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I'd like to speak to you about Jesus Christ, the true light. Jesus Christ, the true light. After all, He is the grand subject of the whole Bible, is He not? Let's bow in prayer as we go before we go and open His word and hear from heaven.
O God, our Heavenly Father, Lord, we come with an attitude, Lord, this morning, truly praising You for Your greatness, Your loving kindness and Your mercy, and Lord, Your patience.
Toward us.
You do us good because You're good, and Lord, it is Your goodness that leads us to repentance. Our hearts cry, Lord, as hallowed be Your name. Your name is hallowed, holy, and Lord, we pray that You would glorify Yourself as we honor Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and help us, Lord, by Your Spirit, Lord, this morning to glorify You and Your Son by the help of the Spirit in whom we have life and breath.
Be exalted, O God, as David says, above the heavens. Lord, we praise Your name, which is holy, and Lord, help us to exalt You. Hide me behind the cross this morning, Lord, and may I just be a voice, as John the Baptist said, I'm just a voice crying in the wilderness.
God, I admit my weakness. Lord, we are all weak, but You are strong. Lord, help us this morning. Only You can give us eyes to see. Only You can give us ears to hear and give us a heart to perceive. Just like those disciples on the road of Emmaus, they didn't know who You were until You opened their eyes and gave them understanding and revealed to them who You were.
So do the same with us this morning, Lord, because You are the truth. Sanctify us by the truth. Cleanse us by the truth. Change us by the truth. And, Lord, for all this, we will give You the glory and the honor, and we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
The world in which we live, as you well know, is in great darkness. It's in desperate need of the truth today. We witness this more and more as we live, don't we? I can hardly, we don't have a television anymore because years ago we made that decision when my children were little, even the commercials were so profane and horribly dark, even the news that would come on would just pour forth such horrible news and violence of everything under the sun that you would think, Lord, as a parent and a father and a priest of my home and having my children to shepherd them, Lord, I must do everything I can to protect them from such evil.
And I think about that was years ago, folks, and it has grown rapidly worse. People are groping in darkness, not knowing where they're going. They're so deceived. And after all, their sin has compounded this, the darkness that they are living in.
We were there once, right? Dead in trespasses and our sins, and the sin within, the depravity within compounds that darkness. And I tell you something else, even something else compounds it even more.
The God of this world, the God of this age, Satan, compounds that darkness. And Jesus says how dark that darkness is. But the darker it is, the greater the light. And I'm here to tell you, as your pastor and friend, we have an opportunity like no one else has ever had before the Lord Jesus Christ comes back.
The time is becoming shorter and shorter because I'm thinking, I think about what the verse says in Scripture. And God says this, and as he dwells in eternity and inhabits eternity, there's a scripture back in Genesis, and I believe he's speaking to Abraham before the cup is filled up and it fills up with iniquity and then God pours forth judgment.
And it's almost as if there's a cup before God. And in America, it's almost to the brim. Only God knows this, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, and God knows this. We don't know how long, but it's very short, isn't it?
The time is short and people are groping in darkness, not knowing where to go. But there seems like within them, they don't even know why they're existing. Any wonder why there's so much suicide? They don't even know their purpose, the reason they live, where they came from, that they're created in the image of God because Satan has so twisted this.
We see this.
It's darkness.
It's very dark, isn't it? And aren't you glad for the Word of God? You open the Word of God and it shines forth light. And it is God that said in the darkness, let there be light. And there was light.
This world is so full of darkness. It's in need of the truth. And that truth is the light. Now we're going to look at the true light. That is Jesus Christ. Actually, let me say one more thing. This darkness brings about blindness, blindness in darkness, dead, trespasses, and sins.
Sin has no doubt brought this terrible darkness, despair and death, corruption and hell. Sin, sin, in which I told a young lady, had opportunity to witness to later this past week and told her, I said, you really don't know how horrible your sin is.
And I literally was broken over it because it's like she flippantly said, I may be going to hell and I really don't care. She admitted she was technically a harlot and in process asking me, thinking that somehow I would pat her and give her some consoling words of being a homewrecker, lusting after her boss that's married and he's 53 and she's 25.
And she tells me, well, God made me be born in the wrong time because I love this man. I said, no, you don't love him. I said, you don't love him. How do you know I don't love him? I said, because God is a covenant keeping God.
