1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,760 Thank you, Dave. The wonder of Christmas is that God himself invaded our world when that 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:12,160 baby was born in Bethlehem. I invite you to open your Bible with me this morning to the 3 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:20,800 Gospel of John in the first chapter where we're going to study once more John's inspired 4 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:30,440 perspective of what happened when the Son of God came into the world. I'm going to pick 5 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:38,240 up the reading in verse 4 of John 1 where it says, in him that is in the Word that he 6 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:46,080 has just described for us in the first three verses, in him was life. And that life was 7 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:54,360 the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood 8 00:00:54,360 --> 00:01:03,800 it or perhaps better, the darkness has not overtaken it. Down to verse 9 where it says, 9 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:11,520 the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. Father, I pray 10 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:18,360 this morning as we explore this theme of the light of the world, who is our Lord Jesus, 11 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:26,720 your Son, that our hearts will be illuminated and that being illuminated by His grace, His 12 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:33,600 love, our lights may then shine to others that we may reflect His grace, His love, to 13 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:41,760 the dark world around us. And I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Unlike some relatives, 14 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:47,880 our Heavenly Father knows what we need for Christmas. John explores that idea here in 15 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:53,640 the very first chapter, the seed plot really of the whole Gospel, where he lays before us 16 00:01:53,640 --> 00:02:00,520 words and ideas in the first 18 verses that he then unwraps through the rest of the Gospel 17 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:08,120 of John. He tells us that we are ignorant of God, and so we need the truth. He tells 18 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:16,560 us that God sent the truth in the person of the Word, His Son. John explains that we 19 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:23,080 are guilty, what we need is forgiveness, and therefore God sent the Lamb to remove our 20 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:30,800 sins. We are spiritually dead. What we need is spiritual life, and so we receive that 21 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:37,360 spiritual life when we receive God's Son. And then what I want to talk about this morning 22 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:45,160 is the fact that we are blind, spiritually blind. We need light that we might see, and 23 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:52,000 God has given us that light. Blindness is the lack of vision that can be caused from 24 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:58,000 the absence of light, whether one lacks the physical facility to receive that light because 25 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:06,040 of malformation or disease, or there is lack of sufficient light where one is situated, 26 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:12,440 such as in a room or a cave where there is no light. In either case, one is incapable 27 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:21,040 of seeing because of the absence of light. The Bible says, there is no fear of God before 28 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:29,560 the eyes of the wicked, for in His own eyes He flatters Himself too much to detect or 29 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:38,320 hate His sin. The Psalmist is saying there that the wicked is smug. He's proud. He feels 30 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:48,040 no accountability to anyone except Himself, and so He is blind to His own sin. But God 31 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:57,040 desires to save the wicked from His own ignorance. His self-imposed blindness. And so He sends 32 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:05,800 the Word, John tells us, who is the light? In verse 4 we see that in Him the Word was 33 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:19,800 life, life. That life was lived out. It was, to use Dave's word earlier, incarnated. That 34 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:29,040 life became one of us. Jesus Himself said in John 5 verse 26, which is a very key verse 35 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:38,480 in the Gospel of John, as the Father has life in Himself. So He has granted the Son to have 36 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:50,360 life in Himself. What Jesus is saying here is that He and the Father share the same life. 37 00:04:50,360 --> 00:05:00,600 That life is not like the life you and I have. The life of God is a self-existent life. It 38 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:10,840 needs nothing beside itself to sustain itself. The Father and the Son have self-existent 39 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:19,680 life. And because of that, God is the source of all life. He is the Creator. He is the 40 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:28,880 Word, as John explains here, by whom all things were made. The life that you and I have is 41 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:39,160 a life that is derived from God. He is the source of our life. He Himself, however, is 42 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:47,240 the life. Now this word, life, that John introduces here is a favorite of His in this Gospel. 