SERMON: I AM THE VINE

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia  

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to John 15:1-5

 

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

 

            -- I once heard about this little boy who walked up to his mother and asked her what God's name was -- the mother replied that God had many names, including Father, Jehovah, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit -- she went on to say that some people call Him the Comforter -- others call Him the Bright and Morning Star – some call Him El Shaddai -- and then she began telling him what the names meant and how important they were -- after a little while of listening to his mother's long explanation, the little boy interrupted and asked, "Can I just call Him ‘Steve’?"

 

      -- this morning, we are continuing in our Lenten sermon series to help us answer the question that Jesus asked His disciples, “But who do you say I am?” – this is the most important question in all of eternity

      -- it doesn’t matter what anyone else says about Jesus – it doesn’t matter what name others might give Him – what matters is how we know Him and if we know Him – what matters is whether or not we have a personal relationship with Jesus and have received Him as our Lord and Savior – if we’re trusting in faith in His grace for the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of eternal life with Him

      -- so, answering this question is of the utmost importance – and even if we have settled the answer to this question in our minds and in our hearts some time ago, we still have much to learn about who Jesus is and how He loves us and how His love is expressed in our lives

      -- to help us answer this question we have been studying the "I Am" statements of Jesus -- the seven statements in the Book of John where Jesus declared emphatically His deity and revealed to us aspects of His love and nature and character

      -- as you probably know, the number seven in the Bible represents completeness or wholeness or perfection – so, in these seven “I Am” statements – eigo eimi in the Greek – we are given a complete picture of who Christ is, why He has come, and what His coming means for us throughout eternity

      -- they also represent the different ways in which we come to know Jesus in our lives -- some of these descriptions of Jesus are probably more important to you than others, simply because you have experienced His grace in that way -- you may know Jesus better as the Good Shepherd while others may have experienced His grace more as Jesus as the Way -- it all comes down to how Jesus has made Himself known to you and how He has worked through your individual and personal lives

      -- this morning, we are going to look at the sixth proclamation of Jesus from John 15:1, “I Am the True Vine” – and then we’re going to end this series next Sunday on Easter by looking at Jesus’ seventh “I Am” proclamation, “I am the Resurrection and the Life”

 

II.  Scripture Lesson

      -- before we look at these verses and consider their implication, let me share with you the context of this passage

      -- these words were spoken by Jesus on the night that He was betrayed -- as you remember, Jesus has been sharing the Passover meal with His chosen 12 disciples in the upper room -- He has washed their feet -- He has instituted the Lord's Supper as new sacrament -- and He has shared with them that He is about to be betrayed and be killed and leave them

      -- it was in that moment that Jesus shared with them the first of the two “I Am” declarations that He would make that night – in John 14, Jesus told His disciples, “I am the way and the truth and the life – no one comes to Father except through Me”

 

      -- after Jesus declared this truth about Himself, Judas still got up and left the room to go to the High Priest to betray Jesus – Judas had answered the question Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?” already in his mind and heart – and he had rejected Jesus as the Messiah and Savior of the world – even Jesus’ declaration that He was the only way to the Father was not enough to sway Judas and lead him to repentance

      -- and so, as John 14 closes, Judas is gone – the Eleven remain – and they are sitting at the end of the Passover meal absorbing everything Jesus was saying – trying to understand all that He was teaching them at the moment

      -- Chapter 14 closes with Jesus saying, "Come now, let us leave" -- and with that, Jesus and the 11 remaining disciples leave the upper room and make their way across Jerusalem to the Garden of Gethsemane

      -- as they walk along, Jesus continues to share with them His words and His heart, knowing that this is the last time He will be with them in this way – His arrest in the garden -- the cross and the resurrection -- and His final ascension into heaven were close at hand -- and Jesus had words that needed to be shared with them before these events occurred

      -- it is no great leap of imagination to picture Jesus and His disciples walking to the Garden of Gethsemane that night -- as they made their way in the dark toward the Garden, they would have passed through several vineyards that were planted on the hills outside of Jerusalem -- and as they walked, Jesus apparently turned His disciple's attention towards the vines and branches they were passing to get them to understand His final "I Am" declaration

 

      -- look back at verse 1

 

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

 

 

      -- in other words, I am the source of life -- I am the root of Jesse that was promised -- there have been other vines that have claimed to be the Messiah -- there have been other religions that have claimed to show the way to Heaven -- but I am the true vine -- I am the only vine -- and I was planted here in this place by My Father

      -- everything that has happened to me thus far has not been by chance -- and everything that will happen to me this night and in the future is planned and controlled -- I am doing it for you -- so don't fear, because I am in the hand of the gardener and His purposes and His will are being fulfilled

 

            -- verse 2 - 4

 

John 15:2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

 

 

            -- I want to walk you through something here that is a little difficult to get through just a casual reading of our English translations

            – the first thing we need to understand is what Jesus is talking about when He refers to vines and branches – there is a difference between vines and branches – but that’s something we confuse here in south Georgia – when we see a grapevine in our yards or out in the woods, we call the whole plant a vine

            -- for instance, when we were clearing the land after the hurricane destroyed our house, there were grape branches everywhere – they wound around the tree trunks and were entangled in the canopy of the trees – they were all over the ground and it was easy to trip over them – and we would look at them and say, “the vines are all over the place”

            -- but here’s the point I’m trying to make – those aren’t vines – that’s not what Jesus is talking about here – what we typically call vines in south Georgia are actually the branches that come off a vine

            -- the vine is a large woody stem that comes up out of the ground, and then these branches, which can be several feet in length, come off the main vine – that’s why you can cut one of these plants that we call a vine, and it grows back or more vines take its place – it’s because you’re not cutting the vine – you’re only cutting the branch – we’re calling it by the wrong name – and it’s important for us to understand that if we are going to understand what Jesus is saying in this passage

