1 John - Continue in Fellowship

How dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed

before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what

is right has been born of him. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should

be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it

does not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and that we will be, has not yet been made

known, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone

who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Thanks very much, Jonathan. Well, please keep your Bibles open in 1 John. There's notes being

passed around and pens, if you'd like to take notes. You will probably notice, maybe you don't notice,

but I'll tell you anyway. In the term programme, we highlight or list the various themes for each

Sunday morning. Over the last couple of Sundays, we've been out of sync. Hopefully, we'll catch up.

That's simply because in preparation, I thought we'd do certain sections in certain ways, and then when it

came to preparing it, I thought, no, there's far too much here. We need to shorten it, so it'll probably

find its way through eventually. We'll get through to the end of 1 John. Whether it ties in with the term

programme or not, I'm not sure. But nonetheless, it's good. It's good stuff. We're going to pray,

and we're going to ask our Father in Heaven to help us. Let's pray.

Our Father God, we give you thanks for your gifts to us. We thank you for the gift of being able to

meet like this with one another. We thank you for the gift of having your word, holding it in our very hands,

your spoken word written down for people like us, so that we can know you, so that we can love you

and enjoy you. We thank you for the freedom that we have to meet like this, without fear of any

authorities, fear of anyone coming to stop the meeting. Father, thank you for these wonderful gifts,

thanksgiving. And yet we need to ask you of more. We need to ask that you would help us by your Spirit

to understand your word, that what may be familiar and what may be known to us

would strike into the depths of our lives afresh, so that we come to see you in all your greatness

and come to enjoy you as Father. Please help us then, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

One sports day when I was in primary school, I'm sure you can remember your sports days,

being lined up with all the rest of the children for the running race. And as I ran that race,

all I could hear was my father cheering from the sidelines,

that's my son, that's my son, go on, keep going. It was awful embarrassing to be running along with your

father shouting so loudly. But as a father, he was just simply encouraging his child to keep on going.

Look at verse 28.

Read it there with me.

And now, dear children, continue in him.

These are the encouraging words, if you like, of the father who's on the sidelines. It's the gentle care of a pastor,

cheering them on in the faith. Go on, my child. Keep on going. Continue in him.

You remember 1 John, the big theme of 1 John is that we have been invited into fellowship with God,

and through faith we get to enter into that fellowship.

But that fellowship, that relationship with our father is always under attack.

There are those who are out there who are trying to rob us of the deep, personal, relational joy that we have with the father and with his son.

So a couple of weeks ago, you remember in verses 15 to 17, we saw that the world was opposed to us.

And then in verses 18 through to 27, it was the antichrists or the false teachers trying to lead the children astray.

And so we are encouraged here, verse 28.

And now, dear children, continue in him.

Don't get distracted by what the world has to offer you.

Don't stop and listen to false teachers.

Continue in Jesus Christ.

Keep on going, my child.

Look to Jesus and listen to Jesus.

Keep on going.

Continue in him.

Now, as we continue in him,

there are two great privileges,

two great realities.

And if we can grasp them,

they will only increase our joy

and deepen our fellowship with God.

As we continue with him,

there are two great things

that we come to understand

and experience in our lives.

Here's what they are.

Here's the first one.

We have great confidence before our God.

We have great confidence before our God.

Let's read verse 28.

And now, dear children,

continue in him.

And here's the reason we're to continue.

So that when he appears,

we may be confident

and unashamed before him

at his coming.

Do you get what it said?

Jesus is going to appear.

One day,

Jesus is going to come again.

Now, how do you feel about that?

The fact that the risen Jesus

is going to come again.

How do you feel about that?

In school, I used to dread that moment

when the year head would pull me to one side

and say,

Jonathan,

the principal would like to see you in his office.

In fact, I feared the headmaster so much

that I would just walk around outside

hoping that with the passing of time,

he would forget.

