Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.

In him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. I'm excited about this this morning. Lord we love you and pray that you bless as we try to rightfully divide your word. And Lord, I ask that you'd honor it this morning.

We certainly wanna honor you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Once you notice, and I've just kinda laid this out kinda as verses, and there's kinda three groupings here. It's kinda really verse one and two, and then verse three, and then verse four and five.

It's an automatic separation, if you will. But I want you to notice in verse one, it says this, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Now this kinda speaks really of the person of Jesus Christ. It kinda lets you know who he is, and for us to understand him at Christmas time, we gotta know, okay, who is he?

Who was he, and what is his role, and why did all these things happen? So let's start first with his person, or who he is. Notice, if you will, in this verse, it teaches three things.

Number one, it teaches that Jesus is eternally God. Notice this, it says, in the beginning was the word. That is past tense. That means that literally in the beginning, the very first of anything, he was already here. Now we mentioned this last week, I'm not gonna belabor the fact, but it doesn't make sense to us to think that Jesus never had a beginning. Now we think Jesus began when he was born of Mary, and of virgin birth, and different things, but dear friend, that's not where he began. That's where he showed up here on earth. He began before time ever started. Now that doesn't make a lot of sense to us, but you've gotta understand that he is eternally God.

Always has been, always will be, and is. Now, I want you to notice the second thing it teaches is that not only is he eternally God, he is equally God. Notice this, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. Now we believe in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. All three are one. They're all God, and yet they all have different roles.

Now, I want you to notice this little word in here that kinda really means a lot. In verse one, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God. Now, in the Greek, that word with means this. It means face to face, or toward, and that literally tells us that Jesus was face to face with God from the very beginning before time ever began. What that means is is that he is God's equal. Jesus is equal with God.

He wasn't looking up to or looking down to. He was looking face to face with God. Not only is he eternally God, but he is equally God. Listen to me, Jesus, while he was here on earth, is everything that God ever said or will say. That's who Jesus was.

Let me put it this way. He is everything that God is, but in human form. Jesus was equally God. Now, look at verse 18 of chapter one.

If you're right there, look right down, hold your place. If you gotta turn the page, it's fine, but don't leave chapter one, but look at verse 18. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is the bosom of the Father, hath declared him. Now, this verse says some interesting things in John chapter one. It says that Jesus is the bosom of God the Father.

What do you mean bosom? The two or one, and then it says this, that he hath declared him. You know what that word declare means? In the Greek, it means to explain or to narrate. Now, this morning, we had two narrators, and they explained the story of the songs before the songs were sung.

So you've gotta understand, that word declared means to narrate, and that's where we get our word exegesis from, this word, or to explanation, or narrate, or to explain something. That literally means this, that Jesus is the explanation or the narration of God. He literally told the story of God.

What? He is eternally God. He is equally God. Now, you say, well, I don't know if I believe all that. In John chapter 14, you don't need to, am I back off or am I back on?

Am I good, okay. John chapter 14, verse 10, listen to this verse. Listen to me, please. Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me, Jesus said, listen. The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Now, listen to this. Believest me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake. Did you hear that? That means this, Jesus literally dwells in the Father, God, and God the Father literally dwells in the Son. And guess what? The Holy Spirit part of the Godhead dwells where?

In us. Jesus dwells in God, God dwells in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. That's how come you and I are literally in the family of God. Jesus is God, God is Jesus, the Holy Spirit is both, and we have God living in us. God's living in the Son, the Son's living in God. He's not just eternally God, He is equally God. You say, preacher, why is that important?

Oh, listen to me, dear friend, if you don't understand, that is extremely important, because everything that is anti-Bible tries to prove that Jesus was just a man. He was equally God. But I want you to notice, thirdly, this verse teaches that He was entirely God. Notice, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That means this, all through His life, Jesus proved that He was God over and over again. Now, I don't have time to develop all that this morning, but I just want to give you some statements that Jesus made on earth that only God could make. I find that first, Jesus said this as the storm and disciples were obviously in a storm and a ship. Jesus literally said, peace, be still. Only God can do that.

