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Light of the World: Are We Truly Seeing (Luke 11:27-36)
23 Plays19 days ago
Sunday Message recorded 08 February 2026
by Associate Pastor Josh Shell
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
00:00:06
Speaker
Well, good morning once again.
00:00:10
Speaker
i felt to welcome any visitors that we had this morning so i just want to take a time if you're visiting with us we just want to say welcome and we're so glad you're supposed to worship with us this morning we're really glad you're here um and and if you are visiting make sure if you would like to fill out a visitor' car or anything like that please fill that out from the bulletin and before you leave right through the double doors back here we'd like to give you a free gift from first baptists just ah a thank you gift for being here and visiting with us just to make you feel special and love so But if you do have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to the book of Luke, to the Gospel of Luke, we'll be in
Personal Anecdote and Humor
00:00:42
Speaker
chapter 11. Chapter 11.
00:00:44
Speaker
chapter eleven Luke chapter 11. And while you guys are turning there, I figured I would try to explain myself real quick of why I have this caterpillar on my lip.
00:00:54
Speaker
um So, not that I really need to but figured it would be a great time to just transition as you guys are turning. But the students a few weeks back, as you guys know, there was that winter storm that came through, right?
00:01:06
Speaker
Caused us not to be here a couple weeks back. Well, right before then, the students were like, Josh, if it snows, you need to shave your beard. And I was like, Okay, well, they're only projecting ice, so fine. If it snows, I'll shave my beard, right? and thinking Not thinking anything of it. Well, then the week after we get back and I still have my beard, and the student's like, why do you still have your beard? It's snowed. I was like, time out.
00:01:30
Speaker
Do y'all know what the difference between ice and snow is? They were like, no, it snowed at my house. And I was like, No, anyway, so and to be a man of my word, I said, fine, I will shave my beard, but I will not shave it completely. So I shaved it into a mustache. So just to mix it up a little bit.
00:01:50
Speaker
But it's good to be with you guys. I'm really excited about this morning. But we are going spending time in Luke. But before we actually jump in, I'm going to stop and pray one more time. And then
Prayer and Reflection
00:02:00
Speaker
we'll go from there. So will you pray with me?
00:02:02
Speaker
Father God, we come before you, Lord. And we just thank you for this morning. And we just ask that you be with us. Lord, as Gary just said, I just pray, Father, that the words that are spoken today are not mine, but they're yours. Lord, that we'll allow the word to penetrate our hearts, to open our eyes to the reality of your truth in a world that's full of false truth.
00:02:22
Speaker
and So Lord, just please be with this time. May you go before it. We ask these things the name of Jesus. Amen. All right.
Questioning Faith and Belief
00:02:30
Speaker
So I just want to open up our time this morning with just a simple question, right? This is this question is, I'm going to target this question towards all of you in the room who who are believers.
00:02:44
Speaker
or proclaim to be believers, right? The question is this, when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ, do you truly believe that Jesus is who he says he is?
00:02:58
Speaker
Do you truly believe he is who he says he is and what and all that the gospels say he did? These accounts, these eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did while he was here on earth.
00:03:10
Speaker
Do you truly believe it
00:03:16
Speaker
And then the next thing I want ask is this, is have you allowed, if you truly believe it, or if you least heard the gospel message, have you allowed it to penetrate your heart, to open your physical and spiritual eyes to the truth of God's word?
00:03:30
Speaker
Now, I get it, it's 9.29 and I'm asking this deep question, but this is a very important question that all of us in this room really need to ask and to consider ourselves this morning.
00:03:43
Speaker
Because how you choose to answer this question has great implications and or ramifications of how you stand before a holy and righteous God on Judgment Day one day.
Jesus' Integrity and Prophecy
00:03:55
Speaker
And the reason why I ask this question is because the integrity of Jesus and his word is at is that is under attack today.
00:04:07
Speaker
And Jesus, when he was here on earth, he didn't come just to proclaim this this hopeful truth, or this this fake false truth, but rather he came to fulfill the truth that was spoken of him by the prophets for thousands years before.
