Scripture references:
John 8:12-20
“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life'” (John 8:12).
Sermon Transcript
The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.
- Opening
- The Feast and the Claim
- What Light Means
- Messiah, and Divine
- The Promise: The Light of Life
- Those Who Follow Him
Opening
Father, I want to thank You for allowing us to be here today, allowing us to gather in the name of Your Son, Jesus. We ask, Lord, that as we look into Your Word, that, Lord, You would enlighten our eyes to see You, that we would know You better. As a result of knowing You, we would be changed into Your image. I pray that we would be more committed to following You throughout our lives. We pray for our children. We ask for anointing on the teachers. We ask that You would empower them through Your Holy Spirit and teach our children Your precious, precious Word. We pray these things in Christ’s name, amen.
Open your Bibles, if you would, to the Gospel of John. We’re going to chapter 8. We’re going to continue our study. We’re looking at these sayings of Jesus, these claims of Jesus, where He uses this phrase, “I am.” And we looked last week where Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” And today we’re going to start in verse 12. The Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 12:
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The Pharisees therefore said to Him, “You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true.” Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. You judge according to the flesh,” that is, according to the natural, according to what can be seen. “I judge no one,” meaning I judge no one in that fashion. “And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.” These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
(John 8:12–20)
The Feast and the Claim
This passage is very fascinating when you look at the setting here in the Gospel of John, because the context here is a feast that was happening annually in Israel. It’s called the Feast of Tabernacles. Go back to John 7 and verse 37 and notice, I want you to notice this phrase here, because John is giving us the setting of the teaching of Jesus here. In John 7:37 it says this: “On the last day, that great day of the feast,” etc., etc., etc. Well, we know from studying the Gospels that the feast in question here was the Feast of Tabernacles, or what’s often called the Feast of Booths. And in this feast, this is a commemorative or a memorial feast, and Israel was commemorating their wandering through the wilderness. And so what they did is for seven days they would come to Jerusalem, and because they were not in their homes, they left their homes to come to the city, they would build little booths made out of like palm trees and different things. So, you know, palm leaves, and they would build these little huts, they’d call them booths. Remember when Jesus was on the mount and He’s transfigured, remember what Peter said? He said, Lord, let us make a booth. Well, he’d been used to making these little booths. So every year they would come and they would build these little booths and they would stay in them for a week, and then at the end of the week they would take the booth down.
Well, what was the point of the symbolism? Well, if you remember the journey through the wilderness, [audio unclear] the fire would sit there, then the fire would begin to move again, they would take the tabernacle down, pack everything up, start to follow the fire wherever it went. So they’re commemorating the fact that God, through really His Shekinah glory it was called, this fiery presence of this light was guiding them through the wilderness. And so the booths were like the tabernacle which you would erect and then take down. Like their habitations actually in the wilderness, which they knew were not permanent. Because they knew the fire was going to move. The permanent residence was in the Promised Land, right? They weren’t there yet. So in the wilderness, their residence was temporary. And so this festival was to commemorate God’s light and God’s guiding presence through the wilderness.
And what’s interesting is there were several rituals involved in this feast which commemorated things that God did in the wilderness. For example, there was a ritual of pouring water where the priests would go to the pool of Siloam and they would fill these cups with water. They would then go up the steps of the altar. Now this is in the temple in Jerusalem, and they would, in one like long funnel they would pour wine, and in the other funnel they would pour water. Well, Jesus standing in the temple, observing the ritual, John 7:37, says, “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.” And He is alluding to that ritual, which they were all observing, the pouring of the water. And what did that commemorate about the wilderness experience? Tell me now. Yes, where Moses spoke to the rock and God provided water. And the water came out of the rock. So they were commemorating the wilderness journey, commemorating God’s provision of water through the rock.
But then there was another ritual attached to this feast. And it was the ritual of the lighting of the candles. And in this court, the court where Jesus was, where the treasury was, it was called the court of the women, there are these large candlesticks, some people call them candelabras, and at the evening of each day of the week, some scholars say actually this happened only at the very end of the week, they had a ritual where they would light all of the candles. One would go down and it would get dark, and they would light the candles, and there would be a bright light and it would light up the entire temple. So here is the ritual of the lighting of the candles. And the light shines throughout the temple, throughout the darkness. And Jesus stands before them and says, “I am the light of the world.” Everything about the festivals, everything about the rituals were pointing to Him. It’s awesome, isn’t it? To think that these symbols were a shadow and the substance stood right there. Right there in the temple.
