Jesus the Light: A Universal Offer for a Universal Problem

Well, good morning. Thank you for your wonderful singing. I ask you to turn your Bibles to John chapter 8, please. To the Gospel of John, chapter 8. John chapter 8, we'll just cover one verse today. That will be verse 12.

John chapter 8, verse 12. Again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Let us pray. Oh, Father, thank you so much for this time that we have together. Thank you for bringing us all here in this room together to worship the name of Christ.

Lord, in your kindness and your providential care, you carry each one of our souls here and our physical frame so that we can live and breathe and have our being. God, we know that it's so easy for us to waste the life that you've given. So I pray, God, instead we would seek Christ and the light that he's provided. I pray, God, that it would be all of our endeavors in this room, Lord, to look to Jesus and to be saved.

Lord, whether it's people at the first who are unbelievers or if it's a seasoned believer who delights in the gospel and the salvation that you provide each day, I pray that we would all want the same thing in this room, and that is Jesus Christ and the life that he has. Lord, we know the deception of sin is always present, and it's there for the unbeliever to not see the light of Christ, and it's even there for the believer to be distracted. So, Lord, I pray that you would send your good spirit now to overcome our darkness, overcome our sin, overcome the corruption of the flesh, the desires therein.

And, Lord, I just pray that you would help us, Lord, to look to Jesus without the distractions. Lord, this is a work of Christ and his gospel and his spirit. And so we rely upon him now at this moment. And it's in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, that we pray these things. Amen. Well, we see at the very, at verse 12, the beginning of this verse, we see Jesus say it, the text say, again, Jesus spoke to them, saying.

And that word again is important because it's connecting what has gone before. if you remember we talked about how jesus is in the feast of booths here where there's this feast going on and there's a lot of commotion a lot of turmoil a lot of fighting jesus has a lot of enemies around him and we talked about how jesus in the midst of this turmoil in the midst of the fighting in the midst of of the arguing and everything the the haters against him we see Jesus is proclaiming these four good and beautiful things that he provides for his people. And it's something that we've said before, and it's good to remind us, is that John is purposefully having Jesus declare these four things that he does for his people that are filled with peace, hope, and everything that's good, in light of his enemies surrounding him like wolves and arguing and fighting. And we likened it to the idea that there's always storms in this life, and yet Jesus declares the good things that he has for his people in light of those storms.

And this is what we're tasting now in this Visa Boost during this time. Just like the family and I, we drove home from the wedding last night, and it started raining like crazy on our drive home. And poor Sarah, she had to remind me of the Noahic Covenant, because I thought for sure the floods were coming and we would all perish. But indeed, it was like driving into waves.

It was incredible waterfalls. And I just, again, I do this often in times of extreme weather. I just think how awesome it is that we're in this van, this huge van, protected from it all. That all this could be hidden us. And if we were like the poor Amish that, you know, sometimes don't drive with protection, they just get swept away. You never see them again.

But we have this great protection around us that we can drive slowly and get to our destination. It's just the same thing when there's a huge storm, the windstorm in, what, April. I remember looking out, and it looked nuts out there. I go out there, and you could have flown away to work if you wanted to, if you had a garbage bag that you opened up, right?

And inside, you wouldn't know. Well, in my old farmhouse, you can hear it. But still, it's still pretty pleasant in the house. The fact is that even though there's great turmoil, tribulation, and hardship all around, there's safety in there. And this is what we're seeing here in chapter 7, 8, 9, this time of feast of booths when all the people are together and the hatred of Jesus is at a high.

And yet within that turmoil and hardship, there is this beautiful Savior, this good shepherd, saying these are the things that provide my people. And we need to appreciate that contrast, that in the hardship there is something that he provides. I mean, we have to, not to go too long on this, but I'm only doing one verse, so I have all the time in the world.

But we have to appreciate this. that you got to imagine we get used to Jesus arguing and fighting with the religious leaders and we get used to people walking by Jesus and not giving him the honor and respect he deserves and that has to be so overwhelming to us that people would argue with the king of glory and to see the turmoil that came with him and yet in that Jesus declares these beautiful things that he has for his people I mean nothing nothing nothing tempts me to sinful anger more than when my children do not treat my wife as the queen of the home with their words This is the king of the universe, and they are not respecting him. It is tumultuous. It's terrible.

