Latest / Mount Eaton Church / 1 John 1 - Receive the Light, Proclaim the Light, Walk in the Light - Pastor Jarred Cain - 7.26.2026

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1 John 1 - Receive the Light, Proclaim the Light, Walk in the Light - Pastor Jarred Cain - 7.26.2026 · Mount Eaton Church

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Jared King, born October 24th, 1992. May 24th,
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that was Nick's October 25th. You got me, brother.
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I can mess up on that because I got 25th and
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the 24th. You're right. May 24th, 1992. I got
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saved October 24th of 1992. So anyway. Jared
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graduated from Caring University with a bachelor's
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degree, a master's in Christian counseling, and
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a master's of divinity. To see how God has raised
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this young man in his ways and through his word
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is quite remarkable. I've had the privilege to
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be at his ordination and also to be able to speak
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at his ordination. So without further ado, my
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son, Pastor Jared Cain. Good morning, church.
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Can you hear me? Am I on? Yeah, there we go.
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When my dad asked me to come and open up 1 John
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chapter 1, as I understand it, you guys are going
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to be in there. I'm excited about it. I was like,
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of course. But let's read it together so you'd
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open your Bibles up to John. 1 John chapter 1.
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My dad said the whole chapter. It's only 10 verses.
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Try to be a person of brevity. I will try this
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morning. But we'll read it and we'll pray together.
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1 John 1. That which was from the beginning,
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which we have heard, which we have seen with
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our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched
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with our hands concerning the word of life, the
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life was made manifest, and we have seen it.
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and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal
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life, which was with the Father and was made
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manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard,
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we proclaim also to you, so that you may have
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fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship
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is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
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And we are writing these things so that our joy
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may be complete. This is the message we have
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heard from Him and proclaim to you that God is
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light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we
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say that we have fellowship with Him while we
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walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice
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the truth. But if we walk the light as He is
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in the light, we have fellowship with one another
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and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us
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from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive
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ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess
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our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
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us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar
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and his word is not in us. Let's pray. Father,
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we thank you. We thank you for this morning.
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I pray that you would show up. We are helpless.
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We need you. And if you don't show up, none of
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this happens. And so we pray that you would do
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a work in us through your word, that you would
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show us yourself, that you would show us our
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Savior, you would show us ourselves, that you
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would make this book live to us. Amen. It really
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is my pleasure to be with all of you, brothers
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and sisters, today. And I echo the words from
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John. from this chapter, that we may have fellowship
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with each other. And I come with this message
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so that our joy, that is our joy, may be complete.
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So like when I said my dad asked me to come preach,
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I was more than happy to do so, especially from
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John's epistle. And what we heard and see and
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touch before us in this text is relevant for
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us today. First, consider John's day. His letter
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was written around A .D. 70, maybe A .D. 80,
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the year where the Romans destroyed the temple.
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Around that time, he is writing to a church that
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is both scattered and riddled with false teaching,
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a culture steeped in syncretism, meaning a melding
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of different religions together, a culture steeped
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in Gnosticism, meaning there were people in the
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church claiming the way to get to God was through
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a secret knowledge. Like it was this mystic kind
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of thing. There was confusion in the church and
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the culture at large about who Jesus was and
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if he really mattered, that Jesus was actually
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who he said he was, that he actually rose from
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the dead, that he didn't rise from the dead.
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The opponents of the church were teaching that
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Jesus was just, he was a good teacher, but maybe
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he wasn't really God. That God was just spiritual.
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And he didn't send his son Jesus to redeem sinful
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man. That even it was possible to transcend sin
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itself, right? On their own merit and their own
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accord and can potentially live without sin.
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You see where I'm going? They were undermining
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our Lord. You might say, this doesn't happen
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today. It does. I go to the gym five times a
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week, and I talk to the same guys, and my, like,
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scope of just, like, evangelism has just opened
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up. The Lord's just been opening doors. There's
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this old man, his name is Henry, and he's this
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conservative guy you can get, you know, on the
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right side of the aisle. But he's an atheist.
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He hates Jesus because Jesus didn't heal his
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mom before she passed. And so his thing is like,
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Jesus was a good teacher, and I can get down
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with Jesus' teachings, but he can't be that good.
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Right? He can't be God of the universe. There's
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this other gentleman, his name is Corey. Grew
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up in the church. He's divorced from his wife.
