Untitled Sermon

The Light

Last week we looked at John the Baptist, a man who was not the light but came to bear witness to the light. He was a man and people confused him for something else.

On August 17, 1959 a 14 year old girl gave birth to a baby boy named Vernon Wayne Howell. At the age of 19 Vernon claimed to have been “born again” and joined the Seventh Day Adventist church. As he grew, this man began to be regarded as “the Messiah” and he began to “prophesy” about things that would happen, including his martyrdom, which he originally believed would happen in Israel, but then he came to believe would happen in America. Howell was a natural leader and people followed him. On August 28, 1990 Vernon Wayne Howell changed his name to who he is recognized as today…David Koresh. he said he was the light.

John the Baptist would not claim to be the light. David Koresh claimed to be the light. Those who followed John the Baptist were pointed to Jesus. Those who followed David Koresh were pointed to death in a fiery standoff in 1993 in Waco Texas. John the Baptist bore witness about the Light.

John 1:9–13 ESV

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

The true light was coming into the world

dictionary.com defines true as: being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false

the actual, real light was coming into the world.

What does John say about the true light?

He was in the world

in fact the world was made through Him

The world that He made did not recognize Him

Matthew 21:33–39 ESV

“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

It is not that they did not recognize Him like, “I don’t know you” it was more of a failure to acknowledge who He is.

Geoffery Studdert-Kennedy was an Anglican Priest and he wrote this poem in the “indifference” of the 1920’s.

When Jesus came to Golgotha They hanged Him on a tree, They drave great nails through hands and feet, And made a Calvary.

They crowned Him with a crown of thorns; Red were His wounds and deep, For those were crude and cruel days, And human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham, They simply passed Him by; They never hurt a hair of Him, They only let Him die.

For men had grown more tender, And they would not give Him pain; They only just passed down the street, And left Him in the rain.

Still Jesus cried, “Forgive them, For they know not what they do.” And still it rained the winter rain That drenched Him through and through.

The crowds went home and left the streets Without a soul to see; And Jesus crouched against a wall And cried for Calvary.

Or, as the Scottish Biblical scholar, Marcus Dods wrote:

John B. Purpose of the Lamb (1:6–13)

There He was, the Creator Himself, that mysterious Being who had hitherto kept Himself so hidden and remote while yet so influential and supreme; the wonderful and unsearchable Source and Fountain out of which had proceeded all that men saw, themselves included—there at last He was ‘in the world’ He Himself had made, apparent to the eyes of men, and intelligible through their understanding; a real person whom they could know as an individual, whom they could love, who could receive and return their expressions of affection and trust. He was in the world, and the world knew Him not (Dods, p. 25).

3. Those who did receive Him, who acknowledged Him He gave the right to become children of God

Kenneth Gangel wrote in his commentary on the book of John

John B. Purpose of the Lamb (1:6–13)

Like most things in life, there is a right way and a wrong way to respond to God. The right way (and the only meaningful way) is to believe the gospel, receive the Savior and accept new birth as a result. The wrong way somehow links a relationship to God with human qualities such as physical birth, self-determination, or the choice of another person. In John’s theological vocabulary, believed and received are synonymous when it comes to the gospel.

In order to have the right to be called a child of God we must receive Him and believe in His name. What does that mean?

We have to understand who He is, and what that means.

Who is He?

A. Logos - the one who was with God and is God, and created everything.

B. Life - He is not only the creator but He is the sustainer

C. Light - He shows us the path through the darkness

We do not come to Jesus and say, “I know who You are and I believe that You are who You say to be, thank you, now, I’ll take it from here” and then go on our merry way trying to live a moral life, and think that we have got it down. We need to recognize that knowing who Jesus is is not enough

James 2:19 ESV

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Jesus had a conversation with a man, and we sometimes get it wrong when we try to understand it...

Matthew 19:16–22 ESV

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The man had lived a “moral” life. He had done what was “right” according to the Law. However, instinctively he knew there was something more…he was not prepared for what Jesus would say. “Sell everything you have and give the money away”. This is where we get confused, we assume Jesus is only talking to people who have lots of stuff…you know rich people…but Jesus was going deeper. Possessions and money, what this man had, they were his identity, they were his security…they were what he trusted in. Jesus said, “No, trust in Me, let Me be your security, let Me be your identity.”

When we receive Jesus, we do not just receive Him as savior. We do not just receive Him as friend. We do not just receive Him as counselor…we receive Him as Lord. It is an unconditional surrender. We give up who we are, what we have, everything…and in return, we get who He is and what He has.

Patrick Henry once said: The most cherished possession I wish I could leave you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with Him and nothing else you can be happy, but without Him and with all else you’ll never be happy”

To those who received Him and believed in His name He gave the right to become the children of God

This is a universal offer. The world of John had salvation available in many different ways…philosophy, religion, racial pedigree…John presents Christ as the true salvation and it was available to everyone regardless of intelligence, age, race, gender or religious background. It is one of the most amazing things about Christianity, it is open to all who would believe.

Even more, in a world where most people were have not’s, John is saying, “you can become a child of God”

And there is a “divine cooperation” in this becoming. John said that those who received and believed were re-born…by the will of God..not by natural means, but Spiritual…we are born of God…because we received Him and believed Him, because He came to us

There is an anonymous and untitled poem that captures this:

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew

He moved my soul to seek him, seeking me;

It was not I that found, O Saviour true.

No, I was found of thee.

I find, I walk, I love, but O the whole

Of love is but my answer, Lord, to thee!

For thou wast long before-hand with my soul,

Always thou lovest me.

Anon.