WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.660 We're continuing our series on the seven I am statements in John's Gospel. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:10.380 ! And as a reminder, in John, Jesus says seven times the words, 00:00:10.380 --> 00:00:15.179 I am something. I am the bread of life. I am the good shepherd. 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:21.300 And these seven statements are really significant because this is Jesus telling us who he is. 00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:26.160 So if you want to get to know someone, you can't just guess who they are. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:29.160 You can't rely on rumours. They can be wrong. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.859 But if you want to know someone, they have to sit you down and tell you who they are. 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:39.460 Well, this is Jesus sitting us down and telling us who he is. 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:44.060 And we are on the second I am statement today. 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:48.179 And it's just one verse I want us to look at. John 8, 12. 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:54.579 Again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:59.679 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:00.619 Of life. 00:01:02.020 --> 00:01:06.260 It is a wonderfully simple but powerful statement of who Jesus is. 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:13.560 Jesus says, there is a darkness in this world, but I am the light of the world. 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:17.760 And light and darkness is a big theme in John's gospel. 00:01:18.460 --> 00:01:29.560 I heard a preacher once say, when you read John's gospel, it's like your eyes are constantly dilating and closing with this constant talk of light and darkness. 00:01:29.740 --> 00:01:30.560 Light and darkness. 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.799 Think about the nature of light and darkness. 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:37.260 Light and darkness are a pair, aren't they? 00:01:38.040 --> 00:01:39.280 One defines the other. 00:01:39.460 --> 00:01:42.020 Darkness is the absence of light. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:44.320 Light is the absence of darkness. 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:45.359 They are a pair. 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:48.739 But they are a pair that never exist together. 00:01:49.980 --> 00:01:52.400 Where there is no light, there is only darkness. 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:56.799 But when a light shines, it destroys the darkness. 00:01:56.980 --> 00:01:58.099 It dispels it. 00:01:58.099 --> 00:01:58.539 Light. 00:01:58.539 --> 00:02:01.759 So you enter your kitchen in the middle of the night. 00:02:01.899 --> 00:02:02.699 It's pitch black. 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:06.159 But you switch on the light and the darkness ends. 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:09.699 Light transforms darkness. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:11.299 Replaces it. 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:13.960 Where there is light, there cannot be darkness. 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:14.200 Darkness. 00:02:14.980 --> 00:02:21.480 And Jesus is saying he is the light that dispels the darkness of this world. 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:24.460 But what is this darkness? 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:26.400 What does Jesus mean? 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:29.840 He is the light in the darkness. 00:02:31.260 --> 00:02:35.500 Well, if light and darkness define each other, look how Jesus defines the light. 00:02:36.219 --> 00:02:38.500 Do you see how Jesus describes it in verse 12? 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.680 This light is the light of life. 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:46.740 Which means, what is the darkness? 00:02:47.860 --> 00:02:50.719 It is the darkness of death. 00:02:52.200 --> 00:02:54.060 And I want us to look at both those things today. 00:02:54.180 --> 00:03:00.400 I want our eyes to dilate and look into the darkness and really grasp exactly what it is. 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:09.939 And then I want us to let Jesus switch the lights on and really see who he is when he says, I am the light of the world. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.780 But to understand that, we need to first look into the darkness. 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:18.000 And I want us to see it is the darkness of death. 00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:20.060 The darkness of death. 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:27.000 The darkness Jesus speaks of here, it really encompasses the whole realm of sin. 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:30.300 All that is part of the fallenness of this world. 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:35.160 And so darkness, first of all, it means the evil of this world. 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:37.800 That's what Jesus says back in chapter three. 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:43.840 People loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:53.400 In this world where there is evil, where there is wrongdoing and corruption and godlessness, that is the darkness. 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:57.700 And we even use that language, don't we? 00:03:57.699 --> 00:04:03.079 We speak of the dark web, the dark underworld of crime. 00:04:03.179 --> 00:04:08.619 We speak of what happens in the shadows and in all our fairy tales. 00:04:08.879 --> 00:04:11.399 We all know evil lurks in the dark. 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:14.740 And where do we find this evil? 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:16.160 It's everywhere. 