God is Light

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

Spray heavenly father we bow in your presence to praise you and thank you tonight.

Great, wonderful, glorious, magnificent sovereign gracious God, we thank you Lord for first John and thank you Lord for the principles that you've laid down in this great book that we might have assurance of salvation that we might know Jesus better. We pray tonight Lord as we look at this one verse that you would give insight help us to understand what it means that God is light and father, may we be wowed by that helpless Lord, that as we look at this passage that we might love you more deeply and worship you with a greater fervency.

Gavin directors through it tonight. Lord, make Christ be exalted in his congregation edified by your holy and wonderful precious name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. When John wrote the words that I just read to you. He was over 80 years old. All the other apostles that this time it Artie been martyred for their faith. They have died.

The going on the to heaven, his brother James was killed by the sword has been dead for 50 years at this particular time, Peter and Paul have gone to heaven. They have been there for about 20 years. If this time Peter was crucified upside down, Paul was decapitated but here is Johnny's an older man. At this point in time and he still is going to live for about 20 more years after this, and the Lord is got much for him to do.

He still got to write first John second John third John and the book of Revelation. What blesses million. This is just the fact that John is 80 years old when he will not quit. I mean he wants to redeem the time that God has left for him that he wants to to use it for is God for God's glory.

He wants the time that he has left to count for Christ sent. I hear a lot of preachers today talk about burnout. John would never mention the word burnout he wanted his his life. The count for Christ sake, even up to the very end. Back in 2003. We had a a man here at our church.

He was a former pastor of PCA church's name was a Rev. Ken Pollock, and Ken was up.

He was a character, but at this point time is about 85 years old.

I remember one particular night were having a for Sunday night saying and allowing people to come and share testimonies and Ken wanted to share his testimony and so they brought him up the deacons brought them up. He was in a wheelchair, but they helped him to get up on the platform we were in the other building that time there was no ramp and so I took the chair up and they cannot carry them putting back in his in his wheelchair.

He was his eyes were going bad is almost blind. Teaching a Sunday school class at that time he was at church every time the doors were open Sunday morning Sunday night Wednesday night. I may Ken was there. He supported personally about 18 different missionaries supported them financially, and I'll never forget him sharing his testimony that night. Is he was telling us about how God saved an old sinner and brought him into a saving relationship with Christ. It changed his life. It filled him with joy. Last week I was sharing with you that when John came to the end of his life and he was physically just just terribly terribly weak at the deacons would pick him up by the arms and they would bring them to the to the platform, then they would hold them up while he preached the word of God to his people and I couldn't help but to think of of 10 when I was thinking about that and and remembering what what John had done it. Have the deacons and helped him that's exactly what happened with Ken Pollock in our church. That's the kind of heart that we see in the apostle John AAN with the sole burden for the lost and with a mind that was just inflamed by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. John writes these words.

This is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you, God is light and in him is no darkness at all. John is telling us. Jesus gave me that message is not. My philosophy is not my words, it's not my idea.

Jesus gave this to me and I am declaring it to you. John is deal with the problem in early church that has not diminished. In our day and time. In fact, I think it's probably magnified in our day and time and that is people that have an understanding of gospel Faxon and believe that because they understand the facts of the gospel that that is saving faith.

That's what John was dealing with.

I can remember Dale Powell as shared something with me years ago and we were talking about this very thing. He said that he calls data and inoculation of Christianity, nothing is pretty good description of what that is I cannot get a flu shot up, got a flu shot last year and what they do is they take some bad flu virus. They put it in your bloodstream and and it it helps the immune system. It it you supposed to be used to keep you from getting the flu and that same kind of thing is true about gospel truth.

We can get inoculated in our Christianity. John is seeing that happen in the early church people are here in the gospel nice. I will, I believe. I believe it that Jesus died on the cross.

