Light in the darkness
A soccer field. A cane field. A small roof on poles. Some lights. Some chairs. And fire. This is what we saw as we drove up on the church we went to Sunday night.
One speaker. One microphone. One keyboard. All there for one reason: One God. One Spirit. One Body.
How simple. Yet powerful! This is the fellowship of believers. This is the church. Not a building. Not a time of day. The people. God’s people. Devoted to one another, devoted to the Word, and devoted to prayer. Devoted to sharing testimony of the Lord’s goodness - praising His name! (One lady stood and told how God had answered their prayers and healed her leg from disease; the Pastor surprised my mom when he asked if she would come up to share her testimony - how often do we stop to recognize what God has done in our lives?)
I am not elevating this church. They aren’t perfect. The Acts church wasn’t perfect. Your church isn’t perfect. My church isn’t perfect. But I think the question I should wrestle with, you should wrestle with, and the question this new church should wrestle with, is this: is my church the church? Yes, we have a building, a pastor, lots of ministries…no. Is it the church? The church Jesus intended. The church that will stop at nothing to care for each others needs, that sacrifices for each other, that is devoted to prayer, that enjoys favor with all people (not because of a watered down Gospel, but because there is truth and love being taught and modeled by disciples of Christ who live out Matthew 5:16 in a world where Truth and love are absent) , that relies on God and God alone to bring the increase, that worship is not just in song but in heart, that handles conflict according to God’s Word, that lives the “one anothers” in a world that “looks out for number one,” that models the beatitudes rather than the “me-attitudes”, that lives in the power, love, and soundness of mind the Holy Spirit gives us.
This church, next to a soccer field, surrounded by sugar cane, with just a few lights hanging from a cord, was literally the only light in the darkness (other than 300 feet away where one end of the cane field was on fire -literally setting the field on fire to burn away chaff and pests is step one in harvesting cane - there’s probably a sermon illustration there). Driving up to this light in the darkness, I felt the Lord lead me to preach on Matthew 5:14-16 and Acts 2:42-27. And I was challenged: how do I daily let my light shine? How does our church let our light shine? Do I live in such a way that people want to know Jesus? Does everything in our church point people to Jesus?
We had the opportunity to worship at another church earlier that day, I preached at another church that afternoon, and we were at this outdoor service in the evening. Three churches that looked very different. They probably look very different from your church. But here’s the point: regardless of what your church looks like, or where it’s located…Jesus tells us it’s HIS church, HIS Body. That HE will build it. That HE will bring the increase and produce the fruit. Israel assumed they were glorifying God in their assemblies and festivals, yet were actually a stench to the Lord (Amos 5:22). Why? They elevated themselves and committed idolatry. Might this happen today, in 2023, all over the world? We elevate ourselves and anything other than what the Lord desires: those with clean hands and a pure heart, fully surrendered and submitted to Him. When we make idols out of ourselves, our gifts, our processes and systems, our preferences… and therefore worship other things than God Almighty. This begins with me. With you. If the church is the fellowship of believers, the Body of Christ, it begins with each member of the Body living as a light, living in surrender, living a life of worship. So that the light burns even brighter as we gather together. So that we shine light into the darkness. That we bring hope into the hopelessness. Love into the hatred. Unity into the division. It starts with me. And you. Being a devoted follower of Jesus, devoted to the Word of God, devoted to prayer, and devoted to one another. This is the Church. This is the Body of Christ.