The Light of Life Brings Transformation

Three mice are sitting around boasting about their strengths. The first mouse says, “Mouse traps are nothing! I do push-ups with the bar.”

The second mouse pulls a pill from his pocket, swallows it, and says with a grin, “That was rat poison.”

The third mouse got up to leave. The first mouse says, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“It’s time to go home and chase the cat.”

“Have you got any kittens going cheap?” asked a customer in a pet shop.

“No, sir,” replied the owner. “All our kittens go, ‘Meow.’”

The Scripture today is John 8:12 which reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world, but it also says that if we follow Him that we will not walk in darkness.

Let’s read the verse together:

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

The series we are currently studying is about how Jesus came to this world as the Light. The light to a dark place.

Physically speaking Christ changed things for those that saw and heard from Him in the flesh. We know that the multitudes followed Him because they had never heard a man teach the way Jesus taught. The authority He spoke with was completely new.

When Jesus would enter the synagogue and start teaching the people were astonished.

Mark 1:22 ESV

And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.

The teaching brought people to Him but I think that the healings is what really got people interested in Jesus. It was a clue that this man was not just another good teacher, but He might be the long awaited Messiah.

If you read down a bit through Mark 1 you see that after Jesus was done teaching that He cast a demon out of a man!

Mark 1:27 ESV

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

So in the physical, Jesus was a big deal. The news spread like wild fire and Jesus became something of a celebrity.

Mark 1:28 ESV

And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

When Jesus came to this world as a man He came as a light that physically affected the world, but we know that was not His primary purpose to come as a man don’t we?

Jesus had a much more important goal in mind for Humanity that went beyond being a teacher with authority or a healer that could cast demons out of bodies. No, Christ came to be a spiritual light to a dark world. He wanted people to know that if they trusted that He was the Son of God that they would not need to walk in spiritual darkness anymore.

When Jesus said, whoever follows me, He meant whoever believes and obeys Him.

Simply put, Jesus was speaking about salvation!

Coming to Christ for salvation results in a different kind of life.

A true believer will not want to live in darkness anymore. They want to live in the light.

1 John 1:6–7 ESV

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

This is very important to understand. When Jesus says that we do not need to walk in the dark anymore part of what I believe He is saying is that we need to STOP looking like we are still in the dark!

In New Hampshire in 2009, a burglar was apologetic when caught in the act of looting a home, but apparently not remorseful enough to turn himself in.

Police said the owner of the house pulled into his driveway just as a thief was exiting the house carrying jewelry and electronic items. When confronted, the burglar apologized and then put the stolen items back inside. The homeowner tried to detain the man by engaging him in conversation, but the suspect escaped before police arrived.

Repentance is more than feeling guilty for sins—it is turning from them.

A true follower of Christ does not remain in the realm of evil and ignorance because he has Christ as his Light and salvation!

We know that Christ came as a light physically and spiritually for our sake. There are a few specific points I want to make that I think will help you when you think about the Light that God has provided to those who follow Christ. You see, we have been set free from certain things. Things that the enemy would love to use to trip you up. To get you back into the darkness.

Today, I am here to tell you, that you don’t have to live in darkness anymore. God’s light will keep you from certain things as you trust in Him to guide you.

The Light of Life will Change our Mind

I am convinced some of our biggest battles are fought in our own minds. Really, it’s kind of hard to turn off our minds isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a switch that you could flip that you don’t think about any of the issue you face? That challenges would just disappear?

Well, I’m here to tell you that there is no such switch, but there is help. The light of life, Jesus Himself, has provided for us the opportunity to have a renewed mind. We don’t need to always go down the path of mental darkness.

What do I mean by metal darkness? Well, it’s actually a few things.

sinful thoughts

strife

worry

fear

envy

Just to name a few. Really it’s anything that is more tied to our carnal way of thinking.

The enemy would love for us to stay in mental darkness.

His battles are won there when we allow the seeds of doubt to grow because when we choose to stay in metal darkness we are not walking in faith.

I like what Romans 12:2 says because it reminds us that yes, we are in this world, but we don’t have to be conformed to the world.

Paul is letting us know the implications of a believer offering his life to God as a sacrifice. This offering represents a complete change in lifestyle, involving both a negative and a positive aspect.

First, Paul commanded, Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world. Living according to the lifestyle of “the present evil Age” must now be put aside.

Then Paul commanded, But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The Greek verb translated “transformed” is seen in the English word “metamorphosis,” a total change from inside out.

The key to this change is the mind, the control center of our attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and actions.

So, how does God keep us from the path of mental darkness?

Our mind is made new by the spiritual input of God’s Word, prayer, and Christian fellowship.

The light of light has come so that we can be transformed from the inside out.

John 1:5 ESV

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Remember that when your mind tries to go to a dark place. That Jesus has come to shine a light on your situation. He has come to overcome that darkness.

