Step Into Son-Light - Part B

Jesus, the Creator, the light, the life. He came into His world. He came to His nation. He came to His place, His city, His temple. And they did not recognize Him and they did not receive Him.

Even though for centuries the Jews had predicted and waited for a Messiah to come. And you read the Old Testament and it's like there's a flicker of light here and a flicker of light there and a trace of light here and a trace of light there and they get their hopes up and then it's like the sun itself. The light comes to the earth.

And welcome to Connect with Skip Weekend Edition. You may not remember but when you were little did you have a nightlight in your room or did you ever go camping where you wanted to make sure you kept a flashlight near your sleeping bag? You know, just in case you needed it. The dark can be pretty scary for a kid and light is comforting. Well, when Jesus talks about being the light of the world, it should have the same effect. It should be very comforting.

We'll examine that more today with Skip Heitzig. But before we begin, we have an excellent new resource for you this month at connectwithskip.com. What stands between you and a more fruitful walk with Jesus? Find out how four prominent women in the Bible faced their struggles in a new teaching series from Lenya Heitzig called Queens of the Bible. Here's Lenya on the Queen of Sheba. Hearing is the first step toward spiritual blessing.

Right now hearing is a step toward blessing because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Hear more from Lenya as she explores the faith and the failings of four different queens in scripture. The Queens of the Bible collection of teachings is our way of saying thank you when you give $35 or more today to support this Bible teaching ministry. Look, the cost of following Christ is to go wherever he leads. Get your copy of these unique teachings when you call 800-922-1888 or give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer.

Connectwithskip.com slash offer. We continue today in John chapter one. So if you'll turn there in your Bible, we'll join Skip Heitzig for today's study. Can people look at you and thus through you and see Christ or is it just a wall?

They see you and that's all they see. Or are you pointing people to the Savior? That's the highest goal one can have, a man or a woman sent from God. So the light was represented by John. But look what happened, verse nine. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

But notice now how the light is rejected. 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. Did you know that Jesus' whole life is summed up in those two or three verses? Jesus' life was one of rejection. His whole story was the story of rejection. He came into the very world he created and the world didn't get it. And you know what? They still don't get it.

The word know him is the word ginosko which has the idea of recognition. The creator came in human form and they did not recognize him. They didn't connect the dots. I've discovered that if there's one thing this world consistently gets wrong, you know what it is? The identity of Christ.

They get that answer wrong all the time. Well I picture Jesus as just a good man or I think he was just a wonderful prophet who had a lot of fine things to say. And they'll say a lot of things about Jesus and they're consistently wrong.

And you should not be surprised. It is the story of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In all those four gospels there's individuals or there's groups of people who thought certain things about Jesus and they were not right.

I'll give you a sampling. In John 7 some said he was just a good man while others said he was a deceiver. They got that wrong.

You could push the button answer wrong. In Matthew 16 some said he was John the Baptist. Others Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Got the answer wrong.

You wouldn't add. In John chapter 6 after Jesus makes them a free lunch they wanted to take him by force and make him a what? A king. A human earthly king. A monarch. A dictator. He wasn't that. Luke 23 they called him a tax evader. Imagine Jesus against the IRS.

I won't go there. And they said he is subverting the government. Got the answer wrong there. John chapter 10 they said he has a demon. Got the answer wrong there. And did you know in Mark chapter 3 even his own family got the answer wrong. In Mark chapter 3 his mother and his brothers go to Capernaum to take him away because they said and I quote he is out of his mind.

Got the answer wrong there. Now nothing has changed and every year right about this time Christmas and Easter you're going to find these magazines will put out various articles about the true identity of Jesus. It's predictable. It comes every Christmas every one of these lame magazines will come out with an article. And were it not so tragic it would be laughable. This steady stream of what people say Jesus was.

I've collected a few of them. Some have written and said Jesus Christ was a magician who practiced illusion and hypnosis. Others said he was a zealot or a guru or a world traveler. Some believe he was the husband of Mary Magdalene who procreated a secret lineage to rule the world.

These are things that make articles and Time and Newsweek magazine. According to the Jesus seminar a group out of Arizona who tells you what is really scripture and what is not scripture said and I quote Jesus was probably just and illiterate from a low caste of artisans. John Allegro a semitic scholar wrote a book called the sacred mushroom and the cross and he said Jesus Christ was not a historical man at all but Jesus was a code name for a sacred hallucinogenic mushroom allegedly used by the first Christians. That puts a whole new spin on hey dude you want Jesus. A French Canadian cult said Jesus resurrection was a cloning performed by aliens who made humans in a laboratory DNA experiment 25,000 years ago. And what do we say to all that?