Now, we might feel like that

with the thought of Jesus coming again.

Because when Jesus comes again,

we will face him as our judge.

So how do you feel about that?

Well, look at verse 28.

It tells us that he will appear.

That means that when he appears,

it means everybody will see him.

Nobody will be mistaken

by the return of Jesus Christ.

Now, just as we will see him coming,

he will also see us.

He will see us intimately and deeper.

Everything that we've ever said,

everything that we've ever thought or done

will be seen by him.

A record of our whole life

will be put on display before him.

And of course,

all the good things that we've done,

all the caring words that we've ever said,

all of those things will be on display too.

All our proud moments.

But so will all our faults

and every single one of our failures.

Our deepest shameful secrets.

All the skeletons in the cupboard

will be revealed and unveiled.

So I ask us all the question,

how confident are we to stand before Jesus

as the ultimate and fair judge

who sees and knows every single action?

Well, the great privilege

is that we can have great confidence.

We can have great confidence.

Let's read verse 28.

And now, dear children,

continue in him

so that when Jesus appears,

we may be confident.

We can have confidence

before the judge

because of what Jesus

has already done for us.

Go back to chapter 2, verse 1.

Here's the two great things

that Jesus has done for us

so that we can be confident.

Chapter 2, verse 1.

My dear children,

so is this father loving care.

My dear children,

I write this to you

so that you will not sin.

It's his desire

that we don't fall away.

But he's a realist.

He knows what we're like.

If anybody does sin,

and we all do,

we have one who speaks

to the Father

in our defence,

Jesus Christ,

the Righteous One.

So here's the picture

of Jesus

standing before the Father

as our defence.

He's there,

as it were,

reminding the Father,

assuring the Father

that his sin

has been dealt with.

There are no more charges

against this person.

They are accepted

and forgiven.

Now, how can Jesus

stand before the Father

and say that

about people like you and me

who mess up all the time?

Well, here's the second reason,

verse 2.

He is the atoning sacrifice

for our sins,

but not only for ours,

also for the sins

of the whole world.

Yes, he's our defence,

but he is also our sacrifice.

He's the one

who has already paid the penalty

for all of our sin.

The past ones,

the present ones,

the future ones.

There is nothing left to pay.

Wonderfully,

Jesus Christ has taken

our very worst days

and has dealt with them all

and in its place

he has given us

his perfect days

so that we can stand

before God.

He has taken

our worst days

and in its place

he has given us

his best days

so that we can stand

before God.

We can have confidence.

Look at chapter 4,

verse 17.

Chapter 4, verse 17.

Here he's been speaking again

about the great theme

of God's love

and when that love

is poured into our lives

he can say this,

chapter 4, verse 17.

In this way

love is made

complete among us

so that

we will have confidence

on the day

of judgment.

You see,

if we can be confident

then,

if we can be confident

when we stand

before God,

then that means

we can enjoy him

today.

today.

We can enjoy him

today.

But it's not just

confidence.

We can also

come before Jesus

unashamed.

Go back to verse 28.

He says,

when he appears

we can be confident

and unashamed

before him

at his coming.

You may relate

to this

in your own

relationships

but I know

that I have said

and I have done

things towards

my wife

that I'm very ashamed

of.

Although I've

repented,

although I've

been forgiven,

when I think

about some of

those things

I am

ashamed.

ashamed.

And I would

be deeply

embarrassed

if you ever

heard about

some of those

things.

How do you

think it will

be then

to stand

before Jesus

who sees

everything we've

ever done,

who's heard

every word

and knows

our every

thought?

We would

be deeply

ashamed.

An

overwhelming

sense of

guilt

as our

life is

flashed

before us.

We would

just want

to run

away and

hide and

cover

ourselves.

But look

what verse

28 says.

That's not

how it's

going to

be.

It's not

how it's

going to

be.

We will

be,

verse 28,

unashamed

before him

at his

coming.

