a source of radiation or energy that illuminates.  Light hits the lenses of our eyes and we are capable of seeing the things that light reveals to us.  On the second day of creation God said “let there be light”, and there was light but this light was not in the form of our sun or our moon.  It was not until the fourth day of creation that God created the heavenly bodies – stars in the firmament, our sun, and our moon.  The amount of light something gives is totally dependent on the source.

The sun gives off so much light that it can still be seen light years away.  A street light, by comparison, gives off enough light that it can only be seen a couple miles away.  We think of light as how the candle is mentioned within our key text; the candle only gives off just enough light energy to illuminate a small room.  When you compare that candle’s light energy to your room’s lights, there is very little comparison.  However, that candle’s light energy was as equally important to the people of that time.

As important as light has been for mankind, the light I speak of in today’s message is far greater than light energy.  I will no longer meander on light energy, but turn my attention to the light of which is my subject for today.  The disciple John, when speaking on the Light of which I speak, called this Light the true Light.  John said that the true Light lighteth every man come into the world (John 1:9).  John didn’t stop right there when talking about the true Light; he went on to say that the true Light was in the world and dwelt among His people (John 1:10-11).  In other words, the Light of which I am talking about happens to be a person that was and is capable of revealing to all men.

The illuminating light of Christ

What is it that Christ illuminated and therefore revealed to man?  There was something that man did not quite know and man needed this to be revealed to him.  You see, man had an idea on how to start a fire and to create a little light for a dark room.  Man even knew how to create cities, and have a thriving economic society.  However, what man knew and understood about God was so little that man was not living life as a God fearing creature.  Man did not know about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The only reason that we know of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (the Holy Trinity) is because Jesus came to this world all those years ago.  Jesus, the true Light, illuminated the ways of God to man and revealed the truth of the Lord to man’s heart!  I don’t know about you but I am very happy that the Lord decided to turn on that Light to man’s heart!  Where would we be had the true Light not been turned on?

The light within

Jesus lightened the hearts of this ol’ world with the true knowledge of God!  What was within that Light?  In that Light man learned that he could be forgiven for all of the lies that he’s told.  Man learned, from that Light, that he could be forgiven for all of his crimes against the Lord – all unrighteousness and the iniquities wiped clean.  In that Light, man learned of the power in the sacrifice of Christ and the power in the resurrection of Christ!  In that Light, man learned that through faith in Christ the Light comes and dwells within man.

In other words, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Light still resides in man’s heart today!  If you have called yourself a believer, do you realize that the true Light resides within you?  If you are a genuine believer, do you realize that the true Light resides within you?  Question is, are you letting that Light shine or have covered that light up?  Have you done with your Light what no man does with a candle?  Have you covered up the Light?  Are you trying to hide your Light in this world today?

Let your light shine

Our world today is a lot like a dark room that needs a candle to shine light into the darkness.  We, Christians, have a Light within us that this world needs terribly.  As Christians, we can’t be selfish about sharing our Light with those that are in need of the Light.  What has happened is that we Christians have not let our light shine, or did not know how to properly let our light shine.  You don’t shine a flash light directly into somebody eyes.  Why not?  Firstly, you don’t want to blind that person, and secondly, you don’t want to upset that person for shining a bright light into their eyes.

We have a responsibility on how we share the Light, and we also have a responsibility to others that roam this world in the darkness.  The one truth about the true Light is that the true Light is meant for all men.   Once you have the true Light within, you should let that true Light shine for others to see.  We decided, of our own, to see that Light and to then step into that Light so that we may receive of the light.  We have now become responsible for how we share that light.  I look around and begin to wonder, why is it that we don’t want others to be illuminated by the truth?

We may sing, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine”, but are you really letting that light shine?  We get ashamed to let that Light shine and decide to cover it up for fear of what somebody is going to say – don’t cover up that Light!  In 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, Paul calls what we have within (the Light) a treasure.  We can’t be like the treasure finder that doesn’t want anybody to know about the treasure that we have found.  Do you really think Jesus wants you to sit on the treasure He offers? The treasure in which we have found, we ought to reveal it to others as well!

In that song we would go on to sing in another verse, “Everywhere I go, I’m going to let it shine”.  We should shine that Light to somebody, somewhere, and let them know that they too can be forgiven for all unrighteousness and iniquities.  We should shine our Light to somebody, somewhere, and let them know about the power of the sacrifice of Christ and the power of the resurrection of Christ!  We should shine our Light to somebody, somewhere and let them know of the beauty of dwelling in the Father’s house!  Have no shame in letting your great Light shine, and let it shine bright in this dark world we live in today.  Illuminate to somebody somewhere about the gospel of Jesus Christ.