Auburn SDA Church
The Word of Life
  • Come Thou Almighty King
  • God Will Take Care of You
  • Amazing Grace
  • As Water to the Thirsty

      • 1 John 1.4NKJV

  • This is a new sermon series.
    This will be different.
    Topical
    Prayer
    God’s Word
    Financial Stewardship
    Topical - Deeply Theological Concepts
    Covenants and Feasts
    Great Controversy
    Textual
    Minor Prophets
    Parables
    Narrative Preaching
    Book of Acts
    Gospels
    Prophetic Preaching
    Personal Witness
    Christian Standards
    Evangelism
    Almost no...
    expository
    exegetical.
    Truthfully
    I don’t like it.
    It’s hard.
    It’s boring.
    I like sermons that are
    practical
    motivational
    personal
    end with a calling!
    In my experience
    sermon that are:
    too theoretical
    too theological
    too abstract
    hard to digest.
    Problem:
    Much abstract writing
    in the Bible.
    We must practice
    exposure to processing
    abstract thoughts.
    Without further ado
    I introduce you to
    new series on
    Book of 1 John.
    Key passage:
    1 John 1:1–4 ESV
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
    Very abstract
    but we will work
    make it practical.

    Beginning

    Let’s focus on
    first phrase
    1 John 1:1 ESV
    That which was from the beginning...
    John uses this concept 3 other times.
    Let’s examine:
    John 1:1–3 ESV
    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
    What was
    “in the beginning?”
    Christ.
    The Word (logos)
    was with God
    was God
    created everything.
    See verse 14:
    John 1:14 ESV
    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
    What else did
    the word do?
    dwelt among us.
    Clearly Christ (incarnation).
    In the beginning was:
    God
    Christ
    Creator.
    By the way,
    this is a powerful truth.
    Modern, Adventist, Anti-trinitarians
    Say that Jesus did not always exist.
    Whare this quote:
    The Faith I Live By February—The Three Dignitaries of Heaven

    Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God.… In speaking of His pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there

    Jesus was always there.
    John uses this word
    “Beginning”
    2 other times in
    our key book
    1 John.
    Back to back verses:
    1 John 2:13–14 ESV
    I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father.
    1 John 2:13–14 ESV
    I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
    Who do the fathers know?
    him who is from the beginning
    Who is that?
    God
    Christ.
    John starts 1 John
    exactly same as
    gospel of John.
    He talks about
    the One who is, was, will be
    the One from the Beginning.
    Illustration about eternal God.
    What else can we learn
    about this mysterious God?

    Experience Christ

    1 John 1:1 ESV
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands...
    John talks about this
    amazing God
    the Word
    Logos
    Creator
    who existed before anything.
    It all seems so
    ethereal
    abstract
    theoretical.
    But John immediately jumps
    from that to praxis.
    1 John 1:1 ESV
    ... which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands...
    John get
    practical
    physical.
    This God...
    I touched Him!!!
    He says,
    I didn’t just
    eat too much
    have weird dreams.
    lack of sleep
    have hallucinations.
    It wasn’t just a vision.
    He says:
    We we have seen with our eyes.
    He says:
    I saw.
    I heard.
    I touched.
    This pre-existent God.
    Dwelling in inapproachable light.
    Came to earth
    as a human.
    John was there.
    I touched him.
    Nay,
    not just touched
    “touched with our hands.”
    He continues to emphasize it.
    Next verse:
    1 John 1:2 ESV
    the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it...
    again, verse 3:
    1 John 1:3 ESV
    that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you...
    What is Jon trying to say?
    This is
    not a fable!
    not a allegory!
    not a legend!
    not a fairy tale!
    Like:
    Greek Gods.
    Zeus and Hermes.
    Santa
    Elf on the shelf.
    he is establishing the
    veracity of
    everything else
    that will come
    later in the book.
    What does all this
    mean for us?
    Application?
    1 John 1:1 ESV
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
    John had a
    deep
    personal
    experience with Christ.
    The Word of life.
    We also must
    have experiential knowledge
    of God.
    John’s experience is not
    mystical
    just physical
    but
    relational.
    Too many Christians have
    little true knowledge of God.
    Intellectual
    Academic
    Abstract.

