Blessed Assurance (1 John 1.3)

Light of the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ZpCUjQljU

Psalm 18:20–29 NIV

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. 21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord; I am not guilty of turning from my God. 22 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. 23 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. 24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, 26 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. 27 You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. 28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

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Prayer

Blessed Assurance

Have you ever entered a room and found a light bulb in a fixture blinking? It may flash a bit, then it dims for a moment only to suddenly get brighter. Then before long, it begins to blink in and out again. It drives you crazy and eventually you begin messing with it. Usually, you can give it a little twist and it will stop the light show. You then realize it was not securely screwed in.

Sometimes you can take it out and clean the place where it screws in (I highly recommend turning off the electricity source before trying this or you may replace the light source yourself!). Then you clean the bottom of the bulb, and when you replace the bulb, it works shining forth with consistent illumination. You quickly realize that there was some foreign object that had affixed itself to one of the parts and it had prevented a clean connection between the bulb and its source of electricity. Once that foreign object is cleaned out, it is fully secured to its power source once again.

Too often we see Christians like this. They look like they are doing good one moment. The next moment, they are struggling and not shining forth the light of Christ so well. When an intense spiritual moment takes place, they seem to glow brightly, only to dim with the next challenge that comes their way. They took are not firmly affixed to their light source, that being Christ by way of the Word and the Holy Spirit.

The letter of 1 John encourages us to be firmly affixed to our light source and then to have confidence in that relationship as we can see God’s light shining out through us.

Let’s once again focus in on 1 John chapters 1 and the beginning of 2.

1 John 1:5–2:11NIV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

I. Living a Life that Reflects Light

There is nothing more miserable than climbing into a very hot car on a warm day. Did you know that on a day when it is 70 degrees outside, the interior of your car can reach 104 degrees within a half-hour and 113 degrees in about an hour. For this reason, someone invented those nifty windshield shades. One side has silver bubbles that reflect the light away from the car and your car stays fairly cool. The one I bought has a pretty dark blue side that is bubbled. One day, I was in a hurry, and I placed the dark blue side facing out and you know what happened? The dark side absorbed the heat and made my car even hotter. Not fun! When the light was reflected, my living space was comfortable, but when the darkened side absorbed the light, it was miserable.

John makes some very specific comparisons with light and darkness regarding our salvation or lack thereof. When we are reflectors of God’s light, we can have peace and assurance, but when we absorb the light without reflecting it, we live in confusion and guilt.

John begins by giving us a description of God.

A. God is Light. (1 John 1:5)

1 John 1:5NIV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Notice that John is continuing with what he began with in this short letter, that being what he witnessed and is now passing on to others. He was a witness to Jesus, the life Jesus led, the things Jesus taught, and he has been instructed to share these things in through the spoken and written word.

The word “light” is used some 263 times in the Bible. The word “light” is often used to describe truth, Jesus, righteousness, and God. All are one and the same. God is light. Truth comes from God. Jesus was the light come to earth where He taught us about truth and our lack thereof.

Where there is full light, there is no darkness. Light and dark do not cohabitate in the same space because where light shines, darkness disappears. Therefore, it naturally makes sense that if God is light and in His presence no darkness can be found. This is both literal in that God’s glory is so bright, no other light source is needed in heaven. It is also metaphorical, in that light is truth and in God there is no deception. He has no need to do so. He is God. He has nothing to hide. So…

1. There is no darkness in God. (1 John 1:5)

We have been studying the Tabernacle for several weeks now and we find that the process the people and priests had to take to commune with God required steps of cleansing to remove the darkness of sin before they could enter God’s presence. This wasn’t easy and it was left to one priest, only once a year to take every step and cross that threshold into God’s presence, and even then it came with risk. The priest had to have little bells around the hem of his garment so people could know he was still alive and walking around. If those bells became silent the people would pull the priest out by a rope that was tied around his ankle assuming he had died because he had not been clean before God.

Sin is darkness and it cannot enter God’s presence. Our sin separates us from God. When Adam ate the fruit, he was not concerned with this as he thought he would be as God. Unfortunately, he quickly learned he was deceived. You see, no created being can become God. God cannot be replaced. Lucifer had already found that out. The agony of his destruction has driven him to hate and try to destroy everything God loves, including us. We are his greatest target because God created all things for us! We are the center of God’s creation, and God should be the center of ours since we were created for God. This is why God has worked so diligently to restore us to Him.

