1 00:00:11,833 --> 00:00:13,333 Welcome to Mars Hill church. 2 00:00:13,375 --> 00:00:16,292 Jesus is using Mars Hill to make disciples 3 00:00:16,333 --> 00:00:18,583 and plant churches all over the world 4 00:00:18,667 --> 00:00:21,333 and this wouldn't be happening without your help. 5 00:00:21,375 --> 00:00:24,167 Your gifts enable what you're watching right now 6 00:00:24,208 --> 00:00:26,708 and help plant churches, equip evangelists, 7 00:00:26,792 --> 00:00:29,458 and translate resources and study materials 8 00:00:29,500 --> 00:00:33,417 for people who have never had access to them before. 9 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:36,625 Whether you're a part of a local Mars Hill church 10 00:00:36,667 --> 00:00:40,333 or you're one of hundreds of thousands of people 11 00:00:40,375 --> 00:00:43,375 listening and watching sermons each and every week, 12 00:00:43,458 --> 00:00:47,167 you're a part of our global family and I want to thank you. 13 00:00:47,250 --> 00:00:50,458 I encourage you to pray about giving to Mars Hill. 14 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:54,208 You make this content available for free to anyone in the world, 15 00:00:54,292 --> 00:00:57,583 send out more pastors, plant more churches, 16 00:00:57,667 --> 00:01:02,458 and bring the kingdom of Jesus Christ to our world today. 17 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:04,125 Thank you. 18 00:01:14,958 --> 00:01:16,667 Hi, I'm Bill Stroeing. 19 00:01:16,708 --> 00:01:18,375 And I'm Carla Stroeing. 20 00:01:18,458 --> 00:01:24,792 And we attend and serve at Mars Hill Shoreline. 21 00:01:24,833 --> 00:01:29,917 I moved out here to Seattle in 1988, 22 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,667 and after working construction, I wanted to change careers 23 00:01:33,708 --> 00:01:37,000 and I ended up going into--going to school to become 24 00:01:37,042 --> 00:01:40,417 a court reporter, and that's where I met my wife. 25 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:43,792 Right now we've been married 18 years together. 26 00:01:43,833 --> 00:01:47,833 We had such a tight knit Community Group that we all-- 27 00:01:47,917 --> 00:01:50,333 we all got to know each other really well, 28 00:01:50,375 --> 00:01:53,708 and so you felt comfortable around everybody, even you know, 29 00:01:53,792 --> 00:01:57,417 confessing sins and not feeling like you would be judged for 30 00:01:57,500 --> 00:02:00,500 your sins, for admitting that you had them. 31 00:02:00,542 --> 00:02:03,500 To where we had went to other churches where it's like, 32 00:02:03,542 --> 00:02:05,417 God forbid anyone have sin, you know? 33 00:02:05,500 --> 00:02:07,583 Everyone had it but you couldn't talk about it. 34 00:02:07,667 --> 00:02:11,333 So to finally be in a place with people that you felt comfortable 35 00:02:11,375 --> 00:02:15,583 with and that you were able to confess your sins. 36 00:02:15,667 --> 00:02:18,167 I mean, that's what Jesus died for, our sins, 37 00:02:18,250 --> 00:02:20,583 and we should be able to talk about our sins. 38 00:02:20,667 --> 00:02:23,583 We should be able, as a community, to come together, 39 00:02:23,667 --> 00:02:25,000 to know that we're sinners, 40 00:02:25,042 --> 00:02:27,167 and to be able to bring those things out 41 00:02:27,208 --> 00:02:29,042 as we walk through life together, 42 00:02:29,125 --> 00:02:30,583 because that's what Jesus died for. 43 00:02:30,667 --> 00:02:34,583 He died for us sinners, and yet we're so afraid to let ourselves 44 00:02:34,667 --> 00:02:37,583 known for what we really are and what we hide, 45 00:02:37,667 --> 00:02:41,167 sometimes real, real dark secrets. 46 00:02:41,250 --> 00:02:44,958 I got my wife pregnant prior to marriage, 47 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,583 and being in a religious community that I was in, 48 00:02:47,667 --> 00:02:50,792 I was really embarrassed to even--as a religious person, 49 00:02:50,833 --> 00:02:53,292 you don't want to even let that out. 50 00:02:53,333 --> 00:02:57,500 And so we ended up having an abortion because of that, 51 00:02:57,542 --> 00:02:59,750 and it just grieves me. 52 00:02:59,833 --> 00:03:03,958 It grieves me so much to think about that. 53 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,583 Mark was talking about John the Baptist. 54 00:03:07,667 --> 00:03:09,292 He was preaching on John the Baptist, 55 00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:12,042 how God named John the Baptist from the womb, 56 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:15,583 called him from the womb, and it's like it just hit me. 57 00:03:15,667 --> 00:03:19,083 I cried during the service, went home, and we talked that night, 58 00:03:19,167 --> 00:03:21,083 and it's like, "We need to confess this. 59 00:03:21,167 --> 00:03:22,583 We need to get it out." 60 00:03:22,667 --> 00:03:25,250 We didn't even talk to each other about it, 10 years. 61 00:03:25,333 --> 00:03:28,250 You know, we went to an old church that you couldn't confess 62 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:30,250 it, couldn't talk about it, couldn't tell anybody 63 00:03:30,333 --> 00:03:31,667 that we did it. 64 00:03:31,708 --> 00:03:34,375 We didn't even talk about it to anyone. 65 00:03:34,458 --> 00:03:37,292 The nice thing is is that no one in the Community Group 66 00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:39,000 judged us for it. 67 00:03:39,083 --> 00:03:42,667 No one--you know, they prayed with us, loved us through it, 68 00:03:42,750 --> 00:03:46,333 and we were able to get it out, and now we can talk about it. 69 00:03:46,417 --> 00:03:49,083 You know, I even was in counseling and community classes 70 00:03:49,167 --> 00:03:52,875 and stuff, and just being able to share that, you know, 71 00:03:52,958 --> 00:03:55,042 being able to talk about it now. 72 00:03:55,125 --> 00:03:58,167 I can talk about it openly, and even though sometimes I get 73 00:03:58,208 --> 00:04:03,792 teary, it's like it's something now that is okay to talk about. 74 00:04:03,833 --> 00:04:07,750 Living life together is really an important part 75 00:04:07,833 --> 00:04:09,875 of Christianity. 76 00:04:09,958 --> 00:04:13,750 I believe it's the outward righteousness that Jesus is 77 00:04:13,833 --> 00:04:16,500 looking for in our lives, you know, to love one another. 78 00:04:16,542 --> 00:04:18,458 If we look at the Ten Commandments 79 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:20,458 and we look at those, 80 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:22,792 if we were to fulfill that, 81 00:04:22,833 --> 00:04:25,583 we would love God and love our fellow man. 82 00:04:25,667 --> 00:04:28,917 Outward righteousness that I believe Jesus is looking for 83 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:30,667 is loving one another. 84 00:04:30,750 --> 00:04:32,542 It's about as simple as it gets. 85 00:04:32,625 --> 00:04:36,333 If we're failing in that area, I believe we're failing 86 00:04:36,375 --> 00:04:38,833 in the righteousness that God wants to work out 87 00:04:38,917 --> 00:04:43,917 within our own hearts and lives. 88 00:04:45,333 --> 00:04:50,417 Everyone here today, in fact, everyone everywhere, 89 00:04:50,500 --> 00:04:53,125 has at least one thing in common. 90 00:04:53,167 --> 00:04:56,917 We all have rebelled against God. 91 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,958 The Bible uses the word "sin" to describe us. 92 00:05:00,083 --> 00:05:05,167 All of us have sinned, but what separates us is our honesty 93 00:05:05,208 --> 00:05:07,833 about our sin. 94 00:05:07,917 --> 00:05:11,083 Are you truthful today about your sin 95 00:05:11,167 --> 00:05:14,333 or are you lying about your sin? 96 00:05:14,375 --> 00:05:18,458 The difference has everything to do with Jesus. 97 00:05:18,500 --> 00:05:22,417 I want to invite you to open up your Bibles to 1 John 1. 98 00:05:22,500 --> 00:05:24,708 It's almost the very end of your Bible. 99 00:05:24,792 --> 00:05:27,333 And we're going to talk a lot about Jesus today. 100 00:05:27,375 --> 00:05:28,833 Let's pray. 101 00:05:28,875 --> 00:05:32,083 Father, you are a good Father to us. 102 00:05:32,167 --> 00:05:34,542 You love us with all the love that you have 103 00:05:34,625 --> 00:05:35,958 for your Son Jesus. 104 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,750 And Father, that's hard to get our heads around, 105 00:05:38,833 --> 00:05:42,083 much less get our hearts around, but we want to make progress 106 00:05:42,167 --> 00:05:44,500 in understanding how much you love us today. 107 00:05:44,542 --> 00:05:48,667 Jesus, you being eternally God, you being God the Son, 108 00:05:48,750 --> 00:05:50,167 the second member of the Trinity, 109 00:05:50,250 --> 00:05:54,167 you humbled yourself and you became a man, 110 00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:57,083 and you lived the only perfect life that's ever been lived on 111 00:05:57,167 --> 00:05:58,750 the face of the earth. 112 00:05:58,833 --> 00:06:02,000 And you went to the cross, and there on the cross you took 113 00:06:02,083 --> 00:06:05,958 the penalty for our rebellion, for our sin, and you died. 114 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,667 But the grave couldn't hold you, Jesus. 115 00:06:07,708 --> 00:06:10,667 You were risen, and you're at the right hand of the Father, 116 00:06:10,708 --> 00:06:12,333 and we want to worship you today. 117 00:06:12,417 --> 00:06:14,875 Father and Son, thank you for the Holy Spirit. 