Sermon Central
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Jesus Is Life And Light
Contributed by Ray Ellis on Dec 22, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: The Apostle John in the fourth Gospel has a lot to say about Jesus being both “Life” and “Light.” John 1:4 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Jesus is Life & Light
Carollyn and I spent Thanksgiving this year with our son Tim and his family in Garden Grove, CA. The day after Thanksgiving we traveled in the evening to Riverside, CA to attend the Festival of Lights. The Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside, CA. has sponsored the Festival of Lights for the past 16 years. 50,000 people gathered to hear the Riverside College band play and witness the turning on of 1 million lights decorating the Mission Inn. After the lights were turned on, awe-inspiring fireworks were fired off from the roof of the Hotel.
It’s amazing that 50,000 people sat waiting for over two hours on steps and roadside curbs to see colorful Christmas lights and fireworks displayed.
Ever since God said, “Let there be light and there was light, we have enjoyed the awe and wonder of various shades of light. We never get tired of every year decorating our tree with lights and lighting up our yards with colorful lights at Christmas. Christmas without lights would not be Christmas.
The Apostle John in the fourth Gospel has a lot to say about Jesus being both “Life” and “Light.” John 1:4 “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Jesus is Life.
Life is a prominent theme in the Gospel of John. John talks about life being lived to the fullest. John wants all who are living in the darkness of sin to join believers and have life; abundant life now and that life is eternal.
The Bible teaches that people can be physically alive, but spiritually dead in trespasses and sin. Many people are alive, but lacking vitality and vibrancy in their life. They live a selfish, ingrown, and jaded life void of passion or significance.
Years ago I saw the movie I-Robot. The robots had movement and took commands to carry out various tasks. Only one robot seemed to have feeling and some understanding of the heart of humanity. In the end Will Smith conquered the evil robots with the help of the good robot. A robot with feeling makes a good movie, but robots lack human feeling.
When you watch a movie like Wall-E you almost get caught up with the idea that robots do have feelings. Man made machines can work wonders, but they have no God-given breath of life. Only human people have the gift of an eternal soul born with free will to choose their destiny.
Jesus die not come as a robot. Jesus stepped out of heaven and became a human person a human person with emotions, feelings, passion and free will. An incarnation would not have been possible with out pre-existence. “In the beginning was the Word/Jesus and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt along us. John 1:1,14
Colossians 1:16-17 NLT – “Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see---kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.”
For my recent birthday my son, Wendel sent me a DVD movie documentary called “Expelled.” Ben Stein traveled the world talking to scientists about Intelligent Design. He documents the fact that the secular scientists community are closed minded toward any view that goes contrary to the theory of Darwin. Many of them testified that after studying the theory of Darwin they rejected any belief in God and believed Darwin’s theory of evolution and selection is actually a fact of science.
According to Darwinism scientists anyone who believes in a Creator God and Intelligent Design is stupid and irrational.
A number of University professors have been let go because they mentioned in their research paper the possibility that Intelligent Design should at least be looked at. Out of curiosity I typed “Darwinism” in Google and the possibility of 2,400,000 articles came up. I typed “Intelligent Design” and 7,890,000 possible articles were available. For the word “Creationism” there were 3,180,000 articles.
Ben Stein asked one well-known Atheist how the universe began and the Atheist said it probably had a beginning as a cell on the back of a crystal or an intelligent alien in space seeded the earth with a beginning cell. This scientist has sold over 1 million books promoting the truth of Darwinism.
The Apostle Paul would reply to Philosophers and Scientists who are closed minded to any other possible truths: “Don’t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world and not from Christ. For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body, and you are complete through your union with Christ. He is the Lord over every ruler and authority in the universe.” Colossians 2:8-10
