The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse

by Pastor Jim May

Isaiah 9:2 "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined."

Years ago there was a song written by Ronnie Hinson that went something like this:

There’s a lighthouse on the hillside that overlooks life’s sea.

When I’m tossed it sends out a light that I might see.

And the light that shines in darkness now will safely lead me home,

If it wasn’t for the lighthouse, my ship would sail no more.

Chorus

And I thank God for The Lighthouse, I owe my life to Him.

Jesus is The Lighthouse and from the rocks of sin,

He has shown the light around me, so that I might clearly see.

If it wasn’t for The Lighthouse, Where would this ship be?

Everyone that lives around us, says tear that old lighthouse down,

The big ships don’t sail this way anymore, ain’t no use in it standing round.

But then my mind goes back to that stormy night, when just in time I saw the light

With the light from that old lighthouse, that stands there on the hill.

Chorus

And I thank God for The Lighthouse, I owe my life to Him.

Jesus is The Lighthouse and from the rocks of sin,

He has shown the light around me, so that I might clearly see.

If it wasn’t for The Lighthouse, Where would this ship be?

Now we all know that Jesus is the True Light. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we read where John the Baptist was called to preach the coming of the True Light that lights the heart of every man. But Jesus gave us some insight as to who would be used to broadcast, or reflect His pure light to all the world.

Matthew 5:14-16, "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."

Tonight I want us to look at the church and see whether or not we are really being the light that He expects us to be. Is the light that we are giving to the world really the light of Jesus? Is our light growing dim, or is it shining brightly? It is my hope that by the end of this message, God will reveal to each of us just how brightly we are shining for him!

Illustration:

Some time ago I read an article, I think it came from the National Geographic, concerning a lighthouse that I want to use in this message.

Offshore of the state of North Carolina, near the outer banks of the continental shelf lies one of the most dangerous stretches of ocean in the world. Over the past 400 years, there have been more than 300 ships that have sunk in this small area. It has become known as "The Graveyard of the Atlantic". What makes this area so dangerous? The problem is a 14 mile stretch of sandbar, that is constantly shifting, called "Diamond Shoals".

Recognizing the danger in this area, and the need to warn ships at sea of the sandbar, the U.S. government constructed a lighthouse on Cape Hatteras in 1870.

By Day the navigators could tell where they were on the coast by the unique paint pattern & design of the lighthouse and by night, they could tell which lighthouse it was by the frequency of the flash.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the biggest Lighthouse in the United States. It is 208 feet tall (roughly 12 stories high) with 48" thick walls. 1.25 million bricks were used in it’s construction and the internal cast iron staircase to reach the top has 248 steps.

If you have ever looked at pictures of lighthouses, I am sure that you have seen photos of this lighthouse. It is the only one in the world that painted candy stripe in black and white.

What is the main purpose of that lighthouse? It was built to save lives and property.

When you think about it, the church’s mission is the same as that lighthouse. The world out there is a dark and dangerous place. People are sailing through life in very dangerous waters and the devil is constantly throwing new obstacles in their paths.

Have you ever been cruising through life feeling as though you were on top of the world then suddenly you hit a snag (sickness, disease, loss of job, troubles in the home, even a division in the church) and it felt like your life was in shambles? Those are some of the shifting “sandbars” of life. The devil’s purpose is to steal your victory, destroy your life, and sink your ship into the pits of hell.