Light in the Darkness

Good morning. Again, Pastor. Matt is on vacation. And so, I make the stroke every time I'm preaching, but you're stuck with me today. So I apologize for that. But

It's actually really no reason for me to preach a sermon anymore because of the communication that Mike gave. So, you know, thank you Mike for evening meditation. That's, that's the scriptures that we're studying today is John 11 through 18. And so do the reason why I wanted to study the scriptures with you this morning is you know, we had Easter week last week and it's wonderful. We're celebrating Jesus and I just, you know, I absolutely love it and it's amazing. It's great and she's is worth celebrating obviously. And I just wanted to take another week just to look a little bit more at Jesus say, okay, let's let's take a little bit for the little get a little bit more of who Jesus is. And so we're looking at Jesus and he'll notice of the sermon this morning is titled light in the darkness in What I thought I was reading through John 1. That statement really jumped out to me looking at Jesus as the light in the darkness. It's just it's so amazing. Jesus is so amazing. And I just love celebrating Jesus and love looking at who he is and studying him and and just understanding a bit more of who he is. And so I'm excited to go through this sermon with you this morning and just starting a bit more about him. And I'm just learning more about who he is in and what he's done for us cuz it's pretty amazing. I'll let you know that little hint. It's pretty, pretty fascinating and amazing. So the way we're going to go about this this morning is we're just going to look at our need for a light in the darkness and then who that light in the darkness is and then what that means for us, moving forward and self where to start off with the first point here at the darkness, is everything that is anti-god. Darkness is everything that is anti-god. A little spoiler alert in an in the future of the sermon. There's actually a verse that says that God is light. God is light. And if that's a true fact of God is like, then guess what? Darkness is everything that is anti-god. Darkness is everything. That is not God. If God is light. No problem tells us this wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men. For men, whose words are perverse who have left the straight path to walk in dark ways, who Delight in doing wrong and rejoice. In the perverseness of evil. Whose pals are crooked in Hardy, vyas in their ways. Are these these powers of Darkness, right? This is a string from God is a string from who got is a strain from God's path, weakness evil perverseness being devious. These all these things are anti-god are straying from the path of God, who is light. And so therefore darkness is everything that is anti-god.

That was interesting about that is our next couple of weeks here. The battle against darkness is a constant struggle for us. The battle against darkness is a constant constant struggle for us. You really struggle against the darkness and like I said, in the confession reconciliation section of the service and I hate just looking at that humanity and saying, well, we're bad. We're not good. You know, where were were disgusting? We we all those things right? I don't like doing that, but it is important to acknowledge. Hey, struggle against the darkness.

We struggle to follow God, we started to follow God's path for our live. We struggle against the darkness and it's a constant constant struggle. We're going through that struggle every single day. And so therefore we cannot overcome the darkness on our own. We just can't. We can't overcome the darkness on our own and with that comes from, it is John 3:19 says this. This is the verdict light has come into the world but people loved Darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil people. Loved Darkness. While we are, we are constantly struggling against the darkness of the world, right? We were kind of attracted to Darkness in some ways. We struggle with that every single day and because of that, we cannot overcome the darkness on our own because we love the darkness. You might be saying I don't love the darkness, right? I'd say I don't love the darkness either. I love God, I do. But in reality, I know that there are sitting struggles that I have. I struggled to, I'm not perfect, right? If I were to say, I love the light and that is all I ever live for than I would be perfect and that would be a false claim if I said that from up here on stage. Somebody at least, I hope somebody would come and drag me off and said Jack, that's not true. That's not true. You are not perfect. We struggle against the darkness every single day. And so therefore we need something else. We need someone else. Right, we need someone else. There is a need for a light, in the darkness. There is a need for light in the darkness in that first person. That, that first point here. Jesus is the light in the Darkness. Jesus is a light in the Darkness.

We celebrated Jesus the entire week last week. What he did and I'm coming to Earth. It is triumphal entry right on Palm Sunday, Good Friday service, right? Is his death for us on the cross and then ultimately Easter Sunday saying he's raised from the dead and celebrating that fact and just being overjoyed and saying we love Jesus and what he did for us and just celebrating that entire entire week and celebrating Jesus, for who he is and what he did for us. And that is completely completely earned and it's not really my place to say that Jesus earned that, right. It's just Jesus is Jesus it. If we get to celebrate that we got to do that for an entire week and it's amazing. Because Jesus is the light in the darkness. That is what exactly what we were celebrating last week for the entire week saying hey, Jesus is the light in the darkness. Now getting into John 1 John 1 4 and 5 says this in him was life. And that life was the light of all mankind, the light shines in the darkness and the Darkness has not overcome it.

