WEBVTT
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.380
In order to understand 1 John, particularly the passage that we have, I think we need to understand
00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:18.820
! But in order to understand the context, what I think we need to do is imagine a dangerous
00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:27.120
! You need to close your eyes if you have to, but imagine a dangerous city, a place where
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:33.740
you never choose to walk down. It's a place where houses are boarded up, windows are broken.
00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:41.620
It's a really scary place. And in the middle of all this chaos, in the middle of this really
00:00:41.620 --> 00:00:49.520
scary city, there's a child. You can imagine the child, but this child is lost and scared
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:55.240
as they wander down the street. It can be scary for adults being in those kind of places,
00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:03.320
but imagine how scary it would be being a child. This child just wants to go home. I just want
00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:10.520
to be home. And people come out of the shadows and they start offering assistance. They say,
00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:19.000
come with me and I'll get you home. Listen to me, I can tell you the way to get there. Now
00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:24.239
should we listen to them? And should we listen to those people? But how do we know who we
00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:31.560
can trust to make sure that we'll definitely make it home safe? Who's trustworthy? That's
00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:37.620
a really important question in that situation. This little child asking, who can I trust? Where
00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:43.359
should I go? Will I ever make it home? You know, imagine how frightened you'd be if you
00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:50.420
were the parent of that child. Well, that is exactly how John feels about the church that
00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:57.659
he's writing to. He has a fatherly affection for them, concerning them. I mean, just look
00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:04.719
at verse 1 of chapter 2. My little children, he says. He looks at this church and he sees
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.599
that they're in a dangerous place. They're being tempted by false teachers, people who have
00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:19.079
left the church and are questioning the faithfulness of the gospel they once heard. And John, his
00:02:19.079 --> 00:02:25.479
heart is moved for them. He just yearns and desires so desperately that they'd be safe.
00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:32.900
Not wanting them to continue down that dark and dangerous street, listening to dangerous messengers.
00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:41.460
So he writes them a letter. He writes them a letter. You see, what that small child needed was a faithful
00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:49.659
guide. A faithful guide, someone he could really trust to take them home. He needed a familiar face that
00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:56.719
could go out and come to him and give him faithful, safe instruction to take him away from evil, to take him
00:02:56.719 --> 00:03:04.419
away from the darkness, off that dangerous street and on the right path. And what we have here, what we have
00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:11.699
in our hands this morning, is the message of that faithful guide. How to stay safe as a Christian.
00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:18.759
How to stay safe. To make sure that you're not led astray by the world, by false teachers.
00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:26.479
And instead, that you're able to confidently walk home. Confidently to make it there with full assurance.
00:03:26.799 --> 00:03:32.120
John, that is a great theme for a letter, isn't it? How to stay safe and make sure you'll definitely get
00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:37.780
home. So what we're going to do in our time together, is we're going to start briefly looking at the
00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:43.419
faithful guide. What makes John such a faithful messenger? Now, what means that we can trust him?
00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:48.899
And then secondly, this is something we really need to be clear about, is we don't just need a faithful
00:03:48.899 --> 00:03:54.699
messenger, but we need to know what his message is. So we need to be clear about the faithful message
00:03:54.699 --> 00:04:01.639
that this faithful messenger brings. So firstly, a faithful guide. Okay, looking at verses 1 to 4,
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.359
we're looking at a faithful guide. John emphasises straight away, straight from the beginning of his
00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:14.600
letter, that he and a group of others were there with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry. Just look at
00:04:14.600 --> 00:04:21.180
verse 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:26.379
looked upon, which we have touched with our hands concerning the word of life. He was there with this group of others
00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:34.580
from the beginning. In each of the four gospels, Jesus calls his 12 disciples, his 12 followers, immediately
00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:44.779
after he's baptised, and they follow him. If you're familiar, you'll know they're with him at every turn. It's incredible.
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:52.819
They see him praying. They see him eating. They walk down dirt roads in the hot sunshine with him. They watch him do the
00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:59.779
miraculous, and they see him do the very, very ordinary things. You know, if they had toothbrushes, they'd have probably even seen
00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:09.339
him brush his teeth. They were there every step of the way, seeing with their eyes, hearing with their ears, and touching
00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:20.339
with their hands. They were there. This isn't second-hand information. They were there. But more than that, they didn't
00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:28.279
just hear, see, and touch, though. But this group that were there from the beginning, later called the apostles, were also
00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:37.779
called to preach. Jesus appointed them to take what they had seen, heard, and touched, to take it to the nations, to
00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:46.379
people all over the world. Speaking to the apostles, Jesus says in John's Gospels, but when the helper comes, when the
00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:54.779
spirit comes, well, he's going to bear witness about me. And you, my disciples, my apostles, well, you're going to bear
00:05:54.779 --> 00:06:01.619
witness to the ends of the earth. They're to take to the nations what they've witnessed, the life, the death, the
00:06:01.619 --> 00:06:08.879
resurrection of Jesus, and proclaim it to the world, all by the spirit's power. They were there, and are empowered
00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:18.119
by the spirit. And that's what John's trying to get across in 1 to 4. But not only does he repeat the idea of the
00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:27.319
disciples being eyewitnesses, but three times he says we were proclaimers. We were people who spoke. You know,
00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:34.259
like lost children in a dangerous city, where there are false teachers trying to lead us astray, John wants to
00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:41.040
make it really, really clear that he, along with the other apostles, that they are the eyewitnesses that you
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:48.600
can trust, that they have the authoritative testimony of Jesus Christ, that they alone are the ones that
00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:59.780
can give the instruction that we so badly need. But the thing is, they're dead. They died. What are we to do?
00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:07.020
The faithful guides disappeared. Well, they didn't merely preach, as it says in 2 and 3, but verse 4,
00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:17.659
they also wrote their message down. 1 John, what you have today, what you are hearing this morning,
00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:27.919
is the message that will get you home. When we receive John's letter, when we receive the teaching
00:07:27.919 --> 00:07:36.500
of Jesus Christ himself, the apostles' teaching is what we must cling to. So we must walk through that
00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:44.160
dangerous city with people trying to lead us astray. What must you cling to? You must cling to this.
00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:53.199
Because they alone have the message that what can it do? It's one of the things I think we skip over
00:07:53.199 --> 00:08:01.699
all the time. But there in verse 3, it's this message alone that can give you fellowship with God.
00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:08.339
Fellowship with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And it also gives you fellowship with the church.
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:16.579
They alone have the words that gives you fellowship. Life himself will come to know you.
00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:26.159
They alone have the ability to give you this message. Because they were there in spirit-empowered
00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:32.320
teaching. We have now the message in our hands that can mean that you can be welcomed into the divine
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:42.600
family. That you will make it home on that final day. So have confidence. I don't know if you're ever
00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.500
like me, but when you sit and it's mid-week and you think, probably should open my Bible,
00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:55.059
is it really worth it? The answer is emphatically yes. Because anything else, whether it's the news
00:08:55.059 --> 00:09:01.139
at 10, or your favourite TV show, what you read in the newspaper, the conversations you have at work,
00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:06.759
none of those things can get you home safe. But the Word of God.
00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:13.659
Do you know what? There's loads of people trying to vie for your attention, trying to lead you astray,
00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:19.259
telling you this is the way. Every day you're bombarded by messages, saying, come and listen
00:09:19.259 --> 00:09:26.939
to me. Come and follow me. You know what? People write holy books, don't they? Like the
00:09:26.939 --> 00:09:34.559
Quran or the Book of Mormon. Jehovah's Witnesses even have their own version of the Bible. Do not
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:42.279
listen to it, because it is dangerous and will not take you home. It even comes in more subtle forms,
00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:50.379
with just the whimsical good advice of a friend about what it means to be really spiritual. Do
00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:59.679
not listen to them. They are dangerous truths that aren't real truths at all. Only this message
00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:06.179
can get you home safe. So think and be aware of what the world's telling you.
00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:14.279
So the content then. What is this message that John's given? What is the content of your message?
00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:22.219
Well here we have 1 John 1 verse 5 to 2-2. It's John's faithful message. This is the beginning.
