I AM the light of the world

And it is good to be with you here this morning. Today. We are going to pick right back up in our story of God series that we've been in for the past couple months. And today we're going to do that. We haven't really done for a little while is just take a little bit more time to review and to catch up to where we've been. So we started our story of God for that for those of you that are new. Let me just kind of explain what I mean by the story of God. We're taking a look at the whole of scripture from the first page to the last page going through just to see how the the whole Bible is one unified story that points to Jesus and if you've ever tried to read the Bible, if you've ever sat down with it, you know, it's full of lots of stories. It's full of songs and poems and history and genealogy of what we believe is that the whole Bible is one unified story that points to Jesus and so we've been taking a look through this a week at a time to see how it all points to Jesus and we saw in the beginning now, I'm back in Genesis. We saw that that God created the world in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth we see God speaking first thing. He speaks is let there be light. And so light comes into the darkness we saw in Genesis 1 verse 2 that in the beginning of the Earth was formless and it was empty that there's Darkness that's in in the place that's covering the Earth. And so there's there's chaos and there's mystery and there's emptiness and God begins the work of bringing order out of that chaos by Shining Light into the darkness and then he goes from there in the next several days of creation and creates the land then he fills the land with with trees and plants and an animals of all kinds and then he creates the sea and he fills it with whales and walruses and shrimp and and delicious things like that. And then he creates the sky and then he fills it with birds and and planets and galaxies. We see him speaking these things into existence and then he tops off his creation on day 6 by creating humans trading man and woman in His image to reflect his glory on the earth to glorify him to know him to love him. That's the significance of humanity is that were traded to know God and to reflect his image and then he gave them a job to do and that is to expand the garden expand his work that he begun until that's their purpose on Earth is to listen to his voice and follow his wisdom for what it means to take care of into to work with him now to further his creation and then we saw us our first parents Adam and Eve that God gave them the choice he gave him a bit of a tastin and it in the form of a choice here. Are they going to follow his voice and follow his wisdom for what's best for his world or will they choose their own way and he gave it to them in the form of trees? Tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil two trees in the middle of this beautiful garden think National Park not like the truck patch. They think National Park to trees tree of life tree of knowledge of Good and Evil and God says to them as my co-rulers here in this in this world in this Garden do not eat fruit from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil listen to my voice and you will live if you choose to eat the fruit from that tree on the day you eat it. You will surely die. You will surely die guaranteed. You will die on the day that you eat it because I think this is this was something that stuck out to me even as I was as if I was working through this last call was that it's not there's nothing magical about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. It's not like that's poisonous fruit that if you eat it, you will die the death comes not from what they ate. But what from from what they rejected and so to eat from that tree is to reject the Tree of Life to eat from that tree is to reject the voice of God to reject the wisdom of God to reject the purpose of God. And when we do that death will surely follow And so as you know the story if you're familiar with it, Adam and Eve rejected God's voice they did exactly what they were told not to do in and decided to explore the world apart from God's wisdom and let's eat from that tree and and see what happens. And of course they were aided by the Temptation of a serpent who had infiltrated the garden an intruder who would come in to get them to question God and the result of their choice is a tragedy that Unleashed moral and spiritual Darkness into God's good world. But we saw that this God is determined to redeem His Image Bears, right and throughout the rest of the whole Old Testament and through the rest of all of scripture. Actually. We see God's promise to his people that one day The Serpent and the effects of sin would be defeated and that through the family tree of a man named Abraham. God would bring hope and restoration to the world. Abraham's descendants will become the nation of Israel and God gave the nation of Israel the same choice that he gave to Adam and Eve. Are you going to follow my voice? So you going to choose your own way and we saw that Israel just like Adam and Eve did not choose life but rejected God in his wisdom for the world and chose to make their own story and determine their own happy ending and how we see this played out is as they're in the as they're in the wilderness between the land of Egypt where God has brought them out of slavery and they're headed to the promised land there in the middle of this Wilderness are going through a trying and testing time and they continue to say when they run out of food do they run out of water as things get hard. They Grumble against God and they say take us back to Egypt. Yes, it was slavery. Yes. It was it was miserable and it was depressing and oppressive but at least we had something to eat. Take us back to Egypt is what they said over and over they would this look at their circumstances were in the desert. We don't have food all the time. We don't know if we're any closer the promised land were thirsty. The food that God does provide for us is the same thing everyday for years on end. Take us back to Egypt and we see that's the depravity of sin. That's the darkness of the human heart. It's not even the fact again that they wanted to go back to Egypt as much as that to do so is to completely reject God and his plan and his wisdom. But again, because God loved the people in the world, did he admit he's not about to throw away the plan and start over. In fact things are actually going according to the plan is going exactly how he knew it would go in the plan is already in motion. And so now in the New Testament as we've come into the New Testament, we've seen God beginning the process of redeeming his good but broken world. That's what we're going to turn into John chapter 8 this morning if you want to follow along I've asked a Doug here we go to read to read that scripture for us to this morning. So John chapter 8 is where he's going to read are we staying for the things that we honor so I invite you to stand as Doug read God's word for this morning.

