Sermon Brief
Date Written: December 7, 2008
Date Preached: December 10, 2008
Where Preached: OPBC (Wed PM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: A Study of John’s Letters
Sermon Title: 1 John 1:5
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
Introduction:
A young man was sitting at a stop light in downtown New Orleans one evening when the lady in front of him was distracted as she was going thru some papers on her front seat. The red light changed to green and the young woman did not move.
The young man was a bit put off by this and gently bumped his horn to remind her that she was driving and not at the library or at her office. But even with his gentle reminder, she did not move and before he knew the light turned yellow and then red again!
When the light turned red, and the young lady had still not moved, this young man began (with his windows up) screaming at the top of his lungs and beating his fists on his steering wheel.
He was shocked when he heard a knock on his window, he turned to look and saw a policeman with his gun drawn, tapping on his window. The policeman told him to step out of the car and he handcuffed him. As he was putting him in the back of the patrol car the young man [still in disbelief] began to protest. "You can’t arrest me for screaming at her from INSIDE my car!"
The patrolman looked at him and told him to be quiet and then got into his car and drove them to the police station. After 2 hours in a holding cell, the officer came in and told the young man that he was free to go.
The man told him, “You have stepped in it now my friend, I know that I cannot be arrested for screaming and throwing a fit in MY OWN car… You haven’t heard the last of this."
The police officer calmly responded to him by saying, "Sir, you were not arrested for shouting or throwing a fit in your car! You see, I was sitting directly behind you at that light. I saw you screaming and beating your steering wheel, and I said to myself, "What a jerk. But there is nothing I can do to him for throwing a fit in his own car.”
Then I noticed the ’Cross’ hanging from your rear view mirror, the Know Jesus Know Peace bumper sticker, and the Fish symbol on the back of your car, and I thought… this is not his car, it must be stolen, and that is why you were arrested."
Character…have you ever stopped to realize what character means in today’s world? When I think about character I think of honesty, kindness in the face of hostility, and doing the right thing for the right reason at the right time!
As believers we are called to a ‘character’ that is FAR above and beyond what this world sets as a standard for good. We are called to God’s standard, we are called to walk in the light of Christ!
In our verse tonight John reveals the character to which we are called to immolate… to which we are called to strive after… to which we were called to be like! Look at v.5 again with me and let’s look at 3 facets of this light that John writes about…
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
God’s Character has been manifested DIRECTLY…
John writes here that God is light… light cannot be known unless it is seen. God has been revealed in all manners to humanity, both directly and indirectly. God has used many variations in the revelation of Himself to His Creation.
The 1st direct revelation of God in Scripture is where we read that in the Garden, God walked with Adam and Eve… but that is not the only place. John reveals in the opening of his gospel that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word WAS God… and in v.14 John shares how the Word became flesh and came to dwell among us!
Jesus came to this world as the incarnation of God the Father into flesh… the God of the Universe wrapped Himself in flesh to directly manifest Himself to His creation. Of all the direct manifestations of God, Jesus was the ultimate manifestation.
We find the Apostle Paul writing about this as well as in his letter to the church at Colossae Paul said that Jesus was the direct manifestation of God to this world, “He is the image of the invisible God…” Col 3:15 [NKJV]
Even though Jesus was the direct manifestation of God in the NT, this is not the only time God directly manifested Himself to humanity. We can see direct manifestations of God all throughout Scripture, look with me to…
Ex 3:1-6 [NKJV]
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exodus 13:21-22 [NKJV]
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
God does not just appear in a supernatural form but He comes to us and reveals Himself in and through nature itself as depicted by the psalmist in…
Ps 104:4 [HCSB]
4 and making the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.
God is also pictured by biblical writers as being clothed in garments of light, like where the psalmist reveals…
Ps 104:2 [HCSB]
2 He wraps Himself in light as if it were a robe, spreading out the sky like a canopy…
In the OT God manifested Himself to the Israelites on many, many occasions and in many, many different forms. Ultimately the children of Israel rejected DISPITE His continual revelations of Himself to them.
