Grace and Peace Home Worship Guide for August 2, 2020

Opening Prayer

Call to Worship Psalm 36:7-10

Song1 “Here I Am To Worship”

Scripture John 8:12-20

Sermon2 “Do You See The Light?”

Pastor Jonathan Olsen

Prayer

Giving3

Song “Wonderful Merciful Savior”

Benediction 1 John 5: 20

1 Lyrics are provided in this PDF. 2 A full transcript of the sermon is provided in this PDF. 3 You can give online through our website, our church app, or by mail.

Here I Am To Worship Light of the world You stepped down into darkness Opened my eyes let me see Beauty that made This heart adore You Hope of a life spent with You CHORUS: So here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You're my God And You're altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me King of all days Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above Humbly You came To the earth You created All for love's sake became poor CHORUS And I'll never know how much it cost To see my sin upon that cross And I'll never know how much it cost To see my sin upon that cross CHORUS 2x

CCLI Song # 3266032 Tim Hughes

© 2000 Thankyou Music CCLI License # 3240311

Wonderful Merciful Savior Wonderful merciful Savior Precious Redeemer and Friend Who would have thought that a Lamb Could rescue the souls of men Oh You rescue the souls of men Counselor Comforter Keeper Spirit we long to embrace You offer hope when our hearts Have hopelessly lost the way Oh we hopelessly lost the way CHORUS: You are the One that we praise You are the One we adore You give the healing and grace Our hearts always hunger for Oh our hearts always hunger for Almighty infinite Father Faithfully loving Your own Here in our weakness You find us Falling before Your throne Oh we're falling before Your throne CHORUS 2x

CCLI Song # 106879 Dawn Rodgers | Eric Wyse

© 1989 Curb Dayspring Music CCLI License # 3240311

The following are questions that can be used for personal reflection or group discussion on Pastor Jonathan’s August 2nd sermon:

1) What are you most tempted to listen to and trust in as a more reliable source of knowledge and understanding than Jesus and His Word?

2) Do you listen to Jesus and his Word with a critical ear, or with a submissive ear?

3) The religious leaders showed how they will twist the Bible to promote their own personal agenda. Similarly, what things do you wish the Bible said? What things do you wish the Bible didn’t say?

4) What would you say to someone who says, “I don’t want to walk in darkness. But I’m afraid I won’t be able to faithfully follow the light of Jesus”?

August 2, 2020 “Do You See The Light?” Pastor Jonathan Olsen John 8:12-20

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.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father[a] who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Have you seen the light? Has the light shined itself on you? Not all of us are as scared of the dark as everyone else; there are different levels of being afraid of the dark. And I think we would all agree that it is extremely difficult - maybe even impossible - to see in the dark, even if we're not afraid of it. We need light in order to see, in order to understand where we are, in order to understand where we're going, and to understand what's right in front of us. We need light in order to see reality. And today we're told where we can find light. And it's actually a “who.” Jesus is the light of the world. And by way of outline will see:

1. The Testimony of Light is Taught (vv12) 2. The Testimony of Light is Triaged (vv13-18) 3. The Testimony of Light is Timely (vv19-20)

Now last week we saw Jesus show Amazing Grace to a woman who was found committing adultery. He showed Amazing Grace to her by not letting anyone else condemne her, and he himself did not condemn her. And two weeks ago we learned that Jesus has living water – sustenance, a flood of blessings - for anyone who will trust in him. Two weeks ago he said that as the Jews were experiencing a water-pouring ceremony at a special holiday festival that they were experiencing, and so it gave a context for him to say that he has living waters to give to those who trust him. And at that festival there was also another important ceremony, and that was the lighting of large lamps at night to remember the pillar of fire that God was for his people, the Israelites, as they wandered in the desert for some 40 years. And it lit up Jerusalem for all to see. It's with this in the minds and the experiences of the Jews that Jesus says what he does today as he makes this claim: “I am the light of the world.” I. The Testimony of Light is Taught (vv12) 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.” Now as Jesus continues to speak to this Jewish crowd here in Jerusalem, now after the holiday season but with all of the controversies and the confusion about him still fresh in their minds, he says, “I am the light of the world. I provide the light of life.” Now Jesus saying that he is the light of the world is the 2nd of seven “I am” statements that we find in the gospel of John (“I am this... I am that…”). The first one we saw back in Chapter 7 when Jesus said, “I am the bread of heaven.” This is the second one: I am the light of the world. Then we will see that Jesus says “I am the door …I am the Good Shepherd… I am the resurrection and the life… I am the way and the truth and the life… I am the true vine.” Now John (the human author of this book of the Bible, the gospel according to John) had already said that Jesus is the light. And now Jesus himself says it: I am the light of the world. Now for a 1st century due to hear Jesus say this it could really only be interpreted as one of two things. It is blasphemous, or Jesus is the divinely appointed Messiah - the anointed one from God come to rescue his people from their sin. Why? Well because God was always the light of the Israelites and the Jews. That's how they understood God to be for them - he was light. You see in Exodus chapter 13 verses 21 and 22 ,as the Old Testament Jews wandered about in the desert in the wilderness, the Lord was with them both by day and by night. And we see that he was with them by night as a light… light was central a central component to the Jewish understanding of God. Here's what we read:

21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by

night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

God was with them as light. We read in Psalm 27.1

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

Whom shall I be afraid of when the creator and illuminator of the world is on my side? The Lord is my light. Psalm 36 verse 9

For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

God alone has always been the light of his people. Now Jesus claims to be that very light: the light of the world. And you’ll notice here that Jesus doesn’t say, “Hey I’m one of many lights… I am THE light of the world… the only way to see the exclusive radiant illuminator.” He's not A way to see God… he's not A way to understand and see yourself… he's not A way to see this light… he is the ONLY way to see God. He’s the only way to see yourself ,and to see this world, to see this life accurately. Nothing else is light. Nothing else allows us to see. Nothing else illuminates reality for us except for Jesus. Now what do you really rely upon? What do you really rely upon to give you light, to illuminate you, to give you understanding? To give you an enlightenment of God or of yourself or of this life? What do you really think illuminates your understanding? Informs you? What's your brightest light of knowledge? What's the loudest voice of understanding? What do you think really gives you an interpretation of God and yourself and this life? Is it the endless movements and proclamations and various camps of this world or even of our present day, good as they might be? Do you think that is ultimate illumination? Or is it Jesus? You know the Bible says we can't serve two masters. One voice, one light will grow… and all others will subside. What is growing for you and what is subsiding in you? Identify what you really think illuminates you… what really gives you the ability to see. To see what you need to see… even see what you want to see… what shows you reality? Only Jesus is the light that enables us to see. And he says, I have come to illuminate, to enlighten the entire world. Now the word “world” here in its original language is the word “cosmos.” It has to do with the universe - the entire universe, all things visible and invisible. Jesus has come literally to light up the world with himself. For the world to be seen for what it really is – a creation accountable to him, broken, corrupt, fallen because of our sin - our inherited sin and our actual sin. The world is

his, he made it for his own glory, we have ruined it… and yet, as the light of the world, he has come to enlighten, to illuminate, to rescue, to bring healing to that which is broken. And Jesus here self-designates himself as the light. Not just a fact to be accepted (although it is a fact to be accepted), but it is a truth to be lived in light of because Jesus talks about following him here. “If you follow me” which is a way of saying walking after him, like follow the leader. You do what the leader does. You follow him. The Bible talks as much about following Jesus as it does believing in Jesus. They're interchangeable. You can't follow if you don't believe, and you can't believe if you don't follow. And Jesus says if you follow, if you walk after me, if you play follow the leader with me as your leader, if you obey me and listen to me, if you have me as the Lord of your life and not just the Savior of your soul… well then you will no more, no longer walk in darkness. It's kind of what we heard Jesus say to the woman found in adultery last week: sin no more. Of course, we continue to sin. But he's talking about the disposition and desire of our hearts. To see sin for what it is, hate it for what it is, run from it for what it is, as we are following him. If you're following him, if you accept him as the light of the world, we will not walk in our old selves… we will walk in the new life that he talks of, the new life in the new light that he gives to all who believe in his good news. If you follow him, you'll be sold out for him. If you follow him, you'll be devoted and committed to him. Not walking in darkness but walking in the light of life. Does this describe you? Does this describe the desire of your heart - to be devoted to and committed to and sold out for Jesus? Denying the power of darkness and loving the light of life? What darkness seems to suddenly or maybe loudly call you back to itself? And what does the light of life mean when you’re tempted? Jesus says in John 12.35

