How to Be a Light in a Dark World | Adrian Rogers | Love Worth Finding

0:00 I want to ask you a question. Is today's age, is it an enlightened one or is it a darkened one without the Lord Jesus Christ? We are in deeper trouble today than we've ever been. Isn't that an amazing thing? Man thinks that he, he lives in a world of light. He thinks that he, he has enlightened himself. He thinks that his discoveries, his wisdom, his wit, uh, he thinks all of this is going to deliver him. And God says in this passage of Scripture, there's only one thing that will save anybody in this world and it is what He calls the foolishness of preaching. Not foolish preaching. We've had too much of that. But the, the foolishness of preaching, that is preaching the cross. Now take the Word of God, please, and turn to Matthew chapter 5 as we continue our journey through the Sermon on the Mount. We come today to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 14. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 14. If you were to enter this beautiful building from the front portico, uh, they're emblazoned on the front portico.

1:14 They're chiseled in the stone. You would read these words, send out thy light and thy truth. Because very frankly, ladies and gentlemen, that's what this church is all about. Sending out the light, the truth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that helps us to understand this verse of scripture where Jesus said to his disciples, ye are the light of the world, A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick. And it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Now last week we talked about the salt of the earth. And salt speaks of penetration.

2:07 but light speaks of illumination. The salt, when it applies, disappears, but the light appears. So the salt speaks of character, but the light speaks of testimony. And we not only are to have that character, that inward character, but we're to have that outward testimony, and one is not a substitute for the other, but the two of them together are powerful indeed. Now I want us to look at this passage of scripture first of all, and I want us to ask the question, who, to whom is Jesus speaking? He says, ye are the light of the world. Ye. Well, he was there by the Sea of Galilee. He has before him a motley crowd. They're humble folks. They are Galileans. And you know, the Galileans were the hillbillies of that day. I mean, they looked down upon the Galileans and they were mostly fisher folk and that's a fishing village. And Jesus is there on the mountainside. I've been to this place many times where Jesus gave this sermon. It's a beautiful place. And there they are out in front of him and Jesus looks at this crowd, this unlettered crowd, this group of nobodies, these, uh, insignificant people in the eyes of the world. Now, he's not at Rome. He's not at Greece. Now, he's in, he's in Galilee. And he looks to these people and he says, hey, you are the light of the world. Now, you think about it. You are the light. You know what their first reaction would be? Who, us? Us.

3:49 We are the light of the world. Us. Now, the word ye is emphatic in the Greek. It means you and nobody else. You are the light of the world. Now, when Jesus said this, Plato and Socrates and Aristotle had already taught. And the intelligentsia of the world was in, uh, uh, in Greece or Rome or somewhere. But Jesus looks at these and he says, ye are the light of the world. Of course, the reason they were the light of the world is because of Jesus who was himself THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. WHAT HE IS SAYING IS, WHEN YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, THE LIGHT THAT I AM WILL BE IN YOU AND THEREFORE YOU WILL BE MY LIGHT. NOW, THE REASON HE SAID THAT, VERY FRANKLY, WAS THAT THE WORLD OF HIS DAY, LIKE THE WORLD OF OUR DAY, UH, WAS IN GROSS DARKNESS, GROSS DARKNESS. AND MAN'S LIGHT HAS FAILED AND ALWAYS DOES FAIL. NOW, THERE WAS A GREAT AWAKENING, AND IT WAS CALLED THE ENLIGHTENMENT. AND WE, UH, FREQUENTLY HEAR THE HIGH MUCKETY MUKS TALK ABOUT OUR WORLD TODAY AS BEING ENLIGHTENED. BUT, UH, FOLKS, MAN'S LIGHT HAS UTTERLY FAILED. JUST KEEP YOUR BIBLES OPEN THERE TO MATTHEW CHAPTER FIVE AND PUT A BOOKMARK IN IT OR SOMETHING, AND THEN TURN TO FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER ONE. AND I WANT YOU TO SEE WHAT THE APOSTLE PAUL HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE SAME SITUATION.

5:20 I DON'T KNOW OF A, OF A PASSAGE IN THE BIBLE THAT impinges more on Matthew chapter 5 and verses 14 through 16 than First Corinthians 1. Now look, if you will, in First Corinthians 1, talking about man's enlightenment, man's wisdom without the Lord, uh, God says in First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20, he asks a rhetorical question, where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where WHERE IS THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD? WHEN HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE WISE AND, AND THE, THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD, WHAT HE IS REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS THE, IS THE INTELLIGENTIA. WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT HERE ARE THE PHILOSOPHERS. HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE, THE THINK TANKS OF THIS WORLD. HE'S, HE'S TALKING ABOUT ALL OF THE DISTILLED WISDOM. HE SAYS, WHAT DOES THAT AMOUNT TO? WHERE IS IT ALL? WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT OF IT?

