The following message was delivered on Sunday afternoon, February 14, 2010, at Amazing Grace Church in Catskill, New York. The preacher is Kenneth Harris, and the title of the message is, Jesus Christ, the Light of Life. I would ask that you would take your Bibles and turn with me to the Gospel of John, Chapter 8. The Gospel of John, Chapter 8. I will read verse 12, John chapter 8, excuse me, verse 12. Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. Let us pray again and ask for God's blessing as we consider this word. Our Father, we come before you just as we are. We have nothing in and of ourselves to commend ourselves to you. And therefore, we come asking that you will give us what we need, that we may honor you in our lives. We pray that you will give us the Holy Spirit as we have asked already, that we may know his influence, his ministry among us, opening up our eyes, opening up your word, giving us hearts of faith to believe upon Jesus, to follow him. Lord, we pray as you know the state of every person in this room. Out of your perfect knowledge of us, we ask that you would minister to our need. To the end, that you would be glorified in our lives. We pray that you would cause your word to go forth, that it would not be hindered. And we ask for these mercies in Jesus' name. Amen. We will consider this verse, verse 12 of John's Gospel, under two points. Firstly, what we see in this verse is we see that Jesus makes an assertion about himself. That will be our first point. And secondly, we see that Jesus makes an assertion about his followers. One thing I would say at the outset is we consider these words of Jesus. We live in a day when we claim to have made much progress as a human race. Our technology has advanced so greatly. We have discovered many more things out in the universe. There are many books that are being written, books that are being read. There are talk shows that are being held. Many things are being discussed. We're always seeking to find ways to better our lives, to improve our lives, to improve our society and our culture. Men are striving and looking for meaning in life and living for things and striving to make a mark upon society. Looking for fulfillment, as we heard in a previous hour, how for many of God's people sitting here this morning, each of us have a story to tell. And it is a wondrous story to see how God has worked in each and every one of us. And to those who have not yet come to Christ, who may be sitting here this morning, your story is sad. If you're not in Christ, it is sad. Because you have not yet tasted and seen that the Lord is good. And therefore, these words of Jesus, I would ask you to take careful note to pay close attention to these words. These are not the words of the preacher this morning. The preacher is seeking to exegete, to explain, as best as he can, the meaning of these words. And I will say that the preacher cannot do justice to understand the full depth of meaning of what Jesus has said here. But we need to know and understand that Jesus, as he speaks, he speaks with the authority of God, because he is the Son of God. And there is salvation given under no other name under heaven but the name of Jesus Christ. And Jesus speaks absolute truth. And therefore, I would ask that you would give careful attention as though you are hearing these words for the first time, as though Jesus himself is standing right here. Now in saying that, Jesus has said that where two or three are gathered together in his name, there he is in the midst of them. And we have gathered together as a church of Christ. And although Jesus is not here physically, he is here by his spirit. And Jesus is present. We don't need to imagine that. He is present by his spirit. And may His Spirit open up your minds and unclog the ears and give you understanding to receive what Jesus has to say to you today. Let's consider this verse. Again, therefore, we read, Jesus spoke unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." These words are not restricted to his immediate audience at that point in history, but these words are applicable to all men everywhere. Therefore, there's no need to really get much into the context overall. But the words themselves speak for themselves. Let us consider, firstly, Jesus makes an assertion about himself. He says, I am the light of the world. First thing to note about this assertion is that it's emphatic. In the original Greek, there's a pronoun and a verb, ego eimi, I, I am. And that's often used for emphasis. It is as though you can render it, I, even I am, or I myself am the light of the world. An amazing statement. Jesus is speaking to his hearers. And he's speaking to his hearers today in this auditorium. And Jesus says to you, I am the light of the world. These words are exclusive. They are unique to Jesus Christ alone. They are emphatic. He's calling attention. Jesus speaks as the great I am of scripture. As God reveals himself to Moses, Moses said to God, well, who should I say is the one who has sent me? As Moses had to go back to the Israelites to tell them who sent him. And Jehovah said, I am that I am. And so there's a number of these I am statements in the