00:04:21
Speaker
He came to fulfill the role as our Messiah, this figure who would redeem and to bring us back into relationship with God because of sin. But yet, we find ourselves in our culture today, in light of the truths in which this book says, right, that we claim to be the word of God, the truth, and yet we doubt it.
Cultural Doubts and Archeological Evidence
00:04:46
Speaker
We hear the narratives, we hear the stories, these accounts of Jesus, and we have a tendency of stepping back and be like, did that really happen? Is there actual proof of what happened?
00:05:00
Speaker
And that's and that's a very scary place to be. Because if if it didn't happen, first off, we would not have thousands upon thousands upon thousands of manuscripts that we have dug up through our archeological evidence proving the consistency, the internal consistency of the scriptures and the accounts and the narratives of who Jesus is and as see and and what he did here on earth.
00:05:22
Speaker
There is so much ample evidence to who Christ is here on earth, but yet in light of all of that evidence, we still doubt. But I'm not saying this to make us feel doubtcast or to make you feel like a bad person for
Bible as Foundation of Truth
00:05:36
Speaker
questioning or doubting. That's not a bad thing to question or doubt. It's just a matter of how you choose to take the next step forward within those questions and within those doubts.
00:05:45
Speaker
It will ultimately, what foundation are you basing your truth upon? Because in Christianity, according to God's word, this is our foundation. Everything that we bring into our hearts, into our minds, the things that we ponder on are established upon this foundation rather than taking the things in which we hear from the word and then putting them into the word of God. There is no room for that. Does that make sense?
00:06:12
Speaker
The word of God is sufficient and complete that we we can trust it. And we have to base everything in which this world is telling us upon that rather than bringing the world to the book and be like, hm Jesus, says does this truth that I've heard from this guy fit into your narrative? and It needs to be the opposite.
00:06:27
Speaker
needs to be, Jesus, please bring clarity to this man. right, and what he's trying to tell me, or what I'm hearing. You bring clarity, not them bring clarity, right?
Reactions to Jesus' Miracles
00:06:38
Speaker
But I say that because this is a question that is not just common among us today. This is a question, this has been something that's been happening even back in Jesus' time, back in first century Israel.
00:06:49
Speaker
And we've been seeing that through this account of Luke, where over even the last couple of weeks, as we've been working through it, we've been seeing different groups of people who have encountered Jesus and And they've encountered them different ways they've all left in different responses.
00:07:05
Speaker
So going back to Luke chapter 11, just looking at the Luke chapter 11, when you go back to the first opening verses, we see the disciples coming to Jesus, asking him asking him to teach them to pray as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. So this is one group. We have the disciples who see Jesus, who experience Jesus, who walk with Jesus, experience the power of Jesus. And as a result of that, how do they respond?
00:07:30
Speaker
They draw to him. They cling to him. They desire to pray like he does. They desire to be like he is. Right? And then as you continue this account, you see Jesus then turning his attention to healing this man who has a a demon in him that makes him mute.
00:07:48
Speaker
Right? So you have this crowd that's around him. And as he's healing this man, they're astonished about what he is doing and how he's performing this great miracle. and And then as a result of that, you kind of even feel this sense of confusion of like, okay, do we actually believe what our eyes just witnessed? Or do we kind of just take this with a grain of salt?
00:08:06
Speaker
Like you see this all throughout the gospel ministry or throughout the gospels of Jesus's ministry where people, they experienced miraculous encounters of Jesus, but yet they have a tendency to question And the reality is that many of us are in that position right now where we are kind of demanding these signs from God of God.
Pharisees' Rejection
00:08:25
Speaker
If you are who you say you are, please reveal yourself to me. Show me this miracle. But let me ask you something. Is that miracle going to be enough for you to actually believe the truth of who God is?
00:08:38
Speaker
Because if we follow in suit with history, it's not going to be enough.