00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:27.060
Straight from the get go. What do you want us to know then? What do you want the church
00:10:27.060 --> 00:10:32.840
to hold on to, John? What is it that John thinks is essential that we hear to stay on the right
00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:39.200
track? Well if I was to ask you to summarise the gospel, because that's secretly what we're
00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:48.279
all waiting for, how would you summarise it? Maybe if I gave you 11 words. 11 words to summarise
00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:54.240
the gospel. What would you say? The message to keep you safe. I don't know, maybe we'd have
00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:58.319
something about the cross. Maybe we'd have something about resurrection and forgiveness.
00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:06.159
But instead, John very peculiarly says this in verse 5.
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:15.120
This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you. That. And I've checked
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:22.600
it in the Greek and in the NIV and in the ESV, it's always the same amount of words. God
00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:31.259
is light and in him is no darkness at all. Good news. Brilliant. We can all go home because
00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:35.700
we're all really clear. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. That's the
00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:42.240
message that will keep you safe. I'm not that convinced yet. John, I need you to explain it.
00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.680
I need you to unpack. Why is it good news that God is light and in him there's no darkness
00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:52.600
at all? Well, what we're going to do then is we're going to split it into two in this
00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:57.539
faithful message. We're going to have the message about our sinfulness and the message about our
00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:04.200
salvation. The message about our sinfulness and the message about our salvation. Let's
00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:09.600
just think about light for a moment. What happens when you turn a light on in a room? Well, the
00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:14.560
darkness disappears, doesn't it? The darkness disappears. Light and darkness, they just don't
00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:23.120
go together. As the sun rises, the night time disappears. On that cold, wintry morning when
00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:28.440
we all long for the sun and then it comes and then we all go, ah, I kind of miss winter now,
00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:35.240
it's too hot. But the light comes and the darkness disappears. They're opposites. Let's think a little
00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:40.060
bit more. What is John trying to get across with this idea of light? Well, I think the
00:12:40.060 --> 00:12:46.500
first idea is this idea of revelation. The idea of making things clear, making things known.
00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:54.440
He is the light. God is light in the sense that he reveals truth. Actually, even more than
00:12:54.440 --> 00:13:03.000
that, he is truth revealed. God has revealed things as they really are. And he has revealed
00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:15.820
himself. Not in an obscure way. Not in an abstract philosophy. But in a person that was touched,
00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:24.200
that was seen and was heard. The God who is light, who reveals, has been seen. He has been
00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:30.540
made himself known. Dispelling all mystery about what God is like. Because in history he revealed
00:13:30.540 --> 00:13:38.140
himself. God is light. And that light has been made known to us in the person of Jesus.
00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:44.580
But more than that, and I think probably more the connotation that you're thinking, is the
00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:54.040
idea of God's moral perfection. He is light. And in him there is no darkness at all.
00:13:54.200 --> 00:14:01.879
Delving into the eternal depths of God, you will never find any moral imperfection. He is
00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:09.700
perfectly good, perfectly holy, perfectly righteous. He never does anything wrong, nor can he tolerate
00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:18.740
anything that's wrong. So when we put those two things together, what we have is a God who
00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:25.060
is light that reveals and exposes in contrast with his moral perfection.
00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:33.439
Genevieve and I, I told you, we have a son called Judah. And ten months ago, we were frantically
00:14:33.439 --> 00:14:40.459
decorating his new room. All the mums are thinking about nesting and what it was like when they had a
00:14:40.459 --> 00:14:47.899
baby and all the redecorating they did. Well, I expertly thought, right, I'll do it in a day. The day kind of
00:14:47.899 --> 00:14:53.459
ended up and I started about one o'clock in the afternoon. I was determined to get it done. And as I
00:14:53.459 --> 00:14:59.299
started, sun's up looking wonderful. Starting decorating. And it gets further and further. We've
00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:03.620
done, stripped all the old wallpaper. We've done all the priming. And it gets ready and we start
00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:08.759
wallpapering. But the sun starts to go down and we're now relying on energy-saving bulbs, which never
00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:16.360
really seem to get that bright. But I finished it. It was two o'clock in the morning and I'd finished it.
00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:21.700
I felt so good. I went to bed. I woke up in the morning, woke Genevieve up and said, let's go look
00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:27.759
at the new baby's room. Sun had come up. We flung open the curtains. And boy, did it look miserable.
00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:35.019
Boy, did it look miserable. We're talking crooked wallpaper, smudges and smears. We're talking
00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:43.100
wrong alignment. We're even talking that I put wallpaper on the wrong wall. I was tired.
00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:55.720
But the thing is, God's light is far more exposing than sun on wallpaper. Instead, when it comes
00:15:55.720 --> 00:16:06.200
to me, if there is any smudges, if there is anything crooked, if there is anything wrong,
00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:16.740
it will be exposed in his light. It's a sobering truth, isn't it? It's sobering to think that
00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:23.360
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. And the reason that that is sobering
00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:35.320
is that because standing in that light, my darkness is exposed. But John calls us straight
00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:42.260
from the start. And he says, in this letter, in his instruction to the church, that is wandering
00:16:42.260 --> 00:16:48.640
like a child down a dangerous street, he says, please stick with this. I know it's uncomfortable,
00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:58.280
but stick with it. Because if you compromise this, everything's gone. If you compromise this,
00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:06.359
you'll end up in a very dangerous place. Don't water down who God is. That is not the way
00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:11.879
that you can have true fellowship with him, that he's described and put on offer. That's
00:17:11.879 --> 00:17:18.339
not the way to make it home. And we know that there are false teachers who are saying that.
00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:25.279
We're trying to deny what John says. Because he goes on to say, three times he repeats this
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:35.599
phrase. Look down, he says, if we claim, if we say. So verse 6, verse 8 and verse 10.
00:17:35.939 --> 00:17:40.399
These are the words of the false teachers. He says, if we say that we have fellowship with
00:17:40.399 --> 00:17:45.359
him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Verse 8, if we say we have
00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:54.299
no sinned, we have no sinned, we have no sinned. We make him a liar and his word is not in us.
00:17:56.339 --> 00:18:02.479
So I think all three statements are basically the same. Just saying the same thing. Just
00:18:02.479 --> 00:18:09.919
slightly nuanced. He's basically saying, sin doesn't matter. Sin doesn't matter. That's
00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:17.120
what the false teachers are saying. Sin doesn't matter. And John is just rejecting that denial
00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:24.200
of the false teachers that God is light by saying very simply, do not trivialise your sin.
00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:33.180
If God is light and he is, then don't listen to the false teachers who, and certainly don't
00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:43.140
say yourself, that your sin doesn't matter. If God is light and we walk in darkness, we
00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:50.880
can't say we have fellowship with God. Don't kid yourself. One of the other things, maybe
00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:55.820
it is because my wife's American. She has a great affinity for the sun. She loves walking
00:18:55.820 --> 00:18:59.900
the sunshine, sunbathing, beaches, all that kind of stuff. And I think it's a disposition of
00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:06.040
British people, or maybe I'm a bit unique, but I love the shade. I love it to be cooler
00:19:06.040 --> 00:19:13.960
and not too sunny. But the thing is, when summer comes, this happens on many occasions, we'll
00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:18.340
be walking down the street and General will go, I'm going to cross over and I'm going to
00:19:18.340 --> 00:19:23.740
walk in the sun. Can't think of anything worse. So she walks down one side of the street and
00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:29.840
I walk down the other in the shade. Yeah. The thing is, we can't kid ourselves. We
00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:35.599
can't hold hands anymore. Like, we can't have fellowship. If she's in the light and I'm
00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.619
in darkness, we just can't kid ourselves, can we? If she's on the sunny side of the street
00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:49.099
and I'm in the darkness, we don't have fellowship. We can't be united. And if God cannot bear
00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:56.899
darkness and sin, there is no way, no way in which those who are walking in darkness and
00:19:56.899 --> 00:20:05.219
disobedience can ever have fellowship with God. It is a lie, according to John, to claim otherwise.
00:20:07.179 --> 00:20:12.240
If we live in sin, we have no fellowship with God. Verse 8 and verse 10 say the same thing, but just
00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:18.900
ramp it up even further by saying, you're not only deceiving yourself, but you're calling
00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:28.519
God a liar. So I deceive myself and call God a liar because I say, if I say I'm sinless,
00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:37.599
why is that true? Well, because as we said, light has come into the world. Truth has been revealed
00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:46.299
in the face of Jesus Christ. When you look at Jesus and you see who he is and what he's done
00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:53.659
and the light that he brings, if you say that you are without sin, basically you deny everything
00:20:53.659 --> 00:21:02.219
that Jesus is, everything that he's done. We basically end up saying, well, we don't need
00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:08.400
it. We pretend we're without sin and we basically say that God isn't bothered about sin, that God
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:14.200
isn't pure and that in the face of Jesus Christ, light reveals that there isn't really a God
00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:19.779
who hates sin and is so committed to it, to ridding the world of it, that he would die
00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:26.860
to deal with it. We essentially say, God, you're not good. You're not really that holy.
