WEBVTT 00:00:03.209 --> 00:00:05.790 I invite you to open your Bibles with me to the 00:00:05.790 --> 00:00:11.929 Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 4, to begin 00:00:11.929 --> 00:00:20.789 with, and then to chapter 8, verse 12. John 1, 00:00:20.789 --> 00:00:25.170 verse 4, in him, that is, in the word, was life, 00:00:26.489 --> 00:00:32.369 and the life was the light of men. And then chapter 00:00:32.369 --> 00:00:37.210 8. of the Gospel in verse 12. Our Lord Jesus 00:00:37.210 --> 00:00:41.130 Christ speaking, I am the light of the world. 00:00:42.390 --> 00:00:45.789 He who follows me shall not walk in the darkness, 00:00:46.789 --> 00:00:52.369 but shall have the light of life. In preparation 00:00:52.369 --> 00:00:54.630 for a class that I'm taking next month, I've 00:00:54.630 --> 00:00:58.810 been doing some reading about the leading philosophies 00:00:58.810 --> 00:01:04.040 of our day. that influence the culture that we 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:08.540 live in. These include secularism, pragmatism, 00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.739 positivism, humanism, pluralism, relativism, 00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:18.579 and so on. Each one of these various isms plays 00:01:18.579 --> 00:01:22.599 a role in the attitudes and actions that we observe 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:28.760 in our current events and ideas. from Social 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:33.340 Security to abortion rights, from Kevorkian to 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:38.019 Clinton, all of these philosophies find their 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:43.480 place in our culture. Each has a role in the 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.739 attitudes and actions that we observe in the 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:50.739 events around us. And we Christians are not immune 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:55.939 to their influence, our own attitudes, decisions. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.120 expectations and choices are affected by these 00:02:01.120 --> 00:02:05.420 life philosophies. There's one thing that they 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:11.080 share in common and that is the denial of anything 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:18.840 that is eternal and transcendent. Or at least 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:22.379 they claim that one cannot know if there is something 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:25.969 eternal and transcendent. that all that we can 00:02:25.969 --> 00:02:29.770 experience and know is the here and the now, 00:02:29.830 --> 00:02:34.610 the world that we live in. All of these philosophies 00:02:34.610 --> 00:02:36.949 have another thing in common. They represent 00:02:36.949 --> 00:02:43.569 the darkness of the world. They represent human 00:02:43.569 --> 00:02:48.590 speculation apart from God. They have little 00:02:48.590 --> 00:02:52.189 to give in terms of meaning to life or the providing 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:56.770 of hope. These philosophies cannot guide to genuine 00:02:56.770 --> 00:03:01.210 pleasure, nor can they make a better world for 00:03:01.210 --> 00:03:06.590 humankind. How, in contrast to all of these philosophies 00:03:06.590 --> 00:03:11.550 of man, is the simple statement of the Son of 00:03:11.550 --> 00:03:18.490 God who said, I am the light of the world. He 00:03:18.490 --> 00:03:21.409 who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but 00:03:21.409 --> 00:03:26.539 shall have the light of life. Other religions 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:31.639 and philosophies result from humanity's groping 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:35.699 to find significance and meaning in the midst 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:40.099 of its spiritual darkness. But Jesus Christ delivers 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:45.219 from darkness and brings abundant and eternal 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:51.120 life. The Christ of Bethlehem is the source of 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:56.599 life for all of those who will follow Him. And 00:03:56.599 --> 00:04:00.740 besides Him there is no true source of life. 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:05.120 When we speak of Him being the light of life, 00:04:05.639 --> 00:04:10.120 what do we mean? Well, I'm saying in the first 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:13.139 place the great darkness has engulfed humanity. 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:18.709 That occurred when sin entered the world. darkness 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:22.790 that is both intellectual, moral, and spiritual 00:04:22.790 --> 00:04:27.949 came to be. One of the great German philosophers 00:04:27.949 --> 00:04:30.329 whose name many of you would recognize is an 00:04:30.329 --> 00:04:35.430 old man who was sitting alone on a park bench. 