Uncomfortable Christianity Week 2 • 1 John 1:1-2:11

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Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning, everybody.

I mean, you know, it's just that morning, right?

So here's what's going on.

You know, I walk in today, and my iPad was acting a little goofy, and I used my iPad to

preach my message.

It's acting goofy right now.

And I was talking to Ken Nelson, and I said, man, it's tough when you depend on technology,

right?

And then the screen goes out, so here's where we are.

But we are glad that you guys are here with us this morning.

And here's the deal.

Man, God doesn't need technology, and we don't need technology to worship Him.

And so I know that second song was a newer song to most of us here, but I think it was

just a powerful point in time in worship when that first song went off.

And it's like, we're not depending on anything else other than worshiping the Lord in this

moment right now.

And just a wonderful time of worshiping with us.

So we just want to thank you guys for being here, and we want to thank you for worshiping

with us this morning.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to 1 John.

We're going to be 1 John chapter 1.

1 John 1 · chapter mention

Over the next eight weeks, we're going to walk through 1, 2, and 3 John.

That's kind of our getting back into the new year.

Last week was kind of an introduction for us as we looked at a different passage of Scripture

outside of 1, 2, and 3 John.

But now we're in 1, 2, and 3 John.

We're going to work our way through there.

I've got these cards that are right here.

In fact, on this table that Aaron and I stand at at the end of the service, we have these

are our right now media cards.

So what we're doing, and we like to do this at the beginning of semesters, is I'll be preaching

through my series.

And while we're doing that, there's a right now media series that walks along with that

as well.

And so the one that we're partnering with in this is through Dr. Tony Evans.

And so we as a church, through the tithes and offerings, we collect part of what we do

with that is we pay for our church to have a subscription to that.

So you can go grab one of these cards if you don't already have a right now media account,

and you can sign up for one.

It is completely free for you.

Also with that, and we're saying this on a live stream, and this is not going to get me

in trouble because right now media told us this.

If you have friends or family, and they would like to join that, and they're not a part of

our church, you can do this, all right?

This isn't Netflix that limits us to accounts.

We can share all that we want to and all that we want to do.

And so we want to make sure that we do that, all right?

Now, over the next eight weeks, what we're going to do on Sunday morning is really just

kind of whet the appetite of all that is found in here.

We can't dive in.

While we're going to read every verse, we're going to look at every verse, we can't dive

into all of the meat and move through these.

And so we're hoping that we can whet the appetite, whether it's with your small group, whether

it's with your family at home, that you can walk through these, unpack these during your

quiet time and just really work, and we're excited to see what God's going to do.

Now, tonight, we are starting back.

All of our discipleship is going to start back with our kids and our students tonight at four

o'clock.

And so if you've got kids, students, we'd love to have them here with us tonight as we open

up God's word and continue a journey in that.

And also, if you're looking for a smaller group to connect with, we would love to help

you do that as well.

So just really quickly, a little bit, a little mini introduction to some of the context of

1st, 2nd, and 3rd John.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd John are written by John, son of Zebedee, that you see in the Gospels.

And this is also the one who wrote the Gospel of John.

He's the one that's referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved or the beloved disciple, depending

on the translation that you have.

Now, in 1st John, there are three themes that you're going to see as we read through these.

Now, we've kind of branded this as uncomfortable Christianity for us.

And we talked about that a little bit last week of what that looks like.

But what John is calling them back to is true doctrine, obedient living, and total devotion.

And so John's going to press into his audience these as he's calling them to this faith in

Christ that is going to be beyond this superficial, comfortable relationship.

And it's the same thing for us of what Christ is calling us to as we come to serve him in

all that we are, that there is no such thing as part-time follower of Jesus Christ, that

this is what God's Word demands from us and challenges us.

And so as we walk through this each week, this is what we're going to see as we study God's

Word.

And so what I want us to do this morning, we're going to cover all of chapter 1.

We're going to cover part of chapter 2.

So we're going to move really quickly through these sections, but let's start off and read

the first four verses, the first John chapter 1.

1 John 1 · chapter mention

It says this, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with

our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have held concerning the word of life.

The life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that he

eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us, that which we have seen

and heard, we declare to you that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship

is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

These things we write to you that your joy may be full.

So let's look at these first few verses in this introduction that we see here from John.

Now, John does something that I found that was really interesting, that as we begin this,

there's some verbiage that comes up that should maybe spark in our minds, like we've seen this

other places in Scripture.

