I HAVE VALUE BECAUSE
I WAS CREATED TO GIVE GOD GLORY
John 1:1-14
When I was in my teenage
years to my early twenties, I looked
for the perfect girlfriend.
In those days, I had some standard pickup
lines. One I remember, was
“What is your sign”. Didn’t really mean
anything to me, but it got
the conversation started.
What I didn’t know, when
meeting potential companions, was their
background. What was she
looking for? What kind of people she
hung around? What kind of
issues was she dealing with? What
did she believe about life?
When meeting someone for the
first time, you always start in the
middle of their life story.
You don’t know their history.
In the Gospels, Matthew, Mark
and Luke started with the birth of Jesus. Matthew started with the genealogy of
Jesus.. Mark started with John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. Luke
started with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. Only John started
with the beginning. The Gospel of John emphasizes that Jesus was the principle
actor in the creation of the world.
I HAVE THE VALUE OF
KNOWLEDGE
WHERE WE ALL
BEGAN
John 1:1-5
V:1. In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the
beginning.
3 Through him all things were
made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and
that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the
darkness has not understood it.
The word beginning is from
the Greek word, archee which
means the absolute start of all things.
In the book of Revelation,
Jesus declares,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and
the Last, the Beginning and
the End.
No one can put a time frame
on “the beginning”. We could go back billions
Of years, still not be at the
beginning”
Ps 90:2
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the
world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are
God.
Jesus created the Heavens and
the angels before He created
The earth.
Job 38:5-7
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you
know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set, or who
laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
Deut 32:40
I lift my hand to heaven and declare:
As surely as I live forever,
The beginning is the forever
pass and the end is the forever future;
eternity pass and eternity
future.
Jesus has no beginning and no
end.
I HAVE THE VALUE OF
EXISTANCE
GOD BEGAN TO SPEAK AND WE
EXIST
The “Word” in Greek is Logos,
the divine expression of Christ.
Logos is the living voice of
divine speaking and thinking.
The work of Jesus did not
begin at His birth. It begin before creation.
Ps 33:6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens
made,
their starry host by the breath of his
mouth.
The word “light” is divinely rich in its meaning.
The origin of light finds it
true meaning in the purpose
and nature of God (ISBE).
Light is the joyous emotion
of the mind, the true religion,
the moral and spiritual life
of men and angels.
The eternal God because of
His holiness and moral perfection,
is pictured as dwelling in
light. Jesus is the author of light.
Our Christmas story
celebrates the birth of a baby boy, named Jesus.
That is only the start of God
putting His plan of salvation in motion.
The birth of Jesus in the
flesh is a result of His own divine plan.
I HAVE THE VALUE OF
RELATIONSHIP
KNOW JESUS IN THE BEGINNING
Here is what we know about
Jesus from the Gospel of John.
1. Jesus was in the beginning.
2. Jesus was with God in the beginning.
3. Jesus was God in the beginning.
4. Jesus and the Father are one.
5. Jesus is the author of creation.
6. Jesus is the architect of the world.
When we think about Jesus, we
must see Him as the divine architect of all
that you see and know and all
that you can’t see and know.
We do not know the extent of
God’s creation. Scientist with their high
power telescopes in space,
have yet to see all of God’s creation.
I HAVE THE VALUE OF HIS
AUTHORITY
WE SERVE A GOD WITH ALL
AUTHORITY
Verse 3 gives us His absolute
power and authority. All things were made
through Him. Nothing exists
without Jesus.
The word “made” is in the
perfect tense which means the creation
is a completed action. Noting
new in the cosmos is being formed that
doesn’t have its start in the
beginning.
Jer 32:17
"Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made
the heavens and the earth by your
great power and outstretched arm.
Nothing is too hard for you.”
I HAVE THE VALUE OF UNDERSTANDING
WE ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
V:4-5
In him was life, and that
life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness
has not understood.
A. Jesus gives life to all
living things. In the beginning the earth
was full of nothing.
1. Gen 1:2
Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of
the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering
over the waters.