Rather than

run and

hide,

we will

run into

the arms

of Jesus

without guilt,

without shame

because we

stand before

him covered

in his

purity.

There is

nothing to

fear,

nothing to

hide.

In fact,

our shame

will all be

replaced with

full and

complete joy.

You see,

if we can be

unashamed then,

if we can be

unashamed when

we stand before

Jesus when he

comes again,

that means

we can enjoy

him today.

We can enjoy

him today.

Now, the

question I have

for us all in

this is,

do you have

this confidence?

Do you have

this confidence

to stand

before God

unashamed?

And how can I

be sure that

this is true

of me?

Well,

we need to

look at the

evidence.

Let's read

verse 29.

If you know

that he,

that is,

God,

is righteous,

that's in

his perfection,

you know

that everyone

who does

what is

right has

been born

of him.

Sometimes

people will

say to me

something like

this,

that's just

what your

father would

do,

or you

just sound

like your

father.

In other

words,

children

naturally bear

the resemblance

of their

parents.

Because they

share the

same DNA,

they sound

like them,

or they behave

like them,

they have the

same kind

of mannerisms,

you just

inherited it

just the

way it is.

Now,

those who

have true

fellowship with

God,

those who

claim to

be in

relationship

with God

will also

reflect the

behaviour of

their father

in heaven.

Look at the

end of verse

29,

it says,

everyone who

does what

is right,

just as

God is

right,

will or

has been

born of

him.

Because we've

been born

of God,

because God

has brought

us into

fellowship

with the

father,

because we

enjoy that

relationship

with him,

as his

children,

we naturally

begin to

bear the

resemblance

of the

father.

It's like

we share

the same

DNA,

we begin

to reflect

who he

is.

So as we

look at our

lives and

as other

people look

at our

lives and

they see

the way

that we

behave,

then it's

giving us

evidence,

it's giving

us proof,

it's reassuring

us and giving

us the

confidence

that we

can be

unashamed

before him

when he

comes.

Look at

the evidence

of your

life.

Are we

reflecting

the behaviour

of our

father?

So the

great privilege

is that we

have great

confidence

before our

God.

The second

great privilege

is this,

God's

children.

If we

continue in

him,

we have

great

assurance

as God's

children.

Let's read

chapter 3

verse 1.

How great

is the

love the

father has

lavished on

us that

we should

be called

children of

God.

Now just

stop for a

minute or

wake up if

you're sleeping

and gaze

at the

love of

the father

for us.

Look how

it is

expressed.

See what

has been

achieved for

people like

you and

me.

Look at

who we

are today

because of

the father's

love.

We are

called

children of

God.

The father

has enacted

his love

in our

lives.

His seed

of love

if you like

has been

put into

our lives

and it

has brought

about something

amazing.

A great

explanation or

commentary on

this very

idea comes

from John's

Gospel.

So keep

your finger

in 1 John

and go to

John's

Gospel.

It's the

same author.

John's

Gospel

chapter 1

verses 12

to 13.

And here

we have

like a

little

commentary

on the

father's

love for

us that

we should

be children

of God.

So verse

12 chapter

1.

So he's

speaking to

those who

are believers

or to

those who

will believe.

Verse 12

Yet to

all who

received

him,

that's

Jesus,

to those

who believed

in his

name,

he gave

the right

to become

children of

God.

How do

they become

children?

Read on.

Children

born not

of natural

descent,

nor of

human

decision,

or of a

husband's

will,

but born

of God.

God.

You see,

it's

saying to

us there,

just as

you and

I had

no say

or no

choice in

being physically

born into

this world,

none of us

decided I'm

going to be

born.

That was our

parents'

decision.

So just as

that's true

in a physical

sense,

so the

Father in

heaven has

chosen

us

to become

his very

own

children.

And that's

what gives us

the assurance

that we are

God's

children.

