How do we give thanks when we are not thankful?

This Thursday, as a culture, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the one holiday that has an almost universal understanding regardless of religious or cultural upbringing. While there are differing opinions and often heated debate regarding the meaning and purpose of holidays such as Christmas or Easter, Thanksgiving is the one holiday that leaves no debate. While people may disagree about what should be served at Thanksgiving dinner; while people may disagree about which football game to watch, or if football should even be watched, no one disagrees about the meaning and purpose of Thanksgiving.

By its very name, thanksgiving is the day in which we all pause to give thanks for the blessings that we have received. Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and response to the events of the past year. So, I would like for us to spend our time together addressing this idea of Thanksgiving. And to do that, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 Thessalonians.

However, before we jump into this section of this letter, I want to spend a minute talking about the writer of this letter and the original recipients of this letter. The book of 1 Thessalonians was written by a man that we know today as the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul was once a self-righteous religious person who persecuted Christianity until he had an encounter with Jesus Christ after He had been raised from the dead. After His life transforming encounter with Jesus, Paul proceeded to become the chief missionary to the non-Jewish nations of the world and wrote the majority of the letters that we have that form the New Testament of our Bibles.

Paul planted the church of Thessalonica during his second missionary journey, which occurred around 50 A.D. The city of Thessalonica was a port city of approximately 200,000 people that was located along a prominent Roman trade route in Macedonia, or modern-day Northern Greece, called the Egnatian way, which connected Rome to the Orient. As a result of its location, the city of Thessalonica was a commercial center in the Roman Empire. After planting the church, Paul wrote this letter that we know today as the book of 1 Thessalonians a short time later from the city of Corinth, which was located in southern Greece.

From its beginning, the church at Thessalonica and its members experienced trouble and distress as a result of persecution and exploitation by the Roman Empire. Followers of Jesus who lived in Thessalonica were harassed and hounded for their beliefs by both political leaders and other religious leaders. And as these early followers of Jesus struggled to follow Jesus in the midst of the persecution and exploitation that they were experiencing, the Apostle Paul sat down to write this letter that we have in the New Testament today to encourage them to persevere in the face of persecution.  

And as Paul finished his letter, we see Paul give a series of commands that seemed to be both unthinkable and unrealistic in light of the circumstances that the members of the church were facing. So let’s look at these commands together, beginning in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

Rejoice always; ¹⁷ pray without ceasing; ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Here we see Paul give a string of three commands: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. Now I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves as a follower of Jesus who lived in the city of Thessalonica. I want us to place ourselves in their shoes. 

Ever since you became a follower of Jesus and word spread that you were following Jesus, you have experienced trouble and distress. You have experienced trouble and distress as a result of persecution and exploitation by the Roman government. You are being harassed and hounded for your beliefs by both political leaders and other religious leaders. You have lost friends because of your beliefs; you may have lost your job because of your beliefs. You are searching for hope and encouragement.

Then you receive a letter from the Apostle Paul, who introduced you to Jesus and helped bring you into a relationship with Jesus. And as you near the end of the letter, Paul commands you to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. You’re a member of the church at Thessalonica. What would you be thinking? How would you be feeling? How would you respond to Paul’s commands?

Maybe you can relate to some of the struggles and questions that must have been running through the members of the church at Thessalonica’s mind. I mean, how do you give thanks when you are not thankful? How do you give thanks in all circumstances?

And that can especially be the case this time of the year. You see, for many the thanksgiving and Christmas seasons are painful and difficult times. They are difficult and painful because we can become caught up and overwhelmed by the hurts, habits, and hang ups that we experience as we live life here on earth.

After all, how are we supposed to give thanks in all circumstances when we have lost a job, or the job we have is something that we dread going to every day? How do we give thanks in all circumstances when our husband or wife leaves us? How do we give thanks in all circumstances when our family rejects us because of our faith in Jesus? How do we give thanks in all circumstances when we lose a loved one suddenly, unexpectedly?

How do we give thanks in all circumstances when we receive critical and hurtful comments that cut to the core of our being as we walk down the aisles of school or work? How do we give thanks in all circumstances when we are carrying the shame and the guilt of our past, or present selfishness, rebellion, and sin in our lives? How do we give thanks in all circumstances when circumstances out of our control throw our life into chaos? How do we give thanks in all circumstances when we feel abandoned and alone?

How do we give thanks in all circumstances when we feel like we are eating a pumpkin pie made out of salt instead of sugar? How do I give thanks in all circumstances? How do I give thanks when I are not thankful?

Now, oftentimes, a temptation that we face is to respond to difficulties, doubts, and struggles in our spiritual life by keeping them to ourselves, to not allow anyone else to be aware of our difficulties, doubts, and struggles. So we show up on Sunday morning and go through the motions of putting on a façade that gives the right answers, that give the right appearance, while behind the façade we are hurting, questioning, and crying out for connection and community. But why do we do this?

