“A Lighthouse is a family, an individual, business, or private group who commit to pray regularly by name for their neighbors and to care for them by developing genuine friendship that can lead to sharing the Gospel.”
Characteristics of a Lighthouse Lifestyle
- It focuses on those who exhibit a Christ-less life – This is opposed to the unconscious but obvious obsession Christians have of associating with only other Christians.
- It manifests the “local” church in a community – It does this by diminishing all denominational divisions except for the clear basics of knowing God through Christ. When believers in a geographic locality join together to pray and love, God’s Spirit works (Psalm 133).
- It is evangelism through the power of prayer – Answers to prayer stimulate faith. John Bunyan said, “You can do more than pray only after you have prayed.”
- It transforms entire communities – It even looks beyond filling the pews of one local church to the reaching of an entire city by a strategic, faith-filled, united witness.
- It listens to God for people’s needs and then becomes the instrument to meet those needs – Prayer is communion with God. We speak and listen, and then do. God uses us to be the answers to our prayers for others in our communities.
Biblical Principles for a Lighthouse Lifestyle
- Your community is your “mission field” – If God is great enough to put innumerable stars in the heavens and call them each by name, is He not also capable of determining the exact places where each man should live?
“From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27). - Every Christian is a “missionary” – The perception that only full-time, paid professionals are ministers is unbiblical. A missionary is a special messenger from God. That is what we all are. Each believer in Christ has the Holy Spirit to transmit the message (Matthew 28:18-19, I Peter 2:5).
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). - The “greater works” Jesus talked about were meant to bring people to faith (John 14:6-14) – Prayer in Jesus name and reaping miracles results in birthing faith. Ed Silvoso says, “Acts of love and power bring people to faith” (See Matthew 5:16, John 13; 14:6-14, James 2). Each year millions of people encounter our churches, television and radio programs, and Christmas events, and still ask “Show us God.” Jesus’ response to Phillip’s similar request was:
“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves”
(John 14:11). - Love for the lost produces revival – When we share our faith, it becomes more real to us. Carlos Annacondia, a minister of the Argentine revival, confirms this by saying: “Love for the lost produces revival. When love ceases, revival does too. He who has a passion for souls lives in an ongoing revival.”
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ” (Philemon 6).
The Power of God
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”
(1 Corinthians 1:17-18).
The noun “dunamis” means “ability, might, of that which manifests God’s power, of mighty works, mighty deeds, and miracles”. Everything you do in demonstrating God’s light that touches the life of another is powerful and it comes from God. It’s his power flowing through you. It’s His ability reaching out to the unsaved and not your own. God wants to use you as a fragrance of his power in every act you do towards the lost. The noun also is “exousia” which denotes “freedom of action, right to act, unrestricted, authority delegated”. The body of Christ has been restricted too long. We have a right to act and share Christ with others. God has endowed upon us delegated authority and unrestricted freedom to speak his words of life about Jesus freely. We must now realize that we are ambassadors of Christ (II Cor. 5:18-20).
The verb “exousiazo” means “to exercise authority, have authority, of the power of rulers, to be brought under the power of a thing”. We as believers must learn to exercise this authority. It is ours to use fully for God’s glory. The vines expository dictionary says that it is “committed to those who on becoming believers, were empowered by the spirit of God, are indwelt by Him, and will exercise it hereafter for God’s glory”. We are empowered by the spirit of God for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. The word evangelism or evangelist is “evangelizo” and means “a messenger of good, to proclaim glad tidings and good news, gospel”. It denotes a preacher of the Gospel. (Definitions from Vines Expository Dictionary)
Assignment
Get to know the names of five unchurched people and begin to pray for them.
“When every lost sheep has a shepherd, you will have reached your city for Christ.” Ed Silvoso
“Praying on Site with Insight”
“That a marvelous thing it is that Christ uses us, His body, to introduce His power to heal into the fabric of everyday life. Whether in a phone call, a chance meeting on the street, in our homes and work places, or within the church walls, bringing the touch of Jesus to others, one prayer at a time, is a profound privilege and wondrous joy for every believer.”