life, and that gift is Jesus Christ. Do you and
I have the opportunity to present that gift to
others? We can't force them to receive it, but
we can use this opportunity of the season to
present that gift to them. Would you open your
Bible with me please to John chapter 1. Sermons
from science demonstrated some of the remarkable
physical qualities of light as we sat under that
ministry last summer. We listened to music that
was transmitted by a light beam. We marveled
at the power of a laser. But the most common
quality of light is perhaps its most useful.
And that is the one that we're using here this
morning. For light dispels darkness. We create
light in order to dispel darkness with lamps,
street lights, a flashlight. These things are
useful to us and they're even important to society.
For when the light is on, it tends to reduce
evil. But when the lights go off, as they did
a few years ago in New York City because of a
power outage, evil explodes. Light destroys darkness.
It illuminates what is unseen until the light
is present. In John chapter 1, in verse 4, we
read regarding the Word, the logos of God, in
him, in Jesus Christ, was life. And the life
was the light of men, and the light shines in
the darkness. The Apostle John uses light here
as a metaphor for the gracious work of Christ
the Messiah, whom he names the Word of God. Later
John will tell us about Jesus standing before
a crowd and saying, I am the light of the world.
He who follows me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life. The work of
Jesus Christ can be described as light. As light
in several respects. Revelation, salvation, life,
hope. Today we want to think of his work as that
of revelation. Jesus Christ is the word who brought
the light of revelation to the world. We dare
not miss what he came to reveal. In the first
place, he came to reveal to us the situation.
What is that situation? It is that darkness exists.
In verse 5 it says, and the light shines in the
darkness. What is this darkness of which John
speaks? Well, it's not physical darkness. It's
moral. and spiritual darkness. Darkness can be
defined as the absence of light. It's difficult
to define darkness in positive terms. For darkness
is the absence of something. It is the absence
of light. It's the lack of clear understanding.
It's difficulty in perceiving. Darkness is the
clouded intellect. Darkness is ignorance that
thus leads to sin and wickedness. Darkness is
a moral state. It is the state of humanity in
its sinfulness. It is the absence of God's truth
as the enlightening, controlling force in the
world. That is the cause for darkness. The world
is shrouded. It is shrouded in darkness of sin
and unbelief. And why this present darkness?
Did God not create light? Yes, He did. Then where
did moral darkness originate? The answer to that
is that moral darkness began in an angelic creature.
This angel of light became the prince of darkness
and he is the ruler of the darkness of this present
world system. I invite you to turn back to the
book of Isaiah for a moment to the 14th chapter
in which Isaiah is describing on the human side
the king of Babylon in his pomp arrogance. But
beyond a human king, Isaiah by the Spirit of
God is describing to us what happened to this
angelic creature that brought moral darkness
to God's universe. In verse 12 it says, How you
have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning.
Literally that means, O bright one. How you have
fallen from heaven son of the dawn You have been
cut down to the earth you have been weakened
to the nations But you said in your heart. I
will ascend to heaven I will raise my throne
above the stars of God a metaphor for the angels
I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses
of the north. I will ascend above the heights
of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most
High." Here we find the pride that entered the
heart of this star of the morning, Lucifer. Because
of his arrogance, God said, nevertheless, you
will be thrust down the shield to the recesses
of the pit. Our Lord said, I beheld Satan fall
from heaven like lightning. The suddenness of
his judgment was that of lightning. And he came
to the earth and the result has been that he
spread his moral darkness to humanity. He deceived
mankind into joining him in his lie that he can
be like God. and thus the sin of rebellion. Humanity
was plunged into sin, into darkness and ruin.
And having rejected the truth of God, humanity
turned to the lie. And the process of Romans
chapter 1 began, where man rejected the Creator
and began to worship the creation. Turning his
back on the truth, he was turned to the lie.
and the judgment of God comes. The awful cycle
of Romans 1 is being lived out again today in
our culture. For our culture is turning from
the light of God and as a result of that the
darkness is intensifying. The situation is that
darkness exists in our world and Jesus Christ
came to expose that, to reveal it to us. We need
to hear what he has to say. He also came to bring
the solution. Darkness exists, but light exposes.
The light shines. John says the light keeps on
shining in the darkness. In verse 9 of this chapter
he says, There was the true light, that is the
genuine light, which coming into the world enlightens
or illuminates every man. Jesus Christ is the
light who comes to expose. Now what is light
if darkness is the absence of light, resulting
in moral and spiritual death? The light brings
life. The light brings knowledge. The light is
the truth that enables people to recognize God's
working in the world. Although there has been
light extended to man in the creation and in
our own conscience, the light is fully, preeminently,
and uniquely embodied in the person of Jesus
Christ, God's Son. He is the full revelation
of all that God is and He brings understanding
of everything else in its relation to God. He
brings us understanding of the world in which
we live. He brings us understanding of what God
is like. He brings us understanding of who we
are in our relationship to God. Why is it that
light exposes? because that's its very nature.
Light exposes. It illuminates. It interprets.
