SONGS: Open My Eyes That I May See

CLOSE:

This Little Light Of Mine

TEXT: Matthew 5:14-16

INTRODUCTION:
A. Here in The Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus uses two powerful
metaphors to describe His people.
He calls followers both salt and light. BOTH of these substances are valuable and BOTH are
useful. However, both are vastly different in the way they approach their respective
functions. For instance:
 SALT is hidden— LIGHT is obvious.
 SALT works secretly, while LIGHT works openly.
 SALT works from within—LIGHT from without.
 SALT speaks of the indirect influence of the gospel, while LIGHT pictures its direct
communication.
 SALT is largely negative. It can retard corruption, but it cannot change corruption
into incorruption. LIGHT is more positive. It not only reveals what is wrong and false
but helps produce what is righteous and true.
B. When Jesus called us Salt and Light, He was telling us that we were left in this
world to influence it for the glory of God.
1. We are to be salt to help retard the corruption in this world and we are to be light
to help dispel the confusion we find all around us. Both salt and light are
miracles.
2. Salt is composed of chloride and sodium. Both of these are highly explosive
elements, yet God has combined them in such a manner that they are stable,
edible and valuable.
3. Light is a miracle. Have you ever read a definition of light? Here is how
Webster’s Dictionary defines light:
a. Something that makes vision possible
b. The sensation aroused by stimulation of the visual receptors
c. An electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range including infrared,
visible, ultraviolet, and X rays and traveling in a vacuum with a speed of
about 186,281 miles (300,000 kilometres) per second; specifically: the part of
this range that is visible to the human eye.1
4. Thanks a lot Mr. Webster! While that sounds like a bunch of scientific
gobbledygook, it also sounds like a miracle to me! By the way, the redeemed
child of God is a miracle as well!

1
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/light
 This Little Light Of Mine 2
5. Both salt and light have the ability to alter their world. So does the Christian!
Perhaps that is why Jesus used these common, everyday images to describe His
people and the influence they are to have in the world.
While both of these images speak to what our role should be in this world, I would like to
zero in on the image of God’s children as light in this world. I want to take as my title that
little song the children sing and preach on the thought: This Little Light Of Mine.
I want to show you that God has something to say about when, where and how we are to let
that light shine for Him. I want to point out a few truths from this passage as I try to preach
about This Little Light Of Mine.

I. THE POWER OF THIS LIGHT – VS. 14A

Light is an amazing thing. While it does not have physical properties, it can have a
profound effect on physical objects. Light is basically a wave of energy that can be seen by
the naked eye. Let’s look at a few ways light affects our world.
A. Light Conquers Darkness – Wherever there is the least bit of light, darkness is
forced to flee.
1. You can be in the darkest place imaginable and just a tiny match, when lit, has
the power to drive away all that black, oppressive darkness.
2. NOTE: The same is true in the spiritual realm.
a. The Psalm 119 vs. 130 says, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth
understanding unto the simple.”
b. The Psalmist also said 119 vs. 105, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light
unto my path.”
c. When the light enters, darkness flees! By the way, a godly Christian can
bring rays of light into the darkest of situations!
Thank God for light!
It can save us from making the kind of mistakes we would only make in darkness.
Back in the days before electricity, a tight-fisted old farmer was taking his hired man to task
for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. “Why ya know,” he
exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things, I always went in the
dark.”
“Yes,” the hired man said wryly,” and look at what you got!”
B. Light Colours Drabness – Did you know that colour does not really exist?
Colour is really just a trick of the eye.
1. You see, light is usually perceived as being white, but it is in fact made up of
energy in varying wavelengths
a. These wavelengths comprise all the colours of the spectrum.
b. When light hits an object, that light will either be absorbed or reflected.
c. Now, some objects also scatter light while others refract light. But, for our
study, I want to focus on the ideas of light being absorbed or reflected.
 This Little Light Of Mine 3
2. If an object absorbs all the light that hits it, the object will appear black. If an
object reflects all the light that hits it, the object will appear white.
a. If, for instance, an object absorbs every wavelength except for blue, that
object will appear to be the colour blue.
b. If it absorbs every wavelength in the light but red, it will appear red, and so
on.
c. Do you get the picture? Without light, our world would be dark and it would
be drab. There would be no colour!
3. NOTE: Jesus said that His people were “the light of the world.”
a. Not only should our presence put darkness to flight, it should also cause the
world to be a more colourful and beautiful place.
b. There is nothing like meeting a Christian who is reflecting all the light of the
Saviour.
 That person is a ray of light in a dark place.
 That person is a thing of beauty in a drab world.
 This is what the Bible teaches us that every believer ought to be.
Phil. 1:27 – “Only let your conversation [behaviour as a citizen] be as it becometh the gospel of
Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast
in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”
C. Light Changes Deadness
I read in a sermon that gave an illustration recorded by Dr. Biederwolf, a Presbyterian
evangelist and pastor who died in 1939 and interestingly studied Greek Mythology. Dr.
Biederwolf in a rather old book says, “The ancient Greeks, in their mythology, told of a
goddess who visited earth unseen but whose presence was always known by the blessings
she left behind in her pathway. Trees that were burned by forest fires sprouted new leaves,
and violets sprang up in her footprints. As she passed a stagnant pool its water became fresh,
and parched fields turned green as she walked through them. Hills and valleys blossomed
with new life and beauty wherever she went.”2
1. The ancient Greeks were looking at the beauty of springtime after the deadness
of winter and they were giving their gods credit for the beauty and life they saw
around them.
a. We know that spring breaks forth because God designed it to do so. As the
earth seasonally moves closer to the sun the light that reaches our planet
warms it and is able to bring life out of the deadness of winter!
b. On a smaller scale, exposing a dying plant to the warm, life-giving rays of the
sunlight can often rejuvenate it.

