The Revelation of the Redeemer

Greetings and welcome once again to the midweek service from the almost empty auditorium of Beacon Baptist Church on Kirkpatrick Road in Burlington, North Carolina. Of course during these live stream only services we always have somebody at the soundboard running the equipment. Normally on Wednesday night that's Ryan Cardwell. And occasionally we'll have some members who drop in and join us and tonight we have Corey and Amy Oakley.

I didn't ask them the exact reason but my guess is they probably brought Jonah to the team meeting tonight and it's a long ways to go home and come back again for them. How far away do you folks live? About 25 miles? Rather than two each way so we're so happy to have them as well. And our teens are meeting tonight. Teens in college and career started meeting on Wednesday nights about three weeks ago and that's going well. So that has been one addition to our formerly restricted schedule as we are little by little adding and expanding and opening up and returning toward normalcy even though we're still quite a ways away. However this coming Lord's Day we will have two in person services. People present services.

Sunday morning at 930 has been people present since March, no since May of last year. And that has been going well. We have been careful. Distancing people, every other pew. Wearing masks for the most part.

Fist bumps and elbow bumps instead of hand shaking. Though I've noticed that's getting what should I say a little bit less severe, less restrictive as time goes on. Sunday I was talking to some folks back in the welcome center after the service and I reached out my hand for a hand bump and the lady said I'm not afraid to shake your hand and she took my hand so we're glad that people are becoming less concerned. About the COVID is obviously more and more people are getting vaccinated and more and more people are have built up antibodies from having having contracted COVID and survived it.

I'm one of those and there are quite a few of those as well. But anyway in addition to our Sunday morning service which has been people present for a number of months. We will be having a people present service Sunday night at six o'clock. We will be having a community service which I do not think we have had a community service since February of 2020. So here we are in March of 2021.

It's been a little over a year. So that will be this Sunday, six o'clock. We hope you'll be able to come. We will be observing a couple of things to make it more, what should I say, more safe. But you can't do everything and so things are beginning to change but what we are doing this Sunday night is putting the wafers in a cup.

So you're going to get the juice in the cup and you're going to get the wafer in the cup so you will not be taking a wafer that's been touched by somebody else. They'll be placed in the cup by people who are wearing gloves. They're going to be untouched by human hands at least after it got to us.

I can't promise you what happened before we received them but probably they have been untouched completely by human hands. But we are going to pass the trays. We talked about that and I think we're going to do that. We haven't been passing anything. We haven't been passing any offering plates and we haven't been passing anything but we will pass the trays. So I just mentioned that so that if that is a great concern to you then you make your decision accordingly but I hope you'll decide to be with us as we observe the Lord's command. It's been difficult to know exactly what to do. We have certain things that God has commanded us to do.

He hasn't told us how often they must be done. We do take into account the measures that we need to take to keep people safe and healthy during a pandemic. The commands that the Lord has given us to assemble together, to sing His praises, to remember the Lord in the way that He has commanded around the Lord's table. So this Sunday night we'll be doing that together. Now I will also mention that our Spring Bible Conference begins on Sunday, April 4. That will be what? Trying to count up the Sundays here.

This Sunday is the 21st so we have one more day and then the following Sunday so two weeks away for our Bible Conference. Mark Webb from Olive Branch, Mississippi will be with us. At least I think he's still from there. That's where he was for many years. He's now retired from pastoring. I think he still maintains a residence there but he also spends a good bit of time in Wyoming, is it? I think it's Wyoming where he has a home. And so wherever he's from he'll be here, Lord willing, making plans to be with us along with his wife, Paula.

He's ministered God's word here at Beacon a number of times over the years and always to great blessing to our souls and we're looking forward to his series in the book of Ephesians. So please mark your calendar, be with us. That will be people present Sunday morning, Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, April 4 through 7. And finally I mentioned that John Hannah Kisevich will be moving into their new home on Saturday, March 27. If you are available to help them for even a short or longer period of time, they would appreciate it and they would like to know of your availability.

