Things That Hinder Fellowship | Part 1

Glover funding Studios in Memphis Tennessee a Byron Tyler herewith. Walden seen the old wood were fighting. Today Adrian Rogers starts a new series the sweetest fellowship this side of heaven. You were all in the people business.

No matter what we do, how we do it even ministry here in the people business. I'm in the people business. You know what is all about fellowship. Will Adrian Rogers was asked that question one time. What is that sweetest fellowship the side of heaven and he had this to say, well, that fellowship is obviously with the Lord but with one another. Also, and you know Christians are found from time immemorial that many times they are closer to a brother and sister in Christ, and they may be one of their own brothers or sisters in the flesh and the thing that makes us one is that we all share the same Lord the same life the same love, which is Jesus Christ a man you know Jesus said the two greatest commandments are these to love me and the second is equally as important to love people like to stay right vertically right and stay right horizontally and that's less easy to teach is hard to live out it really is our member Adrian Rogers saying to many times it fellowship was two fellows in the same ship that when asked about this series and the importance of fellowship. He had this to say the Bible says that's very very important is the as a matter fact the Scripture says we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but we to be exhorting one another, and so much the more as we see the day approaching. Now I need to be exhorting you need to be exhorting.

We all need to be exhorted and specially in these closing days as we see the day of the Lord coming because Christians are going to be bombarded from every side with accusations, temptations, misunderstandings, and that we need to exhort one another. I need to be able to save my brother, my sister, be of good courage, love the Lord Jesus is coming. I love you brother. I love your sister and the as we do that one another.

We become strong in the Lord. The Bible never teaches a Lone Ranger Christianity, which spoken of, for example, as a holy habitation, a temple of God, the church now you can push an individual brick around it is hard to push a temple of building a plan. We need one another.

We stand beside one another on one another under one another and together we have strength in Jesus carries. We start off this new series about fellowship. There's a message in the beginning hear things that hinder fellowship. Part one of those times that we may feel distant from God, it could be due to our sin. Adrian Rogers says our sins are the secret faults the calls moral earthquakes in I see that my life sometimes will absolutely and he also said that God will never leapfrog sin, to bless anything or I'll say the different way if there sin in the camp.

God will not bless all you so we need to remove it and get back in right relationship with him to get back in right relationship with others will is a trap that we can fall into if we don't do with our sin on the weather so we think it's a big sin or just a small sin can lead us to believe in our own lives and that's a big trip to big trap and course. First John 19 says this if we confess their sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us.

That's the best part from all unrighteousness. We always enjoy hearing from our listeners.

I believe you have somebody who is recently written into lumber findings absolutely were my favorite wines. It says I enjoy these broadcasts and I'm thankful for the sound instruction and gentle correction nowadays. Too many ministries twist the Bible.

Thank you for your faithfulness to Jesus and to his word is so encouraging for that is great to me that that is really the essence of love or funding is that we broadcast the word of God and we stand on the promises of God will will today's message. Things that hinder fellowship, part one.

Here's Adrian Rogers, would you take God's word finding first John that's back here the book of Revelation and were studying the book of first John, it's a short book. Only five chapters where titling this study, the sweetest fellowship this side of heaven. And when you do what John tells you the only way that it can get sweetest frost just to cut out and go to glory, but we're learning how to have ownership the sweetest fellowship this side of heaven. And today we're going to be looking at things that hinder fellowship and that you know we can have the potentiality for fellowship. But we can let things come into our lives that will defraud us of the fellowship that is our heritage in the Lord Jesus little boy went into a drugstore and asked if he could involve the telephone, the druggist said fine little boy dialed the grocery store in this little town.

When the grocer answered he said do you need a stock clerk. Somebody can come in and stock the shelves and carry the packages and so forth and sweep the floor and the man said no.

We already have a boy who does that. And he says well does he do a good job.

