Abiding in the Light

Well, I'd like to begin by thanking those of you who let us, Pastor David and I, spend the last several days, Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday, and Friday at the Together for the Gospel Conference.

Of godly men and hear gifted communicators expound on the scriptures.

In many ways, it was a humbling experience, but also a blessed experience.

So thank you for letting us get away.

Any of you who have spent time away from home, whether you're a mom or whether you're a dad, understand that when one of the two of you are gone, sometimes there's some misbalance in the house.

Things aren't quite the way that they should be.

You know, there's a stabilizing force that comes when either mom or dad are both together.

And so riding back in the car yesterday reminded one of the pastors that was riding with us was just sharing with me some of the challenges that were happening in his own home because he was away.

And then also being reminded of some of the challenges my own wife had with our children.

And just sometimes the hardship of that.

Dealing with kids when mom or dad are not around.

You know that as a parent, there's a desire for there to be joy for your kids.

That's the end game, right?

Your desire is to introduce to them the kinds of experiences that are going to lead them to wholesome and lasting joy.

You want to help in their behavior, but that's secondary to the ultimate goal of helping them be more like Christ.

And so what that means is in your desire for joy for your family, sometimes there are those seeming moments of contradiction.

Where someone who was looking from the outside would say,

Whoa! Are you really looking for joy in your home?

Is that really the objective?

Because that sure didn't seem very joy worthy, that moment in your family.

But you know that if you have a love for your kids, and if that love is true and deep,

that sometimes it brings you to the point of saying,

Stop! Don't put your hand on that stove!

It's too hot.

You're going to burn yourself.

Or you're walking across the street, and there have been moments where we're making our way to a restaurant,

and one of the kids is moving ahead, and you see the car coming.

He's like, Wait! Stop!

And in that moment, there is the severity of the instruction and the sounding of the warning that goes out.

It's a sounding of warning because of a deep love for your child.

And what seems to be severe, what seems to be harsh, what seems to be a bit strong in its force,

is coming because of the ultimate desire for the preservation and the joy of that child.

Well, this past week, there were some moments in our home of trying to preserve joy.

And it was interesting, yesterday, and it's hard not to be specific.

Oh well, poor little guy is going to get sold out again.

You find that in moments of severity, it is in the moments of severity that often lead to the fullest joy.

Yesterday, Timothy was watching a show, a cartoon.

And it's a cartoon that kind of the life stories of Jesus, and the story was about Bethlehem.

And he asked me the question, What does Bethlehem mean, Daddy?

And I says, Well, Bethlehem is the house of bread.

And he said, Well, that's really interesting because Jesus says, I am the bread of life.

And he was born in Bethlehem.

And I just sat back and, Wow, where did that come from?

What a connection!

How did that happen?

And it was because in the previous day, through a disciplined moment,

the question posed for my wife was, What are some of the names of Jesus?

What are some of the things you know about him?

And one of those names that came up was, I am the bread of life.

It is through the, sometimes the severe moments of correction and punishment,

the hard words that seem to pierce, are the moments that lead to the fullest joy.

Last week, our introduction in 1 John introduced us to a couple of purpose statements of this apostle for us.

So if you would, please open your Bibles to 1 John chapter 1.

1 John 1 · chapter mention

I want to just read through verses 1 through 4 as an introduction.

And then we'll move into verses 5 to 10 as we begin our study.

But I want to remind us of some things so that we know what John's heart is.

Because from this point on, in our study of the gospel, of this letter of 1 John,

it will be one hard thing after the other.

It will leave us wondering, John, do you really care about us?

I thought you were the apostle of love.

I thought you cared about our joy.

And John will say, that's exactly why I'm doing this.

That's exactly why I'm sharing these hard words with you.

It's because I want your joy.

So let me read for us verses 1 to 4.

Here's what it says.

That which we have seen and heard.

Proclaim to you.

So that you too may have fellowship with us.

And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

There are two of the four purpose statements in this letter.

Two of the purpose statements are found in those three verses.

John wants us to understand front and center why he is writing this letter to this church of Ephesus.