And I said this with love and brokenness and I said, you have no idea.
You are in blindness.
You are blinded because of your sin. And she just looked at me like she had no idea. She don't. She doesn't. Isaiah 59, 1 and 2, listen to this. It's like Isaiah the prophet gives the good news first.
He says, behold, behold, listen to this. This is the message we have to a lost and dying world. The Lord's hand does not shorten that it cannot save. Nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But listen to the transition.
But, but your iniquities have separated you from your God. And your sins have hidden his face from you so that he will not hear. Brother Keith reminded me of this scripture earlier this week and I praise God for it.
Psalm 66, 18. David says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But, verse 19, but certainly God has heard me. Certainly, he was certain about it. That God has heard me and he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Prayer is no doubt the key, isn't it? And verse 20, he blesses the Lord after he knows God has certainly heard him. And prayed and repented in his brokenness. And then he says, blessed be the God, he praises God.
Who has not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me. He knew it and he praised the Lord for it. So that's the good, there's bad news but there's good news. And we have the good news. How privileged we are.
Even though sin and darkness looms like thick fog over America and the whole world. Just not America, but the world. And by the way, this is the problem. This is the problem that is dealt with in the present passage before us.
There is a living hope and that hope is only in Jesus Christ. That he is our message. And I'll tell you, any time that we get altered or detoured. And tell the world of who Jesus Christ is and his works.
We have come away from the true light. We have altered it, we have detoured it. And by the way, the word of God and the message of the gospel is not to be tampered with.
By men.
And this is why the church is powerless today in America. Because there's another gospel. There's a prosperity gospel that's run amuck. That's being preached. And any wonder why so many churches are packed out with so many people.
Because that's exactly what they want to hear. Itching ears.
Paul said it.
They desire teachers. They have itching ears. They want to hear what they want to hear. Console me. And let me hear what would make me feel good. And you and I know, when Jesus said this. Jesus meant every single word of it.
And everything he said, of course. He says this in John 3. To Nicodemus, to a religious man. This is the condemnation. That light has come into the world. Verse 19. And men love darkness rather than light.
Because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light. And does not come to the light.
Lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light. We run to the light, right? That his deeds. This is why we run to the light. We run to the truth. Who is Christ. That his deeds may be clearly seen. The old King James says, made manifest.
That we see who we are before God.
Who we really are.
That they have been done in God. That they have been wrought in God. And that leads us to repentance.
Right there.
Is the truth. How can a person know who they really are. Unless he sees himself the way God sees him. Cannot. Well, the only hope is Jesus Christ. And the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in his works.
Because the true light dispels darkness. Jesus Christ who is. As scripture says in Revelation. Jesus speaks of himself as the morning star. He is the morning star. The bright and the morning star. And as we just finished 2 Peter.
2 Peter 1 .19 says this. And so we have the prophetic word. The word of God. Confirmed which you do well to heed. As a light that shines in a dark place. Until the day dawns. And the morning star rises in your heart.
Well look at verse 6 of chapter 1. And let's pick up where we have left off. There was a man sent from God. Whose name was John. And here we have seen. We looked at this in the previous weeks. That we see that John is just merely a man.
He is not the Logos. He is not the word is he? He is not by and large.
And by and far.
He is not the Lamb of God. He even confessed that. And he even says. I am not that light. I am just a voice crying. And Jesus even said he was a burning and a shining light. He was a light. And we are going to look at this later on.
As stars. The celestial beings.
If you notice.
You look up in the universe. As God made the stars. And I love the account of creation. After God made all these things. And the creation. And he made the stars also. Stars differ. In brightness. But there is one star.
That outshines them all. The bright and the morning star. The true light. So John is sent from God.
Right?
He is sent from God on a mission. His name was John the Baptist. We know that he is really. He is no ordinary man. Because we know that he had a supernatural birth. Nothing in comparison to the incarnation of Christ.
Of course not. Because he still had Adam's sin. He needed a savior as well. But he did have a miraculous birth. Because of what God did. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. He had a special privilege.
To introduce the world to the greatest. To the greatest man who lived. Jesus Christ. The God man. The Messiah. The Lord and Savior Christ. And even Jesus said this of John the Baptist. That there was no one that was born of women greater than he.
So he was great. But he wasn't the greatest.
Was he?
John was great. And because he was great. He had the privilege and the honor. And because of that privilege and honor. Made him great. Because he was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He was the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that was the reason for his greatness. He was that forerunner.
