1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,700 All right, we are going to continue in our sermon series, 2 00:00:03,700 --> 00:00:05,640 whose sermon is it anyway? 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,140 We're going to look at 1 John 1 and 2. 4 00:00:08,140 --> 00:00:09,740 We're going to be in a little bit of both. 5 00:00:09,740 --> 00:00:11,440 Actually, I think for this sermon, we're actually just 6 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,680 going to stay in 1 John 1. 7 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,580 But I want to start because I want to, this is not a word 8 00:00:17,580 --> 00:00:21,780 that we talk about a lot, or it is in a lot of cases here. 9 00:00:21,780 --> 00:00:25,820 It's a word we talk about here, but it's a word that we don't 10 00:00:25,820 --> 00:00:27,060 really talk about at parties. 11 00:00:27,060 --> 00:00:29,500 It's a word that in a lot of sense should make us 12 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:32,360 uncomfortable, but if we're being honest, it's a word that 13 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:34,040 we actually are in love with. 14 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:40,140 It's actually something that we walk in and we, I hate to say 15 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:42,840 it, revel in at times, and I'm talking to myself first and 16 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,980 foremost, I'm talking about a word that you don't really 17 00:00:45,980 --> 00:00:48,420 bring up at parties. 18 00:00:48,420 --> 00:00:52,120 It's a word that we don't really put on our mouth a lot. 19 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,520 We don't like to bring it up really anywhere, but it's 20 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,780 constantly on our minds, and it's a word that we are really, 21 00:00:57,780 --> 00:01:01,400 really good at as far as projecting onto other people and 22 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,760 rarely wanting to look at it of ourselves. 23 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:06,660 It's a word that has helped define kind of the reform 24 00:01:06,660 --> 00:01:11,700 theology that we hold to here as a church, and it's a word 25 00:01:11,700 --> 00:01:19,080 that in so many senses is the greatest damnation in our life. 26 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,380 I'm sure you could guess it, but it's the word sin. 27 00:01:22,380 --> 00:01:26,720 That if we really are honest, sin is the dirtiest word that 28 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,360 we have in our vocabulary. 29 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,760 Now some of you are like, oh, well, Pastor, I could probably 30 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:33,160 tell you a couple more. 31 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:34,160 Please don't. 32 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:35,420 I'm not asking for that. 33 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:40,200 But understand those don't compare to what this word sin 34 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:41,200 actually means. 35 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,100 Sin, this word comes out of more medieval times, not the 36 00:01:45,100 --> 00:01:48,440 restaurant where you eat, but more of the era medieval times. 37 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,240 It had to do with archery. 38 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,740 That this word sin is what happened. 39 00:01:52,740 --> 00:01:55,640 We've talked about this before, but maybe people that have never 40 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,580 heard this, that sin had a lot to do with medieval archery. 41 00:01:58,580 --> 00:02:00,420 That when they were doing the archery games, if you think of 42 00:02:00,420 --> 00:02:04,860 like Robin Hood, they would all take their shot from whatever 43 00:02:04,860 --> 00:02:05,860 distance. 44 00:02:05,860 --> 00:02:08,300 Now if you're Jeff Dane-A-Borg, you're probably going to win 45 00:02:08,300 --> 00:02:10,860 because my guess is he's the best archery shot here. 46 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:15,560 But even Jeff has sinned when it comes to archery. 47 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,100 Now Jeff has sinned in life just like all of us, but when you 48 00:02:18,100 --> 00:02:22,280 missed the mark, you had someone by the target, which you would 49 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,380 want that job, to stand right by the target where everyone's 50 00:02:25,380 --> 00:02:27,140 pointing and shooting arrows at you. 51 00:02:27,140 --> 00:02:30,080 They would hold up a sign and yell, sin. 52 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:35,520 That sin is the missing of the mark. 53 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,520 And when we look at it in light of the scriptures, if we look at 54 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:44,760 it in light of who we are, this word sin, this word idea of 55 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:50,360 missing a mark should grieve us. 56 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,160 It should. 57 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,580 Knowing that every day we're sinners, knowing that every day 58 00:02:54,580 --> 00:02:59,480 we wake up and sin manifests itself in all different ways. 59 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:00,480 Right? 60 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:02,720 We've got almost what, 240 people here today. 61 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:08,260 That's 240 different ways that sin has messed up your life. 62 00:03:08,260 --> 00:03:11,660 Though some of our sin struggles may be the same, they're also 63 00:03:11,660 --> 00:03:13,420 very, very different. 64 00:03:13,420 --> 00:03:15,660 That if you're just going to look on, let's just look on this 65 00:03:15,660 --> 00:03:16,760 side of the church. 66 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,760 All right, don't worry, you're going to get yours on this side. 67 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,600 But you look up here, we probably have what, 75 people in 68 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:26,900 this section, that sin has messed up every one of your 69 00:03:26,900 --> 00:03:29,140 lives. 70 00:03:29,140 --> 00:03:32,540 That you have an active force working against you, wanting 71 00:03:32,540 --> 00:03:36,120 you to mess up, wanting you to hurt people, wanting you to do 72 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,420 everything that we just were commanded not to. 73 00:03:39,420 --> 00:03:43,120 We have idol worshipers, we have blasphemers, we have 74 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,160 adulterers, we have all of that over here. 75 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:48,360 So thank you for coming. 76 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:54,000 On this side, we have the exact same thing. 77 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,140 Balcony, you're not, you're not, you're no different, right? 78 00:03:57,140 --> 00:03:59,140 You just bring it to a higher level. 79 00:03:59,140 --> 00:04:04,280 Don't forget to tip your waitress. 80 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:05,720 People online, you're perfect. 81 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:06,720 Just kidding, no you're not. 82 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,620 You're, you're, I'm not going to go there, but you're sinners 83 00:04:09,620 --> 00:04:10,620 too. 84 00:04:10,620 --> 00:04:17,160 But understand that we all, I think it's so funny, and again, 85 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,860 I don't plan it this way, I do believe it's the Holy Spirit, 86 00:04:19,860 --> 00:04:24,800 that we're talking about sin on Preparation Sunday. 87 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,600 That next week, we're, those that will be here, those that 88 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,240 are members of a church, will partake in the body and blood 89 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:32,240 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 90 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,340 Not that we believe, it turns into that. 91 00:04:34,340 --> 00:04:36,480 We're not Catholics, that's how Catholics believe. 