“I am the Lord Jesus, your Savior and most tender shepherd.  I am the light of the world and my light is within you.  There is far more power in light than you know, but in order to understand the power of heavenly light you must be in and of the light. Let these words lead you to a greater understanding of how a single ray of light can bring direction and peace and can be the beginning of change.  In the beginning there was light, for my Father is the Eternal Light.  He is light and shall forever be light. In his light all that exists has its origin.  You are of his light and my light, and you are light within temples of clay.  You must come to know the power of light and you must come to see how even a single ray of light can bring light unto the darkness.

This day I share with you a story of a man who learned the power of the light, and he learned that even a single ray of light can give light unto those lost and alone.  He discovered that light will help light to grow within the hearts and lives of others.  He saw how words and actions could expand light and how that harshness and cruelty would subdue the light and add to the darkness.  Let his example and his words lead you to repentance, for all of you have fed the darkness and all of you have not given power to the light when it was within your hands to do so.  One man of light can bring light unto darkness, and one light can cause the light to spread and grow in the lives of others.  My Father is the glory of light and his light has no limit, for his light has no beginning and no end.  Can your light be endless?  Can you shine forth unto others and bring about change that shall last for endless generations?  There is power in light that you fail to see for you think, see, and move as flesh.  Learn the power of light and let your life be a beacon of light unto others.  The man whose life I give you a glimpse of this day was named Bernard and he was a man of great love and great light.  Let his life be a light unto you my people.

‘It is the judgment of this court that you be imprisoned for a period of time not to be less than seven years.  After seven years you will be eligible for parole if it is found that your time spent has brought about changes within you.  It is the hope of this court that you will change your ways for you are from a good family and have been given privileges above most men.  Have you any words to speak before your sentence begins?’

‘Yes my lord, I shall speak.  I wish to thank my lord for his judgment, and I give you my assurance that I shall leave prison a better man than I am this day.  I was foolish, and I have lost seven years of freedom, but I will not let the years before me be wasted, for even in prison I can change the pattern that I have followed these last few years.’

‘So be it.  Learn the lessons that come with the loss of freedom so that when freedom is restored you shall walk according to the laws that govern our land.’

Bernard was foolish in his youth, but he came to true repentance and became a man who sought to live a life of goodness.  He was baptized before going to prison and he was faithful all the remainder of his life.  In prison he shared the words of truth that he read for hours each day.  He did more than read the words of light, he believed them and he patterned his life upon his understanding of the words of light.  There is much darkness in prison, but Bernard did not surrender unto the darkness and he overcame the darkness by the power of light.  He showed kindness unto the cruel and was good unto all men.  At first he was beaten and mocked for his faith and his words of light, but soon even the most cruel ones left him alone for they admired the strength they saw within the young man who refused to speak evil of others and of the man who would show kindness and love unto men such as themselves.  He was released after seven years and three months served.  At the time he did not know that those years in prison would lead him to his destiny of light, but he learned to follow the light as he was led.  He found a job in a factory but found no joy in working with machines, for he desired to interact with others.

After two years of work, he took what he had saved and he moved to another part of the country where he was not known.  There he called upon the prison and we opened a door for him to obtain a job.  It was then that he married a woman of great light and they had three daughters.  He worked various jobs in the prison for five years, but eventually he became a guard for this was the job he desired.  While working as a guard he was able to show kindness unto those lost and of darkness.  He was a beacon of light unto a place filled with sadness.  When his father died he inherited a large sum of money, so he was led to return to school and he learned the ways of ministry and became a chaplain.  There was never a doubt in his mind where he desired to serve.  He became a prison chaplain, and there he found the work that he did until his death at age eighty-six.  His wife supported his life of love, and both were servants of the light.  His children all walked in the light and each married men who became servants of light.  One light can send light and one ray of light can give more power than you understand.  Bernard preached our word, but his greatest message was the one he lived each day.  I share with you a sermon that was given when he was very new to the ministry, and it was spoken unto men who were lost and alone and in need of love and light.