For Christ.
The King of Glory. Yet, if he was here today. And we were to point out. John you were the greatest man that ever lived.
Born of women.
He would say.
And immediately.
I know this.
By the way.
He would probably be kicked out of most churches today. We know that too.
But if he was here today. And if he was preaching. He would just say. No, I'm just a voice crying in the wilderness. Preparing the way of the Lord. Make his path straight. My message is repentance. And my message is.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He would never point to himself. That he would be great.
But isn't it amazing. That the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Said this about John. Jesus said it. Knowing that Jesus said that is incredible. Well, we know that. His message in John 3. And we looked at this last Lord's Day.
We'll recap just a little bit here. Notice what he said in John 3. Verse 27.
Basically.
People was coming to him. Rabbi. Who was with you. Beyond Jordan. To whom you have testified. Behold. He's baptizing. All are coming to him. John said. A man can receive nothing. Unless it has been given to him from heaven.
You yourselves bear witness.
That I said.
I am not the Christ. But I have been sent before him. He who has the bride. Is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom. Who stands and hears him. Rejoices greatly. Because of the bridegroom's voice.
Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. And what he's saying is. I'm in not any competition with the Lord. As a matter of fact.
He said.
I gladly rejoice that they go to him.
As a matter of fact.
Then in verse 30. He summarizes his mission. His ministry. He must increase. But I must decrease. Oh that would have change. How that would change. The churches today. If every preacher. And every minister.
Would have that as his motto. He who comes from above. Is above all. He who is of the earth.
Is earth.
And speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven. Is above all. What he has seen and heard. And he testifies. That no one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony. Has certified that God is true.
For he whom God has sent. Speaks the words of God. For God does not give the spirit. By measure. The father loves the son. And has given all things. Into his hand. And then he summarizes this. And he who believes in the son.
Has everlasting life. And he who does not believe the son. Shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on him. At verse 36. A great verse. To point lost sinners to Christ. Is it not? You must believe.
You must be born again. You must be regenerated. You must repent. That is the message. That was John's mission.
Now.
As the forerunner to the Lord Jesus Christ. John's mission was to bear witness of the true life. Christ. Messiah. The son of the living God.
And with.
John's ministry.
Actually.
The 400 years. Silent years. Between the end of the Old Testament. And the New Testament period. During God. In which God had given. And no revelation was ended. Interested too. Between those pages.
That's where the.
The sect of the Pharisees. Rose up. Man had to have his religion.
Man had to have religion. There was no word from God.
So.
Man came in. Had to form a club.
A holy club.
So called. God upset that apple cart.
Didn't he?
When.
John the Baptist came on the scene. In the courtroom of the world. And then he started preaching. The first time they heard a word. From God. For after 400 years. John 1 7. John 1 7. The same came for a witness.
To bear witness of the light. That all men through him might believe.
That was.
And that it should be.
Every.
Believers. Ministry. Is to tell people. Of the true light of Jesus Christ. That they may believe. We looked at this. But to go to it again. We cannot hear it enough. Right? Romans 10. Romans 10. This whole chapter.
Is about evangelism. And Paul's concern here is. Israel needs the gospel. Israel needs the gospel. But Israel rejects the gospel. And we're going to look at this.
Next.
Lord's day.
Lord willing.
He came into his own.
And his own.
Received him not. Jesus is rejected. But just because the gospel is rejected. Does that mean the gospel has lost its power?
Absolutely not.
Listen to what Paul says. Verse 14. How then shall they call on him. In whom they have not believed. That's a good question isn't it? And shall. And how shall. How shall they believe in him. Of whom they have not heard.
And how shall they hear. Without a preacher. This is the purpose of a preacher. This is the purpose why I'm. Preaching. Or any preacher preaches. How shall they preach. Unless they are sent. As it is written.
How beautiful are the feet of those. Who preach the gospel of peace. Who bring glad tidings. Of good things. But they have not all obeyed. Obeyed the gospel. What a statement. There's many out there. That has not obeyed.
Does that mean. The gospel has lost its power.
Again.
No.
He gives a scripture. For Isaiah says.
Lord.
From Isaiah 53.
Who has believed our report. Verse 17. So then faith comes by hearing. Hearing by the word of the Lord. The word of God. Again a question comes. Notice questions answers. Questions answers. Out of chapter and verse.
