Sermon Tone Analysis

Good morning!

We are week 3 in of our Series entitled - Radical Community…

I am really excited in what God is doing in our congregation..

We have four Community groups meeting and I would like to encourage you to participate…not only will you get something out of it your will be a blessing to someone else...

We are going deeper together in these Epistles of John..

Most people have heard of the "five second rule"—that if food spends just a few seconds on the floor, dirt and germs won't have enough time to contaminate it.

Parents sometimes apply the rule to pacifiers (after their first child of course)

There was actually a two year study conducted in 2016 to test the theory!

Professor Donald W. Schaffner, a food microbiologist at Rutgers University, did the study ..

You can check it out for yourself in his journal article "Is the Five-Second Rule Real?"

Professor Schaffner tested four surfaces—stainless steel, ceramic tile, wood, and carpet—and four different foods: cut watermelon, bread, buttered bread, and strawberry gummy candy.

They were dropped from a height of five inches onto surfaces treated with a bacteria.

The researchers tested four contact times—less than one second and five, 30 and 300 seconds.

A total of 128 possible combinations of surface, food, and seconds were replicated 20 times each, yielding 2,560 measurements.

So after those 2,560 drops they found that no fallen food escaped contamination, leading Professor Schaffner to conclude, "Bacteria can contaminate instantaneously."

In other words, they debunked the legendary five second rule… Think that most us figure that out… already!

This morning we are talk about Spirtual Metrics… We use Metrics/numbers measurements --- to help us understand out actual properties and values… Metrics help us understand something — When it comes to our health we might stand on a scale..

I don’t know about you but the scale is not my friend… it seems like it never gives me number I’m looking for.....The scale gives us one measurement of health--- it’s not the only one measurement… There are other measurements, blood pressure, heart rate, body composition..

Throughout the Bible there are metrics for Spiritual health health… For example in Galatians 5 where we are given list of fruit of the spirit… We are encouraged to live in the spirit… walk in step with the spirit and we are told what this looks like..

There are other measurements of spiritual growth… John 15 Abiding in Christ… In the book of 1 John there are several tests/metrics for walking with Christ… 1 John 2 John says that those who claim to abide in Christ should walk as Jesus walked…

In 1 John chapter 2:9 .

John uses is the measurement of light… who ever says he walks in the light yet hates his brother is in darkness.

The reason John may use the reference of “light” may be on account of claims of the Gnostics - who equated “knowing God” with being “enlightened.”

John says knowing God is about obedience to his word than “enlightenement”

T/S Lets look at our text — John was the only disciple that made it to old age… Tradition tells us that John in his old age was still teaching about the love of God… and loving others…

The first metric that John gives us has to do with our Affections.

Our affections have to do with our emotional life... something that is close to us… strong affection or love for something.

John challenges our affections… The first metric is..

1. Do my Affections align with the Word of life?

John uses paternal language—throughout the Epistles of John… From the tone of his letters...

You get the sense that he wants us to succeed in our walk with Christ and in our relationships with each other…

John address the church plural in the singular “Beloved” the greek word Agapao - this is a person that is cherished and sometimes preferred above all others and treated with partiality… He uses the phrase” I am writing to you’ 6 times and by so doing reinforcing that there is a mission and purpose behind his letter...

He is eager to remind them of the great commandment… It’s both an Old Commandment and a New commandment---

This isn’t some new radical teaching that he is presenting but rather it stems from Old Covenant……

The Old Testament law had commanded, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Leviticus 19:18), and Jesus commanded his disciples, ‘Love each other as I have loved you’ (John 15:12).

But this is a new commandment because Jesus has now shown the kind of love involved.

He has washed his disciples’ feet—acting as their slave even though he is their Lord (John 13:12–15).

And he has given his life on the cross—making the supreme sacrifice for everyone in the world.

John tells us that with the coming of Jesus into the world the Light has been significantly increased... Jesus is the light of the world and with his coming darkness is diminishing and the light is increasing…

In Second Temple Judaism there was the Messianic expectation…where they were looking for the Messiah...

The long-awaited Messiah, and that therefore the new age began when he came.

He was the dawn of the new era.

He ushered in the day.

He proclaimed the break-in of the kingdom of God.

At the same time, the old age has not yet come to an end.

As John put it, ‘the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining’.76

So, for the time being, the two ages overlap.