92 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:37,580 We don't believe that. 93 00:04:37,580 --> 00:04:40,080 We believe it's a sign and a seal of the grace God has 94 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:44,980 afforded us because we need it. 95 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:48,660 Now I don't know the last time you mourned over your sin, but 96 00:04:48,660 --> 00:04:52,760 that's what this sermon is going to talk about. 97 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,740 Because if we're not in a place to mourn over our sin, then we 98 00:04:56,740 --> 00:05:00,800 are in a place that we don't understand salvation. 99 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:01,800 Let me say that again. 100 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,280 If we don't know what it means, and if we've not experienced 101 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:08,000 the mourning over our sin, then we don't actually understand 102 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:09,140 the weight of salvation. 103 00:05:09,140 --> 00:05:13,320 Well, Pastor, you're starting to talk like people of wrath. 104 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:15,680 We talked about that the last couple weeks, that people of 105 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,560 wrath always have sin on the mind, always have sin in their 106 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,280 mouth, always have sin ready to go, and they lob it like a 107 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:23,000 grenade. 108 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,900 That's not, then you missed what I just said. 109 00:05:26,900 --> 00:05:31,240 I'm talking about your sin and my sin. 110 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,340 We'll get to looking across the aisle, we'll get to the person 111 00:05:34,340 --> 00:05:37,700 right next to you because guess what, they're sinners too. 112 00:05:37,700 --> 00:05:42,120 But if we're not mourning over our sin, then we don't 113 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,720 understand the weight and the amazingness, if you will, of 114 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,160 the salvation in Christ. 115 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,880 That in sin, we are eternally separated from God, from our 116 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:55,660 great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, 117 00:05:55,660 --> 00:05:59,560 Adam and Eve, sin entered the world, it's now in our DNA, and 118 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:04,800 we are bent, every morning, you are bent against God. 119 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,960 That is exactly what total depravity means. 120 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:12,600 Now, we're going to look at that in a very, kind of a really 121 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:14,840 expounded way over the season of Lent. 122 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,520 We're going to look at this idea and this theory of grace, 123 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,480 but understand that we need to start with sin. 124 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,880 We need to start with our sin because a lot of people, they 125 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,720 just want to jump right on to Christ's salvation, and that is 126 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:29,280 fantastic. 127 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,160 And I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it. 128 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,920 When I have a student or an adult come to me and say, I 129 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,920 want to profess their faith, you get all kinds of excited 130 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,320 because that means the Holy Spirit is at work. 131 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,600 You think about it, is that Satan at work? 132 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,640 Mike, if you want to profess Christ, is that Satan at work? 133 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,840 I'm waiting for you to do it, by the way, so whenever you're 134 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:48,880 ready, we're good. 135 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:51,080 But understand, that's not Satan at work. 136 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,520 Satan's not going to be like, hey, Jim, let's out, let's 137 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:55,760 profess Christ. 138 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,280 No, he wants the exact opposite. 139 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,120 But when someone comes to me and says, I want to profess 140 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,680 their faith, we have a wonderful conversation, and 141 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:08,640 then I say, tell me about your sin. 142 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,080 Because if you don't understand the weight of sin, the bad news 143 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:16,360 of sin, the good news of salvation doesn't mean much. 144 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,440 But a lot of times, we just want to camp out here. 145 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:21,200 It's all good, right? 146 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,200 Yeah, there's sin, but we don't want to talk about it. 147 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:24,600 We're going to just kind of sweep it under the rug. 148 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:26,840 We're just going to, you know, we've been forgiven, and now 149 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:27,440 we're good. 150 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:32,000 No, it's a daily struggle. 151 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,320 John had this word for the church in Ephesus. 152 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,880 Because I don't know which was worse, the church in Ephesus or 153 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:39,280 the church in Corinth? 154 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,160 And we're going to get to both of those in the coming years. 155 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:45,320 There are tremendous books. 156 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,160 I want to say maybe Corinthians was worse, because they ended 157 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:49,040 up getting three letters. 158 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:50,520 Ephesus only seemed to get one. 159 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,880 But that's just me trying to do the math. 160 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,280 But understand that when John was telling the church of 161 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,400 Ephesus, it is because the church of Ephesus, which was 162 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:04,480 once this booming metropolis of the church, it was kind of like 163 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:08,560 a, I don't know, like the center of Christian thought had been 164 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:14,120 pervaded by Greek thought, Greek culture, mythology, right? 165 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:17,440 And a very different understanding on sexuality and 166 00:08:17,440 --> 00:08:19,880 identity and all of those things. 167 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:23,720 And I'm talking about, you know, the first century Greeks. 168 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:27,800 I'm not talking about 2024 in the United States, though there 169 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,200 are a lot of parallels. 170 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,000 You go back and read Ephesus, you go back and read Corinth and 171 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:40,120 the issues they had, it is some ways is like reading 2024. 