Sharing the Light of the Gospel

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." 

NKJV

Yesterday was Christmas, the day we set aside to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, the one who said He was the light of the world (John8:12).  In Matthew 5:14 Jesus also told his followers that they were the light of the world.  Jesus went on to tell them that they were not to hide the light of Christ that dwells in their hearts but to let that light shine just as someone would set their light on a lampstand on a hill for all to see. 

Each year during Christmas, my church has a candlelight service.  During this service, we turn off all of the lights in the sanctuary and light the sanctuary with one candle.  It is amazing how the light of just this one candle is able to light the sanctuary.  The ushers then light their candles from the one candle and then spread that light to everyone else’s candle in the sanctuary.  Once everyone’s candle is lit, it is amazing how well lit the sanctuary is.

Jesus wants everyone that follows him to not keep the light of the world that has been ignited in their hearts when they accepted Jesus Christ as their savior hidden but instead to light up this dark world by sharing that light with everyone else.  In order to effectively share this light we must,

1)      Eliminate fear – Fear is not from God (2 Timothy1:7) so when we feel fear, we must understand it is from the enemy, Satan.  Fear is a weapon used by the enemy to paralyze us, preventing us from fulfilling God’s plan for our lives.  When it comes to sharing the light of the Gospel, Satan uses fear of physical harm, fear of rejection, and fear of the loss of relationships in an effort to prevent us from sharing Christ with those God places in our path.  We must understand that God places individuals in our path for us to bring them the light of the Gospel.  We must remember that if they harm us, reject us, or choose not to be our friend, they are not harming, rejecting, or abandoning us but our Lord (Luke 10:16).  We also must understand that no matter what occurs, Jesus will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5).

2)      Be empowered by the Holy Spirit – Before ascending to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus commanded his followers to go to Jerusalem and be “endued with power from on high” (Luke24:49).  Jesus knew that after leaving, His followers would suffer great persecution.  Many would be martyred for their faith.  (1)  Christians in the early church also suffered social and economic persecution.  (2)  However, in spite of this intense persecution, the early church thrived and as Acts 17:6 records, they turned the world upside down.  Had it not been for the empowering of the Holy Spirit in the early church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), the church would have no doubt remained paralyzed with fear and been ineffective. 

3)      Pray without ceasing – The darkness of this world does not want the light of Gospel for it exposes their sin (Ephesians5:11).  The light of Jesus Christ that dwells in our hearts is therefore at odds with the darkness of the secular world.  This, like it or not, places us in the middle of a great spiritual battle and is why we must continually be in communication through prayer with our Heavenly Father, the source of all light. 

4)      Learn and live according to the Bible, the Word of God – The Word of God is a light that illuminates our path (Psalm 119:105) and also our sword (Ephesians 6:17).  Therefore, armed with the Word of God we can not only see where we are going but also have our weapon with which to fight the enemy. 

Anyone in the least bit aware of what is occurring in the world today must admit that we live in a dark place.  We live in a world dominated by political corruption, the fear of terrorism, and fear of economic collapse.  Those professing a belief in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior also face increased persecution for their faith.  In many parts of the world, this persecution manifests itself in physical harm and martyrdom.  In other parts of the world, this persecution manifests itself in social and economic rejection.  However, just as the early church thrived in the middle of this persecution, the church today can also thrive, as it stands courageously, filled with the Holy Spirit, praying without ceasing, and allowing the light of the Word of God to illuminate the path ahead while using the Word of God as a sword to defeat the enemy.  

Will you join me this year by beginning to share the illuminating light of the Gospel in our dark world?

1. ReligionFacts. Persecution in the Early Church. www.religionfacts.com. [Online] ReligionFacts. [Cited: December 20, 2015.] www.religionfacts.com/persecution-of-early-church.

2. Christian Heritage Fellowship. Persecution of the Early Christian Church. christianheritagefellowship.com. [Online] Christian Heritage Fellowship. [Cited: December 20, 2015.] christianheritagefellowship.com/persecution-of-the-church-by-imperial-rome/.