I Am: The Light Of The World
November 12, 2023 Series
I Am
References: Genesis 1, John 1, John 8 & 9
Genesis 1:1–4 (84) 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
John 1:1–14 (NIV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 8
Sukkot
John 8:12 (NLT) Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:17-19 (NLT) 17 Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. 18 I am one witness, and my Father who sent me is the other.” 19 “Where is your father?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.”
John 8:31–32 (NLT) 31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:42–44 (NLT) 43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil…
John 8:58 (NLT) “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!”
The darkness speaks of
1. Absence
2. Evil
3. Deception/ Spiritual Blindness.
4. Hopelessness
The light speaks of
1. Illumination+Revelation
Colossians 1:15 (NLT) Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
2. Safety
3. Truth
“Light is offensive to darkness.”
“When you close your eyes to the light of truth, you close your ears to God’s voice.”
John 8:24 (NLT) “For unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”
4. Hope
Psalm 34:5 (NIV) Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
5. Guidance
Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
John 8:12 (NLT) “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness."
We Eat the bread and follow the light.
John 9:
John 9: 5-7 (NLT) 5 While I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Living in the Light:
1. Walk in the light
1 John 1:5–7 (NIV) 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
2. Stay in the light
Micah 7:8 (NIV) Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
3. Shine the light
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV) We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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Colossians 1:12–13 (NIV) 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Ephesians 5:11–14 (NIV) 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