6:20 THAT'S WHAT HE'S ASKING. WHAT HAS IT REALLY, REALLY DONE? NOW THE EMPHASIS I'M MAKING IS THE DARKNESS OF THIS PRESENT WORLD. I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION. IS TODAY'S AGE, IS IT AN ENLIGHTENED ONE OR IS IT A DARKENED ONE WITHOUT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? I, I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY OF THIS AGE. THE, THE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY IS THE SCIENCE FICTION OF THE, WHEN I WAS A BOY. I MEAN, THE THINGS THAT WE DO TODAY, IT'S INCREDIBLE. UH, I, UH, I WAS THINKING ABOUT MY AUTOMOBILE. AS I DRIVE ALONG IN MY AUTOMOBILE THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, OPERATED BY COMPUTER TODAY, AS A MATTER OF FACT, MY BATTERY WENT DEAD AND I GOT OUT THE BOOK AND IT SAID, UH, UH, IF, IF YOU RESTART THIS AUTOMOBILE, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE IT BACK IN AND HAVE THE COMPUTER RESET. I DIDN'T KNOW IT HAD ONE IN IT.

7:15 AND SO I, I DRIVE ALONG THERE, UH, IN, IN MY AUTOMOBILE THAT, THAT IS, UH, AIR CONDITIONED AND I KIND OF KEPT GOING ALONG BY COMPUTER AND I, I REMEMBER I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING TO MY SECRETARY SO I PICK UP A TELEPHONE IN THE AUTOMOBILE. AND I, I SAY SOMETHING TO MY SECRETARY AS I GO HOME AND, UH, I WALK INTO MY HOUSE, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE IN A, UH, AIR CONDITIONED. BUT, BEFORE I GET IN THERE I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO SOME MUSIC THAT IS, on a tape deck. Uh, that's in, in, uh, my tape player. And a, a little ribbon is playing music back to me. And, uh, I go into this air-conditioned house and I sit down to watch the news and I have a little thing in my hand that I, well, I used to have it. I don't know what happened to it. IT DISAPPEARED WHEN THE GRANDCHILDREN LEFT. I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT IS. I HAVE LOOKED HIGH AND LOW. BUT I USED TO HAVE A LITTLE THING THAT WOULD WALK ACROSS THE ROOM FROM ME AND CHANGE CHANNELS. AND, AND FOLKS, IT'S INCREDIBLE. THERE IS UP IN THE AIR A SATELLITE. I MEAN, IT'S UP IN THE AIR. AND THE, THE NEWS FROM ACROSS THE OCEAN GOES UP INTO OUTER SPACE AND COMES BACK DOWN INTO MY LIVING ROOM INSTANTANEOUSLY. AND I SIT THERE, DON'T EVEN HAVE TO WALK ACROSS THE ROOM TO CHANGE THE CHANNELS, THAT IS, I DIDN'T USE TO. AND, UH, THE, AND, IN THE SAME TIME, I'VE, I'VE GOT A, A MICROWAVE IN THE KITCHEN HEATING ME A CUP OF TEA. IT'S INCREDIBLE. BUT FOLKS, WE'RE IN DEEPER TROUBLE

8:57 TODAY THAN WE'VE EVER BEEN. ISN'T THAT AN AMAZING THING? Somebody has said that man, he's learned to fly through the air like a bird. He's learned to swim through the sea like a fish, but he's still not yet learned to walk on earth like a man. And everybody comes along, everybody has got an idea about how, how we're going to change things. And some of us have lived through the New Deal and the Fair Deal and the Great Society and Camelot and Camp David and Reaganomics and detente and glass nose and a thousand points of light. And now, God help us, a new covenant. And, and, and all of these things, one, two, three, four, I'm, they all are what? They are all a demonstration of man's composite darkness. I'm telling you folks that the big shots of this world do not have the answer. I read something the other day that, that was so great I just want to read it to you. Quote, Thus did Western man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought down his own city walls tumbling.

10:26 and having convinced himself that he is too numerous, labors with pill and scapel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he kneels over a weary, battered old brontosaurus AND BECOMES EXTINK. THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD COMMENTARY ON TODAY'S WORLD. NOW, MY DEAR FRIEND, JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES IN A DAY OF SO-CALLED ENLIGHTENMENT, JUST LIKE IN THIS DAY, YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. NOW, CONTINUE TO LOOK IN, WE'RE IN FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER ONE. PAUL ASKED THE QUESTION, WHERE IS THE WISE? WHERE IS THE SCRIBE? WHERE IS THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD? HATH NOT GOD MADE FOOLISH THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD? FOR FOR AFTER THAT IN THE WISDOM OF GOD, THE WORLD BY WISDOM KNEW NOT GOD. IT PLEASED GOD BY THE FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE. FOR THE JEWS REQUIRE SIGN. AND THE GREEKS SEEK AFTER WISDOM. BUT WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED, UNTO THE JEWS A STUMBLING BLOCK, AND UNTO THE GREEKS FOOLISHNESS.