00:04:36.589 --> 00:04:39.050 A policeman passed by and thought he was a vagrant. 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:42.670 He went to this old, shriveled man and said to 00:04:42.670 --> 00:04:48.980 him, and who are you? And this German philosopher 00:04:48.980 --> 00:04:53.779 who knew only the speculations of man replied 00:04:53.779 --> 00:05:00.980 with a sad face, I wish I knew. How tragic to 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:04.480 come to the end of life and not know the meaning 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:10.180 of it all. Jesus Christ came to eliminate darkness 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:14.579 and to redeem humanity to know God and to enjoy 00:05:14.579 --> 00:05:19.990 him again. This morning I want us to see that 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:23.689 Jesus Christ as the light of life in the first 00:05:23.689 --> 00:05:29.750 place dispels the darkness of ignorance. Humanity 00:05:29.750 --> 00:05:34.310 after the fall drifted in its darkness away from 00:05:34.310 --> 00:05:39.350 the knowledge of the true God, the Creator. Turn 00:05:39.350 --> 00:05:41.290 with me to the book of Romans for a moment to 00:05:41.290 --> 00:05:44.810 the first chapter. Let's remind ourselves of 00:05:44.810 --> 00:05:50.740 these rather familiar verses. A cycle is here 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:53.759 laid down that has been repeated over and over 00:05:53.759 --> 00:06:01.639 again in man's darkness. Humanity can know God 00:06:01.639 --> 00:06:06.199 even from the creation of the world. It says 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:10.660 in verse 21, for even though they knew God, they 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:17.019 knew God, they knew God, they did not honor Him 00:06:17.019 --> 00:06:22.050 as God. or give thanks. But they became futile 00:06:22.050 --> 00:06:25.209 in their speculations and their foolish heart 00:06:25.209 --> 00:06:31.110 was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became 00:06:31.110 --> 00:06:36.490 fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible 00:06:36.490 --> 00:06:41.329 God for an image in the form of corruptible man 00:06:41.329 --> 00:06:45.610 and of birds and four -footed animals and crawling 00:06:45.610 --> 00:06:50.699 creatures. Here we have the record of man's turning 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:55.100 in darkness away from God and the tragic result 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:59.379 of it. The man today has devised the theory of 00:06:59.379 --> 00:07:04.300 evolution and that theory has not only been applied 00:07:04.300 --> 00:07:09.779 to biology but to theology. In other words, there 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:14.410 are theologians and others who believe that Just 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:18.250 as man has evolved from some primal state to 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:23.230 his complex current state So theology has evolved 00:07:23.230 --> 00:07:29.389 as well They say that we began with animism That 00:07:29.389 --> 00:07:34.250 man began to worship trees rocks animals Believing 00:07:34.250 --> 00:07:37.930 that these things had spirits in them that they 00:07:37.930 --> 00:07:42.639 lived in fear our ancestors The object of their 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:46.279 life was to make peace with the spirits and to 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:52.279 ward off evil powers of these spirits. But man 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:55.860 evolved, man got better, he progressed, they 00:07:55.860 --> 00:08:00.800 say, and so he developed polytheism, which is 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:03.980 the idea that there are many gods, so -called, 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:08.779 each with a separate identity. And in history 00:08:08.779 --> 00:08:13.379 we see that each great nation had its own pantheon 00:08:13.379 --> 00:08:17.199 of these gods that they developed. But evolution 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:20.319 continued, and man got better. The next step 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:24.879 was henotheism, which says that there are many 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:28.800 gods, but each nation has only one god. So instead 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:31.500 of each nation having a pantheon of many gods, 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:35.139 evolution says now each nation developed just 00:08:35.139 --> 00:08:38.500 one god. Although, because there were many nations, 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:42.059 there were still many gods. And they say that 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:47.360 the final step is monotheism. That eventually 