LONGINGS TO BE FOLLOWED-II—John 8:12
Attention:
Disaster Encounter
"Oh, No!" he gasped as he surveyed the disaster before him. Never in his 40 years of life had he seen anything like it. How anyone could have survived he did not know.
He could only hope that somewhere amid the overwhelming destruction he would find his 16-year-old son. Only the slim hope of finding Danny kept him from turning & fleeing the scene. He took a deep breath & proceeded.
Walking was virtually impossible with so many things strewn across his path. He moved ahead slowly.
"Danny! Danny!" he whispered to himself. He tripped & almost fell several times. He heard someone, or something, move. At least he thought he did. Perhaps, he was just hoping he did. He shook his head & felt his gut tighten.
He couldn't understand how this could have happened. There was some light but not enough to see very much. Something cold & wet brushed against his hand. He jerked it away.
In desperation, he took another step then cried out, "Danny!".
From a nearby pile of unidentified material, he heard his son. "Yes, Dad," he said, in a voice so weak it could hardly be heard.
Dad heatedly barked, “It's time to get up & get ready for school, & for heaven's sake, clean up this room!”
Dad 'longed' for his son to take responsibility!
There are many things we long for...
Things that may or may not be Christ honoring, such as...
Personal recognition, Power over others, Overly expensive vehicle(s), Expa(e)nsive house(s) & lands, Personal comfort, Statement clothing, Fine clothing, Prejudicial relationships, ...
When the brilliant undiminished light of Christ shines upon your longings, what is actually revealed about them...about your own heart?
Jesus invited His audience to accept Him as the Light that everyone/all should follow.
Jesus is the Light that all should follow.
What should we follow?
OR
Why should we follow Jesus?
4 Longings worth following...
Last week we found that A Longing to follow, is one that fulfills the need for...
1. REPETITION Of TRUTH(:12a)Repetition/Reiteration/Re-Emphasis
2—A Longing to be followed, fulfills the need for...
EXPOSURE To TRUTH(:12b)
Explanation:(:12b) Repetition/Reiteration/Re-Emphasis
8:12—“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated from 15-21 Tishri(lunar-Jewish), or a timeframe within the bounds of our September-October(solar).—D.A. Carson
7:2—“Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.”
7:37-39—“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood & cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me & drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
8:1-2—“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, & all the people came to Him; & He sat down & taught them.”
*“The Feast was known for a water-drawing rite & a lamp-lighting rite to which Jesus quite clearly refers.” These are based on Talmudic sources.—D.A. Carson
*The ‘water-pouring ceremony’ was obviously meant to mimic God’s provision of water from the rock during the wilderness wanderings:
Ex. 17:1-7—“Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, & camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people contended with Moses, & said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?” And the people thirsted there for water, & the people complained against Moses, & said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us & our children & our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!” And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, & take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, & go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; & you shall strike the rock, & water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. So he called the name of the place Massah & Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, & because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
Num. 20:7-11—“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the rod; you & your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, & it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, & give drink to the congregation & their animals.” So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. And Moses & Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; & he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted his hand & struck the rock twice with his rod; & water came out abundantly, & the congregation & their animals drank.”
Deut. 8:14-19—“when your heart is lifted up, & you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great & terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents & scorpions & thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you & that He might test you, to do you good in the end-- “then you say in your heart, ‘My power & the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, & follow other gods, & serve them & worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.”
The ‘lamp or candelabra lighting’ ceremony was obviously meant to mimic the pillar of fire in the wilderness:
**Ex. 13:21, 22—“And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, & by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day & night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.”
Ex. 14:19-20, 23-25—“And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved & went behind them; & the pillar of cloud went from before them & stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians & the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud & darkness to the one, & it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.”.....“And the Egyptians pursued & went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, & his horsemen. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire & cloud, & He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; & the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Ex. 40:36-38—“Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, & fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.”
