The Walk of a Christian
Series: Walking in the Light
Speaker: James Barnett
Date: 2nd January 2021
Passage: 1 John 1:1-2:14
00:00:00 --> 00:00:13 It was the week before Christmas, 10 o'clock at night, very dark, and I had to take my garbage
00:00:13 --> 00:00:20 bins out. Of course, my garbage bins needed to be empty for all of the empty boxes and wrapping
00:00:20 --> 00:00:27 that comes from Christmas. And I was walking my bins out down my driveway and something tickled
00:00:27 --> 00:00:34 my face. And I did what every sane person would do in that situation. I leapt back and did one of
00:00:34 --> 00:00:46 these dances. I did a spider dance, we may call it. But I had to get those bins out. So I moved back,
00:00:47 --> 00:00:51 and I wish I had Coe's torch. That would have been much more helpful. I grabbed my phone out,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:59 and I swiped up and got my torch on, and there was a stick nearby. So I grabbed the stick and my torch,
00:00:59 --> 00:01:06 and I went spider hunting. And I went out, and I thankfully wiped off all the spider web at this
00:01:06 --> 00:01:11 point. And I went out to the driveway, and I was looking around, and I looked up, and there was a
00:01:11 --> 00:01:18 big fat orb spider, I think it was. You know, my wife is shivering right now. She hates spiders.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:24 And it was, you know, the ones with the really big abdomens? And it was making the biggest web it
00:01:24 --> 00:01:28 could. And I thought, all right, what I'm going to do is I'm going to whack it on the ground,
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 and I'm going to stamp on it, and I'm going to deal with this problem. So I whacked it. But I whacked
00:01:32 --> 00:01:39 it too hard, and it disappeared. Anyway, I got my bins out. It all was well. Now, I'm sure you've been
00:01:39 --> 00:01:46 in a situation like this before. Maybe you've had a physical reaction to my horror story this morning.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:54 But there's something terrifying about the unknown dark. What is out there? What's going to crawl on
00:01:54 --> 00:02:00 my face? What's going to crawl up my leg? What piece of Lego will I step on? What furniture will
00:02:00 --> 00:02:07 I walk into with my little toe? Now, in so many ways, we as people have fought back the dark and the
00:02:07 --> 00:02:13 fears that come with it. We have streetlights, and, you know, they reduce, you know, fear of criminals and
00:02:13 --> 00:02:20 reduce crime. We have headlights to reduce car accidents. But we are also contradictory people,
00:02:21 --> 00:02:28 because we avoid the dark and there's the fears associated with it, but we can also do the opposite,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:36 and we can also love to embrace the dark. One of my kids recently over this Christmas period has been
00:02:36 --> 00:02:41 stealing lollies. I won't tell you which of my children it is. They can put their hand up and
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 say who it was. And so what they've been doing is they've been stealing lollies and going off and
00:02:45 --> 00:02:50 hiding in a dark spot to eat them. And then they come out later and tell you, I've been eating lollies
00:02:50 --> 00:02:59 that I stole. So, you know, but we can see that the dark is also a place of protection when I am in
00:02:59 --> 00:03:05 the wrong. When I want to do the wrong thing, I want to hide because I still want to do it, but I don't
00:03:05 --> 00:03:12 want the guilt and shame that's associated with it. We can embrace the dark too, just like one of my
00:03:12 --> 00:03:19 kids. I might want to embrace the dark to do what I want, to do what I want and not have the consequences.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:27 I might hide things from family members. I might hide problems at work out of fear of punishment and
00:03:27 --> 00:03:34 retribution. So we can live this double life. We fear the dark and we want to be in the light,
00:03:34 --> 00:03:43 but we also can embrace the dark so we can get things that we want. And so instead of walking
00:03:43 --> 00:03:50 in the light, we do this staggered walk where we're sometimes in the light and sometimes in the dark.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:57 Today, we are starting in this short book that John wrote, a letter, the first of his three
00:03:57 --> 00:04:04 letters, and he was writing to a church who were being deceived. People had come into this church
00:04:04 --> 00:04:09 and were trying to get them to follow a different path, to follow a different version of Jesus. And
00:04:09 --> 00:04:15 they were taking them down a different path, a path that was not following God, but a path that would
00:04:15 --> 00:04:23 take them into the dark. The challenge for us today will be to check where we are walking.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:32 We've just started a new year. It's 2021 now. We can't make any of those Vision 2020 jokes about
00:04:32 --> 00:04:39 our eyesight. But right now, it is a good time to be checking what path we are going down. Are we
00:04:39 --> 00:04:46 having a staggered walk where we follow God, where we do the right thing? You know, we come to church.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:51 We want to spend time with God and we want to love Him and get to know Him, but we are also
00:04:51 --> 00:05:00 embracing our sin and hiding away things from the people that we love and hiding things from God.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:07 There is a God who loves us, who wants us to follow Him, who wants us to walk following Him wholeheartedly.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:16 And so are we following Him? Or are we embracing darkness out of fear and desires to get what we want?