‘Welcome friends to our worship service this fine day.  My name is Bernard, and many of you know me for it was here that I worked in the kitchen and cleaned cells and eventually served as a guard.  I now am here to serve you as a minister of the Lord Jesus.  Most of you do not know my past, so this day I desire to tell you more about myself, and it is my hope that from my life you shall learn lessons to help you in your life.  I know that most of you are here because this place is better than your cell.  By attending services, you are allowed to walk in the light of day and you get to have peace here, so listening to words you care nothing about is a price you are willing to pay.  I do desire you to hear me, for my words come from a place of knowing why you are here.  When I was twenty-two I committed a crime for which I was caught.  I had committed many other crimes that no one knew of.  I was of a wealthy family and had received a good education.  My crimes were not motivated by hunger or greed; I was bored and I enjoyed the excitement of breaking into homes and businesses to steal.  I was sentenced to prison and I served seven years, so I know the life that you live.

When I was in jail awaiting my trial I was given signs from above and my life was changed.  You may ask why God would send a sign unto one such as me, but I know that he did.  I was beaten by my fellow prisoners and I was unconscious upon the floor.  I heard thunder and heard the rain falling outside.  Suddenly a ray of light shined down upon my face.  It was striking my left eye and made me open my eyes.  The ray of light spread and covered my face.  I looked toward the window and it was dark as the rain fell and the thunder crashed.  I saw this single ray of light come from the midst of a dark cloud.  I was amazed at the light in such a storm.  The next day I awoke and again it was cloudy and I looked out the window and I saw a ray of light shining down.  I followed the path of light with my eyes and saw that it was shining down upon a single flower that grew in the courtyard.  Surrounded by stones a single yellow flower grew.  The light was upon the flower.  I marveled that a flower could grow in the midst of so much stone, and I marveled that the light had found the only plant that needed it for its growth and life. 

The next day it rained all day and I saw no light.  I was disappointed for I desired to see what the ray of light might shine down upon.  That night I awoke from my sleep.  It was as if I heard a voice call unto me to awake and to go to the window.  I walked to the window and saw the darkness of the night.  The clouds were thick and the moon and stars were hidden.  Suddenly the clouds parted and a single ray of light from the moon flowed down unto the earth.  I looked to see where it traveled and I saw the ray of light fall down upon a church.  The clouds moved and the light was gone, and then I saw a ray of the moon’s light shine and I looked and it was upon the flower among the stones.  Then the clouds moved again and the ray of light came forth and beamed down upon my face.

Tears began to flow, for the clouds parted and the ray of light did not move and remained upon me.  I knew the meaning of the sign given.  I was the flower among the stones and the light of heaven was calling unto me to walk in the ways of light.  I was baptized and I now live for Jesus.  In prison I walked in light for I decided to be a thing of beauty among the stones.  Fragile as a flower I looked to the Lord to defend me and to protect me.

When I left prison I worked in a factory, but had no real joy in such work.  God in his mercy decided to send me another ray of light to guide me.  I was walking home in the rain one day and the rain suddenly stopped.  I looked and a single ray of light came down over a hill.  I could not see beyond the hill so I ran.  I ran to the top of the hill and I knelt to pray.  On my knees I looked to heaven and the light came down upon me.  Rays of light danced around me and then they were gone.  The clouds moved and a ray of light came down.  I looked and followed the path of the light and it fell down upon the prison where I had served a sentence of seven years.  I heard a voice within that told me within the stones there were other flowers that needed the light to shine upon them. 

I moved to this town and went to work in this prison.  I am now here to serve you as a minister of the Lord.  I see that most of you have listened to my words.  I ask now that each of you look to your left and see the rays of light that now fill this place.  There is light here and it is the light of heaven.  Each of you is loved by the Lord Jesus and each of you is a flower among the stones.  His death was for you, his blood was shed for you, and each of you can change and you can become of his glorious light.  Let us all stand and sing praises unto the Lord, and for all who desire let us go stand in the rays of light and I shall answer your questions and I shall pray with all who desire to receive more of heaven’s light.’

Bernard led many lost ones unto the light of heaven.  He served in the prisons and also helped the youth that had gone from the path of light.  He was tender and kind unto all men.  He never struck a prisoner when he was a guard for he showed kindness unto all.  The prisoners admired his life of faith, and even though they were of darkness, there was light within that responded to his light.  As a chaplain he gave light unto many flowers.  As a result of his light and ministry there were many saved.  Men left prison and married and lived in the light.  By the power of one ray of light there are thousands of lights upon the earth this day.

Never forget the power of a single word of kindness or a single act of love.  You never know when a ray of light may give hope and life unto a flower among the stones.  You are the people of the light; let no harsh or corrupt words be spoken.  Shine forth the light that is within you.  My light gives power to your light and your light is to give power unto the light within others.  Let every thought, word and action be of the light.  Shine forth thou people of the light.”