John Week 16

^{John  8:12-30}

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. ¹⁶ Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. ¹⁷ In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. ¹⁸ I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” ¹⁹ They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰ These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

²¹ So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” ²² So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” ²³ He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴ I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” ²⁵ So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. ²⁶ I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” ²⁷ They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. ²⁹ And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” ³⁰ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

 What does "Darkness" and "Light" represent to you?

• Day vs Night
• Good vs Evil
• "In the dark" vs "enlightened"
• God vs Satan
• Deeds of darkness vs children of light
• Hell vs heaven

The Sun and Jesus

• Sun is the Natural light of the world, while Jesus is the Spiritual
• Satan like to masquerade around claiming this role, but Jesus is the only real light.
• We do not need no angel or saint in heaven nor person on earth to represent us before God, only the light and great mediator. These others don't create light.
• The Sun is sufficient to our planet, so Jesus is sufficient to enlighten us.
• Just as the sun is center, Jesus is the center of our spiritual life.
• We are so accustomed to physical light we are blinded my spiritual darkness.

Children of Light

• To be Children of light we must apply the truth Jesus shared as he said I am the light of the world
• We must:
  • Follow the light
    • We must accept Jesus for who He is
    • We must admit we need saving
    • We must repent and turn to Him
    • And follow
  • Receive the Light
    • We must take in the light just like Vitamin D
    • We take in the light through the Bible
    • We take in light through teachings
    • We take in light through community
    • We take in light through the table
  • Walk in the light
    • Now that believe, we must do in deed
    • Applying the light
    • How we act to those around us
    • Wanting change because of how the light moves through us
  • Share the Light
    • Because of what the light has done we want to share the light
    • Thomas Edison definitely wanted to share his light the lightbulb
    • We should be like that, sharing the light in excitement
    • We called to be this world's light just as Jesus is our light

Family Questions
1. Do you carry your faith on your sleeve where ever you walk?
2. If you were put on trial for your faith, honestly is there enough evidence to convict you?
3. How can you take one step to being children of light this week?