Jesus is the Light

Open: Nothing is more important to us on Earth than the Sun. Without the Sun's heat and light, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice-coated rock. The Sun warms our seas, stirs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns, and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for life on Earth (nasa.gov)

Nothing is more important to us on Earth than the Sun. Without the Sun's heat and light, the Earth would be a lifeless ball of ice-coated rock. The Sun warms our seas, stirs our atmosphere, generates our weather patterns, and gives energy to the growing green plants that provide the food and oxygen for life on Earth (nasa.gov)

The sun also has an effect on our mood and emotional well-being. Research shows that too little exposure to sunlight can lead to so-called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – a type of winter depression. (health24.com)

Transition: The importance of the sun for physical life is an accepted truth by everyone. No one who denies this truth would be taken seriously because it has proven and documented.

Jesus as the only source of spiritual life is even more true, but much less accepted. Though His very existence is denied by many, He remains the Only Advocate given to humanity for Eternal life. Without Jesus, spiritual death is a reality.

Jesus is the source of Light (John 8:12a)

Explanation: Jesus is again teaching in the Temple, and at this point He states the second of the seven I Am statements found in the Gospel of John. Remember that John builds his account of the life of Jesus by focusing on occurrences of groups of seven, most especially miracles and specific statements that Jesus makes about Himself. This is central to John’s purpose of writing “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” ()

When Jesus uses the I Am phrasing, His listeners would immediately think of YHWH’s self=revelation of Himself to Moses at the burning bush exeperience (). The first use was in the 6th chapter (I Am the Bread of Life), and the second is Jesus declaring Himself to be the Light of the World. The readers of John’s Gospel could look back at the prologue, and read again the amazing truth that in Jesus is Life and that in Him is the Life of mankind ()

Illustrate: the moon has no natural light. It simply reflects the the sun

Argument: John uses light and darkness throughout his Gospel to contrast the Kingdom of Heaven with the the natural kingdom of this world system, which is under the control of Satan. Jesus is the only source of light that makes an Eternal difference. With that being said, it is sad to see so many people looking for light through insufficient sources.

One such option is Buddhism, an increasingly popular alternative for our secularized nation. Olga Khazan writing at The Atlantic offers an article with the headline, Why So Many Americans Are Turning to Buddhism, the subhead, "This ancient Eastern religion is helping Westerners with very modern mental-health problems."

"Buddhism has been popular in various forms among certain celebrities and tech elites, but the religion's primary draw for many Americans now appears to be mental health. The ancient religion, some find, helps them manage the slings and arrows and subtweets of modern life. Many people are stressed out," she says, "by the constant drama of the current administration, and work hours have overwhelmed the day.” She adds this insight later in her article, “It was remarkable that so many of us were willing to stumble through the freezing dark just to take in some basic wisdom about how to be less sad."

Application: The sources of counterfeit light are legion, and many people who consider themselves to be Christian fall under their sway. A shallow, inadequate understanding of biblical Christianity is one of the reasons people accept alternatives that are stated to have “ancient wisdom” or to offer a painless path to peace and happiness. [this is why Osteen has a full house every week].

Deepen your understanding of the Word, and accept the conclusion that there are no short cuts

Those who follow Him will not walk in darkness (John 8:12b)

Explanation: Jesus makes another amazing statement: He says that those who follow Him would not walk in darkness. The first thing to understand is that Jesus is using figurative language to make a point. He is not saying that Christians will never physically walk around when it is nighttime in the absence of physical light.

Illustrate: consider the experience of being in a cave when the lights are turned off. It is a darkness you can feel. In the depths of a cave, with no light, what are the odds of safely and accurately navigating your way out?

Argument: What Jesus is saying is that His disciples will live their lives free from spiritual darkness. Believers will be Spirit-empowered to discern (to see with clarity) the the truth of life’s most important issues. Those who are not in Christ are living in spiritual darkness, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” (). Unbelievers live their lives with a different way of seeing the world and moral issues. Both Christians and non-Christians see and experience the same events, but each comes away from the shared experience with different conclusions. Just like the person hopelessly trying to make his her way out of the depths of a cave with no light, the unsaved person is blindly trying to “do life successfully,” but he will never experience the light of real life without Christ. It is only in Christ anyone experiences light and life

Application: What does it actually mean to follow Jesus? What does this look like? These are questions that many times don’t get a clear answer from pastors. In the Gospels, it means abandoning all and literally living with Jesus and following Him from town to town. But what does it look like in the 21st century for a school teacher, a banker, a factory worker, or a nurse?

To start with, it means having an authentic relationship with Jesus that has actually changed your life instead of settling for some type of experience that made you feel good for 2 weeks and then basically disappeared.

Following Jesus means:

having a genuine desire to truly know God through biblical prayer, not a laundry list of wants/needs

being willing to surrender your “rights” that another may hear the Gospel

experiencing joy in authentic worship instead of being bored by just going to church and going through the motions

living out your vows of marriage and not giving up

releasing a grudge / bitterness by extending forgiveness to one who has wronged you

Going to the Word and anticipating that you will hear from God instead of performing an empty task

Living in a Christ-centered home where the children are lovingly and intentionally taught the truth of the Word

that you understand there is no real distinction between God time and my time; it is all His time

means that you understand that all of life truly is about Him; that all these deeds are overflow from a grateful heart, and not a single thing we do obligates God towards us. Following Jesus means you understand grace