Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 302 | Let Your Light Shine: His Light

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302 | Let Your Light Shine: His Light · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  Music.
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  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the
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  well in John chapter four.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org,
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  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
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  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ, she's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  Many of us are familiar with Matthew 5, 14 through 16, which says,
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  Ye are the light of the world.
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  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
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  Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick,
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  and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
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  Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
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  your Father which is in heaven.
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  We know the command, but do we know what it means to shine our light?
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  Do we know how to shine our light? Are we familiar enough with God's light to
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  know what it would look like in our own lives?
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  Join us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries as Kim takes us on a
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  journey through the scriptures, scriptures revealing what it means to let your
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  light shine and how it looks in our lives to do so.
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  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Women at the Well Ministries.
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  It's an interesting thing that we are often told a lot of things in our lives,
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  and people just assume we know what it means.
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  And for many of us, that will work out for us, and we're okay.
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  Somebody says you need to brush your teeth.
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  If you're an adult, you probably know how to brush your teeth.
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  Somebody says you got to stop at a stoplight.
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  If you have a driver's license, then you know that you need to stop at a stoplight.
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  But sometimes people tell us how to act and how to behave.
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  And it becomes a little more sketchy in our understanding of what it is they're asking us to do.
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  I can remember being a child in church and my mom and dad, you know,
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  taking me to a church that we were visiting because perhaps my dad was singing or something.
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  And they would say, you need to be on your best behavior.
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  And I didn't exactly always know what that meant because I never knew when I
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  was really on my best behavior, but I certainly knew when I was on my worst behavior.
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  But still yet, sitting in that seat, I would wonder sometimes,
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  can I do this? Can I do that? What should I be doing?
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  I think sometimes also when we're given a task at work and they tell us to complete
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  the task, we don't often know how to do it.
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  We just may know what the end result should be.
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  And so as I've been thinking about this concept of really not knowing what's being asked of us,
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  but often being told something that I want to just spend some time today with
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  you looking at a very familiar command,
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  one that is necessary in our Christian lives.
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  And that is that command to let our light so shine before men that they may
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  see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.
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  And so when I think about that, if I was just asking you, what does it mean to let your light shine?
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  As many people as was answering me would be that many probably different responses.
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  But most of them would have something in common.
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  But my question is, is do you really understand, do you really know what it
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  means to let your light shine?
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  We know the song, This Little Light of Mine, I'm going to let it shine.
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  We know the command that we are to let our light so shine before men that they
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  might see our good works, glorify our Father which is in heaven.
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  But what does it really look like? I mean, none of us have a physical nightlight
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  that we just turn on and let the world see.
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  But instead, we have his light in us that should never have to be turned on
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  because it should never be turned off.
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  And his light should not be occluded by any barriers.
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  It shouldn't have a lampshade on it to dull its brightness.
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  But again, what am I talking about? What is his light?
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  Well, first of all, in order to have the light of Christ in us,
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  we must have a personal relationship with Jesus.
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  We must allow him to impute his righteousness in us so that we are born-again
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  believers seeking after the Lord.
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  We must be his witnesses.
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  We must be his disciples.
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  And as we begin to think about our light, we need to think about what the source of our light is.
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  And the source of our light is Jesus Christ.
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  And the Bible says in Ephesians 3.20 that we're able to do exceeding abundantly
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  above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.
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  Now, we can understand with a normal light that we hook it into some power source.
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  And that's what allows it to admit its light.
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  And as the power source becomes weaker, then we have a dimmer light.
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  Now, if we take that same concept and look at our light that we have inside
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  of us from Jesus Christ, we know one thing for sure, and that is his power never diminishes.
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  That he is our power source never runs low.
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  That he is our power source will give us more than enough power to be able to
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  shine the light in a way that he's asking us to shine.
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  So if our light is growing dim, what is causing that?
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  Well, we get a glimpse into what could be causing that in James 4.4 when he
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  says, Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the
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  world is enmity with God? God.
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  Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
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  As we begin to look at that verse, what we're seeing is when we live a life
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  that is acceptable to the world, when we live a life that blends in with the world,
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  when we live a life that serves Satan and the flesh, flesh than we are an enemy of God.
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  See, the things of God are light.
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  He is the light. He is the light of the world.
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  And we have become that light, as we're told in Matthew 5, verse 14,
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  because we have his light in us.
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  So what does it mean to have a friendship with the world?
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  See, I think it goes back to understanding that he said, Be ye holy, for I am holy.
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  He said that we are to separate ourselves from the world. Now,
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  before we go further with that, you must understand that he did not say to keep
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  yourself from witnessing to the world.
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  He did not say that you were exempt from loving the world, people of the world.
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  He didn't even say that you were exempt from going to where the people of the world may be.
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  But what he did say was don't love the world. He said, love the people.
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  So you go to where the people are and you bring them to where he is.
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  That's a perfect example of what we see in John chapter 4.
