Title: What Do You Do When the Lights Go Out?
Text: John 1:1-5 & 9
Matthew 5:14-16
-I want to talk to you about this simple question - What do you do when the lights go out?
Pray
Light the candle
Turn lights out
(Stats by George Barna)
I. Los Angeles School District
A. They practice five drills throughout the year.
1. Including drive-by shootings and riots.
2. The riot drills are not for people outside the school rioting, but the students inside the school.
B. We see the news that juvenile crime is up 600% since 1960, that 27% of all high school students do not graduate.
1. America leads the world in teen suicide and teen pregnancy.
2. We feel powerless to stem the tide of negativity.
3. You have heard the stories, you see the darkness sweep over the young people in our societies, you have heard the statistics.
C. Do you feel powerless against the darkness?
1. If you do let’s turn on the lights tonight.
2. Let’s take a stand tonight for what is right.
What do you do when the lights go out?
Blow candle out wait, then turn lights on, beginning with the platform.
II. I grew up in here in South Florida.
A. The weather as we know can be brutal.
1. Power outages are common.
a. Hurricanes come every year, some are rather fun, others will scare you to death.
b. But one thing is common with them, the power almost always goes out.
2. And when there are no hurricanes, there are thunderstorms that make the ones up North look like April showers.
a. The wind literally blows the rain in a horizontal fashion, so it looks like it is raining sideways.
b. It is nothing for telephone poles to be blown over, or lines to be broken by a falling tree.
B. Florida Power & Light calls these outages “disruptions in the service”.
1. But whatever you call it, the result is the same - darkness.
III. Darkness can be scary.
A. When I was a kid, I remember waking up seeing images in the darkness that were not really there.
1. but the darkness had a way of distorting things that way.
2. It is easy to get lost in the dark.
a. I remember when I was little we lived in VA.
b. I used to run full speed to my grandparent’s house, because I just knew someone was following me.
B. Darkness can bring isolation and powerlessness.
1. You do not feel as comfortable controlling your surroundings when you cannot see them, so you retort to solitude.
IV. Darkness has settled in on this world.
A. The verdict is out on the young generation, the one called “X”.
1. It is one stained by drugs, sin, suicide, and sex.
2. It is the first generation in American history to be nameless.
B. Darkness has gripped this generation.
1. Satan knows that if he can get the youth he has the course of the nation in the palm of his hand.
2. And if he can get the youth of our churches, he has the course of the church in the palm of his hand.
V. The light has been turned off in the world today, sin has had it’s heyday.
A. But don’t get discouraged yet.
1. There is something you must know about darkness.
2. The darker the location the most vulnerable it is to light.
a. Street light comparison.
1. as the road gets darker the light seems to get brighter.
a. Paul said it like this, Where sin doth abound, Grace does much more abound.
B. Its time for us to quite hiding in the corner with the darkness.
1. It’s time for us to shine for his glory.
2. It’s time for people to notice something different about us.
VI. You are the light of the world.
A. You are a reflection of Him the true light.
1. What do you reflect?
2. Are you reflecting his glory or do you have some of the world primp in front of your mirrors.
B. Do you know what makes a lighthouse and a laser so important and powerful?
1. Not the size of the bulb.
a. The lighthouse on Assateauge Island, VA uses a regular light bulb to send warnings to ships over a mile out at sea.
b. It is not the bulb, but the focus of the reflection.
2. I know I am talking to adults, but you get scared too, so hear me.
a. You cannot ride the fence and make it to heaven.
b. It is time for us to shine His light to a world that is groping in the darkness.
VII. The world may not see you and I as much.
A. We may just be X, just a letter, but I have news for the world today...
1. We will not bow, we will not go quietly into the night.
2. We will stand for what’s right, and we will shine the light of God’s Word in this dark hour.
B. II Corinthians 4:6 - God commanded the light to shine in the darkness.
1. It is high time we stop making excuses and explaining away our salvation.
2. It is time to arise and shine, for the light has come.
VIII. The cave dwellers... (Max Lucado)
Long ago, or maybe not so long ago, there was a tribe of people in a dark, cold cave.
The cave dwellers would huddle together and cry against the chill. Loud and long they wailed. It was all they did. It was all they knew to do. The sounds in the cave were mournful, but the people didn’t know it, for they had never known joy. The spirit in the cave was death, but the people didn’t know it, for they had never known life.
But one day they heard a different voice. “I have heard your cries,” it announced. “I have felt your chill and seen your darkness. I have come to help you.”
The cave people grew quiet. They had never heard this voice. Hope sounded strange to their ears. “How can we know you have come to help?”
“Trust me,” he answered. “I have what you need.”
The cave people peered through the darkness at the figure of the stranger. He was stacking something, then stooping and stacking more.
“What are you doing?” one cried, nervous.
The stranger didn’t answer.
“What are you making?” one shouted even louder.
Still no response.
“Tell us!” demanded as third.
The visitor stood and spoke in the direction of the voices. “I have what you need.” With that he turned to the pile at his feet and lit it. Wood ignited, flames erupted, and light filled the cavern.
The people turned away in fear. “put it out!” they cried. “It hurts to see it.”
“Light always hurts before it helps”, he answered. “Step closer. The pain will soon pass.
“Not I,” declared a voice.
“Nor I,” agreed a second.
“Only a fool would risk exposing his eyes to such light.”
The stranger stood next to the fire. “Would you prefer the darkness? Would you prefer the cold? Don’t consult your fears. Take a step of faith.”
For a long time no one spoke.. The people hovered in groups covering their eyes. The fire builder stood next to the fire. “It’s warm here,” he invited.
“He’s right,” one from behind him announced. “It’s warmer.” The stranger turned to see a figure slowly stepping toward the fire. “I can open my eyes now,” she proclaimed. “I can see.”
“Come closer,” invited the fire builder.
She did. She stepped into the ring of light. “It’s so warm!” She extended her hands and sighed as her chill began to pass.
“Come everyone! Feel the warmth,” she invited.
“Silence woman!” cried one of the cave dwellers. “Dare you lead us into your folly? Leave us. Leave us and take your light with you.”
She turned to the stranger. “Why won’t they come?”
“They choose the chill, for thought it’s cold, it’s what they know. They’d rather be cold that to change.”
“And live in the dark?”
“And live in the dark.”
The now warm woman stood silent. Looking first at the dark then at the man.
“Will you leave the fire?” he asked.
She paused, then answered, “I cannot. I cannot bear the cold.” Then she spoke again. “But nor can I bear the thought of my people in darkness.”
“You don’t have to,” he responded, reaching into the fire and removing a stick. “Carry this to your people. Tell them the light is here, and the light is warm. Tell them the light is for all who desire it.”
And so she took the small flame and stepped into the darkness...
-What will you do when the lights go out?
