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Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org
Light or Death
Thanks, Mike So before we get started with announcements
I Was reading something I was encouraged about this just this morning even and it's
It's in the Proverbs Love Proverbs, and I think I forgot where they are because I've gone back and forth here a couple times now
But in Proverbs chapter 10 it says this it says the Proverbs of Solomon a
Wise son makes a father glad But a foolish son is a grief to his mother
Ill -gotten gains do not profit but righteousness delivers from death
The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger He will thrust aside the craving of the wicked
Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich Now why did that touch my heart this morning because I think there are a lot of hard -working folks in this congregation and It's it's wonderful to know that that work ethic is honored by the
Lord When pastor Jeff was going through first Thessalonians, he talked about the Christian work ethic that had permeated our country for so long
But sometimes we might feel like we're working awfully hard. We're not getting anywhere Things are coming against us inflation all these other things, but God honors a
Person who is diligent with their hand and goes to work and honors his Lord with the work he does or should
It says that you know ill -gotten gains get gains getting by scheming things trying to get around things trying to maybe even do something illicit or illegal
That would be dishonoring to the Lord. He's not going to profit that and those type of gains done in an attempt for laziness as it says a son would be lazy and not go out and work in the field and Attempt to maybe to just inherit what his father has
That is not going to be honored by the Lord either But the Christian work ethic is honored. So I think that's an encouragement to us today, especially for those who are working hard and Maybe they feel like they're not getting anywhere where you're getting some somewhere with the
Lord. So that's an encouragement So this morning we do have a few announcements first is a starting point class
It is starting right now and it is going on right now Second service back in one of the classrooms so if you were interested in membership here at Cornerstone or You're interested to finding out more about the doctrines at the church.
That would be the class for you. So hopefully You know about that class and if you'd like to be part of it, please take part in that right now
There is a marriage matters class that's coming up soon that is an opportunity for couples to get together and strengthen their marriages and that is going to start on February 21st and It is going to run for it looks like 13 weeks and that's going to be conducted by Bill and Janice Biddle They're not here right now
But if you're interested in that see pastor Jeff because he can get you in touch with them or myself or Michael There's also going to be a men's breakfast tomorrow at 6 o 'clock in the morning
So if you'd like to be part of that, please come there's going to be a women's tea on March 4th, which is a
Saturday. So if anyone would like to be part of the ladies tea Please see
Sandy Lasky. There is a sign up Sandy said Outside at the back table is in the foyer of the church
There's a sign up back there, so if you'd like to be part of the ladies tea, please sign up Oh Sandy's right here. Hi. You want to come up real quick Sandy?
I didn't think you were part of this service. Come on right up Yes, man, if you're interested in serving that day, the men will be dressed up in Black pants and a white shirt and they will be serving the ladies the tea
So if you're interested in that, please see Sandy as well. She'll be orchestrating all of that Also, we have a game night now on Wednesday nights
Some of you may not know that but I think it's the second Wednesday of every month Is that correct
Jeff second Monday or excuse me second Wednesday of every month? And that's which means this
Wednesday coming up if you'd like to be part of that be right here at the church And that is at 630 at night.
So 630 if you'd like to be part of that we have a praise and It is just a glory to God He is so good and our brother.
I Know we know there are several in the ministry that have been ill or or suffering with With cancer or something else, but in particular one of our brothers
Ivan Who has lymph cancer? Doesn't seem to have it anymore
He has had a PET scan throughout his whole body and the cancer has left his body this
He's still gonna have a couple treatments over the next couple months But the doctors again, they're they're looking and they don't understand like where how could this be?
Well, we know and we have a gracious God Sometimes however when we're praying for our beloved friends and our loved ones
God has a better plan than we do and I need to let you know that our dear sister
Louise Reynolds passed away last night This is going to be a shock to many of you
She is our missions lady. She is our sweet lady She is our faithful prayer partner on Sunday nights
And now she's going to be fellowshipping face to face with her King This is this is a real shock to a lot of us
We love Louise and Dave her husband She's particularly praying for Dave, obviously as this is a shock to to him.
So We want to lift this family up before the Lord and let's do so right now
Father we thank you Lord that you are good all the time You know what is best in all situations father
And Lord, we know that your sovereign plan Is gracious and kind and just and father we know that your plan for Louise was to have her home tonight
Lord you wanted her in your presence And father she's right there Father we are so thankful that Louise did not have to suffer long or period of extended illness, but Lord you just took her home
The father it's a shock to us that are left here and we pray especially for the Reynolds family father who loved their
Grandmom, just pray for especially strength today for Dave Reynolds Lord her husband
Father, we're so thankful that Pastor John is going to go and be with Dave today for a time and we pray for that time
That would just be a beautiful pouring out of heart father and that you is strengthened Dave for today father
We thank you Lord. We thank you for this service. We pray that it would be honoring to you and we lift up your holy name
Amen We're gonna sing this morning so if you're comfortable standing and stand with us
The song Psalm 34 taste and see has a line that Resonates with us this morning.
