R254 The Light of the World

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a message on the light of the world. As we prepare to open our Bibles to John chapter 8, know that the phone line is open for you. We'd love to talk with you and pray with you at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. Let's connect.

And now, Dr. Don Wilton. Would you please take your Bibles with me this morning and turn in your Bibles to John's Gospel in chapter 8. I'm going to be reading from the same version that is in the pew Bible. It's important because, and this may shock some of you, I actually have got nothing to say outside of God's Word.

Now, I know that I've said this to you before, and I don't say it just to make a statement or to sound correct, but I'm not going to be preaching from the Reader's Digest or from the National Geographic or from the local newspaper. You see, friends, the Bible is a very special book. It's God's Word from Genesis to Revelation. It doesn't contain the Word of God.

It is the Word of God. The Bible says that my Word is a lamp unto thy feet, and it is a light unto thy pathway. And our subject this morning in John's Gospel and beginning at verse 12 is the light of the world.

Now, I want to say a few things, and I know that you're getting used to me doing that. I want to say a few things before I begin to read this extraordinary encounter. We begun to notice more and more particularly, and the closer we move toward that incredible life-changing event that took place upon the cross of Calvary, that the opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ began to become far more prominent with every step that Jesus took toward the cross. As Dr. Billy Graham has preached before and will do so many more times, the offense of the cross. You see, the cross and everything involved in the cross was and is completely offensive to the darkness of the world.

There is nothing about the cross that the world can tolerate. And I would remind you that in the first 11 verses of chapter 8, as we preached on the real meaning of forgiveness, it was an effrontery of the highest order that Jesus should have seemingly ignored the adulterous affair of this woman who was caught in sin. Jesus was not ignoring her sin. Jesus condemned her sin.

I'm convinced today that the Lord Jesus Christ in the consistency of everything that he is would have spoken to her about the consequences of her sin. But what Jesus did with the woman in the first 8 verses, 11 verses of chapter 8, was an effrontery to the human interpretation that mankind plays upon human life because they are interpreting life from the perspective of the darkness of the world. Verse 12 of John chapter 8 is an absolutely pivotal and key verse. In fact, whilst there are so many verses just like this. May I suggest to you that verse 12 stands as probably the most critical verse in all of John's Gospel because it speaks so eloquently to the person and the ministry and the very nature of who God is. So let's read together and I'm beginning at verse 12. 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. The Pharisees challenged him.

I'm sure we're all surprised by now. The Pharisees challenged him. Here you are, Jesus, appearing as your own witness. Your testimony is not valid. Jesus answered, even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. For I know where I came from and where I am going. You judge by human standards.

You see it there? That's what Jesus told them. You judge by human standards. I pass judgment on no one, but if I do judge, my decisions are right because I am not alone. I stand with the Father who sent me. In your own law, it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.

I am one who testifies for myself. My other witness is the Father who sent me. Jesus asked him, where is your Father? You do not know me or my Father, Jesus replied.

If you knew me, you would know my Father also. Now Jesus spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him because his time had not yet come. Once more Jesus said to them, I'm going away and you will look for me and you will die in your sin. For where I go, you cannot come.

This made the Jews ask, will he kill himself? Is that why he says where I go, you cannot come? But he continued, you are from below. I am from above. You are of this world.

I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins. And here it is, this is the gospel message. If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins. Well, who are you then, they asked. Just what I've been claiming all along, Jesus replied.

I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable and what I've heard from him I tell the world. Now they did not understand that he was telling them about his father, so Jesus said. When you have lifted up the son of man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be. And that I do nothing on my own, but rather I speak just what the father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me.

He has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him. May the Lord write his word upon our hearts. I'm sure that you would agree with me this morning that light is something which is universally accepted by all people and understood by most people and particularly all religions of the world. If you ever want to try and understand the meaning of light in the New Testament, you need to go back to the Old Testament. Now I don't have time to get into this, but light has its roots in the Old Testament. And in fact, I'm going to submit to you this morning, my beloved friends, that if we are ever going to be able to understand what Jesus said, we have to understand the source of light in the Old Testament.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 27 and verse 1, the Lord is my light and he is my salvation. Seems to me rather remarkable that this was done, everything that we read about here was done during the time of the feast of the Tabernacles. Now you will recall that I suggested to you some weeks ago that if you were to get a group of young boys and girls around back in Jesus' time and you were to say to them, all right, boys and girls, you've got a choice. We could go to the feast of the Passover. We could go to the feast of the Tabernacles and listed off the different traditions and everything.

