July 18, 2021 Sunday Morning Service

Lighten up.

Appreciate the presence of everyone this morning. Glad that you're here. we have been obviously talking about 1st, John and talking about lighting up, Christians need to lighten up. That is, we need to become illuminated by God's word and we also need to become illuminators. We need to teach others right about the light of Truth in God's word. And so as Christians, we need to line up and that's what we've been talking about for the past few weeks from the book of 1st John. And as we think about lightning up here and getting to know more about God's will, for us, we're talkin about the confession of sin. Making that confession. And God wants us to not only talked to him, what he wants, us to confess our faults with him. Our sins. If you will, after all, he knows everything about us. He knows what we have done. He knows what we don't do. Never, there are sins of omission and sins of commission, and he knows every one of them. And what he desires of us in, having this little talk with him in our prayers, is that we confess to him. Father of struggle. Bother, I've done this and I've done that. I don't want to do that and I don't want to do this, but I find myself.

He wants that conversation. He wants to be the father, that hears your heart because he knows your heart and because he knows our heart, our hearts are exposed to him. He desires that we just tell the truth. Tell the truth to the father And really, that's what confession is about. And I reminded of a father who was talking to his two son, who had just got back from my first year in college. That's all the father, sat down with a son. He says, son up. How do you like school? Find. But how do you like your classes, fine? House Dormer. Fine. Dormitory. Find.

Have you picked a major yet? Yes. Well what is it Communications?

As you are dads and you want to have a conversation with your son or daughter, I'm sure you're familiar with those one word answers. But why car heavenly father? He desires us to speak with him. To provide more than that one word answer. But to just empty our hearts to him because again he knows everything about us. There's nothing that we can hide from him. It's so God. Welcome welcomes. That confession. If you will do as we think about the idea of confection

Go to First John chapter 1, which is what Caden did read for us this morning. He says this is the message which we have heard from him. And declare to you. That God is light. And in him, there is no Darkness at all. if we say, we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, We love them and do not practice the truth. Now, that practice the truth is in yellow because it's directly related to what file

But if we walk in the light, so let's go back. Practice the truth. Walk in the light, same idea expressed with different words so you saying. But if we practice the truth, And here he says walk in the light, but if we practice the truth, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that, we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not said, we make it a liar and his word is not Ennis. So if we go back, We find. 1 2 3, 4 ifs. So, we're dealing with conditional statements here. So if we walk in the light, That's a maybe you were mine. John Sang, we want you to walk in the light. God wants you to walk in the light but you might have walked. So it's, it's a, the move there is that it's a subjunctive mood, which means that it's a mine or maybe mood, you might walk in the light, you might not. That's why it's a conditional statement, if you walk in the light of the next one says, if we say we have no sin now again, just to remind us, there was a group of people that are rose within this community of Christians. And they believe that they did not have sent in their lives, nothing to repent them because the flash is guilty of sin, but not the spirit. So, therefore the flesh which is sinful, cannot contaminate the spirit, which is righteous. Given by God. So, that was their impression and that was the teacher, that was causing this division among the people. And, of course, John is riding to say, listen, that's what they're saying. But you know what I said, And what they're saying, contradicts what I have said. so import this letter is an encouragement for them to follow the truth, to lighten up and to confess Because the purpose of confession is to agree with God, that's the literal meaning of the word, confess to agree with some, we confess our sins to God. We're saying father, I agree with your way, I'm the one who is wrong. I am the one who has traveled on your way, and I'm confessing to you that and I want to return to your way. That's confession. I'm agreeing with God. And yet, there are a lot of people in this world that don't agree with God because they don't believe they're in sin. The Bible tells us over and over again that we were dead in our trespasses and sins prior to our conversion to Christ. We were with that is the very status of a person who has not been baptized into Christ Jesus, that's their status. They have yet to agree when what Jesus said. And you know what? Jesus said, he that believes in his backpack. She'll be safe. People struggle with that. And they have yet to say, okay,

I'll be baptized. But they struggle and her several reasons for that, which we'll talk about and just a second. But as we consider what John is riding basically, what he is saying, is somebody's lying here. And I thank God. So who's lying about this Shin problem? Looking at it statistic from the Barna group? They claim that 40% of the Christians. They polled. Do not believe in sin. 40%, that's almost half. People walk around. I don't have any sin in my life. And yet, what are we just read? If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in US. Clearly we said and clearly there's a remedy for the sit. And again John is reminding them of that. Now there's several ways in which people like to do away, with the impact of sin-1 is simply reject that it exists like 40%. Another percentage I could not tell you that person it but there's another percentage of redefine, what's it is, you know, the sin of adultery afternoon affair. Just fooling around. Right. Or how about this. It wasn't really a lie. It was late. Just a little while. Well, we need to find send that way. And it's not in accordance with God's word and therefore it's not in agreement with God's work. Therefore there is nothing to agree with God of that because there's nothing to confess to God. And that is a situation in which you find many people. It kind of reminds us of the gnostics that group of people were dealing with here in the book of 1st John who believed that they had no sin in their life. But the point is, God is light. And in him, there is no Darkness at all. Nothing no darkness, no life. No Darkness with the light to never say that. Light is dirty. Or whatever. Say the light is dirty dark, right? The dark cuz he represents in. So I'm saying in the light of God, and because of that, God is light. That means he cannot condone the darkest. He cannot make light of sin.