So often, at least for me, we do not want people to see that we are struggling because that would give the impression that we are “less spiritual” than others. So we put on the façade and hide behind the mask of “everything is fine” or “I’m just praising the Lord”. However, when we choose this method of dealing with the difficulties, doubts, and struggles in following Jesus, we choose to accept a counterfeit spirituality which robs us of the opportunity to engage in genuine and authentic community where people are cared about, prayed for, and where the transforming power of God can move through our lives as we live in community with others.

Other times, we find ourselves struggling to be thankful because we feel a gap in our lives. We can find ourselves wrestling with difficulties, doubts, and struggles in our spiritual life because there is a gap between our expectations and the reality of our circumstances. Maybe you can relate to the struggle of reconciling the gap that we can experience between our expectations and the reality of our circumstances?

For example, maybe you were sold on the expectation that once we choose Jesus and follow Him that our life will be smooth sailing. If you grew up in church, you may have heard this idea conveyed with a church mumbo jumbo talk statement like “Well you know, the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will”.

If you were sold on that kind of expectation, here is the thing: that expectation is not taught in the letters that make up the Bible. I mean, do you think that Jesus felt that the safest place to be was at the center of God’s will. Really?

I wonder if Jesus felt that way? I wonder if Paul, the disciples, or early followers of Jesus in Thessalonica felt that way? I wonder if Christians in the Syria, or in China feel that way? Do you feel that today, or are you right there wrestling with the gap between unfulfilled expectations and the reality of current circumstances? How do we live lives that are always joyful and that give thanks in all circumstances? How do we give thanks when we are not thankful?

Tomorrow, we will unpack Paul’s commands to discover the answer to that question….

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the pressures of idolatry...

This week we have been looking at the final section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. So far theis week, we have looked on as John revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in community in that true community and connection with God provides freedom. And in 1 John 5:18-21, we see John reveal three different areas where true community and connection with God provides freedom. First, in 1 John 5:18, we see John reveal for us the reality that true community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin.

Second, John revealed for us the reality that true community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan because Jesus entered humanity so we can comprehend and wrap our minds around the reality that we can be freed from those things in the world system around us that is hostile to God and that sets itself up in opposition to God and the kingdom of God.

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan because Jesus entered into humanity to reveal and explain God to humanity and to expose humanities need for forgiveness and relationship with Him by allowing Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Today, John reveals a third area where true community and connection with God provides freedom. We see that third area in 1 John 5:21:

 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

John concludes his letter by commanding the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history to guard themselves from idols. This idea of guarding literally means to protect oneself by taking careful measures. The idols that John is referring to here were fabricated and imaged deities. But that is not all that John had in mind here. When we read the message and teaching of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible, we discover that an idol is anything other than God that we elevate and worship as God.

John’s point here is that in light of all that he has shared in this letter about the components that make for true community and connection with God and the landmines that can keep us from experiencing that community and connection, we must be on guard against anything that competes with God for our worship and devotion. Since a person who is living in true community and connection with God has the freedom from the practice of sin and the power of Satan, John is warning followers of Jesus throughout history to not use that freedom to become enslaved to something other than the source of your freedom.

And it is here that we see John reveal for us the reality that true community and connection with God provides freedom from the pressures of idolatry. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the pressures of idolatry because when we experience true community and connection with God, we treasure Jesus as our ultimate treasure. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the pressures of idolatry because when we experience true community and connection with God, we will be on guard against anything that competes with God for our devotion.           

Now you might be thinking to yourself at this moment “Well Dave I don’t have an idol that competes with God for my worship and devotion. I don’t worship a fabricated or imaged deity?” If that thought is in your mind, here would be my response: Are you sure? Are you sure you don’t have an idol?

Do you live in your idol? Do you drive your idol? Do you look at your idol every morning in the mirror? Do you sleep next to your idol? Do you get a paycheck from your idol? Do you worship the idol of comfort or convenience? Do you worship the idol of position, possessions, or pleasure?

John is calling the readers of this letter throughout history to carefully protect themselves from elevating anything other than God to a place of worship. If you are not sure whether or not you have an idol, here is a suggestion: Take some time and look at how you spend your time, your treasure, your talents, and what you talk about. Because we spend our time, our talent, our treasure, and our talk on what we treasure and are devoted to.

So here is a question to consider: what is imprisoning you? What bars and chains are you surrounded and shackled by? And who placed them there?

You see, the only way that we can lose our freedom as followers of Jesus over the practice of sin and the power of Satan is when we choose to imprison ourselves. And, at the same time, the only way that we can experience true freedom is through a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and leader.

