As these returned to their seats tonight, I said, Lord, this is my first graduation as president. Please help things to go smoothly. And four dropped pens and one Bachelor of Divinity later, we have come to this point tonight. Those noises that you heard at the beginning were pens that we gave to our graduates as gifts, and next year we've decided to duct tape everything together. It's hard to turn those tassels and to hold all those things together. I must admit this first year has been a wonderful year and your loved ones who are in our student body have been a great part of that. It's been a joy to serve with our faculty and our staff this evening. And I appreciate them so much. They've made my first year a very pleasurable one. And we thank the Lord for what He has done. And we thank the Lord for what He's going to do in the future. I look around at parents tonight and I realize that there are siblings, younger siblings, that are on their way to ambassador. And I want you to know that we do not take that lightly. And it is a great privilege and an honor to have them. Before the service tonight, I had somebody tell me that with the hat this evening I look like Friar Tuck. I don't know how Brother Comfort got by for 20 years not wearing a hat like that. And then also my daughter informed my son Jared that I was wearing a dress tonight. So I stand before you humbled this evening, no doubt about it. I'd like to take the next few moments and I would like to look in John chapter number 1. John chapter number 1. And if you would please, out of respect for God's Word, I ask you to stand tonight. We're going to read from John chapter 1 and we will begin in verse number 6 tonight. The Bible says, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, To them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Thank you. You may be seated. Tonight I'd like to give you a little insight into the Beal household. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, Michelle. We've been married 15 years, come this August. He's blessed us with three wonderful children, Andrew and Jared and Charis, ranging from ages 12 all the way down to 4. And for those of you that have children tonight, you know that very often we have a tendency to misplace things in our home. There are several things that we seemingly misplace, but there's always one object and we have multiple multiple number of this object, however, we continually misplace them and lose them. I'm convinced that if we ever move to a new home, we'll find at least ten of these items scattered under the rubble and the wreckage and the ruin which we've accumulated in the last couple of years, and those things are flashlights. When the power goes out, what's the first thing we say? Where is the light? And usually after that, you'll hear the accusatory question, what have you done with the light? And it's really interesting, passing the buck is normal in any family. My wife will look at me and say, honey, what did you do with the flashlight? And I say, honey, I haven't touched it. Now, you know, that's usually an automatic reaction. It's something that we say without even thinking, because God forbid that I should be the one that lost the light. And immediately I look to my oldest son and I say, Andrew, what have you done with the light? And, of course, Andrew says, Dad, I don't have the light. And then he looks to Jared and says, Jared, what have you done with the light? And the short brown-haired boy with the freckles, he just looks and says, I haven't touched the light. And then, obviously, the last part goes down to my daughter, four years old. She does well to understand some things. And all of us look at her with the accusing glance and we say, Honey, what have you done with the light? And usually after blaming each other, we find it in an obscure place. We find it up underneath the couch. We find it in a couch cushion or whatever the case may be. But I'll look back many years from now and those will be some humorous occasions. But I'll tell you, it sure was frustrating in the meantime. But my question to you tonight, ladies and gentlemen, is what have you done with the light? I'm not speaking tonight of a light of the likes of a flashlight. But I'm speaking tonight of the light, that light being none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. You understand, when you misplace a light or you fail to use a flashlight, you may be temporarily inconvenienced, but ladies and gentlemen, if you do nothing with the light, it has eternal consequences. You see, ladies and gentlemen, every person in this room one day will have to give an account with what they've done with the light. And I want us to see this evening very simply from the Bible three things. Number one, I want you to see what I call light revealed. And we find that in verses 6 through 9. I want you to imagine with me, here you're going to school. And all of a sudden you see a little boy in the distance. And this little boy is not dressed like other boys. And this little boy has something in his lunch pail that's quite different. than what everybody else has, and his name is a very common name. It's John. But let me tell you, his dress was anything but common. Here you find a young boy walking to school, clothed in camel hair, his loins girded with animal skin, and when you open his pail, you find it with locusts and wild honey. You say to myself, what an odd-looking individual. And yet here is a man that God uses in John chapter 1 to reveal the light to the world. Here's a man who was sent from God whose name was John. Now I ask every individual here tonight, as you see the platform and as you look at our graduates tonight, what do you see? Some of you say, I see people wearing dresses. You say, I see people wearing cords around their necks. I see people who are graduates. But ladies and gentlemen, what you see tonight, more than graduates, they are people sent from God. When you look across the auditorium or you look across our graduating class, what do you see? I'll tell you what you should see tonight. A young man who has a desire to reach people in Korea, in China with the