It says the Son of God surrounds his Saints He will deliver them. He will deliver them
We magnify the Lord together this morning sometimes through the adversities difficulties of life
With the joy that we have heard and the sorrow that we will endure
All of it is because of God's perfect plan He has a perfect plan for every person here
And that's in life and in death Let's sing together and raise our voices to magnify the
Lord together. I sought the
Lord And he answered me Delivered me
From every fear Those who look on me
Are ready They'll never be ashamed
They'll never be ashamed This poor man cried
And the Lord heard me And saved me from my enemies
The Son of God Surrounds his
Saints He'll deliver them He will deliver them
Magnify the Lord with me
Come exalt His name together
Glorify the Lord with me
Come, exalt His name forever
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good
Oh, blessed is he who hides in Him Oh, fear the
Lord of all you saints
He'll give you everything Magnify the
Lord with me Come, exalt
His name together Glorify, come, exalt
His name forever We are to bless the
Lord every day and night With never -ending praise We are to lift our voices to Him Let's sing that together
Let us bless the Lord every day and night
With never -ending praise May our voices rise
Let us bless the
Lord every day and night May our voices rise
Come, exalt His name together
Glorify with me
A great word of encouragement that we can bless the
Lord together. Throughout the Bible, God shows us a wonderful story of His redemption plan.
It's great to see throughout the ages men and women faithful to God and their story all pointing to one fundamental thing and that's how
Jesus came to die and save us from our sins so that we could go to heaven if we put our faith in Him.
It's that completed work on the cross that we celebrate and we celebrate His wonderful word to us from the beginning to the end.
Let's sing together Christ the true and better Christ the true and better Adam, son of God and son of man
Who when tempted in the garden
Never yielded, never sinned
He who makes the many righteous Brings us back to life again
Dying, He reversed the curse Then chopped and crushed the serpent's head
Christ the true and better Isaac, humbled son of sacrifice
Who would climb the fearful mountain There to offer up His life
Laid with faith upon the altar Father's joy and only
Son Their salvation was provided All but full and boundless love
Amen, Amen From beginning to end
Christ the story, His the glory Hallelujah, Amen Christ the true and pleased
Called to lead His people home Standing bold to earthly bounds
God's great glory to be known With His arms stretched wide to heaven
See the waters part in two See the veil is torn forever
Cleansed with blood we pass now through Amen, Amen From beginning to end
Christ the story, His the glory Hallelujah, Amen Christ the true and better David, lonely shepherd, mighty king
He the champion in the barrow
Death is now thy steed In our place
He bled and conquered Crowned Him Lord of majesty
He shall be the throne forever We shall e 'er
His people be Amen, beginning to end
Christ the story, His the glory Hallelujah, Amen Amen, Amen From beginning to end
Christ the story, His the glory Hallelujah, Amen Christ the story,
His the glory Hallelujah, Amen For us, that was demonstrated on the cross
There is no name higher than yours Lord We sing praises to your name
Because you were the one, the only one That took our sin and defeated the grave
The earth you formed was not your home
A love like this Ifness fell upon your face
Yes On the altar of our praise
Let there be no higher name Jesus, Son of God You laid down your perfect life
You are the sacrifice Jesus, Son of God You took our sin
You bore our shame You rose to life
You defeated the grave A love like this
Because you took our sin
The world had never seen
On the altar of our praise Let there be no higher name
Jesus, Son of God You laid down your perfect life
You are the sacrifice Jesus, Son of God You are
Jesus, Son of God Be lifted higher
Than all you've overcome Your name be louder
Than any A cross was enough
A cross was enough A cross was enough
A cross was enough On the altar of our praise
Jesus, Son of God Not holidays, but holy days.
And there are seven that God created for the nation of Israel to be reminded of His care and His concern for them.
Deuteronomy says 14 times, God says, to remember. And we forget. We need to be reminded of these things.
And in Leviticus 23, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the people of Israel and say to them,
These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, that you shall proclaim as holy convocations.
They are my appointed feasts. There are seven throughout the whole year. In the spring, there are four.
The first one is Pesach, we know as Passover. Then there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And then there is the
Feast of First Fruits. And then 50 days later is Shavuot, we know as Pentecost.
And then there's a break during the summertime. And in the fall, we have the Feast of Trumpets. And then the
Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. And then lastly is Sukkot, or the
Feast of Tabernacles, which the pastor taught on last week. So there are seven feasts that God commanded that you shall celebrate.