00:05:16 --> 00:05:21 And so today, as we look at this piece from 1 John, we'll see the God who is revealed.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:26 And we'll see that God is light and that He is the God that we should walk with.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:32 So let me pray for us as we spend time in God's Word. Heavenly Father, as we look at Your Word this
00:05:32 --> 00:05:42 morning, we ask that You would help us. God, reveal Yourself to us and give us eyes to see,
00:05:42 --> 00:05:48 to see who we are and what we are like, and how amazing You are that Your Son has died for us
00:05:48 --> 00:05:53 so that we can walk in the light following You. Amen.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 So first of all, this morning and today, we will see the God who has been revealed.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 You can be following along in the app. I'd also want to encourage you to have your Bibles
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 open in 1 John today.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:12 Now, it appears that John is writing to a group of people who had had others come in
00:06:12 --> 00:06:18 to try and deceive them. He is trying to encourage this church to continue down the right path.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:22 And he brings up a number of claims that these people have brought in, and he refutes them.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:29 They claimed to be sinless. They denied that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:36 They denied that Jesus' blood brought forgiveness. They didn't show love to each other.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:42 And they continued to choose sin without care at all of the consequences.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:48 Now, over the next couple of weeks of January, as we look at this book, we'll look at a number
00:06:48 --> 00:06:55 of these claims. But it starts with the Apostles' resume, in one sense.
00:06:55 --> 00:07:01 John's going to refute these claims, but before he gets to it, he sets out his resume.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 Have a look with me, 1 John 1, 1.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:10 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:16 which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the word
00:07:16 --> 00:07:22 of life. And in these first three verses, John repeats himself three times to emphasize
00:07:22 --> 00:07:30 his point. The promised Christ, well, we have seen him, we have heard him, and we have touched him.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 We celebrated this, how long ago was Christmas? Was it a week or two ago? I can't remember.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:42 That whole period blows into just a day or two. But we celebrated this at Christmas, that God
00:07:42 --> 00:07:47 himself came and could be touched and could be seen and could be heard. That the mighty,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:53 all-powerful creator of the universe became someone that we could touch and see and know.
00:07:54 --> 00:08:01 God revealed himself. He's come out into the light, so to speak, and made himself knowable.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 And it is this which unites us in verse 3.
00:08:05 --> 00:08:12 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:16 And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:22 And so John is saying at this point, don't be deceived by the people coming in and saying
00:08:22 --> 00:08:27 that Jesus didn't come in the flesh. Don't be deceived, people saying that Jesus really
00:08:27 --> 00:08:37 wasn't God. We saw him. We saw him when he was alive, and then we saw him dead on the cross,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:46 and then we saw him raised to life again. And he is the only reason that this church stays together.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:52 If we take away these things, if we take away Jesus' divinity, and that he was really flesh,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:56 if he was fully human and fully God, if we take those away, the church just falls apart.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:05 This is the only reason that the church stays together. So we walk together as a church,
00:09:05 --> 00:09:11 as a body of believers following this God. Christianity is not an individual sport.