But I say they have.
Have they.
Not heard. Yes indeed. Yes indeed. Their sound has gone out. To all the earth. And their words to the end. Ends of the world. And he goes on. Verse 19. But I say. Did Israel not know. First Moses says.
I will provoke you to jealousy.
By those who are.
Not a nation.
And I will move you to anger. By a foolish nation. Notice how Paul brings in. The Old Testament.
Scriptures.
As the witness. But Isaiah is very bold. He really. Stays the course on Isaiah here. Is very bold.
Says.
I was found.
By those who did not seek me. What a revelation.
Listen.
By those who did not seek me. And I was manifest. To those who did not ask.
For me.
But to Israel. He says.
All day long.
I've stretched out my hands.
To a disobedient.
And contrary people. Oh the goodness of God. Oh the long suffering.
Of the Lord.
People rejects the gospel. Just as Israel rejects the gospel. Actually the term witness. Or testify. Receives special attention in the gospel. Because it reflects. The courtroom language. Of the Old Testament.
Where the truth of a matter.
Was to be established.
On the basis of. Multiple witnesses.
We looked at that.
And not only did John the Baptist. Not only. John the Baptist. Gave witness. To the Lord Jesus Christ. As being the Messiah. The son of the living God. There were other witnesses. He was a witness. And according to John 4 .29.
The Samaritan woman. At Jacob's well. Was a witness.
According to John 10 .25. The works of Jesus. Was a witness. Of who he was.
We see.
In John 5 .32. Through 37. The father in heaven. His own father in heaven. God. Bear witness. Of his own beloved son.
And next.
According to John 5 .39. Through 40. And 40. The Old Testament. Prophetic scriptures.
Bear witness.
Of who Jesus is.
And.
Of course. According to John 15. Jesus said himself. In verse 26. And 27. That the Holy Spirit.
The third person.
Of the Trinity.
Bore witness.
The father.
Bore witness. People bore witness. Many witnesses. But there are ample witnesses.
And confirms him. That he is truly. The son of the living God. The Messiah. The anointed one. The Lord. And saved. The true light. Who comes into a dark world.
In saying all that. That brings us to our text. Verse 8 and 9. Verse 8 and 9. We want to look at this. Speaking about the true light. That true light.
He was.
Verse 8. He was not that light. Speaking about John the Baptist now. But was sent to bear witness.
Of that light.
That light. We know is the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 9. That was the true light. Which gives light. To every man coming into the world. John the Baptist. Basically was a voice. Crying in the wilderness.
While John the Baptist was the agent of belief. Jesus Christ is the object.
Of belief.
And we see this in John 1. That his message is Jesus Christ. He prepares the way of the Lord. As a forerunner is to do. He has a special mission. To herald the message. The king is coming.
He was a voice.
Crying in the wilderness.
If you look at. Verse 19. In chapter 1. Now this is the testimony. We're going to be. Breaking this apart. Later on.
More.
But.
This is the testimony of John. When the Jews and priests.
And the Levites. Were Jerusalem.
They ask him. Who are you? He confessed. I did not deny.
But confessed it.
I am not the Christ. They ask him.
What then?
Are you Elijah?
He says.
I am not.
Are you the prophet?
The prophet.
Speaking of the Messiah. He answered.
He was a prophet. But not the prophet.
Then.
They said to him.
Well.
Who are you then? That we may give an answer. To those who sent us. What do you say. About yourself?
I am.
The voice of one.
Make straight. The way of the Lord. As the prophet Isaiah said.
He is heralding. The message. He's a forerunner.
The king is coming. You notice.
Look at what he says.
Now to those who were sent. Were from the Pharisees. They were curious.
Wasn't they?
They ask him.
Saying.
Why do you baptize. If you're not. Not the Christ.
Nor Elijah.
Nor the prophet.
John answered them.
Saying. I baptize with water. But there stands one among you. Whom you do not know.
It is he.
Who is coming after me. Is preferred before me. Whose sandal strap. I'm not worthy to loose. And he goes on to say. In verse 29. The next day. The next day. John saw Jesus. Coming toward him.
Behold. The Lamb of God. Takes away the sin of the world. And not only says it there. In verse 29. He says it in verse 36. And looking at Jesus. As he walked. And said. Behold. The Lamb of God.
