God Is Light - A Meditation For Dark Times

Praise God.

Sweet, sweet to be here with you all again.

I was telling Seth, we get to see some of the guys' faces in the Workman's Trust every week,

but others that we are so used to seeing we don't see anymore.

And we were having dinner last night with a couple that's been attending Bellicose.

He's come out of a rough situation from a previous ministry,

and I was explaining to them what it was like when we prayed for the team that was going out.

And how for a few decades plus I had prayed that we would be able to equip and send workers in such a way

that in some measure resembled the departure of Paul from Miletus with the elders of Ephesus

when they wept at his departure.

That's not the kind of thing that happens when you're just building a missions and church planting portfolio

where you're trying to beef up the amount of production that you've had in ministry as a church

or you're posting on the wall how many missionaries you give $10 a month to so that you can have a larger number.

So this is what it's like when the Lord at work in his church sends part of his body from another local body,

and we actually feel it almost like an arm was cut off.

Except it's not negative in that sense because it's not an arm being cut off.

It's the body being sent by the Lord for the purpose of spreading what we heard about in this Proto-Evangelion,

the good news.

And so it's a wonderful thing, and yet there are tears and there's a sense of loss.

I was explaining that to this dear couple that has passed through so much trial,

and they said, we have never seen anything like that.

We've only known what it meant to be instruments in the part of a machine.

It was that kind of dynamic.

So I'm grateful for that.

And when I think of some of you that I don't see as often, I think, oh man, I miss seeing them.

But then I get to come here, and so I feel doubly rich in that sense.

Well, there's my introduction.

It's good to be here with you all.

I want to think this morning.

I was praying for you and thinking about what would be most helpful to share.

Dear heavens, we don't have a clock.

We're going to need that.

Okay.

I'll just click on this and see.

How long do you all normally go on Sunday mornings?

Just till 2?

Okay.

Okay.

Make it 8 hours.

Good to know.

Good to know.

All right.

Well, you guys are kind of modeling after the Indian church.

Just these 12-hour gatherings.

No.

I'm actually picking up from where I began.

I think it was last week at Bellicose Church in 1 John 1.

Some of you may have caught wind of that.

You may not have.

But I only made it through about a third of my notes last week.

And the more I prayed and thought about coming here to Christ Church, I couldn't extricate myself from 1 John 1.

And so here we are.

And if you want to open there to 1 John 1.

I want to begin briefly by laying a backdrop for this theme that God is light.

In my notes I have this titled, God is light, subtitle, a meditation for dark times.

So I begin just by reading Matthew 24, verses 4 to 6, and then a portion from Psalm 27, and then we'll get to 1 John 1.

Matthew 24:4–6

I don't know if you've been looking around at the world.

You don't need to look very far.

But if you've been looking around at the world, you might have a sense, as I do in these days,

that there seems to be an unparalleled concentration and volume of darkness at play.

It's not just in America.

It's in the cities of the earth.

I have never seen a more global spread of jihadist Islam, for instance,

of overt anti-Semitism, of immorality in a thousand different forms.

One needs only to watch the intro to the Olympics, which I hope you didn't.

I didn't, but I saw it after the fact, to see open blasphemy on display.

The world has always been a dark place since the fall,

but the darkness is getting more boastful and pronounced, it seems to me.

And between the weight that I feel from those things and the weight that I feel from struggles

within the church, walking through marital strife and other kinds of trials that are profound

morally, doctrinally, and across the board, I have found myself over the last several weeks

feeling a little heavier than normal and finding it more difficult to walk out of my study in

the morning, even after a rich time in the word with the kind of lightness that I had in times past.

Well, I don't know if it's going to be this way until the Lord returns, and I'm not without hope,

but I do feel the prevalence of the darkness, it seems to me, in a way in which I haven't always felt it.

Perhaps I'm just discerning better.

Or maybe it is that, as Paul said, in the last days, there will be an increasing darkness.

I believe we're seeing that personally.

And when Jesus in Matthew 24, 4 to 6, answered his disciples, when they asked,

when will these things be?

What will be the sign of the coming and of the close of the age?

He responded by saying, See to it that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name,

saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,

and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

The end is not yet.

You will hear of wars and rumors of wars and all manner of tumult,

as my disciples, in this fallen world.

But don't be alarmed to the point of despair.

