Where Life is Found

Okay, good morning everyone. It's lovely to see you here today.

Lovely to meet some new faces as well. You are so welcome here today.

My name is Graham and I'm the pastor of the church here.

So what I'd love you to do is to open your Bible and come back to John chapter 8

John 8 · chapter mention

and this is where we're going to be in these verses today. Wonderful

verses that have so much to teach us this morning and I've

just been so thrilled and challenged to get into this today.

But let's pray, will we, before we begin and then we'll get in.

Father, I think of the words of Romans chapter 12

Romans 12 · chapter mention

and what Paul would write, the plea to his readers

to be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world.

Father, we're so aware of the many things that we bring in here today.

the worries, the concerns, the doubts, the questions,

the grievances, the heartaches.

Father, we pray that you would help fix our eyes

on the one who's right at the centre of this passage,

who holds out the offer of eternal life to us this morning.

Father, we pray in your spirit's power

and in the wonderful name of your son.

Amen.

Amen.

So, with John chapter 8 open in front of you,

John 8 · chapter mention

whoever you are here today,

here is the central admission

that this passage, as Jesus speaks,

he invites us all to embrace today.

And it's an admission that,

according to research done by British car insurance company,

Sheila's Wheels,

remember them?

Bonds are car insurance deals.

According to them,

the male of the species is less likely to make than the female.

And it's an admission that our refusal to admit

means that the average driver in the UK

drives and get this,

it's 276 miles more than they need to every single year.

You with me?

What's the admission?

I don't know where I'm going.

Okay?

Asking for directions.

You click it on, guys.

I don't know where I'm going.

Now, here's the question.

When was the last time you put up your hands

and admitted that?

Yeah?

You're lost.

I don't know where I'm going.

It's not a phrase, is it,

that comes naturally to any of us.

Because I think we live in a world

where we're taught

that we should know where we're going.

Yeah?

We love to think that we know where we're going.

And the cultural air that we breathe in and out every day

trains us to think that today,

with all the opportunities that our generation enjoys,

that we've got this.

Okay?

It's the first song you hear when you go into Disneyland.

That lovely lullaby from Cinderella.

No matter how your heart is grieving,

if you keep on believing,

the dream that you wish will come true.

And that sounds very nice, doesn't it?

It's lovely.

But I don't think it's true for the vast majority of people

who live in this world.

Right?

We drove in there past Sainsbury's,

just at the Grange,

and there's the lady sitting begging for money.

I don't think that's coming true for her.

And yet I wonder if you're convinced this morning

if it's true for you.

Let me give you two figures that I learned of this week

that maybe will help us think

on whether the things that the world tells us

where life is to be found

are actually where life is to be found.

Here's the first one.

Here's the number.

400.

Any idea what that is?

You won't?

Let me tell you.

That's the number of hours worth of video content

that are uploaded to YouTube

every single minute of every single day.

Loving that?

400 hours worth of content.

Podcasts, music, opinions, debates.

We are a generation who is rich on information.

In fact, I read a statistic this week

that in the year 2018,

90% of the information we had as a species

was ours only in the last two years.

You got that?

So 2016 to 2018,

90% of the information that we have

as a species came in those two years.

We are a generation that is rich on information.

And yet here's the other figure for you.

It's 9.4.

So according to my friend

that works with young people up and down the country

as part of the Keswick Ministries team,

that's the percentage of children

aged between 3 and 17

in our nation

who were clinically diagnosed

with anxiety

between 2016 and 2019.

That's heartbreaking, isn't it?

If you think about it,

with three little girls.

That's heartbreaking.

And a bit of the numbers now,

since 2019,

will be well higher than that.

So overwhelmed

are an emerging generation

with reasons to be nervous

about the future

and burdened

by that crushing pressure

to make their life

mean something.

As M people sing away

in the background,

what have you done today

to make you feel proud?

Now we know

that it's not quite a straight line

between the first statistic

and the second statistic, okay?

It's way more complicated than that.

