Jesus Unfiltered - Week 2 - St. Peter - Pastor Tim Glende
Jesus Unfiltered
Week 2 - St Peter
Pastor Tim Glende
You live in the world. And especially a country where we probably take a lot of things for granted.
Like indoor plumbing. Probably all take it for granted running water in our house, the convenience and access to it. It's filtered, you know, all the things that are part of our regular routine, that that over time, we just start taking for granted. And I would venture to guess that is people who live in this country, we probably take for granite light.
I mean how many of you when you get home after church today and you get out of your garage and you walk in your house and you flick, the switch will stop and drop to your knees and and celebrate and say a prayer of thanks to God for light. Thank you, take for granted that you can just turn around a corner and turn on a light.
I just think about how much we probably don't appreciate the fact that we live in a world where our cars have lights and brights, and we can drive on the road, even Country Road to see where we're going. See, dear out of the corner of our eyes because the light catches them. And we're safer than we would be without them. But I never once celebrated the lights in my car, I've only probably got angry at them when they did work properly. Flashlights. Like how many of you in your house? Have a flashlight with a battery in it? You know where it is. You can find it when the power goes out. And most of you are over the age of like a judge. Because, you know why? We'll have these. And instead of having a flashlight in a drawer and having flashlights in certain places have and battery backups. We don't necessarily think about it as much because We have such great access to light.
If the odds are pretty good, if you're like me, you take it for granted until it's not there. Like I don't know if any of you have ever had one of those utter Darkness experiences. I know some of you like going to The Boundary Waters and and go canoeing and and you're roughing it and you get to see like the stars give you the light and there's no other light in order to see. But I'm talking like other pitch. Darkness. Have you ever experienced it? The closest I came was in 2019. Like remember that storm that blew through, I think it was maybe a F1 tornado, had a lot of high, high line winds. I live downtown up on the waters when Holly and I live in an apartment for a year and in our power is literally out for about 72 plus h, the substation closest to our house. Was one of the last ones to get fixed and got hit by lightning, gotten taken out by the, by the wind, and the storm and I realized how much I probably took late for granted the first time I walked out of our apartment that had a lot of window, light into the hallways of this apartment, that had no windows. All cement block. And then I had to realize, I had to navigate that hallway to find the stairway which was even worse and more dark. Like no light anywhere. I was so thankful that we only lived on the second floor and I had to navigate one flight of stairs with my flashlight that had enough power and thanks to some people's generosity. They charge it for me, somewhere in the middle of that. 72 hours without power to be able to see. Otherwise I would have fumbled, bumbled, stumbled, probably broken something going up and down those steps.
Like light and darkness. The difference between them and the significance of them. Is life-changing.
Like, it's the difference between Clarity and confusion, light and dark. It's the difference between life literally for plants, animals, and a whole lot of things on Earth, you and me, and death.
It means safety. Versus Danger. I think if you want any proof about how important light is and how essential light is look no further than the first thing God did. When you read Genesis chapter 1 the sphere, it's hovering over the water. The Earth was void, formless, shapeless, empty, and what's the first thing? God does to address the issue and the problem Let there be light.
There had to be late before he made anything else. Human life, plants, trees animals, all those things needed it for survival.
So we knew the significance of it from a worldly perspective. God displayed the
The significance of it, when in the Old Testament book of Exodus. He had one of his plagues literally make it dark on the Egyptians as a form of punishment for three days under Darkness, Throughout the pages of scripture light and dark pops up over and over again and not just from a physical perspective but also in a spiritual one. If you read the pages of scripture Jesus himself, talks about darkness and references references it as A reminder of where people who don't believe in him go, and Jesus in his Parables use Darkness as a description of hell, but the subjects of the Kingdom, excuse me will be thrown outside into the darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. Spiritually sin. If left unaddressed, sin, if it leads to unbelief will leave you in. Utter darkness of hell for eternity. The Bible's Philip passages. Like this one from Romans chapter 13. Let us put aside the Deeds of Darkness, or Ephesians 5. You were once Darkness, like the Bible over and over again, talks about Sin, people who live in it. Remain in it commits, it is, Darkness Like Darkness on the page of the scripture, the significance between light and darkness spiritually is for trade in the same way that it is physically.
And this one we want you to have in mind today. Like the need for light. And what it feels like to be in the darkness, the only way to find the light what it requires to overcome the darkness.
Like darkness and living in it and dealing with it and feeling it or physically emotionally and spiritually. Overwhelming. Like I bet you would never guess but do you know what book in the Bible the word darkness is found more often than any other book. Job. Like the pain, the agony, the Suffering, The Misery, the struggle. Like jeweled felt the darkness. The misery. Of what Darkness brings the suffering that was inflicted on him. The pain and loss. That he, he went through. He was in the dark emotionally struggled. Which is why I think today's verse is so powerful and important. Twenty said of going through the whole entire text of John 8:12, through about 31. You can read it later. I'm going to spend our time, invest our time, focusing in on one verse Jesus statement that he declared Because for those who have read the Gospel of John and started at chapter 1, when they get to chapter 8, it's not going to catch them off guard. That Jesus makes this claim like John introduces him as the lights on for Jesus to claim it, shouldn't shock you or me and it went to shock the original look readers. And you also shouldn't have shot. The religious leaders of Jesus day. Like go back to the Old Testament. They knew how God describe light and darkness, they, they knew that that God had promised one day someday, he would send the light into the world. To overcome the darkness, Isaiah chapter, 60 arise Shine, for your light has come See, Darkness covers the earth. Darkness covers over the peoples and yet the glory of the Lord will shine upon you. Isaiah's prediction 700 years earlier was of Jesus, to come the deliver to come, A Savior to come, who would be the light. So, the Pharisees would have known those words, taught those words understood when Jesus made this claim, what he was claiming to be, So let's look at it and then we're going to pack it. Jesus spoke again to the people. He said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, whoever is a Believer. Whoever follows me, whoever takes up their cross. Whoever remains in my teaching, or going to say later in John, chapter 8 is truly my disciples. Whoever follows me will never walk in the dark will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. You will have what you need to make it to your destination. You will have what you need to end up in the place. I long for you to be I am the light of the world, Jesus said.
And I don't know how much time you've spent on just that thought or maybe you've taken it for granted too.
Just like we take for granted and light in our world. Have you may be taken for granted the fact that Jesus is the light, if you take notes it's the simple truth. A straightforward truth. Any of you probably could have filled in the blank based on the passage but Jesus equals the light spiritually speaking. Jesus equals the light. And what I want to do today instead of unpacking the whole text because what the text really contains is this statement of Jesus which was plain and obvious. A statement of Jesus which was connecting him to the Old Testament and saying, this is who I am a statement of Jesus, that he was saying, I'm the one alone who overcome sin and can conquer death and deliver. And the rest of the text goes on to have a back-and-forth with Jesus and the Pharisees. Who didn't recognize him as the light who are literally in the dark, who Jesus said you are going to die in your sin and end up in darkness forever.
I'm here for that not to happen to us to understand very clearly what Jesus saying? I want to unpack that statement that Jesus equals the light and what the light equals for you and for me why it's so significant. So important, truth to hold onto the claim that Jesus made and his spiritual significance for us. 2,000 years later. And here's the first one. Jesus is the light and Light. In this world and the light Jesus in the spiritual realm equal site.
Like in just four days, I'm going to get to go to one of the most amazing places in the world. At least to me, it is Mexico. Like a resort my wife and I have gone to year after year. And one of the things I love about going, Is what the light at the break of day in the morning allows me to see Like it's my job. My family. We get up early in the morning to go reserve the seats by the pool. Like anyone who's ever been to a resort before, you know the game, right? Like you have to get up super early to beat everyone else to get the prime spots by the side of the pool because who wants to swim 100 yards to the swim bar? You want to swim about five steps?
And does this, but I have a rule that I will not break. I do not go out in the dark. Because I know what happens at the night in Mexico. During the night, like things get left on the ground, I don't want to step on it. I know that things get moved around. I don't stumble and fall or into a pool or hurt myself like so I wait until the sun comes over there rising.
And before I go and get those seats. I just take a look because that light as it breaks, please to such an amazing sight for my eyes. And maybe you've had experiences like that.
Look in my life. I've been able to travel to some pretty neat places but the view in the site is different in the dark than it is in the light. Like if you've ever traveled through Utah and the canyons and the and the parks and have seen the Red Rocks by day, it is a sight. Like you've ever traveled to Washington and you drive through the mountains where the evergreens are like try and look up. And there are some Evergreens that you can't see the top of. That's an amazing site that you don't get in the dark. You only get it with the light. And spiritually speaking, that's the truth about Jesus. Like, without Jesus coming into this world, you and I would be left in our spiritual blindness, we would not see the amazing sights of Grace and forgiveness, we would not have joy and hope and peace with, without the light, we don't have sight of all the things that God longs for you, and me to know for you and me to experience for you and me to have and by faith for you and me to see
And that was what Jesus was claiming. Like those who believe in me? See spiritually. If you don't believe in me, like the Pharisees, didn't you are in the dark and you are doomed to the darkness. Jesus said, later in John's gospel chapter 12. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me like the light Jesus gives us sight to see the father for God. So loved the world that he sent his one and only son. If you see Jesus for who he is by faith. If you believe in who Jesus is you all Also know the father and you know love and you know, forgiveness and you are connected to his family. I've come into this world as a light so that no one who believes in me. Should stay in the Darkness. Jesus Longs for you and me to have sight spiritually so that we don't remain in the darkness. We aren't doomed for eternity to the darkness but rather we are in the light. And only he the light.
Equal site.
And what a beautiful sight, it is.
Like God himself in human flesh. And what a sight old, be one day by faith through Grace that will see him face to face.
But from now until then, We have an issue. I mean it's this and let me show you Jesus is the light and the light equal site but we need the light. We need Jesus, we need all the things he gives to us because the light also gives us clarity I think we live in a world where sometimes Clarity doesn't exist.
Sometimes there's confusion. Sometimes, there are things that make it so that we can't see as clearly as we want to see. Like physically, maybe you guys have noticed that I have to put these things on every time I read from that book up there, you know why? Because these things don't see as clearly as they used to. Like if I try and read out of that book up there without these on, I might be making some things up.
These. These lenses help me have Clarity of sight.
And in this dark world where sin exists, there are things that can be confusing to us. Like ever walking the path to Heaven, There are things off to the side of the road that are that can be awfully, enticing like those advertisements. You see. There's a reason why they have Billboards everywhere to get you to exit. If you ever driven down to Chicago, like Mars Cheese Castle or whatever that thing is like I'm always like Vern, like distractions confusion. Along the way the world things that appear beautiful and good, but they're not light, their dark, their sin. Like in order to stay on the path, we need to have Clarity only Jesus alone, the light who is also known as the word allows us a tool that helps us have 20/20 spiritual vision and it's called his word like Jesus. The light gives us sight. He allows us not to remain spiritually belonging what a beautiful sight to see. The love of the father, but the light of God, the light of Jesus. The one who was called the word also gives us Clarity which the Old Testament in the New Testament. Speak to look at some words. He's of King David. Who understood the power of the light? The commands of the Lord, the words that God says his words, the lights words are radiant, so, bright giving light to the eyes. They allow you to see and they allow you to see clearly what God would have you do what God would have. You know the only way and path to Heaven. Psalm 119 a famous song about the word of God, maybe a passage you memorized your word. God, the words in the book are a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. God doesn't want you to get detour and along the way, he doesn't want you to take the exit ramps. That seems so appealing. He doesn't want you to get confused in the doubts that this life brings the circumstances that might cause you to fall the pitfalls along the road going, said, God wants his word to be the thing that guides you like the lights of your car to stay on the path. Jesus is that light hit? He says later in John chapter 8 if you hold to my teachings, if you remain in my teachings you are truly my disciples then you'll know the truth and the truth will set you free.
Like when Jesus makes the claim over follows me will never walk in darkness. He's literally saying to you following me, put it means, you need to put yourself on my path. Based on my word whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light. And that word, my friends gives clarity. In a cloudy sinful still broken world.
And sadly, the Pharisees lack clarity. Like they had the Old Testament word. Right. Jesus was right in front of their eyes. And yet they were still blind.