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:51.240 man developed the idea of one supreme God who 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:55.639 is over all of the nations. And so you see the 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:58.799 idea is that we started out worshiping the trees 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:02.820 and the rocks and the animals and we evolved 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:06.429 finally to the idea where there is one God. who 00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:10.830 is supreme. Is that the way it's been? The fact 00:09:10.830 --> 00:09:16.690 is, the truth is just the opposite of that. Man 00:09:16.690 --> 00:09:22.269 began with the true knowledge of one God and 00:09:22.269 --> 00:09:26.909 degenerated from there. That's the truth. The 00:09:26.909 --> 00:09:29.549 religion of the tribal peoples today in the world, 00:09:29.629 --> 00:09:33.490 most of which is animism, or the religion of 00:09:33.490 --> 00:09:37.730 the Aztecs or the Mayans, or the Native Americans 00:09:37.730 --> 00:09:42.210 of our own continent. These religions are the 00:09:42.210 --> 00:09:47.409 end result of ancient ancestors who abandoned 00:09:47.409 --> 00:09:51.750 the true knowledge of God. And as a result of 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:54.230 that they came to believe in many gods and then 00:09:54.230 --> 00:09:58.090 to worship spirits and the rocks and the trees. 00:09:59.049 --> 00:10:01.190 And now we have the environmentalists who bow 00:10:01.190 --> 00:10:07.299 down to these very same things. Fullness of life 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:11.019 is found only in the knowledge of the true God 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:15.519 and Jesus Christ as the light of the world came 00:10:15.519 --> 00:10:22.679 to reveal Him to us. Back in chapter 1 of John, 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:26.120 we have that remarkable verse in verse 18 that 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:31.659 says, no man has seen God at any time. That is, 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:34.519 no man has ever looked upon the pure essence 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:38.100 of deity. even though there were some who had 00:10:38.100 --> 00:10:42.419 a vision of God. He says, no man has ever looked 00:10:42.419 --> 00:10:47.740 upon the essence of deity. But he says, the only 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:51.980 begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, 00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:58.159 he explained him. He is talking about Jesus Christ 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:04.429 as the only begotten God, the unique one. who 00:11:04.429 --> 00:11:07.470 is in the closest place of affection to the Father. 00:11:08.070 --> 00:11:12.929 He has come as the Word who was made flesh, as 00:11:12.929 --> 00:11:18.330 verse 14 says. And in human flesh, so that we 00:11:18.330 --> 00:11:22.769 could see Him and hear Him, He explained God 00:11:22.769 --> 00:11:28.049 to us. Jesus Christ as the light of life dispels 00:11:28.049 --> 00:11:32.879 the darkness of ignorance. Man gropes in his 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:37.919 ignorance, in his darkness, going further and 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:42.679 further away from God. But Jesus Christ, as the 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:45.320 light of the world comes, to tell us again of 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:48.919 the true God that we might know him, so that 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:52.419 no one today has to walk in darkness, the darkness 00:11:52.419 --> 00:11:56.919 of ignorance. The knowledge of God can be had 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:01.080 And when it is gained, it will transform the 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:05.899 life from one of darkness to light and from fear 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:12.320 to love. As the light of life, Jesus Christ dispels 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:18.720 the darkness of ignorance. Secondly, as the light 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.840 of life, Jesus Christ dispels the darkness of 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:26.559 separation. Now this darkness I'm talking about 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:30.620 involved the forfeiture of the joy that people 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:36.679 can have in fellowship with God. This darkness 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:44.220 came also at the time of the fall into sin. Adam's 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:47.519 fall resulted in separation of Adam and all of 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:51.919 his descendants from God. There was an alienation 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:59.289 that came to be. Since God is the light, to be 00:12:59.289 --> 00:13:03.789 estranged from Him is to experience darkness, 00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:08.710 moral, intellectual, and spiritual darkness. 