00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:31.440
You don't really mind the dark patches in my life. You don't really mind the sin. We call
00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:40.580
God a liar. But I'm going to give you a bit of credit. I'm going to give myself a little
00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:46.559
bit of a slack because we know why we do it. We know why we compromise that truth and it's
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:53.279
precisely because we know that God is light. If God is really light, I basically have to
00:21:53.279 --> 00:22:00.299
pretend, don't I? Knowing that I'm dark, I have to pretend that I'm not really what I'm
00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:08.119
like because if I confront what I'm really like, then God will just crush me. So I have
00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:12.019
to compromise the truth about who I am and what God is like just to make my life livable.
00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:18.639
We do it all the time. We project an image to one another, don't we, of what we're really
00:22:18.639 --> 00:22:23.099
like, our best face. Because if you knew what I was really like, you wouldn't want to be
00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:32.219
friends with me. Think about that with us and God. And this is the teaching of the false
00:22:32.219 --> 00:22:37.599
teachers that's leading people astray. They're pandering to this in people and you can understand
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:44.980
why it's working. Imagine you go into the counselling room of one of these false teachers
00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:50.680
teachers. And you sit down and you say, I don't know if you'd call them false teacher,
00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:57.900
like, hello teacher, but think false teacher. I'm really struggling today. I feel really
00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:04.819
burdened with my sin. I've done loads of stuff wrong. And the false teacher just goes, don't
00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:12.099
worry about it. It's alright. And you say, look, I really don't think you understand. You
00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:15.240
don't know the things that I've thought, the things that I've said, the things that I've
00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:21.119
done. And the false teacher goes, look, just don't worry about it. You know, God loves to
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:24.879
forgive, like, you know, you'll be fine. Like, just, you know, you're not that bad. Just
00:23:24.879 --> 00:23:33.919
go on. And I say, well, thanks. That's great. I walk out of the counselling room and I think
00:23:33.919 --> 00:23:39.859
a little bit better about myself. And the problem is, it's just shallow. It's nonsense.
00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:48.199
It's nonsense. Because it denies that God is light. It's a fake relationship. It's all
00:23:48.199 --> 00:23:56.000
pretend. It's a pretend fellowship. A pretend fake friendship. When you deny what God is
00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:04.159
like and what we're really like. But the question is, what's the alternative? What's the alternative?
00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:11.759
What am I meant to do as someone who is sinful, who is messed up, who walks into that counselling
00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:19.259
room and I really do feel burdened by all the things that I've done? Well, that brings
00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:26.060
us to our second and final bit. And that's the truth about our salvation. The message about
00:24:26.060 --> 00:24:33.400
the truth of our salvation. John gives us his answer in the kind of verses in between the
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.640
things we looked at. So we have 6, 8 and 10, the things that the false teachers are saying.
00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:44.060
And then we have the message that John is bringing. The gospel message that John is bringing in
00:24:44.060 --> 00:24:50.259
verses 7 and 9. Listen to what he says. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
00:24:50.340 --> 00:24:55.660
we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all
00:24:55.660 --> 00:25:03.840
sin. And then verse 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
00:25:03.840 --> 00:25:13.400
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Can I take your gospel hat off and the formulaic
00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:21.779
gospel you know? Because what he says seems absolutely crazy. Because strangely, verse 7,
00:25:21.779 --> 00:25:30.500
he says, walk in the light. He basically says, well, Adam, stop walking in the shade and
00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:38.139
come over to the sunny side of the street. It seems like an odd thing to say because it
00:25:38.139 --> 00:25:47.079
basically means being exposed. He says, bring it all out into the light. Come and let's see
00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:58.599
how bad it really is. Come and stand next to my pure, holy, blameless, pure light. And
00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:06.859
let's see how bad it is. He says, come and walk in my way and be exposed. Which seems crazy,
00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:11.179
but then he ramps it up even further. And he says something strange to it. He says, don't
00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:18.279
come and step into the light. And once you've done that, confess. Confess. Verse 9, confess
00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:24.299
our sins. You're thinking, John, this is a crazy thing to do. This can't be good advice.
00:26:25.560 --> 00:26:30.220
Not only am I to step into the light and have my darkness revealed and exposed, but then I'm
00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:38.740
to stand before the God who is light, who cannot tolerate darkness. And say, do you know what?
00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:51.339
Compared to you, I am dark here and here and here and here. Seems crazy talk. This can't be a good
00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:57.000
idea, surely. So you can understand the appeal of the false teachers. You go, just sweep it under the
00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:08.720
carpet. But read on to what John says. He goes on to say that if we do, if we do that, if we come in
00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:19.220
to the light and be exposed, if we confess our sins, then he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:28.299
Hang on, John. I hear you all cry. Are you not denying the exact thing that the false teachers were doing?
00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:34.600
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. Are you just not denying that by saying,
00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:44.659
well, this God will just forgive you? No, he says. There is a way. Amazingly, there is a way.
00:27:46.819 --> 00:27:55.099
For dark people like you and me to come to the God who is light and without deceiving ourselves or God
00:27:55.099 --> 00:28:05.039
being compromised. And that is verse 6. Through the blood of Jesus, the Son who cleanses.
00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:09.119
And verse 9 and chapter 2, verse 1.
00:28:10.919 --> 00:28:12.259
Here is the way.
00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:16.119
It's by this bloody sacrifice.
00:28:17.159 --> 00:28:18.480
The word propitiation.
00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:20.439
This atonement.
00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:23.240
God taking the penalty for sin.
00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:25.420
His wrath against it.
00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:28.900
The light being switched on and it consuming the darkness.
00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:31.980
Jesus taking that.
00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:35.519
But Jesus doesn't pretend that there isn't any darkness.
00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:38.640
No, instead he confronts it head on
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:41.580
in his death.
00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:45.779
Jesus takes our sin.
00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:47.500
Our darkness.
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.299
And he clothes us in his righteousness.
00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:52.740
In his light.
00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:58.919
Let me just for a moment take you into the counselling room of Jesus.
00:29:01.179 --> 00:29:04.199
What is the counselling room according to John?
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:06.159
John, you walk in.
00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:08.839
You sit down and you say,
00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:10.939
John, I've really messed up.
00:29:12.419 --> 00:29:14.279
The things that I have thought,
00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:16.519
I've said and done.
00:29:18.339 --> 00:29:19.480
And Jesus says,
00:29:19.819 --> 00:29:20.639
I know.
00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:24.039
And you say,
00:29:24.099 --> 00:29:25.519
Jesus, no, I really don't think you understand.
00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:28.500
I've done so much.
00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:30.539
It's so big.
00:29:30.679 --> 00:29:31.859
It's so dark.
00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:33.980
And he says,
00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:37.399
It is far worse than you could ever imagine.
00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:42.040
What am I to do then, Jesus?
00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:44.280
What should I do?
00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.180
How can this be dealt with?
00:29:47.620 --> 00:29:50.480
What am I to do about the sin in my heart
00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.780
if I want to come to you?
00:29:52.280 --> 00:29:55.120
If I want to walk in your way on the sunny side of the street,
00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:56.080
how can I come?
00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:58.399
And Jesus just turns and he says,
00:29:58.460 --> 00:29:59.579
How about I cleanse you?
00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:02.899
How about I forgive you?
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:07.619
I'm not going to pretend that you're not dark.
00:30:07.619 --> 00:30:12.119
And I'm not going to pretend that I'm not light.
00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:15.000
But how about in history,
00:30:15.419 --> 00:30:17.579
in a way that you can touch,
00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:19.579
that you can see,
00:30:19.959 --> 00:30:21.279
that you can hear,
00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:24.119
how about I come
00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:25.959
and I die
00:30:25.959 --> 00:30:28.059
in your place?
00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:32.099
But how about I die
00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:33.240
for all the sin
00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:34.220
and darkness
00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:36.859
so that people like you
00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:38.200
can be welcomed into the light?
