Be grateful for a giving heart, for a loving, giving, excited heart; exited about what God has for you. And what God has for you is His will for you. So we need to make sure that we allow God to be number 1 in our lives. At this time, we have to give honor to whom honor is due. Know this, how long halt you between two opinions? The Bible tells us to let your light so shine so that men will see you, but give God the glory for it. So let’s give God His due. My old Bishop use to say give the man his dough. This is God’s time, so take everything off your mind.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Shine. Shine. Let your light so shine. How are you shining? What do people see imminating out of you? Do they see the light of God? Do you represent Him, or is it what He represents in you? We need to understand one thing, we need to let Christ shine through us. Because if He doesn’t shine and we do shine, we will start leading people astray. Because its about the God in us.
The Greek words for shine is Lampo meaning shine like a torch. The word torch has been used so many times throughout history, even when they show men in a cave, they have a lit torch so they can see their way through the darkness. If you are light, then people can see the path that leads to righteousness through you. Let your light so shine. So you are that torch that will guide people to Christ. Now, the word torch is more often used in England, because they call a flashlight a torch. So we represent the flame of God. Its an awesome thing to be a representation of something that you believe in; that you love. If you love somebody, and you say, I’m coming in the name of the one I love, Jesus. In the natural sense you are always proud to represent your significant other. But think about it, how do you shine? Do you shine with that representation or are you shining of something else like mess or your burdens?
You’ve seen people loaded down, carrying the weight and burden of someone else. Then they come and say “Let me pray for you.” Then you should say “That’s ok, I prayed last night.” You don’t want them to lay hands on you. You don’t what them to pray for you because whatever is on them will transfer onto you. The Bible says lay hands on no man suddenly. If you are praying for someone on the other hand, you don’t pray for what they want, because you don’t know what they want. They may be going through, so don’t pray that they come out of it or that God delivers them from it because you know why? God wants them to go through, because you don’t know their life what they’ve been through, you don’t know what they need to go through so they can get through! So you pray that the Will of God will be done in their lives. When you aren’t around them you don’t know what they’re doing. People do mess, and try to get you to pray for them so their mess can go forward. Oh no! Its called validation of prayer. They need you to quantify what they’re doing. That is why the Bible says lay hands on no man suddenly. I will pray true enough, I will pray for you, and your family. You don’t have to pray out loud. The scribes and pharisees did it all the time. No, you pray “I pray the Will of God in your life.” They look at you like “but why aren’t you praying for my benefit?” The best way to help someone who is going through is to stand back and pray from a far. You get up on them and touch them and whatever is on them you may you go through. You lay hands on them, and then others on others, and then we’re all jacked up. How bright is your bulb? Could some of the things we’re going through be because of who we’ve been with? How bright is your bulb? You’re looking kind of dim.
A light designates some place of shelter or desire to be at. So when you are a light you are showing detail of everything. In the dark you can’t describe anybody. In the light you can tell what is what. For example, when you come to a crossing in a road, there are lights up there. What are the major colors? Red, green and yellow. We know what those mean. Stop, go and slow down. Some of you see a green light, that means to go as fast as you can, and yellow is go faster so you can beat the yellow light. When you come to a railroad crossing and the gate goes down, and the lights are flashing what do you do? Its not for you the snake through the gates and try to go through. It means stop and wait for the train to come. We have to pay attention because we know that those things are there for us to be cautious.
Can you use a black bulb to get through the dark? There are black bulbs, that are ultraviolet, but you can’t look in the dark. Can you look in the dark with a black bulb? No. You need something bright to light your path. The blind can’t lead the blind. You don’t know anything about anything but you’ll try to tell me how. Understand this, we can’t come to conclusions in our lives that we want to follow the correct path and the thing that illuminates in our hearts and minds we need to follow because it looks bright to us. Not every light leads to the right destination. If you wear the light of Christ, when you’re going through is your light bright? No. How can it be? Its just like a flash light. How many walk around the house at night with a weak flash light? Do you still use it? No because its dim. Associate that with your Christian walk. Now the world can see when there are things that are on you, and you want to pray for whom? You don’t want someone coming to you with a weak light, and you don’t want your light to be weak. What happens to a remote with a weak battery? How long does it take you to realize your bulb and battery are low? That means you’re not charged up by the Holy Ghost. “I’m strong, I understand, I have Christ in me. He’s all I need,” you say. Is He really all you need? If He is, then why is your battery so weak? How did it get that way? You got that mindset that “I’m going to ‘Jesus’ until I drop.” Then you go to Him and say Jesus why am I like this? He’ll say “Did you take a look at your battery?” But you say “Lord, You are the supercharge of batteries.” He’ll say “But didn’t I tell you to rest?” Jesus even got away from the crowd to pray, in one piece, not in bits and pieces. We don’t understand that our batteries need to be recharged as a Child of God because if you don’t you get the wrong information. How bright is your bulb? Just like the old scary movie. Someone walks in with a torch, and the wind is blowing, and just before it goes out something strange passes your way, and then the torch blows out.
