OceanSide church of Christ

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I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush, He told him that He was sending the shepherd to bring His people out of bondage in Egypt.

 

B.      One of the things that Moses asked God was:  “When they ask me the name of the God who sent me, “what shall I say unto them?” (Exo. 3:13).

 

C.     Most are very familiar with the answer God gave to Moses (Exo. 3:14).

 

And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:  and he said, Thus shalt ye say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

 

1.      “I am” involves a verb of being.

2.      “I am” is a present tense verb.

3.      Thus, God was telling Israel, the self-existent, eternal God is the one who has sent Moses to redeem you out of the hand of Pharaoh.

 

D.    In the New Testament book of John, we find Jesus picking up on the words:  “I am.”  However, He often adds additional information to those words.

1.      “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35)

2.      “I am the door of the sheep” (John 10:7)

3.      “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11).

 

E.      In today’s lesson, we want to look at one of these descriptions of Jesus.  The title of our lesson is:  “I Am the Light of the World.”

 

I.                   TWO STATEMENTS MADE  BY JESUS

 

A.    Jesus makes this claim about Himself two times in John’s gospel.

1.      John 8:12

 

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world:  he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

 

2.      John 9:5

 

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

 

B.      The context of the two statements.

1.       John 8:12

a.      “These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple…” (John 8:20).

b.      Those to whom He spake were the Pharisees (John 8:13).

c.       Not surprisingly, the Pharisees denied that His words were true (John 8:13).

 

The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.

 

2.      John 9:5

a.      Jesus and his disciples had come in contact with a blind man, blind from birth (John 9:1).

b.      The disciples attributed his blindness to the sin of either the blind man or his parents.  (John 9:2).

c.       Jesus denied this, saying:  “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:  but that the works of God should be manifest in him” (John 9:3).

d.      Ultimately, Jesus healed the man by having him wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam (John 9:6-7).

e.       Here is an interesting note.  Light is essential to sight.

 

II.                PREVIOUS DELCARATIONS MADE ABOUT CHRIST’S BEING LIGHT

 

A.    A great light (Isa. 9:2; Matt. 4:14-16)

 

B.      Dayspring from on high hath visited us to give light… (Luke 1:78-79)

 

C.     A light to lighten the Gentiles (Luke 2:32)

 

D.    In him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4-5)

 

III.             WHAT LIGHT DOES

 

A.    Dispels darkness

1.      When light shines in the darkness, the darkness flees.

2.      During the Creation Week, God had to divide the light from the darkness in order to create day and night.  Had he not divided them, the light would have prevailed over the darkness (Gen. 1:3-5)

 

And God said, Let there be light:  and there was light.  And saw the light, that it was good:  and God divided the light from the darkness.  And God called the light day, and the darkness he called Night.  And the evening and the morning were the first day.

 

3.      The results of darkness being dispelled:

a.      Aimless drifting comes to an end

b.      Running into obstacles is no longer a problem.

c.       Evil and wickedness no longer cloud our mind and our life.

 

B.      Lightens the path (Ps. 119:105)

 

Thy word is lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

 

1.      In the dark, paths are extremely difficult to traverse. 

2.      A light enables us to proceed forward in safety.

3.      In the darkness, even small amounts of light make navigation possible (e.g., matches, candles, glow sticks).

 

C.     Light gives life

1.      Light on our planet provides life in numerous ways.  Here are three:

a.      It warms the temperature of the earth.  With no light, the earth would freeze.

b.      It evaporates water.  This allows us to have pure water fall in the form of rain.

c.       It sterilizes.  Microbes that could cause infection are killed by light.

2.      The light of Jesus shines within our inner man giving us life (John 1:4).

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 

D.    Enables growth

1.      “Light directly influences plant growth and flowering by inducing photosynthesis and feeding plants energy” (www.sciencing.com, “The Effect of Light on Plant Growth, Abigail Smestad, July 21, 2017).

