If you take your Bibles and turn
with me to 1st John, chapter 1. 1st John, chapter 1. This scripture came to my mind
here as I was reading this in verse 4. It says, And these things
we write unto you, that your joy may be full. Your joy, the joy of the gospel,
that your joy may be full. If you remember in Psalm 51 when
David was convicted of his sin, you remember he asked God, don't
cast me off, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Restore unto me the joy. This tells us very plainly that
believers may never lose, we know this, we can never lose
this salvation that God has bestowed upon us. This salvation was purposed
of God, accomplished by Christ, given to us by the power of the
Spirit, and we are kept by the power of the Spirit. We cannot
lose this salvation. But I'll tell you, we lose our
joy of it. We lose our joy. We hear this
gospel constantly. And I'll tell you, you listen
long enough and our hearts can wax cold, indifferent, and the
joy could be taken away. The salvation itself is not taken
away, but the joy of it is. And John is writing these things,
and this is his purpose. You're going to see this. He
has a purpose for writing these things. That your joy may be
full. And that's my purpose this morning.
I long, as I preach the Word to you, as you hear these things,
may the Spirit of God restore the joy. of your salvation. So John here,
he begins this epistle the same way he begins his gospel. He
says, That which was from the beginning we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled the word of life. He first of all lays forth
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ is foundational in the Gospel message. If Christ
were not God, there would be no salvation, there would be
no righteousness. If Christ were not man, there
would be no redemption. God cannot die. Redemption, the
price of redemption was death. Therefore, He must be God and
man, it is foundational. And this is what John is, throughout
his, both his gospel and his epistle declares to us, that
this one is God. He said, that which was from
the beginning. Who is that but God? Who was from the beginning
but God? The One is to be proclaimed here
is none other than the Eternal God and Creator of all things. What do the first words of the
Bible tell us? In the beginning, God. This is
the One John is speaking about, God. Before there was anything,
there was God. The triune God, perfect and content
in Himself. The self-existent One. had no
beginning or no end and listen John declares something astounding
here that which was from the beginning was made flesh that
which was from the beginning John said look I've seen him
I heard him and much more than that I touched him I touched
him This is what John says about it, about him and his gospel
that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God
and the word what was God. And just in case you are confused
about when he uses that word word, right? You get theologians
and they get all they try to discombobulate that all he means
is that the son of God. In the beginning was the son
of God. The son of God was with the father. And the son of God
is God. And we know this because in verse
14 of chapter one in John, we read this. And the word was made
flesh. Now, you know who it is. It's
Jesus. That's the one that was made
flesh. And he said and he dwelt among us and we beheld his glory
as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. So then who is John speaking
about here? That which was in the beginning,
which we heard, which we touched, who is it? That's Jesus. That
is Jesus Christ, the son of God, the eternal son of God. And he was made flesh, he dwelt
among us. This is the one that we as believers
have come to worship and praise and adore. This is the one that
was made flesh, that condescended To dwell among us that we might
have life. We might have salvation. Paul
says this in Philippians 2, who being in the form of God. The
word form just means nature. Who being in the very nature
of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But made
of himself no reputation, and took upon him the nature of a
servant, and being found in the likeness of men, and being, he
was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself. And two things, he became obedient. As a man he was subject to the
law of God and he became obedient to the very law that he gave
as a man. Now he did that so that he might
obtain righteousness. Without obedience there is no
righteousness. He was made flesh that he might
by his obedience obtain righteousness unto death. That's the second
thing. Redemption. He was made a man
so that he might obtain both righteousness and redemption. How? By the death of the cross.