Unbelievers belong to the old age, and are still in the darkness.

But those who belong to Jesus Christ have been transferred into the new age, into the light.

Already in Christ we have ‘tasted … the powers of the coming age.’

Already, God has brought us ‘out of darkness into his wonderful light’.78

Only when Christ comes in glory will the present overlap then end..

W are told that light not only exists in God but his light now lives in us..

“What’s true of him is true of us…” God’s light now shines in our heart… One of the metrics for Spiritual growth is walking in the light…

One of the test has to do with our Affections (emotions) toward other (believers)—

Here is Johns polemic/argument..

‘If we make the claim that we are walking with Christ in his light but we still hate our brother… we are really not walking with God.

To claim existence “in the light” of God is one matter; but to do so while practicing hatred, rather than love, is a contradiction.

Westcott (55) says, “there is no twilight in this spiritual world.

That ethical line that John brings up… Ethics is all about behavior… if you living in this quadrant of spiritual growth… It has to influence the way we interact with each other.... (if we are below the line) — no longer walking in light…

The word Hate miseo means to dislike intensely —to show aversion towards, or to decrees in status…(belittle) Grow hostile towards someone…

Whoever loves his brother Abides in the light… (above the line) ---

Have you ever been in pitch black room… My first job was in a dark room --- developing photographs… the old fashioned way… You can function in the darkness but your are blinded to the fact that you are blinded…

The tragedy of hatred is always twofold.

First, there is the harm it does to the neighbor; second, there is the harm it does to the person who hates.

Hatred, according to John, blurs vision and sets into place a basic disorientation and confusion.

Love clears the head; hatred confuses the head.

There is even a greater danger: we become like that which we do.

When we choose the strategy or tactics of darkness we inevitably end up under the control of darkness.

Walking in light and so there is no stumbling in the relationship… walking together in the light...

The point is plain.

If we lose love then we lose everything.

There is nothing left.

You can do all the right things, believe all the right truths, but if you do not love other Christians, then all is lost

When we walk in darkness we stumble… (prov 4:17)

—

The litmus test of Abiding and walking in light is how much love you putting out there……

T/S John gives us another test and it has to do about what we know and put into Practice..

T/S The second test is..

2. Do I Affirm the great truths of the Scriptures?

This phrase I write to you comes up 11 times in this Chapter… Speaks of intentionality and mission in John Letter… Specific things he wants them to know… and it has to do with knowing Jesus the word of life.... knowing him personally.

John talks about little Children… Fathers and young men…They are not give in a specific order and so scholars have different ideas - some say these are general qualities that are make up the church-…Calvin held to this view…

more general view.... but other day like Augustine.. held to Another view which is more specific....that I think might be likely....

The three groups listed—children, fathers, and young men—most likely refer to three spiritual stages represented by John's readers.

Some are new believers, still rejoicing in their forgiveness.

Some are seasoned believers, mature in their knowledge of God.

And others are just hitting their stride as followers of Christ, full of zeal and strength.

Wherever they might be in their journeys, he doesn't want them to get discouraged by his challenging words, and he wants them to understand that he has their best interests at heart.

And certainly all three groups are represented here today—some of us are new to the faith and full of gratitude and curiosity; some have been following Christ for a lifetime but still are eager to grow; and others are enjoying a season of strength and impact.

Wherever we are, we are all eager to go deeper in our faith this year.

And like a wise parent, John sits us down and looks us in the eye; he tells us that he loves us and is proud of us, and that he has something very important to share with us....

But it is not who… that really matter but really what is John saying to this demographic in the church...

The message is the same…that it takes faith to receive the message…the message has to be heard believed and appropriate or apply…

Theology talk about Appropriation… Especially in Salvation

The appropriation of Christ as Savior means to fully receive all that He has done on Calvary for the redemption of your soul: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (Jn.

1:12).

a. Appropriating the work of the cross..

Young Christian (Children) mature (fathers) know that your sin are forgiven..

This is back to chapter 1 where John tells us that he writes so we do not sin…However, because of we are in process and not perfect… When you do sin… You have an Advocate with the father… remember that when God forgives us he put up a sign no fishing….

Forgiven (means freedom - its being released from a consequence) - Forgiveness does not come by degrees.

Even the youngest Christian is completely forgiven.

They will never be “more forgiven.”