**Num. 9:15-23—“Now on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, & the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; & in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents. At the command of the LORD the children of Israel would journey, & at the command of the LORD they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD & did not journey. So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the LORD they would remain encamped, & according to the command of the LORD they would journey. So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped & not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. At the command of the LORD they remained encamped, & at the command of the LORD they journeyed; they kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by the hand of Moses.”
**Deut. 1:30-33—“‘The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, ‘& in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ “Yet, for all that, you did not believe the LORD your God, “who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night & in the cloud by day.”
Jesus had made his statement to the thirsty(7:37-38), & had then gone to the Mount of Olives for the night, from which He returned to the temple the following day(7:58-8:2). There He stated our text of 8:12 revealing Himself to all as “the light.”
‘Supposedly,’ there was “The daily water-pouring ceremony had its nightly counterpart in a lamp-lighting ceremony.” “...four huge candelabra were lit, pushing light up into the night sky like a searchlight.”—MNTC
“On the first night of Tabernacles & apparently on each night of the feast except on Sabbath, the worshippers awaited the signal of the special lighting of the festive golden lamps of Tabernacles in the court of women. The lamps were intended to remind worshippers of God’s leading the people of Israel through the wilderness at night by a pillar of fire.”—NAC
Supposedly...“At the close of the first Holyday" the priests would descend from the Court of the Israelites to the Court of Women.(summarized from Talmudic sources) In the court four huge candelabra were placed, each "with four golden bowls at their tops & four ladders to each one." Each candelabra were fifty cubits in height. Wicks made "from the worn-out drawers & girdles of the priests" were placed in each bowl & lit. It is said that "there was no courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up with the light" which came from these candelabras.”—Bruce Satterfield—Department of Religious Education, Brigham Young University - Idaho.—!!Mormon & therefore suspect/questionable!!...but backs up Carson/MacArthur/NAC all summarized from Talmudic sources(which I have not made time to seek out).
*Jesus stated that He is(“I am”) not only “the light”, but that He is “the light of the world.” Not that He gives ‘worldly’ light, but rather that He is that very “light” which “the world” must have in order to perceive their “world” & thus their life(1:4-5, 9-11) correctly/rightly...by God’s truth. God’s “light” is that agent by which all understanding, truth, & perception is to be grasped, measured, & lived.
*Thereby we must go to Jesus to live life in the way we were designed!
John 1:4-5, 9-11—“In Him was life, & the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, & the darkness did not comprehend it.”.....“That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him.”
*Jesus told His followers/disciples/multitudes that they were also “the light of the world”(Mat. 5:14). However, their ‘light’ was & is merely a ‘reflection’ of the light of Jesus. Thus the world looks to the reflection from believers in order to ultimately see Jesus.
Mat. 5:14—“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
“I am”—eimi—Present -No voice- Indicative 1st Sing.—1) To be, to exist, to happen, to be present. Strong—the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary & defective verb; I exist(used only when emphatic).
“Light”2X—Noun Neuter—1) Light—1a) The light—1a1) Emitted by a lamp, 1a2) A heavenly light such as surrounds angels when they appear on earth, 1b) Anything emitting light—1b1) A star, 1b2) Fire because it is light & sheds light, 1b3) A lamp or torch, 1c) light, i.e Brightness—1c1) Of a lamp; 2) metaph.—2a) God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality, 2b) Of truth & its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it, 2c) That which is exposed to the view of all, openly, publicly, 2d) Reason, mind—2d1) The power of understanding especially moral & spiritual truth. Fwv is the general term for light: light of a fire. Strong—from an obsolete faw(to shine or make manifest, especially by rays; compare fainw[to lighten (shine), i.e. show], fhmi[to show or make known one's thoughts, i.e. speak or say]); Luminousness(in the widest application, natural or artificial, abstract or concrete, literal or figurative).
“World”—kosmov—Noun Masc.—1) An apt & harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government; 2) Ornament, decoration, adornment, i.e. The arrangement of the stars, 'the heavenly hosts', as the ornament of the heavens.; 3) The world, the universe; 4) The circle of the earth, the earth; 5) The inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family; 6) The ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, & therefore hostile to the cause of Christ; 7) World affairs, the aggregate of things earthly—7a) The whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow & frail & fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God & are obstacles to the cause of Christ. Kosmov has very frequently an unfavorable meaning, denoting the inhabitants of the world, mankind in general, as opposed to God. Strong—Orderly arrangement, i.e. Decoration; by implication--The world(in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively [morally]). RWP—“The whole cosmos of men, including Gentiles, the whole human race.”
