John 1:1-5, 8:12-20 - Let There Be Light

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Good morning, everyone. How are y'all this morning?

I guess that's inappropriate to ask. You can't really answer that question at the moment.

I've just realized that. My name's Reed, and I'm glad to be with y'all.

Nine years ago, you helped start, and you were a huge part of starting the ministry that now is a huge part of my life, RUF, at UAH.

You called Brad and Caroline Tubasing into town. Do you realize it was nine years ago?

Many of you were part of that very beginning stage of the ministry, and my family, we've been here for three years now,

ending our third year on the campus at UAH, and we're so thankful for the ministry at UAH.

Thankful for you starting it and being a huge financial and prayer partner of ours in that ministry.

Many of you on an individual level, and certainly as a church, you are a huge part of it.

I just want to say thank you while I have the chance.

We love what we're doing at UAH, and we're thankful for the work the Lord is doing there through RUF.

UAH is a very changing community. I don't know if you've been around the campus much lately.

I know many of our students. There's one walking in. Hi, Rosie.

Many of our students are here this morning. Get to know the new UAH.

It's changed a lot over the last even five years, even three years since I've been there.

There's a lot more campus life now. There's a lot more campus community.

They just built this new $26 million student life facility that's great,

and we feel like RUF is kind of at the center of what UAH is wanting to become more,

and that is a campus where there's a community presence where students feel cared for

and interact with one another and have a great time.

So there's a thriving Greek community and intramurals and lots of other fun things going on.

The Lord's blessing our work there. We're thankful to be there.

Thank you for being a part of it with us.

We're going to consider a passage this morning from John chapter 1 and John chapter 8

John 1 · chapter mention John 8 · chapter mention

that we will read together here in a moment on the Jesus being the light of the world.

So if you're into outlines and that sort of thing, and I imagine a few of you are,

my outline for this morning will be the miracle of light, the ministry of light, and the mission of light.

And I think you'll see that even in this passage as we read.

So let's begin in John chapter 1, and then we'll go to chapter 8.

John 1 · chapter mention

This is the Word of the Lord.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

And over to John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

Beginning in verse 12, Jesus speaks to them, saying,

I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

So the Pharisee said to Him,

You are bearing witness about Yourself.

Your testimony is not true.

Jesus answered,

Even if I do bear witness about Myself, My testimony is true.

For I know where I came from and where I am going,

but You do not know where I come from or where I am going.

You judge according to the flesh.

I judge no one.

Yet even if I do judge, My judgment is true.

For it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent Me.

In Your law, it is written that the testimony of two people is true.

I am the one who bears witness about Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness about Me.

And they said to Him,

Therefore, where is your Father?

Jesus answered,

You know neither Me nor My Father.

If you knew Me, you would know My Father also.

These words He spoke in the treasury as He taught in the temple,

but no one arrested Him because His hour had not yet come.

The grass withers and the flowers fade,

but the Word of our Lord will stand forever.

Let's pray.

Oh God, Your testimony is true.

I pray that as we consider it this morning,

we would see where You are the light of the world,

even in our own lives,

in our community, in our churches.

That we would know the abiding presence,

the comforting presence of the healing light of the gospel.

I pray that I would.

I pray, Lord, that You would speak to me through me this morning.

Your Word would produce abundant fruit that is to Your glory.

I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together

would be pleasing in Your sight,

O Lord, our Rock and Redeemer.

We ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I don't know if you realize this,

but next week,

I believe it's a week from tomorrow,

marks the four-year anniversary of those awful April 27th storms

that rolled through this community.

four years ago.

My family was not here yet.

We moved the summer after those storms.

I watched from the distance.

I was watching the news every day

following those storms and the aftermath.

But many of you did not watch from your TVs.

You lived it.

You were here.

I've heard countless stories of what life was like there

on April 27th,

and even the following days and weeks thereafter.

One of the themes that keeps coming up,

if it's not devastation of life,

it's devastation of property,

this idea of this devastating darkness

that existed in that post-tornado community.

