If you remember, last Sunday morning I spoke to you about how God described Himself as the I AM and what all that means to us today. It’s good to know that God is, that He does not change, and that He can be everything we need Him to be. Well, tonight I want to begin a series that will span over the next 4 or 5 weeks that focuses, again, on those two words, I AM. But now we’re going to be looking at the words of Jesus that can be found in the book of John.
Throughout this Gospel we hear Jesus giving us insight to who He is and what He’s about. Several times we hear Him say, “I AM…” For instance, in John 6:35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” In chapter 10:9 He says, “I am the door.” John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Several other times Jesus tells us who He is. And each of those images that He offers gives us a glimpse into His character. Tonight we are going to look at the description that Jesus gives of Himself in John 8:12. Jesus says “I am the light of the world.”
Back in the days before electricity, a tightfisted old farmer was taking one of his hired hands to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his girlfriend. “Why,” he exclaimed, “when I went a-courtin’ I never carried one of them things, I always went in the dark.” “Yeah,” the man said,” but look at the wife you ended up with!”
Can you imagine a world without light? Can you imagine who you would have ended up marrying if you had to choose them in the dark? Pretty scary idea, isn’t it? By the looks of who you’re sitting by, I think some of you did choose your mate in the dark. Light is essential to so many activities that we take part in. It’s impossible to do much work in the dark. It’s difficult to do anything in the dark for that matter. Can you picture yourself playing baseball or golf in pitch black? What about reading? Think you could do that in the dark? Would you want to hammer a nail in the dark or cut some trim, Jeff? Light is so important to pretty much everything that we involve ourselves in.
In fact, light is not only essential to our ability to participate in activity, but it is essential to our survival. Every living thing upon earth depends upon light. If you deprive a plant of light long enough it will wither and die. If you deprive an animal of light long enough it will cause it to become confused as well as physically and mentally weakened. Deprive a person of light long enough and it can cause disorientation and depression. Light is essential to life.
Today we are living in a world of extreme spiritual darkness. Immorality, drugs and alcohol, suicide, abortion, hatred, and deceit permeate our society. Over the past 30 years violent crime has risen over 500%; illegitimate births have increased over 400%, especially among teens; divorce rates have quadrupled and the single parent home has become the norm; and there has been a 200% increase in teen suicides. Our culture has become a culture that is openly hostile towards Christian values. It has become a place adamantly opposed to God. We live in spiritually dark times in our world.
But I believe that it was to us that Jesus is saying, “I am the light of the world.” I believe that we can take encouragement from the verse in Is. 9:2 that says “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” I believe there is hope because Jesus is the light that can make a difference in the spiritual darkness of today.
I want us to take some time, this evening, talking about what Jesus is saying when He calls Himself the light of the world. And I think we can simply study what effect physical light has on the areas that it touches and gain some spiritual lessons from that. What does light do?
I. Light Reveals The Need- John 3:19
First of all, one thing that light always does is reveal the need. A couple of weeks ago a few of us were over in the parsonage doing some work. Cora and Mary and I were upstairs doing some painting. Jeff had been doing some work where I was going to be painting that had required us to shut off the electricity in that room, so we just had the daylight to work with up there. As time went on and we were working away, eventually the sun went down and I was trying to paint that room in the dark. Well, I did as much as I could and then moved on to the hallway where we had some light to work with. We packed up that night and the next morning I walked over there to see how everything was looking.
Well, needless to say, my paint job was lacking a bit. You could really tell where I had been able to see my work and where it had started getting too dark to see in order to cover everything. It had looked pretty good in the dark the night before, but that morning the light was shone on how well I really did. It revealed the need.
Ever mowed the lawn in the dark? You think you did pretty good when you put your mower back in the garage, but when you walk out to your car the next morning you see all the spots you missed. Ever chosen your outfit for the day in the dark? You feel pretty good about yourself until you walk into the light and realize that you have two different color socks on and your jacket doesn’t match your pants. You see, light has that effect. Problems that you would never see in the dark show up clearly when light is shone upon them.
The same is true spiritually. Sometimes we feel like we’re doing fine until Jesus shines His light upon us. Then the light lets us know what the truth is. And we see all the flaws and the sin and the issues that need to be taken care of. We thought we were fine before we got saved until Jesus shone His light upon us, until He showed us the truth of His law. It’s like Paul said in Rom. 7:7 “I had not known sin except for the law.” “If the law of God hadn’t said, “Thou shalt not covet,” I never would have known that it was wrong to lust.” In other words we thought there was nothing to worry about until we came in contact with the truth of the law. Then we realized that we were sinners on our way to hell and we were in need of His grace and forgiveness. He revealed to us our sin.
That’s why it seems like some people want to live in spiritual darkness. They don’t want to be confronted with their sin. They would rather walk in blissful ignorance than have to face their need. And Satan uses that to his advantage. 2 Cor. 4:4 says that he has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, “lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should shine on them.” The more people he can keep in the dark the less he’s going to have to deal with them coming face to face with their need and finding that Jesus is the answer to their need. But Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. I will shine my light upon your need.” He reveals the need.
But He doesn’t just shine His light on our sin problem, His light reveals the needs of His children as well. You see, sometimes as Christians we are doing our best to serve God, but there may be something that we are doing that isn’t pleasing to God or that is proving to be a hindrance to us or is becoming a stumbling block to someone else, and we don’t even know it. That’s why David prayed “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” He realized that only God was able to see every need that he had and He would be faithful to reveal that need to him.