118 00:06:14,958 --> 00:06:17,875 Holy Spirit, help us, embolden us, 119 00:06:17,958 --> 00:06:21,375 empower us to be honest about our sin. 120 00:06:21,458 --> 00:06:25,750 Holy Spirit, help us understand today that Jesus wants us to see 121 00:06:25,833 --> 00:06:30,833 our sin, not to shame us, not to hurt us, but to help us, 122 00:06:30,875 --> 00:06:35,083 but to free us that we might live a life of worship to him. 123 00:06:35,167 --> 00:06:39,000 Holy Spirit, I especially pray for those that are here today 124 00:06:39,083 --> 00:06:41,042 who don't yet know Jesus. 125 00:06:41,125 --> 00:06:43,333 I pray that not only would they meet Jesus, 126 00:06:43,375 --> 00:06:45,667 but they would be baptized right here today. 127 00:06:45,750 --> 00:06:48,792 All this we ask in Jesus' good name, amen. 128 00:06:48,833 --> 00:06:51,083 Turn if you will to 1 John 1. 129 00:06:51,167 --> 00:06:53,833 We're going to pick up right where Pastor Mark left off 130 00:06:53,917 --> 00:06:57,292 last week in verse 5, and you're going to see that Jesus 131 00:06:57,333 --> 00:07:02,458 is perfectly sinless and he exposes sin. 132 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:06,625 1 John 1:5, really important verse. 133 00:07:06,667 --> 00:07:10,292 It's going to be the basis of a lot of the rest of our study 134 00:07:10,333 --> 00:07:11,667 in this book. 135 00:07:11,750 --> 00:07:15,500 "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim 136 00:07:15,583 --> 00:07:19,583 to you," him being Jesus, "that God is light, 137 00:07:19,667 --> 00:07:24,625 and in him is no darkness at all." 138 00:07:24,667 --> 00:07:26,833 That's a powerful statement. 139 00:07:26,875 --> 00:07:30,708 Oftentimes, Scripture uses contrast to help us understand 140 00:07:30,792 --> 00:07:33,542 what distinguishes God from us. 141 00:07:33,625 --> 00:07:36,917 And one of the most common metaphors and common images 142 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,833 in Scripture is that God is light and we're in darkness. 143 00:07:40,875 --> 00:07:44,208 But as John is making his point here as inspired by 144 00:07:44,292 --> 00:07:46,583 the Holy Spirit, he's saying this about God. 145 00:07:46,667 --> 00:07:50,083 God is light, and God is perfectly light, 146 00:07:50,167 --> 00:07:54,667 and that there's no darkness in him. 147 00:07:54,708 --> 00:07:57,292 Jesus says it this way, John 8:12, 148 00:07:57,333 --> 00:07:58,833 the very words of Jesus. 149 00:07:58,875 --> 00:08:00,542 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 150 00:08:00,625 --> 00:08:04,500 "'I am the light of the world. 151 00:08:04,583 --> 00:08:07,167 "'Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, 152 00:08:07,208 --> 00:08:11,500 but will have the light of life.'" 153 00:08:11,583 --> 00:08:13,750 That's a profound statement. 154 00:08:13,833 --> 00:08:17,917 There's a contrast between who we are and who God is. 155 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,417 God is light, God is perfectly light. 156 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:21,958 There's no darkness in him. 157 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,500 We are in darkness. 158 00:08:23,542 --> 00:08:25,458 What does that mean though? 159 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:27,417 This contrast can mean a few things. 160 00:08:27,500 --> 00:08:31,292 One would be that's God is omniscient so he's light. 161 00:08:31,333 --> 00:08:33,333 He knows all. He's truth. 162 00:08:33,375 --> 00:08:35,958 He's reality and we're ignorant. 163 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:37,458 We're deceived. 164 00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:38,833 We're in darkness. 165 00:08:38,917 --> 00:08:41,125 He's in light, we're in darkness. 166 00:08:41,167 --> 00:08:45,792 It can mean that God is life, that he's the light of life 167 00:08:45,833 --> 00:08:48,250 as Jesus says here, and we're in darkness, 168 00:08:48,333 --> 00:08:50,333 which means we're in death. 169 00:08:50,417 --> 00:08:51,875 We're spiritually dead. 170 00:08:51,958 --> 00:08:55,250 But I believe what you're going to see in this passage in 1 John 171 00:08:55,333 --> 00:08:59,125 is a very specific meaning of what God means when he says 172 00:08:59,167 --> 00:09:02,833 he is light, that he's perfectly sinless. 173 00:09:02,875 --> 00:09:05,125 He's absolutely sinless. 174 00:09:05,167 --> 00:09:07,833 The Bible uses the word "holy." 175 00:09:07,875 --> 00:09:10,958 God is holy, we're unholy. 176 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,333 God is sinless, we are sinful. 177 00:09:13,375 --> 00:09:15,667 God is perfect, we're imperfect. 178 00:09:15,750 --> 00:09:21,000 God is righteous, we're unrighteous. 179 00:09:21,042 --> 00:09:26,125 And Jesus is perfectly sinless, and not only is his light 180 00:09:26,167 --> 00:09:30,125 untainted, without shadow, perfectly radiant, 181 00:09:30,167 --> 00:09:32,917 but it exposes darkness. 182 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:36,042 This light is so powerful, this light that is God, 183 00:09:36,125 --> 00:09:38,000 that the darkness doesn't challenge the light, 184 00:09:38,083 --> 00:09:41,167 but instead the light exposes the darkness. 185 00:09:41,250 --> 00:09:45,333 Do you know Jesus in that way today? 186 00:09:45,417 --> 00:09:48,167 I didn't grow up in a Christian home. 187 00:09:48,250 --> 00:09:51,500 My mom met Jesus when I was a preteen, 188 00:09:51,583 --> 00:09:54,458 and she decided to drag me and my little brother to church, 189 00:09:54,500 --> 00:09:57,167 and it was quite honestly a very painful experience. 190 00:09:57,250 --> 00:09:59,833 And so if you have that experience at church today, 191 00:09:59,917 --> 00:10:01,333 I can sympathize with you. 192 00:10:01,417 --> 00:10:03,833 I didn't like it, I didn't want to be there, 193 00:10:03,917 --> 00:10:06,333 but I had to go because my mom made me. 194 00:10:06,417 --> 00:10:08,083 And then my dad became a Christian 195 00:10:08,167 --> 00:10:09,500 and my fate was sealed. 196 00:10:09,542 --> 00:10:11,500 I couldn't get out of church any longer. 197 00:10:11,542 --> 00:10:14,000 And I remember going, and I just didn't understand Christianity. 198 00:10:14,042 --> 00:10:16,000 To me, Christianity was very simple. 199 00:10:16,083 --> 00:10:18,792 It was about certain things you were supposed to do, 200 00:10:18,833 --> 00:10:20,917 and certain things you weren't supposed to do, 201 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,250 and if you did enough of the good things 202 00:10:23,333 --> 00:10:25,000 and avoided the bad things, 203 00:10:25,083 --> 00:10:28,000 at the end of the day, you would score out all right. 204 00:10:28,083 --> 00:10:33,500 And as I opened up a Bible, I began to be compelled 205 00:10:33,542 --> 00:10:37,042 to understand this character, Jesus. 206 00:10:37,125 --> 00:10:39,500 And the more I understood about Jesus, 207 00:10:39,583 --> 00:10:42,583 the more I realized he made some radical claims. 208 00:10:42,667 --> 00:10:45,708 And I began to understand Christianity through the person 209 00:10:45,792 --> 00:10:49,458 and work of Jesus, and everything culminated for me-- 210 00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:51,833 I was 13, so you can do the math. 211 00:10:51,875 --> 00:10:53,833 You can figure out how old I am. 212 00:10:53,875 --> 00:10:58,833 It was March of 1979 as a 13 year old, so I'm 29 now. 213 00:10:58,917 --> 00:11:03,667 And March 1979, I gave my life to Jesus. 214 00:11:03,750 --> 00:11:10,667 As I came to know Jesus, I saw him as a light. 215 00:11:10,708 --> 00:11:14,417 He was perfectly sinless, I was sinful. 216 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:16,292 He was pure, I was impure. 217 00:11:16,333 --> 00:11:19,958 And he went to work right away in my life. 218 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,458 And things that I used to think in my life were okay were not 219 00:11:23,500 --> 00:11:26,125 okay anymore, particularly in my relationships. 220 00:11:26,167 --> 00:11:29,000 Things that I used to think with my brother were merely 221 00:11:29,083 --> 00:11:32,042 competitive, "I'm just being competitive with my brother," 222 00:11:32,125 --> 00:11:34,125 Jesus said, "No, you're being cruel. 223 00:11:34,167 --> 00:11:36,500 "You're crushing your brother, 224 00:11:36,542 --> 00:11:38,458 you're not competing with your brother." 225 00:11:38,500 --> 00:11:41,833 And suddenly, I began to be aware of following Jesus 226 00:11:41,875 --> 00:11:45,250 as he is light meant that there was no darkness in him, 227 00:11:45,333 --> 00:11:49,208 and part of his role in my life was to shine his radiant, 228 00:11:49,292 --> 00:11:53,667 perfect light into my darkness and expose my sin. 229 00:11:53,708 --> 00:11:58,958 Do you know Jesus that way? 230 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,542 Because if you don't know that Jesus, 231 00:12:01,625 --> 00:12:05,000 you probably don't know the real Jesus today. 232 00:12:05,042 --> 00:12:08,458 Now two lies, two lies that we can have, and believe, 233 00:12:08,500 --> 00:12:11,792 and be deceived about sin in our lives as Christians that 234 00:12:11,833 --> 00:12:13,708 I want to show to you now. 235 00:12:13,792 --> 00:12:16,750 You need to understand the context of 1 John. 236 00:12:16,833 --> 00:12:20,333 1 John, by Bible scholars, is considered a circular letter, 237 00:12:20,417 --> 00:12:22,833 meaning it went to many different churches. 238 00:12:22,917 --> 00:12:25,333 And here's what was going on in the early church. 239 00:12:25,417 --> 00:12:27,833 There were people that were part of the early church 240 00:12:27,917 --> 00:12:29,250 in the early days 241 00:12:29,333 --> 00:12:31,542 that began to teach things that weren't biblically true. 242 00:12:31,625 --> 00:12:34,167 They began to teach things we would call heretical, 243 00:12:34,250 --> 00:12:37,375 and they left the church, and as they left the church in heresy, 244 00:12:37,458 --> 00:12:39,792 they relied on old relationships 245 00:12:39,833 --> 00:12:42,333 to bring people out of the church. 