“Dear John,” part 1 (Walking in the Light)
Story – Me and my friends used to love to play manhunt. We had a guy who lived on the 16th and 17th holes of a golf course and late at night we would go out and play manhunt for hours. It was always a fun time, but one time I can remember it had been really cloudy all day and then that night there was no moonlight, or stars to light our way. Once you left the lights of the houses and found the good hiding places it was pitch black. My team was doing the chasing first and right as we left the lights we thought we had found someone from the other team. So we began to run in that direction then all of a sudden “WHACK” we heard something hit a tree. When we got closer we saw that the guy hiding had run square into a tree with his face and was all cut up and bruised. The point, it helps to have light.
Tonight we begin a new series called “Dear John,” and no it is not about a break up letter, but it is a look into the book of 1st John. We are going to look chapter by chapter and find out what this book says. Many times pastors have an idea, and they then go to the Bible to help support that idea, But for this series we let the words of the book tell us the ideas and concepts. It will be a very challenging and encouraging series, and tonight we begin with a look at “Walking in the Light”
The book of 1st John was most likely written by the same author as the Gospel of John around 90 A.D. and it opens with this in chapter 1:
1 John 1:5 – 7 “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” NRSV
The first thing we see John talking about here is this idea of light and darkness.
The contrast he is making between the two is that God is the light, not only that, but he is a light that is so bright, no darkness can be present in him. In other words, God is all perfect, God is all good, and all of God’s decisions are just.
The darkness is the opposite, or absence of all of these things, or it represents sin. Sin is the opposite of being perfect, and good, and just. After John paints this picture of the light and darkness he makes some comments that we will discuss later about these two things having fellowship with each other,
But skip down to verse 7:
1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light…” NRSV
What in the world is walking in the light? Simply, walking in the light means we are in fellowship with the one who is the light. Walking in the light is a relationship that you have with God. Notice something here though; it says that if we walk in the light… John does not say here to simply say we are walking in the light, or to sit in the light, He tells us if we walk in the light. Walking is important for us to be able to understand this verse because it means certain things that we need to know in this Christian life. For instance: walking is much harder than just talking about walking. I can sit and talk about walking, and can even talk the language of walking, but until I actually walk my words are cheap. It is when my feet back up what my mouth has been saying that it gains some value. The reason John uses the idea of walking here is for the same reason. If we talk the talk of a Christian, or we say all of the right Christian things, But our lifestyle does not back up what we are saying then this is the only conclusion we are left with.
1 John 1:6 “If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we lie and do not do what is true.” NRSV
In other words we are claiming to have a relationship with God, but in all reality we are still wondering around in the dark. It is not enough to just talk in the light… We need a real relationship with God, one that is proven by the witness of our life. If I had a relationship with the president of the United States, my life would be different. The same is true if you have a real relationship with God, your life will be different.
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The second reason John used the idea of walking in the light is because walking involves progress. It is impossible for me to start here and begin to walk and not to make any progress. So John us saying, “Hey, if you are going to be in the light, you must be making some progress.” It is not an option, walking necessarily involves progress and if you are in the light, it also necessarily involves progress.
What kind of progress am I talking about here? If you are in the light, if you are a Christian, then there should be some progress evident to you from when you first started your journey. If I said I was going to Missouri, to actually be going there it would mean that I had made some effort to move in that direction. Otherwise I simply am doing what I was talking about before, I am just talking about going to Missouri. When you look at your relationship with God, you should be able to see that you are moving towards greater Christlikeness. Your attitude and actions should be different and more like Christ. Your knowledge about God should be increasing, and you should be seeking God’s will for your life. A note here though, I am not saying that you have to be at any certain point before you can be a Christian, All I am saying is that according to John, if you claim to be a Christian, but there is no sign, no matter how small, of you moving in that direction, Then you are not.
I point out no matter how small a step because a child does not learn how to walk over night. It takes weeks, and months to develop the skills needed to walk.
Then after it can walk, it still takes time before they can jump and run like a mature human being. Again, to be in the light, I am not saying that you must meet this list of things, but simply that you can see that you have made some progress in becoming more Christ like.
When we read on in the book of 1 John we see that he now brings up the stumbling block for walking in the light.
The stumbling block for walking in the light is sin.
