[0:00] All right, I always grew up singing that song and having a Bible in my hand, waving the answer back to heaven.
[0:15] And it was always a fun song to me to sing as a kid. And then later on, I won't be too specific here, but I was discouraged from singing that song, leading that song anyway, from somebody saying, I don't want to stand and hold the fort, bless God, I want to take ground away from the devil.
[0:37] And so kind of like just kind of kick that song out from the circulation, from singing it in our church. But I understand the song. I like the song. And if you look up the history of that, it was written in a historic moment in battle.
[0:50] And I can't give you the specifics of the men involved with it. I forget it now. But it's a great, just Google it, not now. Google it later. It's worth reading. A lot of the lines of that song, it has a very historic meaning and then an application to the Lord Jesus Christ and his church and him saying, I'm coming.
[1:11] So stand your ground. And that's the command for the Christian in this age is to stand. And to stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth. And we need to learn how to stand.
[1:23] Get your Bibles to 1 John this evening, please. The book of 1 John. And I really enjoy this epistle.
[1:46] It's five short chapters. Every time I get to it, I enjoy it. It's a quick read, but there's always something in there that catches my attention and that just begs a little bit of study.
[1:58] And John's a unique apostle and disciple of Jesus Christ. And he gives in this epistle some strong statements of scripture regarding doctrine.
[2:11] I'll just give you a few for instances. Look at chapter 3 and look at verse 16. I don't know if you've ever noticed this or not, but this is a strong statement on the deity of Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh.
[2:27] 1 John 3.16. It's easy to remember that one because of the infamous John 3.16. But 1 John 3.16 says, Hereby perceive we the love of who? God.
[2:39] God. Hereby perceive we the love of God because He, who? God. Laid down His life for us. The one that laid down His life for us, according to John, was God.
[2:54] Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh. And that's a worthy thing of drawing out of the text. Another doctrinal note that John puts in his epistle.
[3:06] So look at 1 John 5 and look at verse number 7. Here's the most definitive statement on the Godhead in the pages of this Bible is right here. 1 John 5.7.
[3:17] Where he says, There are three that bear record in heaven. The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. And we have our doctrine, we call it, of the Trinity.
[3:29] The triunity of the Godhead. The three persons of the Godhead. And those three are one. And that's a tough doctrine to understand. John gives us this statement of fact.
[3:42] And a doctrinal statement of that. And it's one that you need to know. It's one that you need to believe. It's missing in a lot of the new versions. They take verse number 6 and break it in half. And so they have a number 7 in some of their versions.
[3:55] But that phrase that you have in your King James Bible is missing. Completely removed in many new versions. John gives us something else. One thing that's very dear to me. I trust it's dear to you.
[4:05] Is in chapter 5 verse 13. He gives us one of the strongest statements on assurance of salvation. That you can know. K-N-O-W. That you can know.
[4:16] When you're sitting in your pew tonight. When you lay your head on your pillow. When you're driving on the chaotic highways of Los Angeles. You can know that you have eternal life. In verse 13.
[4:27] These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God. That ye may know that ye have eternal life. And that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And that's just a few things to point out.
[4:38] Just some strong statements in this epistle. I love this epistle. But there's also some statements in this epistle that aren't so strong doctrinally. That we can grab and grasp.
[4:50] And there's some confusing things. He writes about the spirit of Antichrist. He writes about a sin unto death. He writes about overcoming the wicked one. And overcoming false prophets.
[5:02] And he writes about overcoming the world. He writes things about loving your brother. And hating your brother. And have not seen Christ or known him. And he writes some statements that are peculiar.
[5:15] And I admit they're confusing statements. And the reason I believe they're confusing statements. Because John has a prophetical view. And an application to a future tribulation remnant.
[5:26] And there's doctrinal truths in this epistle. That's for them to pick up and read. And know and understand. When they're going through some things in the future. And the spirit of God in me.
[5:36] And when I read and attempt to understand. It's as if he's just not bearing witness to certain things in this epistle with me. And I just chalk it up to say. It's got to be for somebody else.