gospel, particularly in the gospel of John. I am the door. I am the way, the truth, and the life. I am the good shepherd. Here we read, I am the light of the world. And in all of these statements, we're learning something about Jesus. These statements shows us something of his character. something of his ability, something about who he is and his significance. And so in this text, I am the light of the world. This assertion, first of all, it's emphatic. Second thing I want to bring out about this assertion is that this assertion is profound. You know what I mean by profound? We would say, man, that's real deep. That's really deep, man. That really blows my mind. Or people would say, the kids would say, awesome! Right? They would use that word awesome. Well, these words are indeed awesome. They are indeed profound. There is a depth of meaning of these words that no human being, no preacher could adequately declare and explain to anyone. Jesus says, I am the light. of the world. I am the light of the world. What does he mean by these words? I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life. Now, when we say profound, think of the scuba diver, right? You may go to the Caribbean or some exotic island, and the water is so clear, and you can look in the water, and you see the little fishies swimming around. You say, oh, so beautiful, such a nice day. But you can't see the bottom of the sea. You need to become like Jacques Cousteau and put on your outfit and go down deep. And you're going into the depths of the ocean, and there are things so deep down that no one can see from the surface. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes ability and skill to go down to the depths. And so these words, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. There is a depth of significance of these words that no man can adequately understand and express. But we will seek to do what we can. And we will do what we can this morning. And so in these words, this assertion is emphatic, it's profound. When Jesus says, I am the light of the world, now, we're not left to just come up with our own ideas and our own opinions about, well, I think he says this, and I think he means the other. We need to come to scripture. We need to let the scripture itself explain itself. And as best as I can do, here are some things that I've gleaned from the word of God. First of all, when Jesus says, I am the light of the world, this would include the fact that he is the possessor and the giver of life. Jesus owns life. He is the owner. He is the possessor of life. He is the giver of life. And that in two ways. He gives physical life and He gives eternal life, spiritual life. He gives physical life and eternal life. Turn to John chapter 1. As John writes this gospel, this is really a tract. You know how people pass out gospel tracts? This is like an extended gospel tract written by the Apostle John. And John, later on, toward the end of the gospel, he says he wrote these things that those who would read would believe upon Jesus. That's his objective in writing this gospel, that man may come to faith in Christ. And so he begins These profound facts about Jesus. And he begins not with the birth of Christ. He begins way back in eternity. He begins with these words, John chapter 1, verse 1. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And literally, in the Greek, and God was the Word. It's clear that this word that was in the beginning, this word is God. But yet this word is something that was with God. And at the same time, the word was God himself. And then if you drop down, you look at verse 14. We see that, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. You see, this word is Jesus. And John wants his readers to understand who Jesus is in his person. He is none other than God himself. And here we see in these opening words, he was there in the beginning. God created the world. Look at what it says in verse 2. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. And without him was not anything made that hath been made. In him was Life. That's where I'm getting the idea from. It's right here in scripture. In him was life. It's not my opinion. This is what the word of God says. So in the beginning was the word. Remember in Genesis. And note the connection here. How did God create the world? By the spoken word. By the fiat word. In the beginning we read, God said, let there be light. And there was light. And God said, let the day, let the expanse separate, where there will be the sky from the waters. And there was the sky. And how God brought all things into existence on the first six days of creation. God spoke. It was a spoken word. And things came into existence. And here we see, in the beginning was the word. And the word was with God, and the word was God, and through him all things were made. And that's why I say Jesus is the possessor and giver of physical life. All of us sitting here breathing, the heart ticking away, blood pumping through the veins. The brain cells are working. You're sitting here listening, maybe in some cases maybe had a long night, maybe trying to stay awake. All the things that are going on within our humanity, Jesus, as