11:47 BUT UNTO THEM WHICH ARE CALLED BOTH JEWS AND GREEKS CHRIST, THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE WISDOM OF GOD. NOW WATCH VERSE 25, BECAUSE THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD IS WISER THAN MEN, AND THE WEAKNESS OF GOD IS STRONGER THAN MEN. NOW WHAT GOD IS, IS, IS ABOUT IS THIS. HE WANTS TO SLAY MAN'S ABOMINABLE PRIDE. MAN THINKS THAT HE, HE LIVES IN A WORLD OF LIGHT. HE THINKS THAT HE, HE HAS ENLIGHTENED HIMSELF. HE THINKS THAT HIS DISCOVERIES, HIS WISDOM, HIS WIT, AH, HE THINKS ALL OF THIS IS GOING TO DELIVER HIM. AND GOD SAYS IN THIS PASSAGE OF Scripture, there's only one thing that will, uh, save anybody in this world, and it is what he calls the foolishness of preaching. Not foolish preaching. We've had too much of that. But the, the foolishness of preaching, that is preaching the cross. You see, the Jews, they wanted a sign, and, and the Greeks wanted a demonstration of power. Verse 24, uh, but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the POWER OF GOD AND THE WISDOM OF GOD. THE GREEKS, THE JEWS, RATHER, WANTED, UH, AH, A, A, A, DEMONSTRATION OF SIGNS AND POWERS, AND THE GREEKS WANTED WISDOM. WELL, WHAT HE IS SAYING IS THIS, THERE'S SUCH POWER IN THE CROSS THAT THE CROSS AND THE CROSS ALONE CAN RADICALLY AND DRAMATICALLY AND ETERNALLY CHANGE THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE. AND THE WISDOM OF GOD IS SUCH THAT IN THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS. LISTEN, THE WISDOM OF, OF GOD IS THIS, THAT THE CROSS IS SOMETHING THAT A LITTLE CHILD CAN UNDERSTAND. THAT'S THE WISDOM OF GOD. A LITTLE CHILD CAN KNOW THE HEART OF GOD. A LITTLE CHILD CAN KNOW THE MYSTERIES OF LIFE. THAT GOD HAS HIDDEN THESE THINGS FROM THE WISE AND THE PRUDENT AND HE'S REVEALED THEM UNTO BAGES. SOMEONE HAS WELL SAID THAT THE GOSPEL, THE TRUTH OF GOD, IS DEEP ENOUGH THAT FOR THE SCHOLARS TO SWIM IN AND YET NEVER TOUCH BOTTOM, AND YET

13:55 SHALLOW ENOUGH FOR A LITTLE CHILD TO COME AND GET A DRINK WITHOUT FEAR OF DROWNING. AND GOD SAYS HERE THAT HIS PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE THE LIGHTBEARERS, JUST THE COMMON PEOPLE. LOOK IN VERSE 26, FOR YOU SEE YOUR CALLING, BRETHREN, HOW THAT NOT MANY WISE MEN AFTER THE FLESH, NOT MANY MIGHTY, NOT MANY NOBLE ARE CALLED, BUT GOD HATH CHOSEN, GOD HATH CHOSEN THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE WISE. NOW THE WORD FOOLISH HERE MEANS THE NON-INTELLECTUAL, THE INTELLECTUALLY COMMON. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A PHI BETA KAPPA TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. AND GOD HATH CHOSEN, AH, THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE THINGS THAT ARE MIGHTY. AND THE WORD HERE MEANS THINGS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY WEAK. I MEAN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE BULGING BICEPPS AND MOUNTAINS OF MUSCLES. AND THE BIBLE SAYS HERE, AND BASE THINGS OF THE WORLD. HE'S TALKING HERE ABOUT THOSE THAT, AH, ARE IGNOBLE, FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS. HE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A, AH, AH, SOME KIND OF NOBILITY. AH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE OR YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A, AH, CLASS PRESIDENT OR YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A, AH, A, AH, SEMINARY PROFESSOR. THE BASE THINGS OF THE WORLD, AND THINGS WHICH ARE DESPISED, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SOCIALLY ACCEPTED, HATH GOD CHOSEN, YEA, AND THINGS WHICH ARE NOT, THAT IS, PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT RECOGNIZED, NOBODY HEARS ABOUT THEM. THEY DON'T EVEN GET TO LEAD IN SILENT PRAYER. THEY, THEY DON'T MAKE WHO'S WHO, THEY HAVEN'T EVEN MADE WHO'S NOT. UH, THINGS WHICH ARE NOT TO BRING TO NOUGHT THINGS THAT ARE, THAT NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY IN HIS PRESENCE.

