Download I am the Light of the World

ECT TRINITY-7 AUG 03, 2014
TITLE: (THE I AM MINISERIES): I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
PASSAGE S: OT: EXODUS 13:21-22, 14: 19-22 NT: JOHN 8: 12-20
1. Last Sunday we kicked off the 7 I AM series with the sermon on I am the Bread of Life
2. In that sermon we saw how important physical bread is for sustaining life here on earth
3. Similarly, we saw how very essential Jesus, as the Bread of Life, is to our spiritual sustenance.
4. In that claim He says, if anyone comes to Me he will never hunger and if anyone believes in Me he
will never thirst.
5. The operative words in that claim are come and believe. For eternal life we must come to Jesus
confessing our sins and we must believe in Him i.e. totally committing our lives to Him for salvation
6. We also said last Sunday that such radical commitment result in changed life and life style.
7. The Bible says in 2 Cor 5.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has
passed away; behold, the new has come (ESV).
8. Therefore, for someone to claim to be a child of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and still
continue to live in sin is simply a contradiction and it is NOT TRUE.
9. Today we will examine the 2nd of the 7 I AM claims of Jesus which is found in Jn 8:12 I AM THE
LIGHT OF THE WORLD
10. Let us pray…………
11. Jesus made this declaration at the Feast of Tabernacles when on the last day the Jews light a
big candle to illumine the city of Jerusalem, to remind them of the Pillar of Fire that guided
them during their wilderness journey.
12. Jesus declares that He is Light who illuminates the whole world and not just Jerusalem
13. In order to appreciate this claim of Christ, Let us first examine the importance of light in our
everyday life
14. Light was the very first thing God created or spoke into existence in Gen 1:1-4 (NLT) In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.[a] 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness
covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.3 Then God
said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated
the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed
and morning came, marking the first day.
15. Every living system somehow depends on light – the plants we depend on for food depend on the
light of the sun
16. The proper function of the human body depends on the proper regulation of the systems that
depend on the sun/light.
17. There is what is called the circadian rhythms or 24-hour cycles in plants and animals. They are
driven by the body's "biological clock." The biological clock is regulated by light or darkness, which
can make the body think it is time to sleep or wake up and regulate hormone production and cell
regeneration,
18. Our maturity from childhood to adolescence to adulthood are controlled by hormones which
depend on the circadian rhythms which depend on the sun/light
19. You are familiar with the fact that more people are sick and depressed during the winter months
when the sun/light is not on than in the summer when there is plenty of day light
20. All these to underscore the importance that light is very essential to our physical existence.
21. Just like we concluded last week that bread is essential to our sustenance
22. Now you can see how they are all interrelated to each other.
23. If Bread is essential to life, and Bread depends on light, we can conclude that Life depends on
Light, QED (Quod erat demonstrandum – what is to be proved/demonstrated)
24. In v12 Jesus claims that He is the Light of the world. He is the Light of God that we need in this
spiritually dark world
25. The Bible also tells us that God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all (1Jn 1:5 ESV)
26. Just like physical life would not exist without the light of the sun so no spiritual life will exist
without Christ, who is the Light of the World
27. His claim in v12 that whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of
life.” is still very true
28. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior and commit fully and unreservedly to Him, He not
only saves us but imparts His light into us as well.
29. He says to all His followers in Matt 5: 14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot
be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all
in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (ESV)
30. This is a great honor and responsibility: Honor in the sense that He allows us to share His
Light and Responsibility to represent Him well in the world
31. That’s why I said earlier that a Christian who claims to be saved and continues to live in sin is
a contradiction (see #8 above).
32. That’s why you should let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:16)
33. As the Light of the World, Jesus guides us just like He did for the children of Israel in the wilderness
by a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night (Exo. 13: 21-22)
34. When we walk in His light we are protected from danger. (Exo 14: 19-22)
35. He also tells us that HIS WORD is a light onto out feet and lamp unto our path (Ps 119: 105)
36. There are people today who prefer to walk by their own light rather that the Light, Jesus
37. Hear what Jesus says about such people in Matt 6:22-23.
38. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 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!
39. What does that mean? When we don’t walk in the light of His Word we grope in darkness
40. Jn 3:19 NKJV And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
41. Satan controls spiritual darkness and all the evil that goes on or associated with the dark
42. But the Bible says (1 Jn. 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. 7 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.
43. That is why Jesus came into the world to buy us back from our path of sin. So that you would stop
walking in the dark and trust your life to the Lord Jesus
44. Would you do that today?
45. Let us pray………….