But we have to say

that those statistics

are hugely revealing.

And perhaps they suggest

that the answers

that we think we have

in the world today

from both within

and without ourselves

aren't quite as freeing

as we perhaps think they are.

Friends,

when was the last time

that you said to yourself,

I don't know where I'm going?

And here's why I want you to know

that according to the Bible,

to embrace that confession,

to embrace that admission

is not a sign of failure.

On the contrary,

that that is actually

the beginning of wisdom.

Why?

Well, because when we begin

that journey down the road

that says,

I don't know where I am going,

standing at the other end

of that road

is an open-armed Jesus Christ

whose words offer

such deep refreshment

and wonderful liberation

for our thirsty

and our weary human souls.

Now, this is the claim here

he makes today.

That isn't a complicated claim.

But boy, if we're up

for seeing it today,

it is a life-giving claim.

And here it is,

verse 12 of chapter 8,

Jesus says,

I am,

taking the divine name of God there,

we'll come back to that

in a few weeks' time,

I am the light of the world.

And what will turn that

from being a 2D black and white claim

into a 3D color one

is if we grasp the fact

that Jesus doesn't make that claim

at a random time

and in an unspecified location, right?

In other words,

put it in modern terms,

it's not like,

if I can say reverently,

that Jesus is sitting

in his living room on Facebook,

staring at that screen

that says,

what's on your mind today?

And thinking to himself,

do you know what?

I am the light of the world,

post-send.

When and where Jesus

makes this statement

is hugely significant

and it explains

why it was so explosive.

But before we get there,

you might be asking,

well, that's very good,

but what happened

to the first 11 verses

of chapter 8, right?

Some of you might have clocked that.

What's happening

to the first 11 verses

of chapter 8?

We kind of jumped over that here.

Now, it's worth saying

that your Bible might have

that section in italics

or with an asterisk

at the bottom.

Now, while there is

no reason to doubt

that that event

between Jesus

and the woman

caught in adultery

happened,

and evidence

from the early church fathers

would strongly suggest that,

it seems likely

that someone added

that event in

to some of the early

Greek manuscripts.

So because it's unlikely

to have been

in John's original,

we're going to skip

over it for now,

but let me just suggest

two reasons

why that should be comforting

and good news

for us today.

Here's the first one.

It should give us confidence

that the words we have

in our Bibles

are trustworthy.

Okay?

That this isn't fables,

we're not dealing

in myths here.

What we're dealing in

is carefully

and accurately

translated history.

And the fact

that a discrepancy

like that

can be flagged

only goes to show

just how many

original and

identical copies

of John's Gospel

that we have.

So it's good news

that the Bible

doesn't shy away

from that little

asterisk in your Bible.

It's good news for us.

Actually, it's astonishing

when you look at

the amount of

early manuscripts

of the New Testament

that we have.

Let me just say,

if you want to think

a little bit more

about that,

can I highly recommend

two things.

One is a book

by this lady

called Amy R. Ewing.

She's a wonderful

apologist

who's based down

south in Oxford,

I think.

And she's written

a wonderful book

called Why Trust

the Bible?

One of the best

things I've read

on this topic.

And the QR code

if you want to scan it

will take you

to a little conversation,

a little interview

between her

and Andy Bannister

who works for

the Solas Public

Centre of Christianity

up in Dundee.

It's just half an hour

you can listen to it

on your commute to work.

And they just

back that around

what it means

for people in our world

today

that the Bible

is trustworthy.

She's fantastic

on this kind of stuff,

Amy or Ewing.

That's the first reason.

But the second reason

why that's important

to see

is that it means

that verse,

and track with me here,

verse 12 of chapter 8

flows directly

from verse 52

of chapter 7.

Okay, just have a look

in the Bibles there.

Verse 12 of chapter 8

flows directly on

from verse 52

of chapter 7.

So, when Jesus says

I am the light

of the world,

he's still speaking

during this thing

that we thought about

last week,

this Feast of Tabernacles.