Because, as we have discovered, true community and connection with God provides freedom True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan. And true community and connection with God provides freedom from the pressures of idolatry...

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan...

This week we are looking at the final section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. Yesterday, we looked on as John revealed a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in community in that true community and connection with God provides freedom. Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history; true community and connection with God provides freedom.

And in 1 John 5:18-21, we see John reveal three different areas where true community and connection with God provides freedom. First, in 1 John 5:18, we see John reveal for us the reality that true community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin because God’s transforming work in our lives that results in a person becoming a child of God who is a part of the family of God also results in that person having a new heart and new desires by the power of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus Christ that is revealed and demonstrated by our lifestyle, or practice of life.

And because of that reality, a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God does not live a lifestyle that is characterized by selfishness and rebellion against God and others. Instead, an act of selfishly doing things that we should not do, or not doing things that we should do, that hurts God and those around us, is out of character for the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God. 

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin because the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God is kept in that state of relationship and connection by God’s power. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin because God protects the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God from the evil one causing harm or injuring the nature of that relationship and connection.

Today, as John continues this final section of his letter, we see John reveal a second area where true community and connection with God provides freedom. So let’s discover that second area together, beginning in verse 19-20:

 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ²⁰  And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Here we see John reveal the reality that on earth, at any one time, there are really only two groups of people. The first group of people that John reveals for us that are present on this earth are those who are of God. With this phrase, John is referring to those who have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God that comes through believing, trusting, and following Jesus Christ as Lord and leader in response to God’s transformational activity in their lives.

The second group of people are those that John refers to as the whole world who lies in the power of the evil one. As we have seen throughout this series, when John uses the phrase “the world”, he is referring to everything in the world system around us that is hostile to God and that sets itself up in opposition to God and the kingdom of God. This world system competes with God for our total devotion and we cannot love both. And as John reminds the readers of his letter throughout history, the ultimate leader of the world system that sets itself up in opposition to God and His kingdom is Satan, or the devil.

John’s point here is that those who do not have a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God because they have rejected the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel will instead aligned themselves with the world system opposes God and that is controlled and influenced by the devil. John’s point is that there are only two types of people in the world; those who have been born physically and have rejected the claims of Christ, instead choosing to align themselves with the false worldviews that set themselves up in opposition to God and His kingdom, and those who have been born physically and have received the spiritual birth as a result of God’s transforming work in our lives that gives us a new heart and new desires by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe, trust, and follow Jesus.

Then, in verse 20, John continued by explaining that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, entered into humanity with a goal and a mission to give us understanding. This word understanding literally refers to the ability to comprehend something. John’s point here is that Jesus entered into humanity to give the ability to comprehend and wrap our minds around three huge ideas.

First, Jesus has given us the ability to comprehend and wrap our minds around the reality that we may know Him who is true. In other words, Jesus entered humanity so we can comprehend and wrap our minds around the reality that we can have a genuine and authentic relationship with the one true and real God.

Second, Jesus has given us the ability to comprehend and wrap our minds around the reality that we are in Him who is true. John’s point here is that Jesus entered humanity so we can comprehend and wrap our minds around the reality that we can have the assurance that we are actually living in relationship and connection with the one true and real God, through believing, trusting, and following Jesus Christ as our Lord and our Leader.

Third, John states that this is the true God and eternal life. John’s point is that Jesus Christ is the real and true Son of God who entered into humanity to reveal and explain God to humanity and to expose humanities need for forgiveness and relationship with Him by allowing Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. And it is through believing, trusting, and following Jesus that humanity has the opportunity receive the freedom from power of selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God. It is through Jesus Christ that we receive the freedom from the power of those things that place themselves in opposition to God and His kingdom.

And it is here that we see John reveal for us the reality that true community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan because Jesus entered humanity so we can comprehend and wrap our minds around the reality that we can be freed from those things in the world system around us that is hostile to God and that sets itself up in opposition to God and the kingdom of God.

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the power of Satan because Jesus entered into humanity to reveal and explain God to humanity and to expose humanities need for forgiveness and relationship with Him by allowing Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.

Friday, we will see John reveal a third area where true community and connection with God provides freedom...

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin...

At the church where I serve, we just came to the conclusion of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we looked at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. During this series, we are discovering the components that make for true connection and community, along with the landmines and roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer has been that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience.

This week I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the final section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the final section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 5:18:

We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

John begins this final section of his letter by making a seemingly impossible statement: “We know that no one who is born of God sins.” But what does that even mean? Is John saying that true Christians never sin? Because if John is saying that true Christians never sin, then is anyone truly a Christian? After all, we all know that, even after becoming followers of Jesus, are guilty of selfishly doing things that we should not do, or not doing things that we should do, that hurt God and others, which the Bible calls sin. So what is John’s point here?