It defines. It clarifies everything that is in
the darkness. So Jesus Christ as the light of
revelation removes ignorance. He destroys every
lie. He dispels every distortion about God. the
world in ourselves which Satan has generated.
Jesus Christ is alone the solution to the dilemma
of humanity's darkness. Verse 9 declares that
this light is found only in the one that is spoken
of, Jesus Christ. He is the true light. John
tells us of John the Baptist. who came, but he
wasn't the true light. He was a witness to it.
He introduced to us, says John, the one who is
the true light, Jesus Christ, who in his coming
into the world brings light, light that exposes.
Jesus Christ brings light that makes the sinner
morally responsible to God for his darkness.
In the third chapter John explains to us what
the response of the world of humanity is to the
light of Jesus Christ. We might think that there
would be a ready response, a glad acceptance
of the light, but instead it says in verse 19
of John 3, this is the judgment that the light
is come into the world. And men loved the darkness
rather than the light. What is the response of
the world to the light that is in Jesus Christ?
It is that the world loves its darkness and rejects
the light. Why? Because the deeds of those in
the world are evil. They do not want that revealed.
They don't want it exposed. Everyone who does
evil hates the light. Hates the light. A very
strong term. Opposite of love. Loves darkness.
Hates light. And does not come to the light lest
his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices
the truth comes to the light. that his deeds
may be manifested as having been wrought in God.
The one who practices the truth is the one who
loves the light. And he comes to the light. He
is not afraid that his deeds should be manifested
because they agree with the light. He wants God's
approval upon his deeds and his works. Why? Because
those deeds of his life have been wrought in
God, not by the evil one. Jesus Christ came to
bring the solution. As the light, he came to
expose the truth to us. And today we are called
upon to respond to that light, to come to the
light. That brings us finally to this idea that
Jesus Christ brought the salvation as well. As
the light of revelation, He came to tell us about
salvation, the fact that faith extricates us
from darkness. How can an enlightened sinner,
recognizing his moral unworthiness before God,
be freed from his judgment? How can one who is
under conviction of his guilt before God Receive
a verdict from God that says innocent The answer
is By faith in Jesus Christ go back with me again
to chapter 1 and look at verse 10 Where John
says he that is the true light was in the world
the world of humanity and the world was made
through him and the world did not know him not
only that says John he came to his own and those
who were his own his own people did not receive
him but as many as received him to them he gave
the right to become children of God even to those
who believe in His name, who were born not of
blood, or of the will of the flesh, or the will
of man, but of God. By believing in Jesus Christ,
by placing one's faith in Jesus Christ, he can
be extricated from the darkness. The darkness
within him can be forgiven and replaced by the
light that dispels that darkness. and he can
be identified with light and no longer darkness.
It is faith in Jesus Christ alone which frees
one from darkness to belong to the light. The
Apostle Paul in Colossians chapter 1 states this
so clearly and beautifully. When he writes to
the Colossians these words, we give thanks to
God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ praying
always for you since we heard of your faith.
in Christ Jesus. He says in verse 12, giving
thanks to the Father who has qualified us to
share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
For He delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved
Son in whom we have redemption. the forgiveness
of sins. How is it that we are qualified to share
in the inheritance of the saints who live in
the light? How can people who are born into darkness
and who express darkness in their lives ever
be qualified to belong to the light, to share
in the inheritance of the saints? The answer
is by faith in Jesus Christ and finding in Jesus
Christ the forgiveness of his sins. That's why
he died on the cross and rose again victoriously.
That we might have that forgiveness with God,
that there might be redemption, the payment for
our sins might be made, that we might be transferred,
translated, changed in our identity. Over in
Ephesians chapter 5, Paul says that we have become
the sons of light. Our identity is no longer
with the darkness. Our identity is with the light
of God, the light of holiness. And we are not
afraid of the light. We are not ashamed of the
light. We come to the light that our deeds may
be exposed, that they are wrought in God. We
who are the sons of light on the other hand must
be careful not to partake of the deeds of darkness
We are no longer a part of that system. We're
a part of God's system We are citizens of God's
kingdom No longer slaves to sin and darkness
Jesus Christ is the light He has come to reveal
God to us and to reveal ourselves to us and to
reveal the way to God. And that way is open today
for any of us who will come. He invites us to
come freely. What is it? What is it that keeps
one who is in darkness enslaved? What is it that
keeps one who is guilty of sin, hiding from God,
hating the light, loving his evil? What is it
that keeps a sinner from seeing the light of
God in the person of Jesus Christ? We have the
answer in the Word. If our Gospel be hid, it
is hid to them who are lost, in whom the God
of this world has blinded the minds of those
who are perishing. you see the Prince of Darkness
supernaturally casts his darkness upon the mind
of the sinner. Not only has the sinner darkened
in his own sin, but there is a supernatural mask,
as it were. There is a shroud around him. There
is a fog and a haze around the mind and the heart
of the one who is perishing that is created by
Satan. But I tell you that that is not an impenetrable
darkness. That is not a fog that cannot be penetrated.
