DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

 DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

1 John 1:1-4 (KJV)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

 

It seems to me that we finished the series of messages I have been bringing called “Where Is Your Heart?” in a very good place with the Pentecostal Heart out of Acts chapter two.

 

We are now into the very beginnings of the “holiday season” and I’ll want to dedicate some messages to Thanksgiving and to Christmas so….

 

I want to finish the year out with a shorter series of messages from First, Second and Third John.

 

I have no real intention[1] of making this series have any sort of Christmas theme, but as I began to study and pray for this particular message a certain song popped into my head[2]….

 

Said the night wind to the little lamb,
do you see what I see
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
do you see what I see
A star, a star, dancing in the night
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite

 

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
do you hear what I hear
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the se

 

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
do you know what I know
In your palace warm, mighty king,
do you know what I know
A Child, a Child shivers in the cold
Let us bring Him silver and gold
Let us bring Him silver and gold

 

I don’t promise to do that for any of the rest of the messages this year, but I see a similarity between the Christmas song and this passage of Scripture in that both contain a personal experience and the desire to share it.

 

Scholars believe that 1 John would have been written about 90 A.D. 

 

Think of that.

It’s sixty years or so since Jesus had gone to heaven.

 

Apostle John would have to be 80-90 years old.[3]

 

Sixty years.

It is very likely that the bulk of those reading this for the first time had not even been born when Jesus lived and was crucified.

 

The world had changed – maybe not as much as it has changed in our last 60 years, but it had to have changed.

 

John was an old man. 

I understand that elders were thought of more highly than in our day. But perhaps even his influence was beginning to wane a little bit in these final days.

 

Tradition says that when John was in his 90’s he lived in Ephesus and that in the church services, they would help John to the front where his message was always something like, “Little Children, Love One Another.”

 

I don’t know whether that is true.

 

See if you can picture this aged apostle, the last one left.

Maybe he knows his days on the earth are few as he sits down, perhaps with a scribe to pen his words because his yes have gone dim and writes, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

 

I find in the first four verses,

I. A PERSONAL TESTIMONY

1 John 1:1-2 (KJV)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

 

This is the power, and the problem, of genuine Christianity.

 

It is all based upon faith, a personal relationship with the unseen God.

 

If you have that relationship, you absolutely know it.

Nobody can take my faith in Christ away from me because I know it is real.

 

I don’t have to drum up my faith.

I don’t have to work up a feeling.

 

I don’t come to church so I can get my faith recharged.

·   I don’t need music to re-inspire me

·   I don’t need my Christian friends to re-invigorate me

·   I don’t need the message to re-motivate me

 

Church services to me are all about giving

·   To God the worship He deserves and demands and

·   To others the ministry God has called me to

 

I do need instruction and I do need correction sometimes at church.

 

But I don’t need to be refilled with faith because my faith comes from God, who dwells within me.

 

No one can take that away.

 

And since it is so very real to me, so very obvious in my heart, so very much a part of who I have become, I have no problem talking about it.

 

The power of genuine Christianity is that it is genuine, real, alive within the one who possesses it.

 

The problem is

If you do not have it, you do not know if you can have it or even if it exists. 

Except that someone tells you what they have seen, what they have heard and what have felt.

 

It happens all of the time that someone comes to church, they want whatever it is we Christians have so they do whatever we Christians tell them to do so they can have it.

 

But the relationship with Jesus is missing.

 

And they can’t see how what we, who know Jesus, can be telling the truth, because they don’t know Jesus like we do.

 

Or it’s a person whose been fed from their youth 

·   That there is no Creator God, 

·   That everything that is exits by a series of accidents over billions of years and

·   That Christians are just superstitious zealots who are afraid to die

 

Genuine Christianity is not a set of doctrines that, once you accept them you are then a Christian.

 

Genuine Christianity is not a catechism that, once you have memorized it, you are a Christian.

 

Genuine Christianity is not a set of good deeds that, once you have performed them, you are a Christian.

 

Genuine Christianity is a personal experience with Jesus Christ.

 

John said:

·   Our ears have heard

·   Our eyes have seen

·   Our hands have handled

 

I know I have not physically sat at His feet

But I have heard his voice time and again, as I’ve opened my Bible in a quiet place, or attended a service where the preacher declared what the Bible says.

 

I know I have not seen Jesus’ face

But I have seen His handiwork day after day since the day I came to know Him as my Saviour.

 

I know my hands have not touched Jesus’ hands

But I can tell you, the Lord has held my hands and lifted me up in some times of desperate trial.

 

I know He is because I have 

·   Heard His voice, 

·   Seen Him in this world and 

·   Felt Him as He carried me through deep waters

 

Can you say your experience with Jesus is like that?