Here's a little bit of flavor, What followed Jesus' statement, the Pharisees challenged him. Here you are appearing as your own witness. Your testimony is not valid like they just dismissed him. Because they had Cloud their judgment has been clouded. They weren't in the light, they had forgotten God's promises and they were picking their own path. They D to her down Works based salvation. And so Jesus, they asked him, where's your father? And he said, you don't know me or my father because you don't see me. You don't see it because you don't believe in the father, you don't know me. If you knew me, you would also know him and Jesus doesn't want you or me to lack Clarity of sight, just doesn't want you or me to be spiritually blind and spend eternity in the Darkness. And so Jesus calls himself, the light of the world, he gives us his life because he knows how important light is for our next point. Safety, the light, equals safety, spiritual safety, Now, I don't know where you guys grew up, what city, you grew up in? I don't know. There are many of these in Appleton, but I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and in German Village, they had a lot of roads and a lot of alleys. And have you ever lived by some place or have a house that had an alley, small little road back between the garages kind of where you left your trash cans. There weren't people living back there. There's a reason why the advice given to a lot of people is Never Walk Alone in a dark alley. It's not safe. You can't see things, there's no light. Like stay on the main path. Don't go off, path on a dark alley. Because without light, you might not be safe. And here's why you and I need to walk in the light. Here's why you. And I always need to rely on Jesus and see who he is. In this. Great. We are in danger. We are always under attack. Spiritually speaking. Well, we might be walking in the light right there. Ever-present seeking to devour us as somebody with a Bible refers, to not just as Satan and the enemy not just as the devil liar adversary, the Bible calls Satan, the Devil, the Prince of Darkness.
Like Jesus called the Lord of Light. The one who helps to see the one that gives us Clarity. The one that allows us to know the father, But it refers to the one who brought sin into the world as the Prince of Darkness. He loves sin and he loves confusion and he longs to create chaos and even long to hit you with one of his flaming arrows and knock you off course. And blind you In your relationship with God. It's why it's so vital and important for us in our life of Faith to understand the devil and his desires. What rules his life is Darkness, he will spend eternity in it and he wants you there with him. And God doesn't, that's why the light is so important for us to celebrate it, to live in it, to walk in it, to see it clearly because the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom Shall I Fear? King, David said,
The Lord is my light. He has saved me. Therefore, there's nothing to fear. Like the devil might be the Prince of Darkness. He might have flaming arrows that he shoots, but he's been defeated. Like Jesus came into this world to overcome the darkness, the darkness of your sin and my sin. Jesus came to pay the price that you and I deserve because of our sins. Same dark and hearts. He literally paid the price of hell for you and me as God for shook him on the cross. Jesus, literally wants you and me to know that we are safe from his attacks and that we can make it safely down that path. And while there might be Temptation, we can resist the devil. Martin Luther's words once were in that famous Reformation song. On one little word can feel him. Can defeat him will knock him off course I don't know what that word was, but many people believe it was simply Jesus. The light. And you know, my Jesus can make that promise, you know why Jesus being the latest so important for you and me spiritually, he gives us site his word and his truths that he came and spoke. Give us Clarity of how God would have us live. What he claims to be, what he came to do. That light gives us safety in the Sin darkened world, where there are so many dangerous attacks of the devil along to spring on us.
Below it can give sight Clarity and safety to you and me. Why we can be certain of it being ours.
Because on the day because on a day when God turned off the light,
I guess sometimes one of the thought about the most overlooked realities, Of what we call Good Friday.
Like it resonates with our heart when we see the heart of his mother broken looking at. But her son crucified
We hold onto words like today you'll be with me in Paradise because who of us doesn't want to know that truth in the moment of death. None of us. Probably forgets the word. It is finished, right? It's over. It's done. It's paid for But remember that, on that day, as the light of the world hung on a cross, God, the Father turned off the light of the world, it all went dark. Like, Darkness covered the whole Earth. Like never before.
Like it was before. God said, let there be light perhaps Because on that day, the light of the world was having his life slowly AB away.