But yet again, the good shepherd uses that to show the good things he has for his people. So we saw the first thing that he provides within the turmoil. And remember, we saw that last time that Jesus provides, or he says before the narrative at the beginning of chapter 8, we saw in verse 37 of chapter 7, Jesus says, On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

That's the first thing he provides, living water for the thirsty. And now here's the second thing that he provides that then the verses following are going to be in light of this declaration that he makes, a turmoil following in light of this declaration that he makes. He says in verse 12, he says to them, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

So he provides water for the thirsty and he also provides light to the world, to those who follow him. And now, in order to appreciate the things that he gives to us, we need to appreciate the feast that's going on. Now, during the Feast of Tabernacles, we talked about the Israelites would get together and they would celebrate the wandering periods and the wandering period in the wilderness and how God took care of them.

And there was a water ceremony where they poured the water from the pool upon the altar and they all celebrated that he provided water. And then Jesus uses that opportunity when it wasn't happening on the last day to say, I am the water. I am the water that will provide you, will provide, will overcome your thirst. But there is also during this time, the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a time where every night probably, they're not sure, but they think probably every night, the temple would just be illuminated with lights.

The temple and the courts would have these huge lights and they would light them at night. They would dance and sing. it was a great celebration. What was that celebrating in the wilderness? When God led the Israelites in the dark wilderness for 40 years unto the destination of the promised land. And the last day here, that probably wasn't happening. And so Jesus uses that opportunity to then cry out in the last day, right, I am the light of the world.

And so Jesus is using this feast to show that I am the fulfillment of it, even in the midst of the turmoil of people arguing and fighting and not believing upon him. So let's look at this together. We're going to see first with this thing that he provides, the light that he provides, we're going to see Jesus as the universal provider. We're going to see Jesus as the universal provider.

And look again at your text in verse 12. We'll see this in three different ways. I am the light of the world. And we'll see three ways that he's describing himself to be the universal provider of light. And we see the first thing, underlying I am. I am is very important there.

When it comes to Jesus declaring the good things that he is the universal provider, the I am is very important there. I am is, there's seven I am statements in the gospel of John. Seven times that Jesus says, I am dot, dot, dot. We saw it already once in John 6 when he says, I am the bread of life. And now here's the second time we're seeing it in which Jesus is saying, I am the light of the world.

And it hearkens back to, and we'll probably go and talk about this every time we see it in the Gospel of John, but it goes back to Exodus 3. You remember when Moses asked God in the bush or asked the burning bush when God tells them go to Egypt. And what does Moses say? Well, who should I say sent me? And what does God say? Well, let's just read it.

Exodus 3, verse 13. Then Moses said to God, if I come to the people of Israel, say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you. And they asked me, what is his name? Who is he? Right? It's been years.

Who is this God that you're talking about? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. God also said to Moses, say this to the people of Israel, the Lord, which is Yahweh, which is connected to the verb to be or to I am, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me to you.

This is my name forever. And thus I am to remember throughout all generations. So this is a special, unique name that God revealed to Moses. My name is I am. Now that's confusing. What does that mean?

He's the only one. God's the only one that could say, my name is I am. And there's a whole lot involved with Yahweh and the great I am. But involved here that we're going to focus on is I am means he is existence itself. He's not derivative of anything else. Everyone, everyone in this room, everyone who's ever existed, they come from something.

God is existence himself. And so being existence itself, that means that everything is of its essence. So, now stay with me, stay with me. So whenever we then connect with Jesus saying, I am the light, Jesus isn't simply saying, I am a light. You know, I'm a flashlight somewhere that you can use that's helpful. Jesus is declaring deity, saying I am existence itself, and I am light itself.

So it's not like there's like a philosophical system out there that provides light and knowledge, and there's another one over here, and then there's Jesus with his philosophical system, and he's like a light. Jesus doesn't allow for any of that because he is the great I am, the existent one himself. He is the essence of what light is. And so flowing from that reality of who Jesus is as the I am, I am the light God himself the light himself then we see that he is the universal provider Because if he isn God and he like a God a pagan God then he can be a regional provider somewhere for this group of people, for this nation, for this race, for this class.

But what Jesus is saying is he's a universal provider of light by saying, I am. And then that kind of bleeds into, look at your text, the light. Notice he doesn't say I am a light. It wouldn't make any sense for the essentialness of God to say I am a light. Since he is God himself, he is the light. The universal light.