I believe that he was resurrected from the dancer I'm joining the church and I'm to sing the songs on the pray the prayers off through a few dollars in the and in the in the plaintiff and then everything will be fine and and that gives them kind of a false security. Heaven just enough religion to two in in and put in their heart of all security you SMR you believe Alyssa yes that's probably the wrong question, right? They are you new creation is Jesus Christ your treasure did you know him, not just know about him, but do you really know it has it changed your life. Has there been repentance and and and's there been a surrender to your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. James 219. James spoke of this very thing when he said that believers in one God that do as well. The demons also believe, and tremble. The devil believes that Jesus died on the cross. The devil believes that Jesus was raised in the day but that certainly was not saving faith of the devil. So John says you want assurance you want to know that you truly belong to Christ. Do you want to know that if you died, you're going to spend forever in heaven. If you want to know. John says in this one verse. He says listen to these two trues and two points that I want to share with you in these in this one verse number one is the starting point of the gospel is God, the starting point of the gospel is God. Verse five says this is the message that we have heard from him and declare to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all that. How would you be expected John to start the gospel message off what what should he have said only about 95% of Christians today. What is a will he probably should've started off this way. This is the message that we have heard from him and we declare to you that God is love. That's how we would've started.

That's what we think about when we think of the gospel. We think immediately of the love of God. But that's that's wrong.

The gospel does not start with love. The gospel start with light, God is light, you know, we could use another word they are God's holy is what light spiritual ideas.

It is holiness.

Holiness is the best word that we have to describe God.

What is it mean means godlike enemies heavenly saturated otherworldly. It incorporates purity perfect truth, radiance, brilliance, godliness, holiness of God is the primary attribute of God. All the other attributes of God flow out of his holiness of wrath flows out of his holiness. Truth flows out of his holiness.

Joy flows out of his holiness love flows out of his holiness.

Mercy flows out of his holiness. When Isaiah had his great vision of the Lord. He went to the temple. He saw the Lord high lifted up on his throne. The eight days trying feel the temple and the sera from the bright shining angels were flying around the this throne, crying out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the theologians call that the truth Hagy on the three times holy and it is first of all think speaks to us of the Trinity that God is hard father is holy, that God the son is holy.

The God the Holy Spirit is holy and we see it repeated over and over again. Why because it he is bringing about emphasis. He wants us to know if this is not just important. This is a great, great importance. Nowhere in Scripture do we hear God are here angels exalting other attributes of God like this.

We don't hear the angel saying truth, truth, truth or mercy mercy mercy or wrath, wrath, wrath and saying holy, holy, holy, holiness is God likeness the God miss of God. To say a man is holy is to say what JC Ryle and a great description of a holy man. He said holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find his mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing to God's judgment hating what he hates loving what he loves and measuring everything in this world by the standard of his word. He who most entirely agrees with God.

He is the most holy man holy man will endeavor to shun every known sin and to keep every known commandment, he will have a decided bit of mind towards God Hardy desire to do his will. A greater fear of displeasing him, that of displeasing the world and a love to all of his ways people feel what Paul felt when he said I delight in the law of God after the inward man and what David felt when he said I steam all your precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in him and draw from him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labor have the mind that was in him and to be conformed to his image majority people in America would have argued with John here. They said John that's not the way you started gospel presentation. If you can present the gospel.

You got to start it with God is love, why they would say because the primary reason that we share the gospel is because there's a heaven again and I hailed a shun at the primary reason that we share the gospel is to keep people from going to Hale that's the primary reason for sharing the gospel. John would not say that John was say the primary reason that we share the gospel is that people might come to know Christ and so that God would be glorified and that those people who were saved would reflect the glory of God.

AW Pink said it this way.

First, it is of great importance that we should be clear upon the nature of the gospel itself. The gospel is God's good news concerning Christ, not concerning sinners, concerning the character and contents of the gospel, the utmost confusion prevails today. The gospel is not offered to be bandied about by evangelistic peddlers. The gospel is no mere invitation, but a proclamation a proclamation concerning Christ, true weatherman. Believe it or not.

In other words, it's not about me it's all about Jesus Martin Lloyd Jones hit the nail on the head and something he said that I just wanted take a moment to share this with you.

It was just riveting to me. He said this.

The first answer, the gospel can always in effect be put in this way.

Forget yourself and contemplate God. This then is the message which we have heard of him.

