“Terms of Endearment”
Several years ago there was a popular movie entitled “Terms of Endearment” and it starred Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Danny Devito and Jack Nicholson. It was about a mother daughter relationship and it enjoyed critical acclaim. Tonight I’m going to borrow the title from that movie and talk about the relationship between the Apostle John and a group of believers that he loved and wanted to help. As I read through the little book of 1 John, I could not help but notice the many times that the phrase “little children” was used by the apostle to refer to these believers. To me this phrase is a term of endearment and John uses it 9 times in this epistle. I want to see if there is anything we can learn from admonitions found here.
My little children - Ôåêíéá ìïõ͂ Teknia mou. This is such language as an aged apostle would be likely to use when addressing a church, and its use in this Epistle may be regarded as one evidence that John had reached an advanced period of life when he wrote the Epistle. (Barnes)
My little children - Ôåêíéá ìïõ· My beloved children; is the address of an affectionate father to children whom he tenderly loves. The term also refers to the apostle’s authority as their spiritual father, and their obligation to obey as his spiritual children. (Clark)
I. The Advocate
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
THE RIGHT NAME OPENS DOORS
Mark Roberts wrote of a time when he visited the Capitol as a guest of Congressman John Campbell. As long as he was with the congressman, he could walk freely around the Capitol, entering many areas that were reserved "for authorized personnel only," reserved for members of Congress and their guests. He could enter those places, not because of who he was or because of what he had done, but because of who Congressman Campbell was. The name "Congressman John Campbell" opened doors. So it is when we come before God in the name of Jesus.
Jesus is our mediator (1 Timothy 2: 5), our advocate (1 John 2:1), and our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Praying in Jesus' name is a recognition that he is our mediator, that we do not deserve an audience with the Father. It is a recognition that we only have authority to come to the Father because Jesus, our High Priest, has prepared the way for us. He died on the cross to save us. It means that we know we are unworthy of approaching the throne of grace on our own without our advocate. The name of Jesus opens doors.
II. The Assurance
1 John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT
So is your sin and guilt getting the better of you?
Well, now "There’s an app for that." CBS News reports (February 9, 2011) a new application for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch called the "Confession Booth app. All you do is confess to your iPhone! It sells for $1.99 and is described as the "perfect aid for the penitent." The program let users compile list of their sins. Users get taken through the Ten Commandments, with questions attached to each. The app displays the sins along with a written act of contrition for the penitent.
I am not making this up!
SIMPLE CONFESSION, PROFOUND FORGIVENESS
In 1818 one out of six women who had children died of something called "childbirth fever." A doctor’s daily routine back then started in the dissecting room, where he performed autopsies, and from there he made his rounds to examine expectant mothers. No one even thought to wash his hands...at least not until a doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis began to practice strict hand washing. He was the very first doctor to associate a lack of hand washing with the huge fatality rate. Dr. Semmelweis only lost one in fifty, yet his colleagues laughed at him. Once he said, "Childbirth fever is caused by decomposed material conveyed to a wound...I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proven all that I’ve said. But while we talk, talk, talk, women are dying.. I’m not asking for anything world shaking, only that you wash your hands." Yet virtually no one believed him.
And Jesus is not asking anything earth shaking from us. John writes, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We only need to confess our sins, to regularly wash our souls before God. It’s essential. The failure to confess our sins will result in spiritual infection that will hinder our ability in the spiritual journey.
