I AM the LIGHT of the World

DAY 1-3 This week we are going to study from John 8:12, "I am the LIGHT of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in DARKNESS, but will have the LIGHT of LIFE." "I AM" statements in the Book of John There are seven "I AM" statements in the book of John. This "I AM" statement is the second one. Anytime, Jesus refers to himself as "I AM", then He is revealing His Deity and His Identity. As a summary, let us see the seven "I AM" statements in the book of John. John 6 - I am the Bread of Heaven John 8 - I am the Light of the World John 10 - I am the Good Shepherd John 11 - I am the Resurrection and Life John 14 - I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life John 15 - I am the True Vine Jesus is the great I AM. Several weeks ago, we have seen Jesus as the Bread of Heaven. "Bread" or food is a necessity in human life. Without food, mankind can not survive. In the same way, "light" is also a necessity. Without light there is no life. Only because of light, then there can be life on earth. Light is the source of energy and light is the source or order. Genesis is the first time we see a reference to "light." God said, "Let there be LIGHT." At that time darkness is gone and there is order in the universe. There is night and day, and there is a source of energy to start the whole universe. Light was created first, and it was created to support the other creation in the universe. "Light" is a complete necessity in all mankind and all living things. Tomorrow we will see what the meaning of "I AM the Light of the World." For today, it is enough to note that "without light, there is no life."

DAY 4 - The meaning of "LIGHT" The theme "LIGHT" in the Scriptures Jesus, the Savior, being represented as the "LIGHT" is consistently used throughout the Bible. There are many references to light and darkness, to sight and ability to see (spiritually), to shine over darkness and to be light to the world. The following are two verses where the theme "light" is used. Luke 1:78, "by which the RISING SUN (Jesus) will come to us from heaven to SHINE on those living in DARKNESS and in the shadow of death." Luke 2:29, "For MY EYES have SEEN your salvation, which you have prepared in the SIGHT of all people, a LIGHT for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel" The theme "LIGHT" in Christmas (Christ is born) seasons Christmas, which is the celebration of the born of Christ, is always represented with "Christmas Lights". Everywhere, we see people awaiting the "lighting" of the Christmas trees. Our homes are decorated with Christmas lights, our office is decorated with Christmas lights, the malls and stores are decorated with Christmas lights. When the "light" is turn on, then the "darkness" is gone. In addition, the theme "light" is also used in Christmas carols. Let's look at the following Christmas carols. "Silent night and holy night". Many people think that this is a song about "the night when Jesus was born", but actually, it more about the "light", then the "night." Many times we sing Christmas carols without even thinking about the meaning anymore. But today, we will see just two Christmas carols, and we'll see that those Christmas carols have very significant meanings. Silent night and holy night; All is calm all is BRIGHT Silent night and holy night; DARKNESS flies all is LIGHT Silent night and holy night; Son of God loves pure LIGHT Now, let us look at the song "O little town of Bethlehem." O little town of Bethlehem, ..... The DARK street SHINETH, the EVERLASTING LIGHT The HOPES and FEARS of all the years are LOST IN THEE tonight Did you realize that the message "I AM the Light of the World" is very significant and has been there since a long time ago? Light drives away darkness, fears and hopelessness. Light brings hope, a new beginning. Light gives LIFE; without light there will be no life both physically and spiritually. In the beginning, as recorded in Genesis, Jesus created the physical light that provides energy for the whole universe. Then, in John, Jesus is the light (spiritual light) of the world, Jesus is the one that provides abundant, significant, meaningful and fulfilled LIFE to the world. DAY 5 - The Challenge Jesus is the Light of the World. In fact in the book of John, Jesus is referred as the light of the world for 21 times. Let us see the dimensions of this light. 1. Presence of His LIGHT. "I AM the LIGHT of the World. His presence is here, in the WORLD. Jesus gives light to every man. One of the things that all man are afraid of is darkness. Ever since we are little children, we are afraid of darkness. Somehow darkness gives a meaning that it is a place where we will feel hopeless and nobody there to help us. Jesus come to the WORLD to give a hope and to tell man that He is there not only to help us, but also to save us now and for eternity. 2. Purity of His LIGHT. Jesus was holy and was without sin, because He is the Son of God. Light is always use as a symbol of holiness. Even during the pre-history age, there is always a notion about the good and the evil, about the light and darkness. Darkness hates light. John 3:19-20, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." Do you love and embrace the light? Or do you still live in darkness? There is no such a place where you can embrace both light and darkness, because darkness means the absence of light. You can only embrace one of them. 3. Penetration of His LIGHT. This light penetrates to the world and destroys the darkness. Darkness could not overwhelmed, overtake, or put the light out. Darkness is the absence of light. When this LIGHT comes, then darkness flies. Just like one testimony from China. There are 40,000 people that come to Christ on a DAILY basis in China. Even when the government tried to stop them, even when persecution is very high there, there is nothing that can stop the penetration of this LIGHT. Now, some people have SIGHT but not LIGHT. We may have the understanding about Christ, his plan of salvation, his promises, but we still reject the LIGHT. Let us look at this illustration. Suppose you are very ill, but there is a cure for the illness. If you rejected the cure and you die, then what causes your death? You die because you REJECTED the cure. That is the same with believing in Christ. We know that we have sinned and that the wages of sin is death. But there is a CURE, the cure is to believe in Christ and you will have eternal life. If you rejected the cure, then then when you die, you die not because of the disease, but because you rejected the cure. That's the same thing with Christ. All of us have sinned and the wages of sin is death in hell. The good news is, there is a cure, that is to believe in Christ. Now, it is our choice to ACCEPT or REJECT the cure.

Disclaimer
This material is a summary of the message that was preached by Pastor
Jack Graham at Prestonwood Baptist Church.  The writer of this EBS
(Electronic Bible Study) made some changes and added some personal notes
that is necessary to customize this material into an electronic media, a
daily reading material and to better fit the audience.  The Prestonwood
Baptist Church is not affiliated in anyway with the Indonesian Christian
Fellowship of Fort Worth.