Morning has been today. John chapter 8 verses 12 through 20 Jesus spoke to them again. I am the light of the world anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So the Pharisees said to him you are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid. Even if I testify about myself Jesus replied my testimony is true because I know where I came from and where I'm going but you don't know where I come from or where I'm going you judge by human standards, I judge no one and if I do judge, my judgment is true because it is not I alone a judge but I and the father who sent me. Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. I am the one who testifies about myself and the father who sent me testifies about me. Then they asked him. Where is your father? You know, neither me nor my father Jesus answered. If you knew me you would also know my father. He spoke these words by the treasury while teaching in the temple, but no one sees him because his hour had not yet come.

Thank you. This is the word of the Lord and you may be seated. That's where I'll be headed here in just a minute. We'll be headed to chapter 8, but if you've already got your Bibles open, you can slip back to chapter one. We're going to see John's introduction to this book that he is writing here and you can follow along as I read just the first couple versus again now is as John is speaking of the person Jesus to tell us about this Redemption that is now come to this world. So John chapter 1 begins in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning all things were created through him and apart from him. Not one thing was created that has been created in him was life. And that life was the light of men that light shines in the darkness and yet the darkness has not yet overcome it and so is John begins this this book named after himself? This is the Apostle John, he's an eye witness of Jesus. He walked with Jesus see follow Jesus everywhere. He is now this is several years after Christ death and resurrection and Ascension and John is thinking back on all that has happened and he's putting this together as we saw last week from the very end of John. The reason he's writing is so that we would have life in Jesus name and that life we is come about by believing and so now he's beginning his book here using the language of creation notice how these are almost identical to how Genesis begins in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth the only in the beginning there was God all things are created through him and he's creating life. And he said let there be light that shines into the darkness. And so Central to this this whole new creation story that John is basically is setting out to say here that through Jesus. There's a new creation that's happening. And so he's once again God once again is Shining Light into the darkness. And so Jesus is here on Earth. He's here. He's he's trespassing death territory. So to speak without permission. He's he's coming in on death's territory and he's turning on the light to bring life to dead skin darkened Hearts. Now, what are these thin dark in Hearts? We see in verses 10 and 11 of chapter one that Jesus was in the world. The world was created through him and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own but his people did not receive him. So this is Jesus comes into the world and most people pulled the covers over there. Don't want anything to do with that didn't recognize him and didn't receive him now. John 3:19 says that this is the Judgment for the world is that the light has come into the world and the people loved Darkness rather than light not because they were tired and wanted to keep sleeping. But because their deeds were evil their deeds were evil. So the light is coming to the world through God's speaking through his law through his promises through God's repeated offers of mercy and Grace his Supernatural deliverance from slavery for the people of Israel. And yet they love the darkness more than the light. They love the darkness more than the light. That's the Judgment. That's why Jesus had to come because we stand condemned for that reason but back in chapter 1 verse 12 there were some who did receive the light there was some who did trust God and even in the darkest valleys in the driest Wilderness of Life. They did trust God they did receive the light verse 12, but to all who did receive him. He gave them the right to be children of God to those who believe in his name. So how did they receive the light verse 12 how to receive it

