 Jesus declared, I am the light of the world. And that truly was a glorious statement. And we're going to be examining those powerful words as I continue my series, I am. But first, Stephen Mock, the Zoomer is here with me. He's gonna lead you in some very anointed worship. And then we're getting right into this message. Let's worship now. God, God for us, nothing can come again. Nothing can come again. None can stand between us. God with God for nothing can come again. God was fear you brought curse. So the key verse here is John chapter eight, verse number 12. Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life. Number one, light reveals and exposes. Matthew chapter 12, verse 25 says, Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. There, let's focus in on that key phrase, Jesus knew their thoughts. When light comes on, the things that were hidden in the shadows become revealed. The things that were hidden in darkness are exposed. When light turns on, the details become visible. When light turns on, that which was under the surface of shadow becomes apparent. It's not until we see him that we see everything that needs to change in us. I'm talking about secret sin. I'm talking about hidden motives within the heart. I'm talking about ungodly plans. I'm talking about character flaws. Jesus is that light. And when that light is present, it begins to reveal and expose things in you and I. I often tell the Lord, Lord, there are so many ways that I'm not like you. Please make me like you. It's only when you're in his presence that those flaws become apparent. Think about Isaiah in Isaiah chapter six. When he was carrying out his duties, all of a sudden heaven opens. He captures this glimpse of the glory of God. What does he say? He says, woe is me for I'm undone. In other words, in the midst of that captivating beauty, in the midst of that encounter with God, Isaiah becomes focused on himself. Why? Because as the Lord drew closer, his flaws became more apparent. As the Lord drew closer, the conviction on him intensified, on Isaiah the prophet. So the Lord does reveal our secret sin. The Lord does reveal our hidden motives, our ungodly plans, our character flaws, but he doesn't expose to shame you. He exposes it that it might be eliminated from your life. So Jesus is the light of the world and one of the traits of light is that it reveals and exposes, the presence of Jesus reveals and exposes. Number two, light guides. Isaiah chapter nine, verse two says, the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. It's only by the person of Jesus that we can truly see all things as they truly are. He is that light. When his presence is in our lives, just as the children of Israel were guided by a cloud by day and a fire by night, so you and I are led by that presence. Moses told the Lord, Lord, I won't go anywhere unless your presence goes with me. In the same way, we ought to say to the Lord, Lord, be the light of my life. Guide my every step. Show me the right direction. Song chapter 119, verse 105 says, your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. It's very dangerous to walk without the light. We shouldn't have our life led by our emotions, by our opinions, by our whims. Our lives should be guided by that light. Our lives should be directed by the light of the world. As we follow the light, we are guided in God's perfect will. As we follow the light, we come to reach the destiny that God has preordained for us and by choice we walk in that predestination. Number three, light brings color. It's true that without light, there is no color. John chapter 10, verse 10 says, the thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life or as another translation says, that they might have life and life more abundantly. There's a dullness to life without Jesus. It's colorless. Acts chapter 17, verse 28 says, for in him we live and move and have our being. A certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring. You know, there's no real purpose without him. I would rather cease to exist than to exist without him. Without the light of the world, without the presence of Jesus, there is no color in life. There's no purpose. It's aimless wandering. What good is this life without the presence of Jesus? Ephesians chapter three, verse eight says, unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. You know what that means? Exactly what it says, unsearchable riches, never ending riches. In the mystery of Christ himself is an eternity of exploration. You and I have the honor and the privilege of knowing the glory of the Son of God. He is that color to life. He is what brings that life to fullness. He is what brings that life to purpose. There is no purpose. There is no fullness. There is no color. It's dull. He is heaven. He is heaven. His presence is heaven. And in him we see. In him we know. In him we experience the glories of God. That's number three, light brings color. So far, number one, light reveals and exposes as he draws nearer to us. Things in our hearts begin to become clear and we start to see all the ways that were not like him. Number two, light guides. Without the presence of Jesus in our lives we would not know where to go. It's by him that we truly see all things. Number three, light brings color. There's life to him and without him life is dull. Now this may sound to some and I don't mean it disrespectfully but this is the reality. Number four, light irritates the sleeper. John chapter three verses 18 through 21. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only son. And the judgment is based on this fact. God's light came into the world but people loved the darkness more than the light. For their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear that their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. Again, I don't mean this disrespectfully but the truth is Jesus irritates many. Those who are asleep do not like when light shines on them. Think about it, have you ever been sound asleep when maybe your phone lights up and it wakes you up and you have to get up and turn it on to the do not disturb mode? Or maybe you've been in a dark room and you go step out into the sunlight and it's so bright that it's irritating. When you've been in darkness the light is irritating. And the truth of the matter is the world rejects the light of the world because they are asleep. They're asleep in their darkness. They're asleep in their sin. They don't want to wake up. They don't want to come out of spiritual slumber. They want to stay in that world that they've known and his glory is blinding. His glory is blinding to them. This is why the name of Jesus causes such a strong reaction from the world. You can talk about any religion. You can talk about God in general. You can talk about ancient mythologies. You can talk about religions of the world but the moment you mention the name of Jesus a glorious light is shining into that dark place and the world reacts in irritation. The world recoils from that. This is why Christians are being pushed out of every section of society. This is why you can attack any group and be punished except for Christians. This is why the world rejects us because we shine a bright light and they see that light as a threat to the darkness in which they are living. The moment you mention the name of Jesus the moment you carry his presence with you into a place that is dark there is a recoiling, there is a reaction there is a strong reaction to that light because his glory is blinding. Light irritates the sleeper. They don't want to wake up. Number five, light dispels darkness. First John chapter three verse eight says but when people keep on sinning it shows that they belong to the devil who has been sinning since the beginning but the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Think of the confusion of the world's babbling all of the news outlets saying what they believe is truth all of the systems of education saying what they believe is truth all the misguided political leaders saying what they believe is truth the famous faces of the movie industry and the famous voices of the music industry all seen speaking against God all heard speaking against God it's all confusion, it's all babbling it's all noise, empty philosophies supposedly virtuous cries of culture lies of the enemy all of it dispelled the moment the light shines. The work of the enemy is all based on shadow. I often say that the power of the demonic compared to the power of the Holy Spirit is really no comparison. The demonic is like a sandcastle the power of the Holy Spirit like an ocean wave not even a contest. These lies of the enemy are based on a shadow. Everything, everything about hell the structures of hell the powers of hell the weapons of hell, the figures of hell all of it that kingdom brick by brick built upon shadow. And the moment that the light shines everything that hell is founded upon instantly becomes dissolved. It's not even a contest. That is who Christ is. His light dispels the darkness. His presence destroys the works of the devil. So number one, light reveals and exposes. Number two, light guides. Number three, light brings color. Number four, light irritates the sleeper. And number five, light dispels darkness. Lord Jesus, let your light shine in us and through us. Lord, shine it in us that we might see how we're not like you. And shine it through us that others might see you through us. Let that light shine, Lord. Let us be that shining light, reflections of your glory. We honor you, Lord, and we bless you. We thank you, Father God for sending the light of the world, your son Jesus. In his name we pray, I want you to say it because you believe it, say amen. Well, that's it for the lesson. I wanna welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you, we're praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it if you like information on how you can join the Spirit Family, our online church. Go to davidhernanisministries.com slash spiritchurch. And now to your comments. These comments come from the video How to Never Backslide, five keys. This is a moment of truth video that I did on How to Never Backslide. I mean, it's in the title there, but though that may sound simple, the truth of the matter is that many have accepted this idea that backsliding is just a part of the Christian life, that the Christian life will just have its ups and downs. And yes, it will have its ups and downs in that there will be trials. But never should our commitment waver. Never should we become inconsistent or unfaithful nor do we have to become that way. So I show you in that video, five keys that you can apply to your life that will set you up to where you will never, ever, ever backslide. So make sure you go and watch that again. How to Never Backslide, five keys. It's a moment of truth video. While you're searching for that, make sure you're also following us on all of our social media platforms. Subscribe to us on YouTube. Click that notification bell when you do and make sure to leave a comment in the comment section right now and I may read your comment on one of the episodes of Spirit Church. So the first comment comes from Marzolle Cinco who writes, amen, thanks for this message. Crystal Botger writes, you are a man of God raised up for such a time as this, God bless your ministry, Pastor David. Stefan Amen writes, thank you, Pastor David. This was uplifting. Javelin Morales writes, thank you so much for this, brother David, God bless. And the final comment I'm reading from this video comes from Tinsey Thomas who writes, very well said and timed. Thank you, Pastor David, God bless you, brother. I wanna talk to you about something, but first I wanna read a verse to you or a portion of scripture really. This is found in 2 Corinthians chapter nine, verse number six. Now this topic is a very touchy subject because people have a lot of misunderstandings concerning this subject, but I wanna read you this portion of scripture, it's very important. 