I want to begin our service today
reading Psalm 27. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is
the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When
the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to
eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should
encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I desired
of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty
of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of
trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me. He shall set me upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted
up above mine enemies round about me. Therefore will I offer in
his tabernacle sacrifices of joy. I will sing, yea, I will
sing praises unto the Lord. Here, O Lord, when I cry with
my voice, have mercy also upon me and answer me. When thou saidest,
seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, thy face, Lord, will
I seek. Had not thy face far from me,
put not thy servant away in anger, thou hast been my help. Leave
me not, neither forsake me, O God. of my salvation. When my father
and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. Teach
me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of
mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the
will of mine enemies, for false witnesses are risen up against
me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted unless I had believed
to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait
on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Let us bow our heads in prayer. Our Father, we give thee thanks
today for another day of life. We thank Thee for Thy watch care,
Thy protection over Thy children. We do think of those, Father,
who are sick and bodied today. We ask for Your blessings upon
them. And we thank Thee, Father, for
the technology that we have that we are able to stream the message
today. And I do pray, Father, that You
will bless Your word as it goes out. that you will comfort your
people, that you will use it to cause us to grow in grace
and knowledge of our Lord. And again, Father, all of these
things we ask in Christ's name and we do thank thee that thou
art God and Lord we know beside thee there is no other true and
living God. And all of these things I ask
in Christ's name, amen. A week ago at this time, I had
presumed that I would be speaking to our congregation today, and
I had thought to continue in Ephesians chapter one with Paul's
prayer. But seeing we are not gathered
together as we normally are, I want to bring a message to
us today from one of the great I Am passages in the Gospel of
John. You know, several times in this
gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ said, I am. And we know that
those to whom he was speaking, they recognized immediately when
he said, I am, that he was confessing to be God manifest in the flesh. They knew this was the name that
God had given to Moses years before when he had sent him into
Egypt to bring out the children of Israel. And at one point,
the Lord Jesus said, for what good work would you stone me? And they answered, we would not
stone thee for good work, but for making thyself to be God. Thou being a man, make us thyself
to be God. In other words, when he confessed,
I am, they recognized immediately that he was confessing to be
God Almighty. Jehovah manifest in the flesh. He said, I am the way. I am the
truth. I am the life. I read this morning
earlier when he spoke to Martha and he said unto her, Martha,
I am the resurrection and the life. But today I want us to
think about this. I am passage in John chapter
eight. John chapter 8 and verse 12,
the scripture says, then spoke Jesus again unto them saying,
I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Here in this
verse and in two other verses in the gospel of John, the Lord
Jesus confesses himself to be the light of the world. In John
chapter 9 in verse 5, he said, I am the light of the world.
And in chapter 12 in verse 46, I am come a light unto the world
that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. One of the last prophecies in
the Old Testament in Malachi chapter 4, proclaimed that the
sun, the S-U-N, the light would arise with healing in his wings. And one of my favorite Old Testament
prophecies of Christ concerning him being the light is found
in Isaiah chapter 49 when the Lord God is speaking to his righteous
servant The Lord Jesus, he said, I will also give thee for a light
to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end
of the earth. The Lord Jesus Christ confessed
himself to be the light of the world. Now our text says, then
spoke Jesus again unto them. If we had begun reading in the
very first verse of the chapter, we would have noticed that the
Lord Jesus came to the temple early, early in the morning. And it's just possible that the
light was just beginning to shine, the light of day, because we
know that the Jews were very particular about offering that
morning sacrifice. Remember, there had to be two
lambs slain every day in the morning and in the evening. And
they were very particular about watching for the light. And as
soon as they saw the light, they offered that first sacrifice.
