Well, my text this week is in
John's Gospel, chapter 8 and verse 12. John's Gospel, chapter
8 and verse 12, where we read this. Then spake Jesus again
unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And I want to continue the theme
that we've been thinking on for the last couple of weeks about
that marvellous light which is God's. You remember in 1 Peter
chapter 2 and verse 9 it says of believers that he has called
us out of darkness into his marvellous light. And we were thinking last
week about why it is such a marvellous light. You know, at this time
of year, I know anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere is a bit
lacking in light, but the further north you get, the worse and
worse it gets. And we get very, very little light here at this
time of year. And the last few days here have
been very, very cloudy and grey and grim. There's not much light
about. I know because we have electric
panels on the roof and they've hardly generated any electricity
at all for four or five days now. You know, the sun is absolutely
brilliant. Even this far north, when it's
so low in the sky at this time of year, It's brilliantly bright,
isn't it? Absolutely shining. In fact,
when you're driving, it's quite dangerous because you can't see
half of the time. You turn a corner and you've
got this great big spotlight, which is the sun shining in your
eye. How much brighter is the sun than earthly lights? You
know, we love to put the colored lights on at this time of year
and brighten it up. And we like light. Children,
you love light, don't you? You don't like dark rooms. You
don't like going to sleep in darkness. You like a little bit
of light on somewhere in the house. You know, we love light.
But you compare these winter lights, these Christmas time
lights, you compare them with the sun. The sun is so much brighter. I could put the lights on that
are in the tree outside and you'd say, oh, that looks nice. But
if the sun came out, you'd hardly know they were there because
the sun is so much brighter. See, we live in a world of darkness
punctuated with light, especially in the winter. We're very, very
aware of it. The glimmering lights that there
are all around in truth, they look bright, but you shine that
midday sun on them and you see them for what they really are.
And so it is with spiritual knowledge. with the light which is the light
of life. Just as earthly lights glimmer
and are outshone by the midday sun, so any other knowledge of
spiritual things, of heavenly life if you like, is completely
outshone by the light that is Christ. His light is the pure
light, the shining light, shining as the midday sun in spiritual
terms. Do you have this light of Christ? Do you live in the good of this
light of Christ? Is your path illuminated by the
light of Christ? That alone is true light. When
it comes to spiritual things, the light that is in Christ is
alone the true light. All others are ultimately derived
from him, but on their way they get distorted. I put an article
by Charles Spurgeon in the bulletin about this. The fact that there
is light in Islam, there is some light in Confucius, there's light,
there is some light, but it's all borrowed light, and it's
distorted light, and it's robbed light, and it's twisted and bent,
and it isn't true light. The true light is Christ and
him alone. Now when Jesus spoke these words,
when he said, I am the light of the world, he that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Let me tell you what was the scene at this time. It was the
Feast of Tabernacles, and you start reading about it in chapter
7 of John's Gospel. It was the Feast of Tabernacles,
and the Feast of Tabernacles was kept every year in and around
September, the month we call September, so the autumn of the
year. And it was a festival. Now, children,
you know that the whole of society in britain and i'm sure in america
as well and in many other places throughout europe is going mad
at this time of year with christmas you know they put trees up and
lights and all the rest of it's a festival it's a families get
together there's lots of celebrating there's lots of dancing and singing
and rowdiness and partying and all sorts of things like well
the Jews had a bit of a party for the Feast of Tabernacles.
As many as possible went up to Jerusalem and they lived in booths,
in little tents that they made. And what they were doing was
remembering the wanderings in the wilderness. You know, when
Israel came out of Egypt and they wandered for 40 years in
Sinai, they wandered and they lived in tents. And so it's the
Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles. That's what it
means. In the middle of it, they went beyond what the scripture
had given them, and some tell us that they made a great big
tower of lights, burning, which was meant to picture the pillar
of cloud and of fire that accompanied the children of Israel as they
wandered through their wilderness journeys. And it became corrupted. The women would dance around
it. It became like all of these things do, it became a symbol
of idolatry amongst them. And this was going on at the
feast the night before, and in these booths all sorts of immorality,
no doubt, was going on. And at the start of chapter 8
of John's Gospel, the Pharisees the self-righteous Pharisees
and the scribes, they'd caught a woman in one of these booths
committing adultery. And they brought her to Jesus
to say, right, now let's test this teacher to see what he'll
really say. Let's test him. Look at this woman. We've caught
her. Now Moses' law says that she should be stoned. What do
you say? You see, they put him on the
spot. They wanted him to say, oh yes, you're right, or else
reveal the fact that he couldn't possibly have been a true teacher.
