KEY THOUGHT...

“Don’t walk in darkness, walk in the light”

1. [THE GOOD NEWS] “GOD IS LIGHT” (HE IS HOLY)

[READ 1 JOHN 1:5]
— Last week [1 JN 1:4] John wanted our ‘joy’ to be complete…what is the message of that joy? That God is LIGHT…he is HOLY

-- JOY DOESN’T START WITH US
True joy, comes into our lives when we have a proper understanding of WHO GOD IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE. From God’s perspective, not our perspective || we think that our joy comes from our own happiness…but John wants us to have a GOD CENTERED understanding of where that joy comes from…it comes from knowing and experiencing the LIGHT OF GOD…his LIFE and his HOLINESS. — [READ || JOHN 1:4]“in him (JESUS) was LIFE, and that LIFE was the LIGHT of men” || He is the source of pure life and the source of pure joy because he is the source of perfect goodness…he is perfect!

-- NO HINT OF DARKNESS IN HIM AT ALL
God does not have a ‘dark side’…man that is such good news || He is HOLY: there is no one like him, he is perfect goodness, he never does anything wrong, he never messes up, he never says oops and never has regrets! || unlike us… || God has no stain of evil anywhere in Him || he never messes up, ever || so what does this perfection and goodness look like?

[READ || 1 JN 1:9] “…he is faithful and righteous”
- “God is FAITHFUL” (he keeps his word) and
- “God is RIGHTEOUS/JUST” (he always does the right thing, his actions never contradict his words)
-- Q: What if he wasn’t faithful to us? What if we couldn’t trust him? What if he wasn’t just and didn’t act consistently towards sin and evil? We want God to be faithful and just.

-- THIS IS GOOD NEWS FOR US!
He is HOLY, He is LIGHT, He is JUST

[READ || PSALM 9:9-10]
“9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.”

—> A PROMISE BECAUSE OF THIS GOOD NEWS… if you have experienced the pain of a spouse hurting you or going through a painful divorce…or you have experienced the pain of someone who has hurt or abandoned you—listen to me…God will never, ever, ever be unfaithful to you or abandon you. You can trust him because he is HOLY, he is FAITHFUL, he is PERFECT and JUST.

-- So that is the GOOD NEWS! Interestingly enough, that good news actually reveals to us the bad news…

2. [THE BAD NEWS] “WE WALK IN DARKNESS” (WE ARE SINNERS)

[READ 1 JOHN 1:6]

-- CONTRAST…LIGHT vs DARKNESS
[v5] God is LIGHT (Holy, Faithful, Perfect, Just)…[v6] we walk in DARKNESS (the exact opposite)

-- WALKING IN DARKNESS
I believe this verse is talking about salvation…not just a christian who is struggling with sin || I believe a christian can struggle and can be sinful for sure…but I believe John is trying to help us understand that you can’t say you have fellowship with God (be saved/forgiven) and WALK [live] in DARKNESS [sin and disobedience] || 15 times from 1:6-2:2 John mentions sin or a sinful thing || darkness, sin, lying, deceit || we act in ways that are opposite of Gods ways || Sin is a really big problem. I mean really really a big problem

-- EVERYONE HAS SINNED
[READ || ROM 3:23]“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
…you and me…everyone…this is a big huge problem.

-- LOOKING AT THE PROBLEM OF SIN
I love that the truth of the gospel is that God loves us and sent his son Jesus as proof of that…and through Jesus we can have forgiveness of sins and eternal life with him experiencing everlasting love and fellowship. || But sometimes we run quickly to that reality and don’t consider the seriousness of our sin…and by doing that we can begin to believe we really aren’t that bad, that sin isn’t that big of a deal, but that is not a good place to live || [v8]“8 If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” || We lie/deceive ourselves || We minimize sin || We re label sin || We excuse sin || when we do that, God says we are ‘liars’, ‘deceived’, and we even ‘make God out to be a liar’...These two truths (God is Holy and We are Sinners) create a massive problem

-- CAN’T GOD JUST FORGIVE AND MOVE ON?
Q: God is love right? Why can’t he just forgive me, he knows I’m just dust, prone to wickedness, can’t he just say “that’s ok, I’ll let this go and just forgive you.” || NO HE CAN’T || No…he can’t just do that…because in his HOLINESS he is also JUST. Simply waving his hand and letting us go free would go against his character, and he is FAITHFUL, he won’t go against his word or character

