Dakota Community Church
March 2, 2008
The Light of the World
For some people it is just a holiday weekend, others see it as a time to get new clothing or to start thinking about spring, for many of the kids (and not just a few adults I would guess) its all about the chocolate; but for you and I, for Christians everywhere, it is what life itself revolves around.
There are only three more Sundays counting today before we celebrate the resurrection. It all hinges on this, and so it all hinges on Him. This morning and all this month we will explore some of the ways Jesus is revealed to us in scripture as we set our hearts on the author and finisher of our faith.
John 1:9-14
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the true light that gives light to every man.
The Word became flesh. Think about that for a moment this morning. So many of the problems we face in this world are because people have messed up ideas of what God is like and of what God expects of men.
This situation is being exploited by men like Richard Dawkins who said, “Faith is one of the world’s great evils, comparable to the small pox virus but harder to eradicate.”
Christopher Hitchens, author of the New York Times best seller, “God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything”, calls for a new enlightenment in a post-religious world. In a recent debate with Oxford University Professor of Historical Theology Alister McGrath, Hitchens said, “I can’t believe there is a thinking person here who doesn’t realize that our species would begin to grow to something like its full height if it left this childishness behind, if it emancipated itself from this sinister, childish nonsense. Dawkins is an over a million seller with the “God Delusion” and others are wracking up sales in his wake.
Jesus is in fact the answer to this problem. He sheds light on this issue. Jesus is the Word in flesh format. What are we supposed to understand from all these prophets and all these pages of this inspired book? Somehow we got murdering and bombing and controlling and greed out of the pages that Jesus demonstrates in the flesh.
Jesus, He is what God’s will looks like, sounds like, and acts like. He is the light with all darkness removed. This brings me to this morning’s first point.
1. Without Jesus we stumble around in darkness.
This world is a lost and dark place.
When I was in Bible school I did some work around the church to help out with my expenses. It was odd jobs mostly like painting bathroom stalls and vacuuming. One day I had to get something in another part of the building and the quickest way to get there was through the large sanctuary but when I opened the doors the lights were off and it was pitch black. Even though I had walked through that space many times I found myself carefully edging along with my hands out in front of me in a kind of half crouched position to avoid an unseen obstacle. When the lights suddenly came on and the church caretaker saw me he nearly fell over he was laughing so hard.
Darkness is scary because we don’t know what is coming or what lies in our path. Jesus changes all that.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
We never have to walk in darkness again when we follow Jesus because we have the light of life!
When we walk in the darkness we are lost in spiritual ignorance, but in the light we see the grace and mercy the father has for us.
In the darkness we are lost and entangled by moral impurity, but in the light of life we are set free from sins control.
In the darkness there is unrelieved sorrow and a sense of hopelessness, but in the light of life we find healing and hope both now and in the world to come.
John 3:19-20
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
When we avoid the light it is because we are afraid of being exposed.
Are you ashamed of the way you live? Do you live a double standard? The light of life is for all who FOLLOW Jesus.
2. In the light we find life, warmth, and direction.
People are naturally drawn to light, the warmth of the fireplace on a cold day, or the sense of safety offered by a streetlamp on a dark evening.
In order to get the maximum growth we put our garden in the part of the yard that will get the most sunlight during the heat of the day. Without the light there would be no natural growth and with out the Light of the world, we experience no spiritual growth.
John 12:42-50
Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."
Jesus is the light of the world and He shows us the Father. He shows exactly what the father does and exactly what the Father says. In the light we meet the one who created us and in meeting the one who created us we find purpose and meaning in this world.
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
The light pierces and overcomes the darkness every time and it points the way to safety.
With the light comes sight and with sight comes the final point this morning.
3. In the light we find responsibility.
We are relieved of our excuse of ignorance to the plight of our fellow men.
John 9:5
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Matthew 5:14-15
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither 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.
Philippians 2:14-15
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world
Our lives are to be lived so that we are without fault in a crooked and perverse generation. That is a tall order and we need grace or we would be crushed by it. Grace for our own failures, and grace to give to those who fall short around us continually.
I close with one final story.
A couple of months back now my brother Chris, our beloved Youth Pastor, was stopped at the lights down here at the corner of St. Mary’s and Dakota, the light turned green and the older gentleman in the car in front of him was lost in thought or trying to get something out of the glove box, Chris was patient for as long as he could be but finally he started to lose it. He rolled down his window and shouted GO as loud as he could and then just laid on the horn as the light turned yellow. Moments later the old guy looked up, saw the light and pulled through just as it turned red. Chris went ballistic! He waved his fist, saluted with his bad finger and began pounding on the wheel and cursing. Just then the lights came on on the police car behind him and before he could figure out what was happening Chris was being hand cuffed and put in the back of the cruiser. The officer would not tell him what he had done wrong and soon Chris was at the station being finger printed and escorted to a holding cell. After about an hour the police officer returned and told Chris the whole thing had been a misunderstanding and he was free to go. Well Chris was so glad to be free that he didn’t make any fuss at all about the incident. Then just as he was going out the front door he turned to the arresting officer and said, just what kind of mix up was this?
The officer said, “Well I saw the little chrome fish on your trunk and the KOZ license plates and the Jesus loves you bumper sticker so when I saw you behaving as you were I assumed you had stolen the car – sorry!”
Now you know that this didn’t really happen to Chris; but, I wonder could it happen to you?
We have a responsibility to walk as children of the light.
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