Folks.
This is our message. We are to tell these lost.
Poor souls.
Out there.
That are groping in darkness. Behold. The Lamb of God. The sacrifice. The blood sacrifice. For their sin. This is their only hope. Christ. And Christ alone. Is the message. Christ. And Christ alone. This is why Paul says.
We don't preach ourselves. But we preach. Jesus Christ.
The Lord.
Should not. Jesus Christ.
Alone.
Be the message. Of every preacher. Every believer. In this dark world. He is the true light. Which gives light. To every man. Coming into the world. Now this true light. Is none other than Christ. He is the son of the living God.
He is the Messiah. He is the only Savior. He is the only true God. Man. And if there is. To be true light. Let me say this. In which our text says.
So vividly.
And clearly. In verse 9. That was the true light. Which light. Which gives light. To every man. Coming into the world.
If there is.
Jesus is the true light. Then that tells us something. That there are false lights as well. How many false lights. Do you know? Satan is a very busy devil. Is he not? Look it with me. To 2nd Corinthians.
Chapter 4. I want you to see this. And you may be very familiar with this. But it bears. To look at. According to 2nd Corinthians. Chapter 4. I read from it this morning. Paul defends his apostle. His apostleship.
I am thinking of. The light of the gospel. But there is another one I am. Thinking of. I lost my place. Where Satan himself. Transforms himself. Into an angel of light.
11.
Thank you. Thank you Ben. Go with me to 2nd Corinthians. 11. I actually wrote down the. The wrong chapter. But I got the right verses here. Look at verse 13. For such are false apostles. Now he defends his apostleship.
For such are false apostles. Deceitful workers. Transforming themselves.
Into.
Apostles of Christ.
That is.
Such deception.
Satan has not changed. His strategy. Of deceiving people. He is a liar. And Jesus says. He has been a liar from the beginning. He is the father of all lies. And he can even. Transform himself. Into an angel of light.
Now first. Notice what Paul speaks of. He first speaks about false apostles. He is defending his own apostleship.
That he is authentic.
Without boasting in himself. But he says. These false apostles. Are deceitful workers. The deceitful. Transforming themselves. The apostles. Into apostles of Christ. Now isn't it interesting. He says they transform themselves.
They are doing this themselves.
It is deception.
Yes.
And then he says in verse 14. And no wonder. For Satan himself. Transforms himself. Into an angel of light.
Any wonder.
Why there are so many occults. On this planet. There you have it right there. Satan himself is behind it. Transforming. And speaks of.
He has his false apostles.
Satan is the reason.
Why.
There is such deception. Satan himself transforms himself. Into an angel of light. An angel of light. And then Paul says this in verse 15. Therefore it is no great thing. If his ministers. His ministers.
Also transform themselves. Into ministers of righteousness. Whose end will be according. To their works. Basically he is saying.
Their works.
They say.
They confess. They say all these things. But their works deny. That they are godly. You know this is one way. You can test. A true man of God. Against the false. Apostles of false ministers. Look at their works.
Just not what they hear. Or what they preach. I know a man right now. That works in a grocery store. He is up in age. By the way I sent him some strong. Medicine from John MacArthur.
Powerful. He.
Has been avoiding me like the plague.
I asked him.
Before I sent him. I didn't want to be pushy.
I said.
Have you heard John MacArthur?
Yeah.
I think I have heard him.
Of course.
Pastor MacArthur.
Spends a lot of time.
Exposing these.
These.
These. Heretics. Other names. Charlatans. In it for the money. Hypocrites. And I was listening one day. When I was putting the milk up. And he was listening to. I will call his name. What he was listening to.
Creflo Dollar. And old Creflo was just pouring it out. And what he was saying. I heard it.
And he was.
Speaking scriptures right out of Romans. 6. This guy that works in dairy. He is over there. Just listening to it. Listening to it. Like he is.
Oh wow. Yes. Yes.
Sheep's clothing. Sheep's clothing.
But what about this man's works? Takes advantage. Advantage of people. And takes them forever. Diamond money that they have. So they can have a big.
Big. Mansions.
And I even said.
You need to. I said. I told him one day.
You need to stop listening to these people. Because I am telling you. They are in it for the money. He didn't say a word to me. Their works. Whose end will be according to their works. False lights. Has infested the church all over the world.
Infestation.