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:13.950 After the fall, man was prohibited from coming 00:13:13.950 --> 00:13:17.629 back into the garden, where he might have access 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:21.720 to the tree of life. He was no longer able to 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:24.620 commune with God in the garden as he had before. 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:30.200 He was separated from God. Now God in His mercy 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:36.279 made special provision whereby man could come 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:41.059 into His presence. It required sacrifice. It 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:45.299 required the death of an animal in the Old Testament. 00:13:46.909 --> 00:13:50.370 all of those deaths, picturing the ultimate sacrifice, 00:13:50.549 --> 00:13:54.490 the death of Jesus Christ, by which man could 00:13:54.490 --> 00:13:58.809 again gain access to God. And so we see Adam 00:13:58.809 --> 00:14:04.269 and Eve coming back to God after being separated 00:14:04.269 --> 00:14:07.710 from Him, clothed with the skin of an animal 00:14:07.710 --> 00:14:10.970 that had died on their behalf. Its blood was 00:14:10.970 --> 00:14:15.850 shed as an atonement for their sin. Abel offered 00:14:15.850 --> 00:14:20.110 up sacrifices of blood to God that he might fellowship 00:14:20.110 --> 00:14:23.909 with him. Noah did the same. Abram, Isaac, Jacob. 00:14:25.190 --> 00:14:29.190 Then, as part of his covenant with Israel, God 00:14:29.190 --> 00:14:34.789 instituted a whole year -long series of sacrifices, 00:14:35.929 --> 00:14:39.450 bloody sacrifices, that allowed man to deal with 00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:43.090 his sin by an atonement so that man could have 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:49.029 access to God again. And then Jesus Christ came 00:14:49.029 --> 00:14:53.289 as the light of life. As the light of life, he 00:14:53.289 --> 00:14:56.909 came to dispel the darkness of man's separation. 00:14:58.490 --> 00:15:02.090 He came to restore all of those who will follow 00:15:02.090 --> 00:15:08.730 him to fellowship with God. Man can again experience 00:15:08.730 --> 00:15:14.080 the fullness of life. the fullness of fellowship 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:17.240 with God, the fullness of joy, the abundance 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:21.580 of life that comes by knowing God and being in 00:15:21.580 --> 00:15:26.159 fellowship with God. Jesus said, I am come that 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:29.419 they might have life and that they might have 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:32.440 it more abundantly. That is, that it may run 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:38.080 over with fullness. And so to follow Jesus Christ, 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:42.990 the light of life. It means to be restored to 00:15:42.990 --> 00:15:48.370 union with God. It means to come back to God 00:15:48.370 --> 00:15:54.350 and to find one's life source in Him, in Him. 00:15:57.129 --> 00:16:01.490 We see seven togethers in the New Testament that 00:16:01.490 --> 00:16:06.070 describe this life source in Jesus Christ. They 00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:08.490 come from several books of the Bible. You will 00:16:08.490 --> 00:16:11.889 recognize them. We've been crucified together 00:16:11.889 --> 00:16:16.009 with Christ. We're dead together with Christ. 00:16:16.370 --> 00:16:19.350 We are buried together with Christ. We are made 00:16:19.350 --> 00:16:23.529 alive together with Christ. We are raised together 00:16:23.529 --> 00:16:26.809 with Christ. We are sufferers together with Christ. 00:16:27.129 --> 00:16:31.970 And we are glorified together with Christ. All 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:36.580 of those togethers in the New Testament Lay out 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:39.679 for us what it means to be in union with Christ 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:44.320 It means that we have a life source that the 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.879 world knows nothing about It means that we have 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:52.919 relationship with God that we have the Holy Spirit 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:57.580 living within us To bring to us joy and abundance 00:16:57.580 --> 00:17:02.000 and fullness To bring to us the experience of 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:08.720 light In a world of darkness. So as the light 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:12.980 of life, Jesus Christ dispels the darkness of 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:19.460 separation. Finally, as the light of life, Jesus 00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:26.119 Christ dispels the darkness of death. The darkness 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:34.529 of death. Roger Garcia was a teenager. who had 00:17:34.529 --> 00:17:40.569 an incurable form of cancer. Knowing that his 00:17:40.569 --> 00:17:45.670 life was to be short, he declared his faith openly 00:17:45.670 --> 00:17:50.630 to his friends and wanted them to know his Christ. 