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:19.300 We see it in the headlines. 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:24.420 And when we walk past the needle wrappers in the street, we hear it in the sirens. 00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:26.500 It's there when we lock our doors. 00:04:26.500 --> 00:04:32.500 And when we are very honest with ourselves, we realise the darkness is closer than we like to think. 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.600 We see it there in our own hearts. 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:44.540 When we realise what our hearts really want, and if it weren't for God's mercy, what we are really capable of. 00:04:45.740 --> 00:04:48.720 The whole world has been plunged into this darkness. 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.899 Which means darkness is also unbelief. 00:04:53.899 --> 00:05:02.219 That's why the Bible, when it speaks of not trusting in Christ, it describes it as blindness. 00:05:03.539 --> 00:05:07.279 Complete darkness in our eyes, like walking into the abyss. 00:05:08.219 --> 00:05:10.459 In fact, that's how Judas is described. 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:20.039 Later on in John, when we get to the moment Judas decides to betray Jesus, that stark moment of unbelief. 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:26.520 It says, Judas immediately went out and it was night. 00:05:28.280 --> 00:05:31.760 Unbelief is like walking into the darkness of night. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:40.259 And so our friends, our neighbours, our colleagues, people at the school gates, West Ealing during Friday prayers. 00:05:40.659 --> 00:05:41.920 It may all seem normal. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:43.399 The sun may be shining. 00:05:44.420 --> 00:05:47.579 But Jesus says there is a darkness. 00:05:50.219 --> 00:05:52.279 But darkness encompasses even more than that. 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:55.099 It is all the suffering of this world. 00:05:55.939 --> 00:05:59.579 It is all the misery that the fall has brought into our lives. 00:05:59.659 --> 00:06:01.119 It is the darkness of disease. 00:06:01.679 --> 00:06:04.199 It is the darkness of broken relationships. 00:06:04.779 --> 00:06:06.199 And broken lives. 00:06:06.359 --> 00:06:07.859 And broken minds. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:11.979 It's no wonder depression and anxiety. 00:06:12.179 --> 00:06:14.819 It feels like a dark cloud has descended. 00:06:14.819 --> 00:06:17.779 And like the colour has gone from life. 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:23.719 Well, that is all a part of the darkness Jesus is speaking of here. 00:06:24.719 --> 00:06:27.219 Evil and unbelief and suffering. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.800 In a word, it is the darkness of death. 00:06:32.420 --> 00:06:35.500 All those things are the absence of life, aren't they? 00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:38.399 They are not the way life should be. 00:06:38.539 --> 00:06:41.060 And so that darkness is the presence of death. 00:06:41.060 --> 00:06:46.100 And there is a reason Jesus calls this darkness of all things. 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:51.180 It is because God is light and life. 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:55.879 And when you go away from God, there is only darkness. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:06:58.540 And so there is only death. 00:07:00.100 --> 00:07:05.579 And the world as we know it, it is a world that has turned from God and run in the opposite direction. 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:11.359 And the further you go away from God, the deeper you go into the darkness. 00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:15.819 And so the world is as dark as we know it. 00:07:16.300 --> 00:07:23.060 The state of our lives and our community and the state of our nation, it is as bad as it is. 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:28.219 Because the world has gone very, very far from God. 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:32.800 It feels like the world is unravelling, doesn't it? 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.760 And things just feel gloomy and at times hopeless. 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:40.380 We can think, how is there any solution to this? 00:07:41.320 --> 00:07:44.260 And often we don't even need to open up the news apps to feel that. 00:07:44.340 --> 00:07:46.100 We can see it in our own lives. 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:51.620 Well, when we feel that, that is the darkness. 00:07:51.620 --> 00:07:57.240 And we are all longing for it to end, for something to be done about it. 00:07:57.340 --> 00:08:00.920 We are all longing for light. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:07.340 Well, into the midst of that darkness, Jesus appears. 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:08.620 Our pupils constrict. 00:08:09.980 --> 00:08:12.759 And Jesus says the words we are in desperate need of. 00:08:12.840 --> 00:08:17.860 The answer to all of this, I am the light of the world. 00:08:17.860 --> 00:08:25.580 Which means if darkness is death, then Jesus is the light of life. 00:08:26.759 --> 00:08:28.259 And this is the second thing I want us to see. 00:08:28.340 --> 00:08:29.259 The light of life. 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.940 Now, this isn't the first time we hear of light in John's gospel. 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:36.060 It actually opens with it. 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.019 So just look to John 1 with me. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:40.120 Turn to John 1. 00:08:42.800 --> 00:08:43.639 John 1. 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:48.699 And just look to verses 1 to 4. 00:08:50.519 --> 00:08:55.620 In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. 