light. A young man who is preparing soon to reach Arabic speaking people here in America with the light. Somebody who has a desire to reach unreached people groups in Mexico, people that have never been reached with the gospel and reached with the light. A young man who's just recently settled into a youth pastorate in Western North Carolina so that he can show young people the light. Another gentleman. who plans on heading to Eastern Asia as an evangelist, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ from country to country to give them the light. I could tell you of a young lady this evening who's behind me that wants to go overseas and work with orphans and deaf people. Why? To show them the light. Folks, the truth is the list could go on and on. Nova Scotia. Sudan, New York City and on and on the list goes. These young people want to show them the light. And I would be remiss tonight if I avoided this one fact, there is a great need for replacements for these graduates this evening. I'm looking across an auditory, maybe to a parent tonight, and you've encouraged your young person to live for money. I challenge you to encourage them to live for God. that they too would go and reach people with the light. Folks, I know of no greater calling than we can have than to reach people with the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so was the mission of John. In verse 7, you find an interesting thing. It says, The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light. Notice very carefully, that all men through him might believe. Folks, you're looking at a group of young people that believe tonight the blood of Christ is powerful enough to wash away the sin of every man, every woman, every boy and girl who will but believe. 1 John 2 and verse 2, he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the sins of the entire world. Hebrews 2 and verse 9, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that by the grace of God should taste death. for every man. And folks, what you see in verse seven tonight is hope. Not only do you see hope for an entire world, but I see hope for every individual in this auditorium tonight. No matter what you've done in life, no matter how you've denied God, no matter your past, no matter your present, tonight you can rest assured that the light was given for you so that all men through him might believe. When you look to the platform tonight and you see these men and women, what do you see? You see men and women who have given their lives to tell others about the light. Am I speaking to a teenager here this evening? Right now, you're living for the pleasure of things and those things satisfy temporarily. And tonight, God wants you in his service. God wants you to give the light. What greater joy than to see somebody come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and see them bear the same light that you've given them? But not only do you see here in this fact of light revealed, do you see this preacher of light, John the Baptist, but I want you to see the person of light. His name is Jesus. In verse 8, He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light that was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The Bible tells us in John chapter 8 and verse 12, Then Jesus said again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Folks, who is that light tonight in this dark world? Revelation 21 and verse 23, we find that not only He's the light in this life, but He is that light in the life to come. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it. For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Folks, I'm here to tell you in a life of darkness, in a life that is dreary, in a life that is converged by sin, a life that has been wrecked and ruined, there is a light tonight. That light is the Lord Jesus. 1 John 1 and verse 5. This then is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. There have been people to ask me, they say, who is the author of sin? And I say the Bible is very clear that it's not God. Why? Because in Him there is no darkness at all. But folks, I'm saying tonight, there is a great need for light, not only in China, not only in Korea, but ladies and gentlemen, there is a great need for light right where we're at tonight. Several weeks ago I was preaching in King, North Carolina, and I was preaching to a group of bus kids. And in that group of bus kids, ladies and gentlemen, as I was preaching to them, one thing I very quickly discerned, they hardly knew anything about Jesus Christ. They knew very little of His birth, except that there was a holiday called Christmas. They knew very little of His death and the burial and the resurrection. And we're living in a day and time where people are increasingly ignorant of the light. Folks, I say this evening, we need light revealed if our country is going to be changed. We need light revealed if folks lives tonight are going to be changed. That light is Jesus Christ. Have you ever seen him? I ask you, what have you done with the light? Number one, we see light revealed. Number two, we see light rejected. The natural tendency of man is to reject the light. You know how I know that? Because whenever I'm in a dark room, and there I've been sleeping for a while, and all of a sudden some kind roommate, when I was in college, flipped open the lights, or they would take a mag light and shine it right in my eyes to be a blessing. Now folks, I'll tell you, there's some things that demand the better part of wisdom. But you can recall, when light is shined into your eyes, or light is turned on immediately, what do we do? We resist the light. Folks, I'm talking to people, you've been saved by the grace of God, but you remember resisting the light? There are some of you here tonight, loved ones have pled tenderly with you about the gospel. They've told you about the light that has changed their lives. And the natural tendency is to resist it. The Bible tells us in John 3 and verse 19, and this is the commandment that light is coming to the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. I'll never forget years ago, I was with the college