Our security

that I am a

child of God

rests in the

fact not

that I love

the Father,

but that the

Father loves

me.

If it

depended on

my love

for the

Father,

if it all

depended on

how much

I love

him and

what I do

for him,

I've got

no assurance.

Because my

love for the

Father fails

far too

often.

There are

days I

don't love

when I

should love.

There are

seasons when

I ignore

him.

But because

he lavished

his love

on me,

because he

chose me,

I have

unshakable

assurance.

That's where

my security

rests.

Be amazed

that we

have been

loved by

the Father

and are

called

children of

God.

But what

does it

mean to

be a

child of

God?

Well,

think of

a,

we've

done that,

the Father's

love,

children of

God.

Think of

a child

parent

relationship.

There's

like two

parts to

it.

If you

have

children,

you may

relate to

it.

There's

a legal

side and

there's a

relational

side.

So when

a child

is born

and the

birth cert

is signed,

the child

then, as it

were, is

legally a

son or

daughter of

the parent.

That is a

legal document

that makes

them a

child of

the parents.

But it's

so much

more than

just a

legal issue,

isn't it?

It's not

till the

child gets

home that

they get to

experience the

privilege of

being a

son.

It's only in

the deep,

personal and

intimate relationship

of living with

the mother and

father that they

realise, I'm a

daughter and I'm

cared for and

loved.

So it's not a

cold, legal

thing.

It is a

relational and

loving thing.

Verse 1,

how great is

the love the

father has

lavished on us

that we should

be called

children of

God.

It's as if we

have to pinch

ourselves to

believe it.

And because

we are God's

children, we've

been accepted

by the father,

we have access

to the father,

we become,

people like you

and me,

become brothers

and sisters with

Jesus Christ.

We're treated

and we're

treasured as the

father loves his

own son.

And if you

don't quite

believe it,

look at the

next little

phrase,

and that

is what

we are.

Do you ever

doubt that

you're a child

of God?

Because you

don't love

him enough?

Well, it's

because he

loves you

and he has

made you a

child and

if you doubt

it, that is

what you are.

Look at the

rest of verse 3,

the reason the

world does not

know us is

that it did

not know him.

You see, the

world looking in

may not

understand that

you're a child

of God.

The world

might think

you're absolutely

crazy to make

a claim that

you have this

personal, intimate

relationship with

God the

Father.

They'll think

you're bonkers.

But because of

the Father's

love, that is

what you are.

Don't let

anybody else

tell you

otherwise.

If your

face is in

Jesus, you

are a child

of God.

God.

And it

doesn't stop

there.

Look what else

he has to

say.

Verse 2,

Dear friends,

now we are

children of

God and

what we will

be has not

yet been made

known.

In other

words, nobody

has seen what

it's going to

be like what

we are going

to be.

But we

know that when

he appears,

when Jesus

comes again,

we shall be

like him

for we

shall see

him as

he is.

As much

as a

parent loves

their new

baby son

or daughter,

they never

want their

little baby

to stay

as they

are.

They long

for them

to grow

healthy and

strong.

They want

them to be

nurtured and

cared for so

that they

become everything

they are

meant to

be as a

mature

adult.

That is

what a

parent

desires.

And it's

the same

way for

our father.

He desires

for us

as children

that we

would grow

up and

become all

that we

are meant

to be.

But this

is not

just an

aspiration,

this is a

guaranteed

promise.

Look again

at verse

2,

but we

know that

when he

appears we

shall be

like him

for we

shall see

him as

he is.

The promise

is crystal

clear.

This is

something that

God is

going to

do for

us.

We will

become

like

Jesus.

When

Jesus

returns,

instead of

condemnation,

it will be

transformation.

transformation.

Now let

that filter

into our

minds and

into our

hearts.

We will

be

transformed

to be

like Jesus.

You know

what that

means?

No more

sin.

No more

struggles.

No more

battles to

be doing

the right

thing.

