Valley View Chapel September 8, 2013 Lessons from a Lighthouse Matthew 5:14a. Introduction

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1 1 Valley View Chapel September 8, 2013 Lessons from a Lighthouse Matthew 5:14a Introduction Emily and I are fascinated by lighthouses. Maybe it s because we spent the first three decades of our lives within easy driving distance of the Atlantic Ocean. But whenever we can, we like to visit lighthouses. From the beginning, lighthouses have had two purposes: to help mariners determine their location and to warn sailors of offshore hazards such as rocks, reefs and sandbars. The oldest lighthouse was on the island of Pharos, near Alexandria, Egypt. It was in operation around 280 B.C. and was regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Eddystone Lighthouse, situated on a reef fourteen miles off the coast of Plymouth, England, has long been celebrated in ballad and folklore. The first lighthouse to occupy that spot opened in It was swept out to sea only four years later. Its replacement was destroyed by fire in The third was replaced by the present tower in Many of you have seen some of the beautiful lighthouses located here in the United States. There s the Cape Hatteras Light on North Carolina s Outer Banks. I m told that the Heceta Head Light on the Oregon coast is breathtaking in its beauty. The Montauk Point Light at the eastern tip of Long Island, was built in 1776 and is magnificently preserved. Maine has dozens of lighthouses. For Emily and me, Our favorite lighthouse in Maine is Nubble Light in Cape Neddick. Of the numerous Cape Cod lighthouses, we like Nauset Light in Orleans best. For the next few minutes, I want to share with you some lessons I have learned over the years from lighthouses that have helped me to live the Christian life. Lessons from Lighthouses 1. The very existence of a lighthouse means there s danger in the world.

2 2 If this world were a perfectly safe place, no one would have ever have built a lighthouse. But there are rocks, reefs, and sandbars which can destroy a ship and kill the crew. Greg O Brien, Cape Cod historian, estimates that there have been at least threethousand shipwrecks off the coast of Cape Cod. How many more there would have been had lighthouses not shined their beams along the perilous Massachusetts coast? We live in a dangerous world. The rocks of marital discord threaten families. The reefs of materialism break apart the joy and contentment which our Creator envisioned for us when he made us. The sandbars of purposelessness and restlessness cause the ship of life to founder and sink in depression and disillusionment. Because the world is a dangerous place, it needs a light that will help ships in trouble find their way to the safety of the harbor. 3. A lighthouse is meant to be seen. Jesus knew this principle, which is why he exhorted his disciples in Matthew 5:16 to let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. We are encouraged and refreshed by worship and fellowship on Sunday morning. But we will soon leave this place, and re-enter a world in need of lighthouses to provide the guidance needed by lost people. Perhaps you don t think you have enough Bible knowledge to be a light to anybody. The truth is that you do. The story is told of a new Christian who felt inadequate about being a witness for Christ at work. Her pastor asked: How long does it take a candle to shine after it is lit? She replied: It shines right away. Jesus didn t think that people should wait for formal training to tell others about him. Jesus said to the man who had just been delivered from many demons: "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." Mark 5:19 (NIV) John 4 recorded the time that Jesus had a conversation with a woman of questionable reputation as he sat by a well in Samaria. After just a few minutes with Jesus, she went to her friends and said: "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" John 4:29 (NIV)

3 3 We re told in verse 39, Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. John 4:39 (NIV) There is persuasive power in a personal testimony. Don t worry about being able to answer every question. Just be willing to say what the man said to the Jewish religious leaders in John 9:25, One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (NIV) 4. A lighthouse is never off-duty. 365 days a year, twenty-four hours a day, the lighthouse illumines the seashore in rough seas or calm; rain or shine; clear or foggy. Christians are never off-duty. We are on duty at the kitchen table; at work; in the neighborhood; in the grocery store; the classroom; the locker room; and the athletic field. 5. A lighthouse serves a limited area. For example, the Nobska Lighthouse in Woods Hole, Cape Cod, can be seen for seventeen miles out to sea. Nobska Light cannot assist all the ships at sea, but it can help those within its range of influence. We are called to serve our unique range of influence. These are the people everywhere who need our lighthouse. We cannot do everything, but we can do something to show the love of God to one or two strangers to his saving grace. 37 years ago a quiet, unassuming man named Dick LaPlante worked for the town highway department in Whitman, Massachusetts. He invited a co-worker named Ray Fredette to church. Ray came and brought his fiancé, Debbie Clayton. Within a few months Ray and Debbie had come to faith in Jesus Christ. I married them in the summer of Today they live in North Carolina. Ray, Debbie, and their adult children are all following and serving the Lord. Dick LaPlante s lighthouse serviced a limited area the Whitman, MA highway department. Because he let his light shine, the history of one family was changed forever. 6. A lighthouse must be maintained regularly. The Fresnel lens has to be kept clean. Dirt on the lens inhibits the magnification of the lamp. Lives at sea depend on a clean lens. Have I allowed anything cloud my lens and hinder my testimony? The dirt of this world lands on the lens of my life. David said in Psalm 24:3-4, Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. (NIV) That s why I need to pray David s prayer, recorded in Psalm 139:23-24, on a regular basis: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