 

            -- I finally understood this a few years ago when I took a trip to the Horse Creek Winery in Nashville -- we walked out to where the grapes were growing, and for the first time in my life, I could see the difference between the vines and the branches -- the vines were large, woody stems about twice the diameter of a baseball bat that came out of the ground -- the owners said these were young vines, but they could get very large the older they got

            -- I went back and looked on the internet and saw some pictures of vineyards in California that had vines about the diameter of a grown man's thigh -- so when you read in the Bible about a vine, that's what they're talking about -- not the branches that come of it – they’re talking about the main stem of the plant

            -- the branches are connected to the vine and they can grow several feet in length -- in a vineyard, the branches run along and grow on the trellises or wires that the gardener puts up to hold them -- and this is where the fruit -- the grapes -- actually come from

            -- so, as Jesus is walking along with His disciples here through the vineyards on the slope of Gethsemane, He pointed out to them the vine and the branches that came off of it – that’s the first thing we need to understand

 

            -- next – Jesus tells His disciples that He is the vine – and then He starts talking about the branches that are “in Me” – the branches that are connected to the vine – we see that phrase used elsewhere in the New Testament – Paul was especially fond of using that term to describe the relationship believers had with Jesus – they were “in Him” – they were connected to the vine

            -- and Jesus doesn’t go into this at this point in the scriptures, but it is clear from these verses that there are two choices in life – either you are “in Christ” -- you are one of the branches connected to the true vine – or you are not

            -- Judas was not a branch – he had chosen his path and had turned away from Jesus – he was not “in Christ” – the other disciples were branches – they were connected to Him – they were “in Christ”

            -- that is the main point I want you to grasp from what Jesus is talking about here – we may go deeper another day and talk about bearing fruit for Christ and what His teaching here means for us as Christians in the world today

– but the main thing I want you to understand this morning that is relevant to Jesus’ “I Am” declaration is that there is one vine – the true vine – and that is Jesus

– and everyone who believes in Jesus and has repented of their sins and is trusting in Him in faith for forgiveness and salvation are the branches – one vine with many branches

 

            -- I suspect the disciples didn't fully understand the meaning of Jesus' words as He spoke them in the Garden that night -- all their lives, they had been taught the Jews were God's chosen people -- to be Jewish was to be chosen -- to be Jewish was to be saved for eternity

            -- but Jesus is pointing here to the new covenant that He pointed them to when He shared the last supper with them earlier that night – it was not enough to just be Jewish in order to be saved and have eternal life -- it was not enough to be a physical descendant of Abraham -- no, as Paul wrote in his epistles, circumcision is not just physical, it must be a circumcision of the heart

            -- and, what Jesus is saying here, in order to be “in Christ” -- in order to be a branch that is connected to the vine, you had to do more than be born Jewish -- you had to believe -- you had to trust -- you had to put your faith in Jesus and in His atoning death on the cross

            -- it's the same with us -- we aren't saved because we were raised in a Christian home and went to church our whole lives -- we aren't saved because we read our Bibles every day -- we aren't saved simply because we are Americans and call ourselves Christians -- salvation only comes through faith in Jesus -- it only comes through trusting in Him – it only comes through our connection to Him

            -- it only comes when we recognize Jesus as the true vine and are connected to Him as branches to that vine – that is the overall point that Jesus is making

           

            -- verse 5

 

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

 

            -- here we see again the definitive declaration of Jesus – “I Am” – eigo eimi – I Am God – I am the true vine – I am the savior of the world – I am the only one who can bring you eternal life

            -- I am the vine – you are the branches – to be saved, you must be connected to Me – you must be “in Me” – that is the only way to salvation – that is the only way to eternal life

            -- being connected to Me brings you life and the ability to bear fruit in the kingdom – apart from Me, you can do nothing

 

             -- Jesus is the source of our spiritual lives -- in order to remain alive, we must remain connected to Him

            -- "I am the vine," He says -- "and you are the branches" -- to live, you must remain in me -- to live, you must abide in me

            -- how do we remain "in Christ?" -- we remain in Christ by staying connected to Him -- by strengthening our relationship with Him -- through prayer, through the study of His word, through attending church and through fellowshipping with other Christians

-- when we do this, we stay connected to the vine and are able to take in the nourishment that He has to offer -- then we are able to bear much fruit -- we can't do it without Him because He is the true vine

 

III.  Closing

            -- I read one time about a missionary in Africa who lived in a small home with a generator that provided electrical power for his home and the adjacent church – some local people came to visit the missionary, and they noticed the electric light hanging from the ceiling of his living room -- They watched wide-eyed as he turned the little switch and the light came on, filling the room with its light

            -- One of the visitors asked if he could have one of the bulbs -- The missionary, thinking he wanted it for a sort of trinket, gave him one of his extra bulbs.

            -- sometime later, the missionary stopped at the hut of the man who had asked for the bulb – as he went inside, he was surprised to see the bulb hanging from the ceiling from an ordinary string – the man told him that his bulb didn’t work

            -- the missionary explained that it took more than the bulb to produce light – it needed a source of electricity and it had to be connected to the current in order to come on¹

 

            -- that’s what Jesus is telling us today in this sixth “I Am” declaration -- "I am the true vine -- you are the branches -- if a man remains in me and I in him, He will bear much fruit.  Apart from me, you can do nothing"

            -- Just as a bulb has to be connected to the electrical source in order to be turned on, we have to be connected to the true vine in order to have life and salvation – we have to be “in Jesus” in order to be saved, for He is the only source of life in the world – “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” – Acts 4:12

            -- this morning is Palm Sunday, and we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on this day as the people shouted, “Hosannah, Hosannah” and laid palm branches on the road before Him

            -- but just five days later, these same people that praised Jesus’ coming into Jerusalem were no longer shouting, “Hosannah, Hosannah,” but they were shouting, “Crucify, crucify” – why?

