The Life giving light of the world

The Life giving light of the world

John 20:30-31

LaFayette Baptist Church

12/21/2025

This time of year, if you are anything like me, you love looking at all those pretty Christmas light displays out there. This week, i was wondering about when the tradition of Christmas lights started, and I found something interesting. That is according to the library of congress, the first christmas lights were made by the famous inventor Thomas Edision in 1880, where he took a string of his famous incandescent lights and strung them on a christmas tree. 2 years later, Edward Johnson, who was an important person in Edison’s company made a string of red, white, and blue lights and put them on a tree, so we see the first colored christmas lights. Then, the library of congress also gives credit to Albert Sadacca in 1913 began producing and selling christmas lights for public use. As cool as these all are. This is not the true story of Christmas lights. The first ever Christmas light was not man-made, but God made. As on the day of Jesus’ birth over 2000 years ago, a bright star rose above the city of bethlehem and stood directly over the house the Holy Family was staying in. This was the first Christmas light. And today, we remember what Jesus told in John chapter 8, that He is the light of the world, by hanging up displaying Christmas lights, that serve us a bright and warm reminder of the savior up against the cold darkness of night. Yes, Jesus gives light and truth to the world, and this is the critical truth about Christmas lights.

Scripture/prayer

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. I ask these things for your glory and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,[f] and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Context

Today begins the last Sunday of the advent (meaning our anticipatory celebration of the coming/ birth of Jesus to the world) season. That’s right, only a few more days until Christmas. If you haven’t already, remember, you can still join us in finishing out the Book, Good News of Great Joy by John Piper, which has been our advent book this year. You can find this book for free online by simply searching for it, or use the qr code in our newsletter to get it, today begins day 22 of advent this year. At this point in the advent season, your mind has probably begun to dwell on the fact that the joy of the season that can be found if you search for it, will soon be gone, and if you are anything like me, that makes you a bit sad. To that, I say that is good, because it is supposed to be that way, as a critical part of celebrating advent, is the kind of let-down you have once it is over, this serves us as a reminder of the longing that we all have for Jesus to return once and for all, to rid the world of all evil and usher in God’s Reign on Earth as it is in Heaven. So, that sad feeling, has a purpose and a reason, to strengthen your affection Jesus, and make it more true when you think and say the words, “Come Lord Jesus, Come.

It’s also important during the advent season, to not just focus on the baby Jesus. Yes, did come the world as a tiny baby and that baby would go on to save the world from our sins. However, that baby did grow up. He lived a sinless life, and would go on one day (a day that we celebrate called good friday) to die on the cross and rise from the grave again (the day we celebrate, the most important of all Holy Days for the Christian, known as Easter or Resurrection Sunday). Today’s text takes us just a little bit after those days. As the day of resurrection had happened and He had revealed Himself to the disciples, but had not yet ascended back up to The Father in Heaven.

In this text, the apostle John tells us the reason he had taken the time to write his gospel, His Good News about Jesus. What he wanted to show us was this, Redemption can only be found in Jesus. You can have life in Jesus' name if only will accept it. So, let's take a jump in together and From today’s text, I want you to see and understand these truths about redemption in Jesus, who is the life-giving light of the world.

Message

The first truth to see and understand is that: Jesus shows us who He is 30

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.

All throughout the Gospel according to John, we see so many signs and wonders that Jesus did to show everyone around Him that was paying attention, that He was the Messiah, the Savior, God in the flesh. He turned water into wine, ridding a wedding party of shame. He healed countless people, all of whom were in desperate need as either their condition would lead to imminent death, or their long standing condition did not allow them to provide for themselves. He fed thousands of people in a crowds of thousands until they were full from nothing more than a child’s lunch with plenty of left overs. He walked on the water in a storm and calmed the tempest, when his followers (many of whom were experienced fishermen and expert boaters) were deep in fear. He called a dead man back to life who had been dead several days. And most of all, He himself came back to life after being killed in the most brutal and bloody way. He gave Himself up, and died wilfully for others, that His body would be the great needed sacrifice for all of mankind.