43 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:54,440 In fact, He uses it some 36 times more than any other writer in the New Testament. He 44 00:05:54,440 --> 00:06:01,960 records Jesus as saying, I am the bread of what? Jesus said, I am the resurrection and 45 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:11,880 the, He said, I am the way, the truth and the right. Of His sheep, Jesus said, I give 46 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:19,640 them eternal life and they shall never perish. And speaking to the Samaritan woman, He offered 47 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:29,880 her water that springs up, or literally He says, that gushes to eternal life. That life 48 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:39,160 was lived out in this world, the self-existent life of God. It was lived out in the words, 49 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:48,080 in the character and the deeds of Jesus. He brought life to our world and in living that 50 00:06:48,080 --> 00:06:58,120 life, John goes on to say, He brought us light, another key word in His Gospel. John contrasts 51 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:06,040 light and darkness as he writes these words and also in the epistles that he writes. Through 52 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:15,600 his works, his words, Jesus brought light to our world, our dark world. Jesus brings 53 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:23,000 light to our world so that you and I can see. Now, I'd like for us to explore that idea 54 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:31,120 in the context of what John writes here in this chapter. What our world exhibits is darkness. 55 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:41,120 That's the world we live in, darkness. The light shines, he says, in the what? The darkness. 56 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:47,040 This is the first time that he uses the word darkness in his Gospel in a sharp contrast 57 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:52,200 here to the light, as you can see. What is this darkness he talks about? The light, that 58 00:07:52,200 --> 00:08:01,880 is, the life that Jesus lived, which brought light. That light shines in the darkness. 59 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:07,640 The darkness that he's talking about is not physical darkness, it is moral and spiritual 60 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:17,960 darkness. It is the absence of the life of God in our world that creates the twistedness 61 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:27,760 of humanity, the deformity or the evil that is called the darkness of our world. If you 62 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:36,480 take God out of a culture, darkness is the result. You take God out of a home, out of 63 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:46,320 a marriage, darkness is the result. A mind or a soul without God is a dark soul. Why 64 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:53,040 is that? Because the Bible says that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 65 00:08:53,040 --> 00:09:02,240 Where God is, there is light. Where he is absent, there is darkness. Now while people 66 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:09,720 in our world are capable of much good, and we see that very often in the generosity of 67 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:20,000 people, in the charity of people, nonetheless there is an evil principle that is at work 68 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:27,400 within the heart of every man. That is, behind the goodness, which by the way is a residue 69 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:35,760 of the image of God in us, behind the relative goodness of human beings, there is an inner 70 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:46,880 core of evil. That is why our world is so dark. The Bible says this is the verdict. 71 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:53,600 That is, this is the conclusion. Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness 72 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:59,480 instead of light because their deeds were what? Evil, as it says on the screen. Everyone, 73 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:06,640 he says, who does evil, hates the light and will not come to the light for fear that his 74 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:14,480 evil deeds will be exposed. You and I live in a world that is dark. Why is there such 75 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:22,480 violence and greed in our world? Why is there racism and oppression? It is because of the 76 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:31,960 darkness that exists in our world due to the evil that is in the heart of human beings. 77 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:39,080 Missionary Bruce Seider wrote this week about Spain. He tells us in his letter that only 78 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:47,200 one in 1,000 Spaniards is a believer. That is, fewer by percentage than believers in 79 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:54,320 Japan, notorious for being one of the most difficult places in the world for missionaries. 80 00:10:54,320 --> 00:11:01,680 He tells us that in Spain, a church of a hundred people would be considered a megachurch. 81 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:08,520 Think of that. He says that in the nation of Spain, there are 7,000 cities and villages 82 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:18,240 that have absolutely no biblical witness. It is a dark nation. He goes on to say, the 83 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:24,480 country continues to live in the brilliant light of El Sol, that is the sun. It's a sunny 84 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:34,320 nation, while being in one of the deepest dark nights of the soul on earth. That's Spain. 85 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:40,600 You and I think of countries where communism has prevailed in the last half a century as 86 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:48,440 being dark. Consider the fact that in China, in China, still a communist government, it 87 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:57,080 is estimated that 10% of the people are Christians. Compare that to Spain, where there's one 88 00:11:57,080 --> 00:12:03,720 in the thousand. I wonder how many there are here in the Bay Area. I would suggest to you 89 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:09,840 that there are fewer percentage-wise in the Bay Area than in China, who are followers 90 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:20,320 of Jesus Christ. You and I live in a morally and spiritually dark area. We ask ourselves, 91 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:27,560 why are there wars? Why are there injustices? Why do the rich get richer and the poor get 92 00:12:27,560 --> 00:12:36,920 poorer? Why do women and children become the victims of violence? Why is it that liars 93 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:43,960 and greedy people and the arrogant seem to succeed and even gain political power in our 94 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:49,040 world? We could go on and talk about many more of the realities that you and I face 95 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:55,400 every day and we hear about on the news and we see in the world around us. Where does 96 00:12:55,400 --> 00:13:03,080 this come from? It comes from the darkness of our world. That's the reality of our world. 