WEBVTT 00:00:06.709 --> 00:00:10.410 All right, take your Bibles, if you will, and 00:00:10.410 --> 00:00:14.230 turn with me to the book of 1 John chapter number 00:00:14.230 --> 00:00:18.230 one. 1 John chapter number one, and oh, I wrestled 00:00:18.230 --> 00:00:22.609 a little bit. I'd planned and prepared to start 00:00:22.609 --> 00:00:27.089 a sermon series in the book of Revelation, and 00:00:27.089 --> 00:00:30.789 I think I got about 90%, 95 % of the way there 00:00:30.789 --> 00:00:34.670 on that first message, and wow. conviction for 00:00:34.670 --> 00:00:37.109 me, amazing start to the book of Revelation. 00:00:37.810 --> 00:00:41.689 But through prayer, I believe the Lord would 00:00:41.689 --> 00:00:45.009 have us go through the book of 1 John. And there's 00:00:45.009 --> 00:00:47.469 some truths here in the 1 John. I think it'll 00:00:47.469 --> 00:00:50.549 be probably a six week series. And then as soon 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:53.609 as we complete the six week series on 1 John, 00:00:54.070 --> 00:00:56.229 we'll jump into the book of Revelation. By the 00:00:56.229 --> 00:00:58.810 way, just start reading the book of Revelation. 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:01.100 and start preparing your hearts for the book 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:05.280 of Revelation, a tremendous, tremendous book 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:08.420 of the Bible that gives you a glimpse of the 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:11.459 present and gives you a glimpse of the past and 00:01:11.459 --> 00:01:15.299 gives you a glimpse of the glorious future we 00:01:15.299 --> 00:01:19.219 as Christians have and man alive. We serve a 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:21.939 great God who's given us a wonderful book called 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:25.700 the Bible. Now, we get into 1 John, 1 John chapter 00:01:25.700 --> 00:01:30.359 number one, 10 verses. And as you begin to study 00:01:30.359 --> 00:01:34.159 this and you read this, you begin to notice that 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:40.799 God, God wants us to have joy. And not only joy, 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:43.299 but as you read this, you begin to realize that 00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:46.719 God wants not just joy, but he wants you to have 00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:49.840 joy that is full, that you may have joy that 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:52.579 is full. Now we're getting through here a little 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:56.950 bit. First John. written not by John the Baptist. 00:01:57.049 --> 00:01:59.810 You remember, John the Baptist was a voice crying 00:01:59.810 --> 00:02:01.989 in the wilderness, but there's another John, 00:02:02.150 --> 00:02:06.030 John the beloved, one of the 12 disciples. And 00:02:06.030 --> 00:02:08.590 John the beloved was used of God to write the 00:02:08.590 --> 00:02:11.909 book of John, the gospel of John, used by God 00:02:11.909 --> 00:02:14.689 to write first John, second John, third John, 00:02:14.770 --> 00:02:17.389 and the book of Revelation. And we're gonna look 00:02:17.389 --> 00:02:21.330 a little bit into first John right here, that 00:02:21.330 --> 00:02:26.949 your joy may... Now, before we read this, look 00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:30.930 at this. I remember having a family member and 00:02:30.930 --> 00:02:34.370 oh, not a Christian, but he was always grumpy. 00:02:34.509 --> 00:02:36.030 I mean, it didn't matter what was going on in 00:02:36.030 --> 00:02:40.210 life. He always had that look and grumpy, grumpy. 00:02:40.449 --> 00:02:42.610 It didn't matter if things were going good, grumpy. 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:44.810 At least he was consistent. When things were 00:02:44.810 --> 00:02:48.689 going bad, he was grumpy. Now, that's the way 00:02:48.689 --> 00:02:53.479 it is for many non -Christians. But Christians, 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.400 God desires you and God desires me to live a 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:03.439 life of joy, fullness of joy, joy unspeakable 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:07.840 and full of glory. And God desires you, God desires 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:11.430 me. to have joy. Now, I have no doubt in the 00:03:11.430 --> 00:03:14.669 room this morning, many of you, most of you probably 00:03:14.669 --> 00:03:17.469 live a life with fullness of joy. Now keep it 00:03:17.469 --> 00:03:19.449 up, the Bible's right here is gonna give you 00:03:19.449 --> 00:03:21.729 some instructions how to have that joy and how 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:24.229 to keep that joy. But for some of you, you're 00:03:24.229 --> 00:03:26.870 Christians and maybe you smile on the outside, 00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:32.370 but inside of you, oh boy, there's anxiety, there's 00:03:32.370 --> 00:03:36.870 fear, there's anything but joy. What if God, 00:03:36.969 --> 00:03:40.099 now this is a question, What if God gave us an 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:45.060 entire chapter to explain how fullness of joy 00:03:45.060 --> 00:03:49.819 or joy unspeakable and full of glory is possible 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:53.639 or can be restored? Can I just tell you, he did 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:56.020 give us a chapter in the Bible that explains 00:03:56.020 --> 00:04:00.000 with great detail how you not only can have joy, 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.419 but fullness of joy. We're gonna study it, we're 00:04:03.419 --> 00:04:05.300 gonna look at it. And I believe without a doubt 00:04:05.300 --> 00:04:07.400 for some of you this morning, all of a sudden 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:09.680 the light switch is gonna switch and you're gonna 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.780 go from a life where there's fear, there's anxiety, 00:04:12.840 --> 00:04:14.439 all of a sudden you're gonna go to life that 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:17.540 has fullness of joy. It's gonna be exciting, 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:19.240 let's do this. Let's stand for the reading of 00:04:19.240 --> 00:04:21.839 God's word. What we're gonna do is we're gonna 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.180 read the first four verses. What I'll do is I'll 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.560 read the first three verses to you if you'll 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:29.829 follow along. And then when we get to verse number 00:04:29.829 --> 00:04:32.670 four, I want you to read along with me. And here 00:04:32.670 --> 00:04:35.610 we go, verse number one. That which was from 00:04:35.610 --> 00:04:38.970 the beginning, which we have heard, which we 00:04:38.970 --> 00:04:41.829 have seen with our eyes, which we have looked 00:04:41.829 --> 00:04:44.829 upon, and our hands have handled of the word 00:04:44.829 --> 00:04:48.069 of life, for the life was manifested, and we 00:04:48.069 --> 00:04:51.310 have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto 00:04:51.310 --> 00:04:54.350 you that eternal life which was with the Father 00:04:54.350 --> 00:04:58.949 and was manifested unto us. That which we have 00:04:58.949 --> 00:05:04.470 seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye 00:05:04.470 --> 00:05:09.509 also may have fellowship with us. And truly our 00:05:09.509 --> 00:05:13.170 fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, 00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:16.990 Jesus Christ. Ready, verse four? And these things 00:05:16.990 --> 00:05:21.350 write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 00:05:21.350 --> 00:05:24.829 Read it again. And these things write we unto 00:05:24.829 --> 00:05:28.680 you, that your joy may be full. This is exciting, 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:32.379 this is very exciting. We're getting things written, 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:37.100 inspired by God, through John the beloved, writing 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:40.399 to Christians, you and me, that we might have 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:45.740 