The Most Powerful Influencers - Matthew 5 - with Preacher Archie L Gilmer

Aug 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: A City on a Hill Cannot Fake Its Glow

The world searches for influencers, but Jesus declares believers are light by nature – not by effort. Just as a mountain city’s nighttime glow can’t be hidden, Christ-followers radiate His presence through ordinary obedience. This light isn’t a performance but an identity: when sin’s darkness feels overwhelming, even small acts of faithfulness pierce through like porch lights in a pitch-black valley. The call isn’t to manufacture brightness, but to stop blocking what Christ ignited. [06:34]

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.”
(Matthew 5:14-15, NASB)

Reflection: Where have you been straining to “produce” light through effort instead of resting in your identity as Christ’s lamp? What practical step could help you stop hiding His glow today?

Day 2: When Your Light Feels Like a Faulty Flashlight

Hiding light under a basket isn’t always intentional – sometimes we obstruct it through shame over past failures or fear of imperfect witness. Like a child shaking while holding a flashlight for their parent, our trembling doesn’t negate the light’s power. The lamp’s purpose isn’t diminished by the holder’s weakness, only by refusing to lift it. God specializes in using flickering flames to guide others home. [19:21]

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.”
(2 Corinthians 4:6-7, NASB)

Reflection: What insecurity about your “container” (past struggles, personality, skills) have you allowed to dim your witness? How might Christ want to highlight His power through that exact weakness today?

Day 3: Good Works as God’s Autograph

Good deeds become distractions when done to prove our worth, but they’re divine signatures when flowing from surrendered hearts. Jesus healed not to collect praise but to redirect gazes upward. Our acts of love – from casseroles to forgiveness – aren’t the main event. They’re arrows pointing to the Author of all goodness, inviting others to trace the grace back to its Source. [29:39]

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
(Matthew 5:16, NASB)

Reflection: When someone thanks you for kindness, do you deflect or redirect? What phrase could you prepare to gently turn their attention toward God’s character?

Day 4: God’s Trophy Case of Redeemed Messes

Believers aren’t heaven’s elite team, but God’s display of transformative power. Like a mechanic showcasing a restored junker, God positions us in communities saying, “See what I did here? I’ll do it for you.” Our value as witnesses lies not in present perfection, but in being walking testimonies that no life is too broken for His repair. [16:59]

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
(2 Corinthians 3:18, NASB)

Reflection: What part of your “before Christ” story have you been downplaying? How might sharing that specific redemption bring someone hope this week?

Day 5: The Salt Shaker Isn’t About the Shaker

Modern influencers chase personal platforms, but Kingdom influence forgets itself. Salt’s value isn’t in the container, but in how it makes others thirst. When our conversations, social media, or quiet service make Jesus irresistibly tangible, we’ve succeeded – not when our name is remembered, but when His character becomes unforgettable. [36:29]

“Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
(Colossians 4:5-6, NASB)

Reflection: What mundane interaction this week (grocery line, text thread, work meeting) could become “saltier” if you asked, “How can I make Jesus taste good here?”

Sermon Summary

Matthew 5 puts Jesus’ people right in the middle of a watching world and says, “You are the light of the world.” Jesus does not say, “Go try to be light,” or “see if a little light can be brought in.” Jesus says that is who his people are because Christ is in them, just like he had already said they are the salt of the earth.

The influencer craze in today’s world shows how badly people want to be seen, followed, and known. Jesus takes that desire for influence and turns it toward the kingdom of God. The question is not whether somebody is influencing people, because somebody is always watching. The question is whether that influence is causing people to look at a life and glorify the Father in heaven.

The image of a city set on a hill makes the point plain. A city like that cannot be hidden, especially when darkness settles in and even a little light shows up from far away. Christ’s people are meant to be visible, not covert Christians, not “double o six” believers hiding behind private spirituality. The light is supposed to be seen, because God has pulled sinners out of a mess and put them on display as trophies of grace.

The lamp under the basket shows how foolish it is to hide what Jesus has lit. God puts the light in a person through the gospel, through repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The hard part is not making the light shine, because God does that. The hard part is getting self, attitude, pride, words, and behavior out of the way so the light can actually be seen.

The darkness of sin is pictured like a house after the power is gone, so black that a person cannot see even someone close by. Into that kind of darkness, the Spirit positions believers so the light reaches real people in real moments. Good works are not for earning salvation, proving greatness, or showing off Christian achievement. Good works are meant to open a window where people can see God and say, “Glory be to God.”

Jesus’ call ends with purpose. The light shines “in such a way” that people see the works and glorify the Father. The Christian life is not about living a best life, making a name, or becoming impressive. Christ lives his life in his people, and the right prayer becomes, not a desire to be a great Christian, but a surrendered desire for God to be glorified through whatever he wants to do.

