Decisions
Notes
Transcript
To every man there openeth
A way, and ways, and a way.
And some men climb the high way,
And some men grope below,
And in between on the misty flats
The rest drift to and fro.
And to every man there openeth
A high way and a low;
And every man decideth
Which way his soul shall go.
John Oxenham
We are faced with decisions everyday . Some decisions are very easy, like what to eat for lunch. Some can be very difficult, like what to eat for lunch when you have 3 women in the car.
As we continue to study the Gospel of John, we will see that everyone is faced with a decision that is a life-defining moment. A decision to follow the light or to follow the dark. To repent and believe, or to continue on the path of destruction and hell. A decision that will change your life, or a decision to stay on the path you came in here with. A decision to follow the truth, or decide to follow your opinion of the truth.
Decisions based only on opinions might be reconsidered, but decisions based on convictions must stand unless those convictions are changed.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Something most don’t discuss is the responsibilities that come with our decisions. This generation call it adulting, I call it life. It doesn’t matter what you call it, we have to know that there is responsibilities with every decision we make. John expresses that after we have made our decision to follow the light, we have a responsibility to shine that light into a dark world.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Let’s look at our verses for today.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
Let’s pray!
Notice that the writer of the gospel uses the word light 5 times here. So let’s start by looking at the definition of light. I got this definition from the New Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
Light- Phos (Foce)
-Illumination- light has been associated with the presence, truth, and redemptive activity of God. Jesus is the personification of light or divine illumination.
So when John the writer of the gospel is using the word light, he is expressing that Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
It is also important to note, the writer of the gospel is not talking about himself in verse 6. He is talking about John the Baptist. We spoke a few weeks back about how John the Baptist was the forerunner that proclaimed the coming Messiah.
A voice of one crying out:
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.
These first few verses teaches a valuable lesson about humility and evangelism. Once we have made our decision to repent and believe, we are called to testify about the light of the world. That He is the truth and the life and that He is the only way to the Father.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We must also be humble in this endeavor. Realizing we are only children of the light and not the light itself.
For you are all children of light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or the darkness.
If there is one lesson you walk away with today, let it be this one.
We are not Christ, only Christians. Let me repeat that cause there was not enough Amen. We are not Christ, only Christians.
We are to testify about Christ, not be someone’s Christ. We are not that holy, and if you think you are, you are in the wrong place.
This place is a hospital for those sick in their sin that need a Savior, not a hotel for the holier than thou.
Now as we continue on, we see that the writer’s wording is very direct.
The true light, Jesus Christ, came to illuminate the beautiful presence of God to everyone. To everyone. Regardless of status, nationality, race or color. His light shines to show His perfection, while casting a light upon our sins. The true light shines into the hearts and minds of man and convicts the believer to repentance.
Notice it is for everyone who repents and believes. It not a universalism religious thought, but a conviction that is brought on by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts, and you decide. Follow the light or stay in the dark.
John the Baptist’s life pointed others to the true light as a burning testimony to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. God sent John into this world to tell us we need to make a life defining decision about Jesus Christ.
There are two words that really stand out, all and everyone. Meaning that Christ’s light is for all and for everyone, but sin blinds the non-believer.
So much so, that when Christ came into the very world He created, the world did not recognize Him as the Savior of the world. The Jews were looking for a conquering King, not a man born into this world. The Jews were blinded by their own selfish wants and so are we today.
Think about it if we were born during that time and if Christ had come as the conquering King, we would have been slaughtered with all the rest. Why? Because we would not have the grace and the mercy Christ brought when He came into this world as the light. He has come to give out grace and mercy to those who repent and believe, instead of judgement and wrath that we deserve.
Get this, all we have to do is fully rely on Him, call on His name, and we become children of God.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
It is known as being born again. You must decide to be born into His kingdom. Jesus explained this to Nicodemus.
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus was so confused.
“How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?”
Like Nicodemus, we sit here confused.
Why? Because we have either and entitled attitude or I must do more type of mentality. This is nothing new. John wrote to face these issues. Let’s bring back up the last two verses.
But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
John is saying that there are three ways you can not become children of God.
First off, you can not be born into it by natural ways. Meaning just because your parents are Christians, just because your best friend is a Christian, just because your aunt or uncle is a Christian, just because your dad is the pastor or a deacon, you are not a Christian until you are born again.
Until you have that intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you are still lost in the dark reaching for a light, not the light.
Secondly, you can not work your way into heaven. It is through faith alone.
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.
Please do not get me wrong, works are important, but those works are for the reward in heaven, not a pathway to heaven.
Every work done here at the church or in the community is needed for what has to be done here on earth, but unless you are born again, you are lost in the dark reaching for a light, not the light.
Lastly, you do not have the power to save yourself nor the ability to save someone else. It is strictly through the conviction of the Holy Spirit to guide them into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
As a pastor, it is my heart’s desire, that everyone I speak with, come in contact with, and everyone that walks through that door, I want them to be born again and have a relationship with Jesus Christ. But I know, all I can do is present the gospel by my words and my actions, it is completely their decision to accept the truth or not. I am not Christ, I am only a Christian.
I know I can not pray someone into heaven or out of hell. I can only pray that they come to a relationship with Christ. That they will decide to be born again. I can not make them. They must realize that they are lost in the dark reaching for a light, not the light.
Those last three words of our verses today must ring true to our soul. “but of God”
The only way to become children of God is through Jesus Christ. Because of a loving and caring Father, He sent His Son to redeem this world.
What John the Baptist was doing was baptizing in the name of repentance, but what his message gave was the means to salvation through the light of the world. The light that was there at the very beginning. It is so amazing to me that I serve a God that wants me in heaven with Him, even though I am a sinful man. He wants me there so much so, that He sent the light of the world here so I may have grace and mercy. So that everyone, no matter how far you have fallen, can call upon His name and be redeemed. To call upon the name of Jesus Christ.
