You Are Your Own Judge

Rev. Enoch Thompson | February 23, 2024 | John 3:19-21

KEY VERSE:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19 (NIV)

MESSAGE:

In John 3:16-18 The Lord Jesus made very categorical statements of people getting lost and people getting saved because of their faith in Him or their unbelief of Him. In the section for our reflection, He explains why the foregoing is so; people are saved or lost because they make a choice to be saved or to be lost.  The Lord invites us to the courtroom of the destinies of people and declares the basis of the judgment, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

The natural inbuilt sinful nature collaborates with Satan and the Satan-influenced world system around us to make us want to and to actually reject the light of God revealed in His Son, through His Word, by His Holy Spirit, and by the positive examples of godly people around us. The choice we make to go the ways that are contrary to God is what will send us to Hell, or in this life reduce the fellowship and blessings of God.

Sinful choices will make us want to hide in the darkness. Sinful choices will make us reject God and His godly ways. And those are always our choices. On the other hand, when we choose to live right, to walk in God’s light, we are emboldened by the power of right to want to step out, and to open ourselves up to the scrutiny of the light of God, and of His Word.

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

Have you deliberately chosen Christ, the light of the world, and are you walking in the light, the path defined by His Word and in the leading of the Holy Spirit? Choose the Light, be the light and walk in the light of God.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord Jesus, thanks for spelling out the verdict. I now know that I am responsible for my spiritual standing and that I can choose to be in the light and to be the light. Empower me, Lord, to always choose to be in the light. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!

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DAILY wordy study: DARKNESS In Greek, the word used for "darkness" is "σκοτία" (skotía). It denotes a state of spiritual ignorance, moral depravity, or separation from God's truth and righteousness.

Some biblical examples that illuminate the theme of darkness versus light are:

• John 1:5 (NIV) - "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

• Ephesians 5:8 (NIV) - "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."

"Darkness" symbolizes spiritual blindness and the presence of sin and evil in the world. It represents ignorance of God's truth and rejection of His light. People who are in darkness are enslaved to sin and live apart from God's ways.

In the context of John 3:19, Jesus explains that although the light of God's truth has come into the world through Him, many people prefer to remain in darkness. This choice stems from a love for sinful desires and a reluctance to confront the reality of their own wrongdoing.

Reflections

In what ways have you witnessed the presence of spiritual darkness in the world around you? How can you be a bearer of God's light and truth to those who are still living in darkness?