For the first time I heard that
hymn. Pastor of that particular church,
he had one of those voices. Someone said he learned to whisper
in a sawmill. And he loved to sing, and he
loved to sing that song. I never will forget that. It's wonderful truth, isn't it?
Saved by the blood, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our
sins are all pardoned. Our guilt is all gone. Saved
by the blood of the crucified one. Let's turn back tonight
to John chapter 8. We've seen how that the Lord
Jesus Christ went to the Mount of Olives when the men went to
their houses and spent the night there. And then He came early
in the morning and began to teach the people. Notice that in verses
1 and 2. Jesus went unto the Mount of
Olives, and early in the morning He came again into the temple.
And all the people came unto him, and he sat down and taught
them. Then soon a woman who had been
taken in adultery was brought and thrust into his presence,
disrupting him and his teaching. She was brought there by the
scribes and the Pharisees. And we saw how that their intention
was to obtain something with which to accuse him. And we looked
at that last time in the light of these two scriptures, surely
the wrath of man shall praise thee. They did what they did
in wrath, but yet it was accomplishing God's purpose and brought forth
his glory and his praise. And the other scripture, the
grace of God, which brings salvation. We saw how that when all of her
accusers were gone, she was saved from stoning. And when the Lord
Jesus Christ by his blood has answered all of our accusers,
that is the law and every sin that we're guilty of, that's
when we are saved. That's when we are justified. When there's no one who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect, it's God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea rather He's risen again, who is seated
at the Father's right hand. No one can accuse, legitimately,
no one can accuse. Your conscience may accuse you,
the world may accuse you, but let me tell you, no one can accuse
a believer for whom Christ died in the courtroom of heaven. The
Lord Jesus now begins again to teach the people. Notice that
in verse 12. Then spake Jesus again after
the woman had left. First the men who brought her
that we saw how they left being accused of their own consciences.
And then the woman was dismissed. Then spake Jesus again unto them. Now it was early in the morning. We've already seen that in verse
2. And if you look down to verse 20, the last verse that we read,
we see where they were in the temple. The fact that they were
in the temple, most of us assume that they were in a building
with a roof over it like we are here tonight. But that was not
the case. Because you see, they were in
the treasury in verse 20. These words speak Jesus in the
treasury. Now the treasury was located
in the court of the women, which was a court. And it was not covered. It was open. And so it just may
be that the Lord Jesus Christ once again chose something from
nature with which to begin His message. You know, He did this
several times when you read through the Gospels. For instance, when
he used the birds, the birds of the air, something so common,
so commonplace, something all of us and everyone to whom he
was speaking were familiar. And he said this, behold the
fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into their barns, yet, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you not much better than
they? What was he teaching about? He
was teaching about trusting God's good providence. I like to always say good providence,
don't you? Not just God's providence, but
God's good providence. Because His providence is like
His. He's good, and his providence
is good. And then he, on another occasion,
you know, used the lilies of the field. How beautiful these
flowers were that he pointed out. And yet he said that Solomon,
Solomon, maybe one of the wealthiest kings that ever lived, he made
silver plentiful. in Jerusalem when he was king.
It was just commonplace, silver. Very wealthy man. And yet the
Lord Jesus Christ said that the beauty of those lilies far exceeded
the beauty of Solomon in all his glory. And oh, if you could
see yourself, if you are a child of God tonight, as God sees you,
dressed in that perfect robe of righteousness, How beautiful,
exceeding any flower, anything in nature. And it could be, I'd
say it could be tonight, that as the sun was just maybe coming
over the wall of the temple, he used that to introduce his
message. And 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. We're going
to divide the text into two parts. The Lord Jesus Christ declared
himself to be the light of the world, and then secondly, the
Lord Jesus declared that all who follow him shall not walk
in darkness, but have the light of life. So first, let's think
of this statement. When you read the Scriptures
and you read what the Lord Jesus Christ declared, you know He
had to either have been a crazy man or who He professed to be. What would you think? He stood
up here and said, I am the light of the world. It sounded strange, no doubt. We saw that invitation this morning,
that prompt, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. What promises? What declarations? I am the light of the world. Let's look at this declaration
in two ways. First of all, We know that the
first two words identify him as God. Now, the audience today
might not recognize this so much as those who heard him. But you
better be sure those people that heard him that day in the temple,
they knew exactly who he was confessing to be when he said,
I am. That was a name by which God
had spoken to Moses at the bush that burned but was not consumed,
wasn't it? When Moses asked the Lord to
tell him his name, God said, you say, I am that I am. And we usually understand that
as the name Jehovah. And that name is especially connected
with his covenants. The covenant God, I am. I am the light of the world. As God, He created the light. He created the light along with
the Father and with the Holy Spirit on that first day of creation
there in the book of Genesis chapter 1. Light was His creation. God said, let there be light
and there was light. All things, the Apostle John
tells us, for all things were made by Him, and without Him
was not anything made that was made. I am the light of the world. I have created the light in this
world. And on the third day, when the
light evidently was collected into those bodies we call the
sun and the moon and the stars, He created those. Those bodies
which now dispense light in this world. I am the light of the
world. He is the creator of light. And
secondly, as God, He preserves light along with the Father and
with the Holy Spirit. God is one. He said in John 5,
My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. The Apostle Paul said,
he upholds all things by the word of his power. He not only
created light, but he preserves light. And think about this,
as God, I am the light of the world, I'm the creator of light,
I'm the preserver of light, but I am the one who created man's
eye. so that he might see light. The seeing eye, the hearing ear,
who created them both? The Lord Jesus Christ did, along
with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. So when we look
at this statement, first of all, I am the light of the world.