            -- they were just like those palm branches they laid in the road before Him – they were cut off from the source – they were not “in Christ” – they had no connection to the true vine – and because of that, they were not able to see Him for who He was – the true vine of Israel

 

            -- as we get closer and closer to the end of the age and the moment when we have to answer the question before the Great White Throne, “But who do you say I am?,” we are reminded of Jesus’ “I Am” declarations and His counsel that we must be “in Him” to have life and to bear fruit for the kingdom

            -- as we close, look deep within and ask yourself if you know Jesus this way or not – are you “in Him” – are you connected to Him as a branch to the true vine – or are you cut off from Him, just as Judas was and the palm branches were?

            -- do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? – and if you do, are living in connection with Him – are you abiding with Him and bearing fruit for Him?

            -- as we close in prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the answer to those questions to you – and respond to God’s word as you are led

            -- let us pray

1 Illustration modified from a sermon by J. Jeffrey Smead, It’s Pruning Time, 5/4/2012

SERMON: I AM THE WAY

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

      -- turn in Bibles to John 14:1-7

 

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

 

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

 

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 

      -- as we start the message this morning, I want to take a scientific poll -- let's say that you are starting on a journey -- you're going on a trip somewhere -- you've never been there before, but you've got your journey all mapped out -- you’ve put the address in your GPS -- you’ve got the directions there before you -- you know exactly what roads you need to take and about how long it will take you to get there -- so, you’re ready

      -- but suppose that when you stop to fill up on gas one last time before you hit the road, the person next to you at the gas station starts talking to you and asks where you’re headed -- after you tell them, they tell you that they’re from that town, and there’s a better way to go that the GPS won’t tell you about -- they said if you take this shortcut, you can save almost an hour off your trip  

      -- so, you’ve got the GPS telling you one thing and you’ve got this stranger telling you about this shortcut that’s a better way to go -- raise your hands -- how many of you would take the shortcut?

 

      -- interesting -- I’ve said before that we are living in a time when our country is the most divided that I’ve ever seen -- and I’ve come to realize that in addition to politics and religion and everything else we differ on, there’s one more thing that divides us -- and that’s traveling from one place to another

      -- the world is divided into two kinds of people -- people who take shortcuts and people who don't -- I'm one who doesn't take shortcuts -- even though it drives Kim and Brooke crazy, I like to drive right through the middle of Valdosta when we go to town -- I know it takes a little longer, but I like to see what's going on around town -- and I don’t have to worry about trains blocking the road or other unexpected delays

      -- Kim, on the other hand, is a shortcut nut -- she searches out shortcuts and back roads and is always trying to find a quicker way to get where ever it is she's going -- I am so thankful you can now drive down Woodrow Wilson to Gornto Road all the way to the mall -- it just made life easier to get from one side of the town to the other

      -- but before they made that connection, remember how hard it was to get across town? -- there just wasn’t an easy way to get there  

      -- I would take the most direct route -- I’d follow Northside Drive to where it turned into Eager Road and then Jerry Jones, and then turn from there to go to the mall -- straight shot with just one turn to get to the mall -- but not Kim

      -- No, she was driving us over to that side of town one day, and she started cutting down side-streets I didn’t even know existed -- we'd go one block in one direction -- hit a stop sign -- turn right -- take off again -- eventually she'd hit Alden Street and take that over to Baytree -- then turn right on Baytree to get to the Mall

      -- I couldn't have found my way back if I had tried -- but Kim had found what she thought was a shortcut and that was the way we were going to go -- and to this day, I’m not sure she still doesn’t do that when I’m not around

      -- there’s a lot of people like Kim in our world today -- the fact is people like shortcuts -- shortcuts in driving -- and shortcuts in life

      -- people are constantly trying to find ways to save time and ways to get from place to place in life as quick as possible -- everybody seems to be rushing through life, and so we try to find ways to get where we’re going as fast as possible

      -- just watch drivers today -- they’re in and out of traffic -- cutting off people and driving wide open from place to place -- all so they can get where they are going faster than anyone else

      -- and, for the most part, that’s okay -- sometimes shortcuts work -- sometimes you can cut time off your trip or find a way to do something in your life faster and more efficiently by changing your routine -- but sometimes shortcuts can lead to big problems

 

      -- I expect most of you are familiar with the story of the Donner Party -- but did you know that this whole situation happened because they were looking for a shortcut to California?

      -- in April 1846, George and Jacob Donner and their families left Springfield, Illinois, headed for California -- at that time, there were lots of people going to California, looking for a better life -- and the Donners were no exception

      -- they joined up with a larger group -- a wagon train -- and stayed with them for two months -- this wagon train -- led by a man named Russell -- followed the well-known and established California Trail -- it led through St. Louis -- the gateway to the west -- and into California -- the Promised Land

      -- but after being with the Russell wagon train for a while on the California Trail, several of the travelers heard about this new shortcut -- the Hastings Cutoff -- that would get them across the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Desert quicker than the California Trail -- supposedly, it would only take them a week to get to Reno while it would take almost three weeks to get there following the California Trail

      -- so, a lot of the folks decided to take this new shortcut -- they elected George Donner as their leader -- and formed the Donner Party wagon train -- 87 people in all took off together to follow this new shortcut through the Hastings Cutoff for California while the rest continued on the California Trail

      -- but the shortcut didn't pan out -- it actually took them three weeks longer than normal to get to Reno -- and when they finally rejoined the California Trail, they were three weeks behind schedule -- because of this, they weren’t able to start through the pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains until October, which resulted in their getting trapped by a raging snowstorm

      -- rather than admit defeat and go back to Reno, they tried to press on and go over the top of the mountains, but the storm was too fierce and the snow too deep -- eventually, they made camp and settled in for the duration