97 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:13,360 The innate moral darkness that is in the human being is enforced too, environmentally, by 98 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:21,800 the dark powers that are at work in the spiritual order. There are fallen beings in the angelic 99 00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:30,920 order that are called demons. The Bible speaks about the powers of this dark world. It's 100 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:37,600 not talking about the political powers there in that context of Ephesians 6. It's talking 101 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:48,480 about the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms that is in the invisible realms, 102 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:55,040 the angelic realms. You see, there is a… We live in a dark world. It is dark because 103 00:13:55,040 --> 00:14:02,160 of the absence of God's light in people. Though people are relatively good, there is 104 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:11,000 a moral evil that every man must deal with. And in addition to that, there is this governing 105 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:19,720 principle in the system of the world. That is satanic, which the Bible calls the powers 106 00:14:19,720 --> 00:14:27,840 of this dark world. There is this supernatural influence upon the darkness of humanity that 107 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:36,540 deepens the night and exerts influence to enslave people, to corruption, and to wickedness. 108 00:14:36,540 --> 00:14:42,760 Satan is at work in our world. As it says in the book of Job, he roams through the 109 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:50,920 earth, going back and forth in it, in order to organize and enforce darkness upon human 110 00:14:50,920 --> 00:15:02,720 beings. He is the Darth Vader figure of the dark empire of demonic powers. All of the 111 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:09,600 evil in our dark world can be traced to the condition of the human heart, apart from God. 112 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:15,240 That is coupled with the influence of satanic principles that he is enforcing through evil 113 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:24,200 spirits. Our world exhibits the darkness of being in rebellion against God. 114 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:37,640 Now, what does John say? The light shines in the darkness. That brings me to my next 115 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:43,840 point, is what the world has experienced, and that is illumination, because John does 116 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:52,360 say that in this darkness, the light shines. He goes on to say in verse 6, there came a 117 00:15:52,360 --> 00:16:00,960 man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning 118 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:11,160 that light so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light. He 119 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:19,880 came only as a witness to the light. And so he introduces to us John the baptizer, who 120 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:27,760 was the announcer and the forerunner of the light as prophesied by Isaiah the prophet. 121 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:33,200 But he makes it clear that John was not the light. He was the witness to the light. He 122 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:42,960 says the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. That light 123 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:49,600 is Jesus himself. Now, John introduces this theme here, but then he quotes Jesus in the 124 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:59,160 eighth chapter and the twelfth verse is saying, I am the what? The light of the world. He 125 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:05,840 says, this is Jesus. The one who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the 126 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:18,600 light of life. Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Now, understand that's more than 127 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:31,160 just a figure of speech. He is literally incarnated light. The brilliance of God's person which 128 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:42,440 no one can look at. The brilliance, the glory of who God is, dwelled in the body and the 129 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:53,760 person of Jesus. He said, I am the light of the world. It's a truth. A number of years 130 00:17:53,760 --> 00:18:01,880 ago I met a young lady who at the time I knew her was the mother of several small children. 131 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,960 She and her husband had lived a rough life though before their family came. They had 132 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:13,440 both been involved in drugs and other kinds of substance abuse. She recounted to me a 133 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:25,400 story when after years of drug abuse she was completely depressed. Darkness had come into 134 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:34,640 her soul and by the way the use of substances like that, of drug abuse, opens the soul up 135 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:42,400 to satanic influence. Did you know that? She said that she had gotten to a point where 136 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:52,080 her world was just small and dark and she sat down in a room and wanted to die. She 137 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:59,720 could hear voices telling her to kill herself and end it all. In addition to the voices 138 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:06,560 that she heard, she could hear as it were like dogs that were barking at her in her 139 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:14,680 ears. There was this sound, there was this noise that was driving her crazy. But somewhere 140 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:24,680 in her past she had heard about Jesus years before this but had rejected the message. 