John is an artist with his words. I just when I read through these these verses I'm just amazed by the beauty of what is contained right? Last week. I heard a little bit about kind of explaining this idea of this word life and how it's not just you know, we're all in this room living but there's this idea of eternal life that comes with it. And eternal life is found in Jesus Christ. Eternal life is found in Jesus Christ. So in Jesus was eternal life and not eternal life. That is found in, Jesus is the light of all mankind. I just asking in this room today. Just passing the state of Oregon Us in this country, but all over the world that eternal life found in Jesus Christ is the light of all mankind. Now if John had left it there, without the next verse I'd be like, that's, that's an amazing amazing purse. But then he finishes off with saying and this light it shines in the darkness, and the Darkness has not overcome it. Now. I'm not a scientist. I went to Bible College in there. We study the scriptures a lot. And so I did a lot of that. We had one math class called personal finances. So it's not even really a math class fully, right? And so I'm definitely not a scientist, but I had I have never ever ever been somewhere, where there is a light, shining in that light continues to shine. But then Darkness, overcomes it never been there. Never experienced that, right. It's always been well, delightful has gone out or we flip the light switch and we turned it off, and then Darkness kind of the falls over the room, right? But Darkness, at least to me does not have the ability to overcome light light has the ability to overcome Darkness. That's Lily. What light is it? It it overcomes the darkness. And another interesting tidbit about this verse that word, overcome can also be transferred into as understood. The darkness has not understood the light. I find that a bit interesting. But I just this image of light and darkness, right? It it's really, really amazing to me that helps me kind of understand who Jesus is to the world. If the world is full of Darkness. And Jesus is the light in the darkness than Jesus comes and when he enters a room or enters a person, right? Then there's this idea of Jesus, just just come over, comes that area because he is a light in the darkness and the Darkness cannot then overcome Jesus again. So we serve a powerful powerful God. Now, the next part of this sermon is kind of going through that area of describing Jesus and how he is God. And so Jesus is the word of God personified, Jesus is the word of God personified.

I versus 1 through 3 of John 1 are a pretty famous verses. And they're famous for a reason and I'm work at work to talk about that reason, but John 1133 says, this in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Now, what's fascinating to me about this, this verse year? It's such a simple language. But yet it throws my head's. All in knots. It's such simple language. There's was in beginning in right with just all these simple words, but yet I'm still like, okay. It's a little bit little bit complicated to me. Let's break it down. In the beginning was the word. Alright, in the beginning was the word. So my mind automatically goes to well, the whole Bible starts with in the beginning. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. And I think that's intentional. We're supposed to kind of jump to that and say, okay in the beginning, in the beginning. How do those two things coralite and actually what John explains in the next couple of verses will correlate with that. So I'll leave that until those couple of verses but in the beginning was the word that what actually is the word. Cuz if it's saying that well in the beginning was was words random random random words has really carry much meeting with it. Does it? I mean, if I were just stand up here and in just say table, chairs, sky, windows cars. There's no meeting right in your life. Why? There's no meaning behind those? Just random random words. So there's got to be a little bit more to this idea of a word in this verse, right? And there is those word in the Greek is his logos. Maybe you've heard of it. Maybe you haven't. That's okay, this word logo so you can it's actually translated to multiple different words throughout the New Testament. I have a few of those are idea message reason, right? And so already we kind of get the picture while this word here. In verse one, actually carries with it weight and meaning it's not just random words. It is a message. It is reasoning. It is an idea. There's a lot more to it than just a random smattering of words. So in the beginning. Was the idea, the message, the reason. Okay. Little bit more to it than that. And, you know, that also is capitalized. I didn't capitalize it that was capitalized on its own with by the Bible translators, who have more education than I do. So, I'm just following what they have said, right? Okay, so we know a little bit more about the word. And the Word was with God and the Word was with God. So that kind of gives the idea that the word is is kind of separate from God for a moment. Okay, the word was with God in the beginning and the Word was God sent out of the same. So now they're like kind of both apart but the same. Okay. I'm kind of following a little bit more now. He was with God in the beginning. Now. It's a person. Now it's a he okay, so we have all these kind of ideas of of the word. Okay? And what it is. So the logo stuff was in the beginning and it was with God and it was God. He was with God in the beginning in the next, couple of verses through him. All things were made without him. Nothing was made that has been made. And so here's that connection to the creation of the world. So one might say that the word of God was in the beginning and the word of God was with God in the word of God was God, revealing who he was and that word of God created. Because all things that were made were made through him. Nothing that exists today was made without this word of God, this word, this logos. Okay. I'm following a little bit. Are you guys fighting with me? I hope I hope you are. So I don't know why, I chose this scripture, but I did. So her we're going with it. We're having fun, right? But then we get an important First Year, John, 1:14, and I do know, is that it's a because I'm I want to leave the rest of it for later, but the word became flesh. The word became flesh.