00:08:44
Speaker
Then we see another group, a smaller group within the crowd, these religious leaders of the Pharisees, right? And we see, we can confirm this because it's seen back in Matthew's account, this parallel account where these the Pharisees come up and as Jesus casts out this demon, they begin to saying, hey man, the only way this is possible is because you are casting out demons by the prince of demons himself, Beelzebul.
00:09:07
Speaker
That's the only way this is possible. You're not the son of God.
00:09:12
Speaker
And so you have this third group who sees Jesus doing these miracles, and they be they they reject him. They doubt him. They say, nah, man, this see this can't be possible. The only way you're doing this is by the power of Satan himself.
00:09:23
Speaker
And we see we saw how Jesus responded. He's like, whoa, time out. You guys have no idea the implications of what you're talking about. He's like, you guys, Pharisees, you guys have, you those who've witnessed miracles before, who have performed miracles in your own group, for you to say that I'm casting out demons by the power of Satan, but yet you can cast out demons by the power of God, like there's a contradiction here.
00:09:47
Speaker
And then he gives this really incredible story about how, or this parable of how the the house divided cannot stand. And so if Satan were to be casting out demons in his own name, then what's the point of his purpose?
00:10:02
Speaker
What's the point of Satan? To cause division, right? To cause doubt. to drive us away from the presence of God, to drive us away from truth for us to believe our own truth.
00:10:14
Speaker
And so if that's the goal of Satan, then why would he cast out his own demons?
Total Commitment to Jesus
00:10:18
Speaker
Right? And so we see this, all these different, different perspectives of bubbling up from underneath here with those who encounter Jesus. And my question for us today is where are you at?
00:10:32
Speaker
If you're not a believer, This may, I mean, like, it kind of makes sense for you to doubt. But if you're a believer in this room and you're still having doubts about the ah the genuine nature of Jesus and what he who he says he is.
00:10:47
Speaker
I pray that you allow Jesus to truly shine a light onto your heart to reveal he is who he says he is. That you can walk confidently in that. You can walk confidently knowing that the word of God is in there, that it is true, that it is our foundation by which we can base everything upon in this world.
00:11:10
Speaker
And the other thing I really appreciate about Jesus at this point is that he himself is not holding back. he actually is drawing a definitive line in the sand to his audience back then. And he's also drawing a definitive line in the sand for us today on how we choose to either follow him or not follow him.
00:11:30
Speaker
So believers in the room today, if you claim to be a believer, you're either all in for Jesus or you're not in for Jesus. You can't be in the middle.
00:11:41
Speaker
Scripture talks about this elsewhere, where those who are the middle are lukewarm.
00:11:47
Speaker
And that's a dangerous place to be. Do not be lukewarm. Be all in or not in at all. Either you trust in the authority and the power and the witness and the ministry of Jesus and the gospel message and his redemption and the blood in which was shed on the cross for your sins, or you reject it.
00:12:09
Speaker
But this morning, I really do hope and pray that as we continue on in this account in Luke chapter 11, that we continue to see this definitive line crossed from Jesus with how he is calling out not only the religious leaders, but even to the crowd of, hey, if you if you can't even see the miracles I'm doing now, if you can see them and you're still rejecting me, what is he going to take?
00:12:31
Speaker
Right? So he, picking up here in verse 27, it says this.
Importance of Hearing and Keeping God's Word
00:12:38
Speaker
it says this And he said all, and as he was responding to the Pharisees and Sadducees and giving this account of of the of Satan being divided against himself, and he gives this really powerful imagery of of this of of the house that's being cleaned. Once the demon is cast out, the house gets cleaned.
00:12:58
Speaker
And then as the demon you know the spirit the demon is out looking around, he comes back the house, finds it in order. And then when he comes back, find it in order, he always brings more in because there was no perimeter or no guard put up, right?
00:13:12
Speaker
And as he's saying these things, he says this, and a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast which you nursed. But in verse 28, he said, blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
00:13:32
Speaker
You see, we have a tendency of being just like the woman in the crowd. You know, and just put yourself in the situation too. Jesus is giving this incredible tested her this incredible discourse, right? He's teaching the crowd, and he kind of stops and takes a breather, and then out nowhere, where someone just gives like ah almost like an amen.