246 00:12:42,375 --> 00:12:44,500 And so there were lies that were being taught, 247 00:12:44,583 --> 00:12:47,333 particularly about who Jesus was and what sin is, 248 00:12:47,417 --> 00:12:51,708 and John wants to address and confront those lies. 249 00:12:51,792 --> 00:12:53,417 Look at verse 6. 250 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:57,875 Here's the first lie that you and I can believe. 251 00:12:57,958 --> 00:13:00,375 It's simply this, that I follow Jesus 252 00:13:00,458 --> 00:13:02,750 and I'm a practicing sinner. 253 00:13:02,833 --> 00:13:06,792 1 John 1:6, "If we say," and I want you to circle that phrase. 254 00:13:06,833 --> 00:13:09,333 It's going to appear three times today in our text. 255 00:13:09,417 --> 00:13:11,167 It's an important argument. 256 00:13:11,250 --> 00:13:16,167 "If we say we have fellowship with him," him being Jesus, 257 00:13:16,250 --> 00:13:19,042 "while we walk in darkness, 258 00:13:19,125 --> 00:13:22,833 we lie and do not practice the truth." 259 00:13:22,875 --> 00:13:25,708 When the Bible uses the word "walk," 260 00:13:25,792 --> 00:13:28,333 it means that you live predominantly. 261 00:13:28,375 --> 00:13:31,583 So what this person is suggesting, 262 00:13:31,667 --> 00:13:34,000 how this person is deceiving himself, 263 00:13:34,042 --> 00:13:39,042 and what this person is actually saying is, "I follow Jesus, 264 00:13:39,125 --> 00:13:41,167 "but I'm a practicing sinner. 265 00:13:41,250 --> 00:13:45,500 "I follow Jesus, but the overwhelming majority of my life 266 00:13:45,542 --> 00:13:47,875 "is spent in sin. 267 00:13:47,958 --> 00:13:50,458 "I follow Jesus and I accept that he's the light, 268 00:13:50,500 --> 00:13:53,583 "he's the perfectly sinless one who exposes sin, 269 00:13:53,667 --> 00:13:55,833 "but I persist in sin. 270 00:13:55,917 --> 00:13:57,958 "I practice sin. 271 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,833 "Sin is something that I still remain enslaved to 272 00:14:00,917 --> 00:14:04,083 "and my predominant disposition isn't obedience to Jesus, 273 00:14:04,167 --> 00:14:08,083 but it's defined by sin." 274 00:14:08,167 --> 00:14:12,667 Do you see the err in this way of thinking? 275 00:14:12,750 --> 00:14:16,333 There's a subtle hint in this statement that, "You know what? 276 00:14:16,375 --> 00:14:19,917 "I can hide my sin from Jesus. 277 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,333 "Oh yeah, I follow him 278 00:14:21,375 --> 00:14:23,333 "and I accept the fact that he's light, 279 00:14:23,375 --> 00:14:24,833 "he's perfectly sinless, he exposes sin, 280 00:14:24,875 --> 00:14:27,542 "but I have this private, hidden, concealed life 281 00:14:27,625 --> 00:14:29,500 "over here that he can't see, 282 00:14:29,583 --> 00:14:34,208 "that he can't invade, that his light can't expose, 283 00:14:34,292 --> 00:14:38,292 and it's darkness." 284 00:14:41,500 --> 00:14:45,917 Two years ago I got a phone call early in the morning from a wife 285 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:47,833 of a very close friend of mine. 286 00:14:47,875 --> 00:14:50,125 When you're a pastor and you get phone calls 287 00:14:50,167 --> 00:14:52,333 early in the morning, it's usually a bad thing. 288 00:14:52,375 --> 00:14:53,833 That's true of everybody I suppose. 289 00:14:53,875 --> 00:14:55,333 It's usually not a good thing. 290 00:14:55,375 --> 00:14:58,042 And I could tell by her voice on the other end 291 00:14:58,125 --> 00:14:59,458 that she was frantic. 292 00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:02,917 And the first thing I wanted to know is, is my friend all right? 293 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,333 He's been a lifelong friend. 294 00:15:04,375 --> 00:15:06,500 I've known him for years, and years, and years. 295 00:15:06,583 --> 00:15:08,500 Is he okay? Is he in the hospital? 296 00:15:08,583 --> 00:15:11,500 And surprisingly she said, "No he's not, but I wish he were." 297 00:15:11,583 --> 00:15:14,000 And I thought, "Okay, this is going to be worse 298 00:15:14,083 --> 00:15:15,417 than I even thought." 299 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:18,083 She said, "I want you to know this about your friend," 300 00:15:18,167 --> 00:15:19,500 and she was very angry. 301 00:15:19,542 --> 00:15:21,167 She said, "Your friend, my husband, 302 00:15:21,208 --> 00:15:25,583 has been living a private life now for 25 years." 303 00:15:25,667 --> 00:15:31,500 She had caught him living a private life in which 304 00:15:31,583 --> 00:15:35,625 he was completely addicted to pornography. 305 00:15:35,667 --> 00:15:40,667 So much so that when she finally confronted him and he told her 306 00:15:40,750 --> 00:15:44,375 everything, it became evident that he had racked up over 307 00:15:44,458 --> 00:15:50,458 $70,000 in debt through a pornography addiction. 308 00:15:52,458 --> 00:15:54,833 You ever had that experience with someone you love 309 00:15:54,875 --> 00:15:59,500 and your first thought is, "Do I even know you?" 310 00:15:59,583 --> 00:16:04,292 That wasn't my first thought because knowing this man 311 00:16:04,333 --> 00:16:08,958 very well and his profession that he was a follower of Jesus, 312 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,667 my first thought was, "Can you possibly know Jesus?" 313 00:16:13,750 --> 00:16:17,167 How can you know Jesus and be a practicing sinner? 314 00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:20,167 How can you know Jesus, and Jesus being the light that 315 00:16:20,250 --> 00:16:24,083 shines in the darkness, that shines in the darkest recesses 316 00:16:24,167 --> 00:16:28,500 of our life, and exposes sin, not to shame us but to deal with 317 00:16:28,542 --> 00:16:35,542 our sin and free us, how could this man know Jesus? 318 00:16:37,167 --> 00:16:41,792 Maybe this is a lie you're telling yourself today. 319 00:16:41,833 --> 00:16:46,417 Maybe you're misguided in thinking that somehow 320 00:16:46,500 --> 00:16:49,750 there's dark recesses in your heart, in your life, 321 00:16:49,833 --> 00:16:52,375 that Jesus can't reach, that Jesus can't see, 322 00:16:52,458 --> 00:16:54,958 that your darkness is too great for Jesus. 323 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,458 But you need to understand the power of the light of Jesus. 324 00:16:58,500 --> 00:17:01,208 Your darkness doesn't eclipse the light of Jesus. 325 00:17:01,292 --> 00:17:04,333 Your darkness doesn't obscure the light of Jesus. 326 00:17:04,417 --> 00:17:08,042 Instead, the light of Jesus shines into your darkness. 327 00:17:08,125 --> 00:17:11,167 And Jesus wants to expose your private sin, 328 00:17:11,208 --> 00:17:15,292 not to condemn you but to free you. 329 00:17:19,833 --> 00:17:23,000 Some of you are living this lie today. 330 00:17:23,042 --> 00:17:28,500 Truth be told, your life is more defined by sin and disobedience 331 00:17:28,542 --> 00:17:33,500 rather than obedience and worship of Jesus. 332 00:17:33,542 --> 00:17:36,375 And instead of growing as a follower of Jesus, 333 00:17:36,458 --> 00:17:38,000 instead of growing in obedience, 334 00:17:38,083 --> 00:17:43,250 you're continuing in patterns of sin. 335 00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:45,125 There's good news for you today, friend. 336 00:17:45,167 --> 00:17:46,625 Look at the next verse. 337 00:17:46,667 --> 00:17:48,292 Here's the solution right here. 338 00:17:48,333 --> 00:17:51,708 1 John 1:7, "But." 339 00:17:51,792 --> 00:17:53,750 That's a great word. 340 00:17:53,833 --> 00:17:57,292 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, 341 00:17:57,333 --> 00:17:59,083 "we have fellowship with one another, 342 00:17:59,167 --> 00:18:04,792 and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." 343 00:18:04,833 --> 00:18:06,667 Isn't that good news? 344 00:18:06,708 --> 00:18:10,000 We don't have to be practicing sinners. 345 00:18:10,042 --> 00:18:12,542 All we need to do is walk in the light. 346 00:18:12,625 --> 00:18:16,167 All we need to do is be transparent and open before God 347 00:18:16,250 --> 00:18:19,625 and each other, and deal with our sin honestly, 348 00:18:19,667 --> 00:18:21,333 and truthfully, and candidly. 349 00:18:21,417 --> 00:18:24,500 And if we do, and if we walk instead of in the darkness 350 00:18:24,583 --> 00:18:27,625 and walk in the light, here's a beautiful promise. 351 00:18:27,667 --> 00:18:32,958 The blood of Jesus, his perfect work on our behalf on the cross, 352 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,500 is sufficient enough to forgive us, and cleanse us, 353 00:18:36,542 --> 00:18:38,167 and change us. 354 00:18:38,208 --> 00:18:40,333 And we will, if we walk in the light, 355 00:18:40,417 --> 00:18:42,042 we'll have fellowship with one another. 356 00:18:42,125 --> 00:18:45,542 Specifically, we will have fellowship with Jesus. 357 00:18:45,625 --> 00:18:48,625 Do you believe that? 358 00:18:48,667 --> 00:18:53,167 Does your life demonstrate that truth? 359 00:18:53,208 --> 00:18:56,708 An update on my friend. 360 00:18:56,792 --> 00:19:01,042 He came clean 2 years ago with his wife, and with his friends, 361 00:19:01,125 --> 00:19:03,375 and most importantly with Jesus. 362 00:19:03,458 --> 00:19:05,792 And the last 2 years have not been perfect; 363 00:19:05,833 --> 00:19:07,667 they've been difficult. 364 00:19:07,708 --> 00:19:10,875 He's been working hard to put his marriage back together. 