He starts off and says, that which was from the beginning.

It draws us to some of the language in Genesis chapter 1, where it begins, in the beginning,

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

right, God made heavens and the earth, but also not from 1 John 1, but it reminds us of John 1, where it says,

in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And so now John begins this with, that which was from the beginning.

And so pointing them to what he knows, what he has seen, what he's experienced and witnessed of God.

Well, look at what he continues with.

He says, we have heard, we have seen with our eyes, we have looked upon, and our hands have held.

This is what John says in verse 1.

But then he continues on, and the life was made manifest, so that it's not just far off God,

it's Jesus Christ is God, that we've seen it, we've testified to it, we proclaim to you,

as this life in Christ was made manifest among us.

And here's what John is doing.

Here's what I think is really powerful and really applicable to my life and to yours this morning.

John's laying down a foundation as he's going to share all of these things about Christ.

He's not sharing them as a theologian.

He's not sharing them as a scholar.

He's all of these things.

But John is sharing them from experience.

John is saying, I'm going to tell you about Jesus because I know Jesus.

I've experienced Jesus.

I've heard him.

I've seen him.

I've looked upon him.

I've witnessed him.

I can testify to him.

This is who Jesus is.

And so as we dive through into this, I want to ask you this question.

Do you know Jesus or do you just know about Jesus?

Do you know Jesus or do you just know about Jesus?

Now, knowing about Jesus is good.

We want to learn.

We want to grow.

We want to gain in our knowledge.

And knowledge of God and knowledge of the ways of God is really good.

But it just can become information if we don't know Jesus.

And knowing Jesus means we're interacting with him.

We talk to him.

We know him both from the word, the truth of his word, but the truth of our relationship with him.

And the beauty of that is this, that they won't contradict each other.

And this is special.

And when the light begins to turn on from what we've read, from what we've been told,

and when it resonates and settles on our life.

That when biblical truth becomes practically lived out and experienced,

and then that's what it means to not just know about Jesus, but to know Jesus.

Let me kind of explain what this looks like.

Everyone in here, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ,

we would all say yes and amen and agree to the biblical truth of trusting God.

A part of what it means to be a follower of Christ is that we trust God with everything.

We all know this, right?

And it's a powerful truth to share with people when they're going through some difficult times in their life.

It's a wonderful piece that we can share, that we can give hope and remind them of,

hey, you know what, as you walk through this, I know it's difficult.

As you walk through this, I know it's a battle.

But as you walk through this, just know and remember that you can trust the Lord.

And it's not just what we can say, but what we can read to them.

We can quote verses like Proverbs 3, 5,

to trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

And the beauty of that is this, that you don't have to trust what you can understand or comprehend,

but you can trust the Lord.

And that is truth from God's word.

But if we end there,

and we walk away in that moment,

we've shared God's truth,

we've shared his word,

but we haven't shared

how we've experienced that.

And the power of not just sharing from the truth of God's word,

but the power in sharing from the experience

as we testify

to God's power.

And we testify

what it looks like to trust him.

I can stand up here all day

and say, trust the Lord

and lean not in your own understanding.

But when we can walk through the details

of what that looks like,

it begins to resonate

that this isn't just something that Bo knows,

but this is something that he believes.

And this is something that he's experienced for the Lord.

A few years ago,

we as a family

went through a dark,

dark season.

It was a very hard time

in the Bradbury house

with some situations

that were dealt to us,

and we processed them.

We processed all the emotions

that come with it.

We processed the anger.

We processed fear.

We processed confusion.

And then through the power

of the Holy Spirit,

it's the reminder

of the truth of trust.

It's like, okay, Lord,

as we've walked through,

we've tried to handle this

through anger.

We've tried to handle this

through fear.

We've tried to handle this

through confusion.

And we still are a little mad.

We're still a little concerned.

We're still a little confused.

But Lord,

what we understand

is this situation

cannot be held in our hands.

But what we understand

is that this situation

is held in your hands.

And Lord,

we release it

and we trust you.

And what God did

was let us not know

what it looks like

to trust him,

but what it looks like

to experience

trusting him.

And what we saw

in it

and on the other side of it

was God's faithfulness

was God's faithfulness

beyond what we had

could describe

or beyond

what we'd experienced before.

Because we trust him.

And so John says here,

I'm not just going to talk

about what I know.

