Light in Darkness

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning. Welcome to Outcare Let's Pray Ministries. I am your host, CBC. As always, I'm so grateful that you all tuned in this morning. I hope you all got your cup of coffee, your energy drink ready to take on today, full head on, ready to stomp on the devil's head, ready to conquer the world today, because we are victorious, we are overcomers, and we got this, all right? Today's gonna be a good day. We're gonna decree and declare in advance the devil is a lie. Today's gonna be a good day, and we bless God for it, amen. And I want you to know today, our devotional text today is going to be light in the darkness, amen. That's what we're gonna talk about today. And you know, as always, I'm grateful that you all are here. But our scripture text will be coming from Matthew 5 and 16, which reads as thus Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven, amen. May the Lord have a blessing to the hearing and the reading and the doing of his word. I want you to know God sees every act of faithfulness, nothing done for him is ever wasted. I want you to know that God sees every act of faithfulness. Nothing you do for God is ever wasted. Your serving is not in vain, your preaching is not in vain, your singing is not in vain, your gifts and talents that you use in the house of the Lord are in your community is not in vain. The scripture just said, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven, right? When Jesus spoke these words, he wasn't telling us to seek attention, he wasn't telling us to build our reputation, he was telling us to make ourselves the center. He wasn't telling us to make ourselves the center of attention, he was reminding us that our lives can become reflections of his goodness. Amen. Think about a light for a moment. A light doesn't draw attention to itself, a light helps people see what they could not see before. And that's what God desires to do through us, right? Not so people will admire us, but so they'll see him. What's interesting is that light shines brightest when it's surrounded by darkness. And maybe that's why some of the most powerful opportunities to reflect Jesus Christ happen during difficult seasons, right? When everyone else is angry, choosing kindness shines brighter, right? When everyone else is hopeless, choosing faith shines brighter. When everyone else is turning people down, choosing encouragement shines brightly, right? When life is hard and you still trust God, that shines brightly. You don't have to have a platform to be a light. You don't have to have thousands of followers, you don't have to have the perfect words. You simply have to let God's love flow through your everyday life. The truth is many people are carrying burdens that you cannot see. The cashier who serves you, the co-worker sitting right beside you, the neighbor across the street, the friend who's saying everything is fine and always gonna be fine. I'm doing all right. The family member who hasn't told anyone that they're struggling, right? People are often fighting battles quietly. And sometimes a small act of kindness becomes the reminder they need it to keep going, right? Let me say that again. And sometimes a small act of kindness becomes the reminder they need it to keep going. That's why your life matters, that's why your words matter, that's why your attitude matters, not because you're trying to be perfect, but because God can use ordinary moments to accomplish extraordinary things. Maybe today you're thinking, but I don't feel very bright right now. Maybe you're tired, maybe you're grieving, maybe you're walking through uncertainty, maybe your own heart needs encouragement. But I want to remind you of this. The source of the light is not you, the source is God. You don't have to manufacture it, you don't have to force it, you simply just need to stay connected to Him through His Word, through prayer, through worship. Amen. Even on the days when you feel weak, even on the days when you don't feel enough, even on the days when you're wondering if you're making any difference at all, because God's strength has always been greater than our limitations. And oftentimes the people he uses most powerfully are the ones who simply keep showing up, trusting him one day at a time. Amen. I want you to know simply, we're gonna reflect on a couple of questions. How can I shine God's light today? Not next month, not next year, but today. Who needs encouragement? Who needs kindness? Who needs to see God's love through my actions, right? Ask God to draw people to you so they can see the light in you, amen. And also ask yourself this question What areas of my own life need to have light bestowed upon it, right? There are places where God is inviting us to grow, but in order for us to grow, we have to invite God into our darkness and say, God, expose the darkness, take out the darkness so I can walk in your marvelous light, right? We have to focus on being the light, hearing from the light, receiving the light, and spreading the light. Amen. Let us go to the Lord in prayer. Honey Father, in mighty name of Jesus, God, we glorify you on this magnificent day. Honey Father, we thank you for being our light. We thank you, oh God, for being our shield. We thank you, oh God, for being our comforter. Honey, we thank you for our life in general. God, you have been faithful, you have been good, and you have been merciful, and your love has never failed us yet. And we thank you for that, oh God. Honey Father, let your light shine in ways that point others to you, oh God. I pray. Not for our own recognition, oh God, not for our own praise, but so that people may see your goodness through our lives, oh God. Remove anything that dims our witness, oh God. Anything that distracts us from reflecting your heart. Help us live with kindness when kindness is difficult. Help us choose grace when grace is needed. Help us speak life with love and walk in obedience to your word. For the person listening today, oh God, who feels unseen, remind them that you see every act of their faithfulness. For the one who feels weary, strengthen them, oh God. For the one who feels discouraged, oh God, encourage them. For the one who wonders if they're making a difference, remind them, oh God, that you often work through the smallest acts of obedience. Use our words, our actions, oh God, I pray. Use our attitudes to bring hope to those around us. Let your love shine through us wherever we go, O God, and may everything we do bring glory to your holy name. We thank you in advance for your presence. We thank you in advance for your glory, and we thank you in advance for being the light. It is in your darling Son Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. Amen, amen, amen. And before we close, I want to leave you with this though. You may never know all the lies your kindness has touched. You may never hear every story connected to the prayers you pray. You may never fully see how God has used your faithfulness, but heaven sees, God sees, and he is able to use even the smallest light to brighten someone's darkest day. So keep on loving, keep on encouraging, keep on praying, keep on trusting and fasting and shining because someone may find hope today simply because God chooses to let his light shine through you. This is our care let's pray. Ministries, have a blessed day, smile, rejoice, and know that everything is going to be all right.