(John 1:9)
�That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.�
An energizer is an element which imparts energy, or a dynamic, unto another object or thing. To the believer, Jesus has imparted the element of righteousness where none would have existed without His sin-bearing sacrifice. Jesus has also imparted the dynamic of concern for the lost, although many Christians are so carnal as to be oblivious to this fact.
The text verse this week returns the discussion of John, Chapter one, to that of the Word, Jesus Christ.
Notice that John, once again, emphasizes that the Christian faith is an exclusionary faith. There is but one Lord of Glory. �That was the true Light...�
Are you old enough to remember the old Marlo Thomas T. V. show, �That Girl?� For most of you - those who are not!, the show always started with some kind of a situation where someone asks a question such as, �Who did this!� The question didn�t matter. The answer was always, �That girl.� Then everyone in the scene, and the cameraman would point toward Marlo Thomas as the scene shot to a close-up of her.
That is what John was doing here. He was pointing to Jesus.
I was at a nominally Christian web site yesterday when a discussion question came up on the �Big Church� vs. �small church� arguments. Sadly, the best arguments for the Big Church group was that they were better equipped to engage in �church programs.�
What a spiritually shallow argument for which to boast about one�s church. The primary purpose of any Church of Jesus Christ, is to point people toward a saving knowledge of Jesus. Anything else is mere window dressing. Anything else may be counter productive toward the God-given mandate of the churches unless it reminds sinners of their need for Jesus Christ, while building up the individual members of those churches to take that same message out into their own daily worlds.
Yes, relief efforts such as the one�s now being held on behalf of the victims of hurricane Katrina are needed. But, the primary purpose of any church which claims linage to the Church which Jesus established must be to win souls for the Master.
Remember, when Jesus went to the house of Zacchaeus, He was accused of consorting with sinners. Jesus� reply was, �...the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.� (Luke 19:10) Jesus was our Example so that same thing - the salvation of lost souls - should be our purpose, and each churches purpose, as well.
Remember, also, that Jesus is an exclusive Light.
The world does not really like to hear that message. We are reminded that, �One way may work for one, and another for another.� �Everyone worships the same God. We just each call Him by differing names.�
In the old radio program, �Fibber Magee and Molly,� Fibber would say something that made sense to him. Molly would then retort, �Tain�t so, Magee.� Well, to the above two statements: �Tain�t so!�
There may be many professed �Lights.� There may be many entities worshiped by the hearts of men. But, Jesus is the True Light. Deuteronomy 6:4 has never been repealed. �Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD...� Jesus remains the Only Way to reach any fellowship with God. Jesus is The Way.
If that sounds too narrow for your tastes, skinny up a little so you can fit on the narrow path. Every single other path leads to spiritual destruction!
Jesus is the True Light. He is not a pretender to the throne. He is the owner of the throne. He isn�t the way to God because He made the claim. He is the Way to God because He is!
When Jesus said, in John 14:6, that He was the only way to God, he was not mistaken! I remember one time we had a family dinner at the home of one of Linda�s sisters. I really believed that a chair would hold me. I believed that until I found myself on the floor on top of the wreckage of that chair. The chair looked right for me; but, it was not.
Don�t trust a possible savior with the eternal destiny of your immortal soul. Trust the Light, Jesus Christ.
There are many charities, so called, which are simply scam operations diverting the real aid offered to the hurricane victims. These scam operators are lining their pockets with stories of the needy while not caring about those who need the aid.
Jesus came not to raise up His Own Name. He sought no glory. He didn�t need man�s glory. Jesus came to offer mankind the one thing which they so desperately need for their souls. There is no overhead charge. He just simply asked that men and women accept the free gift of free salvation from their sins, a home in heaven, and fellowship with the True God of Heaven.
Jesus is the True Light for your spiritual journey.
Jesus is also the omnipresent Light of Glory. �...which lighteth every man...� �Omnipresent� is one of those arcane theological words. It simply means that Jesus can be everywhere at the same time.
He will deal individually with your heart need whether you respond to His call in a great city-wide revival service at a civic arena, or whether you respond to His call in a dimly lit room while sitting in front of your computer.
The situation and ambiance is not important. The salvation and authority of Jesus Christ is of utmost importance.
First, notice that Jesus lights men.
One of the things that light does is to make it easier to find things that are lost. I lost my keys last week. One of the places I looked was under the couch. Rather than move it, I looked under it with a flashlight. The light enabled me to view the condition under my couch.
That was a mistake! Then I had to move the couch so that I could clean all the clutter that had accumulated under it out of my sight.