      -- after their food supplies ran out, they slaughtered their oxen to survive -- but the snow didn’t let up and the pass didn’t open, and they ran out of food in mid-December -- fifteen people decided to hike out for help, leaving the rest of the people at the camp

      -- and you know the story -- hunger took over and both groups of people -- those who were hiking out for help and those left at camp -- resorted to cannibalism to survive -- earning the Donner Party a gruesome reputation that has survived to this day

      -- of the 87 people who made up the Donner Party and who took the Hastings Shortcut -- 39 people died and only 48 survived

 

II.  Jesus is the Way

      -- in the journey of life, we are confronted with lots of promising shortcuts -- sometimes the road we are on looks perilous -- filled with dangers -- with lots of ups and downs -- we find ourselves walking through just as many valleys as mountaintops -- we are buffeted by storms -- we struggle through narrow passageways and rough terrain

      -- and as we go along, invariably, we see roads leading off our path -- going in other directions -- wide roads -- good-looking roads -- roads that promise easy travel and a shorter path

      -- these roads cry out to us, "Take us -- take us -- all roads lead to heaven anyway -- why follow that narrow rocky path? -- why struggle through life? -- follow us and get there quicker"

      -- but, despite all their claims, these shortcuts end up costing us a lot more than they are worth -- they can mire us down and turn us into carnal, worldly Christians or even derail us on our path to heaven and lead us totally astray

 

      -- this morning, we are continuing in our series to help us answer Jesus’ question, “But who do you say I am?” -- we’re hopefully starting to find the answer through Jesus’ “I Am” statements, where He revealed to the people who He was and why He was sent so that they might turn to Him in faith and receive forgiveness and salvation through His death and resurrection

      -- so far, we have looked at four of Jesus’ “I Am” statements

 

      -- I Am the Good Shepherd

      -- I Am the Way

      -- I Am the Bread of Life

      -- I Am the Light of the World

 

      -- if you missed any of those messages, you can find the video on our Facebook page and the transcript of the sermon on my blogsite -- onlyimagine.blogspot.com -- I think I’m about the only person in the world that still has one of those -- everybody that used to have blogs now have podcasts or videos

 

      -- this morning, we are looking at the fifth of Jesus’ seven “I Am” proclamations -- I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life

      -- we find this fifth "I Am" proclamation given on the last night that Jesus was with His disciples -- He is with them in the Upper Room and has just shared with them the Last Supper -- and as they're sitting around the table, Jesus starts dropping bombs

      -- He tells them that one of their group is going to betray Him into the hands of the Jews -- and that before this night is over, He will be turned over to the High Priest and the Sanhedrin

      -- He tells Simon Peter that he will deny Jesus three times before the rooster crows

      -- and then He drops the biggest bomb of all -- He tells them that He is leaving -- and He tells this in a way that makes it clear that He will be leaving them for good

 

      -- as you can imagine, the disciples are sitting there in shock -- not only is there a betrayer in their midst, sitting at the very table with Jesus -- not only will the one whose faith has been the strongest end up denying Christ three times that very night -- but now Jesus is telling them He is going to be leaving them all alone

      -- they are lost -- they are confused -- they are worried about the future -- here they thought that Jesus was coming as the Messiah to take over the throne of David and set up His kingdom in Jerusalem, but instead He’s telling them He’s going to be arrested and is going to be leaving them alone

      -- Jesus sees this shock and confusion on their faces -- He knows their hearts -- He knows their fears and their anxieties -- so Jesus assures them they will be okay even after He has gone by sharing with them this latest “I Am” proclamation

       

      -- look down now at John 14:1

 

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.

 

      -- Jesus was telling them, "Don't worry -- just believe -- just have faith -- just trust in God the Father and trust in Me -- I have put you on the road you are to follow -- I have put your foot on the path -- now trust in me -- believe in what I have told you and don't worry about tomorrow"

      -- Jesus comforts them by trying to get them to focus on Him -- He is saying, "As long as you trust in me and my words, you will be fine, no matter what life throws your way -- no matter how difficult or how easy the road you journey along is"

            -- these should be words of comfort and hope for us as well -- but it all comes down to what you believe -- to who you believe

            -- I had a conversation with a man at work a few years ago, and he poured out his heart to me and asked me questions that have no answer -- "Why? Why did God do this to my child?"

-- we can’t answer that -- there's no human answer to that question -- there's no Christian platitude we can give that can comfort a grieving father looking for answers -- all you can say is I don't know, but I know God and I trust God and I know He had a reason to allow this to happen

            -- it comes to that in all of our lives -- at some point you will be past the place where knowledge and understanding can take you -- you’ll be past the point where life makes sense -- and at that point, all you have is faith -- you just have to believe -- you just have to trust

            -- even if we don't understand -- even if our hearts are broken -- even if our whole world is turning upside down just like it was doing for the disciples in the upper room that night as Jesus announced His arrest and His leaving -- this is when you must follow the road that is marked by faith

            -- what does your road look like right now? -- is it smooth and easy going? -- or are you passing through a valley, caught up in a storm, crying out for answers? -- Jesus says, "Don't worry -- Don't let your hearts be troubled -- trust in God -- trust in me -- and I will see you through"

 

-- verse 2

 

John 14:2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

 

-- Jesus knew that the root of their worry that night was the fact that He was going to be leaving them -- so here in verse 2 He tells them where He is going -- He tells them He is going to the Father -- but He is not just going to Father for Himself -- He is going to the Father to prepare a place for them

            -- notice that Jesus doesn't say that He is preparing a place for Himself -- isn't that curious? -- why is that?

