This day we will be talking about shining the light in the area of evangelism.
From the beginning when we look at the book of Genesis chapter 1: 1 through to verse 3
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth 2. and the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God move upon the face of the waters. And God said let there be light? And there was light. 4.
And God saw that the light was good”
When Jesus Christ was speaking in the book of John He said, I, Jesus, I am what? I am that light. That shineth in darkness that darkness cannot comprehend (John 1:5).
If you look at the book of Isaiah 60: 1-3 It says “Arise, shine for the light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people but the Lord shall arise upon thee and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings of the brightness of the rising”.
Who is this scripture speaking to? It is speaking to you and me. How do we arise? How do I shine the light? Our focus today will be on evangelism.
What is evangelism?
Evangelism is spreading the good news of salvation, talking about what Christ has done, how Christ has saved us.
Talking about the kingdom of God that is coming to overtake the kingdom of this world, where Satan is ruling as king.
If you are born again, you have been given that mandate to shine the light of evangelism.
Jesus declared you and me as what? The light of the world. Matthew 5:14-16.
As a city that is built on a hill, we cannot be hid. If that is true, no one has anything that is good and will hide it.
So, If the gospel is good, if Jesus Christ is good, if the kingdom of God is good, if heaven is good, and you know it that it is good, and you have been saved, what are you doing with that good thing that you have received? Daniel says, the man who is able to turn sinners unto repentance shall shine like the firmament of heaven (Daniel 12:3).
That person is called a wise person (Proverbs 11:30). The question we need to ask ourselves, we claim to be wise in so many things, but we are not wise in the thing that is paramount to be wise in.
We Christians can do every other thing, Paying of tithe is not a difficult thing to us. Some of us, we can even pay of the littlest thing.
Fasting and prayer, oh, fantastic. It’s not anything to us. Thank God we belong to the ministry where we fast and pray, so it’s as common as water to us.
We can do any of these things with ease, but what about evangelism? Why is it difficult for me and for you to open our mouth and tell our neighbors about Jesus Christ and that the world is coming to an end.
We don’t know what will happen any moment from now. Ezekiel warned that when God says to a wicked man, this wicked man, he shall die in his wickedness, he told you, and you did not go and warn the wicked man of what God has said, to repent of his wickedness.
That man will die in his wickedness and will go to hell (Ezekiel 3:18-21). But God said, the blood of that man will be required from you.
So how do I wash myself free from the blood of the wicked man that has committed sin? It’s for me to preach the gospel to him.
Why do we need to shine?
You may be wondering, Why do I need to shine? Matthew chapter 5:14-15 says: “Ye are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick and gives light unto all that are in the house”
Why do you need to shine? You need to shine forth because you are living in a dark world where evil is celebrated as good. When you are doing good, you are castigated as evil.
In the condition of the world today, you need to shine the light of the gospel. One of the examples of the evil in our society is that nakedness is no longer shameful to ladies in our days.
In those days, we used to say men are not ashamed.
Men can dress anyhow, they are not ashamed. But in our present day, it is men that are now ashamed and ladies are no longer ashamed. They can expose every part of their body.
When we look at such situations, we ask what is this World turning into? If the world is dying in darkness, you that have light to give to the world, you need to shine the light.
You need to shine the light in your family to the glory of God.
When I started going to church in a very early age, that was in the 70s, my father was still alive.
My mother went and reported me to my father’s family. She said, this boy is always doing strange things.
He has started following people that are carrying Bible. I joined the Jehovah’s Witness ministry then.
My family invited me for a meeting one day.
When I entered, they locked the doors and the windows. I was looking around wondering what was happening, then one of my uncles stood up and gave me a slap.
I asked, what have I done wrong? He said, this is what your mother said. That you have now joined the people that are carrying Bible up and down. Is it true? I was looking at them.
I was flogged for going to church but many years later, when we were doing the burial of my mother, I realized that not only my mother had given her life to Christ, and become born again, but also, most of my uncles and aunties have given their lives to Christ and they have now become elders in churches, in fact some of their children are now general overseers of churches.
From me receiving salvation of Christ, the light of the gospel entered into my family, and majority are now born again.
Why do we need to shine the light? Because the days are short.
Jesus says, if you think in the book of John that there are still four months, look, now the harvest is already ripe (John 4:35).
If you don’t harvest them now, there will be waste. The witch you didn’t save today may be the one that will destroy you tomorrow.
The armed robber you did not preach to today to repent, may rob you tomorrow. That’s why you need to shine the light.
The question now is: why are very many Christians not shining the light? Are we born again? The power we receive on the day of Pentecost, was it only to speak in tongue? “The bible says we will receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon us” (Acts 1:8, Acts 2).
What did he say we should be? We should be witnesses unto him. You’ve been born again for how many years? Can you even point to one soul that got saved through you.
Can you boldly say that one person has come to church through you or that one person is now born again through you.
It’s a good thing to come to church but it doesn’t end there.
The singular reason why some people cannot preach the gospel is because of their way of life.
Are you one of those who drive people away from the church with your behavior or lifestyle? Check yourself, also, If your life is not preaching the gospel, then you need to return to God for help.
Let your light shine.
Is my light shining? Is your light shining? Are we shining the light or we are just saying it? Are you ever concerned that souls are perishing without receiving Jesus Christ?
If you are concerned, what are you doing? From the day we start creating in churches, evangelical group, prayer group, follow-up group, etc, that is the day evangelism died in the heart of men. We all are supposed to preach the gospel and not leave the task to the evangelism group.
In the same way, you are supposed to pray always and not say I’m not a member of prayer band, so I won’t pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
You are supposed to follow up somebody and you say I’m not a member of follow-up. If you are not a member of any of this group, who are you? Jesus is coming soon.
I’m talking to you, I’m talking to myself. Shine the light. If you work in an office, shine the light in that office.
Let people know you that you are a child of God. If you are in a school, shine the light in that school. Let people know that you are a child of God.
If you are in the marketplace, shine the light in that marketplace. Let people know that you are a child of God.
How is your light shining? In your marriage, is your light shining? In raising up your children, is your light shining? How is my light shining? Are we just Christians in church but not Christians when we move out.
You should shine the light through your character. There’s a saying that men may not even want to read the Scripture but they want to see you act like a Christian.
They want to see you. They want to see your good works (Matthew 5:16). So Shine the light!