it says in Colossians, he upholds all things by the word of his power. That is Hebrews 1, excuse me. He upholds all things by the word of his power. Jesus, he is the creator of the world and the creator of men. So when Jesus says, I am the light of the world, That includes the fact that he is the possessor of life, both physical and eternal. Notice what Jesus says in John chapter 10. I said he gives eternal life as well. Well, let's consider the words of John chapter 10. John 10, verse 27. Jesus says this, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give to them eternal life. I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. You see Jesus says, I am the one. I give eternal life. Now how can you give eternal life if you're but a mere man? Only God can do such a thing. And here it underscores the fact that Jesus is equal with the Father in power and glory. There was one being of God who exists in three persons, the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And throughout the Gospel of John, it reiterates the fact that Jesus is the Son of God. And as the Son of God, he is equal to the Father in power and glory. That's why the Jews wanted to stone him, a mere man claiming to be equal with God. and so we see here Jesus he is the giver of physical life and eternal life my sheep hear my voice but also another thing about Jesus when it says he is the light of the world he is holy in his person Jesus is holy that is he is righteous and holy turn with me to Hebrews chapter one Beginning at verse 1, God, having of old times spoken to the fathers and the prophets by diverse portions and diverse manners, hath at the end of these days spoken to us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. Back to John 1 and Genesis 1. who be the effulgence of his glory, or the outshining of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he hath made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high." But I want us to note the words in verse three. Jesus, the Son, who being the effulgence, that is the one who radiates the glory of God and the very image of His substance. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. If you want to know the character of the Father, if you want to know the perfections of the Godhead, you look at Jesus. In His life, He radiates the perfections of the Godhead. In 1 John 1, verse 5, it says, God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If you want to know what that means, it's exegeted in the life of Jesus. Look at how he lived when he was upon the earth. Note his obedience to the law of God. In Hebrews 7, verse 26, it says, he was holy and guileless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Elsewhere he says he knew no sin 2nd Corinthians 521 you see Jesus in his character in his conduct in his words in his demeanor in his actions in his thought life and Everything about him. He radiate the perfections of God. He was perfectly holy without blame and righteous If you want to know what it means to be righteous, look at Jesus. And so when Jesus says he is the light of the world, he is a possessor of life. He gives life. He is holy in himself. And another element that we can glean from the scripture is that he is truth incarnate. He is truth incarnate. incarnate. If you want to know what the truth is, look at Jesus. Pilate said to Jesus, what is truth? People in our day says, what is truth? You have a truth. You have a truth. She has a truth. He has a truth. That's your truth. People talk that way in our generation. This is relativism speech, where everyone's entitled to believe whatever they want to believe, and it's truth for you. Hey, if you believe that it's truth, that's fine. That's your truth. It's not necessarily my truth, but it's your truth. And I have my truth. There's only one truth. There's only one truth, and this truth is absolute. And it is bound up in Jesus. As truth, Jesus gives men the truth. He gives men spiritual understanding and illumination. Jesus said in John 14 6, I am the way and the truth, right? And the life. Philip says, show us the Father. Jesus says, Philip, have I not been so long with you? If you've seen me, Philip, you've seen the Father. Because he and the Father are one. But turn with me to John chapter 8. John 8. Here in the passage, we see a parallel between truth and the Son of God, who is Jesus. Verse 31. Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed on him, if you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free. Now what makes men free? The truth. and then they answered, and they had some objections about the fact that they were Abraham's seed, et cetera, and that they were not in bondage. And Jesus says, everyone who commits sin is a bondservant of sin. And then in verse 36, we read this. If therefore the Son, not the truth, but the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. So what is it that makes men free? The truth or the Son? They're one and the same. They're one and the same. Jesus says, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. And then he goes on to say, and the Son, verse 36, if therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. True freedom from sin True