Three most important questions in life

The power of words

The subject of John chapter 8.9 is “light.” The other day, there was a power outage and it became pitch black. Flashlights are useful in such cases. This world is dark. But Jesus Christ is light. It is written in the Bible like this.

¹²When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ¹³The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” ¹⁴Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. ¹⁶But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. ¹⁷In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. ¹⁸I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” ¹⁹Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” ²⁰He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come. ²¹Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.” ²²This made the Jews ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot come’?” ²³But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. ²⁴I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” ²⁵“Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. ²⁶“I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.” ²⁷They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up^[a] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰Even as he spoke, many believed in him. (John 8: 12-30)

Jesus said. ” I am the light of the world. ” And Jesus promised. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. ” (verse 12).

When Jesus talked about the light, I think he was strongly aware of the Sukkot festival. Light was an important element of Sukkot’s festival. Sukkot is a festival in which when the Israelites (ancestors) were traveling in the wilderness, God was present (living) in the tabernacle, protected the Israelites, and led them to the promised land of Canaan. For a week they lived in a hut made of tree branches.

It was pitch black inside the tabernacle (tent). The only light is the light of the candlestick. When I went to Papua New Guinea, it was pitch black in the village because neither the house nor the church had electricity. The church was made of tree branches, just like the tabernacle. Since there is no light, I cannot see the face of the person in front of me without the lamp. The Tabernacle would have been like that.　

When God created the heavens and the earth, he said, ” There is light ” (Genesis 1: 3). Then the light appeared and the darkness disappeared. God is light. God is light, and there is no dark place in God. This is the news we hear from Christ and tell you. (1 John 1: 5)

God led the Israelites through the wilderness in the pillars of clouds during the day and in the pillars of fire at night. In the same way, the Holy Spirit guides us. The Words of the Bible also guide us on the right path. Your word is the light of my feet, the light of my way. (Psalm 119: 105)

Jesus is the light of the world. We can also walk in the light. Because we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Jesus expects us to do more than walk in the light. It is our mission as the light of the world. You are the light of the world. The town on the mountain cannot be hidden. Also, no one turns on the light and puts it under the box. Place it on the candlestick. Then it will illuminate all the people in the house. Thus let your light shine before the people, and let them see your good deeds and worship your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5: 14-16)　　　　

Jesus declared himself light, but the Pharisees claimed that the testimony was not true (verse 13). You can say it in any way you like.

But Jesus replied, “No, my testimony is true” (verse 14). “Because I know where I am from and where I am going. I am from heaven and I am returning to heaven. I am an ambassador from the kingdom of God. I was sent to this world by God the Father. God the Father proves my testimony. In the law, the two testimonies are true. Isn’t it written that there is (verse 17)? “

Then they ask, “Where is your father?” (Verse 19). Jesus answers. “If you knew me, you would have known my father too. (Verse 19) In John 10:30, Jesus said,” I and my father are one. “

This is an orthodox Christian confession of faith. It is heresy that Jesus and God the Father are not united. This is an era of deception. They try to drag Jesus out of God’s position. Therefore, the doctrine of the Trinity is very important. In this era, one of the knowledge needed to not be deceived is the correct knowledge of the Trinity God.

The identity of Jesus (self-portrait) is written in verse 14. Where does Jesus come from and where does he go? Jesus comes from heaven and goes to heaven. He comes from God the Father and returns to God.

How about us? Where do I come from and where do I go? How we answer this determines our identity. In a sense, it is no exaggeration to say that there is all the scholarship to find this answer. Mankind has been and still is pursuing this. I think there are three of the most important questions in life. “Where am I from?” “Where am I going?” “Who am I?”

How would we answer? Where did I come from? We can answer “I come from God and go to God. I am created by God and return to the Creator. I am not a product of chance. I have not evolved. He created me as a good work with purpose and love.”

Where are we going? We can answer, “I will go to heaven. I will return to the Creator who created me. I am not in this world. My nationality is in heaven.” For those who believe in Jesus, physical death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of a new life, an eternal life.

Jesus said, “If you do not believe in me, you will die in your sins (verse 24).” If you believe in Jesus, you will not die in sin. Because sin is washed away and forgiven by the blood of Jesus’ cross. Just like a woman who has committed adultery (reference　https://canaan.blog/declaration-of-forgiveness-of-sins ). Jesus proclaimed to her. ” I will not condemn you either ” (John 8:11) This declaration is also declared to us. So we can walk in the light, not in the darkness. Instead of dying in sin, we can live in righteousness.

The third question is asked, “Who are you?” (Verse 25). Jesus said, “That’s what I’m trying to tell you from the beginning.” That is, Jesus is the light of the world, the Savior. He is the Son of God who hangs on the cross, recovers from death, and ascends to heaven.

How would you answer when asked “Who are you?” Of course you can say your name, but more than that, “I belong to Jesus Christ. I am not condemned and my sins are forgiven. I am the light of the world.” I would be really happy if I could answer.

Negative thoughts, negative confessions and declarations create the wrong distorted identity (self-portrait). To prevent this, these three (1) I came from God. I was created by God. (2) I go to God. My nationality is in heaven. (3) I am condemned. Please confess and declare every day that you are forgiven of your sins. I am the light of the world. To God, to Satan, to your spirit. This confession and declaration builds, restores, raises and strengthens our spirits.

The world is dark. The devil is in control. But Jesus is the light. It is a light that cuts through the darkness and removes the darkness. We can move from darkness to light by Jesus. It has already been moved. And it is given a mission as the light of the world.