00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:40.859
Jesus propitiates,
00:30:41.159 --> 00:30:41.899
bears the wrath,
00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:42.419
anger
00:30:42.419 --> 00:30:44.279
of a holy God against sin
00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:46.480
so that his favour may rest
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:47.440
with me,
00:30:47.919 --> 00:30:48.579
with you.
00:30:49.679 --> 00:30:51.359
His blood is spilt
00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.179
at the cross
00:30:52.179 --> 00:30:53.519
in a way that people
00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:54.179
touched,
00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.019
saw and heard
00:30:56.019 --> 00:30:57.819
bearing the penalty
00:30:57.819 --> 00:30:58.819
that sin deserves.
00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:01.139
Jesus the righteous
00:31:01.139 --> 00:31:02.920
dies a dark death
00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:04.200
that you might become
00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:05.079
the light of God.
00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:09.680
So imagine now,
00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:11.379
imagine now
00:31:11.379 --> 00:31:12.079
the confidence
00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:13.119
that you can have
00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:14.440
drawing near to God.
00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:17.160
No longer pretending,
00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:19.019
you don't have to pretend
00:31:19.019 --> 00:31:19.619
with God.
00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:22.059
No longer pretending,
00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:23.200
but knowing
00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:24.000
that the basis
00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.019
of your relationship
00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:26.379
with God
00:31:26.379 --> 00:31:27.619
is that if I confess
00:31:27.619 --> 00:31:28.279
my sin,
00:31:28.639 --> 00:31:29.879
I know that God
00:31:29.879 --> 00:31:31.339
has acted in history
00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:32.420
in a way that
00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:33.200
is touched,
00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:34.379
heard,
00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:35.579
and seen
00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:37.660
so that I might
00:31:37.660 --> 00:31:38.160
have fellowship
00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:38.960
with God himself
00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:39.700
and make it heard.
00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:42.859
But no wonder
00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:43.740
John says
00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:44.619
that passing on
00:31:44.619 --> 00:31:45.319
this message
00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:46.579
makes his joy complete.
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:47.680
Verse 4.
00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:49.720
This makes his joy
00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:50.379
complete
00:31:50.379 --> 00:31:51.799
because where is
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:52.339
his confidence?
00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:53.500
Not in pretend,
00:31:53.500 --> 00:31:55.339
but in reality.
00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:58.579
And it's worth
00:31:58.579 --> 00:31:59.380
defending against
00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:00.259
the false teachers.
00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:01.759
It's worth
00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:02.519
defending against
00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:03.519
the lies of Satan
00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:04.119
and the people
00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:04.779
of the world.
00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:06.000
It's worth
00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:06.480
defending.
00:32:08.980 --> 00:32:09.740
One last thing
00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:10.279
as I close.
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.019
There's probably
00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.599
loads of people
00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:12.099
in here
00:32:12.099 --> 00:32:14.240
that are thinking,
00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:16.859
that's great,
00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:17.839
that's really good news.
00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:20.819
But the problem is,
00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:21.740
this is the pattern
00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:22.679
of every day.
00:32:24.199 --> 00:32:25.079
Every day,
00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:26.319
remembering
00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:28.599
that we are darkness
00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:30.119
and we need
00:32:30.119 --> 00:32:31.220
Christ the light
00:32:31.220 --> 00:32:33.119
to die in our place
00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:33.679
that we might
00:32:33.679 --> 00:32:34.059
have fellowship
00:32:34.059 --> 00:32:34.619
with God.
00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:36.220
I've never met
00:32:36.220 --> 00:32:37.159
a brother or sister,
00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:39.299
no matter how old
00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:39.699
they are,
00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:40.119
that have been
00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:41.139
trusting the Lord
00:32:41.139 --> 00:32:42.099
for years and years
00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:42.599
who go,
00:32:42.699 --> 00:32:43.139
do you know what,
00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:43.859
good news,
00:32:44.579 --> 00:32:45.240
good news,
00:32:45.619 --> 00:32:46.299
over coffee,
00:32:46.419 --> 00:32:47.000
I've just got something
00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:47.400
to tell you,
00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:48.359
I'm done with sin.
00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:49.779
It's brilliant.
00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:50.759
It's taken a while
00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:51.460
but I'm now done
00:32:51.460 --> 00:32:51.940
with sin.
00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:54.839
That never happens,
00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:55.220
does it?
00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:56.079
Actually,
00:32:56.180 --> 00:32:56.559
in fact,
00:32:56.660 --> 00:32:57.680
younger Christians,
00:32:57.839 --> 00:32:58.180
children,
00:32:58.339 --> 00:32:58.859
go and speak
00:32:58.859 --> 00:32:59.980
to the older believers
00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:01.339
and say,
00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:02.059
do you know what,
00:33:02.339 --> 00:33:02.980
what's it like
00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:03.599
being a Christian?
00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:06.180
And the normative
00:33:06.180 --> 00:33:07.140
Christian experience
00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:08.720
is that as we walk
00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:10.200
more in the light,
00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:12.099
our sin is exposed
00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:13.039
more and more
00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:13.559
and we go,
00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:14.000
do you know what,
00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:15.380
I feel more sinful
00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:15.920
than ever.
00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:18.539
But I glory in
00:33:18.539 --> 00:33:19.259
his light
00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:19.960
all the more.
00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:21.660
Yes,
00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:22.440
by God's grace,
00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.059
by the spirit
00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:23.680
of work in us,
00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:24.460
we are transformed
00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:25.220
more and more
00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:26.240
into his likeness.
00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:27.680
But our experiences
00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:28.400
of one,
00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:29.720
where we come
00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:30.359
daily,
00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:32.059
remembering that
00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:32.700
in history,
00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:34.740
he did something
00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:35.480
for us.
00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:37.579
You know,
00:33:37.579 --> 00:33:38.539
John is telling us
00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:40.440
that he and the
00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.119
apostles have the
00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:41.700
true message
00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:42.299
that we must cling
00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:42.539
to.
00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:44.220
the question
00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:45.139
is this morning,
00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:46.779
will you walk
00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:47.379
in the light
00:33:47.379 --> 00:33:48.220
and confess
00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:48.879
your sin
00:33:48.879 --> 00:33:50.039
that you might
00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:50.940
have a real
00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:51.579
relationship
00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:52.180
with the living
00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:52.579
God,
00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:54.019
the God who is
00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:54.460
light,
00:33:55.420 --> 00:33:55.879
rather than the
00:33:55.879 --> 00:33:56.460
pretend one?
00:33:58.960 --> 00:33:59.759
Shall we pray?
00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.599
Do you think
00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:01.879
any of those
00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:01.879
00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:01.879
00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:03.000
any of those
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:03.519
experiences
00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:04.059
of those
00:34:04.059 --> 00:34:04.680
experiences
00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:04.680
00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:05.220
experiences
00:34:05.220 --> 00:34:05.420
of those
00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:05.839
experiences
00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:06.379
of those
00:34:06.379 --> 00:34:06.379
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.380
In order to understand 1 John, particularly the passage that we have, I think we need to understand
00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:18.820
! But in order to understand the context, what I think we need to do is imagine a dangerous
00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:27.120
! You need to close your eyes if you have to, but imagine a dangerous city, a place where
00:00:27.120 --> 00:00:33.740
you never choose to walk down. It's a place where houses are boarded up, windows are broken.
00:00:34.439 --> 00:00:41.620
It's a really scary place. And in the middle of all this chaos, in the middle of this really
00:00:41.620 --> 00:00:49.520
scary city, there's a child. You can imagine the child, but this child is lost and scared
00:00:49.520 --> 00:00:55.240
as they wander down the street. It can be scary for adults being in those kind of places,
00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:03.320
but imagine how scary it would be being a child. This child just wants to go home. I just want
00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:10.520
to be home. And people come out of the shadows and they start offering assistance. They say,
00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:19.000
come with me and I'll get you home. Listen to me, I can tell you the way to get there. Now
00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:24.239
should we listen to them? And should we listen to those people? But how do we know who we
00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:31.560
can trust to make sure that we'll definitely make it home safe? Who's trustworthy? That's
00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:37.620
a really important question in that situation. This little child asking, who can I trust? Where
00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:43.359
should I go? Will I ever make it home? You know, imagine how frightened you'd be if you
00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:50.420
were the parent of that child. Well, that is exactly how John feels about the church that
00:01:50.420 --> 00:01:57.659
he's writing to. He has a fatherly affection for them, concerning them. I mean, just look
00:01:57.659 --> 00:02:04.719
at verse 1 of chapter 2. My little children, he says. He looks at this church and he sees
00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.599
that they're in a dangerous place. They're being tempted by false teachers, people who have
00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:19.079
left the church and are questioning the faithfulness of the gospel they once heard. And John, his
00:02:19.079 --> 00:02:25.479
heart is moved for them. He just yearns and desires so desperately that they'd be safe.
