Topic: Light. Category: Kingdom>
Bible Scripture: John 8:10-12, John 3:17-21, Matthew 5:14-16 and Revelation 21:22-27.
Listen to the full sermon.
Let us go back in time. A time when great armies fought, kings ruled, and fear controlled, yet God was still working, ever present, fighting for the one.
Today we live in a world damaged by evil. Darkness is all around. Yet the darker the darkness the brighter the light shines.
In the natural light does three things. 1: Light pushes back the darkness. 2: Light illuminates. 3: Light reveals itself.
As it is the natural, so it is in the spiritual as God created all things.
Let us look at each aspect of the divine heavenly light that breaks into this world damaged by evil.
light pushes back the darkness
One of the greatest fears of humanity is unfavourable judgement and therefore being condemned to punishment. Our subconscious self has a fear of being caught or exposed. As a result one of the hardest things for our flesh or subconscious self to accept and receive is forgiveness and freedom from the guilt and shame.
God understands this and made a way for us to receive and believe. Let us go back in time. To the time when Jesus walked the earth as a man.
It is early morning. A crowd gathered at the temple. The religious leaders resent Jesus and want to catch Him out. They bring a woman before him. One of them speaks. ‘This woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Moses’ law commands us that such should be stoned. So teacher, tell us what do you say?’
Everyone is waiting, watching, listening.
the divine light stoops down
Jesus humbly stoops down, bowing His head, bends forward. God who is perfect and pure became flesh and stoops down into our darkness of guilt and shame.
In response to the judgement and condemnation by the religious, He writes on the ground with His finger. He who is pure and clean touches the unclean.
It is the religious who quote the law given to Moses up on the mountain. They know and understand it was written on stone tablets, by the finger of God.
Yet they manipulated the law for their own self gain, misrepresenting God and His heart. Into this darkness Jesus entered.
He came from the deepest, purest place of the Father’s heart. Full of grace and truth. He is the true and full representation of God in the flesh. Son of God and Son of Man.
He came in grace, that is underserved favour, for all humanity. In truth He exposed the lies of self and the evil one.
Yet the religious leaders resisted both God’s grace and truth. So they continue to ask Him.
Jesus raises Himself up. He turns His attention to the witnesses who accuse the woman and states, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’
What an extraordinary statement to make towards the prideful, judgemental religious! They claim to be perfect and without sin.
all have sinned
Jesus knows all humanity have sinned. Sinned is to cause offence, do wrong, wandered from the path of rightness, justice, equality and goodness. Not one person throughout the history of humanity has not sinned.
Yet the prideful, self glorifying religious are blinded to this truth. Remember their sole motive of exposing the shame of the woman is to test Jesus and have something against Him. They don’t care about justice, rightness, sin or no sin. They simply want to discredit Jesus and accuse Him of some wrong thinking or action. Such hypocrisy!
Jesus again stooped down to the deepest, darkness point of humanity and wrote on the ground. He writes a new destiny for humanity and the woman.
One by one the accusers left.
All that remained was Jesus and the woman.
Let us pick up the story and listen to the extraordinary exchange between the one who is under judgement, guilt and shame and the one who brings grace, truth and honour.
John 8:10-12 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
jesus writes a new destiny
When Jesus speaks it is so! He speaks this transformation over her, giving her a new heart and new destiny.
Jesus said, ‘neither do I condemn you.’ With one word from Jesus she is passed from death to life, darkness to light, bondage to freedom.
All this is a work of God and on the cross Jesus helps us believe and receive this truth,
as He took our punishment.
Subconsciously condemnation can open the body and mind to sickness and strongholds such as unforgiveness and judgement of others.
The Pharisees did not receive Jesus free gift of no condemnation, so they were condemning this woman, with the sole purpose of condemning Jesus. God Himself.
We do not condemn those who are also in Christ Jesus for their failures, as they also have received Jesus payment.
Jesus speaks a new destiny over her, “go and sin no more.” This is because she has no condemnation as she received Jesus’ forgiveness and love. As a result she is free from the wages of sin which is death. This encounter with Jesus is even before He paid the cost on the cross. Yet she is able to receive and believe as she had a personal encounter with Jesus.