Okay, one of the

great Jewish festivals

that took place

every year

in Jerusalem.

And here's why

that is significant.

Every year

as part of this festival,

four enormous lights

are lit up.

And they're lit up

to commemorate

the 40 years

that Israel had spent

wandering in the wilderness.

Now, you can read about that

in the book of Exodus

if you want to

catch up with that.

And so, when the people

light these four

huge lights,

they were remembering

the fact that God

had led them

in the wilderness

to the land

that he had promised them.

He had led them

by light.

Okay, more specifically,

he'd led them

by a pillar of fire

at night.

And he'd led them

by a lighted cloud

during the day.

So, these four lights

are going

and this is the picture,

this is the scene,

this is the history

that's in the minds

of God's people

as they watch this

and celebrate.

So, these four lights

are lit all night.

Lighting up the sky.

Okay, picture the scene.

This is something like

Edinburgh Castle

at New Year.

Right?

You just,

wherever you are

in the cities,

you cannot miss

that light.

Some historians

describe the scene

with these four

huge lights

blazing away

that it was like

a spectacular diamond

that's glowing

in the night sky.

So, bright

was this spectacle.

This wasn't just

a festival

that looked back though.

This was a festival

that looked forward.

Isaiah had spoken

about how God

would one day

visit his people

and he would act

to save them

and he would lead

them by light.

This suffering servant

who would come

to make good

on God's promises

to bring them

to fulfillment,

he would not just

be a light

to Israel.

He would be a light

to the nations.

And his Messiah,

the one through whom

he would do that,

he would be a light

to the world.

Now this is clicking,

isn't it,

for where we've been

in John's Gospel

thus far.

And so it's in this moment,

in the most public place

in the temple,

in the Old Testament

charged and filled

night air,

that Jesus chooses

to declare to all

who would have ears

to hear him,

he says,

I am

the light of the world.

You don't know

where you're going

in life?

I am

the light

of the world.

You don't know

what tomorrow holds?

I am the light

of the world.

You don't have

the answers in life?

I am the light

of the world.

You're nervous

about the future?

I am the light

of the world.

Follow me.

Follow me.

That's his invitation

to all who would

listen to him.

I am

the light of the world.

And maybe just to help

us feel the pointy

contours

of Jesus' claim,

all I want to do

is just help us

as a community

this morning,

ask two questions

of ourselves

as we think

about his claim.

You up for this?

Okay, I'll take that.

Helen says yes.

Here's the first one.

Okay, ask ourselves,

are we in denial

about our darkness?

You see,

Jesus lovingly says,

would you see

that without me

you are lost

in darkness?

And he says

to the Pharisees

and you will die

in your sin.

And presumably

that is a reference

to those who wandered

in the wilderness

and who perished

for their lack of belief

in where God

was taking them.

You are in

the darkness.

And if you think about it,

it's kind of what makes

light, light,

isn't it?

Okay, I've never met

a fireworks company

whose business model

is to put on displays

during the day.

It wouldn't last

very long, would they?

You see, the Pharisees

in this context,

they know exactly

what Jesus is saying.

They are offended

by what he's implying,

not just because

of what he's saying

about him,

but because of what

he is implying

about them.

And I have to say

this is one of the things

that I love most

about Jesus.

And there's a lot of things.

But this is one of the things

I love most.

Do you spend enough time

with him

and you'll soon

come to see

that so unlike

our politicians

who pick their words

based on whether

they're going to attract

voters or not,

that one of the most

refreshing things

about Jesus of Nazareth

is that he's never

interested in winning

popularity contests.

There's something

deeply endearing

about his heart here

and that means

that we can trust

his words.

It means that

we should be deeply

sobered by what

picture he's painting

here of the human

condition.

Maybe three quick

pit stops here

if we're up for

taking notes.

Here's the first one.

His origin should

humble us.

You see, Jesus says

verse 23

to the Pharisees,

you are of this world.

You see,

I am not of this world.

He's contrasting

the two origins.

He is from above.

