1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:02,080 Welcome to Common Ground One book. 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,760 We are so glad you've joined us for today's message. 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:07,760 Whether you're tuning in from home or catching up on another 4 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:11,320 goal, we pray that this word encourages you, strengthens your 5 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,320 faith, and draws you closer to God. 6 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:16,040 If you'd like to learn more about our church, connect with 7 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,080 us or get involved, you will find all the details in the 8 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:21,760 description. Now let's dive into today's 9 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:22,440 message. Well, good. 10 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:35,720 Morning everyone, so good to be here this morning and to share 11 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:41,640 God's word with you. It was BB Warfield who said that 12 00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:45,760 when the scriptures are open, God speaks. 13 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:51,120 And my hope this morning is that God would speak to us from His 14 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:53,400 Word. And so if you have your Bibles 15 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,360 with you, please turn with me to John Chapter 8. 16 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:04,000 We're looking at the I am claims of Jesus Christ, which are found 17 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:10,200 in the book of John since before perhaps we we delve into our 18 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,400 text for this morning. I do want to make a comment just 19 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,680 in terms of what has been happening this week, as I'm sure 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,080 that many of you are aware that there's that many people around 21 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,400 the world. We're waiting for the rapture to 22 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,720 happen on Wednesday and on Thursday. 23 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:35,480 Deception is powerful. False teaching is powerful. 24 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,520 And when many of us were hearing that the ruptures happening, we 25 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:43,480 thought, but there were many people around the globe who took 26 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,560 that very serious. If if we've been following this 27 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:52,160 story, whether on SABC News or any other news outlets, you 28 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,680 would have seen how this has harmed many people. 29 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,600 I felt sad about the lady sharing how she sold her cars 30 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:05,600 and sold all her possessions because she was waiting for the 31 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:07,840 rapture. She was sobbing. 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,520 She said I've lost everything because I believe they pray for 33 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:15,600 a so-called prophet and I believed a prediction that 34 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:20,000 indeed the Lord is coming on the 23rd or on the 24th. 35 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,600 Many of you perhaps also would have seen the e-mail from that 36 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,840 Lady who who was who worked for KPMG. 37 00:02:27,920 --> 00:02:34,440 Part of their finance staff will send that long, long e-mail and 38 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,280 the rapture did not happen and I doubt whether KPMG will keep her 39 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:39,720 after sending that kind of e-mail. 40 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:46,960 Deception is powerful. The Bible says we, we are not 41 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,640 ignorant of his devices. That's what the biblical thing 42 00:02:49,640 --> 00:02:53,640 We are not to be ignorant of the enemy's devices. 43 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,800 I beseech you this morning to be careful on who you follow on 44 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:05,960 social media, who you listen to, who you listen to on YouTube, 45 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:13,560 because deception is powerful. Weigh everything that you hear. 46 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:19,880 Weigh it and ask yourself, does this align with the word of the 47 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,760 Lord? That is my encouragement to us 48 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:30,200 this morning. John chapter 8, we read verse 49 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:36,480 12. John 8 verse 12. 50 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,960 Again. Jesus spoke to them saying I am 51 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:46,440 the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk 52 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:51,360 in darkness but will have the light of life. 53 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,240 Take away to Pam guba in Dulin Dabas back corner is Willaco 54 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,640 Meliko na leming on a paga de and I'm changing go CCIA tandas 55 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:10,320 a city Theta nothing galo longest in below Z2 guest 56 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:18,640 Willaco city maga paga mesu yesu azugi SU Galithika malinguassia 57 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:20,440 2. We are so Crest 2. 58 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,360 Amen. So this morning we are looking 59 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,000 at the I am statement. The second I am statement, which 60 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:32,800 is I am the light of the world. A quick recap perhaps for those 61 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:38,200 who were not with us last week. I indicated that last week that 62 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,680 this particular book is written by John. 63 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,560 John is the one of the disciples of Jesus. 64 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:50,480 He is the son of Zebedee. In fact, the Bible describes him 65 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,520 in fact as the disciple whom the Lord loved. 66 00:04:55,720 --> 00:05:00,120 John writes this book at Ephesus, and we know according 67 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,800 to history that Ephesus in fact was a difficult place to, to, to 68 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,000 preach. What a difficult place to share 69 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,480 the gospel. It was very hard. 70 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,640 It was hard ground. And we know that the reason for 71 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,000 that is because at Ephesus, there were many cultures that 72 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:17,840 were sort of converging at Ephesus. 