Don't be alarmed to the point of hopelessness.

The end is not yet.

That's a little anchor point for us to consider.

And I would like to make note of the fact that our Lord himself says just there

that things are going to get difficult in the world.

And particularly for believers in this world, he said,

You will have tribulation, but take courage.

I have overcome the world.

So there's a lot of claiming of certain kinds of promises and misusing of them.

I heard another prosperity guy boasting just the other day that someone had gifted him

with some kind of a really fancy clock that cost thousands of dollars,

and that he already had 36 of them in his closet.

And he said, Well, praise the Lord, brother, that's good.

And then the guy said, But there's more to it.

I'm giving you this particular kind of Bentley that has a clock,

that clock mounted in it, which amounts to $350,000 worth of vehicle and clock.

And he was boasting in that and treating it nonchalantly and saying,

See, the Lord's blessings upon me.

Ha ha ha.

Well, there's going to be false teachers as well that are treasuring everything

but Jesus Christ and him crucified.

And we can count on that, which is why we need to know that God is light

and what that means.

Before I get to that, I want to open with Psalm 27,

and let's use it as our prayer this morning.

Psalm of David.

The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life.

Of whom shall I be afraid?

When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear.

Though war arise against me,

yet will I be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,

and that will I seek after,

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble.

He will conceal me under the cover of his tent.

He will lift me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy.

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord,

when I cry aloud.

Be gracious to me and answer me.

You have said,

seek my face.

My heart says to you,

your face, Lord,

do I seek.

And in no better way,

Lord,

could we seek your face

than by opening our hearts to you in prayer,

than by opening your word

to see the light

that is in your word,

than believing the gospel

and looking upon your Son,

who in these last days,

after having spoken through the prophets

and through the patriarchs,

you have spoken to us supremely

and chiefly and perfectly in your Son.

And so we look to him this morning,

and we pray

that as we think about this theme from your word

that you are light

and that in you is no darkness,

that you would establish us as your people

and establish this church

as a bulwark of light

in Raytown,

in Kansas City.

Lord,

I ask your blessing.

I pray that the light of God,

I pray that the God who is light

that we would be aware of you.

We ask for the ministry of the Holy Spirit

and the ministry of the word

to the praise of your Son's name.

Amen.

1 John chapter 1.

1 John 1 · chapter mention

A few notes to think about

with 1 John as a letter

and 1 John chapter 1.

1 John 1 · chapter mention

There are many debates

as to who wrote

this letter.

I hold to the traditional view

that it was John the Apostle,

but there are many debates among scholars.

Don Carson and Douglas Moo

say that throughout church history,

apart from more modern scholarship,

never have these books

been attributed to anyone

other than John the Apostle,

the son of Zebedee.

And so it's not until we get

to more modern critical scholarship

that new suggestions are made,

and I don't have a whole lot of room

in my study for those suggestions.

John most likely wrote from Ephesus,

according to these two brothers,

in the early 90s.

And the point of the first letter of John

in encouraging the churches

to whom he's writing

is to hold forth the supremacy of Jesus

and what it means that Christ is light

and life and our advocate

and what it means to love him

and to love the brethren.

Adolf Zephyr, who I'll refer to later,

said the whole first epistle of John,

listen to this,

is an exposition of this,

that love to God,

that's the only way of saying love for God

and love unto God,

love to God and love to man

go hand in hand together.

Love to God and love to man

go hand in hand together.

So let's just think about chapter one

for a few moments.

The apostle writes, verse one,

that which was from the beginning,

which we have heard,

which we have seen with our eyes,

which we looked upon

and have touched with our hands

concerning the word of life.

The life was made manifest

and we have seen it

and testify to it

and proclaim to you

the eternal life,

which was with the father

and was made manifest to us.

That which we have seen and heard,

we proclaim also to you

so that you too

may have fellowship with us.

And indeed,

our fellowship is with the father

and with his son,

Jesus Christ.

And we are writing these things

so that our joy

may be complete.

Well, just thinking about

these first four verses

for a few moments,

it's important to note

that John in his letter

is not primarily polemical,

meaning for many,

this book has been known

mainly as a book

from which we argue Christology

or argue the gospel.

That is, it's polemical.

It's argumentative

in the right sense

that that is its main purpose.

But I think it is right

to, of course,

acknowledge that

you can't read

apostolic teaching

without there being

a polemical intensity.

