The Ultimate Love 1 John 1:5-7NLT
Introduction: How far can you walk? one block, two? one mile, ten? We used to be a nation of people who walked, but now are a nation dependent upon the automobile. We used to be a church of people who walked with God, but now what are we?
Can a Christian have a private fellowship with God, to the exclusion of others? Can we ignore other Christians and be real Christians?
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
This is the ultimate message of all messages, God is love! Moreover, without the existence of God, a God that loves, nothing that was made would exist. The earth as we know it, as God’s children, would be nothing but mere space, but wait… There wouldn’t even be any space. Wow, now that’s deep.
Listen to Psalm 36:9NKJ For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
Remember: God is light- in Him is no darkness. God is life- in Him is no death. God is love- in Him is no hate.
First thing I want you to remember is: The ultimate relationship is fellowship with the God of pure light, and then fellowship with others.
I John 1:5Amp And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all no, not in any way].
In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb. Twenty-two years later, in 1901, one of the newfangled gadgets was hung, and turned on, in the Livermore, Calif., Fire Department. It’s still there, and still on. The old bulb has almost never been turned off in 113 years. By today’s standards it should have burned out 856 times by now. The bulb, hand-blown, with a thick carbon filament, was made, it is said, by the Shelby Electric Company, which did not become one of the giants of the nation, for an obvious reason. The Shelby Company made light bulbs to last, and nobody ever reordered. The bulb is respected by Fire Captain Kirby Slate and his men. In a time of of gadgets forever falling apart or burning out or breaking up, it’s reassuring to watch a dusty 113-year-old light bulb shine on and on and on.
Verse 5b, of I John 1 again, …God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all no, not in any way].
Walking in the light of God changes everything. No shadows, no tricks, just pure light.
Listen to Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:17-19NLT And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
When we know Christ, we become “rooted and established in love.” Paul uses the word picture of a tree with roots descending deep into nourishing soil. The tree stands strong and healthy because of how and where it is rooted.
Hear this, “You get to fellowship with radiant light, to become radiant light! P.H.
Secondly, if you have a shared relationship with Jesus Christ, you don’t stumble around in the dark.
I John 1:6TM If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim.
What’s the first thing you do when you do wrong? Hide? Do it in the dark? Become very secretive, and sucusive?
Illustration: The great “prince of preachers” Charles Haddon Spurgeon used to tell this story: “A certain duke once boarded a galley ship. As he passed the crew of slaves, he asked several of them what their offenses were. Almost every man claimed he was innocent. They laid the blame on someone else or accused the judge of yielding to bribery. One young fellow, however, spoke out, ‘Sir, I deserve to be here. I stole some money. No one is at fault but myself. I’m guilty.’ Upon hearing this, the duke seized him by the shoulder and shouted, ‘You scoundrel, you! What are you doing here with all these honest men? Get out of their company at once!’ He was then set at liberty while the rest were left to tug at the oars.”
Finally, “becoming truthful with yourself as well as with others, sets you free to really live a life of peace and joy.” P.H.
I John 1:7TM But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin.
God’s light and love brings brotherly fellowship.
After the devastating tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, a video surfaced on CNN. A camera captured a startling image of the tsunami waves rising through the valley as people climbed to higher ground up on the hills. As the wave of debris and destroyed houses thundered closes, the camera zoomed in to show a group of people down below moving slowly- way too slowly. They also were way too close to the rising, deadly surge of water. It soon became apparent why these people couldn’t move fast- they were carrying people who were unable to move themselves. Yet this group refused to move to safety if it meant leaving the others behind.
Jesus wants you to spread your influence of light and love unto others.
Murray, Andrew, “Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays."
Remember, “Any and every relationship can change because of Jesus’ love and blood. Deliverance, wholeness, and wellness become second nature for the blood bought.” P.H.
Again I John 1:7Amp. But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
In his book, “Imagine Your Life Without Fear” Max Lucado gives some significant insight when he says, "Questions can make hermits out of us, driving us into hiding. Yet the cave has no answers. Christ distributes courage through community; he dissipates doubts through fellowship. He never deposits all knowledge in one person but distributes pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to many. When you interlock your understanding with mine, and we share our discoveries, when we mix, mingle, confess and pray, Christ speaks.”
Benediction.
