JESUS: LIGHT OF THE WORLD - A Light in the Darkness 12-4-22
Christmas
lights
The star of Christmas
The light of
the world
“Then Jesus
cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one
who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come
into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in
darkness. “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that
person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is
a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words
I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know
that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the
Father has told me to say.””
John 12:44-50 NIV
I. I HAVE COME
AS A LIGHT
“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of
all mankind.”
John 1:1-4 NIV
A. We live in a
dark world.
B. Light casts
out darkness.
Jesus Christ
is the only who lived who claimed to be God and proved to be God. When I
compare this to all other claimants of all other religions, it is like the poet
who said, 'The night has a thousand eyes and the day has but one, The light of
the whole world dies with the setting of the sun.' At the midnight of human
ignorance, there are a lot of lights in the sky. But at noon time there is only
one, and that is Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. So I cast my lot with
Him, not with Confucius who claimed wisdom, or the one who claimed
enlightenment like Buddha, or the one who claimed to be a prophet like
Mohammed, but the One who claimed to be God in the flesh…and proved it.
Norman Geisler
II. NO ONE WHO
BELIEVES IN ME SHOULD STAY IN DARKNESS
“The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5 NIV
A. Darkness is
temporary.
B. Jesus is the
light.
"Jesus
has come, moreover, not as a blaze which will soon die down, but as a light
which will last our day, yea, last for ever. After the long dark and cold night
of our misery, the Lord comes in the fittest and most effectual manner; neither
as lightning, nor candle, nor flaming meteor, but as the sun which begins the
day… The visits of God are like the dayspring, because they end our darkness.
The dayspring banishes the night… Our night is ended once for all when we
behold God visiting us in Jesus Christ. Our day may cloud over, but night will
not return. O, you that are in the blackest midnight, if you can but get a view
of Christ, morning will have come to you!"
Charles Spurgeon, The Tender
Mercy of our God
III. I KNOW THAT
HIS COMMAND LEADS TO ETERNAL LIFE
“The true
light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the
world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize
him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to
all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made
his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only
Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:9-14 NIV
A. God
commanded Jesus “to say all that (he has) spoken.”
“When they
found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you
get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not
because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had
your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to
eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has
placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the
works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in
the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we
may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in
the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you
the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from
heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives
life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus
declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have
seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come
to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down
from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this
is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has
given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that
everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and
I will raise them up at the last day.” At this the Jews there began to grumble
about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They
said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?
How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” “Stop grumbling among
yourselves,” Jesus answered. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent
me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the
Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father
and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who
is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who
believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna
in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from
heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down
from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world.” Then the Jews began to argue
sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus
said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For
my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and
drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me
and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because
of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna
and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this
while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his
disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that his
disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?
Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit
gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they
are full of the Spirit and life.”
John 6:25-63 NIV
B. His words
lead to eternal life.
CONCLUSION
“As I was
driving this past week I was noticing how beautiful the path of lights along
the highway looked against the darkness of the pre-dawn sky. The lights
lighting the roadway sparkled like diamonds against a canvas of ebony. The
scene caused me to think about the beauty of the night. As I gazed upon the
scene I began to see that the darkness had no beauty. It struck me that what
causes a night scene to be beautiful is not the darkness of the night. It is
the piercing of the darkness by objects or reflections of light - light punching
holes in the darkness. As believers we are called to be hole punchers. We are
called to pierce the night with the good news of Jesus Christ, the Light of the
World.”
Jerry Flury
I have come
as a light. No one who
believes in me should stay in darkness. I know that
his command leads to eternal life.
CHALLENGE
What will
you do with what you have just heard? How will you
respond to the Holy Spirit working within you? The
Challenge is intended to give us an opportunity to contemplate what God is calling
us to do in our lives. Consider
these questions and write down your answers.
1. How can you
shine the light of Jesus this Christmas?
2. What
darkness in your world needs the light of Jesus?
3. Who do you
know that needs the light this Christmas?
4. How will you
show them the light of the world?
5. Pray for
your opportunity to shine the light.
6. Shine!
INVITATION
It is our
custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want
to follow Jesus. You may want
to proclaim your faith. You may want
to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you
want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if
you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to
become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have
been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come
forward now. If you would
like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God
is doing in your life.
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