00:09:11 --> 00:09:17 I was watching some dragon boat racing videos the other day. I don't know why that came up,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:22 but I was watching them. And it reminded me that in dragon boat racing, correct me if I'm wrong,
00:09:22 --> 00:09:27 but there's one person that lays down the beat on the drums. Thank you, John, nodding for me.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:35 And everyone else rows in time. And the more in time you row to the beat of the drum, the faster you go.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:41 And then they cut through the water like a knife. It's amazing. In so many New Testament letters,
00:09:41 --> 00:09:48 including this one, the author calls the church back from where they've been going. You have been
00:09:48 --> 00:09:55 rowing to your own beat of your drum. Row in time to the beat of God, because it matters for the whole
00:09:55 --> 00:10:03 church. If one of us goes off, there is a consequence for the whole church. Our faith is not individual.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:11 We are all connected and we all impact each other positively and negatively. And so John starts
00:10:11 --> 00:10:20 by reminding them of who sets the beat. For this church, it was John. For us, our church is built on
00:10:20 --> 00:10:29 the Bible. And so we don't just go out of God's word and set our own agenda. But everything we do
00:10:29 --> 00:10:37 as a church is built on God as he has been revealed to us in his word. So God has been revealed to us.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:43 We have the apostles who have seen him. They have written it down. And that is how God has been
00:10:43 --> 00:10:50 revealed to us. We don't go away from that. But that is what unites us as a church. God revealed
00:10:50 --> 00:10:57 Jesus Christ in his word. And now John explains more about who this God is, that this God is light.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:06 He says this in verse 3. And it's a picture of God and his character. At the very start of the Bible,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:13 when God was making the world, the very first thing he made, the first thing he said was,
00:11:13 --> 00:11:23 let there be light. It's an expression of who he is. He makes light. He pushes back darkness. He reveals
00:11:23 --> 00:11:31 things. And it's from the light that everything else grows. Plants grow, animals, humans, everything
00:11:31 --> 00:11:43 needs light. All creation owes its existence and its sustenance to the God who is light and Jesus who is
00:11:43 --> 00:11:52 the light of the world. C.S. Lewis said that we believe that the sun has risen, not because we see the sun,
00:11:52 --> 00:12:03 but because we see everything else by it. Where the sun is, there is no darkness. Where God is, there can
00:12:03 --> 00:12:12 only be truth and there is no error. Where God is, there can only be good. There is no place for evil.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:21 And we get to be in close relationship to this God. I know what it's like when I try and stare at the sun
00:12:21 --> 00:12:26 for too long. You know, you get that image burnt into your eyes and you can't see very well. Can you
00:12:26 --> 00:12:32 imagine being right next to the sun? It wouldn't last very long. But the great God of the universe,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:39 who there can be no evil, who is only truth and is only goodness, we get to be with.
00:12:41 --> 00:12:47 John paints a wonderful picture of what walking with this God is in verse 6. He paints a positive
00:12:47 --> 00:12:54 picture and a negative picture. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,
00:12:54 --> 00:13:02 we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
00:13:02 --> 00:13:10 fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. Some have been
00:13:10 --> 00:13:17 claiming to have fellowship with God, but they're in the darkness. They're lying. Some claim to have no sin,
00:13:17 --> 00:13:25 but they've been deceived and effectively they're calling God a liar. A Christian is instead someone
00:13:25 --> 00:13:34 who has had their sin brought into the light and exposed. And that can be a painful thing to have
00:13:34 --> 00:13:42 our darkest moments, our deepest fears, our darkest shames brought into the light.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:50 But instead of being pushed away, being expelled from God's presence, all our sin is dealt with
00:13:50 --> 00:13:58 and purified by the blood of Jesus. We can only walk in God's light by his grace, that God would
00:13:58 --> 00:14:05 choose to deal with us by the blood of Jesus so that we're not left in the dark without him.
00:14:05 --> 00:14:11 I really love this picture on the screen. Kev, if you can put that so that everybody can see that
00:14:11 --> 00:14:20 on the stream as well. I love this picture. I think it's a really wonderful image of the walk of a
00:14:20 --> 00:14:30 Christian. God has lit our path following him, and yet we are surrounded on all sides by darkness.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:37 On the one hand, we can walk in the darkness thinking that everything is fine with our life.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:42 You know, I'm going okay without God. I don't need to obey him. I don't need to follow him.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:48 I can figure out things on my own. I can do things on my own. But the reality is if we are walking
00:14:48 --> 00:14:54 in that part of the forest without God, without the path, we're going to stumble. We're going to fall.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 We're going to hurt ourselves, and we're going to be left in the darkness.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:02 But we can also be tempted to think that there is no problem, that we're fine.
00:15:03 --> 00:15:09 Well, I'm not really that bad. It's not really that dark. I can kind of see. I've got my iPhone
00:15:09 --> 00:15:16 torch out. I'm a good person. You know, God loves me the way I am. I can choose to go on my own path.