People write articles about this stuff. If there's one thing the world consistently gets wrong it's who Jesus was. He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world did not know him.

But John gets more specific. Look at verse 11. He came to his own and his own did not receive him. See what I think John is doing is saying okay generally you put Jesus in the world and generally the world doesn't recognize him but specifically his own people the Jewish nation didn't receive him. That's what I think he's referring to in verse 11 and here's why.

He came into his own the first word own in that sentence is in the neuter gender and refers to things like place or land or home but the second own in that sentence is masculine in gender and it refers to people. So it could be literally translated he came to his own place or nation but his own people did not receive him. And that's why the New Living Translation renders it that way even in his own land and among his own people he was not accepted. You know what the Jewish Talmud said Jesus was? This is a quote right out of the Talmud. He was the illegitimate son of Mary. The illegitimate son of Mary whom they fancy Mary was a hairdresser. Where they got that I don't know but it also says Jesus was called Panthera and he learned magical arts in Egypt and then came to Israel to instigate a rebellion. So you see what John is saying Jesus the creator the light the life he came to his world he came to his nation he came to his place his city his temple and they did not recognize him and they did not receive him even though for centuries the Jews had predicted and waited for a messiah to come and you read the old testament and and it's like there's a flicker of light here and a flicker of light there and a trace of light here and a trace of light there and they get their hopes up and then it's like the sun itself the light comes to the earth and John the Baptist goes that's it that's the light not me I'm just a preacher that's the light and they said turn off the light or in the words of scripture crucify him his blood be on us and our children that was the response they hated the light it was too bright for them imagine the very hands that he created were the very hands that picked up nails and a hammer and drove his own hands those sacred hands onto a cross now that's going to happen again it's going to happen again in a few weeks it's called Christmas oh excuse me holidays the winter holidays you'll hear the debates they will be on television somebody in some city some public display or decoration got to take Christ out of Christmas and you know just make it about Santa and reindeers and a little snow and gifts and smiles and winter holiday but take Christ out of that or they'll say well you can have a manger scene but just make sure that you just keep Jesus as a little baby we don't mind the little baby Jesus we just don't want him to grow up because when he grows up he's very unstable and unpredictable and says things like you better believe in me because I'm the way the truth and the life and I'm going to a cross to die for the sins of the world we don't want that Jesus we just want the little baby one that stays a baby every year and brings good cheer he came to his own and his own did not receive him and that is the position of the world and you'll see it over and over again in believe 879 through the Gospel of John however there's good news the light was represented by John the light was rejected by most but the light was received by some look at verse 12 but if ever I was glad to see that word begin a sentence it's right about now even though my English teacher said never begin a sentence with the word but I'm so glad that John the apostle didn't go to my English class because this little conjunction negative conjunction is a huge fulcrum that shifts it now a whole nother direction but as many as received him to them he gave the right or literally power or authority 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 do you notice how John goes from very wide to very narrow from very general population to individual person you know he talked about the world first of all and the world didn't recognize him and then he came to his own people the Jewish people and they didn't receive him but now to the individual but as many as received him in other words any anyone any individual so from wide to narrow I think what he's saying could be summed up in this the world didn't want him his own people didn't want him hey do you want him do you want him as many as received him he gave them the power to become his children the world didn't want him his nation didn't want him hey do you want him because if you want him you know what you have to receive him as many as received him that's another word for believe grammatically they're oppositional terms one means the other to receive Christ is to believe in him it's more than intellectual yes I believe God exists and he had a son named Jesus I believe that up here the idea is to receive it to make it personal to make it personal to surrender to commit you know sort of like a gift if if you get a gift this Christmas it's not really your gift until you receive it you have to take the gift open it up and it's yours if it just sits in the closet unopened unreceived it's really not your gift yet you have to receive it same with Christ you have to receive him now something I know it's obvious but we should note this notice that you're not born a child of God you become a child of God as many as received him he gave them the right to become children of God you don't get born a Christian you get born again a Christian born of God is what it says in the next verse I'll tell you why this is important this becomes the issue today because the prevailing belief system is this it's called the fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man we're all children of God everybody in the world's a child of God by creation now that may be good on Oprah that is Oprah theology but it is not biblical theology you're a child of God not by creation but by redemption you receive Christ and you have the right the power to become God's children verse 13 spells it out who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God it doesn't come by bloodline remember the Jews some of them tried that they said well we have Abraham as our father and they tried it with John the Baptist and John the Baptist said now I know