00:17:52.509 --> 00:17:55.930 His witness had such a ring of truth and conviction 00:17:55.930 --> 00:18:01.170 about it that one of his boy friends who came 00:18:01.170 --> 00:18:06.380 to visit him exclaimed, He talks like a man who's 00:18:06.380 --> 00:18:10.839 going to live forever. Well, that's exactly the 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:16.240 point. Roger Garcia died in this world, but he 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:21.880 lives with Christ. He lives forever. You see, 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:25.000 as the light of life, Jesus Christ dispels the 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.140 darkness of death. And oh, what a darkness that 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:33.789 is. Death is the penalty for the fall. It all 00:18:33.789 --> 00:18:37.789 goes back to that, to man's fall into sin. The 00:18:37.789 --> 00:18:44.150 ignorance, the separation, the death. And that 00:18:44.150 --> 00:18:46.470 death for Adam and Eve and their descendants 00:18:46.470 --> 00:18:49.390 was not only physical death, it was also eternal 00:18:49.390 --> 00:18:56.450 death. It was on the one hand loss of a presence 00:18:56.450 --> 00:19:02.079 in this world. Physical death is to leave this 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.019 world that we know and to go beyond it. It does 00:19:06.019 --> 00:19:09.460 not mean to end one's existence. One goes on 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:13.599 to exist, but not in this world. It's a loss 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:17.980 of presence in this world. And spiritual death 00:19:17.980 --> 00:19:23.539 is a loss of fellowship with God, resulting in 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:29.039 a loss of meaning to existence. For those who 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:33.160 are in sin, physical death leads to eternal death. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.740 Physical death results in a state of being banished 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:43.640 forever from God. Three times in the Gospel of 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:47.660 Matthew, Jesus warns about being cast out into 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:52.980 the outer darkness. What is he talking about? 00:19:55.659 --> 00:19:59.039 Jesus is warning about the darkness of eternal 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:05.380 separation from God in hell. Hell is an awful 00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:10.400 place for many different reasons. But one of 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:12.900 the greatest reasons is that there is no light 00:20:12.900 --> 00:20:18.140 in hell. It is a place of absolute darkness. 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:23.240 And with that darkness comes loss of meaning. 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:28.900 There is no meaning to one's existence in hell 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:33.220 There is a total loss of identity and purpose 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:38.779 in hell Because one is alienated forever from 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:46.900 God But the light of life Jesus Christ came that 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:52.539 he might destroy death The darkness of death 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:56.470 cannot exist in the presence of Jesus Christ. 00:20:56.990 --> 00:21:01.130 It cannot. He is the light of life. The darkness 00:21:01.130 --> 00:21:08.349 of death is dispelled in his presence. John chooses 00:21:08.349 --> 00:21:12.490 to tell us the story of Lazarus. Only he shares 00:21:12.490 --> 00:21:16.789 this story in John chapter 11. His very good 00:21:16.789 --> 00:21:23.759 friend Lazarus, who died In fact, Jesus delayed 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:27.740 his going back to Lazarus' home so that Lazarus 00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:32.759 would die. Now while that may seem strange, it 00:21:32.759 --> 00:21:39.119 was for the glory of God. Jesus made an astounding 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:44.619 claim as he arrived there at Bethany, where Lazarus 00:21:44.619 --> 00:21:49.559 lived with Mary and Martha, his sisters, that 00:21:49.559 --> 00:21:53.390 little village