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He has an estranged relationship with his daughter.
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He's a younger guy, a little older than me. I'm
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34. And he's kind of the same way. Jesus is a
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good teacher. And all we need is Jesus' teachings
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in the Gospels, the rest of the Bible. That's
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not God's teaching. Right, kind of this syncretism,
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this kind of like confusion on who God says that
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he is. You know, and you know, not only, maybe
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you have a Henry or a Corey. Or consider yourself.
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We don't think our sin is categorically as bad
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as the next person sitting next to us. You see,
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church. Christianity stands or falls on the person
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and work of Jesus Christ, period. It succeeds
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or fails on whether or not Jesus actually says
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who he says he is in his word, or he's a liar.
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And if he is a liar, then we're doomed, right?
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C .S. Lewis says it this way in his book, Mere
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Christianity. A man who was merely a man and
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said the sorts of things Jesus said would not
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be a great moral teacher. He would either be
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a lunatic on a level with the man who says that
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he is a poached egg, or else he would be the
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devil of hell. You must make the choice. Either
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this man was and is the Son of God, or else a
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madman or something worse. You can't shut up
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for him as a fool, and you cannot spit at him
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and kill him as a demon. Or you can fall at his
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feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not
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come with any patronizing nonsense about him
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being a good teacher. He has not left himself
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open to any such thing or intends to do so. Friends,
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if Jesus is Lord, this changes everything. It
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changes everything. It changes everyone. And
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he makes people. He can make Henry a believer.
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He can convert Corey into a Jesus follower, and
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he can help us see the depths of our sinful,
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sinful, sinful hearts so that we would fall on
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our faces and praise God, singing amazing grace,
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how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like
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me. And I mean that. You could sing that with
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every fiber of your being. This is what I believe
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we have here in 1 John, right? the true Jesus
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of the Bible, as he says that he is, written
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by the beloved disciple. And so you might be
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asking, okay, if this is true, and Jesus is real,
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what does this look like? What does fellowship
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with God look like? Well, I'm glad you asked.
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The question is based in this section of verses
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in 1 John 1. Really in verses 3 to 4. And I believe
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John answers that question in all 10 verses.
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And it would be this. True Christians receive
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the light, proclaim the light, and walk in the
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light. True Christians receive the light, proclaim
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the light, and walk in the light. And he does
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this through three movements. So quickly, if
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I can get through these 10 verses. Verses 1 and
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2. So what does fellowship with God look like?
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Well, true Christians receive the light. That's
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what it looks like. We receive it. This is one
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of the greatest openings in all of Scripture.
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That which was from the beginning, which we have
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heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
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we have looked upon and touched with our hands
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concerning the word of life. The first thing
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to know about fellowship with God is that it
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starts... with the initiation of God, right?
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The first thing to know about this light is that
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he initiates it. This is what he means when he
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says they saw and heard and touched the word
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of life. It was the incarnate Jesus. Friends,
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Jesus is not merely the message of the gospel,
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but he is the object of the gospel. He is the
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gospel. That is where the power of salvation
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comes from, in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
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John echoes this in the beginning of his gospel
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in John chapter 1. In the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,
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and He was in the beginning with God, and all
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things were made through Him, and without Him
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was not anything made that was made, and in Him
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was the life, and the life was what? The light
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of men. The light shines in the darkness and
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the darkness has not overcome it. And the word
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became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen
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his glory. That is his light. Glory as the only
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son from the father full of grace and truth.
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Jesus. This is why I say true Christians receive
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the light. God the son. has come so that all
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who did receive him and believed in his name
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would become children of God, not born of blood,
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nor of the will of flesh, nor even the will of
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man, but of God. Church, this is the message
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for us, that Jesus is light. He's the incarnate
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word of God that saves. And John says that we
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have seen this God -man. We heard him. We touched
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him. He was real. He came to live the life we
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could not live, die the death we deserve, and
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raise again to give newness of life. And he continues
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in verse 2, the life that was made manifest,
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and we have seen it and testified to it, and
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proclaimed to you eternal life, which was with
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the Father and was made manifest to us. It's
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just like he's re -saying John chapter 1 from
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his gospel. That is invisible eternal life. became
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visible in the sun. And if Jesus is eternal life,
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as he says he is, like if he really is, he is
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your life today. Today, he sustains you today.