And you know what he did? You read those first 11 verses.
He opened up to them what hypocrites they were, what sinners they
were himself. He knelt down and he drew in
the dust on the ground. And I think he was writing down
the commandments of God. And then he said, yes, she should
be stoned, but he that is without sin among you let him throw the
first stone at her and they all knew in their hearts that they
were sinners that they were hypocrites and it says they went out one
by one beginning at the eldest even unto the last and Jesus
was left alone with them And on that morning when they brought
this woman to him, this, it looks like from the text, this is when
he said, not that fake light that you try and build up as
part of your festivities, not that, but he said, I am the light
of the world. Here's a man who just looks like
an ordinary man. I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but have the light of life. What is it? The light of the world. In what
sense is he the light of the world? Where does this come from?
You know, light is a very important part of our existence. right
at the beginning of creation. We looked at it last week. Genesis
chapter one and verses two and three, you know, the earth was
without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And God said, let there be light. The very first thing recorded
in scripture that we hear God say is let there be light. And
because God said it, because God commanded it, there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good, real physical light. in 1 John chapter 1 and verse
5, the Apostle writes this, God is light and in him is no darkness
at all. Not only physical light which
he created, but spiritual light as I've pointed out so many times
to you. God, who commanded light to shine
in darkness at the beginning of creation, has shined in the
hearts of his believing people, in our hearts, to give us the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God. Where do you see
that? Where do you see it? Where do you see the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God? In the face of Jesus Christ. You see truth. Truth. He is the
way, the truth, and the life. You see clarity concerning eternal
things. You see truth concerning life,
true life, eternal life, and eternity. You see the truth about
righteousness, for what must God have for people to be in
his presence? He must have righteousness. Without righteousness, no man
shall see God. And where alone do you find that
righteousness? In our Lord Jesus Christ, in
Him and in Him alone. For He is the light that shines
the righteousness of God. He is the light that makes His
people the righteousness of God in Him. We have light, Sean,
you know like you shine light and you see the dirt where you
can't otherwise see it, on the floor, in the corners. He shines
light into us to show us what we're like in truth. Sinners,
for a sinner is a sacred thing. The Holy Ghost has made him so.
We see how God views justice, how God views it. Man distorts
it, but how God views justice. We see the truth about redemption,
which is paying the debt to his law, to his justice, which is
offended. We see the truth about justification,
what it is to be right with God. We see the truth of salvation
in this light of God, that which gives peace in the heart. The
knowledge that, as we sometimes sing in that hymn, it is well
with my soul. Isn't that a good thing to be
able to say? It is well with my soul. What
do you mean? I know that if I'm taken from this life today, and
who knows, if I'm taken from this life today, it is well with
my soul. This day, as Jesus said, to the
thief on the cross, the penitent thief on the cross, this day
you shall be with me in paradise. It is well with my soul. And
how do I know that? Because I know, as Paul writes
to Timothy, I know whom I have believed and have persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. Against what day? The day of
judgment. What have I committed unto him? the well-being of my
eternal soul, that he is saved from its sin and will take to
be with him. It is light that was prefigured
in the Old Testament again and again, not only in creation.
