Go to content
Main menu:
(WHAT A DIFFERENCE THE SON MAKES)
SCRIPTURE - John 1:4-5 JULY, 2004
In him, (talking about Jesus) was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
SUBJECT - WHAT A DIFFERENCE, THE SON MAKES
PLAY/DOWNLOAD[MP3]
Have you ever noticed, how that, when you face a new day, your mood, usually seems to be affected by whether the day is dark, cloudy and gloomy, or sunny??
I have been on this earth nearly 58 years, and with all the things that went on in my life, while I was young, and unsaved, I never really paid any attention to it. But, there is a direct correlation between our moods, and the type of day it is, talking about the light.
If you will notice, and science has borne this out, the moods of individuals, are directly affected by light, or the absence of it.
When the day is cloudy, rainy, or dark, we tend to feel all depressed, down in the dumps, don't want to get out of the bed, don't want to go to work, or anything. We want to stay in the house, and just be left alone. Our entire attitude is rotten. And, having to go out, makes us cranky and unpleasant to be around.
We gripe and complain about everything. We let people know, 'don't mess with me today.' Every little thing that anybody does wrong, is magnified in to a full assault on our little comfort zone, and we nearly explode.
On the other hand, if we wake up, and the day is bright and shiny, then we are up and out of the bed, with a big smile on our faces, ready to go out in to the world, and face it with all the cheer of a proud new parent. We love everybody, we want to help everybody. Our whole attitude is, 'Hello world, here I am, does anybody need any help???' We are quick to overlook mistakes by others.
What is the cause of this drastic change in our lives?? The presence, of, or the lack of, sunlight.
That's right, our lives, are directly influenced by that great big orb, nearly 93 million miles away, called, the sun.
Biologists will tell us, that without it, there would be no life on earth. This we have known for thousands of years. We can see how plants, will wither and die, if they don't get any sunlight?? Have you noticed how the animals act, when the day is dawning?? All things, great and small, owe their existence, to the sun. And since God created it, all things owe Him the honor and praise.
Imagine a world, without sunlight for a minute.
The first thing we would notice, quite naturally, is darkness all around. If you thought the moon would provide light, remember, it gets its light from the sun. We would be walking around in almost total darkness. Artificial lighting, may not be enough to help, if it would work at all.
Next, since the sun provides light, light produces, or rather, is a product of heat. The hotter something is, the brighter it gets. If you look at a light bulb, the light you get from it, is from the heat that is produced by the electricity that is passing through it. Can you imagine how cold it would be, if there were no sun???
Now, you may be asking, why am I giving you, what appears to be a science lesson?? Well hold on just a minute.
Suffice it to say, the sun, has some effect on every life form, every element, every chemical process on this earth. Without it, nothing would survive, for very long.
Well, Jesus once said, that if man can't understand the natural things of this world, he surely can't understand the spiritual things. He said, in another passage of scripture, that man, can discern the signs in the sky, as pertaining to the weather, yet he can't discern the times in which would be a warning of His coming.
This is one of the reasons Jesus used the things we could understand, to reveal to us, the spiritual things that we really need to understand.
Now, just as all life (physical), depends on the sun, and its light, so too, does the spiritual life, depend on the Son, and His Light.
You see, it is the Son, (a.k.a. the Word), that created all things, in the first place, including the, sun. For the bible says,
'John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
So, from the offset, you can see that all things, get life (the ability to function), from the Creator, God, or the Word. In Genesis, chapter 1, we see that God, Spoke everything in to existence. When He made man, He spoke first, then made (formed) man from the dust of the earth, which was spoken into existence. He then breathed into man, the breath of life, and man became a living soul.
So, man's total existence depends on God, both in the physical, and the spiritual realm.
Here are the correlation's.
Without the Son, Jesus, the spiritual part of man, (his core), is walking around in total darkness. He is depressed, ornery, frustrated, lost, and dangerous. There is no peace, no joy, no clear direction, no strength, or anything positive, within him.
Man is a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode, at any minute, in even the slightest situations.
People wonder why they just can't seem to find a place that will give them a total peace of mind. It is because there is no Son in their life. Why is it, that two people can be brought up facing the exact same difficulties, and one is about to have a heart attack, and the other is just as cool as a cucumber?? It is because one has the Son, while the other one doesn't.
Remember now, the Son, also, is the Light., and that carries with it, some great truths.
The first being, that Light, reveals things to you, that you can't see, in the dark. If a person is put in a totally dark room, and they are told that there are all sorts of things in there that will harm them, if they don't follow a certain path, then that person, will basically be petrified, because they can't see the path, and they don't want to be harmed. However, if you give them a light, they can go in the room, and follow the path,. and come out just fine.
Just like our lives today. We are living a physical life, but we are walking in a spiritual realm, that is full of danger. And, for the most part, we tend to rely on our physical attributes, to get us through that spiritual dark room. As long as man has been on this earth, he still doesn't seem to know, what he is supposed to be here for. He goes about seeking, the truth, but can't seem to find it.
Sure, he can find some similance of what he feels is the truth, and it will pacify him for a time, until something else comes along to make him realize he is in a futile search. And, the reason it is futile, is that he is in the dark, spiritually. He needs the Light, of the Son, to show him the way.
When man sought to find God, the Son, lit the path, that showed him the way. When man needed to find deliverance, from the bondage's in his life, it was the Son, that provided
the means to do it. Every dark thing, in the soul of man, was revealed, and able to be done away with, or overcome, when the Son (Light), was brought to bear on it.
The bible says,
'Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.' 'Prv 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.'
When a person is faced with a situation, in which he doesn't know what to do, we say they are in the dark. Right??? They don't know what to do, or which way to turn. That type of dilemma, can only lead to driving a person mad. Walking around in darkness(ignorance), or in the absence of Light, is dangerous, because you could end up injured or worse.
Light, is the Light of clear direction that is needed to navigate to troublesome seas of life. Rejecting the Light, will lead to destruction.
The Light, also gives us vision, something to strive towards. We see it, and we see the way to get there, and therefore, we have a reason to keep going. Just like ships in the night, are looking for the light from a lighthouse, to guide them through the dark, and sometimes stormy seas, to safe harbor. If you are living a life, and you don't know what the purpose is for you to keep on going, you are liable to say to yourself, 'I don't feel there is any reason for me to keep on living,' and therefore you might kill yourself. But the Son, lets you know, that there is a reason for your being here, and it is a divine purpose. If anything, it is to worship God. And when you worship Him, He will reward you, with eternal life. This is the main reason that in the midst of the trials and tribulations that all of us face, myself, and others, that are saved, are able to keep our joy, peace of mind, and remain steadfast in the paths of righteousness, without deterring. Because we see the end of the path, because of the Son. He got to the end of the path, and is standing there as a bright light, saying, 'Here I am, just follow my Light, and you will find rest for your souls. And that is something to be happy about.
Are you walking in the darkness of this world, and its way of thinking, which is ignorance, or are you walking in Light, the Light of the Son??? The bible, not me, says, 1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life (and Light); and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life (or Light).
My friend, you can walk out of that darkness, in to the glorious Light, of the Son, by simply asking Him, to be Lord, or the Light in your life. You can do that by just repeating this prayer, meaning every word from your heart. 'Lord Jesus, come in to my heart, and cleanse me from all of my sin, and be the Lord of my life. I believe that you are the only begotten Son of God, and that you died on the cross for my sin, and was raised again for my justification. I accept you as both Lord and saviour of my life, right now, in Jesus' name, amen.' Congratulations, the Son (Light) is now rising in your life, looks like it is going to be a beautiful day.
BR>