00:15:16 --> 00:15:22 Actually, I know there's a path that God has there for me, but I've got this other path that's down here,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:28 and I want to follow that instead. And God, well, he said he's love. You know,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:32 Coe said that for us this morning as well. So I'm just going to go down my own path.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:41 Instead, chapter 2 tells us that we have Jesus. We have the advocate. In his death and resurrection,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:48 he takes our hand and he brings us into the light. The word advocate here is...
00:15:48 --> 00:15:54 Kev, you can take that picture down now, mate. The word advocate here is also the same word for lawyer.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 Usually, we would think about that as a really negative thing. You know, lawyers are terrible
00:15:58 --> 00:16:04 people. I know some that are great. But Jesus here is like the lawyer who stands next to us when we
00:16:04 --> 00:16:12 are condemned. He stands next to us, the guilty person in court. And Jesus pleads our case for us.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:19 And he guides us. Come this way. Come into the light. Walk on this path following God.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:26 You're lost in the dark. You are not a good person. You cannot go that way. That way will lead to death
00:16:26 --> 00:16:33 and destruction. But I am with you to make you good, to help you so you can walk in this path.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:45 Brothers and sisters, are we choosing to embrace the light following God? Or are we choosing to embrace the dark?
00:16:46 --> 00:16:52 What secret sins are you hiding that draw you into the dark that you need to confess?
00:16:52 --> 00:17:01 We have Jesus the advocate with the Father. And I think this is a really wonderful thing that we have a Christian faith
00:17:01 --> 00:17:08 where we don't need to have guilt. We don't need to be laid down by the burden of our sin.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:14 We actually have an advocate who will guide us into the light. An advocate who will say,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:20 I know you have sinned, but I love you and you can find forgiveness in God.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:30 As we start off 2021, it is a good place to start by bringing our hidden sins into the light.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:37 Bring them to Jesus, first of all, our advocate, who stands by our side as we confess.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:43 But also, bring your sins to a friend. Bring your sins to a Christian brother or sister,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 someone in a community group, someone that you're sitting with.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:51 Bring your sins to a Christian brother or sister, you know,
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 mate, I've been really struggling with this sin.
00:17:54 --> 00:18:00 God has convicted me about it. This is keeping me in the dark, not from following God.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 And he wants me to change. I know I've been forgiven.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 Keep me accountable to this sin.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:12 Start your year off following and obeying God, not in the dark.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:18 God is light and he calls us to walk in the light with him.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 It's our second point today that God is light.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 Thirdly, that this God is the God to walk with.
00:18:26 --> 00:18:32 John now illustrates what walking with God in the light looks like and how our God is the God.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 Chapter 2, verse 3, have a look with me.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:41 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 We can actually check where we are on this path.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 You know, there's that golden path before us.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:52 We can check how we're going by whether we are keeping his commands.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 Are we obeying him?
00:18:55 --> 00:18:59 That's what that golden path illuminated in the forest looks like.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 Walking, following God.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:04 That's what walking in the light looks like, obeying him.
00:19:05 --> 00:19:11 Verse 5, if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 This is how we know we are in him.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
00:19:19 --> 00:19:23 Now, we could get a big list of all the commands in the Bible.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 We could go through the 10 commandments in the Old Testament.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 We could look at all the commands in the New Testament.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:32 But that really is the journey of a Christian.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 Reading God's word.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 Comparing our life to Jesus'.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:41 And seeing where we are at that point.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:49 And the reality is, for all of us, we walk not in a straight line, but at zigzag.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 It really is zigzag.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 As we change, our sin changes too.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:59 I have different sins now as a father than I did before when I was not a father.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:05 I have different issues with patience than I did before I was a father.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:13 And so as life changes, God is convicting me of different sins that I need to be aware of so I can be walking in the light.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:16 So we don't need to necessarily go through all these commands.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 I want you to do that.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 Read your Bible.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:26 Ask God, God, how do I need to be following you and obeying you in this moment?
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 Where am I letting you down?
00:20:29 --> 00:20:31 How do I need to be made more like Jesus today?
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 And the journey of a Christian is in the Bible.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 It is asking God.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:40 It is walking with brothers and sisters.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 It is doing it as a church.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:48 Asking that question, am I on the path when it comes to whatever it is?
00:20:48 --> 00:20:52 Patience, loving you more than anything else, my own pride.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:57 God, how am I embracing the darkness of lying or lust and theft?
00:20:58 --> 00:21:04 And here for us, John illustrates one aspect of walking in the light and the dark.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:07 It's all to do with our love and hate.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 Chapter 2, verse 9.