By the death of the cross, he satisfied the justice of God
forever. This man, Jesus Christ, he who
is God, humbled himself and took upon him the form of a man, the
nature of a man. Now why would he do that? To
be a high priest. Now listen, if he obtained righteousness
and redemption, he didn't do it for himself. He needed neither
righteousness nor redemption. But he obtained righteousness
and redemption as a high priest. Now what is the purpose of a
high priest? It is to mediate between God
and His people. The high priest of the Old Testament
did not represent Moab. It did not represent Egypt. He
represented Israel. Even so, Jesus Christ, coming
in the flesh, represented His people. And as He lived and died,
He did it for them, as a high priest. So Paul says, for as much as
the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also likewise
took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
hath the power of death, that is, the devil. You see, he did
something. Isn't this glorious? He came, and this is the one
John declares. He spent his whole life that
he might destroy death, being a faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God. That's what a priest business
is, things pertain to God. I know this, that Christ became
a man and he is able to understand our sorrows. He is touched with
the feelings of our infirmities, and that's good. A high priest,
we need that. But he did much more than that.
As our high priest, he actually obtained everything we needed
to make us acceptable to God. That's what a high priest does.
Makes the people acceptable. He offers a sacrifice for their
sins. And by that sacrifice, the people
are cleansed. The people are saved. This was
the message then given this. The message of the apostles then
was given by this son of God. The son of God. The message that
they declared, look at verse 3. He said, That which we have
seen and heard declare we unto you for this purpose, that you also
may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. Now listen, this
is the only message worth declaring. because it's the only message
that brings men into fellowship with God. It is the only message the message
that Jesus Christ the son of God declared to this apostle.
Is the only message by which men may have true enduring fellowship
with God. message of the gospel of Christ,
who is God manifest in the flesh, is the only message worth declaring.
Any message, any other message has no value, no eternal value. Listen, we could talk about all
your problems. We can we can sit and lay out
my problems and your problems, and we could talk about it and
how to solve them. What good is that if you lose your own
soul? What good is all of that if you solve all your earthly
problems? And then this, this is the greatest
issue is not dealt with. This is why we declare Christ.
This is why we declare his message. It's the only one of value. It's
the only one that saves. Go to first Corinthians. First
Corinthians chapter one. And so how does this message
go out? It only goes out by God's only
chosen means. Preaching. Preaching. Look at verse 20. Paul says, Where is the wise?
Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? or after
that the wisdom of in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew
not God you got that you intellectual people who sit around all day
long discussing the Bible and they can try to reason with each
other you know what you get you're
going to get a fight eventually going to get division because
somebody's going to have another opinion in this opinion that
opinion who cares about your opinion I don't want to sit around
discuss opinion My opinion is just as worthless
as yours. The only thing I want to hear
is thus sayeth the Lord. That's it. And God says you're
not going to know God by wisdom. We were discussing this. The
lady was coming up to me and she was telling me how their
church evangelizes and so forth. And so they get together and
they they they read a passage of scripture and they have lost
people come in there. Give them a passage of scripture
and they'll tell them, go read it and they'll come back and discuss
it. Look, I ain't going to discuss anything with you, I'm just going
to tell you. And whether you like it or not, I don't know.
And truly, it's not my job. I can't make this word effectual
to you. I can only declare it to you. So you're not going to get saved
by reasoning, earthly logic and wisdom. For after that in the wisdom
of God the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Now listen,
preaching's not foolish. It's not foolish. It's just how
men perceive it. They don't understand why you
want to be here and give your time, energy and money to a thing
of hearing one message over and over and over again. They get
bored to tears hearing this. They think you're a fool. Let
them. God said it. He said by the foolishness, what
you call foolishness is how God saves. by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. The Jews require a sign, Greeks
seek after wisdom. How many people want miracles
or signs or wonders? How do you know if you're saved?
Well, you got to do this and stop doing this. Well, they want
a sign. They want a sign. All this is by faith. Greeks
seek after wisdom, philosophy, reason. But this is what we do. We do what John did. We preach
Christ, Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. The Jews are stumbling
by, Greeks foolishness. But to them that are called,
have you been called? What is it to be called? It is
to be born again of the Spirit of God. It is to have your eyes
and understanding open. By the power of God to see. To them who are called Jews and
Greeks, what do we know? We know this Christ. That's what
we know. Christ is the wisdom of God and
the power of God. That's what we know. So we don't
ever get tired of hearing this. We get it's our food. You get
tired of eating. I'll tell you this. This is my
spiritual food. I need this more than earthly
food. I need it. Refreshes me, comforts
me. I know it is the power of God.