I was talking with one of our students just last week

who was a senior in high school when those storms hit,

and she described for me the next several days

of the darkness that existed at night.

I understand there was a curfew

because obviously the power was out for many days.

I know upwards of over a week,

at least in some areas.

And she talked about the…

She said,

I've never heard such a terrible sound

as the silence at night.

When your power is out,

if you don't have a generator.

And she said,

even the dogs stop barking.

I don't know what that means,

but that's a scary thought.

I want you to picture

that post-tornado storm darkness.

You have it in your minds,

what it was like to live in that darkness?

I think that's the setting of Genesis 1.

Before creation,

two things existed,

God and darkness.

And God speaks into the darkness

and everything changes in a moment.

That darkness that existed

was the very setting of Genesis 1.

And do you realize the first words

that God speaks,

at least in recorded Scripture for us,

are these words.

He says,

Let there be light.

So there was darkness,

and into the darkness,

God spoke and light

shattered the darkness away.

And we start to see this

as a regular theme

of how God deals with His people

throughout the Old Testament

and the New.

You start to see this idea

of light and darkness

come up a lot,

and it's an interesting study to do.

If you don't have a devotional life right now,

just go search for light and darkness.

It's all through the Old Testament.

The Exodus story

gives a perfect illustration.

When the Israelites

were leaving that bondage in Egypt,

God sent the abiding presence

of the pillar of cloud by day

and the pillar of fire by night.

The light penetrating the darkness,

which was a regular reminder

to God's people

that He was with them

and that He cared for them

and He had not forgotten them,

and that He would lead them

in the midst of the darkness.

Various authors

begin to pick up on this theme.

Thereafter,

you have it in the poets.

Even David writes,

the Lord is my light

and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life.

Whom should I be afraid?

Psalm 119 famously says,

the Word,

your Word is a lamp

into my feet

and a light into my path.

And then in Proverbs,

for the commandment is a lamp

and the teaching a light.

It continues into the prophets.

Isaiah gives the same imagery

when he prophesies

of the coming salvation of God,

and you know what he described it as?

The light of salvation

coming into the darkness.

He says,

I will make you as a light

for the nation

that my salvation may reach

to the ends of the earth.

There's many more places we could go,

but I want you to start to see

that this is God's MO.

What He does

is speaks into the darkness.

He provides His presence

as light

scattering the darkness away.

It's what He's been doing

since the beginning,

since He first said,

let there be light.

It's what He did

all throughout the Old Testament.

And then we come

to John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

And it's interesting

how John's gospel begins

with those very same three words

of Genesis 1,

in the beginning.

But this time,

the light that shines

in the darkness

doesn't just hang in the air,

but it takes on a body.

The words of God

aren't just spoken,

but they are now personified.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

And John says,

in Him was life,

and that life

was the light

of men.

And the light shines

in the darkness.

The light shines

in the darkness,

and the darkness

has not overcome it.

In the beginning,

God spoke light

into the darkness.

And in the beginning,

His Word

shattered the darkness away.

And now Jesus comes along,

and He says,

and I am

the light.

The thing we need to see

from the very beginning

is that Jesus Christ

is the guiding light

of God,

revealing God's truth

to God's people.

He is the miracle

of light

made manifest,

the light embodied.

He is now

the personified provision

of God

for His people,

the light to shine

into our darkened worlds.

And so what does Jesus

as the light

do

for His people?

There's a lot

we could demonstrate

about what light does.

Obviously,

but I want to narrow it down

to two very simple things

that light does

in our lives

and that Jesus does

being the ministry of light.

First,

the light scatters

the darkness away.

Light and darkness

do not coexist.

They are not friends.

They are opposed

to each other.

There's either light

in a room

or there is darkness.

At night,

we only see darkness

unless a light

is shining.

Why is that?

Because light scatters

the darkness away.

And so when God speaks

into the darkness,

it moves away.

Now, here's the way

to illustrate it.

My wife and I

are both from

South Alabama originally.