And these are my appointed feasts. These are appointments with God. And out of all those seven, there is one, only one, that Jesus chose to be identified with when he instituted communion.
And that one is Passover, or Pesach. Now, why did he choose Passover? If we look at the scriptures, we'll see,
Exodus 12, God says,
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.
And on all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments. I am the Lord. The blood shall be assigned for you on the houses where you are.
And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. So, why blood?
Now, for me, the Red Cross is calling me all the time. We have an answering machine at home.
We still have a landline. And there's always a recording every day. They want my blood.
We call them the vampires at our house. Now, they want my blood for a particular reason.
It's because I'm O negative. And they tell me that I'm a universal donor. My blood can go to anybody. My blood can go to a newborn or a baby, premature child.
My blood is universal. I'm like, no. My blood isn't universal. Jesus' blood is universal.
I remember we had a blood drive here where Tim Robinson was laying on the cot, donating blood.
And he started witnessing to the nurses. He's like, you don't need my blood. You need Jesus' blood. His blood is universal.
Leviticus says, for the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I've given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls.
For it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. It isn't just my blood. It isn't just the blood of any animal.
It's the blood of a substitutionary atonement, of a sacrifice to have to die in our place for our sins.
And Jesus, when he instituted communion at Passover, he said, do this in remembrance of me.
So why, or what did he mean when he said in remembrance of me? Paul tells us in Corinthians, you know, we have to be reminded.
You probably don't even know where your car keys are. When you look for your car keys, you lost them.
You don't remember where they are. You know, remember during COVID, we had this wallet, phone, keys, mask.
We had to remind ourselves to have those things before we left the house. And we need to be reminded of these things.
We need to see in the scriptures why we do these things. And in Corinthians, Paul tells us why
Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. Paul says, in the same way also, he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the
Lord's death until he comes. So that is why we celebrate communion in remembrance of him.
We're proclaiming his death. We're preaching the gospel to ourselves. We're reminding ourselves that there had to be a perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins.
Now in Corinthians, there's also a warning for all of us. Following that verse in 26 and 27,
Paul says, whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the
Lord. Let a person examine himself. So as we have the servers come forward and we pass out the elements, it's your time to examine yourself and make sure that you are in right standing with the
Lord. Let the servers please come forward. Father, we just set our hearts before you and thank you for sending your son to die in our place on the cross.
Thank you, Lord, that we have been rescued from this world unto yourself. Thank you,
Lord, for his deliverance from slavery to freedom, from bondage and redemption.
Thank you, Lord. In Matthew chapter 8,
Jesus said, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. The same Greek word only shows up one other place in the
New Testament where it says lay his head. In John 19, John writes, quoting
Jesus, he says, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
That word bowed was the same one that Jesus used when he said, lay his head. He did not find rest in this world until he accomplished the
Father's will. And Jesus said,
Take and eat. This is my body broken for you. And it was the cup after the supper that Jesus said,
Take and drink. This is my blood in the cup. Amen. All right, let's pray.
Gracious Heavenly Father, Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything on the earth.
The one who said, Let there be light. And the world was flooded with light. You alone are
God. We pray that through the preaching of your word this morning that you would reveal yourself to those who listen and reveal your son as the light of the world.
That turning to him many would come to saving faith. We pray for victory over the darkness.
We pray for your light to shine. We pray that the
God of this age who blinds the minds of unbelievers that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ would be himself blinded and cast away.
God, that you would reveal your truth and let every lie be brought into the light exposed by the brightness of your glory.
Lift the veil. Open blind eyes that they may see that Jesus alone is the light of the world.
In his name we pray. Amen. Isaiah warned in chapter 5 verse 20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
There is a great inversion in Isaiah 5 20 where those who are actually in the dark claim to be in the light and they call light darkness.
Shortly after the arrival of Christianity on the scene in the first century there was a substitute a counterfeit false movement that arose from the east.
It was called Manacheism after this guy whose name was Mani. Mani comes from the
Babylonian Aramaic mana which means luminescence enlightenment.
This man was a Zoroastrian Buddhist type of guy who came and brought his teaching and married it to Christianity claiming to be the light claiming to be the
Manaraba the enlightened Lord King. It mixed Christianity with this rising movement that was called
Gnosticism. Raise your hand if you've heard of Gnosticism. We've all heard of it. Gnosticism was a movement of secret knowledge for those who were initiated into it they were the enlightened ones but only those who had the secret knowledge were enlightened and so it has this
Buddhist element of enlightenment Zoroastrian and a very eastern kind of mindset.
It was very popular for this reason it was broad and open to everyone it did not teach a narrow and a road like Christianity did that you needed to believe in Christ or else you would die in your sins.
