The Lighthouse
20th Anniversary Celebration • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south.”
Promptly a return message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north.”
The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am the captain!”
Soon another message was received: “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am seaman third class Jones.”
Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: “Alter your course 10 degrees south—I am a battleship.”
Then the reply came: “Alter your course 10 degrees north—I am a lighthouse.”
God laid it on hearts of the founders of this church to call this fellowship, The Lighthouse, I’m sure for various reasons, but the most obvious is to shine a light into the darkness around us.
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lighthouse Fellowship, we’re going to Remember, Reflect, and Rejoice.
We want to Remember what He has done, Reflect on why He has asked us to do what He has asked us to do, and to Rejoice in what He is going to do.
Let’s Remember What He Has Done
Let’s Remember What He Has Done
Prime the pump for later celebration.
Our faith is one of remembering.
“Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. “Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
What are we remembering today?
What God has done
How He brought all of this together.
From a crazy God birthed idea to start a new church in Corsica, to bringing this pastor who did not want to come to South Dakota, to building this addition and finally to this 20th year of God’s goodness.
The journey from start to today has been an amazing testimony of God’s faithfulness and providence.
How He has worked all things together, including the bad, for the good of this body.
How He has never abandoned us in the process.
The fruit that was produced through the power of the Holy Spirit
Mission Trips and Missionaries
Salvations
Baptisms
Spiritual Growth
Things He has taught us about Himself.
Places He’s healed in our lives.
Wisdom He’s granted us in the direction for this church.
Why? So, that He gets the glory and we remember why we are doing what we are doing.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of doing it because that’s what we’ve always done or that’s how we’ve always done it.
It’s easy to forget why we are doing the things that we do.
We get too caught up in the doing and forget the why.
Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2
‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
Remembering the why helps avoid:
legalism
lethargy
apathy
distraction
detours
leaving our first love
Reflect On Why We Are Doing What We Are Doing
Reflect On Why We Are Doing What We Are Doing
To that last point, let’s remember why we are doing what we think we are doing.
We’re going to look at this through the lens of light.
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Light Has Always Been A Biblical Metaphor of God’s Presence, of Purity and Healing, and of Truth and Revelation
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Ultimately, Fulfilled in Jesus
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Let’s stand to read John 1:1-17 get the full context of where I am going with this.
Light Brings Life (vs 3-4)
Light Brings Life (vs 3-4)
In The Beginning there was light and then there was life. (vs 3-4)
This takes us back to Genesis 1
Light metaphorically brings order out of chaos.
sin breeds chaos, but Jesus brings order to our lives.
The Light shows us the right way.
In Him was life. (vs 4)
The life of Jesus becomes the light of men.
Jesus enabled people to see God at work in the world.
You’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.
Light as a metaphor of God’s presence.
The Word was God and the Word became flesh...
Jesus ultimately fulfilled the greatest work of God in the world.
The salvation of humanity.
Light brings Purity and Healing
Light Therapy promotes healing.
Blue light kills bacteria.
Light brings life.
Light as a metaphor of purity and healing.
Light Illuminates (vs 5)
Light Illuminates (vs 5)
Light shines in the darkness. (vs 5)
Darkness has not overcome it / comprehend it.
The Darkness neither accepts it, nor can it put it out.
Light as a metaphor of truth and revelation -
The Darkness cannot defeat the Light.
Know the truth and the truth will set you free.
The lies of the devil are no match for the truth of Jesus.
Light shines and darkness scatters or hides.
Jesus, as the light of the world, came to reveal the truth about things.
Believers Are Lights (vs 6-9)
Believers Are Lights (vs 6-9)
Light is the only I AM statement of Christ that He then turns around and applies directly to us.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;
Jesus Passes The Mission of Being a Light on to Us
You all, plural, are a singular light.
Individuals shining together to be brighter.
To each other and to the world.
We need the church and we need more believers to populate the church so that we can be brighter, yet.
We see John understand this which becomes a model for us.
We become lights by being witnesses of THE Light.
John was a witness to testify about Jesus.
How has Jesus impacted your life?
What difference has He made in your life?
How Are We Witnesses? (vs 12-17)
How Are We Witnesses? (vs 12-17)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
We have seen His glory full of grace and truth.
We have received of His fullness grace upon grace. (vs 16)
And we are to share what we have seen and heard and experienced so that all might believe and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. (vs 12)
We are witnesses in that as the properties of light applied to Jesus, so they apply to us.
We are to make manifest God’s presence
We are to help people find God’s way.
We are to bring God’s healing and promote God’s purity
We are to reveal God’s truth.
Bring God’s Healing and manifest His presence: Good Works
“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.
Everything that reflects the mind and will of God.
God wants us to be healed spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Which will all occur 100% in Heaven for believers.
But we share the breadcrumbs of that with the world, now.
We heal by being the hands and feet of Jesus to the world.
We heal by having the same lovingkindness and compassion that Jesus did.
We heal by alleviating the suffering of people due to sin.
And when people see those good works, God gets the glory.
And in Him getting the glory, His presence is made real to people.
He is manifested in their midst.
Promote God’s Purity, Reveal His Truth, and Lead them to the right way.
so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
Promote God’s Purity
blameless and innocent - cannot blame us for wrongdoing or impure motives.
above reproach - take the high way, be above board, so as to not leave a bad reputation.
Set an example of integrity and character.
Reveal His Truth
Crooked - skolios
warped from dryness
meander off the straight path
Corrupt/perverse - diastrepho
twist or turn so as to distort.
To seduce or mislead
Satan and his lies
We are to be the light to reveal the truth of God and lead people back to the right way.
Conclusion
Jesus is the Light of the World and He passes that mission onto us.
We are the light of the world in that we are shining the light of Jesus to the world.
We do that by manifesting God’s presence, bringing God’s healing and promoting God’s purity, and revealing God’s truth.
And as such I love the fact that we are called the Lighthouse Fellowship:
A Lighthouse Warns of Danger
The Lighthouse points the way through the rocks and shallow spots.
Jesus Is THE Way
The Lighthouse reveals the dangers of the world and shows the safe way through.
A Lighthouse Drives the Darkness Out
The light is a Beacon of Truth that pierces the darkness.
Jesus Is THE Truth
The Lighthouse illuminates the darkness so we can accurately see what’s around us.
A Lighthouse Leads to the Safe Harbor
The Lighthouse points those who have lost their way and are distressed to the Safe Harbor, to Jesus.
Jesus Is THE Life
The Lighthouse helps those who have lost hope to find it again.
A Lighthouse Guides to Restoration
The Light is a Beam of Healing:
Jesus Is THE Resurrection and THE Life
Trials of life, even for a believer, can leave one brokenhearted.
The Lighthouse allows a place and space for healing.
A Lighthouse Is a Place To Weather the Storm
in the Presence of God.
Abide or remain
A place to rest and refuel.
The light is the envelopment of the Shekinah glory of God.
The Lighthouse provides strength through praise and worship.
The Lighthouse - A Harbor Of Safety In A Storm Tossed World
This is who we have been, who we are, and who we need to continue to be going forward.
My heart for the Lighthouse is that God’s light so radiates this sanctuary and shines so brightly out of this place that people will be like the ones Zech describes:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
By God’s grace and strength we will continue the mission that He commissioned Aaron, Scott, and Jon Lane to begin.
Let’s pray for God to revitalize those areas so we can continue to grow and serve the community and beyond for His glory.
My Final Point: Rejoice in What He’s Going to Do will be covered in the final closing exhortation at the end of the celebration this afternoon.
Closing Song: The Way