00:21:09 --> 00:21:17 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:24 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:30 John asked this church to test how their love of the church is going.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:36 One test to see how you're going, walking in the dark or whether you're in the light,
00:21:37 --> 00:21:42 is to check your love for those who should be the easiest to love.
00:21:43 --> 00:21:50 The family that was created by Jesus' blood should be the easiest to love.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:58 If you don't love other Christians, people that God himself loves, are we really walking in the light?
00:21:58 --> 00:22:04 God has united us in Jesus' blood.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:07 And so when we see other people in this church, it shouldn't just be,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:10 oh, there's that person I know, there's that person I don't know.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 We are brothers and sisters.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 And the check here from John is,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:27 We live in an individualistic intellectual society.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 We can check our Christianity by thinking,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:34 well, I'm a good Christian because I know a lot.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:37 I'm a good Christian because I'm really skilled.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 I serve in many ways.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:43 And there is a danger for all of us to forget to love.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:46 And instead, we focus on our own knowledge.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 We focus on our own self-centeredness.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 If we claim to be following Jesus,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 who have you loved recently?
00:22:56 --> 00:22:58 Not necessarily been nice to.
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 Being nice is easy and fine.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 But who have you spent time with?
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 Who have you sacrificed for?
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 Who have you shared with?
00:23:07 --> 00:23:13 When we do that, we will be a community united by Jesus,
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 walking in light.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 We will be attractive to our neighbors.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:23 We will be building each other up in love.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:27 As we say goodbye to 2020 and journey to 2021,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:32 there has been much reflection about how bad 2020 was
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 or how good it was for certain people.
00:23:35 --> 00:23:39 But I've seen people also hoping for a much better 2021.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 And I can understand that.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 2020 wasn't great for many people.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 But the hope for 2021, I've seen,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 has been focusing on personal freedoms.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:52 You know, I'll get that holiday that was denied to me
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 by border closures.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 You know, when we get rid of that plague,
00:23:56 --> 00:23:59 I won't be full of fear and anxiety
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02 and the anxiety of constant restrictions coming on
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 and lockdowns.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:06 2021 is going to be the greatest year.
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08 And I feel the pull of that too.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 For me, I'm a cup is half full person.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 I love looking to the future
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 and being excited about tomorrow.
00:24:17 --> 00:24:20 But God has a much better 2021 for us
00:24:20 --> 00:24:24 than just those things.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 If we would walk with God in 2021,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 God has a better future for us.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:32 Because it's not just about personal freedoms,
00:24:32 --> 00:24:35 but the freedom that comes from walking in the light
00:24:35 --> 00:24:37 with the one who made light itself.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:41 At 2021, that's not just about getting rid of fear
00:24:41 --> 00:24:44 and anxiety of lockdowns or catching COVID,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 but trusting in Jesus
00:24:46 --> 00:24:50 because he has defeated death and disease.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:55 I want a 2021 where I walk in the light closer with Jesus
00:24:55 --> 00:24:59 and walk out of the darkness controlled by my sinful desires.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:03 American pastor John Piper uses an illustration
00:25:03 --> 00:25:08 of a man sitting in a dark room all alone.
00:25:08 --> 00:25:12 He feels around with his hands.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 And with one hand,
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 he can feel something that is warm
00:25:16 --> 00:25:19 and soft and fluffy.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 And with the other hand,
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 he feels something that is cold
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 and hard and sharp.
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 And so in the dark,
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 he draws close to this warm,
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 soft,
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 fluffy thing,
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 snuggling in close.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:37 But when the light goes on,
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 he sees that the warm,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 soft,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 fluffy thing
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 is the underbelly
00:25:42 --> 00:25:45 of a horrid man-eating monster.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 And the cold,
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 hard,
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 sharp edge that he felt
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 is the sword
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52 of the majestic Jesus Christ.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56 The reason he was controlled
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 by his desire for that,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 for the man-eating monster in the dark,
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 was because he was in the dark.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 He couldn't see
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 what was around him.
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 Everyone who loves
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 the world more than God
00:26:09 --> 00:26:11 is in the dark.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 When we walk in darkness,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 we are controlled
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17 by the desires
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 for the soft,
00:26:18 --> 00:26:20 warm underbelly of sin,
00:26:20 --> 00:26:23 of filling our pride,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 of prestige
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 amongst our friends and family,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:30 for chasing two-second pleasures
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 that don't last.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:33 But that is not
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 following God
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 in the light.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 Following God means
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 seeing the world
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 as he sees it
00:26:39 --> 00:26:42 and having the same desires
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 as him.