You can call or text at 336-567-7713 if you will be able to help them at that time. We have a tap ministry, which is a ministry in Pennsylvania that distributes materials that have been, shall we say, gently used, that's a common phrase these days, gently used and donated to them. They distribute those materials to other countries where people are able to use them, where the English language is used, such as in the Philippine Islands and other places. And so we put our Bibles, which are in good condition that we may not want any longer as we've acquired new ones, good Christian books and literature. We put them in the box back here and when the box gets sufficiently full, we ship it off to Pennsylvania and they accumulate them there in the warehouse and they ship them off to where the requests come from.

All that to say they have requested not to receive any more daily breads. They are cutting down on some of the, what should I say, some of the smaller items, trying to concentrate on larger ones, but they are happy to receive table talk, devotional magazines, if any of you use those. My wife and I have been using that for years and I'm glad to know where I can put those.

They're so rich and they're so full of good teaching, I hate to discard them. And in the past I have tried to pass them on to other people and right now I don't have anybody here that I know that I can pass it on to. But now I know I can place it in the missionary box and it will be distributed to another country, to a pastor, or to someone there who is in need of good material.

So, table talk magazines, place them in the box. They will be reused. Daily breads, however, can also be reused but not in the missionary box. But there's a white basket out in our communication hallway that has been placed there by Cheryl Ingold and if you'll put the daily breads in there, she will distribute those in area senior citizen facilities.

So those can still have new life but just not through tap ministry and to other countries. All right, let me read the verse that's on our prayer sheet tonight. For the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice and preserves the ways of his saints, Proverbs 2, 6-8.

Prayer requests. We're praising the Lord that Robert Sweet is doing well. He had a heart catheterization. He had a stent put in. He had an artery that was 99% blocked and that was causing him problems, as you can well imagine, causing him some pain. That has now been addressed and he's feeling fine and back to work. So we give praise to God for that.

Our government official of the week is Mebane Mayor James Hook. Please pray for him. Some of our members who are in various stages of recovery. Bob Caldwell is now home, praising the Lord that they were able to repair the tear in his artery, in his colon, and he is gaining strength day by day.

Drew Guthrie is at home. They have decided not to give her any more cancer treatment. She has made that decision. She's doing well.

I tell you she is doing well. Marty and I were able to visit with her on Sunday afternoon and she's taking no pain medicine. They prescribed oxycodone for her, which is a strong pain medicine. I'm trying to think what it's called exactly, but she doesn't take it.

She has it if she needs it, but she doesn't take it. She has no pain. She says, I'm not even taking Advil. And I said, well, you have less pain than I do because I take Advil.

I have arthritis in my left hip and some days I just have to have some Advil. But she's doing well. Her spirits are good. She's trusting the Lord. She's just at peace with her Savior, looking forward to being with him. And it was just a joy to be with her and to talk to her. So she's doing well. She may be here in this world for a while to come.

We don't know what her time frame is. But she's ready to meet the Lord, wanted to talk about her funeral, wanted me to hold to conduct her funeral, and she had some requests that she wanted to include in the funeral, which I'm happy to do. And, you know, that's something that it's hard to explain, how you can talk to somebody about their death, about their funeral, and do so with joy and cheerfulness. You can't do that if you don't know the Lord. I don't know many unsaved people that could talk about planning their funeral without real difficulty. But those who know the Lord, have a true new birth experience, have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within them, can talk about these things not only without gloom and doom and fear and trepidation, but actually with joy and anticipation.

Because people who know the Lord know what Paul has told us in the Bible, namely that to be with Christ is far better. And so Drew is doing well. I just am glad to be able to report that.

Well, some others. Duane Craig's father is an ARMC with congestive heart failure. Please pray for him. Lee Hodges, who is a... I won't try to explain the relationship, but that request was given to us by Donna Martina Boudreau, and he was involved in a very serious chainsaw accident. Please pray for him.

Charlotte Maguire is an aunt of Bruce Councilman and had a massive heart attack. She knows the Lord. We continue to pray for Laverne Waugh as she's adjusting to Stuart's passing and also for missionary Mike Webster in France as he is battling colon cancer. And speaking of Laverne Waugh, I received a text this afternoon from Pastor Eric Johnson, a Providence Baptist in Ashboro, from Pastor Juma in Zimbabwe. And it's so precious, I have to read it.