2. Not only does Jesus give life, but He
gives light (divine knowledge).
Prov 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and
discipline.
3. We were given the choice to choose
knowledge or to
foolishness.
4. When we reject divine knowledge, we
choose the devils
lies.
B. It is God’s Grace that
allows us to choose divine knowledge.
1 Cor 2:14 -15
The man without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come
from the
Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him, and he cannot
understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
1. It
is the sovereignty of God that chose us to understand the things
of His Spirit.
2. What makes us so special? God favors us
with His Grace.
C. Every living soul has
access to the living light, Jesus.
1. Some will see the light and accept it.
2. Others will see the light and reject
it.
I HAVE THE VALUE OF HIS MISSION
WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE
MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL
V:6. There came a man who was sent from God; his name
was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that
through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only
as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was
coming into the world.
A. Jesus set the example for
us to be a witness for Him.
1. We are the men and women that God has
chosen to proclaim
the Gospel.
2. God knew John’s name from the beginning.
3.
God knows you by name.
4. John was chosen by God to be His servant
700 years before his birth.
Isa 40:3
A
voice of one calling, "In the desert prepare
the way for the Lord ; make straight
in the wilderness
a highway for our God.
YOU WERE CHOSEN BY GOD TO
UNDERSTAND HIS WORD
I HAVE THE VALUE OF ENLIGHTMENT
5. You
have value to the Lord, because you were chosen to be the
light that others follow to Christ.
B. Jesus is the light of the
world
1. We are His ambassadors, chosen to
draw people to the light.
2. God has placed His light in us, which is
the Word, so
others can see the God in us.
Matt 5:16
In
the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your
good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
3. Without saying anything, others should
see our righteous behavior.
4. Those committed to God, will find ways
to serve Him during
this pandemic
5. Those committed to God, will take time
to fellowship with
Him.
6. It is my belief, that God has given us
this time to zoom and other
internet platforms to fellowship
together.
7. This pandemic should not be an excuse
not to study His Word.
8. To get through this pandemic with hope
and joy we need to
meditate
on God’s Word continuously.
I HAVE THE VALUE OF SALVATION
John 1:10-14
10 He was in the world, and
though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He
came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
A. Jesus humbled Himself and
took on human flesh through His birth as a
baby in a poor family, in a poor
neighborhood.
1. He grew up in a Godly designed family
and became the living Word
walking the earth.
2. He put himself on the cross to be our
Lord and Savior.
B. Jesus was born into a Godly
designed nation, Israel
1. It was His own people who He allowed to
rejected Him
so He would be put to death on the
cross.
2. Why would the all powerful, all knowing
God set Himself
up to be crucified?
3. Why would Jesus choose to not control
the minds of His own
people so they would accept Him?
4. He did that because of the non Jews
which is us, and the rest of
the world.
Rom 11:11-12
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to
fall beyond recovery? Not at all!
Rather, because of their transgression,
salvation has come to the Gentiles
to make Israel
world, and their loss means riches for
the Gentiles, how much greater
riches will their fullness bring!
I HAVE THE VALUE OF FAITH
V:12. Yet to all who received
him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a
husband's will, but born of God.
A. This is the unmerited
Grace of God.
1. Everyone makes a choice to receive Jesus
or reject Him.
2. God made us in His own likeness and
image, yet gave us the
freedom to make choices. Genesis 1:26
3. It was Jesus who kicked Satan out of
heaven, and allowed him
to land on His newly and perfectly created
earth.
a. Satan was an arch angel before His
fall. He was called
the son of the morning (Isa 14:12 ), anointed cherub (Ezekiel 28:14),
and others
4. Jesus gave Satan titles after his fall;
slanderer (Gen 2:3), father of lies
(John 8:44) ruler of demons (Matt 9:34 ) and others.
5. It was Jesus Himself that allowed His
perfect world to
become corrupted.
WHY?
John 1:14
14 The Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One
and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
WE WERE CHOSEN FOR GOD’S
GRACE
Rev. M. Mitchell
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