00:13:52
Speaker
Like, amen, brother, keep preaching.
00:13:56
Speaker
But in her way, she said it, blessed is the womb that bore you and the breast of which you know which nursed you, right? Speaking to his mother Mary. But Jesus, rather being distracted by that or rather rejecting accepting or rejecting, you he's like, whoa, time out.
00:14:11
Speaker
You missed the whole point. You missed the whole point. Yes, my mother is blessed because of of the of of the role in which she played, right?
00:14:23
Speaker
She's talking to mean, like I could see Jesus explaining this. Yes, Mary's blessed. However, the reason why she's blessed is not because she is my mom. She's blessed because she heard the word of God and what?
00:14:35
Speaker
Kept it. Obeyed it. She didn't shy away from it. That's why she's blessed. And this is Jesus proclaiming here in verse 28. He says, for anyone who hears the word of God and keeps it is just as blessed as her.
00:14:50
Speaker
Mary's not set apart from the rest of us. We are all blessed in the same manner if we choose to keep the word of God and know and obey it. this is a high calling for all us in the room who truly do believe that Jesus is Lord.
00:15:07
Speaker
This is a high command for us to hear the word of God and to obey it. It's not easy.
00:15:15
Speaker
And so, but in this moment, Jesus, he's so he's redirecting the the approach here with this woman. He says, no, time out. You missed a point. It's not that my mom is not that someone is blessed just because they know me.
00:15:29
Speaker
They're blessed because they know me and keep my word. then he goes on he gives this these two different illustrations or accounts within his word with using these two different signs. And this is the sign of Jonah and then the sign of Queen Sheba. And I'm going to read this account to you here just quickly.
Critique of Seeking Signs
00:15:46
Speaker
It says, when the crowds were increasing, he began to say, this generation is an evil generation.
00:15:54
Speaker
It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
00:16:05
Speaker
The Queen of the South will rise up at the judgment and the men of this generation and and condemn them. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And behold, something greater than Solomon is here." The men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment are at the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
00:16:25
Speaker
For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Then he continues in verse 33, he says, no one after lighting a lamp puts it in a and a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand so that those who enter may see the light.
00:16:43
Speaker
Your eyes is the lamp of the body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light. But when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, be careful lest the light in you be darkness.
00:16:57
Speaker
If then your whole body is full of light, having no part of having or having no part dark, it will be wholly bright as when a lamp with his rays gives you light. So Jesus, in light of this response of the woman, and not just in response to the woman, but really what Jesus is doing here, he's also addressing the attitude of those in the crowd who are doubting. So when you go back to verse 16 of this same chapter, says, It says, you know, while others to test them kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.
Active Faith and Participation
00:17:29
Speaker
And so this is ah another continual theme throughout the ministry of Jesus that these people would come up, they would follow him. They would literally follow him from place to place to see Jesus do these miraculous things. And then after he's doing these things, they demand what?
00:17:43
Speaker
More signs. And so he's like, hey, it's one thing to hear me. It's one thing to see my miracles. It's another thing to walk faithfully with it. So in other words, it's time to put action to your words.
00:17:56
Speaker
It's time to put action to your faith. We must not sit back. We must be on the team and participate. And so in response to this doubt of the crowd, Jesus comes back with this response of the sign of Jonah. He says, you know what?
00:18:12
Speaker
This generation, talking about the crowd, and you can even speak into our generation today with how we doubt and how we demand more signs. He says, this generation's evil. You just want to make it about you and would fit your narrative.
00:18:27
Speaker
would fit what's most comfortable for you. He said, this generation's evil. There will be no other sign than this sign, the sign of Jonah. Now, do y'all remember what happened with Jonah?
Jonah's Story and Repentance
00:18:39
Speaker
Jonah was this prophet who was called by God to go to this city, to this people group called the Ninevites. And if y'all remember any of the background, the Ninevites were very wicked people. They were, i mean, they did some pretty bad things.
