1 John: GOD’S FORMULA FOR FELLOWSHIP
GOD’S FORMULA FOR FELLOWSHIP
Date 02, June 2013,
Scripture Reference 1 John 1:1-10
From the series I John
Scripture
Let us read together I John 1:1-10
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, of the Word of life;2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. May the sweet spirit add Blessings to our text this morning
Introduction
“Fellowship”, we like that word. It has a nice ring to it. It is Pentecostal for food. In truth, the word fellowship means “things held in common.” It implies standing together on common
ground. Imagine the glory of this
statement, “God desires to have a close, personal relationship with you, where
you and God stand together on common ground.”
Sounds good doesn’t it? However,
to many it sounds impossible! John
doesn’t think so! In fact, he tells us
exactly how this can take place. He
shows how close communion and intimate fellowship with the Father can be the
normal Christian experience, instead of some mystical thing we only hear about,
or see in the lives of others.
Last
year, we dealt with the matter of backsliding or sin in the life of the saint. You see a true believer can slip and fall
into sin, but there is always a desire for a quick recovery. The Christian will
not be happy or satisfied until the situation is dealt with and the sin made
right with God. Here’s what happens, when
a Christian sins, he breaks fellowship with God. But, praise God, there is a formula for
restoring and then maintaining that fellowship day by day.
Sermon
Allow
me to share with you how you can experience this “fullness of joy” that John
refers to in verse 4. I want to show
you, from these verses, how you can draw near to God, and remain there in
sweet, wonderful fellowship. Here is God’s Formula For Fellowship.
I. v. 8, 10 WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR SINS
A. True fellowship with God hinges on our ability to admit our sin.
(Ill. Owning up!) God forgives sin, but it must be admitted
before it can be forgiven.
B. Ill. The world’s attitude concerning sin.
1.
It does not exist.
(Ill. God says - Rom. 3:23; Gal. 3:22; Eccl.
7:20)
2. It is an accident in the life
of an evolving man.
(Ill. This is totally opposite from
what God says! Man did not evolve, he devolved from the image of God
into sin! Gen. 1:26)
c. Before sin can be dealt with, it must be seen as an affront to God.
Until sin is recognized as a personal
attack on God Himself, it can never be forgiven and there can be no real
fellowship with God! (Ill. Self-help
movements and guilt treatment
techniques. These are attempts at
dealing with sin’s guilt, and at the same time ignore it’s
reality!) As long as sin can be treated
as a mistake or a sickness, there is no
need to turn to God, no need for Jesus, no need for salvation, no need for the
Bible, and no need for man to admit that he is a sinner! (Ill. This was the Rich Young Ruler’s problem
- Matt. 19:16-22)
D. Here is the world’s viewpoint concerning dealing with sin:
1. Evolution - Man is on his way
up! Sin isn’t an issue.
2. Education - Man can be taught to live
without sin.
3. Science - Solve the problems and
mysteries of nature and man can be set free from sin.
4. Sociology - Sin is the by-product of
an unhealthy environment.
5. Psychology - Talk about yourself long
enough, focus on what you need, and eventually you can eliminate your own
guilt.
6. Religion - Learn the doctrines,
practice the rituals and do good things and you will feel better about yourself
and God will accept you.
Note: None of these work, because none of these deal with the problem of
sin. After all is said and done, man is
still a sinner. There is only one plan
that works to remove the guilt of sin.
God’s
Plan - Admit your sin, trust God totally through Jesus Christ His Son and He
will remove both your sin and your guilt.
He will deliver you and it won’t
cost $750.00 per hour.
I. v.
8, 10 WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR SINS
II. v.9 WE
MUST REPENT OF OUR SIN
A. If
we will recognize our sin and confess it to God, and truly repent of that sin,
He will absolutely forgive us and cleanse our lives - Heb. 8:12; Isa. 43:25;
Isa. 1:18)
B. B. What is repentance? It is a total change of heart and mind
resulting in a change of direction and action.
True repentance always results in a radically
changed relationship with God!(Ill. To the rear march!)
C. When
we truly repent, (i.e. leave the sin behind and walk away!), our sin is forever
removed from us and the guilt is
replaced with peace and joy.