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All the things we just prayed about, he gives
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life to you today, right now. He is no ghost.
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He is no illusion. He was real. He is real. And
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that's what John is arguing against his opponents.
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That he's not just a nice teacher. That there
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is a resurrection. That God did take on flesh.
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And John says, Jesus is who he says he is. And
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he is foundational to your life. The doctrine
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of Christ's manifestation is of paramount importance
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to us because the message, That's where the power
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comes from. His life. The power of Christ. And
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now, you might be asking, why does that matter
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to me? Well, I'm glad you asked. This matters
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to us in two particular ways. One, without Jesus
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coming in the flesh and living and dying and
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raising again, we have no gospel. We have no
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hope. We have nothing. We have nothing to wake
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us up. We have nothing that motivates us, that
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gives us purpose. We have no salvation. But if
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he did do those things, we have everything. We
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have everything for life. We have joy in difficulty.
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We have hope in uncertainty. And we have power
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in our weakness. And two, I'll start off by saying,
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I don't think people... have difficulty squaring
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the idea that Jesus is both God and man. That's
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difficult, but I don't think at the end of the
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day people deny Jesus because He's fully God
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and man. I think it comes down to this. If Jesus
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is real, if He really came and did all the things
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that Scripture says that He did and that He claims
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to have done, then Jesus confronts our human
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desire to save ourselves. Meaning that if Jesus
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is Lord as he claims that he is, there is no
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other recourse than to submit everything to him.
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Submit your life, and I mean all of it. That
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means your house, your car, your health, your
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marriage, your children, your money, your job,
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every bit of it. your comfort. This is no small
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task, but it's the only thing we could do. And
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it's of the utmost importance for He is Lord.
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And you might say, Jared, that's a lot to ask
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for. What has He given me? We're saying it. What
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has He given you? What has He given you, me,
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everything? He gave His life. This is the gospel.
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That before Jesus, you were dead and you needed
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life and you were guilty and you needed forgiveness
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and he meets those two requirements with his
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life, death, and resurrection. Living the life
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perfectly that we could not live so that salvation
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would actually be attainable, that he would fulfill
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all the requirements of the law to give life.
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And then he would die the death that we deserve,
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fulfilling the satisfaction and punishment of
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God's wrath itself, and to raise again to give,
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not just fulfilling the law, but to give newness
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of life. That is the gospel. And if you trust
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it, your two problems are taken care of. And
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it changes everything. This truth is something
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that we receive, though. This truth is something
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that we receive before we work. You can only
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receive the gospel. You cannot work for it. It
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is freely given. True Christians receive the
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light. They receive it. They receive Jesus. And
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then secondly, true Christians proclaim the light.
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Right? When we come to faith and we receive the
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light of life, the light of men, we receive it
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to proclaim it. Look at verses 3 to 4 with me.
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That which we have seen we proclaim to you. Why?
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So that you may have fellowship with us and have
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fellowship with God and our joy may be complete.
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The impact of Jesus on his disciples cannot be
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put into adequate words. They were radically
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and undeniably changed forever. That is what
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John is getting at for us here. In verse 3, it
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begins with what we have seen and heard and has
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been that repeated phrase for the first three
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verses. But notice the main verb of the entire
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section so far is this, proclaim. For John, he
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could not remain silent in the face of his opponents.
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who were teaching falsehoods. He could not remain
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silent in the face of those who did not believe
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in Jesus, and he could not stay silent to his
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brothers and sisters who needed reminding of
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the gospel of God, the light of God, Jesus Christ.
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This light was the life of men, and the life
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was made manifest to him, and it compelled him
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to proclaim the light. There was no alternative.
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And he longed for everyone to experience the
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same fellowship and joy that he had. You know,
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John talks about this fellowship four times in
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the letter, and it encompasses the joy and communion
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of the followers of Jesus that have a common
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belief, they have common values, they have common
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goals. Meaning they love the same things, and
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they have the same purpose and a common agenda
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to make Christ known. And so John wants all to
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come to this believing community of faith in
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Jesus because he loves the church and he loves
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the lost. He wants to invite all people and no
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one is to be excluded from this invitation. No
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one who comes by the way of Jesus, the light,
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the word, the one who gives life will ever be
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denied entrance. Meaning if you have fellowship
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with God the Father and His Son, you have fellowship
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with one another. That is the unity that we have
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with one another. True unity built upon the person
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and work of Jesus Christ. And we often take this
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unity and fellowship for granted. Biblical unity
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is deeper than conformity. Our unity is not built
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on identical opinions, but on the blood of Jesus.