fullness of joy. And I just wanna shout it from 00:05:45.740 --> 00:05:49.720 the mountain. Joy is not only possible, it's 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.040 what God desires in your life. Fullness of... 00:05:54.110 --> 00:05:58.829 And that's the title message, that your joy may 00:05:58.829 --> 00:06:01.470 be full. Before we go any further, let's go to 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:04.189 the Lord in prayer. Dear Father in heaven, we 00:06:04.189 --> 00:06:08.430 love you. And I needed this message. I believe 00:06:08.430 --> 00:06:11.569 the Christians here this morning need it desperately 00:06:11.569 --> 00:06:15.389 also. I believe some marriages need this. I believe 00:06:15.389 --> 00:06:18.750 some teenagers desperately need this. And I pray 00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:21.990 that you help us to see that joy, fullness of 00:06:21.990 --> 00:06:24.610 joy is possible. And I pray that you help us 00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:27.209 all to decrease, help us to learn something this 00:06:27.209 --> 00:06:30.230 morning, guide us and direct us, help us to have 00:06:30.230 --> 00:06:33.589 ears to hear. We sure do love you. We need you, 00:06:33.709 --> 00:06:37.730 Lord, in Jesus' name, amen. You may be seated. 00:06:37.889 --> 00:06:43.829 Wow. As you begin to look at 1 John, 1 John's 00:06:43.829 --> 00:06:47.490 an absolute amazing book in the Bible. And if 00:06:47.490 --> 00:06:50.350 you begin to think with me, John the beloved, 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:53.110 used of God in a mighty way, one of the 12 disciples, 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:57.879 And originally God used him to pen the gospel 00:06:57.879 --> 00:07:00.980 according to John. And this is interesting, gospel 00:07:00.980 --> 00:07:02.800 according to John. Now I would like you to turn 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.379 over, if you will, to John chapter 20, the gospel 00:07:06.379 --> 00:07:10.819 of John chapter number 20. And John the beloved. 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:14.569 John, that disciple who walked with Jesus, talked 00:07:14.569 --> 00:07:19.250 with Jesus, followed Jesus in a way, handled 00:07:19.250 --> 00:07:23.329 Jesus, got to witness the death of Jesus, the 00:07:23.329 --> 00:07:27.050 resurrection of Jesus, John the beloved. And 00:07:27.050 --> 00:07:30.009 in John chapter number 20, John chapter 20, look 00:07:30.009 --> 00:07:33.990 with me at verse number 30, if you will. Look 00:07:33.990 --> 00:07:38.569 at this in verse 30. And many other signs truly 00:07:38.569 --> 00:07:42.220 did who? Jesus, okay, that's half of you. And 00:07:42.220 --> 00:07:46.220 many other signs truly did who? Jesus, in the 00:07:46.220 --> 00:07:49.100 presence of his disciples, which are not written 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:53.699 in this book, but these are written, these are 00:07:53.699 --> 00:07:57.500 written, that ye might what? Believe that Jesus 00:07:57.500 --> 00:08:01.060 is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing. 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:04.819 ye might have life through his name. When we 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:07.519 begin to first of all look at the gospel according 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:10.939 to John, the gospel of John was written that 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:13.360 you might believe. Boy, you begin to study the 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:15.800 book of John. It begins in John chapter number 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:17.639 one. In the beginning was the word, the word 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:20.100 was with God, the word was God. It begins to 00:08:20.100 --> 00:08:23.199 tell us that Jesus is God in the flesh. In the 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:25.120 first couple of chapters, you begin to realize 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.339 that Jesus is the lamb of God, which, take it 00:08:28.339 --> 00:08:30.600 away, the sin of the world. As you study the 00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:32.580 book of John, it says in John chapter one, verse 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:36.259 12, but as many as received him, Jesus, to them 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:39.279 gave you power to become the sons of God, even 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:42.149 to them that believe on. his name, believe on 00:08:42.149 --> 00:08:44.909 his name. And as you read the gospel of John, 00:08:45.129 --> 00:08:48.789 it's a book written trying to lead people to 00:08:48.789 --> 00:08:51.649 trust Christ as their savior. It's trying to 00:08:51.649 --> 00:08:54.549 lead you and trying to lead me to receive him. 00:08:54.789 --> 00:08:57.450 It's trying to lead us, John chapter three, to 00:08:57.450 --> 00:09:00.470 be born again. John chapter three, verse 16, 00:09:00.529 --> 00:09:04.450 for God so loved the world that he gave his only 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:07.690 begotten son that whosoever believeth in him, 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:10.850 believeth in him, should not perish but have 00:09:11.920 --> 00:09:14.500 everlasting life. We study the book of John. 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:17.820 We look at the book of John. It's leading people 00:09:17.820 --> 00:09:21.379 to salvation. It's leading people to trust Christ, 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:24.460 accept Christ, to receive the gift of eternal 00:09:24.460 --> 00:09:28.700 life, to be born of the spirit, to be born again 00:09:28.700 --> 00:09:31.759 and become a child of God. Now really before 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:33.960 we get into the next part of this, it begs the 00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:37.279 question, have you been born again? Has there 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.580 been a time in your life when you received him? 00:09:40.730 --> 00:09:43.470 Has there been a time when you look at John chapter 00:09:43.470 --> 00:09:46.970 6, he that cometh to me, I will of no wise cast 00:09:46.970 --> 00:09:49.070 out? Has there been a time when you accepted 00:09:49.070 --> 00:09:52.309 him, you received him, you believed in him, you 00:09:52.309 --> 00:09:54.970 trusted Jesus as your only hope for heaven? By 00:09:54.970 --> 00:09:58.049 the way, Jesus is the way, John chapter number 00:09:58.049 --> 00:10:01.649 14. And there's no way to go to heaven. The only 00:10:01.649 --> 00:10:04.710 way to heaven is accepting Jesus Christ, accepting 00:10:04.710 --> 00:10:07.090 the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ 00:10:07.090 --> 00:10:09.309 our Lord. Okay, we say amen to that. Amen to 00:10:09.309 --> 00:10:12.039 that. Amen to that. Okay, you're doing good. 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:14.759 Actually, this is perfect. It's more like this 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:19.139 morning, amen. Amen. Okay, we'll try it over 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:22.639 here. You know, have you received Christ as your 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:27.259 Savior? Not you, them, okay? Them over there. 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:30.000 You got ahead of yourself, okay? Have you received 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:33.799 Christ as your Savior? Amen. Okay, over here, 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:37.500 have you received Christ as your Savior? Amen, 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:39.919 amen, amen, amen. Okay, good, good, good. Have 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:44.320 you received Christ as your Savior? Amen, amen 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.259 in this case, okay? Don't be a smarty -pants. 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:48.440 Over here, have you received Christ as your Savior? 