Matthew 5:16
Let your lights shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father, which is in heaven.
My opening question is kind of redundant but I promise you it has a point, Why is it that we turn a light on? It’s generally not an accident that a light shines. Somebody wanted to illuminate something so that it could be seen. There are other reasons, we can turn a light on to create a mood, we can spotlight something so that eyes are on one thing and not several, or we can turn a light on to make the whole world around us light up. But when God tells us to let “Our light shine” He’s speaking of a deliberate act that requires a boldness, because when you light up the cause of Jesus Christ, you’re putting yourself on display as well. Hey! I’m a proud child of God! I want you to know what He has done in my life.
It’s a bold move and that boldness is contagious. Think of the bold Christians that you know, they encourage you to make your light shine brighter.
Good Work is also mentioned by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:1-6. It is the good works of a child of God that will build our confidence to continue through the day to day trials of this earth.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
- Confidence of this very thing (6) The Purpose
- Confidence by my bonds (14) The Pain
- Confidence to continue (25) The Progress
Imagine life from Paul’s perspective. He was attacked by his former church. He was attacked by the government. Every day someone was trying to blow out his light but with the apostle Paul the harder they blew the higher his flame for the cause of Christ went.
I spent this past weekend sharing this and other messages at a ladies conference in Franklin Furnace Ohio. A lady’s conference is meant to fan the flames of our faith and to encourage us, when even like Paul we are in some form of prison. That’s what the effect of a ladies conference can be when you’re with a group of women who all have the goal of getting ignited for the cause of Christ. It’s an opportunity to strengthen our confidence,
Confidence is something I have struggled with my entire life. I appear confident but in truth I’m quivering on the inside. Paul speaks of confidence three times in the first chapter of Philippians. The first time is in verse 6 when Paul says “being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” meaning whatever he started in you isn’t going anywhere till Jesus comes back. Paul was confident in his knowledge of Jesus Christ and the plans that Jesus had for him.
What about you, are you confident in the plans that Jesus Christ has for you? And even in the in the face of adversity are you still able to burn and shine bright for Jesus?
You’ll note that Paul said it was a good work. That insinuates that there might be a bad work. It’s not in arrogance that I say I’m a worker. Daylight to dark my mind never shuts down. And I assure you it is not always healthy… it is not always a good work. Because of that I can get in moments of being overwhelmed and anxious and lose the confidence that God will provide.
When Paul writes his letter to Titus he tells him in chapter 2:7
Titus 2:7 KJV
In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
He’s telling Titus to guard his testimony and to have a pattern. A pattern is something that is reproducible. We do it again and again, until it becomes what’s expected of us. I know some folks that people have come to expect exactly the opposite of good works, even though I believe they’re children of God. But they’ve failed to trim somethings out of their lives, that have created bad works.
One thing I learned very quickly when publishing the news, is this… as long as I published good news, everyone loved me. But when I had to publish something bad, there were people upset. The same is true as children of God. If we continually tell people what they want to hear, they love us. But if we’re living consistently with the word of God, there are going to be somethings happening around us that don’t line up. And our good work, may just be standing consistently against the evil of the day. And that is when the winds around you will begin to blow.
Paul goes on to tell Titus in 2:14 regarding Christ Jesus
Titus 2:14 KJV
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
I love zealous people. But not everyone does.
God creates His people with purpose. And each one of us is created for a good work that requires the gifts that God has instilled inside us. Maybe you’re meek, maybe you’re loud, maybe you’re wise beyond your years, but what ever it is God gave it to you to be used for His glory. There is a retirement package for a child of God that Paul tells you when he says “God will perform it until the day of Christ.
The 2nd Confidence that Paul mentions is in verse 14
Philippians 1:14 KJV
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Confidence in his bonds. That’s a strange thing to have confidence in but it’s the truth none the less. One way to encourage people is to allow them to know that you have had pain, but you’ve also had victory!
A person with the appearance of a perfect life does not encourage me. It’s the opposite, because how could they possibly know what I’m going through, if they’ve never experienced anything like it. But let someone tell me about overcoming a situation in their life and walking on the other side of it victoriously and I am encouraged that I too can go on!
In verse seven Paul tells his friends:
Philippians 1:7 KJV
Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
In any group I can guarantee there’s been some things that have happened in lives that would make some of our hair stand on edge. This past week, we had one such incident in our community where a bus-driver was drunk and rolled a school bus over injuring several kids. That’s one of those moments in time that you think, how on earth could God use this for His glory.
Not every incident in our lives brings glory to God. I don’t believe that everything that happens in life has a heavenly purpose. I don’t believe it was God’s will that the driver of that school bus drink all day and get behind that wheel. But I believe that God’s people can show the love of God in those situations and help people to understand that the evil of this world will not win in the end if you’re a child of God. But they have to witness a confidence in God’s people, before they’ll gain that confidence themselves.
We can pray that God’s will be done, and that God will give us discernment to understand what’s happening and what our reaction should be. The night of that accident there was some angry people, and rightfully so. That man put the most precious thing in the world in danger and treated it with the most disrespect he possibly could.
He destroyed the confidence of every single one of those children in the people that they were told they could trust. That’s what the world does. It destroys our confidence. But the word of God restores and builds our confidence, and its why it’s important that we stay in the fellowship of God’s people, in the Word of God and that we ourselves walk worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Most people’s first reaction was to hate on that bus-driver. But if we’re to train our children up in the forgiving grace of God, we have to be able to forgive even the worst. It’s not to say they don’t have to pay for their crimes. They do. God didn’t take that thief off the Cross. But He did take him home to paradise.
We’ve talked about Confidence in the Purpose and the Pain, and the last point is we have to have Confidence in the Progress
Paul told the church at Philippi, that their work was an example for other believers to receive encouragement from and build their confidence in the furtherance of the Gospel.
Philippians 1:25 KJV
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
John Gill’s commentary said of this verse that Paul knew that there was going to be progress in the church and he had that confidence in it because through a divine revelation he knew that he would abide in the flesh, in the body, and live a little longer in the world. It is said that the apostle was given the knowledge of his being delivered from his bonds, and spared a little longer for further usefulness among the churches.
We’re not guaranteed another day…But we can have this confidence as long as we’re here that God’s got a major plan that we’re right in the middle of.
I didn’t have a revelation but I had a come to Jesus moment after three (what should have been fatal) heart attacks and God spared me. He not only spared me, He brought me through open heart surgery, I missed one Sunday service, I was singing in the choir a week after it. I was a walking talking singing miracle and I knew God wasn’t through with me. That’s probably how Paul felt!