73 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,480 It was a place that, because of that had many different kinds of 74 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,520 religion. If you were to go to Ephesus, 75 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,480 you would find more than 50 gods and goddesses. 76 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:31,080 You can choose which God you want to serve. 77 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:32,520 Oh, I like that one. I like this one. 78 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:34,760 I like this one. It was that kind of place. 79 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:37,840 It's a place of trade. It's a it's a commercial place 80 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:40,200 where many people were doing business. 81 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,960 But also as we read history, we also know that there was a lot 82 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:49,560 of false worship and more specifically Pagan worship and 83 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,640 magical rituals that were taking place at Ephesus. 84 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,160 And so John finds himself writing this particular book 85 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,480 there in this kind of an environment. 86 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:04,320 John's audience is mixed. We know that primarily to the 87 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:08,320 Jews, but also we know that there are also Gentiles at 88 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:13,000 Ephesus at this point in time. John's single idea here, as you 89 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,440 read the book of John, he wants to show that Jesus is the Son of 90 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:22,840 God, that Jesus is the divine and eternal Son of God. 91 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:27,080 I indicated to you last week that every time we we see or the 92 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,400 title the Son of God we know is referring to his deity. 93 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,040 When we see the term the Son of man we know is referring to 94 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:39,360 humanity. Jesus is both fully God and also 95 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,880 fully man and that is the point John is making here. 96 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:46,960 He wants to see Jesus in his deity, that he is God. 97 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,480 Hence we see these I am statements which begin in the 98 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:56,360 book of Exodus chapter 3 when Moses is with God and he would 99 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:58,160 say what? What should I say to these 100 00:06:58,160 --> 00:06:59,880 people when they ask who is the name of God? 101 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,040 Say I am who I am. Say to them that I am has sent 102 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:06,840 you. So this term I am really comes 103 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:10,760 from Exodus chapter 3. That is why as we read the 104 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:14,560 biblical text and we see that the Jews want to stone Jesus all 105 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,880 the time and want to execute him according to Leviticus 23. 106 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,920 And the reason they want to do that is because they know that 107 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,280 he's not supposed to use that title I am because they know 108 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:29,280 exactly what he's saying when he says I am the bread of life and 109 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:35,400 I am the light. Furthermore, in John's writing, 110 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,040 he does not necessarily use the word miracles. 111 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,840 Quite interestingly, they use the words sign. 112 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,800 And John has seven signs in the book of John. 113 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:48,000 And and this, all of these signs are meant to point it to a 114 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,360 reality. They are not meant to say, wow, 115 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:56,000 Jesus turned water into wine. They're meant to say, what does 116 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,840 this miracle tell me about Jesus? 117 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,680 What does it tell us about the Saviour? 118 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:05,880 So these are the signs that are meant to point to Christ. 119 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:11,800 And so this morning, as we then look at I am the light of the 120 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,520 world, we're going to look at that under 4 headings this 121 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:19,040 morning. We'll look at the context, we'll 122 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:23,240 look at the light and darkness, the invitation, and then we will 123 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:30,520 close with an application in John 7 verse one to three, he 124 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,440 says after this Jesus went around in Galilee. 125 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,679 He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jew, the 126 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,760 Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to heal him. 127 00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:45,040 But when the Jewish festival of tabernacles was near, Jesus 128 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:49,680 brother said to him, leave Galilee and go to to the Judea 129 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,920 so that your disciples there may see the works you do. 130 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,640 As you know, Jesus has been teaching in the book of John and 131 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,560 the religious leaders are not happy with Jesus's teaching. 132 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,720 It is clear from the biblical text in Chapter 7 that they want 133 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:10,200 to kill Jesus. You have to be a very good 134 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:11,720 teacher for people to want to kill you. 135 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,880 And and it's about says they want to kill him for a number of 136 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:17,560 reasons. Why? 137 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,160 Because Jesus first, he has claimed his divinity. 138 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:24,880 He said I am the divine one #2 we know they want to kill him 139 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,920 because Jesus says I am one with the Father. 