[5:48] But nevertheless. There are some things that John does right. And there's some things that we want to look at here tonight. And we'll see if it goes into another week or not. Where John. Where John.
[5:59] Rather than dive into certain doctrines. John gives us some practical statements and commands. That we need to consider. Some advice maybe we call it.
[6:09] Some admonishment for believers. And in understanding John as a man. And as a disciple of Jesus Christ. There's no disciple that was closer to Christ.
[6:20] He is the one. The one. The one. He identifies himself generically saying. The disciple whom Jesus loved. Singular. The disciple whom Jesus loved.
[6:30] The one that had more insight. And gives us a unique perspective. On certain things about God. And about the Lord Jesus Christ. It's worthy of our attention.
[6:42] John. If you read through those four gospels. Of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And we're really digging into Matthew in Sunday school here. But when you get into Mark. He gives a little different slant. Luke gives a different slant as well.
[6:53] But John. John tells you. I wrote this epistle. So that you will believe. On the name of the Son of God. And that believing. You'd have life through his name. John doesn't.
[7:04] He takes every story. And puts the twist. To believing on Jesus Christ. He emphasizes from the beginning. The deity of Jesus Christ. He just writes with such a higher.
[7:15] Elevated lofty look. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Than the other gospel writers. And just to know this about him. He really. He sees Christ. Maybe in a different light. Than others do.
[7:26] And he's worthy of us. To look. And to give heed. To what he has to say. I think that John. Came to know. Not just the commands of Christ. But maybe the heart of Christ. And so let's look at some things tonight.
[7:38] And show you that John. Addressed some things in this epistle. That he's concerned about. Why? Probably because he believes. That this is things. These are things Jesus Christ. Is concerned about.
[7:48] And so let's look in John chapter 1. Here tonight. And I want to say first of all. That John was concerned. In writing this epistle. About our fellowship. About believers fellowship.
[8:00] And look at verse number 3. 1 John 1 verse 3. He says. That which we have seen. And heard. Declare we unto you. Why? That ye also may have fellowship.
[8:12] With us. And truly our fellowships. With the Father. And with his Son. Jesus Christ. John desires that your fellowship.
[8:23] The reader of his epistle. Would be just like his fellowship. With the Father. And with his Son. Jesus Christ. John's not just trying to get you to say.
[8:35] We want you to have fellowship with us. Like we want you to hang out with us. After church. We want to run to Starbucks. That's not what John's talking about at all. When he says. That we have fellowship.
[8:47] That you have. That you may also have fellowship with us. He's referring to making you. To be like him. You realize. When somebody's going to join up with a gang. Or with a motorcycle club.
[8:57] Or some organization. When they join them. They're not just joining them to hang out. And tag along. Right? Just to be around them. They're joining them to become one of them.
[9:08] To be one. To be just like the rest of them. In all ways. And what John writes to the believers. It says. That we've. We've seen some things.
[9:19] We've heard these things. We're declaring them unto you. Why? So that you would have fellowship with us. That you'd be one of us. And how can you have fellowship with us? I just highlighted verse 3.
[9:30] That which we have seen and heard. Declare we unto you. That ye also may have fellowship with us. He's reiterating something he already said.
[9:40] Look at the very beginning here of the epistle. First John. And just the very beginning here. In verse number 1. That which was from the beginning.
[9:51] Which we have heard. He said that in verse 3. Which we have seen with our eyes. That's what he said in verse 3. Which we have looked upon. And our hands have handled.
[10:02] Of the word of life. For the life was manifested. And we have seen it. And bear witness. And show unto you that eternal life. Which was with the Father. And was manifested unto us.
[10:14] And he says. All of that. Time spent with the Lord Jesus Christ. Those things that I've seen. And heard. And looked upon. And handled. The word of life. Made manifest in the flesh.
[10:25] He said. That which we have seen and heard. In verse 3. Declare we unto you. That ye also may have fellowship with us. What's John saying here?
[10:37] He's seeking fellowship with others. In a sense of declaring what he's seen and heard. He's declaring to them the Lord Jesus Christ. He's declaring what he's been revealed.
[10:48] To him from God. And from the Son of God himself. And all of his experiences he's had with the person of Jesus Christ. He's declaring to others. So that they can then have fellowship with him.
