Our December message series is called “The Child Who Changed the World Forever.” Why is our Christmas season about a baby who was born 2000 years ago? We still remember that birth because the baby who was born was not just another human baby. The baby that was born was God in human flesh. The baby that was born on that first Christmas grew up into the man Jesus Christ. Jesus in a mere 3 years of public ministry, said and did things that turned our world upside down and changed things forever.
In this message series, we’re looking at some of the teachings of Jesus in which He claimed to be God Himself. And as God, Jesus meets the deepest needs of the human heart, including our needs today in the year 2013. Today, my message is entitled “Jesus Our Direction.” In this series, we’re looking at passages from the Gospel of John. If you’re not regularly reading the Bible, I’d encourage you to begin by reading the Gospel of John. Let’s begin today by looking at some of the introductory verses in John 1 which speak of Jesus.
John 1:4-5 (NIV) 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.
Here we are introduced to the concept that Jesus is the light that shines in a dark world. The dark world does not understand the light of Jesus. The light of Jesus reveals the truth to the world. The light of Jesus reveals who He is to the world. The light of Jesus reveals God to the world. Yet, the world, which is all the people who are not believers in Jesus, remains in darkness. Until they understand and accept the light of Jesus into their lives. Let’s see what Jesus said about Himself in the first verse in our passage today.
John 8:12 (NIV) When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Here Jesus makes the explicit claim to be not a light in the world, but the light of the world, the one and only light of the world. He calls on all to follow Him, the light of the world, to escape the darkness. Those who follow the light of the world will have the light of eternal life. Jesus, the light, gives us the direction we need in life.
Are their areas of darkness in your life? Areas of darkness are areas in your life that lack direction, areas that have not been turned over to God. Today, Jesus wants to shine His light into every area of your life. Open up those areas to Him this morning and let His light drive the shadows away.
When Jesus made the claim to be the light of the world, the Pharisees began to challenge and question Him. They raised objections to His claim to be the light. Today, we want to look at these objections and see how Jesus answered His critics. I believe that Jesus’ answers will help us better understand Him as the light of the world and how we can let His light shine ever more brightly in and through our lives.