Do you remember when Abraham wanted a sign that what God was
telling him would come to pass, about him being the spiritual
father of a multitude that no man could number? At that time
he said, show me a sign, and he told him to get some animals
to sacrifice them and to cut them in half. And then when it
was dark, a fiery furnace passed between those pieces. That's
picturing the light, which is Christ. When Moses, as I said
last week, came to the burning bush in the wilderness, a bush
which was burning, but it wasn't being consumed. But there it
was, shining with a bright light in the middle of the day. That
light was shining, that burning bush was shining. That light
was a picture of Christ, who is the light of the world, to
come. As I said earlier, as they wandered through the wilderness,
having come out of Egypt, the pillar of cloud and the pillar
of fire that accompanied them all the day, wandering Israel,
is a picture of the light which is Christ, who is to come. When
the tabernacle was set up and then later the temple, it had
candles seven-branched candles, and other lights around it, and
all of these were pictures of the Light, who is the Light of
the world, who is to come, the Lord Jesus Christ. And like all
other Old Testament pictures, it was the blueprint, the design,
for the reality that Christ would fulfil when he came. Light is
again and again the theme of the Psalms. Psalm 27 and verse
1. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Psalm 36 verse 9. He is a fountain of life. In
thy light we shall see light. In God's light, we see more light. The more light of God you have,
the more clearly you see things of life and eternity. And in
the prophets, there's light. Turn to that passage that we
read in Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 8. And he's talking about the
darkness that is the the soul of man, the spirit of man, without
the light of God. You know, they go seeking, verse
19 of chapter 8, they go seeking to familiar spirits. This is
those that go after superstition and spiritism
and other evil things that are purely of Satan. To wizards that
peep and that mutter instead of seeking their God. And they're
in darkness and they can't see because of the blindness of their
hearts. The God of this world has blinded
their minds that they can't see the truth. Is that not a description
of all around us in these times? they're in darkness. Spiritually,
they're in darkness. And he talks about the dimness
in verse 1 of chapter 9, and then verse 2. The people that
walked in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell
in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined. People in darkness because they
don't know the truth. It's you and me in our natural
state. And they've seen a great light.
Why have they seen a great light? Because of these verses that
are known so well and are quoted so well at this time of year.
For unto us, verse six, a child is born. What is the light that
is going to shine into the darkness, which is the natural state of
the minds and hearts of men and women in their natural state
of spiritual blindness? A child is born. A son is given. God is coming in the person of
his son to redeem his people. He is the one who rules all things.
The government shall be upon his shoulder. His name is Wonderful,
He is the very wisdom of God, read Proverbs 8. He is the mighty
God. He is the everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end. This is the light. He is the
one who will reign on the throne of David. He was born in the
city of David in Bethlehem. That's where he was born. Why?
Because he is David's greater son. And he came. He came into
this world to redeem his people, to purchase them from the debt
of their sins, to pay the ransom price, to establish his kingdom,
to order it with justice from henceforth forevermore. How do
we know it's going to happen? The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. The Promised Messiah, that's
what he's talking about. The Promised Messiah is the light
of God which comes into the darkness that the people walk in. The
people walked in darkness, but they've seen a great light, the
coming of the Messiah. He is the light of the world,
as he said, I am the light of the world. He that walks in me
shall not walk in darkness, shall not live in darkness, but shall
have the light of life. This is him. He came to save
his people from their sins. A true man. Born. He was born. A child is born. flesh and blood, just like you
and me, yet without sin, made of a woman. And why did he come?