People will drain you until there is nothing left but a spark and then there are those who try to take the spark! People plug into you and their meter goes up, but then your meter goes down. Then they get mad at you when you don’t have enough juice to power them up. Then they ask what’s wrong with you? Your bulb doesn’t look very bright. Well because you drained me! 10 wise and 10 foolish brides in Matthew 10, the 10 foolish immediately asked, can I used your battery back up!? And the wise said, well you could have bought one of these, just go down to the store and buy one. Well you have enough to give me some the foolish said. You saw that your meter was low, how is that going to help you?
When your fishing around to look for power, and you don’t get on your knees and plug it in the wall, if you’re there just the drain something and don’t recharge it back. Its just like the person who doesn’t understand the Word of God and goes out and tries to get a quick word and tries to explain it to someone else based on their skewed understanding. How bright is your bulb? Are you exuding Christ or exuding you? People who don’t have a clue and don’t have the light in them will always want to be around those that do, but they are like leeches.
You know what leeches do? Suck the blood out of you, because there is life in the blood, and they won’t let go until they are full. So we have spiritual leeches who don’t know anything about Christians and don’t have a clue about what a christian really is. They don’t know about humility, long suffering, but they know about complaining and whining. They don’t know the Word, but they look to you. They go to you for the word, prayer, and everything, because they can’t go for themselves. Can you get a letter through to Christ, my phone is being blocked. Why does a person get blocked? Because they don’t want to hear from you. Folks will use that to drain you, they’ll go to other people to hear from you because they can’t hear from you. Spiritual leeches need someone to latch onto to get to where they need to get to. They look for life in something because they’re dead, and can’t communicate with the One who give us power. I can’t get the Holy Ghost, but I know its in you and I know what it looks like. You are carrying Duracell, not those dollar store batteries that last long enough for you to get the product home and then go out. When everything else dies, Duracell endures. When everything else fails the Holy Ghost endures. People know that. That is why people mimic the Holy Ghost, they mimic tounges, because they want people to see that they have power, because as a Christina you can’t walk without power. I need to tap into that power. Even though you mimic and look the part, everyone can see that your bulb isn’t even bright, but its off. You have to be aware of these spiritual leeches.
To keep your energy up and the Holy Ghost up inside you, you need to take time in prayer. Those quick fixes “Jesus give me strength, you know and understand me. Amen.” How would you like if someone you love just said I love you and then quickly leaves? You wouldn’t, so does Christ want that? Now, where is quality time you spend with Christ? On the go? On the TV? Online? Why? Don’t have to give an offering. I can get the Word for free because I’m one of those spiritual leeches. How can you hear if you don’t have a preacher and how can he hear unless he’s been sent?
How many have battery back ups? Your battery back up should be your Bible. How many have phones? You are the phone. Getting on your knees makes the connection. Everything you need to live according to holiness and godliness is the Bible. Is the anointing enough in your life that you can hear from God and activate in God? Or do you have to go get one of those generators to activate in God? Picture this, all Christians are trying to get started in the morning, and you look over the horizon and see them all trying to crank a generator? The whole point is let your light so shine, the Holy Ghost shine. How can it shine if you haven’t feed it lately? Can your car get somewhere if it has no gas? No. So if you don’t have the anointing and Holy Ghost in your life, you can’t go anywhere. You may sound good and look good, that car may be beautiful and nice looking, but will it go anywhere? There may be some gorgeous and fine looking saints, who look presentable, but they aren’t going anywhere. Have you ever gone to a church and left there more depleted than when you came in? No power left in the house. The problem is we’re always trying to leech and latch onto others, when we should get it for ourselves. Maintain your bulb by being around people who will fill you up, not those who will drain you.
Matthew 25:1-12
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
The Lord may need to take something away from you, to break something in your life, because He needs to lead you, because you aren’t listening to Him. So He has to break things in your life that you thought were secure. When God is getting ready to do something awesome in your life, watch how many old people and situations Satan throws up in your life again. Stay away from people that steal your light and your life. Make sure you stay around people who will encourage and inspire you; people who are blessed, who really genuinely care about you. Not people who are validated by your presence. You need to get away from them, because they can’t stand on their own 2 feet, and don’t look back. They are leeches in your life and when they drain your for themselves, they don’t care about you. Its time to let go. If they are draining you, they don’t love or care about you. The Lord said in the last days it would be husband against wife, sister against brother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law; I know you love them and care about them, but love them from a far, let them go. Its either the Lord or you. The Lord doesn’t drain you so let the other person go. Remember the Bible tells us to love one another. The people of God are your friends but you still have to love them, because you have the same goals in mind, and that is to be with the Lord, and we get there being of one mind, conversation and thought. Support each other, love each other, and care about each other.