2.      The light we receive from Jesus Christ allows us to grow.

a.      We grow in His image.

b.      We grow in knowledge.

c.       We grow in influence.

d.      We grow in good works.

e.       We grow in our production of fruit.

3.      An interesting point:  Plants that grow always grow TOWARD the light.

1.      This is a good spiritual indicator for us.

2.      Our growth will always be toward spiritual things not away from them if we are being influenced by the light as we should.  QUESTION:  Are you growing toward the light?

 

E.      Heals (babies with yellow skin)

1.      Newborns often have a condition called jaundice, a yellowing of the skin due to high levels of bilirubin in the blood.  One of the cures for jaundice is light therapy.

2.      Men are spiritually sick in many ways today.  The cure for their sickness is light.  Applying the light of Christ to the diseased spot will cause the sin to be removed.  The individual’s spiritual man will be healed.

3.      Example:  The light of the world entered into the home of Zacchaeus and healing as brought to that household (See Luke 19:9)

 

And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

 

F.      Brings hope:

1.      Two examples:

a.      Those who lie on beds of affliction have a moment of hope when they look out the window after a long, difficult night and see the first rays of light in the morning.

b.      If a person is lost in a cave, just a fragment of light that enters the cave provides hope that there is a way out.

2.      John speaks of the hope that came into the world in the form of Jesus in John 1:9.

 

That was the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

 

a.      Jesus provides hope of a resurrection.

b.      Jesus provides hope of heavenly body.

c.       Jesus provides hope of reunion with love ones.

d.      Jesus provides hope of life eternal.

 

G.     Indicates purity (I John 1:5)

1.      All light is pure. 

a.      There is nothing that can adulterate light.

b.      Its glow can be very small or very great, but the light is pure.

2.      Jesus is absolutely pure (I John 1:5).

 

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

 

H.    Dispels fear

1.      Two examples:

a.      When children are afraid of the dark, one of the things we do is put a night light in their room.

b.      When lights go out, people often scream, but they cease their cries when the light appears.

2.      Jesus, as our light, dispels fear in our hearts (Ex., the fear of death, Ps. 23:4; Heb. 2:14-15).

 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:  for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 

I.        Reveals:  flaws

1.      Light helps us to see tangles, rips, and splinters.

2.      Light helps us find leaks, holes and tears.

3.      When the light of Christ shines in our lives, we are able to see our flaws.  This is essential to making the corrections needed for us to become true Christians (Eph. 5:13).

 

But all things that are reproved are manifest by the light:  for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

 

IV.             LIGHT IN OUR LIVES

 

A.    Presence of God

1.      In order to have light in our lives, we cannot live in darkness. 

2.      We must live in the light of God’s presence.

3.      Ephesians 5:8

 

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord:  walk as children of light.

 

a.      We become light “in the Lord.”

b.      Being “in” the Lord is the result of conversion.  It culminates in the act of baptism (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27).

 

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

 

B.      Reflection of Jesus

1.      Jesus said that He is the light of the world.

2.      We, too, are lights if we can live in such a way as to reflect His light (Matt. 5:14a).

 

Ye are the light of the world…

 

C.     Filled with knowledge

1.      The Word of God contains the light of God’s wisdom.

2.      Psalm 43:3

 

O send out thy light and thy truth:  let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

 

D.    Rejection of sin

1.      Sin involves darkness.

2.      The more darkness we can remove, the greater we will shine as lights in the world (Rom. 13:12).

 

The night is far spent, the day is at hand; Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

 

E.      Practice of good works

1.      In opposition to sinful practices are good works.

2.      The practice of good works causes our lights to shine (Matt. 5:16).

 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    Jesus is the light of the world.

1.      He provides benefits of light to all that are in the world.

2.      Those who come to Him also become lights to the world.

 

B.      Sadly, the darkness of the world does not love the light, nor does it come to the light (John 3:20).

 

C.     Only “he that doeth truth cometh to the light” (John 3:21).  These are the ones for whom we are looking.  Are you searching for light?  Are you willing to do the truth?  If so, you can be light in the Lord!