They are passionate

about the glory of Jesus.

They're passionate

about what God has revealed

in Christ.

They are passionate

about the churches.

They want the church

rightly to understand

who Christ is,

what the gospel is,

and they're going to argue

about that

if you're pressing

for some kind

of erroneous view.

So we find that,

of course,

John is dealing

with what might be called

proto-Gnostics.

The Gnostic movement

had not fully taken up

steam by now,

but the seeds

of what became

the Gnostic movement

evidently were creeping

into the churches

that John is writing to.

So he wants to confront

that dualistic heresy

that twists the nature

of Christ.

So there is obviously

something polemical

about this letter,

but I would argue

that it's not primarily

polemical or argumentative.

It's primarily pastoral.

What he is most concerned

about is the joy

of God's people

in Christ.

And from that fatherly heart,

he calls himself

a father to the church

and his other epistles.

From that heart,

he writes,

John desires the deepening

of the holiness

of God's people,

the deepening of their joy,

the deepening of their assurance

and peace in Christ.

And so he writes,

that which was from the beginning,

which we have heard,

which we have seen

with our eyes,

which we looked upon

and have touched

with our hands

concerning the word of life.

Think just for a moment

about the eyewitness dynamic

and nature

of who is writing to us.

Here we have John,

who it seems regarded himself

especially as the disciple

whom Jesus loved,

who is writing about our Lord

not only as a cosmic figure

that reigns over the nations,

but as one

with whom he walked,

one upon whose shoulder

he laid his head,

one whose voice he heard,

one whose grief he witnessed,

one whose joy

and celebration

of the children

in Jerusalem

he was rebuked by.

This is the one

that he is saying

is light.

So this eyewitness dynamic

is very precious

for us to consider.

The life was made manifest.

That would be a way

of saying

the glory of God

in Christ

has shown.

The light

is the glory.

And the glory

is not

some cloud

that comes through

the air duct system.

The glory

is the showing forth

of the holiness

and person

of God himself.

That's what glory means

in the Bible.

It means

the holy God

is being revealed

or shown

or magnified.

That's what God's glory

is.

And never had his glory

been revealed

though it had been revealed

but never had it been revealed

in the same way

as it was revealed

in his son

which is what John

is describing here.

the life

was made manifest

and we have

seen it

and testified

to it

and proclaimed

to you

the eternal life.

So it means

we touched him

we heard him

we laughed

with him

we wept

with him

we were baffled

at what he was teaching

we understood

what he was teaching

Peter went on

so far

as to rebuke him

and then to get rebuked

in return.

We saw

all of this

we saw his miracles

we saw his care

for sinners

but it wasn't just

that they beheld

that he was truly

man

they did

they beheld

and came to believe

and recognize

also that he was

truly

God

therefore he is

the eternal life

that has been granted

to us

and Jesus says

in John 17

this is eternal life

that they

may know you

the one true God

and Jesus the Messiah

whom

you have sent.

So it's good

for us to note

the dynamic here

that John was an eyewitness

of the glory

of God

and he's writing

for the sake

of the churches

along those lines.

Verse 3

that which we have

seen and heard

we proclaim

also to you

so that you too

may have fellowship

with us.

We are focused

on Christ himself

with you

and reminding you

of his glory

and of himself

and of his cross

because we want

Christian fellowship.

It brings me

such joy

to visit a church

plant some months

into existence

and to hear

that the primary

song

the primary

encouragement

has to do

with Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

We have seen

the ramifications

of megachurches

and large ministries

that have been

brought to dust

because they were

built on something

other than Jesus Christ

and him crucified

and therefore

they may have had

fellowship

around missions

or around theology

or around prayer

or some other thing

but they did not

have this fellowship

for which the apostle

is pleading

and encouraging.

If we don't have

fellowship in Christ

in the gospel

then we don't have

Christian fellowship

and we will use

one another

for our own purposes

and hold envy

and pride

and suspicion

toward one another

because

we don't have

fellowship with each other

as sinners

who have been redeemed

and are being sanctified.

Only that kind

of fellowship

which is only

to be experienced

for those who are

looking unto Jesus

is Christian fellowship.

Every other kind

of fellowship

even if it's around

Christian things

will lead to destruction

for the want

of that foundation.