172 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,800 But they've allowed, they lost their first love. 173 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:46,640 They kept their eyes off of Jesus when these other things 174 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:47,680 started to pervade. 175 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:50,360 This understanding of ideology, this understanding of 176 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:55,120 sexuality, this understanding of the understanding of being 177 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,720 able to live a holy life. 178 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:00,360 That in like the town of Corinth, you had the worship 179 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,360 service and then you'd have, I would say, more adult 180 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,960 establishments that believers would just stop at on their way 181 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:07,480 home. 182 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,320 You know, some of you may stop at Stracks for some chicken on 183 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:10,960 your way home. 184 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,440 Some of you may go right home and, you know, be like Daniel, 185 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:16,880 prepare for the Lions game on a wing and a prayer. 186 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,600 You know, some of the people in Corinth or in Ephesus, they 187 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,880 would leave the church, go to more of like a brothel. 188 00:09:23,880 --> 00:09:26,560 That's how they celebrated the worship service. 189 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:29,600 And if you're here and you do that, please stop. 190 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:31,600 That's not at all okay. 191 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,160 But that was because they allowed this ideology. 192 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,560 They allowed the line of truth to be so deadened. 193 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:40,560 They've allowed the line of truth to be so covered up. 194 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:48,560 They've allowed the line of truth to be so subjective that 195 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:51,640 they earned a letter from Paul. 196 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:54,360 Now again, that's not necessarily like the biggest 197 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:54,760 issue. 198 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:59,000 But Paul did right because he mourned over their sin as he 199 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,040 mourned over his. 200 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,520 So that's where we have to start this morning. 201 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,160 I'm sorry if this is a heavy topic, but I warned you and you 202 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,960 all showed up because it's your fault. 203 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,360 Understand that it all starts there. 204 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,800 But pastor, I want to start with life and I will be with you 205 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,440 always to the very end of the age and, you know, the fruits of 206 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:20,520 the Spirit and all of those things. 207 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,040 You go into Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, you know, 208 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:26,760 you have put on the old or you've put on the new self. 209 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:27,880 The old self is gone. 210 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,560 What about when you say, you know, the old is gone, the new 211 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:31,600 is come. 212 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,240 Those in Christ are a new creation. 213 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:37,440 Absolutely, all of that is true. 214 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,920 But there is a force that doesn't want you to be like 215 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:41,520 that. 216 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,200 There is a force out there that wants something very, very 217 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:45,520 different. 218 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:48,560 And so the book of 1 John really, really gets us to an 219 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:50,520 awesome place. 220 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,960 But in order for us to get Christianity right, to get our 221 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,680 Christianity right, now even the word Christianity in 2024 has 222 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:00,920 become very political. 223 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:03,400 And you know me, I am not, I don't like that. 224 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,480 I don't like when the politicalness invades because 225 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:09,920 there's really nothing political to Jesus because 226 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,240 nothing rivals him. 227 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:13,200 All right, we're going to talk about that. 228 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:15,160 We're going to have that service the Sunday before the 229 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:16,920 election in November. 230 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,800 And it's not going to be, you know, pro-Republican, pro- 231 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,120 Democrat, pro-this agenda, pro-that agenda. 232 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,320 It's going to be pro-Jesus because that's what the church 233 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:26,600 needs to be. 234 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:29,880 So if you're already planning on wanting to make a meeting and 235 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,520 asking me who to vote for, please don't. 236 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,200 But I know there will be six of you that do because it happens 237 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,400 every four years. 238 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:40,520 Clearly you don't care what I have to say about local 239 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,400 elections, but when it comes to presidential elections, now 240 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:47,240 because I feel like you want to blame me. 241 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:49,560 Well, pastor told me to vote for him, so that's what I did. 242 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:51,440 Eh, not going to happen. 243 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:55,160 But understand that we have politicized even these kind of 244 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:58,760 things to the point where Christianity, though it's the 245 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,840 way of Christ, Christian means little Christ, we've been our, 246 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,080 you know, Christian nationalists and all of these 247 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:10,200 other things have made it so off center, so sin missed the 248 00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:13,840 mark that we get really, really confused. 249 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:17,800 And I think in our confusion, a lot of us, including myself, 250 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,040 say, I'm just not going to deal with it. 251 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:23,520 I'm just not going to put it, it's not going to be a priority 252 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:24,240 to me. 253 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,680 If I sin, I sin. 254 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:29,720 Well, I think 1 John's going to tell us something different. 