To understand what John is communicating here, we first need to understand what John means when he uses the phrase born of God. As we discovered earlier in this series, when John uses the phrase “born of God”, this phrase is passive; it is something that God does to us. When we respond to Jesus making Himself known to us by placing our confident trust in Him and recognizing and acknowledging who He is by accepting Him as being large and in charge of our lives, we become a part of the family of God.

Becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God is solely the result of God’s transformational activity in our lives. It is only through God’s transformational activity in our lives that flows from His desire to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him that results in us becoming a child of God as a part of the family of God.

John’s point here is that it is God’s transforming work in our lives that results in a person becoming a child of God who is a part of the family of God also results in that person having a new heart and new desires by the power of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus Christ that is revealed and demonstrated by our lifestyle, or practice of life. John is not saying that the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God will never sin; John is saying that the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God will not live a lifestyle that consistently practices sin.

The person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God does not live a lifestyle that is characterized by selfishness and rebellion against God and others. Instead, an act of selfishly doing things that we should not do, or not doing things that we should do, that hurts God and others, is out of character for the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God. 

In addition, John states that for the person who is born of God, God keeps Him. In other words, the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God is kept in that state of relationship and connection by God’s power. And because the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God is kept in that state of relationship and connection by God’s power, John states that the evil one does not touch him.

As we discovered earlier in this series, when John refers to the evil one, he is referring to the Devil. In addition, when John uses the word touch here, this word literally means to make contact so as to harm or injure. John’s point is that God protects the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God from the evil one causing harm or injuring the nature of that relationship and connection.

The person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God will remain for all eternity in that relationship and connection because of God’s transforming power in their lives that has brought them into that relationship. We see Jesus Himself reveal this reality in a prayer that John recorded for us as part of an account of Jesus life that bears his name. So let’s look at that prayer together, beginning in John 17:12-15:

"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. ¹³ "But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. ¹⁴ "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.

And it is here, in this final section of this letter, that we discover us a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in community. And that timeless truth is this: True community and connection with God provides freedom. Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history; True community and connection with God provides freedom. And in 1 John 5:18-21, we see John reveal three different areas where true community and connection with God provides freedom.

First, in 1 John 5:18, we see John reveal for us the reality that true community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin because God’s transforming work in our lives that results in a person becoming a child of God who is a part of the family of God also results in that person having a new heart and new desires by the power of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus Christ that is revealed and demonstrated by our lifestyle, or practice of life.

And because of that reality, a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God does not live a lifestyle that is characterized by selfishness and rebellion against God and others. Instead, an act of selfishly doing things that we should not do, or not doing things that we should do, that hurts God and those around us, is out of character for the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God. 

True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin because the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God is kept in that state of relationship and connection by God’s power. True community and connection with God provides freedom from the practice of sin because God protects the person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with God from the evil one causing harm or injuring the nature of that relationship and connection.

As John continues this final section of his letter, we see John reveal a second area where true community and connection with God provides freedom. We will discover that second area tomorrow…

We experience true community and connection with God when we trust His true testimony about His Son Jesus...

This week we have been looking at a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. So far this week we have looked on as John revealed the reality that it was the message of Jesus and the baptizing of those who identified with His message as being the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah;  it was Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, to be raised from the dead never to die again; and it was the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who is true and proclaims the truth about the truth of the message and mission of Jesus, that provided the evidence of the truth the message and mission of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to enter into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provided true community and connection between God and humanity.

And as John pointed out, the testimony of these three were in agreement. In other words, there was no space, there was no gap in the testimony. The testimony of Jesus message and mission that resulted in the baptism of those who identified with Jesus, the testimony of Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, and the testimony of the Spirit of God consistently pointed to the truth of the testimony of God.

We looked on as John made what is referred to as a lesser to greater argument to basically say to the readers of this letter that “if you believe and accept as true the testimony of men, then you should believe and accept as true the testimony of God because God’s testimony is always greater. And we are giving you the testimony of God because we were eyewitnesses of Jesus message and how people responded to His message. We are giving you the testimony of God because we were eyewitnesses of His death on a cross, in our place, for our rebellion, and His resurrection.”

John explained that for the person who responded to the testimony of God by trusting the message as being true, has the testimony in himself. In other words, the true testimony of God had seeped into the core of their being in a way that had resulted in a life that was becoming increasingly more like Jesus in both character and conduct.  However, the person who responded to the testimony of God by refusing and rejecting the message as being true make God a liar.