The light of God is able to get through the most
difficult of moral darkness. The light of Jesus
Christ is able to pierce into the heart that
is most hardened. And it may be today that you
are here and the light of God has shown into
your heart. There has been a hole punched into
the darkness of your life by Jesus Christ. You
are morally responsible for God for your response
to that light, whatever it be. And today God
calls upon you to receive. To receive Jesus Christ
means to believe on Him. It's a very active idea.
It means to place all of your trust and your
faith in Him, to dedicate yourself fully to Him,
to give yourself unreservedly to Him, to believe
on Him, and in believing, receiving Him into
your life, that He might change you into a son
of light. Back in 1789, the terrible French Revolution
took place. I say terrible because of the great
loss of life that occurred as a part of that
revolution. The Bastille was a prison -like structure
in Paris. And when the Revolution took place,
people went down into the depths of that prison,
into its gloomiest dungeons. and there brought
out the prisoners. There was one man who was
brought out into the light for the first time
in many years, and he begged that he might go
back to his dungeon. It had been so long since
he had seen the light that his eyes could not
endure the brightness of it. His only desire
was to go back to the murky dungeon where he
had been held captive all those years. In the
same way, there are some people who see the light
of God and then reject it. And that process of
seeing the light and rejecting it and seeing
it and rejecting it eventually hardens their
heart until they actually prefer their ways of
death leading to judgment before God rather than
coming to the light. Day if that light of God
is shining into your heart. If in the midst of
the foggy darkness in your mind You are able
to understand and to perceive the truth of God
today that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Who
died for your sins and rose again from the dead
if you're able to Understand that he died for
you and that if you will believe on him you can
be saved from your darkness Then today take that
step Whatever the cost may be however much you
leave behind Remember you leave behind also the
chains that held you, the darkness of your dungeon,
the enslavement to Satan. You leave that behind
to come to the freedom and the light and the
inheritance of the saints. Will you today leave
behind your slavery and darkness and by faith
in Jesus Christ become a citizen of the Kingdom
of God. I hope you will. I hope you will today.
You can before you leave here by coming to Jesus
Christ and leaving behind your darkness in receiving
His light. Let's bow together in prayer. In a
moment we're going to sing a hymn. It will be
a hymn of invitation. during which I'm going
to invite you, if today you would trust Jesus
Christ as your Savior, to come here and take
me by the hand and say, today I want to leave
behind my darkness. Today I am choosing to receive
Jesus Christ as my Lord and my Savior. Today
I come as a guilty sinner that I might be forgiven
and made a saint of God. I hope that you will
do that if you don't know Christ. I hope that
you will trust Him. Father, I pray that you will
work in our lives. And if there be some here
today who are struggling with their darkness,
who are imprisoned in it, and yet who have seen
the light. The light has pierced through. May
they follow that light and come to the Savior
today, that they might be transformed into a
child of light. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
I'm going to sing hymn 336 that says, sorrow
at night, Jesus. Jesus, I come, I come. I remember
the testimony of a woman who is a part of our
church, who shared that there came a point in
her life after having been involved in drugs
and playing with the occult, when she realized
that she was doomed. and damned. And she sat
in a room reading her Bible, a Bible that had
been given to her. Not knowing really what to
do, but just reading the Bible. And it seemed
as though the room was growing darker and darker
to her. And she heard as it were the voices of
Satan saying to her, give up, it's useless, you
can't do it, you're worthless, you're ours. And
in the midst of that darkness, she said, all
I could do was cry out and say, God. And she
said, in that moment, light flashed into that
room. The voices were silenced. The darkness
was lifted. And she said, in just crying out
and saying, God, he came to me. And she was saved,
gloriously saved. And today all you need to do,
if you can't say any more than God, then say,
Jesus, I come. He invites you to come to Him
now and be delivered, to be saved. Let's stand
as we sing, Jesus, I come to thee. Out of my
bandage, sorrow and thine, Jesus I come, Jesus
I come. Eternal is the Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the fear and dread of the truth, Jesus,
I come Jesus, I come into the joy and light of
thy hope. Jesus, I come to thee out of the depths
of ruin. To the peace of thy sheltering throne,
Ever thy glorious face to behold, Jesus I come
to thee. today worshiping with us after having
been back in Taliabo for two or three months.
Steve, would you come and close the service in
prayer, please? Let's bow together. Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, we're grateful to you for the
light that you are to us. We're reminded as we
were this morning of the darkness that is all
around us, and we're grateful that even a small
light such as you can shine through our lives
can break that darkness. Help us, Lord, to walk
in the light as you are in the light, that we
might have fellowship with you, with one another.
But help us also to remember, Lord, that when
we are not with one another, fellow Christians,
when we're in our workplaces, at school, Shopping
in the malls, Lord, that we might let our light
shine so that others might see Jesus Christ through
us. Thank you for your word this morning. Please
break our hearts with it, Lord. In Jesus' name
we pray. Amen.