15:35 NOW, THAT'S THE SAME THING JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT WHEN HE says to these disciples, these fishermen, you are the light of the world. The world puts the emphasis upon beauty, brains, and bucks, and brawn. I mean, but Jesus looked at these and he said, you are the light of the world. Uh, the world is always wanting to, people, they want to get in some sort of high society, they want to belong to clubs that no one else can belong to. They, they, they want to belong to the elite. Uh, they, they want to be in the upper class, but Jesus just says to folks just like us, you, you are the light of the world. Folks, I'm telling you, we're the only ones that have the answer. We really are. You say, Adrian, you, you are an egotist. No, it's not me, it's Jesus that I'm talking about who is the light of the world and it's Christ in us. I was in Moscow and, uh, I preached in a, IN A CONCERT HALL. AND THE CHOIR GAVE A CONCERT. THEN I PREACHED THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND AFTER I'D PREACHED, THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE WHO CROWDED TO THE PLATFORM WHO WANTED TO TALK. MOST OF THESE PEOPLE, OR A GREAT MANY OF THESE PEOPLE, HAD NEVER BEEN IN A RELIGIOUS SERVICE BEFORE. THIS IS, AN, AN ATHEISTIC COUNTRY THAT HAD TAUGHT ATHEISM OFFICIALLY. AND THE FIRST MAN THAT TALKED WITH ME SAID, MAY I TALK WITH YOU? HE SAID, I AM A PHILOSOPHER.

17:06 AND HE JUST SAID, I BELONG TO A PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. HE SAID, WE MEET REGULARLY. AND HE SAID, COULD YOU COME AND LECTURE TO OUR PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY? I SAID, I WISH I COULD, BUT I CANNOT. HE SAID, WELL, MAY I ASK YOU A QUESTION? I SAID, YES. HE SAID, IN PHILOSOPHY, HE SAID, UH, MOST OF US FEEL THAT THERE ARE, UH, TWO ECOLOGIES, A LOWER ECOLOGY AND A HIGHER ECOLOGY. WOULD YOU AGREE? I said, yes. He said, it seems that these are in conflict with each other. Would you agree? I said, yes. He said, it seems that the lower ecology is more base and wicked and the higher ecology is good and noble. Is that right? I said, yes, that is true. And I knew I was running out of time. And I said, sir, may I tell you that what you call the higher ecology is God. What you call the lower ecology is the power of darkness and Satan.

18:02 AND I SAID, YOU'RE QUITE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAY THAT THESE TWO ARE IN CONFLICT ONE WITH THE OTHER. BUT I SAID, UH, THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, INTO YOUR HEART, THAT HE LIVES WITHIN YOU. AND THE BIBLE THEN SAYS, GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU THAN HE THAT'S IN THE WORLD, THE POWER OF SATAN. AND THEREFORE, THROUGH THE POWER OF JESUS CHRIST, YOU CAN OVERCOME, UH, THESE LOWER PROCLIVITIES AND SO FORTH THAT YOU CALL THE LOWER ECOLOGY. OH, HE SAID, OH. OH, HE SAID, THAT'S, THAT'S AMAZING. HE SAID, THAT'S WONDERFUL. I SAID, HERE'S A BIBLE, TAKE THIS BIBLE AND BEGIN TO STUDY. AND HE WALKED AWAY JUST ASTOUNDED AT WHAT OUR BOYS AND GIRLS KNOW IN SUNDAY SCHOOL. JUST ASTOUNDED AT WHAT OUR BOYS AND GIRLS KNOW IN SUNDAY SCHOOL. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THAT I TURNED AROUND AND I LOOKED, AND THERE WAS A MAN, HE SAID, MAY I TALK WITH YOU? I SAID, YES. HE HANDED ME HIS CARD. HE WAS WITH THE SOVIET SPACE AGENCY. HE SAID, I AM A SCIENTIST. IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS CHOREOGRAPHED. HE SAID, I AM A SCIENTIST. HE SAID, I AM A ROCKET SCIENTIST. BUT HE SAID, I'VE NEVER HEARD WHAT YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY. HE SAID, I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE. AND I SAID, SIR, YOU OPERATE ACCORDING TO LAW. HE He said, that's right.