What Light Means
So Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” What does this mean? Well, first let’s talk about the symbolism of light a little bit. What does light mean? Well, in ancient times, and even today, light was a very basic symbol of all that was good. Light spoke of beauty, radiance, utility. It has suggested the ideas of holiness, purity, wisdom, knowledge. Plato called the Good, which was his concept of God, he called the Good light. And we know that John says in 1 John 1, God is light. So light has always been the symbol for that which is good, that which is healthy, that which is pure, that which is desirable. And darkness, of course, is the opposite. It’s the universal symbol of calamity, confusion, sin, and death. Light is good, darkness is bad.
But what is the function of light? What does light do? Well, the function of light was either growth, that is growth and health, that is, when you think about the sun, the sun gives us light, but it does more than give light. It vivifies. Do you like that word? I like it. It has life in its rays, if you will. And it causes things to grow and causes things to be healthy. So the function of the light is life, but the function of light also serves to expel darkness and to reveal things to sight. Simply put, the light enables us to see. So you know why Rick had spots on his shirt? Because he put it on in his room when it wasn’t all bright. And then you come to church and you stand before the spotlights and say, oh my Lord, look what I put on. You have a blue sock and a gray sock. Because you put them on in the dark. Any of you men ever done that? Be honest. The other day I left my house and I got in my car. I’m driving around, my jacket doesn’t even match my pants. What did I do? Because I put my jacket on in my room, I didn’t have a light on. So the light enables us to see. To see. That’s its function.
Hold your place here. Look at Ephesians 5. Ephesians 5 is almost like Paul’s commentary on this whole concept of light. Ephesians 5, Paul says in verse 8, he says, “For you,” meaning Christians, “were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, “for the fruit of the light,” now some of your versions may say “the fruit of the Spirit,” and manuscripts are kind of divided here on that, but because when you think the matter through, it doesn’t matter, because the fruit of the light and the fruit of the Spirit are the same thing: goodness. “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness.” Notice this. “All goodness, righteousness, and truth.” “For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed,” this is the key verse, verse 13, I’m reading the New King James, “but all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” That is to say, whatever reveals functions as light, because that’s what light does. Light exposes, light reveals, light enables us to see the spots on our shirt.
Messiah, and Divine
So Jesus, standing in the light streaming throughout the temple, piercing the darkness, Jesus then stands before them and says, “I am the light of the world.” What did He mean by this claim? Well, He meant a couple of things. One, by stating that He was the light of the world, Jesus was claiming to be Messiah, claiming to be Messiah. The rabbis, some of the rabbis said this. They said light is the name of Messiah. And they identified Messiah with Genesis, where it said, “In the beginning God said, ’Let there be light.’” And that light was His Son, that light was Messiah, and then through Messiah He created the world. Well, that’s what John says in John chapter 1. Except he calls Him there the Word. But He’s the Creator. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
Hold your place in John. We’re going to come back to John, but go to Isaiah for a moment. And we see here, Isaiah referred to the Messiah in terms of light. Isaiah chapter 9 starting in verse 1, it says, [audio unclear]
Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:1–2, 6)
Who is this? This is Messiah. This is the light that will shine upon the Gentiles. Look at Isaiah 42. And Isaiah 42 starting in verse 5, it says:
Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand.”
(Isaiah 42:5–6a)
Now you go back to verse 1, who’s He talking to? He’s talking to the Messiah, because in verse 1 it says, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!” And this is a messianic passage. He’s talking about Messiah. Back to verse 6: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” And of course we all know that famous passage in Isaiah 61, where Messiah says this, starting in verse 1 of Isaiah 61. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God.” So when Jesus asserts, and there are many other texts like this where Messiah is called the light, He’s given by God to lighten not only Israel, but to lighten the Gentiles. You remember when Simeon was in the temple, when the child Jesus was there, he saw Jesus and he then quotes the Old Testament. It refers to this Babe as the light of the Gentiles. So this claim of being the light of the world struck His listeners surely as a messianic claim, that He was this light that God had given.