    I’m not into cars that much any more. But if I was, I guess my favorite would be some super care like a Bugatti Chiron, or something.
    In High School I used to imagine driving cars like that.
    As most of you konw, I drive like a grandpa now. So even if I had such a car, I wouldn't likely drive it because it doesn't fit who I am or how I live my life.
    But, let's Image for a moment that, at last, I bought the car anyway and had it sitting in my garage, and that every day I went out and sat in the car and daily took a chamois cloth and wiped all the dust off its shiny surface.
    Imagine also that I studied the owner's manual and could quote sections of it from memory. And, that I went so far as to order the blueprints and schematics so I could study every detail of my Bugatti.
    Then, that I joined a Bugatti club and attended conventions, and even once traveled to the place the where factory stands. And, imagine that I so loved the car that I talked about it all the time.
    I'm sure you would think it quite odd if I had a car I loved that much but never actually took out for a drive.
    In many ways,
    this is modern Christianity.
    “We love Jesus.”
    got to church
    memorize verse
    know the songs
    understand concepts
    traveled to Israel
    no abiding experience.
    John 15:5 ESV
    I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
    We must live in Christ.
    John was Jesus’ personal friend!
    John 13:23 NKJV
    Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
    John is speaking of
    himself in this passage.
    He calls himself
    the disciple that
    jesus loved.
    Big title but
    seems to be true.
    As jesus is dying
    gives final will.
    Who will care
    for his dependents.
    John 19:26–27 ESV
    When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
    He knew his mom
    would need care.
    (He had brothers...)
    Raluca and I made will.
    Had to decide
    who would take our kids.
    We chose Magda.
    It appears
    Jesus’ closest friend
    on the earth
    was John.
    John didn’t just
    “know about” Jesus.
    He “knew” Jesus.
    Later in 1 John
    talks about “knowing” god.
    this word:
    γινώσκω.
    Could mean
    general information.
    Frequently means
    deeper knowledge.
    OT the word “know”
    is used in
    marital context.
    Genesis 4:1 ESV
    Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
    Again,
    when lot talks about
    daughters being virgins he says
    “they never knew a man”.
    To know is not
    casual knowledge.
    That's why,
    in our key passage
    John says:
    1 John 1:1 ESV
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
    Who or what
    did John see and tough?
    Word of life...
    What does knowledge
    of Jesus,
    (the word)
    bring?
    It bring life!
    The the gospel
    John tells tory of
    Woman at the well.
    She tells people in city
    about Jesus:
    John 4:42 ESV
    They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
    Saints.
    I must ask today,
    have you just
    heard from others?
    Or do you know personally
    Jesus is your Savior?
    Knowing God academically
    will not suffice.
    Demon’s know that much.
    James 2:19 ESV
    You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
    Our faith and knowledge
    must be more
    than demons.
    We want life saving knowledge.
    John 17:3 ESV
    And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
    Do you want eternal life?
    We must have
    experiential knowledge
    of Jesus.
    Dear Lord,
    So far today God, I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped; I haven’t lost my temper; I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over indulgent. 
    I am really glad about that!
    But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on I’m probably going to need a lot of help.
    Amen
    We cannot experience
    Jesus physically,
    as John in 1st century.
    Jesus is “Word of Life”
    (logos).
    That word: logos
    appears 329 times
    in the NT.
    God - 1354
    Jesus - 983
    Lord - 712
    Christ - 555
    Word (logos)- 330
    Faith - 243
    How do we get to
    know jesus today?
    Through the “Word”.
    Luke 11:28 ESV
    But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
    We can build
    deep relationship
    with Jesus though.
    “hearing His word.”
    “and keeping it”
    His word is the Bible!
    Spend time in the word!
    live like you believe it.
    In the 1800s, George Müller ran an orphanage in Bristol, England. But not just any orphanage. This place ran without fundraisers. Without appeals. Without government support.
    Müller had a conviction: he wanted to prove that God still answered prayer in the modern age. So he made a vow—he would never ask anyone for money. Not once. He would tell his needs to God alone.
    And then he started receiving orphans. First a dozen. Then hundreds. Over time, more than 10,000 children would pass through his care.
    One morning, the housemother of the orphanage came to him and said, “The children are dressed and ready for school. But there’s no food for breakfast.”
    Müller said, “Take them into the dining room and have them sit down.”
    And so, in an empty room with empty plates and no food, 300 children sat quietly.
    Then Müller prayed. Moments later, there was a knock at the door. It was the baker. “Mr. Müller,” he said, “I couldn’t sleep last night. I felt God was telling me you’d need bread this morning. So I got up early and baked three batches. Can I bring them in?”
    As he unloaded the bread, another knock. This time, it was the milkman. His cart had broken down right in front of the orphanage. “It’ll spoil by the time I fix the wheel,” he said. “Could the children use some fresh milk?”
    That morning, 300 children ate—full bellies and faith strengthened.
    Then what?
    God back to key passage?
    1 John 1:2 ESV
    the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
    One John experience
    the word of life
    he was compelled to
    TESTIFY!
    PROCLAIM!
    Let’s study these words
    a little more thoroughly.

