The light of the World

Sermon

-Introduction-

Point #1- God calls us to fellowship

Re-read 1 John 1:1-4

Say: John begins by repeating something that he has said before. Remember, John wrote 5 books of the bible.

Ask: Does anybody know those five books?

Answer: The gospel of John, 1,2,3 John, and finally Revelation.

Say: In John's gospel, he says something very similar to what we see here in 1 John

Read: John 1:1-2

[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. (ESV)

Say: When we read scripture, it's important that we are looking for repetition. Usually, this means something important. So we ask ourselves, what is repeated here

Say: As we all know, there is no beginning for god. He has always been and will always be. The same goes for the second part of the trinity. Jesus has always been and will always be.

Say: This is pretty obvious for us, but why would John be reminding the readers of this originally? I would say a good majority of Christians believe this. All self-claimed Christians should believe this, but unfortunately, many do not.

Say: To better understand John's reasoning, we must take a look at the original listeners.

Say: John wrote this sometime around 90-95 AD, to the churches of Asia Minor.

There was a growing issue. Maybe even better defined as a growing religion during this time

Ask: Has anyone ever heard of Gnoctism? This type of Belief system stemmed from people desiring knowledge. In a long story short version, People began to deny the humanity of Christ, saying he never became flesh and dwelt among us.

Say: This was a major Issue. Something called dualism came into play. Dualism states that matter was evil and the spirit was good. So people couldnt believe that Jesus came onto this earth.

Say: This would be a major change in the beliefs that were forged ahead of us. If we didnt believe that jesus came down as flesh then what would we believe of salvation. What would we believe of sin. How would we get into heaven. Who would take on gods wrath for us?

Say: We can begin to see how this belief can cause major turmoil. All because someone wanted to know more! And they didnt believe gods word was enough.

Ask: Can anyone remember a time in scripture that a certain couple desired knowledge over holiness? Adma and Eve!!!

Say: Two people with perfection in front of them fell to the desire of being like God and knowing all things

Say: All this to say that Gnosticism began to run ramped in these churches. Men who were once looked at with great respect concerning biblical truth had now become uncredible and had shifted their beliefs from what the early church fathers forged before them

Say: John saw that is t was important for us to remember that the god that has always been will always be

Application- We can see forms of gnosticism in our world today. Many churches are starting to deny the inerrancy of the bible. They believe they can become sinless. And unfortunately, many of the biblical truths we hold fast to today have been trampled on

Say: all this to say that John saw it imperative to address a few issues.

One of the first he listed in verse

Say “The life was made manifest.” There is no argument about it Jesus ( john 1 -14)

And zthe Word abecame flesh and bdwelt among us, cand we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son4 from the Father, full of dgrace and etruth.

Say: This is an imperative belief for us, Christians. Our entire belief system rests on this fact. If we dont believe it, how could we believe the rest of scripture?

John 3:16 lays it out for us

“For god so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life”

Say: This is our avenue to salvation. Christ came to save and to serve, and that was something many during John's writing disagreed with.

Say: John was the perfect person to preach such a claim. He physically touched, saw, and heard Christ himself. He told us this in the first verse-

Ask: Why would John want them to know this? Why is this important?

Say: Exactly- he wants people to know Christ like he does. He uses a word that we use all the time as Baptists. Fellowship!

Say: This isn't the fellowship that Baptists have after Sunday service in the fellowship hall. They say Did anybody grow up in a Baptist church that had covered dish meals after significant services. I've grown up in that type of environment. Some of the people should have just kept their dishes covered.

Say: This is an eternal fellowship. John's entire purpose for writing this message is this right here. He wanted people to have fellowship with the Father like he did.

Say: This fellowship caused them to have the JOY that he mentions in verse 4

Illustration- When I was growing up, I got a job at 16 and got my first taste of money. This sparked a strong desire in my life. The Temporary joy money brought me became addictive. I spent most of my early twenties and late teens chasing a dollar. My little brother just turned 18. He has landed a job as a commercial HVAC tech. Im super proud of him. He'll be making more money than I was when I graduated from high school. I can see the same desire I had in him. I've continued to remind him that when that paycheck hits on Friday, he needs to remember by Sunday that little bit of joy will fade and it'll start the whole week over again.

Instead, we can obtain everlasting joy. A joy in Christ

Say: Romans 15-13 says- May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Say: Guys, I remind you tonight that the joys of this world are fleeting. The joy that rests in Christ is forever.

Transition-

If we believe that Christ was made manifest and dwelt among us. If we believe that the joy he can provide is eternal. Then how can we know that we are abiding in him? How can we know that we are secure in him? John answers that question in these next few verses. Fortunately, John helps us self-reflect and take a look at our personal lives

Point #2: God calls us to holiness

Re-Read John 1:5-7

Say: John begins with a comparison! God is light, and in him is no darkness

Ask: What is light?- Biblical truths

Ask: What is Darkness- anything apart from biblical truths

Say: When I think of light and dark, my mind immediately jumps back to creation. In Genesis, God created the world, but darkness consumed it. So he created light. He separated the light from the dark. They were two distinguishable things.

Say: As we continue, I want you to remember that light overcomes all darkness. There is no amount of darkness that a speck of light can't overcome

Say: John uses this illustration to paint a pretty clear picture of our lives

Ask: Do we walk in fellowship with Christ? Are we dying in darkness, or are we living in the light?

Ask: I ask you this also- do you enjoy walking in the light or in the darkness

Illustration- My man Robert over here and I as well dont like the dark. Another friend of mine even puts earbuds in when he walks to his deer stand. He told me a couple of weeks ago how he is the closest to god in hunting season, and I would agree with him completely. There is nothing more terrifying than walking in pitch black woods, walking to a deer stand. Nosies begin to sound worse than they appear. Bushes look scarier than they are. Is that a bush or Bigfoot? I dont like walking in without a flashlight. My uncle told me not to shine the light out but to cup it in my hands and shine it at the ground. For me, that lasted about as long as it took for him to get out of sight. As soon as he was gone, I looked like a search and rescue helicopter shining my huge flashlight all over the place. Needless to say, we dont like walking in the dark

This is crucial for us to understand.

1-To often are there Christians who dont want to “Do Christianity” but on Sundays.

2-To often are there Christians who say they dont need to go to church on Sundays!

3- Too often are there Christians who say they dont need to read their bible!

4- Too often are there Christians who dont think they need to pray to have a relationship with god.

5- Too often are there Christians who speak or act one way at church and another at work

6- Too often are there Christians are friends with someone to their face but gossip about them behind their back

7- Too often are there people who claim to be Christian but look more like the world than that of Christ

ASK: So I ask you this. Do any of those apply to you?

Ask: Are you claiming to have fellowship with Christ but walk in darkness

Ask: Are we practicing the truth that we claim we believe

Say: But let's not become too prideful. This can happen to all of us

Say: None of us is safe from falling short. The question isn't Do we fall short of the glory of god, but Are we ok with falling short of the glory of God

Ask: What are some practical ways of walking in that light? How can we stay in close fellowship with God?

1- Scripture- One of the best ways we can walk in the light is to hold a flashlight in our path. God's word is rich with wisdom and guidance. If we use it, we can be sure to tell the difference between darkness and light. This means applying them to our lives not just reading them

2- Prayer- Prayer is one of the most intimate ways we can have fellowship with God. This is our way of communicating with him. Baptists dont go sit in the fellowship hall to eat in silence. They talk. A huge part of fellowship is conversation. God's desire to hear our voice.

3- Praise- Not only are we to praise God on Sunday morning worship, but it should be a daily act for us. Praise can consist of singing and music, but it can happen at any moment of our day. “God, you are so great.” God, you are sovereign over my life.

4-Repentance- Daily repentance should be a constant in our lives. This isn't the repentance you confess at your conversion. It only takes once to cover your sins. This repentance is how we can self-examine our lives. It keeps us humble, and it's a constant reminder that nothing we can do grants us salvation but Christ alone. We will begin to look at life with a different outlook when we begin to realize how bad we actually are

Say: Repentance is key in our lives. It brings to light our failures

Say: John reminds us in the last couple of verses that we are all sinners. Romans 3-23 reminds us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Say: Sin is in everyone's lives.

Say: John reminds us that if we say we dont sin that the truth is not in us.

Say: On the contrary, if we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive them.

Say: It can become easy for sin to take hold of our lives. It's up to us to recognize it. Through scripture, through prayer, and through other Christians, we can begin to notice the sin in our lives.

Transition- But what if we do sin, what if we fall into those labels I listed above? Let me remind you that we aren't doomed. We have an advocate sitting at the right hand of God.

Point #3 God's call to repentance

1 John 2:1

Say: The bible was written to us not only to record the works of god, but to be something that we use to help with our sanctification.

Say: John says he writing these things so that we may not sin

Say- Many men and women in here sat through a hunter safety course. We didn't sit through that course to learn all of the valuable safety info to throw it out the window when we left the class. We wanted to apply that info to our lives.

Say: many of your children will be or have taken a driver's ed class. Imagine if they took that class, passed it, and then through everything they learned out the window. I can assure you, the roads would look a whole lot different.

Say: The same goes for scripture. John isn't writing this for us to just read. He's writing to us to that we can grow into our salvation. This helps with our sanctification.

Say: But just like we sometimes get a ticket. We can sometimes fall short on what god asks of us.

Say- Luckily, Jesus is there to catch us when we fall.

Close- I want to leave you with this. Does your life look like it's rooted in the dark or the light? Are you living in the eternal fellowship with Christ? And lastly, are you rooted in the world's fleeting Joy and the eternal joys that ONLY come from Christ?