[11:02] And it's not just a talk. It's be united with him. In the same family. With the same Father. And with his Son Jesus Christ. That he could show unto us eternal life.
[11:14] In verse 2. What John experienced. In Christ's earthly ministry. And in his lifetime. What John came to know in his lifetime was.
[11:27] Man it was. It was different than. Probably than. Anyone else on the planet. Or ever in existence I think. He's. I think we can learn a thing or two.
[11:39] From studying what John has to say. Because he had such a tightness. And a closeness. And a bond with the Lord Jesus Christ. That no other man. Woman.
[11:49] Child. No other disciple. Even had. John got to see some things. John up to. In normal. Before. Christ. He had.
[12:00] We just say. A normal Jewish upbringing. Brought up according to the law. Brought up. Around the tabernacle. Around the Sabbath. Even probably with some of the Jewish traditions.
[12:10] That were getting twisted. And they held up as. Scripture. And so forth. And John. Grew up in all of that. And then came Jesus. And then came the Lord Jesus Christ.
[12:23] And said follow me. And John with his brother. Forsook their father. Forsook their nets. And went and followed the Lord Jesus Christ. And what John saw.
[12:33] From that day forward. What John heard. What John experienced. What he says. Our hands have handled. The Lord Jesus Christ. God in the flesh. He had a personal relationship.
[12:45] With the one whom the scripture said. Created all things. And by him. Was not anything made. That was made. Or without him. Was not anything made. That was made. The one that hung the stars.
[12:57] The one that put everything into orbit. And into existence. That spoke the word. The word himself. Manifest in the flesh. Jesus Christ.
[13:07] John had a walk with him. He got to sit and hear him speak. He got to share meals with him. On frequent basis. Just all the time.
[13:19] With Jesus Christ. With Jesus Christ. With Jesus Christ. He lived years of his life. With the person. Of Jesus Christ. Don't you think that those long walks.
[13:30] That they took from town to town. Were quite beneficial to John. And to the others. The way I see John. From what we see in his closeness. He was probably side by side.
[13:42] He wasn't hanging in the back. He wasn't having conversations. With Philip and Matthew. His conversations were with Christ. He got to know him more. He got to hear his voice more than anybody else.
[13:54] Look at John chapter 13. Keep your place here. We'll come back. But look back and do his gospel. In John chapter 13. John shared life experiences.
[14:05] With the Lord Jesus Christ. John says in John chapter 1 verse 14. That we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father. John had an insight.
[14:20] And it's one that few if any have ever had. Look at John chapter 13. John was close. Here's this supper that they're having.
[14:32] In verse 23. John refers to himself. It says. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom. One of his disciples. Whom Jesus loved. So humbly not identifying himself.
[14:45] But notice his position with Christ. He's leaning on his bosom. Now I've seen this drawn. And I've seen this portrayed. In painting or whatever. Where they're seated around.
[14:55] There's been different views on this. Where John's like kind of laying his head over on his shoulder. Or that he's kind of lower than that. Tucked up. Maybe underneath his arm even.
[15:07] And there's been pictures that have portrayed him like that. I picture them all kind of slouched after they've eaten. They're not sitting around a dining room table like we had. Apparently not the culture or the setup in this.
[15:21] And so the typical scene. It's supposed that they're kind of lounged around. Maybe on. I picture like a bean bag chair. On something of that nature. Of some kind of cushion.
[15:32] That they're lounged around on. And perhaps Christ even laid back himself. But I picture in John. Laying with his back of his head. On the stomach of Christ.
[15:42] With his feet stretched out the other direction. Just kind of looking up at the ceiling. But having his head right there. And just in conversation. And then notice. And that's just my image here.
[15:53] But look at verse 24. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him. That he should ask who. That's to John. He's nudging him. That he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. Then he lying on Jesus' breast.
[16:05] Saith unto him. Lord who is it? Jesus answered him. So I'm just seeing in my mind. John laying out there stretched across. Maybe. What's the word?