Not that your needs in mind can suddenly be met by the gospel, but rather, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all immediately stood.

We start with God and not with our sales. Furthermore, this is very valuable test of any teaching or of any doctrine which may confront us. You will find that the great characteristic of the calls of every religion which is not true Christian faith is that they tend to come to us in terms of our need. That is why they're always so popular and so successful that they seem to be giving us the thing we want. We have our needs and they seem to offer us everything just as we want it without any pain or difficulty. There's no more thoroughgoing test. Therefore, the truth of the faith and of the religion that we may be concerned with the envious. He said that almost 50 years ago. Sounds pretty up to our day and time done it. John starts with the holiness of God that God is light in him is no darkness at all. He starts that way. Rather than saying that God is love and he is pleading with you to love him back that that's what you believe the gospel is that God is love and is pleading with you to love him back.

Then if you responded that and you love him back then is like you're doing God a favor by trusting Christ. But that's that's a wrong fault if that's how you think that you have a distorted view of the God of Scripture, we must be broken by his Holiness in order that we might be comforted by his love. Remember, right after I got saved, heard a preacher Micah a statement on television and he said I'm praying every day for Johnny Carson judge Johnny Carson if you are too young to remember him was the host of the Tonight Show and he said I'm praying every day for Johnny Carson salvation. He said can you imagine what would happen in this world. If Johnny Carson came to Christ if Johnny Carson was saved. Can you imagine that he would change the world if he came to Christ is nothing wrong with praying for Johnny Carson.

We ought to pray for the lost will pray for for everybody that is lost, we ought to pray for everybody that we know that doesn't know Christ if they might come to know Christ. Nothing wrong with praying. But what is wrong is that God's theology that that God's theology. It is wrong because it's it it says that that poor God needs a television celebrity to help build his kingdom boats that's not the God of Scripture. This God that we serve has no needs. God doesn't save us because he needs assistant to do his work. He saves us so that he will have worshipers that will reflect his glory.

People are vision of God is too small. We need to come to this understanding God is light you see light stuns us light whiles us light exposes us remember when I was a fixed, six, seven years old. There was on the clips clips of the sun that was supposed to come about a certain day and the the news reporters on the television were telling us don't look directly into the sun. When that equips comes, you go blind and all the razor too strong and you go blind. If you look if you look at the ethicist at the sun during the clips and my teacher, my first grade teachers named Mary McLean and I remember her on that day. She was all nervous and and she was. She made us about 1/2 hour before the clips was supposed to start. She made all of us go to the bathroom and so we were all supposed to use the bathroom then would come back and we soon as she came. We came back, she put down the shades and all over the. The classroom she made us come to the very center of the class and we had just stand there for over an hour until the clips was completely over and she said nobody is going to the bathroom. Nobody get anywhere near that Wenda nobody is going to get blind because of the sunrise. You're not going to look at the sun.

I thought while I can remember, that just clears a bail and she had very healthy respect for the suns rays. She was afraid of them. I wonder how much more should we be shaken over the though the Lord's brilliant resplendent light. Should his Holiness put fear into our hearts. I don't think fear, like a man would fear shark is a reverential all is like what Isaiah did when when he saw the Lord, high and lifted up on his throne. He saw his glory. He said I'm finished. I'm undone. Woe is me from an unclean man who lives in the midst of an unclean people. I think of Paul when he saw the glory of Christ is radiating from Christ's countenance when he saw the resurrected Lord on the Damascus Road he fell in the dust. Trim linen shaken said Lord what would you have me to do.

