WEBVTT 00:00:02.319 --> 00:00:05.919 Well, good morning and welcome to Trinity. 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:08.560 My name is Mike, and I'm one of the pastors here. 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:14.800 And I'd like to invite you this morning to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 8. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:21.920 If you don't have a Bible with you this morning, please don't hesitate to hop up and grab one from the stack out in the hallway. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:28.480 You can find John 8 on page 838 in the church Bibles. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:40.079 We're picking up where we left off in our I Am series from two weeks ago, when we covered like 30 verses in John chapter 6. 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:48.159 Now this week, we're gonna do the opposite and zoom in on just one verse, John 8, 12. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:52.000 Maybe next week we'll land somewhere back in the middle, like usual. 00:00:52.719 --> 00:01:13.599 Now, the Gospel of John is organized into several sets of sevens, most famously the seven signs, the seven miracles of Christ described in John, which we looked at last fall, and the seven I am statements, claims Jesus makes about his identity in John, which is what we're looking at this fall. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:25.680 Two weeks ago, we looked at the first, where Jesus said, following the miraculous multiplication of bread, when he fed 5,000 people, he said, I am the bread of life. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:31.760 This week we're looking at the second statement, I am the light of the world. 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:40.560 But before we really get started on John 8, we need to talk a bit about context, because when it comes to the Bible, context matters. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:54.959 For example, when Jesus says, I am the bread of life, knowing that the statement follows a miracle where he miraculously provides bread for a huge crowd, well, that matters. 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:03.840 Similarly, there's some context clues this week that help set the stage for Jesus' next big I am claim. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:17.199 Now, if you have a Bible open, you'll see, this is a brief aside, that what immediately precedes Jesus', I am the light of the world statement is the story of a woman caught in adultery. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.479 It's one of the most famous stories in the Bible. 00:02:20.639 --> 00:02:28.159 I'm sure we'll talk about it at some point, but for the sake of this morning, there's a little asterisk. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.520 Do you see it right at the beginning of chapter 8? 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.719 In my Bible, it's like it's little brackets. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:36.319 Do you see that? 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:44.080 It says, the earliest manuscripts do not include 753 to 811. 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:46.000 Here's what that means. 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:57.759 It means our very earliest copies of John's account of Jesus' life and death and ministry don't include this story, the one of the woman caught in adultery. 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:01.919 Most scholars assume it was added later. 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.120 That doesn't mean that it's not true. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.639 The church has always viewed it as a true story and has affirmed it as scripture. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:12.319 It's authoritative. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:22.800 However, because it was added later here, it's not part of the narrative flow of John, if that makes sense. 00:03:22.960 --> 00:03:25.840 And so it doesn't provide context clues. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:31.199 So in order to see the context clues, we have to go back a little bit further. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:39.360 Now, John 737 is the beginning of the day that Jesus makes this I am statement. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:44.000 John writes that it was the last day of the feast. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:47.840 You have to go back another chapter or two to find out which feast it is. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:48.879 I'll just tell you. 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:52.080 The feast mentioned here is the feast of the tabernacle. 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:57.439 The feast of the tabernacle was one of the three big feasts on the Jewish calendar. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.400 And it was a feast that celebrated the harvest. 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:06.400 Celebrate, the harvest has come in, we've got plenty of food, we're gonna throw a big party. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:14.319 And Israelites from all over the country would come to Jerusalem, they'd bring their offerings, their first fruits, they would celebrate together. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:22.720 Now, by the time of Jesus, the feast had come to be marked by two particularly interesting traditions. 00:04:23.759 --> 00:04:25.600 First, light. 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:32.720 They had giant menorahs with huge candles lighting up the temple courtyard. 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:48.800 The whole city was lit by candles and torches, and the feast was it became known for celebrating all night, dancing by torchlight, processions as the dawn broke. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:59.839 It was a feast that by this time was celebrated in the darkness of night, illuminated by great and beautiful lights. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:16.639 Second, by Jesus' time, it was a feast tied, that had come to be tied, to Jewish hopes for a kingly Messiah who would lead them once again to national independence. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:20.800 Now, this makes sense in light of our Old Testament reading, Isaiah 9. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:25.439 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:30.160 Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:34.319 You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:40.959 They rejoice before you as with the joy of the harvest. 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:58.480 A harvest festival had come to be known, come to be celebrated in the dark with lights, as they yearned and looked for the day a Messiah would come. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:06.480 It's an interesting time for Jesus to make claims about his identity. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.279 And especially to claim to be the light. 