You know, one thing a lot of Christians struggle with sometimes is the feeling of doubt in their walk with the Lord. They really don’t know where they stand with God. Am I still a Christian? I don’t really know where I’m at spiritually. Sometimes that is because they have slipped away from God. Sometimes it’s because Satan is fighting them and putting those doubts in their mind because they aren’t feeling all of the right emotions. But regardless of why it is, it’s always so good to know that God will be faithful to shine His light upon those that are sincerely longing to be what He wants them to be. He will always be faithful to reveal your need. He was faithful to David when he prayed that prayer. He’ll be faithful to you.
So whether it’s sin or just an area of needed growth or change, Jesus is the light. He will reveal the need.
II. Light Scatters The Fear- John 14:27
Secondly, this evening, light scatters the fear. 5-year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn’t want to go in alone. "It’s dark in there and I’m scared." She asked again, and he persisted. Finally she said, "It’s OK--Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said: "Jesus, if you’re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?"
Let me ask a question… Is anyone here afraid of the dark? Be honest. I’ve probably told you this before, but I’ll tell you again because it fits. When I was in college I worked a couple years as a campus guard to help pay my bill. One or two nights a week I would start at 6:00 pm and was supposed to work till 3:00 am. To be honest I rarely made it till 3. But each night I was on duty I was to patrol the campus making sure that the students were where they were supposed to be, making sure that there was no trouble to the residents who lived there, and making sure that all the buildings were locked up. I usually didn’t get things locked up until somewhere between 10-12. And it was dark.
The place I remember the most was the big tabernacle. Each night I would have to go around to all the doors in this tabernacle to make sure they were locked up. It was huge. And it was dark. Outside the building there were very few lights and it got very spooky with all the bushes and low hanging palm trees. Inside was even worse. There were so many shadows and so many pews that I could picture a bad guy hiding in until I got close then he would jump out and grab me. It was creepy. So most of the time I found myself literally running from door to door with my heavy duty flashlight ready to pop any villain on the head. I feel pretty secure in my manhood, but I don’t like the dark. I don’t even like walking downstairs with the lights out. In fact, I didn’t leave the church till about midnight last night and it was pretty spooky then too. I don’t like the dark. The dark is scary.
But you know, when Jesus says, “I am the light,” I believe He
is saying, “I can be the one to scatter all your fear.” Let me read you
a story found in Matt. 14…
And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Imagine the fear these disciples were facing that night. Here it was very dark and stormy. And all of the sudden what appears to them to be a spirit comes wandering across the waves. They were probably already worried a little bit with the storm, but to see a spirit really freaked them out. And they cried out for fear. But Jesus says, “Hey, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” And by the time it was all said and done Jesus had climbed in the boat with them and had calmed the storm. Jesus, the Light of the world, had scattered all of their fear.
He can do the same in your life. He may not necessarily calm all the storms of your life, but He can certainly calm you during your storms. David said “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” When Satan would have you worry and fret, Jesus will shine His light upon you and help you realize you don’t have to fear. He can scatter all your fears.
III. Light Shows The Way- John 12:35
Very quickly, this evening, light shows us the way. Have you ever tried to find your way from your bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night? You get out of bed stumbling your way through the maze you call a bedroom. Your hands are out in front of you. Your eyes are trying to adjust. But before you know it, bam, your toe hits the corner of the leg on your bed. It’s in those times that holiness is put to the test. All the bad words you’ve ever heard somehow find their way to your mind. You’re tempted to hall off and hit the bed or kick it again, not that that would make things any better. So you have to calm yourself down and limp your way to the bathroom. Then you bang your head on the doorpost. It’s not easy finding your way around in the dark. In fact, it’s down right dangerous.
But when you have light it’s so much easier to find your way. When you have light most of the time you won’t stub your toe, most of the time you won’t run into the doorpost. Because you can see where you’re going. Your pathway is clear.
In John 12:35 Jesus says, “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not where he goes.” When Jesus says “I am the light of the world,” it means that He can show you the way to go. He can direct your paths. Ps. 43:3 says “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me.” Ps. 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Do you need direction today? Are you in need of guidance? Some of us find it so easy to try to find our own way in life. We know what we want to do. We have our ideas of how our life should go. But so often making our own pathway ends up being like walking through our bedroom in the pitch black of night. But I’m so glad that we can trust in Jesus to light our pathway and show us the way that we need to go. He lights our path to heaven. He lights our pathway to His will. If we would just be willing to trust in Him for His direction He will be faithful to lead us. Sometimes we may not be able to see the pathway ourselves, but we know that if our hand is in His hand we have nothing to worry about.
I like the story of the grandfather who took his little grandson for a walk in the woods. As they were walking along they stopped for a moment and the grandfather asked, "Do you know where we are?" The little boy said, "No!" The grandfather asked, "Do you know where we’re going?" And the little boy again said, "No!" The grandfather chuckled and said, "Well, I guess you’re lost then." The boy looked up at his grandfather and said, "No, I’m not lost. I’m with you."
Someone once wrote, “I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than a light and safer than a known way."
This evening, Jesus can light your pathway. And when He is your light you need not worry about stumbling or stubbing your toe or losing your way. As long as you are trusting in Him and walking in the light that He has already given you, you can depend upon Him to continue to show you the way. He will be your Guide.
He is the Light of the World. That means He will reveal your need, He will scatter your fear, and He will show you the way.