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:51.620 Amen. Now it's important, there is a time. Now 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:54.799 is the accepted time. Behold, today is the day 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.220 of salvation. If you're here this morning, you're 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.240 not sure that you're going to heaven. The only 00:10:59.240 --> 00:11:00.940 way to go to heaven, it's not of works, not of 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:04.379 your baptism. The only way is to receive the 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:08.960 gift of life. on him, praise God for the book 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:11.460 of John. Now, the reason I spent time with that 00:11:11.460 --> 00:11:14.139 is as you go over to First John chapter one, 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:20.259 go back to First John chapter number one, the 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:24.000 book of First John is given to us for a different 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.320 purpose, a different reason. And as you begin 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:32.340 to think about First John, First John is explaining 00:11:32.340 --> 00:11:36.350 to you and explaining to me how the children 00:11:36.350 --> 00:11:40.450 of God are to live. Now that you've trusted Christ 00:11:40.450 --> 00:11:43.570 as your savior, here's the way that you should 00:11:43.570 --> 00:11:45.730 live your life. Look at verse number one again. 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:48.769 That which was from the beginning, which we have 00:11:48.769 --> 00:11:51.690 heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which 00:11:51.690 --> 00:11:55.269 we have looked upon and our hands have handled 00:11:55.269 --> 00:11:57.940 of the word of life. There's so much there, that 00:11:57.940 --> 00:12:00.059 which was from the beginning. Jesus was in the 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:03.620 beginning with God. He's looking to God and John's 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:06.759 sort of giving a picture of his years with Christ. 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:09.419 Verse two, for the life was manifested and we 00:12:09.419 --> 00:12:12.360 have seen it and bear witness and show unto you 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:14.899 that eternal life which was with the Father and 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:18.740 was manifested unto us. And so we get to verse 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:23.340 John. John begins to explain to us how the children 00:12:23.340 --> 00:12:27.269 of God are to live out their life. Now, live 00:12:27.269 --> 00:12:30.730 out their life. I've been born again. I'm a child 00:12:30.730 --> 00:12:34.529 of the king. I have been born again. I'm a child 00:12:34.529 --> 00:12:37.929 of the king. I received him. I'm on my way to 00:12:37.929 --> 00:12:39.889 heaven because of what Jesus did on the cross. 00:12:39.970 --> 00:12:43.509 I believed on his name. Now, I need some instructions 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:47.529 this side of eternity how to live my life, how 00:12:47.529 --> 00:12:52.429 to live my life for the Lord. Now, sort of, When 00:12:52.429 --> 00:12:54.090 we get through this, you're thinking about, we 00:12:54.090 --> 00:12:58.090 started with the fullness of joy or joy. Joy, 00:12:58.149 --> 00:12:59.610 look at verse four again. Look at verse four 00:12:59.610 --> 00:13:02.470 again, the way it's worded. And these things 00:13:02.470 --> 00:13:06.330 write we unto you that your what? Joy may be 00:13:06.330 --> 00:13:10.210 full. So 1 John begins to explain how the Christian, 00:13:10.690 --> 00:13:13.970 the person who already believes can live a life 00:13:13.970 --> 00:13:15.889 filled with joy. Now I want you to notice something. 00:13:15.970 --> 00:13:17.549 Go to verse number three with me. Go to verse 00:13:17.549 --> 00:13:20.769 number three. You gotta see this. That which 00:13:20.769 --> 00:13:24.549 we have seen and heard declare we unto you that 00:13:24.549 --> 00:13:30.649 ye also may have fellowship. Now fellowship, 00:13:30.809 --> 00:13:33.769 say that word with me again. Fellowship with 00:13:33.769 --> 00:13:39.429 us, and truly our what? Fellowship is with the 00:13:39.429 --> 00:13:42.350 Father and with his son, Christ Jesus. Look with 00:13:42.350 --> 00:13:45.730 me at verse six, look at this. If we say that 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:50.350 we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, 00:13:50.429 --> 00:13:52.899 we lie. And do not the truth, verse number seven. 00:13:53.240 --> 00:13:55.879 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the 00:13:55.879 --> 00:14:00.700 light, we have fellowship. Now, all of a sudden, 00:14:00.779 --> 00:14:04.220 you see a common denominator in chapter one. 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.899 You see this word fellowship, fellowship, fellowship, 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.460 fellowship, four times. It begins to talk about 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:14.779 fellowship. And I wanna just park there on that 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:18.799 word fellowship for just a moment. What exactly 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:25.200 is fellowship? We have over there a fellowship 00:14:25.200 --> 00:14:28.440 hall. Well, many people will define fellowship. 00:14:28.720 --> 00:14:32.039 They'll say, well, fellowship is eating together 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:37.659 or socializing together or enjoying one another's 00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:40.580 company. Now, those are not necessarily bad, 00:14:40.980 --> 00:14:43.320 but this is more important as we begin to look 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.480 at 1 John, 1 John, and this is key to the rest 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.570 of the sermon this morning. It's not just talking 00:14:49.570 --> 00:14:53.549 about socializing together. In 1 John, it's teaching 00:14:53.549 --> 00:14:56.850 believers how to live out their Christianity. 00:14:57.289 --> 00:14:59.629 And it's talking about not just fellowship, but 00:14:59.629 --> 00:15:03.629 it's leading us to biblical fellowship. Okay, 00:15:04.029 --> 00:15:07.029 biblical fellowship. Biblical fellowship. Biblical 00:15:07.029 --> 00:15:11.250 fellowship is fellowship of sharing life together 00:15:11.250 --> 00:15:16.639 in Christ. You and I, we participate. We partnership. 00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:19.919 We come together today with fellowship. We have 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:22.820 something in common. You and I, we fellowship 00:15:22.820 --> 00:15:26.620 around the Savior, the one who saved us. We fellowship 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:28.899 around the common denominator that were saved 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:31.559 by the blood of the crucified one. We fellowship 00:15:31.559 --> 00:15:34.820 around the truth found in God's word. We fellowship 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:37.080 because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside 00:15:37.080 --> 00:15:39.480 of us. We fellowship because we have eternal 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:42.120 life. We fellowship because we're a part of the 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:45.809 family of God. We fellowship. the thought that 00:15:45.809 --> 00:15:49.129 we are children of God because of Jesus Christ. 00:15:49.389 --> 00:15:50.750 And so when you all of a sudden begin to see 00:15:50.750 --> 00:15:53.129 this word fellowship, he's leading us somewhere. 00:15:53.169 --> 00:15:55.250 He's telling us something. He's saying, hey listen, 00:15:55.570 --> 00:15:57.509 you what? Well, I'm not trying to get there. 00:15:57.850 --> 00:16:00.710 I almost gave it away right there. But fellowship, 00:16:00.850 --> 00:16:04.529 he's saying we come together in fellowship. The 00:16:04.529 --> 00:16:07.950 main reason we come to church here is not to 00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:11.769 socialize around the football game last night. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.279 or we socialize around some hobby that we have. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:18.320 There's nothing wrong with a hobby or a football 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:20.559 game, but the main fellowship that we're talking 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:23.440 about is fellowship because we have the same 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.100 savior, the same salvation, the same spirit. 