It is a fact that every form of life has an enemy. Insects have to watch out for birds, birds have to watch out for cats, cats have to watch out for dogs, and humans have to watch out for cars at the SuperWalmart… The enemy for the Christian is sin. This is the darkness that keeps us from the light. In chapter 2, John list two sins that are major stumbling blocks for walking in the light.
1 John 2:9 – 11 “Whoever says, ‘I am in the light’ while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness. Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.” NRSV
We cannot hate each other and ever expect to be walking in the light. We will never be able to make spiritual progress if we are constantly held back by the sin of hatred. Hatred darkens the world; it is the cause for all of the events of September 11, and all of the school shootings in the last few years. Hatred is like a cancer; it attacks us and weakens our ability to walk in the light, Or as this verse puts it, it blinds us so that we cannot know the way to go. If our ministry is ever to be one that grows and flourishes in the light, then this is something we all must deal with, People already view Christians as hypocritical, and if they walk in and find us full of hate towards each other, this will turn them off even more. As we continue we find the second thing that is a major stumbling block:
1 John 2:15 – 17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world – the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches – comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desires are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever. NRSV
We cannot love the things of the world and remain in the light. We cannot put our possessions, friends, money, or anything else of the world hinder our ability to be used by God. The Bible says that we cannot serve 2 masters, we will love one and hate the other, And loving the things of the world is not serving the right master, the master that is in the light. The number one way to see the things of this world that we love is by what we consume through movies, tv shows, the internet, and music. The content of these different forms of media will show us the desires of our hearts!!!
If these things do not indicate a love for God, then maybe it is time to examine the condition of what is going on inside. Where are we placing God in our lives?
This verse says that this world and all of its desires are passing away and that God is forever, it reminds me of the line from the movie The Gladiator. The things of this world echo in the next!!!
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So John lays it out here, we cannot hate and be in the light, and we cannot love the world and be in the light. There is a problem though that I keep getting confused on… If the darkness is sin, and the first verse said that if we had any darkness we could not be in the light…
What happens when I sin after I am a Christian, do I all of a sudden stop being a Christian?
The answer is no! Well how can that be? Look again at verse 7 and particularly the last part of the verse:
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” NRSV
You see once you have crossed the line into the light, once you have become a Christian, God adopts you. Just like people adopt children here on earth, that child becomes theirs for life, it is a legal child of those parents. If you can see that you have made some steps towards God, you have made some progress, you life is somehow different after placing your trust in him to save you, then you are adopted!!! And nothing can take away the fact that you now belong to God as one of his children. So now the sin part, remember I said that it takes a child a while to learn how to walk? The same is true for us, it will take us a lifetime to fully learn how to walk in the light. That is why John continues by saying in verse 9
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleans us from all unrighteousness.” NRSV
When we sin after we are in the light we do not cease to be in a relationship with God, we do not stop being a Christian, But that fellowship that we once shared becomes damaged!!! We experience separation from God, not a divorce to put it into another way. And what needs to take place is a restoration of that relationship. That is why John tells us to confess our sins to God and he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. An important thing to remember here though, God does not keep forgiving you over and over again.
That was Jesus job on the cross; he took the sins from past, present, and future, and paid the price that they dictated. This verse is saying to us, tell God that you are sorry, confess to him the things you have done wrong and be in agreement that they were wrong. When we do these things God restores that relationship and removes the separation that was there. If you have been wanting power in your prayers, power in your walk with God, if you want power over sin, power to witness to your friends, Then you need to be walking in the light!!! A plant takes the sunlight and through a process called photosynthesis takes this light and transforms it into power for the plant. We need to be walking in the light in much the same way so that we can have the power to be all that God made us to be.
Prayer Time --------------
If you are here tonight and you are living blindly in the darkness, you have never had a point that a relationship between you and God was started. If you are not saved from your sins, but you realize that God is the light, and because his Son Jesus came and forgave us from those sins we can be adopted as children of God, if that is you then tonight cry out to God as best you know how.
Tell him that you believe that he is the light, you accept his Son’s death as the forgiveness of your sins, and you need him to come and take over your life because you cannot make it on your own. You are sorry for all of your sins, and you need his help for a new lifestyle. If you mean that tonight then God has and will continue to draw you unto himself and give you the salvation you are seeking.
If this is already you and you need prayer because you have had some sin come in and cloud your light. Then raise your hand so that I can pray for you.
Amen…