Just take

a moment

to think

through that.

What part

of your

sinful

nature

do you

struggle

with the

most?

What

aspect do

you

really

not

like?

Or what

is it

about sin

that gets

you down

most of

all?

temptation

do you

so quickly

give in

to?

And you

long for

the day

where you

will never

fall again.

Well,

one day

it will

all be

gone.

You

will be

like

Jesus

in

absolute

purity.

that is

the

guaranteed

destination

of all

God's

children.

Now the

question is,

do you

have this

assurance?

Do you

know that

is your

destiny?

How can

I be

sure this

is true

of me?

Well,

we need

to look at

the evidence.

look at

verse 3.

Everyone

who has

this

hope,

everyone

who has

this

longing,

everyone

who has

this hope

in him

purifies

himself

just

as God

is pure.

Because

of who

I am,

I am

a child

of God.

because of

what I

will be,

I will

be

transformed

to be

like

Jesus.

Because

of all

that God

has worked

in me,

I will

seek to

live as

a child

of God.

I will

seek to

become

more like

Jesus.

Now if

that is

your desire,

if your

longing is

to be

more like

him,

then that

evidence

is there

to say

you have

assurance

as a

child

of God.

you see

the true

children

of God

long to

be more

like

Jesus.

If you

have no

inclination,

if you

have no

thought,

if you

have no

desire

to be

looking at

Jesus

and saying

I want

to be

more like

him,

if that

never

crosses

your mind,

if it's

never in

your prayer

life,

then you

have to

ask,

am I

a child

of God?

Because

the true

children

of God

will

long

to be

more

like

Jesus.

Go

back to

chapter 1

verse 8.

Here we

see the

evidence

that is

there for

those who

are true

children.

Chapter 1

verse 8,

if we

claim to

be without

sin,

we deceive

ourselves and

the truth

is not

in us.

So if we

don't care

about our

lives,

we don't

care what

we look

like or

how we

behave or

whether we're

like Jesus,

the truth

isn't in

us.

But,

verse 9,

if we

confess our

sins,

he is

faithful and

just and

he will

forgive us

our sins

and purify

us from

all

unrighteousness.

It's the

same idea

as chapter

3 verse

3,

everyone who

has this

hope in

him purifies

himself.

It's a

life of

confession,

a life of

ongoing

repentance,

a desire

and an

asking of

God for

real heart

change.

Change me

Father,

to be

more like

your son.

And if

that is our

prayer,

that is the

evidence that

we are God's

children.

Lord,

amen.

Amen.

Look at

chapter 2,

verse 28.

And now,

dear children,

continue in

him.

Keep on

going, my

child.

Keep going

in the

faith.

Know the

confidence that

we can have in

meeting Jesus.

know the

assurance that

we will one

day be like

Jesus.

Continue in

him.

Keep on

going.

And it

will increase

your joy.

And it

will deepen

your fellowship

with God.

We have

confidence.

And we

have assurance.

Keep going,

my children.

Keep going.

Let's pray.

.

Oh,

hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the truth that it reminds us of.

The deep personal relationship that we can have with Father and Son.

It's our desire not only to enjoy you,

but that we also become more like you.

So gently by your spirit,

show us the things in our lives we need to put right.

Teach us to come in repentance each day,

to know the joy of forgiveness afresh,

and to know that deep relationship that we can have as children of God,

confident and assured.

Father, may we all know that in its deepest sense.

And we pray that we will continue in you until you come again.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to sing together.

When I was lost, you came and rescued me.

And there's one of the verses goes like this.

Amen.

Women alone.

Jen,

it was, we're going to just pass.

Aren't we lost people with that,

but as they� onto this something that we can experience?

When do we dream of Baba Raffo,

and Ken Macprend's going into your life,

are we going to우면.

They've never felt like it was going to pass.

Usually they've never π

but darkness is the few of us,

but that art is the

of a陳 about Salas.