outside of Jerusalem. Lazarus 00:21:53.390 --> 00:21:59.490 had been dead for four days. Martha came running 00:21:59.490 --> 00:22:01.210 out to him and said, Lord, if you had been here, 00:22:01.250 --> 00:22:05.450 my brother would not have died, verse 21. Even 00:22:05.450 --> 00:22:08.750 now, she says, I know that whatever you ask of 00:22:08.750 --> 00:22:13.490 God, God will give it you. Jesus said to her, 00:22:13.529 --> 00:22:18.269 your brother shall rise again. She said to him, 00:22:18.329 --> 00:22:23.220 I know, I know. that he will rise again in the 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:27.920 resurrection on the last day. See, Martha believed 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:33.279 in the resurrection. She saw the resurrection 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.980 as an event that was going to take place at the 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:40.559 end of time, in the last day. And Jesus does 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.279 not tell her that she was wrong. She's right. 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:51.839 But what she failed to realize, fully, was what 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:56.460 Jesus could do as the light of life. He didn't 00:22:56.460 --> 00:22:59.599 rebuke her for what she said, but he went on 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:05.500 to say to her, I am the resurrection and the 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:08.700 life. Martha, you're looking for a day that's 00:23:08.700 --> 00:23:12.779 coming in the future. Martha, I want you to know 00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:18.099 that I am the resurrection and the life. He who 00:23:18.099 --> 00:23:23.730 believes in me shall live even if he dies. That's 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:28.049 what happened to Lazarus. And everyone who lives 00:23:28.049 --> 00:23:31.990 and believes in me shall never die in the ultimate 00:23:31.990 --> 00:23:37.130 sense. Do you believe this? She said, yes, Lord. 00:23:37.730 --> 00:23:40.150 I have believed that you are the Christ, the 00:23:40.150 --> 00:23:43.190 Son of God, even he who comes into the world. 00:23:46.170 --> 00:23:48.369 Within a few minutes, Jesus stood before that 00:23:48.369 --> 00:23:52.150 grave, commanded it to be opened. and spoke the 00:23:52.150 --> 00:23:55.289 name of Lazarus and commanded him to come forth. 00:23:58.910 --> 00:24:02.490 And shortly thereafter, still in his grave clothes, 00:24:03.369 --> 00:24:06.309 Lazarus stood there at the mouth of that tomb 00:24:06.309 --> 00:24:12.809 alive again. The darkness of death is dispelled 00:24:12.809 --> 00:24:17.109 by the presence of the light of life, even though 00:24:17.109 --> 00:24:21.559 believers like Lazarus. may experience physical 00:24:21.559 --> 00:24:25.880 death and a loss of presence in this world for 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:31.400 a while. We still live, they still live, with 00:24:31.400 --> 00:24:35.200 Christ in heaven. And one day we will again be 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:39.759 in this world in new resurrection bodies as the 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:42.900 light of life, Jesus Christ, dispels the darkness 00:24:42.900 --> 00:24:51.539 of death. related this experience, I quote him, 00:24:52.220 --> 00:24:54.759 I was down in Texas some time ago and happened 00:24:54.759 --> 00:24:58.299 to pick up a newspaper and there they called 00:24:58.299 --> 00:25:02.720 me old moody. Honestly, I never got such a shock 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.480 from any paper in my life. I had never been called 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:10.339 old before. I went to my hotel and looked in 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:14.640 the mirror. I cannot conceive of getting old. 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:19.500 I have a life that is never going to end. Death 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:22.380 may change my position, but not my condition, 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:27.119 not my standing with Jesus Christ. If you meet 00:25:27.119 --> 00:25:32.359 me 10 million years hence, then I will still 00:25:32.359 --> 00:25:37.640 be young. Don't call me old. I'm only 62. I've 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:41.460 only begun to live. And so it is with every one 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:46.700 of us who know Jesus Christ. None who follows 00:25:46.700 --> 00:25:52.180 Christ Needs ever fear death Either physical 00:25:52.180 --> 00:25:57.299 death or spiritual death Jesus himself promised 00:25:57.299 --> 00:26:03.660 in John chapter 5 verse 24 Truly truly I say 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:08.000 to you he who hears my word and believes in him 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.799 who sent me Has eternal life and does not come 