[16:17] Perpendicular to Christ. With his head on his stomach. And just turning his head. Toward Christ's chin. With his ear right there on his breast. By the. Just inches from the heartbeat of God.
[16:29] And just saying. Lord who is it? No one else in the room is that close. To Jesus Christ. Peter can't even. Speak up enough to address it.
[16:39] Or to say what's on his heart. Peter's nudging. Just ask him. Ask him. And John just turns his head. Who is it? John was close.
[16:49] That's my point here. John was closer than anybody else. And Christ answers him. One on one. Just like natural communication. And you know what John's concerned about?
[17:02] Being that kind of guy. And having that closeness to Jesus Christ. He's concerned about your fellowship. That's what he's concerned about. That's what he's going to write about here.
[17:13] In chapter one. The word shows up more in first John chapter one. Than it shows up in any other chapter of the Bible. No. It shows up more in first John chapter one. Than it shows up in any other book of the Bible.
[17:26] John's concerned. About your fellowship. He's concerned number one. That you have fellowship with us. That is that you know the Lord Jesus Christ. What he's declaring unto you.
[17:37] Who he is. And where eternal life is found. But more than just having a knowledge. And a knowledge that he's the son of God. He wants you to have fellowship with the father.
[17:49] And with his son Jesus Christ. We're not talking about catching a snack. Or going bowling. Or going mini golf. And saying we're having fellowship. Or in the fellowship hall.
[18:00] We're talking about something a little deeper than that. Look at 1 John. Go back there. 1 John chapter five. 1 John chapter five.
[18:15] John's talking about getting in. On an understanding. Of the son of God. Getting in on an intimate. True relationship.
[18:26] That's real to you. That's actually supernatural. Look at 1 John five. Look at verse 20. And we know.
[18:38] That the son of God. Is come. And have given us. An understanding. That we may know him. That is true.
[18:48] John says. He doesn't just say we can know about him. And have fellowship with us. But no. We can know him. The son of God has come. He's given us an understanding.
[18:59] He's opened our eyes. And now we can know him. We can have a relationship with him. That is true. And we are in him. That is true. Even in his son.
[19:11] Jesus Christ. This is the true God. And eternal life. John seeks that. You and I have a fellowship. He's concerned about our fellowship. He's got something.
[19:22] And he wants us to have it too. An intimate understanding. And a knowledge. And a relationship. With the only begotten son of God. I want to say a few things.
[19:33] Before we move on. About our fellowship. And John says these things. For me. So we'll just read it. First John chapter 1. Come back there. He's concerned about your fellowship.
[19:44] And let's just notice a few things in this epistle. About your fellowship. Number one.
[19:54] Our fellowship with God. Is conditioned upon our walk. We learn that from this epistle. It's conditioned upon our walk. Look at your verse. First John 1. Verses 5 through 7.
[20:07] This then is the message. Which we have heard of him. And declare unto you. That God is light. And in him is no darkness at all.
[20:17] If we say that we have fellowship with him. And walk in darkness. We lie. And do not the truth. But if we walk in the light. As he is in the light.
[20:29] We have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ. His son cleanseth us. From all sin. John's referring to something he learned.
[20:39] From Jesus Christ himself. He says this is the message. Which we have heard of him. And I'm going to tell you about it. And one thing I learned from him. Is that God is light.
[20:51] In God. He is pure. He is holy. He is the extremity of holiness. In him is no darkness at all.
[21:02] And if you're going to live like that. And you're going to claim his name. You're going to walk. And say that you're walking in fellowship with him. John says I got news for you. You're lying. You're lying to yourself.
[21:13] He says later in verse 8. If we say we have no sins. We deceive ourselves. Now I didn't say you're not saved. If you have sin in your life. Or you commit sin. John didn't say that either.
[21:25] But he said if you claim to have fellowship. With the Lord Jesus Christ. But you're walking in sin. You're not fellowshipping with Jesus Christ. Because he won't accept that sin. And he won't accept your fellowship. His fellowship is according to truth.
[21:37] And to righteousness. As a matter of fact. Look back at Ephesians. Keep your place. Come back to Ephesians chapter 5. John's concerned about our fellowship. And he wants us to know that our fellowship with our Father.