00:18:53
Speaker
They treated people horribly. And they were one of the main enemies to the Jewish people back then, to the nation of Israel. And so God, calling Jonah, he says, hey, I want you to go to the Ninevites, and I want you to go and to preach a a message of repentance, lest they be destroyed.
00:19:10
Speaker
you remember was how Jonah responded? he was Did he respond like, okay, cool, let me go over there. I'll go. Gladly, right? No, he didn't.
00:19:21
Speaker
What did he do? He actually went down, got on a boat, and sailed the opposite way of the city. He says no way, sir. I am not going to those people. They don't deserve it, right? But what happened?
00:19:33
Speaker
God said, dude, who are you? You really think you could outrun me? So he turned he he he caused the sea to get all, to get there's this great storm to be beyond the sea. And the the people, the the sailors on the ship began to get all fearful and they got scared. And they were trying to figure out what happening. And eventually they realized, oh, Jonah, what are you doing? You're down the bottom of the boat just sleeping.
00:19:59
Speaker
They're like, something's up, right? And Jonah it was like, you know what you're right. Cast me overboard and the water will cease. And so they cast him overboard, the water ceases, then what happens? The big fish, right?
00:20:13
Speaker
How would y'all like to be in his shoes, right? ah So he gets swallowed by this big fish. How many days was he in the fish? Three days and three nights before he spat back out, right?
00:20:27
Speaker
And so this is a really incredible account because though it seems like a really good story to tell kids and a really good story to tell our friends about this great miracle in the Old Testament, there's so much theological implications involved with this story.
00:20:40
Speaker
And that's what Jesus is referring to here. He's saying, hey, you guys demand signs. So let me tell you something. My father sent so many prophets before me who did great miracles and great signs. You didn't even believe them.
00:20:51
Speaker
So why would, ah if I were here do even more miracles, why would you even believe me? He says, so let me tell you what, there'll be no greater sign than this. Y'all remember what happened to Jonah? The same thing is going to happen to me.
Resurrection as Ultimate Sign
00:21:04
Speaker
Except this time, I'm going to be, I'm going to come back And I'm not going to die. I'm going to resurrect. i'm gonna live forever. And through my death, burial, and resurrection, redemption is going to be paid.
00:21:16
Speaker
The atonement going paid. You see, with Jonah, you know, there's some this this theological debate on whether Jonah actually died versus he just fell into, like, unconsciousness.
00:21:27
Speaker
But at the end of the day, what really matters is is that Jonah was in the belly of his three days three nights, and then he was spat out. So this is this is an a picture of this idea of this resurrection, right?
00:21:41
Speaker
But I think it was explains for That wasn't a resurrection. That was more of a resuscitation. wanna know why? Because did Jonah ultimately die later? He did. He did.
00:21:53
Speaker
He died. Whereas Jesus, after his death, burial, and resurrection, did he die again? No. He lives to this day. He is at the right hand of the Father right now, interceding on our behalf as our living sacrifice, our atonement forevermore.
00:22:11
Speaker
And so Jesus is saying, you know what? You guys desire these signs, but there will be no greater sign than this. Let me tell you something. There is no greater sign than the resurrection of Jesus.
00:22:22
Speaker
People could try to dispute it all they want. They cannot dispute the resurrection of Christ.
00:22:29
Speaker
That is the greatest miracle this world has ever seen. And that is where our hope lies, is in the power of his resurrection. Because Paul even talks about later how if the resurrection did happen, Christians would be the most pitied of all people because of what we claim.
00:22:44
Speaker
And so we can trust in this sign. So Jesus is giving this warning to him. he says, hey, listen, quit demanding signs. Trust me for who I am. Trust in the power which I am demonstrating to you right now. And if you don't, woe to you.
00:23:02
Speaker
And that's when he goes to transitions here. He begins to give this idea of judgment.