I believe it. Thank you. Yes by believing and so we talked about this last week that as people listen to Jesus some of them believed some more awaken to the reality that there is a kind of living that is more than just physical. Which also means that there's a kind of dying that is more than just physical. So we learned this from Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 that sin doesn't make us bad Sin makes us dead. We said that a lot of times if he's into verse 1 says you were dead in your trespasses and Santos in doesn't make us bad. It makes us dead and this turning on the light in a human heart requires a work of God to bring a dead heart back to life dead. People can't see anything. Dead people can't believe anything. Dead people need to be brought to life in order to see in order to believe and so when God who is rich in Mercy, this is again if he Jen's who is rich in Mercy and because of his great love for us brings a dead Heart To Life switches on the light of the glory of Jesus in a person's heart we can now see him for who he is we can see ourselves for who we are we can rightly see our situation in our circumstances for what it really is and who we really are about to pull the covers over our heads is to stay in darkness and ultimately die in our said now, I'm just going to jump out of my notes here for a second when I mentioned Ephesians 2 weeks ago. I put a sign up on the screen that said if you don't know where to start reading your Bible remember this if you don't know where to start reading the Bible text RCC Bible 297000 and you'll get something texted to you every Sunday night that gives you a scripture. A couple questions to think about as you read that I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand if you did that but I do want you to know that 34 people 34 of you signed up for that. That's awesome. It also says that we're all on the same team right? We're all in the same boat of learning how to read scripture and how to apply it to our lives. And so 34 of you are getting a text every Sunday night. If you want in on that come see me afterwards and I'll point you in the right direction, but thank you all for doing that. I hope it is a blessing to you as you read through Ephesians a week at a time our families doing it together and it's pretty fun. But a good time. Okay. Jesus is coming to The World God is turning on the light in some people's hearts 2. What is the light now? They got a shining into our hearts. Let's go to John chapter 8 The Jug read for us and we'll be here for the rest of the time John chapter 8 verse 12 Jesus spoke to them again. I am the light of the world anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. So just a setup where this this verse is written here in John 8. Jesus is in Jerusalem. He's at the temple is it it's a middle of another Festival where all the people have to come to Jerusalem for this festival. And so the city is packed with people. There's lots of people at the temple Jesus is there but the trouble is the last time that he was here in the temple and John chapter 5 Jesus killed somebody there is a a man who is disabled for 38 years and Jesus walks into the temple and he heals this man that makes him totally well and he tells him and pick up your mat. You don't you're not going to need to lay here anymore. Pick up your mat and go home. But the trouble was that that was on a Sabbath day and so in the Pharisees saw this man picking up his mat they said time out. You can't pick up your mat on a Sabbath day. If you're going to kill somebody can't be on a Sabbath day. And so they're here confronting Jesus again trying to figure out who he is and where this Authority comes from and how he can heal people and and break one of the Ten Commandments to honor the Sabbath at the same time. What is going on? Who exactly are you and Jesus says here in verse 12. I am the light of the world anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life store. Just going to hang out in this verse and break it apart here a little bit. Jesus says I am the light of the world. There are not many lights. Hey, this is not the this is not the light section at Menard's right where you walking to turnstyles you turn, right and there's just endless rows of of Lights hanging around you don't get to pick the Savior that you prefer. You don't get to pick whatever kind of Savior fits your lifestyle and fits kind of how you see your life panning out. There is one light. So what that means for Jesus to say, I am the light of the world means if you've ever heard the statement that all roads lead to Heaven we're all going to the same place. Anyway, that is garbage. It is absolute garbage. Jesus is the light of the world which means if this world with all of its darkness is ever going to have any light it's going to be through Jesus. That's the only hope that this dark world has because there are no other lights. But we don't always believe that we're kind of like the people of Israel and some of us think that