freedom from the darkness of this world is bound up in the person of Jesus alone. Because Jesus is the truth. Now, as I try to put these things together, Jesus' words in John chapter 9, 8, excuse me, verse 12, 8. I am the light of the world, says Jesus. When you think of Jesus as the light of the world, When you look at Jesus, what do you see? There is eternal life found up in Him. If I would know eternal life, I must get it from Jesus. If I would know what it means to be holy, what it means to be righteous, I must get it from Jesus. And if I would know the truth, I must get it from Jesus because He is the truth. And in this way, Jesus is the light of the world. Now, in the second assertion, we're going to see the connection here. Let us consider, secondly, Jesus makes an assertion about His followers. And we'll bring these things together. He makes an assertion about his followers, actually two things. A follower is a believer, right? Is a believer, is a person who believes in another person or in something or some ideology. And they follow this person or this ideology, they trust and they obey. They become a disciple, a learner, an apprentice Someone who's learning with the view of being like his teacher. You follow a political candidate. You believe what he says. You believe what he stands for. You support him. You campaign. You placard stickers all over the place. You have your bumper sticker. You call people. You want people to vote because you believe in this candidate. You're a follower. Or perhaps some, they follow some famous sports star or some great musician or some great actor or actress. And they want to be like Hannah Montana. Girls, I think she's changed a little bit. The dad has made new rules for her. But just think of, I'll just use her as an example. Many girls, they want to dress like her, sing like her, talk like her. Or we pick on Michael Jordan, OK? Michael Jordan, everyone wants to dress like him. I know he's not playing ball these days. But when it was his day, everybody wanted to be like Michael Jordan. And what it is, you see someone you admire. You want to dress like them. You want to act like them. You follow them. And so with Jesus, Jesus says this in the verse. He says, I am the light of the world. He that follows me, he that follows me shall not walk in the darkness. Followers of Jesus, Jesus asserts their character and their lifestyle. What is the character and lifestyle of a person who follows Jesus? Character and lifestyle, this is one's conduct, how they behave, how they live. Jesus described it negatively, that they shall not walk in the darkness. If you want to know who are the people who are following Jesus in these days, who are the true followers of Jesus, It's not by what they say. Look at how they live. Because Jesus says, those who follow me shall not walk in the darkness. Now, what is the darkness? What is the darkness? This world is characterized by darkness. What does that mean? This darkness is the realm of spiritual ignorance. It's where men, women, boys and girls are ignorant of the glory of God. They are ignorant of their true state before God. In other words, they are blind. They cannot see, even as I gave testimony in a previous hour. There was a time when I was spiritually blind, and I was living for the things of this world, and Jesus had not captured my heart. He was irrelevant. He was not relevant to what was going on with me. And that is the darkness. And in this realm of spiritual ignorance, sin is promoted. What God calls sin, the world promotes, and that is darkness. And all of this is carried out under the influence of the devil. It is all carried out under the influence of the devil. First John 519 says the whole world lies under the evil one. The whole world is cast under the spell of the devil. The devil is rocking the world in its spiritual death and sleep by intoxicating them with sin. with the pleasures of sin, with this blindness. He blinds the minds of the unbelieving. He energizes the lost. Ephesians chapter 2, Paul says, in whom you once walk as the rest, as the sons of disobedience, according to the prince of the powers of the air, who now works in the sons of disobedience. The devil, he works in people. He energizes men, women, boys, and girls to do evil. Now, people do evil because it's their desire. But this desire is furthered along by the energizing influence of the devil. Why would someone go out and just blow themselves up? Why would anyone do that? That's from the devil. Why would anyone go out and murder and rob? And recently on the news, hearing about this professor in Alabama, she killed some of her colleagues. Why would people do that? Why would people kill their own family members? Why would someone give birth to a child and dump it in the garbage bin further? Why would someone even abort a child? Abort, they call it abort. That's a watered down term, abortion. It's murder. And see, that's the expression of the darkness of this world. And they say, no, no, no, no, no. It's a woman's right to choose. You're missing the whole point. Change the issue when you say it's a woman's right to choose. It's murder. It's murder. Someone's sexual preferences, homosexuality, it's