Walk in the Light
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Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Church, I want to tell you about a European heiress who was a tycoon of a very lucrative empire that specialized in producing solar panels.
This heiress had so much wealth that she tipped in $100 bills...
She dined at the NYC’s fanciest restaurants...
And she splurged on private fitness sessions that cost upwards of $4,500 per session.
Her home and base of operation was at a luxurious hotel called “11 Howard,” which cost up to $400 per night.
One journalist even commented on her extravagant spending and said,
“The way she spent money, it was like she couldn’t get rid of it fast enough.”
She was friends with NYC’s top CEOs, athletes, and movie stars.
You could say she was like a Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashion.
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Except for one major difference.
She was a con artist and her background and wealth was all a lie.
This “European heiress” was actually no heiress at all.
Her name is Anna Sorokin and she is considered one of the biggest con artist of all time.
She defrauded banks of millions of dollars by using forged financial documents.
One article covering her exploits said this,
“ Court documents later revealed that Sorokin forged financial documents claiming a net worth of $71 million in Swiss accounts to the City National Bank so that she could secure a loan of $22 million in November 2016.
She later submitted the same documents to Fortress Investment Group to secure a separate $25 million to $35 million loan.”
Her reputation, that she elaborately worked on before she even got to NYC,...
Allowed her friends to pay large bills, upwards of $65,000, on her behalf with the promise that she would pay them back...
She never did.
Additionally, when bills of her hotel stay became to great...
She was eventually kicked out only to hop to another luxurious hotel...
And when the demand for the huge bill came she left and continue this cycle until she was eventually caught and arrested.
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So, what do we learn from a sad story like this?
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Well, you can claim all you want to be a wealthy European heiress worth $71 million dollars...
But your actions will reveal the truth.
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Many today claim boldly to be Christians and followers of Christ...
But their actions reveal the sad truth that they don’t really know the Lord.
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An this takes us to our study for today.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the 1 John.
We will be conducting our study in Chapter 1 and focus on verses 5 through 7.
Our message this morning called “Walk in the Light”
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
So, let’s look at our first point...
God is Light...
And at the same time...
God is void of any darkness.
1) God is Light = God is Void of Darkness
1) God is Light = God is Void of Darkness
Verse 5: This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
John is making very clear that the message that he is proclaiming is directly from God.
This is the message that was found in Jesus’ earthly ministry...
And by Jesus’ own words, we know that the Father and the Son shared the same message:
Jesus said in John 12:49:
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
In fact, we see full unity and in the Trinity when we also see that the Holy Spirit testifies of this same truth.
John 16:13-14 says:
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
So, the message that John is declaring is the same message that comes directly from God.
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That message is that God is light.
God is good.
And to be crystal clear John says there is no darkness in God.
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John stresses this because many people claim to know God...
Many people claim to understand God...
Many people think God is unfair...
Many people think God is evil and a monster...
But those people simply do not know the God of Scripture.
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The people who can’t rationalize the reality of evil in the world with the reality that God is totally sovereignty claim there is a problem with the existence of evil.
They claim either God is not powerful enough to stop evil...
Or that God can stop evil and His refusal to stop it makes Him evil as well.
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But this type of thinking is completely worldly and man-centered.
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Just look at the cross for example.
Can you think of a greater evil than crucifying Jesus on the cross?
He is sinless and perfect.
He is God!
But the cross was necessary.
And it was part of God’s plan from an eternity past.
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Yet, at the same time the evil that was commited was put on the head of those who committed those acts and not on God.
Don’t just take my word for it.
Look at what Scripture has to say on the matter...
Acts 2:23 shares this profound truth:
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Do you see that, church?
Jesus being delivered to the cross was according to God’s predetermined plan.
Yet the sin falls on the hands of lawless men.
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John is sharing with us that God is good...
All the time.
And all the time...
God is good.
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John wants us to understand that God’s ways are higher and better than our ways.
John is just echoing what many other authors of Scripture have already said.
Take Isaiah 55:8-9 for example.
