This is the Truth Network. Welcome to the broadcast ministry of Finding Purpose with Russ Andrews, where we seek to glorify God by making him known and guiding others towards their true purpose in life. No one is here by chance. God put us here for a reason. And the most important thing we can do is discover his plan for us and commit ourselves to it.
Keep listening as we learn from the Bible how to live wisely in God's world. which is the first step towards finding your purpose.
Okay, the title of the sermon tonight. is not the light of the world. Because I changed it all the way over here. How about the mapples? The title of tonight's sermon is The Battle Between Light and Darkness.
We're going to be looking at John chapter 8, verses 12 through 30, but I want to begin. At the very beginning. In John chapter 1.
Okay. Which we began the year with. In verse 1, it says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made.
Without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness. but the darkness has not understood it. Or Overcome it.
We live in a very dark world, do we not? A world that is full of wickedness and depravity, the likes of which I've never seen in my life. Why is this? Because the whole world is under the influence and control of Satan and his tens of thousands. of demonic forces.
1 John 5:19 says, The whole world is under the control. of the evil one. Darkness, by the way, is the absence of light. In Scripture, it points to two spiritual conditions: to the absence of good. and to the absence of spiritual uh sight or spiritual understanding.
In John chapter 3, verses 19 and 20, Jesus says, This is the verdict. Don't you love that? This is his verdict about the condition of the world. Light has come into the world. But men love darkness more than light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. And this is why the world hates Jesus. He said, The world hates me because I tell them that what it does is what? Evil. See, men who walk in darkness.
Do so because they are spiritually blind and they cannot see or understand the light. Why is that? Paul explains the reason. And it's mankind's dilemma. 1 Corinthians 2.14 says, The man without the Spirit.
Who is the man without the Spirit? Unbelievers. That man, the unbeliever, does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them. because they are spiritually discerned.
In John chapter 12, verses 34 through 36, while Jesus was in Jerusalem. He says to the crowd of Jews who were listening to him, probably it was full of the religious leaders as well as the people. He said, you're going to have the light just a little while longer. And by the time you get to John chapter 12, And then John 13, I believe, is the Last Supper. But that's the last week.
So that's why he says you're 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's going. Put your trust in the light while you have it.
So that you may become sons of light. That's the same thing Jesus would say today. Put your trust in the light. While you still have it.
So that you may become sons of light. You see, you're either. A son of light, or you're a son of darkness. Do you want to be a son of light? Yeah.
They listen carefully. In our text tonight, in verses 12 through 30, I want to show you three stages in the problem-solution storyline of the entire Bible. In other words, I want you to see the big picture of God's plan to bring men out of the darkness and into the light. And by the way, that's why I started finding purpose, just to shine the light. Through God's word into men's hearts, so that men can be drawn from darkness into light.
And so here's the first stage. I just call it the light. Look at verse 12. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, I am. What's the grateful I am?
And we go with me. Ako and me. That's why he's on the front row. He's a student, ego me, which is literally, I am, I am. I am the light of the world.
Jesus says, Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. I want to take you back to the very beginning. In the very beginning, the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth. And it says, Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, Let there be what? Light. And there was light. God saw that the light was good and catched this, and then he separated the light.
From the darkness. When we are born We're actually born in darkness spiritually. Did you know that? And we're actually physically, in the womb, we're in darkness. And this is because of our inherited sinful nature.
We are not born good, as the Bible says. There's no one righteous, no, not one. There's no one who seeks, no one seeks God. There's no one good. No, not one.
We are all like creation in that we are empty and dark when we're born. If this was born out. In the story of Genesis chapter 1 through 3, when Adam and Eve sinned. And along with their sin came death. In separation, They were separated from the goodness of God and the blessings of living in the garden.
So God had no recourse. But to cast out our representative parents. into the ever-increasing dark world. And as time passed, Eve gave birth to two sons, one Cain and one was Abel. And Cain became jealous of his brother and murdered him, and created the first recorded murder in the history of the world.
And the Bible says numerous times in the Old Testament that God hates the shedding. of innocent blood. Which our country is very guilty of, by the way. Sixty-five million. Innocent.
