Let Your LIGHT Shine!

Closing Candlelight Service

The great gospel of John opens with these words...

John 1:1–9 KJV 1900

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Verse 14 of that same chapter goes to to say...

John 1:14 KJV 1900

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Later Christ would say...

John 8:12 KJV 1900

12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

In John 9, Christ also said...

John 9:5 KJV 1900

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

And then

John 12:46 KJV 1900

46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

PASTOR LIGHTS THE BIG CANDLE

Christ indeed is the LIGHT of the Word. Behind me on the communion table is a single large candle. It represents Christ who it the Light of the World.

Christ said these words...

John 12:35–36 KJV 1900

35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. 36 While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

As we know, Christ eventually offered Himself as payment for man’s sin upon the Cross of Calvary. There He died, He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and, then, on the third He proved He was resurrection as He arose from the dead. A short time afterwards, the Light of the World stood on hill outside of Jerusalem with His disciples. He tells them...

Acts 1:8 KJV 1900

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

And then...

Acts 1:9 KJV 1900

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

At that moment the Light of the World was gone into Heaven. However, He did not leave without leaving His light in the hearts of men. Those men who stood their that day carried His light in their own lives. It was these to whom He had said as He preached His great Sermon on the Mount...

Matthew 5:14–16 KJV 1900

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 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. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

All of this was in preparation for that moment when He would leave and depart to be with the Father. Thus, our duty is to continue spreading the Light of the Word throughout the world.

As we stand here this evening, we stand having the same great Commission that Christ gave when He left. And, until He returns, we are to keep on spreading the gospel. We are to tell the good news of Christ to all around us as well as help others who have surrendered to foreign lands.

Note a few things of importance here.

First, you, as a believer, are the light of the world. We are light in the sense we are to be reflecting the Light of the World which is Jesus. We are to Christ what the moon is to the sun. We are not the LIGHT, but we give off the LIGHT when we live our lives pleasing unto Him.

Second, as light, we are made to shine and not be hid. Christ gives two analogies here. The first is a city on a hill. Sometimes, at night, I will walk out on my deck and look across the way. My house sets up on a hill and I can see all around me. I can see the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and I can see several miles to the east towards Lynchburg. At night, on a nice clear night, I can see the lights of Lynchburg lighting up the night sky. I can’t see the city itself, but I see sky illuminated by the bright lights of the city. A city lit up at night on hill cannot be hid. The second analogy is a candle on a candlestick. The reason is sets on a candlestick is to allow it to light up the house so all my see at night. It makes no sense to light a candle and stick it under a bushel. You light a candle so that you might see in the darkness. Thus, Christ says we are the light of world. We are to shine as bright as a city on a hill. We are not hide our light under bushel basket. No, we are to live according to the purpose God intended. That purpose is to be witness for Him.

Third, we shine not for ourselves, but to glorify God.

LIGHT ILLUSTRATION SLIDES HERE

One of the things that I often think about when I consider these verses is this. As you know, one candle gives off enough light to light up a certain area of circumference. In order to light up a large area, you need more than one candle. In fact, you need several. If you apply this to us being lights in this world of darkness, each of us have area we are to light up. We all have our own circle of family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Thus, you the light of their world. You can reach people that I do not know. God has placed them in your life as that you can be their light. However, if we do not take our responsibility serious and we hide our light, we are running the risk of those close to us never knowing Christ. They will die in their sins and spend an eternity separated from God in a very terrible place called Hell.

Tonight, we place this large candle in front of the church. It represents the TRUE LIGHT, that lighteth every man, the Lord Jesus Christ. From this pulpit, we are determined to tell the world the truth about Christ and His finished work on Calvary. It is a LIGHT that must go into all the world! Someone must take it. Our missionaries are willing to do just that. From this light, we will send more light...

TURN OUT ALL LIGHTS.

As I call the name of each Missionary Family we support, those with the Candle representing that PARTICULAR MISSIONARY is asked to come forward with their candle promising to PRAY for this Missionary Family and light their candle from the big candle and form a circle around the auditorium.

CALL EACH MISSIONARY NAME & ASK the person representing them to come forward.

SING “THANK YOU LORD FOR SAVING MY SOUL!”

Now, at this time, I ask that every other person starting on my right blow out their candle!

WAIT FOR CANDLES TO GO OUT.

You can now see what happens when we are disobedient or apathetic. When we stop praying and we stop giving, our lights began to go out. No longer are we making a difference in this dark and wicked world.

NOW, everyone blow out your lights!

All the lights going out but the light on the communion table represent what happens when there is no one left to be a witness. The whole world is left in darkness with no hope of eternity. There is no witness.

As we end this conference tonight, let us all come to the altar right now and let us pray together for our missionaries and their families. Let us commit ourselves to praying, giving, and going so that LIGHT of the World continues to penetrate this dark world.

END THE SERVICE by asking one to join hands around the church and singing once again “Thank You Lord for Saving My Soul.”