The Firework and the Lighthouse.

If you had a choice, which would you be?

Which do you plan on being this year? 

The Constant, The Strong, The Steady. 

Firework, Katy Perry.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,
drifting through the wind
wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
like a house of cards,
one blow from caving in?
Do you ever feel already buried deep?
6 feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you
You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe
You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow
Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know
You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough
'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

You’ve heard me mention it before. This bubble gum feel good pop song by singer Katy Perry. This song has merit, believe it or not! But while it’s basically summing up what the world wants you to be and achieve, I want to talk to you tonight about being MORE. Be MORE than a flash in the pan, be more than a spark in the sky. We are going to look at a few folks in the bible and see which characteristics they hold, those of a firework, which as we saw tonight are beautiful and bright, noisy and flashy, but quick and fleeting, or those of a lighthouse, Strong, Steady, Constant.

First, list off to me, just by hearing the beginning of this message, people you might list in the “Firework Zone”. Folks who flashed bright and loud but disappeared soon thereafter.

“Firework Zone”

Now let’s talk about some folks who may fit into the other category, depending on the characteristics they portray.

First up to bat, one of my personal favorites, David. David has ALL the proper ingredients to be a firework. He is strong, after a couple of cool moments he became very popular, even more popular than the king of the time, Saul. I would say that it’s kind of like being more popular than the president now a days, but in all honesty, it’s not that hard to do that. Especially with todays media, the internet, and social sites.  David was a warrior of the people. He literally rose up from the smelly sheep fields to royalty! He was the kind of person that Saul wanted to have around! David was charismatic, he was an honorable warrior, but then something happened, David got more popular than SAUL! Maybe David does fall in the firework category after all! But maybe not, let’s take a look at another couple of folks and see how this ends up.

Next up we have Joshua, he was Moses’ sidekick. He was used to playing in the back ground, being the shadows. Moses was the leader, Moses was the chosen one! Moses was…. DEAD. All of a sudden. He just was NO MORE. Joshua was chosen by God to continue leading the people of Isreal to the promised land. This was Joshuas chance to be a firework. To have the shot at being remembered for a short time for one cool event, or one flashy show. However, before he even gets the chance to do this, God kind of pre-empts his ability to do that with his introductory speech to Joshua as Joshua gets ready to take the reigns of this ENTIRE nation. 

Let’s see this exchange in Joshua 1.

Joshua  1
Joshua Installed as Leader

 1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

 7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

 10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’”

 12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you after he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

 16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

What repeating phrase do you hear in this passage over and over? It’s one you should be familiar with since I have brought it up in this class again and again! “Be Strong and Courageous!” Let’s move on and come back to this in a bit.

Here’s a name you may be familiar with especially in light of VERY recent events. Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow has ALL the prerequisites to be a firework. To be a flash in the pan.  A one hit wonder.  But you know what? Even if Tim Tebow NEVER plays another game of football in his LIFE, the effects of his life will last longer than the memory of his name. The impact that he has had to COUNTLESS people throughout his lifetime will continue to shine REGARDLESS of the fact that his football career took a BIG hit yesterday night at the hands of Tom Brady. This world would LOVE for him to be EXACTLY what they want YOU to be, and that IS a one hit wonder, a flash in the pan. Baby, they WANT you to be a firework. They WANT you to be a one and done! You know why? Because they want you to be WASTED on the temporary pleasures and vices that THEY are victims of. They want you to be chasing the next big thing, they want you to need to hear the next big hit, and watch the next big movie (an example of which I am CHIEF offender) and anticipate the next product. They WANT you to think that happiness is to be found in these temporary products. But if your roots are DEEP. If your flames are STRONG, you will find a stability and a strength to continue through every phase and fad and style.

Fireworks are AWESOME. I love them! Anyone who knows me knows this fact! They are literally one of my favorite money wasters. But they are over entirely to quickly! Big? Yep! Loud? Yep! Bright? Yep! Beautiful? Yep! But when it comes to longevity, they leave QUITE a bit to be desired.

But let’s go back to talking about the three fellas we mentioned earlier. When David is told that he is going to be king, what does he do? Does he call up TMZ and go all Paris Hilton on us? Waste a fortune that’s not even his, make a fool of himself? No! He keeps doing what he’s always done! He keeps that steady burn. He keeps that strong steady courage. Why? Because if he WOULD have gone to the TMZ of the times he would have probably been the next on the list of Kings with the shortest tenures in the history of the world! He would have just been another 15 minutes of fame story. A Spencer and Heidi story of the Donkey and Carriage era.