Therefore. This is the only message that true believers desire to
hear. It's the only message that feeds our souls as well as the
only message that saves the lost. That's it. Pretty narrow, isn't
it? Yep. Well, how can you be so
dogmatic? It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching. I don't I don't know other than
that. That's all I really need. It
pleased God. So why is John spending all this
time saying this? This is the message that we declare
unto you. What he said is what we say. That's what we declare. And I
like that word declare. Not discuss. We just tell you. You know, it's
sower in the seed. I think about that when I'm preaching.
You know, you just take the seed and you just throw it. Where it lands, I cannot tell.
How it is received, I cannot tell. But that's all I do. Knowing
God will do what he pleases with. That's what he'll do when we
declare this word Now this gospel that we declare, what is it?
What is this message that John declared? Look at verse four,
back at your text. So he discusses the person of
Christ and he's the one that gave him the message. And this
is the message we declare to you. Look at verse four. And
these things we write in. I'm sorry. This is the purpose
of this message. that every believer, everyone
who believes that they might have fullness of joy. Verse four. And these things we write unto
you that your joy may be full. I believe you, you ask everybody,
do you want joy? Kind of a rhetorical question
in it. The world wants joy. Man's heart is like a black hole
by nature. It sucks in everything and is
nothing, is filled by nothing. Black hole can suck in the universe
and it still would be empty. That's what man is. He takes
in all the joys of this earth, all of the desires of his flesh
and still cannot find joy. Not lasting joy. So if you're here today without
joy, it's because of this. You are lost. You're lost in
your sins. I know you've tried to fill the
emptiness of your heart with the pleasures of this world,
but I know this, you've not been successful. No one has. This then is the message of hope.
This is the only message that will cause the empty heart of
sorrow to be filled with joy. Why? Because this is a message
of eternal life. It is a message of peace with
God. It is a message of salvation. Look at verse five. This then
is the message which we have heard of him and declare unto
you. And what's the first thing that
he declares? Receive the message of Christ
from the Son of God. He's desired to declare it unto
you for the purpose of joy. Well, what's the message, John?
Tell me the message. Here it is. God is light, and
in Him is no darkness. What's those last two words?
At. All. At all. The gospel message always and
ends begins and ends with God. Now. The religion of man begins
with you and ends with God. But I'll tell you, God's message
begins with him and it ends with him. God is light. This fact of God being light
reveals several things about the character of God. First of
all, I want you to see it reveals this, that God is holy. Holy. When he says he is light and
in him is no darkness at all, he is talking about sin. He is
talking about an immutable, unchangeable, holy God. This is the message we declare
unto you, that God is holy. He is a purer eye, Habakkuk says,
than to behold evil. When His angels worship Him,
they must cover their face and their feet and cry, Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord God Almighty. And they do this day and night
without ceasing. He is holy. And this is the God that all
men must give an account to. God is light. He is holy. In
Revelation it tells us that He saw the dead, small and great,
standing before God. And the books were opened. And
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the
dead were judged out of those things which are written in the
books. Listen, according to their works. You see, God is light. And He must judge men based on
their work. God being holy must judge according
to His character, His nature. He must judge all transgression
against Him. And the natural man does not
like this. They will not receive that God
is holy. They love a loving God, but they
have nothing to do with a God that's holy. They want a God that loves them
and accepts their sin. But they despise a God who will
judge them according to their works. Listen to what God says.