But I believe Jesus is saying more there. I believe He’s also claiming to be divine. You have to remember, the feast that was being commemorated all that week, the feast that had the symbolism of the water, Jesus, “Come to Me and drink,” the feast that had the symbolism of the lights, and Jesus saying, “I am the light.” The light that led Israel through the wilderness was the Shekinah glory, the very presence of God. It was God in the pillar and in the cloud. It was God shining. So I think He’s stating more than He is just Messiah. I think He’s saying, I am that Shekinah glory. I am divine. Indeed it says in Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” And if you’re still in Isaiah, well, we won’t look at those. We don’t have time. But go to the book of John and go to chapter 1 for a moment. The Gospel of John chapter 1, it says:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:1–14)
So this idea of this light coming and then dwelling, or the word here could be “tabernacled,” to tabernacle among us. And John here, there’s echoes here of the wilderness. There’s echoes here of the fact that God came down, the Shekinah glory came down and hovered over the tabernacle. [audio unclear] Jesus shows us the Father. [audio unclear] not a political deliverer but a real Savior. When He claims to be divine, Jesus is really claiming to be the source of all the blessings that light represents. Hear that? He’s claiming to be the source of all the blessings that the light represents. By saying, “I am the light,” He’s saying, I’m the source of beauty, purity, and holiness, and knowledge, and wisdom, and health. I am the light. Those things are to be found in Me. But He’s also claiming to be the revealer, because light, remember, one of its main functions is to expose, so we can see. So we don’t put on the shirt with the spots. So we can see. So Jesus was the revealer. And He was primarily the revealer of God. He was the revealer of God. We just read John chapter 1, where Jesus is called the Word. And the Word is the revelation of the invisible God. So your thoughts are invisible. How do I know what you’re thinking? You speak your thoughts, and I can hear your thoughts. Your thoughts are something that I can grasp. The word can be grasped. The invisible God, well, He’s invisible. But the Word reveals Him. And in John 1, if you’re still there, John goes on and says this. He says, in John 1:15, he says, John the Baptist bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ’He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Notice verse 18: “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” No one can know God, but Jesus, and Jesus being in the bosom of the Father, knows God intimately. And Jesus is the One who expounds God to us. He reveals God to us.
The Promise: The Light of Life
Which leads us to the promise. Go back to John 8. The claim is, “I am the light of the world,” but there’s a promise attached to it in John 8. And the promise is this in verse 12. Jesus spoke to them and said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” What is He saying? He’s saying that those who follow Him will enjoy all the blessings of light. Remember, light brings life. The rays of the sun vivify. And so Jesus says, those who follow Me not only have light, but they have the light of life. They benefit from the life-giving power and energy and virtue of the light. So Jesus is saying those who follow Me will have eternal life, or the abundant life.
Hold your place in John 8, just go over a few chapters to John 17. John 17:1, Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Notice this. Notice this. Pay attention to this in verse 3. Looking at your Bible. Jesus says, “This is eternal life”: to know God, to know Him. Jesus said He is the light. Light reveals. Light gives knowledge. Jesus, as the light of the world, was the expounder, the revealer of God, showing us who God really was and is. To know God is eternal life. And so the knowledge of God and eternal life are bound up together as one. So when Jesus says those who follow Him will have the light of life, He’s saying they will have eternal life. Because by following Him, they will have the true knowledge of the true God. And to know God is to have life. Why? Because He is the source of life. All life is in Him. And so Jesus says, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You,” talking of the Father, “the only true God.” But He adds, “and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Well, you know, you think about just that verse alone. I mean, Jesus is saying He’s divine. I mean, He’s saying He’s on par with God. To know You is eternal life. Oh, by the way, and to know Me too. To know the Father and the Son equally is eternal life. [audio unclear] Because the life is in the Son. He says those who honor the Son honor the Father. And Jesus said no one can know the Father unless the Son reveals Him. So Jesus as the light of the world is the revealer of the Father. He shows us who God is. But as we come into relationship to Him, as we know Him in truth, then we receive eternal life through Him. So we receive not only light, we receive the light of life, the light of eternal life.