a sexual preference. In fact, some are champion. They want them to have to be legitimized through marriage. The Bible says it's abomination. It's perversion. That is not what God intended by creation. Someone go out and kill someone. We're doing away with the death penalty. We don't want to do the same. It is a warped way of thinking. God says, whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. The person forfeits their own life. There's a value of human life. is being degraded. Elderly people, let's just get rid of them. People are thinking this way these days. Let's just get rid of them. Let's not try to save life on the operating table. Just let them go. You see, this is the expression of the darkness of this world. We call evil good, and we call good evil. This is the darkness, morally, politically, socially, domestically. This is all the darkness of this world. And when men are believing these things and living in these things, they are walking in the darkness. Jesus says, that's why I say the importance of these words, he says, I am the light of the world. And people are miserable. They're not happy. They're miserable because they are lost. They are blind. They are hopeless. They may smile on the outside, but they're weeping on the inside. And Jesus says, I am the light of the world. And he who follows me shall not walk in the darkness. And many of us can testify we once walked in that darkness. We once committed those same things. We once sought fulfillment in the things of this world. But when we saw Jesus, Jesus was the light. And He showed us the way. Jesus showed us the truth. Jesus showed us a better way. God has shined the light upon His Son by the Holy Spirit. And when we look at Jesus, we see holiness. We see purity. We see love. We see righteousness. We see power. We see grace. We see compassion. We see the character of the beautiful God who made the universe. We see God Almighty. We see that all in Jesus and this is what the world so desperately need. It is not when the conservatives gain power and we can get the present administration out of the way and we can reduce taxes and we can have restored things and restore order and have this country become a great nation. That's not the glory. That's not the kingdom. That's not the answer to our problems. It is in Jesus alone. Jesus said, I am the way. I am the truth. And in this text, I am the light of the world. Now, this is what he says about his followers. Now, there are people who said, I follow Jesus. And if Jesus is being followed, his followers would reflect the character of the one they're following. There will be some measure of a reflection of the likeness of Jesus in his followers. You can't say you're following Jesus and you're a philanderer, right? No, it doesn't work that way. There must be likeness to his character in his person. Now notice what he says, he makes another assertion about his followers. He says, first of all, they will not walk in the darkness. And then secondly, he says, but they shall have the light of life. Now, who can explain these words? They shall have the light of life. Now, Linsky, he said this. He said, these words are profound. How can a man on earth know and describe the complete bliss of eternal life? Who can do full justice to these words? We can gain something from these words. And here's what I have. They shall have the light of life. These words seem to indicate that the light is the light the light, excuse me, is the light that comes from the spiritual life of Jesus. I have to look at my notes carefully. Because light and life sound similar. And at a distance, they look alike. But life, they shall have, Jesus says, the light of life. That is, the life that comes from Jesus, it gives us light. Jesus gives eternal life. When you follow Jesus, something happens to you. something is done on the inside of you. The old things are passed away, all has become new. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus. The heart of stone is taken out, there is a heart of flesh. You are a new man, you are a new woman, because you now have spiritual life. You were once dead in your sins, you were once living in the darkness, but now God has opened up your eyes. And what happens? That's because of the life that has been implanted in our souls. Now this life, we learn more. We learn more of the knowledge and of the enjoyment of God. As we walk with Jesus, we learn more of God. We see more of Jesus. We see through a glass darkly, right? Second Corinthians says, but with an open face, we look as in the mirror, as we look into the Word of God. Because the Word of God tells us about Christ. It tells us about the Lord Jesus Christ. And what happens as we walk on this pilgrimage, as we live the Christian life, we begin to learn something more of Christ that we didn't know years ago. Or maybe we're reminded of things that we've forgotten about some time ago. That's why Jesus has given us this ordinance called the Lord's Supper. Do this in remembrance of me. We need to be reminded. We need to be reminded of him. And Jesus says, those that follow me, they shall have the light of life. Spiritual life eternal life John 17 