After all, to refuse and reject the testimony of another as being truthful and trustworthy is to call someone a liar. And because John and other leaders of God’s new movement in history called the church were providing the testimony of God that they had received from God and had been eyewitnesses of in the life of Jesus, to reject their testimony as being false was to reject the testimony of God that they had been given to proclaim. John then concluded this section of his letter by providing the testimony of God that they had been given to proclaim. Let’s look at that testimony together, beginning in 1 John 5:11-13:

 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Now John’s statement here, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: the message of God that we have been given to proclaim to you as being trustworthy and true is this: “The One True God has given us the opportunity to experience transcendent life in relationship with Him for all eternity, and that transcendent life is found through His one and only Son Jesus, who is God in a bod. The person who stands in close relationship and connection with Jesus has transcendent life in relationship with God for all eternity. However, the person who does not stand in close relationship and connection with Jesus does not have transcendent life in relationship with God for all eternity.”

 John then revealed what it means to stand in close relationship and connection with Jesus in a way that results in transcendent life in relationship with God for all eternity in verse 13. John explained that the motive behind his letter was clear: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” In other words, to stand in close relationship and connection with Jesus requires that we entrust with complete confidence the testimony that God has given through His Son Jesus and early followers of Jesus who were leaders in God’s new movement in history that we call the church. 

To experience transcendent life in relationship with God for all eternity requires that we place our confident trust in Jesus as God in a bod, who entered into humanity to live that life we refused to live and die the death we deserve to die and who was raised from the dead never to die again to usher in a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provides humanity the opportunity to experience to community and connection with God and one another that we were created for. And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in true community. And that timeless truth is this: We experience true community and connection with God when we trust His true testimony about His Son Jesus.  Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, we experience true community and connection with God when we trust His true testimony about His Son Jesus.

The timeless reality is that it is the message of Jesus and the baptizing of those who identified with His message as being the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah;  it was Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, to be raised from the dead never to die again; and it is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who is true and proclaims the truth about the truth of the message and mission of Jesus, that provides the evidence of the truth that Jesus provided humanity the opportunity to enter into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provides true community and connection between God and humanity. To experience true community and connection with God requires that we entrust with complete confidence the testimony that God has given through His Son Jesus and early followers of Jesus who were leaders in God’s new movement in history that we call the church.

And that testimony from God, through Jesus, who was God in a bod, and through other followers of Jesus who were leaders in God’s new movement in history called the church requires that we place our confident trust in Jesus as God in a bod, who entered into humanity to live that life we refused to live and die the death we deserve to die and who was raised from the dead never to die again to usher in a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provides humanity the opportunity to experience to community and connection with God and one another that we were created for.

For the person who trusts the testimony of God as being true, the true testimony of God will seep into the core of their being in a way that results in a life that becomes more like Jesus in both character and conduct.  However, for the person who refuses and rejects the testimony of God as being true, they make God a liar and will never experience true community and connection with God.

So here is a question to consider: How have you responded to the testimony of God that God has given through His Son Jesus and early followers of Jesus who were leaders in God’s new movement in history that we call the church? Have you responded to the testimony of God by trusting the message as being true? Or have you responded to the testimony of God by refusing and rejecting the message?

Because, as we discovered this week, we experience true community and connection with God when we trust His true testimony about His Son Jesus...

Two possible responses to testimony...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of 1 John. Yesterday, we looked on as John explained that, unlike the false teachers who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus, there were three witnesses that confirmed and affirmed the message and mission of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to enter into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provided true community and connection between God and humanity. 

John pointed out that it was the message of Jesus and the baptizing of those who identified with His message as being the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah;  it was Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, to be raised from the dead never to die again; and it was the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who is true and proclaims the truth about the truth of the message and mission of Jesus, that provided the evidence of the truth the message and mission of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to enter into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provided true community and connection between God and humanity.

And as John pointed out, the testimony of these three were in agreement. In other words, there was no space, there was no gap in the testimony. The testimony of Jesus message and mission that resulted in the baptism of those who identified with Jesus, the testimony of Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, and the testimony of the Spirit of God consistently pointed to the truth of the testimony of God.

Today, as John continued to write this letter to early followers of Jesus at the church at Ephesus, we see John continue to contrast the message of the false teachers who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus, with the message that he and other leaders in God’s new movement in history that we know today as the church were proclaiming in 1 John 5:9-10. Let’s look at it together:

 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. ¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.

Here we see John make what is referred to as a lesser to greater argument. In a lesser to greater argument, the person making the argument sets up two possibilities, one of which is less probable than the other. The point of the argument is that whatever can be affirmed about the less probable possibility can be affirmed with even greater force about the more probable possibility.

John makes this argument in verse 9 to basically say to the readers of this letter “if you believe and accept as true the testimony of men, then you should believe and accept as true the testimony of God because God’s testimony is always greater. And we are giving you the testimony of God because we were eyewitnesses of Jesus message and how people responded to His message. We are giving you the testimony of God because we were eyewitnesses of His death on a cross, in our place, for our rebellion, and His resurrection.”