Examples of External Belief
00:23:08
Speaker
And he turns to the the story of this queen of the south who rose up to go and meet this man named Solomon. you guys remember Solomon is, right? the Son of David, one of the wisest men this world had ever seen. He became the king over the nation of Israel, and he had an abundance of possessions, right?
00:23:24
Speaker
But one of the big things that he's known for is his wisdom. Right? And there was this queen, Queen Sheba, who came up from the south. that Many people, I think it Ethiopia is where they think she came from, traveled a long distance because she heard about the wisdom by which Solomon was proclaiming and and and all the possessions that he had when she got to him. remember, for those of you guys who know the story, do y'all remember how she responded?
00:23:49
Speaker
Let me read it to you. This is out of 1 Kings chapter 10. Let
00:23:55
Speaker
me find it real quick.
00:24:00
Speaker
There it is. 1 Kings 10, verses 6-9. It says this. as she said to the kingating the report was true that id heard in my own land of your words and your wisdom but i did not believe the reports until i came and my own eyes had seen it and behold the half not or the the half was not told me your wisdom and prosperity surpassed the great report that i heard happy are your men happy are your servants who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom blessed be the lord your god who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel because the Lord loved Israel forever. He has made you king that you may execute justice and righteousness.
00:24:44
Speaker
So this is a very interesting moment here, but Jesus using this as an illustration because Jesus did this actually once before previously, back in Luke chapter four, when he refers to, ah he's he's talking to some religious leaders and he refers back to Elijah going to the Sinai woman.
00:25:03
Speaker
y'all remember this account? Where she he ultimately raises her son from the dead, right? And do y'all remember the interesting thing about that woman? Was she part of the nation of Israel?
00:25:16
Speaker
No, she was a Gentile. She was outside the nation of Israel. And so when Jesus used that example, it was a it was a side punch to the people of Israel because in other words, Jesus saying, hey, you, God's own people, if you don't believe, guess what? He's going to send people out to those who that you think are not worthy and they will believe.
00:25:39
Speaker
And Jesus is doing the same thing here, even with the religious leaders. He's using this as an example. For those of you refuse to believe the signs, the things that I do, let me tell you something.
00:25:50
Speaker
Those who are outside of this covenant, or the the nation of Israel, the Gentiles, those who you you don't like, they will believe it. And that's why he's referring back to this Queen of Sheba, because this woman who was outside the nation of Israel came up and heard the wisdom of Solomon, and guess what? She what?
00:26:07
Speaker
Believed. Believed. She believed and she blessed God because of it. But he didn't stop there. He went on and used another example going back to Jonah. Okay, let's get continue the story of Jonah real quick. So Jonah goes, he gets spit out from the fish and then he finally goes to the nation of Nineveh. Does he proclaim the message of repentance?
00:26:27
Speaker
He does. he said He goes to the city, he says, repent lest you be destroyed in 40 days. That's all he says. That's all he says. How did the Ninevites respond?
00:26:39
Speaker
From the king down, one simple message, they repented of their sin. The king tore his robe, sat in ashes, and the whole city mourned and repented of their sin.
00:26:57
Speaker
ah bet that caught Jonah way off guard.
00:27:03
Speaker
Jesus is using the Ninevites as an example here as well with this say ah with the Queen of Sheba when he says this. He says, The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it.
00:27:16
Speaker
For they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. So in other words, because of their repentance, the nation and or the city of Nineveh, the men of Nineveh are going to be in a position of judgment over the nation of Israel because of their lack of faith.
00:27:35
Speaker
Y'all catching the key thing here? Your faith in Christ is essential when it comes to how you truly believe the truth. You have to trust his word.
00:27:48
Speaker
And this is the hope that we have, right? For any of us who are in Christ, the good news, it now reaches us, right?
Gospel's Reach to Gentiles
00:27:59
Speaker
Like, because at one point it was just for the nation of Israel. Now it's for all of us, the Gentiles.
00:28:04
Speaker
And again, I think we've said this before too. for i don't know about any of you guys who've ever done like an ancestry thing. i don't know if any of you guys have a Jewish heritage, but I know I don't. So I'm a Gentile. This is great news for me.
00:28:16
Speaker
because I can now receive the gospel message, right? And so, but Jesus uses these two examples here though, just to really speak to the heart of the issue of what this crowd is going through.
00:28:28
Speaker
Not just the crowd, but the religious leaders. It's like, if you trust in your own wisdom, if you trust in your own understanding, if you trust in your own knowledge, it will fail you. You cannot trust in the miracles and the signs that which the world demonstrates You have to trust in the truth that sets you free, that is Christ.
00:28:51
Speaker
You see, Jesus, the only reason why he was doing these miracles was, I mean, yes, it was to prove himself as the Messiah, as the Son of God.
00:29:01
Speaker
But really, it was to point everybody to the source. That was God himself.
00:29:07
Speaker
And so we have to trust in the source. We have to trust in the word. We have to trust in the God of the universe who's speaking, ah who set this plan motion from the very beginning back in Genesis.
Trust in God's Word vs. Worldly Wisdom
00:29:21
Speaker
From the very moment God created the heavens and the earth, he set in motion this redemptive plan for mankind for all of us to be a part of.
00:29:30
Speaker
But yet we've taken it and we've twisted it, we've tainted it to create these false truths, these false religions, and even these false Jesuses out there that we like to follow.
00:29:42
Speaker
But Jesus is calling them back to the source of the truth. That is his word, right?
00:29:50
Speaker
There was a commentary that was reading that said it really profoundly by Kent Hughes. Um... And he said it this way. Where is he?
00:30:02
Speaker
yeah don't know if you can tell. I got off my notes a little bit. Surprise. um
00:30:10
Speaker
Essentially what Kent Hughes is saying is when it comes to the the trusting in miracles and signs, he was like, miracles and signs cannot save you. It's obedience and faith and submission to the word of God.
00:30:23
Speaker
That's what saves you. Because if you're even going back to Satan, with what Jesus going back to in the verses previously, with the house divided cannot stand, Satan is a master of manipulation.
Being a Light to the World
00:30:36
Speaker
He can do pretty powerful signs in this world. And he is very deceitful. He can deceive the best of us. But when we choose to base our our faith and our truth upon the Word of God, and allow that to be our filter, rather than the world be our filter towards the Word of God,
00:30:55
Speaker
Satan cannot stand against it. Right? And that's why Jesus goes on and he finishes with these, are or he says this parable. This is another parable, again, that was spoken previously in Luke, talking about this light. No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it in a cellar or under a basket on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.
00:31:20
Speaker
In other words, when you encounter Christ and you experience the truth for what it is, there's something that happens. There's this transformation. There's this illumination, if you will, that takes place.
00:31:35
Speaker
and and And once you experience that illumination, it becomes contagious. You know, Matthew says it this way, Matthew 5, where he talks about how you are the light of the world a city on a hill cannot be hidden.
00:31:49
Speaker
That's a very profound image. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Well, when you experience Christ, you become that city on a hill. That light takes place. It burns in you brightly.
00:32:02
Speaker
But yet, if you try to take that light and put it under a bowl, and you tried to or put it down in a cellar is to try to stifle it out or to hide it, it's it's not fulfilling its purpose.
00:32:15
Speaker
And so if you truly believe that Jesus is who he says he is, Why do we oftentimes try to hide the light?
00:32:25
Speaker
Again, you're either for Jesus or you're against Jesus.
Full Commitment Call
00:32:32
Speaker
You're either all in for Jesus, allowing that light to shine brightly, or you're you're not for Jesus and you try to stifle out the light.
00:32:44
Speaker
which will you Which one are you gonna choose, right? Which one are you gonna choose? And he goes on, he says, your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light.
00:32:56
Speaker
But when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, be careful, lest the light in you be darkness.
00:33:09
Speaker
Be careful, lest the light in you be darkness. In other words, he says, be careful, lest you get deceived.
00:33:19
Speaker
Trust the light that's within you. Trust the word of God. Allow that to be your source and foundation of truth in this world that is full of deception.