So, here we had the idea that God is light and he cannot make light of sin. And so the idea that saying like is Black or White is dirty is an Abomination to God because there is absolutely no darkness in light. In fact, light exposes Darkness, light exposes sitting right there. A season's chapter 5 is pointing out. She doesn't have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them some translation reprove. It's the same idea. Reproving is exposing. so it's the light of God's word that exposes the darkness of sin and it's the light of God's word that exposes the darkness of sinners. And this particular case talking about those who produce unfruitful works of darkness.

Boston, that's related to false teaching, but I can beat him with regards to Morrill Acts. In this case in Morrill acts because he goes on to say for this shameful even to speak of those things which are done by then and secret. But all things that are expose are made manifest, by the way, from whatever makes manifest is locked. And so the idea that truth, expels the darkness light, expels the darkness truth and light exposed to send expose the darkness. That were made beer before Gone. Truth will always do that. Until again, there's only a couple of ways in which you can get rid of the the light and that's to extinguish the light and we can read about how they attempted to do in the first century, right? And that is God allowed these people to crucify his son. Now the devil and all them folks who put Jesus to death on a cross thought they had completed their mission. They thought they had extinguished the light But far from and of course, you know, the rest of the story. That's why we gather here today to remember our Lord, to remember that he's coming back for us, that it was him who arose from my dad that he arose from the grave. We sing and he arose victoriously And so, that is the purpose of which were talking about that Resurrection has exposed the world of sin. And expose the devil for who he is. And so let me think about the idea of extinguishing the life. They thought that they could do that by virtue of the Cross or the other way again is to redefine sitting in a lot of people like to read the fine. What sin is in fact, Is it not? It's not Christianity these days if you're reading your newspapers, Is it not being attacked? By so many forces that there is pressure from our government in our government, officials to exception. So much. So that if you do not accept this in the shut, you down, So, that'll never happen here in America. It happened and is continuing to happen. Just across the border in Canada. Churches and preachers are being jailed. Because they're standing up for the light of God's word. And so now we have to face perhaps persecution in America for the first time. If not now it will be soon. And it's coming, it may not be you and me but it might be the next generation. How would I stand up to the persecution to the pressure? You can always see it on television. Almost every other commercial now. It has a homosexual couple. They're forcing it down our throats. They want you to get comfortable with the fact that Jill and Jane are together and that John and Jim are together. And that they are a married couple. And that there is nothing wrong with that union. Nothing whatsoever. And if you dare talk about it, you are the bad person. You are the one who is facing the pressure and there are a lot of people out there facing the pressure. We need to stand up for ourselves. We need to keep the Lord's Church in our prayers that people don't cave to the pressure.

But again. The idea of redefining sin goes back to the 1st Century as well. Remember, we talked about in Romans, chapter 6, Paul. Last of the classic question. Right. He says, shall we continue in sin that Grace May abound will evidently the Christians in Rome were thinking I was immersed in Jesus Christ, was baptized in Jesus Christ. Evidently I can go and send and that baptism will keep on cleansing me and that was the purpose of baptism. So that you can send more because the more you send the more the water or the the Forgiveness of sins from Netflix ISM, when he climbs, you would keep purifying you. And so the more you send the greater the grace of God. There's a principal there and that is yes, God's grace is always greater than our sin. But Paul responds by saying, you have misunderstood, shall we? Continue in sin that Grace May abound, certainly not. And then he reminds him for you died with Christ. You were buried with him in baptism and that you were raised with him out of waters of baptism to walk in newness of life. And so there has to be a changed. There's always a change needed when one is converted to Christ. Jesus. so, Back to verse 6, if we say, we have fellowship with him and do not practice the truth, we lie, we lie. and, The truth is not in him because we don't practice the truth and I just want to point this out to you. If you have your Bible verse this is the old fashion way. Go to First John chapter 3.

1st John chapter 3?

He says in verse seven little children, let no one to Seaview. He who practices righteousness is righteous. Just as he is righteous. If we practice righteousness, we become righteous just the way Jesus is righteous. That's what John is saying and then he says if you continue practicing righteous, you continue being righteous, just as Christ is righteous. So the idea here is to practice to put in motion to work at to provide effort in doing what God desires of you to do. What's the weather? Use the word practice. Because it doesn't really give the force of perfection. Right. Practice makes perfect as they say but will never be perfect because we will always sit. But that being said he says, I still want you to practice when I play football. We were not a good football team. but we would practice you would practice 2 in But seeing how we were in apt at what we did, as athletes with, as much as we practice, we would still get me, right? But we practice none, the less and so it is with us. We need to continue to practice. We won't have defeats. We will fall

