INTRO.- I write to you. Does anybody write anymore? What has happened to the art of writing? One reason is poor penmanship.
ILL.- Penmanship And Brilliance. A handwriting study made at one of our large universities has come up with the discovery that the smarter a person is, the worse his scrawl. It’s thinking faster than you write that makes handwriting messy. The faster you think, naturally, the poorer your penmanship. What about you? What does your penmanship say about you?
ILL.- A young reporter called on Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) to interview him. He found the writer comfortably snuggled in bed, reading. The reporter asked Twain for the story of his life. “Well,” drawled Twain, “in the days of George III, when I was a young man I used to...”
“Pardon me,” interrupted the young man, “I know that you are no spring chicken, but you couldn’t possibly have been living in the time of George III.”
“Fine, my boy,” exclaimed Mark. “I heartily congratulate you. You are the first and only reporter I’ve ever met who corrected a mistake before it appeared in print.”
Wouldn't it be great if all corrections were made before they were printed? So with my sermons. So with everything we write OR EVERY WORD WE SPEAK! Wouldn't it be wonderful to speak without error?
ILL.- A young American preacher was induced to publish a book of sermons. The first copy was mailed to him. After he read the volume, he said: “I am never so reminded of the sow returning to her wallowing in the mire as when I undertake to look at what I have written or preached.”
He literally kicked the book out the window. His name was Henry Ward Beecher, who was considered to be one of the greatest preachers of his time.
Beecher, by the way, was the seventh of 13 siblings, some of whom were famous in their own right: Harriet Beecher Stowe who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin.
ILL.- It was Joseph Pulitzer who offered the following advice on writing to editorial writers, columnists and reporters: “Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”
That's good advice for not only writing but also for preaching. Make it clear, make it brief, make it accurate, and I might add, make it simple.
Let's write more! Writing can bless others if we let it! Let's not lose this art that God gave us.
PROP.- Consider the different groups to whom John wrote and what he wrote.
1- I write to you children
2- I write to you young men
3- I write to you fathers
I. I WRITE TO YOU CHILDREN
12I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
Dear children. Our children are very dear, are they not? But then they grow up! They are still very dear but not nearly as cute as when they are little and seemingly innocent. DID I SAY 'INNOCENT'? Little ones lose their innocence so quickly.
Why? They see and hear far too much from TV, the internet, from other kids at school and maybe even from mom and dad.
ILL.- I had a Mennonite family in one church where I served. The wife came from a Mennonite family and she said she never heard her parents ever argue or speak ill of each other. She said they may have had words behind doors but never in front of the children. WOW! We would do well to imitate this.
Now obviously, the children in our text are not little children but rather children of the faith. I think we all recognize that Christians have varying degrees of faith. Some are quite new to the faith. Others have been in Christ for many years and hopefully, have matured in the faith. Some are strong and some are weak in the faith.
We assume that John is probably writing those who are young in the faith.
12I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
Aren't all Christians forgiven of their sins? Yes, but it may be that new converts are more acutely aware of their forgiveness. In fact, I know they are! I remember well the excitement!
ILL.- It’s like the guy who was so excited about being baptized that when he was raised up out of the water, he hollered, “Hot dog! Hot dog!”
After a period of time, however, we tend to take our forgiveness for granted, but the newly converted are much more aware that they have been forgiven and are excited about it. REMEMBER?
ILL.- I confessed my faith in Christ on a Monday night when I was 20 years of age and was baptized into Christ. I went down into baptistery in tears and rose rejoicing. WHAT AN EMOTIONAL TIME IT WAS FOR ME! And because I was so excited about being forgiven I tried to talk to everyone at work about it.
Those who are new to the faith need to be encouraged and helped. We can't expect them to know much but we may be able to get them to do more than most because of their new found faith and forgiveness!
13 I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father.
Don't we all know the Father? We should, but again, perhaps the new person in Christ is more aware of God as being their father. Actually, this should be more true for us who have been in Christ for many years, but perhaps the new convert is just aware that God is not only God, but also their Father in this new relationship.
Matthew 7:11 "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" What a father we have!
II. I WRITE TO YOU YOUNG MEN
13 I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. 14 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
You are strong. Isn't this the truth? We were strong in our youth! Remember how it was? What you did? What you could do that you can't do now?