Jesus does that for our souls. He shines the light of His love into the dark recesses of our spirit and shows us all the uncleanness and clutter that inhibits our walk with Him. He reaches in with the vacuum of His love and cleanses our souls so that we might walk in the newness of life which He offers in His atoning work.
In doing this He restores that spark of proper humanity which is hidden under the bushel of sin. In some of the storm devastated areas of New Orleans this past week, there were individuals who were engaged in looting, and robbing, and generally terrorizing their fellow man. Man, we have been told for years, is just another brute beast. He is not far removed from the savagery of the jungle.
That is not a true assessment! Man was created with a dignity of purpose and spirit. God�s intent was not to create a world of sin and sorrow. But, man sinned. The horror of sin has permeated the race of man.
Man was created in the image of God - love, peace, compassion, these were the foundations of mans inner makeup. When man turned his back on God, the love which God had instilled as a instinct of the human spirit, was replaced with greed. We want, because we lack the compassion in our sinful state, whatever we can get. And, we want it without regard to the needs of our neighbor.
Race against race hatred - from all sides!, is the result of the heart which does not understand the community of our common ancestry in creation. The paranoia which arises from this hatred consumes the ability to enjoy the life God has bestowed upon us.
The light of Jesus Christ restores the spark of the relationship with Deity which was lost in the sin of Adam. Only in the salvation experience given us by Jesus Christ can we ever expect to find real peace in this life.
Jesus �lights a fire� under the litter of our souls which have been damaged by the storms of sin.
The water which covers most of New Orleans at this time is filled with pollution which is hazardous to the lives of those near it. Disease and death is in the water. Water is one of the most necessary elements to human life. But, this polluted water brings not life, but death.
There are impurities of our soul which need to be cleansed. These impurities will not give us spiritual life; they will drag us down to the depths of perdition unless cleansed.
If we will but allow Him to do His work, the Light of the World will purify our hearts and souls. He will make us clean and fit for fellowship with God.
When I was a small child, my father built us a new house. But, for a couple of years, while the new house was being built, we lived in what was to become the garage. It didn�t seem that small or cold at the time. But, as I look back to our living in the garage, I remember the old �Franklin� stove. That was our furnace at the time. An old-fashioned Franklin-style, wood and coal burning, stove. One thing fire still does, it warms our bodies in the cold of the Midwestern winter.
The Light of the World is our defense against the cold, cold world of sin. Jesus will warm our souls and give us peace and comfort in this world of sin and storm. As with Noah who rode an ark to safety in the midst of storm, we are not promised that we will never feel the chilling breeze of adversity. Unless I want to move from where I now reside, winter is going to come. It�s part of the package of living in the Midwest. Until we reach the shores of Heaven we will see adversity. That is part of the package of living in this present world. But, unlike the world at large, the Christian has the luxury of the furnace of the Love of God to keep us soul warm in the biggest storm of this world system.
This is a railroad town. That is the industry which built this city. Less than a mile from where I sit typing this message, there is an old steam locomotive on display. The steam that once drove this monstrous sized piece of iron down the railway, with its caravan of heavily loaded cars in tow, was produced by heat. Heat caused the water to produce steam. Steam pushed the pistons which produced the motion.
The heat from the Light of the World does not come to us to give us an easy time in this world. The intent is to produce work. We need to work for the Master as He gives us the energizing influence of His love. We need to take that love out into the world that it may be shared with others who need the salvation He offers.
Jesus offers this love to all. No one is too good to not need to experience the saving grace of the Love of God. Nor are any too bad as to be disallowed as recipients of this Love.
Every man is called. It is our duty to do as did John the Baptist: take the message of the Love of God out into the world with which we interact.
We also need to consider the optimal leading of the Glory of the Lord. �...that cometh into the world...�
When the Light came into the world, the world was in the darkness of sin. The workings of God could not be seen in the blackness of the night of sin. The path to God could not be found in the overriding darkness of sin.
Jesus came to be a Light to show the way to God was through His Own sacrifice.