Argumentation:
Mal. 4:1-3—“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the LORD of hosts.”
**Isa. 9:2-7—The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation And increased its joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You have broken the yoke of his burden And the staff of his shoulder, The rod of his oppressor, As in the day of Midian. For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, And garments rolled in blood, Will be used for burning & fuel of fire. For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government & peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David & over His kingdom, To order it & establish it with judgment & justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
Mat. 4:12-17—“Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came & dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun & Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun & the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region & shadow of death Light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach & to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
**Lk. 1:76-79—[Zacharias’ prophecy]“And you, child[John the Baptist], will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness & the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
**Jn. 1:1-4, 6-9—“In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, & without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, & the life was the light of men.”.....“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”
Jn. 1:29, 35-37—“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, & said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”.....“Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, & they followed Jesus.”
Jn. 1:12-13—But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Jn. 9:4-7—“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When He had said these things, He spat on the ground & made clay with the saliva; & He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”(which is translated, Sent). So he went & washed, & came back seeing.”
If Christ ascended, ?how can He remain in the world? ?Is He meant to?...Yes, by the existence & witness of the saints!
Acts 26:12-23—[Paul to King Agrippa]“While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority & commission from the chief priests, “at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me & those who journeyed with me. “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me & saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ “So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ‘But rise & stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister & a witness both of the things which you have seen & of the things which I will yet reveal to you. ‘I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, & from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins & an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus & in Jerusalem, & throughout all the region of Judea, & then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, & do works befitting repentance. For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple & tried to kill me. Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small & great, saying no other things than those which the prophets & Moses said would come-- “that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, & would proclaim light to the Jewish people & to the Gentiles.”
**Jn. 3:17-21—“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
**Mat. 23:23-28—“Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint & anise & cummin, & have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice & mercy & faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat & swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup & dish, but inside they are full of extortion & self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup & dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes & Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones & all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy & lawlessness.”
Illustration:
*Antiques Roadshow/People come from miles around to have the experts assess their antiques for authenticity/The experts have an eye trained to recognize tell-tale marks of deception & tell-tale signs of authentication/If you don’t want your ‘antique’s’ value assessed, then you are more concerned with making money than truth/Exposure would destroy your hopes!/EXPOSURE
Photography/A camera is all about maintaining the correct exposure so that the picture that is captured is true to life, realistic, a record of reality or a real event/f-stop & shutter speed are all about proper exposure to the light/We can add filters of various types which can add a chosen & thereby false view of reality the way we prefer to see it or remember it or want others to see it/EXPOSURE
Any actively addicted person(who thinks themselves in control & thereby not addicted) prefers their addiction over & above the truth/They will not accept a prospect of recovery from outside themselves/Attempts to ‘talk sense to’ or exhort them in any way, result in heated sometimes deadly confrontations/EXPOSURE
?Don’t you, in the depth of your soul, long to have your life/actions/decisions examined properly—not to your advantage, but properly, fairly, unprejudicially, righteously, justly?
?Don’t you really want to know, beyond the shadow of any doubt, the path & step to take...the decision to make at any given time?...To recognize the selfish prejudices of your own life?...so that they can be corrected?
Application:
?Has your Longing fulfilled the need for EXPOSURE To God’s TRUTH?
?You Longing for Jesus, the Light for this World?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Disaster Encounter—“It's time to get up & get ready for school, & for heaven's sake, clean up this room!”
Action:
A Longing to be followed, fulfills the need for...
2. EXPOSURE To TRUTH(:12b)
1. REPETITION Of TRUTH(:12a)Repetition/Reiteration/Re-Emphasis
Pt. 2 only!-presented 07/17/2016am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. ‘A’)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