141 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:32,240 God gave her grace in that moment to cry out to Jesus. And as she was overwhelmed by this 142 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:39,920 darkness and the noise and the voices telling her to kill herself, she simply cried out, 143 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:46,480 Jesus help me. And she said at that moment there was light that flashed into the room 144 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:53,120 like lightning flashed. And the darkness was immediately dispelled and all the voices 145 00:19:53,120 --> 00:20:02,040 were silenced. And the light filled her heart and she at that moment had hope that she could 146 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:10,320 find forgiveness in life and came to faith in Jesus Christ. I want to tell you when Jesus 147 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:17,320 says I am the light of the world, he means that literally. At his birth brilliant light 148 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:26,600 came into this dark world. It was like the sun rising after a very black night. Isaiah 149 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:32,400 writes about this in the eighth and ninth chapters of his book. In the eighth chapter 150 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:41,720 he warns that the Assyrian army is going to invade the country of his people. Isaiah 151 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:46,800 warns that they are going to come into the north part of the country that we call Galilee 152 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:52,720 and they called Galilee. And would surround Jerusalem although it would not take the southern 153 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:58,920 kingdom of Judah, eventually Assyria would take away captive the people of the northern 154 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:09,760 kingdom called Israel. And he says that they would be thrust into utter gloom. Nevertheless 155 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:19,680 Isaiah says, there will be no more gloom for those who are in distress. In the past God 156 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:27,600 humbled the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, that's that same area up there called the 157 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:34,880 Jezreel Valley, the area of Galilee. He says God humbled that area but in the future he 158 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:41,920 will honor Galilee of the Gentiles by the way of the sea along the Jordan. The people 159 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:47,760 walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow 160 00:21:47,760 --> 00:21:55,080 of death of deepest darkness literally it says, a light has dawned. And then in verse 161 00:21:55,080 --> 00:22:02,520 nine, excuse me, verse six he goes on to say, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son 162 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:09,880 is given and he gives that marvelous messianic prophecy. What is Isaiah saying? He's saying 163 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:16,080 that in the darkness of this world and specifically there the darkness of Galilee, the light would 164 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:24,920 come. Where did Jesus have his ministry? Where were his headquarters? In Galilee, Capernaum, 165 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:31,800 along the Jordan River. He was born in Nazareth which is in the hill right beside the Jezreel 166 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:41,080 Valley, the land of Zebulun, Naphtali, Galilee, that's where the light came. The world has 167 00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:49,760 been illumined. Jesus demonstrated the power of the light that he had in himself by restoring 168 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:54,840 the sight of a man. After saying in chapter eight of John, I am the light of the world. 169 00:22:54,840 --> 00:23:03,680 In chapter nine, Jesus encounters a man who was born blind. He'd been blind from birth. 170 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:09,880 And Jesus instructs him to go and to wash the clay that he had put in his eyes out at 171 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:20,000 the pool of Siloam. And the man did that and he could see for the first time in his life. 172 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,320 And the Jewish leaders were very upset about this. Do you know why? Because he did this 173 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:33,600 on Saturday. He did it on the Sabbath. They called the man in. They questioned him. They 174 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:40,680 examined him. Who is this that healed you on the Sabbath? They were concerned that he could 175 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:49,120 see, having been blind from birth. Who healed you, they said. They questioned him a second 176 00:23:49,120 --> 00:23:56,360 time. They said, this man who did this to you is a sinner. He said, you know, whether 177 00:23:56,360 --> 00:24:02,440 he's a sinner or not, I don't know. But this I know once I was blind. But now I can see. 178 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:06,800 He said, I've got light now that I didn't have before. You see, when Jesus said, I am 179 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:12,080 the light of the world, he fulfilled that. And by the way, that he would bring light 180 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:18,680 to the blind is a part of the prophecy of the Old Testament. Isaiah 29.18 says that in 181 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:24,400 that day, that is the time of Jesus, out of gloom and darkness, the eyes of the blind 182 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:30,360 will see. He goes on to say in Isaiah 35, then the eyes of the blind will be opened 183 00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:37,840 and the ears of the deaf unstopped. These are messianic days of the Messiah. God says 184 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:44,280 in Isaiah 42, I the Lord have called you in righteousness. I will hold you, hold, take 185 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:48,960 hold of your hand, rather. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the 186 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:56,120 people and a light for the Gentiles to open the eyes that are blind to free the captives 187 00:24:56,120 --> 00:25:03,280 from prison. So when Jesus healed the blind man, he was making the statement that he is 188 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:10,520 the Messiah. He is the one who was sent by God into the world to illuminate. And I love 189 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:21,280 the way John puts this, the light shines in the darkness. Not that it once shone, it 190 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:30,040 shines now. And it's still shining today, shining through his people. For although Jesus 191 00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:36,320 is in heaven, he shines through you and me who are followers of his. As Paul says in 192 00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:44,320 Ephesians chapter five, for you talking to us now, he says, for you were once darkness, 193 00:25:44,320 --> 00:25:51,480 but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light for the fruit of the light 194 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:56,320 consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. That's how we're to live. And find 195 00:25:56,320 --> 00:26:01,720 out what pleases the Lord, have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but 196 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:09,640 rather expose them for it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 197 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:15,400 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible for it is light that makes everything 198 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:23,480 visible. Light has a lot of purposes, but among them it is to make things visible. When 199 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:30,640 you and I live for Jesus in this darkened world, his light shines through us. How does 200 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:41,320 the world respond? The same way that it responded to Jesus by rejection. And that's the third 201 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:48,360 blank in your notes. The world responds by rejection. We had a beautiful solo that said, 202 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:53,120 welcome to our world. And we say that with all of our hearts, but that is not what the 203 00:26:53,120 --> 00:27:02,200 world says. The world didn't say it 2000 years ago and it doesn't say it today. John says 204 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:10,440 the world did not recognize him. He came to his own. His own did not receive him. As we 205 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:19,120 read in John chapter five, John chapter three, everyone who does evil hates the light. You 206 00:27:19,120 --> 00:27:25,640 see, darkness does not want to be exposed. It resists the light. It hates the light. 207 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:33,000 It rejects the light. Whatever makes its character evident is not welcome. That's why all of 208 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:44,400 us when we sin have the first inclination to hide or to cover up our sin. John chapter 209 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:51,520 nine and verse 39 says, Jesus said, for judgment I have come into this world so that the blind 210 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:57,360 will see and those who will see, who see rather will become blind. What is Jesus saying in 211 00:27:57,360 --> 00:28:04,440 those cryptic words? He says, well, I came so the blind will see. He healed a blind man, 212 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:09,120 that very chapter. But it also means that those who are spiritually blind may have their 213 00:28:09,120 --> 00:28:17,400 eyes opened to the truth, but those who think they see the self-righteous and proud religious 214 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:23,560 leaders of his day and those who in our day think that they're just fine the way they 215 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:34,240 are and don't need God, he says that they will become blind. There is a rejection and 216 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:40,960 a judgment that comes because of that rejection. And not only is there darkness in the human 217 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:46,360 heart that rejects the light, but we find in 2 Corinthians chapter four, verse four, 218 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:52,480 it says the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. So they cannot see the 219 00:28:52,480 --> 00:29:02,240 light of the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ. In other words, the human heart 220 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:10,600 is dark and blind to the light of God. But that innate darkness that is in us because 221 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:18,200 we have turned from God is reinforced by a supernatural darkness and blindness that Satan 222 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:32,000 puts around us because he does not want us to see. How then can anyone see? That brings 223 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:41,840 me to my last point. How our world escapes the darkness, the blindness. It is by a miracle, 224 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:49,800 a miracle. That's the only way. You and I are not in ourselves going to be able to escape 225 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:59,120 the darkness and the blindness that we ever see light, that we ever come to the place 226 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:08,000 of being delivered from darkness is an absolute miracle of God. John says, all who received 227 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:14,680 him, to them, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children 228 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:26,080 of God. Because I want to say those who are born of God, not by human effort, by human 229 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:31,160 works, but those who are born of God. And Jesus picks up on this in the third chapter 230 00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:38,160 when he says, you must be born again. And Nicodemus, who was blind at that point, didn't 231 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:42,760 understand. He said, well, how can I enter into my mother and be born again a second 232 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:51,320 time? Jesus said, no, no, no, no, Nicodemus, I'm talking about being born of the Spirit. 