 

I find secondly,

II. A PARTICULAR WITNESS

1 John 1:3 (KJV)

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

 

John just wanted someone else:

·   To hear what he heard

·   To see what he saw and

·   To feel what he felt

 

I want to encourage you that, if you are a Christian, if you have a genuine faith, that’s all the Lord wants from you.

 

Well-meaning Christians coined a phrase, and other very well-meaning Christians have carried it around the world.

“Soul winning is a command, not a gift.”

 

A person can start feeling pretty bad about themselves because they haven’t won a whole lot of people to the Lord. 

 

I want to assure you; God has not commanded you to convince an unsaved person to become a Christian.

 

What He has empowered you and me to do, and commanded us to do, is to tell others

·   What you hear

·   What you see and

·   What you have felt

since coming to know Jesus.

 

You can do that, can’t you?

 

You can sing out, can’t you?

·   Do you see what I see?

·   Do you hear what I hear?

·   Do you know what I know?

 

I see finally

III. A PRACTICAL APPLICATION

1 John 1:3-4 (KJV)

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

 

There were two reasons why John wanted them to hear and to see and to know:

 

A. That ye also may have fellowship with us

He wanted to include them in his company.

 

I think the gist is, unity, community. I think he wished to see them join up with him and with his church.

 

I think he wanted them to experience the:

·   Comfort

·   Companionship

·   Well being and

·   Belonging 

That happens in the body of Christ which is a church.

 

But he wasn’t just looking to build a crowd.

I think a lot of so called churches have gotten off track that way. They will do just about anything to get more people into their congregation.

 

He said truly – of a truth – around the truth – our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

 

Jesus prayed in John 17:11 that people in the world “may be one.”[4]

 

But He didn’t mean unconditionally one.

 

He didn’t mean that we should give up what we believe just so we can get along with other people.

 

He prayed that the people of the world, “may be one, as we are.”

·   One in purpose

·   One in faith

·   One in essence

 

Fellowship is agreement.

John declared what he had heard and seen and handled, so that others would 

·   Agree with God the Father

·   Agree with His Son Jesus Christ and

·   Agree with a body of believers united together in their faith

 

He declared his testimony to them

B. That your joy may be full

What could possibly be wrong with wanting this for others?

 

Full joy:

·   Peace with God

·   Purpose for living and

·   Hope for eternity

 

Conclusion

The last stanza of the song says,

Said the king to the people everywhere,
listen to what I say
Pray for peace, people everywhere!
listen to what I say
The Child, the Child, sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light

 

What I want to say to you is that 

it feels like people hate Christians and hate what we believe.

 

And for that reason, you might have had a difficult time talking to people about Jesus.

 

You may have gotten the mistaken notion that it is your responsibility to make others trust Jesus.

 

And for that reason, you have had a difficult time talking to people about the Lord. 

 

Neither of those is Biblically accurate.

·   Have you heard the voice of Jesus in your own life?

·   Have you seen the work of Jesus since you came to know Him?

·   Have you felt the Lord lift you in times of trial and burdens?

 

Just invite someone hear what you heard and to see what you’ve see and to feel what you’ve felt.

 

 

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[1] At this moment at least.

[2] Do You Hear What I Hear?, words and music by Noel Regnay and Gloria Shayne, Regent Music 1962

[3] Probably at more like 90 because Jewish culture would not have accepted him as a teacher before he was 30 so he was probably that old when Jesus called him.

[4] John 17:11 (KJV)

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

BEFORE HE APPEARS

BEFORE HE APPEARS

1 John 3:1-3 (KJV)

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Whenever I think about the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, I like to come to this passage as one of my favorites.

The mystery of His love

What manner of love…

How could we possibly understand it?

·   That God would love us

·   That Christ would die for us while we were yet sinners and

·   That God would call us His sons

The mystery of heaven

It doth not yet appear what we shall be

Everything we think we know about what we will be like in heaven is just guesswork. The Bible says it does not yet appear.

But what wonderful guesses we can make.

We shall be like Him.

Even better,

The mystery of Christ revealed

We shall see Him as He is…

In His glorified body.

·   As the Lion of the Tribe of Judah

·   As the bridegroom of His Church

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

But I want you to consider that this passage does not stand alone.

There is a context preceding it.[1]

My message then is entitled, Before He Shall Appear

I see at least three things in 1 John chapter 2 that are consistent with Christian life before Jesus appears.

First

I. WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE

1 John 2:1-2 (KJV)

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

A. We can take that first phrase a couple of ways.

1. I am writing to tell you not to sin

Beloved, it ought to be obvious to the born again that sin is an unacceptable way of life.

No child of God could possibly 

·   Knowingly

·   Willfully

·   Habitually

Sin against the One Who died so that those very sins are forgiven. 