Because only as a man can he propitiate, can he turn away
the anger of God, the just wrath of God. Only as a man can he
pay the price. You see, the soul that sins,
it shall die. And the life is in the blood,
and the blood must be shed. And so he comes, the infinite
God, contracted to a span, as a man, as a baby, growing into
a full man in his maturity, and dying, and shedding that innocent,
perfect, infinite, precious blood, to pay the price of the sins
of his people, to propitiate. Why did he come? Because God
so loved the world. Not everybody in the world, but
a world of his people. Who are his people? A multitude
that no man can number, from every tribe and tongue and kindred,
as we read in Revelation. This is the multitude that was
promised to Abraham. as innumerable as the sand on
the seashore is innumerable. God so loved the world that he
sent his only begotten son in the body of a man to come for
his body to be broken and his blood to be shed. In him, in
that man, in that baby dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Can you understand that? Can
I understand that? Of course not. How can finite,
sinful, mortal creatures like we are understand the infinite
God? It's utterly impossible. But
nevertheless, he tells us. He tells us, and that's what
we believe, is what he tells us. Without controversy, says
Paul to Timothy, 1 Timothy 3.16, great is the mystery of godliness. What do you mean, Paul? God was
manifest in the flesh. God. The infinite God. the God who has created all things,
who upholds all things, who gives us our very life and our next
breath, who orders all things according to the counsel of his
will, the infinite God who dwells in unapproachable light that
no man has seen nor can see, was manifest in the flesh. And we beheld his glory, said
John. The glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. What man in his natural sinful
state cannot possibly ever see, when we're in Christ, we see
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We see him manifest in the flesh. When he was born, When Christ
was born, and I'm not bringing this message because this is
the season of Christmas, it's just coincidental. You know I
keep saying we don't make anything about this festive season. It's
a midwinter festival as far as I'm concerned. We celebrate the
birth of Christ and the death of Christ and the resurrection
of Christ all of the time, throughout the year. It's the theme of our
worship all of the time. But when he was born, there was
great light. There was. there was a star you
know this don't you children you know you know the stories
about the star when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea you
know the shepherds out in the field the magi the wise men who
came and followed the star I don't know what it was it was some
astronomical phenomenon it might have been a comet who remembers
about Well, not quite 20 years ago, late 1990s, there was a
comet. And it was in the northwestern
sky in the autumn. And on clear nights, you'd see
this thing quite clearly in the northwestern sky for several
weeks on end. I don't think I ever did see
Halley's comet, but that one was around for several weeks.
Whether it was a comet, I do not know. But God ordained it
that when Christ was born, there was a bright star in the sky.
When the shepherds were abiding in the fields, keeping watch
over their flocks by night, the angel of the Lord came upon them.
Great light shone from that angel, light of heaven shone around,
and they were terrified, sore afraid, as it says. And suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, shining
brightly in the sky above them. There was great light when he
came. There was the testimony of Simeon a few days later. Look
at Luke chapter 2 and verse 29. When Jesus was eight days old,
Mary and Joseph took him to the temple. Bethlehem's not that
far from Jerusalem, so it was a fairly short journey into Jerusalem.
And they took him to the temple to do that which is required
according to the law of Moses. He went to be circumcised when
he was eight days old, as was the custom. And going into the
temple, this old man Simeon, who had been studying his scriptures,
And he'd been looking throughout the scriptures at the promises
made to Abraham and he'd been looking at the Psalms and he'd
been looking at the prophecies and he'd been looking at Daniel's
prophecy and he'd seen that about this time the Messiah, the promised
Messiah should come and God had told him by his spirit that he
wouldn't see death, he wouldn't die until he'd seen the one who
was to be God's salvation. And they take the baby into the
temple and God's spirit tells him, this is the one. And he
took him up, it says in verse 28, he took him up in his arms
and blessed God and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have
seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared before the face
of all people. Listen, a light. to lighten the
Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." This baby is
a light to lighten the Gentiles. What was the testimony of John
the Baptist? Turn to John's Gospel in chapter 1. John's Gospel in
chapter 1. The testimony of John the Baptist.
And verse 4. John 1 and verse 4. Where John
the Apostle says, In him was life, and the life was the light
of men. The light of Christ, the spiritual
life that Christ brought was the light of men. And the light
shineth in darkness. The darkness of the hearts of
men and women in their fallen state of sin. And the darkness
comprehended it not. Is that not true? Darkened men
and women do not understand the things of God. They didn't comprehend
it. Now, there was a man sent from
God whose name was John. This is John the Baptist. He
came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all men through
him might believe. He, John, was not that light,
but he was sent to bear witness of that light. That, Christ,
was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world. Do you see? That was John the
Baptist's testimony. And as Christ grew, and as he
ministered, surely spiritual light shone from him. When he
went up on that mount and preached to all those people in the Sermon
on the Mount, did they not say, as they said in chapter seven,
verse 46 of John, never man spake like this man. We never heard
anybody speak like that. Did his words not shine the light
of the truth and the knowledge of God? He performed miracles. Did his miracles not shine the
light of heaven? He that came down from above
Many, many saw in him the Son of Righteousness. As Malachi
4, the last book of the Old Testament says, unto you that fear my name
shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings.