As God, He created light, He preserved light, And yes, He's
the one who created man with the ability, with the eye to
see light. But notice, He said these words
not solely as God, but as God-man. As God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the man Christ Jesus, He spoke these words and He said, I am
the light of the world. It was prophesied through the
prophets in the Old Testament, several of them, that the Messiah,
the one who was promised, that he would be the light. For instance, in Isaiah chapter
42 and verse 6, God's speaking to the servant there. He begins,
Behold my servant, mine elect, whom I uphold. Speaking of the
Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. But in verse 6, behold, the Scripture
says, I the Lord have called thee in righteousness. God called him the God-man. That is, God called Christ the
God-man in righteousness. He didn't thrust himself. put himself forward. He was called to this office,
called to this position. I have called thee in righteousness and I will hold thine hand and
will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people.
When we talk about the everlasting covenant and the covenant of
grace, God said, I will give thee. Christ, He is the covenant. It was made with Him. And you
in Him, if you're one of His children. And He's the messenger
of that covenant. And He's the mediator of the
covenant. And He's the surety of the covenant. God said, I will hold thine hand,
will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people,
for a light, this is a point I'm making, for a light of the
Gentiles. When we think of him confessing
himself to be the light of the world, there's three thoughts
that come to my mind about him being pictured by light. First of all, And I have several
things here tonight I want to give us. How that light may be
a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. How that light may picture the
Lord Jesus Christ. Light makes things known. Light makes things known. In the dark, We may be looking
for something that is right at our feet. It may be something
we're searching for. It may be right at our feet.
But in the dark, it is hidden to us. Light makes things known. Just the other night, I had to
do something outside. It was dark. And I could maybe
have fumbled around there in the dark. Got myself hurt probably,
but what did I do? I went and got a flashlight.
And then the job was easy. Light makes things known. I am the light of the world,
and we know that He is the one who makes God known. There is no knowing God apart
from Jesus Christ. In fact, in John chapter one,
the apostle said, no man has seen God at any time. The only
begotten son, which is in the bosom of the father, he hath
declared him. In Hebrews chapter one, we know
that he is the image, express image of God. The invisible God,
he who is spirit is manifested, made known by the light. by Jesus Christ, our Lord. Not only does He make God known
to us, He makes a lot of things known to us, doesn't He? He makes us know just how
awful sin is. By nature, we don't know that.
We think sin's just a little thing, just a light thing, just
something you can Brush under the rug, just forget about it. I tell you, you look at the cross, you look at the wrath of God
poured out on His darling Son because of sin. No, He makes
light manifest. Christ, I am the light of the
world. He makes God known to us and He makes us know the depravity,
the evil of sin. And He makes known unto us, thank
God, how God may be just and justifier. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't it? How that God who is absolutely,
immaculately, holy, how that he may remain holy and yet justify,
declare someone like me, someone like you to be righteous. He makes that known. Light makes
things known. Light directs our walk. Later in John chapter 11, When
our Lord opened the eyes of that man who had been born blind,
in the conversation he said this, But if a man walk in the night,
he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. Even so the
Lord Jesus Christ, as light directs our walk, so Christ He directs
us to God. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. This is life eternal, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou
hast sent. Not only does He direct us in
our walk to God, He is the way. He is the way to God. And light Think about this. Light is able to penetrate. When you go home tonight, you
walk into your bedroom and flip on the switch, turn on the light,
the bedroom's dark, and light, it penetrates, doesn't it? It goes under the bed. It gets
behind the dresser. Light penetrates Even so, the
Lord Jesus Christ, He searches the heart. All things are naked and open
unto Him with whom we have to do. Light penetrates. We may be able to put on a good
show and put on a good face and look good to everybody around
us, but Christ, He looks upon the heart. Light penetrates. And light is able to warm us
and lift our spirits. I'm speaking about bodily. It's
able to warm us and to lift our spirits. You know, there's some
places in the world where it stays dark a good part of the
time. In fact, there's some places
in our country, in Alaska and some of the northern states where
It stays dark for, I believe, months. You know, suicide rates
in those places is very high. The darkness just, it just gives,
given to depressed people. There's something warm and refreshing
about the light, about the sunshine, isn't there? And the Lord Jesus
Christ, just like the sunlight warms our body and lifts our
spirit, so the Lord Jesus Christ, he warms our soul, warms our
heart, he lifts our spirit. That's one reason we enjoy coming
to worship, isn't it? When we come together. How many
times have you attended a worship service when you were physically
tired? I mean, you were tired, but you
just said, well, I'm going to go. That's what I should do,
and I'm going to go. And lo and behold, your spirit
is revived. It's warmed. It's refreshed. And you even feel better physically. I've had that happen to me many
times. I trust you have as well. And you know light cannot be
defiled. It cannot be defiled. You know
light may shine through a dingy, putrefying place, but it comes
through it just as pure and just as clean and undefiled as it
started out. Light cannot be defiled. Oh, you think about the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, I'm the light of the
world. He came into this world made, a man made, Paul says,
in the likeness of sinful flesh, likeness only of sinful flesh. He had no sin, but he walked
among sinners. He talked with sinners. He touched
sinners and they touched him. And yet, he was not defiled.