He can't just be a light. So the I am statement bleeds into the the light statement as opposed to a light. We see this in John 1, 6 through 8. there was a man sent from God whose name was John he came that is John the Baptist came to witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him he was not the light but came to bear witness about the light so there John the Baptist served as a servant he was a light or in John 5 35 he was a burning and shining lamp that is John the Baptist and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

So the point is, is that the servants of God before Jesus, they were a light, like a flashlight that was useful for its time. But now Jesus has come and he is the light. Now imagine if you are looking for a child in the woods, lost, and we watched a movie, Lost in the Mountains of Something. Really good movie. But they were worried about the night coming and so they needed flashlights right they needed flashlights now they use the flashlights at night to try to find this child now imagine if the sun the next day comes up and the light is full shining and you were still using a flashlight looking around you would look really silly wouldn't you because you have the light above you you don't need the flashlights you get rid of them the light is here and here jesus is saying that all those who come before me they are a light if they are truly in God they are God's servant but I come as the I am the essence of light I am the light itself beyond all that has come before me I am the light not a light and of course that contrasts him with false lights Jesus is the light that is the true light as opposed to let's say second Corinthians 11 14 when Paul says Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Jesus is setting himself against any false lights that come before him too, namely even the religious leaders who have proven themselves to be false lights. So we're seeing here the beginnings, I am, and also the light, the universal provider that Jesus is. This gift, this thing that he provides, that he's declaring the feasts of tabernacles, this good thing for his people, we see that there's a universality to it.

It's a universal providing because he is God himself. And this then concludes this point here with the fact that he is the light of the world, as I've already alluded to. He's not the light of white people or the light of black people, the light of poor people, of rich people, of this nation, that nation, of this globe, of this part of the globe, or that part of the globe.

He is, since he's truly God, the light of the world, the whole world, not just Jews, not just Israelites, but of the world. This is the universal provider of the world to be the light. So Jesus is the I am, the light of the world, the universal provider. And now we see moving forward in the same verse here, we can see also the universal need of this universal provider.

Look again at what Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Just imagine for a second the physical picture of the sun, which is the light of the physical world, right? You have one sun providing the light for the world, and that world needs that one sun. It's a universal provider in our solar system, and that world is in the universal need for that one provider.

Imagine for a moment if the sun were just to go out. All of a sudden it was gone. Now we'd be done too, but just imagine we weren't for a second. The sun just disappears. How foolish would it be to say, well, which other star are we going to look at to get our life from now? Maybe we'll do the North Star.

Sirius? What is the North Star? I think it's Sirius. No, it's not. What's the North Star? Polaris.

Of course. Sirius I think is the biggest star in the sky. But imagine if we, oh, the Polaris, it's been pretty good to navigate people, maybe that'll be our light now. Maybe we'll have that. How silly would it be to think that the biggest star in the sky, which I think is serious, that will be it, right? That'd be foolish, right?

Nothing's going to replace the sun. It can't. Or imagine if we say, well, we have some energy and light here on earth. We can just kind of use that. How long will that last for. It will go away shortly.

So the point is, is that there is a universal need for this universal provider. Only him can provide. Only this one here can provide the light that is needed, that we need, just like the earth has the one son. So we have the one need of the one provider. Jesus is the I am, the light of the world, the universal provider, and we are in need universally of him.

Now, despite Jesus being our universal need for the light, the application of his light is not universal. So despite the fact that there's only one need that we have, every one of us, and that's Jesus as the light and he the only one who provides it the application of that light is not universal to everyone sadly And we see that moving forward in what Jesus says in the text He says whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light that I provide, that you need. And so the point being is that there is, despite the universal providing and the universal need, there is not a universal application.

It's only for those who actually follow Jesus. And that, in one sense, is tragic. You know, when we see someone in great need of medication or need of help, how good is it to see that met? And how tragic is it when they can't get it, perhaps they're stranded somewhere or whatever. It's a tragedy. And here the greatest need that any of us have is for Jesus Christ to be our light.

And it doesn't universally fall upon everyone, but only those who actually follow Jesus. It's like those vines, right? You see a vine and the way it works, a grapevine or whatever, and the way that works is so cool, it kind of reaches out and grabs holds of things to try to reach to life, to try to reach to the light. And so the point is, if it doesn't do that reaching, a lot of times it's not going to survive because there's shadows and darkness and it needs to reach forward things, grab it where the light is and receive that light.

And what Jesus is saying here is, although I'm universal provider and I'm your universal need, if you do not reach and grab hold and go into the light, follow me, you will be left in darkness and death. And that'll be it. So there is not a universal application. We must follow Jesus. You have a universal need and you must follow Jesus. You cannot think that I can just sit and do nothing and it will be well for you. because there is not universal application.

