John 1:4-5 “In Him was the life, and the life was the light of men.”
Life – ZOE – The principle of life
“The light of men” – Light that makes sense of human existence.
”…not comprehend it” – The darkness is unreceptive to the light and doesn’t understand it; hence, it cannot control it.
Luke 2:10-11 – ”Good tidings of great joy” – The light is not only greater than the darkness; it will also outlast it and give us the ability to make sense of God’s purposes.
John the Baptist – a Prophetic voice sent to “prepare the way of the Lord.”
Luke 1:76-79 – Zacharias’ Rhema word over John.
1 Corinthians 12:27 – “Now, you are the Body of Christ.”
Luke 1:80 – “The child grew and became strong in the Spirit and was in thedesert till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”
A Present Word: The prophetic voice is honed, in the desert, before it’s revealed in God’s perfect timing.
Isaiah 60:1-5 “Arise, shine for your light has come….”
Psalm 94:12-13(Mess) – He provides a “circle of quiet” within the clamor of evil.
Ephesians 2:14 – He, Himself is our PEACE.
Empathy – Getting a sense of another’s mind.
“Jesus’ gentleness toward sinners flows from His ability to read their hearts.” – PR
“Beyond the grumpiest poses and defense mechanisms, beyond their arrogance and airs, beyond their sneers and curses, Jesus saw little children who hadn’t been loved enough and had ceased growing because someone ceased believing in them.” – Brennan Manning
“Hostility and Estrangement” = “Enmity and Alienation”
Human Wisdom’s solution – Focus on circumstances.
True Wisdom – Focus on man’s estrangement from GOD.
Romans 5:1 – Jesus, our bridge back to God.
Luke 5:1-11 “Two Boats” – Freedom of choice.
Proverbs 18:10(TPT) God is a tower of strength for the lovers of God’s delight to run into.
James 4:1-2(TPT)
The “human way” has a foundation built on unredeemed and unrepentant hearts with lives lived in the ILLUSION of SELF-IMPORTANCE.
These lack the humility necessary to ASK GOD for what they need.
Psalm 25:8 “Good and upright is the Lord who shows sinners the WAY.”
Ephesians 2:11-14(TPT) – “Our reconciling Peace is Jesus!”
Psalm 121:1-2 – “Our help comes from the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth.”
Philippians 3:20-21(TPT) – “We are a colony of heaven on earth….”
James 3:18 – The Peacemakers: Sowers of righteousness.
Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS for they will be called the children of God.”
– Happiness – is subjective to your state of mind. It comes from outside yourself and depends on something “happening” that’s unexpected and pleasurable.
– Joy – emanates from within and doesn’t rely on external circumstances.
– The message of exceeding joy was that it was now possible for people to be changed (transformed) from within.
– John 1:4 – Jesus, the LIGHT of men – the Principle of LIFE (Zoe) who brought enlightenment to mankind. – The Transformational Connector to God the Father.
– Matthew 16: 25 – “For My Sake” – For the sake of the TRUTH
– SOUL CONTROL – being bossed around by automatic emotional responses to circumstances
– Two Choices:
1. Keep control – Have to make every decision with incomplete info
2. Give control to God and receive transformational promises of the New Covenant
– 2 Corinthians 3:6 – The LAW kills – The SPIRIT gives life
– Luke 5:1-8 – Two Boats – Our Way / His Way
– Romans 2:4 – God’s KINDNESS leads to repentance
– 1 John 4:19 – We love Him b/c he first loved us
– 1 John 4:10 – True repentance is the result of a revelation of God’s unyielding love for us
– Romans 12:1-2 – Repentance occurs, transforming us as our minds are renewed
– Titus 2:11-12 – Grace is a teacher and leads people to repent
– Grace – Does not result in Superficial Behavior Modification but with Permanent Interior Heart Transformation
– “O Christ, my JOY. Allow us the Joy of your presence that transcends the sorrows of our lives.”
We are in the season of Advent, celebrating the second Sunday, a celebration of Jesus- The Way.
This season is a time when we have an anticipation of His coming.
We have an expectancy of His Presence,
much like when we sit at His feet in worship in our prayer closet,
prepared. When we come together on Sunday, we wait for Him and expect His arrival.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
He is the Way to God.
Jesus is the Light of the world. He lights the Way to God.
Some truths from John 14…
Jesus said:
Let not your heart be troubled… [The remedy for a troubled mind is to believe in Jesus as the Way. Christ is the sinner’s Way to the Father and heaven.]
Jesus continues: where I go, you know, and the way you know.
Then Thomas says: Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?
Jesus replies, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). He is God manifest in the flesh- the very image and likeness of God.
The verse following is interesting:
John 14:7 -If you had known ME, you would have known My Father also, and from now on, you know Him and have seen Him.
In other words – If you had recognized me…my character, my design,
Who I am, the glorified Son of God…saw what I was doing…
Then Philip says, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.
Jesus replies He who has seen Me has seen the Father. The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in ME does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me…
Then He shares His Truth: His Way:
If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words, and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent me.
JESUS IS THE WAY TO THE FATHER AND THE FATHER’S LOVE. BELIEVE.
Then a few verses down in John 14, Jesus promises to send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in His name, and He will teach all things. He is the Spirit of wisdom and revelation…Who reveals the Christ to us and causes us to ‘know’ Him, His plans, and to know that we are “accepted in the Beloved.”
He loves us; we can love others with that same love.
John 16:2
The Holy Spirit of the Living God is the Teacher. The Spirit of God’s intention is not to help us in our personal mission but to press us into greater submission to God so that we can bear much fruit in the world and look like Jesus.
John 15: 9-11
Psalm 86:11
“When we read the book of Joshua, we learn the ways of God:
how he moves us forward, how we triumph over our enemies, and how we do the impossible.” TPT
We can read the gospels.
Jesus is the Bread of Life, the Light of the world, the Door, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection, and the Life, the True Vine,