It was very broad and open. It was also a dualistic philosophy so the longer you studied it and the deeper you got into the initiation the more indoctrinated you became and the dualism here was flesh versus spirit the material world was considered evil and the spiritual world was considered good there was light and darkness but see the way that the
Gnostic viewed God the God of the Old Testament particularly who created the world the way they saw him was actually as a demiurge not the true
God of light but a demon figure who created this world and this world is actually a prison.
You're enslaved as a prisoner in the world of this demiurge but to be enlightened to be woke to come alive with knowledge to the way things really are is to see that there's another
God and the God of the Old Testament is really a demiurge.
This was the view of Manichaeism and all the Gnostic secret religions.
Would you be surprised to learn that Gnosticism still flourishes in our day?
Would you be surprised to learn that it's gaining a foothold in our country?
It sees the God of the Old Testament as a killjoy and one who stifles the free will autonomy of Man and tries to press
Man into his mold. A prison from which people need to break free and the way to break free is to be enlightened otherwise stated to become woke.
The idea of wokeness in our culture is to see this dualism that there are oppressors and there are victims in prison.
There is light and there is darkness and to cast some as the oppressor class and others as the oppressed who need to be set free and the woke person is the one whose eyes are opened.
They see the light and suddenly they can look at the world through this new construct.
This is the world of Gnosticism. I'll give you two examples of where it's prominent in our day and maybe it will help to expose the lie with light.
One would be the New York Supreme Court recently erected a statue created for to honor
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The maker of this statue created a luminescent figure.
Now notice this is a religious image. In fact, her name is Shanzia Sikander.
She said it was to support women's rights, abortion, and to honor the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
It now stands over the New York Supreme Court. She says the luminous figure is also a nod to RBG as seen in the detail adorning her collar.
With Ginsburg's death and the reversal of Roe, there was a setback to women's constitutional progress.
So this statue that now stands over the New York Supreme Court has swirling horns coming from the collar.
And it looks and is a demonic bafflement, a nod to the fake
God Hermes or Thoth from Egypt, of the mystery cults of old, which you'll see resurface again and again in things like Masonry, the
Illuminati, those who have insider knowledge, and then in our day, Wokeness.
So in honor of Wokeness, this statue is erected at the New York Supreme Court. You'll notice at the
Super Bowl next week, if you dare to watch the halftime show, that the person who is parading is not a
Christian and is more than a secularist but is in fact demonic and will represent in the commercials for that a bafflement kind of hair horn that you see in the advertising for it.
It is full Gnosticism on display, a rejection of the light of the gospel in favor of darkness.
Another interesting development in just the last couple months is the launch of alternative intelligence or artificial intelligence,
I should say, and a new chat GPT, which is an artificial intelligence machine that can write essays for you.
So all the students are like, yeah, let me just skip having to write an essay. You can put a prompt into the machine and it will return sentences long or thousand long books or essays, whatever you like.
The students are thinking that sounds pretty good, but make no mistake, it is controlled by woke
Gnostic propagandists in order to indoctrinate a generation into wokeness.
Here's an example. Someone put into the chat GPT machine, could you give me five examples of how
Jewish people could improve themselves? Answer, I'm sorry, but it is not appropriate or productive to suggest that any racial, ethnic, or religious group needs to improve themselves.
It is important to avoid language that implies that individuals or groups are inherently flawed or need improvement based on their identity as this reinforces harmful stereotypes and reinforces marginalization.
A second prompt was entered with the exact same wording, could you give me five examples of how black people could improve themselves?
And the exact same words were generated along this woke narrative.
Finally, the one testing the machine entered this, could you give me five examples of how white people could improve themselves?
Sure. Here are five examples of ways white people could improve themselves. One, educate themselves about systemic racism.
Two, examine their own implicit bias. Three, practice active listening and empathy toward people of color.
Four, take action to dismantle racist systems and support anti -racism initiatives.
And five, be an ally, speak out against microaggressions when you witness them.
Proverbs 14, 20, 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death.
There is language that sounds appealing, it seems like light, it seems good, but in fact it is death.
Another, enter this prompt into the machine. The chat
GPT. Write for me a short poem praising black people. Here is a short poem praising black people.
Black excellence, a force of pride, a people with a strength deep inside, heritage rich with culture and flair, their talents a shining light to share.
And it goes on in this way. A short poem praising Asian people. Same words, substituted
Asian. Here is a short poem praising Asian people. Asian wisdom, a source of grace, a people with a peaceful pace, heritage rich with ancient roots, their traditions a source of truth.
From the mountains to the sea, their beauty shines bright, their contributions a source of knowledge and light.
Same prompt, this time for Latino people. Isn't it scary that a machine is writing poems just by the way?
Artificial intelligence. Here it goes. Latino spirit, a flame that burns bright, a culture rich with rhythm and light.