God chose a man and raised up a people to demonstrate all of this too us. That being God’s love for humankind, man’s propensity to sin despite the good things provided to them, and to provide a means for His Son to come and provide the means for all to be saved. The nation of Israel is the people God used and is still using. Israel has done nothing to cause the hate that is directed at them these days. The only reason it is happening is that Satan is determined to destroy her because she is God’s. However, Israel is also separated from her God which is why she is in this position. But that will change one day very soon!

Leviticus speaks a great deal about Israel being separated from God due to her sins and uncleanness. Isaiah also addresses this issue.

Isaiah 59:1–2NIV

1 Surely the arm of the Lordis not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

God as light, cannot enter our darkness yet He loves us and wants to remedy this problem which is where Jesus came in.

2. God sent Jesus who is the light demonstrated before us. (John 8:12; 1 John 2:1-7)

John 8:12NIV

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

1 John 2:6NIV

6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Jesus came to teach us truth and provide the means for us to be light as well. We are still in the season of Easter. On the Christian calendar, we are in the season of Easter looking forward to the season of Pentecost. Since the beginning of Lent we have focused on Jesus’ death and resurrection so that the penalty of our sin could be made complete allowing us to experience the light in our own lives and once again have fellowship with the Father. With Easter, we find the means provided for our sins to be covered and forgiven. With Pentecost Jesus took us a step further by providing the Holy Spirit so we could find the strength to not sin. Some say this is not possible, yet the Apostle John, Jesus’ representative tells us it is so.

1 John 2:1–2NIV

1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Once we are saved, we become light as well. However, it is not easy to get a spirit of darkness to receive light. Israel is a great example of this. After all God had done for them and for all their cries for God to send the Messiah, they did not receive the Messiah when He arrived, despite all the indicators being there that He was legit.

You see, Jesus made this sacrifice on our behalf, but the darkness within us makes it impossible to receive the light. It is like that dark window shade that absorbs the light creating uncomfortable heat, but it will not reflect the light.

We often talk about Satan being our enemy, but the truth is, it is the sin in us that is the true enemy. Mark had a great illustration on this a couple weeks back. I borrowed it from him. It is a cartoon and here is what it says.

I have met the enemy and he is us! (PPT Slide cartoon)

You see, the answer to our problem with sin is a very simple one. John instructs us in 1 John 1:8-9.

1 John 1:8–9NIV

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

All we need to do is accept the truth and confess it. Jesus does the hard work by paying the penalty for that sin so we can be forgiven.

However, the darkness within us fights to hold on. It does not like to be confessed. It refuses to believe the truth. God the Father and Jesus the Son knew we would need further help to discover the truth. Upon Jesus return to the Father...

3. The Holy Spirit was sent to deliver the light to our darkened spirits. (John 16:7-11)

John 16:7–11NASB95

7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

The Holy Spirit comes to shine the light of God in our very souls convicting us to the truth of the darkness that is there so we may confess it and be saved from it, allowing us fellowship with God the Father as well as the Son.

Now with this foundation in place, let us consider once again John’s purpose for this letter of 1 John. John wants people to be assured of their salvation and not misled by foreigners who would try to teach them a false doctrine and bring false accusations upon them.

If God is Light, we who have placed our faith in Christ are...

B. Children of Light . (1 John 1:7; Ephesians 5:8-14)

1 John 1:7NIV

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

In Ephesians, Paul says…

Ephesians 5:8–14 NIV

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

We are saved and become children of light by confessing our sins and believing in faith that Christ is God’s Son who paid the penalty for our sin. We believe His death paid the price and was sufficient to cover our sins. However, there is ongoing evidence that this is true, and it is found in our behavior. We now walk as children of light. This life change testifies to the truth that we are a new creation. We have been rebirthed into the light of God and our lifestyle demonstrates it. The true Christian is not seen in what they talk about, but it is seen in their walk. Their daily walk (actions and decisions) reveals the truth about their essence whether it be light or darkness.

John then gives comparisons between those walking in light and those walking in darkness. This is necessary because it is not just obvious by being in church. In John’s letter, he is addressing people in the church who are challenging the doctrine of Christ and salvation. These are church goers, but not necessarily church doers. John reveals three important factors that reveal if we are children of light or children of darkness.

1. Three key factors that separate children of light from children of darkness.

a. Our Fellowship (1 John 1:6; 2:8-11)

1 John 1:6NIV

6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.

