Are We In the Dark?
John 1:29-42 Notes
Opening Prayer: Lord, open our minds, to hear your word.
We are ready for a change and to learn the truth. Show us the way to have you forever
in our lives.
Imagine being
born in a small dark room of an old house. Imagine living in this room all your
life, deprived of knowledge, education and awareness of the outside world. Then
one day, the door opens and you realize you exist in a world that extends
beyond your wildest dreams.
Christ is the door
that reveals the Kingdom of Heaven and informs you on how much you are loved,
forgiven, protected and blessed by God. This spiritual world is very real and
unlimited.
- OPEN DISCUSSION -
John baptized the people with water. It symbolized their
need to return to God (repentance) and to be washed clean of their sins
(forgiveness) and to be made right with God (righteousness).
Baptism would prepare them for Christ, the Messiah, the
ultimate sacrifice (Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.), who would baptize
with the Holy Spirit and show them a new life (born again) … a new awareness
(that they were no longer prisoners to sin (condemned) but instead heirs to the
Kingdom of Heaven (saved children of God).
They needed to come
out of their small dark rooms and know they were loved and cherished by an Almighty God
who is pure love. By believing in the Messiah (Faith), there is no longer any
reason to fear because He is always by our side. Because of Christ's ultimate sacrifice,
all of our sins (past, present and future) have been forgiven and we are always
right with God (righteous).
If Christ takes away the sin of the world, then are my sins
gone?
Christ took our sins with Him to the cross. His sacrifice of death totally
removed the penalty of sin from our lives. God could have eliminated sin by
doing away with the sinner but, because of His unending love for us, He wanted
to spare the sinner. Do not hold onto
that which the Lamb of God came to take away.
To confirm his testimony about Christ, John declares what he
saw at the Baptism of Christ. God Himself bore witness by speaking from above
and the Holy Spirit resting over Christ as a dove. This is symbolic of the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit.
As John the Baptist took every opportunity to lead people to
Christ, we must lead our family and our friends and whoever we meet to find Christ, the open door: the way,
the truth and the life.
John 1:37-42 … Jesus asks, "What do you seek?"
So, what do you seek? … to be right with God? … eternal life?
… purpose in life? … peace, happiness and joy?
… to get rid of your
past? … riches and power?
… escape and freedom
from this world?
Follow Jesus and
we will find the way, the truth and the life. He is the light of the world. He is the open door. “Ask and it will be
given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened.”
Jesus invites us to come and see. No delay. Now is the right time.
2 Corinthians 6:2
“Behold, now is the favorable
time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Closing Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for your loving sacrifice. Thank you for opening the door to
my small dark room and allowing me to see and live in the magnificent Kingdom of God’s love.
I realize now that my life is not real and that your Kingdom is real. I am not
deserving of your unending love, your unconditional forgiveness and abundant
blessings. I sincerely accept you as my Lord and Savior.