So the apostle

again tells them

I am heralding

this one

to you

so that

you too

may have fellowship

with us

and indeed

our fellowship

is with the Father

and with his Son

Jesus Christ.

Isn't it a marvelous

thing to think

that throughout

the world

today

and

well there's a gap

of hours

with the time

zones

there are brothers

and sisters

gathering

in large

and small

gatherings

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

some of them

reports I've

just seen

again that have

been multiplying

in Nigeria

are experiencing

profound persecution.

I saw a video

the other day

of a congregation

who had a few

of its members

martyred

and their church

building burned down

all that was left

was the shell

of the building

and the next Sunday

there is the rest

of the congregation

in the middle

of the shell

on an ash heap

singing hymns

unto God.

Those are our

brothers

and sisters

and this ought

to be a great

encouragement to us

a reminder as well

to put away

our excess

as American dreamers

but also

a profound

encouragement

that the name

of Christ

is being magnified

in nations

and in places

where ancient

demon spirits

and ancient

gods

false gods

have had

the preeminence.

Weak

brothers and sisters

are singing songs

to the Lamb

and so are we.

Paul says

remember

my chains

as an apostle

but he says

remember those

who are persecuted

as well.

Well one of the things

it does

is it reminds you

that you're not

the center of the world

and it reminds you

that Christ

is the one

who keeps his people

and perhaps

we're not experiencing

the same kind

of persecution

but we might

be experiencing

sufferings

or discouragements

and the remembrance

of Christ

and that he's the head

of the church

and he upholds

the universe

by the word

of his power

is what keeps us

as God's people

looking unto Jesus.

It's to cling

to his promise

of faithfulness

to us.