365 00:19:10,958 --> 00:19:13,500 He's been working hard to have a good relationship with 366 00:19:13,583 --> 00:19:17,167 his adult children who knew what he's done. 367 00:19:17,250 --> 00:19:20,333 But here's what I've seen. 368 00:19:20,417 --> 00:19:24,000 He's got a sweet relationship with Jesus right now. 369 00:19:24,042 --> 00:19:27,667 He's experienced the full forgiveness of Jesus. 370 00:19:27,750 --> 00:19:30,167 He even met with a counselor recently, 371 00:19:30,208 --> 00:19:33,250 and this counselor told him that a pornography addiction 372 00:19:33,333 --> 00:19:35,208 like that just doesn't go away over night, 373 00:19:35,292 --> 00:19:37,208 that it's going to take years, and years, 374 00:19:37,292 --> 00:19:40,833 and years for him to experience true transformation. 375 00:19:40,875 --> 00:19:44,333 And the truth of the matter is, in the 2 years since he 376 00:19:44,375 --> 00:19:48,417 came clean, he hasn't looked at pornography at all. 377 00:19:48,500 --> 00:19:51,833 He's a broken person and his life isn't perfect in any way, 378 00:19:51,917 --> 00:19:56,333 but he's experiencing firsthand the freedom that Jesus gives 379 00:19:56,375 --> 00:20:01,875 when we walk in the light with our sin. 380 00:20:01,958 --> 00:20:05,792 Are you lying to yourself today? 381 00:20:08,167 --> 00:20:12,167 If I were to look at your life and I were to see all the way 382 00:20:12,208 --> 00:20:17,750 that Jesus sees all, would I conclude that you're 383 00:20:17,833 --> 00:20:22,333 a practicing sinner who occasionally obeys Jesus, 384 00:20:22,375 --> 00:20:25,000 or instead are you one who walks in obedience, 385 00:20:25,042 --> 00:20:27,708 walks in the light, and occasionally sins, 386 00:20:27,792 --> 00:20:30,125 and when you sin, you bring that to Jesus 387 00:20:30,167 --> 00:20:33,167 and let him deal with it? 388 00:20:33,208 --> 00:20:37,750 Here's the second lie we can fall in, 389 00:20:37,833 --> 00:20:41,333 1 John 1:8. 390 00:20:41,417 --> 00:20:44,500 First lie is, "I'm a follower of Jesus 391 00:20:44,542 --> 00:20:47,875 and I'm a practicing sinner." 392 00:20:47,958 --> 00:20:51,667 The second lie is the antithesis of that. 393 00:20:51,708 --> 00:20:55,500 The second lie basically states, "I am a follower of Jesus 394 00:20:55,542 --> 00:20:58,708 and I'm perfectly sinless." 395 00:20:58,792 --> 00:21:04,833 1 John 1:8, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 396 00:21:04,917 --> 00:21:10,417 and the truth is not in us." 397 00:21:10,500 --> 00:21:13,833 That's a big statement. 398 00:21:13,917 --> 00:21:18,292 The idea of having no sin goes beyond even saying, 399 00:21:18,333 --> 00:21:19,750 "I don't do wrong things." 400 00:21:19,833 --> 00:21:21,500 It's literally saying, "The presence of sin 401 00:21:21,542 --> 00:21:24,042 "is entirely eradicated from my life. 402 00:21:24,125 --> 00:21:27,333 There's no sin anymore." 403 00:21:27,375 --> 00:21:30,500 Here's what the Bible teaches us about what it means to be 404 00:21:30,583 --> 00:21:32,500 a new person in Jesus. 405 00:21:32,542 --> 00:21:35,458 The Bible makes it very clear that when we come to faith 406 00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:37,167 in Jesus, we're regenerated. 407 00:21:37,250 --> 00:21:38,792 We're not new and improved, 408 00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:40,500 we're made entirely new altogether. 409 00:21:40,583 --> 00:21:42,667 We have this new identity in Jesus. 410 00:21:42,750 --> 00:21:46,167 And the power of sin that enslaves those who don't know 411 00:21:46,250 --> 00:21:49,917 Jesus is destroyed, so sin doesn't have power over us 412 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,917 like it used to, that we have to be slaves to sin. 413 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,292 Yet the Bible makes it very clear that the presence of sin 414 00:21:56,333 --> 00:21:58,958 still lives in us. 415 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,708 We're not to be slaves to sin, but sin still stays with us 416 00:22:02,792 --> 00:22:05,333 and the potential of sin is with us always, 417 00:22:05,375 --> 00:22:09,208 until either we die and we go to be with Jesus or Jesus returns 418 00:22:09,292 --> 00:22:12,458 and in an instant translates us into people who think, feel, 419 00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:16,000 speak, and act like Jesus. 420 00:22:16,042 --> 00:22:20,417 But until that day, sin lies dormant in your heart, 421 00:22:20,500 --> 00:22:23,083 ready to be activated in a moment. 422 00:22:23,167 --> 00:22:28,333 So to say, "I have no sin," is a lie, and it's deceptive, 423 00:22:28,417 --> 00:22:31,833 and it's ultimately dangerous because you can drop your guard, 424 00:22:31,875 --> 00:22:34,375 and you can be deceived into thinking you're something you're 425 00:22:34,458 --> 00:22:40,542 not, and you can step away from being vigilant in your fight 426 00:22:40,625 --> 00:22:43,458 against sin through Jesus. 427 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:47,125 Have you had that happen before? 428 00:22:47,167 --> 00:22:49,792 Have you had sin in your life that you thought you 429 00:22:49,833 --> 00:22:51,792 put to death, you thought you were past, 430 00:22:51,833 --> 00:22:54,792 you thought you'd moved on, and then all of a sudden in 431 00:22:54,833 --> 00:22:57,500 a weak moment, it sprung up again and there you were? 432 00:22:57,583 --> 00:22:58,917 This happened to me recently. 433 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,583 We had just come back from vacation in Colorado 434 00:23:01,667 --> 00:23:03,083 as a family, and thank you 435 00:23:03,167 --> 00:23:05,583 for being so generous and allowing us to have vacation. 436 00:23:05,667 --> 00:23:08,792 We had a great time together as a family, or so I thought. 437 00:23:08,833 --> 00:23:10,792 And we were sitting around the dinner table 438 00:23:10,833 --> 00:23:12,458 and three of my four daughters 439 00:23:12,500 --> 00:23:14,958 were home for the summer, and we began to talk. 440 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,958 And at the end of dinner most nights, 441 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,167 we have a time where we just talk about, 442 00:23:19,208 --> 00:23:20,875 "What are you learning in the Bible?" 443 00:23:20,958 --> 00:23:24,292 And so everyone went around the table until it came to one of my 444 00:23:24,333 --> 00:23:26,792 daughters, and I won't reveal her identity, and she said, 445 00:23:26,833 --> 00:23:29,000 "Dad, when are we going to address the elephant 446 00:23:29,042 --> 00:23:30,375 in the room?" 447 00:23:30,458 --> 00:23:33,375 It's always a bad thing to hear from somebody at the table 448 00:23:33,458 --> 00:23:34,875 because I didn't see an elephant. 449 00:23:34,958 --> 00:23:37,083 I said, "I don't know what you're talking about. 450 00:23:37,167 --> 00:23:38,500 Help me understand." 451 00:23:38,542 --> 00:23:40,208 She said, "Why don't we talk about 452 00:23:40,292 --> 00:23:42,750 how uncomfortable vacation was?" 453 00:23:42,833 --> 00:23:46,375 I said, "Okay. Was it the accommodations? 454 00:23:46,458 --> 00:23:48,375 Was it the weather? Was it the activity?" 455 00:23:48,458 --> 00:23:50,875 She said, "No Dad, it was you." 456 00:23:50,958 --> 00:23:52,458 Ouch. 457 00:23:52,500 --> 00:23:56,125 "Really, what was I doing?" 458 00:23:56,167 --> 00:23:59,583 She said, "Dad, you were intense. 459 00:23:59,667 --> 00:24:04,458 "You had a lot of conflict with us, and you weren't being kind, 460 00:24:04,500 --> 00:24:05,958 "and you were being edgy, 461 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:12,333 and it just made the whole thing awkward." 462 00:24:12,375 --> 00:24:16,542 One of the things I've been working hard on my whole life as 463 00:24:16,625 --> 00:24:18,875 Jesus has brought into light is the propensity that 464 00:24:18,958 --> 00:24:21,000 I have to be defensive when I'm confronted. 465 00:24:21,083 --> 00:24:22,542 You like that at all? 466 00:24:22,625 --> 00:24:24,833 Instead of listening and trusting that whatever 467 00:24:24,875 --> 00:24:28,083 confrontation comes your way Jesus intends for your good, 468 00:24:28,167 --> 00:24:31,083 and being patient, and being humble, I like to put up walls, 469 00:24:31,167 --> 00:24:33,583 and I like to cut that off at the pass, 470 00:24:33,667 --> 00:24:35,333 and I don't like to go there. 471 00:24:35,375 --> 00:24:37,292 So I began to explain myself. 472 00:24:37,333 --> 00:24:39,083 "Well, you don't understand." 473 00:24:39,167 --> 00:24:41,125 And I began to justify--get this. 474 00:24:41,167 --> 00:24:45,833 I began to justify, "And your sister had it coming to her when 475 00:24:45,917 --> 00:24:48,208 "I screamed at her across the mountainside 476 00:24:48,292 --> 00:24:51,000 "that she wasn't riding her mountain bike fast enough. 477 00:24:51,042 --> 00:24:53,625 "She deserved that, and if you would just listen to me, 478 00:24:53,667 --> 00:24:56,000 you would be closer to Jesus." 479 00:24:56,083 --> 00:24:58,958 Ouch. 480 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,208 Sin is dormant. 481 00:25:03,292 --> 00:25:09,167 Sin persists in all of our hearts, right? 482 00:25:09,250 --> 00:25:11,875 And sadly, it will remain there until the day that Jesus 483 00:25:11,958 --> 00:25:14,875 translates us into who he ultimately wants us to be. 484 00:25:14,958 --> 00:25:17,792 But until then, we have sin. 485 00:25:17,833 --> 00:25:20,333 You have sin. 486 00:25:20,417 --> 00:25:21,875 I have sin. 487 00:25:21,958 --> 00:25:24,750 And if anyone here says today, "I follow Jesus 488 00:25:24,833 --> 00:25:27,750 "and I'm perfectly sinless. 489 00:25:27,833 --> 00:25:29,167 "I've arrived. 