Do you have this word? It was in the beginning, it was with God and it was God. He was with God in the beginning, in this word. Well, guess what? It became flesh and became flesh. And yes, you're still were all tracking together. That word became Jesus. The word of God became Jesus Christ. And something interesting. Also something interesting. Interesting and 2nd Corinthians 4. It's says this for God who said let light shine out of the darkness. There's that connection to Creation Again by God, spoke creation into existence. He said, let there be light and there was like, he spoke it, God's word, did that? Sorry. We're getting connected from Paul by Paul to Creation from this idea. He said, let light shine out of the darkness. He made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. So all throughout scripture, something that is a consistent theme is that God's word Reveals His character. God's word reveals who he is from creation to now God's word, it displays him. Right? If God is creating the heavens and the Earth. He's displaying his character. He saying this is who I am. I'm creating the Earth in this way. I'm treating the universe in this way. And then you look at the Old Testament, right? We spend a lot of time in the plan this year and looking at how God interacts with his people and God talks to his people, he communicates with them and as he does that, he Reveals His character, he reveals who he is. And that doesn't stop with the word becoming flesh through Jesus Christ. God is revealing, who he is, who he is. He's revealing his character saying this is who I am. This is how I love you. This is how I care for you. This is me, and I think that's a really good indication into kind of what this idea of he was with God, but also, he is God, are you think so? I'm I'm up here giving a message to you by speaking of sermon to you. It's really tricky because I get up here and I speak, heresy. Those words will become apart from me but also still are me, right? Because they kind of the enter into your minds and you can take those words and say I will guess guess what? The preacher said on Sunday. He said this and it was wrong, right? As I okay. Those words are now being spread cuz they're apart for me, in a way, but it's not just well, guess what preacher said? It's guess what? Jack said, those words are still me. They revealing my character. How I believe, who I am. They're reviewing me for you. That's how our words come across as people understanding. Okay, this is who you are or how words, they matter a lot. If, if Patrick goes on vacation and Jack's giving a sermon, and I just get up here and I say those random words again, chit stage chair, you know, grass Sky. Then. It's like that was a terrible storm and there's no meaning behind it. I don't even know why, why did I even go to church this Sunday, right? Put on I'm giving a message to you that that carries with it. Wait. And if I do say something wrong with her, I intend to or not. Now, it's like we'll got or Jack in the whole gosh. That was bad. That's not the way you want to Fumble on your words. Sorry, Jack is character to us. It's like a boy. Now my words they really carry weight. They really carry a lot of weight. I think it is. It's not exactly the same cuz I'm just a man, but it's similar to how God's word is is both kind of apart from him, but also is fully and completely him. Cuz God God's word. It Reveals His character all throughout scripture. And Jesus is God's word that has become flesh and lived amongst us. And so we can reach the conclusion that God is dwelling Among Us. He is the light in the Darkness.