It's a little lengthy, but not too long. But here's what Pastor Juma says. I wish you knew Pastor Juma like I do. But Pastor Juma, along with his brother Saidi, our two pastors there, pastor of different churches and different locations, both of them were reared up in a Muslim home, came to know the Lord under the ministry of Stuart Waugh, carrying on wonderful ministry. Well, here's what Pastor Juma writes. Oh, we are able because we are with our Lord Jesus Christ.

No journey can be impossible when he is in it. All pastors and their families are doing fine. It's now two weeks since we were allowed to gather in church, up to a number of 50. And yes, your prayers mean a lot to us all. We need them each moment. As you know, we had our father, Pastor Stuart Waugh, the one we loved.

God also loved him and called him home. Now pray for us as we try to find the ground on our own without him. Oh, yes, Mom, she is there.

That's, of course, Laverne. But you know she needs all the support from us, especially the prayers of God's people. We are continuing with the work of the kingdom of God each day. His mercies are new. We are thankful for our brothers over there.

That would be here in the USA. We know that you love the Lord. That's why you love us. We love him because he first loves us all. Pray for each pastor and his family. Our children are going back to school now. They need protection.

Our country has nothing to help them. It will be like taking chances. Pray for all the pastors. Our beloved Pastor Stuart Waugh has his vision for the work in Zimbabwe. We all need God to guide us each step, humble before him and seeking wisdom from him each day.

Pastor Stuart Waugh taught us to preach sound doctrine. Pray for us to keep the book of the law unto our mouth, not turning to the left or turning to the right. Thank you so much for all thinking of us all and taking an extra mile, especially in the work of the kingdom. May our dear Lord richly bless you. Amen. Signed, Pastor Juma. Precious. Turn the ringer off in case somebody calls me.

I'll probably hear it vibrate, but you won't hear it, hopefully. Well, we express our sympathy to the families of Ash, of Alfred Ash, that's Sue Elliott's brother-in-law. Nancy Moore, that's Larry Cardwell's sister, and the funeral will be Saturday, I think, in Virginia for her. And then Catherine Rue, Darren Rue's mother, and this one you may not have heard of because we didn't know about it until Monday. She actually passed away on Friday, but we did not receive word until Monday.

But I was able to attend the funeral service. She was a Christian with a fine testimony, and the family seems to be doing well. Darren Rue, who of course is a member of our church along with his wife, Donna, and daughter, Kaylin.

He has two sisters and one brother, so there's four children in that family. And it was a joy to be with them at the funeral service and to hear of the testimony that his mother leaves behind. Please remember that family in prayer. And I finally will mention Betty Duncan, a member of our congregation who's having severe back pain.

In fact, the last word we had was that she's too weak to be able to stand right now, and she clearly is getting weaker. So at this time I want to pause and open the service in prayer. Father, how blessed we are to be named among the sons of God. How blessed we are to be in a fellowship of like-minded believers.

How blessed we are to be able to gather together by means of lifestream technology, even when we are reduced in the number of meetings we can have together. But how blessed we are to be able to meet together on Sunday mornings and to be able to add additional services as we will be this coming Sunday night. How blessed we are for our teens to be able to be meeting tonight and some of our college and career young people, and we pray that you will bless their gathering, bless the teaching of God's word as Pastor Bob LaTour teaches them from the life of David. How blessed we are to have been in a strong partnership with Missionary Stuart Waugh, whom you have called unto yourself. We pray for his wife Laverne, that you will strengthen her.