490 00:25:29,208 --> 00:25:34,625 Sin, not a problem for me anymore," you're a liar. 491 00:25:34,667 --> 00:25:36,458 More good news. 492 00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:38,250 You ready for good news? 493 00:25:38,333 --> 00:25:41,458 Verse 9, what do we do about sin then? 494 00:25:41,500 --> 00:25:42,833 Glad you asked. 495 00:25:42,917 --> 00:25:44,833 Here's the good news. 496 00:25:44,875 --> 00:25:49,458 Verse 9, "If we confess our sins," 497 00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:52,417 not the presence of sin in our heart, but actual sins. 498 00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:58,500 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 499 00:25:58,542 --> 00:26:00,917 "to forgive us our sins 500 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,750 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 501 00:26:05,833 --> 00:26:08,833 What a promise. 502 00:26:08,917 --> 00:26:11,167 Let's focus on Jesus. 503 00:26:11,250 --> 00:26:13,833 We'll come back to confess our sins. 504 00:26:13,917 --> 00:26:18,000 If we're honest about our sin, if we confess our sin, 505 00:26:18,083 --> 00:26:21,792 if we bring our sin to Jesus, guess what? 506 00:26:21,833 --> 00:26:25,208 Not only is he the light in that he's perfectly sinless 507 00:26:25,292 --> 00:26:29,208 and exposes sin, he also deals with our sin in freeing 508 00:26:29,292 --> 00:26:31,167 and forgiving ways. 509 00:26:31,250 --> 00:26:32,958 He's faithful. 510 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,167 Jesus made a promise to us that if we will trust in him, 511 00:26:36,208 --> 00:26:38,458 he will see us through in this whole project, 512 00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:39,875 in our fight against sin. 513 00:26:39,958 --> 00:26:43,542 That he will see us through all the way to the end that one day 514 00:26:43,625 --> 00:26:45,542 we will be a people exactly like him. 515 00:26:45,625 --> 00:26:48,750 And if we are honest about our sin and we bring our sin 516 00:26:48,833 --> 00:26:52,458 to Jesus, he's faithful to his promises. 517 00:26:52,500 --> 00:26:55,667 He forgives us. 518 00:26:55,750 --> 00:26:57,708 You know what that means? 519 00:26:57,792 --> 00:27:00,667 Most literally that means we don't owe him anything. 520 00:27:00,708 --> 00:27:03,542 We don't have to pay the debt for our sin because he's 521 00:27:03,625 --> 00:27:05,833 already paid for it in full. 522 00:27:05,875 --> 00:27:07,500 We don't do penance. Why? 523 00:27:07,542 --> 00:27:12,250 Because Jesus paid for it already, so he forgives us. 524 00:27:12,333 --> 00:27:15,167 I don't have to go do ten things right to make up 525 00:27:15,208 --> 00:27:16,875 for the one thing I do wrong. 526 00:27:16,958 --> 00:27:20,292 It's not like at home when if I forget to take out the trash, 527 00:27:20,333 --> 00:27:23,000 I've got to do the dishes 5 nights in a row. 528 00:27:23,083 --> 00:27:24,750 Just kidding, it's not exactly like that. 529 00:27:24,833 --> 00:27:26,500 That's how I'm programmed to think, though. 530 00:27:26,542 --> 00:27:30,000 If we confess our sins, he's faithful, and just, 531 00:27:30,042 --> 00:27:31,458 and he's forgiving. 532 00:27:31,500 --> 00:27:33,667 And not only does he forgive us and say, 533 00:27:33,708 --> 00:27:36,167 "You don't owe me anything, I've taken care of it," 534 00:27:36,208 --> 00:27:37,667 you know what else he does? 535 00:27:37,708 --> 00:27:39,042 He goes a step further. 536 00:27:39,125 --> 00:27:40,458 He cleanses us. 537 00:27:40,500 --> 00:27:46,958 That sin doesn't stick to us like a grimy residue. 538 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,042 He cleans us up and he cleans us off. 539 00:27:51,125 --> 00:27:55,333 And he sees us as robed in his perfect obedience, 540 00:27:55,375 --> 00:28:01,667 and his righteousness, and his light, and his holiness. 541 00:28:01,708 --> 00:28:04,917 That's good news. 542 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,250 That's good news for a man who continually is defensive 543 00:28:08,333 --> 00:28:10,042 when he tries not to be. 544 00:28:10,125 --> 00:28:12,542 That's great news. 545 00:28:12,625 --> 00:28:16,667 Now, let's hone in on what the word "confess" means. 546 00:28:16,708 --> 00:28:18,667 It's an important Bible word. 547 00:28:18,708 --> 00:28:20,625 In the original language, it's a compound word, 548 00:28:20,667 --> 00:28:22,083 two words brought together. 549 00:28:22,167 --> 00:28:25,875 The first word is "same" and the second word is "speaking." 550 00:28:25,958 --> 00:28:28,208 So when we say we confess our sin, 551 00:28:28,292 --> 00:28:30,958 in essence what we're saying is we say the same thing 552 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,625 about our sin that God does. 553 00:28:33,667 --> 00:28:35,167 Make sense? 554 00:28:35,250 --> 00:28:38,667 If God says our sin is wrong, we look at our sin and say, 555 00:28:38,750 --> 00:28:40,167 "God, you're right. You're the umpire. 556 00:28:40,250 --> 00:28:41,667 "You call strikes. You call balls. 557 00:28:41,750 --> 00:28:44,667 "And if you're saying this is sin, then I agree with you. 558 00:28:44,750 --> 00:28:48,833 "God, if you say that this is sin and it grieves your heart, 559 00:28:48,875 --> 00:28:50,833 "I agree with you. 560 00:28:50,875 --> 00:28:54,625 "If you say this is sin, and it hurts others, 561 00:28:54,667 --> 00:28:58,458 "and it hinders the fame of Jesus, then God, 562 00:28:58,500 --> 00:29:00,333 "I agree with you. 563 00:29:00,417 --> 00:29:02,000 "Search my heart, God. 564 00:29:02,083 --> 00:29:05,000 "You call it what it is, and when you call it out, 565 00:29:05,083 --> 00:29:06,792 I will absolutely agree with your conclusion." 566 00:29:06,833 --> 00:29:09,042 That's what confession is. 567 00:29:09,125 --> 00:29:13,500 It's saying the same thing about your sin that God does. 568 00:29:13,583 --> 00:29:16,000 See how significant it is that we understand that Jesus 569 00:29:16,042 --> 00:29:18,000 is the light of the world? 570 00:29:18,042 --> 00:29:21,167 He's perfectly sinless and so much so that he gets to call out 571 00:29:21,250 --> 00:29:26,292 our sin and expose it, not to condemn us, but to free us. 572 00:29:30,833 --> 00:29:37,083 Where are you disagreeing with God today about sin? 573 00:29:37,167 --> 00:29:39,917 Where are you sinning, and God is showing you that 574 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,167 you're sinning, and you're refusing to agree with him? 575 00:29:42,250 --> 00:29:48,250 You're trying to talk your way out of it. 576 00:29:51,250 --> 00:29:53,167 Years ago, I found out a good trick, 577 00:29:53,250 --> 00:29:56,375 and I think it was just that, I think it was a trick, 578 00:29:56,458 --> 00:29:59,458 to help pastoral ministry be a little bit more effective. 579 00:29:59,500 --> 00:30:01,958 I began to take the bus to work and home. 580 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,167 And as I took the bus in the morning, 581 00:30:04,208 --> 00:30:07,917 it gave me time before I stepped into the office to read, 582 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,708 to pray. 583 00:30:09,792 --> 00:30:12,417 I actually enjoyed visiting with people on the bus. 584 00:30:12,500 --> 00:30:15,208 I think you meet the most interesting people in the world 585 00:30:15,292 --> 00:30:16,708 on the bus. 586 00:30:16,792 --> 00:30:19,417 A side note, but I remember one day going into work 587 00:30:19,500 --> 00:30:22,167 and there was a mom, and she had four little kids, 588 00:30:22,208 --> 00:30:23,667 little teeny kids, just stairstep. 589 00:30:23,708 --> 00:30:26,417 And she has--she got on the bus from the grocery store 590 00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:28,917 and she had two or three bags in her arm, 591 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,583 and her little kids each got in and each one of them had a bag. 592 00:30:32,667 --> 00:30:34,792 You know, even the one that could barely walk, 593 00:30:34,833 --> 00:30:36,167 you know, had a bag. 594 00:30:36,250 --> 00:30:39,833 And they sat down next to be and I was just so impressed by her 595 00:30:39,917 --> 00:30:43,250 and this bus ride that I looked her in the eye and I said, 596 00:30:43,333 --> 00:30:44,667 "Isn't riding the bus great?" 597 00:30:44,708 --> 00:30:47,167 She looked at me and she said, "You know sir, 598 00:30:47,208 --> 00:30:49,875 it's only great if you don't have to ride the bus." 599 00:30:49,958 --> 00:30:51,625 And I said, "Okay, I stand corrected." 600 00:30:51,667 --> 00:30:54,625 I took the bus to work, and then on the way home 601 00:30:54,667 --> 00:30:56,000 it allowed me to decompress. 602 00:30:56,083 --> 00:30:58,500 So I would be dropped off at the bus stop, 603 00:30:58,583 --> 00:31:01,792 then I would take a long walk home through a really nice park. 604 00:31:01,833 --> 00:31:04,500 And I remember it being sunset on a glorious fall afternoon, 605 00:31:04,583 --> 00:31:07,500 a little bit crisp, and I was walking through the park on 606 00:31:07,583 --> 00:31:12,000 my way home, decompressing, kind of caught up in the season. 607 00:31:12,083 --> 00:31:15,292 And as I was praying, I simply asked the Lord, 608 00:31:15,333 --> 00:31:17,208 "Lord, I don't see like you see. 609 00:31:17,292 --> 00:31:19,792 "I don't see the dark recesses of my heart. 610 00:31:19,833 --> 00:31:23,542 "Show me the things that are in my heart that I don't see that I 611 00:31:23,625 --> 00:31:28,125 need to confess to you so that I can agree with what you say." 612 00:31:28,167 --> 00:31:32,500 I didn't hear an audible voice, no specific Scriptures came 613 00:31:32,583 --> 00:31:38,458 to mind, but these two words surfaced in my thinking. 