Complete sermon audio:
Jesus Christ claimed to be the light of the world and those who followed Him, they would not walk in darkness, but have light. What does this mean? What will you do with Christ's claim? What if you choose not to follow Him?
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Duration:49 mins 2 secs
The Lord Jesus claimed several things for Himself during His earthly life and ministry:
"I am the bread of life"
"before Abraham was, I AM"
"I am the door of the sheep"
"I am the good shepherd"
"I am the resurrection, and the life"
"I am the true vine"
"I am the way, the truth, and the life no one comes to the Father except through Me"
The Lord Jesus, after His death and resurrection, in His revelation to John, claimed several things for Himself:
"I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death"
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last"
"I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star"
What is interesting is that this insignificant, uneducated, Carpenter from Nazareth dared to make such claims for Himself.
Now what would you think of someone who makes such claims for Himself.
A, Either they are completely deluded, lost their mind
B, They are making a huge attempt to lie and deceive other people
And there is a high probability that they will just pass away into insignificance in a little while.
But think about Jesus Christ. He never went to college or seminary. He never wrote a book. He never held a public office. He never had a family nor owned a home. He never put His foot inside a big city nor traveled even two hundred miles from His birthplace. He had no credentials but Himself. He never had access to any of the modern technologies we have today to promote His teachings. He never built a building. He never formed an institution. Nothing!
And yet He has left an indelible mark on human history - as not other single human being has ever done.
All over the world, in almost every know language, you will find people reading His teachings, worshipping Him as risen Lord and doing things in His name.
So He had to be more than just A and B.
He must have indeed been speaking the truth and we need to pay attention to what He said.
Let's focus this morning on one of the claims Jesus made for Himself:
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
Lets look at this statement for some time:
"I am the light of the world."
implying that the world needs light. The world is in darkness and needs light.
Darkness, a figure of speech, used in Scritpure to refer to:
1, spiritual blindness
2, power of satan
3, night seasons of life
1, Darkness refers to spiritual blindness
inability to "see", that is comprehend and understand spiritul truth
Exercise:
Let us all close your eyes and keep our eyes closed for a few minutes.
Imagine you lived life like this - without the ability to see.
No what if someone told you there was "light" and "darkness". Would you believe it?
A blind person can deny the existence of what he cannot see, even if you tell him that it exists.
A blind person can even deny the ability to see, because he has no experiential knowledge of "seeing"
1Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Ephesians 4:18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, ...
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
Which means now Jesus illuminates our heart and mind so that we are able to
understand spiritual truth.
The ability to understand spiritual truth begins first of all, with a personal encounter of
the One who is the Truth, Jesus Christ.
2, Darkness refers to the power of satan
It refers to the realm or dominion of satan where his influence extends over people.
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,....
1 John 5:19 .. the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
The Bible makes it clear that the world and people are under the purview or sway of the wicked one.
But God, through the Person of Jesus Christ call us to step out of this realm of darkness into the glorious light of His Son.
Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
It is the Person of Christ each One of us have the opportunity to be brought into the light of God.
For us as believers:
1 John 1:5-7
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
3, Darkness as the night seasons of life
All of us face these and go through these night seasons: tragedy, loss of a dear one, loss, delays, setbacks in life, betrayal, etc.
Micah 7:7-8
7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.
8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me.
Psalm 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
In the midst of life's darkest moments, He is out Light. He gives us the ability to see in the night. To sing in the night. To trust in the night. To press through the night, though the night be long.
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
"I am the bread of life"
"before Abraham was, I AM"
"I am the door of the sheep"
"I am the good shepherd"
"I am the resurrection, and the life"
"I am the true vine"
"I am the way, the truth, and the life no one comes to the Father except through Me"
The Lord Jesus, after His death and resurrection, in His revelation to John, claimed several things for Himself:
"I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death"
"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last"
"I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star"
What is interesting is that this insignificant, uneducated, Carpenter from Nazareth dared to make such claims for Himself.
Now what would you think of someone who makes such claims for Himself.
A, Either they are completely deluded, lost their mind
B, They are making a huge attempt to lie and deceive other people
And there is a high probability that they will just pass away into insignificance in a little while.
But think about Jesus Christ. He never went to college or seminary. He never wrote a book. He never held a public office. He never had a family nor owned a home. He never put His foot inside a big city nor traveled even two hundred miles from His birthplace. He had no credentials but Himself. He never had access to any of the modern technologies we have today to promote His teachings. He never built a building. He never formed an institution. Nothing!
And yet He has left an indelible mark on human history - as not other single human being has ever done.
All over the world, in almost every know language, you will find people reading His teachings, worshipping Him as risen Lord and doing things in His name.
So He had to be more than just A and B.
He must have indeed been speaking the truth and we need to pay attention to what He said.
Let's focus this morning on one of the claims Jesus made for Himself:
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
Lets look at this statement for some time:
"I am the light of the world."
implying that the world needs light. The world is in darkness and needs light.
Darkness, a figure of speech, used in Scritpure to refer to:
1, spiritual blindness
2, power of satan
3, night seasons of life
1, Darkness refers to spiritual blindness
inability to "see", that is comprehend and understand spiritul truth
Exercise:
Let us all close your eyes and keep our eyes closed for a few minutes.
Imagine you lived life like this - without the ability to see.
No what if someone told you there was "light" and "darkness". Would you believe it?
A blind person can deny the existence of what he cannot see, even if you tell him that it exists.
A blind person can even deny the ability to see, because he has no experiential knowledge of "seeing"
1Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Ephesians 4:18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, ...
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
Which means now Jesus illuminates our heart and mind so that we are able to
understand spiritual truth.
The ability to understand spiritual truth begins first of all, with a personal encounter of
the One who is the Truth, Jesus Christ.
2, Darkness refers to the power of satan
It refers to the realm or dominion of satan where his influence extends over people.
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,....
1 John 5:19 .. the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
John 3:16-21
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."
The Bible makes it clear that the world and people are under the purview or sway of the wicked one.
But God, through the Person of Jesus Christ call us to step out of this realm of darkness into the glorious light of His Son.
Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
It is the Person of Christ each One of us have the opportunity to be brought into the light of God.
For us as believers:
1 John 1:5-7
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
3, Darkness as the night seasons of life
All of us face these and go through these night seasons: tragedy, loss of a dear one, loss, delays, setbacks in life, betrayal, etc.
Micah 7:7-8
7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.
8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, The LORD will be a light to me.
Psalm 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
In the midst of life's darkest moments, He is out Light. He gives us the ability to see in the night. To sing in the night. To trust in the night. To press through the night, though the night be long.
John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
All Peoples Church in Bangalore is a Spirit-filled, Word-based, Bible-believing Christian fellowship of believers in Jesus Christ desiring more of His presence and supernatural power bringing transformation, healing, miracles, and deliverance. We preach the full Gospel, equip believers to live out our new life in Christ, welcome the Charismatic and Pentecostal expressions in the assembly of God and serve in strengthening unity across all Christian churches. All free resources, sermons, daily devotionals, and free Christian books are provided for the strengthening of all believers in the Body of Christ. For further equipping, please visit APC Bible College.
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