ensemble and we went to a place called Potomac Mills. I used to dread that place for ladies. It was a palace for men. It was a prison. A shopping mall. And I remember as I was going through there, and of course, I didn't walk into the ladies' stores, Bath and Body Works, to smell all the newest scents. I would go to the place that were the men's stores, like the Remington Shaver Store. That's where I went. Could hardly shave, but I still went there anyway. And I'll never forget, as we were passing out tracts that day, I remember talking to the man in the Remington Shaver Store. And I remember as he was behind the counter and there was nobody else in there and I had the opportunity to give him the gospel. And I told him about how that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary. I told him about how that Christ loved him so much that he gave himself willingly and died such a cruel death and was raised again. And after giving him the gospel message, I said, sir, won't you be saved? He said, I can't. I said, why not? And I still shiver when I hear his response. He said, I love my sin too much. What he was saying to me, ladies and gentlemen, wasn't the fact that necessarily he believed that he had to give up everything in his life and be perfect to be saved. But what he was saying is that he loved his sin more than God. And for the time being, he was content. Why? Because men love darkness rather than light. And one of the greatest mistakes that you and I can make is when we reject the light of God's Word and ultimately when we reject the light of Jesus Christ. But folks, I want you to know this evening that Jesus is familiar with rejection. Isaiah 53 in verse 3, he is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. That day on Calvary, ladies and gentlemen, He was rejected. The Bible tells us in verse 10, He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. Ladies and gentlemen, do you understand the world that was created by Jesus is the very world that rejected Him? The Bible tells us in John 1 and verse 3, all things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. Colossians 1 and verse 16, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. What a rejection, ladies and gentlemen, the Lord that hung the sun. The Lord that hung the stars, the Lord that formed the moon was the very Lord denied by the world. I believe, ladies and gentlemen, that every sunrise is a testimony of God's love for you. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that every sunset speaks of the peace and the tranquility that only God can put in your heart. Every tree, every flower, every ounce of beauty that you see, God is the author of it. And without Jesus Christ, you can't have that beauty. Without Jesus Christ, you cannot have that peace. We see that he was despised and rejected of men. We find in verse 11, he came into his own and his own received him not. I think about whenever they cried out away with him, away with him, crucify him. And Pilate said unto him, Shall I crucify your king? And the chief priest answered, Listen to their snarl, ladies and gentlemen, we have no king but Caesar. But the thing I want you to see, ladies and gentlemen, that perhaps is even the great greater tragedy, not only did people reject him then, but people reject him now. And the grave reality is there'll be men and women, boys and girls that very well may reject him before they leave tonight. When we think of rejection, we often think of it in a harsh context, such as those that mock the Savior, those that smote him, those that nailed him to the cross. I think about Ted Turner, who one day said Christianity is a religion for losers. I don't need anybody to die for me. I've had a few drinks and a few girlfriends, and if that sends me to hell, so be it. Ladies and gentlemen, a man may be so bold and brazen to do that in this lifetime, but one day he will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But as I look across an auditorium tonight, I don't see a group of ruffians that perhaps would raise their fist to the sky and call out to an almighty God and deny him. But I do see some that very well this evening, you do not reject him openly, but you reject him inwardly. Maybe I'm talking to somebody here tonight and you felt somewhat uncomfortable coming in. Why? Because you knew that it was another opportunity for God to bring you to the truth and you've been resisting the truth. And as you hear the preaching tonight, perhaps in your mind, you say, oh, that this time would pass by more quickly, all that the service would be over. And tonight God continues with his mercy and his long suffering. And you hear the preaching of righteousness, temperance and judgment to come. And you too, like Felix in Acts 24 and verse 25, trembled and answer, go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. Folks, I want you to know that those that openly deny God. Those that renounce him. Those that do not even acknowledge His existence will be in the same hell with those that sit in a pew and quietly in the depths of their hearts say, no. There are two kinds of people in this room tonight, not tall or short, not thin and those not so thin. But those two kinds of people, those that have accepted Him and those who've rejected Him, I'm reminded of a familiar scene. A scene that I've never seen with my own eyes, but a scene that has been painted time and time again in my mind as I read the scriptures of three car crosses on a lonely hill. on that center cross, there being the Son of God, dying for the sins of mankind. And to one side, one who reviles Him, one that mocks Him, ladies and gentlemen, one that rejects Him. But praise God for the other man on the other cross. Ladies and gentlemen, that cross was not one of rejection, but that cross was one of acceptance. The Bible tells us in Luke 23 in verse number 40, But the other answering rebuked him of the other thief that speaking of, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing that thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive this due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou enterest into thy kingdom. And I love the response of Jesus when He said today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. My friend, the gravest mistake you'll make this evening is rejecting that light. But not only do we see light revealed and not only do we see light rejected, but ladies and gentlemen, we see light received. Verse number 12. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." A lot of people are interested in titles. You have people that climb the ladder. They want to be called doctor. They want to be called reverend. They want to be called lots of different things. But ladies and gentlemen, one of the greatest titles that can ever be attributed to you or to me is the title, Child of God. The Bible tells us in 1 John 3 and verse 1, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God, therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Now folks, there's a lot of confusion in our day and time. Let me clear one thing up. Everybody is not God's children. When we use the term everybody, that term, when you say everybody, listen, that's not true. If that is true, ladies and gentlemen, John 1 12 is false. But as many as received him and folks, I ask you tonight, have you ever accepted the light? Have you ever received it? I'm not talking this evening of joining a church. I'm not talking tonight about being a Baptist, but I'm talking about a time That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Talking about light received. What happens, ladies and gentlemen, when you receive the light? As a child of God, think of all the privileges that are afforded to you. My boys, my daughter, they enjoy coming into my office. Why? A place where many people would fear to come. I have no reason to know why. But yet they come in without any hesitation. Why? Because they're a child. I think about the fact that they'll come home tonight at 104-1 North Lee Street and we will dwell together. Now, if you send your children home with me, I'm going to send them back. But there are at least three that are mine. Not only that, but after the service tonight, they may want a snack. They'll sit at my table. And ladies and gentlemen, may I tell you that is really a poor illustration, because the truth be made known as a child of God, the riches of heaven are yours. There is a great prospect in the future, and you can go from day to day experiencing the forgiveness that only God can give. No amount of works can give you the forgiveness that only God can give. No amount of human effort can wash away your sin. I ask you tonight, have you received the light? There are two types of people in this room this evening, those that have received the light and those who have rejected it. And I'd like to close with a very personal illustration. Around the age of 10 years old. playing out in the yard on a Saturday morning, some men stopped by my home. And they said with a little cleverness, we saw you playing in the front yard last Sunday, you don't go to church, do you? I looked down, I said, no, I don't. They said, would you like to? I said, sure. For the next two years of my life, I heard preaching on the light. Ladies and gentlemen, what I had in the home was directly contradictory to what I heard in the church. I can remember coming home from elementary school and my father not being home because he was out with his drinking buddies. I can remember getting off the school bus wondering, what will this day hold? And sometimes wondering in the weekends, what is going to happen? I remember on one particular Saturday, I went to the shed behind our place, and I saw my dad sitting down in a chair with a pistol in his hand. And he was just putting the bullets in. I said, Dad, what are you going to do? He said, There's a man that's wronged me, and I'm going to kill him. I remember the tears coming down my cheeks as I said, Dad, don't you do that. And after pleading with him what seemed like an eternity, finally his anger subsided. and being raised in that home life. But yet every Sunday when I would go to church, I would see a little bit of the light. And after about two years, God made the personal application in my heart where I saw that I needed the light, and it was in my bedroom around the age of 12 that I trusted Jesus Christ and I received the light. But it wasn't very long after. that I became burdened for my family to see the light. Shortly thereafter, I would talk to my mom and I'd discover that she'd made a profession of faith years ago who wasn't living for the Lord. And I remember with what seemed like fear and trembling going to my father who was an alcoholic. And I remember one time distinctly standing in the kitchen and I said, Dad, won't you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ? He said, leave me alone. I don't want to hear it. The church is full of hypocrites. With my heart being broken, I remember going to my pastor and I said, Brother Barker, I want to see my dad saved. I said, will you come to my house and give him the gospel? And ladies and gentlemen, few scenes can I see as vividly in my mind as that night. As I watched that pastor bow on his knee and literally beg my dad to be saved. I'll never forget my dad dropping his head, looking to the ground, and he simply said, I'm not ready, I can't do it. It wouldn't be long after, for at least several weeks, I saw my dad reading the New Testament. Anytime I would ask him about it, he would quickly say it was none of my business and it was something that I wouldn't be able to converse with him about. He didn't want to talk about it. And then there came a night on a Wednesday night in October of 1989. I came home on the church van, a Wednesday night service. And I remember walking into the door and immediately having a sense that there was something wrong. And to make a long story short, 20 minutes later, I watched my dad pass into eternity. Often tell people that I feel like I grew up about 10 years in three days time. Taking care of my widowed mom who didn't know what to do. 15 years old. But ladies and gentlemen, of all the things that pain me the most was when I looked into a casket and I could not say with assurance that I knew my dad was in heaven. And as I look around this room tonight, I see loved ones. I see loved ones tonight that listen, your graduates that are up here this evening, they love you with all of their heart. And I ask you, will they stand at your casket? With a question mark in their mind, did they ever receive the light? You better remember tonight. One day, every person. We'll have to give an account. For what they did to the light. Is your graduate one day going to stand at your casket with tear-filled eyes and broken heart? Or my friend, will you do business with Jesus Christ tonight and have heaven as your home? Let's bow our heads together. Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. In a moment, I'd like for our musicians to play just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. There are two kinds of people in this room tonight, those that have received the light, those that accepted it, those who've rejected it. And I ask you this evening, ladies and gentlemen, which are you? As they begin playing softly this evening, I'd like to ask you this question. How many here tonight? You'd say, Brother Bill, if I were to die tonight, there's no doubt in my mind. I know that I've accepted the light. I've received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. There was a time in your life that you realized that you were a sinner, lost and undone without God. A time when there was a void in your life and you realized that Jesus died for you. And that day you trusted Jesus Christ as Savior and you experienced His forgiveness. That's what I'm talking about tonight. Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed, nobody's looking around. Tonight you say, Brother Bill, I remember the day that I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I know that I've accepted the light, and I hope that when my dear graduate stands before my casket, I can say there should be no question in their mind, I know that I've trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior. And by upraised hand, I can give testimony to that. If that's you, dear friend, would you slip your hand up tonight and keep it up just a moment? Tonight, you'd say, listen, I know. I know that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior. God bless you. You may put them down. There are some here tonight that could not raise their hand. Friend, I appreciate your honesty this evening. He came into the world and the world knew him not. My friend, are you willing tonight to receive the light? Are you willing tonight to admit that you're a sinner lost and undone before God? That's all of us this evening. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You're not unusual tonight. And Jesus has shown you that He wants to change your life. He wants to forgive you. He wants to save you. And tonight, right where you sit, you can call upon the name of the Lord. and be saved. If you're here tonight, you say, Brother Bill, I know that I'm a sinner. And tonight God has shown me that I need to see the light. I don't want my graduate to stand before my casket with a question mark. Tonight God's shown me my need. I want to be saved. I want to be saved tonight. Then if that's you, friend, I invite you to do this with a sincere heart this evening. And as best as you know how, if you really mean it, you can be saved right where you sit. If you'd like to do that, just simply bow your head and close your eyes and pray after me this prayer. Dear Lord, I know that I'm a sinner and I'm not worthy of your love. And tonight I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. And tonight I ask you to come into my life. And to save and forgive me. And to be my Lord and Savior. In Jesus name. Now our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed tonight. This is a private moment between me, you and the Lord, and Brother Comfort as he helps me look for hands tonight. I wonder how many here this evening, you'd say, Brother Bill, I came to this service tonight and without a doubt God has spoken to my heart and as I've sat there tonight, I've prayed this prayer and I mean it with all of my heart. I prayed tonight and I asked God to save me. The Bible says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And you say, tonight, Brother Bill, I prayed that prayer. And I meant it. And tonight, as just a testimony unto you of what God has done in my heart, tonight, I prayed that prayer and I meant it. Tonight, I asked Jesus Christ to save me. Would you please remember me in prayer? As a hand of testimony tonight, would you slip your hand up, young person? Would you slip it up tonight, mom and dad? You say, tonight, I prayed that prayer and I meant it. Anybody in this auditorium tonight, would you just slip it up? Slip it up high so we can see it. Slip it up high so we can see it. Would you do that tonight as we look across the auditorium? There are graduates here this evening that love you and care for you. They've wept for you. And if you choose to remain in your state, their hearts will be unsettled when they see you cross that great divide. I'd like for us to stand together, our heads bowed, our eyes closed. Let's stand together, our heads bowed, our eyes closed. This is what I'd like for us to do tonight. In a moment I'm going to pray. And once I pray, our heads are going to be bowed, our eyes are going to be closed from memory. I want us to sing just as I am without one plea. I'd like for Brother Adalton and Brother Cummins to come tonight. Here to the front. And after I pray, my friend, tonight you want to receive the light, I want to invite you to step out and come just as you are and receive that light this evening. Father, Lord, as best we've known how tonight, we've tried to present the light. And, oh God, I pray this evening that the Holy Spirit And the fleeting moments of this commencement service would so grip the heart of that individual that they would come and they receive peace for their soul this evening. And so, God, I pray now in these fleeting moments that you would continue the work and that the light would be received in Jesus' name. Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed.