Light and Eternal Life 1 John 1:5-10, NIV This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. Introduction Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title Light and Eternal Life. Every living being needs light. No living thing can exist without light. God is the foundation of the light of life and without this light no living thing can survive. God is light. Everyone who fears God receives light and life. God showed us the need of light for every living thing in the very beginning of creation. "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." (Genesis 1:2) Do you remember what God first created in the beginning? He created the most important and necessary thing first. He did not say "The Full Gospel Church." Please repeat after me. "Let there be light!" Light is the fountain of all life. In Genesis 1 God declared “Let there be light” and light came to be, followed by all living things. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (Jacob 1:17). God is the Father of light. The Father is the fountain of life. The Father of light is the fountain of all living things. We should know that God is the light of our lives. Everything will be darkness and only depression, despair and death will cover us if we have no light because God is not in us. 1. Light and Eternal Light First is Light and Eternal Light. Eternal life is light ? spiritual light. We get physical light from the sun. We get spiritual light, which is an eternal thing, from our Lord, Jesus Christ. We have life with Christ in our hearts and we have no life without Christ in our hearts. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Jesus is the spiritual sun. If we follow Jesus we will, without hesitation, be in the path of light. We will see the light and naturally follow it. John 9:5 says: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The apostle John clearly declared that “Jesus is the light of the world!” He further declared that Jesus did “… come into the world as a light” (John 12:46). We can face tomorrow because of the light of the Lord. We cannot stumble and fall down while we live in this world because the light is shining on us. Psalm 56:13 says: “For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” God wants us to walk with Him, the light of life. He wants you to live in the light of moral, ethical, intelligent life through faith wherein darkness flees away. In the light we find life. Faith, hope, love, righteousness, peace, and joy are all found in light. Psalm 66:9 says: “He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.” If we lose light we wander about in darkness, stumbling, falling on stones, maybe rolling down a hill. But the Lord does not want us to fall. The Lord is the light. We should be in Him as the light, sharing fellowship and enjoying happiness. Our eternal life is the light and the light is our eternity. John 1:7-14 says: “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.” The apostle John begins with making reference to what Jesus said about John the Baptist and then continues with the spiritual nature of Jesus. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ? children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) We receive eternal life when we know Christ Jesus and have faith in Him. We cannot find any purpose to our lives if we lose light. We will not be able to secure a clear view without light because of the darkness. Consequently we will lose purpose in our lives because we will not have sufficient light of life in us. Without Jesus we will lose our sense of direction. We will not know where to go. We will not know where our spiritual North, East, South and West are. Where am I? We will then slowly become a slave of death. We will become a slave to the secular, dissipated, sinful life of hell. John 3:18 says: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” People are already condemned when they do not believe in Jesus. They do not have light nor life but stand condemned because they do not believe in the name of God’s one and only Son. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Light had come into the world but men loved darkness instead of light; and they crucified the light on the cross. They avoided light. They stand already condemned. God has condemned the world therefore He will not close His eyes on their deeds. 2. There is no light except Jesus. There is no light in any religion that does not preach Jesus as the only begotten Son of God. Psalm 27:1 says: “The LORD is my light and my salvation ? whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life ? of whom shall I be afraid?” The Lord is my light. I will not find light anywhere except in Jesus. Only Jesus is the source of the light of eternal life. Acts 4:12 says: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Salvation is found only in Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Only Jesus paid the penalty of your and my sins. He has secured the decree of settlement for the debt of our sins against God. My debt of sin could not be settled except by Jesus’ payment. When I am in Jesus, my debts against God are written off. Under heaven no one is free from sin; and no one can be saved stained with the debt of sin. Our sin must be canceled. The wages of sin is death and we must settle these wages. However, if we believe in Jesus as our Savior, if we believe He died on the Cross, had His body torn and shed His blood for us: He will take all our sins, unrighteousness, debauchery, curses, despair and death no matter how big or numerous our sins may be. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins and we did not have anything to do with this. All our sins were washed away only by believing in Jesus as our Savior. He did this for us, and all we have to do is believe on Him. Long time ago in the State of Pennsylvania, USA; a small plane crashed into a mountainside killing all 6 of its passengers. A Christian retreat center was near the accident site. At night pilots could generally see the light of a cross which was on top of a steel tower about 21 meters high. The Associated Press (AP) discovered that the retreat center would generally turn this light on in the night; however on that fatal night, the light of the cross was turned off. The light of the cross positioned on a steel tower had played an important role for the safety of flights in that area. But on that one fatal night, the light was off and a plane lost its way and crashed into a mountainside. The light of this cross on the steel tower is a good analogy of our lives. If we lose the light of Jesus Christ; we will not see purpose in our lives and subsequently wander about without knowing where to go. We will ask where we came from, what we live for, and where we are going; but one day, as surely as the small plane crashed into a mountainside in the absence of light, we too will be captured by death and leave this world. 3. I have been sent to be a light. Third, we would ask "for what do I live in this world?" God sent you to be light in the world. If I believe in Jesus, He will lead me to be a creation of light. He will call me to be an evangelist of the light, who is Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We are a new creation in Jesus. The old has gone, the new has come. We, who have received forgiveness, righteousness and peace, are new creations. Now what am I supposed to do once I have become a new creation? Ephesians 5:8 says: “For you were one darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” We should thing, act, and set a good example as children of light in this world of darkness. We are born to shine in this world. We should shine the light of Christ while we are living. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says: “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day.” We are all sons of the light and sons of the day. That is why we should shine. The moon does not shine by itself. The moon reflects the sun. The sun shines on the moon, since the sun is shining on its own. Jesus shines by Himself. He is the light of life. We cannot shine by ourselves without receiving the light of Jesus anymore than the moon can shine by itself without receiving the light of the sun. There is no light in us. We reflect His light! You and I are not the sun but the moon. We need to receive the light of the sun to shine. The light given to us makes us appear good. But it is not us but Christ who grants us His light who is good. 1 John 1:5-7 says: “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” We are liars if we claim to be without sin. We are all sinners who are saved only through Jesus. We are forgiven and saved only by the cross of Jesus and His precious blood. We are in darkness if we do not have Jesus. True despair is to live a life without Jesus in this world and at the end of our life to fall into hell. This ultimate pain will be beyond any description. We are to carry out our mission of being a light and whine through all the days of our lives. Our light is nothing but the light of the cross. While you are living you will shine in all aspects of your life; but you will especially not want to forget about this one thing. The light that shines through you is the light of the cross. The Son of God came to us, was torn and crucified to shed His blood. He became the foundation of our salvation. Why is the cross so important to us? The cross is important because Jesus carried our sins away on the Cross. Our sins are washed away through the Cross. All the works of Satan are destroyed through the Cross. Holiness comes from the Cross. Healing comes from the Cross because it is there that Jesus took all our weakness and diseases. The blessings of Abraham come to us through the Cross. Jesus paid the full penalty of the curse of Adam therefore the blessings of Abraham are freely given to those who believe on the Cross. The windows of heaven are opened because Jesus died on the Cross, was resurrected from the dead, entered into the eternal kingdom and became the window of heaven for us. Through the Cross of Jesus Christ, Christians have resurrection and eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. Through the Cross, the five-fold gospel is granted to us. The five-fold gospel contains five lighthouses. They are the Gospel of salvation: “whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”; the Gospel of the fullness of the Holy Spirit: when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will be empowered and sanctified becoming witnesses of Jesus; the Gospel of healing: we come to realize that we are healed by his wounds. We will shake off all diseases but live a healthy life; the Gospel of blessing: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. We don’t need to be a slave to a curse anymore; and the Gospel of the Second Coming of Christ: We know that we have eternal residence in heaven. God grants believers the five-fold Gospel through the Cross and shed blood of His beloved Son. We should then look at the Cross and shine with the light of it. Christians who have received the light of the five-fold Gospel are in turn responsible to let others experience salvation in its wholeness: “That they may enjoy health and that all may go well with them, even as their souls are getting alone well.” Whoever meets you should experience a whole salvation and wherever you go, you should take this message of whole salvation with you so that others may freely receive it as you have freely received it because of this Cross. Psalm 103:3-5 says: “(the LORD) who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” This is it! This is to believe! When we believe we should never be the same. Something must happen when we receive the grace of God! God does not only forgive all our sins but He also heals all our diseases. He redeems our life form the pit and crowns us with love and compassion. He satisfies our desires with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Let us greet each other with “Good things will happen to you!” God wants to satisfy our desires with good things and we should expect His goodness. “Something good will happen to me!” Never even think about a curse coming to you. Never say that “I am unlucky.” You should speak faith into yourself and say: “Good things will happen to me!” We are called to become witnesses of the light of the heavenly kingdom in our journey through this world. Matthew 5:14-16 says: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Light shines on you and all people will praise God when they see you. Isaiah 49:6 says: “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” The reason why God called and blessed our Korean people is to make us a light for the Gentiles, to bring His salvation to all nations. Today He wants to send us as missionaries. Let us all read together 2 Corinthians 4:5-6! “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” God is shining into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Now we know why we are here. We know where we came from and why we are living. We know what happens after our life on earth. We know and therefore live our life in faith. After a time we will cross our spiritual Jordan River and enter into the kingdom of the Lord. Then we will recognize each other. “Ah, I remember you Pastor Cho!” I would exclaim, “Ah, you were a sister in our church! I again see you here!” We will see forever. We will shine on each other with the light of eternity forever. Conclusion Human life goes through the stages of birth, youth, middle age, golden age, and death. A life without Jesus is totally materialistic and without any hope. All material things will pass away. The light of Jesus shines on Christians all the days of our lives. But sometimes we ignore the light. We begin to perish without the light. The light is shining. Come into the light. Whoever accepts Jesus as his or her Savior will be saved. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” It is not difficult. Jesus has fulfilled the penalty of our salvation. He made our salvation simple. If salvation was difficult, people would struggle to achieve it. But our salvation is not difficult therefore there is no excuse. Everyone who believes in Him will be saved, regardless of gender, age, riches or position in life. All are called to be saved! On this earth people generally live for about 70 or 80 years. This world is a preparation to enter into the eternal world. Our preparation into eternity is only complete when we believe and put our trust in Jesus. We will not be prepared without the Son of God. When Jesus is in the center of your heart; He will live with you, you will be stable, you will be at peace, and He will fill you with joy and hope. You will have a future. How wonderful it is! Whoever has the Son has eternal life. That person has crossed over from death to life. Let us pray! Our living heavenly Father! Among us there are people who are sick. We came to the light, O Lord! Conquer the darkness. Heal us from every suffering of heart, body and life. Grant us your steadfast love, grace and compassion. You pain in my body ? go away! Disease ? go away! Sickness ? go away! Jesus, touch us with the precious blood that is on your hands. Cleanse us and heal us completely. Comfort our weary and burdened heart. Let good things happen to us. Let there be peace in us. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. 7