Untitled Sermon (88)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
Walking as Children of the Light
Walking as Children of the Light
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
If Jesus is the word!
Then Jesus is the Lamp and the Light
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
life (ZOE) source n. — the inherent capacity for producing (and maintaining) living beings; especially understood as a life characterized by healthiness, happiness, exuberance, energy, vitality, and the like.
In John 1:4 we get a hint of what this life will do for us: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."Light stands for development. In other words, "In Him was life; and the life was the development of men." Or "In Him was zoe, and zoe was the development of men."
The light Jesus brings is the light which puts chaos to flight. In the creation story, God moved upon the dark, formless chaos which was before the world began and said: ‘Let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3). The new-created light of God routed the empty chaos into which it came. So Jesus is the light which shines in the darkness (1:5). He is the one person who can save life from becoming a chaos. Left to ourselves, we are at the mercy of our passions and our fears.
Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of John (Rev. and updated., Vol. 1, p. 53). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.
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.”
Life - Zoe Abundant and eternal…
What does it mean to walk in the light?
To “walk” is, in short, to live one’s life.
One’s lifestyle or way of life can be considered a “walk.”
The word also indicates progress.
Walking is related to growth; it is taking steps toward maturity and understanding.
The Light brings truth
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Darkness is sin. The light is truth. It shows me where there is still sin in my flesh. My job then is to love the truth: to acknowledge that there is sin in my life that needs to be cleansed out. Then the Word of God comes to me with the way that it should be and I choose God’s Word over my own desires in the time of temptation. Then the Word becomes life in me.
Love the Light
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
There is blessing when walk as children of light.....
We are to walk at children being obedient to our father’s commandments...
Listen to what Moses tells the people…
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
Kneading Bowl: Kneading bowls are for the making of dough to bake for bread
And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
“The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me.