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:19.000 into judgment But has passed notice the tense 00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:28.500 Has already passed is the idea out of death into 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:35.019 life Every one of us is born into this world 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:39.319 of darkness to inherit death from grandfather 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:47.019 Adam It is a dark death But Jesus Christ the 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:49.640 light of the world came that he might dispel 00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:55.259 the darkness of death and he will dispel it for 00:26:55.259 --> 00:27:02.980 you if you will be one of his followers. There 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:09.779 was a Christian man who one time had a secret 00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:14.339 dread of passing through the portals of death. 00:27:17.100 --> 00:27:23.140 One night he was passing by a graveyard and he 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:26.960 saw a little girl entering the gate. She began 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:33.059 to walk across the graveyard. He questioned her. 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:36.240 Don't you dread crossing the cemetery alone, 00:27:36.279 --> 00:27:41.599 especially when it's so dark? Afraid, replied 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.279 the little girl. Oh no, I'm not afraid. My home 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:50.500 is right over there on the other side. My friend, 00:27:50.619 --> 00:27:52.579 that's true for every one of us who knows Christ. 00:27:53.779 --> 00:27:56.079 Our end is not the cemetery, our home is on the 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:59.920 other side of it. The place that Jesus has gone 00:27:59.920 --> 00:28:04.859 to prepare for each one of us. He said, if I 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:07.799 go and prepare a place for you, I will come again 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:12.000 and receive you to myself. Where I am, there 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.839 you may be also. For some people, Christmas is 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:21.440 a difficult time of year. It is a sentimental 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:27.039 time. It can be a lonely time, especially when 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:31.700 you have lost someone who's dear to you to death. 00:28:33.140 --> 00:28:35.059 And that is the case with some who are here this 00:28:35.059 --> 00:28:38.900 morning. And it may even be years ago that it's 00:28:38.900 --> 00:28:42.799 happened, but somehow at Christmas it seems to 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:49.539 come with fresh hurt a fresh sense of loss. Let's 00:28:49.539 --> 00:28:52.039 remind ourselves this morning of those who've 00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:55.259 gone before us in Christ, that they're home. 00:28:55.880 --> 00:28:59.900 They're on the other side. But like Jesus said, 00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:05.660 though they die, they still live. They're still 00:29:05.660 --> 00:29:09.019 living. Not in the physical body that they did 00:29:09.019 --> 00:29:12.039 in this world, but they're still living. And 00:29:12.039 --> 00:29:14.710 one day they'll come back with the Lord. and 00:29:14.710 --> 00:29:19.750 receive a new body, as all of us will in that 00:29:19.750 --> 00:29:23.869 time of the rapture. Jesus Christ, who is the 00:29:23.869 --> 00:29:26.529 light of the world, came that he might dispel 00:29:26.529 --> 00:29:32.349 the darkness of death. At this Christmas season, 00:29:32.410 --> 00:29:36.549 as you look again into the manger, what do you 00:29:36.549 --> 00:29:42.630 see? Had you been there 2 ,000 years ago with 00:29:42.630 --> 00:29:46.490 those shepherds and looked at that baby in very 00:29:46.490 --> 00:29:50.509 simple swaddling clothes. You would have seen 00:29:50.509 --> 00:29:54.890 no extraordinary sight. There would have been 00:29:54.890 --> 00:29:58.269 nothing outwardly that would have clued you or 00:29:58.269 --> 00:30:02.730 anyone else as to his identity. It had to be 00:30:02.730 --> 00:30:08.569 announced, and it was. But we know that incarnated 00:30:08.569 --> 00:30:12.029 in that baby, in that small infant, was the light 00:30:12.029 --> 00:30:15.740 of the world. In all of his glory, in all of 00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:20.500 his power, he was there. And he grew up to be 00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:25.640 a man, an adult, and he is the one who stood 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:29.480 before a mass of people like this one this morning 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:33.839 and said, I am the light of the world. He who 