Remember what Jesus said in John 3, talking to Nicodemus, who came, by the way, during the night, during the darkness. He said to Nicodemus, He said a man must be born again to see the kingdom of God, or to enter the kingdom of God. So you see, in Scripture, when it talks about knowledge, it talks about light, it’s not just what we might call academic knowledge or simply factual knowledge. And you’ve all had the experience when you’re praying or reading your Bible or you’re worshiping or you’re hearing a Christian song on the radio and you get an aha moment, right? Do you know what those moments are? Those moments are when you see what you already know. Jesus talks about those who see but don’t see. They hear but they don’t hear. Well, you can see and not see, or you can see and you can see. And you can see and you know. Aha, now I see. I believed it, but now I see it. Right? Y’all know what I’m talking about. That is a spiritual illumination. That is the Spirit of Christ in you, illuminating you and filling you with light. Because you see, light and knowledge in the biblical sense is not something that’s purely intellectual, it is also spiritual. This is why some of the most brilliant men in the world can study the Bible and be atheists. Because they have knowledge but not light. So you can have a lot of knowledge but still be in darkness. Why? Because the condition of light and darkness is a spiritual condition. That’s why some of the greatest minds in the world can study the handiwork of God in nature. Every time I see a nature program or a cosmos program, I am in awe of God’s handiwork. And then the commentators always tell me why I should believe in evolution. Right? How can two people look at the same beautiful cosmos? And one says, ah, the wonders of evolution. And the other says, the glory of God. How can this be? They have the same facts. They’re seeing the same thing. No they’re not. They’re not seeing the same thing. They’re looking at the same thing. They’re not seeing the same thing. Because one is in spiritual darkness and one is in spiritual light. And that spiritual light is a product of life, spiritual life. So the foundation of true light, true wisdom, true knowledge, true understanding is life. It’s the new birth, we call it. So Jesus promises those who follow Him, not only will they have light, but they will have the light of life. They will have spiritual life residing in them, and that spiritual life is what illuminates them so they can see things as they truly are.
One of the most important things that Jesus reveals to His followers is the knowledge of God, the knowledge of God Himself. 1 John chapter 1, let’s look there. 1 John’s way in the back, right before Revelation. 1 John 1, John says, well, let’s just start at the beginning. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” Now, what’s he talking about? Who’s he talking about? He’s talking about Jesus, yeah, the Word. But he calls Him the Word of life. He calls Him eternal life. Verse 3: “That which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy,” some of your versions say “our joy,” “may be full.” Verse 5: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” No darkness at all. Jesus came. The Word, the expounder, the revealer, the light. And one of the main things He reveals is God Himself. Why? Because it is in God that we have eternal life. It is through knowing God that we secure all the blessings that come from God.
Last week when we talked about the bread of life, about how the crowds followed Jesus and Jesus turns on them, He says, because He knew men’s hearts, He says, you’re following Me for the bread. In other words, you’re following Me for the wrong reason. You’re coming to get fed. You’re not coming because I’m Messiah. So they were following Jesus, but they followed Him for the wrong reason, right? And we can all do this, and I’ve done it. And we can say to God, God, I need this. I need that. I need this. I want this. And we’re asking for all of these things from God, and they may be good things. They may be patience. They might be wisdom. They might be strength. We ask for things from God and we don’t ask for God. But God wants to give us something better than gifts. He wants to give us Jesus. Does anybody hear me? He wants to give us Jesus. Jesus, you have all of these other things. Because they are all in Him. All the blessings that God intends to give to you, all these blessings are bound up in Jesus Christ. And through knowing Him and through Him the Father, through that knowledge we then experience all the blessings that God wants to give us. Whether it’s the blessing of wisdom, knowledge, redemption, forgiveness, life, illumination, strength, power, they all are in Jesus Christ. That’s why He sums up salvation as simply this: knowing the Father and the Son. And of course the Lord says, not only will they have the light of life, they will not walk in darkness. Those who follow Him will not walk in darkness. That is to say they will be delivered from all that the darkness implies: the sin, the guilt, the judgment, the calamity. They will be delivered from darkness and ultimately be delivered from death, which is the ultimate darkness, because they know the Son who has light and life.