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:15.439 It's in this context that Jesus speaks. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.319 But before we zoom in on his words, let's pray. 00:06:18.480 --> 00:06:28.800 Gracious God, thank you for this morning for the chance to gather, to sing, to pray, to be fed by you, to hear from your word. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:42.959 And I pray now, gracious God, that by your Holy Spirit, as my words line up with your words, that they would fall on ears and hearts ready to receive them and respond. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:51.519 And gracious God, I pray that if I say anything that isn't from you, that those words would quickly be forgotten. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.399 And I pray all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:57.439 Amen. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:11.040 There are rare moments in a preacher's life where recent lived experience directly relates to the text at hand. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.199 And this is one of those moments. 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:22.560 On Thursday night, my brother-in-law Josh and I drove nine hours to Lake Placid, the High Peaks region of upstate New York. 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:34.879 We met an old camp buddy of mine and a friend of his for a big hike/slash trail run we'd been planning and training for for a few months called the Great Range Traverse. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:43.279 25 miles, 9,500 feet of vertical climbing, eight 4,000-foot summits. 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:49.439 A hike Backpacker magazine, once called the third hardest hike in America. 00:07:50.160 --> 00:07:54.560 On Friday morning, our alarms went off at 3:30 a.m. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:07:59.759 to a persistent drizzle and a thick layer of cloud cover. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:02.399 Nonetheless, we had checked the weather. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:08.560 We knew, okay, it's supposed to drizzle just a little bit for a few hours in the morning, and then it's supposed to clear up. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:09.519 So it should be okay. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.519 We'll start, it'll be like this. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:14.720 Wasn't that cold when we started? 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:22.319 We'll we'll head off, and maybe by the time we get up, the first couple peaks, it'll have cleared, all will be fine. 00:08:22.399 --> 00:08:28.480 And so we drove to the trailhead, we pulled on our running packs, we checked in at the trail register. 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:31.920 We were the first ones of the day to sign in. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:34.159 And then we started running. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:35.360 4 a.m. 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.240 It was dark. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:45.120 Have you ever been in the woods at 4 a.m. 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.120 in a part of the country where there is very little light pollution? 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:56.000 Under the cover of trees, and a thick layer of cloud cover. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:05.919 It was so dark, and the clouds and the trees blocked any light that might have been provided by the moon and the stars. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:11.200 Without headlamps, we could barely see our hands in front of our faces. 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:17.759 And so we started running in the dark. 00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:23.919 Without our headlamps, it would have been impossible, impossible to follow the trail or walk without tripping. 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:30.559 We surely would have wandered off the trail, perhaps with disastrous consequences. 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:35.200 Without our headlamps, we would have been completely blind. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:41.440 This is the context to which Jesus speaks. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.200 Because the world is blind. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:50.960 I know it's perhaps not politically correct to say that, but the world is dark. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:56.879 As Jesus Himself says in John 3, people love the darkness. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:03.679 Our friends and neighbors, our classmates, coworkers, loved ones, they're living in it. 00:10:04.320 --> 00:10:08.799 Living in the dark, groping their way towards something. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:16.879 Yearning, even if distractedly, for something that we think we can find on our own. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:22.720 We try to find on our own purpose, meaning, community, love. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:31.600 We grope in the dark for light and for life. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.360 It's true two thousand years ago, too. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:37.919 The world was still dark. 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:44.080 People were still blind and yearning for something more. 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:54.240 Some sought it as some do today in riches or titles or perceived freedom. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.799 But it was dark all the same. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:08.480 And into this, Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:16.799 It's both the most inclusive and the most exclusive claim all at once. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:21.840 It's exclusive because Jesus claims to be the light. 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:26.960 Not a light, not one option among many. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:33.519 Not a light for me, but maybe not for you, but the light. 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:40.879 But it's also the most inclusive because he's the light of the world. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:12:03.919 Not just the Jewish people as they expected of Messiah, not just the light for the wealthy or the well-connected, for those who maybe feel they have earned it or deserve it, not just for men, not just for women, not just for grown-ups or any other particular tribe, but for the world. 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:19.919 Spoken to the people at the Feast of the Tabernacles, the feast where they looked for the promised Messiah of Isaiah 9, the one who would be a light for people in darkness. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:25.840 Jesus is saying, I am that light. 