Sermon Tone Analysis

“FOR THE LOVE” - The Apostle John’s Letters.

1 John 1:1-4 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

PRAY

The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God.

We wrestle with those things and it can take a lifetime to figure them out.

But here the Apostle JOHN brings an incredible clarity to both.

God is love, and with a revelation of the Love of God.. everything falls into place.

When things are in KINGDOM ORDER…things fall into place in my life!

This is Johns epistles….. to the Church

Key Themes:

Love - What true Love is.

That God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Sin - and Jesus is our answer for our sin: 1 John 1:8-9 “If we say 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.”

Truth - What is true knowledge, To know God

False Doctrines & Views of God: 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

/ John deals directly with the incarnation & the spirit realm.

Natural and supernatiral.

Written late century AD.

Towards the end of Johns life.

Key Verses:

1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

2 John 9 “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God.

Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”

Words Mentioned:

Love - 46 Times

Know - 42 Times

SIn - 28 Times

World - 23 Times

Life - 15 Times.

Abide - 12 Times.

Some Background on John: THERE IS SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT JOHN.

He was one of the 12.

He was a relative (most believe he was) He was a Galilean like Peter.

John was the disciple whom Jesus LOVED.

John seemed to have a very distinct and intimate relationship with Jesus.

John ‘s gospel accounts are very different from Matt, Mark, Luke - the Synopyic Gospels.

John was the only disciple who lived the longest and died of old age.

The rest of the disciples were martyred….

History tells us that they tried to Kill john and they couldn’t kill him.

The emperor was so afraid of John that they banished him to the island of Patmos, which is where he wrote the book of revelation.

He had a revelation of Jesus as messiah and God.

John was MYSTICAL But also FOUNDATIONAL.

TRUTH TO WRITE DOWN: IN FAITH THERE IS MYSTERY BUT ALSO FOUNDATION.

(First mention principle) John”s Gospel & His Letter begins in a very unique way

1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

We serve a God who exists in such glory that our HUMAN EXISTENCE cannot approach or see him while we occupy our natural bodies.

OUr natural eyes cannot see the Glory of God.

But when we are made alive in CHRIST, our HEARTS KNOW IT… and we KNOW IT VERY WELL.

FAITH HAS FOUNDATION, BUT ALSO MYSTERY.

John understands this - and He is watching the church begin to doubt some things - and later in his life he sees things that are being challenged and feels compelled to write AT THE END OF HIS LIFE.

Its almost like His life was preserved for a reason because he wrote do late.John remembered things that only someone with a close intimate knowledge could remember which is really why he wrote the gospel of John but also these letters 1-2-3JOhn.

I wanna give you just a few examples of things we have in JOHN’s writing that we dont have anywhere else in the Gospels:

Now remember this is about 60 years after Jesus died.

The wedding at Cana

The encounter with Nicodemus - John 3.

You must be born again (john 3:16

Woman at the well In John 4..

There are many more (like The High Priestly Prayer in John 17 - John heard and wrote this down for us).

John is relentless is spreading the message of how much God loves, and how our obedience is tied to his love.

We submit to his love because, as like children, our father knows how to BEST LOVE US.But here is what’s interesting

SO WHAT ARE THE KEY MESSAGES & TAKEAWAYS FOR THE CHURCH THEN & NOW FROM 1-2-3 John:

1.GOD IS LOVE, AND HE IS TRUE

This is foundational truth for us today: JESUS CHRIST is true and you can believe in him.….Gods love for you & I meant that JESUS came to us.

In the FLESH.

John says this right off the top: Guys, I was there.

First hand experience trumps anyone else’s “say-so” any day of the week.

When you were there, when you heard and you touched and you saw with your own eyes that changes everything.

ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE PERSUADED OTHERWISE!! John encourages the church - this is your belief in Jesus.

Its a real belief in a real person who was REALLY HERE IN THE FLESH.

And a resurrected Christ.

What had happened in the church?

Competing forces for truth (about Jesus)

Gnostism and a myriad of other Gods were in the mix in Ephesus where John lived and he was an elder.

And what John saw worried him which led him to write.

He BRINGS FOUNDATIONAL WORDS to the Faith which you cannot see.

Its like John says, you can use my experience to build your own faith.

But its real.

I was there.

And you can experience his LIFE also, now.

That is eternal life.

1 John 1:2 “the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—”

WE CAN BE GRATEFUL TODAY BECAUSE WE HAVE THESE WORDS WHICH ARE JOHNS WORDS< AND HE SAW JESUS IN THE FLESH.

WHEN YOU READ JOHN YOU CAN READ THE RED LETTERS WITH A GRATEFUL HEART TODAY BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHT THERE AND HE HEARD EVERY WORD AND HE WROTE THEM DOWN FOR YOU AND FOR ME / THE CHURCH OF JESUS

He told the church 0- There is no debate.

Jesus is real.

He is love and he is truth and you can trust him

THIS IS NO DIFFERENT TO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR WORLD TODAY: PEOPLE ARE LONGING FOR WHAT IS TRUTH AND WHAT IS LOVE.

this was a WORLD seeking for the RIGHT Truth, the RIGHT God - and John provides confirmation in this LETTER

1 John 2:21-25 “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.

Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.

No one who denies the Son has the Father.

Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.