John 8:12-20
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. 17 In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. 18 I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” 19 Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.
Jesus’ remark in v12 was specifically suited to the feast of Sukkot; [tabernacles] for, according to the Mishna, at the Temple:
“There were four golden menorahs with four golden bowls at the top of each, and four ladders each leading to a bowl. Four strong young cohanim would climb up with pitchers each holding 9 liters of oil which they would pour into the bowls. From the worn-out drawers and girdles of the cohanim they made wicks, and with them they lit the menorahs; and there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up by the light. Pious men and men of good deeds would dance around [the menorahs] with lit torches in their hands, singing songs and praises, while the Levites played harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets and innumerable other musical instruments ….” (Sukkah 5:2–4)
The Gemara on this passage says the menorahs were 75 feet high (Sukkah 52b). Thus, the water-drawing festival was accompanied by bright lights and dancing—for Sukkot is specifically a festival of rejoicing. Now Jesus uses the fact that the feast is accompanied by a blaze of light to announce, “I am the light of the world.
1 No More Bruised Shins
I hate turning off the lights in the school at the end of the evening service. Why? Because the light switches are in such an inaccessible place, I have to stumble around in the dark trying to find them.
What about those pull strings in the old farmhouses? Did you ever see somebody trying to find the string in the dark? It’s quite a strange sight.
What about us? We wave our hands about; we carry on in some strange and unusual ways in worship. Why? We’re looking for the light switch, and we are saying to people, "Bear with us, because if we can find that switch and turn on that light of the glory and presence of God, nothing will ever be the same around here!"
Isaiah 60:1-3
1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Our job is to turn on the light - to beg God to send his awesome presence and to transform us and our community
Jesus’ I AM statement was related to the Feast of Tabernacles, during which the huge menorah were lighted in the temple at night to remind the people of the pillar of fire that had guided Israel in their wilderness journey. In fact, John has combined three “wilderness images”: the manna (John 6), the water from the rock (John 7), and the pillar of fire (John 8).
To “follow” the Lord Jesus means to believe on Him, to trust Him; and the results are life and light for the believer. The unsaved are walking in darkness because they love darkness (John 3:17ff). One of the major messages in this Gospel is that the spiritual light is now shining, but people cannot comprehend it—and they try to put it out (John 1:4–5).
2 The People In Darkness Have Seen A Great Light
When someone is prepared to pay the price, to do what needs to be done to open the windows of heaven (humble, repentant worship), the light gets switched on and the floodlight of the presence of God shines over the landscape of lost, broken and hurting people.
Isaiah 9:2
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
The manifest presence of God affects those outside the church - it is the ultimate form of spiritual warfare. What we call spiritual warfare is often nothing more than a group of boys playing the playground and threatening to call their Dad. Satan’s chief weapon is fear because fear nullifies faith and faith is the only way to please God. So, if we are afraid of satan, he will sense it - perfect love casts out fear: stand on the basis of the relationship we have with the Father
3 God’s Presence Disarms The Forces Of Darkness
The reason that we should desire an open heaven and be desperate for the manifest presence of god is that this is the ultimate way in which the demonic forces over areas, regions and places lose their ability to influence people. When God’s manifest presence is revealed, the demons simply flee before it.
4 The World Doesn’t Fear Him Because The Church Doesn’t Fear Him
The world does not respect God because the church does not respect him, as it should. We talk about power that we have not experienced and which some of us never want to experience. Just an experience of electricity will leave you with a different perspective on electricity forever, so an encounter with the manifest presence of god will leave you with a different perspective of the power of God forever.
Isaiah 59:19 (KJ)
19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
Isaiah 59:19 (NIV)
19 From the west, men will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the LORD drives along.
5 Revival: The Invasion Of Satan’s Kingdom
What we call "revival" is the total invasion and overthrow of the kingdom of darkness by the light of God’s presence. We sometimes do a lot of binding - like a bunch of frightened schoolchildren in a enclosed space with a mean dog; we bind the demons, the weather, bind the neighbors noise, bind the neighbor himself - forget to loose the power of God into the situation. If we only bind and don’t loose things in the name of Jesus, we just tie everything up in knots.
Matthew 16:18
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
What Jesus meant when he said this is that satan does not even have the keys to his own house.
6 The "Great Conflict In Heaven"
There was no great conflict in heaven - when Lucifer’s thought ("I could be equal to God if I wanted to be" - temptation) switched over into an intention ("I will ascend to the place of equality with God"), at that very moment, he fell.
7 I Have Heard About The Speed Of Light, But What About The Speed Of Dark?
There was no great battle in heaven with the forces of good lined up against the forces of darkness and a great cosmic battle that lasted for however many years. As soon as satan decided in his mind that he would take on God, his time in heaven was over. Fell from the first heaven into the second heaven.
We all know that light travels fast. But, there is something that moves even faster than light: it is darkness. When you switch on a light in the midst of pitch darkness, there is no conflict between the light and the darkness; the darkness simply flees before the light. Satan has no authority here on earth anymore, Jesus overpowered and dispossessed him - he lives her as a squatter, living in the dark places, surviving on deception and fear. His time is limited, and he knows it. He pretends that his influence is extensive, but it is paper-thin. If you tear the paper and open it to the light, hungry, desperate people will come to the light. Our job? It is to turn on the light. How do we do it? Humble, repentant, desperate worship.
8 The Glory Of God And Human Flesh
Whenever the glory of God comes in, people fall under his presence - the kabod, the weighty presence of the God. Whenever people encountered the glory of God they were convinced that they were going to die. The reformers used to say that as Christians we are simul iustus and peccator: both justified and sinner at the same time. We are not perfect, but living under the mantle of God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness. What we are learning as we go is that repentant, broken-hearted worship true worship in spirit and in truth heightens the rich aroma of an acceptable sacrifice to God and it is this that draws the presence of God to lie with us and not just visit from time-to-time. When his glory finally comes, we will become spinning, dancing fools before him. There is no more effective tool for spiritual warfare than to usher in his manifest presence. Allow him to rebuild his favorite house in our presence and refuse to be satisfied with anything less than that. Persist in your passionate pursuit of his presence and allow him to sit in the mercy seat that you have built for him through your love and adoration. Stand in the weeping zone between the holy God and the sinful, rebellious hurting people and join them together. Turn on the light of his presence and demonic forces will be instantly decimated and routed, the captives will be set free. Create a DFZ, a "demon-free zone". Pray, worship, pursue him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and do not give up until the windows of heaven are opened over this church, this suburb and this city. Worship him until the light of his glory shines