Key Takeaways

1. Influence belongs to the kingdom Jesus does not leave influence in the hands of fame, platforms, and public attention. The believer is already shaping somebody’s view of God, whether that is intentional or not. Kingdom influence asks a better question than “Who is watching?” It asks whether the watching world is being pointed toward Christ or away from him. [10:17]
2. Light is identity, not performance Jesus says, “You are the light,” not “try harder until light appears.” That means the believer’s visibility begins with Christ’s presence, not personal effort or religious image management. The danger is not that the light is weak, but that self can stand in front of what God has already lit. [20:09]
3. Darkness makes little light obvious The world’s darkness is not just inconvenience, but the blindness of sin and separation from God. In deep darkness, even a small light gets attention and changes what can be seen. God places his people in ordinary roads, homes, workplaces, and neighborhoods because real darkness needs real light nearby. [16:06]
4. Good works aim at God’s glory Good works are not spiritual trophies for the believer to polish. Jesus gives them a direction, so that people see them and glorify the Father in heaven. The work may pass through human hands, but the praise must land on God, because only God cleans up the mess and makes a sinner new. [29:39]
5. Surrender gets self out of light The biggest struggle is often not knowing what God should do, but letting God do it without self taking over. Pride, fear, attitude, and old habits can block what the Spirit is trying to show. Dying to self is not vague religious talk here, but the daily work of moving out of the way so Christ can be seen.

## [40:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:32] - Salt of the Earth Continued
[01:01] - The World Wants Influencers
[05:47] - You Are the Light
[06:34] - No Covert Christians
[08:19] - Seen for God’s Glory
[11:16] - Light as Christian Identity
[14:01] - God Displays Cleaned-Up Messes
[16:06] - Light in a Dark World
[18:35] - The Lamp Is Not Hidden
[22:49] - Positioned by the Spirit
[26:55] - Good Works and Glory
[34:19] - Getting Out of the Way
[38:10] - Asking the Right Prayer
[40:26] - Surrender and the Spirit’s Work

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” [05:47] [05:54] [06:15]

Matthew 5:13
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.” [00:32] [00:40] [05:59]

Acts 2:38
“Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'” [19:48] [41:39]

Observation questions

In Matthew 5:14-16, what three pictures does Jesus use to describe his people and their visibility in the world: a city, a lamp, and good works? [18:35]
According to Matthew 5:16, what is supposed to happen when people see the believer’s good works? [26:55]
What are some specific things that can get in front of the light and keep it from being seen clearly? [20:09]
What kinds of everyday places and situations were named where this light is meant to be seen? [17:30]

Interpretation questions

Jesus says, “You are the light of the world,” not “try to become the light.” How does that shape the way a believer thinks about identity and influence? [11:26]
If a city on a hill cannot be hidden, what does that suggest about private, hidden, or “covert” Christianity? [06:34]
Jesus says good works should lead people to glorify the Father. How does that keep good works from becoming self-promotion or religious performance? [29:22]
Acts 2:38 connects repentance, baptism, forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. How does that help explain where this light comes from in the first place? [19:48]

Application questions

Who is watching this week in closer ways than might be realized—family, neighbors, coworkers, friends? What kind of picture of God might those people be getting from daily words, tone, and reactions? [13:07]
Where does “self” most often get in front of the light right now—attitude, pride, fear, habits, speech, frustration, or something else? What would it look like to move out of the way in that area? [40:26]
Has there been a moment when someone could have spent time around this life and never guessed there was faith in Christ there? What may have been hidden, muted, or inconsistent in that season? [18:02]
The world is dark enough that even a little light stands out. What ordinary place this week may be darker than it first appears—home, work, school, a friendship, a public setting? How might Christ want his light present there through simple faithfulness? [16:06]
Good works are meant to send praise upward to the Father. Is there a temptation to do the right thing and still secretly want to be noticed, appreciated, or thought of as impressive? How can the heart be redirected toward God’s glory? [39:04]
Each day can be approached either as “God, help with my plans,” or “God, position me for your assignment.” What usually shapes the start of the day? What might change if the second approach became more normal? [22:49]
Since the light is already there because Christ is in his people, what would surrender look like in one concrete situation this week? Where is there a need to stop trying to manage everything and simply let the Spirit work? [21:35]

Sermon Clips

50s

#DontBlockTheLight

“You know, it it's kinda like, you know, faith it it requires for God, Jesus lit the lamp. Jesus put the light in you. Right? In me. He he lives in us because we were obedient to the gospel. We said, yeah, we believe what we believe about Jesus. He's lord and savior. I need to repent and I wanna be baptized. I wanna I want him to be my Lord and Savior. And I wanna serve him. And I wanna be part of the kingdom of God. And when the spirit of God comes in, there's light. So all we have to do is get out of way of it. Hello? Can ever think about that? Sometimes people don't see Christ in me because I'm standing in the way. My attitude or my thoughts or my words or my behavior or whatever.”