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:28.799 And it's a common thing in Acts chapter number 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.039 two, there were 3 ,000 people that got gloriously 00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:34.940 saved and baptized. In Acts chapter two, number 00:16:34.940 --> 00:16:38.559 42, it says, and they continued steadfastly in 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:43.179 the apostles' doctrine and in... Fellowship. 00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:46.019 Fellowship. Say that word with me again. Fellowship. 00:16:46.059 --> 00:16:49.340 Okay. Now, the fellowship, the fellowship of 00:16:49.340 --> 00:16:51.519 the believer, the fellowship of the same person 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:54.679 is connected in our shared life with Christ. 00:16:54.899 --> 00:16:58.220 The early church did not simply enjoy just getting 00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:01.299 around to be with other. They didn't just come 00:17:01.299 --> 00:17:05.339 together because we like each other. That wasn't 00:17:05.339 --> 00:17:08.380 it. They came together because they fellowshiped 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:12.130 around the Savior, around the Word of God. around 00:17:12.130 --> 00:17:15.450 the same purpose, around the Holy Spirit, about 00:17:15.450 --> 00:17:18.130 them being believers. The early church did not 00:17:18.130 --> 00:17:20.230 enjoy fellowship just around, they shared Christ 00:17:20.230 --> 00:17:22.069 together. Now I want to say it again, many people 00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.329 come to church, they'll come to Chesapeake Baptist 00:17:24.329 --> 00:17:27.289 Church looking for fellowship, and they begin 00:17:27.289 --> 00:17:29.490 to look out, if they're not careful, that our 00:17:29.490 --> 00:17:33.549 fellowship is around sports, or hobbies, or common 00:17:33.549 --> 00:17:37.109 interests, or social activities. There's nothing 00:17:37.109 --> 00:17:41.309 wrong with those things, but a biblical fellowship. 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:46.779 Biblical fellowship is rooted in Christ. We have 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:48.940 fellowship that's shared together in Christ. 00:17:49.180 --> 00:17:51.880 We're walking together with Christ. Go back to 00:17:51.880 --> 00:17:53.160 verse number three. I want to show you something 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:56.359 very important, and I think this will help you 00:17:56.359 --> 00:17:59.119 just grow in this thought process right here. 00:17:59.339 --> 00:18:01.839 Verse three, that which we have seen and heard 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:06.779 declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship. 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:09.940 Have fellowship with who? Okay, stop right there. 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:13.019 Fellowship with us. So all of a sudden he's saying 00:18:13.019 --> 00:18:18.140 we have fellowship believer with believer. Fellowship 00:18:18.140 --> 00:18:21.859 believers with believers, okay? And that's part 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:23.880 of it, and I'll get back to that in a minute. 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:26.099 The second part, look at the second part. And 00:18:26.099 --> 00:18:30.819 truly our fellowship is with the what? Father 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:33.440 with his son. The first fellowship, you can see 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:36.720 it matters, is our fellowship with God. with 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:38.339 the Father and Lord Jesus. And I'm gonna sort 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:40.799 of try to help you illustrate this. If you think 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:44.359 of fellowship in a vertical manner, our fellowship, 00:18:44.619 --> 00:18:48.039 vertical is God fellowship. Each and every one 00:18:48.039 --> 00:18:51.559 of us in here this morning needs to have a vertical 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:55.099 relationship with the Almighty God. That includes 00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:58.700 salvation, yes. But it includes a walk with God. 00:18:58.940 --> 00:19:03.559 Walking in sun, light, all of my journey. God's 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:05.559 saying that for you to have this fullness of 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:07.819 joy is where we're getting at, or this joy to 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:11.059 the full right there, there has to be some fellowship 00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:15.279 with the Heavenly Father. You have to, as an 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:19.140 individual believer, have fellowship with the 00:19:19.140 --> 00:19:23.440 King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, there is 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:25.960 vertical fellowship, but there's also horizontal 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:28.980 fellowship. That is fellowship with the believers. 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:32.180 But let me say, sometimes people come to church. 00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:35.799 And they come back, and by the way, it's a hospital, 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:38.819 come to church, and I want you to come to church, 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:42.299 but when you come to church, and you come to 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:45.779 church, and you've neglected that vertical relationship 00:19:45.779 --> 00:19:49.180 with God, and you're living in darkness and sin, 00:19:49.240 --> 00:19:51.900 you may come to church, but you're not gonna 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:54.500 make much of a difference horizontally with the 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:57.910 believers around you. You understand that? So 00:19:57.910 --> 00:19:59.809 the fellowship that he's talking about, he's 00:19:59.809 --> 00:20:02.230 leading us to, is a vertical fellowship where 00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:05.769 we daily walk with God. We daily read the Bible. 00:20:05.950 --> 00:20:08.809 We daily go to God in prayer. We daily go to 00:20:08.809 --> 00:20:11.670 God and say, God, my life is yours to control. 00:20:11.910 --> 00:20:15.009 God, I give you my life. Today I want to do your 00:20:15.009 --> 00:20:17.190 will. And we have a relationship. Then you get 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:19.410 to church. And all of a sudden your fellowship 00:20:19.410 --> 00:20:22.289 is you bear one another's burdens. You exhort 00:20:22.289 --> 00:20:25.150 one another. You encourage one another. And there's 00:20:25.150 --> 00:20:28.259 fellowship around the centrality. around the 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:30.380 truth found in the word of God about us being 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:33.319 saved by the blood of the crucified one. We experience 00:20:33.319 --> 00:20:35.920 fellowship because we share Christ together. 00:20:37.900 --> 00:20:41.680 Yesterday was a great day. Deacons, trustees, 00:20:41.839 --> 00:20:44.880 we load up in my van, we drive down to the region 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:47.680 around Ohoskie, and we get out there, Brother 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.460 Barry, you met us with coffee, which was a blessing. 00:20:51.779 --> 00:20:55.680 We went into that church and we dreamed, we dreamed. 