I. v. 8, 10 WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR SINS
II. v.9 WE MUST REPENT OF OUR SIN
III. V.7 WE MUST REVEAL OUR SINS
A. Ill. The difference between relationship and fellowship.
Sin cannot undo a believer’s relationship with
God, but it can destroy his fellowship with God.
(Ill.
Adam in the Garden - Gen. 3)
B. Ill. Many believers are attempting to hide sin in their lives.
They have sin and they act as if everything is
all right. They are lying! They lie to themselves, they lie to others
and they lie to God! Eventually, they
begin to believe the lie themselves. At
that point, they deny their sin and by doing so, call God a liar - v. 10!
C. This is extremely dangerous!
You will never prosper with hidden
sin in your life - Pro. 28:13. Sin must be brought out into the open, when it
is, we can have pure, honest fellowship with others, ourselves and most
importantly with God.
D. Ill. Light - Reveals error!
This is why many people do not attend
church regularly. Because their sin is
exposed to the light of the Word of God, the Holy Ghost brings conviction upon
your heart and you are forced to see your sins for what they are - an
abomination to God. People fear
exposure, so they stay away from the
light, (Ill. Light and a dirty glass!)
(Ill. 2 kinds of conviction - General and specific. General is a feeling of guilt for no particular
reason. Usually satanic! Specific is always from God’s Spirit. God
desires to fellowship with you as with a Son or Daughter. Therefore, He calls to you in a direct
fashion revealing specific sin.
E. Before sin can be dealt with, it must be exposed to the light.
(What you been hiding? Whatever it is, be notified that God
knows! He wants you to get honest!)
I. v. 8,
10 WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR SINS
II. v.9 WE MUST REPENT OF OUR SIN
III. v.7 WE MUST REVEAL OUR
SINS
IV. v.9 WE MUST RELATE OUR SINS
A. v. 9 Deals with the matter of confession.
(Ill. As widely as it is known!)
B. What is confession?
Simply naming your sin to God, specifically,
and agreeing with Him concerning
the nature of that sin. (Ill. Present Tense!)
Sin ought to be confessed immediately. (Ill. You wouldn’t wait all day to get an
eyelash out of your eye. Would
you?) (Ill. A good prayer!)
C. A true Spirit filled life is not one that is sinless.
It is a life lived in close fellowship
with God. (Ill. The Spiritual
Rollercoaster) If we would learn the
principle of instant confession, we would live more consistent lives.
(Ill. People with mountains of
unconfessed sin, lying like heaps of dirty laundry in the corners of our
hearts.)
I. V. 8,
10 WE MUST RECOGNIZE OUR SINS
II. V.9 WE MUST REPENT OF OUR SIN
III. v.7 WE MUST REVEAL OUR
SINS
IV. v.9 WE MUST RELATE OUR SINS
V. v.9 WE MUST REST IN THE LORD
A. The best news in the world, for the Christian, is that there is a place where we can deal with our sins.
A place where our guilt can be
exchanged for peace. All men are
looking for such a place, (Ill. Where they seek), Jesus offers it freely. It is in
His Blood. Jesus is the answer.
B. Ill. Faithful - He always forgives and cleanses.
No matter how often you come, He will receive you and cleanse
you.
(Ill. He also forgets - Psa. 103:12)
C. Ill. Just - He blots out our sin and declares us “Not guilty!”
He will never hold
it over us again!
D. (Ill. We are seen as the Son Himself - Rom. 4:24!)
E. He will do it for whosoever will! (John 6:37; Matt. 11:28; Rev. 22:17)
Invitation and the Final Challenge
The first and primary step toward
fellowship with God is the admission of sin.
You see, you cannot save, nor cleanse yourself. Jesus has already done the work, He simply
asks for you to respond to Him by faith.
When you do, you will be received, forgiven, cleansed and in fellowship
with him. Isn’t that what you want?
Come to Him now and get it!
Some
of God’s children need to come home this morning. You have wandered far and you are carrying a
load of guilt. There is no need to do
that any longer. Jesus waits to relieve
you load. Some have never trusted Jesus
for salvation. Please don’t go to Hell
when God has made a way that
you can be freely and eternally saved
from your sins. Don’t you want to walk
in fellowship with the Lord? You can,
but you must come His way.
--
The Rev. Lenin Kumar
The Potter's Home International Church
The Christian Living
Preparing the Bride...For Christ's
Coming!
www.pottershomeinternational.org
www.pottershomeinternational.org
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