She's going to have to go through some pretty major adjustments in life without her husband that has been her life's companion, I guess, for at least 50 years or more. And we pray for the pastors who have looked to him for leadership, whom he has trained and who love him dearly and will miss him. But Father, we thank you for the strength that we see in their lives and in their ministries, and we pray that you will keep them true to yourself and true to your word. We pray for Ram and for Colin and their ministry in a city where they can partner together in sister churches in the same town. We pray for Saidi and Juma, brothers who also pastor separate churches in different areas, but who are faithfully carrying on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray for Juma and his church, especially in the passing of this young man who was a member of their church and who died recently and left a great void in that congregation. We pray for Temba and for Joseph, and we pray for Trevor and for Crispin, and we pray for Honest and for Trust. And we pray for their churches, and we pray for other men who are expressing a desire to be involved in the ministry of the gospel and who are wanting to be trained for that ministry and to be given opportunities to preach. And we thank you that there are new churches forming, nucleuses of believers that are coming together that are a good opportunity, a good prospect to be developed into local churches that will carry on the work of the gospel in that land. We pray, O Lord, that you will put your hand to protection about them. We pray for the children of Zimbabwe as they return to school, as Juma has asked us to pray for them because of the pandemic that you will keep them safe. And now we pray, O Lord, that you will bless and guide us throughout the remainder of this time together tonight as we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen. Well, time for some missionary letters. I brought a bunch of them, and I won't have time for all that I have brought, so I'm going to have to be selective thumbing through them right now to decide what to read.

I'd like to read them all. Maybe I will read excerpts at least from this recent email letter, rather lengthy letter, from Andy and Trish Goodman in Alaska. And they write, Dear Pastor Barkman at Beacon Baptist Church, 2020 was a weird year.

We are glad to be well to 2021. We want to share a summary of our finances and ministry support and the summary of our first year and a half of ministry at Kingdom Air Corps in Alaska. I want you to know that this is a casual and candid 2019-2020 year-end report, nothing too serious or formal, just like us.

And then there's a very detailed accounting of their finances that I will not read through at this time, but they go through first a general summary and then monthly donation amounts and donor population consisting of how many churches and how many individuals and so forth and so on, very detailed, and we appreciate that greatly, and a little account as to how their mission agency operates and the distribution of their support. And then they have a recap of their year, July through December 2019. Our first six months in Alaska are sort of a blur. Andy was thrown into the summer at Kingdom Air Corps mayhem right away and just went with the flow for the remainder of the summer. The fall months were a continuation of getting settled, finding a new rhythm, understanding the ministry of Kingdom Air Corps and our role here. We ended 2019 by staying in Alaska for Christmas and starting some new traditions. And then they go on from there, March through May 2020. These were the strangest months for us.

I'm not going to read that paragraph. The summer of 2020, they explained what went on during that period of time. The fall of 2020 and the work that they were involved in there.

And December of 2020, how they ended up the year and so forth. Then they give us some prayer requests. Please pray for ministry connections and meaningful relationships. Pray for the managing of moods of the seasons in Alaska. In the summer, we are all exhausted from burning the candle at both ends. That's because it's daylight virtually all 24 hours. During the winter, life is just harder.

It is dark and cold and dark some more. More than ever before, we need to be aware of how we are affected during these times and how to take care of ourselves. Overall health and wellness, we need to do better at prioritizing exercise and healthy living in our daily lives.

We are not strangers to healthy living, but it has not been a priority over the past year. Pray for our kids. Pray for all the kids' things you can think of. Pray for the Kingdom AmeriCorps missionary families. Summer preparations are underway already. We're praying for a fruitful summer. Financial support, we always take our requests to the Lord and ask that He meet our needs.

He has used them in all situations. Ministry, parenting, finances, marriage, schedules, decision making. Thank you for your faithful prayer and support of our work at Kingdom AmeriCorps. We're grateful for all that God has done and hopeful of how He will continue to work in Christ, Andy and Tricia Gudeman.

And then there's more. Thank you for a good bit, but so glad to receive this extensive volume of information from the Gudemens. Very helpful indeed. Then in a similar vein, I have a short letter from John and Molly Harmon, members of our congregation here. They're now involved with Missionary Air Group, not to be confused with the Kingdom AmeriCorps, but Missionary Air Group, which is stationed right outside the Burlington Airport, almost within eyesight of our church facility here. And that's where the Gudemens received their final training before going to Alaska. They had received training in piloting and airplane mechanics and so forth, other places, but they received their final preparation here. But anyway, John writes, praise the Lord, Molly and I are doing fine.

We've been very careful about exposure to COVID-19, and we have now received our two-step vaccinations. And then they say we are finishing up training of a pilot mechanic who's going to join a mission in Alaska, joining up with a family who graduated last year from our training. My role now is to assist the smaller or newer missions establish their financial structures and processes. In May, we look forward to attending our granddaughter's graduation from Covenant College and traveling out to Dave and Donnelly's new home in Texas for his birthday.