Laughs if Been taken. about the size of the population of France. By the time of Noah. In Genesis 6, the Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination for the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord is grieved that he had made man on the earth.
and his heart was filled with pain. And again. God had no recourse.
So he destroyed the earth and in the process wiped out all of life. Both man and animals, men, women, and children, all died. And once again, The darkness brought separation from God, in this case, eternal separation, with the exception of one righteous man. Named Noah. and his family.
This is how the world began. The light shone in the darkness, but the darkness did not understand it.
However, this did not catch God off guard. He never sending the light into the world, it was not plan B. It was always his plan. Even before time began, God's plan was to send the true light into the world, knowing that this light would actually bring separation. And death.
But it would also bring life. Jesus even said I've not come to bring peace, but a what? Uh A sword, which is division. You see, the truth of God's Word. always brings division and separation.
In John chapter 1, verse 9. It says the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. And that light was now standing before these religious leaders. of Israel. In John chapter 8, it's important to understand the timing of what Jesus declares here.
He said, I am. The light of the world. Because at night during the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Tabernacles has come to an end. But there was a lot of light. in the Feast of Tabernacles.
When the sky grew dark every night, Four giant golden candelabras. Were set up in a certain area of the temple, the treasury area. And some of the theologians believe that they were as high as the temple walls, which would be probably about 30 or 40 feet high. They had giant bowls at the base that contained 65 liters of oil for each candle. In essence, what these were, they were giant torches.
And in the evening, young priests who were healthy would climb up a ladder. Where's my friend? You don't do ladders anymore, do you?
Okay. Garrett had a very bad fall back in what month? May May. Glad you're still with us. It just about killed him.
Um Anyway, I digress. But anyway, these young priests would climb up the ladders with oil and they would light the wicks and then great flames would leap out of these golden torches and it illuminated the whole temple area and even much of Jerusalem. It was like the 4th of July, although they didn't have four fireworks going off. It was a spectacular event and they would celebrate throughout the night in memory of the pillar of fire that guided and protected the Israelites during their 40-year journey through the desert. These torches were symbolic of the Shekana glory of God.
that dwelt in the Holy of Holies in that tabernacle. And God lived in their midst. While they wander through the desert, That light would lift and depart when it was time for them to move, and then it would stop when it was time for them to settle. That light showed them the way, the glory of God. When Jesus stood before these religious leaders, he said, Ego of me.
I am the light of the world. They knew exactly what he meant. Here's the essence what he was saying. I who stand before you am the great I am, who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. I am the Shekanah glory who guided your ancestors through the desert to the very land that you're now standing upon, the promised land.
When Jesus made this declaration, Do they clap their hands? He met stiff opposition. Look at verse thirteen. The Pharisees challenged him. Here you are appearing as your own witness.
Your testimony is not valid. And Jesus answered, Even if I testify.
Now you've got to keep in mind, these are the Jews, but they're also the Jewish people, but they're also the Pharisees, the scribes, the Sadducees, and they're opposing him. And so he is taking it to them. This is what I love about Jesus. Listen, the only people on earth that he ever spoke to this way were religious leaders. Never to a center.
Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. For I know where I came from and where I'm going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I'm going. 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'm one who testifies for myself, my other witness is the Father. Who sent me? These are fighting words. He is boldly declaring that given who he is, His testimony is valid and it's beyond human verification. Why is this?
Because he came from heaven. He's pointing to his deity. He's not of this world. He's from another world. A world that stands apart and is separated from this world.
God's kingdom is distinct from the kingdom of man.
So then they asked him. When he stood there, when he declared that he stood with the father who had sent him, they said, Well, where is your father? And I'm sure they were soaking. Where is your father? I think at this time Joseph had probably died.
Plus uh Well, you know what. Anyway, they said, Where's your father? And this brings us to... the stage two in this overall narrative of the Bible. the separation.
So you've got the light. That brings separation. Look at verse 20. You do not know me or my Father, Jesus replied. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.
He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put, where those candelabras were. Yet no one seized him. Because the time had not yet come.
Okay. I want you to remember these truths, you know, when you go to bed tonight. To know Jesus is to know God. To know Jesus is to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. To know Jesus is to belong to the kingdom of God, the kingdom from above.
