I AM the light of the world (chapel sermon)

Here is the sermon I gave on March 3rd in Chapel for those who wanted to read it! It originally had slides to go with it. Contact me if you want them. I believe that this is one of the best sermons God has had me do yet. It is really exciting to see what he is teaching me, and the perspective that he is giving me when I speak. May this be to God's glory and not my own.

· As Christians we believe that Jesus is the light. That goes really without saying. I used to wonder, does he light our paths wherever we go? What does it mean to be in the light of Christ? And lastly, how does this happen? Today I will tackle these questions.

· In JOHN 8:12 Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’

· When Jesus says “I AM” he is telling people that he is God. As God, Jesus has merit to say that he IS the light and the source of all the light for the world. This means that we ourselves are not the light, nor do we create it. If light were to come from us it would only be from Jesus who is inside of us as Christians.

· In the part of the verse where it says, “I am the light of the world”, the word “world” refers to all the people of the earth who walk in darkness. Those who walk in the darkness do not know God or even the things of God. Ironically, it is possible for someone to be a Christian who has a PHD in theology to be walking in darkness. That person may not have an authentic relationship with God or even know what the Spirit is trying to communicate through Scripture. They may employ exegetical methods and be thoroughly educated on the original contexts in Scripture, but still miss the Spirit. As we shall soon realize, only as we abide in Christ are we able to walk in the light of life.

· “I am the light.” Jesus says. Light means life and it signifies life-giving power. I found a great example of this from Adrian Dieleman. He says, “Think, for a moment, of the everyday miracle we know as photosynthesis. In photosynthesis light means life. In the presence of light, green plants convert water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into carbohydrates and oxygen. If there would be no light, there would be no photosynthesis. If there would be no photosynthesis, there would be no more life. Light means life. Jesus says, "I am the light." This means Jesus is the source of life and the well-spring of being. All life comes from Jesus and stems from Jesus.”

· Keeping with the plant image, is an example that Jesus gave to us in John 15 of the vine. This example builds on the idea of walking in the light because in order for us to walk in the light we must abide in Christ. Jesus tells us,

“‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. 2He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes* to make it bear more fruit. 3You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become* my disciples. 9As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”

· Like branches, we carry (bear) the fruit. We can never make the fruit. It does not say in the Bible that we must produce much fruit, but instead bear much fruit by letting Jesus work through us. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, If we abide in Him, He will abide in us. What does that mean? How can we do this? Where are God’s commandments found? They are found in His Word. It is only by listening to God’s Word that we can know His commandments. This Word is Jesus, as described in (John 1:1-3). Therefore in order to abide in Him (also 1 John 3:24), we must obey the Word in all it’s entirety and learn from it. Also, John 4:24 says that, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” Worship includes obedience. Truth in this verse is the equivalent to the word, but what is meant by the Spirit? So in order to abide in Christ we have two elements: Abiding in the Word, and abiding in the Spirit who illuminates God’s will and the Scriptures to us. We are God’s vessels, and Jesus is the power that (if we abide in Him) flows through us. We allow that power to flow through us like nutrients flows through branches, so that as branches we can “bear” the fruit of the Spirit. From this we can see that Jesus is the only source of illumination to the Scriptures, and thus to God’s will.

· What is the fruit that Jesus wants us to bear for him? The fruit is not simply the amount of souls that are won in Christ through us. They are also not simply nice Christianly character traits. Those may be a part of what the fruit is referring to. In its entirety, the fruit is anything that we do for Christ while we abide in him; while we are in the light. Nothing we do outside of abiding in Christ can possibly be fruit.

· When we get back to the idea of Jesus being the light and life of the world we can see that since Jesus is the light only he can create the fruit. We only bear it. If we were the creator of the light we would be able to make the fruit. We cannot live the Christian life without abiding in Christ. Our role is to allow Christ to work through us, and to do as we are commanded by him in his will for us.

· Abiding in the light of Christ is not a new thing. It’s all over Scripture. In the Old Testament we find many examples of the Israelites following the light of God. One example of this is in Exodus where God led Israel by the cloud of his glory. The cloud illuminated Israel’s path by night and led them by day. Here Israel had to stay in the light of God. No amount of knowhow would have saved them if they were not following the light. God will lead. Where the light of God went was not based on what Israel wanted to do but rather, it was based on God’s divine will. Another example in the Exodus was that Israel had to rely on God to provide food and water for them. Since we know that Jesus is the light that brings life, we can see that God here was also the light that brings life to the Israelites. In the desert God tested Israel constantly to see if they would trust in Him. When they would not, Israel would face judgement. However, when they would obey God they would receive life from him. In this case God gave them manna for food and water from the rock Moses struck. Abiding in Jesus today is no different. Jesus is our spiritual food and our spiritual drink. (This will be a great thing to remember when we take communion later). If we are Christians he is also within us in the form of the Spirit. Like Israel, Christians can choose not to live on the sustenance of Christ who is the GREAT I AM. As long as we rely on another source for our sustenance rather than on Christ we can never walk in the light. Just as God illuminated the path for Israel in the form of a cloud, if we do not follow that cloud (who today is Jesus) we can never walk in the light. Following God is NOT a matter of qualifications or ability – rather it is a question of our obedience.

· Now to take this one step further. When Jesus died and rose again, he tore the curtains to the most holy place in the tabernacle where God was believed to reside. God is now accessible to every Christian relationally. In fact we should remember the first and most important commandment that Jesus gave us, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). We can see here that obedience to God is that we love him with every ounce of our being. Obedience to God is to follow him in love. How can we not love a God who has taken the time for us; who has chosen to live inside of us to teach and guide us on a personal level? The Spirit is jealous for our love and obedience! He is jealous for us to walk in his light! God knows that apart from him we can do nothing. Our knowledge and education is ONLY given value when it is abiding in Christ. When we are not abiding in Christ we are working against Christ. If we truly love God we will obey him.

· Since Jesus is the light that gives life, anything apart from abiding in him cannot be in the light. Even the most noble of things, if they are apart from Christ cannot be in the light. This includes Bible knowledge and Christian education. This has no bearing on how good of a Christian we are as we can see in 1 Corinthians 8:1-2, “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God”. We cannot operate on our education and knowledge alone. When we are we can only operate in the darkness. When we rely on ourselves rather than on God we make ourselves into the ultimate mediator of truth. This is not to say that we don’t do our part. Because when we follow God we each have our side to fulfil. Rather, if we are to walk in the light which is abiding in Christ we must operate as one with Christ; who is willing to lead us. Knowledge can be very use-able, but is only valuable as it is being applied by the Spirit. The Spirit is the only one who can make changes in us and in others according to God’s will.

· In conclusion, as Christians we must abide in Christ who is the light of life. Just as God fed the Israelites through manna and water from the rock, God gave us Jesus who is our spiritual food and drink. As we abide in Christ we get this sustenance, just as abiding in the vine sustains the branches and produces fruit. This idea is not new. Christ is not presenting a new idea. This was God’s will for his people since the beginning. As part of God’s will for your life, abide in Christ who is the light of life.

· I would like you to ask: are you walking in the light or are you in darkness? Are you abiding in Christ who is the only source of life? Or are you trying to live off your own light which is really just darkness?

· PRAYER::::: God please teach us to abide in Christ who is the only light of life that we can bear much fruit. Please help us to recognize that we can do nothing in God’s will apart from Christ. Help us also, to remember that just as you gave Israel life through the manna and the striking of the rock for water in the desert God, you have given us Christ Jesus who today is our spiritual food and our spiritual drink. Please also help us to remember what was heard today and God please apply and press this to our hearts and minds. In Jesus’ name Amen.