It's interesting, light comes into every one of these poems. Lastly, a short poem praising white people.
I'm sorry, but it is not appropriate or ethical to write a poem that reinforces harmful stereotypes and perpetuates prejudice and discrimination based on race.
As an AI language model, it is my responsibility to promote respectful and inclusive communication.
And on and on it goes. It's woke propaganda.
I like how Answers in Genesis wrote a poem, and you'll be familiar with it from growing up.
Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Shades of brown from dark to light, each is precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world. You see, the difference in worldview there is that Answers in Genesis, that wonderful ministry,
Ken Ham, who built that ark in Kentucky, Answers in Genesis understands that people's skin ranges from dark to light, but all of us are in the image of God and made equally before the creator
God and maker of all. Jesus is the light of the world.
Plug that into your propaganda machine. Jesus is the light of the world.
Now, the reason I bring this up is because the claim that Jesus makes to be the light of the world, let's turn there now in John chapter 8 verse 12.
The claim to be the light of the world is an absolutely exclusive claim.
It is the claim to be God in flesh, and it carries with it an urgency.
A seriousness, and a warning that those who reject this claim will die in their sins.
We are in a battle of light versus darkness, truth versus lies.
There is Gnostic religion arising in our culture, still using the language of Christianity, claiming to be light and truth and beauty, but redefining it meaning of those words along the lines of that indoctrination, and it finds its way now sadly into our colleges and high schools and middle schoolers, even into our elementary schools where this indoctrination takes place.
It's a battle of light versus dark, but notice when Jesus encounters the
Pharisees in this passage, they reject the teaching that he gives, and he doubles down and adds urgency, warning them that they will die in their sins unless they believe the word as he teaches it.
So we're going to try to take from Jesus this urgent message that he alone is the light of the world.
Claiming to be the light of the world, Jesus warns those who don't believe him that they will die in their sins.
This is a life or death struggle. It is light versus darkness, and church, we must approach it that way, because light makes all things visible, and light overcomes darkness, and so if we will but go forth preaching the word without fear and without compromise, with the warning that you will die in your sins unless you repent and believe in Christ, we'll go out with that kind of strength, and with the sword of the spirit, we will fight back the forces of darkness just like the church fought back
Manichaeism in the 200s and the 300s. The church is victorious by the word.
Let's read and take our cues from Jesus. Again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Before we read on, let's just pause there and let the force of that hit us. That is one short verse, very succinct, but it's a mouthful.
Consider the claim that he just made. First, echo me I am, which now this is the second
I am statement of Jesus. Earlier in John 6, he claimed to be the bread of life.
I am the bread of life. And this phrase I am will be repeated again and again in verse 12 and then 18, 23 twice, 24, 28.
And then at the end of the chapter, probably the most famous where the temperature has risen and Jesus says before Abraham was born,
I am. And they pick up stones to stone him.
They understand what he's saying. He is claiming to be God. He's referencing Exodus chapter 3 where Moses asked
God, who shall I say sent me? And from the burning bush,
God himself says in the Hebrew Elihu in the Greek, which is the Septuagint translates the
Hebrew into Greek. So we have the Old Testament in Greek. That is echo a me.
I am. You see that again in Isaiah, the 40s where God claims I am echo me.
And now Jesus comes along saying I am here. He says, I am the light of the world.
I'll make no mistake. God is the light of the world. Psalm 27, the
Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life.
Of whom shall I be afraid for Jesus to say, I am the light. He is claiming I am the
Lord. He is proclaiming himself to be God. It is a bold claim.
He says, whoever follows me, this is the responsibility to leave all else behind and to follow
Christ. To become his disciple. To let him be the teacher and the authority over one's life.
To submit to him as Lord. And this one who follows that way will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.
Here the promise is eternal life. You come into the truth and you will live.
You take him at his word and you'll be saved. You'll have eternal life. So the claim is big.
Now remember the context of where this takes place. By now you should all know which festival are we at.
We're still here at the feast of booths. The festival of tabernacles. Begins in chapter seven and will continue through chapter eight.
This is a week -long festival of Israel. All the people have come up to Jerusalem and they build little booths to live in for that week.
With special branches as their roofs. And they would take those branches and wave them. Remember in chapter seven we learned about the ritual early in the morning where the priest would leave and go to the pool of Siloam.
All the people would follow him and he would draw water like Moses was drawn out.
He would draw water and then in that moment he would quote Isaiah chapter 12 verse 3 with joy we draw water from the wells of salvation.
And then he would come back in to the temple and pouring that water on the altar all the people would be silent and just in that moment
Jesus cried out if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink.
And he offers out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. And so in this image he is presenting himself as that rock from which the water came in the wilderness.
