The Word Made Real

Warm welcome to all of you who chose to be here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church.

Good morning, everyone.

If you have a copy of God's Word, go ahead and turn with me to 1 John 1.

We'll be looking at the first few verses this morning.

1 John 1.

1 John 1.

1 John 1.

Let's pray.

Lord, we are thankful for your word.

We are thankful for what it does,

how it goes around the world with ministries like Gideon's.

Father, for what it does in our own hearts,

may we cherish it, may we love it,

and may we worship you because of it.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Is that me?

Sound like I'm in a wind tunnel.

I don't know.

All right.

All right.

So there's a skill that most of us don't acknowledge that we all have.

Some of us are better at it than others.

In fact, it is so prevalent that economists think

that this one skill makes up a quarter of our nation's economy.

That's a lot of money.

That's more than a million dollars.

In fact, this is so important that great leaders,

businessmen, government officials, high school teachers,

moms and dads, kids on the playground,

all either do this or encourage us to grow in this one skill.

Harvard Business Review wrote this about that one skill.

It said,

Ideas are the currency of the 21st century.

The ability to persuade, and that is that one skill.

To change hearts and minds is perhaps the single greatest skill of all time.

The author of that piece went on to say that when words and ideas are exchanged,

we have the power to change the world.

Persuasion is then the most important skill that any of us can have,

that any of us can possess.

Now, you might be thinking,

Well, I'm not sure I'm very persuasive.

I'm not sure I even all do that.

But think with me for a moment.

We know that politicians do it.

They try to convince us to vote for them.

We know that salesmen try to speak to us in a way that make us buy whatever it is they're selling.

But we all do it.

It's not just those people.

In fact, if we think for a second about our own lives, we do it.

You convince that guy to hire you in your job interview.

You convince your son or daughter that, in fact, they should put on that jacket.

Or that they should obey.

Or that they should eat their vegetables.

Or you convince that toddler this morning to get in that car seat.

Maybe it wasn't persuasion.

You think it's actually more coercion.

But the reality is that we're trying to convince people to do something.

We're trying to convince people to think something.

And the difference between maybe persuading that toddler

or convincing someone to see something your way,

and maybe you think those are all the same thing.

That manipulation, coercion, persuasion, it's all the same thing.

But persuasion is trying to convince someone to do something or think something

for their own benefit.

And it also benefits you on some level.

That's the difference.

Kids, you do this too.

Think about when you're on the playground

and you try to convince someone to trade that Pokemon card with you.

And you know the one that you have is actually terrible.

Or you try to convince your brother or sister to stop coloring and ride bikes instead.

We do this from the earliest age.

And this morning, John is trying to do the same thing as a rider.

But he's not trying to convince people of something new.

He's not trying to persuade them with something they've never heard before.

But in fact, he's reminding them,

I've already told you these things.

Just like eating your vegetables or putting on a jacket or getting in your car seat.

It's probably not the first time you said those things if you're a parent.

John is saying,

I've told you this before,

but I'm reminding you again of how important it is.

He writes this later on in the book.

He says,

I'm writing because I've written about these things before.

To you who believe in the name of the Son of God,

in order that you might know that you have eternal life.

This isn't news to them.

But in the opening lines of this letter,

he's pointing back to something.

He's pointing back to this claim that we're going to examine this morning.

The word of life is real.

And we're going to do that in two parts.

We're going to first look at its substance.

Or what is it?

We're going to define it and examine it.

And then we're going to look at the effects.

The so what.

So the word of life,

even that is ambiguous.

We're going to see in a moment.

The word of life and why it matters.

First,

now,

when we're talking about persuasion,

the thing that I didn't mention in this conversation is,

no matter if in the 21st century or ancient history,

everyone acknowledges that the seminal work,

the most important thing ever written on this,

is by a guy named Aristotle.

Now,

I say that with some amount of fear and trepidation,

because Matthew,

he's much more apt at the philosophy stuff.

And I barely can speak English sometimes.

So I say that with hesitation.

I'm glad he's not here.

I hope he's enjoying vacation.

Now,

Aristotle,

from what I've read,

okay,

he wrote this book called Rhetoric.

And I've read it.

He talks about certain elements of communication,

certain elements that we can use to persuade others.

And one of them is establishing credibility.

You know,

why you should listen to me,

why you should believe what I'm saying.

And John does this same thing,

but he does it in a very interesting way.

Let's look at it.

Read with me verse one.

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.

He's establishing credibility by pointing back,

saying,

this is not anything that's new.

In fact,

it's old,

old history.

He says this topic,

this subject is important because of its age.

And it's not recent,

but it's really,

really old.

