Preached as part of the series The Invisible God Becoming Visible, this message contrasts salesmanship with a billboard: a salesperson can promote something they have not tested themselves, while a billboard simply states the plain truth. Believers are described as God’s billboards, with Christ as the sponsor whose reputation is at stake whenever a believer’s testimony is tested, illustrated through Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Stephen, and present day accounts of believers who stood firm under pressure.
Scripture Reference
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Key Points: What Makes a Genuine Billboard
- A salesperson can promote what they have not personally proven, but a billboard, like Christianity rightly lived, states things exactly as they are, without exaggeration.
- Believers are called God’s billboards, meant to live in a way that makes others hungry to know Christ rather than relying on persuasion or argument.
- Christ is presented as the sponsor behind every believer’s life, stepping in to defend and vindicate them whenever their testimony is tested or attacked.
- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are given as billboards whose willingness to face the furnace brought the sponsor, God himself, visibly onto the scene as a fourth man in the fire.
- Stephen’s death is shown as another example of a billboard being tested, with the heavens opening to him and his final words echoing those spoken by Christ on the cross.
- Present day testimonies, believers in Malawi and Kenya who refused to compromise under pressure, are offered as evidence that a consistent, genuine life still draws people to Christ today.