255 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:33,400 So we're going to start 1 John chapter one, the first four 256 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:34,440 verses. 257 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,280 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, 258 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,040 which we have seen with our own eyes, which we looked upon and 259 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,880 have touched with our hands concerning the word of life, he's 260 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,320 talking about Jesus, the life was made manifest and we have 261 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:51,720 seen it and testify to it and proclaim to it the eternal life, 262 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:55,480 which was with the Father and was made manifest to us, that 263 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,240 which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, this is 264 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,920 the church of Ephesus, so that you may have fellowship with us 265 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,920 and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and the Son, 266 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:07,440 Jesus Christ. 267 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,520 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 268 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,480 Leave that last slide up. 269 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:19,160 So this is John writing to the church in Ephesus talking about, 270 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,360 and again, none of us have this because it's 2024 and we weren't 271 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:26,280 walking with the real historical Jesus, but that's where we have 272 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:27,760 to start today. 273 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,320 The reason why it's written this way is because John is letting 274 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:37,240 all of them know, I was an eyewitness to this. 275 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,160 Jesus fed me. 276 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:41,280 Jesus called me. 277 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:43,400 Now, does that mean that I was hungry? 278 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:44,280 Yeah. 279 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:49,080 Because guess what happens, when you're hungry, what do you do? 280 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:49,680 It's not hard. 281 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:50,680 Eat, right? 282 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:51,600 Well, I'm fasting. 283 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,560 You're still going to eat. 284 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:58,920 And when you're found, that means you were what? 285 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:00,840 Lost. 286 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,320 So if John's going to start that way, we need to start that way. 287 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,080 You're all lost. 288 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:07,400 I'm lost. 289 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:09,720 We're prone to wander. 290 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:11,480 That is, we're prone to wander in our thoughts. 291 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:12,920 We're prone to wander with our mouth. 292 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,560 We're prone to wander with our actions. 293 00:14:15,560 --> 00:14:21,680 Recognizing, understanding that and mourning it is dealing with 294 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:27,120 the real Jesus, is dealing with the real sin. 295 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,160 This is not some theoretical thing. 296 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:33,000 This is not John saying, I heard that I heard that I heard. 297 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,560 This is John who was with Jesus. 298 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:38,120 He was with him when he called him. 299 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:39,680 He was with him when he fed him. 300 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,080 He was with him when he died for him on the cross, right? 301 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:48,040 He establishes a new relationship for John. 302 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,880 John being one of the only disciples not martyred right 303 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,600 away but sent to the island of Patmos to have some real 304 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:56,160 interesting conversations with the Spirit. 305 00:14:56,160 --> 00:14:57,880 And we're going to get to the book of Revelation, like I said, 306 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:59,480 in the fall. 307 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:04,280 But in order to understand right Christian culture, even that 308 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,600 is kind of an ugly word, but understanding the right 309 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:12,480 Christianity you have to deal with the real Jesus first. 310 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,200 And if you're here this morning and you're skeptical about the 311 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:17,840 real Jesus, I really hope this helps. 312 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:22,520 But if you're wanting to find holes in the story of Jesus, 313 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,600 you are going to do whatever you can to find him. 314 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,800 Because taking Jesus at his word, taking Jesus as his 315 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:36,240 person, taking Jesus as his sacrifice, ultimately does take 316 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,160 faith. 317 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,880 Now I've heard it said from different evangelists and 318 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,160 apologists that it takes a lot more faith to be an atheist or 319 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,520 an agnostic than it is to be a Christian. 320 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,720 And I probably have thoughts on that, but I'm not going to talk 321 00:15:49,720 --> 00:15:50,720 about that today. 322 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:55,720 But it takes faith because none of us were there, not even 323 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:57,920 Wolder Hiley, he's only 99, right? 324 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:02,200 None of us were standing there with the real Jesus. 325 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,480 Something that has been shown and proved in the writings of 326 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:06,720 the past. 327 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,240 But if you want to say, oh, aliens put in the Dead Sea 328 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,840 Scrolls, if that's what you want to believe, there's nothing I 329 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,200 can do to get you off of that. 330 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:17,200 Right? 331 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:18,840 It's not my job to clobber you with this. 332 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,760 My job is to offer you what it says in here, right, the 333 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,240 interpretation that the Holy Spirit has for us as a church, 334 00:16:26,240 --> 00:16:30,240 that Jesus was real, he spoke real words, he ate real food, 335 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,360 he hurt real hurts, he mourned real mourns, he died a real 336 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,400 death and he rose again. 