And it's not just old.

It's there from before time,

from the beginning.

That's what he does to establish credibility.

Now,

if you're thinking to yourself,

wait,

this kind of sounds familiar.

Let me jog your memory.

Listen to this.

In the beginning was the word,

and the word was with God,

and the word was God.

He was in the beginning,

was God.

And all things were made through him.

And without him was anything,

was not anything made that was made.

And in him was life,

and the life was the light of men.

Or what about what we read earlier?

In the beginning,

God created the heavens and the earth.

It sounds really similar.

And when John is writing this,

he's making a point to all of us,

especially the people that would receive this letter,

or this sermon.

He's saying,

what I'm about to say

relates to not just my gospel that I wrote to you,

but it relates back all the way to the beginning,

to Genesis.

And when we read this,

it should get our juices flowing to say,

oh yeah, I've heard this before.

I know this story.

And that is how credibility is established.

He also does something else

that is very common in our modern day.

He appeals to the senses.

We like to think, though,

that we're much smarter

than the first readers of this letter,

and that we have to know,

and see, and touch,

and understand everything.

But John's readers were the same way.

And he says this,

that you have seen it.

You have touched it.

You have even tasted it.

You have felt with all of your senses

and seen all of these things.

You've heard the words.

And then he circles back again

in what's called a parenthesis, right?

That he says the same thing again,

but in different ways.

He says, which we have seen with our eyes,

which we have looked upon,

which we have touched with our hands.

He's saying this thing over and over again,

kind of like what pastors do.

We say the same thing over and over again,

but maybe with different words.

And why do we use different words?

Because we don't want to be like robots

and just repeat everything.

But we're circling around something

that's really important.

So we're saying the same thing

over and over again.

And what is it that he's saying?

He's saying that this is really important.

I want to remind you

that this is credible,

not because it's old,

but also that you,

that we have experienced it.

This is something that's not new to you.

You are personally acquainted with the subject.

You see, John's writing this letter

because he's concerned that Christians,

that he's told the gospel to,

that he's pastored and loved

and watched them grow up,

watched them grow up in their faith

and children into adulthood.

He's concerned that they're walking away

from the truth

and that they're walking away

from the message that he gave to them.

You see, some of the people

from this congregation

that John is writing to

had strayed away.

They thought there was new things

to find out.

That in fact,

unless you went to this Bible study

or heard this certain speaker speak

or actually read this book,

that you really wouldn't know

what eternal life was.

And John's concerned about that

and he points us back,

he points his readers back

to what they've heard before.

And he says,

you don't need anything new.

You don't need any new gadget

or gizmo or word.

Go back to the beginning.

Go back to what I've told you

because this is important.

But what's he talking about?

He's talking about the word of life.

That's the subject.

That's the that in the beginning.

The word of life

could be the message of Jesus.

If you start reading

through this section

up until the point

where he talks about

that it's touched by hands.

So it's the message of Jesus

but also the person of Jesus

because in the person of Jesus,

he accomplishes what he preaches.

The sacrifice,

the once for all sacrifice for sin

is Jesus himself

but he communicates that message

by his own lips.

So it's the message of Jesus

but also the person of Jesus.

And John says

that Jesus embodies this message

and you have seen it,

you have touched it,

you've even known it.

You've known the person of Jesus.

And Jesus is the word

and the word is life.

He reminds us of that

in the gospel of John.

He tracks that all the way through for us.

He's pointing in these very first verses

back to Jesus

as the answer for

not these newfound issues

that can be answered by new ideas,

new problems that can't be answered

by an old message.

No, he says,

go back to Jesus.

And then he continues that

again in verse two.

He says,

the life was made manifest

and we have seen it

and testify to it

and proclaim to you

the eternal life

which was with the Father

and was made manifest to us.

He's circling the drain.

First he starts wider

and then he gets closer.

He says the same thing again

but in a different way.

At the same time,

the drain is still in the middle.

He's going around and around

saying the same thing,

restating it.

Again, this is not new.

This is an old message

both in age and familiarity.

He's not telling them anything new.

He's not trying to persuade them

like at the end of the Gospel of John

where he's telling people

who've never heard the good news of Jesus.

He's reminding them again

that this is important.

He's reminding us

of the centrality

of the person and message of Jesus

for all of life.

He's reminding us

again and again

that eternal life

is found in Christ.

Now John,

he's terrible at grammar

which is kind of funny

because if you start grading this thing,

that first couple verses

is all one sentence

and you're thinking,

John, you're saying the same thing

over and over again

and you don't even give us a break

like we can't even breathe

with the period.

But John

is actually

a really good writer

and a really good speaker.

