How would you describe our current world, its moral condition? Would you say we are enlightened? That we are wiser than previous generations? What would you describe about our moral character? Immoral? Moral? Upright? I view it sadly more like a sewer. We live in a wicked, wicked, sinful world. It reminds one of the description that God gave prior to his judgment upon the earth in the time of Noah, where he described it as the thoughts and intents of their hearts was only evil continually. that somewhat describes, in my mind, our culture and our world today. Not just in one nation, but literally around the world, nation after nation after nation, caught in the grips of sin. Now, amid this confusing wickedness and declining culture stands the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus told his disciples that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. And boy, it sure seems like we're facing the gates of hell, doesn't it? But Jesus promised that the church would prevail. And the church still stands in spite of all of the assaults against it down through the centuries. From the devil and all of his fallen angels attacking the church, using governments as part of the the attacks against the church, the church still stands. And the church still exists in our world today. Does the church have problems? Oh yes, we do. Is the church in somewhat of a decayed spiritual condition? In my judgment, yes. Some people think that the church today is the best it's ever been in history. I don't agree with that conclusion. I think there are many good things going on in the Church of Jesus Christ today. But I also observe some very pressing sin and decay within the body of Christ. Well, how does the Christian Church behave in the world today? What is our responsibility as the Church of Jesus Christ? And how about us as individual believers? What responsibilities do we have in the world and culture in which we live? Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Does the Bible give us any direction for the church and culture? Does it give any direction for individual believers, how we should live within our culture? And today a favorite question is, well, what did Jesus say? Did Jesus say anything about it? Did Jesus give any direction for the church? Did he give any direction for individual believers how we should live in a declining and decaying culture? Thankfully today, I can assure you, the Bible does speak to this question. And yes, Jesus did speak to it as well. And the Bible records his message to believers, to the Church of Jesus Christ, how we should live in our present day. The fullest description we find in scripture of the Lord Jesus giving teaching to his disciples how to live in this world, we find recorded in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew contains the greatest portion of it, It's actually three chapters in Matthew, Matthew chapter five, six, and seven. Jesus gave this message at a early point in his ministry on earth. He had just performed numerous miracles. He had called out his 12 disciples, sometimes called the 12 apostles. He had identified them by name and they followed him as his group of people that he taught on a regular basis. the Sermon on the Mount was given, it says in Matthew chapter 5, he called his disciples unto him. Now there is disagreement as to whether it was just the 12 disciples or whether it was a broader based crowd of disciples who were followers of as well, not as sincere and close followers as the 12 apostles, but followers nonetheless, so that they were called disciples. So we don't know the size of the crowd, but we know at least it was the 12 disciples. And this message, he gave his manifesto, his description of how he intended for his disciples, his followers, to live in this present world, in a world in which they lived how they should then live. And I want us to take a glimpse today at just three verses from that grand message. It's Matthew chapter 5, verses 14, 15, and 16. And they give us a description of Jesus' direction to his disciples, how he expected them to live in the world where they lived, in the culture where they lived. Here's what the verses say. Ye are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. This is an example of one of Christ's parabolic sayings. Not exactly a parable, more of a saying than a true parable. These were not legends of Israel. These were not stories. these were things that Jesus created on the spot as pictures describing the message, the teaching that Jesus wanted his audience to understand and hear at the time. So this parabolic saying was one that Jesus developed right on the spot while he was giving his message. And this one is about light. And notice at the very beginning it says, ye are the light of the world. Notice who he did not include in that statement. He did not include Aristotle. He did not include Plato. He did not include Gamaliel. He did not include the other teachers of the law that were famous in Israel's history like Hillel, Nor did he include the current day of their times, the teachers of the law, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, didn't include any of those. He excluded them and exclusively pointed out his disciples and said, you are the light of the world. And that word there translated ye or you in our present language, literally means you and you alone, nobody else, exclusively you. You and you alone are the light of the world. And it's a plural word so that it can have both application to an individual or a group of individuals like a church or a congregation of believers. And the picture we'll see in a moment does include the greater picture of a congregation. The followers of Christ, the disciples of Christ, the true believers, they are the light of the world. The disciples, Jesus said, you and you alone are the light of the world. And then it says are. It's not you should be. It's not you could be. It's not you ought to be or you might be or maybe you will. It says you are. It's a statement of current existing condition, not something yet to be developed, not something that maybe could happen at some point in the future. No, it's now. It is a statement of their true condition at that moment. He said, you are the light of the world. So his disciples were to function then as light in their world. Function like light. What does light do? Well, light overcomes darkness. Darkness does not comprehend light and prevent it. Light overcomes