337 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,680 Which also makes him the Christ and makes him the Messiah. 338 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,240 You had people wanting the king, you wanted people to have the 339 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,280 prophet, you wanted people to have the priest, you wanted it, 340 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:49,240 people, even the person of Jesus, were centered into three 341 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,960 different ideologies because they thought the priest was 342 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,240 going to cleanse the temple, they thought the prophet was 343 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:57,680 going to make way for something they didn't really know what, 344 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,120 or they couldn't really agree on it, or the king that was 345 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,200 going to conquer Rome. 346 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,560 And what did Jesus do? 347 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:07,600 D, all of the above. 348 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:10,760 But understand, did he conquer Rome? 349 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:11,760 No. 350 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:13,320 Rome continued. 351 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:17,400 Rome continued for, I don't remember how many years, but for 352 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,840 a long time, and they took over much of Europe, northern Africa 353 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:23,320 and the Middle East. 354 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,760 But the understanding of conquering, he conquered, oh, he 355 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,120 conquered. 356 00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:30,720 What did Jesus conquer? 357 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:31,920 What? 358 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:33,880 Sin and death. 359 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,160 I think that's more important than the Romans. 360 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:42,240 Because have you ever been, you know, Mr. Molinar, have you ever 361 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,640 been attacked by a Roman, have you ever been persecuted by a 362 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,120 Roman, put in the Coliseum? 363 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:49,480 Would you last in the Coliseum? 364 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:51,360 30 seconds, yeah, that's good. 365 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:52,280 It's more than me. 366 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,400 But understand, we don't have that level of persecution, but 367 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,960 Roman culture? 368 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:01,440 I think we do. 369 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:05,280 That understanding of culture, the way it's set today, you're 370 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:06,760 your own God, right? 371 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,600 You write your own path, you draw your own picture, you live 372 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,960 your own life, do whatever you want to do, but Jesus will 373 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,480 still be here for you, right? 374 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,640 Jesus isn't the lifeline on who wants to be a millionaire. 375 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:23,480 Jesus is the lens and the life of which we all need to walk in. 376 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:26,560 And I say need to because you have to. 377 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,920 1 John makes that very, very clear. 378 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,040 That if we're not going to talk about the actual person lived in 379 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,760 history, right, because Christianity is, or the way, I 380 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,760 love that because in the initial it wasn't Christianity, right, 381 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,480 until we had Emperor Constantine much later. 382 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,360 It was known as the way. 383 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:47,120 It was full of dust and dirt in history. 384 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,920 If the actual man existed whose name was Jesus Christ, if he 385 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,120 actually walked the dusty roads of Judea and Galilee, and if he 386 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:59,000 actually like John heard, saw, and touched him, then Christianity 387 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,120 stands. 388 00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,000 That there is historical evidence. 389 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:09,000 If you need that evidence in your life, you have it. 390 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,880 But I really want to poke holes in it, then you're going to do 391 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:12,800 it. 392 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,200 Nobody's going to stop you. 393 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:19,120 Hopefully people can point you back. 394 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:21,160 But if you're going to make holes in it, if you want to make 395 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:24,400 holes in it, I am not telling you that's a good thing. 396 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,400 I am telling you that you've got to be very careful what you 397 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,560 demand of the Messiah. 398 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:31,280 Let me say that again. 399 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,320 You need to be careful with what you demand from the Messiah. 400 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,680 Because even last week I had people that wanted to go onto 401 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:40,840 God's level. 402 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:46,000 I had people challenge me and say God was bound by the 403 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:47,680 commandments he gave. 404 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,560 Listen to how you started that sentence. 405 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:59,680 God, Yahweh, creator of all, was bound? 406 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,240 If you want to say that, that's on you. 407 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:04,480 I can't say that. 408 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:06,160 Who am I? 409 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:07,320 Right? 410 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:07,800 Who am I? 411 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,960 We talked about it last week. 412 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:13,040 When we're little kids, how does that work if we're going 413 00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,920 to tell our parents what to do? 414 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,840 It doesn't go very well. 415 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,800 But if your desperate need to poke holes and be 416 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:28,000 intellectually superior in your Christianity, then you are a 417 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,480 fool when it comes to the end game. 418 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,400 Because at the end of the day, you can't figure out every 419 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,560 nano whatever of Jesus. 