Abiding Life that Leads to Joy

Great time of worship this morning. Thank you, praise team.

I want to encourage you to come back tonight. We'll have more of an opportunity to worship the Lord as we celebrate and remember the Lord's table through communion.

So I want to encourage you to be part of that service as well.

And just an extension, really, of what we're going to be talking about this morning as we launch into a new series.

A series through the book of 1 John.

A letter that was written by the beloved apostle.

And as I was trying to think, what do we do next after our study in the book of Isaiah?

Where do we go? And why do we go there?

And it really stems from the initiative that we have this year that comes from Isaiah chapter 30, verse 15.

Isaiah 30:15

And if you remember what that passage says, it says,

Is that your experience today?

Is that where you are?

Experiencing the perpetual salvation and deliverance of God in your life?

Coming to enjoy and revel in the strength of God day by day?

Or are you a little like me?

There is weakness.

There is inadequacy.

There is struggle.

There is failure and brokenness.

I come to this series and I feel tremendously inadequate.

I know the significance of dwelling in God.

I know the importance of abiding in Him.

But I sure don't know what that looks like.

At least I haven't...

I'm on a journey, okay?

I haven't really arrived when it comes to being a person who abides in God

and enjoys the presence of God in my life to the degree where I know and have experienced His salvation moment by moment.

And so I kind of feel like I need to pull up a stool.

I need to sit down.

And we just need to kind of have this open discussion through this book because I can't come to you this morning as an expert who has arrived at this lesson.

But if we're going to really know and enjoy the salvation and the strength of God,

we're going to be people who are living and dwelling and abiding and resting in Him.

Not striving.

I think I'm more like my namesake, like Peter.

You know, impulsive.

Kind of acts before he thinks.

That's my nature.

Well, this morning we're going to sit at the feet.

And from now until the end of August, we're going to sit at the feet of somebody who I think did get it.

We're going to sit at the feet of the Apostle John, the beloved Apostle.

Because I really believe that John understood this subject and got it to such a point that Jesus referred to him how?

Remember what Jesus called him?

He was the one who Jesus loved, right?

Now, have you ever thought about that statement?

The Apostle that Jesus loved?

Was it that Jesus didn't love Peter and James and Andrew and the others?

No, it wasn't that Jesus didn't love them with the same affection and the same love.

But I think it is really this concept that we're going to talk about from now until the end of August.

John just pushed in to Christ.

John understood what it meant to just soak in this experience of God.

John knew what it meant to just enjoy him.

You see, I think for many of us who lift up the wonder of the Scripture

and would hold to the inerrancy and the authority of the Scripture,

and we come here on a Sunday morning, we want to listen to the Word of God taught,

we're on our podcast and we're listening to sermons throughout the week,

we're faithful to study the Scriptures day by day,

we understand that the value of the Word almost to a fault

because it becomes academic.

It becomes sterile.

It becomes an exercise of just checking the box,

doing what you know is expected,

but it doesn't really sink in.

You ever been there?

You ever felt that way?

John was the apostle that Jesus loved

because John was the one who soaked Jesus in the most, I think.

He was the one who really tasted of the wonder of Christ,

just reveled in this experience of knowing Him.

He is to be known through His Word, don't get me wrong.

That is an essential part of the Christian life,

but it can't stop there.

That's where it ended for the Pharisees.

They knew the Scriptures forwards and backwards,

but when it came to actually experiencing God,

they had no experience of Him.

That's what the psalmist says.

He says,

Taste and see that the Lord is good.

You experience God day by day?

Or are there...

Would you describe your time in the Word

and your time in prayer as kind of mechanical?

You're in good company,

if that's how you would describe your time.

Sometimes you ever feel like a hypocrite

because you know it's what God expects you to do,

but you just...

There's just...

God seems so distant.

You seem so separated from Him.

There's not that fellowshipping

that the Bible promises happening in your life.

Well, as we walk through this study of 1 John,

that's my desire for you.

That's my desire for me.

My desire for us

is that we would really come to understand

and live in the reality

of what Isaiah promises 700 years

even before Christ comes.

That true salvation and strength

will come as we...

as we're quiet.

It comes as we rest.

It comes as we...

as we dwell in Him,

not as we strive.

It comes through

a fellowshipping,

experiential relationship with God.

That's what I want for me.

That's what I want for you.

