What Do You Do with the Light of the World?
Intro:
1. Act 17:26-27 - From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
2. The idea here is that the world is stumbling around in the darkness trying to find purpose & meaning in life - trying to find God!
3. Then our Lord says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. - Jn 8:12.
4. In a lost & dying world, our Lord comes as the light to point the way to God, to meaning & purpose.
5. So - what do you do with the light of the world?
John 9:1-39
I. v1-7 - What Did the Light Do?
A. He uses adverse situations to display God’s grace.
1. There were some OT passages suggesting that sin was passed down from parents.
a. Ex 20:5 - You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.
b. Ps 109:14 - May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
c. Is 65:6-7 - I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps— both your sins and the sins of your fathers, says the Lord.
d. But Ez 18:14 & 17 says, Suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things . . . He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.
e. Basing the idea that sin is passed down from generation to generation from these OT passages is real foggy theology!
2. v2-3 - Sickness has nothing to do directly with sin but is often an opportunity for God’s glory.
a. ILL: The origin of sin was Adam & Eve’s sin.
b. The afflicted in Christ often have a more powerful testimony & prayer life than if they hadn’t been afflicted.
c. The Lord said, He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. - Matt 5:45.
d. Sickness potentially happens to everybody!
3. There were some cases where sickness & sin are related.
a. Venereal disease & alcoholism are obvious.
b. ILL: The plagues of Pharaoh (Ex 7:20-12:29).
c. Ps 107:17 - Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
B. He usually allows you to get in on the action.
1. Each of us at one time has experienced a miracle.
a. These are events that can’t be explained any other way.
b. They fall into place with perfect timing & you just stand in awe.
2. A miracle usually involves obedience.
a. To get money for taxes, Peter went fishing (Matt 17:27).
b. To have his withered hand healed, the man had to stretch it out (Mk 3:5).
c. To catch fish in the Miracle of the Multitude of Fish, the disciples had to cast their nets
(Lk 5:4).
d. In the healing of the paralyzed man, he had to take up his bed & walk (Lk 5:24).
II. v8-38 - How is the Light Accepted?
A. v8-34 - Some reject the light in spite of the overwhelming evidence!
1. Notice the evidence.
a. v8-9 - First they said he was not the blind man.
b. v18 - Next - they said he was the blind man, but he had never been blind.
(1) But he was a local person who had been blind from birth! - v1.
(2) Could you imagine him faking blindness all this time?
c. v24 - Then - he was not telling the truth.
(1) Jesus couldn’t have been the one who did it.
(2) But the evidence showed that something truly supernatural had happened (v25, 30, 33).
d. v34 - Finally - he was out of line by disagreeing with them - so they kicked him out of the synagogue.
2. Their final conclusions were:
a. v16a - Jesus was not from God because He didn’t agree with them.
b. v24 - Therefore - Jesus was a sinner!
3. Jn 3:18b-19 - whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
B. v35-38 - Some people accept the light even though their faith may be progressive.
1. You can’t expect mature faith from a baby Christian. Notice the progression of his faith:
a. v11 - Jesus is a well known man.
b. v17 - He is a prophet.
c. v31 - Jesus is a godly man who obeys God.
d. v35-38 - This man believes Jesus to be the Son of Man & worships Him as Lord.
2. Which of these decisions are you going to make this morning?
a. v39 - Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.
b. Jn 3:21 - But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
What’s your choice this morning? Is it to continue stumbling around in the darkness that this world offers you or are you ready to come into the light & find the purpose & meaning that God has for your life?
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