420 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:43,200 Jesus came, he taught, he loved, he sacrificed, he died, 421 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,280 rose again to conquer sin and death. 422 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:48,480 Thank you, Alex, that we would have everlasting life in the 423 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:49,560 Father. 424 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,040 That takes faith. 425 00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:52,400 That takes a belief. 426 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,120 That takes the Holy Spirit working in your heart. 427 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,720 We call it in Reform Circles regeneration, that you are 428 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,200 being regenerated into something new. 429 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,840 You were dead in sin, you are alive in Christ. 430 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:08,560 But we do not subscribe to the holiness movement that you can 431 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,400 live a holy life. 432 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,760 That the light of Christ is going to come to you and you 433 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,680 are to walk in it. 434 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:17,360 Right? 435 00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:18,480 All the days of your life. 436 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,720 And when you fall, we seek forgiveness. 437 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:23,720 We seek forgiveness from the people we hurt. 438 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,520 We try at best to make peace with one another. 439 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:27,640 Jesus tells us to do that. 440 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,240 Blessed are the peacemakers, not the peacekeepers. 441 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:36,320 Because sometimes keeping the peace is correcting. 442 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:38,680 That if we're going to take the real Jesus and we're going to 443 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,160 look at the real Jesus, then we need to model ourselves after 444 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:43,600 the real Jesus. 445 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:47,880 The real Jesus sat, ate, and had fellowship with people that 446 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,880 socially, culturally, religiously he shouldn't. 447 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,720 I.e. Gentiles. 448 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,000 The unclean. 449 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,160 So I think our call is to do that as well. 450 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:02,440 And if you're going to be a person of wrath and judge, well 451 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,320 you don't really measure up to my level of faith in Jesus, so 452 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,600 I'm not going to be in relationship with you. 453 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:09,920 You can do that. 454 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,040 That is completely your prerogative. 455 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,520 I think you misunderstand what the holiness of Christ means 456 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:20,640 because I think you may be the only Jesus they ever encounter. 457 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:23,160 I think it was Billy Graham that said in a room of 100 458 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,920 people, one person may read the Bible, the other 99 are going to 459 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:27,840 read that person. 460 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,400 That you might be, and we've said this before, the only view 461 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,680 of the kingdom someone might have. 462 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:35,280 Some of you love that and you get real puffed up about it. 463 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:36,080 Don't. 464 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,000 That's idiotic. 465 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:38,840 That it's a call. 466 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:40,320 It's an obligation. 467 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,800 It's hard at times. 468 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,440 But we need to be real about the real Jesus and we need to be 469 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,640 real about our real sin. 470 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,080 Because Jesus is continually teaching us. 471 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:56,840 He's teaching us the ways that he was with the Father, that in 472 00:22:56,840 --> 00:23:00,200 Christ we have life because him and the Father were one, that 473 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:04,040 this is the plan set forth by the Father who could not and 474 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:08,560 will not and won't be in the presence of sin. 475 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:10,360 That's something we have to understand. 476 00:23:10,360 --> 00:23:12,200 We were dead in sin. 477 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:16,160 We were going to be damned to hell, Gehenna, the fire, the 478 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:17,920 abyss, the eternal whatever. 479 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:20,240 None of that's good. 480 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:23,760 I don't know anyone that goes, no, I want that. 481 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:27,880 And if that's the case, you got your work cut out for you. 482 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:31,920 But understand that Jesus came that we may know the Father's 483 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,800 love, that we may know the Father's plan, and we may 484 00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:41,080 receive, not earn, the Father's salvation in Christ. 485 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:45,680 In Christ alone our hope is found. 486 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:51,760 But understand that God, the creator, in our sin, non- 487 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:57,400 regenerated, will have nothing to do with us because our sin 488 00:23:57,400 --> 00:23:58,800 covers us. 489 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:02,680 That's why the work of Jesus on the cross is the only real 490 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,040 solution for resetting our sin. 491 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:11,440 1 John 1 5 says this. 492 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,240 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaimed 493 00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:19,080 to you that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 494 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,200 I love the work that John does with light here. 495 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:23,560 We're going to talk about it. 496 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,120 That in order to understand the real solution that the real 497 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:33,520 Jesus brings about real sin is that sin is darkness. 498 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,840 But in God is light. 499 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,840 In God there is no darkness at all. 500 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:45,600 Understand we need to get this at all is key here. 501 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,360 There is zero darkness because if you ever have been, and I 502 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:52,240 know I've used the cave analogy before, you know, whenever the 503 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:56,000 lights go out at night, the first thing we do is we run to 504 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,000 shine what? 505 00:24:58,000 --> 00:24:59,320 Light. 