darkness. It illuminates. It gives direction. It shows the pathway that we should follow. It identifies pitfalls and dangers. And it gives assurance and it gives clarity to the circumstances in which it shines. Jesus said, that's you, disciples. You are light in the world. You will shine and function as lights in a world in need of light. And that is the next one we see, verse 14. It says, you are the light of the world. They were not to come out of the world. The disciples were not to become a little cloister. They were not to set aside they and they alone, but they would exist in the world, not of the world, not like the world, but in the world as lights. And notice in that statement, an inkling as to what Jesus thought about the world. It's a world that needs light. It's a dark world. It's a sinful world. It's a wicked world. The Jews of that day thought their world They patted themselves on their backs constantly about how righteous and religious and good they were and how much they obeyed the law and how wonderful they were as followers of God. Jesus said, it needs light. It's a dark world. It needs the light of the disciples to shine, to overcome the darkness of the world. They were to be unlike the world around them. They were to be different from the world about them. They would be an alternative to the existing culture in which they lived. They would be different. They would be light in darkness. The darkness around them, they would stand and shine as light in the world, but not of the world. they would have an impact upon their world by shining as lights. We notice an interesting picture then as he's describing the light. It says in verse 14, it says, you're the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Well now, I think it'd be rather clear to us that an individual cannot be a city. A city has to be more than one person. It has to be probably more than two or three. A city is a collection of a whole lot of people. giving to us a hint from Jesus of the future that he was leading and pointing out to them that there would come time when there would be a city. There would be many people gathered together as lights, a kind of a forepicture of the coming church that we see later on in the New Testament described for us. He said, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Why? Because of all the light. The city has an abundance of light. And it can't be hid. It's obvious, it shines in the darkness. And Jesus was pointing out to his disciples that you will become like that city. You will be like a city. Set on a hill, can't be hid. It will shine all about, the world about it. And it will overcome the darkness. and you will be like a city that is set on a hill, can't be hid, observed by people all around, overcoming the darkness around it. And then he goes from the picture of the city to the picture of a candle, one little light, lest you think you can absolve yourself of any responsibility as an individual. Here's where it comes to you and to me as individuals, a candle. Now in times of that day, they had interesting candles. They weren't like a stick candle, although they did have those. They also had like a pot that had a neck on it, and down connected to it was a little reservoir where you could put oil, olive oil usually, and you'd put a wick down through the nozzle, down into the pot where the reservoir of oil was, and you'd light it, and it would give light. And he says, don't hide the candle. Don't put a bushel over it. Don't hide it under a bed. Put it in a prominent place. Set that candle up so that it will give light unto everything about it. Although not as bright as a city on a hill, yet similar in its performance. One light giving light to the whole room and to the house. Put it in a prominent place. Set it up so that it will disseminate its light throughout the surroundings. Gives light to everyone in the house. One little light, one candle would give light. This shows another aspect that Jesus wanted to get across to them. The light is deliberate. You light a candle because it's dark and you put it in a prominent place. That is deliberate. That is functional. That is on purpose. Jesus wanted his disciples to know that they should live deliberate, purposeful lives of light in the darkness. Now, why did Jesus give this story? Why did he give this illustration of light? What was his purpose? Well, as part of the broader Sermon on the Mount, which was his manifesto, which described his directions, multiple directions, establishing the law, the correction of the law. So there was a broader message in the whole sermon. This is just a very narrow part of that whole sermon, only three verses. that spread over the sermon of three chapters. So it's only a small part. But within this little segment, we can see some very specific things that Jesus taught his disciples. He revealed himself as the Messiah. He was the one giving the orders. He was the one giving the directions. He was the one giving the direction and the interpretation and the teaching of the whole message, and then specifically giving the description to the disciples of how they should live in their culture, shine as lights, so that Jesus elevated himself as the Messiah, as the teacher, as the leader, the director of the disciples. In the process, he also revealed his kingdom. His kingdom was different than what they figured it was. The disciples of that day, the people of that day, all had this notion of the kingdom would be one of wealth and of conquering the whole world and everyone would be subject to the Jewish people and we would all be rich and all of the wealth of the world would come to us and we would control it all. Jesus didn't describe his kingdom that way. And this sermon describes it. And here we get a glimpse into a little segment of the kingdom. We are to be light. The kingdom of Christ is light in the world. And he was describing to his disciples how they should live. As part of his kingdom is light. It's like a city on a hill. It's like a candle on a candlestick. And this also, when he described the darkness of the world, that includes the people of that day, the darkness of the people, their sinfulness, their wickedness, their condemnation, their depravity, their necessity of light. Because they were darkness, they needed light. And Jesus told his disciples, you are gonna be that light in that world. to lighten them, to show them the way, to lead them out of darkness into light. They were