Maybe you need someone else out. Maybe he's not in the grocer said no he's he's very we're very satisfied with the boy that we had little possible. Thank you and he hung up and the druggist said well he said I'm I'm sorry son that you didn't get the job I said you don't understand. I already have a job over there. I was just checking up on myself. I wanted to see if he really appreciated me about what I want you to do today is to check out all your cell and see if there is in your heart and in your life. Something that is keeping you from having the sweetest fellowship this side of heaven that something is most likely sin is secret. False. That calls moral earthquakes and really talking today about secret falls, things that we hi things that we disguise things that keep us from fellowship with God. Look, if you will now chapter 1 verse five. This then is the message which we have heard of him and declaring to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness whom we lie and do not the truth but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all and I love that word all from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not send, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

My little children, these things right and you that she 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 sin and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world, and hereby we know that we know him. If we keep his commandments say that I know him and keep not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in but whoso keep his word, in him, verily, is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abide in him ought himself also.

So to walk even as he will I were talking about things that keep us from fellowship primarily secret faults hidden sins into the Bible is the only book in the world that has the answer to the problem of sin and the way to deal with sin primarily with specificity is to recognize sin for what it is we have a generation a day that doesn't even like the word sin. The word sin is out of date. About the only sin today is to call sin. Sin, we will call sin.

Anything we want to call it a mistake on this judgment. But Jesus did not die for errors he did not die for mistakes he did not die from this judgment.

Jesus died sin. Now we live in a day of behaviorist psychology where the psychologist says that we just the sum total of our genes and chromosomes and environment and so man is not wickedly sweet.

He's not sinful he's sick. He's not evil. He is, and so therefore we never really deal with the problem because we never really get to the root of the problem we been spurred on by evolution. We've been taught that man was not created that he evolved from some primordial soup.

They never tell us where the soup came from that.

We have sort of from a one cell organism, MetLife spontaneously began in some primordial soup. Well, that's true. We come from soup to nuts. I can tell you that man did not evolve.

Man was created in the image of God and man sin willfully and sin is not an accident is not an incident is high treason against God. You see, if you understand sin for what it is you will never ever deal with Sam on understand the remedy that God has provided. If you think that sin is merely a problem to be fixed. You can be looking for a cure. Rather than forgiveness and cleansing you going to try to compensate for sin or commiserate with sin. But thank God for first John the tells us how to deal with the sin problem and I have fellowship with God. Folks, I'm telling you the boys and girls in school today in many of our adults as I've seen by watching television have lost the concept of sin today and understand what sin is evolutionist, says with we just on our way upward and not you know time will kill the beast within us.

Just give us time and we will progress on and on. Well, I'm not a cousin of King Kong and you believe that if you want to education says that the what we need to do is just educate people we get more learning then we be able be able sin problem is that true, what about Nazi Germany.

They were highly educated.

The Nazis, what is happening on some of our universities today. They have become cesspools of sin and higher learning at the same time when I was in college I had a professor who taught psychology and logic. I admired him very much. One the most intelligent men I've ever met. He had a brain full, but he committed suicide. My college professor.

Science says that that perhaps by genetic engineering we can just breathe this thing out of man. Finally, we create the bionic woman in the Superman and in a different race and and were actually trying to do that now with genetic engineering in and parents are trying to arrange the prearrange the birth of the children the sociologists as well. We would just change the environment and then man will be better. This is true, we would expect people to live in the best environment not be bothered with sin. But that's just not true. Sin is no respecter of environment where this together with a high-rise and I remind you that man fell in the garden of Eden. You can have a better environment than I thought.

The psychologist and the psychiatrist is just saying what these are our our feelings that we've generated within ourselves and and that we need to get rid of the guilt feeling is not the guilt feelings we need to get rid of. It's the guilt that causes the feelings.

Thank God for this word.

I'm telling folks listen to me recently.

The only book the only book the only book the only book that has the answer to the sin problem is God's word now this is what we're dealing with today is the sin problem. It is the secret faults that cause the Morrow earthquakes. Now how does God be with sin well when I received Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.

When I repent of my sin. I trust him. I received my faith Lord Jesus Christ.

I am born again and then as a result of that sin judicially judicially not listen to the word judicially legally is dealt with forever and ever.