What would you like to do? It would have been a resounding, a resounding amen to go to the feast of the Tabernacles. This was the original Mardi Gras.

There was no question about it. You see the feast of the Tabernacle was the most joyful, most exotic, most spirit-filled, and I use that in a human sense, the most unbelievable time of celebration in the Jewish calendar. Historians tell us that you could go to Jerusalem and outside of the walls of Jerusalem there would be just hundreds of these tiny little tents.

You know, Dr. Pownes, the kinds that when we go with our sons on RA camps and in the middle of the night you kind of wake up and wish you were back home with mama, you know, watching TV and there they were. They were just all these little tents all over the place. These tents were erected in order to remind the Israelites of their 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness as a consequence of their sin.

That's just how they lived, almost as nomadic tribes for such a long period of time. And in fact, back in Exodus chapter 13 and verse 21 the Bible tells us that during the day the Israelites were guided by a pillar of cloud and at night the Israelites were guided by a pillar of fire. Well, right here at the feast of the Tabernacles something extraordinary began to take place because in the middle of the night at the darkest moment in time all of a sudden four great candles, far better described as four great lights were lighted by the clergymen of the day, by the high priests. And these lights would radiate the shekinel glory of God round about Jerusalem and the historians tell us that these lights were so visible and they were so powerful that they literally pierced the darkness that hovered over all of Jerusalem during the feast of the Tabernacle and they lighted up everything for everybody to see. What did it symbolize? It symbolized a reminder to the children of Israel about the outstretched hand as the psalmist says in Psalm 19 as we're studying on Wednesday night that the whole heavens declare the glory of God and the declaration of the glory of God is bound into the very heartbeat of the character of who God is and that God's holiness radiates down through his outstretched hands upon the firmament and upon the people of the earth and God's glory is made present and manifest upon the earth. Here in the midst of this darkness these lights shone forth symbolizing the shekinel glory of God reminding the children of Israel about their deliverance because of who God is reminding them about the fact that even though they had sinned and fallen far short of the glory of God that he is still the great I Am. Isn't it remarkable to think that Jesus would have chosen this occasion to stand there before these skeptics to stand there before these men and women and boys and girls and to say to them I want you to know men and women, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, teenagers, children I want you to know that you may look at that symbolical light which symbolizes the glory of God even in the midst of your deprivation even in the midst of your Mardi Gras philosophy of life but I want you to know there is a greater light than even this for I am the light of the world and whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Isn't that incredible?