And by the way,

as we're going to look at this morning

in 1 John 1,

that is what the apostle,

beloved apostle John,

as kind of the expert on the subject,

he wants for the church

that he's writing to.

And so,

as we go on this journey,

it's really a journey of learning how

to enjoy God.

To enjoy Him more than just

an exercise of academia

or scholarship,

but to really know Him.

To know Him in such a way

that it changes your life

and it changes the lives

of the people around you.

It's noticeable.

It's...

It's dramatic.

It's obvious to anyone

who observes you

that there's something significant

that's taken place in your life.

It shows up

in the way you live.

So turn with me, if you would,

to 1 John 1.

As we begin this study.

1 John 1.

It's at the end of your Bibles.

And if you're visiting with us,

it's on page 1,021.

1,021.

Let me just open up our time

with a word of prayer.

Lord, You know our brokenness.

You know the inadequacies of our lives.

You know the things

that step in the way

that hinder

and obstruct

relationship with you.

There is no hiding from you.

We are exposed

before you.

The darkness of our hearts

is evident to you

even though we keep it concealed

to those around us.

And yet,

there is promise of light

and life.

There is promise of fellowship

and overcoming

those obstacles,

those hindrances

that stand in the way.

God, please help

our rebel hearts today.

Please forgive us

for those things

even this week

that we have done

that have displeased you.

Draw us into your presence

even now.

Cleanse us

and make us new

and help us

to be

focused.

Remove the distractions

and help us

to see

what you

intend

for each of us

in this time

in your word today.

God,

we have so much

hope to offer.

Help us

to be people

who embrace

the life-giving

and hope-giving

message

of Christ.

May it flow

from our lives

into our families

and into our workplaces

and into our communities.

Lord,

may it be so evident

in us

that it is

life-changing

for us

and life-changing

for the world

around us.

We ask that you

would do your work.

We pray

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

1 John 1.

This very first

opening phrase.

That which was

from

the beginning.

that which was

from

the beginning.

Now,

for those of you

who have been here

at Maranatha

for the last

several years,

that should be

a familiar phrase

to you.

For maybe

some of you,

you're saying,

who are we

talking about

and what beginning

are we referring to?

Well,

in order to know

what beginning

we're talking about,

we need to

understand

the context

of this verse

and we need to

understand

who is writing it

and what is

the point

of what is

about to be said.

I want us

just to kind of

take a brief look

at the introduction

and just to help us

get into the flow

of this study.

I want us to look

at the author

and the author

is the Apostle John.

We've talked about him

a little bit already.

The beloved Apostle John

who experienced

Christ personally.

We're going to look

at that in the

next few verses

but it just

explodes

with this

experience of God.

The Apostle John

just can't

contain himself

with enthusiasm.

You can almost

see him saying,

hey,

I've got a message

for you.

The most important

person on the planet

has come here

and he's made

himself known.

I've just got to

let you know

about it.

John was

the beloved Apostle

who got to see

and experience

Christ personally.

He got to hear

the message

before the cross

in the upper room.

And really

as we begin

to look at this

study,

this letter

in this first John,

I want us to,

I'm just,

it's amazing to me

to see

how much

of this letter

mimics

the message

of Jesus

on the night

before he was

betrayed and

crucified.

In many ways,

this is

John's

message,

his sermon

as it were,

to the people

of Ephesus

about what

happens that

night.

That private

discussion of

Jesus and his

disciples

from John

John 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13,

14,

15,

and 16.

The culmination

of that,

the concentration

of that message

begins to work

its way out

throughout this

book,

this little

letter of

1 John.

So if you've

ever wanted to

have a sermon

from Jesus

or a sermon

from the

apostles on

John chapter

John 15 · chapter mention

15,

here it is.

Now it's

much later

in John's

life.

John is

older in age.

We can

kind of see

that as we

work our

way through

this book.

We see

constant

references to

the people

in this

church as

little children

helping us

to appreciate

that John

is in the

later stages

of his

life.

We're going

to see

that the

apostle John

is a dear

friend of

Jesus.

We know

that's to be

true and

this expression

of his

heart comes

through in

the message

of this

little letter.

John had

discovered the

secret of

abiding and

we're going

to learn

from his

experience and

we're going

to see that

the abiding

life relates

to so many

different aspects

of our own

life.

There are so

many things

that we can

talk about

in this

little letter

and I'll

talk about

the themes

in just a

moment but

as we work

our way

through I

want us

to focus

in on and

to hone

in on this

specific topic.

topic of

abiding in

Christ.