God is a merciful, loving God. But at the same time, God reveals
Himself to be just. He says, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression of sin, and will by no means
clear the guilty. God is light, and in Him is no
darkness at all. Our God, the scripture says,
is as a consuming fire. Paul says in first Timothy six
that he is a he who hath immortality and dwelleth in light that no
man can approach unto. Martin Luther said this, I will
have nothing to do with an absolute God. And what he meant by that
was I'll have nothing to do with a with an absolute God in my
own righteousness. I desire not to stand before
God in my own righteousness, because God is holy. He is light and in Him is no
darkness at all. Listen, if you go out into eternity
in your own righteousness, listen, God will judge you and condemn
you. That's just so. Why? Because
He is light and He can have no fellowship with darkness. Can
light have fellowship with darkness? Is that possible that they coexist
light and darkness? No, not a light that there is
no darkness. See, we have light. There's darkness
all around in here. Why? Because this this is not
perfect light. Perfect light cannot have any
darkness at all. It cannot receive any darkness. Otherwise, it's not perfect light.
You see, God being holy cannot have fellowship with darkness. That's the second point. All
that walk in darkness have no fellowship with the light. Look
at verse six. He said, If we say that we have fellowship with
him and walk in darkness, what we lie and do not the truth. If a man professed to have fellowship
with God but walks in spiritual darkness, he does not know the
truth. My friend, all men are born in
spiritual darkness. That's how we were born. You
and I were born what the scripture calls dead. Can you get any darker
than dead? When I close my eyes, I can still
see I can still see the flashes of light behind. When you're
dead, there's nothing. It is darkness. That's how we
were born in darkness. Wherefore, by one man, sin entered
in the world and death by sin. So death passed upon all men.
And if you're without Christ today, you're dead. You're in
darkness. How do you know a religious man's
in darkness? Because they're pretty moral
people. How do you know a religious man's
in darkness? Listen. He is going about to establish
his own righteousness. That's how you know a man is
walking in darkness. He's walking in ignorance, thinking
he can somehow make himself acceptable to God. Somebody sent me a little
message. How do you get to heaven? And
he, this man was really, he said, man, you know, God justifies
you. You're justified. God's 100% for you. But now that you're in this place,
now you've got to pursue holiness. You can't get into heaven with
just justification. What a moron. That man is going
about to establish his own righteousness. Somebody put it this way. They
believe the doctrines of the everlasting Father's love having
chosen the church, the Son of God's redeeming love, working
salvation by His blood and righteousness. They believe the Spirit of God
in regenerating mercy for the entrance into the Kingdom of
Heaven, but they consider these only part means. Well, you've got to have that,
but that's just part of it. You've got to finish the rest.
They're sincere about this friends. They're very sincere very zealous
Man must do something to make it effectual so that they can
have fellowship with God If you're resting in Christ plus
something you've done then you are a liar and the truth is not
in you You have tainted, you have defiled
the sacrifice of Christ by putting your hand to it. So God is light, he is holy and
to have fellowship with him. Listen, you must be as holy as
God is. That's what it's telling us.
This is the message that he is declaring to us. God is light.
And if you're going to have fellowship with him, you cannot have any
darkness at all. And if you say you do, you're
a liar. I like John. He's very he's very
blunt. He don't have time. His books
are very small. He don't have time to beat around
the bush. He just tells you how it is. And thirdly, he says. Herein
is your joy field full that if you walk in the light, you do
have fellowship. Look at verse 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 our sins. If we walk in the light, listen,
as He is in the light. Now, how is He in the light?
How is God, who is light, in the light? You see, the only
way I have fellowship with him is to be just like him. They
have no darkness at all. You must be made holy or you
have no fellowship. Listen, there is no such thing
as partial holiness. That's like saying there's partial
light. There is no such thing as in
the presence of God is partial light. And so to walk in this
light, to be in fellowship with him, you must be as he is. And this is good news. Because
we are who believers in Christ, this is your joy as he is. So are you. in this present world. Friends, you're not waiting to
be holy. You're not waiting to be light. If you are in Christ,
if you are a believer in Christ, you are made light. That's why
He calls you children of light. Children of light. So who are they that walk in
the light? They that believe on Jesus Christ alone. Those
who walk in the light, it is to walk with God. How is it that a man who is a
sinner, born in darkness, then a hater of God, who can have
no fellowship with God, how is it that he be made light? Listen,
only through the blood and righteousness of Christ. Only if he is cleansed from all
his sin can he have fellowship with God. It's the only way you
can do it. The only way you can have fellowship with God is that
your sins be removed. Cleansed. Cleansed. Walk in the light is not a natural
thing, but it's a supernatural act of the spirit to enlighten
you to raise the sinner from the dead. Paul says Ephesians
514, for he wherefore he sayeth, Awake thou that sleepest and
arise from the dead and Christ shall give the light. He's going
to give you the light you need to have fellowship with God,
who is light. It's going to give you that. Is that not joy to know that
you are light? That you have fellowship with
God, who is holy. Remember that man that was born
blind? How happy was he the day he got his sight? You suppose he had some joy.
