How does something occur to us? Where does it come from? You've seen the cartoons, the light bulb over somebody's head, that it dawned on them. Well, the Scripture's answer is from John chapter 1, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him, not anything that was made was made. And Him was life and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Verse 9 says, The true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. When our ideas come into our mind, they come from the outside of us, or do they come from the inside? We know they occur to us, but how? And I saw a very interesting interview this week with Jordan Peterson, who you should pray for because he seems close to becoming a Christian, and John Lennox, who is a Ph.D. professor in mathematics and religion at the University of Oxford in Cardiff, Wales. And this is what he said, There is a terrible threat of deification. We have moved from God coming to Moses and saying, I am what I am. Now we have pridefully taken the place of God and decided it's up to us to say, I am what I am. I am the source of all wisdom and revelation. I get to decide what I am with my brain, my psyche, my subjectivity, and no humility in that regard. He goes on to say, That's a devastating cultural impropriety. I get to decide for myself. I am the source of all wisdom and revelation. And it raises subjective intellect to the status of God, and that is a Luciferian crime. John Lennox went on to agree with him and explained that that's exactly what Lucifer did with Adam and Eve in the garden. He tried to elevate them to the place of God. In another interview, Peter Bogazian, who is an atheist, was asked if he had changed his views based on recent events in the world. It turns out he has a little bit. He says, I've been thinking about an unbridled optimism that I had, that we could bring about a society where religious dogma played much less, if any, role in it. Then he said, were those doctrines a preventative of people becoming insane, thinking that men can become pregnant, or mutilating children's genitals, or thinking everyone is a racist, or there are literal Nazis goose-stepping through Dunkin' Donuts? Obviously American. I think I was overly optimistic about the consequences and did not expect the current fiasco we have. So here we have an academic, an atheist, that he didn't foresee the consequences of his beliefs becoming a reality. Another famous atheist, Richard Dawkins, has echoed the same sentiments. Why do I talk about these things? They're examples of what God says in his word about the darkness that envelops us. The passage we read from John chapter 1, verse 4, it says the word that is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, in him was life, and his life was the light of men. The Son of God has made everything that there is. He gives life to anything that's living. He is the light that enlightens every person. I remember in seminary I asked my professor who's gone to be with the Lord, Dr. Ronald Nash, does this mean that the only reason a person knows anything is because the Son of God enlightens that person? He said yes. God the Son is the reason you have life at all. God the Son is the reason you can think. All things were made through him and without him, not anything was made that was made. In him was life and his life was the light of men. He's the reason we have knowledge of any kind. Science, mathematics, physics, are all because God has enlightened people, they're all because the laws of physics, for example, can be trusted. When God created humankind, he made them male and female, Adam and Eve, and they were created to live forever to speak to the face of God. John Lennox asked the question to Jordan Peterson. He says, you know, when I talk to atheists, I ask them, when they're looking at a mathematical problem or a physics problem, I ask them, if you believe that a mindless person or thing or random event came up with this, would you trust it? And they all say no. And yet that's what you're doing if we don't believe there's a creator. So what happened? We fell into sin and death and darkness overcame them. The theme of our time together this morning is the light of the world. And the light is necessary because of the darkness that we're in. Romans chapter 1 verse 18, a lengthy passage, bear with me, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. That's another question that John Lennox asks unbelievers. He said, I asked atheists all the time, if I could prove to you that Christianity is true, would you be a Christian? And they say no, which proves that they hate the idea of being a Christian more than they love the truth. He says, Paul says, for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images, resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, dishonoring their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Jesus echoes this in John chapter 3, and this is the judgment that light is coming to the world, meaning him. And people love the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest their deeds be exposed. So the problem is the world is enveloped in darkness, moral darkness, spiritual darkness. And Jesus is the light of the world. But then here in Matthew, in the great Sermon on the Mount, he says, you are the light of the world, meaning that you and your fellow Christians alone are the light of the world. It's a statement of exclusivity. Like Jesus said in John 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Jesus is saying, I'm the only way. There is no other way. Granted, there are people who say there are other ways, but there aren't. So what Jesus is saying to us when he says that you are the light of the world is that you have more power, not just more, but the only power for doing what really matters in the world, which is shining the light of Christ into the darkness. Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven, that you have hidden all these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this was well pleasing in your sight. Paul writes to Timothy that God dwells in an approachable light. Darkness has been overcome by the light of Christ. Paul writes to the Colossians, it's a verse that we recite a lot here in Bedford. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of the beloved Son, whom there is redemption in the forgiveness of sins. Peter says you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. And here's the point that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who's called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. But how? How is it possible that I can come into the presence of the Holy One when I am born into darkness? It would seem like it's an unsolvable problem. But God has provided a way to heal us, to cure us, to free us from darkness. And that is that he became one of us. In the passage from John chapter 1 it says he became flesh and dwelt among us. Literally it says he made his tabernacle with us. Now there were specific instructions in the Old Testament for how the tabernacle was to be constructed. And there were many levels of entry. The outer court of the Gentiles, then the inner court of those who were Jews. Then progressively into the holy of holies where the Ark of the Covenant was and the presence of God. And only the priest could go in once a year to make sacrifice. But now John is saying that God is present among his people, Immanuel, with God with us. God became man, the Word became flesh, life became man again, and light was in human form again. A sinless, perfect nature and the divine nature of God Almighty both in one person. It was necessary for mankind to be saved from sin and death and eternal darkness. For God to become one of us. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says, Therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through the fear of death were subject to life-long slavery. For surely it's not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become the merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. And I know I've done it before, but I'm going to do it again, I'm going to explain what propitiation means. Propitiation means that the wrath of God has been satisfied against all sin on Jesus on the cross. That our sin was placed on him, that our sin was executed on him. That's why 1 John chapter 1 that we read says, this is the message we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. Jesus is the light, and his blood cleanses us, and that's what we're doing over here in the Lord's Supper. The light of the world bled, the light of the world became flesh, like you and me. The light of the world died, so that those of us who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery would no longer be afraid. The word, the holy one who is light, who dwells in inapproachable light, became one of us. The light wrapped himself in a mantle of flesh and died, so that we who were born of darkness, living in darkness, could wrap ourselves in the light and overcome death and live forever with him. So what are we to do with this knowledge? Well, the first thing we do is we don't hide it, either as a church or individuals. I'll read again the passage from Matthew 5. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven. Why would Jesus have to say, don't hide it unless that is possibly an inclination that we might have? The metaphors are pretty clear. The city is a collective. It's a community. In our case, it's a community of believers, and we should not be hidden. That's why the Gospel is expounded. The Bible studied, the Word preached, the people served in church and the community at large. It is why we support the Open Door Ministry to help women with crisis pregnancies and young people who are in danger of being trafficked. And remember, starting next week on Mother's Day, we will pass out the bottles in the boxes where you can collect your change until Father's Day. Give to this important ministry. It's why we do English as an alternative language to help people who are immigrants assimilate into the community and hopefully hear the Gospel and come to faith in Christ and worship Him. It's why we're doing safe children. So as a community, as a body of believers, we let the Gospel of light shine forth into our community. But these words are also for us individually, and I want to press you on this this morning. We don't put our light, the Gospel, under a basket. I'm going to ask, why would a person do that? Well, I have five reasons. The first is you're not really a Christian. And you need to think about that. You need to think about if I don't want to ever talk to anybody about the Gospel, if I'm embarrassed to talk to somebody about the Gospel, maybe I don't believe it myself. Because it is the most important thing in the world. So that's a possibility. And if that's true of you, if you examine your heart and you come to that conclusion that you know I have not ever really believed, then repent. And repent means to turn from the way you're going of unbelief to belief in Christ. And all He has done for you and who He is, and embrace Him. Another reason that people shy away from talking to others about Jesus is they say things like, well, I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing and push people away. Well, there's an answer to that. Learn what to say. Learn what to say. There's all kinds of helps these days on the Internet. Google. How to share your faith. How to witness to somebody. Learn what to say. I mean, think about this. If you were at work and they were doing a new computer program that you had to learn to keep your job, you would learn it. And yet so many Christians use that excuse all of their Christian life, well, I don't really know what to say. I don't want to say the wrong thing. It's inexcusable. If you believe the gospel and you're not sure you know what to say, learn what to say. Another excuse people use a lot is the people I know already have a church. Do they? Do they attend? Does it believe the gospel? Or is it Christian in name only? And if you know all the people you know are Christian, meet some other people. There are other people aren't Christians. 95% of people in Halifax don't go to an evangelical church or any church. So it's not possible that you don't know any non-Christians. Another one is fear of rejection. And this might sound harsh, but it's true. It's ultimately selfishness. What you're saying is I fear the rejection of people more than I care about their eternal destiny. Paul in Acts 20 when he's getting ready to leave, Ephesus for Jerusalem, he said, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house. Testifying both the Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Can you say that about the people that you know? Can you say that about your non-Christian neighbors and friends and co-workers, that you're innocent of their blood because you have not ceased to declare to them the gospel of Jesus Christ? Can you say it? I've told you this story before, but I'm going to repeat it. As Paul said, to say the same things again to you is no trouble to me and profitable for you. The man that led me to Christ, his name is Bill Guy. He got more degrees than I can count, PhD, MD. And I saw him the last day of school. We were both done, and I was walking across campus, and I saw him walking toward a classroom building, and I said, Bill, where are you going? He said, I need to go talk to my professor. I said, what are you talking to him about? He said, well, I've never shared the gospel with him, and I need to do that. And I said, well, why do you need to do it? He said, well, if not me, then who? If not me, then who? I'm asking you that. For your friends, for your neighbors, for your co-workers, for your family members, if not you, then who? Another reason, I guess there's six. You say, well, you know I'm an introvert. I don't find it easy to talk to people. Well, I doubt that all the disciples were extroverts. I can't imagine that that would be the case. But I know one modern day missionary, Dr. Bill Bright, who started Campus Crusade for Christ, he said, I was an introvert. I am an introvert. And yet he said that he decided, because of his faith in Christ, that he was going to share the gospel to anyone that would listen in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God. My wife Tracy became a Christian because he did that. Thousands and thousands of people came to Christ through him and millions through his ministry. You don't have to be an extrovert to talk to people about Jesus. Finally, the last reason that we don't share our faith in Christ is cowardice. We're just cowards. But you know the disciples were cowards. Peter was a coward. They all ran away. Peter denied Christ three times. They overcame their cowardice by spending time with Jesus, by having faith in Jesus. Spending time with Jesus in his word and in prayer. He says, you are a chosen race, first Peter two nine, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. The reason for that, the reason that he's called you, the reason that he's chosen you, the reason that you are a holy nation to him, the reason that you're a royal priesthood to him, the reason that you're his own possession is so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him. Who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That's the reason. The reason you're a Christian is so that you can be the light of the world. Because once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. And that is what we'll celebrate here in the Lord's Supper is the mercy of God through the sacrifice of Christ. Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for the gospel. As we come to the table, we pray that you would declare again. The gospel of Jesus Christ in the giving and receiving of the bread and the cup. We pray in his name. Amen.