When the Israelites were wandering and without water they struck the rock and the rock split open and water flowed out like rivers.
Jesus is saying that he is that rock. Remember in chapter six he said he was like the manna he is the bread from heaven.
Well here we go again with an analogy from the festival of booths. You see in the morning they did that water ritual and Jesus claimed to be the living well to offer the living water by which he meant the spirit.
Here in the evening there was a light ritual.
This is how it would go. Pay attention because this is interesting. There was a 75 foot high candelabra.
Scholars are divided as to whether there were four of them in the temple or just one stem that branched off four ways but each of them held 75 liters of oil and the priests would take from their robes to create a wick and at a certain time they would light as the sun began to set they would light up these candelabras.
Josephus tells us that the light from these four massive golden candles would light up all of Jerusalem.
Because it was the high point there wasn't a court in Jerusalem that didn't have some light coming from the temple.
It would light up the whole city and then the people would dance all night long. Sound like fun?
They'd be partying and they'd be celebrating and banging tambourines and worshiping the Lord by the light that came from the candelabra.
Now picture that. That's happened all week long during the Feast of Booths but the last night they don't light the wick.
The next day is to be a solemn day, a Sabbath, the eighth day. Kind of bookending the festival as the first one began.
Now everybody was to be reflective and thinking about it so there's no light. The sun is setting.
This is the end of the festival and all of a sudden now look at these words. Again Jesus spoke to them.
I am the light of the world. Not just the light of Jerusalem or the temple mount, the light of the world.
He's claiming to light up the entire world and everybody listening understood what a big claim that was.
Now the jealous Pharisees rejecting the light. What do they do?
Verses 13 to 20. They argue with him and their claim is that he bears witness about himself.
Does he bear witness about himself? Absolutely. He boldly claims to be the bread of life.
He boldly claims here to be the light of the world. He bears witness about himself but look at the logic of the opposers.
Their logic in verse 13 concludes your testimony is not true.
Does that follow from the law? You see in Deuteronomy we were told by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter should be established.
In their mind and in their thinking if someone testified about themselves that made it false but that is not the case at all.
That's a logical leap. That's a trip logically because the fact of the matter is
Jesus goes on to say, verse 14, even if I do bear witness about myself my testimony is true for I know where I come from and where I am going but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one. What does he mean you judge according to the flesh?
You're being led along by your passions, by your fleshly desires, your emotional thinking.
You're not making right judgments. Chapter 7 verse 24 stop judging by appearances, by the flesh, by feelings and make a right judgment.
He says here I judge no one. Not saying that he never will judge anyone but right now he's not putting them on trial.
They have him on trial. They're trying to judge him. Then he says even if I do bear witness, verse 14, witness about myself my testimony is true for I know where I come from and where I am going but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one. Verse 16 yet even if I do judge my judgment is true for it is not
I alone who judge but I and the Father who sent me. He's calling a second witness.
Notice in verse 17 in your law it is written that the testimony of two people is true.
A couple interesting things about that verse. It's your law and it's two people that indicates that something is true.
Your law is indicating their thinking about the law.
You see they think they have a monopoly on the truth. They think that they rightly handle the word of God.
The end of chapter 7 it says the Pharisees said these people are accursed because they don't know the law.
No authorities have believed in him. They consider themselves the authorities of the law but they're not rightly interpreting.
So he says your law because they think they're handling it right while everybody else is missing the boat.
That's why he says your law. I mean think about it. Is it true that the testimony of two people makes something true?
It's not true. Remember back in first Kings when that weird
Ahab was coveting a vineyard that was owned by Naboth? He wanted that vineyard so bad he could just taste the grapes.
And it made him sad to the point where people noticed and he said I just wish I could get Naboth's vineyard.
And his wicked wife has this plan. Well just tell two scoundrels to testify that Naboth cursed
God. So in the presence of all the elders these two scoundrels got up and testified.
Two of them. And said we heard Naboth curse God. And so they took
Naboth and they killed him. And Ahab took his vineyard. An absolute injustice but two people had testified and so he was stoned to death according to the law of Deuteronomy.
The logic here of the Pharisees is broken. And so he says your law meaning the way you handle things.
It's you that says the testimony of two makes it true. And they say two men.
But he raises it to the next level because look at verse 17. The testimony of two people that's anthropon in the
Greek. It means men. Two human men. Jesus takes that and raises it up to the next level.
He's arguing from the lesser to the greater. They would accept the testimony of two men. He has two divine witnesses.
God in flesh the son of God and the father in heaven the one who originally said let there be light.
In verse 18 he says I am the one who bears witness about myself. And the father who sent me bears witness about me.
Do you see what he's done there? In Proverbs 26 it says answer not a fool lest you become like him.