COURTROOM ILLUSTRATION
A Judge who has a guilty person in front of him…instead of imposing the punishment due him because of his crime…the judge just lets him go || we would demand justice, the people he committed this crime against would demand justice…we would be screaming for this judge to be removed from the bench || JUSTICE is good and right…God is JUST…so he can’t and won’t just wave his hand and dismiss the charges

-- THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO
We are sinners, guilty of lawlessness before God, there is nothing good in us…nothing. Because of that, God, who is the righteous (just) judge, has to justly judge and punish sin. || There is nothing we can do to change God’s holiness, righteousness, faithfulness, perfection. And…there is nothing we can do to change our sinfulness…

-- WE HAVE A MASSIVE PROBLEM
So we have a big problem, massive problem, and we can’t solve it…this is a God sized problem. Only he can solve it || And guess what? HE SOLVED IT…AND THAT IS THE GREATEST NEWS!

3. [THE GREATEST NEWS] “JESUS SOLVED OUR SIN PROBLEM” (HE IS OUR ATONING SACRIFICE/ADVOCATE)

[READ 1 JOHN 1:7-10]

-- THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES
Sin is the problem. The blood of Jesus is the solution. || [vs7,9] tell us that the sin problem can be fixed by the blood of Jesus…he is faithful…he is righteous (just) || His blood CLEANSES US and it is the means of our FORGIVENESS from God || John in [2:1] says that the goal here is that we would not sin…that we would not live or walk in darkness…but that we would walk in the light, in fellowship with God. || But that is impossible to do on our own…it requires the BLOOD OF JESUS.

-- BUT HOW?
How does the blood of Jesus cleanse us from all of our sin, forgive us, and satisfy God? Why did Jesus have to die for our sin? The only way to understand this is to see the ‘sin problem’ and the solution from GOD’S PERSPECTIVE.

-- GOD’S WRATH MUST BE SATISFIED
From the beginning, God has said that sin results in separation and death (story of God). Our sin required God to act.

[READ || ROMANS 1:18-21]
"18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened."

Sin wasn’t just our problem…sin was God’s problem… || God’s wrath against sin and sinners was because of his righteousness, he is JUST and HOLY, he could not just wave his hand and forgive sin, it required a just payment. || We saw this from the very beginning…Adam/Eve || MOSES animal sacrifices || but it was temporary…it only covered for a moment the problem of sin…it did not satisfy the full wrath of God against sin and sinners…but God had a solution in Jesus

-- JESUS IS OUR ADVOCATE/ATONING SACRIFICE
Jesus was able to satisfy the wrath of God, BY HIS DEATH, the shedding of his blood, he was the acceptable, sufficient sacrifice for sin and sinners

- JESUS IS OUR ADVOCATE
[READ || 1 JN 2:1]“My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father ​— ​Jesus Christ the righteous one.”

COURTROOM ILLUSTRATION
God the Father sits as the Judge (HOLY, he is FAITHFUL, he is PERFECT and JUST.)…we are the guilty party, standing in his presence, deserving of judgment because of our sin, deserving of the wrath of God…and Jesus is the defense attorney, who stands before the judge, knowing of his righteousness, his holiness, that our sin requires the full judgement of the Father, receiving his full wrath…but Jesus, the advocate says “I will represent them, I will defend them” || He is our defense attorney || I’ll take their place, I will bring glory to you Father by satisfying your wrath, taking on the judgement of their sin, allowing you to forgive them based on my payment of sin” || so how did that happen…he became our…

- JESUS IS OUR ATONING SACRIFICE
This is a very important title for Jesus || [READ || 1 JN 2:2]“He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.”

- WHAT IS AN ATONING SACRIFICE? || PROPITIATION || defined means ‘a sacrifice that satisfies wrath’ || in God’s love for us and to satisfy his holy righteousness (just) God made a plan to fix the problem of sin…He sent Jesus to die in our place… Paul described it in this way…
[READ || 2 COR 5:21]
“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” || Paul also described it in this way…
[READ || ROM 3:23-26]
"23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus."