Why he writes this letter to us.

What is the point?

What is the Holy Spirit trying to accomplish in your life and in my life through the instruction that He'll give through this letter?

The first purpose statement is there in verse 3.

Notice what it says.

That which we have seen and heard.

We proclaim to you.

Why?

What does it say?

That you may have fellowship with us.

And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

I write this to you because I want you to enjoy and experience true fellowship.

Without Jesus Christ, there can be no community.

Without Jesus Christ, there can be no genuine fellowship.

Without Jesus Christ, your hopes for a relationship that will last, that will go any deeper than the surface,

you have no hope of that kind of relationship apart from Christ.

But with Christ, you can have true fellowship.

True fellowship with God and true fellowship with God's people.

That's what Christ came to do.

He came to restore what was broken in the fall.

Jesus came to correct the sin, the damage that Adam and Eve did in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

He came to correct all of those things for us so that the isolation and the rejection,

the alienation that we rightly deserved and experienced,

the hostility of God on sin,

He came to correct that issue.

He came to make things right with God.

He came to reconcile us and to make us new with Him

so that we could experience fellowship.

Are you experiencing fellowship with God today?

Not just some casual relationship.

Not just some, I talk to God once in a while kind of thing.

But would you qualify your relationship with God as something that's intimate?

Something that's sweet?

Something that is continual?

Like, I just can't get enough of Him.

That's the spirit you get from John.

Even though Jesus was now in heaven at this point of the writing,

He was so caught up with the experience of Jesus,

He just can't help but explain the enthusiasm that He has to the church of Ephesus.

It is the kind of experience that He had because He was able to touch and hear and see and behold Him.

But in a way, He wants this church to understand what He had in practicality,

what He had in the physicality,

can also be experienced spiritually with Him today.

Even though the church of Ephesus would never come to know Jesus personally

in terms of a physical relationship,

it was something that they could know.

Something that they could have for themselves.

And He wants them to taste of that,

to know that, and to have that.

That's the purpose,

one of the purposes of writing this letter.

I want you to know the sweetness and intimacy of knowing our Savior.

The second purpose statement is there in verse 4.

It says,

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John wants you to experience joy.

Not superficial joy.

He wants you to experience enduring, lasting, hope-filled joy.

The kind of joy that will carry you through.

The kind of joy that will overcome the various circumstances of life.

Maybe not surprisingly,

the time where Jesus talks about joy the most

happens to be the night before He is crucified.

Of the eight times that He mentions joy in the Gospel of John,

seven of them occur in John 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.

This time where He's spending the last final moments with His disciples

before His crucifixion.

How can anyone talk about joy in a time like that?

How can anyone promise future joy to a group of disciples

who in a very short period of time

are going to walk through some sorrow, some grieving,

some departure of the one that they loved?

And that this is the moment,

the very moment where Jesus chooses

to select out this special topic

to talk about joy and to promise joy to them.

It's because joy comes from the Spirit.

Joy comes from God Himself.

And so joy overcomes any of the circumstances

or situations in which you find yourself.

And as John is reflecting on his experience with Christ,

and as he's looking at this church,

what he wants for them is to experience joy.

Not just knowledge of God through some academic exercise,

but he wants them to know true fellowship with God

through this intimate experience with Him and with His people.

But it's through this fellowshipping experience,

it's cultivating this joy that just overflows from their life.

The satisfaction that they can't get any other way.

And with that in mind,

that leads us now into a more difficult topic

that we're going to begin to find in verses 5 to 10.

Throughout the course of this message,

what I want to do is,

I want to demonstrate,

or maybe I should say,

I want to ask for God throughout the course of this message

to really do a work in our lives,

to help make His Word abundantly clear.

So I'm just going to pause at this time.

I'm going to pray for us.

We're going to move from one point to the next

and probably use prayer as a way,

as a hinge,

to get us from one point to the next.

So let me pray for us,

and we'll move to this next point.

Amen.