To know Jesus is to possess eternal life. To know Jesus is to be a citizen of heaven and simply a sojourner who's passing through this world because you're an alien in this world, you're a stranger in this world. And the world thinks you're strange. To know Jesus means you are heaven bound. Amen.
The religious leaders, on the other hand, did not know Jesus, they did not know God. Therefore, they were bound. for hell, the place of darkness and eternal separation. from light.
So, in verses 21 and 22, which I'm getting ready to read, Jesus is going to explain. the great separation that will take place. Listen. It's going to take place one day. When once again he's going to separate forever.
Light from darkness. Look at verse 21. Once more, Jesus said to them, I'm going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come. This made the Jews ask.
Will he kill himself? Is this why he says, where I go, you cannot come? Do you know why they ask that question? They had suicide in mind. See, they Jews believe That A person who committed suicide would eventually end up in the worst place in hell.
Kent Hughes says, In essence, the Jews were saying, He says we can't follow him. He must be going to hell then. And he's right. We won't be following him there. They were arrogant.
Pride. blind and loss. And Jesus warns about Leaders like this. In Matthew chapter 23. By the way, what I'm getting ready to read, these are Jesus' words.
And if he was standing here tonight, and back there were full of a bunch of. Modern-day liberal religious preachers and teachers and seminary guys who are, here's what he would say. Woe to you. This is what he did, guys. He's standing in the temple area.
And the Pharisees are all around him. And the people are watching. And he points at these leaders and he says, Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. In other words, you closed the door to heaven.
You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. You are blind gods. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. You know what he's going to say next week? Your father is who? The devil.
Stay tuned. Can't wait to get to that one. I told the leaders today that I hope when we get to heaven They've got Blockbuster. Y'all remember Blockbuster?
So I want to go check out. All the scenes in the Bible where Jesus was in the face of the Pharisees. Don't you want to see that? I'd love to watch a good fight. But Jesus has more to say then.
Look at verse 23 and chapter 8. But he continued: You are from below, I'm from above. You are of this world, I'm not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins. If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, By the way, the one I claim to be is not in the Greek.
The Translators of the NIV added that. But don't let leads you to believe that the ESV and the King James and the ESV got it right. They add the word he in italics. It's not neither he nor that phrase, the one I claim to be, is there. It simply says: if you do not believe that.
I am. How about them words? Then you will indeed die in your sins. Who are you? 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 is reliable. And what I've heard from him Back in heaven? I now tilt to the world.
Jesus, then, is the light of the world. When he speaks, he speaks the words from God, the Father who sent him. When he speaks, he speaks truth. And the truth always brings division and separation. In Matthew chapter 10, verse 34, Jesus says, Do not suppose that I've come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. And we know from Ephesians 6 that The sword of the Spirit is what? The word of God. I knew you would know. And God's truth.
always separates. the blind from those who see. The death from those who hear. the goats from the sheep, and the lost from those who have been found. Have you been found?
You see, there are two worlds. or two kingdoms. The kingdom of man and the kingdom of God. When we're all born, we're born to the kingdom of God. Excuse me, the kingdom of man.
And we need to cross over to the other side. In fact, right here There are two words from which we get the word world in Greek. One is cosmos. And from the life of me, I can't remember the other one. But right here in John, when he says, When he's talking about the world, he uses the word cosmos, which refers not to the physical world that you can see with your eyes, but to the evil world system.
In other words, it's the unseen realm, which is under the rule and influence of Satan.
Someone asked me today, it might have been you, Frank, about lunch. What is he talking about here? What is the world system?
Well, I tell you what it is. Just turn on the news and watch p the polit politics. Look at what's taking place in our schools. Look at what's taking place in many churches. Looks what's taking all the gambling sports.
Look at what's been taken with the Epstein files. Did y'all see what the Potomac River basically threw up? Through what? And you know what I said? Washington, D.C.
Someone told me, I think it was leaf, that is supposed to stink all summer. In the Old Testament, it says, When God saw the sins of the earth. The earth will vomit them out. Do you think God is sending a message to Washington? And it's really a message to our country.
Satan is the God of this age, man. This is what's going on. We're in a battle between light and darkness. And 1 Corinthians 2:4, excuse me, 2 Corinthians 4, 4 says, The God of this age, who's the God of this age? It's a little G.
Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers.
So that they could not see the light. There's the light again. Of the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ, listen, is veiled to those who are perishing. It's veiled to those who are separated from God's kingdom.
Therefore, when you try to share the gospel with someone, if they look like they've got a huge question mark, it's because they're blind. And you just have to pray, Lord, please take your word, penetrate his mind and his heart. And lift the veil. In fact, if you want to see what happens, is in 1 Corinthians 3, 15 and 16, it says, even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. That's what's happening to Israel right now, to these, you know, these all these Jews who are Who are?
What's the word? The real religious juice. They studied the Torah, the Old Testament. They stand at the wedding wall and they're reading scripture and they're doing this and they're waiting for the Messiah to come. But they are Orthodox Jews.
That's what I was looking for. But they are blind. They cannot see. Um Lost my train of thought. You ever ha had that happen to you?
It shouldn't happen when you're preaching, but it just did.
So I'm going to get back to my lecture. I wish I could remember. I had a really good point to make. Anyway, it'll come back to me. The religious leaders of Israel Were blind gods.
They belong to the world below. They are part of the evil world system. And their father is the devil himself, which we'll see next week. Those who believe in Christ are indwelt by his spirit and belong to the world above, the kingdom of God, over which Jesus reigns from the throne of heaven.
Now, in this world, do we not love to honor great athletes and coaches, which we should? I think it's a great thing, and we put them in the hall of what? The Hall of Fame. Did you know that all the Hall of Fames All the trophies. All the memories.
of mankind, of this world will come to an end one day. But there's another Hall of Fame. It's actually called the Hall of Faith. And it's found in Hebrews chapter 11. This is God's Hall of Fame, a Hall of Fame that will last forever.
Verse 13 says, All these people, he's talking about believers from the Old Testament, but it all should apply to you and me. I hope this is true of you. Because this is the way I feel. They were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised.
They only saw them from a distance, and they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on Earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country.
A heavenly one. Do you not long for that? I do. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared a city for them.
Jesus, men, is the true light of the world. His truth is found in the Word of God, which is the soul of the Spirit. The light of His Word causes the darkness to flee, because light and darkness cannot coexist. The two must separate. Just go into a dark room and turn the light on.
What happens to the darkness? It flees. And by the way, it's a picture of the kingdom of Satan. The kingdom of Satan is in retreat. The light always overcomes the darkness.
The darkness cannot overcome the light. And Jesus is the light of the world. And one day, I want you to listen carefully to this. The final separation, the great divide of all people would take place. When the Son of Man comes in his glory.
Matthew chapter 25. And all the angels with him. And he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from his goats. He'll put the sheep on his right.
and the goat's on his left.
Now the question I want to know is Jesus going to be standing like this or like this? That's not funny, because that means either you on the right.
Well now you on the right. Never mind. I have funny thoughts like that.
Sometimes I just wake up in the night and I'm laughing because I just think funny things. And my wife is going, what is wrong with you? But anyway. I digress.
So, anyway, I've got to back up here. All the nations will be gathered before him because this is a very serious moment. And he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He'll put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king, who's the king?
Jesus, who is the judge, who's coming one day, will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your what? Inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. How good is that? Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for who? The devil and his angels.
God, that answers the question. God prepared the hell for who? Devil and his demonic forces not for mankind.
However, If you refuse God's grace and mercy, He has no choice but to send you to hell along with Satan and His demonic forces. Then they will go away to eternal punishment. Eternal punishment. It never comes to an end. I don't believe in annihilationism.
Which means that we just die and that's the end, you know. Everybody's going to live forever. Your soul was created to live forever. You'll live in one of two places. But the righteous eternal life.
See, these words are true. And they're coming from Jesus. The Good Shepherd. Who loves the world? He died for our sins.
You see, the heart of God is expressed in 2 Peter 3:9, which says, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to what? Come to repentance. That's why Jesus and John the Baptist and disciples preached the message of what? Repentance. There's some churches that have never heard the word repentance.
They don't mention the word sin. And they'll never talk about being born again. I don't know what they talk about because I'm not listening to them. 1 Timothy 2, 3 and 4 says, This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Did you hear that?