Thank you for the support Beacon has lent to missions worldwide, and specifically for the contribution to replace the float plane in Peru for South American mission. Our blessed Easter John and Molly Harmon. So glad to have these folks as part of our congregation.

Well, I think I will read next and last. I'll make sure this is the last one I want to read from Tony Honeycutt at Piedmont Rescue Mission and an update on what's going on there, and particularly the construction project on the Family Center, or whatever they call it, Family Shelter, they call it. It's a facility that will allow them to house mothers and their children. They haven't been able to do that up until now, but the Lord provided the building, was donated to them quite some time ago, and it's taken quite a while to get permission to turn it into a facility of this type to get the proper zoning and the permits and then to raise money and then to carry on the construction that is going on well. He writes, I'm happy to report that one of our major hurdles in the renovation for the Family Shelter was crossed this month.

It may not look like much to you, but to us it is like jumping a mountain. We praise the Lord for helping us reach this major goal. Now that this step has been accomplished, the plumbing pipes can be placed in all the bathrooms and kitchens. We would like to thank the individuals and companies that have donated their time and materials for this project. We have the windows for the rooms that need to be added to the apartments. As the holes are cut, the windows are going in.

This is a major task. We have at least 12 rooms where windows will have to be installed. We are thankful for the man that is volunteering his time to cut the holes and install the windows, and these holes will be cut in brick, so this is a major undertaking. We would also like to thank Laos Home Improvement for the donation of the windows. There are a few more rooms to divide and frame out the walls.

A great big thank you to the men doing the framing work. We also have been encouraged by several people wanting to adopt a whole apartment to furnish and decorate. The need for this shelter grows every day.

The calls we receive concerning housing for women and their children vary from family abuse, drug and alcohol addictions, homelessness and joblessness with no help from extended families. Our hearts break with some of the calls we get from moms who are in desperate situations, and then we have to tell them that our shelter is not open yet. Please help us pray that we won't have to do this much longer. We know God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. The phrase that sticks out with me in this verse is that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above not only what we ask, but what we think.

What a blessing it is to know that He goes further than even what we ask of Him. We ask of your continued prayers and financial support for all the ministries of Piedmont Rescue Mission and especially for the family shelter this month in Christ, St. Tony and Tammy Honeycutt. And then there's a little bit of update news on other aspects of the ministry, and I'll cover that quickly. In regard to Alamance Rescue Mission, we are now open to new clients.

The number of men has increased since the COVID-19 lockdown has been lightened. We ask you to pray for one of our residents, Tim, who has been here for a while and is fighting cancer. Please continue to pray for Brother William Green. As he is undergoing dialysis three times a week, he will not be returning to the mission because of his health issues, but he is continually in our hearts and prayers. He was on staff, was a very faithful man for many years. He got COVID, and now he's on dialysis. Just a little update here about Good Samaritan Super Thrift.

I'm not going to read that. It says ways you can help the ministries of Piedmont Rescue Mission. Pray for our residents and staff. Donate gently used clothing and other items, including vehicles. Remember the mission and your estate planning. Share the need with family, friends, church, club and coworkers.

Volunteer your time. So that's an update from Tony Honeycutt. And I will stop there and ask you to open your Bible to the Gospel of John chapter 1. Where we have been sojourning on Wednesday nights, when I have been in the pulpit for several weeks now, and we return to it once again. This is one of those great sections in God's Word. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

All is profitable for doctrine and for reproof. But this prologue in the Gospel of John that sets the stage for the remainder of the Gospel is one of those highlights in Scripture. And we're taking some time with a portion of this, but I'm going to read beginning at verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

In the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but he was sent to bear witness of that light that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.

He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Well, this is telling us a great deal about the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into this world. And this Redeemer is revealed to us in several different ways in the passage, but we are concentrating particularly upon the revelation of the Redeemer that we see in verse 9, which says, that was, having already talked about the light, that, the light that he's talking about in the previous verses, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. This tells us that the word that came into the world, the word that was made flesh, the word that was with God and was God, that this word came into the world as the light, the true light. Now, what does that mean, the true light?