You that fear my name, the people of God, fear with a childlike
reverent fear. Do you remember what we saw many
weeks ago in the Psalms, right? The secret of the Lord, the secret
of the Lord, the things of eternity that God reveals to his people.
The secret of the Lord is with whom? With them that fear him. The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear him. Unto you that fear my name shall
the sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." And
400 years after Malachi wrote it, he did. Christ came into
the world. They saw in him that the promised
Messiah had come. Anna, who was at the time of
Simeon in the temple, an old prophetess, she spoke of him
to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Are you looking
for redemption? Have you looked for redemption?
What do we mean by that? Redemption from what? We mean
the payment, the discharge of the debt, the cancellation of
the debt. Are you looking for that? Do
you know that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ
and receive the things done in the body, receive the consequences
of what we've been? For God will judge all people. He will. And you're either judged
on the strength of what you are yourself or you're judged in
the Lord Jesus Christ. She spake of him, of Christ,
to all. There were people in Jerusalem.
The religion of the Jews is where I know I can find eternal life.
Many had said, many proselytes came to Jerusalem looking for
redemption, looking to find the truth about how they could get
right with God who had created them. And they came to Jerusalem,
and whenever Anna, this old prophetess, came across any of them looking
for redemption in Jerusalem, do you know what she said? Jesus
Christ. Look to Him. Here He is. He's
come. The baby has been born. He's
going to redeem His people. His name is Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins. And when He taught and ministered,
all who heard knew that there was something special. Some people
hated. The Pharisees and the scribes
hated. Others embraced. None remained neutral. His word
was unique. As we've seen, never man spake
like this man. the light of his word. His word
shines the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. We see it
in the face of Jesus Christ, and he is the word which reveals
his word. He proclaims the gospel, the
good news of peace. Unlike the scribes and the Pharisees
and the rabbis, just like religious folks today, they pick over secondary
issues and they're blind to the shining truth of redemption accomplished. These scribes and Pharisees,
all they saw was a rebel in Christ, threatening their comfort and
the way things were. But to those whom God revealed
him, they saw, they see, in fact, what Isaiah tells us, they see
A king reigning in righteousness, princes shall rule in judgment,
a man shall be as in hiding place from the wind, and a covet from
the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see
shall not be dim, because he is the light of the world. The
ears of them that hear shall hearken. You know when John,
in the revelation, in the second vision of the book, and he's
in heaven, he's been called up through a door in heaven, and
there he is, and a call goes out, who is worthy to unloose
the seals of the book that is on the hand of the God who sits
on the throne of the universe? And none was found worthy. The
call goes out to this world, none was found worthy. And John
wept much, for none was found worthy. And the elder says to
him, look, look, in the midst of the throne is the lion of
the tribe of Judah. Look to him. And John looks.
What does he see? A lamb slain for sin. Only in the capacity of a lamb
slain for the sin of his people is the lion of the tribe of Judah
really seen. In his light, in the light of
his word, opened in the heart of his people by his spirit,
those who believe him see the light of accomplished redemption,
of sin forgiven, of justice satisfied. It was, as Paul writes to Timothy
in 2nd Timothy chapter 1, he says, it was God's own purpose
and grace. Salvation was God's own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus when you decided
to follow him. Doesn't say that, does it? Doesn't
say that. It says, was given us in Christ
Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the
appearing of our savior, Jesus Christ, listen, who has abolished
death and brought life and immortality, here it is, to light through
the gospel. Brought it to light through the
gospel. Now, here's my final point. Have you seen it? Have you seen
it? Have you seen this light of God?
Yes, we look at lights all around us, but have you seen this spiritual
light of God? If your best light is the world's
darkness, if the best wisdom that you have is this world's
darkness, how great is that darkness? That's what Jesus said, Matthew
6, 23. If the light that's in you is darkness, how great it
is. If the best you can do, if the best you've got is the light
of science, and pseudoscience so-called, then how dark you
are. If the best that you've got is
the world's philosophy, then how dark you are. If the best
that you've got is literature and the wisdom of man, how dark
you are by comparison. I'm not saying there isn't light
and goodness in some of these things, but how dark by comparison. If the best that you've got is
the wizardry of technology, as it grows ever more impressive,
how dark you are. If the best that you've got is
your religious tradition, and your mysticism, and your superstition,
how dark you are. It is all comparative darkness.