That's exciting news. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message The Light of the World with Dr. Don Wilton but he insists I remind you where available I'd love to speak with you, pray with you maybe connect you with resources that will help you grow in your faith at the other end of this number jot it down, store it in your cell we're available 24-7 at 866-899-WORD that's 866-899-9673 but also online at our website www.tewonline.org that's www.tewonline.org Now back to today's teaching with Dr. Don Wilton Isn't it incredible that Jesus Christ right there in the midst of that time would remind us of the greatest reason why he came to this earth so that he could shine forth in darkness and that people could receive him into their hearts and into their lives There are many reasons why Jesus referred to himself as the light of the world I'm going to give you five reasons why he did that here in the Gospel of John You ready? You need to turn there with me in your Bible Number one, he was telling them he was light of the world first of all because he is the revealer of the darkness of the world He is the revealer of the darkness of the world Turn with me to John chapter 1 Let's go to John chapter 3 John chapter 3, turn there with me in your Bibles John chapter 3 verses 19 and 20 Listen to what Jesus said back then He said, this is the verdict We're a verdict seeking people We want to know yea or nay We want to know whether it's blue or grey Whether it's black or white This is the verdict Light has come into the darkness Has come into the world But men love darkness instead of light Because their deeds were evil Everyone who does evil hates the light And will not come into the light Here it is For fear that his deeds will be exposed You see Jesus was saying to these Pharisees And to these Sadducees And to these scribes And to these sceptics Jesus was saying, I am the light of the world And my function as light is to reveal the truth about who God is And the truth about the deprivation and the sin of man But he's not only the revealer As light he is our guide Number two, he is our guide Look with me at John chapter 11 Let's turn over there I always hope I can find it myself John chapter 11 verses 9 and 10 John wonderful to hear all those pages turning John chapter 11 verses 9 and 10 Here's what Jesus said Now remember this was written in the context of the death of Lazarus Jesus answered Are there not twelve hours of daylight A man who walks by day will not stumble For he sees, listen For he sees by this world's light It is when he walks by night that he stumbles For he has no light Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life No man can come unto the Father but by me And what Jesus was saying to these people was I am light not only because I'm revealer But I'm light because I'm the guide I show the way And outside of me you're going to stumble and fall You cannot see your way through the darkness of this world Outside of the indwelling light of the Lord Jesus Christ But then there's a third reason why Jesus said he was light He said he was light because he was presently available He was light because he was presently available Look with me at John chapter 12 and verse 35 Now you know I'm going to come back to these as we go through John But John chapter 12 and verse 35 This is what Jesus told them again He said you are going to have the light just a little while longer Walk while you have the light Before darkness overtakes you The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going Put your trust in the light while you have it So that you may become the sons of light Beloved friends this morning This is one of the most solemn warnings of all scripture I believe that what Jesus Christ is teaching at this juncture And we're going to come back to it I'm going to preach on what it means to sin away your day of grace I believe the Bible teaches very clearly That Jesus Christ the light of the world is presently available But that God's grace is extended to us in God's sovereign time And I'm convinced in my heart That there are men and women in this world today Who have so often and so often and so often Rejected the convicting power of the Spirit of God They have so many times said no to the light of the world That I'm convinced that God has taken away The present availability of the light of the world What a tragedy, what a tragedy But there's a fourth thing that Jesus said about himself He said not only is he light because he is revealer, guide and presently available But he is light because he is life itself Turn back with me to the first chapter of John again John chapter 1 and verse 4 Yeah this is in the prologue, the beginning part of the Gospel of John John chapter 1 and verse 4 Jesus said, in him was life And that life was the light of man One of my favourite verses goes like this Jesus said I have come that you might have life And that you might have it more abundantly Isn't that something?