140 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,920 In other words, I am one with God. 141 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,440 They also want to kill Jesus because they felt that he was 142 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:42,000 not holding true tradition, that Jesus loved people more than 143 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,520 tradition. And it is clear even as you read 144 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:49,040 chapter 8, you will see again that the Jewish leaders wanted 145 00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:52,200 to kill Jesus. They hated his teaching. 146 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:55,480 In fact, they hated it because many people, if you read chapter 147 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:58,960 6 and part of Chapter 7, many people started to believe on 148 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:04,400 Jesus claims regarding his divinity and the Jewish leaders. 149 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:08,840 We of course not happy about this and so for us to understand 150 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,200 then chapter 8, we must understand Chapter 7. 151 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:18,280 The context of chapter 8 begins in Chapter 7 and one of the 152 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,880 things we see in Chapter 7 is this Feast of the Tabernacles. 153 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,000 There's something about this Feast of the Tabernacles, 154 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,760 because we are told you that Jesus and his disciples also 155 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,360 went to this Feast of the Tabernacles. 156 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:34,240 It was a celebration. It was a wonderful festival. 157 00:10:34,680 --> 00:10:38,240 And in fact, this Feast of the Tabernacle was a command from 158 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,240 God to the people of Israel that when they entered the Promised 159 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:46,280 Land, they were to maintain this as a reminder of the Lord's 160 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,760 goodness and the Lord's kindness and the Lord's redemption 161 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,600 towards them. And so this was a reminder, this 162 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:59,320 feast of the Tabernacle that God has delivered the the Israelites 163 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,480 from Egypt. So they went to celebrate this, 164 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:07,280 celebrate the kindness of God, celebrate the goodness of God 165 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:11,240 that he took you out of slavery, He took you out of bondage and 166 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:15,200 put you in the promised land, the land of honey. 167 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:20,440 It was a celebration to remember the the wilderness wanderings of 168 00:11:20,440 --> 00:11:24,120 40 years because of their disobedience. 169 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:27,680 They were to remember and celebrate. 170 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:30,720 And the amazing thing about this celebration is that they were 171 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:33,680 dancing. It was wonderful to remember 172 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:34,960 that the Lord has been good to us. 173 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:40,360 They would dance, they would worship together as a community 174 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:45,760 praising God for the Exodus deliverance, and it would take 175 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,080 about 7 days. This wonderful celebration of 176 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:57,840 worship and dance, and as I was thinking about the Feast of the 177 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:02,560 Tabernacle may not be relevant to us in this sense, like the 178 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:05,640 Jews who were celebrating and dancing. 179 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:09,720 But also I thought about ourselves as well, that at times 180 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:13,600 we ought to be reminded perhaps and not forget of the of the 181 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,000 Lord's goodness in our own lives. 182 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:21,800 That just like the Israelites, us too, we have been rescued, we 183 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:27,000 have been redeemed, we have been saved from the slavery of sin 184 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,680 and death. We have been saved from the 185 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:33,080 dangers of hell. And because of that we celebrate 186 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:39,480 the goodness of God. We say wow, the Lord is good. 187 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:46,280 And in that moment they would dance they will jump for joy in 188 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:50,880 celebration of what the Lord has done and remember there is an 189 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,280 old song we used to sing. We used to sing that in the 190 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:54,960 Township. Perhaps you don't may not know 191 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,400 that song, but it was just one line it you to say when I 192 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:03,640 remember what the Lord has done, I will never go back. 193 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:09,040 It was just a wonderful reminder of the Israel, the whole God has 194 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,560 brought you out of slavery. Therefore, celebrate the 195 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:20,080 wonderful saving acts, the wonderful saving grace of God in 196 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:25,200 your lives. I encourage us this morning, do 197 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:29,320 not forget what the Lord has done. 198 00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:35,400 He's been too kind and too good to us. 199 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:41,760 That is why David would pray. Restore to me the joy of my 200 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:46,040 salvation. Continue to celebrate the Lord's 201 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,760 goodness. Furthermore, as they were, as 202 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,640 they were celebrating, they would have this small tents 203 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:56,360 where they would reside for an entire week to commemorate 204 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,200 really that long season during the exodus. 205 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:01,200 And they would literally do that. 206 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,320 Bring your own tent. Come, let's remember what 207 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:10,200 happened during the Exodus. And so let's have let's leave in 208 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:12,480 this tent. And they would do that and leave 209 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:16,360 in those tents to remember their time in the wilderness. 