That he could see. Consider, believer, what you
see. Consider what you see that everyone else can't see. Do you
see your sin? Not everybody can see that. Do
you see your need of Christ? Do you see that he has fulfilled
all that you need? Have you received him by faith? As many as received him, to them
gave he the right to be called the sons of God, which were born
not of the will of the blood, not of blood, nor the will of
the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. You were born of
God. This is our joy that we understand
that Christ is the only way to God. I am the way. You believe that? You think there's another way? Friends, I don't want another
way. I want him. You believe he's
the truth. I say this, let God be true and
every man a liar. He says, I am the life. Is he
the life? Is he the giver of life, the
sustainer of life? Yeah. No man comes to the father,
but by me, you believe that I do. He is the author of all spiritual
life. He is the only way. How is it
then that a sinner could approach unto God? It is only through the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is because He is our righteousness
and our redemption. Paul says in Romans 3, but now
the righteousness of God. without the law that make you
happy. Does that not give you a joy
in your heart that righteousness of God without the law? Totally devoid of your obedience
to the law, that's what I need. I need righteousness without
the law. Listen. Which is manifest. being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God. How is this righteousness
made without the law, without my work, without my merit? The
righteousness of God which is of the faith of Christ. By the
faith of Christ, that's how my righteousness was made. It's
not a cooperative effort. Aren't you glad about that? It's
not a cooperative effort. It's something He did all by
Himself for me. And then He says this, Righteousness
of God which is by the faith of Christ unto all and upon all
them that believe. This righteousness that He made
is both charged to my account and imparted to me. Remember, you pray, do you pray
to God? Are you heard? Now, how are you
heard except you be righteous? You can't. God is light and in
him dwells no darkness at all. You can't approach unto God unless
you are light, unless you are holy. And see, he has made us
holy. He's given us a holy nature. That righteousness is now mine.
It's mine. Let the let this be the joy that
fills your heart. That you and I will never stand
before God in our own righteousness, but only in the righteousness
of Christ. He, by a sovereign act of free
grace, has charged this and imputed this to us, imparted this to
us. you're a believer in Christ and
I declare it to you again and again that you are right now
acceptable. Oh, but you don't know what I've
done. Oh, yes, he does. And he's already taken it to
account and paid for it before you did it. Isn't that gracious? Isn't that mercy? Paul says in Ephesians 4, 24,
he says that you put on the new man. That makes me happy. Because
I'm not what I was. I am, I have a new man. And listen, this new man which
is after God is created in righteousness and true holiness Therefore John
can declare this go to 1st John go to 1st John chapter 5 look
at look at look what John is saying here This is that this
has to do with that fellowship that he's talking about how can
you have fellowship if you're in darkness you can't You got
to be made light got to be made holy look at what he says 1st
John 5 and verse 18 Now we know that whosoever is a born of God,
what? Sineth not. Are you born of God? He is born of God, sineth not. But he is begotten of God, keepeth
himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not. I'll tell you what. In your experience, can you say
that? That you have not seen. Wait
a second. Go back to the go back to John
first John one. Look at this. In verse eight. Look at this. He said this. Oh,
if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us. Wait a second, John. How can you reconcile that? If I'm born of God and I sin
not, but yet you're telling me if I confess that I don't have
any sin, then I'm a liar. You make God a liar. He's telling
us this, that that which is born of God sinneth not. That which
is born of God. When you are born again of the
Spirit of God, that sinneth not. The wicked one can't touch it. But that which is born of flesh
is flesh. And it can do nothing but sin. This is why I said Paul said
put on the new man and put off the old man. And that what you're
always doing. By faith, we put on the new man.