            -- what do you do when you have guests come to stay in your house? -- you prepare a place for them before they get there -- you get that spare bedroom ready -- you make sure they have clean sheets and clean towels -- you get everything ready for them to come and stay with you

-- but you don't prepare a place for yourself, do you? -- no, because it is your home -- your place is already prepared -- that is what Jesus is telling us in His passage

-- don't worry, because I'm going home, and what's more, I'm getting ready for you to come and live with me there -- I’m going to prepare a place for you, so it will be ready when you get there

 

-- verse 3

 

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

 

-- once again Jesus says, "Don't worry" -- if I am going to all the trouble to make you a place, then trust that I'm going to come back and get you again -- and regardless, it's not like I'm going somewhere that you don't know -- you know where I'm going and how to get to the place where I'm at

-- in the three years that He had been with them, Jesus had showed them the path to heaven -- He had showed them the way to the Kingdom of God -- He had taught them and trained them to recognize it and set their feet on the path -- and even though their faith might have been small at the moment, they’re walking that path with the light of the faith they have

-- so, Jesus tells them, “It’s time -- It’s time for me to leave, but I’m not leaving you forever -- I'm just going ahead -- and as you follow Me, you will see the signs I have left for you -- the trail markers to guide you on your journey

-- “you will see the signs of my passing -- you will see evidence of my travels -- and eventually, I will meet you on that road and walk with you the rest of the way -- I will come back and take you to be with Me so that you also may be where I am”

 

-- look at verse 5

 

John 14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

 

-- here we see Thomas at it again -- poor old doubting Thomas -- you know, Thomas isn't mentioned much in the scriptures at all -- but the times he is, he always seems to come across as doubting and skeptical and somewhat fatalistic -- let me give you a couple of examples

-- earlier in His ministry, the Jews had tried to stone Jesus, causing Him to leave Judea -- but when word came to Him that his friend Lazarus had died, Jesus decided to go back to Judea to raise Lazarus from the dead -- the other disciples didn't want to go -- they were afraid that all of them would be killed -- but Jesus said, "let us go to him." -- and then Thomas stands up and addresses the disciples and says, "Let us also go, that we may die with him"

-- and then there's that scene in the upper room after the resurrection, when all the disciples are telling Thomas that they have seen the risen Christ and Thomas says, "Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it."

-- Thomas seems to have been the pessimist in the bunch -- he was always the one who had to be shown the truth before he would believe it -- he wouldn't believe anything unless he saw it with his own eyes, and he always expected the worst -- truth be told, I can relate to Thomas, but I call myself a "realist" instead of a "pessimist"

-- and, so, here we see Thomas complaining to Jesus -- "how are we going to find you when you leave -- we don't know where you are going -- so how can we know the way?"

-- now, before you judge Thomas too harshly, think back to what he and the other disciples were thinking at this moment -- think back to what they believed about Jesus and His being the Messiah that night in the upper room

-- they were still thinking about the Messiah based on what they had been taught in the synagogue -- they were still thinking that Jesus had come back to Jerusalem as the Messiah to set up a worldly kingdom -- to restore the kingship of Israel

-- all this time that Jesus was talking about kingdoms and the kingdom of God, that’s what they were picturing -- they didn't fully understand that Jesus was talking about a spiritual kingdom -- they didn't know that He was talking about the kingdom of Heaven in a spiritual sense -- and none of them ever imagined that the reason why Jesus said He was going to be leaving them was because He was going to be killed on the cross -- we know all that because we know the rest of the story -- but that night in the Upper Room, the disciples didn’t know any of this -- and Jesus’ words were not fitting the story they thought they were living

-- so, Thomas' complaint was understandable -- and I'm sure he was speaking for the whole group -- "Lord, we don't understand -- here you are talking about leaving us and going to your Father's house and coming back for us -- and you tell us that we already know the way there -- we don't understand -- where is this place? -- we haven't seen it before -- we haven’t been there"

-- how many times have you been in Thomas' and the other disciples' shoes? -- how many times have you looked at your situation and complained to God, "Lord, I don't know what is going on -- I don't know where you are -- I don't know how to get to where you are -- I don't know the way out of this -- I don't see an answer to my problem"

-- but then Jesus explains it all in the next verse -- look at how He responded to Thomas

 

-- verse 6

 

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

-- Jesus says, "Don't you understand -- you do know the way -- I am the Way”

 -- I am the Way and the Truth and the Life

-- and when we know that -- when we realize that -- when we believe that and put our hope and trust and faith in this proclamation, we learn the secret to realizing the promise of Hope that Jesus was sharing with His disciples that night -- this is the path to eternal life through Christ -- this is our roadmap to salvation in Him

 

-- Jesus has already told us that He is our sole provider -- "I am the bread of life" -- He has already told us that He will illuminate our path -- "I am the light of the world" -- He's already told us we have to come through Him to start on our journey -- "I am the gate" -- and He's told us that He's the one who's going to make sure we don't stray off the path and fall for the shortcuts -- "I am the good shepherd"

-- now Jesus says, "Ego eimi -- I Am THE way" -- there is only one way, and I am it -- do you want to know where the road is, Thomas? -- I am the road -- I am the way

 

-- with everything that has happened in our lives since the hurricane and Kim’s cancer, I have had to rely on help many times -- I’ve had to have people come out to our house and help us move things and repair things

-- on one of these occasions, I asked a friend to carry me home -- we started driving and he said, “I don’t where to do -- I don’t know the way” -- I told him, “You don’t have to worry about it -- I am the way -- I know how to get there, and I’ll tell where to turn when you need to”

-- that’s the same thing Jesus is telling us here -- He’s saying you don’t need a GPS -- you don’t need a map -- you don’t need to have the route all planned out -- because I am the way -- I am your road -- and if you trust Me and follow Me and listen to Me and go where I tell you to go, you’ll make it to My Father’s house without fail

-- I am the way -- the only way -- there is no one else -- there is no other path -- there are no shortcuts to follow -- if you want to get to the place I have prepared for you, you have to trust in Me as the Way -- for I am the Way and the Truth and the Life -- no one comes to the Father, except through Me

 

