Sermon Tone Analysis

That you may believe and have life #24

John 8:12-30

 

After two months off today we move back into the Gospel, the Good News, of John the Beloved.

The book of John had a purpose

/John 20:30-31 (NIV)/

/30 //Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

/

 

Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly and any faithful witness, as John was, proclaims Christ, so that through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, the hearer might believe and have faith in Christ and have life, life everlasting.

We have begun a New Year - 525,600 minutes.

We don't know how many of those minutes have been allotted to us.

You may not make it through the year, I may not make it through the year.

Perhaps none of us will make it through, we don't know what a day holds much less a year.

However, I believe the Lord intends us to be faithful, prudent, to seek to make the most of the year.

If he delays his coming, if he gives you life to finish the year, how will you live this time?

How will you live the next month?

How will you live tomorrow?

How will you live THIS day?

In the word of God, as inspired by the Holy Spirit and written down by John, today we find Truthful Suppositions that will Change This Year.

We find precepts upon which you can build a life and have life.

Oh a lot of people are building their life on presuppositions but their lives don't contain life.

Read with me the Word of Life, and today as we begin a new year, let's STAND TOGETHER in HONOR of God's Word

PLEASE STAND

READ John 8:12-30

 

/John 8:12 (NIV)/

/12 //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."/

/Psalm 119:105 (NIV)/

/105 //Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path./

Do you believe that his Word is a lamp to our feet?

Do you believe that his Word is a light to our path?

What will you do with that belief?

Today?

This year?

WORD is in Psalm 119 in 30 verses … and According to Psalm 119

His Word will keep our way pure and keep us from sinning

His Word will strengthen us and preserve our lives

His Word is a place for us to place our hope

 

In the Beginning was the Word

And the Word was with God and the Word was God

All things were made by him and without nothing was made that was made

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory of one and only of the Father, full of Grace and Truth

 

Your WORD is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

 

Jesus IS the Word and Jesus Is the light

Jesus said

I Am the Light of the World

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, But will have the LIGHT of LIFE

 

You may not know what's around the corner but you will have light for the next step when you need the next step and when you can't see the next step you will be able to see his face and it will be alright

 

1.

Suppositions for the New Year

 

  A.

#1 - Jesus is the Light of the World

    1.

We have to decide that Jesus IS the Light of the World

    2.

Not just the light for eternity but the light for today

    3.

it is amazing how we will trust God with our eternity but we won't trust him with 80 years here on earth.

We will trust him with our eternity but not with this year, not with this month, not with today, not with THIS MOMENT

    4.

Jesus is the light for today, so he is the light for your marriage.

He is the light for your parenting.

He is the light for your free time.

He is the light for your business life.

He is the Light of the WORLD TODAY, right now!

 

  B.

#2 - All other "luminaries" are darkness

    1.

there are a lot of things out there that pretend to be witnesses to truth

    2.

there are a lot of things out there that pretend to be light.

But if JESUS is the light of the world, everything else is darkness

    3.

Those who don't know Christ are blind and don't even know it.

How is a blind person going to tell you what light is?

Some of you are reading self-help books written by people who don't know Christ.

Some of you are ordering your lives according to those who don't know Christ and wondering why it doesn't seem to be quite right.

It doesn't seem to be taking you in the same direction with Christ and scripture.

How can a blind person tell you where to find light?

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)

14 The man without the Spirit 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.

Matthew 6:23 (NIV)

23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

John 3:19-20 (NIV)

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

Matthew 15:14 (NIV)

14 Leave them; they are blind guides.

If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

Revelation 3:17-18 (NIV)

17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.'

But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

All other luminaries are darkness if they do not come from Christ so we must make the last supposition then

 

  C.

#3 I will Walk in the Light, I will NOT walk in Darkness

 

Jesus came for the purpose of setting us free from darkness

Isaiah 42:6-8 (NIV)

/6 "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 "I am the Lord; that is my name!

I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols./

I kept that last verse in that because how dare we call something light that is not light and give Christ's Glory to someone else HE alone is light and he alone came to bring light

 

2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)

/6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ./

How are you going to consciously choose to walk in the light?

Make some commitments

·         I must PRAY …  you can't have light if you won't look to the light