We've lived out of state

for a number of years

before we came back

to this side of Alabama,

which is not,

by the way,

Alabama.

Huntsville is not Alabama.

I like it a lot.

I like it better

than Alabama

in some ways.

It's not Alabama.

I'm from South Alabama

and one of the things

that I...

We missed a lot

when we moved.

So we lived in Utah

for a couple of years

before we came back here.

And there's a lot

I missed about living

in the deep South.

I missed fried okra.

I missed boiled peanuts.

I missed sweet tea.

It's getting to be lunchtime.

I'm thinking of...

Okay, there's some other things

I missed too besides food.

There's also things

that I did not miss

about living in the South

and I didn't realize this

until we moved back.

And one of those things

came very quickly.

So we have a little house

in Madison

and this back deck

of our house

that we like to

when the weather

starts getting nicer

like it is now.

We have a grill back there

and we'll cook for the girls

and sometimes we'll,

you know,

have a dinner at the table.

And one of the things

that I realized

that I did not miss

about living in Alabama

was what happened

after we were grilling

one night

and we had cooked

hamburgers or something

and afterwards

we put the girls to bed

and I went back

to clean up

from the grilling

and the picnic

kind of scene.

And I turned the lights on

and you know those cockroaches

the size of iPhones?

I did not realize

how much I did not miss

those things.

Those are awfully frightening.

They're like the size

of wharf rats.

And all of a sudden

my deck was just full of them.

Do you know how to get rid

of cockroaches

besides paying a company?

There are good companies

that will do it.

Maybe some of you

are in that line of work.

But besides doing that,

one very simple way

that you can get rid

of cockroaches

from your back deck

is this.

You turn on the lights.

Right?

That's how it works.

You turn on the lights

and the cockroaches flee.

Here's what's interesting.

Jesus says in another place

in John's Gospel,

He says,

light has come into the world

but men loved darkness

rather than light

because their deeds

were evil.

He says,

everyone who does evil

hates the light

and will not come into the light

for fear that his deeds

will be exposed.

Do you know what Jesus is saying?

He's saying that we are like cockroaches

who hate the presence of the light.

When the light comes on,

we want to scatter

and run back into the darkness.

We fear exposure.

We are comfortable

in the shadows

and hiding.

We don't want to be known.

And the light of the gospel,

the ministry of the light of Jesus

is that he shines the light

into the dark places

of our lives

where we do not want him to work.

And he wants to scatter

the darkness away.

This happens in two senses.

One, this is the condition

of our hearts

before the salvation.

Our hearts are that

post-tornado darkness.

As we are lost

in the bondage

of our own sin,

where we are

in our rebellion,

where we are bent

against God,

want nothing to do with him,

that is the darkness

that exists within our hearts.

And so what the light

of the gospel does

is it shines in

to that darkness,

revealing the truth

of the gospel,

scattering the darkness away.

But it's what Jesus

continues to do

in the process

we call sanctification.

So not only in salvation,

but also in sanctification.

And this is what

makes us uncomfortable.

Because it sounds great

for Jesus to shine

the light of the gospel

into our hearts

initially to scatter

the darkness away,

but that's where we want

him to stop.

But he doesn't.

Because the ministry

of the light

is to scatter

the darkness away

over and over

and over and over again

because he's not comfortable

with us hiding.

If you have a teenager,

you know what this is like

when you flick the light on

early in the morning

and they just start screaming

and put the covers

over their head

because the light

is just too bright

for them early in the morning,

we are comfortable.

We are comfortable

living in the shadows.

And so maybe,

maybe you're hiding now.

You are fearing exposure

in your lives.

And we are very creative

about the way we hide.

We are.

We're very creative.

Even on Sunday mornings,

you look very nice,

by the way.

Everyone looks good.

I wore a suit for you.

We look like we have

our act together today.

We can shake hands

after the service.

How was your week?

Great.

How was yours?

Very good.

Very good.

Good.

Good.

Have a good week.

And that's as far

as we want to go with people

because we don't want people

to know what's really going on.