Sometimes you need that

when you're planting

a church

and you go through

the encouragement

of the newness

of the season

and then it's down

to the nitty gritty

as a people

and what does it

actually mean

for us

to walk

in the light

as his disciples

not that you guys

had a whole lot

of bells and whistles

or kind of

worldly American ideas

about church

but the bottom line

is when you get down

to the real

knit and grit

of the life

of discipleship

and building up

of the church

there are times

where it can be

profoundly discouraging

or you feel

a loss of vision

you feel a loss

of clear conviction

you ask questions

that don't make any sense

in other times

like why are we

doing this again

or what exactly

is it that we're

doing right now

or what was the point

of that gathering

you usually only think

those things privately

or maybe with your spouse

but they happen

and the only way

for us to understand

the magnitude

preciousness

sacredness

and glory

of what it is

that we are about

as the church

is to be looking

to the one

who is

its light

so the apostle

proclaimed

that Christ

that that same

fellowship

which was already

theirs

might be made

more robust

and we are writing

these things

so that our joy

that's a manuscript

question

it could be

our joy

or your joy

either way

I like to take it

to say

the joy of the apostles

and of the churches

why

because what's the same joy

that Jesus promised

to all of his disciples

that your joy

may be

complete

okay

well there's a few thoughts

on one through four

and we're about

halfway done

walking in the light

verses five to ten

this is the message

we have heard

from him

and proclaim

to you

that God

is light

and in him

is no

darkness

at all

well let's

let's dwell

on verse five

just for a few moments

and then

we will

walk

through six

through ten

God is light

what does it mean

that God

is light

it doesn't mean

that light

is God

it's not an

ontological statement

in that sense

that wherever you see

light

and not darkness

that is the divine person

no don't do that

that'd be the same

as

as worshipping trees

no

he is the author

of light

but the

the metaphor

of light

is being used

to point

to something

more eternal

and greater

and more glorious

which is God himself

he's the creator

of physical light

as we know it

but he himself

is greater

than the greatest

of the sun

or the stars

he is light

he is God

and in him

is no darkness

there's no darkness

in many respects

this is what the apostle

is getting at here

but I have three

that I shared briefly

and I might spend

a little more time

on here

than I did

at Bellicose Church

that God is light

means at least

three things

it means

and this is

an alliteration

for you

well three

three Ps

anyway

makes it easy

for you

he is pure

God is pure

number two

God is precise

and number three

God is

paternal

he is pure

of all of God's

attributes

the one that serves

in the Bible

speaking on human

terms here

as something

more like

the foundational

attribute

of God

from which

all of the others

can be better

perceived

is that he is

holy

and when the angels

cried out

they didn't cry out

righteous

righteous

righteous

though he is

powerful

powerful

powerful

though he is

merciful

merciful

though he is

they cried out

in that

thrice

remarkable

declaration

holy

holy

holy

is the Lord

back and forth

one to another

for thousands

of years

marveling

at the brightness

and purity

of the holiness

of God

that God is light

means

that he is holy

that he is pure

that's number

one

God is precise

what do I mean

by this

I mean he is

the one

we see most

clearly in Christ

is full of

grace

and truth

none of us

take

too well

to the idea

of being

consistently

misrepresented

if I caught

wind that

people were

starting to hang

out with my

wife

and they

came and

met with me

and said

we have been

spending time

with Audrey

and we feel

like we know

you now

and I said

really

what have you

all been

talking about

and she said

and the person

says well

we just learned

how much of an

expert you are

on country

music

I would step

back and say

are you sure

you didn't

misunderstand

her

and that your

favorite dish

that you always

want on

anniversaries

is liver

and onions

and

and that

you've got

a really long

history of

consistently

working out

at the gym

I would look

at them and

say which

Audrey were you

talking to

because

I would

be in that

moment

misrepresented

and how strange

I would feel

and even

concern for my

wife

if I found

out it really

was the same

Audrey

and she was

saying those

things

in the same

way we see

of the God

of Israel

his declaration

that among

the nations

he is blasphemed

because of

them

because of

what they're

saying about

him

and how

they're living

as those

who bear

his name

God is

holy

and precise

and doesn't

take it lightly

when his

people misrepresent

him

that should

give us

a new

sense of

the fear

of God

a new

sense of

reverence

for his

word

and a new

desire

that we

should not

misrepresent

him

now he's

not insecure

like we

men are

insecure

so that when

he's misrepresented

he's full of

fear

and pride

and anger

and impatience

and condescension

that's not

why he's

concerned

he's concerned

for the glory

of his name

because it

is true

and holy

and number

two

it is

he is

for the

flourishing

of his

people

who cannot

flourish

or have

joy that

is complete

in John's

words

unless they

are seeing

him

and believing

him

and trusting

him

and knowing

him

and serving

him

as he

is

that's

why the

apostle

preaches

Christ

again

this is

part of

what it

means

that God

is light

we should

take very

seriously

how we

study

his word

and how

we speak

of him

and just

then when we

hear those

two and we

feel perhaps

crushed under

the weight

of that

we get to

the third

point

which fleshes

things out a

bit better on

biblical terms

that God

is light

means that

he is

paternal

it means

that he's

our father

it means

that he's

