Jesus is the Light of the World, by John

Jesus is the Light of the World
John 8:12-30

1. We take light for granted, don’t we? It’s dark when we go to bed at night, and it’s light, or at least, the light is coming when we get up in the morning, right? It happens every day.
2. When we see it is light, we say, “Wow! It’s daylight already!” No big deal!
2. Daylight is shorter in the Winter than it is in Summer. In fact, we have had days this year that were 15 hours and 9 minutes long! Right now, today, we will have 14 hours and 15 minutes of daylight today. Daylight varies according to our latitude. Year round, day and night are the nearest to being equal at the equator.
3. When it’s dark, and we can’t see anything in total darkness, we turn on the lights, right?
4. Ho hum! There’s nothing new about that, is there?
5. There is nothing prosaic about the words of Jesus here, nothing boring! He said, “I am the Light of the World! Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
6. Jesus used a physical item to picture a spiritual phenomenon. Both come from the Lord.

I. Light is necessary for life.

1. Light and life go together, don’t they?
2. We are a carbon based lifeform, and so is all life on our planet. We require oxygen to live.
(1) Almost everything requires “free oxygen.” We get it from air, and fish extract it from water.
(2) Anaerobic bacteria get theirs from decaying material that contains oxygen. Other than those bacteria, everything else requires free oxygen.
3. But where does all this oxygen come from? God put it in the universe when He made it. Turn back to Genesis chapter 1 with me.
(1) First, God said, “Let there be light!” v. 3. (The order of creation is important.)
(2) Then He divided the water, the sea, from the sky. v. 7. (Some scientists say all life origingated in the sea).
(3) Next, He gathered the waters and produced dry land. v. 9
(4) Vegetation came next. v.11.
(5) V. 14, Night and day. (We need rest away from light.)
(6) V 20. Birds and fish. (Day 5)
(7) V 24. Warm blooded animals.
(8) V 27. Man.
4. Now what is the significance of this sequence?
(1) First, it fits with scientific observation about all of these things.
(2) Some would call this evolution, but most Christians call it God’s creation!
(3) For anything to live physically, there must be light and “free oxygen.”
(4) Human life requires both solid ground and water to produce a balanced environment.
(5) Plants come next because they utilize the light to release free oxygen.
(6) Sea life and birds come next. They balance the plant output of oxygen with carbon dioxide needed by the plants in photosynthesis.
(6) Warm blooded animals come next because they need all of these things to survive!
5. There is no real problem between science and Christianity unless someone wants to make it a problem.
6. The significance of all of this is wrapped up in Jesus’ declaration, “I am the light of the world!” Nothing lives very long without light!
7. Without the light of Jesus, we don’t live eternally at all.

II. People who have “Light” are never in the dark.

1. Some scientists worry that the sun may go out.
2. Others worry about comets and asteroids striking the earth.
3. Those of us who know Jesus realize we have nothing to fear!
4. When Jesus is our “Light,” we never walk in darkness.
5. That statement has a lot of ramifications.
(1) We can’t see anything at all in total darkness unless we have a light source.
a. Early man discovered that fire produced light. He learned to use a torch to light his path at night.
b. Probably grease spilling from cooking meat taught mankind to luse oil to make lamps and lanterns.
c. Gas lamps were much used in the early days of this country.
d. Edison produced the first economically practical light bulb with a tungsten element in 1879. Cleveland, OH experimented with carbon arc lamp street lighting that same year. The Mercury arc lamp was invented in 1903, and the neon tube in 1911. Much later Mercury and Sodium salts were vaporized to produce the street lights of today.
(2) All of these inventions resulted from things God placed at our disposal in this good earth He provided for us.
a. Mankind saw its first electric arc lights in lightning and our first chemical light in the phosphorescence in nature, lightening bugs and glowworms.
b. We aren’t creators. We are developers and users.
c. God alone creates.
6. We have developed ways to pierce physical darkness with man-made light, but God alone can provide the Way to penetrate spiritual darkness, and He did that.
7. Jesus is that way, and He promises that we will never be “in the dark!”
8. He is our light.

III. We are children of the light and the realm of light awaits us.

1. A description of heaven without light is impossible!
2. God is Light. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
3. Revelation 21:22-27 gives a beautiful description of heaven and the heavenly light. Turn with me there.
4. Jesus is the Light. He is the Door through which we enter the light of God’s presence.
5. When we receive Him, we receive the Light of Life! (John 8:12)

Conclusion:

1. Human beings were created with vast innate abilities.
2. We’ve conquered the night with our man-made lights.
3. We cannot conquer spiritual darkness until we enter the light of Jesus!
4. The light of Jesus contains the warmth of His love for us, and when we are in Him we bask in the glory and warmth of His light.
5. Is He your Lord and Savior? He will be, if you invite Him into your life.

Emmanuel Community Church, 8/7/2005