210 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,680 Number 2, they would pour water on the ground to remind 211 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:25,200 themselves of when Moses had struck the rock and water gushed 212 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:27,560 out. They would remember the Lord's 213 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,240 provision. It was not just manner, but also 214 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,240 the Lord gave them water. Lord gave them what they needed 215 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:40,320 to sustain them on this journey. Here's the other one which is so 216 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,040 important. In this case, they would also 217 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:47,800 light these giant lamps and these would be in front of the 218 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,600 temples. They were probably about 1515 219 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:56,040 meters to 20 meters long. They were huge lamps and they on 220 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,720 the dark night, they would put these lamps up as they were 221 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,120 dancing, remembering the Lord, that pillar of cloud that was 222 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,960 leading them in the wilderness. And we know that the pillar of 223 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:12,560 cloud really represents the very presence of God, that God was 224 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,040 with them. And so they would put these 225 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:21,160 lambs to remember, Oh, God was with us, His presence was with 226 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:27,240 us in the wilderness. And so it is at the back of this 227 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:32,960 then that Jesus says, I am the light of the world. 228 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,320 They would have seen these giant lambs to remember the presence 229 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,920 of God. And Jesus says, no, no, I am the 230 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:44,120 light of the world. Now, if you were a Gentile, you 231 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,720 perhaps have to wonder about what is Jesus actually saying? 232 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:52,600 But a Jewish person knows exactly what Jesus says. 233 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:57,280 They're not confused when he says I am the light of the 234 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,720 world. They're thinking what we know 235 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:04,040 who's the light we know who was the pillar of cloud. 236 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,440 It was God. How can you call yourself light? 237 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:08,680 Not just any light, the light of the world. 238 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:17,640 They knew exactly what Jesus meant, because here Jesus makes 239 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:22,440 a claim, in fact, that I am, that God's presence that was 240 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,320 with you in the wilderness. It is as though Jesus is saying, 241 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:31,040 guys, I was there. In fact, it was me, that pillar 242 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,000 of crowd. And of course, as you read 243 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,280 further on in chapter 8, you'll see the thinking. 244 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:42,360 But come on, you, the son of Joseph, man, we we know you're 245 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,080 dead, how can you claim to be there? 246 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,480 Surely there's something wrong with you and you see that 247 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:53,760 playing out in the book of John. But Jesus is going to show him I 248 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,360 am that. He makes an exclusive claim that 249 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,760 I am that. Now to say that is to say I am 250 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:03,840 God. Again, Jesus here is revealing 251 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:09,040 His divinity, that He is the one that dwelt among them. 252 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:11,800 He was the one that was in the ark. 253 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:15,240 He was the one who was there when Solomon was building the 254 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:17,640 temple. He was the one that was there. 255 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:19,720 He said, I've been there through art guys. 256 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:25,800 I am that one. And the Bible tells us then that 257 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:31,080 they want to kill him. Not just verse 40. 258 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:37,280 He says, as it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a 259 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:40,600 man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. 260 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:47,840 Abraham did not do such things. And so when Jesus #2 the bold 261 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:52,880 claim, Jesus calls himself the light of the world, in one sense 262 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:56,640 he's claiming to be God, but also he's claiming some level of 263 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:01,440 uniqueness using this imagery, this picture, this metaphor, 264 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:07,640 this figure of speech to teach spiritual truths about himself. 265 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,560 He's saying I am light. And in this case, he is light 266 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,760 because he is God, the second person of the Trinity, the 267 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,560 substance and the fulfillment of all things. 268 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,920 Notice Jesus did not say he was a light. 269 00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:29,440 He didn't say I was a light. He says I am very light. 270 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:35,440 In other words, he is claiming to be the only one that gives 271 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:40,400 spiritual enlightenment. That's what he's claiming here, 272 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,840 that in this Dark World, I am the only one who can give you 273 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:49,200 spiritual enlightenment. In fact, as we read the biblical 274 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:53,840 text, as you will see, light is normally ascribed to God and God 275 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:55,320 alone. Of course there are cases like 276 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,560 Matthew chapter 5 where he's ascribed to us, but in most 277 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,480 cases in especially specifically in the book of John, it is 278 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,400 ascribed to the Lord. Notice John 319. 