Text: Matthew 5:14-16
You are the light of the world a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do man light a lamp and put it under a bowl or a peck measure, but on a lampstand and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (AMP)

How many of you have ever studied Christology? It's a deep study because it's the life of Christ. This study should prick you, it should convict you, and it should make some impact on you. Some may rejoice, some may cry, and some may be untouched. I do know that when you live the Christ like life you will touch somebody's life. You cannot have that life in you and not touch someone next to you. This is why in Matthew it says, "you are the light of the world" because the light in your life should be shining on others and making an affect.

Light cannot be corrupted because its essence is pure. It always has the same effect and that is it illuminates the place where it shines. As children of the light we should all have the same effect upon this dark and wicked world. We are call to be a beacon of light to those that are living in darkness.

The summarization of all light exist in the life of Christ, therefore he speaks to us in his word:

Isa 60:1
"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. (NIV)

What the scripture is saying is that the glory of the Lord is associated with the light of the Lord. All the glory you see in God shines forth from his light and his light comes out of his presence and his presence comes out of his life. If God was not living, there would be no presence, therefore there would be no light, therefore there would be no glory. But, since Christ is in you, the presence of God is in you, the light of God is in you and the glory of God is in you. So that makes you the light of the world.

Note: The statement is clear in this passage of scripture; the light that rises upon you from the Lord is associated with the glory of God. Because God is light and in him there is no darkness.

1. God separated the darkness from the light in the book of Genesis
Gen 1:1-4
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Darkness can never dwell with light and when God said, "let the light be" in the original Hebrew it means "be light". God did not create light, because He is light. God does not create something that he already is. We've heard before, God created the heavens and then He created the light but God did not create light because he is light, just like He did create holiness because he is holy, and He did create love because he is love. He simply spoke forth the light and it manifested because of the spoken word.

Just as God separated the light from the darkness he tells us to separate ourselves from the world. He says,

2. God separated us from the world and called us to live a holy life. To be holy is to live in the light.
2 Tim 1:8-9
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life-- not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,

He calls us to separate ourselves from the world.
2 Cor 6:17
"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

Note: Everything that contaminates the flesh and the spirit he says, separate yourself from that.

We are called by his own glory and goodness
2 Pet 1:3
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (NIV)

You were called by glory and goodness. When Jesus Christ died on the cross it was glory and goodness that came out of that cross that called you. The Lord revealed something to Isaiah the prophet.

Isa 6:1
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. The glory of God filled the temple, the bible says that the temple was filled with smoke and this is what Isaiah saw when he looked into the heaven and God opened his eyes, he saw the manifestation of God. And he was so overcome.

Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and the train of his robe fill the temple
· He saw the person of God and in seeing the person he saw [the grace of God]
· He saw the presence of God and in seeing the presence he saw [the glory of God]
· He saw the power of God and in seeing the power he saw [the greatness of God]

You are a child of grace and that's [Sufficient]
You are a child of glory and that's [Satisfying]
You are a child of greatness and that's [Stimulating]

Jesus said that he is the light of the world
John 8:12
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." (NIV)

This statement I believe is one of the greatest proclamation to mankind because from the time of Adam to the coming of Jesus man was living in darkness. But God has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light to show forth the praises of our God.

Note: It is imperative to walk with Jesus if we are to consist in the light; apart from him there is no illumination of heavenly wisdom, knowledge and understanding. But the verdict is this, light has come into the world but the darkness has not understood it.

Isa. 60:2
For behold darkness shall cover the earth and dense darkness all people. But the Lord shall rise upon you.

If you are in a dark situation, don't worry about it, the bible says that the light will rise upon you and the glory of the Lord shall shine around you. [The glory of the Lord is your vanguard]. You are the child of the light. I have to emphasize that; we are the light of the world. God has placed us upon a hill and compared us to a city. He said, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. If you try to hide your light you're only going to hurt yourself. God called us to be a beacon of light upon a hill, to shine forth into the darkness. The devil can't understand who we are. The world cannot see who we are. And I'm afraid to say, that even some Christians don't know who they are.

The light of God's glory is the very reflection of his divine presence
Ps 89:15
Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. (NIV)

Again, we see the light coming from his presence and we see the presence of God comes from his life.

In the time when God delivered his people from Egypt God send a plague of darkness over the face of the land so that no one was able to see, but the Israelites {the people of God} had light.

Exod 10:21-23
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt-- darkness that can be felt."
22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days.
23 No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. (NIV)

The Greek word for light
5457 phos foce}
to shine or make manifest, especially by
light 1a1) emitted by a lamp 1a2) a heavenly light such as surrounds angels when they
appear on earth 1b) anything emitting light 1b1) a star 1b2) fire because it is light and sheds light 1b3) a lamp or torch
2a) God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality
2b) of truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it
2c) that which is exposed to the view of all, openly, publicly 2d) reason, mind
2d1) the power of understanding esp. moral and spiritual truth For Synonyms see entry

Here in Jn 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men, we see that the spectrum of the light of God comes from the life of God. So the light of God is equal with the life of God. This is consistent and agrees with, Philippians 2:6 which says, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, (NIV) This verse clearly shows that Christ who is equal with God is the life of God, then God who is Christ is the light of life in every man.