So when we read the Lord Jesus came into the temple early in
the morning, it's possible that the sun was just beginning to
shine, just coming up that day. And of course, when it says,
then spoke Jesus again unto them, he was interrupted. He was teaching
the people there in the temple that day and the religious leaders,
they brought a woman into their presence, and they said that
they had caught her in the very act of adultery. And they asked
him what should be done. They thought they had a situation
that the Lord Jesus Christ could not possibly answer without either
offending the law of Moses, which did prescribe stoning for the
sin of adultery, or he would offend the Roman authorities
which had taken the right of capital punishment away from
the Jews. But you know the story, how the
Lord Jesus Christ, we read, bowed down and began to write on the
sand or write in the dirt there. And finally he said, he that
is without sin, let him cast the first stone. And of course,
the man who had brought her, the Bible says, being convicted
in their own conscience, You know, conviction of sin, the
work of the Holy Spirit, would never affect what conviction
of conscience here affected, because they turned away, they
walked away, beginning with the oldest, they went away from the
Lord. And the Lord Jesus Christ then
asked that woman, woman, where are thine accusers? And she said,
no man accuses me. And he said those words, neither
do I condemn thee, go and sin no more. Now I said conviction
of conscience apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. A person
may be convicted and then go away from Christ. But just remember
this, that when God the Holy Spirit convicts a person of sin,
they don't go away from Christ, they look to Christ, they come
to Christ. But thinking about this this
day, the Lord Jesus Christ confessing, I am the light of the world.
He that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the
light of life. I want us to divide our thoughts
into three parts, three divisions. First, all men come into this
world in darkness. That's the first point I want
to emphasize. all men come into this world
in darkness." In fact, the Apostle Paul, writing to men and women
who were true believers, He said that they were darkness. That
is, before they came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior, not only were they in darkness, that's true, men
and women apart from Christ are in darkness, but he said, were
darkness. In other words, all men come
into this world in darkness. What kind of darkness is this?
We know that most people are born with physical sight, and
we see by the light of the sun. We see the things around us.
But what do we mean? What does the scripture teach
when it speaks about men being in darkness? It's spiritual darkness,
spiritual darkness. And you might ask, well, how
is this true? How can it be that man who was
created in righteousness, who was created in the image of God,
Adam, how can it be that he comes into this world, his posterity
does, comes into this world in darkness? Most of the, or much
I should say, of the light that Adam had, that being created
in the image of God, consisted in light and consisted in knowledge. And we see this, as far as natural
knowledge, we see this in Adam naming all of the animals. You
know, those who believe the lie of evolution, they would have
us believe that man began like a caveman. We've all seen pictures
of what are called cavemen, very primitive conditions. That was
not Adam, not as he came forth from the hands of his creator,
God. Evolution teaches that men began
at the bottom and are gradually working our way up. But the truth
of the matter is God created Adam in his image. He began at
the top and fell. He fell to the bottom. When he
disobeyed God, when he desired to know or have knowledge of
good and evil and disobeyed God, when he sinned, then this spiritual
darkness came upon him. Darkness immediately overspread
Adam. And we see that when he tried
to hide himself among the trees. He knew, as created by God, he
knew that God is not only all powerful, but that God is omnipresent,
that God is everywhere. There's no escaping God's presence. And yet you see this darkness,
this spiritual darkness that came upon this first man, Adam,
when he disobeyed God. And so he tries to hide himself
among the trees. He tries to cover his nakedness,
his unrighteousness, his filthiness with the works of his own hands,
with fig leaves. Why is that? Because darkness
has come upon him. And the scripture says, in Adam
all died. Not only Adam, he was a representative
head of all men, but we all died in him. And so all of his posterity,
all of us, you and I, everyone that we know, everyone that we
see, everyone who's ever come into this world apart from the
Lord Jesus Christ, who was the seed of the woman, not the seed
of a man, but every other person, We come into this world, as I
said, all men come into this world in darkness. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians
4 and verse 18 described man having the understanding darkened,
being alienated from the life of God through ignorance that
is in them because of the blindness of their hearts. that this darkness,
this blindness is universal. No one escapes it. No one who
comes into this world, even God's elect, even those men and women
that God had chosen from before the foundation of the world.
When we come into this world, we are in a state of darkness
that is by nature. And it's described in Romans
chapter three. As all men, there's none, there's
none, there's none that understand it. Man by nature, he doesn't
understand the things of God. The scripture says that the carnal
mind is enmity with God. It is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be. There's none that understand
it. There's none that seeketh after God. There's none righteous. No, not one. The way of peace,
they have not known. The way of righteousness and
life and salvation by Jesus Christ, they know not. In Romans chapter
10, the apostle Paul wrote about his brethren, his kinsmen, according
to the flesh, for whom he said he prayed that they might be
saved. That they might be saved. Why?