SOURCE: Timothy Peck. Citation: I John 1:9. http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/projects/
cases/childbed_fever.htm
III. The Antichrist
1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
False prophets and false Christ’s will make the scene in the last days. There was Prophet Jim Jones of the terrible Guyana tragedy on November 18, 1978 when he lied to his followers and convinced them (or commanded them) to drink Kool-aid laced with poison. 913 people were found dead, including Jim Jones. Jones thought he was the re-incarnated Christ. All I can say is, “It is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment.” In his case, it may well have been more judgment than for others. And there have been others. David Koresh of the Branch Davidians and the Waco, TX, shootout in April of 1993. When David Koresh (Vernon Wayne Howell) was 19 years old he (supposedly) became a born-again Christian in the Southern Baptist Church but soon joined his mother’s church, the Seventh Day Adventist Church. There he fell in love with the pastor’s daughter and while praying for guidance he opened his eyes and found the bible open at Isaiah 34 which stated that none should want for a mate; convinced this was a sign from God he approached the pastor and told him that God wanted him to have his daughter for a wife. The pastor threw him out, and when he continued to persist with his pursuit of the daughter he was expelled from the church. In 1981 when he was 22 he moved to Waco, Texas where he joined the Branch Davidians. From there it was apparently all downhill. And Koresh took 80 people with him to their deaths on April 19, 1993. And one of the latest to hit the scene is De Jesus from Puerto Rico. In the eyes of his flock, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is, in fact, the second coming of Christ. As the head of the Growing in Grace International Ministry, he presides over a sprawling organization that includes more than 300 congregations in two dozen countries, from Argentina to Australia. He counts more than 100,000 followers and claims to reach millions more through a 24-hour TV channel, a radio show and several Web sites. He is supported by the generosity of his devotees, who have launched some 450 businesses to pour cash into Growing in Grace’s coffers. Though de Jesus’ followers worship him, others denounce him as a charlatan. De Jesus, 60, spent his youth drifting from the Roman Catholics to the Pentecostals to the Baptists. Then one night in 1973, he says, he awoke to a vision of two hulking men at his bedside who announced the arrival of the Lord, who, says de Jesus, "came to me and integrated with me." In the early years after founding Growing in Grace in Miami in 1986, de Jesus didn’t claim to be Christ. Instead, he worked as a pastor spreading his doctrine: that under a new covenant with God, there is no sin and no Satan, and people are predestined to be saved. But as his following expanded, his claims did, too. In 1998, de Jesus avowed that he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul. Two years ago at Growing in Grace’s world convention in Venezuela, he declared himself Christ. And just last week, he called himself the Antichrist and revealed a "666" tattooed on his forearm. His explanation: that, as the second coming of Christ, he rejects the continued worship of Jesus of Nazareth. Brothers and sisters, we must not be surprised at those who claim to be from God or be God himself. Most of these false Christ’s and false prophets are easy to spot. The false leaders we have to be careful about are those who are clever enough to invade the church and induce others to follow them, rather than Christ. And it does happen
IV. The Appearance
1 John 2:28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that "more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy...Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return--one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event...For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are 8 on Christ’s second coming."
SOURCE: Today in the Word, MBI, December, 1989, p. 40. Submitted by Guy Caley
V. The Adversary
1 John 3:7 Little children let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
“One of the adversary’s most useful schemes is to keep Christians focusing on their problems rather than on God’s provision”
(John R. Cionca, The Victors: Overcoming Toxins That Poison the Believer, published by Accent Publications, Inc., Denver, Colorado; pg. 33).
There was an old preacher telling his people not to be afraid of the lion; not only is he under the feet of Jesus, but the reason he roars is because Jesus pulled all his teeth and he is hurting! He makes a lot of noise, but he cannot hurt us because our life is hid in Christ.
VI. The Affection
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
“Christianity, in its purest form, is nothing more than seeing Jesus. Christian service, in its purest form, is nothing more than imitating him who we see. To see His Majesty and to imitate him, that is the sum of Christianity.”
(Max Lucado, When God Came Near).
VII. The Advantage
1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Dr. Robert Moorehead writes:
I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.
My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear!"
VIII. The Alert
1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
ADRIAN ROGERS: And idol is anything you love more, fear more, value more or serve more than you do Almighty God. Fill in the blank.
I read this week of a house fire in the middle east where a man ran back into his burning house to get his valuables, but he didn’t make it out. He was found in the ashes clutching an ivory idol. The headlines read, "Man dies trying to save his god." Two thousand years ago on a hill called Calvary, the Son of God hung bleeding and dying for a lost world. If there had been a Jerusalem Post back then, the headlines might have read, "God dies trying to save his man." How can we fail to live for such a God who gave his everything for us that we might have everything in him?