God, it is our desire this morning

to lift up the glory of Christ,

to be people who are pursuing passionately

an experience with You,

a fellowshipping experience with You

that is cultivated with You

and flows into our relationships with one another.

Lord, we want to enjoy fellowship that comes from God.

This unity of experience

because of having been placed into Christ,

the work of Your Holy Spirit

in making us one,

one people.

And Lord, we also want to understand

and know Your joy.

We want it to be personal.

We want it to be practical from day to day.

We want it to carry us, Lord,

just like it carried Jesus Christ,

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.

And so whatever our experiences are this morning, Lord,

I pray that Your joy would be tangible,

would be real,

would be personal,

and that it would be such a radiant testimony

in this world

that it beckons others

to want the same hope that we have.

So Lord, as we look into Your Word,

as we understand where You want us to be,

You want us to be in fellowship,

and You want us to be people

who are experiencing joy.

So now, Lord, help us

as we look at Your Word,

know how that joy comes.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

So verse 5

carries us to our first point this morning.

It's what it says.

It says,

This is the message we have heard from Him

and proclaimed to you

that God is light

and in Him is no darkness at all.

What does a life of fellowship with God look like?

What does an abiding life produce?

How do we enter into fellowship with God?

How do we experience the joy that He has for us?

Well, we must first understand

the supreme standard of fellowship.

What is the supreme standard of fellowship?

That's our first point this morning.

John says,

This is the message we have heard

and proclaimed to you

that God is light.

Those are the words you would have expected to see there?

Maybe we fit better.

God is love, right?

Isn't that what we need to know?

That God is love?

Certainly that's what Jesus came to demonstrate.

For God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten Son.

And that is important.

John will not miss that point later on.

That's coming in 1 John 4, 8, 9, and 10.

God is love.

But the first words,

pen to ink,

coming from Apostle John,

is not God is love.

The first thing I want you to understand

is there is a standard here.

There is a supreme standard of purity.

I want you to know

this is not something you deserve.

I want you to recognize

the unapproachable nature of God.

The unapproachable nature of God.

That's where He begins.

Are you gripped

with the unapproachable,

unapproachableness,

of your God this morning?

Are you blown away

by the fact that He is

so immense

and so pure

and so holy

that you couldn't even begin

to have a relationship with Him

if He had not bridged the gap?

Are you gripped

by your own personal standing

of where you are

in this whole mix?

Do you understand

the significance

of the fact

that God is light

and in Him

is no darkness at all?

The Greek here

actually wants to emphasize this.

He says,

there is no darkness,

not even a hint.

It is only purity,

only radiance,

only majesty,

only holiness.

That's our God.

John.

I think why he is so

amazed

at the accessibility

of God

because he has come

to appreciate

the unapproachableness

of God.

John wants us

to understand

the impossible

standard

of his moral excellence.

And there is not

a subtle shift

that takes place

between verses 1 and 4

and now in verses 5 to 10.

It's clear

in verses 1 to 4

that John is talking

about Jesus.

He's talking about

that which we have heard

and seen

and looked upon.

That's Jesus.

He's there

in flesh and blood.

We can see Him.

We can experience Him

personally.

But now he wants

to make a dramatic shift

in verse 5

instead of just talking

about Jesus.

Now he wants us

to recognize

the true character

of God Himself.

The desire

is here

to make a clear

connection

that he's going

to continue to address

throughout the rest

of this letter.

That God is

distinct from us.

Don't imagine

that fellowship

with God

can be achieved

on your own.

God is

unapproachable.

John is so

caught up with this

He actually begins

His gospel

in much the same way

calling attention

to the life

and the light

of Christ.

He says in

John 1.4

In Him was life

and the life

was the light

of men.

The light shines

in the darkness

and the darkness

has not overcome it.

He is untouchable

in this quality

of light.

light.

And as we make

our way through

this letter

we'll see

the distinguishing

marks

of the light

that God

will produce

in the lives

of His people

if there's

genuineness

to them.

If there's

authenticity

in their lives.

Why the connection

between life

and light?

I think it's

because

as John

is thinking

about what

does a true

life look like.