That's the heart of God.
So what is the truth? The truth is, a day of judgment is coming. when the final separation will take place one last time.
So then you want to make sure you're on the right side.
So what's the the solution? It's the remedy. Look at verse 27. John writes, 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 can do nothing on my own but 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.
We're going to see next week that a lot of these, he says they put their faith in him. It's questionable. Was did did Yeah. The jury's out. Again, the Pharisees did not understand what he was saying because they were spiritually blind.
So Jesus tells them when they will understand. and when they will know who he really is. And he does this by pointing to the cross. And in Matthew 3, 14. He says, as Moses Was lifted up in the, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
You see, the cross would be the moment. of Jesus' greatest glorification. Because he had perfectly obeyed God's will. even unto death. It says in Philippians 2.
And he will, and he listen, he will be forever glorified in heaven because of that defining moment. in his life. Jesus was saying, When I am lifted up, you will know. I am. But for now they did not No, they did not understand.
So he gives them this warning. If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sense.
So, big question. What does it mean to die in your sins? But you die. In your sins simply means that your sins have not been forgiven. It means that you are separated from God.
It means that you refuse to come the one way that God has provided: by grace alone, through faith alone, in who? Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, according to Scripture alone, they're the five solas. Therefore, you will stand before Jesus, and He will see your sin. When you stand before him. Your sin's gonna still be with you because it was never atoned for.
You never came to the cross, and you'll be forcing Jesus to judge you. By his justice, because you refused his grace and mercy. The only way that a man can. have to face God's judgment. is to jump over all the hurdles of grace.
that were put before him day after day. Night after night. Grace upon grace.
So you will stand before the great white throne awaiting condemnation and separation from light and life into an eternal existence. In death and darkness. This is why Jesus warns in Matthew 10, 28, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
So what is the remedy?
Well, guess what? It's not a what. It's a who. Jesus is the remedy. Jesus is the only way.
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Jesus is the remedy, and the cross points to the way. When Jesus spoke to the Jews about the cross, he said, When I'm lifted up on the cross, you will know. I am. I think when they know it was too late.
And by the way, that includes his death, burial, and resurrection. And then they couldn't find his body. The tomb was empty. Kent Here says, looking back. Think about us.
Here we are 2,000 years later. Looking back on the long shadow that extends across more than 20 centuries, we can know that Jesus is. The I am. Don't you believe that? It's said that at the center of London.
Is a crossroads. It's the center of London called Charing Cross. And that you can, if you're lost, if you go to that cross, you can find your way anywhere in the city. There's a story about a young boy who was separated from his parents and he was lost in the city. And a policeman came up to him about Bobby.
And he wiped his tears away. And when he got the boy settled, he said, Can I take you home, young man? And the boy replied, No, no, sir. Take me to the cross. And I'll find my way home.
When we look to the cross and understand its significance. We will see the great I am for who he is. And by faith in him, we will enter into his eternal kingdom over which he reigns. No longer will we walk in darkness. No longer will we fear separation from God.
No longer will we fear standing before the great white throne judgment, because that judgment meant it's not reserved for us. If you're in Christ, you will never stand before the great wrath of judgment. Do you know why? Because Romans 8:1 says, Therefore, there's now no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus. You will never face the condemnation of Christ.
Because he took your sins when he died on the cross. He bore your punishment. He took the condemnation of God for you. And it's wiped out. Your sins are forgiven, past, present, and future.
We will walk in the light of His Word, and we will live with the light and life of His Spirit living in us. I'm going to end with Romans 8:37 and 39, where Paul writes: Know in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I'm convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to. Separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Because we are If we're in Christ's sons, Mm-hmm.
How about them words? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this night. And Lord, thank you for this men. Lord, thank you that they chose to come here instead of watching the game.
Lord, we love you. We praise your name, and I pray that every name Every man's name here is written in the book of life. And that we will be listed in your hall of faith. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
You've been listening to Finding Purpose with Russ Andrews. This broadcast is made possible because of the prayers and financial gifts of listeners like you. If you want to learn more about our ministry or support us as we reach others with God-centered Bible teaching, please visit us at findingpurpose.net.
