Watch Out For the Rocks
John 9:5, Colossians 3:3
Pastor Leslie Tipton

If you’ve spent any time at all on the coasts, rivers or Great Lakes of this nation, you’re bound to have seen one or two of the wonderful landmarks used around water. Although many have lost their significance and usefulness over the years, they are a part of our history here in the United States, as well as worldwide, for where there is ocean, there are lighthouses.

What is a lighthouse? In technical terms, it is a tower with a bright light at the top, located at an important or dangerous place regarding navigation (travel over water). The two main purposes of a lighthouse are to serve as a navigational aid and to warn boats of dangerous areas. It is like a traffic sign on the sea. What a seeing-eye dog is to a blind person is what a lighthouse is to a mariner.

The first lighthouses were built long before the time of Jesus, the Christ. The earliest known reference to a lighthouse can be found in the late great Greek epic poet’s poem, "The Iliad," by Homer (9th century - 8th century B.C.) and dates back to 1200 B.C. One of the first known lighthouses was also the greatest and most famous of all lighthouses. Built in 285 B.C., at Alexandria, Egypt, on an island at the entrance to the city’s harbor, this lighthouse, known as the "Pharos of Alexandria," was one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." It was over 440 feet (134 meters) tall and stood for 1,500 years - until it was destroyed by an earthquake. America’s very first lighthouse was built in Boston Harbor in 1716, and is now the only lighthouse staffed by light keepers.

They serve to warn the sailor of dangerous reefs beneath the sea or perilous rocky coasts on land, and to guide ships into a safe harbor or back out to sea. So the message of the lighthouse might be --STAY AWAY, DANGER, BEWARE, or COME THIS WAY. Every lighthouse tells the mariner, "This is exactly where you are."

This is exactly where you are…something to ponder here I think. After all, the main use of a lighthouse was during dark, perilous times when the lighthouse was the ONLY marker of danger or safe passage. Think about it…we’ve all heard the stories of ship captains in dangerous seas, desperately making an attempt to get into safe harbor during a storm. At night, without the equipment we now have to aid in navigation, a lighthouse was a God send. Before lighthouses, friends of the mariners would build a fire on the coast to mark where they were to return, and then later a light was hung from a pole to mark the spot. But the innovation of the lighthouse was very significant in the captain’s ability to feel secure in perilous times.  And the lighthouse could be seen for miles, with that light seated atop the high tower.

So why all this talk about lighthouses? We are right now in a state of transformation as a church. And, we are learning how to be transformed by Christ as He renews our minds. And we all have all the details worked out, we feel totally secure and we know exactly where we are going with our lives, where our ministries are taking us, how our jobs are going to work out, how our families are going to relate to us every day-wrong!

Does anyone here feel the need for a little direction in these times of transformation in which we find ourselves? I mean, am I the only one feeling a little insecure here? Do you find yourself in a deep fog? Are you in treacherous waters? Are you looking over the side trying to watch out for the rocks in the water?

From the moment we are born, we crave security. We found it in the comfort of our mother or father, in our feedings, in familiar surroundings, and in our favorite blanket.  Security is one of the most basic human needs… And now that we are adults, we find security in pretty much the same ways, although we do add some things to the list.

And when those things change or go away, how do we respond? We try to get them back, of course. We throw a fit, we cry, we get upset, we go through grief, we get depressed…and then we try to replace them with something or someone else. Yep, let’s be honest here, we do and we know it. But if we really desire to learn to “be not conformed to the patterns of this world and be transformed by the renewing of our minds,” we have to change our thinking.

When these things happen in our lives, how are we supposed to find security? What is it that is going to make us FEEL secure? How do we find security as followers of Christ?  What is our marker of safety and security?

In one word, or should I say one Name…Jesus! Let’s all go to John 9:5. “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Our Father in Heaven has given us our own lighthouse to follow, not just when things are great in our lives, but also when they are perilous. When the water of life it pitching us to and fro, when things don’t look familiar, when close friends and family leave, pass away, move away, when we can’t see the way…Jesus, our lighthouse is there for us saying “This is where you are, watch out for those rocks, come in here for with me there is safe harbor.” He truly is our lighthouse, especially in times when we don’t know where we are going.”

If we go back to the Book of Exodus, we see that the Lord gave the Hebrews two visible signs by which to follow Him when leaving Egypt and while in the desert. Those two signs….a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Aha, a pillar of fire, a lighthouse that could not be mistaken for anything else. “Here I am, follow Me,” He was saying to them. “For here is where you are, and over here is where you should come. This is the way to safe harbor.”

Colossians 3:3 says “We are hidden with Christ in God.” Being hidden means to be joined to Him, and being joined to Him means that we can follow Him in our time of need.

But really, we go even further in our state of fret. We ask God “WHY ME?” “Why do I have to go through this? Why are You doing this to me?” What did I do to deserve this?

In his book “The Character of Leadership,” Jeff Iorg suggests that we not ask why me, but rather, “Why this for me now?” In other words, what am I to learn of this situation?  We want to feel secure all the time. We want a nice smooth path in life, with no waves, where we can see the way ahead of us clear as a bell.

 

But that’s not how life works. Life, in a word, is hard. Yes, there are times in life where we coast, where everything is easy and without tribulation. But if life were always easy, how would we grow.

If we didn’t have trials to go through, we would NEVER grow. NEVER! Our minds would be dull and our reactions slow.

There’s a reason we’re taught to walk by faith with only Jesus in our sights. He is the lighthouse. He says to us “Trust me, I’m here, follow me.”

Here are some practical steps:

The first thing we need to do is admit exactly how we feel about life around us. Why? So that God can use others to give us counsel and pray for us. For sure God knows what you are going through, and for sure those around you know if they’ve spent anytime with you at all.

The second thing we do…look for positive, Biblical ways to change our lives.

Are you feeling alone? Look for fellowship within the body;

Do you need direction? Ask for counsel from a leader in the church.

Third thing we do then is to walk out our new behavior in faith, even though we don’t feel like it, because most likely you won’t for awhile!

Romans 8:38 says this: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor power, now things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing, that means nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ…translated to our sermon theme; no matter how high the waves, no matter how severe the rain, no matter how far you are off course, you will always be able to see the lighthouse. He will always be there, with a light so bright and so warm that you will always see your way clear of the rocks and your way into that safe harbor.

 To see Pastor Leslie's sermon in it's entirety, please go to:

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