Like the Trojan horse. And this is the way Satan.
Works.
He uses the Trojan horse. And false prophets.
Are not. False teachers. Are not bred outside of the church. They are bred within the church. It's everywhere. Infestation. Within the church.
Why?
I. I.
I can tell you.
One.
Two.
This is.
What I gather from the scriptures. There is a lack of the true gospel preached.
And lived.
There is a lack of the true gospel preached. And lived. And also. I have seen it within my own life. As I had a beloved uncle. That started out very well.
As Paul.
As it makes me think of Paul and Galatians. Speaking to those churches there. You ran well. But who hindered you. From the truth. From obeying the truth. Who hindered you. Another false teacher. And that's what happened to my beloved uncle.
He was. He was on the right course. I remember hearing him preach Jesus Christ. And the Lamb of God. And he preached the cross every week.
And then the next thing I knew.
Little by little.
Then he started preaching prosperity. And then he was talking about. We have missed out on this. Because. God owns everything.
He wants his children to have it all. Sounds like the devil. Then he started listening to Kenneth Copeland. One of the biggest heretics there are. Still around today. I left the church. And since then.
And my uncle.
Is dead and gone now.
Answering to the Lord.
Let me say this. Since that time. I left the church. The little church I was in. That congregation. There was a huge wall. That came up between us. He didn't want to talk to me no more.
I'm telling you. And also. I'll tell you. There's another reason.
We have seen this infestation. Because. The word of God. Is not being preached.
As Jesus. Spoke.
The very first revelation. That Peter.
Announced.
That Jesus. Is the Christ. The son of the living God.
Jesus.
Spoke about church discipline. Restorative. Church discipline. And Jesus. Mentioned this. First and foremost. Because it was to keep.
His church.
Pure.
There's a purity.
In the gospel.
But there should be a purity. Within the church. And that's the purpose of church. Restorative.
Church discipline. How often.
Is true.
Church.
Restorative. Church discipline. Practice. Do you see it? That's why. There's an infestation. I say infestation. Jesus called it.
A leaven.
Paul says.
A little leaven. Leavens the whole lump. Yeast. Comes in. It rises. Because of sin. Any wonder.
The yeast. Yeast is rising.
Up.
Today.
Of so many people. Because they're hearing.
What they want to hear.
There's yeast. There's a little leaven. It's leaven.
The whole lump.
It's come.
Within the church. And it's infested it. It must be purged.
The only thing.
No man.
Can get up. And do this. In himself. Unless the spirit. Of the living God. Is upon him. And called him.
Such like.
Martin Luther. But everybody. Wants to be a Luther.
They want the honor.
And the glory.
But Luther.
I'm telling you.
Paid a price.
Amen.
He paid a price.
And I'm telling you.
It's incredible.
That man.
Took a stand. Against a. In the dark ages. In that time period. Against the Roman. Catholic church. That was an era. And the authority. Was the church.
And they left the authority.
From the word.
From the word of God. Which is the true authority. That's the reason why. There is no power. We do not see. The power of God. Amongst us today. Because we are forsaking.
The word of the Lord.
I could go on and on.
About that.
But Jesus Christ. Is the true light. This true light. Is the light. Which gives. Light. And life. Light and life. This light.
Determines.
Whether or not.
You or I.
Have life or not.
Life.
Eternal life.
Jesus shines.
The reason.
We are here today. And why. God's people.
Are who we are. Who they are. And who we are.
In Jesus Christ.
Is because.
Jesus Christ. Has graciously. Shined on us. Not because.
Of who we are.
We're not better. Than this other person.
Over here.
I like what. R .C. Sproul.
In evangelism. We're basically.
One beggar.
Telling another beggar.
Where there's bread.
That's our mission. And we should be. Set on fire.
For. Everyone.
Notice. What is. What is. What is.
The text say. The true light. Comes into the world. Comes into the world. This phrase.
Highlights.
The world. Here. And this.
Jesus Christ. Coming into the world. Speaks. About the incarnation. We're going in that direction. That's the direction. It's almost like.
John.
Is introducing. To us. In this text. Back in John.
The incarnation.
The word.
Becoming.
Flesh.
You see. More of that.
Verse.
Fourteen.
Through.
Eighteen.
Notice.
What he said. He says.
This.
Which.
Gives light. To every man. Coming into the world. This word.
World.
Is.
This is interesting.