    Testify

    Testify means:
    A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. μαρτυρέω

    to confirm or attest to something on the basis of personal knowledge or belief, bear witness, be a witness.

    Most people thought it couldn’t be done. Flight—human flight—was a fantasy. People believed it was impossible, even dangerous to try. Engineers and scholars had tried and failed. Newspapers mocked anyone who believed otherwise.
    But two brothers in Dayton, Ohio—Orville and Wilbur Wright—believed it was possible. Not because they had massive funding. Not because they had advanced degrees. They didn’t. They ran a bicycle shop.
    But they had something far more powerful: faith in the unseen laws of aerodynamics. Faith in the power of perseverance. Faith that failure wasn’t final.
    They studied birds. They had seen birds fly! They were witness to something and knew we could fly too.
    They sketched. They built gliders. They tested. They failed—and rebuilt. They spent their own money. Traveled to the windswept dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Crashed again. Tweaked again. Believed again.
    And on December 17, 1903, in the freezing cold, Wilbur ran alongside a wooden craft barely larger than a couch as Orville climbed aboard. The engine sputtered to life. The plane lurched forward—and lifted. Twelve seconds. One hundred twenty feet. The world was never the same.
    While others dismissed, doubted, and delayed, the Wright brothers stepped forward in faith—faith in what they could not yet prove, but deeply believed was possible.
    And that’s the kind of faith God often calls us to: not faith in what is, but faith in what could be. Not in what we’ve seen before, but in the promise of what He can do next.
    When you testify,
    you just tell about
    your personal experience.
    John had experience
    meaningful friendship with
    jesus Christ.
    He just couldn’t help but testify.
    Amazing Grace Helping Others, October 24

    No sooner does one come to Christ, than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus....

    This is simple.
    if you really
    get to know Jesus
    you would want all
    you friends to know Him too.
    In fact,
    this can be also
    stated in the negative.
    If you have no desire
    to introduce other to Jesus
    it is because you
    don’t really know Him.
    Everyone loves to talk
    bout the things that
    mean the most to them.
    Talking to someone
    going nowhere.
    Suddenly,
    they share interest.
    If you engage their interest
    conversation become
    passionate/ engaging.
    People love to talk
    about their interests.
    If you love Jesus
    and have a living
    relationship with Him...
    You can’t help but testify.
    Next step:
    1 John 1:3 ESV
    that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
    So we not only testify
    (tell our story)
    but also Proclaim.

    Proclaim

    As I looked at
    the Greek word

    ἀπαγγέλλω

    Means:
    proclaim
    report
    I began to notice
    interesting similarities
    other common words:

    εὐαγγέλιον

    Gospel, good news

    εὐαγγελίζω

    Evangelize, preach proclaim
    Notice they have
    differing prefix
    and suffix
    root is same.

    γγελ

    gamma, gamma, epsilon, lambda
    Comes from the
    this word:

    ἄγγελος

    Angel
    “Messenger”
    When we love Jesus
    When we really know Jesus.
    we ἀπαγγέλλω
    proclaim.
    What do we proclaim?
    We proclaim the εὐαγγέλιον.
    the gospel!
    The good new about Jesus!
    How do we do it?
    We εὐαγγελίζω
    We evangelize!
    We do evangelism!
    Evangelism is just
    Proclaiming the good new
    about Jesus!
    Why do we do all this?
    Because we are ἄγγελος.
    We are messengers.
    We have the message of Good New!
    To summarize again,
    if you have a deep
    relationship with Jesus
    We will
    share the gospel
    preaching
    proclaiming
    evangelizing.
    There’s a fascinating phenomenon in medicine that still puzzles scientists today. It’s called the placebo effect.
    Here’s how it works: a patient is given a pill, but it has no active ingredients. It’s just sugar or a saline solution. But the patient doesn’t know that. They believe it’s real medicine.
    And what happens next is astonishing. In many cases, the patient actually improves. Their pain decreases. Their symptoms fade. Sometimes, even their brain scans change. All because of belief.
    Think about that. No actual medicine. Just the power of the mind to believe healing is happening—and the body starts to follow.
    Researchers have even found that the more elaborate the placebo, the more powerful the result. A red pill works better than a blue one. An injection works better than a pill. A brand-name placebo works better than a generic. Why? Because belief grows stronger—and the stronger the belief, the more powerful the effect.
    If we believe that God is the best thing that has ever happened to us. We will live it and share it.
    Back to key passage:
    Why do we want
    to share this good new?
    1 John 1:3 ESV
    that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
    The word translated here as
    “so that”
    have great meaning.
    The Greek word is:
    ἵνα.
    It is a subordinating conjunction.
    Introduces “clause of purpose”.
    What does that mean?
    it is explain why the verb
    is completed.
    The verb in the sentence
    is the word declare.
    Why do we want to declare:
    “so that”...
    So that what?
    So that other
    can have fellowship.

    Fellowship

    Twice it talks about
    fellowship in the same verse.
    1 John 1:3 ESV
    that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
    Those who receive the
    gospel about Jesu
    get 2 types of
    fellowship!
    Fellowship with believers
    Fellowship with God.
    Fellowshipping is clear
    It means that we have
    a shared experience
    a bonding experience together.
    If you want to have
    a deeper bond with
    your friends and family
    introduce them to Christ.
    There is not deeper bond
    than spiritual connection.
    That is why Jesus said:
    Matthew 12:49–50 ESV
    And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
    Spiritual unity
    deeper thatn blood
    family members.
    That is the power of fellowship.
    In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. Linda didn't know you don't travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture. The first evening she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wakeup call so she could get an early start. She couldn't understand why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as she awoke to early- morning fog shrouding the mountain tops, she understood. Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged. "Where are you headed?" one of the truckers asked. 'Whitehorse'
    "In that little Civic? No way! This pass is dangerous in weather like this." "Well, I'm determined to try," was Linda's gutsy, if not very informed, response. "Then I guess we're just going to have to hug you," the trucker suggested. Linda drew back. "There's no way I'm going to let you touch me!"
    "Not like THAT!" the truckers chuckled. "We'll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we'll get you through the mountains." All that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains. Caught in the fog in our dangerous passage through life, we need to be "hugged." With fellow Christians who know the way and can lead safely ahead of us, and with others behind, gently encouraging us along, we, too, can pass safely.
    Summarize
    first 3 verses:
    We need deep experience with Jesus.
    When we do that, we want to share it with others.
    Then we experience fellowship together.
    One last part.
    Let’s finish our last verse.
    Key passage:
    1 John 1:4 ESV
    And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
    Why do we share Jesus?
    to bring Joy!

    Joy

    Who gets joy?
    Read ESV again
    Now ready NKJV:
    1 John 1:4 NKJV
    And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
    Who gets joy?
    OUR Joy
    YOUR joy.
    In English we may call these
    possessive pronouns.
    possessive determiner.
    (It is an adjective).
    The point is?
    Everyone wants joy.
    Do you want o have joy?
    Do you want to give joy?
    Share Christ.

    Appeal

    Do you want o have joy?
    Do you want to give joy?
    Share Christ.
    Really get to know Christ
    share that love with others.

      • 1 John 1:1–4NKJV

      • 1 John 1:1NKJV

      • John 1:1–3NKJV

      • John 1:14NKJV

      • 1 John 2:13–14NKJV

      • 1 John 2:13–14NKJV

      • 1 John 1:1NKJV

      • 1 John 1:1NKJV

      • 1 John 1:2NKJV

      • 1 John 1:3NKJV

      • 1 John 1:1NKJV

      • John 15:5NKJV

      • John 13:23NKJV

      • John 19:26–27NKJV

      • Genesis 4:1NKJV

      • 1 John 1:1NKJV

      • John 4:42NKJV

      • James 2:19NKJV

      • John 17:3NKJV

      • Luke 11:28NKJV

      • 1 John 1:2NKJV

      • 1 John 1:3NKJV

      • 1 John 1:3NKJV

      • 1 John 1:3NKJV

      • Matthew 12:49–50NKJV

      • 1 John 1:4NKJV

      • 1 John 1:4NKJV

  • Until Then
Auburn SDA Church
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