They, on the other hand,

are of the flesh.

You think in worldly terms

and judge things

by worldly standards.

Jesus says,

when you hear me speaking,

you're hearing the very voice

of your creator.

And that should deeply

humble us, I think,

when we recognize

his origin.

And maybe secondly,

his cross should convince

us.

Verse 28.

Jesus says to the Pharisees,

when you've lifted up

the Son of Man

to see it,

and by lifting up there

he's talking about

his death,

there's going to be

something verifying

about that event.

For it proves

that what he's saying

is true

about the darkness

of our hearts

and of our world

that he's come

to save us from.

And he's saying

that the cross

is a place

where we see

that our sin

is a much bigger

problem in our lives

than we think it is.

It's a much bigger

problem than we think

it is.

So often what happens

when you put your car

in for an MOT,

isn't it?

You get that dreaded

phone call from the garage.

It's never a good sign

when often happens

with me

that the voice

on the other end

starts with the word

right.

Which is code for,

isn't it?

There's a lot more

wrong under the bonnet

than I think you

thought there was.

And life teaches you

that, doesn't it,

as you go on in life?

Actually,

you realize

sin in my heart

is a much bigger deal.

There's tentacles

in much

further places

than I ever thought

was true.

And here's what I love.

I told you about that

section in the bit

before,

about how we're

skipping over it.

Well, let me just

skip into it

just for a few seconds.

Let me just show you

something I had never

seen before

until this week.

Come with me,

okay?

Verse

nine.

So when the Pharisees

throw this adulterous

woman into the middle

of the circle

and they say,

Jesus,

what are you going

to do?

Right?

She deserves to die.

She's got it wrong.

She's messed it up.

Jesus replies,

verse seven.

Do you see this reply?

Let he who is without

sin cast the first stone.

I thought it was

brilliant.

Again,

it's so,

the thing that so often

convinces me

that he is from

above,

that his wisdom

is unparalleled.

Again,

as we see politicians

floundering when doing

TV and radio interviews,

tongue-tied,

the PR teams in the

background doing all

sorts of charades

trying to get them

to stop talking.

When Jesus is up

against questions

that put him in

between a rock

and a hard place,

his answers are

stunningly good.

He is superbly

unpredictable.

And isn't it

interesting,

here's where we kick

in with verse nine,

isn't it interesting

that as one by one

they begin to drift

away having felt

the challenge of

Jesus' call,

who is it that

leads the way?

Look at it.

Who is it that

leads the way?

Verse nine there.

It's the older ones.

Here is the strange

thing about the

Christian life,

that as we grow

and follow Jesus

more, we become

not less aware

of our sin.

We become more

of the sin,

more aware of the

sin of the depth

of it that resides

in our human

hearts.

Is that not true?

You're not more

aware of the things,

the ways that you

get stuff wrong,

as you think about

who Jesus is,

and yet at the

same time running

like a speed train

on a parallel track

to the sin train,

is your awareness

of the depths

of the mercy

and the love

of Jesus Christ.

Some of us will

have grown up

with the words

of that old hymn,

O the deep,

deep love

of Jesus,

vast,

unmeasured,

boundless,

free,

rolling as

a mighty ocean

in its fullness

over me.

The gospel says

that the Christian

life is one

where you realize

you need Jesus

more as you

grow,

not less.

The gospel is not

the stabilizers

on the bike

of the Christian

life, right?

We had that

wonderful experience

three weeks ago

where a little girl,

Grace,

she cracked cycling,

she cracked it.

No need for stabilizers

anymore.

The world is yours.

But it doesn't

work like that

in the Christian life,

thinking that stabilizers

are something

we will eventually

go out of.

No friends,

the grace of Jesus,

we never graduate

from it.

We never graduate

from it.

And I always remember

going to a men's

Bible study

when I used to

live down in Bristol.

And there was a man

called Marcus there.

Marcus holding down

a full-time job.

Marcus,

three kids

at home.

Marcus trying to

do his best.