John then unpacked and contrasted the implications that occur as a result of how one chose to respond to testimony of God that he and other leaders of God’s new movement in history called the church were proclaiming. John explained that for the person who responded to the testimony of God by trusting the message as being true, has the testimony in himself. In other words, the true testimony of God had seeped into the core of their being in a way that had resulted in a life that was becoming increasingly more like Jesus in both character and conduct. 

However, John explained that the person who responded to the testimony of God by refusing and rejecting the message as being true made God a liar. Think of it this way: if a person refuses and rejects the testimony of another as being truthful and trustworthy, what are they saying about the person who is testifying?

To refuse and reject the testimony of someone is to say that they are not being truthful or accurate in what they are saying, right?  To refuse and reject the testimony of another as being truthful and trustworthy is to call someone a liar. And because John and other leaders of God’s new movement in history called the church were providing the testimony of God that they had received from God and had been eyewitnesses of in the life of Jesus, to reject their testimony as being false was to reject the testimony of God that they had been given to proclaim.

Friday, we will see John conclude this section of his letter by providing the testimony of God that they had been given to proclaim…

3 witnesses that affirm and confirm the truth of the message and mission of Jesus...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. During this series, we are discovering the components that make for true connection and community, along with the landmines that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. 

This week I would like for us to look at the next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 5:6-8:

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.

To which we say “What?” I mean what is John talking about here? To come to the place where we can wrap our minds around what John is communicating in these verses, we first need to understand the context in which these verses occur, along with some terms and phrases. First, let’s take a minute to understand the context.

Last week, in 1 John 5:1-5, John revealed the reality that true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God. John proclaimed that true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because true community and connection with God will demonstrate the depth of their connection with the invisible God by how they treat the visible around them. John revealed the reality that loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related. And just as our love for Jesus should produce love for other followers of Jesus, our love for Jesus should produce obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus, including loving other followers of Jesus.

John proclaimed that true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because Jesus entered into humanity to provide an opportunity for humanity to enter into a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humanity. A new covenant that was driven by the love of God to follow two commands that encapsulated God’s commands to humanity: Love God supremely and love one’s neighbor as themselves. A new covenant that was designed to overcome those things in the world that were hostile to God and placed themselves in opposition to God.

John proclaimed that true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because it is our confident trust in what God has done for humanity through Jesus that produces a life of devotion and trust in Jesus that provides victory over those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God. And it is in the context of proclaiming the victory that Jesus provides over those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God that John begins this section of his letter by pointing its readers once again to Jesus, as the One who came by water and blood.

Now this leads us to the first phrase that we need to define and understand, which is the phrase “Came by water and blood”. With his phrase, John is pointing to what Jesus did during His earthly life to provide humanity the opportunity to enter into this new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity. You see, Jesus proclaimed the message about the kingdom of God and how one could enter into that kingdom as a result of this new covenant between God and humanity.

And as Jesus proclaimed the message about the kingdom of God and this new covenant between God and humanity by which one could experience true community and connection with God, people responded by being baptized so as to publicly proclaim that they identified with His message. John is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that Jesus entered into humanity and was baptizing people who identified with Him as being the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah who would usher in this new covenant between God and humanity that would result in true community and connection with God.

By contrast, when John refers to Jesus coming by blood, he is pointing the readers of his letter to Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our selfishness and rebellion. As John pointed out earlier in this series, Jesus laid down His life in our place for our rebellion to satisfy God’s right and just response to our selfishness and rebellion and to remove the guilt that comes as a result of our selfishness and rebellion.

John is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our selfishness and rebellion provides the opportunity for all humanity to be forgiven of their selfishness and rebellion and experience the community and connection with God that they were created for as a result of entering into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity. Thus, John is pointing to the things that Jesus did in His life here on earth, both in His message of a new covenant or agreement, between God and humanity, and His death and resurrection that provided the opportunity for humanity to enter into that new covenant or agreement, between God and humanity.

John then reminded the readers of his letter that “It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”  When John refers to the Spirit, he is referring to the Holy Spirit. As we discovered earlier in this series, when John uses the word testifies, this word literally means to confirm or attest something as being true. In 1 John 2:26-27, John revealed the reality that it is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who has a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that will confirm and affirm the teaching of true teachers of the message and teaching of the letters that make up the Bible.

John is calling the members of the church at Ephesus to remember that they have the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who is true and proclaims the truth about the truth of the message and mission of Jesus that was revealed through those who were baptized in response to His message and through Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our selfishness and rebellion. John then hammered his point home in verse 7 and 8 by proclaiming that “there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” Now that leads us to the third phrase that we need to understand, which is the phrase “there are three that testify”.

With this phrase, John is pointing the readers of his letter back God’s message to the Jewish people that is recorded for us in a section of a letter in the Old Testament of the Bible called to book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 19:15, we see God say the following to the Jewish people:

A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.

