Sermon Central
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Take A Good Look At The Lord - Part 2
Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jun 12, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: I. When we turn our eyes on Jesus, we will see His light (vs. 4-9). 1. our strong light. 2. our shining light. 3. our shared light. 4. our sure light. II. When we turn our eyes on Jesus, we will see His love (vs. 10-11). 1. in His coming. 2. in His cross.
Take a Good Look at the Lord - Part 2
Series: The Gospel of John
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - March 23, 2016
(Revised June 12, 2019)
BACKGROUND:
*Last week, we started a verse by verse study of the Gospel of John. And in vs. 1-4, we saw four vital truths about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
-The Lord had a big role in creation.
-The Lord is the revelation of God.
-The Lord has a unique relationship with God the Father.
-And the Lord is the root of all life.
*Tonight in vs. 4-11, God's Word show us much more about the Lord's life and His love. So please open your Bibles to John 1, and we will begin reading in vs. 4.
MESSAGE:
*One of our favorite hymns begins with a question: "O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace." (1)
*Nothing helps us more in our Christian walk than turning our eyes upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That's why I mentioned Isaiah 26:3 last week. There Isaiah declared to the Lord: "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."
I. LET'S TURN OUR EYES ON JESUS TONIGHT. -- AND THE FIRST THING WE WILL SEE IS HIS LIGHT.
*God wants all of us to have His miraculous, Heaven-sent light, and it comes to us through Jesus Christ. Later in John 8:12, Jesus will proclaim to us: "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.''
1. SO WHAT KIND OF LIGHT IS JESUS? -- IN TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE, HE IS OUR STRONG LIGHT.
*I say that, because the Lord's light flows out of His life. As vs. 4 says: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." In Jesus was life that no one could ever take away! Oh yes, Jesus gave it away for us one time. But He never had to do that, and He never has to do it again!
*There is no light stronger than the light of Jesus Christ! And we need a strong light, because there is an awful lot of darkness in this world. John mentioned the darkness in vs. 5, when he said: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
*"Darkness." That word represents the devil and all of his forces, plus all of the darkness in the heart of man. It is talking about all the spiritual darkness in the world today, all of the ignorance, unbelief, rebellion, hatred, murder, deceit and more.
*The darkness is always trying to conquer the light. You see, "comprehend" in vs. 5 isn't used the way we ordinarily use it. Here "comprehend" means trying to grab hold of something to possess it, so, a weak light just won't do. When it comes to spiritual darkness, a weak light will never get the job done.
*I keep this little flashlight in my office, and it's pretty much worthless. Last week Toby and Nicole brought some other flashlights into my office. At first, I thought they were carrying umbrellas! Those things were so bright you could almost use them to land an airplane. But thank God! Jesus Christ is the strongest light in the universe! In vs. 5, the light of Jesus Christ is strong enough to penetrate the darkness, and strong enough to prevail over the darkness!
2. JESUS IS OUR STRONG LIGHT, AND HE IS OUR SHINING LIGHT.
*The first part of vs. 5 says, "The light shines in the darkness," and that's what Jesus does. So, how does He do it? God's Word gives us a lot of insight in 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. There the Apostle Paul said:
3. . . Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4. whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
5. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
*In other words: The devil darkens hearts, but the servants of God share the truth, and the Savior shines. He shines in our hearts for salvation, and that's when our hearts can see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