Those Who Follow Him
Last thing I want to point out about this verse, we’ll wrap it up because we’re going to go to the Lord and worship. Back in John chapter 8, I want you to see one more thing. In John 8 verse 12, let’s read it again. It said, then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Notice here that the promise, the promise of not walking in darkness, the promise of having the light of life, that there’s a conditional promise. That is to say, He says, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Jesus came as the light of the world. The pillar and the cloud, the Shekinah was in the Old Testament guiding Israel through the wilderness. Jesus didn’t just say, I’m the light, He said, I’m the light of the world. That is, I’m a light not just for Israel. I’m a light for all men and women. However, having said that, He says, but only those who follow Me will not walk in darkness and have the light of life. Only those who follow Me. That is to say that although He is in fact the light of the world, He is truly, not all men will experience the benefit of that light, because some choose not to follow Him.
What does it mean when He says, those who follow Me? Well, at a minimum, it means we have to believe, and that’s the foundation. We must believe who He says He is. Faith in Him as the light. But it’s more than that. To follow Jesus means not only that we believe in Him, but because we believe in Him, we then learn of Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11, He said, if you’re weary, come to Me, take My yoke upon you. And what did He say to do? He said, “Learn of Me.” Come to Me and learn of Me. Learn who I am. Learn to know Me. So we believe, and because we believe we then seek to know, we learn, then we seek to obey and follow. And ultimately we want to abide where He abides. Amen. When the Shekinah moved in the wilderness, the people got up, and when the Shekinah of God in the wilderness stood still, the people of God stopped and they stood still. They followed the light. And that’s what we are called to do. Amen. To follow the light.
Now I can just imagine being in the wilderness, seeing that. Imagine it’s dark, and you know how dark it is in the desert in those days. I’ve been in the desert these days and it’s pretty dark. And that’s kind of glowing over the tabernacle. And you know, [audio unclear] throughout their chores, but they would check and see. They would glance over. There’s the light. Still there. We’re staying. And it was a constant presence. And it just became reflexive, part of their life, to glance over at the light, glance over at the smoke, to see where it was, to make sure it wasn’t starting to move away. Well, if we’re going to follow the light, we have to keep our eyes on the light. And when Jesus goes, we must go. And when Jesus stops, we must stop. And where He leads, we must follow, amen.
Some of us run way ahead of the Lord. Don’t we? He’s sitting right there still. We got it all figured out. We know what we’re going to do with our lives, way down the road, and the light is still here. And we’re not following. Others of us are sitting and the light has moved. And we’ve not taken down our booth and followed. Some of us go before, some of us are too slow to follow behind. In order to follow the light, we must ever be near the light. We must ever be looking at the light so that when it moves, we might move. And I think for some of you, Jesus has moved and you don’t know it. The fire’s gone out of your life. There’s just a little vapor maybe in your life. Because He has moved and He is saying, follow Me here, follow Me here in this ministry, this challenge, and you don’t want to go because it will require sacrifice. Others, the light is calling you to deal with issues deep in your heart, forgiveness, anger, other issues, and then the light is saying follow Me here and you don’t want to go. So the light moves and you’re still. And you’re not near the light. And so therefore, you no longer have the blessings of the light, the joy, the peace, the warmth, the growth. You see, being a Christian isn’t just accepting Jesus once, and then living as you please. It means accepting Jesus and following Him every day of our life. That’s what being a Christian means. And some of you He’s going to lead around the world. He’ll lead you to some of the darkest places in this world for ministry. Some of you, He wants to lead you into the darkest place in the universe, which is your own heart. And if you resist the light, you are putting yourself in darkness. And remember the words of Jesus when He said, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness? May we follow the light. Not just believe, but because we believe, follow wherever Jesus is calling us to go. Amen?
Let’s stand together. We’re going to worship the Lord. We’re going to take an offering to the Lord as we worship Him. Have the ushers come down to take an offering. Lord Jesus, we thank You that You are the light of the world. And we thank You, Lord, for those of us that know You and have seen that great light. Lord, that You have allowed us, You have opened our eyes to know You and to know the Father. What I pray for all of us, that we would forever be mindful, that we would always be attentive to the fire and we would follow the fire where it leads. I pray, Lord, that through the work of Your Spirit who illuminates us, that You would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of the Father and the Son, that we would see with spiritual eyes who You are, and help us see, Lord, that it is in You that we have the abundant life. It is in You that we have all of the blessings that we desire to have and You desire to give. Pray to God as we give You our tithes and offerings today that You would use this money to cause Your church to enlighten the world with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And we pray in His name, amen.