HOW TO BE HAPPY THOUGH
SAVED
INTRO: This is how I learned to
spot a backslider in the congregation... During a Valentine banquet at
another church the pastor told me they were having problems with one
couple in the church. I told him I bet I could tell him which couple it
was. They were easy to spot.. .they were the only ones not smiling, not
enjoying the fellowship.
The
Christian life is meant to be one of radiant joy. Jesus in John 15, 16,
17; joy is a fruit of the Spirit; Psa. 51; Psa. 86:6.. .Twice the
disciples were criticized because they were happy.
The
greatest ad for Christianity is joy. The greatest hindrance is that many
people need to learn how to be a Christian and enjoy it.
This is
the purpose of John’s writing.
JOY:
Perfect tense: full, complete and continuous. Not silliness nor
“happiness”, but an artesian spring of joy which nothing on the
outside can affect or atrophy.
I. THIS JOY IS
SHARING A COMMON LIFE. vs. 3,4
The
WE
SHARE THE LIFE OF THE FATHER. There are two ideas in this word
“fellowship”--partaker and partner.
(1) Partaker of His
Life...II Peter 1:4. Illustration: the prodigal son and Father sharing
with him. Illustration: Rev. 3:20--”Sup with me...”
The good
news of the Gospel is not that we are to IMITATE His Life, but that His
life has been IMPARTED to us... IMPARTATION
NOT IMITATION.
(2) Partner in the Life...a word used of marriage, business partnership--sharing in the work and responsibility. Paul said the Philippians were “partners” with him in the Gospel.
Vs. 3
lays out our part...”We declare unto you...that which we’ve seen and
heard.” We are to share with others this life.
Illustration:
When Jill told an old friend she had become a Christian, the friend said,
“I’m a Christian, too.” But Jill told me, “I don’t believe she
is. How could she be and not share it with her friend?”.
2. WE SHARE IN
THE LIFE OF THE FAMILY. “Fellowship WITH US...”
II. THIS JOY IS
SUSTAINED BY A CONSISTENT LIFE.
“Walk”
is in the present tense, indicating habitual conduct, that which
characterizes the believer.., hence, a consistent life.
A walk is
a series of steps.. .one step doth not a walk make. You may take a step,
make a decision, but that must develop into a walk.
THE
FOLLOW-THROUGH
IT IS
A WALK IN THE LIGHT
1. We are to WALK
IN HOLINESS.., light signifies moral purity and perfection. THE CHARACTER
OF GOD DETERMINES OUR CONDUCT.
“As He
is in the light...” Where’s God? Exactly where He’s always been...
in the LIGHT. We need to live where God is.
2. We are to WALK
IN HONESTY... light signifies exposure, nothing hidden, clear and
transparent. “What you see is what you are.”
We must
live INSIDE OUT. It’s the HIDDEN THINGS that kill. I visited a man in
the hospital and said, “You’re looking good!” He replied, “My
looks aren’t what’s wrong with me!”
The
germs, the virus, the disease that lurks beneath the surface... that’s
the deadly, dangerous thing. ARE YOU BEING HONEST.... WITH GOD, WITH
OTHERS?
III. THIS
JOY IS SAFEGUARDED BY A CLEANSED LIFE. Vs. 8-10
1.
There must be a CONSCIOUSNESS OF SIN.
(1) Sin
as a Principle v. 8.
(2) Sin as a Practice v.10.
2. There must be a
CONFESSION OF SIN. V. 9
(1)
Continual -- “present
tense”
(2)
Complete --“sins”, PLURAL, ONE BY ONE.
CONFESS means to say the same thing, agree---agree with God that it is
sin. He’s been calling it a sin all the time. Some can’t
get deliverance from sin because
they’ve called it everything BUT SIN.
3. There must be a
CLEANSING FROM THE SIN. vs. 7, 8
Some want forgiveness but not cleansing.
Illustration of little boy who falls in the mud and wants mom to forgive
him but not bathe him.
The CLEANSING is from the pollution of the sin. Often we know God has
forgiven us but we still feel dirty, unfit. We need to understand that god
not only forgives, but He cleanses us from any stain we may have incurred
from the act.
Note: vs. 7 says, “if we walk in the LIGHT” then the blood of Jesus cleanses us... GOD DOESN’T FORGIVE SIN IN THE DARK!
©Ron Dunn, LifeStyle Ministries, 2003