I'm going to talk

about what I know.

I'm going to talk

about what I've experienced.

I'm going to talk

about what I've seen.

And this is for a reason.

Look at verses 3 and 4.

That which we have seen

and heard,

we declare to you

that you may also

have relationship

with us.

And truly,

our fellowship

is with the Father

and with the Son,

Jesus Christ.

And these things

we write to you

that your joy

may be full.

And so John says,

here's why

it's more than a class

that we sit through.

Here's why

studying God's word

is different

than a textbook.

Because what comes

from this

is we experience this.

Is we desire

that you

may know this

and that you

may have

the fellowship

with us

that's found

only in

a relationship

with God.

John says

that you

may have

fellowship

with us,

but then he

describes what

the fellowship

is that he's

talking about.

It's not just

hanging out.

It's that

because truly

our fellowship

is with the

Father

and with the

Son,

Jesus Christ.

when we share

from experience,

we share

from vulnerability.

And that's

tough.

That's hard.

That's uncomfortable.

But we share

from vulnerability

for a reason.

Because it's bigger

than our story.

It's bigger

than our emotion.

It's bigger

than our feeling.

It's bigger

than any

of that.

It's so

that others

may share

in the fellowship.

That others

can experience

the relationship

with the Lord.

He continues

on about

this message.

Look at

verse 5

through 10

for me.

He says,

this is the

message

which we

have heard

from Him

and declare

to you.

That God

is light

and in Him

is no darkness

at all.

If we say

that we have

fellowship with Him

and walk

in darkness,

we lie

and do not

practice the truth.

But if we walk

in the light

as He is in the light,

we have fellowship

with one another

and the blood

of Jesus Christ,

His Son,

cleanses us

from all sin.

If we say

that we have

no sin,

we deceive

ourselves

and the truth

is not in us.

If we confess

our sins,

He is faithful

and just

to forgive

our sins

and to cleanse

us from all

unrighteousness.

If we say

that we have

not sinned,

we make Him

a liar

and His word

is not

in us.

So there's

this challenge

that we're

going to get.

There's this

challenge that

John presents

and it's

walking in darkness

or walking

in light.

Look at verse 5.

John begins

as God

is light

and in Him

there is

no darkness.

So what does

it mean

that God

is light?

We can look

at that

illustration

in a lot

of different ways

depending on

where we are

in Scripture.

The beautiful

imagery

that God

is light.

But what

we gain

from here

in just

a second

that the

imagery

that John

is painting

for us

here

is that

God is

truth.

So we see

in verse 6

and if God

is truth

then God

is the

measure

of what

is true.

If we say

we have

fellowship

with Him

verse 6

and walk

in darkness

we lie

and do

not practice

the truth.

so let's

look at

this

for just

a second.

If God

is light

which means

God

is truth

and God

is the

measure

of what

is true

then guess

who is not

the measure

of what

is true?

Look at

us.

Me

you

the world

we are

not the

measure

of what

is true

God

is.

And so

when we

look at

this

it's not

based in

how I

feel

it's not

based on

what I

determine

it's not

based on

what I

want

it's based

in God

and who

He is

and what

He's

determined

and what

He's

decided

and what

He has

set

and He

determines

what is

true.

And so

if we say

we have

relationship

with Him

fellowship

with Him

saving

relationship

with Christ

but yet

we do not

walk in

His light

but walk

in darkness

we do not

practice

we do not

walk in

truth.

And I love

this illustration

walking

in

darkness.