There are lots of pretenders in the church. They try to appear as faithful followers but there are many situations in their daily walks that reveal the truth about them. We find two of them in Acts 5. Their names were Ananias and Sapphira. They saw God’s faithful people selling their land and giving all they had to the church. They wanted to be seen as faithful also, so they said they sold land and gave it all to the church but in truth, they held some back for themselves. No one told them they had to give it all. They just wanted to appear more righteous than they were, so they lied. The fact that they lied, demonstrates that they had no true fellowship with God because in God there is no darkness. To lie is to live in darkness. There can be no fellowship with someone who lies to you.

However, in verses 8-11, we find more fellowship differences between children of light and those who live in darkness.

Children of Light Children of Darkness

Loves his/her brother/sister Hates his/her brother/sister

(Ananias & Saphira were jealous of the righteousness displayed by others. They hated them and therefore, were trying to compete with them yet were unwilling to make the same sacrifices. So, they lied. They may have been able to fool others, but God knew the truth.)

Abide in the Light Walks in darkness

(The congregation in Acts 5 were willing to make that sacrifices they did because they were abiding in God’s fellowship. They trusted God would provide for them. Ananias and Saphira were walking in darkness and did not trust that God would provide. Therefore, they held back funds for themselves).

Does not stumble Does not know where he/she is going

Children of God do not stumble because the God who knows all things directs their path. When there is no fellowship with God, there is no such direction. People stumble around just making decisions and hoping for the best.

True fellowship, allows us to love God, as well as our fellow brothers and sisters. We do not love our fellow brothers and sisters because they are perfect but because we know that they are works in progress just like we are. We abide in the light only if we are walking in fellowship with God and other believers. We are imperfect, but God guides and directs us to keep us from stumbling back into darkness. However, none of these traits are possible if we are not walking in sync with God. To be out of sync with God is to be out of fellowship with God.

The next factor is...

b. Our Nature (1 John 1:8)

1 John 1:8NIV

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

As we looked at the subject of our fellowship, we found that children of darkness lie to others, but here we find times when we lie to ourselves. As Children of Light, this can be a sign that we are falling out of sync with God. We see a good example of this when King David took up with Bathsheba. He lied to himself and others about the situation. When Nathan came to him and shared a story about a man who took another man’s precious lamb, even then David was blind to his sin. Nathan had to directly accuse King David before David recognized his own sin in the story.

Children of Light are still able to be tempted by darkness. We must be vigilante to keep our nature in check and to remain in the light of fellowship with God.

The third factor is...

c. Our Actions (1 John 1:5-6, 8, 10: 2:4)

1 John 1:10NIV

10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

When we continue to deny our sin, we call God a liar. However, God has no need to lie. He is by very nature truth! All things come from Him! If there is no truth in God, then there is no truth period! What a dismal world this would be if that were the truth.

Conclusion

Let me close with…

2. Four keys to walking as Children of Light.

a. Walk with integrity being honest with God, ourselves, and others. (Proverbs 10:31; 19:1)

Proverbs 10:31(NRSV)

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31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

Proverbs 19:1(ESV)

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1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.

b. Walk in obedience (1 John 2:3-4; Psalm 119:105)

I read somewhere this week that there are 3 motives for obedience;

• Because we must (slave)

• Because we need to (employee)

• Because we want to (covenant/LOVE relationship) John 14:15

John 14:15NIV

15 “If you love me, keep my commands.

This brings us to our 3rd key for walking as Children of light.

c. Walk in loving fellowship with God and others. (1 John 2:7-8)

1 John 2:7–8NIV

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

The old command he is speaking of is to love the Lord our God and to love others as written in the Old Testament. The new command was love lived out perfectly through Jesus’s life. He is our perfect example, which brings us to our final point.

d. Walk following Christ’s example . 1 John 2:6; Galatians 2:20

1 John 2:6NIV

6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Paul said,

Galatians 2:20NIV

20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

We are no imitation. We are the real thing if we are children of light. We are not perfect, but Christ’s Spirit lives in and through us covering our shortcomings by way of His precious blood spilled out for us.

Are you a child of light or a child of darkness? Just because you are in church this morning does not mean you are automatically a child of light. If you felt the conviction of the Spirit in your heart this morning, maybe it is time to correct the situation. Our altar is open, and God is waiting to answer your call.

If you felt affirmed this morning, you can breathe easy with assurance that God is reflecting Himself through you to the world. You are Christ’s light to the world. If ever our world needed to see His light shining out through us, it is today. Our world is hurting and hungry. All they see for the moment is the darkness, but we can bring His light to others that they too may shine reflecting His light to yet others. A little light shines a long way in a dark room. Never underestimate the amount of light you reflect in the darkness!

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