19:31 He said, as a matter of fact, he said, when I have been studying the way that the universe runs, the way that the universe operates, he said, it seems to me that there must be some higher power because, he said, all of this could not be happening just by chance. He said, it is too intricate. It is too involved. It couldn't be just by chance. I said, well, you're absolutely right. I said, there's a God who regulates the universe. But I said, you will never know about him simply by study. As you study what God does, I said, you need to know who God is. And I said, there's a book called the Bible that'll tell you who God is. I gave him two big black Bibles. He walked off with those like, friend, I'd given him a million dollars. Now this is a scientist letter. Right after that, uh, they said, there's a lady over here who wants to talk with you. And I walked over here and there was a beautiful lady, about 35, standing there. Her eyes were dewy tears. She said, this is the first religious service I've ever been in. But she said, I tonight have GIVEN MY HEART TO JESUS CHRIST. I SAID, WHAT DO YOU DO? SHE SAID, I'M A LAWYER. SHE WAS A LAWYER FOR THE GOOM DEPARTMENT STORE, THE LARGEST DEPARTMENT STORE THERE IN MOSCOW. SHE SAID, I HAVE RECEIVED CHRIST AS MY PERSONAL SAVIOR AND LORD, AND, AND WAS SO HAPPY. AND I THOUGHT, HERE, HERE IS, IS, IS, A, A COMMON, ORDINARY MAN WHO HAS A PHILOSOPHER, A A SCIENTIST AND A LAWYER.

20:55 MY DEAR FRIEND, WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY TO YOU IS THIS, THAT JESUS AND JESUS ONLY IS THE ANSWER TO THIS WORLD'S PROBLEMS. PHILOSOPHY IS NOT THE ANSWER. SCIENCE IS NOT THE ANSWER. LAW IS NOT THE ANSWER. RIGHT AFTER THAT I MET A YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT. HE SAID, I'M A COLLEGE STUDENT. HE SAID, I'VE BEEN SAVED SEVERAL MONTHS, BUT THIS IS MY FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE. And I, again, education is not the answer. Only Jesus is the answer. And so, first of all, think about to whom Jesus was speaking. He says, the Lord Jesus says to these people, you, humble fishermen, Galileans, hillbillies, if you will, you are the light of the world. Now, friend, you may not realize it.

21:48 You may not think that you're very important. You may think, well, you don't have enough education. or you don't have enough personality or you don't have enough wit or you don't have enough wisdom or you don't have enough rank or station. But Jesus said, you see your calling, brethren. Not many mighty, not many noble are called. God hath chosen the foolish things of this world. These disciples must have been absolutely astounded when He said to them, you are the light of the world. If you're enjoying this message from Adrian Rogers and would like to dig a little deeper into today's topic, download this free companion Bible study. Use the link above to get yours. Now here's the second thing I want you to see. Not only who, but what. What's he talking about? He says, you are the light of the world. I want us to think just a little bit about that light some more. First of all, I want you to see that he gives them an illustration.

22:43 He says that men don't light a candlestick. Go back to Matthew chapter 5 again, if you will. AND, UH, VERSE 15, MEN DO NOT LIGHT A CANDLE AND PUT IT UNDER A BUSHEL, BUT ON A CANDLE STICK, AND IT GIVETH LIGHT UNTO ALL THAT ARE IN THE HOUSE. AND THEN, UH, HE SAYS, UH, LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN. NOW HERE THE LORD JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT THE FOOLISHNESS OF CONCEALED LIGHT. WHY WOULD A MAN, LIGHT A CANDLE OR A LAMP, AND THEN PUT IT UNDER A BUSHEL BASKET. NOW DON'T EVER SAY THAT JESUS DOESN'T HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR. JESUS DOES HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR. AND JESUS SAID, THAT'S WHAT SOME OF YOU ARE DOING. YOU ARE THE LIGHT. YOU HAVE RECEIVED ME, AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO, TO HIDE YOUR LIGHT SO OTHER PEOPLE CAN'T SEE IT. AND I'M SPEAKING TO SOME PEOPLE TODAY WHO DO JUST THE SAME THING. UH, YOU, YOU DON'T WANT TO, YOU KIDS DON'T WANT TO CARRY YOUR BIBLE TO SCHOOL. YOU GET, YOU'RE A A BUSINESSMAN AND YOU HAVE A BUNCH OF BUSINESS ASSOCIATES WITH YOU AND YOU'RE SITTING DOWN TO A MEAL IN A FANCY RESTAURANT.

23:52 IT'S BEEN YOUR CUSTOM TO SAY GRACE AND YOU WOULD SAY GRACE IF YOUR PASTOR WERE THERE. BUT YOU, YOU JUST, YOU JUST KIND OF HATE TO SAY, TO BOW YOUR HEAD AND THANK GOD OR TO ASK THE GROUP IF YOU MIGHT THANK GOD WITH THEM FOR THE FOOD, HUH, HUH. UH, YOU LOVE JESUS, BUT YOU KIND OF WEAR YOUR JESUS SAVES LAPEL PIN ON your underwear. I mean, you, you, you, you, you, you, you put your light under a bushel. But Jesus said you to put it on a candlestick. I have to, you have to feel sorry for people who, who don't let the light shine. I mean, they love God, but they don't have enough courage to serve the devil and they don't HAVE ENOUGH GRACE TO SERVE GOD. AND SO YOU SEE THE FOOLISHNESS OF CONCEALED LIGHT, BUT SEE THE FAITHFULNESS OF COURAGEOUS LIGHT.