When you think

of good speakers

in the modern day,

you might think

of something called

a TED Talk.

It's where an expert,

air quote,

gets up

and convinces you

that whatever they say

is important

and they're in authority

on that.

And I say,

most of the time it is

but sometimes it's a kid.

And sometimes

they're experts on things

where you're like,

hey, I don't really think

you know what you're talking about.

Plus, where's your mom?

But,

you know,

those influential videos

where we hear about experts

but John does the same thing

that a lot of these TED Talks do.

He repeats things

over and over

to reinforce a point.

He builds credibility

just like Aristotle

told him to do

or Aristotle explains later

that credibility

is based on age

and then experience.

But TED Talks do something

that John does here.

where he tells a story

invites us in.

And if you look

at the most popular TED Talks

that are on the internet,

all of them

have an element of story

where they invite us in

and we get captured

in what's going on.

If you think about a good book,

reading a good book

does the same thing.

We kind of lose

where we're at in life

and we get immersed

in the story.

And then you add

on top of that,

you add emotion.

Now you might be thinking,

hey, I'm a math science guy.

I don't really do feelings.

Even the best of us

have feelings

and emotions.

And when a story

compels us

and we get captured in it

and then our emotions

are involved,

we're all in.

The same is true with John.

The same is true

with a TED Talk.

Now TED Talks

all end

in this certain way.

They say,

and you might even

use this phrase,

thank you for coming

to my TED Talk.

Now John,

if you look at

how he's written this,

he doesn't have

the focus on himself

like many of these

so-called experts.

Like,

if I want to tell you

about Pokemon cards

or I want to tell you

about college football,

I'm going to list

my credentials

and then you're going

to believe me

based on my credentials.

Now John,

he does something

very different.

And just like

a TED Talk,

he doesn't,

he actually doesn't

do anything

like a TED Talk.

He says,

hey,

listen,

my TED Talk

is not about me.

It's about Jesus.

And he structures

how he opens this letter

in the same way.

He doesn't say,

I'm John,

I knew Jesus,

or I'm John,

I'm really important,

I know what I'm talking about.

He says,

the subject

is way more important

than me,

than what I'm delivering

to you.

That Jesus is more important

than anything else.

And he structures

his letter

in the same way.

He draws us

into the story.

He builds credibility.

But it's all pointing

to Jesus,

not to John.

How John structures

this letter,

how he repeats things,

how he builds credibility,

he's all explaining

what the word of life is.

He's reassuring

his readers.

Remember,

that's the point

of this letter,

to reassure people

that the central point

of life

is Christ

and him crucified.

He's reassuring

these people

of the power

of the gospel

that rests

not in John

or his professionalism

or his credibility

and not how he talks,

but in what Jesus

has done

and who Jesus is.

That's the point

of why John's writing.

Now,

why does that matter?

It matters for Christians.

It matters for Christians

then and now

because if we get

in a tough spot,

if we're doubting

our faith,

oftentimes,

we look to ourselves

and think,

well,

you know,

I know myself

the best

or my spouse

says this

or my friends

say that.

John says no.

look to Jesus.

That's the thing

that is certain

because in our own lives,

if we look to ourselves

as to other people,

the reality is

that they're all

marked by sin.

We all struggle

with sin.

We all struggle

with doubts.

So why would we

look to ourselves

for any amount

of surety

or certainty?

No,

instead,

look to Christ.

And John knows this

and he reminds

his readers of this.

Even how he sets

everything up.

He says,

don't look to yourself.

Look to the word of life

because in him

is found eternal life.

Look to Christ

and what he's accomplished

on the cross.

Don't look to yourselves.

Don't even look

to others around you.

The certainty

is found

in the message

of the gospel.

Not into these people

who are trying

to persuade you

of new ideas

or new things.

The message

is where certainty

is found

because of

what Jesus

has done.

So when we're

discouraged

and we think

life isn't even

going right,

that

we're struggling

when we think

I surely cannot

be a Christian.

Look to Christ

because that

is more certain

than ourselves.

when we hear

questions in our day,

when we say,

did Jesus really

say that?

Or how could you

even believe

in this fairy tale,

this fantasy?

Look to Christ

because that

is certain.

When there's war

and there's rumors

of war

and our society

seems to be

going crazy,

look to Christ.

Look to Christ.

That's where

John is pointing

to us

because our

assurance

comes in

what he's done

on the cross

on our behalf.

Our forgiveness

of sin

is because

of Christ.

Our certainty

of hope

is because

of Christ,

not because

of any of us.

Now,

that's the substance

of this word

of life.

What about

its effects?

How does it

affect our lives?