And that's why my friends. We can celebrate Jesus being the light and know that, that he gives sight to why we long have Clarity. Why do we cling to him for safety? Because at the end of the day, the most important truth, perhaps of all the truth about Jesus' statement of I am the light of the world equals the last word that he said in that verse the light equals life, His life was given up so that you and I might have life. He endured the ultimate darkness of Hell on the cross and the literal darkness of the last three hours of his life. So that you and I would never walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life spiritual life right now, New Life In Jesus that we can see, clearly that we are saved by grace alone, the cross of Jesus paid for your sins and mine. As John said, the blood of Jesus purifies us, it makes us pure. That's what the light allows us to see if the clarity that the word gives us it assures us that we can safely make it from where we are at in life to that finish line of eternal life. The light Jesus Christ gives you and me life, New Life.
Eternal life.
And spiritually, that reality is no different than What light does for us here on Earth.
Like talk to any expert. Talk to any scientist. Talk to anybody. Who knows anything about the sun moon. The stars, the magnetics of the poles, the water that we have the air that we breathe. You know what you need for? All those things. Light.
Maybe we never take for granted the amazing Creator, God who put light into the sky, the Sun that governs, the sun, moon, and stars and our universe.
But far more important is the spiritual life that the light. Jesus Christ, brings to you and me like over the next five weeks and weeks. One, and two, you have started to hear the recurring theme of all the claims that Jesus is going to make over and over and over again. As I am statement last week, we talked about Jesus and he said, I am the bread of life. In a few weeks were going to hear another. I am statement, I am the way, the truth and the life he's going to Like in the Good Shepherd chapter about a whole lot of things and also about life, like all of Jesus claims everything he comes back to, you're going to hear last week in the following weeks and this week, but the light perhaps is the greatest example that we can understand that we can connect with. Because without light here in this world, we would not have life and without Jesus you and I would not have life forever. Here's the way, the Apostle Paul, put it: giving joyful thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people because Jesus has one for your life. One day you will spend eternity in the Heritage that is known as the Kingdom of Light, Freese, who rescued us from the Dominion of Darkness, Satan, his power that we were under without Jesus. We would not have a site without Jesus. We would not be spiritually free before because Jesus endured the darkness and paid the price. We have life and he's brought us into the kingdom of the son. He loves whom we have. Redemption, the Forgiveness of sins brothers and sisters. Do not take for granted the amazing light of life. Is in the life that he will bring to you and to me.
Because one day, you know what you will not need for life that light outside.
You know what the Book of Revelations picture is of the end of time. After all is, it is gone. And only Believers end up with Jesus in heaven, there will be no sun. It is not needed in New Jerusalem. Because you know what, Jon who recorded that Revelation said to the son Jesus Christ, the light of the world will be its light and we will be gathered around his throne day and night. But never more in the Darkness. But we have perfect sight, Clarity and safety because The light gives you and me life.
Listen, one more time. Jesus said, I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life celebrate it. Don't take it for granted and maybe just maybe. Can I leave you with this challenge today? Like we turn on the lights so that we can see in our houses, we turn on the lights of our car. So you can see where we're going. We rely on the light, we spend time in the light. Can I challenge you or the next? Few weeks of Lent may up your game or or take it to the next level with your grow route. If the Gospel of John is a filled with amazing truth about Jesus and the light that he is and the clarity that he Longs for you to have, can I convince you before Easter to not? Just go through the Gospel of John reading plan but add to it, revisit it, take a Chapter Day over the next 20, some days and you'll be amazingly blessed by spending a little more time. In the light, And celebrating the life that he won for you and me. I put on your heart the challenge of looking ahead to Holy Week. And put it on your calendar, the worship time for Thursday and Friday, and Sunday that you were going to take advantage of the only your schedule gets cluttered. Can I challenge you to do Church three times during the most important of weeks, where you get to receive Jesus' body and blood on Thursday for the Forgiveness of sins. Get to celebrate the day. We call good when everything went dark on Friday, and then get up on Easter morning and celebrate the sun rising, the life that we have. Can you do all three? Can we do that? If you take that challenge on so that you can spend more time in the light Because you know what? I found out. Roots need light. Literally to survive. Spiritually. Your roots in my roots, we need more light.
And I know that when you do, you'll be blessed with amazing abundant fruit. Because Jesus promises.