279 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,800 This is the judgment that the light has come into the world, 280 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,840 and men love the darkness rather than the light for their evil, 281 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:17,440 for their deeds were evil. John 95 While I am in the world, 282 00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:22,880 I am the light of the world. John Psalm 27 One, the Lord is 283 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,480 my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? 284 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:28,880 The Lord is the defense of my life. 285 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,800 Whom shall I dread is Isaiah 42 verse 6. 286 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:35,440 I the Lord officially Commission you. 287 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,160 I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a 288 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:42,880 covenant mediator for people and the light to the nations. 289 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:48,320 This concept of light is often used towards God or as a 290 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,720 reference towards God. So Jesus to claim to be the 291 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,600 light, the Jewish would have known Psalm 27, they would have 292 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,800 known the Torah, they would have known all of this is that Jesus 293 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,040 is claiming to be the the Messiah. 294 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:05,520 He is claiming to be the King of Israel. 295 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:12,960 He is the light. And so also for us this morning 296 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,960 here at Weinberg, as we were even singing this morning, 297 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:19,720 fellowshipping with one another. We do all of those things. 298 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:23,920 We rejoice. Because we have seen the light. 299 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,240 That's why we do that. If we have not seen the light, 300 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:29,640 everything that we do here does not make sense. 301 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,480 But when we lift up our voices and lift up our hands, we know 302 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,280 that we have seen the light. We have seen the One who is the 303 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:40,240 radiance of the Father's glory. We have seen the One who is the 304 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:45,360 image of the invisible God because His light continued to 305 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:49,360 shine forth even today. It shines forth here in 306 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:51,800 Weinberg. It shines forth in Cape Town. 307 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:54,920 It shines forth in many other countries throughout Africa, 308 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:57,440 throughout Asia, throughout America. 309 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,840 This light continues to shine forth. 310 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,840 And Jesus further says to them that anyone who has seen me has 311 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:10,040 seen the Father. That's why they're upset because 312 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,640 He's making this claim of this light that continues to shine in 313 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,000 our Dark World church. The light shines this morning. 314 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:23,320 When darkness increases, the light continues to shine. 315 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,200 The light is never defeated. The light is not in defence. 316 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:31,400 The light is continuing to advance even in The Dark World. 317 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,120 When many Christians are killed in Nigeria today, the light 318 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,840 continues to shine. When Christians are killed in 319 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:41,120 India and part of Middle East, the light continues to shine. 320 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,800 The church is never retreating. The church is always shining and 321 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:50,080 continue to shine to die. As we read the book of Peter and 322 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,480 we see Nero killing Christians and burning them and feeding 323 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,760 them to lions. They were not retreating. 324 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,360 Peter says come on guys, let's move forward because the light 325 00:21:59,440 --> 00:22:03,440 shines forth. I know for many of us, perhaps 326 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,280 we are discouraged by the news and the things that we hear and 327 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,040 the things that we watch. But can I say you are not on the 328 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,360 losing side. You are on the winning side 329 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:13,880 because the light of God continues to shine. 330 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:22,360 Go forth, go forth in your difficulties, go forth in your 331 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:27,440 suffering because the light continues to shine. 332 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,880 Not just what Jesus says, This is the light of the world. 333 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,920 I I suspect the Jews, maybe they would have been happy when, if 334 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,800 you would have said, this is the light unto the Jews only God 335 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,520 does not simply display his grace to the Jews simply because 336 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,840 they were expecting a Messiah to liberate them from the hand of 337 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,840 the Romans. Jesus says no, no, no. 338 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,040 Guys, let me tell you, the Gentiles have always been part 339 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:01,240 of God's plan. They've always been grafted into 340 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:03,920 God's plan. I'm not just a light to the 341 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:06,680 Jews, I'm a light to the entire world. 342 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:13,920 The Gentiles are also welcomed. The Jews are also welcomed Jesus 343 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,000 this morning. He is a light to a professional. 344 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,040 He is a light to a labourer. He is a light to the wounded, to 345 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:24,040 the rejected. He is a light to a drug addict. 346 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:27,480 He is a light to the hopeless, to the downcast, to the young 347 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,640 and old. Jesus is a light to all, all who 348 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,360 would come to him by faith. He is a light to them. 349 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:40,440 He was light to a coward who was Gideon, who was afraid, who was 350 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:43,200 timid, who was weak. And yet God became a light. 