Light is one of those things that are not truly appreciated until they are gone. For instance I remember preaching an evening service one night and our power went out, and we went scurrying to find alternate means of lighting. I remember being in a salt mine, on the coast of Louisiana and the lights went out. I could put my finger up close to my eyes and could not see it. It was so dark that I could even feel it. It reminded me of the  darkness which was one of the plagues that God put on Egypt to get Pharaoh to release the children of Israel (Exd.10:21-22). And I also thought about the darkness of God’s judgment (Mt. 22:13-14)

Jesus said: (John 9:5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. In Mal. 4 and Ps. 19, the Lord Jesus is typified by the sun. He is the SUN of God as well as the SON of God.

When Jesus left this earth, in a sense the light went out. The sun set, and we are in a "night-time dispensation." Now the moon (the church) is shining, but her light is the REFLECTED light of the SUN which is the SON.

Consider with me four aspects of this simple but wonderful truth.

JESUS IS:

I. THE REAL LIGHT (Jh. 1:1-5)

    1. He is the First Light

       A. The light of creation

             1. Compare (Gen. 1:1-3) with (Gen. 1:16) to see

                  that there was light for this earth before God

                  created the sun.

       B. The light of Salvation

            1. Paul saw a light above the brightness of the sun

               (Acts 26:13).

    2. He is the True Light (John 1:9)

       A. The light of the lost (those without Christ)  is 

            a false light.  

       B. Religion of man is a false light.

       C. Philosophy of man is a false light.

       D. Secular education is a false light.

    3. He is the Eternal Light (Rev. 21:23)

        A. In eternity future, Jesus will be the light of the

            new earth.

        B. The light bulbs of this world eventually burn out.

        C. Praise God, He NEVER goes out but continues

             to bring light throughout eternity!

II. THE REVEALING LIGHT (Heb.4:13)   

    (Psa.90:8) 

    1. He reveals our sins

        A. Secret actions

        B. Secret words

        C. Secret thoughts

        D. Secret motives

    2. He reveals our steps

        A. Our direction in life

        B. Our destiny in eternity

3. He reveals salvation! (2 Cor. 4:3-6).

    A. Hank Williams said he saw the light, but he

         probably saw the wrong light and if he did then he

         went to hell when he died.

    B. Paul saw the TRUE light and died and surely went

         to heaven.

     C.We may not see a literal light, but every person who

         is saved beholds the light of the glorious gospel of

        Christ

III. THE REJECTED LIGHT (John 3:18-21)

    1. Rejected by the proud

       A. There are many who don't want to admit that they

            are in darkness.

       B. They won't admit that their light does not work.

       C. They do not want to accept a light that is not of

            their own making.

    2. Rejected by the pleasure-seekers (Rom. 16:17-18)

        A. Although no person must give up anything in

             order to be saved, when a person is under

             conviction they realize that certain things in their 

             life are not in accordance with the holiness of

             God. He knows that he must give up those things

             if he is not to be thought of as a hypocrite, so he

             lets the earthly pleasures keep him from trusting

             Christ.

       B. They love darkness, not light.

       C. They love the beach, not the Bible.

       D. They love pleasure, not preaching.

       E. They love sin, not the Son of God.

   3. Rejected by the prosperous (Mt.19:23-24)

       A. They trust in their riches.

       B. They think they can buy heaven with their money.

IV. THE REQUIRED LIGHT (John 11:9-10)

   1. Without Jesus, you will stumble into heartache

       A. In marriage

       B. In your job

       C. In your finances

       D. In your family

    2. Without Jesus, you will stumble into heresy

       A. Jesus is the truth (Jn. 14:6).

       B. His word is truth (Jn. 17:17).

    3. Without Jesus, you will stumble into hell

A woman named Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 years. "I just can't believe it!" she gasped as the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes after her recovery from delicate surgery in an Ontario hospital. She wept for joy when for the first time in her life a dazzling and beautiful world of form and color greeted eyes that now were able to see. The amazing thing about the story, however, is that 20 years of her blindness had been unnecessary. She didn't know that surgical techniques had been developed, and that an operation could have restored her vision at the age of 30. The doctor said, "She just figured there was nothing that could be done about her condition. Much of her life could have been different."

As I read the news account of her case, some questions came to mind. Why did she continue to assume that her situation was hopeless? Had no one told her about the wonderful advances in eye surgery? Then I thought of the plight of those unreached by the Gospel. How many will go on living in moral blindness unless we bring them to the Savior? Millions will never know anything but spiritual darkness because no one has shared with them the Light that has come into the world.