So then, who did Jesus show us He was? The theologian Norman Giesler once wrote about this saying, “Jesus Christ is the only who lived who claimed to be God and proved to be God. When I compare this to all other claimants of all other religions, it is like the poet who said, 'The night has a thousand eyes and the day has but one, The light of the whole world dies with the setting of the sun.' At the midnight of human ignorance, there are a lot of lights in the sky. But at noon time there is only one, and that is Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. So I cast my lot with Him, not with Confucius who claimed wisdom, or the one who claimed enlightenment like Buddha, or the one who claimed to be a prophet like Mohammed, but the One who claimed to be God in the flesh…and proved it.”

What then does this mean? It means that Redemption can only be found in Jesus. We all each and every one of us need redeeming. We all each and every one of us need forgiveness, not just once, but many many times. Because the sin nature that lives in our flesh is so so deep. As Paul wrote, the mind is strong but the flesh is weak, that is I know I shouldn’t, but my flesh wants to bad so badly. As sad and horrible as this is, their is one a fact, a happy fact for the believer. This is that Jesus shows us who He is, He offers us forgiveness. So, we should repent (turn away) from those sins and believe that Jesus the savior, the messiah, and will save you from your sins and give you victory over them if you ask and truly want to put them behind you. Remember, Redemption can only be found in Jesus, nothing else will get you close. So then, cling close to Jesus. Repent from your sins, and believe the freedom giving gospel.

The next truth to see and understand is to : Believe and have life in Jesus’ name 31

31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,[f] and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Here, in one sentence, in one verse, John gives us the very reason for his writing, for his suffering alone in exile, for the message that he wanted the world to know, a message that saw face to face, one on one in real life. He recorded this gospel that you (yes you listening) will believe that Jesus is the messiah (the liberator from the slavery of sin), the Son of God (the one and only, He both was from God and of God, He was both fully human, and fully God, He was and Is a being that is unique in who He is. By believing in Him (meaning by following Him, by becoming one of disciples) you will live in His name, as opposed to the death that awaits us all if we perish in sin.

That’s right, there is more than just one death, death doesn’t begin and end in the body, that’s just you shedding your husk. Death is really eternal punishment and separation from God’s favor. That is the fate that is awaiting everyone who has not believed in the gospel of Jesus and repented of their sin. Those that have believed and repented, yes the body will die if He doesn’t return before your death, but you will not know the second death, only eternal life, eternal joy as you live out eternity in God’s favor.

Redemption can only be found in Jesus. So then, believe and have life in Jesus’ name. That means, redeemed and non-redeemed alike, that we have to ask ourselves something. That is, am I holding onto anything that is only breathing death (instead of life) into my life. Do I hold onto something (fear, loathing, want for comfort, want for control, desiring things that are not yours) that are breathing death into your life, your peace, your joy, and your freedom and in turn everyone else around you. Make no mistake, every one of us (myself included are). So then, remove whatever that idol (that thing of false worship that you are clinging onto), remove that idol from your life and instead let Jesus, the King of King, Lord of Lords, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace into that area instead. Ask The Holy Spirit to lead you to Him and Let Him in and then you will know a freedom where before you had only wicked slavery to sin.

Conclusion

So today, in conclusion I want to remind you of these truths, that Jesus showed and shows us who is, and if you believe in Him (you follow Him), you will have true and everlasting life in His name. I also want to share with you in this message of freedom, an early creed of the early Christian church. The original version was written around 140AD (and that’s what i’ll be sharing today), and it seeks to summarize their faith in Jesus, who frees them from their sin. Let me just say ahead of time for you, when you hear the word catholic, that doesn’t mean the Roman Catholic Church which exists today, rather it means the universal church, believers/followers of Jesus everywhere. In this creed, the early church fathers wrote and Christians everywhere even up to today affirm.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried. On The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy catholic Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen.

This is a creed of the life giving light of the world.

With all of that being said, I would be remiss if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God, though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do is accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can be more like You, and made more into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all too often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possibly can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.