24:49 LOOK AGAIN, IF YOU WILL, HE SAYS, PUT IT ON A CANDLE STICK AND IT'LL GIVE LIGHT UNTO ALL THAT ARE IN THE HOUSE. NOW, FOLKS, WHY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE WHERE YOU ARE? EVER SO OFTEN PEOPLE COMPLAIN TO ME, YOU, THEY SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, PASTOR, HA, HA, I, I WISH I COULD GET OUT OF WHERE I WORK. THERE ARE NO CHRISTIANS WHERE I WORK. It's always, oh, it's, the language is filthy. The jokes, the blasphemy, the greed, the dishonesty. Oh, I just wish I could go down there to the church and work. Be so, be so nice. Or I just wish that I could get in a Christian office. Or I just wish I could get in a Christian neighborhood. Friend, you don't light light. You light darkness.

25:41 Jesus said, you're the light of the world. Our problem is we've been salting the salt and lighting the light. Jesus said, you're the light of the world. You are where you are because you're to be light in that place. You don't take a lighthouse and put it in downtown Manhattan, New York. You put it out on some rocky coast where it's needed. And God has you right where he wants you. MY DEAR FRIEND, LISTEN, THERE'S THE FOOLISHNESS OF CONCEALED LIGHT. THERE'S THE FAITHFULNESS, AH, OF COURAGEOUS LIGHT. AND THEN I LOVE THIS, THERE'S THE FORCEFULNESS OF COLLECTIVE LIGHT. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 14, A CITY THAT IS SET ON A HILL CANNOT BE HIT. NOW WHAT IS A CITY? A CITY IS A, AH, IS A, A, A, A BUNCH OF FOLKS LIVING TOGETHER. WHEN I'VE BEEN TO Israel, up in Galilee, if you just at nighttime go out, you'll see up above the hills of Galilee a city on a hill. It's called sephat. And you see the lights of that city. I have in mind it was that same city that Jesus was talking about when he said, a city set on a hill can't be hid. You see, there's something about a lot of lights shining together. You see, there's, there's collective light, collective light when we shine together from an elevated place.

27:09 And that's what the church is all about. That's the reason I need you and you need me. Thank God for one point of light. But oh, my dear friend, we need that collected and collective light. Now, the last thing I want you to see this morning. I've talked to you about who? You're the light of the world. I've talked to you about what? It is a light that is set on a lampstand, uh, not under a bushel. and the more of us who are letting our light shine together, the better it is. Now why? Look, if you will, in verse 16. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Now the purpose of it all, the purpose of it all is to glorify God. That's the purpose. They're not to see you.

28:02 They are not to see the lamp. THERE TO SEE THE LIGHT, AND THEREFORE GOD GETS THE GLORY TO HIMSELF. NOW, UH, LET, LET ME TELL YOU WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR YOU TO DO THIS. FIRST OF ALL, YOU MUST MAKE A SURRENDER. LOOK AT THE WORD LET. DO YOU SEE THAT? LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE YOUR LIGHT SHINE. JUST GET RIGHT WITH GOD, IT'LL SHINE. YOU'LL HAVE TO STOP IT FROM SHINING. IF YOU WILL SURRENDER TO THE LORD, ABSOLUTELY BEFILL THE HOLY SPIRIT, YOU WILL SHINE. JUST LET IT SHINE. DON'T MAKE IT SHINE. IF YOU TRY TO MAKE IT SHINE, YOU GET A GLARE AND NOT A GLOW. YOU JUST, JUST LET IT SHINE. MANLY BEASLEY, WHO IS NOW IN HEAVEN, USED TO SAY, YOU GET RIGHT WITH GOD AND YOU'LL HAVE TO BACKSLIDE TO KEEP FROM BEING A SOUL WINNER. THAT'S RIGHT. YOU JUST, YOU, YOU'RE LIGHT IS JUST SIMPLY GOING TO SHINE. UH, I REMEMBER READING IN THE BIBLE ABOUT A MAN NAMED STEPHEN, AND THE BIBLE SAID THEY STONED HIM FOR HIS TESTIMONY AND THEY KILLED HIM, BUT THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS THAT HIS FACE SHOWN LIKE THE FACE OF AN ANGEL. NOW VERY FRANKLY, I DON'T THINK THAT STEPHEN HAD EVER GONE TO A SEMINAR ON FACE SHINING. I, I JUST, I, HE DIDN'T KNOW HIS FACE WAS SHINING. MOSES DIDN'T KNOW THAT HIS FACE SHOWN. YOU JUST LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. A LITTLE BOY, I'M TOLD, ASKED HIS DADDY, SAID, DADDY, HOW TALL AM I? HIS DAD SAID, WELL, I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS ABOUT FOUR AND A HALF FEET. HE SAID, DAD, HOW TALL IS JESUS? WELL, HE SAID, WELL, I DON'T KNOW. SAID, I GUESS HE'S AT LEAST SIX FEET TALL. HE SAID, I REALLY DON'T KNOW. HE, AND HE SAID, I'M FOUR AND A HALF? HE SAID, THAT'S RIGHT. AND JESUS IS SIX FEET TALL? HE SAID, THAT'S RIGHT.

