Last time we started the topic on believers being the light of the world and we discovered that we are light and that we have no choice in it. Let's continue.
“A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a
lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives
light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14b, 15).
Imagine a massive city on
top of a hill, seen by all who pass. A large city in Jesus’ time probably had
sufficient lights in the windows to make quite an impression.
Many
Christians keep low profiles when it comes to witnessing. Once Jesus’ light is
living in us through the Holy Spirit, it cannot be hidden.
Those
outside Christ cannot miss the fact that we are emitting something. However,
they do not know what they see unless we tell them. The man who approached
Reinhardt Bonnke was probably a Christian, because he knew what he saw.
We set a
lamp on a stand in order to make light for all in the room. It is our Christian
duty to bring the Light of the Holy Spirit to the world so that they will be
able to see through the darkness in their lives. If you are camping with your
family and one of the children needs to go to the bathroom after dark, would
you send her without a flashlight? Instead, we would get a flashlight and walk
with her because we love her and don’t want anything to happen to her.
Why then do we not allow those of the
world to experience the light of the Holy Spirit in their darkness? Is it
because we don’t love them enough? Maybe we are selfish and want to avoid
involvement.
If we are
passive, not allowing the world or even other Christians to understand the
light we have, are we self-centered and careless? How do we bring light to the
darkness in their lives? We do it by allowing them to identify with the
darkness that we used to have and then let them understand how the Light of the
World removed our darkness. “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I
am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but
will have the light of life’” (John 8:12).
The Holy
Spirit gives new revelation to Christians daily. Usually those who are walking
closely with the Lord receive His revelation light. We are not meant to hide
this light but to share it with the others in our lives. We should make good
use of every opportunity to teach one another, for revelation knowledge brings
faith. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is
heard through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The written Word (logos),
made alive by revelation from Christ (rhema), through the Holy Spirit, creates
faith.
Pastors have a responsibility to
recognize opportunities for their members to share their light with the
congregation. While this may occur more frequently in home or cell meetings,
the pastor needs to allow his members to make it available to the whole
congregation. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and
admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16a).
Paul spells out the purpose of the
five-fold ministry in Ephesians 4:11-14: “It was he who gave some to be
apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors
and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the
knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure
of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and
forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by
the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”
The
ministers’ job is to identify the gifts within the congregation and create
opportunity for the development of those gifts in each individual. Say, for
instance, the church leadership identifies a few immature people gifted as teachers. The mature
teachers should take an interest in these people and equip them with knowledge.
Once the new teachers are ready, the leadership could guide them in preparing
sermons and then let them teach. The same could happen with the other gifts
such as encouragement, leadership, mercy, etc. as per Romans 12:4-8. In this way, the church obeys
the command to equip the saints for ministry, and everybody has the opportunity
to let their light shine. It prepares the way for church growth, since the Lord
sees that there are enough equipped workers to handle the growth. To be continued.For children and adults who are prepared to learn in a childlike way. For more information see http://t-a-c.co.za
No comments:
Post a Comment