Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you for doing that song. We were made to thrive. When we turn our hearts to the Lord now in prayer, guys. Father, what a blessing it is to be men. What a blessing that you created us for your glory that you've Lord, you've given us each work, that you've blessed us with lives that, Lord, are made to glorify you, made to shine the light of Christ. Lord, we pray that you would just give us an understanding of your word today, and Lord, just to take this simple message and apply it to our lives, in Jesus' name, amen. So, I love those lyrics, it says, just to know you and to make you known, we lift your name on high. Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide. We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives. It's time for us to do more than just survive, we were made to thrive. That's in a world, guys, where things are changing for Christians all over the world. shocking things are happening, like Christians getting their heads cut off in the Middle East, active shooters in Oregon saying, who's a Christian? And then shooting them. How many, by the way, active shooters said, where are the Muslims? Where are the Jehovahs? Where are the Hindus? The enemy, as you know, singles out God's people. He hates God, he hates his people. We've talked about other issues in the world that's happening in our country until we're sick of them. How Christians are now the new immoral, right? Our culture is darkening. These things are happening more frequently, or maybe they're just happening more visibly. I'm not sure. It seems that evil and darkness is expanding and increasing. It just seems that way. Maybe that's just our perspective. What do we do about it? What's our job as Christians? Do we just run and hide? You know, thinking through this further, think about our culture over the last couple hundred years. Our culture has had Christianity as its moral system, really, you know, since the founding of our country in the USA and even in Europe for hundreds of years before that. Christianity was really the moral system. I'm not talking about born-again Christians, I'm just saying Christianity is a system of morality, if there's such a thing. Moral Christianity has been woven into the fabric of all of our lives, too. Especially Christians, we hardly even notice it. Think about holidays, Christianity. Weekends, human rights, good Samaritan laws. Our whole legal system is based on that Christian morality. Assistance programs, public art, Name it. It's been impacted by Christianity in the West. But it seems like things are changing rapidly and darkness is moving. And the contrast between the Christian moral-based culture that we have and what's happening in the world, and especially in the United States, is becoming way more vivid. We're starting to stand out. whereas before we didn't. How do we respond? What do we do? Scripture has many things to teach us about these things, and you guys have been being fed by Pastor Steve for weeks in 2 Timothy 1 on these very things. Remember, every week he brings up something really practical that we can apply to our lives in these regards. Today, to help us kind of understand why these things are changing and how we should respond, I'd like to consider a really key biblical concept, and you probably got the theme of it while we were singing, the concept of light. It's Bible-wide, it's amazing. John 8, Jesus says that he's the light of the world. And in Ephesians 5.8, Paul says that you are light in him. I'd like to focus today on this idea of light, and what's biblical light, and why is Jesus the light, and what does his light have to do with us anyway, and how will this help prepare us to, and encourage us as we read the news, and maybe in some cases fall prey to the darkness. Let's go to, take your Bibles, and let's go to John chapter eight. And this is, as you know, there are many places in John where the Lord says, I am. And this just happens to be the spot where Jesus, if you go to John 8, verse 12, Jesus says that, in John 8, 12, he says, it says, then Jesus spoke to them again. I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life." And immediately prior to this statement, we see in the context here, we see this woman caught in adultery. And before I go further, I wanted to make sure that it was clear in your guys' Bibles, this passage, this woman caught in adultery, the adulteress, right before Jesus says, I'm the light of the world, that's in brackets. And it's because some of ancient manuscripts don't have this and some do. So I just wanted to acknowledge that in case somebody wanted to bring up textual criticism here today. But I'm gonna just assume that it's scripture because it's in my Bible. Why would Jesus right here say I'm the light of the world? Let's look at start at verse 2 Jesus Had Just made some claims over who he was and in the beginning of right at the end of chapter 7 it says that the people that were listening says so each one went to his house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and And then it says in verse two, it says, at dawn, he went to the temple complex again and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. Teacher, they said to him, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law of Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. What do you say? They asked him this to trap him in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, the one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her. Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, They left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, and the woman in the center. And when Jesus stood up, he said to her, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one, Lord, she answered. Neither do I condemn you, said Jesus. Go, and from now on, do not sin anymore. Then Jesus spoke to them again. I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. Wow. Jesus, just teaching in the temple, just showing up to work that day, he was light. He was teaching in God's place, the temple, shedding light on things that were dark. The Pharisees show up, they're darkness right off the bat. Look at what the Pharisees did here. He began to teach them, then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery. Here comes darkness, making her stand in the center. They said, teacher, they said to him, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. What do you say? They asked us to trap him in order that they might have evidence against him. Here's the darkness presenting itself. hiding, but hypocritically showing a woman who was basically helpless, thrown right in the center, and who had just been lost in sin. And here comes Jesus. He stood down and started writing on the ground with his finger. Then they persisted in questioning. And he stood up and said to them, and here's the gigantic flashlight that just got shown right at their hearts. He says, the one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her. Wham! Here's the light of Christ shining right on their hearts, exposing darkness. They couldn't stand it. Darkness couldn't overcome light. When they heard this, they left one by one. They couldn't stand against his light. When Jesus stood up, he said to her, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? Jesus questioned to the woman like that, shows the character of God. He's unveiling who God is to us. Jesus, the Savior, overcoming darkness. He's saying, hey, has no one condemned you? No one, Lord. And he says, neither do I condemn you. The heart of God is being revealed right there in Jesus. There's no condemnation. He says, go and sin no more. He gives her this command from the heart of God. He's unveiling who God is. Then Jesus spoke to them again, I'm the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. So the Pharisee said to him, you're testifying about yourself. Your testimony isn't valid. Jesus, again, facing darkness, coming into the world as the light. God's light in the Bible can be a brilliant and shining, glowing, light. From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, there are many instances of God's glory being brilliant and breathtaking light, right? Even in the desert, when we see Jesus being transfigured, we see In Ezekiel, I think those of you guys who are in BSF have seen that, and also in the first of Revelation, Jesus can be a brilliant, shining, visible light. That's one way that he's light. Another way that he's light is that he unveils God, and he shines light and exposes darkness. Look through here, we'll read through a couple more verses here into our passage. Oops, excuse me. In verses 12 through 19, let's go to 12, or excuse me, in 14, excuse me. Even if I testify about myself, Jesus replied, my testimony is valid because I know where I came from and where I'm going, but you don't know where I'm coming from or where I'm going. You judge by human standards. You're in darkness, he says. I'm judging no one, and if I do judge, my judgment is true because I'm not alone, but I and the Father who sent me judge together. He's shedding more light on them. Even in your law it is written that the witness of two men is valid. I'm the one who testifies about myself and the father who sent me testifies about me. Then they asked him, where is your father? And they start getting into this business of him being an illegitimate child. But Jesus, by nature, just the fact that he's there, just the fact that he's, just because he's exposing the darkness in their hearts, just the fact that he's showing no condemnation to this woman, he is the light of the world. He reveals God and exposes sin. He does that by nature. I just wanted to just think through this. I mean, how many of you, when you turn the light on a room, do you see the light slowly working its way around the room to light dark places to expose what's there? It doesn't take time. It just happens. It just does it. By nature, Jesus is the light. I wonder if light actually was created to exemplify Jesus instead of the other way around, instead of being the reverse analogy. Let's consider him a little bit more. In Luke 10, don't go there, he says that And this was after the 70 returned with joy, remember, and they could cast out demons. He says, in that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him. He's the light of the world. He's revealing God. Let's look at John 12 while we're in John. John 12. Go to verse 44. Here's Jesus's mission. It says, John 44 or 1244 says, Then Jesus cried out, The one who believes in me. Excuse me, the one who believes in me believes not in me, but in him who sent me and the one who sees me sees him who sent me. I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and doesn't keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He is revealing who God is as the light. John 1.18 says, no one has ever seen God, the one and only Son, the one who is at the Father's side. He has revealed Him. And in John 14.7, Jesus reveals the Father. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him. Colossians 1 says, He's the image of the invisible God. Colossians 2 says, the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ. Hebrews 1 says, the sun is the radiance of God's glory, the exact expression of His nature. Another aspect of divine light, other than revealing who God is or unveiling who He is, is also that light exposes sin and darkness. In John 3, Jesus says, for everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it so that his deeds may not be exposed. In Ephesians 5, Paul says, everything exposed by the light is made clear. Hebrews 4 says, no creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Thinking back through, going back to John 1, John says, and I'm sure you've memorized this and you know it by heart, in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him. And apart from him, not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. Jesus is the light. In verse six it says, there was a man named John, This wasn't John the Gospel writer, but John the Baptist, who was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify about that light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light, the true light, who gives light to everyone who was coming into the world. I was listening to a MacArthur sermon on that passage not too long ago, and he described that as the definition of Christian ministry. Gospel ministry was John's ministry. Testify about the light. This is the true light who gives light to everyone. And that word true, it means in the Strong's, it says that it's that which is not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name of light. In every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true, and genuine. The opposite of the fictitious or the counterfeit or imaginary or simulated or pretended. Jesus wasn't just the pretend light, he was the authentic, true, perfect light, the real light. Other light's just a simulation of what real light is. Jesus is the light of the world, revealing the love of God for sinners. Remember John 3.16, God loved the world. John 13.9, God loves his saints. He says, as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love. Romans 8 says, who can separate us from the love of Christ? Ephesians 5, Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. He was the light when he revealed himself to the Emmaus disciples. Remember that? He looked through the whole scriptures and revealed who he was. He was the light when he gave sight to blind people. He was the light every time he said, I am. The other thing that he did is that he obscured his light after he was rejected by his own and began teaching in parables to explain and explain things privately to his disciples. You can see it really vividly in the script in the Gospels. Revelation 22 5 says in the future when we're in glory said night will no longer exist and people will not need lamplight or sunlight because the Lord gives them light. So how does this thought of light affect our lives? How can we depend on Jesus in our darkening world. We can trust Him. Colossians 1 says that He has rescued us from the vein of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. This is the kingdom of light. Did you guys know that we are eternal citizens in an everlasting kingdom that's being ran by the King who washed us in His own blood? This will never change. You can depend on it. No matter what you screw up, or no matter what you have to endure, it will never change. You will always be a citizen of that eternal kingdom. That kingdom won't go away. Jesus revealed this when he came. How can we be obedient to our Lord when we consider these types of things? Well, we can be vocal and faithful about the gospel. That's one way. Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 4. He says, therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, We don't give up. I'm speaking to myself here. Why don't we just hide at home or avoid people or quit working in the kingdom or just stay at home and watch TV? Paul says, instead we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God's message, but commending ourselves to every person's conscience and God's sight by an open display of the truth. He needs us out in the world to show his glory. But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. He came to reveal God's heart. For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus. That's our job, guys. Our job is to be out in the world showing the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ. We are light. I don't know if you remember, but in Matthew 5, Jesus says, you're the light of the world. A city on a hill can't be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. That's nutso, but rather on a lampstand and gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. That's our job. Did you know, by the way, if you're a born-again believer, Your lamp is lit. It's burning. Your way of living and my way of living can obscure it. How many of us put a bulb in and put a bunch of duct tape around it after we put it in? Or we don't even think of turning on the switch. We all need to stop obscuring the light. We cover it up through sin. We cover it up with apathy and complacency and lukewarmness. We cover it up through achievement of cultural relevance at the expense of holiness. We cover it up through busyness, the tyranny of the urgent. We cover it up with self-seeking glory. I don't know if you know this, but the Bible says that we're slaves, not employees. It doesn't say that we're employees, guys. It says that we're slaves. When we do these other things and obscure that light, we're being outright disobedient to our master. He's the true light. We're light in him. How will Mormons come to Christ if our Christianity is veiled? if we veil our light, merely pretend that Christianity is just morality? Their religion is morality. How are we gonna pretend that the moral Christianity is the way to fellowship with God? How are our theological arguments and statements gonna save somebody? They need to be filled with the fruits of our putting on the new man. They need to see real life, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control. Mormons, Muslims, JWs, they need to see and experience the new man, right? Not the residual of the old dead one. Jesus loved the rich young ruler. right in front of all of us, enough to shine light on his heart to expose his love of things instead of God. Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house and had dinner with him. He really went to his house. He didn't just talk. You know, I hadn't, until recently, I hadn't really asked what light was. I kind of always assumed that it was when somebody said, hey, we need to be salt and light. I kind of just assumed that it was just kind of pretending there wasn't any problems. You know, like birds flitting around as I skip down this rosy pathway, smiling and kind of pretending that everything's cool and being in the best mood in the room, you know, really trying hard to pretend like there weren't problems in the world. That's not what light is, 100%. I mean, maybe there's aspects of that, but light unveils God. How do we in our lives, I mean, are you likewise unveiling God to your neighbor, or am I? How are we unveiling God in the face of Jesus? How are we, like exposes darkness, we need to respond by nature to darkness In holiness, is our holiness a rebuke to the religious, by the way? Our set-apartness to God? Our separation from things that are common to be God's own? Does that stand out? Or are we trying to be relevant to the culture? What's your purpose in every conversation? Is it the glory of God? Is it Jesus? Are you proclaiming truth? In fact, light says the name Jesus. Period. Jesus. We can say that in public. In some places in the world, and soon to be here, if we say that name, you could be in danger. You want to know why Christians in the Middle East get their heads cut off? It's because their light explodes in its brilliance against the darkness of satanic Islam. That's why. Satanic Islam hates the light because its deeds are dark, like all the other lost deeds of the world. What about, remember when Pastor Steve was mentioning that conversion to Christianity is illegal in India? Why? It's because the new birth shines the glorious light of God into the satanic sham and lie of Hinduism. It's darkness. When somebody comes to Christ, they're made new, they're light. Remember the Pharisees in John 11, they said, if we let him continue in this way, everyone will believe in him. That's what the darkness doesn't like. They want their system. It's easier to control. Paul in Romans 13 says, put on Christ. He says, besides this, knowing the time, it's already the hour for you to wake up from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed, just like ours is, guys. The night is nearly over and the daylight is near, so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk with decency as in the daylight, not carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual impurity and promiscuity, not quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no plans to satisfy fleshly desires. Paul also says, for you were once darkness, but you are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. For the fruit of the light, there's fruit and light, by the way, the scripture says. It results, it has results. The results are goodness, righteousness, and truth, discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Don't participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes everything clear is light. Therefore it is said, get up, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you." That's our job. In our work situation, at the grocery store, whatever, it's not to just pretend that there's no problems and say, you know, and watch the world go to hell, our job is to use our mouths and be part of society and be light, unveil who God is and expose darkness. That's the very simple job that we have. What do we do about the changing culture, the hostility toward born-again believers? And it's really against born-again believers because Satan knows who they are. What is our job today as Christians? Our job is to obey the Lord. We shine like the sun. We follow Jesus. He says you'll have the light of life, right? John said if we say we have fellowship with him, yet we walk in darkness, we're liars. We don't even practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he himself is the light, we have fellowship with each other. And the blood of his son cleanses us. Scripture also teaches us that that light will shine out in the world. And if you're scared, let's go to Psalm 91. I wanted us to hear those words today. Because honestly, if you're true light and you're shining in the world, you're subject to hostility. We respond in love, but at the same time we trust our Father. The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, My refuge and My fortress, My God in whom I trust. He Himself will deliver you from the hunter's net, from the destructive plague. He will cover you with His feathers. You will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield. You will not fear the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the plague that stalks in darkness, or the pestilence that ravages at noon. Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, the pestilence will not reach you. You will only see it with your eyes and witness the punishment of the wicked, because you have made the Lord, my refuge, the Most High, your dwelling place. No harm will come to you. No plague will come near your tent for he will give his angels orders concerning you to protect you in all your ways. They will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra and trample the young lion and the serpent. because he is lovingly devoted to me. I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor. I will satisfy him with a long life and show him my salvation. Guys, we have a God that loves us. He has shown light in the world. He's made us lights just by nature. We have born again hearts. We have to be in the world. We have to be out shining that light, unveiling God in the face of Christ and exposing darkness. We have to speak truth. We have to be holy in our walk. This is our job. It's a very simple message. And that's really all I had today. So let's pray. Father, the true light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light. Lord, help us endeavor to be revealers and unveilers of God with courage. Help us keep ourselves holy and blameless, shining light in dark places, Lord. Even if it costs us our lives, glory to God in the face of Christ. In Jesus' name, Lord. Amen.