A Walk In The Dark Series

 Last Sunday we studied the first 4 verses of chapter 1.

1) John alerted us to the missing ingredient in life of church and in most Christian’s experience: TRUE FELLOWSHIP.

2) The foundation of this kind of fellowship is not an agreement of facts or ideas but is a Person(1:1-2)

3) The extent of this fellowship is seen in verse 3: not only with one another but with God the Father and Jesus the Son.

4) The end result is to know real joy: A constant and not a variable. Not based on circumstances but on a relationship.

 John’s purpose in his epistle is the fix what is wrong with the church in his day(John the Mender). He saw that barriers existed from people enjoying this kind of true fellowship: Wrong view of Jesus Christ(1:1-2), limited understanding of God(1:5), deceived look at our own lives(1:6-7)

 Every form of life has it’s enemies: Insects look our for birds, birds for cats and dogs, even humans look out for drunk drivers, dangerous germs. TRUE FELLOWSHIP has an enemy: SIN

Pastor our visiting came across a young boy trying to sell a lawnmower: ’How much" ’enough to by a bicycle’ ’Take $20 for it?’ You got a deal’ Pastor began to pull the crank but the mower would not start. ’I forgot to tell you. You have to cuss a the mower to get it started.’ ’Son, I’ve been a Christian for 40 years and a pastor for 30. I have long since forgotten how to cuss’ continued pulling crank ’Mister, you keep pulling on that rope and it will come back to you’. SIN IS AN EVERPRESSENT ENEMY/crouching at the door with a desire for our lives

1) John used two different contrast to illustrate this: Light and Darkness & Saying verses doing

2) Christian life is to amount to more than just mere talk: If we are living in true fellowship then our walk with back up our talk. If our walk is inconsistent/contradicts with our talk then we are living a lie.

(John shares three important truths that every believer needs to never forget)

1) Truth about Who God is

2) Truth about what we are doing

3) Truth about what Christ has done

THE TRUTH ABOUT WHO GOD IS (5) And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

1. John share the element of his message that we must not miss: GOD IS LIGHT! No darkness at all.

a. Jesus often spoke of His message being from the Father and now the Apostle John shares his message from Jesus.

2. WHAT IS LIGHT?

a. Scientifically: Dictionary: 3rd definition ’an electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range including infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and x-rays and traveling in a vacuum with a speed of about 186,281 miles per SECOND’. 1st definition: ’something that makes vision possible’.

b. JESUS: declared Himself ’the Light of the world’. Everywhere He went He brought light: penetrated hearts, exposed sin, revealed truth…made seeing possible.

c. Light produces growth(crops), provides safety, reveals beauty, exposes flaws, impurity & uncleanness:

MCGEE: Hunting trip where separated and were to meet at certain spot. Began to rain, hurried to place, found cave, nestled in out of wet and cold, 1/2 hour decided to start fire to get warm: Fire light increased to expose nearby spiders, lizards, and a snake coiled and eyeing him. Light exposed the dangers surrounding him. He was perfectly comfortable in the dark but the light exposed the dangers and he could no longer remain comfortable. GOD EXPOSES the truth of what surrounds us: His Word, many remain in darkness and don’t even recognize the dangers of sin.

STEDMAN: Camping trip to Grand Canyon while in college. Arrived well after dark, parked and took sleeping back a distance into brush, lay down in darkness and woke up next morning to see that he had slept all night within arms length of the canyon itself: a 500 ft drop it he had rolled over twice.

1) If I had dirty hands I would not know it but for the light that helps me to see. God’s Word shows me the filth in my life and warns me of it’s dangers.

2) In the darkness both evil and good look alike but in the light they can be distinguished. In dark George Clooney and I look alike.

EARLY 60’s a previous generation reached up and attempted to turn off the light in this nation. Process of removing God’s Word began in the life of this nation. We as a people began to stumble blinding in the darkness. Spent the last 4 decades not being able to tell the difference between evil and good because in the darkness they both look alike.