God says in His own words:
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
John wants this truth to be clear to his readers.
Because id God is good then His followers should be good too.
Yet if we claim to follow Him and walk wickedly then we prove that we are just con artists.
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And with that it brings us to our next point.
If we walk in darkness...
Then that is evidence that we are unbelievers...
No matter what we claim.
2) Walking in Darkness = Evidence of Unbeliever
2) Walking in Darkness = Evidence of Unbeliever
Verse 6: If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
Beloved, just because someone claims something does not automatically make it true.
Our society today seems to have a difficult time understanding this.
Years and years of indoctrination and manipulation has led to a society that doesn’t believe in absolute truth.
The world wants you to believe that truth is just relative.
And everyone’s truth has to be treated like truth.
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That’s a lie from the pit of Hell.
You can’t claim to be man if God made you a woman...
And you can’t claim to be a woman if God made you a man.
And you definitely can’t claim to be a new made up gender.
Your opinion doesn’t matter.
God’s truth is what matters.
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Likewise, you can’t claim to be a follower of Christ if you live a life of darkness.
You don’t get to declare your gender.
God does that.
And you don’t get to declare to be a follower of Christ.
God does that too.
He is the one who will declare you justified.
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Your opinion doesn’t matter.
God’s truth is what matters...
And God’s truth clearly stats that light and darkness cannot have fellowship.
Consider what it says in John 8:12:
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
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So, what does a life of darkness look like?
Maybe you are wondering since the world seems to be confused about what is good and what is evil.
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God speaks on this matter all throughout Scripture but let’s focus on what it says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul, knowing that the world is filled with lies warns us.
“Do not be deceived”
It doesn’t matter is the world is okay with it.
It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t bother you.
God’s word is final.
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The sexually immoral will not enter the Kingdom of God.
You can’t make a practice of adultery and watching pornography and practicing homosexuality and call yourself a follower of Christ.
Do not be deceived!
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Idolaters will not enter the Kingdom of God
You can’t make an idol of your money or your phone or your hobbies or your job or even your family and call yourself a follower of Christ.
Do not be deceived!
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Thieves will not enter the Kingdom of God.
You can’t make a practice of stealing and thievery and call yourself a follower of Christ.
Do not be deceived!
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The greedy will not enter the Kingdom of God.
You can’t live a life where you want everything for yourself and only think of yourself and call yourself a follower of Christ.
Do not be deceived!
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Drunkards will not enter the Kingdom of God.
You can’t get drunk all the time and get high on drugs and call yourself a follower of Christ.
Do not be deceived!
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The revilers and swindlers will not enter the Kingdom of God.
You can’t make a practice of speaking abusively to others and taking advantage of people and call yourself a follower of Christ.
Do not be deceived!
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None who make a practice of sinning...
None who live carnal lives...
None who live wicked lives...
Will ever enter the Kingdom of God.
As 2 Corinthians 6:14 says:
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Contrary to popular belief...
Light and darkness cannot have fellowship.
John will reiterate this in this letter and his other two letters.
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Take for instance what it says in 2 John 9:
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
You just can’t be a follower of Christ and ignore His commands...
To live hypocritically like this is to prove that one does not have God.
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Consider also what it says in 3 John 11:
11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
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So, ask your self...
Have you seen God?
Do you do evil?
Do you make a practice of sinning?
This is not to claim that we can be sinless.
John will latter on in this letter make it clear that that is not possible.
But do you make a practice of sin to the point that you are a slave to sin?
If so, then you do not walk with the Lord.
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But if we do walk in the light...
Then that is evidence that we are a true and genuine believer...
And this takes us to our next point.
3) Walking in Light = Evidence of Believer
3) Walking in Light = Evidence of Believer
Verse 7: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
If we walk in light...
Then we will have both fellowship with God and fellowship with other true believers.
As one biblical scholar said in one of the commentaries I studied on 1 John,...
“The false teachers whose opinions [John] is quoting and refuting in these verses boasted of their fellowship and communion with God, but they neglected the fellowship with men.