351 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:47,320 He was a light to Moses, who was a murderer, and God became light 352 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,320 to him. He was light to Paul, who was 353 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:52,800 persecuting the Church of God. God became light to him. 354 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,960 And I know this morning, for many of us, he is light to us. 355 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,800 He's always been that light. It is light that radically 356 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:09,840 transforms our light and the Lord calls us this morning as 357 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,400 His light shines upon us as believer this morning. 358 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:19,760 We stand out this morning like stars on the dark night because 359 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,560 of the light that shines in our lives. 360 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:28,160 First, John 15 says God is light and in Him there is no darkness. 361 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:34,760 The concept of life communicates purity and holiness, and Jesus 362 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,160 is all of that. So to claim to be light is to 363 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:43,080 claim to be the Incarnate Son of God and the person of the 364 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:46,920 dragon, person of the Trinity, the Son of the living God. 365 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,160 There are others who claimed this light, by the way. 366 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:52,400 There are others who claim to be light. 367 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,720 Some of you might know David Koresh. 368 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,760 Some of you may know Jim Jones. Some of you may know Joseph 369 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,120 Smith. There's always people who want 370 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:04,040 to compete with Jesus. Isn't that interesting? 371 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:07,240 Always wanting to compete with Jesus, to be Jesus? 372 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,640 If you know David Koresh, who was the leader of the Davidians, 373 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,760 who claimed to be the figure and the Messiah and ending up to 374 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,200 ending up dying in a most awful way with some of his followers. 375 00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:23,160 If you know his history, some of you may know Jim Jones. 376 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,760 They made a number of documentaries about Jim Jones. 377 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:27,120 But he was an interesting figure. 378 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:31,120 He was an figure who started to operate of all, you know, in one 379 00:25:31,120 --> 00:25:33,080 sense felt that he had the gift of healing. 380 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:35,960 And because he felt he had that gift of healing, he had a, he 381 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,480 had a number of people, thousands that were following 382 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,000 him. And one day he told all of his 383 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,880 followers to say, hey, sell everything that you have. 384 00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:45,760 We will go and buy an island and go and stay there together. 385 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:49,000 People sold their homes, their houses and went to stay with 386 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:50,960 him. And then while he was there, Jim 387 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:52,640 Jones started to say, guys, I'm the Messiah. 388 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:53,960 I'm the one you've been looking for. 389 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:56,960 He stopped preaching the gospel all together. 390 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:01,080 He says I'm the one he has. The sad part about the story, 391 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:05,320 Jim Jones poisoned all of his followers, including himself. 392 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:10,440 That's how he died. It never ends well when people 393 00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:13,960 claim divinity, when people claim to be God. 394 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,440 It never ends well for Joseph Smith as well, who claimed that 395 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,560 this eternal progression, that you can become human because he 396 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,240 believed that God was first human before he became God, that 397 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,640 all of us can also become gods in this world. 398 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:37,000 Can I tell you this? They're not the only ones and 399 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,600 they're not the last. There are many even today who 400 00:26:40,600 --> 00:26:44,280 claim the same divinity, and one of them is right there in the 401 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,800 Eastern Cape today claiming to be divine. 402 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:54,040 Guess what? All of those three, they are all 403 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:57,920 dead. But guess what? 404 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:06,520 This light, who is Jesus, though he may be dead, He is alive, for 405 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:12,840 He was raised from the dead. All of these other voices, 406 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,680 including those voices, have been silenced. 407 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:18,920 But there's one voice that can never be silenced, and that is 408 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,840 the voice of Jesus. And he continues to shine forth 409 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:28,560 in our lives this morning. His light will not be 410 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,240 extinguished. His light will shine forever. 411 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,360 For Him alone is magnificently beautiful. 412 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:40,520 Him alone is wonderfully true. Him alone is gracious and 413 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,120 powerful. Him alone is sovereign, and 414 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:48,480 therefore His light will continue to shine. 415 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:56,040 Point #3 the light and darkness. Notice what Jesus says here. 416 00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:02,320 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. 417 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:07,640 This is really a reminder of Chapter 7, part of it, but also 418 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,320 a reminder of the book of Exodus, that the Israelites of 419 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,400 course, were led by this pillar of fire by night. 