The incarnation. This text.
Does. But.
The true light. Gives light. To every man.
Word.
This word.
That he's speaking of.
Of.
Is the Greek word.
That means.
Ornament. Ornament.
The world.
Or.
Ornament.
Is illustrated.
By the word.
Adornment.
Isn't.
That interesting. You know. John. Uses this word.
A hundred.
And eighty. Five times. In his gospel.
Uses it. Seventy.
Eight times. In John's gospel. I'm sorry. It's a hundred.
And eighty.
Five times. All together.
Twenty.
Four times.
In first.
Second.
Third.
John. And three times. In Revelation.
But all together.
Five times. Speaks of the physical.
Created universe.
It can speak of humanity. In general.
The invisible.
System.
Evil.
That.
Is dominated.
By Satan.
Which we already looked at. The God of this world. But the true light. Is Jesus Christ. And one must be born again.
He spoke.
To Nicodemus. A very religious man. About this. You must be born again. That light. That shines. Is supernatural. It comes from above.
It's.
It's interesting too.
There is.
Even though. People.
People.
People groping darkness.
There.
Something.
In creation.
God. Has created every man. Look at Romans one. I want you to see this. You're familiar with this. Their conscience. Bearers witness. That there is a God. And there is truth. But because of the depravity.
And evil within them. They want to suppress that truth. Verse eighteen. For the wrath of God. Is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. And unrighteousness of man, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.
Because, he tells us why, what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. Even though they're groping in darkness, they cannot see, the light shines on them and it's like, okay, I want to suppress this truth.
This is what evil people do, this is because of the depravity, because they love, Jesus said, they love darkness rather than light, right? It's what they love. It's the love of their life.
I told this young harlot the other day,.
I said, actually it was yesterday. No, not yesterday, it was Friday. I looked at her and I said, rather than pursuing that boss, you should be pursuing Jesus. Because Jesus loves you most. I said, this guy, he's married, he's got his love.
You should not be a harlot and a homewrecker going after him, you should be pursuing Jesus. And she looked at me like, what? I said, Jesus should be the first love of your life. The first love. And then I took her to the cross.
Listen to verse 20, For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and God, so that they are without excuse.
What's Paul talking about? He's talking about general revelation. He's talking about creation, just as David mentioned in Psalm 19. Psalm 19 speaks about, the first half of it speaks about general revelation.
Then he goes to the perfect revelation of the Lord, the special revelation of the Lord. The heavens declared the glory of God, verse 1, and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day into day utter speech, night into night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. God is speaking, look at His universe, look at His creation. Their line has gone out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
What basically He's saying is, God is speaking through His creation. And in them He has set a tabernacle for the Son, which is like a bridegroom coming out of the chamber. He rejoices like a strong man to run its race.
Its rising is from one end of heaven, its circuit to the other end, and there's nothing hidden from its heat. Right there, there's a transition from verse 6 to verse 7. That's the general common revelation.
But it's not sufficient to say, is it? No, it isn't. It condemns, but there's one that is sufficient to say, and the word of the Lord is it. Verse 7, David said, the law of the Lord is perfect, perfect.
Converting the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise the simple, the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart, goes right in line with what Brother Keith said this morning about the word of the Lord is right.
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. What gives enlightened eyes? The commandment of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is clean, endearing forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
Don't you love each one of those verses, of the Lord, of the Lord, of the Lord, of the Lord.
Hallelujah.
It's not a man, it is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. And then David gives application. More to be desired, there it is, the heart. More to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them your servant is warned. God loves us enough to warn us. And in keeping them, there's great reward. Don't you love that? Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins and let them not have dominion over me.
This is a prayer. Then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.
That should be our prayer. Well, let me give some application to this in closing. Time and time again, I've always pointed us to this wonderful verse. But Jesus Christ himself said, we are to be light.
Now, we're not the light. And every time I read this in Matthew 5, I cannot help but think that we are like all these stars, these celestial beings in God's universe. It's almost like, it makes me think also of when God spoke to Abraham and says, look up in the sky and see if you can number the stars.
And he's basically telling him there's going to be a covenant. And he speaks about the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, as the sands of the seashore and the stars of heaven, so shall your seed be. We're like those stars in darkness in the heavens, the celestial beings.