So often we think, well if God would just ‘show Himself’ to me, I would NOT have any problem with faith or belief… I would obey Him and do what He has called me to do! Have you ever thought that?
The sad fact of the matter is that the more God showed Himself to the Israelites, the more they seemed to seek out disobedient and ANTI-God behavior… the fact that God had directly manifested Himself to them lost its luster and effect. So God chose to present Himself from different perspective.
So if direct manifestation would not work for the people, God began to manifest Himself the in a more indirect form that would touch the lives of those in the nation and so…
God character has been manifested Indirectly – Written Word
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
Like John said in the opening of his gospel… in the beginning was the Word! Jesus Christ directly revealed God the Father and His love for His creation, but John called Jesus, ‘the Word’. Jesus was the direct manifestation physically of God, but Jesus was also the indirect manifestation of God in that His spoken word would be used to reveal God as well.
The teachings of Jesus and the revelation of the Holy Spirit to the writers of Scripture are the indirect revelation of God to His people through the written word! In fact, God did not abandon one particular form of revelation and try another, but God has always revealed Himself in various and different ways…one being in the written word format.
To Moses and the prophets, God spoke directly to the prophet and the prophet then spoke that word to the people and wrote it down for the people to keep, cherish and remember…yet another indirect revelation of God’s character!
To the Apostles and NT writers, the written word is a combination of eye witness accounts of Jesus revealing God through the spoken word and direct revelation of the Holy Spirit to the writers of the NT… these writers were faithful to record God’s revelation and preserve it for generations to come.
All throughout Scripture we find where the WRITTEN word is a revelation for those who follow God.
Ps 43:3 [NKJV] God’s written word is a lighted pathway to follow to safety, to truth, to salvation! 3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.
Ps 119:105 [NKJV] God’s written word reveals the pathway that ALL believers are called to travel…105 Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.
Ps 119:130 [NKJV] God’s written word reveals knowledge and understanding…
130 The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
Prov 6:23 [NKJV] God’s written word is instruction for the believer to learn, grow and mature…23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
Ps 36:9 [NKJV] God’s written words reveal truth and truth brings life…9 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.
Ps 56:13 [NKJV] God’s written word = guide for dealing with life distractions…
13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
Job 29:3 [NKJV] God’s written word will lead us through troubled times…3 When His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness;
Dan 5:14 [NKJV] God’s written word is a tool to reach out to those who do not know God…14 I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
God has manifested His character directly through direct contact and ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ. God has also manifested himself indirectly in the revelation of His written word… Finally tonight I want to share that God’s character was made manifest in one other way and that was PERSONALLY through the life of Jesus Christ Himself.
God character has manifested Personally – Jesus/Salvation
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
Jesus Christ is the full and complete revelation of God the Father to His creation. Where sporadic and separate appearances and indirect revelations fall short, Jesus fulfills all aspects of revealing who God is and God’s character.
In Christ we have a complete Savior, one who is able to deliver on the promises of Scripture. If we have Christ on our side, we are in a safe haven that will lead us to our eternal home with God in heaven.
God revealed in Jesus is a safe haven for those who receive and accept His salvation.Ps 27:1 [NKJV] 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
God revealed in Jesus is a comfort because the presence of Jesus in our lives brings light and life to what was spiritual dead Ps 18:28 [NKJV] 28 For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
God revealed in Jesus is a comfort because the presence of Jesus in our lives brings a sense of calm and comfort in the needy and trying times of this life, there is no situation where God is irrelevant…because of Jesus all of humanity can come to Christ for salvation.
Is 58:8, 10 [NKJV] 8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.
God’s character revealed thru the person of Christ, directly to the prophets and indirectly through the giving of the Word, but preacher how does that help me? What relevance does God manifesting Himself have for me? Does it mean anything to me?
How is this ‘manifestation’ relevant to US today?
The manifestation of God to us today is first and foremost something we can count on… something that is documented and witnessed…something we can trust in! Look what John says in v. 1 and 5…
1 Jn 1:1 [NKJV]
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
1 Jn 1:5 [NKJV]
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
Jesus Himself reveals the relevance of what He did in the Gospel of John…first in chapter 8 and then again in chapter 9…
Jn 8:12 [NKJV]
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Jn 9:5 [NKJV]
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
But the true relevance for the believer to hold onto is that being a light is OUR job. Jesus passed the torch [so to speak] to 1st His disciples who handed it down to their disciples and so on throughout history to today. Today we disciple people so that they can go out and tell about Christ in a world that is hungry for the love of Christ in their lives. Jesus said in Matt 5…
Matt 5:14-16 [NKJV]
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
It is now OUR job to share the Good News to the world… it is our job to evangelize those who are lost. Why? What is the reason behind what we do at church… what is our purpose… why do we evangelize?
First it is that God desires us to be obedient…God desires us to live “INSIDE” the circle… to be doing His will and living as He desires us to live!
We are called to reveal and be TRUTH in the world we live in…1 Jn 1:6-8[NKJV]
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
We are called to reveal the LOVE of God to the world as Christ revealed God’s love…1 Jn 3:1 [NKJV]
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! God loved us so much… He wants us in His family! We are to love people as such…so much that they feel like family…that they feel welcome and happy in our fellowship.
We are called to reveal and live out our lives in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ… 1 John 1:9; 2:1 [NKJV]
1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
We are also called to share the eternal life promise with those around us and th fact that we have a hope in Christ that goes far beyond this world. We are called to live pure as Christ lived pure, that in purity we will reflect well on our Lord and Savior! … Finally we have an extreme confidence in the promises of God because of what Jesus has done for us!
This is the picture we must paint… this is the example we must be… and we must live like this ALL the time because we never know who is watching us! I once heard a story of a preacher that got on the bus to go downtown.
After sitting down, he noticed that the driver had given him a quarter too much in change. He wondered what he should do. After all, it’s only a quarter, he figured. By the time he reached his stop, he knew what he had to do.
Telling the driver he had given him too much change, he gave the quarter back. The driver asked him, “Aren’t you the new preacher in town?” “Yes”, came the reply. “Well, I’ve been thinking about going to church but I wasn’t sure. So I gave you extra change to see what you’d do. I’ll see you Sunday.” God’s light revealed through His servant…when the servant lives as he/she should by simply doing the right thing.
We must WALK in the light of God… Walking = Living or how we live our lives!
God desires us to be INSIDE the circle, but what God does NOT desire of us OR for us to be living our lives as if we were OUTSIDE the circle (in the world) These things are all of what God is NOT…
Falsehood is our enemy as it brings disparaging beliefs upon our Savior
Hatred is a cancer that NO fellowship can survive, Scripture informs us that God is love and we are not to hate our brother…
Impurity both sexually and ethically is something that can forever destroy one’s witness… we are called to live pure lives!
Fear is NOT for the believer, in fact fear brings doubt and doubt hurts faith and lack of faith leads to disobedience… we are not to be afraid, God has shared that He would be with us and that we are not called to a ministry of Fear but to a confident and assured faith
Sinfulness is the one thing that can break our communications with the Father, we must flee from the immoralities of this life and seek God’s way… seek His forgiveness for when we do fail and His guidance when we feel tempted to sin.
These 2 lives are mutually exclusive to one another; those OUTSIDE the circle would have NO fellowship with those INSIDE the circle. The 2 circles share NOTHING in common…no overlap…no fellowship with each other!
Circle on page gives definition, shape and space…serves as a boundary
Circle is defined NOT by its edges but from the fixed and known center
To understand God’s boundary… the boundary of the circle of light in our lives we should focus on the center and NOT the edges… focus on Him and not how close we can come to the world…focus on how far INTO the circle we can delve and not how close we can come to the edge of the circle without getting out of the circle!
Must understand that John NEVER says that we are going to be LIKE God… we are told to walk IN the light, but it NEVER tells us that we will become the LIGHT! In our imperfect world we will NEVER achieve perfection… but we are to strive FOR it by walking IN it…
Next week we will begin to look further in 1 John 1
