Belief is a powerful thing. What I believe in makes me who I am, I am what I believe.
What we believe molds us into who we are; What we believe colors our view of the world around us; What we believe motivates us to stand up for something or stand up against something.
What we believe in may have more of a profound effect on our lives, than anything else we experience.
What we believe in can have a very positive effect on our life, or it can cause us to be bitter and unforgiving.
Take the Grinch for example, from Dr Seuss’s children’s Christmas tale. We all know the story: The Grinch wants to stop Christmas, and so he steals everything from every house in Who-ville, but the Grinch cannot stop Christmas, can he? In spite of the Grinch taking every item he could, Christmas still came, and this puzzled the Grinch.
Dr. Seuss tells us that the Grinch:
... he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
The Grinch’s life changes dramatically. He goes from a hated villain to a beloved father figure in one fell swoop. The Grinch has a powerful change in his life….but really, only one small thing changed in his life - what he believed in.
This one small thing, belief, had a greater effect on the Grinch than anything else.
Now, its true, ’How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ is only a Children’s tale, but it does point to the reality of the power of belief in our lives, does it not?
Let me ask you this: If I believe in something strong enough, does my belief somehow shape the resulting situation, the resulting reality, the resulting event?
Belief is a very powerful thing; where do we place our faith?
Years ago I worked for a department store chain in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, a department store doesn’t work by a sales associate going go out to find customers, no no no, in a department store, a sales associate’s fortunes rises and fall upon waiting for the customer to come to him. You don’t go out to find sales, you must wait for the sales to come to you. So, the chain would run promotions to get people in their stores.
One year we had a Christmas Teddy Bear as a promotion, it was this pure white, fuzzy little bear with a Santa hat on top. For every $199 a customer spent they would receive one Christmas Teddy Bear. We literally had truckloads of these bears arrive everyday. Thousands upon thousands of bears were stocked in our store.
Now this Christmas Teddy Bear promotion was all about belief. We were to believe that the Christmas Teddy Bear was the answer to our sales prayers.
The sales associates, were all told that customers would come rushing in to get their hands on these sweet little bears. We were told that we needed plenty of bears on hand because the bears were going to go fast. The management hyped the Christmas Teddy Bear promotion as an absolute genius promotion that would make us all rich, RICH, RICH!
So….if I believe that the Christmas Teddy Bear is going to bring in customers, will it bring in customers? Does my personal belief, somehow, bring in those customers? Does my personal belief, somehow influence the situation, effect the situation, or shape the situation at hand?
Well, if that is so, then our belief in the bears was pretty weak, for we had an over abundance of Teddy Bears stuffed in every nook and cranny, we stuffed them here, we stuffed them there - everywhere you went little white bears stared at you. By the week of Christmas we were giving them away free with every purchase and we still had thousands and thousands left by New Years.
Is this logic true….
I believe I am successful – therefore I am successful.
I believe I will prevail – therefore I prevail.
I believe in God – therefore there is a God.
If I believe in something strong enough, does my belief somehow shape the resulting situation, reality, event?
When you and I believe, what does it mean?
[Click Slide] Let’s turn to our Scripture this evening, 1 John 1:1-4.
These first four verses of the book of 1 John, they are one long and very complicated single sentence, instead of the three sentences you see here. This is a very difficult sentence to translate from the Greek into English. In many English translations, work very hard in an attempt to have this sentence make sense in English. What we have here is very difficult and very complex. But because of the complexity here, we have great insight into the meaning of faith.
In some translations the word “proclaim” is added to verse one. This is added because it makes the verse less abstract. The translation we read this evening, the NIV, did this, it adds the word “proclaim” to verse one – but the word “proclaim” is not there in verse one in the original Greek text. [Click Slide] By adding the word proclaim the NIV can make verse one appear to be primarily about the message, but, in reality, verse one is primarily about the person of Jesus Christ – and here is our first understanding underlying our faith: WHO.
Who do you believe in? Who do you place your faith in? Who is primary in this passage this evening. Who comes first. Who, is what matters most. [Click Slide] In fact, in the original Greek here it says literally “Who from the beginning….who we have heard…who we have seen….touched…this concerning the word of life ”
Who?
Let me stop here and point out that at the beginning of this sermon I said, “What we believe in may have more of a profound effect on our lives, than anything else we experience.” But you know what, I was wrong, it isn’t WHAT you in believe in that will have a profound effect on your life, no, it is WHO you believe in that will have the profound effect on your life.
What I’m talking about isn’t philosophical, it isn’t theoretical, it isn’t t metaphysical – this is as practical and as daily grind as it gets. The “we” we see referenced here in this verse is a direct reference to the disciples of Jesus Christ. So it is we the disciples who experienced these things that John is relating. John is telling us that he saw Jesus – not only did John see Jesus as a person, that Jesus was a historical person who lived in time and space within history – but John saw how Jesus lived and acted, and more importantly, John saw WHO Jesus was.
John experienced the full aspects of who Jesus was here on earth. This full experience let John in on who Jesus is.
Notice, right there at the beginning of the verse “Who from the beginning” (as it should say directly from the Greek). John parallels this though in the beginning of his Gospel. [Click Slide] Look with me at the slide on the wall. Read along with me, John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” See he is writing a parallel thought both here in chapter one of the Gospel of John and in the book of 1 John chapter one. John is talking about who, John is not talking about what.
Who?
The Word, “ha Logos”, that’s who.
[Click Slide] Flipping back to first John, we see repeated, Who, Who, Who….then he tells us Who – right there at he end of the first verse – who? Do you see it? [Click Slide] The word of life, that’s who.