If that's true

and that's true

of us,

how do we

live that out?

What do we do

now?

Look with me

at verses

3 and following.

That which

we have seen

and heard

we proclaim

also to you

so that you

too may have

fellowship with us

and indeed

our fellowship

is with the

Father and His

Son,

Jesus Christ.

He begins

with this

repetition

again.

He's saying

the same thing

but he's

amplifying it.

He's making

it more

intense.

He's saying

what we heard

in verse 1

and verse 2

but we look

at the effects

of it.

It changes

individuals

and it binds

us together

but why?

Because the

word that was

proclaimed,

the good news

that was

proclaimed to

each of us,

to all these

readers,

changes us

and makes us

in fellowship

together because

we have fellowship

with the Father

through the Son,

Jesus Christ.

That we have

fellowship with

the Father

and because we

have fellowship

with the Father

and you have

fellowship with

the Father

and He has

fellowship with

the Father

and she does

then we have

fellowship together.

But that's born

out of the

proclamation of

the Word

that the gospel

was proclaimed

to you

and you've

changed,

you've become

a saint,

changed from

sinner and because

of that now

you have

fellowship.

fellowship is

kind of a

funny word.

A guy I knew

once always

talked about

fellowship in

terms of kids

and he would

talk about kids

going down to

the basement

and having

coke and I

think hot dogs,

I can't remember

the food.

But is that

fellowship?

Or is fellowship

something different?

Is fellowship

what we do

after church?

Maybe.

Or is fellowship

as John uses it,

it's a common

bond.

The New Testament

uses it as

fellowship,

as having

something in

common,

doing something

together.

In the gospels

it talks about

the disciples

having fellowship

in fishing.

Is that fellowship?

Is that what he

means here?

John will go on

later in some

of his other

letters to talk

about fellowship

with evil,

that when we

don't follow

Christ we're

actually in

fellowship with

evil.

Is that fellowship?

Fellowship is

just having

something in

common and

uniting us

together.

So if you're

a Clemson

football fan,

we have

fellowship

together.

If you really

like coffee,

you might have

fellowship with

Matthew.

If you like

the Rockies,

you probably

have fellowship

with my son.

If you love

Pokemon,

you might have

fellowship with

another kid.

It can go on

and on.

Fellowship is

having something

that you both

like that unites

you together.

So what is

John talking

about here?

He's talking

about fellowship

that is found

in the gospel.

That's most

of the time

when we use

that term.

We use that

as shorthand.

Fellowship that

we have in

the gospel.

But participation

in fellowship

is also

participation

in a mission.

It's just,

it's not

stagnant.

And John

reminds us

of that here.

He says

that we

have seen

it,

testified to

it,

and proclaimed

to you

eternal life,

which was with

the Father.

That's in

verse 2.

He's building

this case

that we

are participatory.

That which

we have seen

and heard

we proclaim

to you also

so that you

too may have

fellowship with

us.

Proclaiming

and then

fellowship.

Sinner

to saint

then fellowship.

That's how we

have fellowship

with the Father

because we

have put

our faith

in Christ.

If you

don't have

fellowship

with the Father,

you haven't

put your faith

in Christ.

I encourage

you,

based on

the words

of John,

to love

Jesus

because of

what he

has done

on your

behalf.

Is your

heart

steward

towards

Christ

because of

what he

has done?

Jesus,

both the

person and

the message

is that

Jesus has

come and

died and

paid for

sin as a

ransom for

those that

are sinners.

And that's

us.

And if we

put our

faith in

Christ,

we have

fellowship

with God

the Father

because of

the Son.

That's the

message of

the gospel.

That's what

John's inviting

us to

participate in

as we

tell others

about what

has happened

to us.

That is how

we have

fellowship.

When I was

a kid,

you might

have a

granddad like

this or

a grandfather

that's like

this.

I don't

think I've

had some

near-death

experiences in

my life,

but most

of them

have been

at his

hands,

which is

saying a

lot,

right?

He's a

great man,

he's with

the Lord

now,

but he

had some

not-so-great

ideas most

of the time.

He's a smart

guy, too.

And one of

my favorite

slash scariest

was when

we went to

our lake

place.

We had a

little house

on the lake

and there

was a

hurricane

coming,

so for

those that

aren't

acquainted,

think

tornado,

lots of

big winds,

lots of

water,

rain,

you know,

you stay

at home,

you don't

drive an

hour away

to go out

to this

little,

not shack,

but cottage,

lake house,

cabin deal,

and you

definitely

don't want

to be

outside.

So he

got the

idea that

he needed

to go up

there and

make sure

everything

was,

you know,

put together

and was

in order,

and so he

said,

hey,

you're above

the age of

five,

you're going

to come

with me.