The reason the world does not want be associated with the children of light is because the light (which is the truth) exposes their evil deeds. That is why it's very important for us as Christians to be an example in every thing we do.

John 3:19-20
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, (hates the children of God) and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

GOD DOES NOT WIN THE WORLD THROUGH POPULAR OPINION BUT THROUGH HOLY GHOST CONVICTION

We are God's agent of light in the world and therefore he tells us: "go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. So we need to be {GOD LIKE--MISSION MINDED-- EVANGELICAL-- PROPHETIC PREACHER TEACHERS}

THE PHYSIC OF LIGHT
Physics now tell us that light is more complex than the physical eye can see.
Light 100% The spectrum of light what we see 3%
The electro magnetic waves [ If God readjusted our eyes ]

Rays of light
A ray of light traveling from the sun at about 186,282 miles per second takes about 8 minutes 19 seconds to reach the Earth. Light from those other suns, the stars, takes much longer to reach the Earth. Light from the next nearest star, Alpha Centauri, takes more than four years to arrive, and light from the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, takes many thousands of years. Because the sun is so near, it seems much larger than the other stars. They are visible on Earth only as bright points, even when viewed with the most powerful telescopes. (Matthew Henry Commentary)

MEASURING LIGHT
The clarity with which an object can be seen depends in part on the amount of light that falls on it, on how well it is illuminated. The amount of light that a light source gives off (called its intensity) is one factor in determining how well a surface will be illuminated by it. (Comptoms Interactive Encyclopedia)

John the Baptist was not the light himself, But he was a witness of the light
John 1:6-8
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

Light sources are necessary for vision. An object can be seen only if light travels from the object to an eye that can sense it. When the object is itself a light source, it is called luminous. Electric lights are luminous.

LIGHT AND MATTER

Transparent substances
a. The way substances look depends greatly on what happens when light hits them. It is possible to see through transparent substances more or less clearly because light can pass through them without being scattered or stopped. Light that bounces off the objects behind a transparent substance can pass right through it almost as if it were not in the way. Clear window glass and clean water are transparent.

Cloudy substances
b. Only the surfaces of cloudy substances are visible. Light cannot pass through them, and it is not possible to see through them. Murky substances either absorb or reflect light. The light energy they absorb usually turns into heat and raises their temperature. Mercury, steel, and wood are examples of cloudy substances.

Translucent substances
c. Translucent substances permit some light to pass through them, but the light is scattered, and the images of objects behind them are not retained. Usually, if translucent substances are made thinner they become transparent; if they are made thicker they become opaque. Frosted light bulbs, waxed paper, and some kinds of curtain materials are translucent.

We are call to be the radiance of God's glory
Christians are faced with the greatest challenge of their walk, and that is to be the exact representation of God's being. Jesus is the expressed image of his Father's glory, so we must be the exact representation of the person of Christ.

Heb 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (NIV)

We are called to be a testimony of the light
John 1:7
He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.

John's witness of Jesus is that he is the true light
John 1:9
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. (NIV)

Our life and our deeds are exposed to the light
John 3:21
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (NIV)

The Christian is a lamp that gives out light so that others can enjoy
John 5:35
John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.

Jesus clearly testifies of himself that he is the light of the world
John 8:12
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." (NIV)

As long as Jesus is in the world through us he remains the light of the world
John 9:5
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (NIV)

He who does not have the light will stumble
John 11:10
It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light." (NIV)

The light will not be in this world much longer
John 12:35
Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. (NIV)

THE HEAVENLY ANTHEM FOR CHRISTIANS (Tune of our National Anthem)
Christian can you see
That the world is in the dark
Souls are blinded by sin
But the light we all must be
Through the bright and morning star
Through the cross and its shame
That the blood has prevailed
And the devil we defeat
Though we go through many wars
Tribulations and pain
Stay strong in the Lord
For our Father He Reigns
So be the light of God's love and grace
For his Son is King of kings
And the Lord of all lords
By Jeremias Antonetty

In conclusion
The light of reason, as well as the life of sense, is derived from him, and depends upon him. This eternal Word, this true Light shines, but the darkness comprehends it not. Let us pray without ceasing, that our eyes may be opened to behold this Light that we may walk in it; and thus be made wise unto salvation, by faith in Jesus Christ. [Matthew Henry]

Our world is covered by darkness, they are blinded by the "god of this world", unable to see their destiny, but we as children of the light have the responsibility to shine our light on them that they may see, truth.....HIS NAME IS JESUS.