614 00:31:38,500 --> 00:31:44,542 The first word was idolatry, and the second word was adultery. 615 00:31:44,625 --> 00:31:47,542 Now, the idolatry one was a little bit easy to agree with 616 00:31:47,625 --> 00:31:50,292 God on because here's what I was doing during that time 617 00:31:50,333 --> 00:31:51,667 in my life. 618 00:31:51,750 --> 00:31:54,125 My aspiration then was to be a great preacher, 619 00:31:54,167 --> 00:31:57,625 and I was practicing--although I didn't like to admit it, 620 00:31:57,667 --> 00:32:01,000 I was practicing relationship with God as a means to the end 621 00:32:01,083 --> 00:32:02,417 of being a better preacher. 622 00:32:02,500 --> 00:32:03,833 So, my thought was this. 623 00:32:03,875 --> 00:32:06,000 If I can have a good relationship with God, 624 00:32:06,083 --> 00:32:08,625 then I can be a great preacher. 625 00:32:08,667 --> 00:32:10,500 Do you see how wrong that is? 626 00:32:10,583 --> 00:32:13,250 Do you see how that's inside out and upside down. 627 00:32:13,333 --> 00:32:14,917 That doesn't make sense. 628 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,042 Anything we use God for for another end, that's idolatry. 629 00:32:18,125 --> 00:32:20,250 God is the end in and of itself. 630 00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:22,000 So immediately I said, "Lord, I agree. 631 00:32:22,083 --> 00:32:23,500 "I see the idolatry. 632 00:32:23,583 --> 00:32:26,000 "From this day forward, Lord, I don't want to have 633 00:32:26,083 --> 00:32:29,000 "a good relationship with you so I can be a great preacher. 634 00:32:29,083 --> 00:32:31,750 "Instead, I want to preach good so that I can have 635 00:32:31,833 --> 00:32:33,167 "a great relationship with you. 636 00:32:33,208 --> 00:32:35,875 "And I want preaching from here on out just to be 637 00:32:35,958 --> 00:32:38,875 an act of worship, nothing more, nothing less." 638 00:32:38,958 --> 00:32:43,208 But the adultery thing, that threw me off. 639 00:32:43,292 --> 00:32:45,917 And I remember thinking, "Lord, we need to talk about this 640 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,083 "because I think you missed that call. 641 00:32:49,167 --> 00:32:52,250 "Lord, don't you see what's going on in my life? 642 00:32:52,333 --> 00:32:54,583 "I'm emotionally faithful to my wife. 643 00:32:54,667 --> 00:32:57,000 "I'm physically faithful to my wife. 644 00:32:57,042 --> 00:32:59,542 "I'm not looking at images I shouldn't be looking at. 645 00:32:59,625 --> 00:33:01,792 "I'm not engaging in lustful thoughts. 646 00:33:01,833 --> 00:33:06,000 "I don't know what you're thinking or what you're saying, 647 00:33:06,042 --> 00:33:07,708 "but you're wrong. 648 00:33:07,792 --> 00:33:09,167 "I can't confess that. 649 00:33:09,208 --> 00:33:12,167 I won't confess to something I'm not guilty of, Lord." 650 00:33:12,208 --> 00:33:17,167 And around this park, there was a track, a walking path, 651 00:33:17,208 --> 00:33:19,833 that was somewhere between a 1/4 mile and a 1/2 mile, 652 00:33:19,875 --> 00:33:22,000 and I decided, "I'm gonna walk around this thing 653 00:33:22,083 --> 00:33:23,542 "until I figure this out. 654 00:33:23,625 --> 00:33:26,042 "Lord, you and I are going to talk this out 655 00:33:26,125 --> 00:33:27,542 "and we're going to resolve this, 656 00:33:27,625 --> 00:33:30,292 and I'm not going to go home until this is resolved." 657 00:33:30,333 --> 00:33:32,000 Probably my third time around the track, 658 00:33:32,083 --> 00:33:33,833 I suddenly got what he was saying. 659 00:33:33,917 --> 00:33:39,000 I had an unhealthy, sinful desire in my heart 660 00:33:39,083 --> 00:33:43,208 to be admired by women. 661 00:33:43,292 --> 00:33:46,375 And what I was doing that the Lord saw that it took me 662 00:33:46,458 --> 00:33:49,625 a long time to see, what I was doing while I was preaching 663 00:33:49,667 --> 00:33:52,000 is I was holding myself up 664 00:33:52,042 --> 00:33:54,208 through every sermon illustration of being 665 00:33:54,292 --> 00:33:56,917 the perfect husband and the perfect dad. 666 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,667 And it was if all the guys in the church came to me privately 667 00:34:00,708 --> 00:34:03,667 through the Lord and said, "Hey bro, would you stop doing that? 668 00:34:03,708 --> 00:34:06,458 You're making the rest of us look really bad." 669 00:34:06,500 --> 00:34:11,125 And I remember that moment saying, 670 00:34:11,167 --> 00:34:13,167 "Lord, I don't want to do that anymore. 671 00:34:13,250 --> 00:34:16,375 "I want every married woman in the church, 672 00:34:16,458 --> 00:34:19,333 "I want the man that she respects the most in the world 673 00:34:19,417 --> 00:34:23,500 to be her husband, so let me take that angle instead." 674 00:34:23,583 --> 00:34:29,250 Some of you are disagreeing with God today about sin 675 00:34:29,333 --> 00:34:31,083 in your life. 676 00:34:31,167 --> 00:34:33,917 The Lord is using Scriptures, he's using other Christians 677 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,667 to point out sin over, and over, and over again, 678 00:34:37,750 --> 00:34:41,417 and you refuse to agree with him. 679 00:34:41,500 --> 00:34:44,833 You're not speaking the same thing about your sin 680 00:34:44,917 --> 00:34:46,250 that God is. 681 00:34:46,333 --> 00:34:47,917 Here's what you're missing out on. 682 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,417 You're missing out on the forgiveness and cleansing 683 00:34:50,500 --> 00:34:52,750 that could be yours in Jesus. 684 00:34:52,833 --> 00:34:55,250 Would you stop lying? 685 00:34:55,333 --> 00:34:59,000 Would you humble yourself and would you receive 686 00:34:59,083 --> 00:35:02,792 the gift of grace from God to you and Jesus 687 00:35:02,833 --> 00:35:04,458 that is confession? 688 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:07,667 Would you agree with God and say, "God, you're right. 689 00:35:07,750 --> 00:35:09,125 "I confess it. 690 00:35:09,167 --> 00:35:11,000 "Now please, God, do your thing. 691 00:35:11,083 --> 00:35:12,625 "Jesus, would you forgive me? 692 00:35:12,667 --> 00:35:14,000 "Jesus, would you cleanse me 693 00:35:14,083 --> 00:35:17,750 because you are faithful and just?" 694 00:35:17,833 --> 00:35:21,958 The final lie we're going to look at today is the big one. 695 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:23,542 Ready for this? 696 00:35:23,625 --> 00:35:25,333 This one is really scary. 697 00:35:25,375 --> 00:35:27,167 Hold onto your seats. Here we go. 698 00:35:27,208 --> 00:35:30,667 Verse 10, "If we say we have not sinned," 699 00:35:30,708 --> 00:35:33,792 that's a big statement, not sinned, 700 00:35:33,833 --> 00:35:40,125 "we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 701 00:35:40,167 --> 00:35:44,375 Ooh, now we're doing more than self-deception. 702 00:35:44,458 --> 00:35:47,333 Now we're guilty of blasphemy. 703 00:35:47,417 --> 00:35:50,583 If we say we've never sinned, 704 00:35:50,667 --> 00:35:54,208 we're calling Jesus a liar. 705 00:35:54,292 --> 00:35:59,083 We are defiantly shaking our fist in the very face of God 706 00:35:59,167 --> 00:36:01,917 and saying, "Jesus didn't need to die for my sin 707 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,958 "because I have no sin. 708 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,833 "I don't need Jesus to be the light because my light 709 00:36:07,917 --> 00:36:12,792 is perfectly fine, thank you." 710 00:36:12,833 --> 00:36:16,000 If you're not a Christian, 711 00:36:16,083 --> 00:36:18,917 this is exactly what you're doing today. 712 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,417 You're calling God a liar. 713 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:25,667 If you look at Jesus and Jesus is to you nothing other than 714 00:36:25,708 --> 00:36:28,375 a good teacher and a guy who went to the cross 715 00:36:28,458 --> 00:36:31,583 to give us a good example of how much we should love others 716 00:36:31,667 --> 00:36:33,333 and be willing to die for them, 717 00:36:33,375 --> 00:36:34,833 you missed the whole point. 718 00:36:34,875 --> 00:36:36,292 You don't respect that Jesus. 719 00:36:36,333 --> 00:36:40,833 You are actually calling that Jesus a liar. 720 00:36:40,917 --> 00:36:42,958 And I know that Jesus well, 721 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,292 and I want to respect your right to disagree with him, 722 00:36:46,333 --> 00:36:48,792 but I don't really want to stand close to you 723 00:36:48,833 --> 00:36:51,667 while you continually call him a liar. 724 00:36:51,708 --> 00:36:54,167 Is that what you want someday? 725 00:36:54,208 --> 00:36:56,833 When you ultimately give an account of your life to God 726 00:36:56,875 --> 00:36:58,542 and you can say, "You know what? 727 00:36:58,625 --> 00:37:00,833 "I did some good things. I cared for people. 728 00:37:00,875 --> 00:37:02,208 "Yeah, I made some mistakes. 729 00:37:02,292 --> 00:37:05,208 "And God, you're a liar 730 00:37:05,292 --> 00:37:09,708 "because I haven't been honest about my sin 731 00:37:09,792 --> 00:37:13,042 through the person and the work of Jesus." 732 00:37:13,125 --> 00:37:16,125 Yikes. 733 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,167 Some of you today need to not just confess your sin. 734 00:37:24,250 --> 00:37:27,083 You need to repent. 