John’s point is that unlike the false teachers who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus, there were three witnesses that confirmed and affirmed the message and mission of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to enter into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provided true community and connection between God and humanity.  John’s point is that was the message of Jesus and the baptizing of those who identified with His message as being the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah;  it was Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, to be raised from the dead never to die again; and it was the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, who is true and proclaims the truth about the truth of the message and mission of Jesus, that provided the evidence of the truth the message and mission of Jesus to provide humanity the opportunity to enter into a new covenant, or agreement between God and humanity that provided true community and connection between God and humanity.

And as John pointed out, the testimony of these three were in agreement. In other words, there was no space, there was no gap in the testimony. The testimony of Jesus message and mission that resulted in the baptism of those who identified with Jesus, the testimony of Jesus death on the cross, in our place, for our rebellion, and the testimony of the Spirit of God consistently pointed to the truth of the testimony of God. And as John continued to write this letter to early followers of Jesus at the church at Ephesus, we see John continue to contrast the message of the false teachers who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus, with the message that he and other leaders in God’s new movement in history that we know today as the church were proclaiming.

We will look at that comparison tomorrow...

True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John.

During this series, we are going to discover the components that make for true connection and community. During this series, we are going to discover the landmines and roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. 

Today I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John, we will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John 5:1:

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.

Now to fully understand the significance of what John is going to communicate to us in these verses, we first need to understand the context in which these verses occur. Last week, in 1 John 4:15-21, we saw John make a statement designed to demonstrate how one may experience the relationship and connection in the relationship with God that they were created for. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” John’s point is that that the person who professes allegiance to the fact that Jesus is God in a bod who entered into humanity to reveal Himself to humanity remains in close community and connection with God and God remains in close community and connection with them.

We talked about the reality that John revealed for us the timeless truth that true community and connection with Jesus is revealed by our response to God’s love. We discovered that true community and connection with Jesus responds to God’s love by remaining connected with God in love. We discovered that true community and connection with Jesus responds to God’s love by rejecting the fear of final judgment. And we discovered that true community and connection with Jesus responds to God’s love by loving God and others.

Now, with that background context in mind, John begins this section of his letter by making two powerful statements surrounding how one experiences the community and connection with God that we were created for. First John states that “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” When John uses the word believe here, this word literally means to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of trust. The something that is considered true and therefore worthy of trust is that Jesus is the Christ. John here is referring to a person who considers as true and worthy of trust the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah that would provide humanity the opportunity to turn from their selfishness and rebellion and turn back to the relationship with God that they were created for. 

John then explained that for the person who considered as true and trusts that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise of a rescuer to bring them back to God, the result is that they are born of God.  As we discovered earlier in this series, when John uses the phrase born of God, here is revealing for us the reality that when we respond to Jesus making Himself known to us by placing our confident trust in Him and recognizing and acknowledging who He is by accepting Him as being large and in charge of our lives, we become a part of the family of God. As we talked about earlier in this series, becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God is solely the result of God’s transformational activity in our lives. It is only through God’s transformational activity in our lives that flows from His desire to bring us into an eternal relationship with Him that results in us becoming a child of God as a part of the family of God.

Second, John states that “whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” When John uses the word love, this word refers to a warm regard and interest in others that is marked by a selflessness in their relationship with others. So when John states that whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him, he is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history of the reality that we demonstrate our love for God by how we love and treat others. As John pointed out last week, every human being is created in the image of God and bears the very thumbprint of God on their lives. And because of that reality, we reveal and reflect our love for God by how we love those around us. If we demonstrate hostility, animosity, or indifference to those around us who bear the image of God, we demonstrate that we have hostility, animosity, or indifference to God. The person who does not love his brother, who was created in the image of God and who he has seen, cannot possibly love God whom he has never seen.

\John’s point is that followers of Jesus demonstrate the depth of their connection with the invisible God by how they treat the visible around them. John’s point in these two statements is that the person who considers it true and worthy of trust that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer and Messiah will demonstrate the reality that they are now a child of God who is a part of the family of God by how they treat their others who are also a part of the family of God. John’s point is that the result of a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God is that God’s transforming love will produce love for those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God. We see John continue to unpack this reality in what he says next in verse 2-3:

 ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. ³ For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

In these verses, we see John provide a spiritual MRI to help the readers of his letter throughout history diagnose and evaluate where they are at when it comes to being a part of the family of God as a result of having a true community and connection with Jesus. John begins to provide this spiritual MRI by stating that a person can arrive at the knowledge that they truly loves those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God when they love God. Because, as John has repeatedly reminded us over the past several weeks, we show and demonstrate our love for God by how we love others.

Here, however, John reveals that the reverse is also true: we show our love for other followers of Jesus who are a part of the family of God by how we love God. John is reminding the readers of his letter that loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related.