The things that we are

deathly afraid of.

The issues that keep us up

at night.

The sins that we are hiding

that we, if someone found out

about death, we feel that

we would be undone,

we want to hide.

It's the same sin

from the very beginning.

After the first sin

in Genesis 3,

what did Adam and Eve do?

They jumped behind the bushes

for fear of being exposed.

And so the first thing

we have to see

that the light does

is it scatters

the darkness away

and it's something

that he is very committed to.

Jesus wants to shine

the light

into our darkened stories

in order for us

to not just be exposed

but in order for us

to be healed.

Because there is no healing

in the shadows.

Jesus shines the light

of the gospel

into the darkest places

of our lives

so that we will be freed

from the bondage,

loved and accepted

and experience his grace

and his mercy.

that we will be happy

and healthy.

And so he wants us

to be exposed

in order to be healed.

And so the second thing

that the light does,

it scatters the darkness away

but also the light

reveals a path.

Parents of young children

know this to be true

more than anyone else.

I experienced it

just this week.

You know,

the middle of the night,

like 3 a.m.

when that scream comes

from the bedroom

and you take off

across the house

to figure out

what's going on

with one of your kids

and then that Lego.

Y'all are there.

You know it.

Or the torturous

hardened head

of that Barbie doll

and you step on it.

It's very simple.

I don't do

very good illustrations.

My illustrations

are very simple.

What do we need to do?

You turn on the light

to see the path

to walk through.

That's what light does

is it gives us

a healthy path

to walk in.

Here's the second thing

that the light

of the gospel

does for us

is it shows us

where to move.

When Jesus says,

I am the light

of the world,

He is shining a light

into the dark places

so that the truth

of God

will radiate

in the midst of it.

You may feel

that you're in a dark

and directionless place

right now

in your own home

or in your life.

You're unsure

about the future.

Maybe something's going on

in your career

or in your job.

You don't quite know

where to go.

This is something

we deal with regularly

with our students,

especially our seniors.

We have a senior dinner

tonight

and many of them

are still jobless.

Graduation's here

in a week and a half,

two weeks from today,

I think.

They're jobless.

They don't know

what's ahead.

There's a lot of pressure

on college students

to get it figured out.

Even your freshman year,

you've got to get

your major down.

You've got to get

that co-op lined up

so that you will have

the career of your dreams

at age 22

and you better have

your family life

planned out then too.

If you don't meet

your mate by your senior year,

you're doomed.

That's not true.

That's just the idea

that our culture

keeps telling our…

It's not true, students.

There's this pressure

that we feel

we have to have

it all figured out

and some of you

may be there even now

feeling the pressure.

We need to know

that the light

of the gospel

is shining

the path of God

for our lives,

that He leads us,

He cares for us,

He leads us

through His Word,

He leads us

through His Spirit,

and He leads us

through His church.

Even as a church,

maybe you feel there now.

I enjoy talking

with different members

of your search committee

recently

and just hearing

of how the process

is going.

You've got a great

search committee

put in place,

but even as a church,

maybe you're wondering

what is the future.

You need to know

that just as the

cloud by day

and the fire by night

was a continual reminder

of God's people

that He was with them,

that He was leading them

and guiding them

and protecting them,

Jesus,

as the light of the gospel,

is the continual reminder

that we can look to

to see that Jesus

is with us,

that He cares

more than we do

about the future

of this church

and of your family,

of your children.

Jesus cares

and He is leading

and He is guiding

and He is protecting.

One scholar

named Hendrickson

who I love to read a lot

on New Testament works,

he says on this passage,

he said,

to the ignorant,

Jesus proclaims wisdom.

To the impure,

He proclaims holiness.

To those in sadness,

He proclaims gladness.

We could expand

on this too, right?

To those in despair,

Jesus proclaims hope.

To the lonely,

He proclaims the presence

and the love of God.

To the broken,

He brings healing.

To the fearful,

He brings comfort.

This is the ministry

of the light.