Because he said they are ignorant of the righteousness of God. Now I don't believe he meant
they were ignorant, that is the Jews were ignorant that God Almighty
is a holy Lord God. But they were ignorant of the
righteousness which God has provided in sending his son. into this
world. The scripture says that's one
of His names, the Lord, our righteousness. He has made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. That is Christ. All men, as we
come into this world, are darkness and blinded by Satan. Again,
the Apostle Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians 4, said, if our
gospel be hid, It is here to them that are lost, in whom the
God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not. Now, that's my first point. All
men, when we come into this world, are in darkness, are darkness. The second point is, man must
be born again to be delivered from this spiritual darkness. The Lord Jesus told Nicodemus,
a religious leader of that day, verily, verily, I say unto thee,
except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And I mentioned that Nicodemus
was a religious leader because I want to point out that religion
cannot give a person sight. It cannot deliver a person from
this spiritual darkness. Religion cannot do that. He was
a religious man. He was teaching others. And our
Lord said, are thou a teacher in Israel? And you don't understand
these things. He was in darkness himself and
teaching others in darkness. It is impossible for a person
apart from the new birth, from being born, and that new birth
is a birth from above. It's a spiritual birth. It's
a spiritual birth. Apart from a person being born
again, he cannot see the thing, he cannot perceive the things
of God, the kingdom of God, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The new birth is a sovereign
work of God. Our Lord said, the wind bloweth
where it listeth, and you hear the sound thereof, but you cannot
tell from where it comes nor where it's going. So is everyone
that is born of the Spirit of God. The new birth is not the
effect. Now listen. The new birth is
not the effect of a man making a decision. That's not what the
new birth is. A decision is the effect of the
new birth. The new birth is not the effect
of a man believing. A man believing is the manifestation
of the new birth. To deny this truth, and many
do, I understand that, many religious people today, they deny this
truth, but to deny this truth, that faith is a result of the
new birth and not the cause of the new birth, to deny that truth
is to deny that salvation is the work of the Lord. Let me ask this question. Is
salvation the work of the Lord? Well, Jonah answered that question,
didn't he? Can you imagine him and the fish's
belly down at the bottom of the ocean? If he's ever going to
get out of that fish, out of that mess, out of that fix, it's
going to take the Lord. He can make a decision. as many
times as he wants to, but he does not have the power to deliver
himself. And so he cried out, salvation
is of the Lord. And that's the question we would
ask, is salvation of the Lord? Is it the work of God or is it
the work of man? Is salvation the work of God
and man, partly of God and partly of man, or is salvation wholly,
fully the work of God Almighty. Well, we know the scriptures
teach that it is the work of God, that a person must be born
anew, born of the Spirit, born from above. You know, in that song that God
gave Moses, I think it's in Deuteronomy chapter 32, to teach to the nation
of Israel, One line of that song is, His work, that is God's work,
is perfect. God's work is perfect. Salvation
is His work, and His work is perfect. Think about this. Is election
the work of the Lord? The scripture says, we are bound
to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.
Is redemption the work of the Lord? Romans 3 and verse 24 are
being justified freely through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. Is justification the work of
the Lord? Romans 8, who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justify. Is calling, that is calling a
man out of darkness into light, calling a man from sin to trust
in Christ, that effectual call, is that the work of the Lord?
