Welcome to a new posting of the Weekend Sermon. I am glad that you are reading these sermons, and I pray that you are receiving spiritual edification through them. My greatest hope is that someone who has never accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior will read one of these messages and invite the Lord Jesus into their life.
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I am currently working on a religious book. The book is progressing nicely. I have finished another chapter, and I hope to have the book published sometime next year. At my job, well, I don't know what to say. I am thankful for my job which the Lord has provided, but it is a depressing job. On a brighter note, I have been getting more writing work, and I am grateful for that.
In prayer this week, let us continue to pray about the Ebola outbreak in Africa. I heard a report on NPR yesterday that the number of new cases has drastically fallen. A physician with Doctors Without Borders stated that she thought that Africa could be Ebola free by 2016. Let us also pray for another health crisis in Africa. There is a meningitis outbreak occurring, and there is currently not enough vaccine. Let us pray for an end to this problem.
Also, let us continue to pray for peace. And let us pray for areas of the world where there are few Christians and the Gospel of Jesus needs to be preached. In this regard let us pray for Comoros, Maldives and Brunei.
Last week, we continued in our new series of messages on the "I Am" statements of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John. We examined Jesus statement that He was the Bread of Life.
Today, we turn our attention to Jesus' "I Am" statement found in John 8:12 that reads, "When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. During this time, Jesus was teaching the people daily. He was also engaging with the religious leaders who did not care for Jesus at all. The people believed that Jesus was a great prophet and teacher, but the religious authorities wanted to kill Jesus or at least discredit Him in the eyes of the people.
During the time of the feast, the religious leaders tried to entrap Jesus by bringing to Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus did not condemn the woman. He told the crowd that whoever among them was without sin, they should cast the first stone at her. Of course, no one did that. Jesus said to the woman, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more."
The next day, Jesus was back teaching the people. It was at this time that Jesus made the statement that is our focus today. Jesus said the He was the light of the world.
What does it mean when Jesus says that He is the light of the world. I would like to focus on at least two areas in which Jesus is the light of the world, and also focus on how we are the light of the world in the opinion of Jesus.
First of all, Jesus is the light of the world in a spiritual sense. As we saw when we studied I John, the world is filled with spiritual darkness. Since all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the world is a dark place that is filled with all manner of evil and violence. John states in the beginning chapter of his Gospel that the Word was made flesh and was the light shining in a dark place.
Everyone who is born is born in sin. There is none righteous the Bible says. We have inherited a sin nature, and all of us have rebelled against God and gone on our own way like straying sheep. We love to follow the darkness of sin.
However, when we were in sin, God loved us, and He sent His Son the Lord Jesus to die on the cross to save from our sins. He sent Jesus to shine as a light and drive away the darkness of sin.
Because Jesus loved us, He was willing to lay down His life for us. On the cross, Jesus bore our sins in His body. Jesus was the Lamb of God who could take away the sins of the world.
Whoever, puts their faith and trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross and believes that Jesus has risen, that person will leave the land of darkness and receive the pure light of Christ into their soul. They will no longer be part of the kingdom of darkness. They will be a member of the kingdom of love and light and a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus who is the light of the world can provide the solution to humanity's spiritual problem of sin. All of the other religious pathways simply lead to more darkness. Jesus provides the answer to sin, guilt and darkness in the human heart.
I believe that Jesus is the light of the world in another sense as well. Jesus came into the world to live a holy and sinless life. Through His teachings, He demonstrated for us how human beings ought to live. Jesus provides an example for life. His life is a light. If people would follow the example and teachings of Jesus, much of the darkness and trouble that is in the world would be eliminated.
Jesus taught the way of peace and justice. He showed us how we are to treat the poor and the powerless. He demonstrated the value of every individual. He showed the world what God's love is really like, and He showed us the way that we are to love one another.
If people would truly follow Jesus, this world would know peace. Exploitation and poverty would end, and all people could live a life free from fear.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that His followers where the light of the world. Jesus had light in and of Himself. We do not. As His followers, we reflect His light to others and into this world. That is our mission. We are to spread the light of Christ into the darkness. We do this by obeying the Great Commission and sharing the message of the saving love of Jesus with those whom we know. We also spread the light when we do what Jesus commanded. When we care for and provide for the least of those among us, we truly are the light of the world.
If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you and become the Lord of your life, I pray that you will do so today. Don't live in darkness anymore. Come to Jesus who is the Light of the World.
Next week, we will examine another of Jesus' "I Am" statements. On Monday, I will post the verses. There will be book reviews this week. May God bless you all. Amen.
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