Bringing hope and holiness,

life and godliness,

joy and meaning

and purpose

and the very presence

of God

into the darkness.

And many of you know

that it is in the darkness

that the light shines

most bright.

And some of you

are sitting in that darkness now

and that is where

the light of the gospel

will begin to glow.

It's like riding

in the back country roads

late at night.

You see the stars

like never before.

Some of you are there

even now

and that's where

the light of the gospel

will shine most bright.

This is what Jesus

is committed to.

This is His mission.

It's really interesting to me

where this passage

is stuck in John's gospel.

I was just reading

through this yesterday

and it struck me

that right before this passage,

right before Jesus says,

I am the light of the world,

He turns to an adulterous,

sinful woman

who is about to be

stoned to death.

That's the passage

just before this.

And He looks at her

and He says,

I do not condemn you.

Go and sin no more.

And then just after

this passage

is when Jesus heals

the man born blind.

Do you remember this story

where this young man

was blind

and the Pharisees

were trying to trick Jesus

and they were asking Him,

why is He blind?

Is it because of His sin

or the sin of His parents?

And Jesus says,

neither.

You're wrong on both accounts.

I'll tell you why

this man was born blind

so that the works of God

may be made manifest

in His life.

And Jesus heals him

through this incredible miracle

in the way He heals him.

And for the first time,

this man sees light.

And Jesus looks at him

and He says,

do you see me?

I am the light of the world.

Here's what's interesting.

Book ended on this

John chapter 8 revelation

John 8 · chapter mention

of Jesus saying,

I am the light of the world

is a woman forgiven

of her sins

and a man healed

of his blindness.

The mission of the light

of Jesus

is that He is uninterested

in leaving us in our sins.

and what He is committed to

is giving us sight.

And He will not stop

until that happens.

How does Jesus

do those two things?

Very briefly,

and I want to end

with this picture.

How does the light

accomplish His mission?

By entering

into the darkness.

And I don't just mean

into the world.

It's true that the incarnation

is Jesus leaving

the comforts of heaven

and entering into

the darkness of the earth.

That is very true

and that's how He identifies

with us in our own sin

and our own struggle.

He enters into the darkness.

But remember that we said

that the light of God

in the Old Testament

meant the presence of God

and the guidance of God

for His people?

It's the same today,

but we've got to see

that the light went out

for a moment.

The light had to actually

go out for the moment

in order for us

to know the light

of the world

in our own lives.

And here's what I mean.

Do you remember the scene?

The scene on the day

that the light went out

when Jesus hung on the cross

and the darkness came over

the face of the earth.

There's a moment

where this post-tornado darkness

covered the face of the earth

once again.

And it was at this moment

that Jesus somehow

lost the presence

of the Father for a time.

I don't know

what all that means.

I went to seminary.

I studied stuff.

I don't get it.

But I know that the light

went out for a moment.

The only way

that we will ever see

a glimmer of light

in our darkness

is to see that Jesus,

the light,

took on the full extent

of our darkness

when He took on the cross.

that He went into the darkness

so that we could be delivered

from it.

That the presence of the Father

left Jesus for a time

so that we would know

the abiding presence

of the Father

for all of eternity.

And this is why Jesus can promise,

I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me

will never walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.

So do you believe Him?

If you've been looking for light

to fill your darkness,

and we have,

look no further

than the light

that Jesus offers.

If you're a Christian

and you're in hiding,

hide no more.

If you're unclear

about where to go

in your life,

look to the light,

the guiding light of God

to lead you.

And maybe for some of you,

you've never experienced

the healing power

of the gospel

for the first time.

You've always seen Jesus

as someone

who's just kind of against you.

I want you to hear

that the light of the world

promises to heal

your brokenheartedness.

He promises to save you

from the darkness

that you find yourself in.

Trust in the light

of the gospel

for your own salvation.

Some of you may be thinking

that you're hiding even now

and you found creative ways

to do it.

You need to remember

that sometimes

we have to be exposed

in order to be healed.