In fact, in the letter of Hebrews, speaking of him as our high priest,
we read, for such a high priest became us who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. He was not defiled by the defiling
elements and people around him. Just like light cannot be defiled. And let me say this, light, there's
a mystery about it. There's a mystery about it. The
scientists, they can't really tell you what light is. Men have studied this, learned
men, learned men have studied this for years. Job is probably
the oldest book in our Bible, we're told. And he even poses
some questions in the book of Job to show that there's a mystery
about light that man has never been able fully to comprehend
and never will be. Job asks these questions in Job
chapter 38. He said, Where is the way where
light dwelleth? Where is the way where light
dwelleth? And then he asks this question,
by what way is the light parted? Men cannot answer these questions.
Why? Because there's a mystery about
light. And even so, my friends, there
is a mystery when we think about the person of Jesus Christ, our
Lord. Paul said that, didn't he? Look
with me in 1st Timothy. 1st Timothy chapter 3 and verse
16. He said, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Now I know, I do not doubt about
this fact. God was manifest in the flesh. But you tell, you ask me to explain
how that can be. Now I've read, I know about the
hypothetic union of the two natures of Christ. I know, I've read
about those things, those truths, no doubt about it. But how? There's a mystery about Christ. How that he is fully God. I don't doubt that at all, do
you? I mean, I don't have one iota of a doubt, thank God. And at the same time, I know
he's man. But there's a mystery in how
he can be both God and man. And the two natures, He's one
person, and yet the two natures are not mixed. His deity was not turned into
flesh, and His flesh was not turned into deity. He's one person, but He has two
natures. Just as there's a mystery about
light, even more so about Christ. And look at these other things
here. Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit. When
He was raised from the grave, He was justified. He was declared
righteous. How is it that He could take
all of the sins of all of His people, all of us, and many others who
had not even been born? The sins had not even been committed. How is it that he could take
all of the sins of his people upon himself and be punished
for those sins, and yes, go to the grave carrying those sins
in his own body on the tree, and yet three days later, justified,
raised from the dead, God declaring that the sin debt had been paid,
that he was satisfied. justified in the spirit, seen
of angels. He was seen of angels at his
birth. He was seen of angels before
he came into this world. When he came into this world,
God said, let all the angels worship him. Remember, Luke tells
us there was suddenly a multitude of angels praising him. And don't you know those angels?
And Peter tells us they still desire to look into these things. And don't you know when he ascended
back to the Father, the God-man took his place at the right hand
of the majesty on high? Those angels. He talked about
eyes. This is their creator. Seen Him on the cross. Saw Him on the cross, I should
say. It's a mystery. Preached unto the Gentiles. Here's
a man. We know who He is. Here's a man. These apostles go out into the
world and start telling this story. Man died. Man died. Man died outside the
gates of Jerusalem. And he died a felon's death. But he was God. He is God. And he can save you. Preached
unto the Gentiles and believed on. Isn't that what it says? Believed on in the world and
received. I am the light of the world. Light, there's so many other
ways too that it could picture Christ, but think about this. It can also serve as a contrast. When we think about light, it
can serve us as a contrast. the Lord Jesus Christ from all
other lights, all other lights, and there's all kinds of lights.