00:08:56.379 --> 00:09:01.720 So the word here is the person of Jesus, the divine son of God who existed before the creation of the world. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.000 And in verse 2, he was in the beginning with God. 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:10.360 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 00:09:10.360 --> 00:09:12.080 In him was life. 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:16.320 And the life was the light of men. 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:19.440 Just follow what this is saying here. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:23.240 Jesus is the eternal word, the son of God. 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:25.720 And all things were made through him. 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:27.259 He created all things. 00:09:27.800 --> 00:09:30.840 He is the one that gives life to all things. 00:09:31.680 --> 00:09:34.039 So verse 4, it says, in him was life. 00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:39.899 We all here today, we all have life from the son of God. 00:09:41.319 --> 00:09:45.279 And when you have this life, you also have light. 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:49.159 The life was the light of men. 00:09:50.939 --> 00:09:58.620 You may not realize it at first, but to be a human being, it means you have a light flickering inside of you. 00:09:58.620 --> 00:10:03.759 And this light, it is the knowledge of God. 00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:08.779 That's why verse 9 says, the true light which enlightens everyone. 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:12.419 It's just what Paul Evey was preaching last Sunday. 00:10:13.379 --> 00:10:16.720 Everyone deep down knows that there is a God. 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:20.820 That they have this divine itch they are trying to scratch. 00:10:20.899 --> 00:10:25.120 A nagging feeling that there is a God and they are accountable to him. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.000 That this sense of divinity. 00:10:27.700 --> 00:10:29.799 And that is because we are made by him. 00:10:30.700 --> 00:10:32.580 We have life by him. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.440 And when you have life by him, you have this light. 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:38.639 This knowledge of him. 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:41.200 Light and life go together. 00:10:41.659 --> 00:10:43.080 But in sin, what have we done? 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:45.759 We have blocked out the light. 00:10:47.159 --> 00:10:49.659 Suppressed it deep down inside of us. 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.820 Shut it out like putting a blackout blind. 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:57.500 Over our hearts so that we can forget that the eternal word was ever there. 00:10:58.200 --> 00:10:59.960 Forget he ever gave us life. 00:11:00.260 --> 00:11:01.960 And we can just live our own way. 00:11:03.020 --> 00:11:06.560 We should be bursting with the light of life. 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.360 But we have become very dim. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:13.520 And what happens when you shut out God? 00:11:13.660 --> 00:11:14.640 Shut out that light. 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:17.100 You shut off life. 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:21.840 And we plunge ourselves into the darkness of death. 00:11:23.680 --> 00:11:25.279 And so what do we need? 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:28.300 We need to truly know God again. 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:31.820 We need for him to come to us. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:33.519 And to know him. 00:11:33.659 --> 00:11:38.100 And for his light and life to burst forth into our lives. 00:11:38.540 --> 00:11:40.720 And for the darkness to disappear. 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:47.540 And Jesus stands in the midst of that darkness and says, I am that light. 00:11:48.800 --> 00:11:52.320 I am the light of life that created this world. 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.080 That flicker of knowledge that burns in every heart. 00:11:56.420 --> 00:11:57.740 That is my light. 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:00.740 And so if you know me. 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:05.060 You will truly know the God who created you. 00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:13.000 And so Jesus stands there to shine into this world in a new and brighter way. 00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:17.820 Not just the light of creation, but the light of salvation. 00:12:17.820 --> 00:12:26.920 If we have made the light a faint glow in our hearts, Jesus stands there coming as a floodlight. 00:12:28.540 --> 00:12:31.600 Light to dispel all the darkness of this world. 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:35.340 And so life to restore all of the death of this world. 00:12:37.740 --> 00:12:42.260 This divine light is now undeniably shining in this world. 00:12:43.900 --> 00:12:46.420 And where there is light, there cannot be darkness. 00:12:47.820 --> 00:12:51.480 Jesus is saying what he has come to do in this world. 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:56.660 He's come to overcome the evil that is everywhere. 00:12:57.720 --> 00:13:00.500 And to turn it into light to holiness. 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:06.700 To turn the unbelief of this world into the light of worship. 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:13.200 And to transform this suffering, this death, into everlasting life. 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:19.500 To find any other fix is just to find more darkness. 00:13:19.900 --> 00:13:21.560 No, there is only one place to turn. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:23.440 We need light. 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.080 And so there is only one person to turn to. 00:13:28.420 --> 00:13:32.340 Jesus says, I am the light of the world. 