You know, that's a fact, right? I'm not just making this up. You have fallen, you will fall, right? That's because we are imperfect people. And as I mentioned last week, there are so many people. That sit in a church, and because something goes wrong in their lives. They feel that maybe this church is not good for them, so long to find a better church. And they go elsewhere, Well, the only thing they're doing is going from one in perfect Church. Imperfect church because wherever human beings who are Christians. Gathered together, there's an imperfect assembly because of being imperfect people but we can be better Christians and therefore be better churches, right? And there's an old saying if you want a better church that begin with yourself A better Church begins with me. I'm not comparing myself to you and to you and to you, I'm just listening to what God has told me to do a lot of people think well, so, and so's not doing this and so-and-so's not doing that. So I'm not going to do it. No, you have a responsibility to God regardless of whether so-and-so and so-and-so is not doing their responsibilities. Don't forfeit your responsibilities because someone else was forfeiting their own responsibility. Remember it is you individually who will stand before Jesus Christ on the great Judgment day. You will give an account of what you have done in the body Walla Walla. 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5 verse 10. And so no one can stand before. You, you cannot go by proxy and have someone stand in. For, you know, you are going to be there, getting an account. Why did you do this? Why didn't you do this?

Well, just like kids, who give one word answers, fine, fine. We will become like, kids and say, I don't know. I don't know. Why did you do that? I don't know. But God knows. And that's the point here, he's talking about confession to agree with. And against some don't agree with Jesus through a lot of people who believe that Jesus is the Christ. And I've heard him. I've heard people say, I believe Jesus is Lord, but I disagree with some of what he said.

Well I believe you Apostle. Paul was truly the Apostle of Jesus Christ but I don't agree with him when it comes to women submitting to men. He's just a He has to keep moving. He doesn't like the women and that's the way the word back they really. Remember, Paul is speaking by the spirit of God numbers, God is speaking through. Whatever Paul says, Paul says in 1st Corinthians, 14 and verse 37, whatever I write unto you, these are the Commandments of the Lord. God speaking through Paul. So again, you cannot have fellowship with God, except on his own terms on his own. So that means how do we have fellowship with God while we walk in the light? Remember just before that he says, practice the truth So we need to do that, we need to walk in the light, which is practicing the truth. And then he says, when you walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another and that great. Right. That's talking about this wonderful idea of the Church Fellowship with one another. That's a beautiful thing. And then he says, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanses us from all sin. So we have fellowship with one another and we have fellowship with Christ, God. And it's his blood that cleanses us from all sin.

You are all sons of life in Sons of the day, we are not of the night, nor of the darkness. That's what happen when you came out of the Waters of baptism. Your child of God. You agreed with God to become a child of God and with that you have agreed with him by a covenant, the new cover. But I will walk in your word as every child of God all tomorrow. that was the agreement we met and so we can see that along the way as we walk we will send That doesn't mean we're Sinners. It means we sent. That doesn't mean we are Children of the Night. We're still Children of the light, not children of the night even though we send. But the beauty of it all is well, we walk we fall and well, we fall we have blessings that no other people have. Everyone outside of Jesus does not have these blessings. 1 and most importantly, the Forgiveness of sins.

You say it, well. Don't people get forgiven by God, not if they're not in Christ. Remember what Paul said? This is what people disagree with Paul. The clear statement of Paul is that we all spiritual blessings are found where in Christ Jesus, that's where they're located, that's where you need to be. That's where I need to be. That's where everybody needs to be in order to enjoy the blessings of the Forgiveness of sins.

So walking in the light God cannot make light of sin and then he never will sit his sin to God. And according to Isaiah chapter 59, verses 1 and 2 sin separates us from the father Sin separates us from God until until it's remedy until we confess the sin. Remember if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Every time we practice,

And that's my child. Give him the blood of my son, that's my child. Give him the blood of my son and that blood will continue as we walk and even as we fall because we're dedicated to being righteous by practicing. The righteousness that God has given us to do, remember making ourselves by practicing righteous righteous. God has given us things to do, right? So the righteous things that come from God, they make this, right? We don't make ourselves right. Just and really what he's given us, his Works to do And that's Grace, Grace has provided us. Those Works to do and here he says, it will close out here. John chapter 3 verse 18, you believe in him is not condemn, but he does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the authority of the only begotten, Son of God and this is the condemnation that but what has come into the world and Men loved Darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for everyone. Practicing, evil hates the light and does not come to the light. Lest his deeds should be exposed. A lot of people do that. Especially Christians, you know how they say, they want to avoid the light because they don't want to be found out. So what are they do? They Boyd Christ. They told you they avoid me. They void Church, they avoid the Bible. They avoid that very thing which has them and someone they push it aside while they too have redefined soon. but what it comes down to is this, God is light in him, there is no darkness and what he saying is, if you find yourself in the fold of God, When you send your still in the line because the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanses us from all sin and you can have that today, if you desire to the Jesus said, he that believes and is baptized shall be saved in a pond that salvation you receive, all those spiritual blessings. And one of those spiritual blessings, will be the Forgiveness of your sins and you can be assured that you're forgiven, what's in a beautiful thing? That's the good news of Jesus Christ. He can make you whole today. He can wash you from all your sins, if you're willing. Won't you come and say that's together? We stand in Spanish.