BACK TO THE COURTROOM ILLUSTRATION
God the Father sits as the Judge (HOLY, he is FAITHFUL, he is PERFECT and JUST.)…we are the guilty party, standing in his presence, deserving of judgment because of our sin, deserving of the wrath of God…and Jesus is the defense attorney, who stands before the judge, knowing of his righteousness, his holiness, that our sin requires the full judgement of the Father, receiving his full wrath…but Jesus, the advocate says “I will represent them, I will defend them” || He is our Advocate…our defense attorney || and now as the ATONING SACRIFICE, he says “I’ll take their place, I will bring glory to you Father by satisfying your wrath, taking on the judgement of their sin, allowing you to forgive them based on my payment of sin”

QUOTE: DAVID PLATT…
“Jesus died to show that indeed God is holy. God is perfect. He is righteous and just. And He is good and He is loving. In one crowning moment in all of human history, Jesus died to satisfy the wrath of God due sinners while showing the love of God to sinners at the same time.”

4. [WHAT DO WE DO?]
KEY THOUGHT: “Don’t walk in darkness, walk in the light”


-- WALK IN THE LIGHT
…don’t believe the lie that real joy, peace, purpose is found in anything or anyone else other than Jesus…

SEEKER: [BE JUSTIFIED…penalty of sin]
If you are far from God, you have never asked Jesus to forgive you and save you from your sin, the Bible says that you are dead/spiritually. You are an enemy of God, and are subject to his wrath against sin and sinners. Jesus has made a way for you to be forgiven and for you to have fellowship/relationship with God.
1) Repent and Believe
2) Confess your sins [STOP TRYING TO HIDE YOUR SINS…don’t minimize sin, diminish sin, excuse sin, don’t rename or recategorize sin || CONFESS means to say the same thing about sin that God says about it…]
3)Receive the free gift of forgiveness through Jesus’ death

FOLLOWER: [BE SANCTIFIED…power of sin]
Q: if Jesus died for all of my sins, and I am forgiven, then why do I have to keep confessing and repenting of my sins? || If you are a follower of Jesus and you are living in sin, your fellowship with God hasn’t ended but it is certainly affected || my relationship with my kids || Jesus instructed us to pray “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us” || When we sin, we need to repent (have a change of mind), confess (say it is what God says it is…be honest, serious, specific) and go back to walking in the light, following Jesus, living in fellowship with God

-- LIVE IN GOD’S GRACE…some of you have a very acute sense of your sinfulness || you know full well how sinful you are || and you beat yourself up over it || “its me again and I'm back because of that same thing I talked with you about yesterday” || “I’m so tired of my sin and constantly coming back to God about it…he must be really tired of me too” || “God just can’t love me anymore, not after my constant sin, there have been too many failures…I am mad at myself and he must be angry with me too…he just can’t love me anymore” || I want you to know those are lies sent from satan to keep us from running to God, our Father. He wants to negate the very work that Jesus did so that we can have a relationship with God…his days are numbered and we need to know the truth and not believe the lies

-- REMEMBER SATAN IS AN ACCUSER…
John had a Revelation from God, and in it he heard a loud voice tell us about this accuser and his fate in the end

[READ || REV 12:10]
"10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down."

COURTROOM ILLUSTRATION
Satan accuses, Jesus advocates, Jesus paid the price, Father overrules Satans accusations, Paid in full, we are free!

"BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD ABOVE"
Author: Charitie Lees Smith (1860)

Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong, a perfect plea;
A great High Priest, whose Name is Love,
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace.

One with Himself, I cannot die;
My soul is purchased by His blood;
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ, my Savior and my God.

RESPOND, REFLECT & COMMUNION

I would like to give you a chance to respond to God…

-- What did God reveal about who he is to you today in our time in God’s word?
-- What did God reveal about what he has done or is doing in our time in God’s word?
-- What did you learn about who you are as we looked at these stories today?
-- What did you learn about what you are supposed to do?

—> Let's take a minute to thank Him, respond to Him, confess our sins to Him, examine our hearts before we take communion...

—> WHAT IS JESUS SAYING TO YOU TODAY?
—> WHAT IS JESUS ASKING YOU TO DO?