We we acknowledge by faith what great things he has done for
us. This brings joy. That the old man cannot taint
the new. And I bring you happiness that
you cannot Lose it. You cannot taint it. This is what God has done. And
notice he says this, go back, look back at this, he says this. If we walk in the light as he
is in life, we have fellowship one with another and the blood
of Jesus Christ. Cleanse F. Us. From what? From all our sins. Listen to me, when Jesus Christ
died, you mark it down. He cleansed us of all our sins. He did. He put away our sins
forever by the sacrifice of himself. In Isaiah, 44. He says this. See verse. Oh, see, I lost that. Isaiah 44 and 22, I have blotted
out as a thick cloud thy transgression, as a cloud thy sins. Return to
me, for I have redeemed thee. You see, what the Son of God
has come to do is redeem us, to cleanse us. He has blotted
out as a thick cloud. In Jeremiah chapter 50, Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse
20, This is what He says concerning us. In those days and in that
time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and there shall be none. The sins of Judah, and they shall
not be found, for I will pardon them whom I have reserved. When God looks for my sin, He
can't find it. Can you find your sin? Every
day. Every day I see it. But I know
this, that Jesus Christ, who has cleansed my sins. That word
cleanses is a present perfect tense. He means he has cleansed. He is right now cleansing us,
and he will forever cleanse us. Of all our sins. His blood. is an eternal, constant,
perpetual cleansing of our sins. This is how a sinner may be able
to walk in the light as he is in the light. Because the blood
of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all our sins. Now this is the reality of it.
He does cleanse us from all our sins. But I don't feel it. How often have we said that I
feel the guilt? I feel the shame. John says, Look, God has made
you holy, but if you say you haven't sinned, then you're a
liar. You're not really being honest. Truth's not in you, but
this is what we have, that your joy may be full. Listen, if we
confess our sins, he is two things, faithful and just to forgive
us all our sins. That's a good thing he's faithful. That means it's without doubt
he's going to do it. He's going to do it, he's faithful
to do it. One thing if somebody can do something but won't. What if it was God could forgive
us our sins, but you know, maybe he will, maybe he won't. No,
if you're walking in light as he is in light, you believe on
Christ. Listen, he is faithful. He'll do it every time. I just
don't think I've prayed hard enough. I don't think I've confessed. How often have you prayed and
just not Felt the deep contrition. What have to do with it? He's
faithful. And he's faithful were in reason
because he's just to do it. God's mercy, God never has mercy
at the expense of his justice. That's important. God never has
mercy at the expense of his justice. But see, he can forgive me and
still be just. Why? Because the blood of Jesus
Christ cleanses us from all our sin. When our Lord Jesus Christ
died for our sins, he said it is finished. Now then, is it? Is it finished? That your joy may be full. God
is holy. God is light. We are dark. God, by his grace, has given
us a new heart, a new nature whereby we may walk in the light. Have fellowship with God. You
understand that you have fellowship with God. As you go to God, anytime
you have fellowship. You have peace with God. What can disrupt this peace?
A lot of things can disrupt the feeling of peace. But what really
disrupts the peace? Nothing. Because Christ made
our peace, didn't he? By his blood, he made peace with
God. So nothing we do affects that peace that bring you joy,
that lighten the load a bit. It should. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just forgive us our sins. I pray God will bless this to
your heart I've got I've got more but you know time moves
so fast when I'm up here I know out there probably doesn't move
as fast but it does for me. You have fellowship with God. Can you commune with God? Can
you walk in the light of God's holiness and be accepted? who believes on Christ may have
fellowship with us. For our fellowship is with God,
the Father, and with his Son. And his blood cleanseth us from
all our sins. And when we confess them, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Why do we say this? That your
joy may Oh, God, open our eyes to see
this. What great things God has done.
Marvelous things. Pray God would bless this.