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:37.079 follows me shall not walk in darkness, but will 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:42.680 have the light of life. He offers himself to 00:30:42.680 --> 00:30:47.039 us today as the light of life if we will follow 00:30:47.039 --> 00:30:52.160 him. What does it mean to follow? Well, it's 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:55.200 more than to timidly explore the idea of God. 00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:02.619 It's more than to try God as though we're going 00:31:02.619 --> 00:31:07.319 to investigate with doubt and some certainty, 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:09.440 in fact, that it's not really going to work. 00:31:11.309 --> 00:31:14.650 To follow Jesus Christ means that we understand 00:31:14.650 --> 00:31:24.069 who He is, what He did for us, who we are, and 00:31:24.069 --> 00:31:28.289 that we are committing ourselves to trust Him 00:31:28.289 --> 00:31:32.789 and to obey Him. To follow Him means to give 00:31:32.789 --> 00:31:38.349 oneself to Him without any reservation. It means 00:31:38.349 --> 00:31:42.339 to give oneself to serve him and to serve him 00:31:42.339 --> 00:31:48.700 alone, to follow him. William Henriksen says, 00:31:49.019 --> 00:31:52.559 man must follow where the light leads. He is 00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:55.680 not permitted to map out his own course through 00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:00.140 the desert of this life. To follow him means 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:03.420 that you will follow the light where he leads. 00:32:07.739 --> 00:32:12.880 One young African convert many years ago was 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:17.539 In a school where he was visiting and he watched 00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:21.259 some girls who were sewing learning how to sew 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:26.200 And he noticed that the the thread that they 00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:29.079 were using always went wherever the needle went 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:33.680 and In that simple little task he saw a profound 00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:35.880 truth and that night when he had his prayers 00:32:35.880 --> 00:32:42.630 he said Lord, you are the needle, I am the thread. 00:32:45.730 --> 00:32:49.069 I'll follow you, he was saying, wherever you 00:32:49.069 --> 00:32:53.269 go. Those who follow Jesus Christ will enjoy 00:32:53.269 --> 00:32:57.170 the knowledge of the true God and will value 00:32:57.170 --> 00:33:00.829 learning his ways. They will no longer walk in 00:33:00.829 --> 00:33:04.880 the darkness of ignorance. Those who follow Jesus 00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:08.880 Christ will enjoy union with God, being accepted 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:13.599 by Him and sharing in His life and His power, 00:33:14.839 --> 00:33:18.559 no longer walking in the darkness of separation. 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:22.720 Those who follow Jesus Christ will enjoy freedom 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:27.839 to enter into life's adventure without the fear 00:33:27.839 --> 00:33:31.920 of death and with an assurance of an eternal 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:35.380 home in heaven, he will no longer walk in the 00:33:35.380 --> 00:33:41.339 darkness of death. Have you followed him? Have 00:33:41.339 --> 00:33:44.859 you made that decision that he alone will be 00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:49.960 the Lord of your life? If not today, as the light 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:53.759 of life, he offers himself to you and he says, 00:33:54.519 --> 00:34:03.630 follow me. Let's pray. The command of our Lord 00:34:03.630 --> 00:34:09.349 is to follow Him. His invitation is, come to 00:34:09.349 --> 00:34:14.769 me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden. I will 00:34:14.769 --> 00:34:19.730 give you rest. If you are heavy with a load of 00:34:19.730 --> 00:34:24.590 your sin, weary with the guilt of it all, confused 00:34:24.590 --> 00:34:29.230 with the mess of your life, groping in your darkness, 00:34:29.489 --> 00:34:32.719 wondering how to make sense out of it, Understand 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:37.519 that Jesus Christ is the light of life and you 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:42.820 may come to Him today and let Him bring His light 00:34:42.820 --> 00:34:46.760 into your heart and dispel forever the darkness 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:51.480 that is there. O Spirit of God, may there be 00:34:51.480 --> 00:34:55.159 someone here today whom you would draw to the 00:34:55.159 --> 00:35:00.940 Savior that he or she might follow Him in faith. 00:35:01.610 --> 00:35:07.269 and be saved and walk in light. In Jesus' name 00:35:07.269 --> 00:35:08.710 I pray, amen.