2005-09-11 Communion Dedication - Baldwin Christian Church

Matthew 5:14-16

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.

In looking at chapter 5 of Matthew, I keep getting drawn back to the similarities in the Lord's fast of Isaiah 58, so we'll read a few verses from there. Jesus read from, and quoted from the Isaiah scroll a lot, and if you've ever doubted the authenticity or the accuracy of the Bible, it's an important matter of faith that you know this. The book of Isaiah was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and it contains prophecies about Jesus' birth, life, and death that were obviously fulfilled. Jesus quoted from Isaiah, and He read from it to the people in the synagogue; that's written about in the Gospels. What's important about this; what should be pumping up your faith, and my faith, is not just the fact that Jesus gave credence to the book of Isaiah by quoting from it, but we also know that a complete scroll of Isaiah was found in 1947, by a young Arab boy in a cave by the Dead Sea. This scroll was preserved there, untouched since the time of Christ, and modern scientific methods have dated it's age to more than 100 years before Christ's birth. The Bible we read from was put together as one book in the year 1611 A.D., and studies have shown less than one word per chapter of difference between the Dead Sea Isaiah scroll, and the texts from which the 1611 version was translated. None of the prophecies or principles were altered by these small differences. Somehow, God preserved the authenticity and accuracy of His original word through centuries of hand-copying the text.

Isaiah 58:6-11

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

Freedom in Christ is so misunderstood. He gives us the freedom to not sin; a freedom where we can understand the vanity, the utter worthlessness of this world's treasures. This freedom from worldly attachments is what allows us to see and appreciate the value of every soul. It reminds us that this world, and everything in it, is perishing, but the things that Jesus gives us are eternal and wonderful. We don't have to envy each other, and we don't have to envy each other's possessions. We don't have to get upset at anyone because we understand that even if they're in the wrong, we're no better than they are. We don't have to get upset about any situation affecting us because we know that whatever seems meant for evil, God meant it for good (Gen 50:20). We can keep His lamp shining.

As the Beatitudes taught us in verses 3 through 12, there is reward and joy in a life of humble service to the Lord. Verse 13 tells me that I can be a humble servant without being a "sourpuss." If I'm bringing Jesus with me everywhere I go, then I'm the salt of the earth, and my life should be flavorful and tasty.

Verses 14, 15, and 16 tell that while we're humbly and meekly serving the Lord, as flavorful salt, we are not to hide ourselves from the world. In Jesus' day, the average family had a shelf on the wall of their one-room home where they set a lamp, and this one light was enough for everybody in the house. If the enemy was coming, they could quickly hide their light under a basket. You might be thinking, "I can handle the humble part; I regard other people higher than myself. I'm not one of those who always has to be right, who has to win every argument, or always get my way, but whenever I act out the Beatitudes publicly, people take advantage of me."

When the seventy disciples were sent to tell folks the Kingdom of God was at hand, the folks weren't always nice to them, but when the seventy returned to Jesus in Luke 10, it was with joy...

Luke 10:17-20 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Jesus told them about the power they had after they came back, not before He sent them out. If your light is the light of the Son (s-o-n), then you have nothing to fear, and nothing to lord over others. The light never boasts about itself. It just provides the light to those in the room. Your names are written in heaven. You know about the power. You know His word is true. Even science and archeology prove it. Let's take off the bushels and honor Him this week.