So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

The only way to not succumb to the powerful temptations that every single one of us faces is to turn to the light… it's to turn to Jesus and walk and abide in him and the luminescent ways of his will found in his word. All else will leave you aimless. It'll leave you without purpose. It will blind you. You won't know where you're going. So when temptation seems to overtake you, run to the light. To the light of life. What does the light of life mean when you fall? Praise the Lord, Jesus doesn't love us because we try to run from darkness and run to his light. That would be a salvation based upon our works. Jesus, the light of the world, offers a salvation by his works. The one who left the luminescent glory of heaven as God, coming to this earth as a human being, walking into, stepping into the

darkness of this broken, sin-filled world. And he came here as a human being to dwell amongst sinners, as a human being, as a man, still God, who would be sinless. He walked perfectly in the light of God's word, obeying God's word perfectly as the God man, fully obedient, even obedient to the point of death, even death on cross. Jesus came here to live and then to die to be a sacrifice - to sacrifice his life as a substitute, dying for sinners like you and me, dead in darkness. Coming here to die and then to be buried and then to be raised from death in eternal victory over your sin and the threat of death, if you have trusted in him for your Salvation. If he has lit up your heart with his grace… if he has illuminated your soul with his love… if he has shown himself to be the Savior-light over your sins… then dear believer, dear follower Jesus, do not walk in the darkness because we will be found to have the light of life which comes by his grace. Have you received this light-love-gift from Jesus? It's held out to you right now for you to say yes to. “yes I am in the darkness of sin. Yes I can't escape it. Yes I see that Jesus died bearing the penalty of my sin for me. Yes he was raised from death and victory and I can be raised in light of his resurrection to give me eternal life and light with God. Friend believe in him today and he will be faithful to save you. II. The Testimony of Light is Triaged (vv13-18)

13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father[a] who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” Now the Pharisees (those lawmaking and outwardly law abiding Jews), those Jewish leaders, they didn't engage in the content of what he said. That he's the light of the world. They are actually beginning to question its source. They question his veracity, if it is truthful or not. They sort of triage his testimony. Now of course this makes sense because the Jewish leaders wanted to test him, they wanted to trap him, they wanted to discredit him, and now they're saying, Look your testimony here, it's meaningless. In fact it's a lie, because you alone are testifying about yourself.” And as we said before, Jesus is either Lord, he really is the Lord and savior come from heaven, To rescue his people from their sin… he's a lunatic, he doesn't have any idea what he's saying, he’s kind of out of his mind… or he's a liar (like they are saying here), deliberately giving fabrications of truth. And that's what they're saying: “you're a liar. Because there’s no one else to to bear testimony to what you were saying.” But of course Jesus in his wisdom then says, well look, even

if I do bear witness about myself, I'm not lying. Why? Well because I know where I come from And I know where I am going. By the way while I'm here, I'm going to be the light of the world. Now in their minds they be thinking in earthly terms and probably confused by what he’s saying. He is not speaking in merely earthly terms. He says, “Look I know where I came from, I know where I'm going. You don't know where I come from, and you don't know where I am going. I've said it before but it's not sinking in.” Jesus said, “I am from heaven. I am from God. That’s where I come from. And that's where I am going when I leave this earth.” He said it back in chapter 7 and chapter 16 he's going to say:

I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.

He is from heaven. And he's going back to the Father. He's going back to heaven. Therefore, there is a divine authority to everything, Every single thing he has to say, including his testimony about himself. Because he is God everything that he says is true. And they didn't get it. Do you get it? Do you get who he is? That he's God, speaking truth on mission to rescue people from their sin like you? So he breaks it down even more of course by his grace ,and we've seen him doing this over and over again. He says, “You judge according to the flesh. You judge according to outward and earthly appearances.” (He may even be saying, according to the flesh, according to your sinful flesh, that's how you make your judgments). “but I… I don't judge anyone.” And what he means is, “I don't judge anyone like this. I don't judge anyone merely by earthly outward appearances. And I certainly don't judge anyone by my sinful flesh, because I don't have sin.” Judgment is not his current mission. In John chapter 12 we will read these words from Jesus:

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.

To which we cry out, Hallelujah! There is rescuing grace, the rescuing grace of God for the entire world, for any who trusts in Jesus. But that doesn't mean there isn't a coming judgment .there is a judge to come, and it will come by Jesus. In Acts chapter 17 verses 30 and 31 we read these words:

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

The resurrection of Jesus is not only an assurance of Salvation for all in the world who trust in him for their Salvation. It is an assurance of Salvation, but the resurrection of Jesus is also in assurance that judgment is to come one day for all those who did not believe in rest upon him alone for their Salvation. So even though judgment was not Jesus’ current mission here in John chapter 8, he says, “Look even if I do judge now, it’d be true because I don't do it alone. The Father and I are one.” We will see that this almost got him stoned to death because the Jews were interpreting what he was saying as blasphemy. They knew exactly what he was saying: “I have been sent from God. I am one with God. So listen to me, the one God has sent. Do you listen to Jesus? How do you listen to Jesus? With a critical ear? Or submissive ear, whereby you are growing and following him? And then Jesus does what the Jews did with the lady caught adultery last week - he references the Bible. But unlike them he doesn't abuse and misuse the Bible. He says, “in your law, you need a testimony of two for something to be true.” Now there's many places in the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible) where you could read about multiple witnesses. But in Deuteronomy 19 we read these words:

A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

The Jews are accusing Jesus of lying, because they say he alone is bearing witness about himself. But Jesus says there ARE two witnesses: “I'm a witness, and my Father whom I come from is a witness as well. He bears witness about me. He bears witness with me that I am the light of the world. And everything else i've been saying and will say about myself. The Father's stamp of approval is on my every word.” It comes from God's word, which all points to Jesus. And all of Jesus’ works testify that the Father is bearing witness about him as well. And we’ll see later on in John that the Holy Spirit who is God also testifies to Jesus. The Jews are trying to triage Jesus’ testimony here about being the light of the world. And they’re utterly dissatisfied. III. The Testimony of Light is Timely (vv19-20) 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. Now the Jews were asking where his father was. “whether it's this heavenly father you're claiming to be one with or your earthly father… we need a second testimony. And they understandably

didn't take Jesus at his word. They needed to have a second testimony that was in keeping with the law. But of course that's ironic because last week the woman caught in adultery, well the Jews should have had the man there for him to be condemned as well. But he was nowhere to be found. According to the law they needed to have the man there as well as the woman, and they didn't. So they'll keep them on now, but they won't keep the law earlier. They will apply it only when they can use it to attempt to disprove or discredit Jesus. They're kind of pimping the Bible. Good for us to ask, believers in Jesus, Jesus how might we dangerously and even suddenly sometimes pick and choose passages of the Bible to inflate or to make or promote our personal agenda? How we might be misuse God's word for our agenda? Rather than for God's glory is the very thing that Jews were doing here. Jesus’ reply is as clear as it is condemning. They ask kind of a location-of-the-Father question, and he gives them a relationship-to-the-Father answer. “You don't know either me or my Father. You don't get that I'm the one who's from him. You don't understand our relationship as God. If you got who I am then you would know him as well. The only way to understand and know God is to accept me, as the one God has sent, because we are one.” He said this in the Treasury in the temple, where money offerings, financial offerings, were collected into 13 containers. Many think this was in the court of women where women were allowed. You might wonder why would John give this detail. Some people think that he's giving this detail, maybe, in order to keep the woman of last week fresh in our minds. We could easily lose the grace and the mercy and the compassion that Jesus showed to that broken and sinful woman as he's dialoguing with all of these men. Don't forget what Jesus has done in the past as you're moving forward. The Jews want him arrested and they want him dead, but nobody had arrested him yet, because it was not his time. It was not his time to be arrested. And it was not his time to be in a mock trial and tortured and then murdered. It was not his time to ascend back into heaven - not yet. See the testimony of the light of the world was timely because there was so much more, there was still more for the light of the world to teach so much more for people to hear and to see and we're going to continue to hear and see those things and the gospel of John as we continue to journey through it - all from the light of the world. Although sadly many then and even now many remain in darkness rejecting him and the free offer of the light of life, the light of his Salvation. Do you see Jesus as the only light of life? Do you see yourself trapped in the darkness of sin? Without any light, without a light switch to turn on, you can't turn it on yourself, only Jesus… only Jesus… only Jesus can enlighten your heart to understand God, yourself, this life, and the sweet

Salvation Jesus offers you, from a splintery cross where he died, from an empty tomb where he was raised. Jesus has come as the only escape from darkness - the darkness of sin. Everything else will continue to trap you, everything else will continue to blind you, everything else will continue to mislead you and leave you without aim. Will you accept the good news of Jesus – of his life and death and burial and resurrection as the light of your Salvation? Who is the light of the world? Well according to our passage today it's quite obvious. It's Jesus. There is an amazing prophecy about this in the Old Testament in Isaiah 49.6

He says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

This is a prophecy of one who would bring light to the nations and Jesus is saying, “This is me!” Who is the light of the world? It is Jesus. Who also is the light of the world? Well it's not only Jesus. It's also his followers. That’s what Jesus says. Jesus says to all his followers, in Matthew 5.14-16

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Believer in Jesus, follower of Jesus, part of believing and following is letting your light shine before the world. Follower of Jesus you're called to radiate your Savior and his gospel light to all those whom he's called you into relationship with - to those who believe and to those who don't believe. They are to see the light of Jesus’ salvation in you. To those with whom you agree and those to whom you don't - they are to see the light of your Savior’s salvation in you. To those who are easy to be with and those who are not easy to be with… to those who are near and maybe to those who are far off. In this unprecedented season, maybe it's time for some unprecedented prayers about a willingness to go into the world, into the nations, to shine, to proclaim the light of the world who's come to save any and all who will believe in him, saying yes to his salvation. Will you let his light in you shine into the world? Let's pray.