00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:32.900
Not wanting them to continue down that dark and dangerous street, listening to dangerous messengers.
00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:41.460
So he writes them a letter. He writes them a letter. You see, what that small child needed was a faithful
00:02:41.460 --> 00:02:49.659
guide. A faithful guide, someone he could really trust to take them home. He needed a familiar face that
00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:56.719
could go out and come to him and give him faithful, safe instruction to take him away from evil, to take him
00:02:56.719 --> 00:03:04.419
away from the darkness, off that dangerous street and on the right path. And what we have here, what we have
00:03:04.419 --> 00:03:11.699
in our hands this morning, is the message of that faithful guide. How to stay safe as a Christian.
00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:18.759
How to stay safe. To make sure that you're not led astray by the world, by false teachers.
00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:26.479
And instead, that you're able to confidently walk home. Confidently to make it there with full assurance.
00:03:26.799 --> 00:03:32.120
John, that is a great theme for a letter, isn't it? How to stay safe and make sure you'll definitely get
00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:37.780
home. So what we're going to do in our time together, is we're going to start briefly looking at the
00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:43.419
faithful guide. What makes John such a faithful messenger? Now, what means that we can trust him?
00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:48.899
And then secondly, this is something we really need to be clear about, is we don't just need a faithful
00:03:48.899 --> 00:03:54.699
messenger, but we need to know what his message is. So we need to be clear about the faithful message
00:03:54.699 --> 00:04:01.639
that this faithful messenger brings. So firstly, a faithful guide. Okay, looking at verses 1 to 4,
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.359
we're looking at a faithful guide. John emphasises straight away, straight from the beginning of his
00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:14.600
letter, that he and a group of others were there with Jesus from the beginning of his ministry. Just look at
00:04:14.600 --> 00:04:21.180
verse 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have
00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:26.379
looked upon, which we have touched with our hands concerning the word of life. He was there with this group of others
00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:34.580
from the beginning. In each of the four gospels, Jesus calls his 12 disciples, his 12 followers, immediately
00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:44.779
after he's baptised, and they follow him. If you're familiar, you'll know they're with him at every turn. It's incredible.
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:52.819
They see him praying. They see him eating. They walk down dirt roads in the hot sunshine with him. They watch him do the
00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:59.779
miraculous, and they see him do the very, very ordinary things. You know, if they had toothbrushes, they'd have probably even seen
00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:09.339
him brush his teeth. They were there every step of the way, seeing with their eyes, hearing with their ears, and touching
00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:20.339
with their hands. They were there. This isn't second-hand information. They were there. But more than that, they didn't
00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:28.279
just hear, see, and touch, though. But this group that were there from the beginning, later called the apostles, were also
00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:37.779
called to preach. Jesus appointed them to take what they had seen, heard, and touched, to take it to the nations, to
00:05:37.779 --> 00:05:46.379
people all over the world. Speaking to the apostles, Jesus says in John's Gospels, but when the helper comes, when the
00:05:46.379 --> 00:05:54.779
spirit comes, well, he's going to bear witness about me. And you, my disciples, my apostles, well, you're going to bear
00:05:54.779 --> 00:06:01.619
witness to the ends of the earth. They're to take to the nations what they've witnessed, the life, the death, the
00:06:01.619 --> 00:06:08.879
resurrection of Jesus, and proclaim it to the world, all by the spirit's power. They were there, and are empowered
00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:18.119
by the spirit. And that's what John's trying to get across in 1 to 4. But not only does he repeat the idea of the
00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:27.319
disciples being eyewitnesses, but three times he says we were proclaimers. We were people who spoke. You know,
00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:34.259
like lost children in a dangerous city, where there are false teachers trying to lead us astray, John wants to
00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:41.040
make it really, really clear that he, along with the other apostles, that they are the eyewitnesses that you
00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:48.600
can trust, that they have the authoritative testimony of Jesus Christ, that they alone are the ones that
00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:59.780
can give the instruction that we so badly need. But the thing is, they're dead. They died. What are we to do?
00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:07.020
The faithful guides disappeared. Well, they didn't merely preach, as it says in 2 and 3, but verse 4,
00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:17.659
they also wrote their message down. 1 John, what you have today, what you are hearing this morning,
00:07:18.519 --> 00:07:27.919
is the message that will get you home. When we receive John's letter, when we receive the teaching
00:07:27.919 --> 00:07:36.500
of Jesus Christ himself, the apostles' teaching is what we must cling to. So we must walk through that
00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:44.160
dangerous city with people trying to lead us astray. What must you cling to? You must cling to this.
00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:53.199
Because they alone have the message that what can it do? It's one of the things I think we skip over
00:07:53.199 --> 00:08:01.699
all the time. But there in verse 3, it's this message alone that can give you fellowship with God.
00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:08.339
Fellowship with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And it also gives you fellowship with the church.
00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:16.579
They alone have the words that gives you fellowship. Life himself will come to know you.
00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:26.159
They alone have the ability to give you this message. Because they were there in spirit-empowered
00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:32.320
teaching. We have now the message in our hands that can mean that you can be welcomed into the divine
00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:42.600
family. That you will make it home on that final day. So have confidence. I don't know if you're ever
00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.500
like me, but when you sit and it's mid-week and you think, probably should open my Bible,
00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:55.059
is it really worth it? The answer is emphatically yes. Because anything else, whether it's the news
00:08:55.059 --> 00:09:01.139
at 10, or your favourite TV show, what you read in the newspaper, the conversations you have at work,
00:09:01.399 --> 00:09:06.759
none of those things can get you home safe. But the Word of God.
00:09:06.759 --> 00:09:13.659
Do you know what? There's loads of people trying to vie for your attention, trying to lead you astray,
00:09:13.899 --> 00:09:19.259
telling you this is the way. Every day you're bombarded by messages, saying, come and listen
00:09:19.259 --> 00:09:26.939
to me. Come and follow me. You know what? People write holy books, don't they? Like the
00:09:26.939 --> 00:09:34.559
Quran or the Book of Mormon. Jehovah's Witnesses even have their own version of the Bible. Do not
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:42.279
listen to it, because it is dangerous and will not take you home. It even comes in more subtle forms,
00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:50.379
with just the whimsical good advice of a friend about what it means to be really spiritual. Do
00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:59.679
not listen to them. They are dangerous truths that aren't real truths at all. Only this message
00:09:59.679 --> 00:10:06.179
can get you home safe. So think and be aware of what the world's telling you.
00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:14.279
So the content then. What is this message that John's given? What is the content of your message?
00:10:15.259 --> 00:10:22.219
Well here we have 1 John 1 verse 5 to 2-2. It's John's faithful message. This is the beginning.
00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:27.060
Straight from the get go. What do you want us to know then? What do you want the church
00:10:27.060 --> 00:10:32.840
to hold on to, John? What is it that John thinks is essential that we hear to stay on the right
00:10:32.840 --> 00:10:39.200
track? Well if I was to ask you to summarise the gospel, because that's secretly what we're
00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:48.279
all waiting for, how would you summarise it? Maybe if I gave you 11 words. 11 words to summarise
00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:54.240
the gospel. What would you say? The message to keep you safe. I don't know, maybe we'd have
00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:58.319
something about the cross. Maybe we'd have something about resurrection and forgiveness.
00:11:00.039 --> 00:11:06.159
But instead, John very peculiarly says this in verse 5.
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:15.120
This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you. That. And I've checked
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:22.600
it in the Greek and in the NIV and in the ESV, it's always the same amount of words. God
00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:31.259
is light and in him is no darkness at all. Good news. Brilliant. We can all go home because
00:11:31.259 --> 00:11:35.700
we're all really clear. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. That's the
00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:42.240
message that will keep you safe. I'm not that convinced yet. John, I need you to explain it.
