I've Fallen And I Can Get Up! Series

INTRODUCTION

SLIDE #2

• I hope over the last couple of weeks as we have been looking at the book of 1 John that you are starting to feel the passion John has for Jesus and the passion he has to see that we live the best life possible for Him.

• The message John has been sharing with us is one of God being light. In God there is no darkness whatsoever in Him.

• Last week we learned that if we are going to have fellowship with Jesus, then we need to walk in the light and practice the truth.

• Since God is light, since He is holy, pure and true, the only way we can be in fellowship with Him is through the blood of Jesus. We need the initial cleansing from Jesus so that God will see us as pure, holy and cleansed from sin.

• Now let me ask you this, “Since you became a Christian, have you ever sinned again?”

• What do you do about that? Do you get immersed again? Do you get immersed EVERY time you commit a sin?

• Maybe we just ignore it knowing that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sin? Maybe we are not capable of sin after we become a Christian? Maybe the sin doesn’t really matter?

• These were some prevailing views of the time that are still with us today.

• What do we do when we walk down a dark path or fall prey to the trap of sin during our pursuit of God?

• We need to realize that 1 John is written to Christians. John tells the Christian what they must do concerning sin after conversion.

• Today I want to share from God’s word what we need to do when we stumble and fall because of sin. Let’s read 1 John 1:8-2:2 together this morning.

• Do we just lay on the ground hurt by our sin or do we try to get up and go on?

SERMON

If we are going to be able to get up we need to: SLIDE #3

I. RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE FALLEN.

• It has been said that before you can fix a problem, you must recognize there is a problem. I person who struggles with substance abuse or other addictions must first recognize there is a problem before they can get on the road to recovery.

• The same principle applies to being able to get up after falling down from sin.

• The word sin means to miss the mark. WE have all missed the mark, none of us are perfect.

• We can lie and deny all we want, but that will not change the fact that we have become entangled in the web of sin. SLIDE #4

1. Denial equals deception.

• Fighting the view that one can live above sin, John reminds us that if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. LAY ON THE FLOOR ILLUSTRATION.

• Refusing to recognize that is evident does not change what is evident.

• We can tell ourselves we do not sin, or that it is not sin all we want, that will not change reality.

• Adam Clarke Commentary says, “By supposing that we have no guilt, no sinfulness, and consequently have no need of the blood of Christ as an atoning sacrifice: this is the most dreadful of all deceptions, as it leaves the soul under all the guilt and pollution of sin, exposed to hell, and utterly unfit for heaven.

• To deceive means to ‘lead astray”. We are leading ourselves astray when we develop the attitude that we not long sin or that sin has no affect on us.

• The worst thing we can do is to deny and rationalize the struggles we have.

• Sin has no power over us, except the power we give to it.

• Romans six tells us that when we are buried with Christ in baptism, that we are dead to sin.

• Paul gives us truth in this, but we still have an adversary who prowls about looking for someone to devour.

• We need to recognize that we struggle, and then we can do something about it. CLICK# 4

2. Denial shows that God’s truth is not in us.

• When we deny our problem, when we say we are without sin, John tells us this is an indication that the truth is not in us.

• Part of the deception is the fact that we truly do not possess the truth within us. The truth that is missing is the truth about sin and the truth about what God can do to fix it for us, the truth about our need for the cleansing blood of Jesus!