God is Light
April 30, 2023
1st John isn’t a letter, but a poetic sermon sent to churches that were being threatened by hostile people.
John was writing to a group of believers scattered around Asia who needed encouragement.
1 John 1:5-7 NIV
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all[b] sin.
The first thing created by God was light – Genesis 1:3 “Let there be light”.
Genesis 1:4 – “he separated light from darkness”.
John 3:19-21 NIV
“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. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
John 8:12 NIV
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
The greatest weapon we can use against the enemy is to maintain an honest heart before God.
Telling the truth is cooperating with God.
The scriptures are full of stories of broken people meeting God but refusing to be honest.
Moses meets God at the burning bush and wants no part of God’s plan for his life.
Isaiah sees God in the temple and is terrified.
Peter sees Jesus walking toward him on water and tells him to go away.
This seems like the proper response for any of us meeting God.
Will God see our brokenness?
Will God reject us?
John knew firsthand what it was like to be confronted by the light of God while being full of darkness.
John 1:1-5 NIV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
We must inspect our hearts on a regular basis.
The greatest weapon we can use against the enemy is to maintain an honest heart before God.
Telling the truth is cooperating with God.
The enemy will torment us in every area we withhold from God.
We can only become the light of THE world if Jesus is the light of OUR world!
When we come into the light, we find out how loved we are!
Matthew 5:14 NIV
"You are the light of the world.