00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:46.680
I need you to unpack. Why is it good news that God is light and in him there's no darkness
00:11:46.680 --> 00:11:52.600
at all? Well, what we're going to do then is we're going to split it into two in this
00:11:52.600 --> 00:11:57.539
faithful message. We're going to have the message about our sinfulness and the message about our
00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:04.200
salvation. The message about our sinfulness and the message about our salvation. Let's
00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:09.600
just think about light for a moment. What happens when you turn a light on in a room? Well, the
00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:14.560
darkness disappears, doesn't it? The darkness disappears. Light and darkness, they just don't
00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:23.120
go together. As the sun rises, the night time disappears. On that cold, wintry morning when
00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:28.440
we all long for the sun and then it comes and then we all go, ah, I kind of miss winter now,
00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:35.240
it's too hot. But the light comes and the darkness disappears. They're opposites. Let's think a little
00:12:35.240 --> 00:12:40.060
bit more. What is John trying to get across with this idea of light? Well, I think the
00:12:40.060 --> 00:12:46.500
first idea is this idea of revelation. The idea of making things clear, making things known.
00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:54.440
He is the light. God is light in the sense that he reveals truth. Actually, even more than
00:12:54.440 --> 00:13:03.000
that, he is truth revealed. God has revealed things as they really are. And he has revealed
00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:15.820
himself. Not in an obscure way. Not in an abstract philosophy. But in a person that was touched,
00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:24.200
that was seen and was heard. The God who is light, who reveals, has been seen. He has been
00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:30.540
made himself known. Dispelling all mystery about what God is like. Because in history he revealed
00:13:30.540 --> 00:13:38.140
himself. God is light. And that light has been made known to us in the person of Jesus.
00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:44.580
But more than that, and I think probably more the connotation that you're thinking, is the
00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:54.040
idea of God's moral perfection. He is light. And in him there is no darkness at all.
00:13:54.200 --> 00:14:01.879
Delving into the eternal depths of God, you will never find any moral imperfection. He is
00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:09.700
perfectly good, perfectly holy, perfectly righteous. He never does anything wrong, nor can he tolerate
00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:18.740
anything that's wrong. So when we put those two things together, what we have is a God who
00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:25.060
is light that reveals and exposes in contrast with his moral perfection.
00:14:25.059 --> 00:14:33.439
Genevieve and I, I told you, we have a son called Judah. And ten months ago, we were frantically
00:14:33.439 --> 00:14:40.459
decorating his new room. All the mums are thinking about nesting and what it was like when they had a
00:14:40.459 --> 00:14:47.899
baby and all the redecorating they did. Well, I expertly thought, right, I'll do it in a day. The day kind of
00:14:47.899 --> 00:14:53.459
ended up and I started about one o'clock in the afternoon. I was determined to get it done. And as I
00:14:53.459 --> 00:14:59.299
started, sun's up looking wonderful. Starting decorating. And it gets further and further. We've
00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:03.620
done, stripped all the old wallpaper. We've done all the priming. And it gets ready and we start
00:15:03.620 --> 00:15:08.759
wallpapering. But the sun starts to go down and we're now relying on energy-saving bulbs, which never
00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:16.360
really seem to get that bright. But I finished it. It was two o'clock in the morning and I'd finished it.
00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:21.700
I felt so good. I went to bed. I woke up in the morning, woke Genevieve up and said, let's go look
00:15:21.700 --> 00:15:27.759
at the new baby's room. Sun had come up. We flung open the curtains. And boy, did it look miserable.
00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:35.019
Boy, did it look miserable. We're talking crooked wallpaper, smudges and smears. We're talking
00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:43.100
wrong alignment. We're even talking that I put wallpaper on the wrong wall. I was tired.
00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:55.720
But the thing is, God's light is far more exposing than sun on wallpaper. Instead, when it comes
00:15:55.720 --> 00:16:06.200
to me, if there is any smudges, if there is anything crooked, if there is anything wrong,
00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:16.740
it will be exposed in his light. It's a sobering truth, isn't it? It's sobering to think that
00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:23.360
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. And the reason that that is sobering
00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:35.320
is that because standing in that light, my darkness is exposed. But John calls us straight
00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:42.260
from the start. And he says, in this letter, in his instruction to the church, that is wandering
00:16:42.260 --> 00:16:48.640
like a child down a dangerous street, he says, please stick with this. I know it's uncomfortable,
00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:58.280
but stick with it. Because if you compromise this, everything's gone. If you compromise this,
00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:06.359
you'll end up in a very dangerous place. Don't water down who God is. That is not the way
00:17:06.359 --> 00:17:11.879
that you can have true fellowship with him, that he's described and put on offer. That's
00:17:11.879 --> 00:17:18.339
not the way to make it home. And we know that there are false teachers who are saying that.
00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:25.279
We're trying to deny what John says. Because he goes on to say, three times he repeats this
00:17:25.279 --> 00:17:35.599
phrase. Look down, he says, if we claim, if we say. So verse 6, verse 8 and verse 10.
00:17:35.939 --> 00:17:40.399
These are the words of the false teachers. He says, if we say that we have fellowship with
00:17:40.399 --> 00:17:45.359
him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Verse 8, if we say we have
00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:54.299
no sinned, we have no sinned, we have no sinned. We make him a liar and his word is not in us.
00:17:56.339 --> 00:18:02.479
So I think all three statements are basically the same. Just saying the same thing. Just
00:18:02.479 --> 00:18:09.919
slightly nuanced. He's basically saying, sin doesn't matter. Sin doesn't matter. That's
00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:17.120
what the false teachers are saying. Sin doesn't matter. And John is just rejecting that denial
00:18:17.120 --> 00:18:24.200
of the false teachers that God is light by saying very simply, do not trivialise your sin.
00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:33.180
If God is light and he is, then don't listen to the false teachers who, and certainly don't
00:18:33.180 --> 00:18:43.140
say yourself, that your sin doesn't matter. If God is light and we walk in darkness, we
00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:50.880
can't say we have fellowship with God. Don't kid yourself. One of the other things, maybe
00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:55.820
it is because my wife's American. She has a great affinity for the sun. She loves walking
00:18:55.820 --> 00:18:59.900
the sunshine, sunbathing, beaches, all that kind of stuff. And I think it's a disposition of
00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:06.040
British people, or maybe I'm a bit unique, but I love the shade. I love it to be cooler
00:19:06.040 --> 00:19:13.960
and not too sunny. But the thing is, when summer comes, this happens on many occasions, we'll
00:19:13.960 --> 00:19:18.340
be walking down the street and General will go, I'm going to cross over and I'm going to
00:19:18.340 --> 00:19:23.740
walk in the sun. Can't think of anything worse. So she walks down one side of the street and
00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:29.840
I walk down the other in the shade. Yeah. The thing is, we can't kid ourselves. We
00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:35.599
can't hold hands anymore. Like, we can't have fellowship. If she's in the light and I'm
00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.619
in darkness, we just can't kid ourselves, can we? If she's on the sunny side of the street
00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:49.099
and I'm in the darkness, we don't have fellowship. We can't be united. And if God cannot bear
00:19:49.099 --> 00:19:56.899
darkness and sin, there is no way, no way in which those who are walking in darkness and
00:19:56.899 --> 00:20:05.219
disobedience can ever have fellowship with God. It is a lie, according to John, to claim otherwise.
00:20:07.179 --> 00:20:12.240
If we live in sin, we have no fellowship with God. Verse 8 and verse 10 say the same thing, but just
00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:18.900
ramp it up even further by saying, you're not only deceiving yourself, but you're calling
00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:28.519
God a liar. So I deceive myself and call God a liar because I say, if I say I'm sinless,
00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:37.599
why is that true? Well, because as we said, light has come into the world. Truth has been revealed
00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:46.299
in the face of Jesus Christ. When you look at Jesus and you see who he is and what he's done
00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:53.659
and the light that he brings, if you say that you are without sin, basically you deny everything
00:20:53.659 --> 00:21:02.219
that Jesus is, everything that he's done. We basically end up saying, well, we don't need
00:21:02.220 --> 00:21:08.400
it. We pretend we're without sin and we basically say that God isn't bothered about sin, that God
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:14.200
isn't pure and that in the face of Jesus Christ, light reveals that there isn't really a God
00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:19.779
who hates sin and is so committed to it, to ridding the world of it, that he would die
00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:26.860
to deal with it. We essentially say, God, you're not good. You're not really that holy.