Jesus lived

the life

that He

intended

for all of us.

He was the

true life

that was set

in front of us

as the model

for how to live

and how to really

experience

the kind of joy

and power

that comes

from those

who are walking

with God

and surrendered

to the Holy Spirit.

That is life.

the only life

really lived

since Adam

and Eve.

Every other

life is a life

that is given

to death

and given

to darkness.

Jesus'

was the only

life that was

pure

in every way.

That is the life

He wants us

to experience.

Life

and light

of Christ.

Not only

is Jesus

the creator

of life

but He is

the embodiment

of life

and He is

the giver

of true

spiritual

life.

You want to

experience life?

You got to go

to the source.

You got to go

to God

as the source

of life

and light.

So there is

an unapproachable

nature of God

but there is also

the unblemished

life of Christ.

The unblemished

life

of Christ.

That's our next point.

we just spent

several years

walking through

the gospel

of John

and seeing

the life

of Christ

up close.

Several years

ago

there was

the movie

The Passion.

Any of you

have watched

that movie

there are so

many things

to be said

about that movie

just the

grotesqueness

of the crucifixion.

But what my

own heart

was gripped

over

was the

purity

of Christ

through

that entire

experience.

No other

period in

Jesus'

life

was the

details

of those

final events

chronicled

in such

a way.

We have

more

about the

last 24

hours of

Jesus'

life

than any

of his

previous

ministry.

history.

And as I

look at the

chronicle of

his life

I wonder

for myself

how long

would I

have lasted

even in

that 24

hour cycle

before something

would have

snapped in

me.

Think about

all that

Jesus

experienced

in that

last 24

hours.

There he

is in

the upper

room

bending

down to

wash the

feet of

those

disciples

who

continued

to

compete

with

one

another

about

who

is

more

important.

I

think I

wouldn't

even

last

into

that.

And

then there's

Judas

who thinks

he's full

in Jesus

Christ

about what

he has

in mind.

And

Jesus

dismisses

Judas

and says

go do

what you're

going to

do

Judas.

Go

ahead.

Get

busy.

And

there's

the

protesting

Peter.

No

Jesus

you're

not

going

to

wash

my

feet.

Oh

really

Peter

who do

you

think

I

am?

Who

are you

talking

to

Peter?

Or

they're

on

the

way

to

the

garden

of

Gethsemane

and

those

conversations

that are

taking

place

and

the

disciples

don't

have

a

clue

what's

coming.

Jesus

had

told

them

many

times

what

to

anticipate.

They

finally

get to

the

garden

and

there

they

are

and

Jesus

is

just

having

a

heart

to

heart

conversation

with

them

and

says

can

you

just

pray

for

a few

moments

here.

He

goes

away

to

pour

his

heart

out

before

the

father.

He

comes

back

and

they're

all

asleep.

This

happens

on

three

different

occasions

and

not

once

does

Jesus

demonstrate

any

carnality

of his

heart.

just

continues

to

faithfully

and

lovingly

encourage

them

to

the

task.

And

there

comes

this

band

of

those

who

would

think

they're

going

to

manhandle

Jesus.

And

with a

word

they all

fall on

their

backs.

But

Judas

still has

the

audacity

to come

and kiss

Jesus

on the

face

right there

in front

of them

all.

And

there's

Peter

again

flying

off

the

handle

cutting

off

ears

and

in a

tender

moment

Jesus'

willingness

to reach

down

scoop

up

Malchus'

ear

and

have

a

little

healing

ceremony

right

there

on the

way

to

his

trial.