It makes no sense.

If your wife gave you a piece of chocolate cake, and you loved her, you wouldn’t throw it on the ground in her sight.

You might accidentally drop it, but you would not throw it on the ground.

It would be rude. It would be ungrateful.

Listen, we are always in God’s sight.

It’s just not consistent with being a true child of God to accept the pardon of sin and then willfully sin in the sight of God.

We could also understand this phrase to mean

2. I am writing to show you how not to sin

Someone said, “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.”

The Psalmist wrote, Psalms 119:11 (KJV)

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

The best antidote for the tendency to sin is the Bible. If you struggle with sin:

·   Read your Bible

·   Memorize Bible verses

·   Meditate and think about those verses

Now, no true child of God would willfully, knowingly, and consistently sin, but we still live in this flesh so sometimes we do sin. 

B. That’s where our advocate comes in

And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous

Notice the Bible does not say, “But, if any man sin.” It says, “And if any man sin….”

The fact is, we are going to sin.

As much as we read the Bible, follow the instructions, memorize Scripture, meditate upon the Word, hang around believers and do all of those things in generous portions, we are still going to sin.

Consider – there is a difference between occasionally stumbling in sin and living consistently and willfully in sin.

1 John 1:8 (KJV)

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Compare that to

1 John 3:9 (KJV)

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

The difference is between willfully living in sin and stumbling into sin.

A born again Christian won’t willfully live in sin

And when we stumble into sin

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

When I trip on the stone of some sin.

I want to reach out for the arm of my Saviour.

Consider that before Jesus appears,

II. WE HAVE AN ADVERSARY

1 John 2:15-19 (KJV)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

How many have heard that the three enemies of the Christian are:

·   The world

·   The flesh and

·   The devil

We have all three adversaries right here, with some insights and some solutions to overcome them.

A. Love not the world

1 John 2:15-17 (KJV)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Our flesh and the world collide right here because, as much as we know what the Bible says – we do love the world.

·   We excuse it

·   We justify it

·   We deny it

·   We ignore it

But we know it is the truth.

·   We want the satisfaction of the world

·   We want the pleasures of the world

·   We want the approval of the world

The answer to the world is to remember that it’s going to pass away.

Everything we put into the world is a lost investment.

Its pleasures are only for a season.

B. Antichrist has antichrists

1 John 2:18 (KJV)

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

We know, we have heard – we have read it in the Word of God, that Antichrist shall come.

In the last time, just before Jesus returns to this earth to establish His 1000 year reign, the Bible says that Antichrist shall come.

It’s the Tribulation Period, a terrible time such as the world has never seen.

Here we are reminded that, before Antichrist comes, many antichrists will come.

Religious deceivers, 

Displaying false righteousness, false giftedness and false powers from heaven.

Religious deceivers, 

Preaching popular messages to sometimes throngs of people, who cannot discern the truth from a lie.

Religious deceivers, 

Reproducing themselves into many antichrists – the more of them there are, the more of them they produce. 

Shockingly, the bible says of these antichrists,

C. They went out from us

1 John 2:19 (KJV)

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

We thought they were one of us.

·   Maybe they were dear friends in the house of God

·   Maybe they were once leaders of our spiritual walk

They used to be among us, but they never were of us or they would never have left us.

In these last times, before Jesus appears,

We have an advocate

We have adversaries 

Finally,

III. WE HAVE AN ABIDING

1 John 2:27-28 (KJV)

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

A simple definition of the word abide is “to stay.”

I notice here that there are to abidings,

A. One abiding is in us

There is an anointing of God that stays with us.

The Holy Spirit of God never leaves or forsakes us

The illuminating work of the Spirit of God never abandons us

As we await the day of Christ’s appearing we have this anointing of the Holy Spirit, verse 20 calls it an unction, so that 

·   We can see the truths of the Word of God

·   We can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit warning us and prompting us to truth

·   We can verify the message of the preacher, whether it is accurate or not[2]

B. The other abiding is asked of us

1 John 2:28 (KJV)

And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

As we await the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ we know that His Holy Spirit won’t leave us.

And the Word of God urges us to stay with Him.

Don’t follow the world, the flesh or the antichrists.

Stay true to the truth by staying dependent upon the Holy Spirit and staying close to the things you know from the Bible.

Conclusion

1 John 3:1-3 (KJV)

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding the coming of Jesus Christ:

·   How He could love us

·   What heaven will be like and

·   When exactly Jesus comes

But there is no mystery about the Christian life before he appears.

·   We have an advocate when we sin – lean upon Him

·   We have adversaries in this “last time”– turn from them

·   We have an abiding while we wait for Jesus – stay with that

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[1] As well as the one following.

[2] Through our own study of the Word of God.