Living in the reality of sin no more, is when we live in the truth of no condemnation. That is why Jesus gave the woman the gift of no condemnation before He told her to “go and sin no more.’
The only way for people to be empowered to walk in the love, peace, joy and freedom that Jesus came to give us is to understand that there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.
no condemnation in jesus
When we think a bad thought, do a bad thing, miss the mark, we surrender that to Jesus and let Him write new desires into our hearts. The desires of God our Father.
To be truely free is to stand in His truth, love and power of no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Jesus stooped down to our lowest point and took our condemnation upon His own body on the cross for all to see. Satan has to bow, the powers of evil have to bow, ourselfish flesh has to bow as we surrender it to Him, so that He can raise us up in the resurrection power of His victory.
Jesus on the cross took away the darkness of shame, death and condemnation, writing a new destiny in the light of honour, life and victory.
He said, ‘He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.‘
Jesus is the divine light that is pure, brilliant and true. To engage in fellowship with Him, be one with Him, is to walk in His light. In Christ Jesus we are fused together with Him.
In Him we have the light of life. Fellowship with the creator of heaven and earth and all things good is being immersed in His light of life. His light pushes away the darkness.
There is no condemnation. We are free from self condemnation, judgement of others and the lies of the evil one. Living in the present reality, that the blood of Jesus purifies us from every sin, past, present and future is a work of His Spirit within.
jesus is the way
When Jesus was falsely accused by the religious leaders and condemned as an innocent man by them to the humiliating death cross, it was the lowest point of humanity. Yet this was the way for us to believe and receive the truth that we are forgiven, immersed in His light, free from guilt and shame. Being able to surrender to Him each day and let Him not only deliver us but most importantly transform us.
God is fighting for us pushing back the darkness of sin, condemnation and death.
It is our daily journey to live in the light of life knowing and appropriating Jesus’ work. That is His life, death, resurrection, ascension and outpouring of His Spirit.
After Jesus ascended to heaven to be at the right of the Father, He poured out His Spirit. By His Spirit in and through His disciples throughout the ages , He lights up this world, pushing back the darkness. As He is the light of the world.
light illuminates
When Jesus was a baby it was declared that He was, ‘A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.’ It was also declared that He would, ‘reveal the thoughts of many hearts.’
Yet everyone has a free choice. Sadly many chose not come to Him for they loved the darkness.
John 3:17-21 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Those who reject Jesus hate the light, hate Him, for fear of exposure, shame and conviction. There is not one small percent of desire wanting to be set free or admit their need for a saviour. They knowingly have chosen the darkness, having seen the light they are condemned.
Conversely those who receive Jesus and live in a heart mind condition of surrender of sin, shame and condemnation, have the desire to bring glory to God. Knowing it is He who does the work within, transforming the heart and mind, desiring to be led by His Spirit.
As a result we carry His light of truth into this dark world.
we are His light
When Jesus walked the earth as a man, even before the cross, He declared, Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Just as Jesus is the light of the world, so are we. Immersed in His light, carrying His light, we shine as lights in this dark world. Those attracted to the light will find the light. The true light, the divine light of God Himself in Jesus.
His light shining is a continuous activity. As we are immersed in His light, we live in the truth of His light, we let our light shine before men.
God is fighting for us lighting up the world.
It is our daily journey to surrender to Him and let Him complete the good work in us. We carry His light into the darkness.
light reveals itself
When Jesus walked the earth as a man, He revealed the Father of lights in heaven. God is light. Jesus is the divine light, sent from the Father became the sacrifice for us. We have our light in Him. His light in us reveals Him and His glory. He is the Lamb of God.
Revelation 21:22-27 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
God is fighting for us revealing Himself and giving His light of life everlasting
our eternal destination
It is our eternal destination to live in the glory of His light, we here there is no darkness.
God is fighting for us, pushing back the darkness, lighting up the world, revealing Himself and giving His light of everlasting life. Forever and ever amen!
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Sermon categories: son of man> love of God> hope and healing> know God> truth> power> end times> experience God> life> success in life> kingdom>
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