29:50 HE SAID, WELL, WELL, DADDY, IF JESUS IS IN ME, HE'LL STICK OUT, WON'T HE? HA, HA, HA. FRIEND, I WANT TO TELL YOU, IF JESUS IS IN YOU, HE'LL STICK OUT. HE REALLY WILL. HE'LL HAVE TO LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE. I MEAN, IF, IF CHRIST IS IN YOU. SO, SO THERE'S SURRENDER. AND THEN, MY DEAR FRIEND, THERE'S SACRIFICE. NOW, LOOK, HE SAYS, LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE. DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S NO SHINING WITHOUT burning. It was said of John the Baptist, he was a burning and a shining light.

30:26 There's no way, there's no way that you can let your light shine without being consumed. The candle is consumed. The wick is consumed. You are, there, there must be, there must be that surrender where you just say, Lord, I'm going to let you shine. There must be that sacrifice to say, Lord, I am willing to BURN THAT I MIGHT SHINE. PUT IT DOWN BIG, PLAIN, AND STRAIGHT. THERE IS NO SHINING WITHOUT BURNING, AND THERE'S NO BURNING WITHOUT SACRIFICE. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A CHEAP WAY, AN EASY WAY, A LAZY WAY TO SERVE THE LORD, YOU'LL NEVER FIND IT. AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE LAST THING, NOT ONLY MUST THERE BE THAT SURRENDER AND THAT SACRIFICE, BUT THERE MUST BE THAT SANCTIFICATION WHERE THEY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, YOUR GOOD works. I mean, we're not saved by good works, but day by day people are to see what we do.

31:24 Don't, don't, uh, hide your lamp under a bushel. Let them see, let them see the beauty of Jesus in you. J. Hudson Taylor was the founder of the China Inland Mission, a great man of God. When I was a young boy, I read a book called Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret. And J. Hudson Taylor came home from China and a newspaper man met him and he said, uh, Mr. Taylor, he said, they're writing you up as another Apostle Paul. They say that you remind everybody of the Apostle Paul. How does that make you feel? He said, it makes me feel very bad. He said, I wanted to remind them of the Lord Jesus Christ. And friend, THAT'S THE WAY IT IS WITH EACH ONE OF US. THAT, THAT SANCTIFICATION OUGHT TO BE IN US SO THAT WHAT SHINES OUT OF ADRIAN ROGERS IS NOT ADRIAN ROGERS OR NOT SOMEBODY ELSE, NOT SOME SEMINARY PROFESSOR, BUT JESUS CHRIST. AS HE INHABITS MY HUMANITY, I AM TO BE LETTING HIS GLORY SHINE OUT OF ME. NOW THE WHOLE WORLD IS LOST IN THE DARKNESS OF SIN, AND THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD IS JESUS, BEYOND THE SHADOW OF ANY DOUBT. THE FORMER PASTOR OF THIS CHURCH, DR. ROBERT G. LEE, TOLD A STORY OF SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

32:52 DR. LEE SAID IN SOUTH CAROLINA WHERE HE WAS RAISED, THERE WAS A TERRIBLE FIRE IN A SCHOOLHOUSE. AND EVIDENTLY THEY DID NOT HAVE THE PRECAUTIONS THAT WE HAVE TODAY. AND THERE WERE SEVENTY CHILDREN WHO DIED IN THAT SCHOOLHOUSE FIRE. THE PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY CAME WHEN THEY LEARNED THE SCHOOLHOUSE WAS ON FIRE AND IT WAS A, A RAGING INFERNO. THERE WAS A DAD WHO CAME THERE, AND THAT DAD LOOKED THROUGH THE BURNING WALLS AND HE SAW THE FACE OF HIS SON. THE SON RECOGNIZED THE DADDY AND THE DADDY KNEW IT WAS HIS SON. WHEN THE SON SAW HIS DAD, HE SAID, DAD, SAVE ME. THE DAD STARTED INTO THE RAGING INFERNO, BUT STRONG MEN HELD HIM BACK. THERE WAS NO WAY impossible, it was virtually impossible for anyone to go in there and come back out alive. He tried to tear away the arms of those who were restraining him, but they held him back. The boy looked at his daddy and he said, Daddy, daddy, help me. Daddy, can't you save me? Daddy, can't you save me? Daddy, can't you save me? And the dad had to stand there and watch his boy perish in THOSE FLAMES LIKE SOMEONE HAD TURNED AN ACETILIN TORCH ON A FRAGILE FLOWER. NIGHT AND DAY AFTER THAT, THAT DAD HEARD THE VOICE OF HIS SON IN HIS WAKING HOURS AND IN HIS SLEEPING HOURS. HE WOULD WAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND HE COULD HEAR THE PLEA OF HIS SON, DADDY, CAN'T YOU SAVE ME? DADDY, CAN'T YOU SAVE ME? Dr. Lee said the man lived about two years after that.