People are still blinded by the darkness of sin. Consider that nearly every newspaper, timed periodical, even some of the publications put out by the public schools, will carry a horoscope column. Consider how modern, rational, no-nonsense, men of today will reach back into the pantheistic �religion� of the �New Age.�
Now, consider the popular conception of the Biblically based man of God. He is considered as somewhat buffoonish. He is suspected of a myriad of shortcomings, from the financial, to the sexual. Although he tries to offer the Light of Jesus to the world, he is accused of trying to use his �religion� for �political gain.�
Sadder, still, is the truth that so many preachers of the Gospel have succumbed to that political siren call. They have seen the Gospel message in their own preaching take a back seat to their political leaning. It is not wrong that we take our place as citizens within the political process. It is wrong when we allow these political messages to drown out the lure of the Gospel. A case in point is the Rev. Jerry Falwell. He is a fine Christian man who preaches a solid Christian message. But, what is the first thought that comes to mind when his name is mentioned? It is not his Savior; it is his political agenda.
Jesus never gave us the call to change the political climate. Jesus did give us the call to spread the message of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
It is true that Jesus came into the world in a physical body. He did this, of course, so that He could act as our Righteous Substitute on Calvary. But, in this, His purpose in the world, even in the physical, was to lead the lost to salvation. That must also be our purpose: To carry forth this same work which Jesus did upon this earth. He sought sinners, that they might come to salvation. So must we!
Have you ever been in your own house during an electrical storm when the power went off? What is the first thing you did? You looked for a flashlight, didn�t you? Of course! Even though it was your own home, and you had placed the furniture yourself, you still wanted a light so you could find your way through that home.
Jesus came so we�d not fall over the rocking chair of good works. Jesus came so we would not stub our toe on the table of religious observance. Jesus came so that we�d not bump our head on the door post of smug religiosity. Jesus came to be the Light to show us that the true way to God was via His Own sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary.
With the leading of that Light we can chart a righteous walk and course for our Christian lives. In 1971 Linda and I were on our way to Chicago when we stopped by to briefly visit with our parents. A small church was formed and issued a call that I preach for a while. Over thirty years later, here I still am. God charted a course that I would not have chosen.
We can know the way God would have us to walk for thirty-five years if we will stay in the Light of His will each day. The next day will take care of itself as we continue to stay in that Light of His will.
The Light of Jesus will also protect us from dangers along the way.
The subtle call of culture will tempt us to force our message to be �relevant.� Relevancy changes. That�s why we must be Biblical rather than culturally correct. I have some theology books that were written to be relevant during the 1960's. For the most part, these books are nearly laughable today.
God, and His message, does not change. If we remain Biblical we will remain in His will. If the Power of God resided only in the culture of the day, God would be out of touch with mankind in ten years.
In our teens many of those my age were enamored with the �Flower Power� of the various youth movements. In our middle ages we moved on to the �Flour Power� of the bakery as we sought to spend time with our friends down at the donut shop. Now, in our old age, we�ve moved back to �Flower Power.� But now the flowers are placed near the caskets of the deceased as we await our own mortality.
We change. Culture changes. God is the Constant Contemporary. As we remain Biblically grounded, our relevancy is upon the truly important things of life. And, of eternal life!
The Light can also protect us from the siren call of temptations. We are reminded that, �For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.� (I John 2:16)
The lust of the flesh has lead many astray. That begins with the lust of the eyes. That, in turn, has it start in the pride of life. I want. So, I go out and get. The next thing we know we have an air conditioned house for our dog in the back yard.
Keeping in the Word, and in prayer with the Author of that Word, will Light our path in righteousness as we follow the Lord.
We need this because of the savage call of the tempter. Satan will attempt to draw us away from the Lord. He may use the lure of fame. �After all,� we might reason, �the more famous I am the more I can do for God.� In reasoning thusly, we have begun to rely upon our own strength rather than the Arm of the Lord. Temptations of possessions, pride, the sensual, these may only be guarded against by remembering our place in the economy of God. We are the foot soldiers. He is the Commander and the Sustainer. We need to stay in the Word, and in prayer, or we are apt to forget this simplest of facts.
But, Satan may also issue his temptation in the form of adversity. �How could God allow such a thing as this to happen to me?�, is only a short step away from a total commitment to trust in the Lord. And, it is a step out of His will. It is a step of rebellion as it consists of a lack of trust, a lack of love, and a lack of fidelity to the Lord. And, it is an affront to God because it accuses Him of doing evil toward us when we know that He is the God of Love.
In this age of �New Age� religiosity, we often here the call for those who are on their death beds to, �Go into the light.� Did you know that the Bible says that Satan can be transformed so that he appears as an angel of light? (see II Corinthians 11:14)
If you are to gain a home in heaven, and a fellowship with God even in this present life, you need to understand that Jesus is the �True Light.�
Have you ever accepted Him as your own Savior? Have you ever taken the gift of salvation that He offers? Why not do so right now?
Walk in the true Light. Accept Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior. Do it today!