RECHARGE | The Global Church: Be A Lighthouse

All right, happy Wednesday to you.

Glad to see you.

So imagine with me one day you are walking along and you meet Mr.

Lighthouse.

And you say, Hi, Mr.

Lighthouse, and you begin a conversation.

And it soon becomes apparent to you that Mr.

Lighthouse is so conceited.

He's so full of himself.

And you talk to him and he says, Look at how tall I am.

And you're like, Yes, you are tall.

And look at my beautiful stripes on the side.

Yes, you have those.

And look at how far my light shines.

And you would say, Yes, Mr.

Lighthouse, you're all of those things.

But you see, Mr.

Lighthouse, you're missing that your greatest beauty is in your purpose.

For your purpose is to shine light so that others can see, so that others can be saved.

And why do I start with that?

Well, you're going to see here in just a second where we're going.

On uh Wednesday nights, we've been walking through a sermon series where last semester we looked at the church and we wanted to think well about the church.

And this semester we've taken our focus the next step, and I want us to be thinking well about the global church.

I want us to think well about the global church.

Let me give you another illustration.

Maybe you have uh you're like my parents used to be, they used to love to walk in neighborhoods and they used to love to find new neighborhoods.

They would specifically scout out new neighborhoods and they would walk in them because they just wanted to see what they were building in our community and whatnot.

And they love to go through model homes, right?

Anyone here love to go through model homes?

Now, as you go through model homes, right, the builder puts everything into that model home, right?

So that when you walk through that model home, you see and understand what that builder is capable of.

As you go through that model home, that builder wants you to think of your own home and the different features and the different beauty and the different styling that you could get to your own home.

You see, the purpose of the model home is not the model home in and of itself.

It's for you to see what the builder is capable of and apply that to your own home.

Again, why do I say that?

Because one of the things I think I actually need to convince you of in reading your Bible is that God's movement through the entire Bible with Israel was not so that Israel would be an end in and of itself, but so that Israel would be a light to the nations, so that all of the nations would look and see, and they would say, Who is your God?

And why are you so beautifully and wonderfully made?

That's the point I want you to see this evening.

Israel was blessed to be a blessing, so that the nations might come and see.

Let me prove that to you really quickly.

Genesis chapter 12, when Abraham is called, and the Lord said to Abraham, and what did he say?

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

He said, I will make you a great nation, so that you shall be a blessing.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Now, we've covered that a few times now.

I want you to dig in deep, but I want you to see, right?

Abraham is chosen to be a blessing to all the nations.

So God's initial choice of Israel was so that all the nations would be blessed.

Now, let's pick up in Exodus chapter 19.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

Because in Exodus 19, right, God is saying to his people, this is at Mount Sinai, he's making a covenant with them, and he's telling them, You shall be my own possession.

Okay?

You are gonna be my special nation.

But then look at what he says to them.

So that you shall be to me a kingdom of priests.

Now, ask yourself, what is the role of a priest?

The role of a priest is someone who stands between God and man, the go-between.

That is the role of the peer of a priest, someone who is holy and has been set aside who understands both God's desires and man's desires.

You see, from the very beginning, Israel was called to be that kingdom of priest, the go-between.

Let's continue on a little further.

Look at what it says in Deuteronomy chapter 4.

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

God has given instruction to Israel.

He says, And so I have taught you my statutes and my judgments.

Okay, but then catch this in six through eight, he says, so that the nations will see my statutes in you, and then the nations will say of Israel, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

For what great nation is there that has a God that is so near to it as the Lord our God?

And then look at what it says in verse 8.

And what great nation is there that has his statutes and judgments as righteous as this?

You see it there, don't you?

You see, God said, I'm calling you Israel, and I'm gonna give you my laws and my statutes, and I'm gonna bless you.

Okay, so that all the other nations will look and they will say, Wow, look at you.

I wonder who your God is, that you're so blessed, that your God is so near to you, that you are so righteous and you walk so differently from all the other nations.

Let's keep going, let's take it a step further.

So, Isaiah chapter 2 says, Now, O come about in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it, and many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us concerning his ways, and that we may walk in his paths.

Isaiah 2 · chapter mention

You see the picture there, don't you?

It's a shining city on a hill.

It's the lighthouse that is attractive, that everyone wants to belong to.

Why?

Because God planted his people, God, God, like the model home, God did everything for his nation and wanted to bless them and give them all of his character and all of his attributes so that all of the world would flock to it.

You see, Israel was always about the nations seeing the character of God and wanting the character of God.

And in 1 Kings chapter 10, you actually get a small glimpse of this occurring.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

Because after David comes Solomon.

And in the beginning of Solomon, everything is good, right?

Solomon is carrying out David's legacy, and he is blessed upon blessed upon blessed.

And there is a particular moment in 1 Kings chapter 10 when the queen of Sheba has heard about Solomon and his wisdom.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

She has heard about God and what is happening in Israel, and she comes and she pays tribute and homage, and she leaves there and she says, Blessed be the Lord your God.

See, she hears, she comes, she sees, and she praises God.

And you think, this is magnificent.

This is what is supposed to take place.

This is the plan.

This is how the nations come to Israel, and they see that they have the one true God.

And yet, what do we know that happens next?

Israel fails.

Israel repeatedly, time after time after time, wants to be like the nations.

Okay?

And instead of them having God's character, right?

They have a hardened heart, they chase after all the other gods.

They want to be like the nations instead of having the nations flock to it.

Solomon's heart chases after other gods.

So you would read that and you would think, well, then I guess that's not gonna happen.

I guess that's not the real plan.

But when you get to the end of Isaiah chapter 49, a servant is promised.

Isaiah 49 · chapter mention

It's promised that a servant is going to come.

And the promise still is that I will make you a light to the nations, so that my salvation will reach to the end of the earth.

And then the Son of God shows up.

And he stands on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and declares, I am the light of the world.

And then incredibly, in Matthew chapter 5, what does he say to his people?

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

See, what I want you to see and to understand is that the promise and the initial plan that God's character would be displayed through his people, okay, doesn't fail.

It just finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ and through the church.

And that same idea and promise that Israel was never able to fulfill, why?

Because they had a heart that couldn't keep.

The Spirit dwells within us.

So now, when the scripture says to you, church, you know you're the light of the world.

You know you're supposed to be like a lighthouse.

You know, remember what Deuteronomy said?

That others would look at Israel and say, Why is your God so near?

Why are you so blessed?

Why do you have his statutes and why do you live so differently?

We would all say, Well, that's exactly the picture of the New Testament church.

Why is your God so near, church?

Why has your God saved you and why does he walk with you?

And why does he teach you?

So in the end, we're forced to ask the ultimate question Are we being a lighthouse?

Are we being a lighthouse?

Or are we arrogant about that Mr.

Lighthouse in the beginning?

That was silly.

Look at how tall I am, or look at my beautiful stripes on the side.

Yeah, but you don't understand.

Your your purpose is to shine the light to others.

That it compels all people to come.

All people to come.

Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, as we walk through your word quickly, and as we think about our own lives, we are called to shine your light.

King Jesus, help us to do that.

Help us to leave here full of your grace and your light and your character, your nearness.

Help us to know you and to walk with you.

But Father, may we never forget that all of your goodness towards us is for the intended purpose of shining your light to those around us.

May we never be so short-sighted.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.