John then continues to provide this spiritual MRI by stating that a person truly loves those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God when they observe His commandments. What is so interesting is that this word observe literally means to carry out an obligation of a moral or social nature. And that obligation involves the commands and demands of God that are contained in the message and teaching of Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible.

John then provides the evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of this spiritual MRI in verse 3 by explaining “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” With this statement, John is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history of the timeless connection between love and obedience. John is revealing the reality that what should drive a follower of Jesus to live in obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus is their love for Jesus. 

John is revealing the reality that obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus should be driven by delight in Jesus, not by duty for Jesus. Just as one’s love for Jesus should produce love for other followers of Jesus, one’s love for Jesus should produce obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus. Because, as John points out “His commandments are not burdensome”. When John uses the word burdensome here, this word literally means to be a source of difficulty and trouble because of the demands made.

John is referring the readers of his letter back to Jesus own words that are recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. So let’s look at Jesus words together beginning in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

You see, John wanted to reinforce the reality that Jesus entered into humanity to provide an opportunity for humanity to enter into a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humanity. A new covenant that was not driven by religious duty in keeping a burdensome set of over 613 religious rules that were difficult, if not impossible for humanity to follow as a result of their selfishness and rebellion. A new covenant that was driven by the love of God to follow two commands that encapsulated God’s commands to humanity: Love God supremely and love one’s neighbor as themselves.

A new covenant that was driven by a love of Jesus to love others who were a part of the family of God the same way that Jesus loved His closest followers. A new covenant that was designed to overcome those things in the world that were hostile to God and placed themselves in opposition to God. We see John reveal this reality in verse 4-5:

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith. ⁵ Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

As we have talked about in the past, when John refers to the world here, he is referring to those things in the world system that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God and the kingdom of God. John here is reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that as a result becoming a part of the family of God as a child of God by trusting in what God has done through Jesus, followers of Jesus overcome those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God. It is one’s confident trust in what God has done for humanity through Jesus that results in a life of devotion and trust in Jesus that provides victory over those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God.

John then asked a rhetorical question to hammer his point home in verse 5: “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Now the reason why this question is rhetorical is due to the fact that, in light of all that John has said up to this point in his letter, the answer to this question should be so obvious that it does not require an answer.

John asked this rhetorical question to reinforce the reality that the person who places their confident trust and professes allegiance to the fact that Jesus is God in a bod who entered into humanity to reveal and explain God to humanity and to provide humanity the opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God so that they could experience the relationship and connection with God that they were created for also overcomes that which opposes God and the kingdom of God.

And it is here, in this section of this letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in community. And that timeless truth is this: True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God.  Just as it was for followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus throughout history, true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God.

The timeless reality is that true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because a genuine and authentic relationship with Jesus will demonstrate the depth of their connection with the invisible God by how they treat the visible around them. A person who is experiencing true community and connection with Jesus will demonstrate the reality that they are now a child of God who is a part of the family of God by how they treat their others who are also a part of the family of God. The result of a genuine and authentic community and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God is that God’s transforming love will produce love for those around them who are also children of God who are a part of the family of God.

True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related. True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because what should drive a follower of Jesus to live in obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus is their love for Jesus.  Obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus should be driven by delight in Jesus, not duty for Jesus. And just as our love for Jesus should produce love for other followers of Jesus, our love for Jesus should produce obedience to the commands and demands of Jesus, including loving other followers of Jesus.

True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because Jesus entered into humanity to provide an opportunity to enter into a new covenant, a new agreement between God and humanity. A new covenant that was driven by the love of God to follow two commands that encapsulated God’s commands to humanity: Love God supremely and love one’s neighbor as themselves. A new covenant that was driven by a love of Jesus to love others who were a part of the family of God the same way that Jesus loved His closest followers.

You see, living in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus is really quite simple: Love God supremely and love others as Jesus loved. There are only two commands to follow, that when followed, result in us obeying every one of God’s commands and demands. A new covenant that was designed to overcome those things in the world that were hostile to God and placed themselves in opposition to God. And true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because it is our confident trust in what God has done for humanity through Jesus that results in a life of devotion and trust in Jesus that provides victory over those things in the world that are hostile to God and place themselves in opposition to God.

So here is a question to consider: What does the way you treat others followers of Jesus say about your relationship and connection with Jesus? Does the way you treat other followers of Jesus who are a part of the family of Gods reflect a genuine and authentic community and connection with Jesus as part of the family of God? Do you show your love for God by how you love other followers of Jesus? Or do you reveal the reality of your lack of community and connection with Jesus by your lack of love for other followers of Jesus?

Because, true community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God. True community and connection with God results in love for those who are a part of the family of God because loving God and loving others who are a part of the family of God are inseparably related…