00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:31.440
You don't really mind the dark patches in my life. You don't really mind the sin. We call
00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:40.580
God a liar. But I'm going to give you a bit of credit. I'm going to give myself a little
00:21:40.580 --> 00:21:46.559
bit of a slack because we know why we do it. We know why we compromise that truth and it's
00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:53.279
precisely because we know that God is light. If God is really light, I basically have to
00:21:53.279 --> 00:22:00.299
pretend, don't I? Knowing that I'm dark, I have to pretend that I'm not really what I'm
00:22:00.299 --> 00:22:08.119
like because if I confront what I'm really like, then God will just crush me. So I have
00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:12.019
to compromise the truth about who I am and what God is like just to make my life livable.
00:22:13.859 --> 00:22:18.639
We do it all the time. We project an image to one another, don't we, of what we're really
00:22:18.639 --> 00:22:23.099
like, our best face. Because if you knew what I was really like, you wouldn't want to be
00:22:23.099 --> 00:22:32.219
friends with me. Think about that with us and God. And this is the teaching of the false
00:22:32.219 --> 00:22:37.599
teachers that's leading people astray. They're pandering to this in people and you can understand
00:22:37.599 --> 00:22:44.980
why it's working. Imagine you go into the counselling room of one of these false teachers
00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:50.680
teachers. And you sit down and you say, I don't know if you'd call them false teacher,
00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:57.900
like, hello teacher, but think false teacher. I'm really struggling today. I feel really
00:22:57.900 --> 00:23:04.819
burdened with my sin. I've done loads of stuff wrong. And the false teacher just goes, don't
00:23:04.819 --> 00:23:12.099
worry about it. It's alright. And you say, look, I really don't think you understand. You
00:23:12.099 --> 00:23:15.240
don't know the things that I've thought, the things that I've said, the things that I've
00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:21.119
done. And the false teacher goes, look, just don't worry about it. You know, God loves to
00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:24.879
forgive, like, you know, you'll be fine. Like, just, you know, you're not that bad. Just
00:23:24.879 --> 00:23:33.919
go on. And I say, well, thanks. That's great. I walk out of the counselling room and I think
00:23:33.919 --> 00:23:39.859
a little bit better about myself. And the problem is, it's just shallow. It's nonsense.
00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:48.199
It's nonsense. Because it denies that God is light. It's a fake relationship. It's all
00:23:48.199 --> 00:23:56.000
pretend. It's a pretend fellowship. A pretend fake friendship. When you deny what God is
00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:04.159
like and what we're really like. But the question is, what's the alternative? What's the alternative?
00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:11.759
What am I meant to do as someone who is sinful, who is messed up, who walks into that counselling
00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:19.259
room and I really do feel burdened by all the things that I've done? Well, that brings
00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:26.060
us to our second and final bit. And that's the truth about our salvation. The message about
00:24:26.060 --> 00:24:33.400
the truth of our salvation. John gives us his answer in the kind of verses in between the
00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:37.640
things we looked at. So we have 6, 8 and 10, the things that the false teachers are saying.
00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:44.060
And then we have the message that John is bringing. The gospel message that John is bringing in
00:24:44.060 --> 00:24:50.259
verses 7 and 9. Listen to what he says. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
00:24:50.340 --> 00:24:55.660
we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all
00:24:55.660 --> 00:25:03.840
sin. And then verse 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
00:25:03.840 --> 00:25:13.400
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Can I take your gospel hat off and the formulaic
00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:21.779
gospel you know? Because what he says seems absolutely crazy. Because strangely, verse 7,
00:25:21.779 --> 00:25:30.500
he says, walk in the light. He basically says, well, Adam, stop walking in the shade and
00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:38.139
come over to the sunny side of the street. It seems like an odd thing to say because it
00:25:38.139 --> 00:25:47.079
basically means being exposed. He says, bring it all out into the light. Come and let's see
00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:58.599
how bad it really is. Come and stand next to my pure, holy, blameless, pure light. And
00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:06.859
let's see how bad it is. He says, come and walk in my way and be exposed. Which seems crazy,
00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:11.179
but then he ramps it up even further. And he says something strange to it. He says, don't
00:26:11.180 --> 00:26:18.279
come and step into the light. And once you've done that, confess. Confess. Verse 9, confess
00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:24.299
our sins. You're thinking, John, this is a crazy thing to do. This can't be good advice.
00:26:25.560 --> 00:26:30.220
Not only am I to step into the light and have my darkness revealed and exposed, but then I'm
00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:38.740
to stand before the God who is light, who cannot tolerate darkness. And say, do you know what?
00:26:38.740 --> 00:26:51.339
Compared to you, I am dark here and here and here and here. Seems crazy talk. This can't be a good
00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:57.000
idea, surely. So you can understand the appeal of the false teachers. You go, just sweep it under the
00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:08.720
carpet. But read on to what John says. He goes on to say that if we do, if we do that, if we come in
00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:19.220
to the light and be exposed, if we confess our sins, then he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:28.299
Hang on, John. I hear you all cry. Are you not denying the exact thing that the false teachers were doing?
00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:34.600
God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. Are you just not denying that by saying,
00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:44.659
well, this God will just forgive you? No, he says. There is a way. Amazingly, there is a way.
00:27:46.819 --> 00:27:55.099
For dark people like you and me to come to the God who is light and without deceiving ourselves or God
00:27:55.099 --> 00:28:05.039
being compromised. And that is verse 6. Through the blood of Jesus, the Son who cleanses.
00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:09.119
And verse 9 and chapter 2, verse 1.
00:28:10.919 --> 00:28:12.259
Here is the way.
00:28:13.779 --> 00:28:16.119
It's by this bloody sacrifice.
00:28:17.159 --> 00:28:18.480
The word propitiation.
00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:20.439
This atonement.
00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:23.240
God taking the penalty for sin.
00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:25.420
His wrath against it.
00:28:25.700 --> 00:28:28.900
The light being switched on and it consuming the darkness.
00:28:30.460 --> 00:28:31.980
Jesus taking that.
00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:35.519
But Jesus doesn't pretend that there isn't any darkness.
00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:38.640
No, instead he confronts it head on
00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:41.580
in his death.
00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:45.779
Jesus takes our sin.
00:28:46.559 --> 00:28:47.500
Our darkness.
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:51.299
And he clothes us in his righteousness.
00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:52.740
In his light.
00:28:55.740 --> 00:28:58.919
Let me just for a moment take you into the counselling room of Jesus.
00:29:01.179 --> 00:29:04.199
What is the counselling room according to John?
00:29:05.279 --> 00:29:06.159
John, you walk in.
00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:08.839
You sit down and you say,
00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:10.939
John, I've really messed up.
00:29:12.419 --> 00:29:14.279
The things that I have thought,
00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:16.519
I've said and done.
00:29:18.339 --> 00:29:19.480
And Jesus says,
00:29:19.819 --> 00:29:20.639
I know.
00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:24.039
And you say,
00:29:24.099 --> 00:29:25.519
Jesus, no, I really don't think you understand.
00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:28.500
I've done so much.
00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:30.539
It's so big.
00:29:30.679 --> 00:29:31.859
It's so dark.
00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:33.980
And he says,
00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:37.399
It is far worse than you could ever imagine.
00:29:37.400 --> 00:29:42.040
What am I to do then, Jesus?
00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:44.280
What should I do?
00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.180
How can this be dealt with?
00:29:47.620 --> 00:29:50.480
What am I to do about the sin in my heart
00:29:50.480 --> 00:29:51.780
if I want to come to you?
00:29:52.280 --> 00:29:55.120
If I want to walk in your way on the sunny side of the street,
00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:56.080
how can I come?
00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:58.399
And Jesus just turns and he says,
00:29:58.460 --> 00:29:59.579
How about I cleanse you?
00:30:01.339 --> 00:30:02.899
How about I forgive you?
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:07.619
I'm not going to pretend that you're not dark.
00:30:07.619 --> 00:30:12.119
And I'm not going to pretend that I'm not light.
00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:15.000
But how about in history,
00:30:15.419 --> 00:30:17.579
in a way that you can touch,
00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:19.579
that you can see,
00:30:19.959 --> 00:30:21.279
that you can hear,
00:30:22.619 --> 00:30:24.119
how about I come
00:30:24.119 --> 00:30:25.959
and I die
00:30:25.959 --> 00:30:28.059
in your place?