2nd Timothy 1 and verse 9 says, who hath saved us and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according
to his own purpose and grace, which was given unto us in Christ,
in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. Is adoption the
work of the Lord? To be made a an adopted son or
daughter of the Lord? Is that the work of the Lord
or is that the work of man? Well, what does the scripture
say? Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ unto himself, now listen, according to the
good pleasure of his will. And I would just ask this, is
forgiveness of sins the work of the Lord? Well, the scripture
says, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. You
know, one of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 103, where the psalmist
said, bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth
all thine iniquities. Yes, each one of these doctrines
or these teachings We know the scriptures tell us is the work
of the Lord and his work is perfect. The Lord Jesus Christ upon the
cross, when he said it is finished, his work, he said unto the father,
I finished the work, which thou gave us made to do his work,
the redeeming of his people, the saving of his people, bringing
in that everlasting righteousness. by which God justifies his people,
his work was not only finished, but thank God, perfect. And it
must be perfect to be accepted of the Lord. That's what the
Lord said in the law concerning those sacrifices. You couldn't
bring a lame lamb. You couldn't bring a lamb that
was blind in one eye or anything like that, have some deformity
or some sickness. You couldn't bring that animal
and present that unto the Lord for sacrifice. Why? Because those
animals were types and pictures of the Lamb of God who is perfect,
the holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Lamb of
God. His work, His person is perfect
and His work is perfect. And He finished His work. Now
third, men are delivered from darkness through the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the great I Am who is the
light of the world. He alone delivers men from darkness. In 2 Corinthians 4, verses 5
and 6, the apostle said, for we preach not ourselves, but
Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
Now listen, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. Who was it there in Genesis chapter
1 when the scripture says, and the earth was without form and
void and darkness was upon the face of the earth? Who was it
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness? It was God. It was the Lord Jesus Christ
because in John chapter 1, The word was in the beginning, the
word was with God, the word was God, and all things that were
made were made or created by him. He's the one who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness in the beginning. Genesis chapter
one. And he's the one who must command
the light to shine into the heart of a sinner. that we might see
the glory of God in the face and the person of Jesus Christ. It was the eternal son of God
who created all things by the word of his power, who commanded
the light. to shine out of darkness in the
beginning. And he's the one who commands
the light to shine into the heart of his people. Giving the light,
the scripture says, giving the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face or the person of Jesus Christ. Now, when the Lord commands light
to shine into the heart of a sinner, the first thing he sees is his
sinfulness. Have you ever been in a room
on a sunny day and maybe the shade and the window is open
just a little ways and the light, you can see the light streaming
into the room. And when you do, you see there's
so many millions of little particles. You didn't see those before.
Why? Because the light was not shining.
But when the light shines into the heart, when God commands
the light to shine into the heart of one of his chosen people,
the first thing we see is, we see our sin. That's the reason
the Lord said, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. And men see themselves as needy,
as poor, as sinful. But that's not all that we see.
We see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, that he
is the glory of the Father, the glory of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth. We see the glory of his
person. We see how it is that he is both
God that he might satisfy, and he is man that he might die. He is both God and man, the glory
of his person. And that's the reason we, we
refer to him as the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, here's so many
people today. They, they only refer to him
as Jesus. Now that name was given to him
at his birth and that speaks of his humanity. That's true.
But let's not forget my friends that he is the Lord Jesus Christ. We see the glory of his person. Sometimes you hear people say,
well, make Jesus your Lord. Well, you can't do that. You
can't do that. Why? Because God has already
made him both Lord and Christ. He's every man's Lord. Whether
men receive him or men reject him, he is still every man's
Lord. He is the Lord of heaven and
earth. He's God's king that he set upon
his holy hill. We see the glory of his offices,
that he is the one mediator between God and man. We're not going
to try to go to God through some so-called saint, Saint Peter,
Saint Jude, or the Virgin Mary, or anyone like that. No, we know
that there's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. That's his glory. And when he
commands the light to shine in a person's heart, we see that,
we know that, we believe that, we rejoice in that. We recognize
that he is all our salvation. We glory in his grace. We see the glory of his grace,
how gracious he is in saving men and women like you and I. In Colossians 1, Paul was speaking
to believers, writing to them, and he said, giving thanks unto
the Father who hath delivered us from the power of darkness. He's the one who delivers from
the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son. I'm so thankful today that the
Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as the light, because men
by nature, we all are in darkness. And I would just ask you today,
has he caused the light to shine into your heart, causing you
to see His glory, the glory of Jesus Christ as the one and only
Savior of sinners. He said, I am the way, not one
way, not a way. I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. There's no life,
no spiritual life, actually no life period outside of Christ
because all men live in Him, live and move and have our being
in Him. But spiritual life, eternal life,
is only in Christ. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. I pray that the Lord would bless
this word to us here today. And the Lord willing, At six
o'clock this evening, we'll come back again and we'll stream the
message for this evening. This is something new for all
of us, but we know the Lord is going to comfort and protect
his people. And the message God's given me
for tonight, I believe will be a great encouragement to all
of his children. And after all, that's what the
Lord said to do to his preachers. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
saith the Lord. So until next time, God bless.