233 00:30:51,320 --> 00:31:02,720 A miracle. Just as much as the miracle of that blind man in John chapter 9 is the miracle 234 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:13,800 of Jesus opening the eyes of one who is blind to see him as Savior. You and I have a role 235 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:19,360 in this today because Jesus is in heaven. You and I have a role that's very similar 236 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:25,720 to that of the apostle Paul that says in his commissioning in Acts 26, Jesus says to Paul, 237 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:32,880 I'm sending you to them, the Gentiles, to open their eyes and turn them from darkness 238 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:40,720 to light and from the power of Satan to God so that they might receive forgiveness of 239 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:48,800 sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Folks, do you see that? When 240 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:57,080 you look at those words, though that is specific to Paul, it is your privilege and mine to 241 00:31:57,080 --> 00:32:07,040 do the very same thing, to show others the life of Jesus and the light that comes through 242 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:15,880 that life so that their eyes are opened and they can see and they can then turn from the 243 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:23,360 darkness to that light and from the power of Satan to God and be saved. What a privilege 244 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:32,320 that is. Jesus said, I am the light of the world, but He also said, you are the light 245 00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:38,680 of the world. Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and 246 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:46,160 praise your Father who is in heaven. Well, we've worked our way through what I wanted 247 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:50,720 to share with you from the Gospel of John, but I want to close this morning very briefly 248 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:57,960 with a couple of questions. These are important Christmas questions for someone like you in 249 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:12,280 a place like this, our dark world. Ask yourself first of all, have I experienced God's miracle? 250 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:18,680 That's what Christmas is all about. Light came so that you and I could experience the 251 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:27,560 miracle of God, which is forgiveness of our sins. Philip Bliss was one of the most prolific 252 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:35,200 songwriters of the last half of the 19th century. His name is not known by most people today, 253 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:40,120 but he and his wife were very well known in their day. He is the one, for example, who 254 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:46,000 composed the music for, It is well with my soul, which we sing. The words are written 255 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:51,840 by Spafford, but it was Bliss, his friend, who set the words to the music that we know 256 00:33:51,840 --> 00:34:03,840 so well. 131 years ago this week, on December 29, Philip Bliss and his wife, Lucy, left 257 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:10,960 behind their two toddlers, boarded the train in Rome, Pennsylvania, where they lived, to 258 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:18,080 go to Chicago to be in a meeting with Dwight and Moody. They connected with another train 259 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:22,960 in Buffalo, New York, and the train left the station about 4.15 in the afternoon in a raging 260 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:30,560 blizzard. They made pretty good time, though, about 15 miles an hour, it says, through the 261 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:41,560 snow driven by the winds off of the Lake Erie. They rounded the corner south of Buffalo and 262 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:49,920 moved into Ohio. Just outside of Ash Stabula, Ohio, they crossed a trestle. The trestle 263 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:53,960 had been replaced just a few years before this with iron. It had been wood for many, 264 00:34:53,960 --> 00:35:00,760 many years, but a new, strong iron trestle was built. The train was passing over the 265 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:08,080 top of this trestle, two engines now pulling the train through the snow. The first engine 266 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,840 made it safely off the bridge, but just as it got onto the solid ground on the other 267 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:23,040 side, there was a snap and a roar and a violent twisting of the rest of the train and a sickening 268 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:36,520 turning as the cars plunged down 75 feet into the ravine below into the icy river. And there 269 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:44,720 were some people who were able to escape the cars. They were badly twisted and crushed. 270 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:53,200 Some had been impaled on iron. Others were trapped under the weight of the cars. And 271 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:59,520 because, of course, there were stoves and lamps in the train, immediately fire broke 272 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:07,240 out. Philip Bliss was able to get out one of the windows, but he realized his wife was 273 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:16,800 not with him. He went back to the burning train and found that she was trapped inside. 