2
https://www.gty.org/resources/print/sermons/2207,
http://www.sermonnotebook.org/new%20testament/Matthew%205_14-16.htm
 This Little Light Of Mine 4
2. NOTE: We know that it was the light of the Gospel of grace that brought life into
our dead souls. Our hearts were warmed by the truth of the Word of God and we
were delivered from death and darkness by His light.
3. As we let our lights shine in in this dark and dead world the same phenomenon
takes place.
a. God uses the light of our witness and testimony to warm the dead sinner’s
heart and to draw them to Jesus for salvation
b. Our light, which is really His light being reflected by us, is a means of
bringing the life of Heaven to the spiritually dead souls on earth.
D. Light Conditions Dreariness
1. How many times have you seen days of gloomy, dreary weather suddenly is
replaced with the gleaming light of the sun?
2. How often have we felt the cold, chilling fingers of winter instantly lose their
grip as the sun brightened the sky overhead? We have all seen dreary days
immediately transformed by the appearance of light.
3. Likewise, this world can be a dreary place and I am NOT referring to the
weather, but to the spiritual climate.
a. I find, however dark, dank and dreary a day may be, when I am exposed to
the light of the people of God I am instantly brightened!
b. There may be a chill in my own soul, but a few minutes around a Brother or
Sister who is shining with the Light of Jesus in their hearts, can cause the
chill to thaw, and can help me to be a little warmer.
c. I thank God for the redeemed children of God! They are like a warm ray of
light in a dreary place!
The CONQUERING power of light over darkness; the ability of light to COLOUR the
drabness of this world; the transforming power of light to CHANGE deadness into life, and
light’s ability to brighten the CONDITION of the dreariness of life—whether it be a day, a
place or the darkness of one’s soul.

All of these are good reasons for letting our lights shine!