[21:50] And with the Lord Jesus Christ. Is conditioned upon our walk. It ought to be a walk of light. Walking in the light. As he is in the light.
[22:01] The Bible says in Amos. Can two walk together. Except they be agreed. Well I can tell you one thing about God. And the Lord Jesus Christ. Is they're not going to leave the light. To walk with anybody.
[22:12] They're going to stay pure. And clean. And righteous. If we want to get fellowship with them. We've got to leave the sin. And the darkness. And reach for them. Ephesians chapter 5.
[22:24] And verse 1 says. Be ye therefore followers of God. As dear children. That's a great thing to aspire to. To follow God. And to do that. You're going to have to do some things.
[22:35] He talks about some unbelievers. Or some sinners. And he says in verse number 7. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness. But now are ye light in the Lord.
[22:47] Walk as children of light. In verse 11. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. But rather reprove them. John like Paul.
[22:59] Calls us to walk in the light. To have fellowship with God. Our fellowship is conditioned upon our walk. He said in his gospel.
[23:09] In chapter 3 verse 21. He that doeth truth. Cometh to the light. He cometh to the light. He leaves the darkness. But wants to have his deeds made manifest.
[23:22] That they're wrought in God. So he comes to the light. Again. God won't leave the light. To come to the darkness for you. He calls you to come to the light. Our fellowship with God's condition upon our walk.
[23:33] Secondly. Our fellowship with God is accompanied by abiding. In him. In John's gospel in chapter 15. The passage about fruit.
[23:44] And the vine and the branches. He said in verse 4. If ye abide in me. I'm sorry. In verse 4. Abide in me. And I in you. Now come to 1 John chapter 2.
[23:54] And you can see that the very things that he heard from him. He's declaring to you. When Christ said to abide in me. And I'll abide in you.
[24:05] John puts that right on the believer. He's concerned about your fellowship. He's concerned that you're abiding in Christ. Chapter 2 and verse number 6. He that saith he abideth in him.
[24:16] Ought himself also so to walk. How? Even as he walked. That is Christ. In other words. Christ gave us an example. Of how to walk. Of how to please God.
[24:27] Of how to submit. Of how to do right. Of how to stand against sin. And against wickedness. And deception. And if he's going to abide in Christ.
[24:38] Then you're going to have to walk like Jesus Christ. It ought to show. If you're going to abide in him. It's going to show in your life. That you're looking like Jesus Christ. Look at John chapter 2.
[24:48] Or 1 John 2. And verse number 28. He says. And now little children. Abide in him. Abide in him.
[24:59] All the way to the end. Abide in him. That when he shall appear. We may have confidence. And not be ashamed before him at his coming. Abide in him. John calls believers.
[25:10] To have fellowship with God. By abiding in him. Look at chapter 3. Chapter 3. And verse number 6. Says. Whoso abideth in him. Sinneth not.
[25:22] Whosoever sinneth. Hath not seen him. Neither known him. Now the practical side of this. To us today. Under the. Doctrine of the apostle Paul. That's that. There's two natures.
[25:32] In you and I. And in the new man. He abides in Christ. And there's no sin in him. In the flesh. Dwelleth no good thing. And. He's not seen him.
[25:43] Nor known him. And he doesn't have a chance. But you're called to abide in him. And John says it more than once. Look at chapter 3. And verse number 24. Verse John 3.
[25:57] 24. And he that keepeth his commandments. Dwelleth. In him. And he. That is Christ. In him. Abide in me. And I in you.
[26:08] He that keepeth his commandments. Dwelleth in him. And he in him. Hereby. We know. That he abideth in us. By the spirit. Which he hath given us. And so by the grace of God.
[26:20] He places spirit. Inside the believer. And that is Jesus Christ. Abiding in you. Paul says it's the spirit of Christ. It's a mystery. A great mystery.
[26:31] That Christ in you. Alright. So look at chapter 4. One more. Our fellowship is accomplished. By abiding in him. First John 4. And verses 13 through 15.
[26:43] Hereby. Know we. That we dwell in him. And he in us. Because he hath given us of his spirit. And we have seen and do testify. That the father sent the son.