Now let’s talk about Joshua again. We already know he had all the makings of being a one hit wonder! New president! New leader! How many times have we seen someone do something stupid in that position!? FAITH DON’T POINT AT ME! Remember how many times God used the phrasing BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS?  4 TIMES! This is NOT the kind of speech that is designed for One hit wonders! This is not the kind of speech that is given to someone who is going to fizzle out, who is going to pop and be done. This is a command given to someone who is going to stick around. To someone that is going to stand the test of time. To someone who is going to be necessary over a long period of time. This isn’t the kind of thing that is read to someone who is eager to get on MTV and make a fool of themselves and make a mess out of their life to get a date with some random chick. THIS IS GOD GIVEN WISDOM TO STAY THE COURSE! TO NOT WAVER! TO STAND STEADFAST AND ROCK STEADY! To be the strong courageous kind of people that we need now in this land more than ever!!

Next up, MR Tebow. You know why he is on the firework list? Again, because he has all the proper requirements to fit into this field. Young popular, good looking, strong, leader, athletic, got a great smile and I could probably get lost in his eyes. Not because he is a hot young quarterback that I wish Washington would snap up! NO! Well, that last statement is true, but still. He is on this list because even tho his team got SMOKED last night, and his soul was blessing the Lord that the special guest he brought to the game could make it. See rather than surround himself with tabloid fodder like some of the other quarterbacks in the NFL, Tim surrounds himself with broken, sick people that need Jesus, and HE SHARES JESUS WITH THEM! They get the added bonus of hanging out with one of the most popular and polarizing figures in the sports world of today, but they also get something that the really need and may not even know it. They get ministered to. He prays with them at the special meal they get to go to before the game as his guests of honor. He prays with them if their situation requires them to be brought in on a bed and they have to watch from a box, high above the field. Tim Tebow is MORE interested in the fact that long after his stats are replaced, long after his name is forgotten on the field, it will remain as a link to the Savior for SO many people. His ministry will continue to reach out to folks long after he has passed. Not because he is investing in the future so that his name will remain, but so that hurting people will be loved and be accepted into our Christian family.

Maybe these guys have a little bit more in common with lighthouses than they do fireworks.

What is a light house?

What does it do?

It shines! It lights the way for ships that have wondered too close to the rocky shore and saves them from crashing on the rocks below. Lighthouses MATTER. They have to be made strong to weather the storms that come their way. Who knows where light houses are? On the shore. Did you know that when a storm comes in off the water it’s at it’s strongest at the shore? These lighthouses have to be made STRONG. A light house is NOT like a firework. It is NOT quick. It is NOT a one and done. It is NOT a fifteen minute spotlight fix. The oldest functioning lighthouse was lit on june 11, 1764! 1764! It is still going strong today! It has been working through storms, through lightning strikes and the like for 248 years. In comparison to fireworks tho, lighthouses are  like little teenagers to my old man. Fireworks have been around since the year 600!! But while you’d be hard pressed to find ANY fireworks that have survived even a FRACTION of that time, light houses stay up. In the most intense of circumstances. For far longer than the longest fireworks shows! The biggest ANNUAL fireworks show available to us here in the US is over in JUST 28 MINUTES! The amount of time it takes to watch ONE episode of FRIENDS!

Light houses, like this bonfire behind me, burn and burn and burn. They are built to last. They were designed to carry the fire, to keep the light. Fireworks do what they were designed to do, POP! Now some of you may be thinking, “What if I was designed to be a firework?” I can tell you right now, YOU ARE NOT. You may have all the ingredients to be one, but guess what, you were made IN GODS IMAGE! We were made in the image of the most constant one of all time! Every light house has the potential to go the way of the firework. You know, loud bang, bright flash, rapid consumption of fuel in spectacular fashion, BUT, with the proper upkeep and maintenance, lighthouses do what they were DESIGNED to do. Because a light house that acts like a firework is a failure. A lighthouse that fulfills it’s design is considered not only a thing of beauty, AND a success, but a hope. A protector. A guard. A preventer of disaster. A salvation of sorts. This is what YOU were designed to do. You were not designed to be a flash in the pan, a 15 minute waste. You were not designed to be done in a few short seconds of flashy noise. You were designed to persevere. To LAST. To be remembered. If not by name then by the result of your being. The children of the orphanage carry with them the seed of fire that has been fertilized by YOUR presence and love, and example. When they go on fulfilling their purposes, YOU go with them. They are strong and courageous as a result of your strength and courage. Your footprint goes on even  if you don’t! AND GOD GETS THE GLORY! LIVES ARE CHANGED. BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T DO WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF YOU, WHAT THIS WORLD WANTS YOU TO DO SO VERY BADLY. People are loved who have no love at all, people are given hope who have got not hope at all! People are stood up for who can not stand up for themselves!! This is the difference between the firework effect and the Lighthouse effect. YOU SHINE. BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, STAND FIRM!! TAKE THIS YEAR AND DO SOMETHING WITH IT!