2 Corinthians chapter nine, verse number six. Remember this, a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure for God loves a person who gives cheerfully. Verse eight says, and God will generously provide all you need, then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. Here's the promise of scripture. When you financially support the gospel, it triggers this promise. And I understand that some have abused this concept and have really used greed and gimmicks and guilt to try to motivate God's people to give, but really the Bible says clearly here that we're to do it cheerfully. So there is truth to this, though that truth has sometimes been twisted. Now in verse 10, the Bible says, for God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. In other words, God is the one who provides us with the resources that we might be a blessing to the gospel, to the kingdom, to ministries and ultimately to people who are lost and need the gospel message. So the scripture is very clear. As you generously sow seed into ministry, into the gospel, not to get, not being triggered by greed, not in response to some gimmick, not in response to guilt, but simply because you love souls and you love the work of the ministry. That's when God provides more resources. Why? Because he can trust you with what you have. See often we say, God, bless me and I'll give, but it's still the way around. God says, give and I'll bless you. And as you respond in faith to the promises of God and as you step out in confident hope on the word of God, he will provide everything you need. And I love what the scripture says. It says that he will generously provide all you need. So your needs are gonna be met. And then it says, then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. Am I saying that if you give to the ministry, you're gonna be living in a mansion, driving a fancy car and you're gonna be a multimillionaire? No, that's not the promise of the gospel. We're all going to face trials and God does appoint some to be wealthy people. But here the scripture gives us the definition, the biblical balance definition of what it means to truly prosper. And that is that your needs are met and you have the resources to be a blessing to others. That truly is biblical prosperity. And so I wanna challenge you today. As the scripture says, a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. And even in these uncertain times, we must sow. We may think, we may imagine that because times are uncertain, that God looks down and winks and says, I understand you're not giving because you're uncertain about the future. That's not the case at all. Even in uncertain times, we must respond in obedience to the word of God, in obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit. So I ask you right now, listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit. Ask him, Lord, what would you like me to give? You're not watching this by accident. Don't ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit if he's speaking to you now. Because this is an important cause. People need the gospel. I'm not asking you to give so I can live a life of luxury. I'm not asking you to give so that I can consume it upon my lust. I'm asking you to give to fund the media, to fund the events, to fund the live streams, to fund the Holy Spirit school freely we receive so freely we give. I'm gonna challenge you to give a one-time gift or become a monthly ministry partner. When you sign it to become a monthly ministry supporter, we understand that you're giving because you love God and souls, but we like to give back to our supporters because we love them. As a monthly supporter at the $10 level, that's $10 or more a month, you will get access to our exclusive monthly partner Zoom calls where I will update you, the monthly supporter. You'll be the first to hear ministry announcements. You get a 10% discount on all ministry apparel. You get event seat reservations at all ministry events. You get an exclusive partner update and you get a beautiful Dove lapel pin that you can wear to show your support of the gospel. $30 a more month. You get all of that plus you get to pick a book from our book catalog, $100 or more a month. You get a 20% discount so the discount doubles at the $100 level and you get all four books in the catalog. You can't beat that knowing that you're funding the media, knowing that you're funding the events, knowing that you're funding the live streams and the Holy Spirit school and it's all going out for free to people all around the world, souls being saved, lives being transformed, people being delivered, healed, leaders being raised, you just can't beat that. So become a partner today or give a one-time gift but ask the Holy Spirit what you should do. You're gonna partner with us on a monthly basis, go to davidhernandezministries.com slash partner. If you're gonna give a one-time gift, go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate. And that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. Thank you for watching EncounterTV. Don't forget to subscribe and click the notification bell. Also, help us spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Make a one-time donation or become a monthly supporter by clicking on the donate link now.