00:20:55.920 --> 00:21:01.140 about a church being planted, people being gloriously 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:04.559 saved by the power of the gospel, people getting 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.519 baptized, people under the preaching of God's 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:10.160 word. And there's something about that fellowship 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:13.119 that we had yesterday. Brother Gray says to us, 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:15.819 let's go tell some people about Jesus. And we 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:18.160 went out to the community. I met this man named 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:22.289 Timothy. I gave him the gospel. It was an absolute 00:21:22.289 --> 00:21:25.150 amazing time. First of all, because the deacons 00:21:25.150 --> 00:21:28.269 and the trustees, we had a fellowship, a vertical 00:21:28.269 --> 00:21:30.849 fellowship with God. We prayed, we studied our 00:21:30.849 --> 00:21:33.269 Bible, we were trying to live for Him. Then all 00:21:33.269 --> 00:21:35.690 of a sudden it works out in our fellowship together 00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:37.869 horizontally with the believers right there. 00:21:38.170 --> 00:21:40.829 And I'm saying, not to get ahead of myself, but 00:21:40.829 --> 00:21:43.769 it's hard to look back at yesterday and see anything 00:21:43.769 --> 00:21:48.619 but a fullness of joy. A fullness of joy. So 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:51.579 we go in this, this is where sometimes people 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:56.880 don't understand. Fellowship, fellowship is more 00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:01.319 than just a relationship. When a person trusts 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:05.720 Christ, he is born into the family of God. I've 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:07.859 quoted it several times, but John chapter one, 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:11.660 verse 12, but as many as received him, Jesus, 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:14.140 to them gave him power to become the sons of 00:22:14.140 --> 00:22:17.660 God, even to them that believe on his name right 00:22:17.660 --> 00:22:20.440 there. And so when you trust Christ as your Savior, 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.960 you become a child of God. That relationship 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:26.259 is established by God. Now, listen to the statement. 00:22:26.579 --> 00:22:29.940 A child does not become a child every morning. 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:34.619 He wakes up a child because he's a child. Likewise, 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:37.539 believers do not become God's children every 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:40.880 day. They're God's children because of the new 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:45.299 birth. So a relationship gives you a place in 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:48.160 the family. Relationship gives you a place. When 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:52.099 you're born again, you're in the family of God. 00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:55.920 When you're born again, the Holy Spirit dwells 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:59.019 within you and you're a child of the King. You're 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:01.900 sealed, Ephesians chapter one, until the day 00:23:01.900 --> 00:23:05.160 of redemption. So listen to this, but fellowship 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:09.140 is something different than a relationship. Fellowship 00:23:09.140 --> 00:23:13.000 is the enjoyment of that relationship. For example, 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:17.180 a father and son may still be family while not 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:21.160 enjoying closeness. The relationship may remain, 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:23.440 but when a father and son are butting heads, 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:26.700 they have a relationship, father, son, but when 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:28.960 the fellowship is not right or the close is not 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:31.519 there, the fellowship suffers. The son is still 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.980 the son, but there's something wrong in the fellowship. 00:23:35.210 --> 00:23:38.549 Now for you and I as believers, we believe, we're 00:23:38.549 --> 00:23:41.410 in that family of God, but the closest to God 00:23:41.410 --> 00:23:43.829 depends upon fellowship. A relationship with 00:23:43.829 --> 00:23:46.450 God is established by grace, but fellowship with 00:23:46.450 --> 00:23:49.430 God must be maintained by walking in the Spirit. 00:23:53.170 --> 00:23:55.069 Extremely important as life change you when you 00:23:55.069 --> 00:23:57.329 begin to look at that. If you're saved by the 00:23:57.329 --> 00:24:00.630 blood of the crucified one, praise God, you have 00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:04.529 a relationship with God. But fellowship. with 00:24:04.529 --> 00:24:08.549 God brings joy unspeakable and full of glory. 00:24:09.589 --> 00:24:13.670 Fellowship, a closeness to God, walking in sunlight, 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:16.630 all of my journey, thinking about the great God 00:24:16.630 --> 00:24:19.269 that created me, that guided me, and you have 00:24:19.269 --> 00:24:21.829 that vertical relationship where you talk to 00:24:21.829 --> 00:24:24.150 God. Then, or you don't have a relationship with 00:24:24.150 --> 00:24:27.690 God, distance then replaces your closeness. You 00:24:27.690 --> 00:24:30.650 begin to hide from God rather than be open with 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:34.450 God. Fear is replaced, or your fear, your joy 00:24:34.450 --> 00:24:38.269 is replaced by fear. So here's a statement. A 00:24:38.269 --> 00:24:42.170 relationship gives you a place in God's family, 00:24:42.349 --> 00:24:46.930 a relationship. Fellowship is the daily enjoyment, 00:24:47.549 --> 00:24:51.009 enjoyment of that relationship. That word joy. 00:24:52.230 --> 00:24:57.359 Fellowship is the daily. enjoyment of that relationship. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:00.319 Okay, another way, a relationship is being God's 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:04.819 child, but fellowship is walking closely with 00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:07.279 your father, your heavenly father. Wait a minute, 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:10.619 a relationship is established by the new birth. 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:14.019 You must be born again. But fellowship needs 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:20.099 to be maintained by walking in the light. That's 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:24.200 why fellowship, is such an important truth. John 00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:27.099 in First John is not merely discussing salvation, 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:30.559 he's discussing you being close with God. He's 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:34.160 discussing you in a daily walk with God, enjoying 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:36.039 that relationship with God. And if fellowship 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:38.880 is important, think about it, fellowship is important. 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:40.980 And I've already gotten there, I didn't mean 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:43.940 to do it like this, but without fellowship, you're 00:25:43.940 --> 00:25:47.009 not gonna have any joy. Without a fellowship 00:25:47.009 --> 00:25:49.529 with the Almighty God and by the way your fellowship 00:25:49.529 --> 00:25:52.210 with believers If you're not first and foremost 00:25:52.210 --> 00:25:54.650 that vertical closeness with God fellowship with 00:25:54.650 --> 00:25:56.869 God You're not gonna make a big difference in 00:25:56.869 --> 00:25:59.809 the people around you that that's why I often 00:25:59.809 --> 00:26:03.549 well a husband is supposed to lead his family 00:26:03.549 --> 00:26:06.049 for the Lord, but he doesn't have an individual 00:26:06.049 --> 00:26:09.609 personal relationship with God and the family 00:26:09.609 --> 00:26:13.609 suffers because of it if we have a church filled 00:26:13.609 --> 00:26:16.910 with people we have thousands of people, but 00:26:16.910 --> 00:26:19.150 nobody in the church is close with God. What 00:26:19.150 --> 00:26:22.329 are we doing? What are we doing? The idea is 00:26:22.329 --> 00:26:25.009 we as individuals, we have fellowship with God. 00:26:25.210 --> 00:26:28.490 You get up and you read the Bible. You talk to 00:26:28.490 --> 00:26:30.809 God. You say, God, I want to give you my life. 00:26:30.809 --> 00:26:32.630 And I'm repeating that because it's important. 