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Consider the gospel that binds each of you at
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this gathering, at your local gathering here.
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Consider your Lord who has tied you together
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so intimately that you can come together no matter
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what corner of the earth you may be on by one
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unifying element, the blood of Jesus. that the
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gospel here is clearly proclaimed among you,
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that your elders care for you, and you are of
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one accord together. Today, think about that.
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That is no small thing. That is much to praise
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God about. You see, biblical fellowship is more
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than just coffee after church or enjoying another's
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company, and it is never conformity to particulars
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that are up for debate. Fellowship is sharing
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a common life in Christ. Because we belong to
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the same Savior, we belong to one another. Then,
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when that is done, and that settles and you sit
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in that, That eternal life in Jesus that transformed
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you, let it flow from you to others that you
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would proclaim the light for all those who walk
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in deep darkness and make it your goal, Christian,
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to add more to your numbers. From your neighbors
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and your family and your friends and even your
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grocery store attendant, add more to this gathering.
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Add them to this family because they need Christ.
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And John continues, though, for us as another
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reason why he proclaims the light. In verse 4,
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to complete his joy. God is most glorified in
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us when we find our joy in him. That is a rewording
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of John Piper's banner -waving phrase. And I
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believe it's true. To find our joy in Christ
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means that we will not rest until the non -believing
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world comes to know the same joy that we love.
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Think of verse 4 as a motivation for John's proclaiming
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the light. And it should be ours as well. Joy
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in God. You see, John's joy was not complete
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until the world around him shared, the Christ
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that he loved. He needed those around him to
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know the joy giver. There was too much darkness.
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There was too much blind men. There were too
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many people stuck, and he had the cure, the light
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of life, Jesus. And this is not a partial joy.
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This is a complete joy, an all -encompassing
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joy, a full joy. All we could ever want or need
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is wrapped in the single life of Jesus Christ,
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and it is He who provides life and light to all
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peoples. We have fullness of joy in our shared
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life with Him, the Father and the Son. The fullness
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of our joy is ours through our friendship with
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one another, with God, with Jesus, the Father.
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And this is only possible through the gospel
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of Jesus Christ, the light of God, God's Son.
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So you may ask, okay, well, what's that about?
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How do I, what does that mean for me? I'm glad
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you asked. But I'm going to ask you a question,
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and you can think about it. Very basic application
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of question from those two verses. Is your joy
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not complete until the world around you knows
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the Jesus you love? Proclaim the light and watch
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Him do wonders. But that's not all. Verse 5,
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10. Walk in the light. True Christians receive
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the light. True Christians proclaim the light.
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True Christians walk in the light, right? John
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continues his argument, dialing in for us what
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the message is and what it does, that true Christians
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walk in the light. Verse 5 tells us in one succinct
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sentence what the message of this is at its core.
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God is a light, and in Him there is no darkness
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at all. This is a character description of God
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Himself. that John even proclaims that Jesus
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made himself. He says this in John 8 .12. If
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you're familiar with the Gospel of John, he says,
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I am the light of the world. Whoever follows
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me will not walk in darkness, but will have the
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light of life. The light we receive, the light
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that we proclaim, and now the light that we walk
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in is not simply a message. It is a person. It's
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Jesus. This is significant for John because light
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provides illumination in dark places and shows
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us where we need to go when it's hard to see.
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Jesus, who is light, provides us an example of
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how to live, on how to walk. Light is also a
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means of purification, and for Jesus, to be light
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means he's holy, he's glorious, he's a purifier.
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That this light of men shines so brightly, it
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means to purify every sin -stained fiber of our
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being so that we would be in perfect fellowship
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with God. Light here for John is not just a nice
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allegory, it's not just an illusion to think
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of our Savior, but to teach us what is truly
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ethical and moral in God's economy. Simply put,
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God is light, so walk in the light. This is clear
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in verse 6, which begins this kind of three -part
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correction of the false teachers and people who
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claimed weird things, right? John says, if we
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say we have fellowship with God, that is with
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Him, but walk in darkness, we're a liar. The
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claim that some were making, was that they had
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fellowship with God, like true relationship.