735 00:37:27,167 --> 00:37:30,083 Repent means you literally turn from your sin. 736 00:37:30,167 --> 00:37:33,083 You see what Jesus says about your sin. 737 00:37:33,167 --> 00:37:34,833 You see the ugliness of it. 738 00:37:34,875 --> 00:37:37,167 You see the way that you've rebelled against him 739 00:37:37,208 --> 00:37:38,542 and hurt him. 740 00:37:38,625 --> 00:37:41,292 And you turn from your sin, and you turn to Jesus, 741 00:37:41,333 --> 00:37:42,667 and you embrace him. 742 00:37:42,750 --> 00:37:45,875 And you say, "Jesus, I believe you are who you say you are. 743 00:37:45,958 --> 00:37:47,875 "I believe you're the solution to my sin. 744 00:37:47,958 --> 00:37:50,083 "I not only believe that you're just the light, 745 00:37:50,167 --> 00:37:52,083 "you're not just the one who exposes sin, 746 00:37:52,167 --> 00:37:54,333 "but you're also the one who forgives sin. 747 00:37:54,417 --> 00:37:56,542 "You're also the one who cleanses me from sin. 748 00:37:56,625 --> 00:38:01,333 Jesus, I turn from my sin and I trust in you." 749 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,500 I want to stop and pray for you right now 750 00:38:07,542 --> 00:38:08,875 if you're not a Christian. 751 00:38:08,958 --> 00:38:11,375 I want to invite you to turn from sin 752 00:38:11,458 --> 00:38:14,542 and I want to invite you to trust in Jesus. 753 00:38:14,625 --> 00:38:17,792 Father, I pray for those that are here today that have, 754 00:38:17,833 --> 00:38:22,333 in essence through their life's actions, perhaps even passively, 755 00:38:22,375 --> 00:38:24,833 called you a liar. 756 00:38:24,875 --> 00:38:27,167 Lord, I pray that they would turn from sin, 757 00:38:27,208 --> 00:38:29,167 I pray that they would trust in Jesus, 758 00:38:29,250 --> 00:38:31,917 and I pray that they would know that you're a God 759 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,458 who is gracious, and forgiving, and kind. 760 00:38:35,500 --> 00:38:39,708 In Jesus' good name, amen. 761 00:38:39,792 --> 00:38:42,917 If you just repented of sin for the first time today, 762 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:44,500 guess what? 763 00:38:44,542 --> 00:38:45,875 We want to baptize you. 764 00:38:45,958 --> 00:38:47,625 I know you didn't plan on that. 765 00:38:47,667 --> 00:38:50,333 It's not what you had in mind when you came here, 766 00:38:50,417 --> 00:38:51,750 but we've prepared. 767 00:38:51,833 --> 00:38:54,958 And if you confessed your sin to Jesus for the first time today, 768 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:59,458 in just a little while we want to baptize you. 769 00:39:01,125 --> 00:39:07,833 I love the way that John presents Jesus here. 770 00:39:07,917 --> 00:39:11,333 I love the way that John presents God, 771 00:39:11,417 --> 00:39:14,000 even in his gospel. 772 00:39:14,042 --> 00:39:18,042 You get these two seemingly contrasting pictures of Jesus 773 00:39:18,125 --> 00:39:19,792 that we are to bring into balance. 774 00:39:19,833 --> 00:39:24,000 You don't balance God, you experience the fullness of God. 775 00:39:24,042 --> 00:39:26,500 Two statements that John is going to make about Jesus 776 00:39:26,542 --> 00:39:27,875 in this letter. 777 00:39:27,958 --> 00:39:30,375 The first one is this that we just studied today. 778 00:39:30,458 --> 00:39:31,792 He's light. 779 00:39:31,833 --> 00:39:34,333 He's perfectly sinless and he exposes sin. 780 00:39:34,417 --> 00:39:37,250 But you're going to find in 1 John 4:8 a profound statement 781 00:39:37,333 --> 00:39:39,250 that most of you are already familiar with, 782 00:39:39,333 --> 00:39:42,583 and that is that God is love. 783 00:39:42,667 --> 00:39:46,000 And sometimes, we have a difficult time 784 00:39:46,042 --> 00:39:49,708 of fully understanding the essence of God. 785 00:39:49,792 --> 00:39:51,333 God is holy. 786 00:39:51,417 --> 00:39:53,583 God is just. 787 00:39:53,667 --> 00:39:55,958 God will not be called a liar. 788 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:58,750 God is light. 789 00:39:58,833 --> 00:40:03,917 But God is also faithful, and forgiving, and merciful, 790 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:08,000 and compassion, and God is love. 791 00:40:08,042 --> 00:40:13,167 We need to have a full understanding of who God is 792 00:40:13,208 --> 00:40:16,167 for us in Jesus, don't we? 793 00:40:16,208 --> 00:40:19,833 Let me show you the risk that you run if you want to look at 794 00:40:19,875 --> 00:40:21,500 God in one dimension, right? 795 00:40:21,542 --> 00:40:22,875 Let's look at these together. 796 00:40:22,958 --> 00:40:24,833 First one is this. 797 00:40:24,875 --> 00:40:30,167 Believing only that God is light leads to perfectionism. 798 00:40:30,250 --> 00:40:34,500 If all you believe that God is is light, that he's holy, 799 00:40:34,542 --> 00:40:36,833 and he exposes sin, and everything stops there, 800 00:40:36,875 --> 00:40:42,125 then you better live a perfect life, right? 801 00:40:42,167 --> 00:40:44,875 Then from your perspective, a relationship with God 802 00:40:44,958 --> 00:40:50,333 is all about duty with a propensity towards despair. 803 00:40:50,375 --> 00:40:52,167 Because what happens when you mess up, 804 00:40:52,208 --> 00:40:58,333 and you ultimately will? 805 00:40:58,417 --> 00:41:01,875 I knew a man who sinned greatly against his children 806 00:41:01,958 --> 00:41:03,875 in abusing them, 807 00:41:03,958 --> 00:41:09,375 and he kept his secret from his wife for years. 808 00:41:09,458 --> 00:41:12,792 And one day, he came to me in a moment of courage and said, 809 00:41:12,833 --> 00:41:15,292 "Pastor, will you meet with my wife and my kids?" 810 00:41:15,333 --> 00:41:16,833 His kids were now adults. 811 00:41:16,917 --> 00:41:18,250 "Will you meet with us? 812 00:41:18,333 --> 00:41:20,750 Because I want to come clean with what I did." 813 00:41:20,833 --> 00:41:27,167 And he shared, through tears, all that had happened. 814 00:41:27,250 --> 00:41:29,417 And he asked for forgiveness from his children, 815 00:41:29,500 --> 00:41:35,333 and from his wife, and it was a chaotic scene 816 00:41:35,417 --> 00:41:37,333 for a little while. 817 00:41:37,375 --> 00:41:42,042 Then it settled down, and his family graciously forgave him 818 00:41:42,125 --> 00:41:44,917 in that moment, and said they were committed to working out 819 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,292 forgiveness for the rest of their lives. 820 00:41:47,333 --> 00:41:50,375 Two weeks after that incident, I caught up with him again 821 00:41:50,458 --> 00:41:52,333 and I said, "How are you doing?" 822 00:41:52,375 --> 00:41:54,667 He said, "I'm not doing well." 823 00:41:54,708 --> 00:41:56,708 I said, "Why are you not doing well?" 824 00:41:56,792 --> 00:41:59,958 He said, "Because I know that I can't be forgiven of this." 825 00:42:00,083 --> 00:42:02,667 I said, "Are you kidding me? 826 00:42:02,708 --> 00:42:05,375 Like, I want to assure you that Jesus forgives you." 827 00:42:05,458 --> 00:42:08,250 He said, "Nope, nope." 828 00:42:08,333 --> 00:42:09,833 He even quoted this verse. 829 00:42:09,875 --> 00:42:11,208 "God is light. 830 00:42:11,292 --> 00:42:12,708 There's no darkness in him." 831 00:42:12,792 --> 00:42:15,917 He said, "I know I can never be forgiven for what I've done 832 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:17,333 "to my family. 833 00:42:17,375 --> 00:42:20,500 "All I can do for the rest of my life before I'm punished 834 00:42:20,583 --> 00:42:22,667 for all eternity is do the best I can." 835 00:42:22,750 --> 00:42:26,042 You see, if we don't understand God's attributes 836 00:42:26,125 --> 00:42:30,333 in their entirety, we go to strange places. 837 00:42:30,375 --> 00:42:32,667 God is light. 838 00:42:32,750 --> 00:42:34,583 He's holy. He's just. 839 00:42:34,667 --> 00:42:37,208 He's righteous. He demands an account for sin. 840 00:42:37,292 --> 00:42:41,000 He exposes sin. But God is love. 841 00:42:41,042 --> 00:42:45,500 He's faithful, and just, and forgiving, and cleansing. 842 00:42:45,583 --> 00:42:48,833 The second place we can go wrong, 843 00:42:48,875 --> 00:42:53,500 believing only that God is love leads to permissiveness, right? 844 00:42:53,583 --> 00:42:57,167 If we don't understand that God is fully light and God is fully 845 00:42:57,208 --> 00:43:01,542 love, or as John, this very same John, would say in his gospel, 846 00:43:01,625 --> 00:43:05,833 chapter 1 verse 14, about Jesus, "He was fully of," not balanced. 847 00:43:05,875 --> 00:43:10,958 "He was full of grace," that's love, "truth," that's light. 848 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:14,417 And all we think is that God is love is then we will 849 00:43:14,500 --> 00:43:18,000 become permissive about the sin that Jesus wishes to forgive 850 00:43:18,042 --> 00:43:20,833 and free us from, right? 851 00:43:20,875 --> 00:43:22,375 You've been here before. 852 00:43:22,458 --> 00:43:24,875 You've confronted someone in their sin and they told you 853 00:43:24,958 --> 00:43:28,958 to back off because God is love. 854 00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,875 Someone I loved died recently. 855 00:43:35,958 --> 00:43:38,667 His life was a very rough life. 856 00:43:38,708 --> 00:43:42,250 He was a drug user at a very early age, 857 00:43:42,333 --> 00:43:47,000 and through drug abuse contracted AIDS, 858 00:43:47,083 --> 00:43:50,292 and died years later from AIDS. 859 00:43:50,333 --> 00:43:54,792 And this man, I loved him very much and he was a part of 860 00:43:54,833 --> 00:44:01,583 the church, but he struggled his whole life through addiction. 861 00:44:03,583 --> 00:44:05,208 And what was interesting about his addiction, 862 00:44:05,292 --> 00:44:07,167 it really wasn't to drugs. 863 00:44:07,250 --> 00:44:09,792 His addiction was really to--this is going to sound 864 00:44:09,833 --> 00:44:13,833 really strange, so just trust me--to female companionship. 