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 If we are controlled
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 by desires for the world
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 instead of desires for God,
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 it doesn't matter
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 whether we say
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 we have fellowship with God,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 we don't have it.
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 Instead,
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 we are walking
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 in the dark.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 Brothers and sisters,
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 we risk having
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 a Christian faith
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 where we are happy
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 to stagger between
00:27:01 --> 00:27:03 walking with God
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 and walking in the dark.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 Let's not have
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 a half-hearted Christianity,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 a half-hearted Christian faith
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 in 2020.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 If you're in the dark
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 about this God,
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 if you don't know this God,
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 let me encourage you
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 to do two things.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 Grab a Bible
00:27:19 --> 00:27:22 and start reading
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 Mark's Gospel.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 It's a good place to start.
00:27:23 --> 00:27:25 And get to know this Jesus.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 And the second thing,
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 talk to somebody else.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 If you're watching
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 on the stream right now,
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 send us an email,
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 office at stpauls.org.au
00:27:34 --> 00:27:37 and ask some questions.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 Ask about who this God is.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:43 If you want a closer walk
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 with Jesus,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 there's a couple of things
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 I want to encourage you to do.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 First of all,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 let me encourage you
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 to be bringing your sins
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 out into the light.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:54 As I said before,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 find somebody else.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 Walk with somebody else
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 closely.
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 Jesus himself
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 walked with people.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 Bring your sins
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 out into the light.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 Confess them to God.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 Confess them to a brother
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 or sister
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 so they can hold you accountable.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 But also,
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 start a new habit
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 of walking with God today.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 Today's a good day.
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 It's not the first of January.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 That's okay.
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 It's still early in January
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 that we're thinking
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 about New Year's resolutions.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:23 My New Year's resolutions
00:28:23 --> 00:28:25 always revolve around
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 learning a certain language
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 that I've been trying to learn
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 for 45 years now
00:28:29 --> 00:28:31 and about health.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 They're my two main resolutions
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 and they always fail,
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 give or take.
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 Reading the Bible and prayer
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 doesn't need to be
00:28:43 --> 00:28:43 a New Year's resolution
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 that fails.
00:28:44 --> 00:28:48 Let me encourage you today
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 to plan to walk with God.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:54 Today is a good day to plan
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 because it's still early in January
00:28:56 --> 00:28:58 so we can make plans.
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 We're not at the end of January
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 where we just give up
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 on all our New Year's resolutions.
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 But plan
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 and start it tomorrow.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 Make your plan today
00:29:07 --> 00:29:09 and then start it
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 first thing tomorrow.
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 Remember that great old saying,
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 if you fail to plan,
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 you plan to fail.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 So today,
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 figure out what part of the Bible
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 are you going to read?
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 What time of the day
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 are you going to read it?
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 Are you going to pray
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 before or after?
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 What is prayer
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 going to look like?
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 Are you going to be reading
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 through,
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 say praying through
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 the Lord's Prayer?
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 Praying through
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 the template acts,
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 adoration,
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 confession,
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 thanksgiving,
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 supplication?
00:29:40 --> 00:29:43 Plan what it looks like
00:29:43 --> 00:29:45 for you to be walking
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 with God.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Do that today
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 so that we can have
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 a wholehearted Christian faith
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 following God in 2021.
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 Let me pray for us now.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 Heavenly Father,
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 I thank you
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 for all of your goodness
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 to us
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 that you have not
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 left us in the dark,
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 stumbling,
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 hurting ourselves,
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 hurting each other,
00:30:09 --> 00:30:11 and left for destruction.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 But Lord,
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 we thank you
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 that you have
00:30:14 --> 00:30:16 revealed yourself
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 to us in Jesus
00:30:17 --> 00:30:20 so that we can walk
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 in the light
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 following you.
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 Heavenly Father,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 help us to do that.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 Lord,
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 help us to
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 bring out our sins
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 before you
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 because, Lord,
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31 you know all of them.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 Help us
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 to walk with you
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 this year,
00:30:37 --> 00:30:39 walk closer to you,
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 loving you more
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 than we did last year
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 so that you would have
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 all the glory.
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 And we ask this
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 in your son's name.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:48 Amen.