[26:54] To be the savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess. That Jesus is the son of God. God dwelleth in him. And he. In God. Now that's not the only thing.
[27:06] That abides. In the believer. And so the third thing. I want to say about. Our fellowship with God. That we're. Called to. And that John's concerned about. Our fellowship with God.
[27:17] Is based upon. Not just Christ. Abiding in us. But the truth. Abiding in us as well. And first. In John 15. When he said. Abide in me. And I in you.
[27:27] He also said. If ye abide in me. And my words. Abide in you. Jesus Christ. Felt it awful. Important. That his words. Abide in the believer.
[27:39] That his words. Abide in the believer. And so does John. Look back at chapter one. In verse number eight. Our fellowship with God.
[27:51] Is based upon the truth. Abiding in us. First John 1. Eight. If we say we have no sin. We deceive ourselves. And look. The truth. It's not in us.
[28:02] It's not in us. We need to get the truth in us. Look at verse 10. If we say that we have not sinned. We make him a liar. And his word. Is not in us. His word's not in us.
[28:15] We need that in us. If we're going to fellowship with God. It's going to be according to truth. We get sanctified by his truth. His word is truth. We need the word of God.
[28:27] God. In us. Look at chapter two. In verse number four. First John 2. Four. He that saith. I know him. And keepeth not his commandments. Is a liar.
[28:37] And notice this. The truth is not in him. It's not in him. But it needs to be in him. If you're going to have fellowship with God. Look at chapter two.
[28:47] And verse number fourteen. I have written unto you fathers. Because you've known him. That is from the beginning. I have written unto you young men. Because you are strong. And look at that. The word of God.
[28:59] Abideth in you. And ye have overcome the wicked one. The word of God abideth in you. There's something to that. And you need to have fellowship.
[29:10] John's concerned about your fellowship. And he's concerned that you walk according to the light. That you have. That you abide in Jesus Christ. As he's in you. But he's also very very concerned.
[29:21] That the word of God abides inside of you. That you know the truth. That you love the truth. That you're of the truth. That you walk in light.
[29:31] And in truth. And the truth can make a big difference in your life. But it's got to be desired. It's got to be received. And if you. I guess I could say it this way.
[29:43] If the truth will not abide in you. If you constantly are putting things in you. That are contrary to the truth. And contrary to what God says.
[29:55] And what he seeks. If you give ear to the challenges of the lost. And of the world. You'll reap. You'll reap the confusion that comes with that. You'll reap the uncertainty.
[30:06] The Bible says that no lie is of the truth. And that's right here in chapter 2. And verse 21. No lie is of the truth.
[30:17] And he says to them. You know the truth. But if you allow your ears to hear. And to be seduced by seducing spirits. And doctrines of devils. And false prophets.
[30:28] John was concerned about. And the voice of the world. That truth won't abide in you. Look at Proverbs chapter 19. This is a verse that is.
[30:39] This just has such strong application to everybody today. With all the news media outlets. With all the false. Fake news. False truths. Whatever.
[30:50] There's so much nonsense and garbage. If you could shut it all off. And just get in the word of God. And be grown in the scriptures. You could stand on truth.
[31:00] And you could have fellowship with God. And so here's something Solomon was worried about with his son. In verse 27. He told his son to knock it off.
[31:13] 1927. He said. Cease my son. To hear the instruction that causeth to err. From the words of knowledge. Stop listening.
[31:25] To the lies. Stop listening to the arguments. Stop entertaining the thought process. Just shut it off. That was me turning the TV off.
[31:36] Like the old TV. Okay. I'll push the remote. Shut it off. Walk away from it. Quit feeding on it. And instead. Get in the truth.
[31:48] Eat some of that. Let it strengthen you and grow you. Because what happens? Because you have fellowship with God in here. Do you have fellowship with God on the TV?
[32:00] Do you have fellowship with God when your two hands are wrapped around your phone? Or your device? Is that where your fellowship with God comes from? No.
[32:11] No. Your fellowship with God comes from number one. From opening the pages of this holy text. And letting it clean you. And sanctify you.