connections and Community are light we experienced some Darkness maybe it's isolation or boredom during our day. And the first thing we reach for is that little machine of lights that we call a phone? Maybe we scroll through our our Snapchat or Facebook feeds or whatever and we think that this isil this darkness of isolation and boredom that I'm feeling right now will be interrupted by some light of connections to other people. And I'll just scroll here until I find it until I've got some light or maybe for other people. Maybe it's it's comedy maybe for others it's it's comedy and laughter like he experienced the darkness of a long dreary day at work or things have just gone wrong that day and you're tired and you come home and I just don't want to talk to anybody. I just want some me time. I just want to sit down on the couch and I want to watch a sick, just want to laugh and if I can just laugh that will bring light into some of this Darkness. It will make some things at least go to the back burner for a little bit or maybe just some TV with a glass of wine or scroll YouTube or something. I just want to laugh. To get some light into my darkness. Ready for others if you maybe it's it's work, you know, maybe for you the darkness is that somebody rejected you once upon a time and said you don't have what it takes. You're not good enough to do this or maybe you worked really hard on something and instead of getting praise like you thought you would you got the darkness of rejection of somebody didn't appreciate you. They they criticized it instead of your work instead of praising it like you hoped and so for you that Darkness you think can be replaced. There's a light at the end of that tunnel of darkness and it's called success. And when I finally get there. I'll have what I want and I'll show them. And that will be the light to my darkness is all show those critics that I actually do have what it takes and then I can be successful regardless of what you think. I made it for you. Your darkness is a day of again of hardship and stress and there's pressure on you all day. And and so light for you is just to feel good just indulge yourself in something that feels great, maybe some personal care for you or just relaxation. Maybe you just want to buy something for yourself go big go buy a new car buy some new clothes buy some buy a new phone. I don't know by something new because it'll make me feel good for the moment. I'll take my mind off of what's going on. Maybe take a vacation.

And I shouldn't have to say all this but obviously got invented laughter. He invented wine. He invented the ability to enjoy life and have a good time. He invented Community. It's his idea. He's existed Fraternity in community. So these are all good things. They're not necessarily bad in themselves. But if you've been at River City long enough to remember the series that we were talking about last year this time for the cleezy ass tease. You remember that these things that I've just listed are all things that the teacher in Ecclesiastes tried. He tried comedy and laughter, but he found the comedy and laughter aren't the light they're not helpful because you can laugh at a funeral laughing doesn't take any pain away. Neither does wine we attempt to drown our sorrows. But as soon as the high wears off the troubles are still knocking the teacher in Ecclesiastes also found sex and pleasure and vacations and feeling good aren't the light. They're not helpful either because when the feeling goes away or the trip is over, you still have to come home to yourself. And it hasn't helped at all. He found work and accomplishments weren't helpful because you either never have enough and you never reach the light at the end of the tunnel or worse you do and at the end of the day everyone else wants a piece of your pie. And so you spend more time guarding what you've accomplished then you do enjoying it and he was really frustrated by that he found that friendships and communities while they're definitely better than being alone. They're not the light to the darkness because your friends can turn on you the people that you love most can hurt you the most deeply And you find out that the community in friendship that you went to for light can actually create more Darkness for you. He even found a religion wasn't helpful because Darkness can exist in the church to That there are fools in the church who think they've seen the light but they're just as blind as the people they're trying to lead. Jesus shows up and says I am the light of the world. There are no other lights and if you follow him, you will never walk in the darkness. So that's the second piece. He's the light of the world anyone who follows me notice. He doesn't say believe in me this time. He says anyone who