-- it says the same thing in Acts 4:12, " Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

      -- you might hear people telling you that there are many paths to God -- that there are many different spiritual routes you can take to Heaven -- shortcuts that are easier and faster than following the Word of God

      -- don't believe them -- those other paths and those tempting shortcuts are going to leave you lost like the Donner party

      -- look at what Jesus says here -- believe what Jesus says here -- "I am THE way" -- there is only one way and if you want to get to Heaven, you have to follow Him

      -- when it comes to getting to finding salvation and eternal life, there are no shortcuts

 

III.  Closing

      -- a few years ago, the sports world was abuzz with the news about what the New England Patriots and their coach, Bill Belichick, had done

      -- in just seven seasons under Belichick, the New England Patriots had won three super bowls -- that says a lot about the coach and the team -- it takes hard work and perseverance and determination to make it to the super bowl just once -- you have to be able to out-play and out-think and out-coach your opponents just to stay in the game -- but to get there and then to win it three times -- that is remarkable

      -- but for some reason -- maybe he just got tired of the work -- maybe he just got enamored with the prestige of being the coach with the most super bowl records -- maybe he just got lazy -- for whatever reason, Bill Belichick decided to take a shortcut to success

      -- rather than reviewing game films like in the past -- rather than preparing for games by studying his opponent and fine-tuning his own team -- Bill Belichick decided to cheat -- he got caught taping the calls from his opponent during a game

      -- it's a whole lot easier to win if you know exactly what your opponent is going to do on every play -- it seemed like the perfect shortcut

      -- but it turned into a disaster and tarnished the reputation of a brilliant coach and a tremendous team -- now, despite all the work that they put in to win three super bowls -- people are always going to ask, "did he cheat in them, too? -- did he win fairly or did he win by taking a shortcut and cheating?"

      -- and even though Belichick went on to lead the New England Patriots to win three more super bowls, everyone will continue to wonder if he won fairly or if he cheated his way to the top

 

      -- shortcuts just don't work -- they promise the world -- they promise an easy path to heaven -- but they lead to disappointment and disaster

      -- Jesus says there is only one Way to heaven -- and that is Him -- He is the Way -- He is the truth -- He is the life -- and no one can come to the Father any other way

      -- a shortcut won't get you there -- you can only get there through Him

 

      -- as I close this morning, I want to invite you to consider where you are on your journey of life -- are you following the path that Jesus laid out for you? -- are you walking in His light -- following His signs -- obeying His directions?

      -- are you growing in grace and becoming more like Him as you get nearer and nearer to heaven -- or are you slipping in your faith? -- are you not working as hard as you used to? -- not reading the Bible as much? -- not praying as much? -- not serving as much?

      -- are you falling for shortcuts, thinking it doesn't matter?

 

      -- Jesus says otherwise -- it very much matters -- because there is only one way -- and He is the way

      -- if we are to go to the place He has prepared for us -- if we are to be justified and sanctified and made holy in His presence -- we have to follow Him -- we have to go through Him

 

      -- so, this morning, I want to invite you to look at yourself -- to look at the path you are on -- and to make sure you're following the right path in the right way and not trying to take a shortcut in your spiritual life

      -- as we continue in this season of Lent in preparation for the celebration of Easter, this is a great time to recommit yourself to Jesus as the Way and the Truth and the Life -- to recommit yourself to the spiritual disciplines and the means of grace that keep you solidly on the path that leads to your heavenly home with Him

     

      -- Let us pray

SERMON: I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I. Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to John 8:12

 

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

 

-- In a small, humble village nestled between rolling hills, lived a man named Samuel -- Samuel was known by all the villagers as a kind and hardworking individual -- -- However, despite his outward appearance, Samuel carried a heavy burden of sorrow and despair within his heart

-- Years ago, Samuel had lost his beloved wife and daughter in a tragic accident -- The darkness of that loss had consumed him, and each day felt like a struggle to find a reason to carry on -- He continued with his daily tasks, but the light had vanished from his eyes; he felt as if he was merely a shadow of his former self

-- One cold winter night, as Samuel sat by his dimly lit hearth, he heard a gentle knock at his door -- Reluctantly, he rose to answer it, and there stood a young woman, shivering from the cold -- Her name was Eliza, and she was a traveler who had lost her way in the darkness

-- Samuel invited her in, offered her some warm soup, and allowed her to rest by the fire -- As they sat together, Eliza noticed the sadness in Samuel's eyes and asked what troubled him so deeply

-- At first, Samuel was hesitant to share his pain, but there was something about Eliza's presence that made him feel safe -- He began to tell her about the loss of his family and the darkness that had enveloped his life ever since

-- Eliza listened with compassion and empathy, and when Samuel finished, she shared her own story -- She had been traveling from village to village, bringing light to those in need -- She carried with her a lantern, a gift from her grandmother, which had the ability to brighten even the darkest places

-- Eliza handed the lantern to Samuel and said, "This light has guided me through many dark times -- It is not just a physical light but a symbol of hope and resilience -- I believe it can help you too"

-- Samuel took the lantern and held it close -- As the warm glow illuminated his face, he felt a flicker of something he hadn't felt in a long time—hope

-- Eliza stayed with Samuel for a few days, and each night they would light the lantern and share stories, laughter, and tears -- Slowly but surely, the light began to chase away the shadows in Samuel's heart

-- When it was time for Eliza to continue her journey, she left the lantern with Samuel -- She told him, "This light is now yours -- Use it to find your way and to help others who may be lost in their own darkness"

-- With the lantern in hand, Samuel's life began to change -- He started to reach out to others in the village, offering a listening ear and a warm heart -- He discovered that by helping others, he was also healing himself -- The light from the lantern not only brightened his home but also his spirit

 -- Years later, Samuel became known as a beacon of hope in the village -- Whenever someone was in need, they would come to him, and he would share the light of the lantern and the story of how a kind stranger had shown him the way out of darkness