420 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,640 In other words, the pillar of fire was giving them light. 421 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:23,920 It was the very presence of God that was leading the people of 422 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:27,240 Israel. And Jesus would now speak these 423 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:31,640 words to say, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness 424 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,040 because the Israelites knew the pillar as their light. 425 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,240 But also in the Greek here, if you check that word in the 426 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,040 Greek, it appears as a double negative. 427 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:48,280 In other words, the description of darkness is not a description 428 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:52,640 for believers. Believers do not live in the 429 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:56,560 domain of darkness. They live in the domain of 430 00:28:56,560 --> 00:29:00,120 light. Ephesians 58 says, for at one 431 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:04,800 time you were darkness. Quite interesting that you you 432 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:08,880 were darkness but now you are light. 433 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:13,120 Therefore walk as children of the light. 434 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:21,680 Darkness for a believer identifies one pre Christian 435 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:27,440 state or pre convergent state, but it is not the present state 436 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:32,440 of the believer. It is a description of those who 437 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:37,560 do not believe in Christ. It is a description of those who 438 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:39,960 do not follow Christ. Why? 439 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,600 Because darkness is an indication of the absence of 440 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,840 light. First Peter 29 says I called you 441 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,760 out of darkness into his marvelous light. 442 00:29:53,160 --> 00:30:00,400 And Jesus then says, For those who follow me will not walk in 443 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:07,000 darkness because now they, no, they no longer walk according to 444 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,520 verse 15. They don't judge according to 445 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:17,040 the flesh. That's, that sounds quite hard. 446 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:24,000 The language that's the language of the Bible, darkness and and 447 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,120 the Bible does not apologize for saying that, that if you do not 448 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:31,000 know Christ, you're walking in darkness. 449 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:35,040 Without Christ, you are in darkness. 450 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:46,320 May may I ask you this morning, have you trusted in Christ for 451 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:51,040 your salvation and perhaps to simply say, Lord, here I am, 452 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:57,680 save me. John's heart is for his audience 453 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:03,240 to be saved, and it is our heart this morning that is all that 454 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:08,080 you would be saved and come to know Christ, to come out of the 455 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:12,240 domain on darkness and come to the domain of light, that your 456 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,880 eyes will be open, that the light of Christ will shine upon 457 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:20,600 your life as well. There are only two alternatives 458 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,160 here. It's darkness and light. 459 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:30,000 It's Satan or Jesus. There is no middle ground. 460 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:38,000 There's none. In the Old Testament. 461 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:39,440 They use an interesting language. 462 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:46,080 In the book of Deuteronomy, there is Moses who says I put 463 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:50,960 before you life and death. I put before you curse and 464 00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,040 blessing and then he says in case you are confused about the 465 00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:58,400 choice, he says let me help you. He says choose light and choose 466 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:04,000 blessings so that you may leave because that's the best choice 467 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:09,120 ever. And so this morning I, I 468 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,760 encourage you, if you do not believe to come to Christ this 469 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:15,560 morning and experience his life. I'm nearly done. 470 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,480 James Montgomery says the following If it is only a 471 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,320 question of seeking the light or living in the light, then 472 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,280 Christianity is no different from any other religion of 473 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:30,880 philosophy, and there's no more hope from it than any of them 474 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,200 but it, but it. But if becoming a Christian 475 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:38,560 involves a change from darkness to light, then the presence of 476 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,960 Christians in the world is itself hope, as together we 477 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:46,680 stand against the darkness. So what's the alternative? 478 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,560 If Christians are not supposed to walk in darkness, what's the 479 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,760 alternative? Notice there in first John. 480 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:59,160 They are to walk in the light. They are to walk in wisdom. 481 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:03,560 They are to walk in love. They are to walk in the newness 482 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:06,160 of life. They are to walk in the Spirit. 483 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:11,840 They are to walk in the truth. But they are never to walk in 484 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:18,120 darkness. The invitation, last point, 485 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:25,720 whoever follows me and again in this world, this word in the 486 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,600 original text, it sort of has this connotation of a complete 487 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,880 submission to Jesus as though the Lord does not accept half 488 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:40,840 hearted following of Christ. I love the way JC Rile puts it. 489 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,520 He says to follow Christ is to commit ourselves wholly and 490 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:50,480 entirely to him as a leader and Saviour, and to submit ourselves 491 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:55,880 to Him in every matter both of doctrine and practice. 