The Light Of Life Series

Journeying With John (JWJ-03)

The Light of Life

John 1:3-5

When I was young I had the thrill of visiting one of the most amazing natural wonders you will ever see - the renowned Cango Caves. I would like to invite you to journey there with me as we start our message today. Home to the KoiSan people many centuries ago, the Cango Caves have a rather modest entrance - nothing to write home about - but instead of standing around outside - let’s go right on in. Our eyes adjust to the carefully placed lighting and we are wowed by the cave’s beauty. From every nook and cranny glimmer stalactites, stalagmites and helictites. The extensive system of tunnels and chambers run ahead of us for over three miles. Guided by the recessed lighting, we head for the largest chamber in the Cango Caves. As we step in, it opens up before and we are stunned into silence by it’s vastness.

This did not happen to me, but I want you to try and feel what I am now going to explain next. Let’s imagine for some reason, you look around and discover you are alone - for whatever reason you discover everybody else is gone - in this vast chamber. And then - is starts getting darker, and darker and darker. You start to feel claustrophobic as all remaining refractions of light disappear - and you are in a darker darkness than you have ever seen. There is no moon, no night light, no faint glow from your clock radio - it is pitch, pitch black - you cannot even see your hand right in front of your face. As a matter of fact, the darkness is so dark you can almost touch it. And your realize there is no sound - not even the coarseness of your breath or the pounding of your heart in your ears - all of that fades - and now the darkness clings to you - and it is deadly silent.

Now stay with me if you will - that was the easy part. Imagine now in that silent prison of darkness everything around you starts to fall away - the walls of the cave, the ground under your feet, the air you breath, everything is stripped away - and now you are alone in the deathly vast nothingness, silence, darkness. Stay there by yourself in your mind for a moment of you will.

That is where John the Apostle wants us to start this morning. Please open you Bibles to the book of John, the Gospel written by the Apostle of Love - and the first chapter - John chapter 1 and our passage is from verse three through to five.

We are studying our way through this incredible Gospel - and our guide is none other than the apostle John - he has, by the way, become my new favorite disciple.

John 1:3-5 - Read - Pray.

The title of our message this morning is simple - ‘Life and Light’ - and it flows directly out of out text. There are three things that come directly out of this passage that I think are essential for you and mer to understand this morning.

I would like us to see firstly . . .

1. There is a Love that Gives - John 1:3

Here is a profound truth - everything that is, God made, there is nothing that is that was not made by God the Father through Jesus the Son. There are a couple things I want us to notice about this creation:

It Was All Good.

In Genesis 1:31 God looked at what He had created, and made this statement - “it is very good.” Here is what He was saying - “What I have made is blessed and it is a blessing. It is good because it is an expression of Who I am.”

Each and every thing that is, was good when it was made - yes, even the mosquitoes and the ticks - even those things that in a fallen world cause pain and destruction - they were very good.

It Was All Love

Do you realize that the sole purpose of creation was the expression of the love and glory of God. God did not need creation - but His love needed an object to be loved. Love is not love that has no loving expression - and the immense love of God looked for a place to be expressed - and that place was you precious believer. All of creation is motivated from, caused by and is an expression of love. That is why it was ‘very good’ - and the word for ‘good’ means ‘loving, joyful, pleasant, gracious, good.’

Everything God made has value - and you, my friend, the crowning work of creation, have greater value than anything else that God created.