How does

it play out

in our

life?

What does

it lead

to in

life?

Well,

John is

probably,

like I said,

in the later

parts of his

life,

maybe in his

70s or

80s and

now he is

writing to

this church.

And as

tradition tells

us, he

found his

way to

Ephesus and

he had

spent about

20 to

25 years

ministering to

that specific

church.

So the

author's name

is John

and the

church is

the church

of Ephesus.

Now we

have a

letter that

Paul wrote

to Ephesus

so we

know a

little about

this church.

We've read

about how

that church

got started

in the

book of

Acts.

It was a

church that

was really

a theological

center in

the ancient

world.

Paul founded

that church

on his

third missionary

journey.

And when he

first arrived,

if you remember

in Acts

Acts 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19,

Paul shows

up and he

encounters some

disciples and

he asks them

if they'd ever

been baptized

with the

Holy Spirit.

And their

response is,

we've never

even heard

about the

Holy Spirit.

Who is

this?

They had

come to

know the

message about

Christ through

John the

Baptist but

they didn't

know the

continuing

story, the

work of

God in

their lives.

And so

Paul reveals

that to

them and he

baptizes them

and this

church just

explodes with

the gospel.

We also

find in

Acts chapter

Acts 19 · chapter mention

19 that

it was a

church that

had been

steeped in

spirituality.

Not the

kind of

spirituality you

would hope

for.

Witchcraft and

sorcery kind

of dominated the

life of this

church so that

the collection of

them came

together and

they burned

their books of

witchcraft and

there was

50,000 pieces

of silver worth

of books that

they burned

that day.

Just to say

we're done with

that old way

of life and

we want to

make Christ

the focus and

center of who

we are.

Well Paul was

there and he

taught for three

consecutive weeks

in the synagogue

but it was met

with mixed

reviews.

And as a

result of his

ministry there he

transitions his

ministry now to

speak in what

was called the

Hall of

Tyrannus.

He does that

every single

day for two

years.

This church

just soaking in

doctrine and

theology and

sitting at the

great apostle

Paul's feet and

learning from him

all that Paul

would be able to

share about the

richness of who

God was and the

intricacies of how

God worked.

This really was a

church that had

experienced kind

of the super

powers of

theology and

teaching.

Not only had

Apollos been

there that gifted

man with the

ability to

communicate the

word of God

and Apollos was

working together

with Aquila and

Priscilla.

But then the

apostle Paul comes

and then Paul

sends Timothy a

little later on

and then the

beloved apostle

John spends

years of time

ministering to

these people.

If anyone

understood doctrine

it would be the

church of Ephesus.

They had the

best of the

best who were

teaching them the

things of God.

John, when John

writes later about

this church, the

church of Ephesus,

in Revelations

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, he

points to the

accuracy and

integrity of their

doctrine when he

says, I know your

works, your toil,

and your patient

endurance, how you

cannot bear with

those who are evil

but have tested

those who call

themselves apostles

and are not and

found them to be

false.

I know you are

enduring patiently

and bearing up for

my name's sake and

you have not grown

weary.

It's a church that

knew the truth, that

was able to discern

between truth and

error and had

devoted themselves

whatever the cost

to embrace and

love the things of

God.

God.

But if the church

of Ephesus had

any downside, any

drawback, it was

the significance of

an affection for

knowledge that

overshadowed a love

for God.

John goes on in

this passage and

says, I have this

against you, church

of Ephesus, that

you have abandoned

the love that you

had at first.

first.

That is often the

danger of those

who lift up the

scripture.

As we allow the

truth, the knowledge

that we have in the

Bible to puff us

up and actually to

disqualify us from

being a partaker in

the things of God.

We transfer a love

for the word and the

love for the word

replaces a love for

God.

And a love for God

is what really

matters.

And John is

seeking to appeal

to this church

about the

significance of

love.

And of all of the

letters that the

apostle Paul wrote,

the one that

stands out as

being most

dominated by the

subject of love is

actually the letter

of Ephesians.

Ephesians.

Even very early

on the apostle

Paul understood

what was happening

in this church.

A church that

had such an

affection for the

word but had

actually lost their

affection for Christ.

And that's the

danger.

Where are you this

morning?

Are we a church

that loves God

and does that love

show up in a

relationship with

him?

That's what John

is encouraging

this church of

Ephesus.