-- The lesson in Samuel's story is clear: Even in the darkest times, a single light can make a profound difference -- It reminds us that hope and compassion are powerful forces that can transform lives -- and it reminds us of the light of Christ, that brings life, love, and eternal life to all who believe in Him

 

II.  Darkness Covers the Land

            -- when I was in school, I was taught that the most important things you needed in life were shelter, clothing, and food -- but I think there’s something else that is just as important -- light -- there’s just something comforting about light -- and especially about having a source of light when you find yourself in darkness

-- no one likes being in the dark -- it is a scary place for us -- you know, there's just something about being in the dark that seems to suck the life out of you -- it just seems to draw hope and life from your body and makes your fears seem more real and more dangerous

-- that's why all of the experts in wilderness survival tell you the same thing -- next to a shelter, the most important thing you need for survival is a fire -- not only does a fire provide warmth -- but, more importantly, it provides light -- it pushes the darkness away, and gives you hope and comfort -- just the presence of light may make the difference between life and death when you are lost in the wilderness

 

            -- in the history of the world, there have been two occasions when the land was covered with darkness and there was no light to be seen -- and in both of those occasions, God provided light to give us hope and comfort and life

            -- the first time the land was covered with darkness was when God created the world -- as we read in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth -- Now the earth was  formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters”

            -- everything was dark -- there was no light -- there had never been any light -- and God knew that we would never survive without it -- so we read in Genesis 1:3 that God said, "Let there be light," and there was light, and it was good

 

            --the second time darkness covered the land was not long after the first -- The Bible tells us that God created Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden, warning them not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil -- and you know the rest of the story

            -- the serpent came along and deceived Adam and Eve and they disobeyed God and ate the fruit -- and at the moment they took the fruit into their body -- at the very moment that sin entered into the paradise of God -- darkness once again covered the land

            -- not a physical darkness, like in the beginning -- but a darkness none the less -- a darkness of the heart -- a darkness caused by sin -- a spiritual darkness

-- when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, the light of God that was reflected in the hearts of Adam and Eve and all humankind was removed and replaced by the darkness of sin -- and for the most part, this spiritual darkness continued to hold sway over this world for the next four thousand years

            -- but then, just like in the beginning, God spoke again -- He said, "Let there be light" -- and Jesus was born to Mary in a stable in Bethlehem on Christmas Day -- Isaiah wrote this about the coming of Christ in Isaiah 9:2, "The people walking in darkness  have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned"

            -- and in John 1:4, we are told, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind”

            -- God sent Jesus to be our light and to share His light with a world which had fallen into darkness -- we see that very clearly in our passage this morning here in John 8:12, as we continue in our sermon series on seeking to know Jesus by understanding His “I Am” statements from the Book of John

 

            -- so far, we have looked at three of Jesus’ “I Am” statements

            -- I Am the Good Shepherd, where we came to know Jesus as our guardian

            -- I Am the Gate, where we came to know Jesus as our protector from the evils of this world

            -- I Am the Bread of Life, where we came to know Jesus as our provider

            -- Today, we are looking at Jesus’ proclamation, “I am the Light of the World” -- where we will come to know Jesus as the source of light and life and hope in this dark world

 

-- as this passage from John 8 opens, we see Jesus standing in the temple court near the place where the offerings were given -- scholars believe this passage occurred during the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles -- a remembrance of the wandering of the nation of Israel in the darkness of the wilderness for 40 years, as God led them as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night

-- so, in recognition of the presence of God represented in the pillar of fire, the Jews would set up four enormous oil lamps in the Court of the Women in the temple -- this was the section of the temple that was open to all Jews, both men and women

-- these four lamps would be lit the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles in a ceremony called, “The Illumination of the Temple” -- when darkness fell, the lamps were lit, and the elders danced and led the people in singing psalms and worshiping God throughout the night

-- these lamps were trimmed and filled with oil every day throughout the week-long feast, and the light of the lamps reminded the people of the presence of God in their midst who continues to lead them and protect them, just as He did their ancestors in the wilderness

-- it was in this setting -- in the Court of the Women with the lamps in the background -- that Jesus made this great proclamation that we read in John 8:12

 

-- look back at that verse now

 

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

 

-- standing there in the light of the lamps that represented the presence of God, Jesus proclaimed to the people, “I Am” -- ego eimi -- “I Am the Light of the World”

-- the Jewish people had been looking for this light for a long time -- through His prophets, God had been promising to send this light -- the Messiah -- who would save the people from their sins and restore them to righteousness with Him

-- in John 1:6-9, we read, "There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John” -- referring to John the Baptist -- “He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe -- He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light -- The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world”

-- and now Jesus stands up in the middle of this feast, with the light of the lamps that represent the presence of God to the Jews, and proclaims, “I am the light you have been waiting for -- I am the One these lamps represent -- I am the One that was sent to shine light into the darkness of this world -- I Am the One who has the power to lead you from the darkness of sin and death that you have been walking in and into life with the Father -- I am the One who can remove the darkness of sin from your heart -- I Am the Light of the World”

 

-- and pay attention to what Jesus says here -- He says that He is “the” light -- the only one -- He is not “a” light -- one among many -- but He is “the” light -- the only light that can shine against the darkness of this world and point the way to salvation and eternal life

-- as it says in Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”  -- salvation and eternal life can only come through Jesus -- and for that reason, He is “the” light of the world

 

-- the other thing to note here is that Jesus did not proclaim that He was the light of the Jews -- that He was the light of Israel -- no, Jesus said He was the light of the world -- and that tells us that Jesus did not just come for the Jews -- He did not just come for the elect -- Jesus came to the be light for the entire world -- Jew and Gentile -- male and female -- slave and free -- Jesus came to be savior of all