And there are various explanations that are given for that. Some think that the term true light is referring to the superior light. It is superior to all other lights. Well, that certainly would be true.

I certainly can't object to that understanding. This one is the superior light, superior to all other lesser lights that are in this world. Some think that phrase, the true light, refers to real light in contrast with symbolic light, that is, the types, the shadows, the ceremonies, say of the Old Testament Scriptures, that pointed to Christ. They were a light, they were truth, they were illumination of very important revelation from God that pointed to Jesus Christ.

They were lesser lights, so to speak, lights that God gave to point to Jesus Christ, but when Jesus Christ came, He was the true light, the final light, the real light, the one that these types and shadows and symbols of the Old Testament pointed to. He was the real light of which they were only a shadow. That's the way some people understand this phrase, that He was a true light.

But I think probably the best understanding of this phrase is that He is the undereived light in contrast to reflected light. We had several verses that talked about John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, and He certainly was a light. He was a preacher of truth. He prepared the way for the coming of Christ. He shined the light of truth, the light of direction, directing men to Jesus Christ. He pointed Jesus out when Jesus came up to where John was baptizing. He said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John was a light, but he was not that light.

That's the phraseology that is used here. Verse 8, speaking of John. He was not that light, but was said to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. Undereived light as opposed to derived light or reflected light.

The light that John shone, the truth that he declared, that he was used to help people understand the identity of the Messiah who had come into the world, that light was a reflection of the true light in this sense, or similar to this sense. We go out into the darkness of the night sometimes and look up into the sky, and we see the moon. If it happens to be a time when the moon is full, that moon is bright, that moon sheds a lot of light. Even on a dark night, it's amazing how much light we get from a full moon. It keeps the night from being totally dark.

You can actually see. Once your eyes adjust, you can see things from the derived light of the moon. But those who know anything about the moon know that the moon is not a source of light. It has no light within itself.

It is not generating light. It is a cold, dark planet, a cold, dark moon that's circling planet Earth. It's a very small planet, if you want to use that term. It's a small heavenly body that has no light of its own. Well, where does all of this light come from that we see when we look up into the night sky and see this great big moon and all of this light?

Where is that light coming from? Well, as we know, it's a reflection from the sun. The sun has un-derived light. The moon has derived light. It is a reflection of the light of the sun. The sun generates light. Oh, I can't even imagine the energy that is burned from the sun every day, enormous amounts of energy.

You can't really understand the extent of it. And it has been going on that way for thousands of years, burning, burning, burning, and putting out this light that comes from itself. It is a source of light. It is a generator of light.

It is, we might say, in an astronomical sense, we might say it is a true light. The sun is a reflector. For many years out here at the entrance of our church parking lot, we had little red reflectors on either side of the driveway. And if there were no cars around, they were as dark as a piece of coal. But if a car came along and showed its lights on it, they reflected the light and you'd see these round red circles to help you find the entrance way, to find your way between the ditches so you didn't get in the wrong place.

But that proved to be inadequate for some people, and they said we need something better. So Ed Bradshaw came up with the idea of putting in a series of these little lamps that get their energy from the sun. They're solar. They have solar batteries, solar generated light, so that now if you drive up to our church facility on a dark night, you will have several lights that will show you the way into the parking lot.

They are not dependent upon your headlights shining on them. There's no reflected light in them. They are generating light that comes from the batteries, from the energy that they received in the daylight from the sun. Now, if you come in here early on Sunday morning, as I often do, usually getting here a little after 6.30 on Sunday morning, you will find that they have used up all of their solar energy. They're dark. They're not shining a bit, but not too many people are coming in at that time of day, so they shine long enough when the sun goes down, they shine for several hours, and they do the job just fine of pointing the way into the parking lot. They are generating light, whereas those little red reflectors are reflecting light.

Well, that's the idea here. Every one of us who ever proclaims any truth about Jesus Christ, any truth about God, any truth from the Bible, we are lights, Jesus said to his disciples, Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. We are lights, but what kind of lights are we? We are reflected lights. We are derived lights. We are lights like John the Baptist, but we are not that light. That light, the light which lighteth every man who comes into the world, is Jesus Christ. He's not generating a reflected light.