00:30:28.059 --> 00:30:32.099
But how about I die
00:30:32.099 --> 00:30:33.240
for all the sin
00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:34.220
and darkness
00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:36.859
so that people like you
00:30:36.859 --> 00:30:38.200
can be welcomed into the light?
00:30:39.700 --> 00:30:40.859
Jesus propitiates,
00:30:41.159 --> 00:30:41.899
bears the wrath,
00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:42.419
anger
00:30:42.419 --> 00:30:44.279
of a holy God against sin
00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:46.480
so that his favour may rest
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:47.440
with me,
00:30:47.919 --> 00:30:48.579
with you.
00:30:49.679 --> 00:30:51.359
His blood is spilt
00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.179
at the cross
00:30:52.179 --> 00:30:53.519
in a way that people
00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:54.179
touched,
00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.019
saw and heard
00:30:56.019 --> 00:30:57.819
bearing the penalty
00:30:57.819 --> 00:30:58.819
that sin deserves.
00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:01.139
Jesus the righteous
00:31:01.139 --> 00:31:02.920
dies a dark death
00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:04.200
that you might become
00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:05.079
the light of God.
00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:09.680
So imagine now,
00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:11.379
imagine now
00:31:11.379 --> 00:31:12.079
the confidence
00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:13.119
that you can have
00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:14.440
drawing near to God.
00:31:15.980 --> 00:31:17.160
No longer pretending,
00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:19.019
you don't have to pretend
00:31:19.019 --> 00:31:19.619
with God.
00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:22.059
No longer pretending,
00:31:22.619 --> 00:31:23.200
but knowing
00:31:23.200 --> 00:31:24.000
that the basis
00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:25.019
of your relationship
00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:26.379
with God
00:31:26.379 --> 00:31:27.619
is that if I confess
00:31:27.619 --> 00:31:28.279
my sin,
00:31:28.639 --> 00:31:29.879
I know that God
00:31:29.879 --> 00:31:31.339
has acted in history
00:31:31.339 --> 00:31:32.420
in a way that
00:31:32.420 --> 00:31:33.200
is touched,
00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:34.379
heard,
00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:35.579
and seen
00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:37.660
so that I might
00:31:37.660 --> 00:31:38.160
have fellowship
00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:38.960
with God himself
00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:39.700
and make it heard.
00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:42.859
But no wonder
00:31:42.859 --> 00:31:43.740
John says
00:31:43.740 --> 00:31:44.619
that passing on
00:31:44.619 --> 00:31:45.319
this message
00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:46.579
makes his joy complete.
00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:47.680
Verse 4.
00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:49.720
This makes his joy
00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:50.379
complete
00:31:50.379 --> 00:31:51.799
because where is
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:52.339
his confidence?
00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:53.500
Not in pretend,
00:31:53.500 --> 00:31:55.339
but in reality.
00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:58.579
And it's worth
00:31:58.579 --> 00:31:59.380
defending against
00:31:59.380 --> 00:32:00.259
the false teachers.
00:32:01.140 --> 00:32:01.759
It's worth
00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:02.519
defending against
00:32:02.519 --> 00:32:03.519
the lies of Satan
00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:04.119
and the people
00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:04.779
of the world.
00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:06.000
It's worth
00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:06.480
defending.
00:32:08.980 --> 00:32:09.740
One last thing
00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:10.279
as I close.
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.019
There's probably
00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.599
loads of people
00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:12.099
in here
00:32:12.099 --> 00:32:14.240
that are thinking,
00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:16.859
that's great,
00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:17.839
that's really good news.
00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:20.819
But the problem is,
00:32:20.980 --> 00:32:21.740
this is the pattern
00:32:21.740 --> 00:32:22.679
of every day.
00:32:24.199 --> 00:32:25.079
Every day,
00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:26.319
remembering
00:32:26.319 --> 00:32:28.599
that we are darkness
00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:30.119
and we need
00:32:30.119 --> 00:32:31.220
Christ the light
00:32:31.220 --> 00:32:33.119
to die in our place
00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:33.679
that we might
00:32:33.679 --> 00:32:34.059
have fellowship
00:32:34.059 --> 00:32:34.619
with God.
00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:36.220
I've never met
00:32:36.220 --> 00:32:37.159
a brother or sister,
00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:39.299
no matter how old
00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:39.699
they are,
00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:40.119
that have been
00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:41.139
trusting the Lord
00:32:41.139 --> 00:32:42.099
for years and years
00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:42.599
who go,
00:32:42.699 --> 00:32:43.139
do you know what,
00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:43.859
good news,
00:32:44.579 --> 00:32:45.240
good news,
00:32:45.619 --> 00:32:46.299
over coffee,
00:32:46.419 --> 00:32:47.000
I've just got something
00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:47.400
to tell you,
00:32:47.460 --> 00:32:48.359
I'm done with sin.
00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:49.779
It's brilliant.
00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:50.759
It's taken a while
00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:51.460
but I'm now done
00:32:51.460 --> 00:32:51.940
with sin.
00:32:53.720 --> 00:32:54.839
That never happens,
00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:55.220
does it?
00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:56.079
Actually,
00:32:56.180 --> 00:32:56.559
in fact,
00:32:56.660 --> 00:32:57.680
younger Christians,
00:32:57.839 --> 00:32:58.180
children,
00:32:58.339 --> 00:32:58.859
go and speak
00:32:58.859 --> 00:32:59.980
to the older believers
00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:01.339
and say,
00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:02.059
do you know what,
00:33:02.339 --> 00:33:02.980
what's it like
00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:03.599
being a Christian?
00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:06.180
And the normative
00:33:06.180 --> 00:33:07.140
Christian experience
00:33:07.140 --> 00:33:08.720
is that as we walk
00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:10.200
more in the light,
00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:12.099
our sin is exposed
00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:13.039
more and more
00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:13.559
and we go,
00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:14.000
do you know what,
00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:15.380
I feel more sinful
00:33:15.380 --> 00:33:15.920
than ever.
00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:18.539
But I glory in
00:33:18.539 --> 00:33:19.259
his light
00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:19.960
all the more.
00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:21.660
Yes,
00:33:21.720 --> 00:33:22.440
by God's grace,
00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.059
by the spirit
00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:23.680
of work in us,
00:33:23.740 --> 00:33:24.460
we are transformed
00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:25.220
more and more
00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:26.240
into his likeness.
00:33:26.819 --> 00:33:27.680
But our experiences
00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:28.400
of one,
00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:29.720
where we come
00:33:29.720 --> 00:33:30.359
daily,
00:33:31.220 --> 00:33:32.059
remembering that
00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:32.700
in history,
00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:34.740
he did something
00:33:34.740 --> 00:33:35.480
for us.
00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:37.579
You know,
00:33:37.579 --> 00:33:38.539
John is telling us
00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:40.440
that he and the
00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.119
apostles have the
00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:41.700
true message
00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:42.299
that we must cling
00:33:42.299 --> 00:33:42.539
to.
00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:44.220
the question
00:33:44.220 --> 00:33:45.139
is this morning,
00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:46.779
will you walk
00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:47.379
in the light
00:33:47.379 --> 00:33:48.220
and confess
00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:48.879
your sin
00:33:48.879 --> 00:33:50.039
that you might
00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:50.940
have a real
00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:51.579
relationship
00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:52.180
with the living
00:33:52.180 --> 00:33:52.579
God,
00:33:53.079 --> 00:33:54.019
the God who is
00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:54.460
light,
00:33:55.420 --> 00:33:55.879
rather than the
00:33:55.879 --> 00:33:56.460
pretend one?
00:33:58.960 --> 00:33:59.759
Shall we pray?
00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.599
Do you think
00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:01.879
any of those
00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:01.879
00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:01.879
00:34:01.879 --> 00:34:03.000
any of those
00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:03.519
experiences
00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:04.059
of those
00:34:04.059 --> 00:34:04.680
experiences
00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:04.680
00:34:04.680 --> 00:34:05.220
experiences
00:34:05.220 --> 00:34:05.420
of those
00:34:05.420 --> 00:34:05.839
experiences
00:34:05.839 --> 00:34:06.379
of those
00:34:06.379 --> 00:34:06.379