The Light of Life will Change our Morals

What is moral darkness? Moral darkness is when a person does not care about what’s right or wrong. They are completely and totally self absorbed. It’s the idea that everything centers around “self”.

Now I know I talk about black Friday shopping way to often in my sermons, but here’s comes another black Friday illustration. One year I was at Walmart because I wanted to get one of those pancake griddles. You know the kind I’m talking about right? The one that plugs into the wall, you can set the perfect temperature, and make gorgeous pancakes. Well, can tell you, I have never paid more than $9 for one of those griddles because I know that it ALWAYS an item that is on sale every black Friday.

Well, as I stood there at Walmart around this cardboard wrapped pallet of pancake griddles the mood was getting tense. Everyone was looking at each other just waiting for someone to come by at the right time and open the pallet for our frenzied delight.

I can remember it like it was yesterday, someone decided that those cardboard wrapped pallets weren’t going to stop them from getting their griddle. She walked up and ripped open the box. You would have thought a bomb went off. It was like dominos falling all over that store. People went nuts and the workers where over taken.

All over a pancake griddle. You might be asking…did I get one? No, I sure didn’t, I got two!

All that to say, morality is absolutely tied to what’s right and wrong, but it’s also tied to some sort of standard. In our culture there is a moral standard. We make laws, rules, and even teach ethics. When someone breaks those laws or rules we can become offended because they are not a good and moral person. Like the lady who broke the rules at the Walmart black Friday!

As followers of Christ, God’s Light, we are called to a higher standard. His light want to shine on the moral darkness in our lives.

Colossians 1:9–14 NLT

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

True morality comes from God alone. How can we expect to understand what’s right and wrong if we don’t God inspired wisdom?

Paul is praying that God would give believers complete knowledge, spiritual wisdom, and understanding.

A genuine knowledge of Christ reveals itself in transformed character of each believer.

That new character is our moral enlightenment that will inevitably produce fruit in our lives.

I believe what people are looking for in life is the feelings of joy and peace, but they will never find it apart from the morality that is found when the light of life invades the darkness.

Paul calls people are being transformed people who live in the light! We no longer live as this world does with some warped understanding of character and morality. We have been rescued from that darkness and have been transferred in the Kingdom of Jesus who is the light of life!

We are called out of the alley of moral darkness. We are called to stand in the streets as the example of moral light that comes from God.

The Light of Life will Change our Spiritual Vision

We’ve talked about how God keeps us from mental darkness, from moral darkness, and now I want to talk about maybe the most important thing today - spiritual darkness.

Matthew 6:22–23 ESV

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

The lost world thinks it is enlightened and that Christians are in the dark when it is the world that is in the dark and the Christians who have the light. When we trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, our darkness was replaced by light and much of the so-called light in the world proved to be darkness.

Outlook always determines outcome.

Eve looked at the forbidden tree, desired the fruit, ate it, shared it with her husband, and with Adam was punished by the Lord (Gen. 3:1–7).

Lot looked at the plains of Jordan, chose them for his home, and ended up losing everything (Gen. 13:10; 19).

King David looked lustfully upon his neighbor’s wife and paid dearly for the sins that followed (2 Sam. 11–12).

The eyes see, the mind imagines, the heart desires, and the will acts.

James 1:12–18 pictures temptation and sin as a kind of pregnancy. To give birth to sin day after day is a sad way to live.

The world looks at believers and concludes that they are “in the dark” or “living in the dark ages”; but actually it is the unbelievers who are “in the dark.”

Spiritually minded believers see things as they really are. God’s people who have healthy spiritual vision do not attempt to look two ways at the same time, serving two masters (Matt. 6:24) and being double-minded (James 1:6–8; 4:7–10).

A divided eye gives you a twisted view of life, while the single (healthy) eye enables you to see matters as they really are.

Ephesians 1:18 ESV

having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

If you are walking with the Lord, you can depend on “the eyes of your heart” to show you the truth.

When it comes to spiritual things, unconverted people see darkness, but God’s children see the light of the Lord and His truth.

We must be careful though. Jesus warned against double vision. He knew the tendency of people to want more of what the world has to offer while at the same time trying to keep their eyes on Jesus.

We are so influenced by our current culture that we measure success by how much we earn and own rather than how much we have grown in the Lord.

Let me tell you something…nothing this world has to offer will matter one little bit when we are standing in the presence of God himself.

When you stay focused on the light you will be kept from the low road of spiritual darkness. Jesus is the answer to everything we face right now.

He can keep you from mental darkness, moral darkness, and spiritual darkness if you look to Him today. It’s time to develop healthy habits. Lay aside each weight and sin. (Hebrews 12:1)

When we talk about the light of life I hope you are inspired to press into your relationship with Christ more than you ever have before. Let this season be the season that you are transformed from the inside out. Let’s be so changed that the world has no choice but to acknowledge Christ is the Lord of our lives.