00:26:32.890 --> 00:26:34.710 Then when you come to church, next thing you 00:26:34.710 --> 00:26:38.369 know, woo, fellowship with the believers. It's 00:26:38.369 --> 00:26:40.410 glorious and wonderful. So let me ask you this. 00:26:40.809 --> 00:26:44.759 If fellowship is so important, and it is, What 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:48.519 helps our fellowship and what hinders our fellowship? 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:51.180 The answer's already there. It's in the Word 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:53.839 of God in this chapter. But think with me, what 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:56.240 help, if fellowship is important, and it is, 00:26:56.660 --> 00:26:58.420 you wanna have joy, you need a fellowship with 00:26:58.420 --> 00:27:00.579 God. You want joy, you need a fellowship with 00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:05.180 other believers. But if it's so important, what 00:27:05.180 --> 00:27:08.059 helps your fellowship? and what hinders your 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:10.920 fellowship. This is important right here. And 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:13.839 okay, look with me at verse number four. Look 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:19.220 at verse four. And these things write we unto 00:27:19.220 --> 00:27:24.180 you that your what? Joy may be full. This then 00:27:24.180 --> 00:27:28.200 is the message which we have heard of him and 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:35.119 declare to you that God is light and in him is 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:39.890 no. darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship 00:27:39.890 --> 00:27:46.329 with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do 00:27:46.329 --> 00:27:50.369 not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as 00:27:50.369 --> 00:27:53.670 he is in the light, we have fellowship one with 00:27:53.670 --> 00:27:55.630 another and the blood of Jesus Christ, the son 00:27:55.630 --> 00:27:59.289 cleanses us from all sin. What helps our fellowship 00:27:59.289 --> 00:28:04.130 is walking in the light. Walking in the light. 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:08.759 Boy, this book is a powerful book. I'm just saying, 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:12.920 this is an absolutely an amazing book. It's true 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:16.460 from beginning to end. It is a life -changing 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:19.420 book. It's a glorious book. It's a lamp into 00:28:19.420 --> 00:28:22.380 my feet and a light into my path. And we ought 00:28:22.380 --> 00:28:25.279 to have a hunger and thirst after righteousness, 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:27.720 which is found in the word of God. It's sort 00:28:27.720 --> 00:28:29.759 of like bread. Bread, you think about, I like 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:31.359 fresh -baked bread. How many of you like fresh 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:33.119 -baked bread? But this is the bread of life. 00:28:33.289 --> 00:28:36.309 And you get to devour this bread of life, and 00:28:36.309 --> 00:28:41.109 you don't even get fat. I like bread, but it 00:28:41.109 --> 00:28:43.670 makes me fat. But this is the bread of life, 00:28:43.789 --> 00:28:46.650 and we can chew on it, we can study it, we can 00:28:46.650 --> 00:28:48.890 read it, we can come to church and hear the preaching, 00:28:49.029 --> 00:28:51.170 or we can go to Sunday school and hear the teaching 00:28:51.170 --> 00:28:53.769 of it. This is a life -changing book. And the 00:28:53.769 --> 00:28:56.930 Bible says to walk in the light of God's word, 00:28:57.210 --> 00:29:01.089 walking in sunshine all of my journey. And listen, 00:29:01.109 --> 00:29:04.240 here's a point, here's a point. What helps you 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:07.160 to have that fellowship with God? What helps 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:09.640 you with that fellowship with other people? Make 00:29:09.640 --> 00:29:13.079 sure that you daily walk in the light of God's 00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:19.359 word. Boy, there's a lot of things this side 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:22.599 of eternity that keeps you away from the light 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:25.640 of God's word, the light of God's word. I talked 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:28.220 to a man yesterday as we're witnessing a guy 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:30.579 named Timothy and asked him if he was to die 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:32.039 today if he'd go to heaven. He said, I don't 00:29:32.039 --> 00:29:34.099 even know. He said, I don't even know what I 00:29:34.099 --> 00:29:35.859 believe. He said, I used to go to church when 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:38.180 I was a kid, a Baptist church. And he said, one 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:40.380 time me and my brothers, we snuck out of the 00:29:40.380 --> 00:29:43.900 church and we hid from the pastor over there 00:29:43.900 --> 00:29:45.779 in the car right there during the sermon right 00:29:45.779 --> 00:29:47.779 there. But somehow he stopped the church, came 00:29:47.779 --> 00:29:49.700 out and he knew where we were, drug us back in 00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:52.740 there. Those pastors, they know where you're 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:54.299 at. They're gonna go get you. They're gonna get 00:29:54.299 --> 00:29:57.779 you. But then he said, you know, in today's world, 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.119 he said, and he began to list some of the things 00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:03.190 that he was listening to. and some of the things 00:30:03.190 --> 00:30:07.730 he was listening to on both television and the 00:30:07.730 --> 00:30:11.670 internet, YouTube videos, and over and over again, 00:30:11.710 --> 00:30:14.849 everything he mentioned was something that was 00:30:14.849 --> 00:30:17.750 adamantly against the word of God, leading him 00:30:17.750 --> 00:30:20.170 away from the word of God. And he said, I just 00:30:20.170 --> 00:30:23.089 don't know. What he's doing is he's walking in 00:30:23.089 --> 00:30:26.589 darkness. Boy, there's no joy, there's no hope, 00:30:26.650 --> 00:30:28.950 there's no fulfillment, but we as Christians, 00:30:29.369 --> 00:30:31.890 We need to walk in the light of God's word, read 00:30:31.890 --> 00:30:34.490 God's word, study God's word, listen to the preaching 00:30:34.490 --> 00:30:38.789 God, walk daily in the light. To walk in darkness 00:30:38.789 --> 00:30:42.910 is dangerous. To walk in sin is dangerous. Next 00:30:42.910 --> 00:30:45.809 thing you know, we walk in darkness, we skip 00:30:45.809 --> 00:30:48.660 our Bible reading. we watch something we shouldn't 00:30:48.660 --> 00:30:50.660 watch, we listen to something we shouldn't listen 00:30:50.660 --> 00:30:53.940 to, listen, we skip going to church, we do this, 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:56.539 next thing you know, boy we're no longer walking 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:59.039 in the light and we're hiding from God over here 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:02.099 and we wonder why inside of us, by the way, be 00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:04.339 not drunk with wine wearing his exes, but be 00:31:04.339 --> 00:31:07.160 filled with the spirit and when all of a sudden 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:10.480 we do sinful things, we give in to press down 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:12.700 the spirit that lives and dwells inside of us 00:31:12.700 --> 00:31:15.920 and we wonder why we're miserable. We wonder 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:18.720 why we're