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This was their claim. They had true relationship
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with Him, and yet were walking in darkness, meaning
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they were living sinful lives continually. John's
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indictment does not mince words. Those who claim
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such things are liars, and they don't practice
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the truth. Right? You're like, well, how does
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that play out today? Just get your flavor of
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politician. All of them are Christians. Are they?
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It's crazy. Or just your favorite celebrity.
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Everyone uses Jesus as a bumper sticker, but
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it doesn't change them. Jesus changes people.
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So it's not compatible. You can't practice the
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truth when you lie about it. That is... They
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don't practice it. They don't do the truth. Such
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a person deceives themselves as they claim to
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have fellowship with God, but because of the
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incompatibility between the character of God
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as light and their own character as sinful men
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living in darkness, they are liars. And you see
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they were deceived in thinking that they could
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have fellowship with God and still make a practice
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of sin. Our sin is so egregious, it's so unholy,
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it's so filled with darkness, that it is in complete
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contrary nature to who even God is as light.
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Friends, if you want to know who God is, just
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look around. You don't have to look at a particular
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politician. Look at us, this room. It's amazing
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that God has kept the roof above our heads when
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he could have collapsed it upon us because of
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our sin. That's how bad sin really is. It's a
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cosmic rebellion against God. But we have this
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promise. God is light, and in Him there is no
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darkness. There is no fine print with God. Bring
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your nothing, and you receive everything. This
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is grace, and this is verse 7, the gospel for
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us this morning. But if we walk in the light
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as he is in the light, we have fellowship with
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God and with one another, and the blood of Jesus,
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his Son, cleanses us from all sin. John's logic.
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Follow me for a second. Follow me. God is light.
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That is the message that they proclaim and we
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proclaim. And if he is light, then if we are
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in him, we are in the light. This is the opposite
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of living in darkness. True Christians walk in
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the light. And when we walk in the light, there
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are particular benefits to walking in the light.
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Namely, we have fellowship with one another,
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right? The whole company of God's people. But
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how does this happen? By what power, by what
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power do we walk in the light? The blood of Christ.
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That is what I meant. when I say verse 7, is
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the gospel for us. When we are in the light,
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we are immediately aware of the stains on our
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clothes, and we can see the devastating effects
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of sin on our lives, and the light illuminates
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the darkness and begins to do something powerful.
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It cleanses. The sinful man comes, sin and all,
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into the light, and to his amazement, that Each
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dark blemish begins to disappear. The blood of
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Jesus, God's Son, cleanses from all sin. And
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John is speaking of the death of our Lord. This
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was always the pattern, even in the Old Testament.
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Someone would give a sacrifice for sin, blood
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would be shed, that sacrifice would cover them,
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and it would purify them, and their life was
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found in that sacrifice. The same... It's for
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us, friends. The same is for us. For our Lord
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does the same thing. Christ's death was to purify
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us from sin, to remove our sin, to forgive our
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sin and its defiling effects that we would no
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longer be condemned in the sight of God. That
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God's judgment would be removed from us and placed
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on another. Jesus. That he would be a satisfying
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sacrifice. That his life, death, and resurrection
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would be an aroma to God that was just not pleasing,
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but sufficient. That is the gospel. And although
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we fight sin daily, our victory is found in the
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power of Jesus, who has defeated both the penalty
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of sin and the power of sin for us. Praise God.
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So awaken from your sinful slumber. Walk in the
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light. John doesn't allow us to sit comfortably,
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though. He continues to call us to war with our
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sin as he continues by saying, if we say we have
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no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is
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not in us. He's reiterating his earlier point,
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except the lie gets deeper. There were those
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who not only said they had fellowship with God
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and lived like hell, but also there were those
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who said that they had no sin. That is, that
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they believed they had transcended sin, that
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they were not actively sinning when they actually
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were. Right? They didn't need to be cleansed
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from sin because they had none. This is blasphemy.
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For if you remove sin, you remove the necessity
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of the Savior. So to say that you have sin or
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to say that you have no sin means that you are
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a liar. But the converse is that if we say that
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we are sinners, the truth is in us. The takeaway?