Well there are a

number of themes

and if we were to

talk about love

we would be

faithful to the

text.

Forty-six times

in the book,

this little letter

of 1 John,

we find the

subject of love.

And out of

106 verses,

that's almost

one occurrence

for every two

verses we find

love.

Love is the

dominant theme

in this letter.

But one of the

close seconds is

this concept,

this theme of

abiding.

Abiding that

John is seeking

to help this

church come to

terms with.

What will

abiding do?

How will it

show up?

And as you read

through chapter 2,

3, and 4,

every paragraph

in this letter

has the word

abide in it.

He begins

with chapter 1

that deals

with the

introductory

fellowship that

we need to

have with God

and then from

chapters 2,

3, and 4

he moves on

to what does

an abiding

relationship with

God look like

and what does

an abiding

relationship do

for you?

the key

was not in

striving.

The key

to accomplishing

the objectives

of God in

life was

abiding and

resting in

him.

In John's

mind, it is

the basis of

everything good

in the Christian

life.

Only when we

abide can we

live.

John had

discovered the

key.

and there

was something

that must be

coupled with

an intellectual

knowledge of

him but also

an experiential

knowledge of

God.

And where

we're going to

go this morning

is I want us

to see that an

abiding

relationship with

God leads to

joy.

As we look at

the abiding

life this morning,

I want us to

understand that

it will lead

you to joy.

let me just

read this first

four verses for

you and I'll

show you that's

kind of the

end point of

where we're

getting to in

our message this

morning.

Here's what it

says in 1

John 1

beginning at

verse 1.

that which was

from the

beginning,

which we

have heard,

which we

have seen

with our

eyes,

which we

have looked

upon and

have touched

with our

hands concerning

the word of

life.

The life was

manifest and

we have seen

it and

testify to

it and

proclaim to

you the

eternal life

which was

with the

Father and

is made

manifest to

us.

That which

we have seen

and heard we

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.

That's where

we're going

this morning.

You want

joy in your

life today?

Would you

describe

yourself as

a person

of joy?

Would you

say,

yes,

I exist

in a

spirit of

joy

perpetually?

If you

are there,

maybe you

should be up

here sharing

with us

how to make

that happen.

But the

Apostle John

has the

secret.

He wants

us to

understand

at front

and center

where joy

comes from.

joy is

from God.

You cannot

have joy

any other

way.

Joy comes

from him.

If you

want to

experience

joy today,

you have

to know

God.

And John

wants that

for you.

I want

that for

you.

I want

you to

experience

joy.

You can

have it.

It is

accessible.

accessible.

But it's

only accessible

through you.

And that's

why John

begins with

the most

important

part of

the story.

The most

important

ingredient

in finding

joy is

to know

who God

is.

He begins

with that

right here

at the

beginning.

That

which was

from

the beginning.

Make

no

mistake,

John

says,

everything

that will

follow

will come

because

of the

one

from

the

beginning.

Well,

who is

this

one

from

the

beginning?

Well,

if you

look back

to the

gospel of

John,

that's

where he

starts

his

gospel

as

well.

He

says

in

John

chapter

one,

in

the

beginning

was

the

word.

The

word

was

with

God

and

the

word

was

God.

He

was

in

the

beginning

with

God.

All

things

were

made

through

him

and

without

him

was

not

anything

made

that

was

made.

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.

And

throughout

the

rest

of

the

gospel

of

John,

the

beloved

apostle

introduces

us

and

describes

for

us

this

amazing

individual,

Emmanuel,

God

with

us,

Jesus

Christ,

who

came

to

earth.

And

one

of the

things he

came

to

bring

was

fellowship

with

God

as we'll

see in

a moment

but also

joy.

Joy

that can

only be

experienced

in him

and through

him.

If you

want joy

today,

you have

to know

Jesus

Christ.

Joy

comes

from

God.

We

find

some

things

about

this

joy.

First

we find

that it

is

an

eternal

joy.

It

is

an

eternal

joy.

That's

the

point

I

believe

that John

is trying

to get

at here

in this

opening

phrase.

That

which was

from

the

beginning.

Because

joy

comes

from

God

and

because

God

is

eternal,

joy

can

be

eternal.

It

is not

temporary.

Now,

I think

here at the

outset of

this

message,

I think

we need

to

understand

what

is

joy?

What

are we

talking

about

when

we're

talking

about

joy?

joy?

