Sermon Tone Analysis

God's Help for the Hurting Heart

1 John 1:1-10

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - Nov. 3, 2013

*Years ago, Mary and I used to get into fights on the way to church.

Maybe it was the stress of getting two small children ready for Sunday school, or maybe the devil just tried to upset us when we were trying to worship God.

Of course that's not the only time we ever argued, but it seemed real easy to get into a squabble when we were headed to church.

*Then as soon as we opened the car door, there was an instant transformation.

We would put on the happy mask, and no one knew we were going at it tooth and toenail a few seconds before.

*I'm happy to report that we no longer fight on the way to church.

Of course we come in separate cars.

But probably all of us have put on masks at church.

Many times it's to cover up a hurting heart.

They ask, "Hey, how're you doing?"

You put on a big smile, and say, "Fine, fine," when nothing could be further from the truth.

*Lots of people are hurting in our world, including God-fearing, Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians.

One estimate I read said that probably a third of us are hurting right now.

And if you aren't, one day you will.

[1] Sometimes we hurt from the grind of life.

*Think of a mom who works a fulltime job, then heads home to her other fulltime job.

She is completely worn out, and it hurts.

Think of a dad in danger of losing his job.

Or he's got the job, but he can't make the money go far enough.

Or he's got the money, but he can't get 25 hours in a 24 hour day.

And the frustration hurts.

*Maybe you are sick.

Maybe your wife, husband, child or parent is sick.

It may even be one of those times when there is nothing you can do about it.

You feel helpless.

And the helplessness hurts.

[2] We can hurt from the grind of life.

And we can hurt from grief.

*Many families in our church have gone through the loss of a loved one in the last few years, and that's not the only kind of grief.

Some of us have been through the loss of trust, the death of a relationship with your husband or wife.

*Or maybe you lost a child, not through death, but through a broken relationship.

Years ago, a friend told me an old saying about children: "When they are young, they step on your toes.

But when they get older, they step on your heart."

Sometimes that old saying is true, and it hurts.

[3] We can hurt from grief.

And we can hurt from guilt.

*2 Corinthians 7 tells us that there is such a thing as "godly sorrow."

It comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

And the Apostle Paul tells us that this godly sorrow is a good thing.

Why? -- Because it leads us to turn away from sin, and turn toward our Savior Jesus Christ.

*Sometimes we feel guilty, because we are guilty, and it hurts.

But Psalm 34:18 talks about this kind of hurt, and says: "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."

And in Isaiah 61:1, our Savior says: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

*No matter why we hurt, God wants to help.

And today's Scripture shows us how.

1. First: God will give us fellowship.

*One of the best things about Christianity is fellowship.

John mentions it four times here in the Word of God, but what is fellowship?

*Somebody said fellowship means "two fellows in one ship."

Ed Wood explained that fellowship is the idea of having something in common.

It means a partnership, community, participation.

(1)

*Tim Peck said that fellowship "describes 'mutual sharing,' whether it's sharing our lives, our hearts, our possessions, or our tears."

(2)

*This is the kind of fellowship God wants us to have with each other.

Listen to John in vs. 1-3.

Here John called Jesus "The Word of life," and said:

1.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life

2. the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us

3. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

*As Christians, we get to have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Even better, we get to have fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ!

What a great blessing!

And part of the blessing is giving and getting the help we need.

[1] God helps hurting hearts through our fellowship with each other.

*All of us will hurt from time to time, so God wants all of us to help each other.

The Apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Cor 1:3-4:

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

4. who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

*You and I can make a difference in the lives of hurting people.

We can and should comfort them with the comfort that God has given to us.

God wants us to be conduits of His comfort.

As John Jowett once said: "God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters."

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*That's why in Ephesians 6:21-22, Paul wrote these words:

21.

But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you;

22. whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

*The best human help we will ever get will come from devoted Christians like Tychicus.

And that's the way God wants us to be.

*James Stockdale was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and Jim told about being tortured.

He said that over and over again through his pain and cries, he could hear his fellow prisoners tapping in Morse Code: "God bless you Jim Stockdale.

God bless you Jim Stockdale.

God bless you Jim Stockdale."

(4)

*Jim said that's why he was able to get through the torture and the pain.

And God can use us to help people get through pain.

Christians: God helps hurting hearts through our fellowship with each other.

[2] But best of all: If we believe in Jesus Christ, if we have received Him as Lord and Savior, God helps us through our fellowship with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

*Listen again to John starting in vs. 1, where he was talking about Jesus and said:

1.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life

2. the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us

3. that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

*We can only have fellowship with God the Father through God the Son, Jesus Christ.

And we all can have this fellowship, because God's Son came into the world.

The eternal Son of God became a man.

This truth is so crucial that John used four different verbs to describe his experience with the God-man, Jesus Christ.

*In vs. 1, John said he physically "heard" the Word of Life, Jesus Christ.

In the Sermon on the Mount, "John heard the voice of Jesus teaching with God's own authority."

He heard Jesus tell people that their sins were forgiven.

In Mark 4:39, Jesus and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of a terrible storm.