69s

#RedeemedForHisGlory

“Right? So, because we belong to Christ, our lives are designed to be visible and distinct in a watching world. God intends for people to look at you and your life. You you particularly. And that's that's kinda that's kinda hard to swallow sometimes. It's like, why would god use this? To show anybody anything about him. Right? But I want you to think about that because I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that has that perspective on occasion. Because I know who I am and I know what I used to be and I know where I'm going. And it's all to God's glory. But the reason God chooses an old sinner like me and you because he wants the whole world to see how he can easily clean up this mess and make it something that glorifies him. Hello? And if he can clean this mess up, certainly he can clean all the other messes up.”

59s

#GoodWorksForGodsGlory

“The ultimate aim of every visible good work, meaning the good things that you do led by the spirit of god. Right? The good works, the loving people part. The ultimate aim or goal is the glory of god. You ever you ever think about that? Jesus died on the cross, gave it freely gave up his life in a brutal and nasty, ugly way. And gave up his own life, took his last breath by his own free will, and then was buried in a grave and God brought him out of that grave, resurrected him from the dead. Yes. So that you and I can be saved from our sinful behavior. We can be reconciled to him. Ain't that great? But it's not really the main reason, is it? The main reason is so that god would be glorified. You're saved so that god would be glorified”

46s

#LiveAsLight

“So the big idea remains this. Jesus calls his people to live as visible light so that good works lead to others glorifying the father. We're not doing good works to earn salvation. We're not doing good works to say to the world where I'm different than I was and I'm better now and I'm a great person or I'm a great Christian. We're not doing good works to prove that we have Jesus in our life. We're not doing that. We're doing good work so that we can bring the light of god, the light of Jesus into the people's lives. So that they can have a chance, an opportunity to make a decision to accept that light or not.”

57s

#KingdomInfluencers

“It's a little deeper, a little bit deeper than what we had in in our minds. So, look, bottom line, we the believers, Christians around the world, are to be the most powerful influencers in the world and always has been since Jesus came out of the grave and and Pentecost. Once once Pentecost came and the spirit of God came into the hearts of those believers, boom, influencers were born. Influencers for the kingdom of God. So that's why I'm telling you, I'm not against people wanting to be influencers. I'm just saying to you that if you're gonna be an influencer, which you should be and need to be, it needs to be for the right reasons. If I could influence anybody and everybody in the world and I only had one thing to teach them, one thing to pour into their life, why would I pick anything other than Jesus?”

49s

#PositionedByTheSpirit

“It's not the the problem is not the light. The problem is the positioning. And I think as long as we keep trying to position ourselves, we're gonna have trouble. If you if you try to be the light yourself, you're gonna you're gonna have trouble. You let you let the Holy Spirit be the light in you. You are the light. And then you let the Holy Spirit position you in the world every day. And watch how God changes people. And watch how he changes you. And watch what he does in your life. And it'll be amazing because you you won't even you'll be so busy praising God and glorifying God that you won't even be able to see that everybody else is doing the same thing. You see?”

54s

#SaltAndLightOnDisplay

“I mean, the earth, the planet, and all of god's creation is amazing. And there's plenty of things to enjoy and appreciate and celebrate. But the world, culture, and people who are lost in their sin, we make it ugly. And God's saying, you are to be salt and light in the middle of all of that. You're to be different. You're not to be hidden, you're to be seen. You're you're you're a trophy in god's trophy box. And he's put us on display for the whole world to see. Look, here's another one. Here's another one that I pulled out of the mess. What mess? The mess that you're in. The same mess that you're in, God can pull you out just like he pulled these people out. That's the gospel, y'all. That's what God wants people to see.”

56s

#DailySpiritAssignment

“So, be aware that it's not it's not only your identity, but it's who placed the light there, the placement of the light. You have to be in position for the light to shine. Meaning, you we get up every morning and we look for the assignment. We watch for the spirit of God to guide us. And we react to what he's teaching us and leading us in the moments of the day. You won't miss you won't miss opportunities if we have our mindset that way because then it becomes how how does god want to shine his light today in my life instead of how's god gonna help me do what I wanna do today? You see the difference? Too many people think, okay, we have the spirit of god and we have prayer so that god will help me with my day. And that's not at all the case, is it? It's not at all the case. I'm I'm I'm on his plan. We're this is his day. This is his life that I'm living now.”

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