Candles Without Light
As I walked through the sanctuary this morning, praying for God to reveal to me what he would have me to say to you, my eye was drawn to this candlestick and holder that sat upon the table. I was struck by its beauty and by the fact that it adorned the House of God, making it a more pleasant place to be. It is pleasing to the eye and makes us feel more at home.
I just stood there for a moment, looking upon this beautiful decoration when the Holy Spirit began to reveal something to me that I really had not thought of. It seemed that He was wanting me to realize that there was something wrong with the candle, something that was obvious and yet so easily overlooked or ignored when people would look upon it.
How many of you can already sense the Spirit of the Lord talking to you right now and inspiring you with what is wrong with this wonderful object that I hold before you? Is it the base, or the candleholder?
The candleholder that I hold in my hand is beautiful. It has been designed and built by a master craftsman to depict the form of a beautiful angel with its wings spread wide and its hands folded in prayer and meditation in worship to its Creator. It stands before a pillar that is ornately carved to give a very small impression of the glories of Heaven’s realm from whence the angel has come as a messenger of God to his people.
It is set upon a firm foundation that is designed specifically for the purpose of holding the angel and the pillar, which, in turn, serve as the socket where the candle is mounted. All in all it is one beautiful piece of work. And yet there is something still very wrong with this wonderful candle. Have you noticed it yet?
When I look at the base, I cannot but think of the foundation upon which each of us has built our lives, that is if you have given your heart and life to Jesus and taken him as your Savior. Jesus is the only foundation that will never fail. My life and your life is established and founded upon the rock, Jesus Christ. When the winds of adversity blow and rain of troubles and trials come down upon us, that foundation will stand and we will not fall. Surely we have not built our lives upon the sand. We depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God for everything we are and everything we do.
There is no doubt in my mind that all of us desire God’s best and that His will is done in us. There is no doubt that the Love of God is abounding in your heart, and yet I wonder if we do not sometimes have the same problem in our lives that is so easily seen in this candle and candlestick. Can you think of what that problem might be? Have you seen the problem with this candlestick yet?
When I look at the candlestick and its base I cannot but also think of the church; this church, and many more like us, whose greatest desire is to see the church grow with the adding of new converts, more ministry and more manifestations of the Glory of God in our midst. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the Word of God without compromise, we strive to work together with God to make this place, and this congregation, into a church where every man, woman and child that enters our doors can feel comfortable and at home in God’s house.
Those are wonderful goals but I sometimes wonder if God doesn’t get just a little tired of us being too concerned with the appeal to the flesh and to creature comforts. Where is our focus? Is our focus only on meeting the needs of the flesh to be pampered, petted and pleased? Is our focus on making things so beautiful to the eye that we forget the more important matters of the Spirit and needs of the soul?
I see too many churches that are in the business of pleasing the flesh but don’t focus much on the condition of the heart and the salvation of the soul. You don’t have to go far to find those churches who teach a lot about love, family relationships, getting rich, or being a success in this world. Educational seminars, Personal Development Training and Building a Successful Marriage Relationship are among the hot topics of the day but you don’t see many Holy Ghost filled revivals going on anymore. Why is this so? It’s because our focus isn’t on the things of the Spirit but on the things of the flesh.
God’s design for a church does include all of those ministries that are needed to give us a more abundant and fulfilled life, and to meet the needs of the flesh, but those are not the main reason for the establishment of the church. If that’s all we have, seminars to teach and better the flesh, then we have the same problem as this candle that I have before you. Have you seen the problem yet?
Looking at this candleholder and the angel that it depicts, I am reminded of God’s care and concern for our welfare. I am reminded that God watches over us as the “apple of His eye”.
1 Peter 3:12, "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
I am also reminded that God’s presence is in the midst of his people and that he is still walking among the Golden Candlesticks as described in the Book of Revelation. He is still walking among the churches as the righteous, holy Judge and as the loving, forgiving and merciful Savior.
Jesus is here this morning, right here in the midst of Victory Temple, and in the midst of every church that will allow him to come in. I do believe that there are a lot of congregations coming together all across the land who will not experience the presence of the Lord for He has been evicted from their midst through long years of rejection of the truths of God’s Word and the refusal to allow the Holy Spirit to move in their hearts.
But even now, at this very moment, while the Lord walks in our midst, there is still a problem with the many within the church that is evident in this candlestick that I have before you. Have you still not seen what the problem is with the candlestick? It is the same problem that is seen in many churches and in many lives of individual Christians even in our full gospel, Bible believing churches.