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  Jesus waits at the well for the woman at the well.
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  She was a woman who was serving the world. She was a woman who was serving her flesh.
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  She was a woman who was doing things and having deeds about her life that were
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  not of light, but were of darkness.
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  But Jesus goes to where she's going to be, and he brings her to where he is
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  when he talks of the living water that he wants to give to her,
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  and that if she drinks of this living water, she'll never thirst again.
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  Jesus does not partake in the worldly activities and deeds that the woman at
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  the well is partaking in.
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  But instead, he acknowledges that he knows where she's been and what she's done,
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  and that he loves her enough anyway to come to where she is so that he could bring her to where he is.
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  That is in right position with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
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  And so as she takes of this
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  water of life that he offers her she isn't
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  ever the same and she no longer is serving the flesh but she leaves in john
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  chapter 4 and verse 29 and says come see a man which told me all things ever
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  i've done is not this the christ she has met the master her.
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  He has transformed her with new wants, new desires.
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  And she leaves telling all she sees about this man who changed her life.
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  The woman at the well shows us what the light inside of us can and will do when
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  we offer it the space in our life and we allow it to shine.
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  When we are attaching that light to the power source of Jesus Christ and we
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  are following his commands and
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  we're living after him and we are doing the things he would have us to do.
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  In Acts chapter 10 and verse 38, it says that he went about doing good.
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  He talks about how he healed the oppressed of the devil because God was with him.
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  I'm not claiming that each of you within the sound of my voice are going to
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  have the gift of healing and you can go about and heal the oppressed.
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  What I am saying is that each of you who have the light of Jesus in you can
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  go about and give the light of Jesus to someone else.
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  And when Jesus is in their life, he's going to transform them just like he transformed
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  formed the woman at the well.
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  He's going to make a difference in their life, and they won't no longer be who
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  they were, but they'll be new creatures in Christ Jesus.
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  Old things will be passed away. Behold, all things will become new.
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  They're going to be that type of person that we read about in Romans 12,
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  1 and 2, which he says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of
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  God, That you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
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  holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
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  And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
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  mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
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  This, my friend, is what it means to shine your light.
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  When you shine the light of Jesus, it will draw all men to him.
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  And he said, if you draw all men unto me, if you lift me up,
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  I will then draw all men unto me.
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  See, when we lift up God, we are turning people's attention, their focus on him.
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  We are making space for him to do his work.
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  We are giving him a position in our life of authority, of preference,
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  and the rightful place he deserves.
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  Which is king of your heart and Lord of your life.
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  Letting our light shine is no more than living the Christian life.
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  He's asked you to live. And he doesn't ask you to live it on your own.
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  No, he equips you to live it. He supplies your every need.
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  He gives you the strength to do that which he's asked you to do.
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  Letting your light shine isn't a chore. but instead it is a natural expression
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  of the faith you have in Jesus Christ.
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  In James chapter 2 and verse 26, it says, For as the body without the spirit
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  is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
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  Now we know that salvation, which is what gives us the light of Jesus as he
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  imputes his righteousness in us, and we become born-again believers into the
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  family of God, We know that that's a free gift of salvation. It's not of works.
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  There isn't anything we can do to get it. We're told that in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9.
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  However, what we often forget is verse 10 of Ephesians 2.
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  And it says, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works.
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  We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.
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  Which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.
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  This faith we place in Jesus Christ, it motivates us, it inspires us,
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  it actively causes us to produce good works,
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  to follow his example and go about doing good, to live a life that is holy,
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  that reflects the holiness of him.
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  He enables us, through his constant companionship and the never-ending teaching,
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  directing, guiding, and leading of the Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us,
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  to follow those things which are of God.
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  He tells us to study in 2 Timothy 2.15. He tells us to love one another,
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  and this is how people will know that we are his disciples in John 13.35.
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  Jesus has given us the roadmap in his holy word.
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  He tells us to live peaceably with all men as much as possible. bull.
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  We don't have to be the winner of the argument, but we do need to be right by doing right.
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  It's better to do right than so-called be labeled right.
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  You sometimes have to swallow your pride.
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  Give up your need to win for the greater good of the soul of those around you.
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  People are watching you, and everything we've talked about up until this point
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  has pointed to the fact that when our light is shining,
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  Jesus is lifted up and exalted, And he has the space and the opportunity to
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  keep his promise that he would draw men unto him when we lift him up.
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  See, this light we have inside of us is not to be used to shine our good deeds,
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  to shine on our skill sets, to shine on our abilities, to shine on our knowledge.
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  Our light inside of us, the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us,
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  the part of Jesus that we have that lives in us is to shine so that others come
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  to know Jesus as their Savior.
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  We don't want to dampen our light. He says if we are ashamed of him,
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  that he'll be ashamed of us in front of his heavenly father.
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  He gives us this command in Matthew chapter 5 verse 16 to shine our light so
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  that others can see Jesus in us.
