COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE MESSAGE
1 John 1:5-10 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But 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. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
INTRODUCTION: Last week, as we began to look at the status of the church as John declared, we saw that God is active. In fact His activity is present, personal, and verifiable. God’s activity deserves to be proclaimed, yet complacency and comfort work against the God-given mandate of proclamation!
The body of Christ is linked together by the proclamation of truth, and only as strong as the weakest declaration of truth. The body of Christ faces the same barriers, and struggles, regardless of location, the big difference is not God, it is not the battle, but the soldier in the fight
Steve Camp has written these lyrics in his song entitled, “Run to the Battle”:
Some people want to live
With the sound of chapel bells
But I want to build a mission
A yard from the gates of hell
And with everyone you meet
Take the gospel and share it well
Look around you as you hesitate
For another soul just fell
Let’s run to the battle
So what is it about us that keeps us from really getting involved with the message God wants to communicate to the world? Why can we not get excited about the gospel? Ultimately it is a problem of personal blindness.
Our own blindness regarding the reality of our relationship with Christ keeps us from the battle; keeps us from the fight.
I WHAT THE MESSAGE IS – 1 JOHN 1:5
A More than a mere message!
1 The word message means announcement
a This is a message
b THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT
1) It is a difference of quality and quantity
2 The message was more than just there
a Declare means to report, to show, to tell
B God is Light is more than a mere statement
1 It is intensive – God Himself and no one else can make this claim
2 It is descriptive – Light is the very nature of God
3 There is no room for darkness
a Obscurity – There is nothing that is able to be hidden or kept undercover when in the presence of God
b Sin – There is no opportunity or fertile ground for sinful activity to exist when in the presence of God
Now if it is obedience to declare God’s truth, and if God truth is not being declared, then it there must be something at work that prevents us from declaring the truth God wants us to declare. That something is darkness. That something is sin.
I am so sick and tired of pussyfooting around this issue. I am so fed up with passing it off as anything and everything else but what it is. If you are not declaring God’s truth, you are sinning – plain and simple.
The fault is not mine, the fault is not God’s the fault is yours! And you had better change, and you had better change now!
Here is how we get into this mess ….
II The Fraudulent Claim #1 – 1 John 1:6-7
A If we claim .. “Suppose we say”
1 I have fellowship with Him (God)
2 I am closely bound
3 I have a mutual relationship
4 I am living compatible with Light – the very nature of God
B Yet walk in darkness
1 Living a life with visible sin
2 Living a life with things obscured – cause I don’t want somebody else to see them
C The result of the false claim …
1 We lie
a Truth is what we say
2 We do not live by (or practice) the truth
a Truth is what we do
D The Alternative …
1 Walk in the light
a Know who God is
b Doing what God expects
2 Have fellowship with God
a The requirement of fellowship is to walk in the light
b The requirement of fellowship is to let the light of God reveal what is right and wrong.
c The requirement of fellowship is to then do something about what has been revealed.
3 Then the blood of Christ is active in removing the sin revealed through my fellowship with God.
WE HAVE THE TENDENCY TO CUT OURSELVES OFF FROM THE VERY PERSON WHOSE ATTENTION WE CRAVE BY DENYING OUR SIN – LIVING INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE LIFE/LIGHT WE SAY WE ARE IN.
You cannot come here. You cannot experience the conviction of God on your life. You cannot have sin revealed. And then, do nothing about it and expect me to believe that you are in fellowship with God.
You may fool me, but beloved – YOU DO NOT FOOL GOD!
Get off your spiritual high horse and get on your knees.
God has revealed the sin in your life
God has revealed the sin of your silence
God has revealed the sin of your compromise
God has revealed the sin of your complacency
NOW DO NOT SIT HERE PIUS AND SEEK TO TELL ME THAT YOU ARE WALKING IN THE LIGHT WHEN YOU ARE NOT!
And if I am stepping on your toes this morning – it is high time somebody did. I let you get away with it for too long, and if the last couple of weeks taught me anything it taught me that!
III The Fraudulent Claim #2 – 1 John 1:8-9
A “Suppose we say”….
1 I do not have sin
a Literally – I am not in a state of sin because I have sinned (I am not sinning by doing what I am doing)
b In other words – I do not need to get right with God, I am not doing anything wrong
B I am in a self-imposed state of deception.
1 It is self deception
2 It accomplishes EXACTLY what the devil wants to do to me
a If he cannot deceive me about my salvation …
b He will try to deceive me about my state before God.
AND YOU KNOW – IF YOU LIVE OUT OF FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD LONG ENOUGH, YOU FORGET WHAT IT FELT LIKE AND THE DEVILS GOT YOU!
C The only way out is confession not deception
1 Confession is a belief not a formula
a There are too many of you out there who believe that all I you got to do is say the magic words of verse nine and all is forgiven.
b Confession is more than recitation – it is the belief that I have done wrong
2 Confession is also the recognition of our inadequacy and need.
a It is spiritual dishonesty to think that we have the ability to keep ourselves from blowing it again.
b Confession inherently means that I will always need God help in this area!
3 Confession is not just judicial -- it is also relational.
a It is just for God to forgive me, not only because I ask
b It is just for God to forgive me because Jesus already paid the price.
c To cheapen forgiveness cheapens the sacrifice of Christ.
1) If what communion represents does not mean something to you – you ought to stop taking it until it does!
4 Confession ALWAYS involves repentance.
a Repentance established my relationship with God
b Repentance sustains my relationship with God
5 Confession is acknowledging my sin
a Acknowledging more than just the actions and consequences of my sin
b Also acknowledging the attitude and cause behind my sin!
THE ESSENCE OF OUR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD IS OUR HONESTY BEFORE HIM
IV The Fraudulent Claim #3 – 1 John 1:10
A Suppose we say ….
1 I have no personal involvement in sin
a Its not my fault – Yes, it is
b The devil made me do it – no he didn’t , but he’s sure glad you did
c Somebody else’s fault – Only if the other people are Me, Myself, and I!
B We make God a liar
1 God declares that EVERYBODY has sinned
2 God declares that you have sinned
C We reveal that His message is not in us
1 It is not in our hearts
2 It is not what we hold to
3 It is not what we are governed by
4 We are ultimately following something else
THE DEGREE THAT HIS WORD IS NOT IN US IS THE DEGREE WE HAVE CALLED GOD A LIAR!
So how much you been lying to God today?
How many times have you sat hear, knowing what you should have done, knowing what you are doing, and refusing to do what you know you should have done, should have said, or should have stopped doing long ago?
Guess what – don’t delude yourself that being here today – unconfessed, unrepentant, and unconcerned, is gonna cut the mustard with God. Cause it ain’t!
And you want to wonder why things aren’t going your way, its because of sin! Your sinning, and you been sinning so long, you forgot what it feels like, and it feels good now!
And before you go out of this building, you oughta be down here in front on your knees, asking God to forgive your pitiful attempt to fool Him, and to ask Him to get you on the right track!
There is nothing so vile as a Christian who is living like he has no one to thank for his very eternal life!
