Christian fellowship
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Welcome
We will be starting a brand new series today: Blessed Assurance
In this series we are going to focus on the “Assurance of our salvation”
One of the main reasons John wrote this letter is to assure his readers that they are saved
Everyone needs to be absolutely sure that they belong to Christ.
The enemy loves to whisper in our ear lies of doubt.
When we let doubt in our lives it steals our joy and causes us to doubt God
Doubt can even cause us to stumble into sin
So it is important that we know that we know that we are truly born again
Question: Can we ever really know for sure if we are saved?
I’m not talking a hope so
I’m not talking about a, “I am pretty sure I am”
I’m talking a I KNOW FOR A FACT WITH ABSOLUTE ASSURANCE THAT I AM SAVED.
The answer is YES!
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
There are truths in this book are written so that WE will know that we have eternal life!
God does not leave the most important decision in this life in the darkness
God wants you to know that you are saved
AND He wants you to know if you are not saved so that He can save you.
It’s mighty hard to save someone who doesn't think they need saving.
The message today is: “Christian Fellowship”
Fellowship just means relationship
And there is a different kind of fellowship we enter in to when we become believers
And John says this fellowship testifies that we have the real thing
This fellowship is not just between us and God
It is between us, God, and all His children
And we are going to see today what it is and how to have it
John 1:1-3
#1 The Door into Christian Fellowship is through Jesus Christ
#1 The Door into Christian Fellowship is through Jesus Christ
John begins with a personal testimony for his readers
“which we have heard”
“which we have seen with our eyes”
“which we have looked upon”
“our hands have handled”
“concerning the Word of Life!”
John stands before the church as a personal witness of God’s salvation that was manifested to him
“and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us”
The point of all this is so his readers know that he has the real thing!
They can rest assured that the things to follow are absolute truths!
They can trust his testimony because he experienced Jesus personally
He begins this way because there were some in the church who did not have the real thing
And they were teaching things that were simply not true
They claimed to have a genuine fellowship with God apart from the fellowship of genuine believers
And John writes to clear some things up and explain that true fellowship with God means there will be true fellowship with the people of God
One cannot have one without the other
They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
Fellowship with Christ means fellowship with God’s people
Beware of those who claim to be of christ yet never fellowship with the people of Christ
(v 3)“what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you that you may have fellowship with us”
John is telling them that he has the real thing
His faith is not a knock off
And His fellowship is true
And the only way they are going to have genuine Christian fellowship with John is through Jesus Christ!
He is the pipeline of Christian fellowship!
I’m not saying a believer and a non-believer cannot be friends
I’m not saying they cannot even be husband and wife
I am saying there is a special connection between the people of God that no other people on earth have and it is this fellowship through Jesus Christ!
What is this fellowship John is talking about?
What is this fellowship John is talking about?
It is a “oneness” between “a community of people”
All Christians have a deep inner connection that places them inside this community of fellowship
It doesn’t matter where you are from if you are saved you are spiritually drawn to other believers
This is not in some believers but ALL believers because ALL believers have the Spirit of God in them
John 15 Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit”
Jesus is the vine that connects all the branches (those born again are the branches)
They are grafted in to the family of God when they get saved
He is the supply that feeds the spiritual needs of the branches
He also causes the branches to bear fruit
The vine determines what the branches becomes
AND EVERY BRANCH IS CONNECTED THROUGH THE VINE!
The same blood that flows through my veins, that blood of Jesus Christ , it flows through your veins
We may have different genetics
We may have a different upbringing
We may different struggles
But what gives us this special fellowship is Christ!
And when we get rebooted with the DNA of Jesus we are brought into a new house of fellowship.
If you are in Christ then you are in this fellowship!
You cannot be connected to the vine and not the branches!
Christ makes a special connection through His Spirit
What does this fellowship look like?
I can see someone who I have known for 20 years and is almost always a little awkward
It doesn’t matter if they are family, friends, or old co-workers it it always a little awkward
But I can meet a Christian whom I have never known before, and it is as if I have known them for 20 years
There is a deep inner connection between all believers
And if you have that fellowship then you have Christ
One reason believers have this special connection is because they are all headed the same direction.
Believers are not led by the world but led by the Spirit of God within them.
Paul said those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God
The bible is not a book but the living Words of Life
They understand this world is passing and therefore do not live for it
They know there is a place called heaven and hell and everything in this life matters for eternity.
They know all of this because believers have the mind of Christ
For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
We have fellowship meals with strangers because we all have something in common.
It’s like an army of men with one commander
They may not know each other but they are all connected through a common purpose
It’s like a fire dept. on the fire scene. They are all working towards one common goal
So it is with Christians
The reason some people feel so uncomfortable around believers is because they have never been born again.
A real relationship with God instantly connects us to other believers.
It doesn't matter what age, gender, race..
He is the vine and we are the branches.
Verse 4: “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full”
#2 The Fruit of Christian Fellowship is JOY
#2 The Fruit of Christian Fellowship is JOY
John says he is writing so that his readers will experience the fullness of joy
Now your translation may say, “so that our joy may be complete”
But there really is no difference
The joy John is speaking of from the fellowship described in verses 1-3
And the joy is not just for one side or the other but it is mutual JOY
So what John is saying is when you have this fellowship JOY WILL RESULT
The fellowship of the Father, the Son, and fellow believers
An example of this joy in Acts 2
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Notice some things:
They had all things in common
They sold their properties and possessions
They wanted to meet each others needs
They spent time with each other (breaking bread from house to house)
This is one of the most vivid pictures of Christian fellowship in the Scriptures and it conveys the message of GREAT JOY!