274 00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:23,880 And so he climbed back inside the train, and there, seeking to free her, the two of them 275 00:36:23,880 --> 00:36:30,120 went into the presence of the Lord. And with a hundred other people, they died in that 276 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:38,120 terrible tragedy. A few days later, there was a memorial service held in Chicago at which 277 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:45,040 Dwight Moody was the officiant. Eight thousand people filled the hall. Four thousand stood 278 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:51,720 outside in the January cold. Now, I mention Philip Bliss because it was he who took the 279 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:56,680 words of Jesus in John chapter 9 and put them to music. A few years before this, he had 280 00:36:56,680 --> 00:37:02,640 heard a preacher preach from John chapter 9, and he wrote that song that some of us 281 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:09,960 remember, The Whole World Was Lost in the Darkness of Sin. The light of the world is 282 00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:18,880 Jesus. If you know it, sing it with me. The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin. 283 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:30,320 The light of the world is Jesus. Like sunshine at noon day, His glory shone in. The light 284 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:42,400 of the world is Jesus. Come to the light, tis shining for thee. Sweetly, the light has 285 00:37:42,400 --> 00:38:02,880 dawned upon me once I was blind, but now I can see. The light of the world is Jesus. 286 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:11,000 Years later, there was a missionary in Calcutta, and he was there during an eclipse, and he 287 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:19,200 looked out upon the masses of the lost pagan people of India who in this eclipse were terrified, 288 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:25,160 and they were going down to the river and baptizing themselves in the total darkness 289 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:32,760 of their religion. And as he was watching all of this from somewhere, he heard the 290 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:46,080 strains of a small group of Christians singing, The light of the world is Jesus. My friend, 291 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:53,200 is he the light in your life today? Have you experienced the Christmas miracle of having 292 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:59,440 your eyes opened? But there's a second question I want to ask as I close, and that is, what 293 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:07,360 am I doing to extend his light into the world? Philip Bliss wrote another hymn one time. 294 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:13,440 It was a hymn that was based upon a message he heard Dwight and Moody give. Moody was 295 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:18,960 appealing for people to come to faith in Christ, and he told about a story, a true story outside 296 00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:23,640 of Cleveland, Ohio again on Lake Erie, not too far from where Bliss would eventually 297 00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:29,720 die. There was a ship, a passenger ship that was fully loaded coming into the Cleveland 298 00:39:29,720 --> 00:39:36,280 Harbor, and the pilot had gotten on board the ship to guide the ship safely into Harbor. 299 00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:39,800 And the captain of the ship said, are you sure we're Cleveland where we need to be? 300 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:44,600 I don't see the lights, because you see there were lower lights, there was a lighthouse, 301 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:48,240 but then there were lower lights that had to be lined up in a certain way to get the 302 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:55,240 ship into the harbor. And the pilot said, no, the lower lights are not burning, they're 303 00:39:55,240 --> 00:40:00,240 out. And he'd steered the ship, but he missed the harbor, and the result was the ship went 304 00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:07,640 into the rocks, and many, many people lost their lives that night. And Moody's point 305 00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:14,600 was, believers, you and I are those lower lights. Our father has a lighthouse in Jesus, 306 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:20,960 but you and I are the lower lights that must be on to guide people. And so Bliss picked 307 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:25,440 up that theme the next night, he came back to the service, and he sang for them for the 308 00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:31,160 very first time, brightly beams our father's mercy from his lighthouse evermore. But to 309 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:39,960 us, he gives the keeping of the lights along the shore. Let the lower lights be burning. 310 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:49,440 And to Gleam, across the wave, for to us he gives the keeping of the lights along the 311 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:57,600 shore. Is your light burning for others to see? To guide them into the only harbor there 312 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:05,280 is for the soul? Let's use it this Christmas time to do that, the friends, family that 313 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:14,160 we're gathered with. Let's let the lower lights be burning in our lives, and extend 314 00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:24,080 the light of Jesus into the dark world around us. Let's pray together. Father, we've been 315 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:32,080 reminded even this very week how brief life is, and how important it is that you and I, 316 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:39,480 that we, your people, work together with you, bringing light into the world. And I pray, 317 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:45,240 Father, that as we meet with family and we see friends over this holiday season, that 318 00:41:45,240 --> 00:41:53,800 we will be the life of Jesus bringing light to them. But I also pray, Father, for some 319 00:41:53,800 --> 00:42:00,080 friend who's here that may not have that light at all and be lost in darkness yet. 320 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:09,080 Oh, Father, I pray that right now, even in the simplest of prayers, they would cry out, 321 00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:17,600 Jesus, help me. And you would send the light flooding into their souls and lead them out 322 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:23,520 of that darkness into your marvelous light and away from Satan into your power, out of 323 00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:30,520 the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of your dear Son. And I pray this in Jesus' 324 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:54,520 name, amen. Amen.