And there I was

as an impressionable

25-year-old

who thought he had

the world sussed.

And the conversation

comes around to

what is some of

the insights

that you're learning

about parenting

right now.

And I'm fully

expecting Marcus

to say something

like,

here's the three

top books.

Here's the routine

that we have

on the fridge

at home.

And do you know

what he said?

He just said,

I've come to see

what was a

throwaway line.

All I want

for my kids,

the best thing

I can give them

is not a college

education.

The best thing

that I can do

for them

is show them

that I need

Jesus

just as much

as they do.

And it's so true.

And I know

some of you here,

you're in that place

and you're struggling

with the fact

that you cannot

serve here

as much as you

can because

home life is

full on.

And I just want

you to know,

do not underestimate

the example that we

can set for our

children.

That's what we want

them to see,

isn't it?

Do not underestimate

your volunteering

time for Kids

Church upstairs

because we need

to model to them,

we need to example

to them the fact

that we need Jesus.

We've never graduated

from him.

We've never diminished

in our desire

to seek him.

It's the best thing

that we can give

our children.

Is it not true

in the Christian life

that we are meant

to be spiritual

Benjamin Buttons?

Now think about that

for a second.

Spiritual Benjamin Buttons.

I've not seen that film,

this will mean nothing

to you,

but go with me.

That the older we get,

the more like

dependent little children

we should look.

We are more sinful

than we dared imagine,

but equally,

the cross

is where we see

that we are more

loved

than we ever

dared

to think

was possible.

And in John 3,

in the context,

looking on Jesus,

being lifted up.

Oh yes,

loved it,

amen.

Being lifted up

is the place

where we look

and we will find

life.

His cross

should convince us,

dear friends,

about the darkness

in our hearts

and his motives

should expose us.

Do you see what he says,

verse 29?

They are those

who do things

that are pleasing

to them,

the Pharisees here.

But Jesus says,

in contrast,

I always do

the things

that are pleasing

to the Father.

And so as we gaze

upon the light

of the world,

we need to ask

ourselves,

honestly,

with the Spirit's help,

are we in denial

about the darkness?

forgiveness.

And secondly,

and this will be

a lot more quick,

flip it round.

Are we,

and as a community

today,

are we in pursuit

of his light?

And I take it

that as God's Word

has come at us today

and as the Spirit

has taken it

and done his

shining and exposing

work in our hearts,

that we are going

to be challenged.

And if you are here

today and you do

not know this Jesus,

that he is just

a voice in the world,

his invitation

is for you

to come to him today

and see that he is

the light of the world.

Just some of us here

need to come

to the light.

We'll think about this

next week,

that that is the place

for true freedom

is to be found.

The call is to turn

from the darkness

that you're in.

It's what the word

repentance means.

It's right at the heart

of that word.

It means to turn.

Turn from the darkness.

Turn to the light.

Turn from your sin.

Acknowledge Jesus'

righteousness.

Turn from the darkness

you're in

and run to his

gracious light.

And I guess

for others here today,

the question is,

are we walking

in the light?

As we bring ourselves

to his words.

I love it.

The psalmist talks about

Psalm 119,

God's word being

a light to our path.

Talking about his word

being a lamp

to our feet.

And the way

that we pursue Jesus

is to submit ourselves

to his lordship

as we

allow him

to lead us

through his words.

Now some of us

I know here today

as we think about

the application of this

are making some

really big decisions

about our futures.

Right?

Students,

you're coming to the end

of your degrees.

Others of us

are coming to the end

of our working life

thinking about retirement.

All sorts of other things,

big decisions

that we're making

in our lives.

Let me ask us,

are we making

these decisions,

bringing them

to the light

of the world?

There's a wonderful

lady in America

called Jen Wilkin

and I should have

put her quote up

but I forgot

to put it up.

Just finished

a wonderful book

of hers recently

and here's what she says

about decision making.

She says,

what if the primary

question we asked

ourselves

wasn't what should

I do?