-- John 3:16 makes that clear -- “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life”

-- Jesus came to be the light of the world

 

-- but while Jesus came for all, all do not accept Him or put their faith and trust in Him -- flip over to John 3 with me, and look at verses 19-20

 

John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

 

-- some people love the darkness instead of the light -- they love their sin -- they love their life here on earth -- they love being their own god -- and so they reject the light -- they hate the light -- and they will not come into the light for fear their deeds will be exposed

-- but for those who believe -- who put their faith and trust in Jesus -- these are the ones who come into the light and are saved through Christ -- verse 21

 

John 3:21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

 

-- flip back over to John 8:12 -- you see, that is what Jesus is telling us here

-- He says that He is the light of the world -- but He is the light only for those who follow Him -- “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”

-- while Jesus is the light of the entire world, it is only those who follow Him who walk in His light and receive His gift of salvation and forgiveness and new life in Him

-- the point that Jesus is making is that to avoid the darkness of this world, we must follow Him -- and then, and only then, will we have the light of life that is promised in Him

-- the word Jesus uses here for “follows” is a technical term in Hebrew and Greek -- it was commonly used to describe the relationship of a disciple to his teacher -- it described how a disciple not only listened to the words and instruction of his teacher, but he actively put into practice all that he had heard -- he followed the example of his teacher and lived in light of his instruction

-- that is what Jesus is saying here -- we are to listen to Jesus -- to learn from Him -- to know Him -- and then we are to get up and put into practice what we have learned and are learning from Him and to follow Him as He leads us

-- as the commentator J.C. Ryle points out, “Following is only another word for believing -- it is the same act of the soul, only seen from a different point of view -- as Israel followed the pillar of cloud and fire in all their journeyings -- moving whenever it moved, stopping whenever it tarried, asking no questions, [but] marching on in faith -- so must [we] deal with Christ -- we must “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”

-- for those who follow Jesus in this way, the promise is that He will lead us and guide us -- and that His light will be for us a beacon that we follow through this life, just as the Israelites followed the presence of God as the pillar of fire in the wilderness

-- so, Jesus promises us here that if we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness, but we will always have the light of life

 

-- the light of life refers to the spiritual light that comes when we are born again -- when the light of Christ repels the darkness of sin in our lives and fills us with His presence

-- within this proclamation that Jesus is making here in John 8:12, we can see the promise of the Holy Spirit, who came to the church at Pentecost and who indwells every believer with the very presence of God and the light of His love

-- with the Holy Spirit within us, we have the power to walk in the light of life with Christ all the days of our lives -- to turn away from the darkness -- to turn away from temptation and sin -- and to follow the light where Jesus leads

 

-- when Jesus stood up in the middle of the Feast of the Tabernacles next to the lamps that represented the presence of God and proclaimed, “I Am the Light of the World,” He was calling out to the people, "Come to Me -- Trust in Me -- Believe in Me -- Follow Me

-- “I Am the Son of Man -- I Am the true light of the world -- I Am your Savior and your Messiah -- I Am -- ego eimi"

-- many heard the word and the promise of Jesus that day and turned from the darkness to the light -- but others did not

-- the Bible tells us that most of the Pharisees persisted in their unbelief, and walked away in darkness that day -- rejecting the light that had been sent to save them

-- the question that we must answer this morning, then, is which type of person are we -- how will we respond to this proclamation from Jesus that He is the Light of the World? -- will we follow Him and walk in the light of life? -- or will we turn away and continue to live in darkness?

 

IV. Closing

            -- let’s bring this to a close

 

-- there is a service that some churches practice on Good Friday during Holy Week -- it is called a Tenebrae Service

            -- Tenebrae is the Latin word for shadows -- and the purpose of this service is to remind us of the darkness that exists without Christ -- it is used to visually demonstrate the darkness Christ experienced during His last days on earth as He was betrayed, abandoned, and suffered on the cross for our sins

            -- Tenebrae Services typically take place at night, with the only light coming from candles set up around the altar -- as the service progresses and scriptures about the Passion of Christ are read, the candles are snuffed out one by one, until finally, the sanctuary is left in complete and total darkness

            -- but one candle remains lit -- hidden from view until the very end -- and as the service ends, this candle is brought out and set upon the altar -- a single light shining in the dark for the people to see as they exit the sanctuary

 

            -- what is this last light? -- what is this last candle? -- it is the Christ Candle

            -- this last candle is left lit to show there is always hope through Christ

            -- it reminds us that though all is dark around us, Christ is the light of the world -- and He overcame evil and darkness and sin through His death and resurrection

            -- this candle represents the continuing presence of God shining through us today, literally lighting up our body and our home and our surroundings as we reflect the perfect light of Christ -- the light of the world -- with our lives today

-- as it says in Psalm 27:1, "The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear”

 

            -- Jesus stood up in the temple during the middle of the Feast of the Tabernacles over 2000 years ago and announced that He was the light of the world -- and when He rose from the dead on that first Easter morning, He brought the light of God back into the world once and for all

            -- He died so that our sins might be forgiven, and our darkness taken away -- our calling is to embrace the light and ask Jesus to come in our heart -- to shine through us forever and to be our life as we follow His light today

            -- as Christians, it is also our responsibility to shine the light of Jesus into this dark world -- to point people to the true light -- and to let them know there is hope in the darkness -- and a light in this world

 

            -- let me close by sharing with you a short poem:

 

            "There is a light that shines within

            Those whom Jesus has delivered from sin

            There is a darkness surrounding

            That's dispelled by God's Grace abounding

 

"Reach out to hold that Light aloft

To shine a beacon to the Cross

The only way our world will know

Is if we shine our Light to show,

 

"There is a hope -- there is a King

And if they hear the song, our hearts sing

The darkness will fade around us each time

            We open our hearts and let our Light shine" [Source Unknown]

 

            -- let us pray