follows me. A lot of people these days say they're believing but they're not doing much following following. I mean you think about what it takes to follow following is an active Pursuit. There's a constant changing that's going on. Right if I'm following you from that side of the room to that side. I'm I was there and then I'm here but I'm not here very long till I'm here and I'm not here very long till I'm there. It's it's a journey it's a process of following and so the Bible calls that process sanctification that when we're born again when God flips on the light switch in our hearts, we're not instantly changed from what we were into who we will be but we've entered a process of following That is guaranteed to reach its conclusion. But the hard part of Faith the hard part of following is that just like the nation of Israel and just like we talked about Jesus two weeks ago. Sometimes following means we follow him right into a Wilderness. Sometimes following means we follow him right into a trial into a test. Cuz we've always prefer to Egypt over God's way is right. Cuz when we have the plan for our own story, it never goes through a Wilderness. There's never any testing. So of course, we think our plans are better than God's cuz we wouldn't take it through wilderness. But God often does and take us through Wilderness and as Moses and the Israelites are leaving Egypt for those of you who know the story. What are they led by as they're leaving Egypt? They're out into the desert. What is leading them? remember what? Somebody said it. Yeah cloud and a pillar of light Pillar of Fire those fire at night so that they could see where they were going. They could actually move a camp of two million people could move in the middle of the night because the fire was so bright and during the day it was a cloud that was lit up. God is leading them when it moved they moved when it stayed they stayed they were led by the light and they were LED Into the Wilderness in Jesus himself was led by the spirit of God Into the Wilderness, but that's good news for us. That's great news for us because of the fact that Jesus God's son was led into a Wilderness means that the God who leads us into the Wilderness hasn't abandoned us to our trials that he's present with us in the wilderness. And we more than that. Even we have a savior who's endure the Wilderness for us is overcome Satan. He's overcome the lies of the enemy. And he's overcome that that Stranglehold that Darkness has on us to the praise of his glorious Grace. That's what that's the third part of this is that anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. What is this life that we've been talking about? Well, there's two versus I'm going to take you to the first one. I won't put on the screen but in John chapter 17, Jesus is thanking his father in a prayer and he's thanking God for the ability that God has given him to given eternal life to some people and he's thanking God that that he's allowed this life to be given and then he follows up his statement in John 17 verse 3 and he says and this is eternal life. So he's about to Define it. This is eternal life. That they may know you the only true God and the one you have sent Jesus Christ. So the light of life that is coming into the world the light that Jesus came to give us is the gift of knowing god. The gift of knowing god with walking with him of talking with him of of hearing his voice of receiving his word of receiving this life. That's what Jesus came to give us. It's that restoration of the relationship between God and man. That's what Jesus is here to do. Then the second first then is 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 6, which is the same thing just a little differently for the God who said let light shine out of Darkness of this is the god of creation Genesis 1 The God Who said let light shine out of Darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus. So you see it right there. The reason that he's Shining Light. He's recreating shining again. But this time coming to our hearts to give us the light of what of knowing God's glory and how do we know God's glory in the face of Jesus the person of Jesus So if we combine those two John 17:3 and 2nd Corinthians 4:6 together, it could say the God who said let light shine out of darkness in the first creation has now done the same thing in our hearts to give us the knowledge of God eternal life by waking us up to the person and work of Jesus Christ. So what's the point? What's the point of all this? Well, the point is by saying I am the light of the world. Jesus is putting you and me right back at the two trees in the garden. Putting us right back to the trees in the garden Adam and Eve were faced with the choice to either listen to God's words that