not like

earthly

fathers

who are

impure

and who

are not

precise

but who

are still

offended

when you

misrepresent

them

he is

pure

and he

is

omniscient

he knows

everything

he's

precise

and he

is

paternal

he cares

for his

people

may it

be banished

from the

church

the idea

that Jesus

came to

save us

from the

father

he did

not come

to save

us from

the father

the father

sent him

in love

what kind

of twisting

is that

well I

understand

why it

happens

because we

acknowledge

that Jesus

is our

redeemer

and mediator

and that he

bore the

wrath of

God on

our behalf

but we

need to

know that

the lamb

of God

also bore

the wrath

of the

lamb

on our

behalf

not just

the wrath

of the

father

the wrath

of the

triune

God

he did

save us

from the

wrath

of God

but not

merely the

wrath of

the father

that's an

important

distinction

to make

lest you

begin projecting

your failure

of a father's

attributes

on God

the father

no

we were

under the

wrath of

God

we were

but we

were under

the wrath

of the

triune

God

he was

not

divided

and Jesus

died upon

the cross

willingly

and with

profound

love

to save

sinners

but

underneath

that

we have

this truth

that he

was sent

by the

father

it pleased

the father

to crush

his beloved

son

so that

we

might be

atoned

for

and saved

see

when I

say

God

is

precise

I'm

thinking

about

things

like

this

the

father

has

been

misrepresented

by so

many

by not

thinking

clearly

enough

about

the

fact

that

God

sent

his

son

in

love

and that

we

were

under

the wrath

deservedly

of the

triune

God

I

understand

how we

have

gotten

there

in many

respects

but we

need to

clear that

up so

that we

know that

God is

not

divided

and

that we

may know

that God

is

paternal

that we

may cast

our cares

upon him

for he

cares

for us

that we

may know

that he

doesn't

abandon

us

even in

moments

where we

find that

we have

been

imprecise

about

him

or

impure

in his

presence

he cares

for us

and he

cares for

us

perfectly

and

infinitely

in his

son

this is

what it

means

that God

is light

he is

pure

he is

precise

and he

is

paternal

God

is light

there is

no

darkness

in him

in the

face of

our sin

in the

face of

our

sufferings

in the

face of

chaos

in the

world

or in

the

church

in the

face of

our fears

our

uncertainties

God

is light

he is

absolute

light

he is

truth

he is

the writer

to the

Hebrews

says

faith is

to believe

that he

is

he is

holy

and he

is good

that

God

is

light

means

that

he is

trustworthy

that

God

is

light

means

that

he

is

immutable

he

does

not

change

or

waver

or

diminish

that

God

is

light

and

that

he

has

sent

his

son

means

that

the

people

of

God

have

all

of

Christ

for

all

of

our

lives

there

is

no

sin

in

him

and

there

is

no

error

in

him

there

is

no

darkness

there

is

no

ill

will

in

God

there

is

no

selfishness

in

God

there

never

has

been

and

never

will

be

there

is

no

sin

in

him

he

is

holy

holy

holy

there

is

no

manipulation

in

him

he

is

not

crafty

he

is

wise

and

trustworthy

he

is

never

misguided

he

is

never

in

error

ever

he

is

faithful

and

true

confession

time

here

at

our

elders

retreat

I

was

told

that

if

I

could

weave

Kamala

Harris

word

salad

into

the

sermon

a

certain

elder

whom

you

probably

would

not

guess

would

give

me

a

$20

bill

so

last

week

I

did

it

I

said

our

God

is

perfect

and

true

and

when

he

speaks

it

is

never

word

salad

he

never

says

to

us

that

we

shall

look

to

be

unburdened

by

what

has

been

and

I'll

add

to

that

he

doesn't

have

very

much

to

say

not

in

the

same

way

that

she

did

about

the

significance

of

the

passage

of

time

which

she

repeated

I

think

five

times

in

one

paragraph

and

made

no

sense

when

God

speaks

it

makes

sense

now

there

might

be

mystery

and

glory

that

is

too

much

for

our

finite

brains

to

grasp

in

certain

things

that

he

says

but

it

is

always

spirit

and

life

truth

perfect

authority

love

it

is

always

precise

it

is

always

paternal

our

God

speaks

it's

part of

what it

means

that

he's

light

it's

part of

what it

means

that

there

is

glory

in

his

son

because

by

his

son

he

speaks

and

has

spoken

some

of

you

perhaps

need

to

hear

him

speak

to

you

afresh

in

his

word

even

about

specific

struggles

weaknesses

fears

things that

have developed

patterns

in your

life

I don't

know

I haven't

been in

much

fellowship

with most

of you

lately

but I

know

what it's

like

to be

a

Christian

in a

body

of

death

and I

know

that I

need

every

day

desperately

to

see

his

light

and so

do you

and so

does

Raytown

I just

thought on

the way

down here

there's this

book by one

of my

favorite

authors named

David

Barron

he was a

kind of

student of

Adolf

Sophia

who you've

also

some of

you have

heard of

Adolf

Sophia

was converted

through the

preaching of

Robert Murray

McShane's

evangelistic

friends in

Hungary

and came to

faith at

age 8

and ended

up being

a pastor

on the

outskirts

of London

contemporary

with

Spurgeon

some of

you don't

care about

that

some of

you do

I do

so that's

why I'm

saying it

one of

these days

you're going

to meet

Adolf

Sophia

if you're

in

Christ

and I'm

just trying

to help

you not

be embarrassed

when you

bump into

him in

the age

to come

but one

of his

students

David

Barron

wrote many

wonderful

books

and one

of them

is about

the prophecies

about the

Messiah

in the

Old

Testament

he's a

Messianic

Jew

scholar

evangelist

and the

name of

the book

is

Rays

of Messiah's

Light

Rays

of Messiah's

Light

and

maybe I'm

just tired

but I

thought

yeah

may there

be Rays

of Messiah's

Light

in Raytown

may the

Rays

may Raytown

be known

for the

Rays

of Messiah's

Light

may it

be

through

the

church

and the

advance

of the

gospel

for his

namesake

no