I think the apostle John to got one glimpse of the resurrected Christ and he fell on his face and in the Scripture said that he he was lying there is if you were dead. Think of Moses who went up on the mountain of God, and he was there to get the 10 Commandments. When he came back down his face was just shining with the radiant glory of God. But she is my contention. Nobody can see the holiness of God and remain the same. The light of God's holiness exposes and reveals the sinfulness of our own heart and then drives us to the Savior. Paul is a perfect example. Paul heard about Jesus, he heard about all the good things that Jesus had done Peter Aiden a heard about his love and his compassion. He heard about all of that payee. He knew about the things the miracles that Christ had done. But Paul was fighting against Christianity with all his heart that he was sick he was. I held the coach of the mini stone Stephen the death is put in some Christians in prison. He was put another Christians to death doing everything he could to fight against price to Christianity and all it took was one look. One look at the resurrected and glorified Savior and he fell on his face in the dirt, shaking and trembling Lord, what would you have me to do, what would you have needed to God, not the enmity, out of his heart, there lies the power of the gospel, God asked not for our consent. He just gets it. The world needs more than Johnny Carson's influence. We need more than getting our felt needs met. We need more than the tricks and the and the gimmicks of the seeker friendly churches. We need this truth. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Like that's the first point. The starting point is God. The second point is that almost look at is the reasons that holiness is primary and, therefore, reasons I want to share with you number one only to the holiness of God.

Can we understand God's plan of salvation.

I can remember thinking to myself as sick as a kid. If God is truly God can do anything he wants to do and what can you just snap his fingers and and save the world. Why does he want to have to to see in Jesus to the cross and putting through the hail and the torture that Jesus went through. If I start the gospel of God's love and mercy than the cross is meaningless if God's holiness is not the issue. The justice doesn't really matter. Holiness is the issue. John says that God is light and it is no darkness at all. Habakkuk chapter 1 verse 13 that the Scripture tells us that God is of such pure countenance that he can even look upon sin. God's holiness demands that all sin be punished and yet his love and his mercy cry out for forgiveness and the only way those two can come to terms is through the cross.

The cross is the answer in this.

The only answer, the son of God, live a perfect righteous life a sinless life, and then he would go to the cross and died as our substitute to take RCN to give us his righteousness, and while Jesus hung on the cross, God the father took all the sins past, present, future, that every believer from the time of Adam to the time of that last person that comes to Christ for the second coming. He took all of RCN and transferred it into the person of Christ.

Why, in order that he might judge it. Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21 says for God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him. God transferred all of RCN into the very person of Christ and for three of the six hours that Jesus hung on the cross, God poured his wrath out upon Jesus and Jesus suffered our hail for us, but that's why Jesus said I'm the way the truth and the life no man comes to the father but by me. Because Jesus knew that was the only way that the wrath of God was going to be appeased. The only way any time you see a man centered gospel you will see a deemphasis on the cross. Because if God is not wholly the cross is not necessary.

So John starts this way, God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

Reason number two only through the holiness of God are false claims of fellowship exposed America's definition of Christian the definition of Christian that we have in first John are miles and miles apart. They are not the same when I was in high school I went to church every Sunday. I read through the Bible from cover to cover twice if you'd asked me if I was a Christian I was told you absolutely yes, but I was blind to the truth I was not a Christian I was as lost as I could be if I died during that time I would've gone the hail and would to God that I had had a preacher or a Sunday school teacher that would have shared with me the truth is that we have here in first John would to God that I had heard those truths were going to first John now because I love you. That's what were going to first John and I don't want you to stand before God in the last day of the final judgment and say why didn't Doug tell me why didn't Doug tell me, why didn't he let me know that that that my relationship with God might've not not been real quiet and he shake me by the shoulders and let me know that that what I had might've been funny while out in the he hurt my feelings if he had to the tell me the truth but sign begging you tonight to listen. This life is short, were not going to live forever if your plan church. It's time to stop. God is light and the light is going to expose all of our hypocrisy. There will be no second chance. That's why Paul said now is the time a decision today is the day of salvation. We don't know if they'll even be a tomorrow.

Reason number three only to the holiness of God will criticism of God and blaming God come to a stop. We are by nature very proud holy creature and the less we know about the true God, the more haughty and the more proud were going to be.

But what happens when God reveals his holiness and his glory to us. We get home very quickly. Joe cried against advocates, God because Job had all these these horrible trials come in a pony. All this tribulation.

All this suffering all this pain and finally just couldn't take it anymore and he cried out to God I don't understand this. Why are you allowing these things to happen to me that that this is not good. You owe me an explanation.

I why I'm calling you on the carpet. God I want you to come in and answer my questions right now and God said Job no.