506 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,840 Whether it's a candle, whether it's a flashlight, whether you 507 00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:05,440 turn on the generator, why do you turn on the generator 508 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,440 outside of maybe food spoiling? 509 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,520 You turn it on to get light. 510 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,320 That we have an adverse reaction to the dark. 511 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:15,880 How many of you were scared of the dark growing up? 512 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:17,880 Abby, why were you scared of the dark growing up? 513 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,880 I don't know what to do with that. 514 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:27,880 So sibling abuse was, Abby, you were the wrong person to ask. 515 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,880 But, perfect example, so they put you in the basement, they 516 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:33,880 close the door, right? 517 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:35,880 I mean, did you have electricity in the basement? 518 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,880 You're not that old. 519 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:39,880 You're not that old. 520 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:41,880 You're not that old. 521 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:43,880 You're not that old. 522 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,880 You're not that old. 523 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:51,880 No, okay, so yeah, it was so, the darkness was like a prison 524 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:53,880 to you. 525 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,880 So the light of Christ means something very specific to you. 526 00:25:56,880 --> 00:25:58,880 Right? 527 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:00,880 Because the darkness is a prison. 528 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:02,880 I really wish I didn't ask you. 529 00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:04,880 How many other people were scared of the dark? 530 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:06,880 We're going to try this one more time. 531 00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:08,880 Holly, why were you scared of the dark? 532 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:10,880 Please don't say you were locked in a basement. 533 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:16,880 The boogeyman, that's very different. 534 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:23,880 You had actual physical hurt and pain and Holly is kind of a 535 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,880 crazy person, right? 536 00:26:25,880 --> 00:26:27,880 And when it comes to the boogeyman, but I think we all 537 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,880 can agree, there's something about the darkness when we're 538 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:32,880 kids we don't like. 539 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:35,880 How many of you know that you saw something change in your 540 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:37,880 room when it was the dark? 541 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,880 Raise your hand, don't you dare lie in church. 542 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,880 Cheyenne, what changed in your room in the dark? 543 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:48,880 Everything. 544 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:50,880 All right, we need a new sermon series called the light of 545 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:51,880 Christ. 546 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:54,880 We're going to do that at some point in the future. 547 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:55,880 Oh, my word. 548 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:56,880 Okay. 549 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:58,880 Daniel, were you scared of the dark? 550 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,880 Why? 551 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,880 The blinds would change? 552 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,880 You would say, okay, so shadows, okay, that actually makes 553 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:09,880 sense. 554 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:11,880 I'm just going to stick to this side of the sanctuary because 555 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,880 we've crazies over there. 556 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:20,880 But understand that the darkness does something to us. 557 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,880 There's absolutely no reason why you should grow up scared of 558 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,880 the dark because dark comes, the melatonin takes over, you go 559 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:30,880 to sleep, you wake up and it's light. 560 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,880 In that, darkness should not be afraid until we wake up. 561 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,880 We should not be afraid until we attach ourselves to the 562 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:40,880 darkness. 563 00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:43,880 And is that not sin? 564 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,880 Is that not how sin works? 565 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:48,880 That sin is going to attach to certain aspects of your life 566 00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:53,880 demanding that your life become darker. 567 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,880 When you think about it that way, sin because so much of the 568 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,880 problem and the real Jesus with the real salvation and the real 569 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:03,880 light is brought to our darkness. 570 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,880 1 John 1, 6 says this, and this is true, if we say we have 571 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,880 fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do 572 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:13,880 not practice the truth. 573 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,880 The truth of your salvation in Jesus is that you are living by 574 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,880 the light of Christ. 575 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:23,880 And you are called to bring that light to other people. 576 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,880 You are called to bring that light to a culture that 577 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,880 desperately needs it. 578 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:31,880 Because I think we'd all agree our culture loves the dark. 579 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,880 They love doing things in the dark. 580 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:36,880 They love the shadows. 581 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:38,880 They love the boogeyman. 582 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:40,880 They love abuse in the dark. 583 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,880 They love all of those things. 584 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:50,880 Because sin has no time for salvation. 585 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:54,880 When you are in a dark room and you light a light, what happens 586 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:56,880 to the darkness? 587 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,880 It literally flees. 588 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:02,880 It runs away. 589 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:04,880 You cannot have darkness in the presence of light. 