Only God can stop a storm that quick. He made this statement, He said, He looked to those that were impotent and lame, and He said, rise up and walk, and they did. A man couldn't do that. If they could, I would be going to every rest home, every hospital, and I would look at everybody in those beds, and Brother Tony and I were talking this morning, and Mrs. Alford has surgery coming up this week for cancer, and Brother Tony and I were talking, and he was talking about these cancer centers that they've been to, and you see these pitiful cases in folks in stage three and four of cancer and different things, and I told him while we were in the hospital with Kayden for those months, we saw cases and individuals coming through that hospital constantly, and it just rips your heart out, and you say, dear Lord, if those people can have grace to do that, I can have grace to go what I'm going through.

We don't have it that bad, and dear friend, I'm here to tell you, if I could, I would tell every one of them, rise up and walk. Be healed of this infliction, but I can't do it. I'm a man. Jesus said this, Lazarus, come forth, and he did. Jesus said this, thy sins be forgiven thee. Man can't do that. Jesus also said this as he hung on the cross.

It is finished. Only God could do that. Not only is he eternally God, not only is he equally God, he is entirely God. Now, that's kind of who he is, that's his person. I want you to notice in verse three, we not just see his person, we see his power.

This is not who he is, this is what he can do, and even more importantly, what he has done. Notice verse three, all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Now, this tells us two things. Number one, about Jesus, it tells us that he is the maker of creation. All things were made by him. That proves he's God, because in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and then it goes from there, and the Bible says, hear of Jesus, that all things were made by him. He's the maker of creation, but even more importantly, notice this second phrase. And without him was not anything made that was made. That means this, not only is he the maker of creation, but hold on to your seats, number two, he's the master of creation.

Not only did he make it, folks, look at me, he controls it. Now, let me give you a little bit of play on words, and let me give you some verses first. Not only did Jesus make the universe, but he has the power to hold it all together.

Let me read you a verse, Colossians chapter one, verse 16, listen to this. For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, listen to this, and by him all things consist.

Do you know what that word consist means? It literally means he's the glue of the galaxies. It means he's the sustainer of the seasons. It means he's the enabler of the earth. He is the one not only that made it, but that it consists of.

He's the one that keeps it rolling. You say, preacher, I don't know, listen to me, now you just gotta use your common sense here and listen to this. Think of it this way. Do you know that man can't really make anything run like it should? Let's just take a look at our planet.

Bible says by him all things, whether they be in heaven or in earth, listen to me. Do you know if you look at our earth, you realize that God has to be in control of that? Do you know that our earth, while you're sitting here right now, that our earth is literally traveling in three different directions at the same time? Did you know that?

No wonder you're confused. Listen to me, our earth revolves on its axis at the same time it travels around the sun, and at the same time our earth's path is deflected by other planets. That means this is constantly changing and our earth adjusts to it.

Listen to me, and still scientists have found that the rotation of our earth around the sun, our earth does not lose more than one one hundredth of a second every hundred years. We can only say that Jesus is in control, correct? Let me get a little bit deeper. Let's look at the building block of this universe. He said everything in heaven and everything in earth. So let's look at things. And everything are made up of something. It's made up of cells, molecules, and atoms. But now listen to me, I want you to get this. You gotta think, because I'm gonna tell you something.

It's gonna take your mind a little bit to process this, but this is very, very important. Let's look at the atom. The atom is so small that each atom is less than one hundred fifty millionth of an inch. Now if you look at a little inch, how do you have even one hundred and fifty million measurements in that little space? An atom is one hundred fifty millionth of an inch. Literally invisible with the human eye. God said that he controls all things visible and invisible.