34:40 He died a premature death. The voice of his son, Daddy, Daddy, can't you save me? My friend, our world is in a terrible plight. Our world looks to Our world looks to science. And our world says to science, science, can't you save me? And science says, I can tell you how far the earth is from the sun, 93 million miles. But I can't tell you how far Jesus can remove sin from a human heart. I can't save you. You look to philosophy and say, the world says philosophy. Can't you save me? Philosophy says I can tell you more and more about less and less, but I have no answer, none whatsoever.

35:35 No panacea for this world's ills. I can't save. The world says education. Can't you save me? I want to remind you, my dear friend, that Nazi Germany was educated. IT. I WANT TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS WORLD HAS MORE EDUCATION TODAY THAN IT'S EVER HAD, AND IT'S SINKING FASTER THAN IT'S EVER SUNG. EDUCATION CANNOT SAVE. THE WORLD SAYS, CULTURE, CAN'T YOU SAVE ME? CULTURE NEVER SAVED ANYBODY. ALL CULTURE CAN DO IS MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO GO TO HELL FROM. THAT'S ALL IT CAN DO. WHO CAN SAVE? THERE'S ONLY ONE CAN SAVE. HIS NAME IS JESUS.

36:30 FRIEND, THE WHOLE WORLD WAS LOST IN THE DARKNESS OF SIN. THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD IS JESUS. AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I'M GIVING THE REST OF MY DAYS TO LETTING HIS LIGHT SHINE THROUGH ME. I AM TOTALLY, TOTALLY, TOTALLY CONVINCED THAT THE ONLY HOPE OF AMERICA, THE ONLY HOPE OF THE WORLD, THE ONLY HOPE INDIVIDUALLY, DOMESTICALLY, NATIONALLY, AND INTERNATIONALLY IS IN THE NAME OF JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. BOW YOUR HEADS IN PRAYER. HEADS ARE BOWED AND EYES ARE CLOSED. I WONDER, DO YOU KNOW JESUS? ARE YOU SAVED? NO ONE STIRRING, NO ONE MOVING. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SAVED? WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR? HE WANTS TO SAVE YOU TODAY. FRIEND, I REMIND YOU THAT YOU'RE LOST. YOU'RE A SINNER. YOU'VE OFFENDED A HOLY GOD. YOUR SINS DESERVE JUDGMENT. THE BIBLE SAYS, THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, THE SOUL THAT SINNETH IT SHALL SURELY DIE. BUT THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT GOD LOVES YOU WITH AN INCREDIBLE LOVE. HE SENT HIS SON JESUS, WHO SUFFERED, BLED, AND DIED FOR YOU ON THE CROSS.

37:48 AND ON THE CROSS JESUS PAID YOUR SIN DEBT AND IT'S PAID IN FULL. BUT THAT DOES YOU NO GOOD UNTIL YOU REPENT OF YOUR SIN AND RECEIVE CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR AND LORD. THE BIBLE SAYS AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, JESUS, TO THEM HE GAVE THE POWER, THE RIGHT TO BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME. YOU RECEIVE HIM BY FAITH. IF YOU WERE TO PRAY A PRAYER LIKE THIS, LORD JESUS, I BELIEVE YOU DIED FOR ME. I BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL SAVE ME IF I TRUST YOU. LORD, I NEED YOU. I REPENT OF MY SIN. I TURN FROM MY SIN. I OPEN MY HEART. I RECEIVE YOU NOW AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR. COME INTO MY HEART, FORGIVE MY SIN AND SAVE ME. IF YOU WOULD PRAY THAT PRAYER AND MEAN IT, I PROMISE YOU ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE WORD OF GOD THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD SAVE YOU. FATHER, I PRAY TODAY THAT MANY IN THIS place will be saved. Lord, that many who need to make other decisions will do so. Move blessed, precious Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus.