Our Finest Hour!

Our response to what’s happeningIs 60:1-2 “Arise, shine, for your light has come

and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear on you”

Mt 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on the stand & it gives light to all who are in the house”

1Jn1:5 “God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all”

Seven waysThe church

MUST BE

LIGHT

Reveal the emptiness of materialism

Mt 16:26 “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but loses his soul? What will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Francis Schaeffer: “When the dull ache of the human soul can no longer be filled w/material prosperity, people will begin to look for a substitute.”

They will look for peace – Jesus is the Prince of PeaceIs 9:6 Jn 14:27 Eph 2:14

Shine on the vanity of pleasureEccl 1:2;12:13: “Vanity of vanities…the

conclusion is fear God, keep His commands…”

Ravi Zacharias: “Surely the loneliest moment in life is when you have just experienced what you thought would deliver the ultimate, and it has let you down”

St Augustine: “You have made us for yourself & our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee”

“I have come that you might have life, to the full, till it overflows…”

Reveal that man is a spiritual beingGen 1:26 “Let us create man in our image…”

Objective truth cannot be found thru human reasonPost-modern world: truth is subjective to

whatever works for you (secular humanism)

“Spiritual” experiences salve a guilty conscience

We need to shine a light on WHY they feel guilty

Guilt reveals sinfulness/need to repentJesus IS the truth (the way, the life)

Reveal the reality of a personal God

Jn 1:1,14: “In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was w/God & the Word was God…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…”

No other religion offers RELATIONSHIP

Bring an answer to evil/injusticePs 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart

‘there is no God’”The #1 reason given by skeptics for not believing in a God is the apparent evil in the world – How can a good, loving God “allow” for such misery?

Gen: The story of God’s created order, His glory resting on man; the fall; the curse, the promise of a Redeemer

Declare the offer of mercy from judmt

Rm 8:1 “There is therefore no condemnation (judgment) to those who are found in Christ”

Eph 2:4 “God, being rich in mercy…even when we were dead in our sin….”

God’s law of sowing and reaping is sovereign BUTWe can take what is common to the culture & explain the consequences of sin, and offer the hope of His mercy through repentance & redemption

Declare an eternal life of gloryPersecution cannot stop the church of

Jesus Christ2 Cor 4:18 “For the things which are seen

are temporary but the things not seen are eternal”

2 Cor 4:8 “We are hardpressed on everyside, yet not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsake; struck down but not destroyed.”

Phil 1:12 “But I want you to know that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel”

The challenge…Are you a reflection of the culture or a reflection of Jesus Christ?

Are you in the world but not of the world?

Are you proclaiming, defending, instructing, and living the truth?

The encouragement….Let your light shine before men!

Jude 3: “…contend earnestly for the faith…”

1 Pet 3:15 “ ..be ready in season and out to give an account for the hope that lies within you”