Good day
In Part 4 (We need Him) we saw that the salvation we've received wasn't based on our efforts to keep God's commandments but rather based on what Jesus Christ did for us. In other words, there was nothing we could do to make this salvation possible - He came up with the idea, He accomplished it and He made it all possible! ... and it's only by faith in what He's done for us that we have right-standing with God.
We also looked at Galatians 3:2-3 where the Apostle Paul asks an important question to the believers, "Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?". In other words, given how we couldn't earn salvation based on our own efforts but that we needed God to make it possible, what makes us think that - after having received the free gift of salvation through faith - that we can now perfect/change ourselves (shine our light) in our own strength/efforts ... That if we need God for our eternal salvation/right-standing with Him, then surely we need Him to help us live out and become everything He desires of us as well.
If we want to "shine out light", we must recognise that we cannot produce what God desires of us in our own ability - we need Him to help us do so!
This brings us to today's message: Be honest with God.
Knowing that we need God's help and cannot do this without Him (John 15:14-15) should motivate us to draw near to Him. It starts with being humble enough to admit it and ask for it
... and there's nothing wrong with asking God for help - in fact, the below passages indicate to us that God's help is available and freely accessible!
James 1:5
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.
John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength [mighty and impenetrable], A very present and well-proven help in trouble.
Hebrews 4:15-16
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Put differently, refusing to ask God for help can be seen as having faith in oneself and not needing God.
It can be seen as being stubborn and proud.
It reflects the opposite of what it means to be in a covenant with someone (where we don't depend or draw on the strengths of the other person).
It denies God the opportunity of His desire to help us.
Therefore asking for help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of obedience. Asking for help is an act of faith. It's an acknowledgment of the fact that we have a covenant with a living and loving God who is there for us!
Why try to hide anything away from the one person who is all knowing (Psalm 139, Luke 12:7)?
We cannot hide anything from God, so why not just be open, honest and transparent with Him?
Why would we try to hide or shy away from someone who has said that He's prepared to offer us His help?
Let this truth be firm in our knowledge of God. He wants us to know that we can come to Him for help. This isn't a suggestion, He wants us to come to Him!
Therefore as we embark on the journey of shining our light, let us always remember and acknowledge the fact that we need Him, and because we need Him, let us come before Him openly and just be transparent and honest in our engagement with Him - in our prayers, in our times of praise and worship, with how we see ourselves, with where we're at spiritually in our relationship with Him, in our approach and attitude towards church, about people we may be struggling to forgive, with being a spouse, parenting, family situations, work situations, etc. Whatever it may be ... let's be honest with Him ... for He IS OUR HELPER!
Psalm 121:1,2 - I will lift up my eyes to the hills from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Amen