865 00:44:13,917 --> 00:44:17,500 So he would so need a woman in his life 866 00:44:17,583 --> 00:44:22,750 that he would find women that usually, together, 867 00:44:22,833 --> 00:44:25,417 led them down the path of drug abuse. 868 00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:29,667 And there were many wives, and there were many girlfriends, 869 00:44:29,708 --> 00:44:36,167 and he fathered children all over the place. 870 00:44:36,208 --> 00:44:38,667 And I remember one time inviting him to come to 871 00:44:38,708 --> 00:44:40,167 Redemption Group, right? 872 00:44:40,208 --> 00:44:41,667 Great ministry of the church. 873 00:44:41,708 --> 00:44:43,833 And he went to the first Redemption Group meeting, 874 00:44:43,917 --> 00:44:46,833 and he was leaving, and I caught him as he was leaving. 875 00:44:46,917 --> 00:44:49,833 I said, "Hey, this is going to be really good for you. 876 00:44:49,917 --> 00:44:51,250 Why don't you stay?" 877 00:44:51,333 --> 00:44:54,250 He was like, "You know what? I don't want to do this. 878 00:44:54,333 --> 00:44:55,667 "This is too confrontational. 879 00:44:55,708 --> 00:44:58,667 "I really don't want to do this because, I'll tell you what, 880 00:44:58,708 --> 00:45:02,167 God is love and I'm fine with that." 881 00:45:02,208 --> 00:45:06,083 God is light and he's love. 882 00:45:06,167 --> 00:45:11,208 God is holy and he wants to expose the darkness in our life, 883 00:45:11,292 --> 00:45:14,625 not so that he can condemn us, not so that he can shame us 884 00:45:14,667 --> 00:45:16,250 because he's also love. 885 00:45:16,333 --> 00:45:18,792 So that he can forgive us, and free us, 886 00:45:18,833 --> 00:45:24,625 and conform us into the image of Jesus. 887 00:45:24,667 --> 00:45:26,208 Mars Hill Church, hear me out. 888 00:45:26,292 --> 00:45:28,208 This is what health looks like. Ready? 889 00:45:28,292 --> 00:45:33,917 Believing both that God is light and God is love leads to 890 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,750 progressively becoming more like Jesus. 891 00:45:37,833 --> 00:45:41,750 If we understand what John is saying here about God, 892 00:45:41,833 --> 00:45:44,208 that God is light and God is love, 893 00:45:44,292 --> 00:45:46,875 and he's the fullness of both of those attributes, 894 00:45:46,958 --> 00:45:48,542 then we have hope. 895 00:45:48,625 --> 00:45:50,708 We don't have to go to perfectionism. 896 00:45:50,792 --> 00:45:52,458 We don't have to go to permissiveness. 897 00:45:52,500 --> 00:45:55,792 We can be honest about our sin and we can progressively become 898 00:45:55,833 --> 00:45:59,125 a people who day in and day out think, feel, 899 00:45:59,167 --> 00:46:02,167 speak, and act like Jesus. 900 00:46:02,250 --> 00:46:05,375 Mars Hill Church, we need to be that type of people right now, 901 00:46:05,458 --> 00:46:09,708 don't we? 902 00:46:09,792 --> 00:46:12,750 I love you. 903 00:46:12,833 --> 00:46:16,917 I'm thankful to be with you. 904 00:46:17,000 --> 00:46:21,167 I'm thankful not just to be a pastor in this church, 905 00:46:21,208 --> 00:46:25,083 I'm grateful to be a member. 906 00:46:25,167 --> 00:46:29,333 But if we're learning anything about ourselves right now, 907 00:46:29,375 --> 00:46:32,333 we have got to make progress. 908 00:46:32,417 --> 00:46:35,667 We have got to understand, as we look into the face of Jesus, 909 00:46:35,750 --> 00:46:37,833 that he is light and he is love. 910 00:46:37,875 --> 00:46:41,375 And we have sin that we have to deal with and be honest with. 911 00:46:41,458 --> 00:46:43,500 No more lying about sin. 912 00:46:43,542 --> 00:46:47,083 And some of you, some of you are going to be at risk 913 00:46:47,167 --> 00:46:50,375 in this season of controversy and difficulty 914 00:46:50,458 --> 00:46:53,917 because you are going to take your eyes off of Jesus 915 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:59,875 and you're going to put hope in lesser objects. 916 00:47:01,625 --> 00:47:03,750 Mars Hill Church, our hope isn't in Pastor Mark 917 00:47:03,833 --> 00:47:05,667 and his preaching. 918 00:47:05,750 --> 00:47:08,417 Our hope is in Jesus. 919 00:47:08,500 --> 00:47:15,083 Mars Hill Church, our hope isn't in any pastor or pastors, 920 00:47:15,167 --> 00:47:18,125 our hope is in Jesus. 921 00:47:18,167 --> 00:47:20,083 Mars Hill Church, our hope isn't in polity, 922 00:47:20,167 --> 00:47:22,667 and polity amendments, and polity changes, 923 00:47:22,750 --> 00:47:25,833 out hope is in Jesus. 924 00:47:25,917 --> 00:47:29,250 Mars Hill Church, our hope isn't that help is going to come to us 925 00:47:29,333 --> 00:47:32,292 in the form of other Christians outside this church, 926 00:47:32,333 --> 00:47:35,333 our hope is in Jesus. 927 00:47:35,417 --> 00:47:38,625 Do you see Jesus for who he is? 928 00:47:38,667 --> 00:47:40,958 Nothing is more important to us right here, 929 00:47:41,000 --> 00:47:44,375 right now than we have full understanding of Jesus 930 00:47:44,458 --> 00:47:48,000 and all of his glory, that he is light, and he is love, 931 00:47:48,083 --> 00:47:50,167 and we can be open and transparent 932 00:47:50,208 --> 00:47:51,625 about our sin with him. 933 00:47:51,667 --> 00:47:54,667 And as we do that together as a people, guess what happens? 934 00:47:54,750 --> 00:47:57,833 We progressively become more and more like him. 935 00:47:57,875 --> 00:48:00,625 Do you want that, Mars Hill? 936 00:48:00,667 --> 00:48:04,333 May we do that together? 937 00:48:04,417 --> 00:48:09,833 I'm going to ask you to respond. 938 00:48:09,917 --> 00:48:15,042 We're going to respond in different ways today 939 00:48:15,125 --> 00:48:16,667 and it may take different forms, 940 00:48:16,708 --> 00:48:22,583 but I want each of us to respond with confession. 941 00:48:22,667 --> 00:48:26,167 Allow Jesus to shine his light into the darkest recesses of 942 00:48:26,250 --> 00:48:28,833 your heart, would you? 943 00:48:28,917 --> 00:48:33,292 And would you say the same thing about what he sees there 944 00:48:33,333 --> 00:48:35,167 as he does? 945 00:48:35,250 --> 00:48:38,500 Would you consider that? 946 00:48:38,583 --> 00:48:40,208 We're going to sing. 947 00:48:40,292 --> 00:48:42,083 We're going to take Communion together. 948 00:48:42,167 --> 00:48:44,083 Some of you are going to be baptized, 949 00:48:44,167 --> 00:48:46,292 and your lead pastor will come up and explain 950 00:48:46,333 --> 00:48:47,792 exactly how to do that today. 951 00:48:47,833 --> 00:48:51,625 So, I want to invite our financial stewards to come up 952 00:48:51,667 --> 00:48:54,292 and prepare to take the offering. 953 00:48:54,333 --> 00:49:00,292 Let's pray and let's respond together today to Jesus 954 00:49:00,333 --> 00:49:04,417 being the light of the world by confessing our sin to him 955 00:49:04,500 --> 00:49:05,833 openly and honestly. 956 00:49:05,875 --> 00:49:07,917 Will you pray with me? 957 00:49:08,000 --> 00:49:13,375 Jesus, thank you that you are the light. 958 00:49:13,458 --> 00:49:17,250 Shine your light into the darkest recesses of our hearts, 959 00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:19,500 of our church, of our life. 960 00:49:19,542 --> 00:49:22,250 We allow you and we invite you to do so 961 00:49:22,333 --> 00:49:23,958 because we know in so doing, 962 00:49:24,000 --> 00:49:26,333 you're not condemning us, you're wanting to conform us. 963 00:49:26,417 --> 00:49:29,333 You want to free us and forgive us that we might become 964 00:49:29,417 --> 00:49:32,000 worshippers as we were created to be. 965 00:49:32,042 --> 00:49:35,000 Jesus, I pray for those who just met you today. 966 00:49:35,042 --> 00:49:38,000 I pray that you would give them courage to be baptized. 967 00:49:38,042 --> 00:49:41,167 And I pray that you would lead us forward into a new future 968 00:49:41,250 --> 00:49:44,500 together, Jesus, as we affirm once again, 969 00:49:44,542 --> 00:49:47,042 you're the senior pastor of this church. 970 00:49:47,125 --> 00:49:48,625 You're the one who ultimately matters, 971 00:49:48,667 --> 00:49:51,292 and we want all of our life to be in alignment 972 00:49:51,333 --> 00:49:52,667 with who you are. 973 00:49:52,750 --> 00:49:55,167 For your glory and our good we ask these things 974 00:49:55,250 --> 00:49:57,625 in your good name, amen. 975 00:49:59,625 --> 00:50:00,958 Pastor Sutton Turner here. 976 00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:02,333 The sermon just finished 977 00:50:02,375 --> 00:50:05,250 and you can still play a role at Mars Hill church. 978 00:50:05,333 --> 00:50:09,250 Whether you're part of one of our local Mars Hill churches, 979 00:50:09,333 --> 00:50:12,625 or part of our global Mars Hill community, 980 00:50:12,667 --> 00:50:16,333 if you value this sermon, please consider making a donation 981 00:50:16,375 --> 00:50:20,875 by visiting marshill.com/give. 982 00:50:20,958 --> 00:50:24,000 Sermons like this are recorded and streamed for free 983 00:50:24,042 --> 00:50:27,125 to anyone interested in learning more about Jesus 984 00:50:27,167 --> 00:50:28,792 and living their faith. 985 00:50:28,833 --> 00:50:32,125 And I'd like to ask you to support making that happen 986 00:50:32,167 --> 00:50:35,667 by making a gift, even a small one, to Mars Hill, 987 00:50:35,708 --> 00:50:39,875 you will help a global family of brothers and sisters in Christ 988 00:50:39,958 --> 00:50:45,083 that download sermons like this one over 10 million times. 989 00:50:45,167 --> 00:50:49,167 Your gift also helps plant churches, equip evangelists, 990 00:50:49,208 --> 00:50:53,667 distribute bibles and study materials all over the world. 991 00:50:53,750 --> 00:50:56,542 Let's see more materials translated, 992 00:50:56,625 --> 00:50:59,667 more pastors sent out, more churches planted, 993 00:50:59,708 --> 00:51:02,167 and more people saved by Jesus Christ.