John wants to remind them that they cannot have fellowship with God unless they have fellowship with other Christians.”
So, if we truly walk in light...
Then that is evidence that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us of all our sins.
If we walk in light...
Then we have been made brand new.
If we walk in light...
Then we are a new creation.
If we walk in light...
Then we are no longer a slave to sin.
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Remember the list of sins we covered in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10?
The ones that if we make a practice of them then it is proof we where never saved.
These sins may have been a practice of ours in the past but they are no longer a part of our daily lives.
If you continue to the next verse, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:11:
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If you are a genuine born-again believer than you no longer make a practice of sexual immorality or idolatry or adultery or homosexuality or thievery or greediness or drunkenness or being revilers or swindlers.
When the chains of sin are broken...
And the Holy Spirit lives in you...
You can’t go back to the ways of darkness...
Because God will equip you to do good.
Remember what Jesus says in John 15:4–5:
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
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As a believer, you will grow in the fruit of the spirit.
You will grow in the areas listed in Galatians 5:22-23:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Again you will not be perfect in all these areas.
You will fall short.
But as a believer you will practice of love...
You will make a practice of joy...
You will make a practice of peace...
You will make a practice of patience...
You will make a practice of kindness...
You will make a practice of goodness...
You will make a practice of faithfulness...
You will make a practice of gentleness...
You will make a practice of self-control.
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So, again you must ask yourself, do these gifts mark your life?
Are you filled with these gifts?
Are you growing in these areas?
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If so, then that is evidence that your faith in real.
That is evidence that God has had mercy on you and opened your eyes.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close I want to share this excerpt from an article I read this week.
In the early morning of August 11, 1977, in a Brooklyn police station interrogation room, David Berkowitz calmly confessed to his captors that he was the one they had all been looking for.
One of the largest and most chronicled manhunts in the history of New York City was finally over.
At the time of his arrest just one day earlier, Berkowitz’s first words were, “Well, you got me. How come it took you such a long time?
By the time he was finally stopped, thirteen innocent victims would be shot.
Seven of those would lose their lives to the man who would become known as The Son of Sam.
His year-long reign of terror left the city of New York in a state of panic.
On June 12, 1978, Berkowitz, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 25 years to life for his crimes.
In 1987, 10 years into his sentence, a stranger approached Berkowitz in the prison yard.
He said, “David, Jesus Christ loves you.
He wants to forgive you and he sent me to this prison to tell you this.”
The stranger handed Berkowitz a New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs.
At first, Berkowitz refused to believe that Jesus would want to save a man like him.
But one day, as Berkowitz was reading his Bible, he came across Psalm 34, and as he read verse six, “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles,” David knelt on the hard, prison floor and began to weep.
At that moment, the Son of Sam died.
The Son of Hope was born.
Now, grasping the power to reach lost souls that his life in Christ has given him, David Berkowitz spends his days spreading hope to the imprisoned.
In a recent statement, he said, “God is using my infamous past as a platform to display His power to transform even the worst of sinners, and to show forth His great mercy and salvation is available to everyone.”
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Wow, church.
A serial killer who was into the cult and made a pack with Satan was transformed into a genuine born-again believer.
Despite his many dark and twisted sins, Christ cleansed him of it all.
For David Berkowitz, he went from walking in darkness to walking in the light.
He went from being known as the Son of Sam which was a reference to him serving a demon...
To being known as the Son of Hope in reference to his dedicated service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is our hope.
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So, ask yourself...
Where do you walk?
Do you walk in the darkness?
Or do you walk in the light?
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For those that walk in the light, be encouraged...
God is with you and continuing to transform you into the image of His Son.
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For those that walk in darkness, be warned...
You can’t just identify as a Christian...
You need a miracle that only God can provide...
You need to be born from above...
You need to be born again.
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So, repent and turn from your life of sin...
And believe in the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Abandon you former master and surrender your life to the only Master worth following.
Turn your life to Jesus.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.