But above that

was the question

as we gazed

at God's word

and gazed

at the Lord Jesus,

who should I be?

Who should I be?

And to be honest,

there's tons of decisions

that we make

in our lives.

There's tons

of different options

but in that decision

making process,

who should we be?

People of grace,

people of patience,

people of love,

the fruit of the spirit

pouring out of our lives,

decisions in life.

How often is it

the default

that we run

to our own ability

to navigate

our way through life?

Actually,

the call here

is to show yourself

just dependent

on your heavenly father.

That he is the light

of the world.

He is where

the place

I need to follow.

And friends,

our words and actions

as well,

the way that we treat

and we speak

of one another,

are they driven

by the light

of the world?

You know,

when was the last time

that because we looked

at the light,

we saw that we got

something deeply wrong?

I always love

that the word

is described,

God's word is described

as something

that pierces the soul,

it's a sharp

double-edged sword.

When was the question,

when was the last time

that word pierced

our intentions

and our motives?

You see how this works?

Are we deliberate

in our pursuit

of the light?

In the words

of Matthew Roberts,

who's a pastor

down in York,

in his wonderful

little book

called Pride

and Idolatry,

he says,

abandoning sin

is not part

of the cost

but of the blessing

of discipleship.

It's almost

Jesus rips us out

of the darkness

that we are in

and puts us

on the right track

and says,

follow me.

It's the reason

that you and I

were made,

to worship

and to glorify

and to know

our maker.

Jesus saves us

out of it

and puts us

on track.

Do you see

what he's saying?

Abandoning sin

is not part

of the cost

but of the blessing

of discipleship.

And so as we close

and maybe just

with the aim

of trying to bring

us back

to that central

admission,

let me tell you

about one of my

favorite all-time

comeback lines.

Ready for this?

My friend Carl

had this comeback line

and I loved it

and he used it

all the time.

We've got this

saying in our

culture that

so-and-so is a

self-made man.

You heard that

before?

So-and-so is a

self-made woman.

Normally appearing

in Dragon's Den

or something like

that.

People who we

look at and we

think that they've

done it all

themselves.

So my friend

Carl, when he

used to hear

somebody use this

line of themselves

and someone else,

he used to reply

and he used to

say,

huh,

that's interesting.

Tell me,

what part of

yourself did you

make?

Think about it.

What part of

yourself did you

make?

I love it.

Probably not a

conversation starter,

probably a conversation

ender, okay,

but it makes the

point,

is it not true

that 90% of the

stuff that happens

in our life,

to be honest,

was well beyond

our control?

What part of

yourself did you

make?

We love our

rags to riches

story in our

world, someone

who's lived the

American dream,

and yet Jesus,

the invitation he

makes here to us

today is to

embrace the

admission that we

don't know where

we're going.

Jesus says,

without me,

you are in the

darkness.

And his

gracious call,

the center of

it this morning

is a call to

renounce all

self-reliance

and follow him,

the one who

said that he

is the light

of the world.

Let's pray,

will we?

Lord Jesus,

we thank you so

much today that

you are the

one who came

to, as we

sang in that

song, lead us

out of darkness,

lead us out of

death.

Lord, I'll be

honest, I don't

have a clue where

this is landing in

people's lives

today, but I

thank you that

your spirit is at

work in our

hearts and in

our lives.

Lord, we long

that we would be

a community who

denounces all

self-reliance,

stakes it all in

pursuing you, the

light of the

world.

Father, help us

even in our

prayer life as a

church to

declare in

words, express

on our tongues

our utter reliance

on who you are.

And Lord, as your

spirit takes your

word, as he

pierces our

pride, as he

binds our

wounds,

love us.

Lord, thank you

that you're the

one who knows

exactly where

we're at.

Help us to

own that

confession.

Help us to

embrace that

admission that

where else will

we go?

For you have the

words of eternal

life.

Father, thank you

for your love for

us and we just

commit ourselves

and the rest of

our time together

today to you in

Jesus' wonderful name

we pray.

Amen.