00:33:30
Speaker
So again, in the the title of the sermon, Light of the World, are you truly seeing? Are you truly seeing today?
00:33:39
Speaker
Are you truly seeing
Invitation to Skeptics and Challenge to Believers
00:33:41
Speaker
today? Are you allowing the word of God to be your filter with how you view the world? not just Not just our church, not just our community, not just our state, but the world, right?
00:33:52
Speaker
Are we allowing the Word of God to be our light?
00:33:56
Speaker
And if you are here today and you haven't allowed the Word of God to be your light, I pray that you'll surrender to that. I pray that you'll allow the Word of God to penetrate your heart so much that it brings you to a place of humble submission before the Lord.
00:34:10
Speaker
Maybe you've and been, I don't know, maybe some of y'all in this room, maybe you've proclaimed to be a believer for 20 years of your life, 30 years of your life, but you've never truly surrendered to the Word of God.
00:34:25
Speaker
I pray that today would be that day that you truly and finally surrender to it. Maybe you're in this room, you've never even, maybe you've just been a skeptic your whole life about the gospel.
00:34:36
Speaker
I pray that you'll allow the Word of God to at least shine the light into your heart. Because once you experience the goodness of God, you will not want to taste anything different.
00:34:52
Speaker
It's an incredible gift to walk in the in the mercies and the newness of God. But for the rest of us who are walking faithfully, I pray that we will walk faithfully and diligently while we still have today to demonstrate this light to the world around us.
00:35:08
Speaker
That will be contagious. That we will be a city on a hill. that cannot be hidden.
00:35:19
Speaker
So if you are, and
00:35:24
Speaker
this is a message that even for me, right, this is a challenge even for me of how I choose to live my daily life. Because I know there's times where I wanna live my own complacency and my own contentment.
00:35:36
Speaker
I wanna be around my own peers that I wanna be around and things like that. However, the Lord calls us to something greater.
Closing Prayer and Guidance
00:35:43
Speaker
We have to die ourselves daily. We have to pick up our cross we have to follow him. Right?
00:35:48
Speaker
So let me pray for us. And if you'd like to come down and and and have a conversation, to begin a conversation, we can do that. But if maybe if you just need to come down to the altar and just work and just pray to the Lord, maybe you just pray in your seats. But I do pray that today that you'll allow the the Holy Spirit to work in your heart.
00:36:08
Speaker
that you allow the word of God to truly penetrate your heart to where you can truly see in a world that's full of darkness. So let me pray for us. God, we come before you, Lord, and we just thank you so much for your word.
00:36:20
Speaker
Lord, I pray that we'll allow it to be a light into our feet and a lamp into our path. God, that we'll allow it to penetrate our hearts to where we can truly see and use it as a guide, as a filter to the to the deception that is around us.
00:36:37
Speaker
God, so often we like to take the world's wisdom and try to fit it into your word. But Lord, we can't do that. We can't do that.
00:36:50
Speaker
Lord, we must take your word and allow that to be our filter to speak to the falseness around us. I really do believe that's what you're trying to communicate here with this crowd, Lord, that we we have a tendency of leaning on our own understanding and our own abilities and our own ah physical sight. The things in which we can see, taste, touch, feel, those things are true. But Lord, because some of the things in which you that you did we're not um things that we can physically and comprehend, Lord, we have a tendency of doubting.
00:37:25
Speaker
So Lord, I pray that we will take that leap of faith and just trust you. Lord, that we will truly trust you, that all that we have, that we'll trust your word as sufficient, so way we can be the hands and feet the way we need to here in this life.
00:37:41
Speaker
We won't be deceived, but we will walk faithfully. God, please work in our hearts. May we truly be the hands and feet of your kingdom right here, right now to a world that is being lied to, a world that is being filled with deception.
00:38:02
Speaker
May we be bold in how we walk faithfully.
00:38:08
Speaker
God, we love you. We thank you for your truth and how it is light. And we just pray all these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
00:38:22
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.