590 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:06,880 Try to understand that. 591 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:08,880 Now some of you science people with lasers and all that stuff, 592 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:09,880 you may come back to me. 593 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,880 I don't care. 594 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:15,880 Understand that if you are in the dark and you shine a light, 595 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,880 the darkness is fleeing the light. 596 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,880 So not only should we be mourning our sin, we should be 597 00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:26,880 fleeing our sin as well. 598 00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,880 Because if we say we have fellowship, if we say we are a 599 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:33,880 believer and we are living in the ideology age of the culture, 600 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,880 if we are allowing this culture to define us, and this culture, 601 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:40,880 and notice how it's slowly, we are going to get to this more 602 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,880 next week, slowly saying you are kind of on God's level. 603 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,880 You can make up your own stuff. 604 00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:50,880 Then you are just completely investing in the dark. 605 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,880 That not only should we be mourning, we should be fleeing 606 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:56,880 the darkness that is in our lives. 607 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,880 The way that we can allow darkness and sin to grow in our 608 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:01,880 life is to deny it. 609 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:02,880 How do we deny it? 610 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:06,880 I am not as bad as that person. 611 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:08,880 That person, oh man, that person. 612 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,880 Look at the way they live their life. 613 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:12,880 Guess what? 614 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:13,880 You are right. 615 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,880 They are sinners because we all are. 616 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,880 A lot of times we like to do this to a world that doesn't 617 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,880 recognize Christ. 618 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:24,880 I struggle with that as a pastor. 619 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,880 Because the Bible talks about throwing pearls before swine. 620 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:30,880 Though that is true, when you are walking along someone that 621 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:34,880 does not follow the law of the Lord or follow Christ, and 622 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,880 they are living the way of the world, you can't be surprised. 623 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,880 But there are times we want to judge them on the basis of this 624 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:43,880 book. 625 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,880 You can, by all means. 626 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:47,880 That is totally fine. 627 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,880 I don't know how effective it is. 628 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,880 Because if you bring Aiden Hutchinson, right, in what 629 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:56,880 position does he play on the Lions, Daniel? 630 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:58,880 He is a defensive end. 631 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,880 You set him up and give him a tennis racket and say, okay, go 632 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:02,880 to Wimbledon. 633 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,880 What is he going to do? 634 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:05,880 He is loose. 635 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:07,880 He probably just tackles somebody and that is not allowed 636 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:08,880 in tennis. 637 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:10,880 Understand, because he is playing by different rules of the 638 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:11,880 game. 639 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:14,880 If we have a world that is so desperately following the 640 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,880 darkness that they are trying to heap darkness onto themselves, 641 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,880 they are not mourning their sin, nor are they fleeing from it, 642 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:25,880 but they are investing in their sin. 643 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,880 I wonder how much the church is doing that. 644 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,880 How much of our church is investing in sin? 645 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,880 Because John makes it very, very clear, and I am going to land 646 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,880 the plane with this. 647 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,880 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth 648 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:43,880 is not in us. 649 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:48,880 If we confess our sin, he is faithful, he is just, and he 650 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:53,880 will forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 651 00:31:53,880 --> 00:31:57,880 If we say we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and 652 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:00,880 his word is not in us. 653 00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:02,880 And he starts in chapter two. 654 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:06,880 My little children, Munster Church, I am writing these 655 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:11,880 things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin, 656 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,880 we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 657 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:16,880 righteous. 658 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,880 He is the propitiation for our sin, and not for ours only, 659 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,880 but also for the sins of the whole world. 660 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:27,880 And by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his 661 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:28,880 commandments. 662 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:33,880 Whoever says, I know him, but does not keep his commandments, 663 00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:37,880 is a liar and the truth is not in him. 664 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,880 So we have primed the pump. 665 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,880 We know we should mourn our sin, we should flee our sin, we 666 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,880 should not invest in our sin. 667 00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:49,880 So what does it look like when we live in a culture that says 668 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:52,880 the exact opposite? 669 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:55,880 How do we handle that as a church? 670 00:32:55,880 --> 00:33:00,880 How do we handle that as believers, knowing that the 671 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:07,880 kingdom is also here and not yet to be continued? 672 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,880 Let's pray.