miserable. Well, the fullness of joy 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:21.400 is possible with a walk in light. But number 00:31:21.400 --> 00:31:23.099 two, I want you to notice this. I want you to 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:26.420 notice this is extremely amazing the way God 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:29.900 put this in here. I want you to see this. Look 00:31:29.900 --> 00:31:35.539 at verse number eight. If we say that we have 00:31:35.539 --> 00:31:39.240 no what? We deceive ourselves and the truth is 00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:43.359 not in us. Okay, if we say that we have no sin. 00:31:43.480 --> 00:31:46.680 Okay, look at verse number nine. If we confess 00:31:46.680 --> 00:31:52.539 our what? Okay, we confess our sins. Now, this 00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:56.119 is interesting. The issue that John has with 00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:59.339 believers, it's not an issue whether we ever 00:31:59.339 --> 00:32:03.539 sin or not. The issue is what believers do after 00:32:03.539 --> 00:32:08.180 they've sinned. If you just hear me out on this, 00:32:09.380 --> 00:32:14.509 believers sometimes struggle with sin. Sometimes 00:32:14.509 --> 00:32:17.710 you don't think right. Sometimes you don't say 00:32:17.710 --> 00:32:19.950 things that are right. Some things you don't 00:32:19.950 --> 00:32:22.809 walk in a way that pleases God, and that's called 00:32:22.809 --> 00:32:26.549 sin. Okay, in the book of Romans chapter seven, 00:32:26.569 --> 00:32:28.150 the apostle Paul said it like this. He said, 00:32:28.430 --> 00:32:31.910 that which I would, I do not, I do not. And then 00:32:31.910 --> 00:32:33.809 he said, there's no more I that do it, but sin 00:32:33.809 --> 00:32:36.829 that dwelleth in me. And he begins to talk about 00:32:36.829 --> 00:32:38.289 the battle of the flesh and the spirit. Then 00:32:38.289 --> 00:32:41.390 the apostle Paul says this, O wretched man, not 00:32:41.390 --> 00:32:45.720 that I was, but a wretched man that I am. For 00:32:45.720 --> 00:32:47.700 example, I have no doubt this section right over 00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:51.180 here. I have no doubt this section. I have no 00:32:51.180 --> 00:32:53.460 doubt this section. And I have no doubt this 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:56.339 section. There's somebody in that section. You 00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:57.680 thought some things you shouldn't have thought 00:32:57.680 --> 00:33:00.980 this week. You said some things you shouldn't 00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:03.539 have said. You did some things you shouldn't 00:33:03.539 --> 00:33:08.200 have done. That's called sin. It's not if you 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:11.619 sin, but here's the thing. When you sin. Now, 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:14.539 this is important. When we think about that, 00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:17.420 the issue is not perfection. Fellowship, when 00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:18.920 we talk about fellowship, is not perfection. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:20.500 This is where many Christians struggle. They 00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:23.599 think, if I sin, fellowship is forever gone. 00:33:23.859 --> 00:33:26.660 But John says the opposite. He's assuming that 00:33:26.660 --> 00:33:29.900 we do sin. So if we confess our sins, and he's 00:33:29.900 --> 00:33:31.799 telling us what to do, and what he's telling 00:33:31.799 --> 00:33:35.000 us to do. Well, first of all, when you sin, look 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:37.500 at verse number eight, if you say it. If we say 00:33:37.500 --> 00:33:41.680 that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. Okay, 00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:45.519 when we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. 00:33:45.700 --> 00:33:49.400 The first thing right there is don't lie to yourself. 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:54.019 Don't deceive yourself. Many Christians saved 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:56.319 by the blood of the crucified one live a life 00:33:56.319 --> 00:33:59.359 of sin and they get in the habit of deceit. Well, 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:03.299 it's okay. It's just the way the world is today. 00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:06.470 And they lie to themselves. They lie to themselves 00:34:06.470 --> 00:34:08.789 about all sorts of issues. We won't go into the 00:34:08.789 --> 00:34:11.309 issues. It was not really that big of a deal. 00:34:11.590 --> 00:34:15.230 Well, sin is a big deal. So rather than confessing 00:34:15.230 --> 00:34:19.289 their sins, they deceive themselves. They make 00:34:19.289 --> 00:34:22.789 an excuse for sin. They begin to live lives of 00:34:22.789 --> 00:34:25.550 sin. They begin to justify their sin. But no, 00:34:25.710 --> 00:34:29.369 no, no, no, don't deceive yourself. Sin is exceedingly 00:34:29.369 --> 00:34:33.369 sinful. Sin is destructive. When you live a life 00:34:33.369 --> 00:34:36.809 of sin, you lose fellowship with God. When you 00:34:36.809 --> 00:34:39.210 live a life of sin, you lose that fellowship 00:34:39.210 --> 00:34:40.730 with others. Okay, we got that, right? Amen. 00:34:41.630 --> 00:34:43.789 The second part, it says in verse number nine, 00:34:43.969 --> 00:34:45.510 and you ought to memorize this. This ought to 00:34:45.510 --> 00:34:47.650 be in the forefront of your mind. You ought to 00:34:47.650 --> 00:34:49.670 hide it in your heart. It says if we confess 00:34:49.670 --> 00:34:54.809 our sins, if we confess our sins, he is faithful 00:34:54.809 --> 00:34:58.090 and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse 00:34:58.090 --> 00:35:03.059 us from sin. all unrighteousness. Here's what 00:35:03.059 --> 00:35:06.519 he's saying. Fellowship's important. Brings fullness 00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:10.840 of joy. But as soon as you sin, as soon as you 00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:13.900 have that sinful thought, don't wait a week to 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:17.519 confess it. Don't wait a month. Don't wait a 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:22.659 year. Immediately say, God, I'm sorry. I should 00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:25.099 not have had that thought. It was displeasing 00:35:25.099 --> 00:35:28.559 to you. I wanna honor you with my life. God, 00:35:28.659 --> 00:35:31.670 forgive me. All of a sudden, there's a fellowship, 00:35:31.809 --> 00:35:34.650 that vertical fellowship, and God says, I forgive 00:35:34.650 --> 00:35:38.150 you, restored fellowship. There's joy unspeakable 00:35:38.150 --> 00:35:41.670 and full of glory. Boy, you do that action where 00:35:41.670 --> 00:35:44.409 all of a sudden, somebody angers you, and man, 00:35:44.550 --> 00:35:50.449 life, they shouldn't have done it. I don't know 00:35:50.449 --> 00:35:52.010 if you'd ever do that, but you might do that, 00:35:52.010 --> 00:35:54.010 okay? And you shouldn't have acted that way. 00:35:54.090 --> 00:35:56.010 Okay, some of you actually did that this week. 00:35:56.050 --> 00:35:59.079 I can see it in your eyes this week. But as soon 00:35:59.079 --> 00:36:03.820 as you sin, stop. And boy, hang your head in 00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:06.579 some ways and say, God, I shouldn't have done 00:36:06.579 --> 00:36:10.400 that. That was sin against you, God. I knew I 00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:13.500 went against your will. Father, up in heaven, 00:36:14.059 --> 00:36:17.820 forgive me. But one of the reasons it's written 00:36:17.820 --> 00:36:20.440 that way, and I wanna say this from a mountain, 00:36:20.500 --> 00:36:22.260 I'm gonna say it from a mountaintop right here, 00:36:22.800 --> 00:36:26.400 is sometimes you sin and you don't confess that 00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:30.639 sin. And that one sin leads to you, well, I already 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:33.039 sinned, I might as well go farther. So you take 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:35.820 a deeper step into sin, and a deeper step into 00:36:35.820 --> 00:36:37.880 sin, and a deeper