not to be isolated, but in the world, but not of the world. It gives us a picture of God's redemptive plan in history. Because in this message and in this parabolic saying, there is included intimation of Christ fulfilling the covenants and the promises of God given in the Old Testament, as far back as Genesis chapter 3, in which God told Adam and Eve that there would champion who would bruise the serpent's head, who had tempted them into sin. There's coming a man, God told them, who would be the champion, who would subdue the serpent, who would crush his head. And then God would not only be the seed of Abraham, it would be a person who would, in his life and in his existence, give blessing to all the world. And the light that the disciples would show in the world would bring blessing to the world. It would bring light into darkness. It would show the love of Christ for the lost and the hurting. and those in darkness. It would show God's grace and his mercy that he would want to shine light upon them in the midst of their darkness. So it gives to us a little glimpse of God's faithfulness to his covenant promises of the Old Testament. Now you say, that's an interesting story. That's an interesting parabolic. So what does that got to do with me? How does that apply to my life today? Everything true then is true now as well. The ye applies to you and to me. We have leaders in our world that are set up on pedestals as being the wise ones of our world. It's not them. It's not the Harvards of this world. It's not the elites from any nation around the world. It's the disciples of Christ. It's those who are followers of Christ like you and like me. We are the light. We and we alone circumstances, where we work, where we have refreshment, where we play, our neighborhoods, where we live, we are light. And then as a collection of believers in a congregation, a church, as that body of believers, we are light. We are a city set on a hill that cannot be missed, can't hide it. We are light favorite writers, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, reminds us in his sermons on this particular parabolic saying. A few things I want to mention before we come to a close. Light exposes darkness, and the darkness of our world needs exposure, needs to be identified as darkness, and we have that light. It is a contrast to the darkness. It even explains the cause of darkness, because darkness is the absence of light. So light overcomes the darkness. So to live in the light, we must come to the light. And light shows us out of darkness, shows us how to come to the light, and gives us a clear path away from the darkness. How will you respond? How will you respond to the message from Jesus that he gave to his disciples in that day? Well, as a follower of Christ, you could reject them and say, I don't believe them. I don't think they're for our day. That was for an entirely different time. I'm not going to pay any attention to what you think, but I might express to you as a responsibility to you and me. You could re-examine your life in light of what Jesus taught and consider how that applies to you. And you can recognize your responsibility as light in the darkness where you live, where you work, where you play, where you have recreation, where you study, where you teach. And you can realize the warning about hiding your light Jesus said to them, let your light so shine before men. Let me see your good works. Let me observe your light life, different from theirs. You can repent of your sin and your failure to be light in your world. And you can reaffirm these truths as determination for your life and your practice, that you will stand as light. You will remove whatever hindrance you have placed or allowed to come upon your light to hide it. and put it on a pedestal, deliberately shining your light out so that people can see the light. And then you can rely upon the Spirit of God to enable you to shine His light in a darkened world. As an unbeliever listening to this podcast, Up to this point, you've had no interest in God. You have no interest in Christ or Christianity. You don't even think that God is even interested in you, that he cares about you. He's way off in some distant location. I can assure you that isn't true. I want you to hear God's word to you today. When God created the man and the woman in the garden, and all creation, it was perfect, without spot, without blemish, without sin. And then Adam and Eve sinned. They disobeyed God's law when he told them, don't eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day that you eat of that dying, you will die. They ate of that fruit at the temptation of the serpent, and thereupon inflicted upon themselves Separation from God and the realization of a sinful nature. They were not perfect anymore. They possessed a sinful nature. As progenitors of all humanity, from Adam and Eve, we not only have physical life because of Adam and Eve, but we also And because our sinful nature is like their sinful nature, we are separated from God and under his condemnation. And you without Christ today, my friend, are condemned before God. But hear another word from God. He made provision for people like you and like me. He sent his son, gave his son as an atoning sacrifice on behalf of people like you and like me. Christ came and he lived a perfect life and he sacrificed himself willingly on the cross as a blood spilt offering unto God in payment for sin of people like you and me The father accepted that sacrifice Atoned on behalf of people like you and me I Pray that the Spirit of God will come to you today him. I pray that the Spirit of God will come and give you new life, life from above the Bible describes it, a new life that enables you and gives you the desire to repent and turn from your sin and your rebellion and rejection of God, turning unto Christ, trusting that the sacrifice he made 2,000 years ago on the cross paid for your sin on your behalf and satisfied God and overcame the separation between you and God. And this Bible tells us that God says in faithfulness to your obedience and to your faith upon Christ that he will accept you, reconcile you back to himself, adopt you as a child of his. I pray that the Spirit of God will come to you today and give to you this new life and begin this transformation in your experience to give you light, to bring you out of darkness, and to bring you into the family of God as a child of God by faith and trust upon Christ.