You're not the one that asked the questions on the once can answer questions and God begin shooting questions at Job so fast. He had his head spinning and Job cannot answer one of the questions not even one of those questions. Finally, Job realize what was going on and Joe put his hand over his mouth and said repent in dust and ashes. He said before, I just heard of you with a hearing of my ear, but now my eyes have seen you and he fell down absolute repentance and brokenness before God, the power in the glory and the holiness of God had had just brings Job's complaint into a stop as a lady in my former church is name is Gladys Skiles, her husband, Norman Skiles is one of our deacons and knew she was just a tremendously sweet wonderful Christian lady and she went to one feeling good. She went to the doctor and the doctor told her they did some testing found that she had leukemia is in the advanced stages in a said you got about three weeks to live that she was there in the hospital. She didn't live in two weeks and I was over the hospital visiting with her in one of her friends came in sat down beside her started crying and she looked at her said Gladys why you why you and therefore get what Gladys said. She looked right into her eyes and said why not me. She said I belong to the Lord, and if this is the Lord's time to take me.

I praise God for it. And I remember feeling in my heart. My heart just leapt for joy here was a woman who was not blaming God because she understood his sovereignty and his holiness and his goodness is God and she refused to blaming Robert E. Lee passed away his wife, Mary Custis Lee receive thousands and thousands of of cards and letters from from people all over the United States and they were expressing their deep grief to her and and just let them know that they cared. She got one letter from Gen. Butler, who had served under the leadership of Robert E Lee and any center of this letter, and he said I just want to express my sorrow to you or for a Robert E Lee's untimely death will Mary Custis Lee was a staunch Calvinist, and she will love the Lord with all of her heart. She wrote a letter back to Gen. Butler. This is what she said you speak of my husband's untimely death. We must not deem that untimely which God ordained.

He knows the best time to take us from this world and can we question either his love or wisdom. How often are we taken from the evil to come. How much of care in sorrows or are those spared who die young.

Even the even consider such the favorites of the gods and to the Christian what is death, but a translation to eternal life. Pray that we may all live so that death will have no terrors on us like that you start the gospel with holiness of God, then you understand that it's all in God's hand. The last reason is the holiness of God will strip away faults. Please, I know a lot of you been reading the Puritans more you read the Puritans more. You can hear that term faults piece they they shared in their writings they declared in their preaching. They dig talk about it all the time as it is a dangerous dangerous thing for person to persuade himself that he's in is right with God when there's been a genuine repentance in his life. That's why Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if were in the faith. That's why John himself tells us to test the spirit. I can't tell you how many times up. Talk to people on their deathbed, and these are people who if you talk to them about Christ. They turn you off. They get mad at you that they wouldn't even let you talk and I would go to these people and their deathbed not semi times this is happened. I said listen, I'm just concerned about your soul and semi times is what I'd say don't worry about me.

I made my peace with God, and I would almost shudder. No one that what they had was probably a false false security.

God is not mocked whatsoever a man so with that shall he also reap. Martyn Lloyd Jones in his commentary on first in verse five with these words is thank God for the thoroughness of the gospel. Thank God for the heavenly way, which starts by holding us face-to-face with the holy absolute God, and then driving us, leading us to the only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This then is the message that we have received of him, and declaring to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. We can do nothing better. Every time we go on our knees to pray than just to say that and when we feel like rushing into our own desires and complaints just appalls and like the author of the epistle to the Hebrews approaching with reverence and godly fear for our God is a consuming fire spray heavenly father we thank you for first John, we thank you Lord that you have given us insight into this particular verse that God is light in him is no darkness at all helpless father that we might be wild by that. Not scared like a man would fear a short coming afternoon, just leaving us to a reverential all and that we that we might praise you that we might love you, that we might know you better help us heavenly father that passages like this might do a work in our heart drive us to be more Christlike to drive us to trust you more that that we might just have a right image of who our God really is. We love you Jesus, thank you for loving us. We thank you that you are light at your holy. We also thank you that you are love and assure mercy.

We love you Jesus praise you and thank you for loving us and it's in your holy and wonderful and precious thing we pray. Amen