Last night

about

one o'clock

in the

morning

I wake

up

to this

horrific

noise

and I

don't know

what is

happening

I don't

know what

is taking

place

I don't

know where

I am

because it's

dark

and in

that

moment

I wake

up in

such a

panic

I feel

the

kindness

embrace

of my

wife's

hand

and she

says to

me

go to

sleep

the dog's

dream

and he's

been doing

this for

like 30

minutes

right

I had no

clue where

I was

I had no

clue what

I was

doing

it was

in that

moment

she's

the light

sleeper

I'm

the heavy

sleeper

she's

like dear

I've

been

dealing

with

this

you

just

need

to go

back

to bed

right

but we

had

this

moment

because

in

there

it's

in

the

dark

and so

John

uses

this

picture

that we

can all

understand

that we

can all

relate

to

as he

describes

God

in the

term

of

light

that

light

is

the

description

of

God's

truth

and so

as we

draw from

scripture

as we

lean in

what we

begin to

understand

that just

as light

does

God's

truth

helps us

understand

where we

are

going

that God's

truth

helps us

expose

the dangers

of this

world

that God's

truth

helps bring

us

warmth

in the

areas

of our

life

where we're

struggling

the most

and that

God's

truth

God's

light

brings

with it

life

and hope

and so

John

says

walk

in

the

light

desire

for

God

and the

things

of

God

it's

not

just

enough

and we

talked

about

this

last

week

it's

not

just

enough

to be

able

to say

Jesus

I

want

you

to

save

me

but

not

change

me

it's

Jesus

save

me

and

transform

me

by

the

power

of

your

word

and

in

verse

seven

was

John

commands

us

to

walk

in

the

light

he

gives

us

two

reasons

now

this

isn't

all

the

reasons

why

to

walk

in

the

light

but

two

that

he

points

us

to

in

verse

seven

he

says

that

when

we

walk

in

the

light

we

have

fellowship

with

one

another

when

we

walk

in

the

light

we

have

unified

here's a

nervous

statement

that I'm

going to

make

for all

of

us

today

have

you

ever

been

on a

bad

date

with

a

good

person

think

back

to

your

single

days

right

a

bad

date

with

a

good

person

you

met

this

individual

at

school

you

met

this

individual

at

work

you

had

some

things

you

talked

about

and

you

thought

yeah

this

will

be

pretty

good

so

for

the

guys

you

ask

her

out

here's

what

I

mean

by

bad

first

date

with

a

really

good

person

you

sit

down

to

have

dinner

and

there's

nothing

to

talk

about

their

hopes

different

than

yours

their

dreams

different

than

yours

their

plans

different

than

yours

your

desires

different

than

theirs

their

hobbies

different

than

yours

their

goals

different

than

yours

everything

that

you

want

from

life

is

different

than

what

they

want

they're

not

a

bad

person

it's

just

a

terrible

first

date

and

you're

all

sitting

there

and

at

the

end

of

it

it's

like

good

night

good

night

go

home

we're

good

right

bad

first

date

with

a

really

good

person

here's

the

beauty

of

what

the

gospel

does

for

us

the

gospel

takes

a

bunch

of

different

people

unique

people

with

different

hopes

different

dreams

different

plans

different

desires

different

hobbies

different

goals

and

the

gospel

doesn't

say

lose

these

aspects

of

yourself

what

the

gospel

does

is

unites

us

around

that

which

is

bigger

than

all

of

those

and

unites

us

in

Christ

and

so

we're

unified

in

the

Lord

and

Savior

Jesus

Christ

and

while

our

uniqueness

doesn't

change

our

path

that we

long to

go down

with

these

hopes

and

dreams

but

it

changed

the

calling

of it

from

the

beginning

and

what

unifies

us

is

Christ

and

that's

the

fellowship

that we

share

so in

here

we have

people with

different plans

different passions

different pursuits

we have

we have

people with

different levels

of education

different people

with different

socioeconomic

backgrounds

we have

people who

speak

different

languages

right

we have

people who

put on

orange

and people

who put

on

garnet

right

and we

pray for

each other

you know

that's what

we do

but united

under

Christ

and the

fellowship

that's there

but he

also says

that it's

cleansed us

from our

sin

because we

walk

in light

cleansed us

from our

sin

because we

walk in

light

so what

does that

mean

and it

cleanses us

from our

sin

the first

part

with that

is that

we begin

to desire

the things

of God

so we

talked about

last week

when we

get saved

we begin

to desire

the things

that are

different

than the

things

that we

desired

before

and so

we begin

to desire

the things

of the

Lord

it begins

to change

the parts

and aspects

of us

to begin

to think

through

things

differently

as we

become

more

and more

like

Christ

so we