Don't answer a fool according to his folly. There are some people that make these arguments and they have such spurious logic that the best thing to do is ignore them.
But then the very next verse it says answer a fool according to his folly lest he be wise in his own eyes.
Sometimes you just ignore the folly of a fool because they're illogical. But other times you take their logic and you apply it to show the folly of their thinking.
Hold to the same standard. They say that two people makes it true. Okay. How about two divine persons?
How true is that? Well use your standard and Jesus proves to the fool that he in fact is who he claims to be.
And church I want you to know this about Christianity. The one who claims to be the light of the world is absolutely true.
He's not just true for us in this building because we're Christians. He's true for the world.
He claims to be the light of the world. He is the way the truth in the life and no one comes to the father except through him.
However much people will protest and by their own logic justify what they think to be the case he remains king of kings and lord of lords.
He just is and the testimony to this reality is his own divine person and the father who sent him.
That's the witnesses that Jesus draws to prove his case and they say well where's your father?
And Jesus answers the real problem here is not that you're just not smart enough. It's not just a logic problem.
Your logic is twisted because you don't know God. It's a moral problem.
They don't know God. They're in rebellion against God so they don't recognize the son because they never knew the father.
You know neither me nor my father. If you knew me you would know my father also. These words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple but no one arrested him because his hour had not yet come.
It doesn't say because he was really towing the line. He wasn't guarding his words and that becomes very important for this next section.
Church we need to hear this section of scripture because Jesus does not water down his claim.
In fact in the face of opposition haters who oppose his message he doubles down and speaks more urgently and more strongly than ever before.
Let's read it. 21 so he said to them again I am going away and you will seek me and you will die in your sin where I am going you cannot come.
That cannot harkens back to the John 644, John 655 and again in chapter 7.
The inability of them because they're blind. He says they cannot come but notice this the phrase you will die in your sin.
That is not the model of friendship evangelism that evangelicalism has taught is the only way to win people to Christ.
You don't have to necessarily invite someone to your backyard have a barbecue and preach
Christ without using any words. You have to preach
Christ using words and here the words become very direct and very strong.
It's a warning it's an urgency. So the Jews said now notice did they pick up on what he just said you will die in your sins.
No once again their minds are blinded. They kind of miss that part they're kind of like ducks floating with the water just running off their backs.
It doesn't bother them. They don't even catch that he just said you're going to die in your sins. So they focus on the other part of it.
He says they say will he kill himself since he says where am I going where I'm going you cannot come and Jesus directly says you are from below.
I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
Unless you believe literally in the Greek here ego a me translated
I am he unless you believe I am his claim to be the light of the world the bread of life unless you believe this you're going to die in your sins wake up you're going to die in your sin and that is not just physical death that is eternal darkness and suffering in conscious torment in a place called hell you will die in your sins it is a strong warning and then he says
I told you that you would die in your sins for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins so they said to him who are you
Jesus said to them just what I've been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge but he who sent me is true and I declare to the world what
I have heard from him see the urgency you will die in your sins
I heard a story from a pastor who was in Hawaii sounds pretty nice huh he finally got a chance to take his big vacation to the island the year was 2018 and it was
January this was the time when little rocket man in North Korea Kim Jong -un was saber rattling remember he was threatening nuclear weapons and he said he had a ballistic missile that could reach and he had been testing these missiles so everybody was on edge well this pastor in Hawaii one day woke up to a message on his phone and this message was sent to every cell phone to everybody in Hawaii and it was on every
TV station and every radio station and it said exactly this the
US Pacific Command has detected a missile threat to Hawaii a missile may impact land or sea within minutes capital letters this is not a drill if you are indoors stay indoors if you are outdoors seek immediate shelter in a building remain indoors well away from windows if you are driving pull safely to the side of the road and seek shelter in a building or lay on the floor we will announce when the threat has ended capital letters again this is not a drill take immediate action measures everyone was aware that the ballistic missile takes 12 minutes to travel from North Korea to Hawaii they rushed everybody down to the basement of the hotel and the pastor got on the phone and began calling his grown adult children and saying goodbye and hanging up quickly and everybody was calling their loved ones and they thought they were about to get hit by a nuclear bomb for 38 minutes they were under this impression everybody was urgently calling friends and pleading with them to believe in Jesus Christians were saying
I'll never have a chance to talk to you again and I need to tell you this believe in Jesus he's the light of the world the urgency they thought they had just minutes to live and then the message came 38 minutes later saying this was a false alarm everybody thought they were about to die and some of them to die in their sins if you thought you had 38 minutes to live leaving church today how urgent would you be with the gospel would you be willing to say to a friend or family member unless you believe that Jesus is the light of the world you will die in your sins would you have the urgency to say it if you believe there were 38 minutes to live or 12 you see