00:13:32.340 --> 00:13:37.379 And so he has come to bring light into your darkness. 00:13:38.800 --> 00:13:43.560 To transform your life and bring you hope when you thought that there was no hope. 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:45.460 And how? 00:13:45.460 --> 00:13:49.120 How can the lights turn on in my life? 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:50.800 How can the darkness end? 00:13:51.960 --> 00:13:53.680 Jesus says, follow me. 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:58.139 Trust me and you will never walk in darkness. 00:13:58.280 --> 00:14:00.800 But you will have the light of life. 00:14:02.800 --> 00:14:05.759 Whatever darkness lingers in your life, there is hope. 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:10.159 Jesus is the one who can break the power of darkness. 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:11.740 The power of sin in your life. 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:15.000 The guilt of all that you have done. 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:17.080 It can be dispelled. 00:14:17.379 --> 00:14:18.080 Gone forever. 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:20.620 It is by the light of his forgiveness. 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:22.299 The light of the cross. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:25.399 His death. 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:27.600 The death of our Lord. 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.799 It was a dark day in history, wasn't it? 00:14:30.939 --> 00:14:33.279 The sky was even physically dark. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:38.139 But actually, it was the day when the light shone the brightest in this world. 00:14:39.319 --> 00:14:43.220 It was the day when it was guaranteed the darkness will not win. 00:14:44.699 --> 00:14:47.399 Christ has shone into our sin. 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:50.299 And where there is light, darkness cannot exist. 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:55.879 This world may seem dark, but praise God, there is a light. 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:02.720 And if you haven't yet experienced that, you can have this light. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.459 Whatever darkness there may be in your life, nothing is too dark. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:15.299 Jesus is bright enough to shine even into the darkest corners of your life and all of it. 00:15:16.819 --> 00:15:19.980 Follow Jesus and you will never walk in darkness again. 00:15:19.980 --> 00:15:27.539 And for those of us who are following him, we can already see that light in our life. 00:15:29.139 --> 00:15:35.220 As you go out today, there is a light already shining in your life. 00:15:35.220 --> 00:15:40.620 The light of your sins forgiven and that light can never go out. 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:46.519 As you head into the week and you are worried about the things that you have to face. 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:50.220 And it's like the darkness is overwhelming you. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.720 You are not walking out there alone into darkness. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.460 No, you already walk in the light. 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:04.379 And if the darkness of disease and death looms very near, we need to know. 00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:07.600 We are not heading into the shadows. 00:16:08.680 --> 00:16:12.000 We don't need to fear that something might be lurking. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:15.100 No, you go ahead with the light of life. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:18.960 Following Christ, it means death. 00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.259 Death does not mean falling into the dark. 00:16:22.460 --> 00:16:26.580 No, death means on that final day, being raised to new life. 00:16:26.580 --> 00:16:34.200 And you can be sure of that because the light is already shining in your life now. 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:37.080 You know your God. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:40.820 And to know God is eternal life. 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:45.639 And so with the burdens of your life, don't go anywhere else. 00:16:46.820 --> 00:16:48.940 Anywhere else only leads to more darkness. 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:50.300 No, stay with Christ. 00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:52.920 And the darkness will not win. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.320 Because Jesus says, I am. 00:16:56.580 --> 00:16:57.660 The light of the world. 00:16:58.740 --> 00:16:59.420 Let's pray. 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:10.940 Our Father in heaven, we thank you that you have sent your son. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:15.019 You have sent your son to be the light of the world. 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:17.740 To shine into all this darkness. 00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:19.259 We thank you that there is a hope. 00:17:20.400 --> 00:17:21.799 That we need not despair. 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:24.579 We need not sit in the darkness. 00:17:24.579 --> 00:17:26.699 But we can have light and life in him. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:30.839 And so we do pray with the darkness around us. 00:17:30.919 --> 00:17:34.559 The darkness that we may feel inside of us. 00:17:34.599 --> 00:17:36.919 Lord, we pray that the Lord Jesus. 00:17:37.619 --> 00:17:40.039 We thank you that the Lord Jesus is the light. 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:41.480 To dispel all of that. 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:57.500 We ask that we may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may