Standing

in front

of

all the

people

that

should

know

better

Caiaphas

and

high

priests

there

they

are

accusing

Jesus

of

blasphemy

when

here

they're

looking

at

their

God

in

the

face

slapping

and

hitting

and

plucking

his

beard

and

then

Pilate

has

the

audacity

to think

that he's

actually

the one

in

charge

Jesus

I

could

call

down

a

legion

of

angels

who

do

you

think

you

are

Pilate

and

then

the

decision

between

Barabbas

and

Christ

to

let

that

wicked

man

go

and

there

you

are

on

the

cross

mocked

by

the

two

thieves

that

are

side

by

side

enduring

the

same

penalty

as

you

and

still

in

tenderness

forgiving

and

looking

forward

to

having

one

of

those

thieves

with

you

in

paradise

moment

by

moment

I'm

gripped

by

the

purity

of

Christ

at

any

of

those

moments

my

own

flesh

would

have

reeled

up

raised

up

but

Jesus

demonstrating

faithfully

and

consistently

a loving

compassion

for

people

and

then

in

the

final

moments

to

say

Father

forgive

them

for

they

know

not

what

they

do

to

look

forward

to

God

working

in

hearts

and

lives

of

the

very

people

who

put

you

on

the

cross

this

is

the

beautiful

unblemished

life

of our

Savior

who

bridged

the gap

for us

who

demonstrated

that

although

God

was

unapproachable

that

through

Christ

in

fulfilling

all the

demands

of the

law

we

could

have

access

through

faith

in

him

the

beauty

of

our

Savior

who

through

love

and

compassion

and

submission

and

control

and

tenderness

and

faith

and

patience

and a

heart

full

of

forgiveness

demonstrated

the

purity

that

was

running

through

his

life

meeting

every

demand

of

God

for

him

and

for

us

this

is

our

God

coming

next

to

the

disqualifying

effects

of

sin

we

find

here

in

verse

6

let me

read

that

for

us

so

moving

now

from

the

supreme

standard

of

fellowship

to

the

disqualifying

effects

of

sin

how do

we

experience

joy

how do

we

experience

fellowship

with

God

that's

where

we're

moving

here

we need

to see

who

he

is

and

now

we need

to get

a

hard

look

at

ourselves

recognize

the

significance

of

sin's

effect

in

our

lives

let

me

pray

oh

God

as we

continue

to work

through

this

passage

we

continue

to pray

for your

Holy

Spirit

to give

us

sensitivity

help

us

not

ever

to get

to the

point

where we

think

that

we're

beyond

this

we

thank

you

for

your

Holy

Spirit

that

he

is

a

spirit

who

convicts

and

even

now

Lord

we

pray

that

our

hearts

would

be

tender

and

open

and

sensitive

to

your

work

may

we

not

grieve

the

spirit

may

we

not

quench

the

spirit

help

us

to

listen

to

the

spirit

in

these

moments

we

pray

in

Jesus

name

amen

we

find

in

verse

6

and

8

and

10

three

different

characters

three

different

responses

to

sin

now

these

aren't

the

only

responses

to

sin

but

these

are

the

ones

that

John

brings

to

our

attention

this

morning

the

first

is

found

in

verse

6

here's

what

it

says

if

we

say

we

have

fellowship

with

him

while

we

walk

in

darkness

we

lie

and

do

not

practice

the

truth

indifference

now

John

asked us

a question

this morning

as we were

worshipping

the question

went something

along this

along these

lines

I don't think

I'll have

the exact

words

but

the question

was something

that said

how many

of us

think

we've

arrived

right

and we

all would

nod our

heads

a hearty

yes

none

of us

think

we've

arrived

maybe

a

complimentary

question

which would

get to

the heart

of what

John

is

dealing

with

here

is

how

many

of

us

care

you may

know

where

you are

but

do

you

give

a

rip

and

do

you

give

a

rip

enough

to

do

something

about

it

there's

a lot

on the

line

John

is

trying

to

help

us

understand

what

a

true

fellowshipping

community

looks

like

and

what

a

false

fellowshipping

community

looks

like

which

community

do

you

belong

in

those

who

are

indifferent

are

not

in

the

community

that's

the

message

here

and

then

you

begin

to

say

okay

we've

got

how

much

how

many

months

do

we

have

of

this

I'm

not

sure

how much

of this

I can

take

but

remember

this is

for

your

