BY PASTOR JACK WARD
“And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:5
A person without Jesus is not only spiritually dead, he is also spiritually darkened. Jesus said in John 8:12: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”
Jesus not only came to regenerate the dead, but He came to illuminate the dark. The first thing God said to a dark world was, “Let there be light; and there was light.” Gen. 1:3.
The first thing that God does for a lost sinner is give him light that he might see. One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible is II Corinthians 4:6: “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
What is so heartbreaking is to see a world stumbling around in the dark, looking for the light in all the wrong places.
The other sad thing is that people either refuse to come to the light when they find it or they reject it. Jesus went on to say in John 3:19: “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
This world for 2000 years has tried to put out the light who is the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want to give you some good news today. The deepest darkness cannot quench the faintest light. As a matter of fact, the deeper the dark, the brighter the light.
Only God could give man the greatest gift of all, and He did in the Lord Jesus. Only the Lord Jesus can give man the greatest gift of all—life for his dead soul and light to his darkened heart.
Rev. E.P. Scott, a pioneer missionary to India, came upon a savage band of natives on a war expedition. They seized him and pointed their spears directly at his heart. Feeling utterly helpless, not knowing what else to do, Scott pulled out his violin and began to play and sing in their native language: All hail the power of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all. He closed his eyes, expecting death at any moment. But when nothing happened after singing the third stanza, he opened his eyes. To his amazement, he saw that the spears had fallen from the hands of his captors, and tears filled their eyes. They invited him to their homes and through the years he won many of them to Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus could do that. Only Jesus could give life to a dead soul. Only Jesus could give light to a darkened heart because He is the Christ of Christmas.
Listen to Pastor Jack’s sermons every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on 98.9 WSIP FM. Check out the Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church Facebook page and website tomahawkmbc.com.