you have everything you need that. He's your provider that he's your wisdom that he's your truth or you reject that life is more than just physical eat the fruit from the tree and on the day you eat it. You will surely die John chapter 8 verse 23 That's what he says. If you do not believe that I am he you will die in your sins. Jesus is saying it very clearly. That's the choice that's offered to us. Either believe that I am he that I'm the Messiah that I am the light of the world that I am who I say I am what's interesting in the original language that he is not there. So if you do not believe that I am. You will die in your sins. Does that ring a bell for anybody? Who's been here for the whole story? Where'd you hear? I am before the name that God gave Moses. That's the name that the Moses was saying. Who are you? Who do I say is leading? Me? And God said you say I am is leading me to what we're believing about Jesus is that he is the I am that Jesus is the Messiah but he is God. He is our Lord and he is our savior. And so this is the choice that we have explained this to you in a word picture from my own story. I grew up in this farmhouse in Mount Joy Pennsylvania lived most of my life here from Age 5 to 17, I guess so we lived in the Big Stone House in the front and you can see on the backside. I didn't have a better picture than this but there's a little brick apartment back there. And so as I was growing up different people lived in that apartment all the time. And what was really random that that never made sense to us was that upstairs? There was a door that connected are still our Farmhouse to the apartment and I never understood why that door went between our two houses and I don't know that any of us did because it seems like the brick was an ad on it wasn't like it was a giant house that they split into. Anyway, there was a door up there. When I was 11 years old, it was December 11th, exactly two weeks before Christmas. My mom. My dad was a truck driver so he was gone at the time and and my mom sent me and my two younger brothers down. We did the Advent readings for we would light a candle and read a scripture and then pray for whatever whatever the little bit taller spray for. Sweet-bitter Advent reading that night. We lit the candle and then we all went to bed. At about 3 in the morning the Lord woke up my mother and she would tell you that to this day. The Lord woke her up. As she was laying there on the pillow she she woke up and and as she opened her eyes the electric candles that she had decorated our house with for Christmas all went out at the same time all the way all the lights that she could see from where she was laying all went out at the same time and she thought well, that's weird and it was just weird enough that she sat up and she smelled smoke. And so she came she jumped out of bed and came running over to our bedroom where all three of us boys are in the same room. And as she ran by the stairway that was headed downstairs. She noticed a Stairway was full of smoke. She couldn't even see the bottom of it. There's no way to go down the stairs. And so she started yelling fire fire. We got fire and we all woke up quickly how there was no pulling the covers over our heads that morning and I remember it being really hard to breathe. So I went over to the window and I opened the window and jammed my BB gun in there. So the fresh air would commit terrible idea. Don't do that. No fire never would encourage that because now you've just let fresh oxygen in the fuel the fire will thankfully. God was gracious in and that didn't cause any worse problems, but Are we went we had gone through, you know, the stop drop and roll stuff at school and learned how to do that and so my brothers and I knew that the best place to find clean air was under our beds. So we lay down under our beds while my mom and there was a guess there's a lady that was living with us for a couple months at a time. in a room just off of where us boys were and so Mom and this lady tried to beat through the doorway between our bedroom and the apartment and suddenly We realized maybe that's why that door was there but that was our ticket to freedom. So we laid underneath the beds while my mom and this lady tried to pound through the door. We all got out the other side and everything. We we all survived and it was Brighton and I remember, you know take you home and if we lose everything Monsuno, we're all fine. It's all good. So here's the room where we had our Advent wreath. I'm right by the date 12 11 91. That's where the couch was where we were all sitting the white spots on the wall where my dad had some really nice deer heads that didn't make it used to and that was that was her house. And then on the other side of the wall was this picture?