You need to reach forth to the light. Jesus says, whoever follows me will receive this. Because the fact is, as we've already said before, there is a false light that Satan is in charge of. He disguises himself as an angel, not of darkness, but an angel of light, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11, 14. Satan's role is to get people from reaching out to the life, to the light, and to go to counterfeit lights that they think will provide life.

And so this is why Jesus says, you need to reach out to what is light indeed. So we as humanity have one universal need that only one true God can be the universal source of, And the lie of Satan is that something else can be that source. Many times it will be like a flare or a shooting star in the sky, right? You ever see a shooting star that just blazes across the sky?

It is amazing. Especially if it's so close and it really comes down to earth that it actually makes a loud boom noise, right? It is amazing. But how foolish would it be to think that that can replace the sun? And sadly, so many people are deceived in sin that they will follow dazzling shooting stars as the light to think this will be my light. Whether it's a politician, a philosophical system of thinking, of behaving.

There are these things that Satan provides that are like shooting stars that are popular for the moment, that's amazing, that's bright, even maybe makes a bang. And we'll think this is it. This is the light that I need, that I need to follow. and it only leads to death and destruction. How many false religions are this way? Again, false philosophical systems that lead people.

You think of it, it's so easy for us to look at the wokeness and all that kind of stuff and just as conservatives put it, ugh. But do you understand that that stuff is completely opposed to anything that is actually light and will lead people to hell? Now, there's things in the conservative movement that will do the same. But there are these philosophical systems that are like shooting stars, dazzles the eyes, and it acts like a replacement to the light that is actually Christ, and it only leads to destruction.

Or there's a powerful energy source that we'll think will be a replacement for our need that's within us. Like the earth, if the sun were to disappear to try to rely upon our own energy sources, There's things within us that we'll rely upon to guide us as a light that will not last. We'll think our marriage will be the light that we need. We'll think our children, our fame, our wealth.

There are endless things that Satan will put before you to say, this is the light you need, follow this. This will provide everything for you. And when you feel lost in darkness, who or what is the first thing you reach out to for support and comfort? That will answer everything. When you feel like you're in a sea of darkness, you don't know which way is up.

Where does your heart cry out to first? Where does your vine reach out to first? If it's not to Christ who says he is the light, it will end in your destruction. Also, when I hear people bitter over the hurt from others, the issue that people can be, even as Christians, they can mistreat others and they want to be bitter over it and hurt over it. The problem is they're treating others as the great I am light instead of the lesser light that they are.

Consider Christ as the great light. He'll guide you where you need to go. Jesus says, I am the light of the world. He is our universal provider. We have a universal need for him, and it is only those who follow him that will receive this light. Now, moving forward to end this verse, we see then the application.

What happens when we actually follow and bask and have his light? What does it look like? Well, Jesus describes that in the end of this verse in 12. He says, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So this is what it looks like to follow and to have the light of Jesus. It's not to walk in darkness, but rather to have the light of life instead.

So there's two things going on. The negative is you won't walk in darkness. The positive is you will have the light of life. What does that mean then? What does it mean? Like in the nitty gritty of things, what does it mean to have the light of God, the light of Christ?

Well, let's look at the positive first, right? Let's look at what it means to have the light of life, and then we'll be able to see what it means to walk in darkness. And if you think of light, you think of two things, right? You think of illumination, and you think of warmth. Those are the two things that you should think of when it comes to light, and that's going to help us to understand what Jesus means exactly when he says, you'll have my light.

You should think of two things, illumination, and you should think of warmth. Now, the first thing, illumination, right? that's knowledge. You know, a light illuminates something, it reveals it. And that's what Jesus' light provides for us. It illuminates or gives us understanding or knowledge as opposed to darkness, which is falsehood, which is non-understanding.

And the Bible talks about light in this way in a few different places. A couple of them we could look at. Look at Psalm 119, 105. Psalm 105. Psalmist writes, your word, your truth, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. So we see that the light there is revealed in illumination.

It reveals its truth. You can know and have understanding and know what's right and true. It's illumination. Or Psalm 119, 130, the unfolding of your words gives light. It imparts understanding even to the simple so again this light it reveals knowledge illumination second corinthians 4 6 for god who said let light shine out of the darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ and so we see that light in the scriptures means to have knowledge or understanding as opposed to falsehood and misunderstanding.