But now listen to me. If you could take the molecule of a single drop of water and convert that molecule into grains of sand, listen to me, there would be enough sand to build a concrete highway half a mile wide and one foot thick all the way from New York to San Francisco. Just in the amount of atoms that are in one molecule in water. And there are a hundred and twenty drops of water in a single teaspoon. And in one of those drops there's enough atoms that would build a half a mile wide wall one inch thick all the way from New York to San Francisco. Not only that, combine it to the fact that just one cell from our body contains two hundred billion molecules of atoms.

And you heard with just one drop of water the amount of atoms it produces. And dear friend you tell me that that's not controlled by God. It's amazing when you think about it isn't it?

Let me say it this way. Whether you look at the universe with a telescope to see how big it is or if you look at the universe with a microscope to see how small it is, when you see the order, the symmetry, the harmony and the beauty, only a fool could think and anybody else but God controlled that. He is the maker of creation and he is the master of creation.

Once you notice thirdly and it brings us all to this. Why does these verses exist? Well it's God's word, I know that.

But God's word always has a purpose. In verse one it tells us who Jesus is. In verse three it tells us what Jesus did and can do and is doing now. So why do we need to know who he is and what he can do before we are told verses four and five? Because in verse one and two it talks about his person, who he is. In verse three it talks about his power, what he did, what he can do, what he is doing right now. And it tells us all this so that in verse four and five it tells us his purpose. Why did he come? This is who he is and this is what he can do.

But he took all that for one reason. Look at verse four. In him was life and the life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. Now this is great to me because this gives us two obvious things that is the purpose Jesus came.

Notice this, this is great, I'm excited about this. Number one, this verse teaches that he came to bring life into deadness. He came to bring life into deadness.

Notice that first phrase. In him was life. Listen to me this morning. When Jesus came into this world, he entered a world filled with dead men. Years ago there was a farmer trying to teach his son the way of life on a farm. So he took his son out to the hen house and he grabbed a chicken and he said, son, your mama wants a chicken for dinner.

So you know what we gotta do. With that he cut the chicken's head off and that chicken began to flop all around the ground although the head was severed. And that man's son, his eyes got wide with amazement and he looked at his dad and he said this, that chicken there is dead and he doesn't even know it.

Do you know all across Kernersville, Greensboro and High Point and Winston-Salem, men are dead and they don't know it. I want you to understand, look at me folks, you've gotta get this phrase because I'm gonna develop it here. In him was life.

Now three things real quick and as I'm developing it, you gotta understand this. You gotta realize first thing this morning that Jesus is the sustainer of earthly life. Do you know that in him is life?

Do you know why you and I breathe? It's because he allows us to. He sustains our life.

By the way, the Bible says our times are in his hands. That means this, that he decides when we lose our breath and he decided when we got our breath. He made creation, he's the master of creation and that means this, in him is life.

He literally controls our earthly life. Number two, not only is he the sustainer of earthly life, he is the secret of effective life. If you don't live for him, you've got no reason to live. Heard this statement as you look through these life quotes and things. This statement said this and I thought it's been said this, that three things make life worth living.

A self fit to live with, a faith fit to live by and a purpose fit to live for. Let me tell you about the life that Jesus offers. Number one, not only does he sustain earthly life but he is literally the secret of effective life. That's why the Bible says that when Jesus brought life and he gives life to you that are saved, he gives us life more abundant.

That's an effective life. I want you to notice thirdly though that Jesus is also the source of eternal life. He's the sustainer of earthly life, he's the secret of an effective life but he is the source of eternal life. That means this, when you and I put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, that is the source of eternal life. Now you say, now preacher, now you said that all of us will live forever and we will. So you say, well I have eternal life whether I have Jesus or not. No, you have eternal existence. Burning alive for an eternity in hell is not life. You want eternal life.

Life was birthed and controlled by Jesus. So you will only have life where Jesus is. You see, hell is not I'm alive forever. No, hell is you die forever. He is the source of eternal life.

Now, you gotta get this with me. John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him, listen, should not perish but have everlasting life. He is literally the source of eternal life. Now, think about this phrase, in him was life.