And you notice, some stars are brighter than others. Some are dimmer. But yet they're stars. They shine, don't they? They're like a beacon light. But yet there's one star that was the star that was over Bethlehem.
And that was the morning star. And that was the Shekinah glory of God that came and hovered over when Jesus came into this dark world. That is the star, the bright and the morning star. But Jesus said this in Matthew 5.
He speaks about salt and light. Verse 13 in chapter 5, you're the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? Salt is a preservative. It preserves from decay. Actually, it's the only thing that's keeping a decaying world is the true born-again Christians from this decaying world just brightening.
But then He says, if it's not salty, what does He say? It then is good for nothing but to be thrown out and to be trampled underfoot of man. Then He says this in verse 14. You're the light of the world.
The only reason we are light of the world is because the day star has shone in our hearts. That light is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Now, what is He talking about? How can we be light? By our godly life, our works.
You notice, remember what Paul says about the false teachers? Their works is going to find them out. Jesus says right here, listen to this. You are a light of the world. A city is set on a hill, cannot be hidden.
In other words, it cannot help but be seen. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. It's on a lampstand. And it gives light. See, it gives light. Light gives energy. Beloved, that's the purpose of our ministry is to give.
Like light, it naturally gives. By the way, a light doesn't have to get up and say, hey, I'm light, look. Because everybody knows when a Christian steps in a room and everybody's all heathens and having their parties and cussing and saying, and a Christian steps in, you notice something happens.
They know. They know, amen. The conversation changes. Everything changes. And it gives light to all who are in the house. Jesus refers into a household, a room, something. Light shines. And the darker it gets, the brighter the light is.
I love verse 16. Jesus says, let your light so shine before men. I'm telling you, folks, shine your light. This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. I'm going to let it shine, let it shine.
Shine it on them. Give them the truth.
Love them that they may, what?
See your good works. And glorify your Father in heaven. That's how we glorify God. Live in a godly life. Live in a godly life.
One more verse in closing.
Acts chapter 1. We're to be light, but may we never forget, as John the Baptist, he was a burning and shining light, but he was also a witness. You and I are witnesses. And you know, there's this thing nowadays, oh, I could be a witness to have a private faith.
That's no witness. That's a false witness. When we're in Jesus Christ, we're unashamed. We're not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Amen?
Matter of fact, Jesus says, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you before my Father. And he says, if you confess me before me, I'll confess you before the Father. I'm telling you, our lives and our mouths speak the things of God when we're born again of God.
Notice in verse 4. And being assembled together with them. This is that little upper room gathering. He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me.
For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. And that's what John was speaking about. This one that's mightier than I, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
And by the way, here he's speaking about the initiation of the church. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? What a question.
And he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. You know, they're talking about eschatology all of a sudden, and Jesus is saying, hey, you need to get busy evangelizing.
I really believe that, and it's not to say we should not study eschatology. I think we should. Because it's the Word of God. But I really believe there's too much splitting hairs today over this eschatology, and we're losing time in non-evangelizing.
How much time and energy is wasted by having conferences about end times? We should know the Word of God, yes.
Absolutely.
But what about evangelism? What is the Word of God saying? Verse 7, and he said to them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. We get caught up in the time frame.
And verse 8, here it is, folks. But you shall receive power. Jesus says this, power, dunamis, the energy of God, the Spirit of God,.
To evangelize.
When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be witnesses. You know what the original of that term is? Martyrs.
Think of that.
You shall be martyrs to the world. Well, yes, obviously to the world. The world is the one that persecutes us. But Jesus says, no. You'll be witnesses to me in Jerusalem. See, our witness is unto Jesus.
Vertically to Jesus.
Witnesses unto Jesus.
First in Jerusalem. That's our home turf. And all Judea and Samaria. And then ultimately to the end of the earth. May it be true of us as well.
Let us, let our light so shine before men. Let us be a witness unto Jesus. Let's be bold for God. And speak the truth in love. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. We bless your name, Lord. Help us, Lord, to be a true witness of the true light.
To point people to the Lamb of God. Who takes away the sin of the world. Thank you, Father, for your word that endures forever. Help us to apply this by your blessed Holy Spirit, Lord. And help us, Lord, to live out Jesus in each of our lives on a daily basis.
Whether it be at home. Whether it be abroad. But tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ. And His great love. That He alone is Savior. And He alone is Lord. And we thank you for this. And we bless your name.
In Jesus' name.