And now at this point does not notify that the first point about Jesus being the light in the darkness. They are both 100%. The light in the darkness. God is a light in the darkness because guess what? There the same. They're both, God. God is a light in the Darkness. How does dwelling Among Us? He is the light in the darkness Among Us, and, as we read John, 1:14 be we'll see. But John says the same thing. So, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only son who came from the father, full of grace and truth. Now, how many of you like camping? I love to go camping, right? Some really interesting to see, just the diversity of when you say camping, what people think of some people don't think camping is what my family does. Write. My family finds like a estate Park and takes you to my parents have a trailer and my grandparents have a trailer. I stay in the tent, right? All those things and some people would say what that's, that's a glamping Jack. And I'm like, well, I know some people that get, you know, the full size motor home and they go somewhere like a KOA where they have full hookups and, you know, they can use the restroom in their trailer. Do I have to go to a hole in the ground? Right? All those things? I consider that glamping but then some people like snow camping is only when you're just roughing it out in the woods and all this stuff. And I'm like, okay. Well, it's a hold of her, see there. Anyway, I love camping. I love going with my family places in hanging out. So but what's interesting why I bring up camping swimming quote, that question right now. So this these words dwelling Among Us. Actually can be literally translated as he pitched his tent Among Us. Which I think brings a level of intimacy to to our relationship with Jesus. God pitched his tent Among Us actually is supposed to kind of Polish back into you know, the Israelites when they were wandering the Wilderness right to living out of tents. And and God himself came and said, hey, I'm going to pitch my tent with you guys. I'm going to live with you might as well among you, and that brings a level of intimacy with our God that is just baffling to me. Right, cuz he heard me on this. I completely understand and fully know just how, you know, I'm not fully know. I don't completely understand it. But God is above us. That is no question. Does amazing. God is just amazing. And so above us. But also for our God to say, hey, I'm going to come live with you guys. Like, that's, that's crazy to me. Because I also know if somebody is where they're there. Gorgeous is like those ants down, there are precious few of them cuz I don't care about him, you know, and they just are completely separate from those who believe in them. Not to say that they're true. But that's the belief, right? But our God has said, I love my children and I want to live with them even though Darkness exists. I want to be a light in the darkness to them. That is just a feeling to me. That's so amazing. And so, so good. So good. At first, John 15 says, this is the message we have heard from him and declare to you. God is light in him. There is no Darkness at all. It was also kind of a call back to the first point, right? Darkness has anything that is anti-god left because God is light. There is no darkness that exist in in relation to God, right? God is light. And so therefore, darkness is everything that is anti-god, but God is the light in the Darkness. So you taking a couple steps here, this morning, first and foremost, we established that hey, Darkness exists and we struggle with it and we need someone and then we establish will. Who is that? Someone Jesus? Is that someone God, is that someone? So, where do we go from there? But first and foremost, we have to recognize that we were made to live in the light. We were made to live in the light. We were made to be followers of Christ. We were made, we are children of God. We were made to believe in him and to trust in him and to give ourselves over holy to him to say. Hey, I trust God and I want to live for him every single day of my life. I know I'm going to struggle with the darkness still but I am committing myself to God and to the light we were made to live in the light and I think that brings with it the idea of eternal life. Tell me living in the light every single day. I mean, I don't know if days really exist in heaven, but you know that I'll be living in the light for the rest of Eternity and it'll be fully fully good. And we won't have to struggle with the darkness again. I'm very excited for that time, but it we're still in this world, but I'm very, very excited for that time, but we were made to live in the light. 1st John 1:6 through 10, says this, if we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, in the blood of Jesus, his son purifies us from all sin. That is the truth. That is what we're made to do. We're supposed to be in fellowship with each. Other was supposed to be living in the light were supposed to be living in the promise of Jesus living and what he did for us last week and Easter week. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, right again, back to the thing. If I were to say, I'm perfect, somebody would probably pull me off the stage and Sajak. That was not true, right? You deceive yourself, but Cuz we are imperfect. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Is that verse from confession and reconciliation, but if we confess our sins, Then we will be forgiven, our sins. Now, it's probably safe. Does that mean I can go on and just keep sending? Absolutely not by no means do that. But still, yet, if we live in the light and say, I believe in Jesus, and who he is and what he did for me. I confess my sins. If we believe in that, then we will be forgiven in and Jesus appear. If I us from all unrighteousness. If we claim you have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in US.

The second thing that we are to to be recognizing is that we are called to testify of the light. In the darkness. We are called to testify of the light in the darkness simply. We are called to tell others about this message, that it is, Jesus Christ. I find it. So interesting that logos can actually can act also be translated as message. If Jesus is the logos, Jesus is the message. I find that very interesting. But we are called to be going just to whoever we see it everywhere to say. Hey, Darkness exists, but guess what? Jesus exist in. Jesus is a light in the Darkness. Jesus can change everything for you.

living living in darkness is An incredibly painful painful thing. And I don't know. I don't mean to say that as, you know, people who who, you know, or are suffering from things that are out of their control, right? The people that choose to live in darkness that can bring up some things that end up just bringing her into their lives constantly. And it's very, very sad to see. But when we live in the light, we live in Jesus and say, hey, I'm attributing myself to, to, to him, and to his ways, to the ways of the light. Back and change everything for us. It doesn't mean they're going to have a perfect life and write as another thing that I need to be careful about not saying is, you know, health and wealth Prosperity Gospel.

It will change everything for us. If we can change our, our perspective in life, a little bit. Yes. Things are going to hurt. Yes, things are going to be bad. But also we recognize that hate. Jesus still lives in Jesus, still exists, and Jesus still purifies us from all unrighteousness. Only only live in the darkness, though. That's when things get really, really hard. That's when people really, really, really struggle because there is no hope. We live in the darkness. There is no hope we live in the light. There is hope in eternal life because eternal life is found in Christ Jesus.