II. THE PLACES OF THIS LIGHT – VS. 14b-15

Since this light is so precious and so powerful, where and how are we to let it be seen?
A. There is the Light of an INSTITUTION
1. In the first chapter of the Book of Revelation the Lord Jesus Christ refers to “seven
golden candle sticks.” These He tells us in vs. 20 are seven individual churches.
a. The word rendered “candlesticks” can be understood as a lamp-stand—a
light-bearer—something to bear up a light.
b. The lamp-bearers or candlesticks evidently sustained each a light.
 This Little Light Of Mine 5
c. The light of the candlestick represents Jesus Christ—”I am the light of the
world” (Jn. 8:12) and Christians are “children of light” (Jn. 12:35-36) “the light of
the world” (Mt 5:14).
d. Our church may be represented as a light standing in the midst of
surrounding darkness. If it is removed everyone loses.
2. Rev. 2 tells us that if we leave our “first love” (vs. 4) i.e. our love and devotion to
the Saviour, as when we first were saved He said He would “come unto thee
quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (vs. 5).
a. For a church to have its candlestick removed from its place would mean the
church would cease to be an effective church.
b. In effect, a church that has lost its first love will have their lights could go
out! Jesus Himself would extinguish any light that did not fulfill its purpose.
c. A church is made up of individuals, if the congregation as a whole cools in
its love for Christ, for His passion to see lost souls saved, for the things of
God in general it is in danger of having its effectiveness as a light-bearer to
the surrounding communities to go out.
d. Such an assembly of believer’s needs to repent of its sins before it is too late.
3. Here in Matthew Jesus refers to “a city set on a hill.” A city is not a single light,
but is a collection of many lights.
a. The cities in the day that our Lord lived were often constructed out of white
limestone.
b. Imagine a limestone city sitting on top of a hill.
1) The sun rises and reflects off that city. It could be seen for miles in the
daytime. It could not be hidden, if it tried!
2) When night falls, the moon would also light that city. Even if there was
no moon to shine upon it, the lights of the city and in the windows of the
houses could be seen for many miles around. It would not be concealed
by darkness of night.
4. NOTE: The image of “a city set on a hill” speaks of us letting our lights shine as
a community of faith.
a. It speaks of the influence of the church in the world around us.
b. As a church we let our light shine by our Gospel, our standards, our style of
worship and by the doctrines we stand for.
5. You can tell most everything you need to know about a church by the preaching
of its ministers; the Bible they use; the songs they sing and the activities they
engage in.
a. Like a city set on a hill we cannot be hidden!
b. We either declare our stand for Jesus and we testify to His saving grace and
power; or we take our stand with the world. It cannot be both ways!
 This Little Light Of Mine 6
6. River Valley Baptist Church is to be a city set on a hill here in Maynooth.
a. We are to be a vocal, visible, vibrant witness for the Lord Jesus Christ in the
midst of the gathering darkness of this town, this area, and this country.
b. God did not establish this church so that we could drift away from Him and
do our own thing.
c. He established this church to be a light for Him in the darkness of this place.
Are we fulfilling our mission?
B. There is the Light of an Institution and There is Light of an INDIVIDUAL
1. Jesus speaks of the light or the illuminator of the candlestick or lampstand.
a. The word translated “candlestick” refers to the ability of ancient oil lamps
illuminate the darkness.
b. These lampstands were usually clay containers filled with olive oil in which
was placed a piece of twisted flax to serve as a wick.
c. Since there was no electricity an oil lamp was necessary for the occupants to
be able to see.
1) But, no one lit a lamp and then hid it under a basket. To do so would
have been foolish!
2) The lamp was lit so that the people in the house could receive the light
and see other objects and people in the room.
2. NOTE: These verses in Matthew 5 are speaking about the power of the
individual believer’s witness.
a. Just as a church has a testimony, so do you!
b. Jesus saved us to be a light for Him. As He shines His light through us, those
around us who are in darkness are helped to see their way to God.
3. So many people think they have fulfilled their calling to be a witness when they
head off to the church house.
a. Friend, when you come in here, it is to worship our great God and to be
equipped to go out there.
b. When you step through the doors to leave this assembly you are entering the
mission field! We are to go out from this place into a dark, dead, deceived
and doomed world and we are to tell them about a Saviour Who loves them
and will save them if they will come to Him by faith.
1) Our mandate is Mark 16:15 – “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
2) Our mission is Acts 1:8 – “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
 This Little Light Of Mine 7
You who profess to the children of the One who is light,
are you, as an individual, fulfilling God’s call to be a light for Him?

4. Did you notice that Jesus spoke of some people who hid their candle under a
bushel? People hide their light under all kinds of bushels
a. Some hide theirs under the BUSHEL OF FEAR,
Remember Joseph of Arimethaea? We read in John 19:38 – “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea,
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away
the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.”
A young man who became a Christian got a job at lumber camp to work during the summer
in Northwest of the US. His pastor became concerned about him because he knew it would
be a difficult situation to be a Christian, to be a LIGHT for the Lord. So after the summer was
over and the you man returned the pastor said to him, “Son, I want you to know I knew you
had just been saved and I knew it was going to be difficult on you among those rough men,
so I prayed for you while you were working this summer at the lumber camp; I was praying
that they wouldn’t make it too hard on you.” And the young man said, “Oh no, Preacher,
you didn’t have to worry. I didn’t have it hard at the lumber camp”. He said, “Why you
know, in fact, Preacher, none of those fellows ever found out I was a Christian.”
b. Others are hiding their light under the BUSHEL OF APATHY.
1) Such folk don’t seem to care that a lost world is going to Hell around
them. What a tragic shape for a Christian to find themselves in!
2) We need to have the heart the Rich Man in Hell in Luke 16:19-31 who
pleaded with Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to plead
with his five brothers not to come to such a place of torment.
3) We ought to be consumed with the idea that people are dying without
Jesus everyday!
4) They are perishing and we hold in our hands that antidote!
If we really cared, we would tell them about Him!
5. Don’t hide your light under a bushel!
1) If you do then one of two things is going to happen.
2) Either the basket will extinguish the candle, or the candle will consume
the bushel!
3) When Jesus is really in your life, you will have a difficult time hiding His
light.
A Hindu trader in India once asked a missionary, “What do you put on your face to make it
shine?” With surprise the man of God answered, “I don’t put anything on it!” His questioner
began to lose patience and said emphatically, “Yes, you do! All of you who believe in Jesus
seem to have it. I’ve seen it in the towns of Agra and Surat, and even in the city of Bombay.”
Suddenly the Christian understood, and his face glowed even more as he said; “Now I know
what you mean, and I will tell you the secret. It’s not something we put on from the outside
but something that comes from within. It’s the reflection of the light of God in our hearts.”
 This Little Light Of Mine 8
But, when He isn’t in your heart, you will have no trouble hiding your own light under any
bushel you may choose.
6. By the way, in Luke 8:16, Jesus adds this phrase, “No man, when he hath lighted a
candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed;”
a. The bushel speaks of the world of labour; the bed speaks of the world of
leisure.
b. Jesus seems to be saying that some people are too busy to let their lights
shine and others are too lazy.