Jesus Christ, he’s there at the beginning, Jesus, by His word creates, Jesus, by His word gives life, Jesus, by His word gives life to creation, Jesus by His word gives new spiritual life to those who believe. Before there was – Jesus is.
What do you believe in?
[Click Slide] Your belief, your faith – be it strong, be it weak, be it long term, be it a spark forming in you right now as we speak – your faith, your belief, in what way does it make Jesus who he is? In what way, whether you believe or not, in what way does your faith change who Jesus is?
Your belief, whether you believe in Jesus or not, doesn’t make Jesus any more real or not. Jesus is who he is, apart from your faith, apart from your belief - your belief in Jesus, my belief in Jesus, does not create who Jesus is - Jesus is, always has been.
What you believe? - No forget that.
Who. Who do you believe? Who is at the very core of things. Without the who, there is no what. Without the who….there is not much to believe in.
Concerning this word of life John writes there in verse 2, the life was “revealed.” In the Greek John conveys this image of something that has always been there, something that has never been absent – but now is known by John and the disciples. It did not happen by chance; John did not stumble upon this life, but he was chosen to be one who it was revealed to. The curtain was pulled aside, the sunglasses were removed, the light was illuminated – and there He was, the one who always has been, there was never a time or place without Him.
He has always been there, I just never noticed him before…….
[Click Slide] Some translations say that He “appeared” this may give the impression of some kind of a random event or that Jesus was not in control of. Jesus didn’t just appear – poof – No, Jesus was revealed. Jesus planned with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit and took purposeful action, and with purpose chose to call certain men and women to Him, an action chosen from before time. Jesus revealed himself, Jesus was fully in control of every aspect of what happened.
Consider this: How powerful is your faith?
Rather, consider this: How powerful is WHO you place your belief in?
[Click Slide]
Me, myself and I. Jesus Christ.
Who am I really placing my faith in?
Myself, my education, my finances... my good looks...an abstract philosophy - some intangible thing out there…. the cute white Christmas teddy bear?
It is easy to believe when things are going well. It is easy to place your faith is this or in that when things are going well. However, it is when times get bleak, when the finances fail, when the answer doesn’t arrive, when things go from bad to worse, when the doctor gives the bad news, “I’m sorry, we cannot do anything more to help you” then, that is when you see it is not WHAT you believe, then, that is when you see it is WHO you believe.
Honestly, where is our belief?
John tells us that this life, the person of Jesus is so great, that He cannot be measured – Jesus is so great, He is infinity plus one, He is eternal. Jesus is so awesome that He transcends time and space. Jesus defies the laws of physics. Jesus defies our categorization, Jesus defies our terms, our rules, our calculations, our limited analytical process.
Yet, John experienced what was and is inconceivable – this all powerful, immeasurable, Word of life was revealed to us he says – We saw, we heard, we in fact touched – He was human, yet He was God. Eternal, creator, light of life, yet we had fellowship with Him.
What do I believe in?
What I believe in is WHO, and who it is, is none other than Jesus Christ.
[Click Slide] Now here in verse 3 of this very long sentence we see why we are to believe in Jesus. John has told us who, the Word of life, this eternal life; He has told us that the who is, Jesus Christ, and now he tells us why – Why?
So that we may have fellowship.
See, the existence of Jesus Christ, this awesome creator who defies even the confines of time and space, the existence is one thing, but to have fellowship, that is quite another thing.
I can know of the existence of Jesus Christ, and so can you, but remember, John is not writing about the what is he? No. John is writing about the who. In Christianity WHAT we believe is important, but if there is no fellowship with the WHO, then there is no point in the what.
If I don’t know who, what, is completely irrelevant.
Fellowship here means specifically what John expects us to have in common. In using this word fellowship, John is trying to convey two elements to us: First there is the element of fellowship with each other, in other words supporting each other in Christ; Second, and this is more important, is the element of a common spiritual privilege we have been given: The common spiritual privilege we have been given is this revelation of who Jesus Christ is and this revelation gives us fellowship.
[Click Slide]
When I know Jesus I gain fellowship.
This fellowship is further defined. [Click Slide] Do you see what it is in verse 3? John and his fellow disciples, their fellowship is with Jesus Christ and the Father and so when we believe, remember not in the “what,” but in the “who,” when we believe we also have fellowship with God the Father and God the Son. By our acceptance we become and remain partners, both spiritual and otherwise.
Let me be clear here: John is telling us that when we believe we become spiritual partners with God. NOT WHAT we believe, but WHO we believe in makes us spiritual partners with God.
Do you see the connection there?
You see, my belief can be strong, my belief can be unbreakable, my faith can be as intense as I can make it. But, at the end of the day, all I have, honestly, is a strong belief in myself. And who am I?
Am I foolish enough to think self affirmation is going to pull me through?
Its not what I believe, it is who I place my faith in.
Jesus Christ defies physics, transcends time and space, Jesus has always existed, he cannot be measured, he is the author of life itself -
Jesus - there is a person I can place my faith in.
[Click Slide]
See, when I place my faith in Jesus Christ I become a spiritual partner with him, I become a spiritual partner with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and when I become a spiritual partner with God it is no longer how strong my faith is that matters, [Click Slide] because WHO I have placed my faith in is stronger, for Jesus is able to overcome what I am not able to overcome.
This Christmas Eve we join together to celebrate the birth of a child, born over 2000 years ago. Now John tells us not to be fooled. This child may look like an ordinary child, but this child is not like any other child. This child Jesus, brings eternal life. This child Jesus is the who, we place our faith in.
I challenge you this night. Take your faith out of the many things you have placed it in over the years. Take your faith and place it into who has the power to make things happen in your life. Take your faith out of the what, and place it in the who, place it in the all powerful Jesus Christ.
Will you pray with me?
