Building Relationships – Series
Sermon 1 – Our Relationship with God – Displayed in our reactions to man
1 John 1:5-10
Each and every day of our lives, we have relationships with others that have been formed through the years. Some relationships are positive in nature, others are just acquaintances, and some quite frankly, are horrible relationships that have been destroyed by either our actions and words or the other person’s actions and words.
Over the next four weeks, we are going to embark on a journey discussing “Relationships”. The series is entitled “Building Relationships.” Today, we begin with the ultimate relationship in life, our relationship with God. We must remember that without a relationship with God, we have no hope. However, with a relationship with God, we have tremendous hope and outstanding guidance – if we will just listen and follow.
God’s word cites many passages that feature the importance of a relationship with God:
• Abraham and the offering of Issac (Genesis 22:1-14)
o God provided a lamb, due to the obedience of Abraham
• Joseph and God’s constant hand upon his life (Genesis 37-45)
• Joshua and his armies – “Being strong and courageous”
• David in all of his escapades!
• Daniel and his unending faith.
• And there are many, many more.
A relationship with God is started by trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This comes through repenting of your sins and confessing Christ to be the Lord of your life. At this point, a relationship with God begins, and a transformation in your relations with others should occur. This morning, we look in the NT at 1 John 1:5-10 – to help us begin the journey of building relationships.
TEXT
I. Characteristic of Jesus Christ
a. Light
i. Greek word – “foce”
1. To shine or to make manifest
2. John 8:12
a. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
3. John 12:36
a. Believe in the light, that ye may be children of the light.
4. Paul speaks of the light of Christ to Agrippa in Acts
a. Acts 26:15-18
The light, or Christ, Is to be made manifest and shine throughout the believer’s life. In all actions, words, and deeds. The Scripture tells us that there is to be NO darkness present at all.
II. Characteristic of a Changed Life
a. No Darkness
i. 1 John 1:6
1. If we say we have fellowship and walk in the dark, we are liars.
a. The change will be shown in our daily walk
b. Instead of trusting the world and its manners to get us through, we will be trusting in God – following His light.
• “When I came to believe in Christ’s teaching, I ceased desiring what I had wished for before. The direction of my life, my desires, became different. What was good and bad had changed places.” – Leo Tolstoy
• “Darkness is my point of view, my right to myself. Light is God’s point of view” – Oswald Chambers
b. “Old things are gone”
i. Ephesians 4:17-32
1. Renewal of the spirit of the mind.
2. You will not want to do things of the past – you’ll desire more and more of God.
ii. Ephesians 5:8
1. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord, walk as children of light.
The change comes through confessing our sins to a forgiving Savior, who is faithful and just and will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
III. Characteristics of a Relationship with God
a. Evidence of Light
i. Your daily walk with God
Jesus is the foundation of my whole life. He is my strength. If you have Jesus in your life, you know it, you feel it. He’s the solid rock you can stand on every day. There’s no problem you can’t face if you have the love of Jesus to strengthen you.
JOHNNY CASH (1932– )
• You’ll have a desire to get into God’s Word and Study
o “Study to shew thyself approved, approved workmen are not ashamed” – 2 Timothy 2:15
• You’ll have a desire to show and tell others about Jesus
-You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH (1730–1774)
A good example is the best sermon.
SIR THOMAS FULLER (1608–1661)
• “GO AND TELL” – MATTHEW 28:19-20
• You’ll desire more to help people, than to criticize people.
o 1 John 2:10 (NASB)
The One who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
You may find hundreds of faultfinders among professed Christians; but all their criticism will not lead one solitary soul to Christ. I never preached a sermon yet that I could not pick to pieces, and find fault with. I feel that Jesus Christ ought to have a far better representative than I am. But I have lived long enough to discover that there is nothing perfect in this world. If you are to wait till you find a perfect preacher, or perfect meetings, I am afraid you will have to wait till the millennium arrives. What we want is to be looking up to Christ. Let us be done with faultfinding.
DWIGHT LYMAN MOODY (1837–1899)
RELATIONSHIPS ARE CRUCIAL TO A SUCCESSFUL, HAPPY LIFE. WITHOUT THE MAIN RELATIONSHIP, THERE WILL NOT BE ANY HAPPINESS. HAVE YOU TRUSTED JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? THAT’S THE KEY TO BUILDING SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIPS IN OTHER AREAS.
TODAY IS THE DAY TO BEGIN BUILDING SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIPS BY ESTABLISHING THE MAIN RELATIONSHIP.
