Trey H. Little

Sermon Text:  John 8: 12-30

May 29, 2011

Albany, Texas

“The Light That Lasts”

This morning I would like to ask you to focus your attention on one verse from the Gospel of John chapter 8.  This is another profound “I am” statement made by Jesus but One that is so full of truth and teaching that I feel it needs to consume all of our attention this morning.

Listen now to John 8: 12-30.

Did you know your body consists of 206 bones wrapped with 650 muscles and seven miles of nerve fibers?  Your eyes possess 100 million receptors, and your ears 24,000 fibers.  Your heart beats 36,000,000 times every year and sends blood pumping through more than 60,000 miles of veins, arteries, and tubing.  And your brain contains 13,000,000,000 nerve cells (Dr. James Denison, God Issues, May 26, 2011).

Amazing, don’t you think, to consider how remarkable you are?

But here is my struggle—with the human body being such an intricate and sophisticated creation—why in the world can’t someone create a flashlight that will last!

Perhaps it is just me, but I have several flashlights around the house—all of which “lit up” at one time or another—but inevitably, when it is the darkest—none of my lights work.  I grab one—turn it on—nothing!  I know what you’re thinking, “Put new batteries in it Aggie!”

Listen, the point is—we all need light—but we desperately need light that lasts.

Think about it—a dark room comes to life when the light is turned on.  We typically “wake up” when God turns the light on outside our bedroom window.  This time of year we can do things outside until close to 9:00 p.m. because it is lighter longer.

Imagine you are at a gathering in the auditorium at the high school and all of the power in Albany went down.  Everyone is in total darkness.  Everyone is going to be trapped in darkness for who knows how long unless they can find their way out.  Imagine that you are the only one that knows the way out.  Imagine that you have in your possession, what is to that entire group of people, the most precious thing in the world.  It is more valuable than a Rolex, a Jaguar, a big ranch, and it is worth more money than all the money in the world—you have a light that actually works.  That glowing light in the darkness will literally guide you and the others to safety (Adapted from an illustration by James Merritt, Don’t Be Afraid of the Light).

Now, imagine if you knew someone who was living in the darkness of sin and lostness.  Imagine if you knew this person was literally on the brink of shutting down as a result of the burdens.  Imagine if this person felt trapped and longed for someone to show them a way out.  Imagine you were the only one that knew the way out.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Friends, I am here to tell you this morning that Jesus is the most valuable and precious gift you can possess.  Better yet, perhaps I should say that there is nothing more valuable and precious than to be the possession of Jesus Christ.

The Light of the world is the tender and bright glow that beckons us unto Himself.  He is the One who literally guides us to safety and freedom.  He is the One that is now and forevermore—He is The Light that lasts.

            Psalm 27 says:  “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear.”

            Interesting, don’t you think, that as children we were never afraid of the light; we were only afraid of the dark.  I wonder, the older we get, is this still the case?

What I mean is, as we grow older do we falsely assume that there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark? 

Friends, from a spiritual perspective, there is a great deal to be cautious about in the dark.  In the darkness of sin we can lose our way so easily.  We can drift down the wrong way; we can easily trip and fall; we can hurt ourselves and possibly others.  But also, in the dark, we can fall into the false sense of obscurity.  In other words, when we are dancing in the dark—we can naively think that no one else can see us.

The only antidote for darkness is light.  Therefore, there is great comfort found when Jesus claims to be “The Light.”  Knowing He is “The Light” reminds us that we need not be afraid of the dark but instead we must follow Him.  He draws us unto Himself like a street light draws a wayward moth.

So I ask you, where is your dark place?  Where is that place that you are afraid to go?  That place where the hurt is too deep?  That place where shame is too great?  That place where the anger is too intense?  That place where the temptation is too trying?  Wherever your dark place is—it doesn’t have to last.  Turn to The Light and allow Him to transform your world—that is what He desires most—to allow His beam of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and hope to shine so brightly on you that you too will begin to shine and live.

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:8: “for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Live as children of light.”

In other words, to be in Christ is to be in the Light—and to be in the Light is to shine in the world around us.  To be transformed from the darkness of sin that we used to be consumed by and to live, walk, talk, give, serve, pray, play in the joyful light of Jesus.

Do you get it?  Jesus Christ is The Light that actually lasts.  He is the One that shines constantly.  He is the One whose batteries never need to be changed. 

I want you to take a look at verse 20.  It says, “He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put.”

This area was called “The Court of Women.”  This was a large court area and was one of the busiest parts of the temple.  This was the area where Jews were to come and give their offerings to the temple in order to pay for sacrifices.  Also, the crowds would have been very large on this day because thisteaching of Jesus also took place during what was known as “The Festival or Feast of Tabernacles.”

According to William Barclay, “On the evening of its first day there was a ceremony called The Illumination of the Temple.  It took place in the Court of Women.  In the center there were four great candelabras.  When the dark came the four great candelabras were lit and, it was said, they sent such a blaze of light throughout Jerusalem that every courtyard was lit up with their brilliance.”

Jesus knew the people would see the brilliance in the light of the courtyard—but He also knew in the end the light would soon flicker and die out.  He wanted the people to know that He was The Light of the world whose brilliance would never fade away.

Friends, this is the Good News for us this morning—in Jesus Christ we find “the light of life”—the only Light that lasts.  Will you allow Him to light you up with His brilliance this morning?

In closing I want as you to do something for me as you leave this morning.  When you walk out on to the church lawn—I want you to look toward S. Jacobs street—particularly just underneath the trees right beside the street.  I want you to notice what is NOT growing under the trees.  What you will see is that there is very little, if any, grass growing under a couple of the trees.  Why isn’t there new growth there? Not enough light!!!

Friends, the same is true for you and me.  We will have very little, if any, spiritual growth unless we follow Jesus so closely that we are literally basking in His Light.

The Light that lasts—let Him shine—let Him shine!

AMEN.