what you guys are thinking you guys are thinking well you're children of Abraham you have this right of salvation by birth but you ought to know something John the Baptist said God can make children of Abraham out of these rocks he was very direct and yet you can ask people today well hey are you a Christian well sure I was born a Christian I was born into a Christian family my parents are strong Christians that's not what I asked you and you didn't answer my question God has no grandchildren he only has children you're not born you're born again into his family you're born again into his family you become a child of God and you do it by believing by receiving so there's two possible responses to the light the sunlight shines and one response is the majority response and it's the wrong response the second response is the minority response and it's the right one have you ever stopped to think that the majority is not right oh I know that sounds so un-American but the majority is wrong I want you to consider what John the apostle wrote in first John chapter 5 verse 19 I'll quote it for you we are of God dear children and we know that the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one so is the world by and large right about Jesus nope the minority Jesus said white is the gate that leads to destruction and most people enter therein narrow is the gate that leads to life and very few enter therein his words so the light has come John represented him most of the world rejects him but some will receive him some will receive him and Jesus said you are either for me or against me I heard a story about a man who lost his car keys when I first read it I thought it was somebody writing about me but this guy lost his car keys I do it all the time and he's looking for him outside on the street under the street light at night he's looking for his keys his neighbor sees what's going on feels sorry for him goes out to help him they search for about 20 minutes until the neighbor finally says now do you remember exactly where you dropped your car keys because we've been looking for 20 minutes and the guy said yeah I lost him in the garage you lost him in the garage what are we doing looking for them out here and the guy said well the light's better out here well I have a hunch that some of you here today you don't exactly know where or when you lost your way but you lost your way you've come here because the light's better the light's better here you're around people who enjoy and bask in the light of Jesus and they love him and you feel it and you love to come but there's a step that must be made a single step out of darkness into sunlight s-o-n light and all I've done is give a message I've just been a man pointing to the light I can't save anybody I can't help anybody I had a lady come up to me the other day and she said I just want to thank you for saving me and I said I appreciate what you're saying but I I've I saved no one I've been saved Jesus will save and friend he will save you he will enlighten you he will make your way clear crystal clear but it comes by believing in and us receiving the gift personally and if you'd like to talk with someone about how to do that we'd be happy to explain to you what it means to receive the gift of God's grace it comes through doing exactly what our current series is titled believing if you'd like to believe in Jesus and all he's done for you but aren't sure what that really means or what it should look like please don't hesitate to call us at 1-800-922-1888 and we're almost out of time for today but before we go here's Skip and lenya to talk a bit more about what the purpose of our current series is so we're getting started in this new series on the book of john we call it believe eight seven nine why do you call it that because there's 879 verses in the gospel of john and the core theme is believe that you might believe that jesus is the son of god and that by believing you would have life in his name so you know if you were having a struggle with your faith or doubt or questions john's a really the gospel of john's a great place yeah you know we usually steer people in the direction of the gospel of john is their first bible book that they read because of that reason it's simply put it exalts christ it presents him as god and human flesh his sacrifice god's plan and it increases people's faith in it we get of course jesus the gospels that's what's so great is you know just that just give me jesus and it's an opportunity i mean it's not that the whole bible isn't about god or the messiah coming but just spending a saturated amount of time studying the messiah and jesus i find so exciting i'm glad you said that because i felt it exciting as well the reason i wanted to do it is for that reason what would it be like to saturate myself and as a church saturate ourselves for a prolonged period of time in the gospel of john with just looking at the life of jesus well it took us two and a half years to do that but it was so rewarding for that purpose we were able to take every single paragraph and exegete it and apply it and um you know set up sort of mile markers along the way and say this is where we've come from this is where we're going but the the result of that i believe is a faith-filled church that you may believe that jesus is the son of god and not only that but it increases the amount of spiritual life we enjoy that by believing you would have life in his name and then that life is reproductive all life is and so we've seen people bring their friends bring their relatives and the lord reproduces life through their lives it's neat because in the book of john there's so many of those i am statements too so he is revealing himself that i am the light or i am the shepherd or i am right of life yes and so i love that it's a it's an opportunity for him to express who he is and so anyway it's exciting i can't wait to um hear about the fruit of the listeners as they go through believe 879 if you'd like to get a copy of today's teaching it's available for just four dollars plus shipping when you call us at 1-800-922-1888 or when you visit our website connectwithskip.com be sure to come back and join us again next time as we continue with our series through the book of john called believe 879 right here in connect with Skip weekend edition a presentation of connection communications the cross oh connecting you to god's never changing truth in ever-changing times