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Admit your sin, church. Admit your need. Admit
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your helplessness. Is your walk in the light
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characterized by confession and repentance and
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perseverance? John seems to think so because
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he says in the next verse, if we confess our
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sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
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sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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If we confess, God is faithful. I need you to
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catch this with me. Our cleansing is not conditional
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on our confession. Right? Not in and of itself.
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But by trusting in the faithfulness of Christ,
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that's where our cleansing comes from. It is
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not the confession itself that cleanses, but
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God's faithfulness through the blood of His Son,
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Jesus, that cleanses us. To confess our sins
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is not merely to admit that we are sinners, but
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to lay it before God and to seek His forgiveness.
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And if we do so, we can be sure of this thing,
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that He will forgive you, that He will purify
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you. Based on what grounds? I'm glad you asked.
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His own character. not the strength of your confession.
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He is faithful, and not just faithful, but just
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to forgive sin that is confessed. The faithfulness
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lies in God's adherence to His promise that He
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will save His people. Is that not the same of
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the writer of Hebrews when... The writer says
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in chapter 9, Therefore, brothers, since we have
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a confidence to enter the holy places by the
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blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that
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he opened for us through the curtain that is
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his flesh, and since we have a great high priest
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over the house of God, let us draw near, near
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with a true heart of full assurance of faith,
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with our hearts sprinkled clean from every evil
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conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
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It is John that reminds us of this point in verse
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7. But God, being rich in mercy, has removed
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the guilt and power of sin in the human heart
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to walk in the light. For darkness has no power
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over you. And yet again, the detractors, if you
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see the last verse for us, if we say we have
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not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is
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not in us. It is one thing to deny. Present sinfulness.
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It is another to deny past acts of sin, and that's
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what the claim is here. This truly is the final
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nail in the coffin for them, and John's indictment
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is a heavy one. Their claim is that they had
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no sin even in the past. And John says, it's
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not that you're just a liar. You make God a liar.
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And his word is not in you. Yes, that word, the
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living word, Jesus. Jesus has not made his home
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in you if you say such things. The claim that
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one has never sinned once again claims man as
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his own savior, disregarding his need for Christ
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and the Lord of all. who is the only way to the
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Father and the only way to life, who is the light
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of life, the only one who purifies from all sin
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by his life, death, and resurrection. To claim
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this would be a rejection of the entirety of
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the scriptures, and the narrative is one of universal
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sin and man's natural bent to be enemies of God.
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But God sends his Son to save sinful man because
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men could not save themselves. So that all who
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would come to be justified by faith in Christ
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alone, by grace alone, would receive the light,
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becoming children of God, proclaiming the light
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to make others children of God and to walk in
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the light as children of God. So church, this
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morning, I asked one central question. What does
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fellowship with God look like? John's answer
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is not secret knowledge. It's not performance.
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It's not pretending to have no sin. It's not
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merely claiming to know God and living like a
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person who does not. The answer here is true
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Christians receive the light, proclaim the light,
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and walk in the light. So some of you here, you've
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heard and you've never received the light. You've
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admired Jesus as a good teacher, but never Lord.
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You never submitted to who he actually is. I
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invite you, as John does, to submit to the real
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Jesus, to come to the light, receive Christ as
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he receives sinners, and his blood cleanses from
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all sin. Some of you here, you've received the
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light, but never proclaimed the light. You've
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hidden it under a bushel. John reminds us that
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Christ is the one we receive. He is the light.
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And this Christ is the one we proclaim to the
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dark world who will illuminate the dark. So even
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if they stone you like they did Stephen, well
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done. God wins. So do you. You get Jesus. They
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spit at you. They get angry at you. Go unafraid
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to share the light of the world. Christ and Him
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crucified. And some of you here, you're just
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tired. You're tired because you're sin. And you're
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tired because of the effects of sin. They seem
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unbearable. They seem insurmountable. Friends,
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confess your sins because He is faithful and
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just to forgive sins and cleanse from all unrighteousness.
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Never run from the light because of your sin.
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Instead, run into the light because that is where
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cleansing and rest is found. The light Jesus
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Christ has come into the world. And I urge all
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of us, especially myself, receive Him, proclaim
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Him, and walk in Him. Let's pray. Father, we
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come before You and we thank You for Your Word.
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We pray that You would apply it to us. that you
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would help us see you, see our true Savior, and
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see ourselves. Make this book live to us. Amen.