Someone said there's rotten wood firelight, there's match light,
there's these bugs that, what do they call them, fire, you
know what I'm talking about that light up. We used to try to catch
them when we were kids and put them in a jar. There's all kinds
of lights. There's big old spotlights, but
The Lord Jesus Christ is different from all other lights in this
way, these ways. First of all, all other lights
have their dark spots. They do. Even the sun, we're
told, has its dark spots. We're told that. The sun has
its dark spots. But you know, when John writes
his first epistle and says, God is light and in Him is no darkness
at all. He's different from all other
lights. And no other light, no other
lights rather have the power to give sight to those who are
blind. You can take a blind person out
and The sun shining noon-day brightness. He may feel the heat,
but it's not going to restore and give him sight. But Jesus
did. He is able. He said, I am the
light of the world. And he, we know when he was here
many times, several times, he opened the eyes of the blind.
And you know something else. All other lights will one day
set. Just like the sun sets, it goes
down, you don't see it anymore. All other lights will one day
set. But not Christ. Look with me
in Revelation chapter 21. Revelation chapter 21, we're
told there's going to come a day when there's not going to be
any more need for the sun. Verse 23, And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon to shine in it. For the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. Someday every
other light will be extinguished, but His light, He will continue
as the light. Let me take just a few minutes
here. How does the Lord Jesus dispense light? How does He dispense
light? He dispenses this light through
the preaching of the gospel. We know tonight that where the
gospel has never been preached, this light has never been dispensed. We sing that hymn sometimes,
send the light, send the light. And that's our responsibility
as a church, isn't it? To send the light. This is the
way the light is dispensed through the preaching of the gospel.
The Apostle Paul said, we preach Christ crucified. One of the
old writers said, this is the chariot that is the gospel, this
is the chariot in which this glorious light is carried about
ordinarily in the world. Let's read this passage in 2
Corinthians chapter 4. How is this light dispensed?
It's dispensed through the preaching of the gospel. Chapter 4, verse 3, it says,
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost,
in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach
not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. He dispenses this light
through the preaching of the gospel and also through the ministry
of the Holy Spirit. Now, without the ministry of
the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the gospel is not going to
give light to anyone. The ministry of the Holy Spirit. Look with me in Acts chapter
26. This is what Paul was told and this is what he confessed
to this ruler. Christ had revealed himself unto
him in Acts chapter 26. Paul is speaking and he's relating
his experience on the road to Damascus. Paul said, And I said,
Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus. Verse
15. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest,
but rise and stand upon thy feet. For I have appeared unto thee
for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both
of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in
the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the
people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee to
open their eyes. How does he dispense this light? By preaching the gospel. God
the Holy Spirit blessing the preaching of the gospel to open
their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the
power of Satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness
of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me. He's the only one, God the Holy
Spirit, who reveals the scales from the eyes of lost men and
women. That's what happened to Saul
of Tarsus, isn't it? When he was in that house, remember
he'd been led there, blind. But when Ananias came to him,
those scales came off. And under the preaching of the
gospel, With the anointing, the blessing
of the Holy Spirit, the scales come off. And lost men and women
are able to see Christ. He's the light of the world.
He's the Savior. And just a word on this second
part. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. What does
it mean, he that followeth me? Look in John 12. John chapter 12 and verse 46
have almost a repetition of this. I am come a light into the world
that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
Following is only another word, another way of saying believing. He that followeth me, he that
believeth on me. J.C. Ryle said, it's the same
act of the soul, only seen from a different point of view. We
are to commit ourselves. This is His promise. He that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. We are to commit ourselves wholly
and entirely to Him as our only leader, as our Savior, and submit
ourselves to Him in every matter, both as to doctrine, that is
what we are to believe, and how we are to live. And this is illustrated
to us in the scriptures by the children of Israel as they went
across the wilderness. Remember that pillow of fire
and cloud which led them. When that stopped, they stopped.
When that moved, they moved. He that followeth me, we follow
him. He leads us by his spirit. When that cloud stopped, they
stopped. Wait. Someone said, well, what
are we to do? I don't know what we're to do.
And some people are so foolish, they say, well, let's do something,
even if it's wrong. Have you ever heard that? Don't
believe that. Don't believe that. When you
don't know what to do, our Lord promises, he that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness, When you don't know what to do, which
way to go, what are we to do? Just like those Israelites, you
wait. You wait till the cloud moves.
You wait till the fire moves, the pillar of fire moves. Wait
on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall
strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Not only will he strengthen thee,
but he will guide thee, and he will lead thee. This is his promise.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life. I'm going to stop here. Actually,
I'm finished. Maybe we'll take up more of those
verses another time. I pray the Lord bless this word
to all of us here tonight. And all of us, I pray, all of
God's children I know, rejoice in the Lord. And again, I say
rejoice in the Lord. What a blessing to know Christ. Let's sing a few verses of a
hymn.