We have to be brought out

from behind the bushes

in order to be

in the presence

of the Father once again.

Maybe you're confused.

You're hurting.

You're directionless.

The light of the comforting

presence of God

is to remember

that He is near.

The resurrection

gives us great hope

to know

that the presence

of the Father

has not left us

but He is ever with us.

and it helps us

in our darkness.

Let me just say

that this isn't

the last time

Jesus says

I am the light

of the world.

Actually,

it's not even

the last time

He uses the phrase

the light of the world.

I want to end

with this application.

It's really amazing

to me that

even though Jesus

says that

He is the light

of the world

and that we need

His light

to shine into

our darkness

to scatter

the darkness away

and to bring healing,

He actually tells us

that He's not

in this mission alone.

Because in one

of the other Gospels

when Jesus was preaching

in the Sermon on the Mount,

even though here

He says

I am the light

of the world

in the Sermon on the Mount,

He says something

remarkably different.

You know what He says?

He says,

you are the light

of the world.

That's a very strange

thing to say.

If we've been talking

about what Jesus

is the light

of the world does

and now He looks

at His people

and He says,

and you are

the light of the world.

He said,

a town built on a hill

cannot be hidden.

Neither do people

light a lamp

and put it under a bowl.

Instead,

they put it on a stand

and it gives light

to everyone in the house.

In the same way,

let your light

shine before others

that they may see

your good deeds

and glorify your Father

in heaven.

If you've been invited

into the light,

Jesus now turns

and says,

and you are

the light.

This has significant

implication for us

on a personal level

and on a corporate level.

that God has called you

to be the light

of the world

in your workplace,

whether that's

on the Arsenal

or in Huntsville Hospital

or in the school system.

That God has called you

to that place

to be a shining beacon

of light

to point others

toward where healing

comes from.

In your home,

one of the hardest places

it is to be light,

right?

God calls us

to shine the light

into the darkness

even in our own homes

to point our children

and our spouses

toward the one

who heals,

the one who brings us

out of hiding,

the one who works

on our behalf.

Even as a church,

this has tremendous

applications.

That God has called you

here to South Huntsville

and Southwood

has a rich history

of impacting

this community

and even people

all across the country

and all across the world

have been impacted

by the ministry

of Southwood Presbyterian Church.

As you move in

and you're in this

transitional kind of phase

looking forward,

God has called you

to be a light

pointing people

over and over again

to the healing

that Jesus brings,

relational healing,

healing from our own

sins and sorrows

into the darkness

where God speaks.

He's called you

to proclaim

the light of the gospel

to this community.

Jesus is the light

of the world

shining the hope

of His gospel

into the daily darkness

of our lives

and He invites us

to be the light

of the world

shining the hope

of the gospel

into the daily lives

of the people around us.

understand it was

maybe eight or nine

days later

after the storms

hit

that the lights

came back on

and as I came in

a year later

I noticed that

this community

seemed different

because of the events

of what just happened

over the last year.

The numbers of people

who lost their lives

and the families

that were affected

and the loss of property

and even the fears

that just set in

to your lives

every time you hear

every time you hear

that storm sound

once again

but eventually

the lights came back on

and everything

was different.

You've been through

darkness somewhere

in your lives

in your community

and your home

now you see

that the light

of Jesus

shines even brighter.

Let others see

the light of the gospel

too.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Jesus, you are committed.

You are committed

to bringing us

out of darkness.

Jesus, you are committed

that our sin

would not have

the final say

that death even

would not have

the final word.

You are so committed

that you entered

into the darkness

by entering

into this earth.

You entered

into the darkness

in the most real way

by dying on the cross

for our sins.

Jesus, may we

hold out

the light

of the gospel

to ourselves,

to our family,

to the community

around us

and say

this is where

healing comes from.

This is worth

everything

that we would shine

the light

of the gospel

more and more

so that people

would see

the hope

of the healing

light of Jesus

all of their days.

We ask

for your glory

alone.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

For more information,

visit us online

at southwood.org.