And I

think

it

may be

helpful

for us

to

understand

what

joy

is

not

so

that

we

can

begin

to

understand

what

joy

is.

First,

joy

is not

temporary.

Joy

is

eternal.

Joy

is not

based

upon

circumstances.

It's

not

based

upon

your

walk

of

life.

It's

not

based

upon

the

situation

in which

you

find

yourself.

joy

is

enduring.

Joy

is

transcendent.

Joy

should

occupy

the

life

of

every

believer

day

by

day,

moment

by

moment.

Joy

is

also

not

the

same

as

happiness.

Happiness

comes

and

goes.

Happiness

is

based

upon

certain

situations.

It's

based

upon

life

events.

It's

based

upon

what

we

get,

based

upon

what

we

expect.

happiness

can

be

quite

fleeting,

can't

it?

Joy

is

enduring.

God

wants

us

to

experience

joy.

And

he

talks

about

the

way

to

get

joy.

Jesus

kind

of

gives

this

commentary

to

his

disciples.

It's

amazing

to me

to

understand

or to

see

in

the

scriptures,

in

the

gospel

of

John,

Jesus

is

the

one

to

talk

about

joy

all

of the

eight

times

in which

it's

mentioned

through

the

gospel

of

John.

Every

time

that

joy

is

referred

to,

Jesus

is

the

initiator

and

the

speaker

of

joy.

And

seven

of

those

eight

occurrences

happen

the night

before

Jesus

was

going

to

be

killed.

Jesus

tells

his

disciples

in

John

John 15:11

chapter

15

verse

11,

he

says,

things

I

have

spoken

to

you,

that

my

joy

may

remain

in

you,

and

that

your

joy

may

be

full.

Where

does

joy

come

from?

It's

my

joy,

Jesus

says,

but it's

my

joy

that

you

can

experience.

Spoken

the night

before

Jesus

would be

killed.

Joy

that is

enduring,

joy

that can

come

at

any

moment,

any

crisis,

any

situation

that

you're

experiencing.

Joy

can

overcome

those

things.

In

John

John 16:20

chapter

16

verse

20,

Jesus

says,

most

assuredly

you

will

weep

and

lament,

you

will

be

sorrowful,

but

your

sorrow

will

be

turned

to

joy.

John

John 16:24

chapter

16

verse

24,

until

now

you

have

asked

nothing

in my

name,

ask

and you

will

receive

that

your

joy

may

be

full.

God

wants

you to

experience

joy

today.

That

joy

can only

be

experienced

from

him

because

he

is

the

source

of

joy

and

he

can

allow

you

to

experience

enduring

an

eternal

joy

with

him.

Will

you

know

joy

today?

And

maybe

not

surprisingly

on

the

night

that

Jesus

was

betrayed

and

looking

into

the

face

of

darkness

what

will

come

on

the

very

next

day

what

spurred

him

on

to

move

through

the

cross?

We

find

in

Hebrews

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

it

said

look

to

Jesus

the

author

and

the

finisher

of

our

faith

who

for

the

joy

that

was

set

before

him

endured

the

cross.

joy

compelled

Jesus

to

move

through

the

most

difficult

and

darkest

hour

of

his

existence.

Abiding

life

leads

to

eternal

joy

but

it

also

leads

to

present

joy.

I want

you to

see that

as

our

second

point

this

morning.

There

is

the

expectation

of

eternal

joy

but

there

is

also

the

experience

of

present

joy.

We see

that

in

verse

1

and

2

as

well.

It

says

here

in

the

second

part

of

verse

1

it

says

that

which

was

from

the

beginning

which

we

have

heard

which

we

have

seen

with

our

eyes

which

we

have

looked

upon

and

have

touched

with

our

hands

concerning

the

word

of

life.

What

is

John's

point

with

this?

John's

point

is to

help

us

understand

that

joy

is

accessible

and

joy

is

present.

He

wants

his

readers

to know

that

they

can

access

joy

because

Jesus

has

showed

up

on

this

earth

so

that

we

could

experience

him.

We

could

experience

life

with

him.

We

could

experience

the

presence

of

him

and

that

we

could

know

joy

through

him.

Notice

these

words.

We

heard

him.

We

saw

him.

We

looked

on

him.

We

touched

him.

In

every

way

we

experienced

him.

He

made

himself

accessible.

He

was

from

the

beginning.

We

heard

his

message

on

the

mountain

side.

We

heard

him

teach

in

the

temple.

He

dealt

with