4 4 It has been said that the best advertisement for Jesus Christ is Christians and the worst advertisement for Jesus Christ is Christians. Christians who keep their lighthouse maintained are good advertisements for Jesus Christ. 6. A lighthouse pierces the darkness. A number of years ago, Emily and I walked along the shoreline of Lighthouse Beach in Chatham late one evening. The sky was dark, hazy, cloud covered. Yet every six seconds the light from Chatham lighthouse pierced the darkness because the light from the lighthouse is stronger than the darkness. Billy Graham is a lighthouse that shines 17 miles out to sea. Maybe you re just a nightlight that illumines two feet. Darkness is simply the absence of light. It cannot exist when confronted by light, even a nightlight. 7. A flag that flies outside the lighthouse. Every person who looks at a lighthouse knows who owns the lighthouse. You can tell by the flag. Is our flag flying? Can people identify us as belonging to Christ? Paul declared in Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes. (NLT) Can any true believer be ashamed of the one who put everything on the line so that we could be forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life? Martin Luther said that it wouldn t matter if Jesus had died on the cross a thousand times if no one ever heard about it. In his book Gospel J.D. Greear spoke with the voice of a prophet to the evangelical church of our day: We go on about our lives as if hell were not real, or like there are not 2,250,000,000 people who have no chance of hearing the gospel except through us. The chances are that you and I are Christians this morning because someone wasn t afraid to fly his or her flag publicly. 8. A lighthouse that doesn t shine is just a decoration. There are three lighthouses on Cape Cod called The Three Sisters. They are no longer operational. In fact, they now sit in a park about a half mile from the Atlantic. We pass them every time we go to Nauset beach in Orleans. Today they are little more than curiosities. What is true of The Three Sisters is also true of individuals. Perhaps there is someone here today once cared about the eternal souls of men and women. Perhaps someone here today used to witness to their faith, pray for lost people,

5 5 and be involved in ministry. But like the Three Sisters, it s been a long time since anyone saw the light of Jesus shining from your life. Conclusion Allow me to digress for a minute. I promise I ll connect the dots. Today, thanks to a small Canadian software company, high school students can get through biology class without smelling like formaldehyde. While students of old may have had to dissect frogs to earn a science credit, today s teen can opt for a bloodless alternative: the digital frog. Digital Frog International Inc. sells an interactive CD that allows students to probe a croaker s internal workings without ever lifting a scalpel. The impetus behind the digital frog program was company co-founder Simon Clark s squeamishness over cutting critters as a veterinarian student. Clark disliked dissection so much that he decided to find a less distasteful way to teach students anatomy and physiology. Thanks to this program, students across North America are now making incisions into virtual frogs with their computer mouse. Throughout the virtual dissection the computer program s speech component explains various organ functions while the program s three-dimensional animation allows the user to add cartilage and muscle to the frog s skeleton and get a beneath-the-skin view of how the amphibian moves. The advantages of using this program are obvious: mistakes made on virtual frogs are easily corrected, no real frogs are hurt and, perhaps best of all, students don t have to get their hands dirty. The whole procedure remains distant and antiseptic. I told you I d connect the dots. Lighthouses are now automated. Through the miracle of modern technology, the human element has been removed. There s no need for a lighthouse keeper to live a lonely, dedicated life in his little cottage. What is possible with biology and lighthouses is impossible with evangelism. We cannot witness to our faith in Jesus Christ without touching the lives of lost people. Jesus wasn t a virtual Savior who died a virtual death on a virtual cross. He still requires flesh-and-blood disciples to shine his light on their corner of the world. The light of the world will never become automated. In his book The Upside Down Church, pastor and author Greg Laurie observed: No person in the New Testament came to faith apart from the agency of a human being. God can get the job done without you or me. But in his wisdom God has chosen people to communicate his message.

6 6 So the next time we see a lighthouse, maybe we ll think about the great privilege that the Light of the world has entrusted to us. We are his lighthouse in a dark and dangerous world.