And it speaks a lot to us about God's protection and its provision and is safety because everything's dirty except the picture. free special here's my point what Jesus is telling us is that we're all born into a house. It's on fire. And our only hope is that God wakes us up from our sleep. That he wakes us up and alerts us to the darkness that he alerts us to the Escape that is already put in place in the person and work of Jesus. Daddy wakes us up to see the light shining into our burning house and say this is your rescue Jesus is your rescuer follow him to life. So how exactly is Jesus our rescue chapter 8 verse 28. Jesus said to them when you lift up the son of man, then you will know that I am that I am he Do this knowing god, this rescue goes straight to and straight through the cross. When you lift me up Jesus said to the very people who six months after he said this would nail him to a wooden cross and lift him up into the air. Jesus is saying I'm not here to fight the cross when you lift me up. It will happen. It's almost as if Jesus is giving them permission in this verse. When do you lift me up? You will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own. Jesus came into our burning building and let it crush him so that God's Wrath toward us for all the times. We've asked for Egypt for all the times. We've had the opportunity to follow Jesus, but we pulled the covers over our heads for all the times. We've been bored with Jesus for all the times we decided to listen to our own voice instead of the voice of God. God raised him from the dead so that anyone who believes and follows. Jesus is guaranteed eternal life. praise God do versus later. We see that God flipped the switch as Jesus said that in some people's hearts that as he was saying these things many believed in him. And then Jesus said if you continue in my word, you are really my disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Does we get towards the end here? What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Well, that means to trust him wholeheartedly that our house is on fire and that he is the rescue that we need. What does it mean to follow Jesus continue in his word keep seeking keep pressing in keep digging. I hear a lot of people say that they don't read the that they don't that the reason they don't read the Bible more is because they don't like to read. Well that's like saying my house is on fire, but I don't like to run. If you need help with reading if you need help with a place to start or some plans to help you come talk to me. I'm not saying I have all the answers. But as your pastor, I want this for you so bad that you learn to read God's word and that you continue in it and show that you really are his disciples. So come talk to me about that. And I think it's amazing that of all the things that almighty God could have given us to know him to know his purposes for our life to know our significance and our place in the story. He gave us a book to read of all the things that he could have done. He gave us a book to read that doesn't seem like that big of a thing if you think about it, it's actually really really gracious of him just to give us a book to read to know him. Thirdly, what is the life that Jesus offers? Well, it is knowing god that is walking with him and his talking with him trusting him and worshipping him. So as we close seem can come on up as we closed chapter 8 verse 12. Jesus says, I am the light of the world anyone who follows me. Anyone, maybe you think that you've done too much wrong or that too much has been done to you. Or maybe you think the darkness in your story is too dark. For the light of Jesus, but Jesus says anyone no one is too far gone to repent to turn around and begin to follow him. He says anyone who follows me. So maybe you've been one of the anyone's maybe you're the one in the story where God is flipped on the light switch in your life you seen Jesus for his you if you seen him, but maybe lately you have been doing a lot of following. Maybe he's LED you into a Wilderness and you've been asking just give me out of here. Just take me back to Egypt. I don't care. Just give me out of here. Maybe you're going back to some old habits and some old ways of life. Or maybe you've been listening to the voice of the enemy. Maybe what you're hearing is is the voice of the serpent in the garden to God really say the house is on fire because it really that big of a deal like I'm not that bad of a person that seems a little extreme that the house is on fire that Jesus had to die for me. I'm encouraging you if that's if one of those is you've got to let you into the Wilderness and you're not trusting him to keep following him through that or if you've been listening to the voice of the enemy only encourage you today to look again to Jesus high and lifted up look again at the cross and see that your sin is in fact so bad that the Savior that the creator of the world had to die for it to be fixed. That's how bad our sin is, but the cross is also a picture of How Deeply Loved You Are That you're so deeply loved that. He was willing to do it for you. He was willing to go to that pay that price for you. That is how deeply loved you are. And so for those of you who have been following Jesus Faithfully continuing in his word. You're in during The Valleys in the wilderness test that he's leading you to to you now, Jesus says now you are the light of the world. You are a city on a hill and he's now shining through you that you are part of the story for somebody else. That's our vision here at River City. Is that every man every woman every child in Riverside and the surrounding communities would have a gospel-centered interaction on a daily basis. For that to happen. That means they have to come in contact with the light. And our prayer is that as a result many would believe and follow him to life spray. Or Jesus we come to you here again this morning Lord. We're just thankful for your unlimited and unmeasurable Grace towards us. God we don't deserve you. We we live in darkness and your word says we love the darkness. And unless you come and do something in our soul s you awaken us to life. We will die in our sins. Lord I Thank you so much for the cross of Jesus that is our rescue plan. It is our Escape Route not not just because you loved us but because that is where the wrath of our sin is, it was placed on Jesus that the punishment for everything we've done and thought that supposed to you every time we've rejected you was put on him. Let your wrath was taken care of and you could show us the deep love and grace that you have for us. But I pray that this morning you would cause many to be born again God. Would you turn on the light switch for someone here in this place today by work of your spirit Christ's name? I pray amen.

What's the sink of that together?