But that's not all light is. It's not just light that illuminates, but rather it's a light that gives warmth. A light that gives warmth. And what we mean by that is a light that gives warmth that is of a holy life. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don't have a holy life, there's no warmth to you at all. You're as cold as a rock without the sun.

And so you need to have understanding and pair it up with holy life. That's what life provides too, light provides too. It provides warmth or a holy life or holy living. And we see light in this way as well in the scriptures. Look at Matthew 5, 16. In the same way, Jesus says, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good knowledge.

No, your good works and give glory to your father who's in heaven so jesus is pairing light up with your good works with your holy life or ephesians 5 8 when paul says for at one time you were darkness but now you are light in the lord so walk that's children of light walk live that's children of life light or John says in his epistle, 1 John 1.7, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus' son cleanses us from all sin. So we see light in the scriptures has to do with understanding and holy life. It has to do with illumination and warmth.

How awful is it? imagine being freezing and you see a very bright fire and you go to it and there's no warmth to it at all it a just a show that would be the most devastating thing and it is the most devastating thing for a Christian to have understanding and knowledge illumination and yet it does not have the feel of warmth with it of a holy life. This is what light is. These things come together as something to be desired, something to be grabbed for, something to have in Psalm 4, 6-7.

I'm going to wait for you with this one. Go to that one. I'm going to wait this time. I know you guys are like, and then I don't wait long enough and then you give up because it's like, man, go to Psalm 4. Here I think light is given in a very general way from God which is desirable. And it has these things in mind.

Psalm 4, 6-7, there are many who say, who will show us some good. This is like the plant reaching for something good. This is what humans are like. Show us some good. I need good. And that's actually not a bad thing.

We are meant to be dependent creatures upon outside sources. And this is like the plant reaching out, show me some good. I need life. I need life. But sadly, these are the people who think that light is found in other things than God. They say, show us some good.

Who will show us some good? And then what does the psalmist say? This is good. Lift up your light of your face upon us, O Lord. You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. What does he mean?

The light of the Lord given is illumination and a holy life. And the psalmist says that is more desirable than any of the false lights of Satan, anything that can be provided by the world. The light of God is his holy presence given through illumination and holy living, that we can enjoy his presence, the light of his countenance, and is the most desirable thing to have in this world, period.

And Jesus says, I am that light. Jesus as himself is the one who had that light perfectly. Jesus knew all things. As true God, the I Am, Jesus had the light of knowledge and illumination perfectly. Revelation 19, 11-12, Then I saw heaven open, behold, a white horse, the one sitting on it, is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war and his eyes, this is Jesus, are like a flame of fire.

And on his head are many diadems and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. Jesus has the flames of fire in his eyes. That is, he knows all things. Nothing escapes his visuals. Or in John 16, 30, when his disciples say, we know that you know all things to Jesus. John 21, 17, when Peter says to him, Lord, you know everything.

Jesus, as light, knew all things, perfectly illuminated, knows everything. And also Jesus had perfect morality or perfect warmth, perfect holy life. Peter says in 1 Peter 2.22, he committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. He is in every way tempted as we are yet without sin, says Hebrews 4.15. 1 John 3.5, he says, in him there is no sin.

He is the righteousness of God, perfect. So the fact is, is that Jesus not only has perfect illumination, but he also has a perfect life, no sin. He has perfect warmth of himself. Now, if that's all it was, Jesus is the light and that's all it was, look how bright and shiny he is, then all that would do for us is it would give us a massive sunburn that would destroy us.

If that all Jesus was was a display of great glory light perfect life illumination all it would do for us is just burn us to pieces Look at behold the perfect one Look at, behold, the wicked one. And consumption. That's all it would be. A massive sunburn that would destroy you. But that's not all Jesus did. As the light, he wasn't just perfect, perfect understanding, perfect life, but he came to provide that light to you and we see this as well in the same text that we've read for instance hebrews 4 15 through 16 for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin so let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

That is, let us be the light ourselves through Christ the light. First John 3.5, you know that he appeared in order to take away sins and in him there is no sin. In 2 Corinthians 5.21, for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. So it's not just simply that Jesus came to be the light in which he'll burn us to pieces, although that will happen if you do not believe upon him, but he came to be our light.