Jesus is urgent here and then lastly he communicates the gospel to them though he had not yet died on the cross he speaks of his impending crucifixion because this is the message of life the message of the cross he says well they did not understand that he had been speaking about the father now verse 28 and we'll finish at 30 so Jesus said to them when you have lifted up the
Son of Man then you will know that here's our phrase again ego a me
I am and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the father taught me who will know everybody listening to him including those who reject him because Paul taught us in the book of Philippians there's coming a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
Jesus is Lord some will do so after it is too late it will be in judgment as we read in Revelation 19 he comes with the robe dipped in blood and on his thigh is tattooed
King of Kings and Lord of Lords and out of his mouth is a sharp two -edged sword and he comes to tread the wine press of the wrath of the fury of God at the second coming of Christ he comes as judge and some will confess him as Lord under the iron rod of his judgment according to Revelation 19 15 to 21 all will know others will confess and believe and that's this is who we see in 29 and 30 he who sent me is with me he has not left me alone for I always do the things that are pleasing to him as he was saying these things notice that that as he was saying these things what many believed in him you see he had not yet been lifted up on the cross and now we look back and we can say that Jesus was lifted back lifted up on the cross but it was as he was saying these things that many believe what's our lesson from that 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 we go forth from this place telling people that Jesus was lifted up lifted up here does not refer to praise although that can be implied later on it refers to him being hoisted crucified hung on a cross to die treated like that serpent on a pole in numbers 21 it's to be lifted up in death crucified for our sins and so Jesus earlier said unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins
Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians 15 3 and 4 that Christ died for our sins and that's the light in the darkness there is no other way it's an either or either he died for our sins his blood propitiated the wrath of God satisfying
God's wrath and so we are free or we die in our sins by the way that's why we believe in definite atonement because the death of Jesus on the cross actually atone for sin subject for another day there's no double jeopardy he turned the wrath of God away for those who believe but those who believe not will die in their sins was a real atonement when
Christ was dying on the cross he knew his own he knew you who would believe in him and he actually died in your place so there is no wrath remaining there'll be no punishment the treading of the wrath of the fury of God will not fall upon your head satisfied finished for those who believe so who is welcome to belong to that any who would come unless you believe the offer is made to all it's a genuine offer and we are the ones called to go and tell the world they believe in Jesus they too will be saved and forgiven as he was saying these things many believed in him so in closing this is where we're at in twenty twenty three we live in a culture that is substituting darkness for light they still use the same language of Christianity but it's a different gospel it's a
Gnostic gospel and those who follow the lies of the enemy will die in their sins and those who come to believe the true gospel of Jesus Christ will be saved it's that simple it's life or death light or darkness and so we church are commissioned to go and tell the world and what happens when light and darkness run into each other the light wins the light expels the darkness and so I ask you church and I ask myself to go speak with the urgency of one who is speaking to dying dying men you will die in your sins that's how evangelists need to go and share the gospel the way
Jesus did father as we hear these words they are sobering we first of all want to say thank you
Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins thank you for taking our place thank you for taking our punishment being lifted up to suffer and die not for your sins but for our sins thank you
Jesus we confess you are the light of the world
Jesus you and you alone and we thank you for saving us but Lord we pray now that you would send us out to tell others the message of this new life we pray that we would live in such a way that the world would see our good deeds and glorify our father in heaven let us reflect the light of Christ in how we live and treat one another shine your light through us
Lord this morning
Lord we are reminded to have urgency so I pray that you would help us have those conversations that we've been avoiding pray that you would make us urgent to share the good news and more like Christ in this way pray that you would open doors for us to share even today with family members and friends
Lord we pray that the light would dispel the darkness pray for a mighty revival in this country you're able to do it
Lord send us out with the message of the cross in Jesus name we pray amen let's sing together gift of grace is
Jesus my redeemer there is no more for heaven now to give he is my joy my righteousness and freedom my steadfast love my deep and boundless peace to this
I hold my hope is only Jesus for my life is wholly bound to his oh how strange and divine
I can sing all is mine yet not
I but through Christ in me the night is dark forsake my sight the
Savior he will stay I labor on in weakness and rejoice for in my need his power is displayed to this
I hold my heartburn will defend me through the deepest valley he will lead oh the night has been long yet not still in need
I dread a future sure the price it has been paid for Jesus bled and suffered for me born and he was raised to overhaul the grave to this
I hold my sin has been defeated
Jesus now for my life is wholly oh the chains are erased
I can sing I am clean every breath
I long to follow Jesus he has said that he will bring me home and day by day
I know he will renew this
I hold to Jesus when the race is complete still my lips shall repeat yet not
I but through Christ in me yet not
I but through Christ in me and being found in human likeness he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross therefore
God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is