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:33.360 Not just for you here in Jerusalem, gathered for the Jewish holy day, but for the world. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.600 Do you see it right there, verse 12? 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:58.159 I am the light of the world, his big claim, inclusive and inclusive and exclusive all at once. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.600 And then an invitation. 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:04.399 Whoever follows me, this is the invitation, it's to follow. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:07.759 You've got a Bible open, underline that word, follow. 00:13:08.480 --> 00:13:09.440 It's like this. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:11.679 I told you, it's rare it all lines up. 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:18.080 On Friday morning, we sign in at the trailhead, we click on our headlamps, and we start to run. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.240 Josh, praise the Lord, took the lead. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:26.799 And then he got all the cobwebs. 00:13:28.080 --> 00:13:31.600 It also meant he had to pick his way the most carefully. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:35.919 These trails are not smooth, they're not easy. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.840 All I had to do was follow him. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:48.399 Now, when you're running on a rugged trail in the dark and in the rain, every step is vitally important. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:54.240 It is so easy to slip or trip or fall. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.120 It happens on almost every run. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:02.639 And Josh had the hardest job because he didn't have the luxury of following in somebody else's footsteps. 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:10.960 The rest of us that followed, we could see where the person in front of us had stepped, whether it had gone well or poorly. 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:15.039 All we had to do was follow. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:21.679 So I kept my headlamp and my eyes locked on Josh's hokas. 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:25.120 I stepped where he stepped. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.919 I dodged what he dodged. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.159 I did what he did. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:32.799 It was dark. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:36.720 All I had to do though was see his feet. 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:39.279 He picked the pace. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:41.039 He picked where to step. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:47.840 He picked which puddles to avoid, which to plow through, where to slow down, where to speed up. 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:49.440 And I followed. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:55.600 I was with him, not alone in the dark, following his steps. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:58.639 Now Josh is not Jesus. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:14:59.279 Okay. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:07.279 But the truth is we all follow something or someone, don't we? 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:10.799 We pick whose feet to follow. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:12.320 Where to step. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:17.200 Maybe it's a boss who organizes our days, our work, our steps. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:19.519 Maybe it's a coach. 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.639 Eat this. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:21.919 Do this workout. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:23.120 Wake up at this time. 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:24.960 Do this training, this training, this training. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:26.559 Maybe it's a parent. 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:31.600 Maybe it's some sort of plan or set of expectations. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:44.879 Maybe it's that well-trod suburban class uh path of good grades, good college, good job, marriage, mortgage, kids, 401k, retire, live happily ever after. 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.840 That's a path that we follow. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:55.679 Maybe it's whatever the algorithm or some influence is telling you. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:04.480 Buy this, do that, this morning routine, that fitness plan, this way of voting, this way of eating, do what I do. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.840 Step where I step, go where I show you to go. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:13.360 We all follow something or someone. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.639 Jesus is saying, follow me. 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:21.679 Do what I do. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:25.039 Step where I step. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.639 Now listen, kids look at me. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:31.279 This does not mean you should not obey your mother. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:31.840 Okay? 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.360 Or follow the plans your boss set. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:42.000 I had a training plan I followed in preparation for this hike, and that was good, right? 00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:59.600 The problem is that when we start expecting a parent or a boss or a training plan or the algorithm, or ChatGPT, or our friends, or whatever we're following to give us more than they're able to. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:11.119 When we start believing that the promises that ChatGPT makes will mean we won't be walking in darkness anymore. 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:14.319 And we'll have the life we're looking for. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:22.400 And when we do that, we are bound to end up off trail even if we don't realize it. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:30.480 Friends, ChatGPT cannot give you the sort of life that Jesus offers. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:39.039 And no boss or parent or algorithm can offer you true life. 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:44.720 It's a promise that only Jesus can deliver on. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.960 And it's a promise he makes right here in verse 12. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:17:51.759 I am the light of the world, his big claim. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:18:01.440 Whoever follows me, that's the invitation, and then the promise will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:03.279 The invitation is to follow me. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:10.240 The promise, you won't walk in darkness, you will have the light of life. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:15.599 Now, maybe some of you here are like, wait though, Mike. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:18.000 I do believe in Jesus. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:19.039 I trust him. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:26.000 I'm really, I'm doing my best to follow him, but my life still feels awfully dark. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:27.759 You ever feel like that? 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:29.279 Is it just me? 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:30.720 Maybe it's you too? 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:32.720 So what's up with the promise? 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:36.720 And how come it doesn't feel like that all the time? 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:47.839 Jesus doesn't promise that all darkness will be banished from your life right now. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:52.319 If you look closely, the promise is for the future. 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:54.000 Here's how St. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:55.759 Augustine puts it. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.279 What he has promised, he has put in the future tense. 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:05.440 Notice he doesn't say has, but shall have the light of life. 00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:12.559 And yet he does not say, he that shall follow me, but he who follows me. 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:21.200 He puts in the present tense what our duty is today, and in the future tense, what he has promised to do. 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:28.400 What we follow now by faith, we shall hereafter have by sight. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:49.279 The invitation is to follow, step by step behind Jesus today, doing what he did and does, walking as he shows us to walk, talking as he teaches us to talk, loving as he has demonstrated for us to love, and doing it all by faith. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:20:08.799 It's an invitation to trust that he is the light and that a day will come when darkness shall finally and completely be banished, as when the rain stops and the clouds depart and the sun rises overhead. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:30.400 It's an invitation to the crowd in John 8 and to us today to put our trust and our hopes for both the present, even as we walk, often in the dark, and for the future, where our faith shall be sight, to put them in Christ, in Christ alone. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:40.559 The promise is that no matter what darkness may dominate your life today, that is not the end of the story. 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:49.440 But for those that follow Jesus, you will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:56.160 For the Christian, the darkness is not the end, and it does not have the final say. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:04.079 It's a promise for a future of life and light, even as we stumble behind him in the dark today. 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:07.279 And it's a marvelous promise. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:10.799 I love how John Calvin puts it. 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:19.279 He wrote, We ought also to be powerfully affected by so large and magnificent a promise. 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:30.799 That they who shall direct their eyes to Christ are certain that, even in the midst of darkness, they will be preserved from going astray. 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:57.440 I'd like to tell you that our hike on Friday, which started in the dark, ended with the clouds parting and the sun shining in a magnificent series of summits. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:58.960 That was the plan. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:05.359 The truth is, our day ended up looking mostly like this. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:10.400 We did not complete the route as planned. 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:15.440 We had to bail early because the weather was so terrible. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:18.559 We didn't get to all the summits we'd hoped for. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:22.000 The rain never really relented. 00:22:22.640 --> 00:22:28.960 It started like this, and it got progressively harder and progressively colder. 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:34.480 We spent ten and a half hours wet to the bone. 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:37.359 I think my raincoat is still wet. 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:42.400 We battled winds that were dangerously cold. 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:58.960 We dealt with brutally steep and rocky climbs up trails that are hard enough when it's sunny, and that in the weather became full on streams. 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:02.880 I kid you not, we climbed up waterfalls. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:13.519 And while the day did get marginally lighter outside, the sun never once came out on Saturday. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:27.920 And I have spent a lot of days in the high peaks. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:30.880 But you know what? 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:41.680 It was still, despite the aches and the hardships and the slip and the pain, it was still a marvelous adventure. 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:43.680 You know what? 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:56.880 I can deal with darkness, the disappointment of the day, because I know that we'll be back on a day when the sun will be shining and we'll finish the thing. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:03.920 It's that future hope that gives meaning to the present disappointment. 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:14.000 I know many of you here this morning are dealing with disappointments considerably more difficult than a failed hike. 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:24.079 You're feeling you're dealing with situations that are hard, full of real grief, real confusion. 00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:28.960 And if you're not now, you will be. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.160 So let me give you some encouragement here as we wrap up. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:39.119 Jesus invites us to follow him. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:47.759 It means that even when we're running in the dark, that he's with us. 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.079 He's with us. 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:53.839 You're not alone in the darkness, he's there. 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:59.759 Your hardships, your suffering, your grief, your pain, your confusion. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:01.920 Keep your eyes on Jesus. 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:03.759 His feet. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:04.720 Follow him. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:07.920 He is there with you in the dark. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:13.200 Keep your eyes fixed on him and do what he does. 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:16.640 Step where he steps. 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:18.400 That's first. 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:21.440 Now, second, look around the room. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:23.519 Look around the room. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:31.599 You are not the only one following behind Jesus in the dark. 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:37.920 You're not the only one following behind Jesus in the dark. 00:25:38.160 --> 00:25:46.480 Let me tell you, when we ran on Friday morning with just headlamps for three hours before we could click those headlamps off, you know what I learned? 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:49.599 I ran most of that time second in line. 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:54.240 And I learned there's more light on the trail when you're in the midst of the group. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.480 When you're following with others. 00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:58.880 I had the light of Josh in front. 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:00.720 I could see his light. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:07.680 And then I had the light of Luke right behind me and Andrew right behind him. 00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:13.200 There's more light on the trail when you're running with others. 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:22.960 The night was not nearly as dark, nor the route as challenging because I didn't run it alone. 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:35.119 Instead, we walked together towards a goal, a future promise and hope, even when it was muddy and cold and wet and hard. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:37.839 We're not meant. 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.160 We're not meant to run alone. 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:47.759 Whatever grief you bear, whatever darkness you're walking in today, you're not meant to do it by yourself. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:55.200 You've got Jesus in front of you, and you've got a body alongside you and behind you. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:02.960 I've been a pastor long enough to know most all of us are walking in the dark. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:05.200 At least a little bit, right? 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:19.359 And I can tell you this Friday night, as we sat the Oxboat Inn eating an obscene amount of pizza, we talked about how hard the day was. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:23.759 And what we learned and what would do next. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:33.119 We dreamed of that future bluebird day will return and finish the thing together. 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:35.680 This is how we're meant to live. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:38.400 We walk in the dark together. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:46.799 When things are hard, we sit around a pizza, gather around a table, sit in each other's living rooms. 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.759 We say, Yeah, this was hard. 00:27:50.799 --> 00:27:53.759 But what an adventure we're on together. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:58.480 And isn't the Lord with us in the midst of it? 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:06.720 What's that future going to look like as we continue to walk together behind Him? 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:28.640 And we can bear the disappointment of the day because we're bearing it together, looking towards that future when we shall no longer be walking in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:34.000 Jesus said, I am the light of the world. 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:36.960 What a claim and what a promise. 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:44.799 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. 00:28:46.319 --> 00:28:48.480 Oh, the world may be dark. 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.319 The circumstances, they might be dark. 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:54.400 But Jesus is the light. 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:57.839 He's the only light for you and for me, for us. 00:28:58.960 --> 00:29:22.079 And he invites us to follow him together through all the messes and the hardships of this life to keep our eyes fixed on him, the light in the midst of the darkness, as we journey together towards that future, and we will no longer walk in darkness, but have the light of life. 00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:24.720 Will you stand and pray with me? 00:29:32.160 --> 00:29:34.720 Oh, we pray, come, Holy Spirit. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:39.119 Would you fill our hearts, our lives, our minds? 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:43.119 Would you give us faith to follow? 00:29:44.079 --> 00:29:50.960 Give us eyes to see, to step where you step, to walk where you walk, to follow where you lead. 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:55.119 Would you come, Holy Spirit? 00:29:56.960 --> 00:30:08.799 And would you form in us hearts that are humble, willing to be vulnerable with each other? 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:16.799 Gracious God, we know we're not meant to walk this life alone. 00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.759 We're meant to follow you together. 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:27.200 Oh, but that sort of following takes courage, humility, vulnerability, commitment, time. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:36.400 So we pray, come, Holy Spirit, would you order and reorder our hearts and lives? 00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:44.000 We might trust and follow where you're leading though the night be dark. 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:48.960 And we pray, come, Lord Jesus, come soon. 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.960 We pray all these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.160 Amen.