Huh? Isn't that incredible to think that we can tell people That the Word of God is the light of God Is the joy of the world, is the peace of the world Is the hope of the world, is the fact that we can know That we know that we know that we know beyond any doubt That when we die of Jesus we're to come again That we can be transported by the angels Into the presence of the King of kings and the Lord of lords And how is this possible? It's possible because the light of the world is life itself That's the life of which God speaks in John 3 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son That whosoever believes in him should not perish But should have everlasting light Should have everlasting light Which is the very life of Almighty God in Christ Jesus You see his light, he is not only revealer He is not only guide He is not only presently available But he is life itself Our minister of youth called me the other day and told me That he had had the privilege of leading two young people to Christ And we were just rejoicing over the phone together And we talked about the fact that we have the greatest joy In our hearts as hub and I rejoice together In the fact that another two young people Had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ Who is life itself He's not only revealer and guide And presently available in life itself But there's a fifth thing about Jesus' light Jesus was trying to say to them That he is universally available Now this is the greatest mission statement that you could ever read Dr. Pownes It's right here in God's Word, John chapter 1 and verse 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world There is no exclusion as far as God is concerned There are no people, no races, no cultures, no tongues, no ethnic origin There is nothing that is exempt or exclude from the love of the Lord Jesus Christ The Bible says the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world Jesus chose the Feast of the Tabernacles Here they were having an incredible time Historians tell us a lot of drinking going on A lot of debauchery, a lot of immorality And yet in the midst of this, symbolically There were these four great lights shining forth To represent the shekinal glory of God Who rescued them from the wandering in the wilderness And delivered them into the land of Canaan Which flowed with milk and honey But you know something? These people began to respond to that light You see Jesus says as the light of the world You and I are going to respond And I want you to notice very briefly Five responses that we notice To verse twelve here in this great chapter I'm going to give them to you, write them down Number one, there were the challengers The challengers, we're going to read about them in verse thirteen Number two, there were the listeners in verse twenty The listeners, I like that group We're going to talk about them But even though I like them, I'm going to say to you They are the most tragic group that you can ever meet As far as God's Word is concerned There were the challengers Then there were the listeners Then in verse nineteen and twenty-two and verse twenty-five There were the inquirers Then in the fourth place We're going to notice the rejectors Those who rejected the light of the world In verses twenty-three and twenty-four But then in the fifth place There were those who were the receivers That's right there in verse thirty Probably the greatest verse of all Even as He spoke, many put their faith in Him Let's have a look at them very quickly We've encountered them already, these gentlemen The Pharisees, they were the scholastics They knew everything about anything They wore those clerical robes They were the Sadducees We've learnt about them They didn't believe that Jesus rose from the dead That's why they were sad, you see I mean, they had all kinds of problems These Sadducees and the Pharisees And then there were the scribes The scribes were God's personal gift to mankind They were charged with the solemn responsibility Of interpreting the oral tradition of the law They were the ones who stood at the temple gates They were the ones who were the scribes They were the ones who were the learned men And the Bible says that when Jesus When Jesus confronted them With their own sin and deprivation They immediately began to challenge Him Have you ever met a challenger? Challengers of people who every time the name of Jesus is mentioned They've got something to say about it They challenge it from a scholastic point of view They challenge it from a spiritual point of view They challenge Him from a religious point of view They challenge Him They're always affronting Him Saying we don't believe you We don't accept you How in the world could you ever say that you're the only one? These people who challenged Him Were classic universalists But then there was a second group of people They were the listeners I'm not only taking this from verse 20 But every time Jesus encountered the presence Of men and women and boys and girls There were those who were on the periphery Those who just sometimes sat there and listened Look what verse 20 says He spoke these words while teaching in the temple Area near the place where the offerings were put Yet no one, here they were, these people All over the place, no one seized Him Because His time had not yet come There were not only the challengers and the listeners But in the third instance there were the inquirers You see the spiritual litmus test Of the spiritual nature of man Is not measured by his inquiry It is measured by the intent of the heart Related to and as a result from the inquiry But sadly in the fourth place there were rejectors What a tragedy But all my heart leaps for joy When I read about the receivers in John chapter 8 and verse 30 The Bible says even as He spoke Many put their faith in Him You see friend these people came to understand That salvation is not achievement It is receivment What a great understanding Salvation is not achievable But oh it is receivable I pray that as you've heard Dr. Wilton speak today That you would open your hearts not just to his teaching And his wonderful engaging stories And his South African brogue But in these next moments as he comes in the studio To share his heart I pray you'd open to what God might want to say To you through Him next Are you ready to give your heart and life To the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now Dear God I know that I'm a sinner And I know that Jesus died for me on the cross Today I repent of my sin And by faith I receive you into my heart In Jesus name My friend I welcome you today Into the family of God This is exciting news If you just prayed with Dr. Wilton moments ago To give your life to Christ or rededicate your life Oh welcome to the family of God Welcome home Dr. Wilton has wonderful resources he wants you to have So call us and let us send them to you 866-899 Word is the phone number Jot it down Store it in your cell 866-899-9673 We'd love to speak with you Pray with you And connect you with these resources That Dr. Wilton wants you to have And you can find many of those resources On our website as well It's brand new at www.tewonline.org Here's Liz with all the details We are excited to announce That we have a new updated website On our new website You can find current and past broadcasts Order the current monthly offer Post prayer requests or praise reports Sign up for the daily encouraging word See our current broadcast schedule And donate to the encouraging word Find us at www.tewonline.org What a powerful day of teaching And tomorrow Dr. Wilton's message Continues in John But with the genuine disciple What does it mean to be genuine? I hope you'll join us tomorrow And bring a friend We'll gather also online Between now and then You can hear today's message Or share it with a friend At www.tewonline.org That's www.tewonline.org