verse 3 and this is life eternal That they should know you the only true God and him whom you did sin even Jesus Christ this light is the knowledge and the enjoyment of God that's why the framers of the catechism says the chief end of man is to glorify God and and to enjoy him forever. Those who follow me, Jesus says, shall have the light of life. The very fact, brethren, that we can sit here and we can say amen when we say abortion is murder, why do we see that so clearly? Why do we see that homosexuality is sin? Why do we see that adultery is an evil to be repented of? Why do we see that lying and stealing and cheating are wicked evils? Why do we believe and see these things so clearly to be wrong? Why is it that our lives are ordered the way that they are? Why is it that we even gather on Sunday to worship God? Why do we do these things? Because we are walking in the light. Because we have the life of God in us. And as a result of that life given to us, we have a different orientation of how we live. Our orientation is centered around the truth of God. It is centered around Jesus Christ. And the great passion of our hearts is to be like Jesus. Isn't that what you want? But why is that? Why is that, brethren? It's because we are following Him. We are not walking in the darkness. And we don't have any regrets. Is anybody sitting here as a Christian sitting here with regrets, saying, boy, it's a real bummer that I'm a Christian? No. Christians don't speak that way. We have no regrets. We're not ashamed. We're not looking back with some nostalgia upon our past, time and sin, saying, boy, it was a blast. We had a great time when I was going in the ways of evil. Boy, those were the good old days. No. No, we look upon those days with shame, with a broken heart. And we're looking forward to the best days that are yet to come. And those best days is when Jesus comes back again. And when the kingdom of God will be ushered in in all of its fullness and its power. And when all vestiges of sin will be absolutely and utterly removed from our beings. There will be no more unclean thoughts, unclean desires, no more selfishness. None of these things. No more envy or jealousy or pride. All of these evils that plague the child of God that we long for the day when we will be rid of all of this wickedness from our hearts. That's what we're longing for. Why? Because we are not walking in the darkness. And the reward, what is the blessing? Is that we will have the light of life. As I said, in thy presence, Psalm 1611, is fullness of joy. You can't know that unless God has opened your eyes. You can't know that unless you know that your sins have been forgiven. There is no condemnation to you who are in Christ Jesus. Paul could say at the end of his days, just let's look at the apostle Paul. Here's this man. He went about preaching the gospel, beaten, chased out of town, flogged, And now, toward the end of his life, he's in some dark hole in Rome, in some prison cell, awaiting his execution. And here he says, the time of my offering is at hand. I have fought the fight. I have kept the faith. He says, henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. How do you explain a man like that? He can only be explained by the grace of God. He can only be explained because he is a follower of Jesus. And as Jesus was lifted up from the earth, as the Son of Man was lifted up upon the cross, and all men see him and believe upon him, there is our salvation. There is our only hope of eternal life through this crucified carpenter from Nazareth. The world would despise such a message. But that's our only hope, brethren. That's our only hope. And for we who have known and tasted and seen that the Lord is good, brethren, let us continue to follow Jesus. We're not there yet. We're not in heaven now. We're still living in this world of sin. And as we tread this path where the saints have trod, as we're treading this path that leads to eternal life, the world is still pulling at our coattails. And they want us to join with them in sin. And we have to continually say no and brush them off. And Satan is dangling the carrot of sin in front of our eyes to bring us back into those former ways. We must continue to walk in the light and not walk in the darkness. Dabbling in pornography is heading in the darkness. Watching those things we shouldn't watch letting the world come and influence us stirring up sinful ambition ladies to uh... submitting to my husband and you know uh... the world says the woman should be liberated and to be free from the shackles of home and children and you know the world is you see that's the darkness ladies that's the darkness You come to the Word of God and what God says about Sarah. She called Abraham Lord. She was submissive to him. And God sees that as a great high price in his sight. 