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  And that everything we do would glorify him.
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  So that others would come to know him. and this
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  brings us down to the most important point of.
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  This message is what does your light look like what does your light showcase
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  I get it you may be going through a tough time but I want to remind you that
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  a jeweler who wants to sell a diamond he puts a
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  bright light on the diamond and the diamond has a backdrop that is solid black.
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  Sometimes those troubles and tribulations and problems and issues that you're going through,
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  they are the backdrop for the light of Jesus to shine and others to see what
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  Jesus can do in you, to let Let Jesus see, let people see that Jesus is working in you,
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  to let people see that you are not alone,
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  to let people see the goodness, the greatness, the mercy, the grace,
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  and the amazing capabilities of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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  See, that trial or tribulation you're going through may have nothing to do with you.
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  It may be just what somebody else needs to see Jesus.
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  So how are you handling it? Thank you.
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  What are people seeing? Is the spotlight of the light of Jesus in you, front and center?
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  Are people seeing the joy that you have even in the midst of the storm?
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  Are people seeing the peace you have despite the problems?
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  Are people seeing your faith on full display?
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  If the answer to these questions is yes, Yes, then you're letting your light shine.
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  Let's look at your light. Have you dampened it and put a shade on it because
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  you're dabbling in the world?
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  You've got this one or two sins you really like, and so you're just harboring
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  them, and you haven't surrendered your all to Jesus?
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  Hey, now's the time to surrender.
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  Now's the time to give him everything. thing. You can't out give God and you
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  will no doubt be shocked and amazed at all that he can do through you when you
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  allow him to have full power in your life.
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  The Bible says that you can't serve two masters.
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  You either love one and hate the other. Friends, you cannot love Jesus and love the world.
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  You cannot be in the center of God's will and dabble in the things of this world
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  in fleshly desires and sinful ways.
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  If that's what you're doing to your light, perhaps you don't even have a light.
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  And maybe, just maybe, you're just struggling to turn over your whole life to him.
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  And instead of having a spotlight that is a stadium light, you got a little
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  nightlight that's about half dim.
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  You can barely see to get through the hallway. way. Don't give the world a view
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  of Jesus that makes him look diminished, reduced, and incapable.
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  That's a lie that will doom you and doom them.
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  When they see you and the Jesus in you, they need to see a bright light.
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  They need to see the power of God at work in your life.
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  They need to watch the transformation that takes place as Jesus's power in your
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  life Life changes you from what you used to be to what he intends you to be.
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  When they look at you, your light needs to lead them to him.
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  When they follow you, they need to end up at the feet of Jesus.
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  When they speak to you, they need to hear the words of Jesus. us.
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  When Jesus met the woman at the well, he took her from her sinful,
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  wicked state to one proclaiming the glory of Jesus.
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  And he wants to do that for each of us. And he will do that for each of us.
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  But we must be willing to turn from our wicked ways and humble ourselves and turn to God.
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  We must open our vessels so that the Holy Spirit can clean it and make room for the light of God.
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  If you want to know what it means to let your light shine, then look at the
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  lives of those who live out their faith.
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  Look at Abraham and Isaac. Abraham followed.
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  Even though it didn't seem like what he was being asked to do was right, Abraham knew it was.
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  And he said to the people he had wait, me and the lad will come back.
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  Look at Daniel, who knew his God would deliver him.
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  Look at the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace who said,
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  if my God delivers me, it's okay. If he doesn't, it's okay too.
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  Look at Noah, who enveloped himself in the ark of safety, in the hands of Jesus,
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  under the watch of God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. it.
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  Look at David, who faced the giant, not in his own strength,
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  not in his own might, not with his own logic or with worldly weapons,
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  but instead he did it in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ,
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  because the battle wasn't his.
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  If you want to see what it means to let your light shine.
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  Follow someone whose life has Jesus embedded all over it.
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  If you want to know what it means to let your light shine, follow Christ's example in the Word.
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  If you want to live in the light of Jesus, follow the scripture that says to
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  abstain from all appearance of evil.
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  He gives you the light. He gives you the strength to not only possess and maintain,
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  but to profess and promote the light.
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  Today is the day to crawl up in his lap, to draw closer to him,
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  to do what the psalmist David did in Psalms 139, and cry out, search me, O God,
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  and to see if there be any wicked way in me.
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  And then ask the Lord to cleanse you and to fill you.
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  Seek ye first the kingdom of
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  God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
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  Your command is to let your light shine. you know
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  how to do it and you are fully connected to the one who has the power to enable
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  you to do it seek him first seek him often follow him always remember you are loved.
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  Music.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
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  We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
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  you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits, a daily devotion written by Kim and
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  delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
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  Woman at the Well Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving
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  our Heavenly Father, and it is through your loving and generous support that
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  our ministry continues to bless others.
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  Thank you to the gospel group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
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  Music.