Let The Record Show

John 8:12-16 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. 14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. 15 Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

The title of today’s message is, “Let the Record Show”.

From birth, records are generated about us. When you’re born there is a birth certificate that records the day, the time, your birth weight, your race, where you were born, your mother’s name and sometimes your father’s name.

As you grow, there are immunizations you receive to protect you from certain diseases and a book is generated to record those immunizations, we call it a shot record.

Then you begin school, and your grades are recorded quarterly and at the end of each year there is a record to show you have matriculated or were promoted to the next grade and when you have completed grade 12 you receive a record which states you have completed High School, it’s called a High School diploma.

If you so choose, you may go on to college, a trade school, or some other training for which you will receive a diploma or certificate of completion to document you have successfully completed your field of study.

How you handle your finances is recorded in what is called a credit report, that report generates a credit score and that score determines how you’re going to be able to live your life. It says if you can purchase a car or a house or get a credit card and it tells you what the money you borrow for those things will cost you in interest. The higher your credit score, the less interest you have to pay and the more money you can get. These days your credit score even determines if and what you can rent and how much of a security deposit you have to put down.

All throughout your life there are records which follow you from place to place, job to job…and from birth to death.

For your family to receive the death benefits of your insurance policy and let me just add a public service announcement right here.

If you don’t have insurance or the money to help your family bury you, and, if you’re the primary money earner, if you don’t have the money to make sure your family is taken care when you die, and you will, because it is appointed unto man once to die, then comes the judgement. If you don’t have that together, tomorrow you need to call somebody and take care of that. And along with that insurance policy you need to have a will to ensure your wishes are known. This concludes your public service announcement, now back to our message.

For your family to receive the death benefits from your insurance there must be a death certificate. Let the record show.

Just before our text for today, Jesus has had another run in with some Pharisees who had brought a woman to him caught in the very act of adultery, never mind where the person she was with was, but he challenged those would be judges by making the statement, let he who is without sin, cast the first stone. To that they walked away one by one until they were all gone. Let the record show that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. You see…we all have a record.

In today’s text Jesus is now approached by more Pharisees, take note, just because you deal with one group against you, don’t think there won’t be more. There will always be someone to tell you, you can’t, you won’t, you’re not, you’re just, but when you know God…when you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior there is something you have “they” won’t know about, something they won’t understand, because when Jesus is your guide you follow him, and he gives you what he has.

So what is that? In verse 12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world: Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” He is the light of the world, not just one group of people, everyone. And when you profess him as Lord of your life you also have that light, you also are a light in this world of darkness.

And because you are light, you have a duty to follow him, to submit yourself to his guidance, and in everything take directions from him. You must let your let shine before men that may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven. You see this journey is not about you; it’s not about me…

• It’s about those who don’t know that there is life after death.

• It’s about those who don’t know that Jesus came to be the perfect example so we would know how to navigate this sometimes cruel world, where people are harassed, and targeted, and profiled and attacked and killed simply because of the way they look, merely because of the color of their skin.

• It’s about those who don’t know that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is God in the flesh.

• It’s about those who don’t know that when you’re in trouble, when you’re in doubt, when you’re in need, Jesus is the answer. He’s the answer for the world today, above him there’s no other, Jesus is the way.

o He’s the way out

o the way in

o the way through

o the way under

o the way over

o the bridge that connects us to the God who loved us so much that He gave His only Son, a Son who sacrificed His life so we could be the light of the world too.

• It’s about letting the world know there is hope when the situation seems hopeless

• It’s about letting the world know that Jesus is their strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

• It’s about letting the world know that without him they’re lost

• It’s about letting the world know that He is joy, unspeakable joy

• When their hearts are broken, it’s about letting the world know, he’s a heart fixer

• When everything around them is spinning out of control and nothing makes sense, it’s about letting the world know he’s a mind regulator

• It’s about letting the world know, Jesus came, and endured, and bled, and died, and rose, and ascended back to the Father and is praying for them too.

But the Pharisees didn’t stop there, they had a problem with Jesus’ declaration of being the Light, they understood that he was declaring himself as the Messiah, and they couldn’t handle that.

Jesus told them, "Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go”. Another translation says it this way, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.”

Jesus knew who he was, he knew why he had come, and he knew where he was going when he completed his assignment, he didn’t need anyone to tell him that. There will always be someone trying to tell you what you should be doing and where you should be going, but when you talk to God, when He gives you an assignment, you have your marching orders, now march. In the military we say it like this

FORWARD UH, HUP, TWO, THREE, FOUR…now get to steppin’.

Let the record show that you’ve been given an assignment by God, that Jesus is your help, your sustainer, your guide and your trainer. There are times he will place people in your path to assist you in getting to your destination because we are relational beings. But know this, the enemy will also place people in your path who appear to be for you, but instead are standing in the way of you completing your assignment.

After Jesus revealed to the disciples who he was and what he had to do, Peter, Peter who loved Jesus, Peter who protected Jesus, Peter who denied Jesus, that Peter, “…Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” To which Jesus responded, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

You see, sometimes even those who love you won’t understand what it is you’ve been called to do. Go anyway.

Jesus continues and tells the Pharisees, “You judge after the flesh”, or you judge by human standards, and we know that human standards fall far below God’s standards. We know human standards change. They change with who’s in leadership, they change with how the people vote, they change with the wind. Styles change, motives change, hearts change, minds change, but God…God never changes.

Then he says something that might seem strange, he says I judge no one. So why is this strange? Well, it’s strange because Jesus was God in the flesh and he had every right and all the authority to judge, but that’s not the seat he was in at the moment.

Jesus didn’t get involved in their politics, he didn’t interfere with their civil rights, he didn’t impede their secular powers, his assignment right then was to fulfill the will of the Father who sent him. Jesus never engaged the Pharisees unless they came to him, which they did often.

When you speak truth to power, expect that people are going to come after you, expect there to be opposition, expect there to be those who will attempt to disparage you. But when you live your life in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord, the record will show, that you are the light of the world and the salt of earth.

Jesus said I judge no one, yet even if I do, my judgment is valid, because I don’t judge alone, I judge with the Father who sent me.

• You gotta know the one who gave you the assignment

• You gotta know, that He has all power in heaven and in Earth

• You gotta know, that He sits high and looks low

• You gotta know that He will perfect that which concerns you

• You gotta know that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills

• You gotta know that the Earth is His and the fulness thereof, the world and they dwell therein

• You gotta know, that He is a waymaker, miracle worker, and a promise keeper

In turn…

• You gotta know who you are

• You gotta know if God gave you the assignment he has equipped you to carry it out

• You gotta know he’ll go before you to clear a path, he’ll go with you to encourage you to keep going and he’ll go behind you to catch you when you fall

• You gotta know the power you possess

• You gotta know the authority you have

If you ever go to court or watch court shows on TV, you’ll hear the lawyer say, “Let the record show” followed by what they want to make sure is on the record.

What’s on your record? When you stand before God at the judgement, will Jesus be your defense attorney and say to God, Let the record show, this is one of mine, they are covered by my blood; Your Honor.

Will the gavel sound and the judgement be pronounced, “Not guilty”! Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

If you are not absolutely sure those are the words you will hear when you stand before God, today is a good day to get that assurance. If you’ve never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior pray this prayer,

Lord God, I confess I am a sinner, please forgive me. I believe Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for my sins. Jesus I ask you now to come into my heart and be Lord of my life. In your name I pray.

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