This is what God intends for ALL believers
This is what the early church looked like
This is what the fellowship with believers looked like
These verses show that when people get saved God gives them an indescribable love for each other.
Believers are willing to sacrifice for one another
Believers want to meet the needs of their brothers and sisters
Believers find great joy in the fellowship of one another
Now if we are not doing this does it mean we do not have this fellowship?
Possibly but it could mean something else
It means our fellowship is sick
It could mean that our relationship with Christ is sick
verses 5-7
#3 The Test of Christian Fellowship is where we walk
#3 The Test of Christian Fellowship is where we walk
“if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another”
In other words the only way we possess this fellowship is if we are living right with God
If we are not right with God we will not be right with each other!
John says God is light
Light symbolizes the character of God
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world”
Light speaks of righteousness
To have fellowship with Christ we must walk in the light of God
One cannot be in Christ and walk in the darkness
What is the darkness?
A life that is lived in sin
A life that leans towards evil
A life that harbors evil things
A life that does not put God first
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
To walk in the light is to live with an openness towards God
It speaks of opening yourself up constantly to be examined by God
It is letting the light of Christ penetrate even the dark areas of our heart so that we may be cleansed
When a thief sets our to steal when does he do it?
Most burglaries are at night
People who do evil do not want their deeds exposed
They try to do them hidden from the world
But those who walk in the light do not worry about being seen by others because their deeds are not evil
What they do they do as if God were the only audience
Their deeds are inherently good rather than inherently evil
Their lives are an open book before Christ
They don’t walk in shame but in hope knowing that it is God Himself who has placed them in the light
Genuine Christian fellowship is only found in that Light
If we are walking in the Light then we have this genuine fellowship
If we walk in the dark then we have no fellowship with God
We are deceived if we think that we do
One cannot walk in the dark and claim to be in Christ because Christ is not inn the dark but the Light!
Test yourself and be sure you are walking in the Light.
#4 The Vitality of Christian Fellowship is based upon Continuous Repentance
#4 The Vitality of Christian Fellowship is based upon Continuous Repentance
Verses 8-10: “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 us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us”
Our fellowship with other Christians is dependent upon our fellowship with the Lord
If our relationship with God is unhealthy then so will our relationships with others be
If our relationship with God is strong, then it will be evident in our Christian Fellowship
Our relationship with God needs constant attention
It is not to be neglected
It’s not to be put on the back-burner of our lives
It should come before anything else
And most importantly it should be characterized by a continuous repentance
(v 9) “If we confess our SINS He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
Notice the word sins is plural
In other words there is a need to repent of every conscious sin in our lives
By that I mean every time we know we sin we should repent of it!
Does this mean we can go to hell if we forget to repent of one? NO
Does this mean we can go to hell if we forget to repent of one? NO
There is a justifying forgiveness of sins that happens when we get saved
All sins past, present, and future are washed away
There is a relational forgiveness that we must practice each and every day
What happens when we do not practice relational repentance?
We drift from God
We quench the power of the Holy Spirit
God stops answering our prayers
Our mind becomes clouded by the things in this world
We can even become spiritually, mentally, and even physically sick.
And when our relationship with God is damaged so is our fellowship with the people of God
So what can we do to maintain this fellowship God desires for us?
So what can we do to maintain this fellowship God desires for us?
Confess your sins as soon as you think of them
Don’t wait until they build up
Don’t wait until you go to bed and confess your sins
As soon as the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin confess it and walk away from it
Confess them specifically
Name them by name
Tell God exactly what you did and ask for forgiveness
Don’t be vague!
Walk away from them permanently
Don’t confess a sin and then immediately do it again
That is not repentance at all
That will not receive any forgiveness
You must truly repent
What do we do if we do not have this Christian fellowship?
What do we do if we do not have this Christian fellowship?
2:1-2 “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. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world”
Do you pass the Fellowship Test?
Do you walk in the light?
Do you have joy from your relationships with other believers?
If you praise God for that.
That is Blessed Assurance!
If you do not know the fellowship we talked about today, YOU CAN ONLY HAVE IT THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
If you are not walking in the light
If you have unconfessed sins then now is the opportunity to make it right
“If anyone sins”!
There is an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ
That’s another word for lawyer
Jesus Christ is sitting at the right hand of God right now interceding for all believers
He is the propitiation for our sins!
That means He satisfies the requirements of God to have a relationship with Him
Jesus and only Jesus can make you right before God
Only Jesus can bring you into he Light
Only Jesus can bring you into this fellowship!
COME TO JESUS AND HE WILL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR SINS!
Don’t think God had this message preached for someone else
If you are hearing my voice and you need your sins forgiven God is calling you
Don’t leave here today carrying that burden any longer
Don’t leave here today not knowing if you have eternal life
Don’t leave here today without the fullness of joy that John said we all can have in Christian fellowship
Jesus is the answer
Come to Jesus
Come give it all to Jesus
He died for you....don’t die without Him!
~PRAYER~