The very best of it, the very best, is light derived from God
in Christ, ultimately, but distorted. Again, I say, read that piece
by Spurgeon, where he says, he acknowledges, yes, there's light
in some of these things, but all of it ultimately comes from
Christ, who is the light of the world, and on the way by sinful
man, it gets distorted and corrupted and loses all of its power, for
there is no light in them. If they speak not according to
this word, there is no light in them. Have you seen the light
of life which is in Christ Jesus alone? Has it been revealed to
you that he alone is the way, the truth, and the life? You
need this. This is my plea to you. I know
I can't twist your arm and persuade you. I don't seek to do that.
It's all of the Spirit of God. But I do want to tell you, you
need this. This is the most important thing. You need to come to Christ, pleading
for his light to shine in your darkened heart, to see your true
state. Oh, shine that light. of the
truth of God into my heart and show me what I truly am as a
sinner before the justice and holiness of the God of the universe
to see Him in His holiness and His might and His power and to
see the redemption that Christ has accomplished. To see and
embrace and to rejoice in all that Christ has done as he brings
his light into your life. Will you ask God for the good
way? Jeremiah speaks of this good
way. Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the ways and see and ask
for the old paths. Where is the good way? Jesus
said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to
the Father but by me. Where is the good way? And walk
therein. That path is the one that he
lights up by his word, as Psalm 119 says, a light to our path
and a lamp to our feet. And he says, and ye shall find
rest for your souls. This is Jeremiah I'm reading,
it's not the Sermon on the Mount. You shall find rest for your
souls. But they said, the people said, we will not walk therein. Also I set up watchmen over you
saying, hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said,
we will not hearken. People don't want to know in
their darkness and their blindness. Will you say no? Do you know
why you do? If you say no, do you know why
you do? Your sin is too precious to you. You don't want to give
it up. I know you will carry on sinning,
but your sin, you love it and you won't give it up for the
sake of Christ. No, we will not hearken, they
say. Will you continue to choose the cover of darkness? When Jesus
was speaking to Nicodemus at the end of that discourse, he
says, he that believeth on him, on Christ, is not condemned,
but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
And this is the condemnation. Listen, this is God's judgment.
If you turn away like those people that Jeremiah was writing about,
this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world.
Christ has come. I am the light of the world,
he said. The light of God, the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God. And men loved darkness rather than light. Why? Because
their deeds were evil. Is that not why? They preferred
the darkness because their deeds were evil. For everyone that
doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh
to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they
are wrought in God. Will you seek him while he may
be found? Will you come to the light of
the world, believing his gospel? If you do, When you do, he says
to you, to all his disciples, you, this is Matthew chapter
five, 14 to 16 in the Sermon on the Mount, he says to his
disciples who've come to the light, he says, you are the light
of the world. He is the light of the world
for sure, but he says to his disciples, you are the light
of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle
and put it under a bushel, under a big basket, but on a candlestick,
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house let your
light so shine before men that they may see your good works
and glorify your father which is in heaven oh yes it's reflected
light you know we see the moon shining at night on a clear night
you see the moon shining do you know it isn't really the moon
that's shining It's the sun that's shining on the moon. The moon
has no light of itself. It is the sun's light that shines
on the surface of the moon, and we see the lit up surface of
the moon. In the same way, Christ, the
light of the world, shines in the hearts of his believing people.
And so he says, let your reflected light shine before men, that
they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which
is in heaven. 1 John chapter 1 verse 7. If we walk in the light, if we
live in the light of the truth of God in Christ, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship, one with another. And here's
the blessed thing, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses
us from all sin. Do you know, you say, I know
all of this, you've been over it before many times, but do
you know, I just feel, I cannot stress it enough. Of all the
issues that you will face in life, what to study, where to
go to, what career to do, where to live, all of these things,
they're not the real important thing. There's another article
by J.C. Ryle. They're all secondary matters. They really don't matter ultimately
that much. This is the only needful thing,
the one thing needful, the most important issue. Has it spoken
to you?