492 00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:03,520 This is the invitation to follow Christ, and that means to trust 493 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:07,720 Christ, to believe in Christ, and to place your faith in 494 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:12,040 Christ this morning, that your body, your soul, your spirit is 495 00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:15,280 all in obedience to Christ this morning. 496 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:17,239 That's what it means to follow Christ. 497 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:21,560 And so this morning we must be reminded that everything that we 498 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:26,960 have and have accumulated ought to be used for the glory of God. 499 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,320 We follow Christ with our family. 500 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,480 Every assets that we have, including our cars, our homes 501 00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:39,400 and our gift and our talent and everything that we have belongs 502 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,760 to Christ. We follow him with our money, 503 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,239 everything, because we don't own everything. 504 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:51,360 We simply manage everything. That house that you have, you 505 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:53,480 know the owner, I know your name is on the title deed. 506 00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:58,880 Actually, you're managing it because the Lord has given it to 507 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:04,760 you to use it for His own glory. This morning there was a call 508 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:08,000 from Ryan here to say, hey, who wants to serve this morning? 509 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:10,880 Because following Christ means I am getting involved. 510 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,520 I'm part of what God is doing in Weinberg. 511 00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:15,520 I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm part of this. 512 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:19,160 I'm plugging in to what God is doing in this community. 513 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,440 If it means using my house, if it means using my car, if it 514 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:26,280 means using anything that I have, I will use that to the 515 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:32,960 glory of Christ. Why, because I'm I follow him, I 516 00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:36,520 belong to him and so I want to say to you this morning, don't 517 00:35:36,520 --> 00:35:41,680 hold back. Use all that God has given you 518 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:48,680 to serve him for we follow him. I'm running out of time. 519 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:54,640 Few words of application. 1st, we must be reminded that in this 520 00:35:54,640 --> 00:36:00,800 text, the heart of John and the message from John is that Jesus 521 00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,920 is the one who gives spiritual light. 522 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:11,960 He's the one that gives light. He is the one that is light #2 523 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:17,760 Those who trust in Jesus are to work as children of the light 524 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:21,720 church. We don't work like those who are 525 00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:25,680 in darkness. We are called to be peculiar, to 526 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:29,040 be different, to shine in this world. 527 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,440 We don't work in continuous disobedience. 528 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,240 We don't work in continuous sin. No, we repent. 529 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:40,200 We ask the Lord for His mercy and grace to help us in our 530 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,880 journey of faith. We are called to follow Jesus, 531 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:48,680 but also we are called to live like Jesus in this Dark World. 532 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:52,040 And guess what? You cannot do it in your own 533 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:54,680 power. You need the sanctifying work of 534 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:58,080 the Holy Spirit to help us to be able to do that. 535 00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:02,680 For those who are not believers among us this morning I want to 536 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:08,160 say to you, turn away from darkness, turn away from 537 00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:11,120 unbelief. Believe in Jesus. 538 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,800 See Him this morning for who He is truly is. 539 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:21,960 He invites you to be light in your life. 540 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:42,840 I'm going to. Ask Jews to come and pray as a 541 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:56,040 as a respond to God's Word. Amen tua que la Li mier que Nos 542 00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:06,720 a from bezua Venus de Clare pere nasi porta parole nasi sener PO2 543 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:08,880 seceto savita vien de parle pere. 544 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:15,080 This was no cure nose Esprit que SE parole PES ponde PLA senor da 545 00:38:15,080 --> 00:38:21,440 no cure Tue la le mier que Clare Le Monde Tue la le mier oh pere. 546 00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:52,920 Tuaqui ale sele Tron tuaqui accepted the Murray Rafiq anun 547 00:38:53,240 --> 00:39:00,800 70s Alfa SE tuaqui naza shwazi eternidi tu pisan we nursi 548 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:11,040 eternidi tu pisan oriat no gid no. 549 00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:21,560 Wonderful, my friends, when we see the real Jesus in Scripture, 550 00:39:21,560 --> 00:39:25,280 when we look at these I am statements I I think they they 551 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:28,440 have to challenge us. Thank you for listening to 552 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,080 today's message. We hope you are encouraged and 553 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,200 challenged in your faith. If you're in the southern 554 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:36,360 suburbs, we'd love to welcome you in person at one of 555 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:38,640 ourselves. Don't forget to subscribe, share 556 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:41,840 this message with a friend and stay connected with us on social 557 00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:44,000 media for more inspiration throughout the week. 558 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,440 Until next time, stay please and keep shining your light.