I wonder if either of those speaks to your heart!

III. THE PURPOSE OF THIS LIGHT – VS. 16

Jesus tells us of the two-fold purpose of this light He has placed within our hearts.
A. It Is A Witness To The Lost
1. When lost people see the light of Jesus shining through the lives of the redeemed
ones, they will take notice.
2. Now, we all have works, but Jesus here mentioned “good works.”
What are good works?
a. Good works are works motivated by love, carried out in the power of the
Holy Spirit, and performed for the glory of God.
b. In other words, good works are works produced in us and through us by
Jesus Christ Himself.
c. Paul said in Gal. 2:20 – “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” To put it another way, ‘as
I yield to Jesus and He lives His life through me, I prove to the world that my
profession of faith is real.’
d. James 2:18 – “Yea, a man may say, ‘Thou hast faith, and I have works:’ shew me thy
faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
e. Let us turn and READ Eph. 2:1-10 to see that Jesus Christ really does possess
the power to transform a broken life into a thing of immense beauty!
B. It Is A Witness To The Lord
1. There is no greater witness than a born again believer, reflecting the light of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
a. There is no more powerful testimony than a life, which displays the proof of
His presence through the fruit of the Spirit. Gal. 5:22-23 –reads “But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23]
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
 This Little Light Of Mine 9
b. This truth is seen in the witness of the Gadarene Demoniac in Mark 5:1-20;
who ran around naked and cutting himself, BUT who when confronted with
Jesus was found clothed and sitting at His feet in his right mind.
c. This truth is seen in the witness of the woman at the well in John 4:39 by
whom “many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the
woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.”
d. As a lost world sees the difference Jesus makes in His children God is
honoured and glorified.
2. Just as light does not exist to call attention to itself, but to draw attention to the
things it illuminates; our witness does not magnify what we have done.
a. Our testimony is about a great God Who loved us and saved us when we
deserved damnation instead!
b. Our purpose is not to make people look at what we do and say – “Man, what
a great Christian he or she is!” No! We want them to see us and say, “They
must serve a great God! I’d like to know Him too!”

CONCLUSION:
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921, told the
story of being in a barbershop one time:
“I was sitting in a barber chair when I became aware that a powerful personality had entered the
room. A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself to have his hair cut and sat in the
chair next to me. Every word the man uttered, though it was not in the least didactic [instructive],
showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him. And before I got through with what was
being done to me I was aware I had attended an evangelistic service, because Mr. D.L. Moody was in
that chair. I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular affect that his visit
had brought upon the barbershop. They talked in undertones. They did not know his name, but they
knew something had elevated their thoughts, and I felt that I left that place as I should have left a place
of worship.” (John MacArthur, Matthew, p. 236)
That is the kind of Christian God desires us all to be! If you were to be very honest today,
would you have to confess that your light wasn’t as bright as it should be? Maybe your heart
is like those old kerosene lamps that you read about or seen used in some old movie. They
would get soot on the inside of the glass the light just couldn’t shine through like it was
supposed to. But, when one cleaned up the inside, the light came shinning through again.
Has God spoken to you about your own testimony? Are you a light for Jesus? Could you be
doing better? Are you sure you are saved? Do you have lost loved ones or friends on your
heart right now that you want to bring to the Lord in prayer? Whatever the need, respond to
Him and let Him have His perfect way in your life!
What are you going to do with your light? Here’s what I intend to do with mine:
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Won’t let Satan blow it out.
I’m gonna let it shine.
 This Little Light Of Mine 10
Won’t let Satan blow it out.
I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Let it shine til Jesus comes.
I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine til Jesus comes.
I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel - NO!
I’m gonna let it shine.
Hide it under a bushel - NO!
I’m gonna let it shine, Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Let it shine over the whole wide world,
I’m gonna let it shine.
Let it shine over the whole wide world,
I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
http://www.hymns.me.uk/this-little-light-of-mine-favorite-hymn.htm

17 Mar. `13, Morn – River Valley BC – Leixlip, Co. Kildare