ILL.- Our B. J. Simpkins is 80 years old and for some reason, he says he can't lift as much weight as he once did. He can't run at all and at one time, he ran a marathon. He doesn't bike as much as he used to. WHAT'S THE DEAL?
We all know very well what the deal is. We all wish we were like Moses of old who at 120 years of age was as strong as ever nor were his eyes dimmed.
We all would like to be strong until we die, but we know that most of the time it doesn't work this way.
The strength that John was referring to was probably not physical strength. John is talking about those who are strong in the faith, which would be an adult and maturing Christian. ARE YOU STRONG IN THE FAITH? I think that may well depend on the day and perhaps what we're going through or experiencing in life.
When things are going well, we may think we are strong in the faith, but when difficulties come or disasters hit us, we may think our faith is quite weak. However, trials can make us stronger.
It's much like lifting weights. As we strain against the weight, the muscle tissue is challenged to become stronger. And with proper rest and nutrition the muscles come back even stronger than they were. And so with difficulty in life. As we endure with the Lord's help, we become stronger in our faith.
If we don't feel strong in our faith, what can we do about it? How can we get stronger?
Romans 10:17 "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ (God)."
To get stronger, we must get into the Word of God!
Psalm 119:28 "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word."
14 I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do you get the message in this verse? When the Word of God lives in us through reading, meditation, memorization, etc. then we will become strong or stronger and overcome the evil one.
Is there someone out there who constantly gives you trouble in life besides you, yourself? IT'S THE EVIL ONE! And there’s only one way to over come him. JUST LIKE JESUS DID!
Matthew 4:1-4 1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
You can’t say, “It is written,” if you don’t know what is written!
III. I WRITE TO YOU FATHERS
13I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. 14I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
ILL.- Erma Bombeck (February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) once painted a portrait of a little girl who loved her dad but wasn't sure what dads do: One morning my father didn't get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. I hadn't thought that much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn't afraid to go into the basement by himself.
He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it. It was understood when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures . . . but he was never in them.
Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, "I'm going off to work now," and threw him under the bed.
The funeral was in our living room and a lot of people came and brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the daddy doll. When I found him, I dusted him off and put him on my bed. He never did anything. I didn't know his leaving would hurt so much.
Brothers and sisters, I don't know if this picture was the story of Erma Bombeck's father or if this is how she pictured most fathers. Either way, it's an interesting insight. And if you're like me, you miss your father as well.
I'm also proud to be a father even if I'm not recognized as much as I would like to be or honored. However, being a father in the faith is even better.
Do you have a father in the faith? Do you have someone who is strong in the faith, whom you admire and seek counsel from? We all should have someone like this.
ILL.- Ralph Riemensnider is an elder in the church in Iberia, MO. Ralph is over 80 years old age. He is diabetic and blinded because of macular degeneration. When I preached for that church he was probably in his 50's.
I always admired Ralph for his faith in Christ. He was, in a real sense, a father in the faith to me. He lived his faith. He served well in the church as a teacher, song leader, and servant in other ways. He was always willing to help in any way he could.
I remember one Mother's day when Ralph and I were sitting together and out of the blue I asked, "I never heard you talk of your mother. What took her from this life?" He said, "She took her own life." I WAS SHOCKED. I was humbled and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry." He said, "It's all right, you didn't know."
However, Ralph never said anything else about her. He understand my shock, however. And I never did know what happened that caused his mother to take her own life. But I also saw that it did not hinder Ralph in living the Christian life. If that had happened to some people, they would have easily turned away from the faith but not Ralph.
A few years ago, I went back to see Ralph and stayed overnight with him. We visited about many things and many people. And the thing that still impresses me with Ralph is his strong faith. He doesn't appear to let life's difficulties to drag him down. HE REMAINS STRONG IN THE FAITH. And I want to be like that.
14I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning.
Someone who is mature in the faith knows Him who is from the beginning. He or she knows him intimately and perhaps has known Him most of their lives. This is the faith we need: TO KOW HIM AND TO KNOW HIM WELL!
Conclusion--------------------
I write to you children, young men and fathers.
When you write anyone, what should you write? No matter what you write, please write words that encourage in the faith. What words? Keep walking by faith. Keep the faith. Seek the Lord. Seek first the kingdom. Lean on the Lord.
Any time we speak or write words that point people to the Lord we're doing a very good thing and this is an indication our faith and maturity in the Lord.