So living in the white, can definitely just it can change everything for us. We are called to testify of the light in the darkness or just simply called to tell people. Hate Jesus exist. Jesus loves you leaving him. Right? I know it's a lot harder than a lot of the time, but that's what we're called to be doing is telling people about Jesus and who he is and how he loves us. John 169 says this. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He was here. He came as a witness to testify concerning that life. So that threw him all my believe. He himself was not that he came only as a witness to the light, the True Light that gives light to everyone. I was coming into the world. And then Matthew 5:14 through 16, you are the light of the world, a town built on a hill, cannot be hidden data. Do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead. They put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in Heaven. We are not the light, but guess what? We carry that message. That is the light to the world. We have the ability to say. I know things seem rough. I know things are rough right now. But Jesus Loves You. Jesus love exists. And Jesus can can change everything for you. He can give you hope and eternal life. And that is a message that is worth sharing. Bring me back to the old children song. You Know, This Little Light of Mine. I'm going to let it shine, you know, not hide it under a bushel, right? We're not supposed to be doing that. We're supposed to be letting it Shine. We're supposed to be telling people. Hate Jesus, is the light in the darkness hate God, is the light in the Darkness. I finally got the last thing they were supposed to just be sure to recognize is that we are incredibly loved. We are incredibly loved. Be.

This message I hope has kind of brought you through some steps of, you know, recognizing. Hey, there's there is darkness in the world. We need light in the darkness, but we can't get it ourselves. So we need someone that someone is God. And once we reach this, conclusion of that, we are incredibly loved. I find these verses to be impactful, verses 9 through 13, NIV John 1:16. I give every that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and do the world was made through him. The world did not recognize him. So a couple of things that I see there and just in terms of how incredibly love we are first and foremost, power God that we believe in, right? He decided I love my children so much that I'm going to actually go physically live with them. I'm going to pitch my tent with them because I love them and I want to see their lives change. And furthermore, from that, knowing that. Guess what? When God enters this world, the world will not recognize him.

And I'm moving forward, he came to that, which was his own, but his own did not receive him. I've never actually experienced this, but I know people who have experienced this wear. People that are family to them, people that are very, very close friends to them. Suddenly something happens in and disown them. And say, I'm not going to have anything to do with you. And I don't bring this up lightly because that hurts. That is causing me to get choked to run out of thinking of people who are going through that that hurts. And our God went through that for for us because he loves us so much to say, I'm going to live in the world that I created with those, I created and they're not going to recognize me. And in fact, they're going to kill me.

But he did that because he loves us because he cares for us because he wants us to have a relationship with him.

Is moving forward yet to all who did receive him? To those who believed in his name. He gave the right to become children of God. He gave us the right to become children of God children, born out of natural scent and where of human decision? Or a husband as well. But born of God. Children, born of God. Folks are. God loves us. We are so incredibly loved. And we see that throughout the whole Easter week to say, hey. I are God. He came to dwell with us. He pitched his tent with us because he cares about us. And yes, Good Friday happened. He was crucified. Because he loves us, but he can't keep our God down be raised again, three days later, and we celebrate that every year around Easter time. Now might my goal with the sermon was just to spend another kind of weak within that just celebrating that saying. Hey, look at look at her God. Look how amazing he is. Look at how much he loves us. How good is that? Because I love celebrating our God. Amen. I hope you love celebrating our God to. But I think John 1.

It's actually said that this is my be an early Jewish him.

And I I can see that because it is beautiful and how it's laid out. It's beautiful and how it tackles theology. It's confusing and some places. Yes, but even for me, right. It's confusing, but it also brings us into hay. We do need a light in the Darkness. God is that light in the darkness. And so what do we do? Well, we Revel in the fact that we are loved and we tell people that they are loved. I think that's kind of the Gospel message in a nutshell. I hope, right. We need Jesus. Others need Jesus. We recognize our need for Jesus. And so we're here. But there's also people out there that don't know, Jesus until we'd love to tell them about that. That's what we're called to do. Now, as we prepare to sing our final song by there is a few next stuff that I'd invite you into, right? If you have heard this, this message of of Jesus and how he loves you and you would love to give your life to Jesus and invite you to come forward as we sing our final song. So yes, there is, there is a point. So get me to give your life to Jesus even also you could recommit yourself yourself to Jesus if you feel the need to do. So also would invite you to join a small group or a service team on. Those are just places where we continue to push each other, where we continue to grow and learn and I'm teaching learn from each other as to how we can be living in the light and how it can tell others of the light. And then also you could sign up for a connect class. It's a class that Matt does pastor, Matt does every so often where there's a lunch provided and you can learn more about this church and what they believe and or what we believe, I'm a part of the church, sorry. And I'll invite you to stand as we sing Our closing song.