He's not generating the derived light. He is emanating the un-derived light which is His. He is light. There are a lot of things you can say about Him. He is life. He is light. He is truth. He is many things, but light is one of the things which He is. He is un-derived light.

The point is not really to dwell too much on whether this word true means whether it means superior light or real light as opposed to symbolic light or un-derived light as opposed to derived light. What it's telling us is that He is the only source of true light, the only source of true light. He is the center of all things. He is the source of all truth. What did Pilate say when Jesus was before him?

What is truth? Jesus standing before him is truth, the truth, the embodiment of truth, the one who said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, standing right before Pilate, and yet Pilate looking right at the truth, the very source of all truth, did not recognize Him, which is exactly what this passage says as we go on. We have talked about the revelation of the Redeemer in verse 9, but now we move quickly to the rejection of the Redeemer in verses 10 and 11. He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.

First we have a general revelation to the world in verse 10 and then a special revelation to a privileged nation in verse 11. But the general revelation to all the world, He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him. The Creator of all things came into His creation and shed forth this underived light, which is part of His very nature, and yet most people did not know Him, did not recognize Him, did not benefit from the light which He gave.

Pilate did not. There was the light standing right before Him, being questioned by Him, and Pilate in his sinful, willful blindness just muttered, What is truth? and went on his way without benefiting from the light of this One who came into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him, a rejection of the Redeemer who came as light into the world.

But not only the world at large, but we have a special revelation to Israel as a nation. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. His own things is what this means. His own home, His own possessions, His own people, they received Him not, a word that has the idea of receiving Him into the house. When someone comes to your door who's a total stranger, you're not inclined to invite him in.

If somebody comes to your door that you know, a family member, a neighbor, a friend, you are glad to welcome them in. He came unto His own. He was theirs. He belonged to them. They belonged to Him, and yet they didn't receive Him into their house. They had greater privileges than the world at large and therefore their guilt in rejecting Him is greater.

But in either case, the result is the same, blindness and rejection. He came into the world and the world did not know Him. He came unto His own and His own did not receive Him. God revealed Himself to man in numerous and more than sufficient ways. Jesus revealed Himself in many, many, many ways when He was here upon the earth, and yet most of the people who came into contact with Him, who saw His miracles, who heard His words, living words, powerful words, some even recognized that. And what a way of saying never a man spoke like this, but even some of those who recognized that His words were different from the words of any other man, nevertheless did not receive Him. How guilty are those who reject the Son of God? They are going to be held accountable.

You are going to be held accountable if you do not receive Him and how awful that day of accounting will be. But, and I will quickly move to this wonderful truth, some did receive Him, and those who received Him were renewed. There is something that took place within them. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right, or a word that means authority, to become children of God to those who believe on His name. Those who received Him, those who believed on Him, to those were given the right to become the sons of God.

That's an interesting way of putting it. But when you couple it with that idea of become, I think you understand what's going on here. They were given the right, the authority, to become the sons of God. There is a sense, of course, that we become the sons of God the moment we trust in Jesus Christ, and that's how we enter into this relationship by believing in Him. Again, when we believe in Him, we have been given the right to become the sons of God.

And there's another sense in which this is a process that's going to go on in our lives until we are ushered into the presence of the Savior and the process will be complete. We know, we who are saved know, that though by God's grace we are the sons of God and we are just as certain in our position as sons as we will ever be, that can never change. We'll never be kicked out of God's family. He will never cease to be our Heavenly Father, even when we disobey Him and grieve Him as we do more often than we should.

Nevertheless, He still embraces us as a Father, though we need to make things right with Him and acknowledge our guilt. We recognize that though we are the sons of God, we don't deserve to be the sons of God. We don't qualify to be the sons of God, do we? It's all by God's grace.

But one day we will qualify in every way. We will become sons of God by nature. We'll never be the unique son of God. There's only one begotten son of God.

And so in that sense there's only one son who is God the Son, who is a member of the Triune Godhead. But through the grace of God and the power of God at work, He takes those who by nature are children of wrath, and He, through justification, categorizes us positionally as sons of God, and we stand righteous before Him in His judging capacity. We no longer fear Him as our judge. We own Him as our Father. But we've got some work to do.