desire

the things

of God

but then

we also

get to

experience

the things

as we

walk

through

the

life

as we're

cleansed

in this

relationship

with him

and so

we

experience

sanctification

in our

life

the defeat

of sin

as we

walk

through

and we

journey

as we

walk

through

becoming

more

and more

like

Christ

we see

more

and more

areas

of our

life

that are

not

God

honoring

that are

not

God

exalting

and the

beauty

of that

is

we

begin

to

experience

victory

in those

but we

also

get to

experience

not only

the

sanctification

that comes

in that

but we

get to

experience

the

justification

that is

with that

as well

and so

we

experience

the truth

and the

reality

that every

single day

who we

are in

Christ

that we

are sons

and daughters

of the

living God

and the

beauty

of that

and John

continues

on

verses

8

and 9

and talking

about

the

light

and he

says

that light

also does

this

light

reveals

the

remaining

darkness

look back

at verse

8

if we

say

that we

have

no

sin

John

says

we deceive

ourselves

and the

truth

is not

in us

if we

confess

our sins

he is

faithful

and just

to forgive

our sins

and to

cleanse us

from all

unrighteousness

if we

say

that we

have not

sinned

we make

him a

liar

and his

word

is not

in us

and so

the

evidence

the

fruit

of

God's

love

and

presence

in our

life

we

love to

experience

the joy

of God

we

love to

experience

the peace

of God

we

love to

experience

the

satisfaction

in

relationship

with

him

we

love

to

experience

the

wonderful

fellowship

that we

have

amongst

one

another

but

what

we

also

get

to

experience

in

God's

grace

is

the

conviction

that

the

Holy

Spirit

brings

with

us

so

that

it's

not

there

and we

feel

like

we

are

the

ones

that

arrived

with

the

beauty

of

the

Holy

Spirit

as we

begin

to peel

back

the

different

areas

of our

life

the

different

sin

to

expose

the

darkness

that's

there

and what

we

find

is

the

truth

of

the

change

of

what

he's

calling

us

to

and

he's

bringing

about

and the

healing

and the

growth

that

comes

from

that

so

that

we

cannot

say

that

you

and I

we

have

no

sin

and deceive

ourselves

if that's

you

then God's

word says

the truth

of God

is not

in you

because

he's

faithful

to

forgive

and

if

we

say

that

we

have

not

sinned

we

make

him

a

liar

and

his

word

is

in

us

he's

going

to

continue

on

in

this

I

want

us

to

look

at

in

chapter

2

verses

1

through

11

John

says

my

little

children

these

things

I

write

to

you

so

that

you

may

not

sin

and

if

anyone

sins

we

have

an

advocate

with

the

father

Jesus

Christ

the

righteous

and

he

himself

is

the

propitiation

for

our

sins

and

not

for

ours

only

but

also

for

the

whole

world

now

by

this

we

know

that

we

know

him

if

we

keep

his

commandments

he

who

says

I

know

him

and

does

not

keep

his

commandments

is

a

liar

and

the

truth

is

not

in

him

but

whoever

keeps

his

word

truly

the

love

of

God

is

perfected

in

him

by

this

we

know

that

we

are

in

him

he

who

says

he

abides

in

him

ought

himself

also

to

walk

just

as

he

walked

for

seven

brethren

I

write

no

new

commandment

to

you

but

an

old

commandment

which

you

have

heard

from

the

beginning

the

old

commandment

is

the

word

which

you

heard

from

the

beginning

again

a

new

commandment

I

write

to

you

which

which

thing

is

true

in

him

and

you

because

the

darkness

is

passing

away

and

the

true

light

is

already

shining

he

who

says

he

is

the

light

and

hates

darkness

until

now

he

who

loves

his

brother

abides

in

the

light

and

there

is

no

cause

for

stumbling

in

him

but

he

who

hates

his

brother

is

in

darkness

and

walks

in

darkness

and

does

not

know

where

he

is

going

because

the

darkness

has

blinded

his

eyes

and

so

as

John

makes

his

appeal

in

these

eleven

verses

he's

going

to

talk

about

forgiveness

obedience

and

love

foundational

pieces

of who

we're

to be

when we

are

found

in

Christ

to

embrace

forgiveness

to

embrace

obedience

and

to

embrace

love

so

let's

look

at

God's

forgiveness

that

he

describes

here

he

says

my

little

children

these

things

I

write

to

you

so

that

you

may

not

sin

that's

the

goal

sin

destroys

I

think

sometimes

we

we

feel

like

sin

is

bad

for

us

but

it's

bad

like

eating

maybe

like

the

supersized

fries

you know

for

us

like

that's

not

the

right

decision

but

you

know

whatever

it's

just

a

little

bit

worse

than

the

other

you

know

and

we

minimize

what

sin

does

and

sin

destroys

we

look

at

the

fall

and

we

see

that

through

one

sin

the

brokenness

that

was

brought

and

the

brokenness