[32:22] And grow you. And change you. And mold you. And turn you. And transform you into being like the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the truth.
[32:37] John's concerned about your fellowship. He wants to see you walking in the light. He wants you to know that God's not coming to you. You need to go to him. If you want fellowship with him, it's according to his terms.
[32:51] John's concerned about our fellowship and that we abide in him. And that the word of God abide in us. And that's an easy thing to just stand up here and say and read.
[33:02] But this guy was like this with the son of God. He was so tight with him. We can learn from him. We can't dismiss what he says and say, Oh, that's for the tribulation.
[33:15] That's for the Jews. He's an apostle to the Jews. We have to take this and say, This man knew the Lord Jesus Christ better than anybody else. And if he writes with a certain slant, there's a reason.
[33:26] And if he's concerned about my fellowship, maybe I should be a little more concerned about my fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe that's a place we all need to start.
[33:38] Maybe we need to focus on that. I want to see some of you come out Saturday night and hand out some tracts. I want to see that. I want to see you have a heart for that. But more than that, I want to see you have a heart for the word of God on your own and a fellowship with him that he speaks to your heart and that you're open to him and that you want to walk with him, that you want to spend time with him, that you want to grow in his word.
[34:05] I spoke with Brother Andrus this week, Pastor Andrus down in Bayview. And as we were talking about some things, we got talking on the Bible Institute that he's been helping out with in Orange County at the church there.
[34:18] I forget the name of the church off the top of the hand. Something Church of Orange County. Central Baptist. Brother Gelkin there. And he's been helping. He's been going over there, I think, teaching two classes.
[34:29] And I just asked him how that went for him this first time around. And then what he said to me was, he goes, It's been good for me. It's been good for me because it's forced me to get into the word of God more and to seek things out that I wasn't settled on or to just get, force me to teach something I hadn't before.
[34:46] And I thought, at that man's age, what a blessing to hear that he was excited and thankful that he had an opportunity that something drove him into the book and to get more.
[34:57] And he's a man that teaches and preaches the Bible on a weekly basis. But he was thankful for a different opportunity to learn more of the scripture and to have it in him and in his mind and in his heart and inevitably to change him and to clean him up.
[35:14] And I thought, I heard him saying those words and it resonated in my spirit like, Yes, yes. You get more in you. You're never going to exhaust the book. You're never going to get filled with it.
[35:26] You're not. You're not capable of that. You can take more. You've never gotten to that point yet, I'm pretty sure. One day God will fill us with all fullness.
[35:37] But for now, you could use some fellowship, couldn't you? You could use some more. If John was that close to Jesus Christ and he looks back to believers and says, This is one thing I'm concerned about.
[35:50] You need. I think we ought to put a priority on it in our life. I think we ought to look at it a little closer tonight and tomorrow morning and think, Do I have a fellowship with Jesus Christ?
[36:03] And is it according to his word? Am I walking in the light? Or am I deceiving myself? Saying that I have fellowship with him, but walking in darkness. Pretending I go to church, I'm a Christian, I'm checking a few things off.
[36:18] But Jesus Christ hasn't received any real fellowship from me for a while. The Bible says, we read it, that we can know him and that we are in him. And let's not forsake this opportunity, church, to know him.
[36:32] Let's take advantage of what he offers us. Personally. You. Not us. You. You get to know him. Lord willing, next week or maybe the following, I'm not sure what we'll do next Wednesday yet, but there's two more things John's concerned about.
[36:48] And one of them I see in this epistle is that he's concerned about not just your fellowship, but he's concerned about your professions. Because all over this epistle he keeps saying, if we say this, if we say this, or he that sayeth this, it's opening your mouth and professing something.
[37:06] And John brings it to light all over the place. And then the third thing we'll look at is that he's concerned about your relationship with the brethren. That one you can't miss in this epistle.
[37:17] He's concerned about it. And so Lord willing, we'll study that in the future. For now, we'll call it quits tonight. And I pray that you'll take it serious, your fellowship with your father and with his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
[37:31] It's an important thing. John knows what he's talking about, so let's believe him. Father, Father, Horizon weekend group