So we

went up

there to

make sure

that our

boat hadn't

blown across

the lake,

that the

house hadn't

imploded because

we built

it,

and his

idea,

he knew it

was dangerous,

and so he

said,

boy,

he sometimes

called me

boy when

he's very

serious,

or before

a near-death

experience,

I'm going to

tie you to

this tree.

Now the

reason he

was going to

tie me to

the tree is

one so I

didn't blow

away,

and the

other was

so I

didn't drown,

okay,

because the

water had

risen above

our dock,

it was a

fixed dock,

and so when

we made our

way down,

after I was

tied to this

tree,

and the

tree is still

there today,

it was about

three feet of

water above

the dock,

so when you're

about nine,

that's pretty

high,

and it's

windy,

you should be

inside,

you shouldn't

be outside

when there's a

hurricane,

and he was

concerned that

I would die.

More importantly,

he wasn't

concerned that I

would die,

but then he

wouldn't be able

to get me

back,

okay,

at least that's

what my

grandmother

accused him

of,

that I

would be

carried away

in the water

and the wind,

okay,

and as we

made our

way down,

it was pretty

scary,

and I

remember seeing

him slip and

go under the

water and

thinking,

I'm tied to

this tree,

I can't help

you,

but no matter

what happened,

the wind or

the waves,

even if I

died,

I am still

anchored to

this tree,

I am bound

to this tree

by this rope,

and that

rope is

not going

to let

me go

under the

water and

float away,

it might go

under the

water for a

time,

I might be

blown over,

but I'm not

going to be

blown across

the lake,

I might fall,

no matter what

happens,

I have this

anchor,

I am bound

to this tree,

I am bound

by this rope,

John is

reminding us

that Christians,

that we are

bound together

with God,

not because of

our ability to

hold on to

that rope,

but because we

are tied to

him,

we are tied

to him because

of what Christ

has done on

our behalf,

because of our

faith in

Christ,

even when it's

weak,

is secured not

because of

ourselves,

but because of

what Christ

has done,

he moves on

from this and

he says,

I'm writing

these things

so that our

joy might be

complete.

Union with

God,

union with

Christ,

is the source

of our joy,

and if we read

this at its

face,

we think our

joy is somehow

lacking.

John's not

saying that,

he's saying

because I've

cared for you,

because I've

told you the

gospel,

because I've

pastored you,

because I've

shepherded you

through all

those storms

of life,

I feel a

sense of joy

in knowing

that you're

walking in

the truth.

He'll say

that later.

That I love

you,

and that when

I hear of

the ministry

of Gideons,

or I hear of

the ministry

that's going

on in other

parts of the

world,

that we are

together in

this,

in this

mission,

the proclamation

of the word,

and I rejoice

to know that

the word is

going forth.

That's what

he's saying.

That we're

doing these

things for

joy.

So do we

rejoice when

we have

fellowship with

one another?

Do we

rejoice when

we go out

after the

service and

eat those

wonderful treats

and drink

coffee?

Is that

fellowship that

we can rejoice

in?

It is because

it's not really

about the

coffee or the

treats.

It's about

the conversations

that we have

with one

another,

stirring our

hearts,

prompting

each other

on,

to know

that,

yes,

I might

be struggling,

but I am

bound with

Christ.

That even

when I don't

feel like I

have the

strength to

hold on,

that Christ

holds me

fast.

That's what

John is

reminding us.

And the joy

to know as

we walk

through life

together,

as Christians,

as followers

of God,

that we are

united together

in all of

that.

And that

brings joy

because we

are participating

together in a

mission,

in seeing

sinners

transformed

into saints,

in seeing

people raised

from death

unto life.

That gives

us joy.

That's something

that we can

rejoice in

and hope in.

that's

fellowship.

The effects

of the

message of

Jesus are

that we

fundamentally

transformed

our priorities,

that we

see things

differently.

We see

the effects

of his

person and

his message

because of

the actual

message,

because it

is that

good,

because it

is that

powerful.

And when

we encounter

the storms

of life,

we are

assured,

not because

of my

own strength

to hold

on,

but because

of who

Jesus is.

Let's rest

in that

assurance.

Let's rest

in knowing

that Christ

and him

crucified

is the

only thing

that matters.

Let's

pray.

Lord,

we are

mindful this

morning of

the change

that you

have wrought

in those

that follow

Christ.

We pray

that you

might work

in our

hearts to

hold us

fast because

of what

you have

done

through

Christ.

May we

know that,

may we

love it,

and may we

rejoice in

the hope

that's found

in knowing

Jesus.

Amen.