That is that he would cause us to understand truth, but not just understand and know truth, but to live out truth, to do truth, to be the warmth of light around. Moses gave truth. we see this in John 1 he was faithful to proclaim the law of God but he did not provide you the strength to be the warmth of the light Jesus came and proclaimed the truth of God to be the truth of God and to give you the light and the truth of God this is what he means when he says I am the light of the world whoever believes upon me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Righteousness, understanding, holiness, warmth, illumination.

You will have it if you follow Jesus. So we're like vines. We're searching for something beyond ourselves for life. To the unbelievers, you have believed Satan, who have disguised himself as light, and you are reaching for things that are not light. It may have a sudden burst of light and warmth that appears for a while, for a moment, but it will not last forever.

And when that goes out, you will suffer destruction. And to the believer, sometimes we wake up and realize that I have been reaching out to false lights. My vines have been reaching out and grabbing hold of something that I thought was light, but lo and behold, it is not. I've been fooled by the counterfeit warmth and illumination it provided for a moment but it is no match to what Jesus provides and it's here that you need to know the same thing again that Jesus says I am the light reach out to me and you will have life or sometimes you know it's not even our own folly that we're reaching out to false lights sometimes the fact is is that God puts a cloud in the way.

And we don't have the light of Christ's beautiful face upon us. And it's not for any sin that we might have done. It's just, you know what? God has decided this is your season of life right now. That you will not have the light that you once did. Now, I want you to know that when it's cloudy, there's still sunlight.

It's just not as bright as it used to be. Praise God that there's still sunlight. He has not left you or abandoned you. It's just not as shiny as it once was, but the cloud will one day move and you will hope in the Lord and say, I'm here and I'm waiting. It will move. And sometimes there's people in this room, I'm sure it's in a season where that cloud is in the way And you like nothing that I done I don see any sin I ever been reaching for false lights It just there and well be patient god will move it in his time and for you just say well i shall wait for the light for he is the light of life i like the way and i'll finish with this the 1689 the second london baptist confession of faith they describe this sort of being in the light and sometimes we kind of don't experience it as much for sinful reasons or for just, you know what, God has said you're just not going to experience it for now.

I love the way they describe it here. It says, true believers may in various ways have the assurance of their salvation shaken, decreased, or even temporarily lost. This may happen because they neglect to preserve it or fall into some specific sin that wounds their conscience and grieves the spirit. It may happen through some unexpected or forceful temptation or when God withdraws the light of his face and allows even those who fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light yet they are never completely lacking the seed of God the life of faith love of Christ and the brother sincerity of heart or conscience concerning their duty of all these graces through the work of the spirit this assurance may at the proper time be revived.

In the meantime, they are kept from utter despair through them. In other words, the sun still, the light still shines. So the call is the same. Reach out, follow Jesus, who is the universal provider to our universal need. He has the light of illumination and warmth prepared for you as you follow him. He will never leave you.

He'll never let you down. He'll never drop you. follow him each day for the light of life. Let us pray. Oh God, thank you for Christ. Lord, I thank you that even in the midst of the turmoil of this feast and his enemies, he loves his people enough to declare these truths. Even knowing that his haters are around who will want to kill him for these same truths, yet he's faithful as a good shepherd to proclaim it in the midst of a storm for us to hear and be reminded of, for us to delight in the good things he has for us.

Lord, there are many people right now who are in a midst of a storm of darkness. I feel it deep within their souls. Lord, I pray that their response would be to reach out to what they know is true, that is Christ is the light. I pray that you would give them the faith to trust, to know that his words are true, trustworthy, faithful, so that even whenever the darkness feels so overwhelming, oh Lord, would you grant them the spirit, the conviction to know that Christ does not lie and he always provides what he says he'll provide.

So may they reach out to the light of life and may they expect good things from their Savior. Lord, for the unbelievers who believe in falsehoods, O Lord, would you cause them to see their folly? Lord, I ask in love for my fellow man. I know what it was like to follow a false light that you thought for sure would do the trick, only to wake up to see what great folly it is.

Lord, would you even reveal to them that he is, Jesus is their universal need and has done all things well to provide for even them if they would believe upon him for salvation? And whenever their heads and minds are thinking, no, I need to do this instead. Jesus doesn't allow for this sin and I want to practice that instead. I want that. I don't want to get rid of that.

Would you cause them to see that that's just darkness and a lie and will only lead and is already in destruction now? when you cause them to see that their only hope is to reach out to Christ, who is a faithful shepherd. Thank you for Christ. Thank you for his sacrificial work. Thank you that he is our provider. In Jesus' name, amen.