He's got some work to do in us. And we sense that we're not what we ought to be, but praise God, we also know that we will someday be what we ought to be. We will one day be what we ought to be. We will be by nature, or in our nature, the sons of the living God.

And how does that come about? Receiving Him? Believing in Him? I'll close with this by Marvin Vincent, the Greek scholar, speaking about this phrase, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God to those who believe in His name. To believe in or on is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically, to draw upon and avail oneself of all that is offered to Him in them. Hence, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Savior, teacher, sympathizer, judge, to rest the soul upon Him for present and future salvation, to accept and adopt His precepts and example as binding upon the life. Have you believed in Jesus Christ?

Because that's the whole issue. As many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become the sons of the living God to as many as believed in His name. I'm going to close with a poem, a song actually, written by a member of our church, Michael Wood. The man who walked on water and calmed the stormy sea is the God of all creation who lives and pleads for me. For by His blood were purchased as His salt and light to be, the vessels of His mercy that others will Him see. The heavens cannot hold Him who gives us every breath, yet He came to earth so lowly and He conquered sin and death to vindicate the justice of the Father, showing breath of love so pure and holy, the height, the width, and depth.

Oh, Jesus, come now quickly. More firmly fix our gaze by the light of Your own presence for Your glory all our days. Fill our thoughts and passions with Your truth, yet more amazed as we grow into Your likeness by the grace where You are praised. Oh, Father of Compassion, may Your love and loyalty be the banner of our heartstrings by Your Spirit's perfect plea to sow beside all waters with Your joy expectantly as You bring forth the harvest bearing fruit eternally. Holy Spirit, guide with wisdom in the kingdom of our King. Fill our hearts with love and praises till we stand anew to sing as one with all the nations when the festal shout will ring, never-ending as the glory of our God fills everything.

Never-ending as the glory of our God fills everything. Let's pray. Father, we bow in glad adoration before Your throne. We bow in humble acknowledgment before Your throne, declaring, O Lord, that we have no right to be here.

We have no merit to commend us to You or to give us the privilege of being in relationship with the Most High God, Creator of the universe, the One who came into this world that You created and yet was rejected by those whom You created. Father, by Your grace and only by Your grace have we come to see our sin, and by Your grace and only by Your grace have we come to understand that there is a Savior from sin and one who will make us sons of the Most High God if we will cast ourselves upon Him completely. And so afresh and anew, O Lord, we do that with grateful hearts, with trembling hearts, with believing hearts, with rejoicing hearts. Father, we want to thank You that Robert Sweet is doing well and that his heart problem seems to have been successfully addressed. We praise You for giving him good medical treatment and pray that You will continue to sustain his life.

We pray for Mebane Mayor James Hook, who is in a position of great responsibility, mayor of a town that is growing rapidly, that has grown by many thousands over just a very short time, and we pray, O Lord, that You will give him wisdom as he takes this responsibility that has been trusted into his care. We thank You that Bob Caldwell is home and recovering from his torn artery that could have taken his life. We thank You that Drew Guthrie is so calm and serene and joyful and trusting You, and we thank You for sparing her pain and agony that often comes to those who are battling cancer as she is. We pray for Dwayne Craig's father at ARMC with his congestive heart failure that You will minister to his needs, and we pray for Lee Hodges as he recovers from this awful chainsaw accident, and we pray for Charlotte McGuire, Bruce Councilman's aunt, as she recovers from this massive heart attack. We pray for Laverne Waugh once again that You might strengthen her as she walks alone after having walked for so many years with her life's companion, her dear husband, Stuart Waugh. We pray for Mike Webster as he battles colon cancer in the mission field of France. We pray for the family of Alfred Ash and Nancy Moore and Catherine Dismuke as each of these have loved ones who are left behind as they have been taken out into eternity. We pray for Betty Duncan as she is still suffering a great deal of pain that You will minister much grace to this dear sister. And now, Father, strengthen our hearts, increase our love, protect us, O Lord, from the assaults of those things that would harm us, and help us to live for the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.