If we have the same problem as this candlestick this morning, I can tell you what some of the symptoms will be. Whether this problem exists in your life, or in the church as a whole, the symptoms will be the same.
1)We won’t see any new converts into the Kingdom of God.
2)We won’t see any long-lasting changes that help us to become more like Jesus.
3)We won’t have freedom from sin.
4)We won’t have freedom of Worship.
5)We don’t experience a steady life for Christ, but we will constantly be riding the roller coaster in our walk with the Lord.
6)We won’t see any real revival happening at all.
7)We will have an appearance, a form of religion, put no real power.
If your life has any of these symptoms, then I think it’s time to check to see if we have the same problem as this candlestick does.
Are you ready to hear what the problem is with this candlestick this morning? If you are then turn with me to Matthew, chapter 5 and verses 14 through 16.
Matthew 5:14-16, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 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. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Now are you able to see what the problem is with the candle? The problem is that it isn’t giving off any light because there is no fire in it!
Jesus said that you and I, and everyone else, who makes up the true Church of God, the Bride of Christ, are to be the light of the world. But how many of us are burning with the fire of the Holy Ghost this morning? Is the fire of God within you; consuming you; compelling you; and anointing you to spread the gospel to a lost and dying world? Are you satisfied to just look good, smell good, be pleasing to those around you, and just enjoy coming and sitting in a comfortable place and proclaiming how much you love Jesus, or are you really on fire for God?
I’m not speaking to those who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. I’m talking to people who are supposed to be born again, blood washed, free from sin, baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues and on fire for God. But where is the fire? Where is the evidence of the Holy Ghost? Where is the anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage to sin? Where is the light that we are supposed to be shining forth to this dark world? Is it in you this morning? Is it in this church this morning?
I’m not going to answer those questions for you. I want you to search your heart and life and let the Holy Spirit reveal to you where you stand. I want God to speak to your heart and tell you whether you are just a pretty candle with no fire and no light, or whether you really are on fire for God! I’m not here to condemn, only to get you to think and search your own heart and then let God do the rest!
I believe that there are some here that are burning brightly and your light is shining. I also know that there some here whose candle either has never been set on fire like this one, or your fire has been extinguished by sin, by neglect, or by the cares of this life. I can’t speak for you. Each of us must answer for ourselves concerning the condition of our light.
When was the last time we told someone about Jesus and his love? When was the last time we cried out to God in fervent, effectual prayer for our lost loved ones, friends and neighbors? When was the last time we invited a lost sinner to church? When was the last time we prayed with someone in need? When was the last time that your candle was lit and your light shone forth? How many people even know that we are Christians?
Psalms 18:28 says, “For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.”
I think it time that we, as the people of God, cry out to Him and bombard Heaven with our prayers for God to come and light our fire once again. We need the fire of the Holy Ghost to fill us so we can burn brightly for Jesus. We need to tell the world about Him. We need to tell our friends and neighbors about Him. We need to tell our boss and our co-workers on the job about Him.
Jesus, Open our eyes, dispel the darkness from our hearts and set us on fire of the Holy Ghost! Let us burn brightly for you like candle that’s burning in a dark room so that others can see you in us and that we can bring glory to God.
There are a lot of people in the church whose candles aren’t burning at all. They look pretty and add to the pleasant atmosphere of the House of God but they don’t have any real influence or power in their life to touch anyone with the message of the gospel.
They have the same mindset as the prophet when he said in Jeremiah 20:9, "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay."
There is a lost and dying world out there that has no light unless we bring it to them. Jesus is the Light of the World but the only way he shines is through you and me, and every other Child of God that will carry forth his light.
The world is blind and walking in gross darkness. They are searching for answers, but they don’t even know where to look. Satan has blinded them to the truth.
Proverbs 24:20, “For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.”
How about you this morning? Is your life in Christ a thing of beauty, pleasing to the eye but without light or power? It’s time to let God light the fire again.
Fire produces heat energy and light energy! That’s the moving of the power of the Holy Ghost to burn away sin, burn away every weight that slows you down, and then to let you burn brightly for Jesus and give off the light of God.
Let us pray that God sends the Fire of the Holy Ghost again. Let us pray that we are set on fire by God to burn brightly for him.
If there is anyone here this morning who does not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I would ask you right now to give your heart and life to him. Until you know the Lord, there can be no real light in your life. Your life will always seem empty and dark because you can’t even understand the things of God.
Let the Light of the World come into your life right now.