That means this, there was something in Jesus that was not in us. Get this, when he came to earth, in him was life, in us was death. Do you know the moment you are born, you begin to die. We are sinful man, we are sinners by nature and dear friend, we die because of our sin and our bodies decay and sin is a killer and we are born with a sinful nature. The moment we're born, we begin to die. But in him was life.

Now, are you ready? Let me tell you something, this hit me while I was sitting on my recliner at home. And I couldn't process it all at once. Listen to me, that phrase, in him was life. That means this, if God had no beginning, then he can have no ending.

Have you ever thought about that? Bible says in verse one, in the beginning was the word. So, listen to me, if God had no beginning, then he can have no ending. The only way you can make something end is if something began and if God never began, how in the world could you make him end? If nothing made him, then nothing can kill him. If nothing gave him life, then nothing can bring him death.

If he was here before anything was here, he will be here when everything is gone. Life is in him because he created life. He was alive when there was no other life. In him was life.

I guess I'm the only one that's just amazed by that. Notice secondly, not did he only come to bring life to deadness, but second, he came to bring light unto darkness. Notice, if you will, verse four and five. In him was life. He came to bring life into darkness, but notice this. And the life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.

I'm almost done, so you gotta listen to this real quickly. Number one, I see that he brought a public light. It said this, that his life was the light of men, plural. That means that when Jesus brought life to this earth, it was available to everyone.

Listen, John chapter eight, verse 12. I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. I am the light of the world. I want you to know this morning, it's a public light. I'm dreaming of a light Christmas. Let me tell you something.

It is available to all. Jesus came so that he could bring life into your deadness because we are all, the Bible says, dead in trespasses and sin. But he came so that he could give you life. And the only way you're gonna get that life is if he somehow puts light into your darkness. The Bible says that our minds and our hearts are blinded by sin, they're darkened by sin, but the light of the glorious gospel, it lets the gospel known so that the life can enter.

Listen to me, dear friend, I want you to get this. It is a public light. That life was to give light to all men. Doesn't matter what color you are.

Doesn't matter what side of the tracks, all those things. God is no respecter of persons. He's no chooser of favorites. It is available to all.

Listen to this. If you wanna notice, I want you to see this in the same chapter, look at verse seven. John chapter one, look at verse seven. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe.

All men. Look at verse eight. He was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. It's a public light. I want you to notice secondly, it's a powerful light. He said this, that that life was the light of men, verse five, and the light shineth in darkness.

It is powerful. Where that light is, darkness is not there. Do you know that light makes the absence of darkness?

You can't have darkness and light in the same place. Say preacher, would you explain this? Well, let me give you some verses first. Ephesians 5, eight says, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the world. Walk as children of light. Listen to this one, Acts chapter 26. To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith, that is in me.

Notice the correlation. He says you've gone from darkness to light so that you could go from the power of Satan unto God. It's a powerful light. Let me tell you how powerful the light is Jesus has. It'll take you from being on your way to hell to being on your way to heaven.

Let me read you another verse, Colossians chapter one. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. That's a powerful light. Something that could literally take us from sinners on our way to hell to saints on our way to heaven.

Man can't do that. Only Jesus, who the Bible says is the light of the world can do that. It's a public light, it's a powerful light.

Notice thirdly, sadly, it's a passed over light. Notice if you would, verse five. And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. It's available, it's powerful.

Anybody can have it. Anybody can put their faith and trust in Christ. Anybody can be translated and transformed by that light. But the Bible says that that light showed up and men comprehended it not.

It was right in front of them and they couldn't see it. Look if you will down to verse 10 and 11 of chapter one. The Bible says he was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. Look at verse 11, he came unto his own and his own received him not. You know what is sad?

Is that the world literally stumbles blindly in the dark, looking for light in all the wrong places. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kirtland Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the web at kirtlandbaptistchurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. We'll see you in the next episode of Kirtland Baptist Church.