joy

John

wants

you to

experience

joy

today

you

cannot

experience

joy

until

you

have

fellowship

with

him

you

cannot

fellowship

with

him

if

you

are

indifferent

about

your

sin

if

we

say

we

fellowship

with

him

while

we

walk

in

darkness

we

lie

and

do

not

practice

the

truth

he

uses

some

words

here

that

he

continues

to

work

with

throughout

the rest

of

his

letter

now

we've

kind

of

titled

this

series

the

abiding

life

fellowship

we've

talked

about

walking

he

uses

that

word

here

in

verse

6

this

walking

in

darkness

this

is

the

heart

of

one

who

is

inclined

to

sin

is

walking

down

the

path

is

quite

happy

with

the

condition

of

how

things

are

is

moving

in a

direction

that

is

not

in

the

direction

of

God

it

would

be

different

from

the

kind

of

life

that

we

find

in

Galatians

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

chapter

5

where

it

says

walk

in

the

spirit

and

you

will

not

fulfill

the

lust

of

flesh

it's

not

that

life

it

is

the

kind

of

life

that

is

walking

and

is

quite

happy

with

its

journey

a

journey

that

is

away

from

God

that

is

satisfied

and

settled

in

its

sin

!

how many

of us

are there

this

morning?

How many

of us

are okay

with a

critical

spirit?

How many

of us

are okay

with

firing off

our mouths

at our

family

when we

feel angry

about various

things?

how many

of us

are okay

with not

continuing

to cultivate

that love

relationship

with Christ?

How many

of us

are okay

with keeping

our lips

shut

about the

gospel?

How many

of us

have things

at work

we know

are wrong

but it's a

whole lot

easier just

to kind

of go

with the

flow

and not

buck

the

system?

how many

of us

have those

private

sins

in our

lives

that we've

just

learned

to be

okay

with?

We can't

be indifferent

about sin

if we want

to fellowship

with God.

Maybe the

first step

this morning

is to

come clean.

Come clean

with somebody

that you

love.

Come clean

with someone

who know

will hold

you accountable.

confess your

sins one

to another

so that you

might be

healed.

You want

to experience

the healing

of God

in your

life?

Maybe

this is

the day

to put

away

the

indifference

and start

living

in obedience.

That's the

first group.

The second

group is

in verse

8.

I call

it the

group who

is deceived.

The group

that's deceived,

here's what

it says.

If we

say we

have no

sin,

we

deceive

ourselves

and the

truth is

not in

us.

Okay,

so this

is the

group of

individuals

and in

John's

day,

there was

this heresy

known as

Gnosticism

where they

kind of

separated the

material and

the spiritual

parts of

your life.

they

thought my

physical

life,

it can

do

whatever

it wants

to do,

I can

indulge in

the flesh

just as

long as

my spiritual

life has

arrived.

That was

one extreme.

The other

extreme was

to say,

okay,

I'm going

to live

such a

regimented

life that

I'm going

to avoid

every indulgence,

every

fleshly

delight,

and I'm

not going

to participate

in certain

things,

so it

became very

legalistic

in nature.

Either way,

there were

some in

that group

who had

said,

I finally

arrived.

I've sinned

in the past,

God has

forgiven me

for those

things,

but now

things are

good.

I'm where

I need

to be

spiritually.

John is

trying to

help them

understand,

the Christian

life is a

broken life.

the Christian

life is a

humble life.

The one

who is

really

pursuing

God,

and the

closer you

get to

the sun,

the darker

the spots

in your

life become.

You understand

the blemishes

in your own

heart and

life.

The spotlight

has been

shining,

and now

there's

nothing but

exposure in

your life.

And as

you submit

yourself to

the exposing

light of

God,

you recognize

those things

that you

were comfortable

with before,

you're not so

comfortable with

now.

That's how

the Apostle

Paul could

say,

I'm the

chief of

sinners.

It's because

the closer he

got to God,

the more he

understood the

significance of

sin in his

own life.

And that's

what John's

trying to

combat here,

is the

sense of

deception

that you

have arrived

spiritually.

And again,

we might not

ever say

that vocally,

but we do

that functionally

when we decide

that there's no