step into sin, and a deeper 00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:41.719 sin. And this getting deeper into sin leads you 00:36:41.719 --> 00:36:44.460 far away from the great God that loves you. Your 00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:47.099 fellowship is gone, and the joy unspeakable is 00:36:47.099 --> 00:36:50.949 gone inside of you. So immediately it's saying, 00:36:50.949 --> 00:36:54.269 confess your sin. He is faithful and just to 00:36:54.269 --> 00:36:57.170 forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all 00:36:57.170 --> 00:37:02.750 unrighteousness. Glory, glory, glory. Back to 00:37:02.750 --> 00:37:05.929 verse number four, if you will. Verse number 00:37:05.929 --> 00:37:11.909 four. And these things right we unto you, what? 00:37:15.329 --> 00:37:25.389 That is absolutely Amazing. It is. You can have 00:37:25.389 --> 00:37:30.210 joy. Joy, how? Fellowship with God. Fellowship 00:37:30.210 --> 00:37:32.289 with, somehow have fellowship with God. You're 00:37:32.289 --> 00:37:35.130 saved, have fellowship with God. Somehow listen 00:37:35.130 --> 00:37:38.650 to him, talk to him, say Lord my life is yours 00:37:38.650 --> 00:37:41.269 and give over your thoughts to him. And then 00:37:41.269 --> 00:37:43.300 all of a sudden. that leads to, and by the way, 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:45.800 it's not a side note, but it's a side, it's what 00:37:45.800 --> 00:37:48.880 the really Christian's life is all about, is 00:37:48.880 --> 00:37:51.300 making a difference. One of the greatest things 00:37:51.300 --> 00:37:55.000 we ever do as Christians is fellowship with other 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.219 Christians. That's verse three, it is. And I 00:37:59.219 --> 00:38:01.300 want to, it's hard not to say this, it's not 00:38:01.300 --> 00:38:03.840 really the sermon, but it is a sermon. Going 00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:06.820 to church, fellowship among believers, it's not 00:38:06.820 --> 00:38:10.480 a have to go, but wow, it's one of the highlights. 00:38:10.829 --> 00:38:15.469 for a Christian. It's one of the joys. I look 00:38:15.469 --> 00:38:17.710 forward to Sunday. Matter of fact, Sunday morning 00:38:17.710 --> 00:38:19.989 wasn't enough for me, Brother Jerome. I had to 00:38:19.989 --> 00:38:22.190 get Sunday morning twice, early bird service 00:38:22.190 --> 00:38:25.289 11 so I could have some more. Not you guys, but 00:38:25.289 --> 00:38:28.630 I did. I love church, the fellowship. And the 00:38:28.630 --> 00:38:31.489 fellowship with the believers is to exhort one 00:38:31.489 --> 00:38:33.769 another. And so much the more as you see the 00:38:33.769 --> 00:38:36.969 day approaching. And boy, you know, one of the 00:38:36.969 --> 00:38:39.670 things in the church today, And this is not a 00:38:39.670 --> 00:38:43.150 gripe, it's just reality. So many churches today 00:38:43.150 --> 00:38:46.329 believe in less church. So they no longer have 00:38:46.329 --> 00:38:48.889 their midweek Bible studies. They no longer have 00:38:48.889 --> 00:38:51.630 their Sunday night services, because nobody will 00:38:51.630 --> 00:38:54.449 come anyways. And why don't they come? They don't 00:38:54.449 --> 00:38:56.829 have fellowship with the Father. But when you 00:38:56.829 --> 00:38:58.869 have fellowship with the Father, this is one 00:38:58.869 --> 00:39:01.949 of the highlights of your life, is the creation 00:39:01.949 --> 00:39:04.900 that God gave us, the church. The church where 00:39:04.900 --> 00:39:07.539 we get to encourage one another, help one another. 00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:09.340 By the way, it's part of the church. You come 00:39:09.340 --> 00:39:11.760 in here, you're right with God. You all of a 00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:13.940 sudden see your brother or sister in here that, 00:39:13.940 --> 00:39:16.559 boy, has had a hurting week. You can encourage 00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:19.360 them, strengthen them, help them, and really 00:39:19.360 --> 00:39:22.400 be a blessing to them, bearing one another's 00:39:22.400 --> 00:39:24.659 burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ. 00:39:25.260 --> 00:39:28.860 What does it lead to? Leads to that joy unspeakable 00:39:28.860 --> 00:39:31.340 and full of glory. What does it lead to that? 00:39:31.389 --> 00:39:36.130 Joy may be full right there. This is why, this 00:39:36.130 --> 00:39:40.750 is why. Don't think that church, church, church, 00:39:40.809 --> 00:39:45.090 okay, your hobby, great, great, great, good. 00:39:45.230 --> 00:39:47.210 I like your hobby. Nothing wrong with a hobby. 00:39:48.030 --> 00:39:50.349 But it's not the main thing here, church. Jesus 00:39:50.349 --> 00:39:55.269 is. And sports, woo, glory. Have fun with your 00:39:55.269 --> 00:39:58.210 sports. Nothing wrong with that. But that's not 00:39:58.210 --> 00:40:00.389 what brings us together. Christ brings us together. 00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:03.760 In this side of eternity, make sure your fellowship 00:40:03.760 --> 00:40:06.340 is right with God, fellowship's right with God, 00:40:06.820 --> 00:40:09.300 then fellowship with believers and give it a 00:40:09.300 --> 00:40:12.239 test. I believe out of shadow of doubt, you follow 00:40:12.239 --> 00:40:14.260 that simple plan, that simple plan, fellowship 00:40:14.260 --> 00:40:16.719 with God, fellowship with believers, you're gonna 00:40:16.719 --> 00:40:20.360 have joy, fullness of joy. Let's pray. Dear Father 00:40:20.360 --> 00:40:24.019 in heaven, we love you. I could have gone farther. 00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:26.079 We don't think we need it at all. I think everybody 00:40:26.079 --> 00:40:29.519 understands. I do pray for certain situations. 00:40:29.929 --> 00:40:33.309 the person here who's never accepted you as their 00:40:33.309 --> 00:40:38.409 savior. This message does not help them unless 00:40:38.409 --> 00:40:41.170 they have been born again, helping to realize 00:40:41.170 --> 00:40:45.070 their need to receive you and receive that gift 00:40:45.070 --> 00:40:48.090 of eternal life. I pray for the many Christians 00:40:48.090 --> 00:40:50.670 that are here that have fellowship with you every 00:40:50.670 --> 00:40:54.010 day, that have fellowship at church, and I pray 00:40:54.010 --> 00:40:56.730 that you help them to remember this sermon, remember 00:40:56.730 --> 00:40:59.530 this truth found in 1 John as the days go by. 00:40:59.719 --> 00:41:04.400 and when they maybe get sidetracked. But no doubt, 00:41:04.679 --> 00:41:08.159 God, there's quite a few people here who are 00:41:08.159 --> 00:41:12.000 here, but they don't have joy. Help them to just 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:14.659 follow the guidelines of this chapter. Work on 00:41:14.659 --> 00:41:17.679 their fellowship with you. Work on their fellowship 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:21.760 with other believers. And I pray decisions are 00:41:21.760 --> 00:41:25.679 made this morning. We need you, in Jesus' name, 00:41:26.039 --> 00:41:31.599 amen. Stand with me if you will. moment the piano 00:41:31.599 --> 00:41:34.800 and the organ are gonna play, and I've already 00:41:34.800 --> 00:41:37.699 said it, but decision, I do believe, and can 00:41:37.699 --> 00:41:39.639 I just just say I'm thankful for Sunday morning 00:41:39.639 --> 00:41:42.099 people, Sunday morning only people, you're wanted 00:41:42.099 --> 00:41:45.119 here, you're needed here, but I've actually praying 00:41:45.119 --> 00:41:47.079 that some of the people that just normally come 00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:49.099 on Sunday morning will start making a decision, 00:41:49.159 --> 00:41:50.739 say I'm gonna try Sunday night, I'm gonna give 00:41:50.739 --> 00:41:52.780 it a whirl. because I'm gonna have fellowship 00:41:52.780 --> 00:41:54.800 with God and I can come make a difference in 00:41:54.800 --> 00:41:57.219 something. The Midweek Pick Me Up service, Wednesday 00:41:57.219 --> 00:42:00.900 night, is one of the greatest services in the 00:42:00.900 --> 00:42:03.579 history of a church. It's amazing. I pray some 00:42:03.579 --> 00:42:05.159 decisions are made saying, Pastor, I'm gonna 00:42:05.159 --> 00:42:08.260 give it a whirl, but make decisions this morning 00:42:08.260 --> 00:42:16.880 as the piano and the organ play. If you're here 00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:17.900 and you've never