1 Peter chapter 3. You want to be pleasing to God and you say, well, you know, I don't care what the women of the world are saying. I don't care what they think about me. What matters to me is what God thinks of me. And if I am doing what God has said according to his word and this is pleasing to God, if I'm pleasing God, that's all that matters to me. And women, that's how you stay out from the darkness. And the darkness comes around us in different ways, in different forms, by radio, by the media, by fashion, the immodesty and how women are nearly naked in these days. Ladies, ladies, ladies, ladies. God says modesty. Modesty is a precious commodity for a woman who fears the Lord. It is pleasing to God. Let the women of the world go on in their nakedness. But ladies, you be chaste. You be holy. You be like Jesus. You seek to radiate the perfections of God, the holiness, and his character, and in your conduct, in your lifestyle. And the same for men. Everyone wants to get marked up these days and brand themselves all over. God made the body beautiful just the way that it is. He's the greatest artist, and no one can improve upon the artwork of God. All that is just graffiti. Let the body alone. Glorify God in your body. Use your body to His glory. Present it as an offering. Take care of that body by our nutrition and diet and exercise. Keep the body well kept. Preserve that body. Be modest with it. But whatever you do with that body, you glorify God in that body. It belongs to Him. You see the implications of this? Walking, following Jesus. Why would we do such a thing? Why would we live that way? Because we're not walking in the darkness. The world is in the darkness, being energized by the devil. And to those of you who may not be Christians this morning, listen to the words of Jesus. Jesus says, I am. the light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in the darkness. And I think of our dear children. I've seen children grow up, and I've seen them go. They've grown up in Christian homes, gone to Christian schools, been to church every Sunday, been to catechist, and they are out there in the world fully giving themselves over to the darkness. Why? Why? Because Christ has not yet captured their hearts. And children, listen to Jesus. Older people, listen to Jesus. Listen to Jesus. He said, I am the light of the world. Follow Jesus. Obey Jesus. Love Jesus. Serve Jesus. Please the Lord Jesus. Follow Him. Leave the world behind. Leave all the pleasures of sin behind and let the other kids make fun of you. Let them laugh at you. Let them make jokes about you. But in the end, in the end, it's only going to matter when Jesus comes back and he looks at you, he can say, well done, my good and faithful servant. Come, enter into the joy of your Lord. When Jesus invites you to heaven and all the people who are laughing at you, he will say, depart from me. I never knew you. Whose sides did you want to be on, Jesus? or the world. You got to make your choice. You can't have both. If you're a friend of the world, you're an enemy of God, the scripture says. You can't have both. Jesus will never fail you. He is the light of the world. And may God be pleased, brethren, to help we as his people, to help us to progress in the way of holiness, and in the way of delight and enjoyment. Christianity is something greater than fun. Christianity knows something called joy. And there is this joy that comes from the Lord. There's this joy that's so satisfying and ravishes the heart where we can sing these hymns of praise with great delight. Whether we're in the company of God's people or whether we're in the privacy of our homes, there is the joy of knowing that all of these sorrows, all of these disappointments that I'm experiencing is only for a time. And I'm heading to that place where there will be no more crying, no more pain, no more sorrow, and best of all, no more sin. May God be pleased. to make us resolute as God's people, to continue to follow hard after the Lord Jesus Christ. And to those who have not known, don't delay, children. Don't delay, older person. Follow Jesus Christ today, and you will have the light of life. Let's pray. Our Father, we come before you and we thank you for your word. For without your word, we could not know who Jesus is. We could not know the Son of God. We could not know you. We thank you that you speak to us. We thank you that you have spoken to us this morning. And we ask that you would give us hearts and ears to hear, to believe, and to obey. Lord, help us to see sin in our lives as your people, as the thing that will rob us of our joy, as a thing that will ruin our testimony, as a thing that will bring dishonor to your name. Help us more and more not to be ashamed of you, Lord Jesus, in this crooked and perverse generation. We pray for those who may not have yet come. We pray that you would cause them to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd speaking this morning. Lord, that they would see that you are the light of the world. Open up their eyes. Lord, we pray that you would save sinners. You would extend your kingdom. Lord Jesus, help us. We live in very bad times. But we know that with you, We are more than conquerors. We pray and ask that you would watch over our souls, that you would bring salvation to our families, to our friends, that you would preserve us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Take the green. Those are time by singing in Christ alone. Found in the folders that look like this, you may have to share them in Christ alone.