Hebrews 8 verse 12 for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities. I will remember no more. When you get saved & past present and future, is buried in the grave of God's forgetfulness, you need understand that Isaiah chapter 43 in verse 25 I even I am he that lot about my transgression for mine own sake, I will remember thy sins but that's good news.

That is the gospel of grace Jeremiah 31 verse 34 for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Isaiah 118 come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord your sins be as scarlet, basically white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. When God says that he will remember our iniquities normal. Does that mean that God cannot recall them.

God is not talking about intellectual remembrance. God says I will remember their sin against the noble God remembers our sin, but he remembers them his sins that had been given and therefore forgotten as sins, and in the same way. I can never forget the sin that I've committed intellectually, but when I remember that sin I don't remember it is the sin held against me. I remember that the sin forgiven and forgotten by the grace of God. Thank God for that. Now that's the way God deals with us judicially. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. If God would put one half of one sandal my judicial record, one half of one sin would be enough to Damian due me forever. Therefore I cannot behave my way into heaven if I'm going to say that got be saved by the grace of God you really think that's the way God deals with our sins judicially but then how does God be with our sins, day by day. If I'm saved by grace and By grace and no similarity brought up against me anymore and my sin is buried in the grave of God. Forget how does God deal with me. A grand day by day when I'm proud or arrogant when I tell a lie when I exaggerate when I have a lustful look. How does God deal with me day by day, not as judge but as long as father now were not talking about legal judgment, but were talking about in this chapter, God dealing with us in a parental way you see we have two vital relationships. As a Christian, one is son ship when I am born of the family. God son ship is established and son ship will never change. In a parallel way.

I was born in the Rogers family that nothing can ever undo that can see born.

I am a Rogers I'm Adrian Rogers with us on the moon the start of the bronco what happened when I was born a scale is an event, it can never ever be undone.

That's latest when you're born again that once your born in the family got you and the family. God, that relationship recall son ship but there's another relationship that can change and that is called fellowship.

Now John here is not talking about son ship John here is talking about fellowship. You see, I am my father's son. And when I was growing up I always had relationship, but I didn't always have fellowship to be times when my dad would tell me to do us and thus not to do this in us and I would do what told me not to do it didn't do what he told me to do and they would be sometimes eruption fellowship and my dad carry me out weighed in at which it we did have a pumphouse came out the pumphouse and apply the Board of Education to receive knowledge. My dad don't get the wrong idea. He never whipped this on an empty stomach. He just turns over and is rated now. He did that because he loved is not affected by the schism.

The father loves. He chastens and scourges every son whom he receives son ship is established by birth, fellowship by conduct. Now what John is talking about here in this book and the forgiveness of sin, the cleansing of our daily sins that he's not dealing with us as judge but he is dealing with us as father. This is the way that the father deals with his son, for example, look, if you will, in verse three that which we seen and heard declare we unto you, that you may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the father and with his son Jesus Christ. So he's not talking about judicial our legal forgiveness here. He's talking about parental forgiveness even as Jesus Christ taught us when he taught us to pray our father forgive us our trespasses. See, this is a family prayer with talking now about how to have fellowship with God. Many of you are say the only way to heaven which are going second class because you're not enjoying that fellowship that quantity of it. We were talking about so long ago now, having set the stage. I want us to see now how we can restore that fellowship how we can get rid of those secret faults. Those hidden sins that divide us from the father smiled in the father's face and had a sweet wonderful fellowship with God. Now the first thing I want you to see is how God convicts of sin, how the father convicts of sin. Notice in verse five. Look at it. This then is the message which we've heard of him and declare to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the line as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.

Now take your Bible and I want to look at some verses here. Look at the times he talks about lying here, look in verse six if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness. Just score that they look if you will, in verse eight if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. They look in verse 10 if we say we have not sin, we make him a liar.

Each time he says if we say if we say if we say that what he saying is this were saying one thing and doing another. We are pretending here and what is talking about.

Here's what I want to call the evolution of a lie. I want you notice the three steps that follow each one of these. If we say first of all we may live to deny sin. Verses five and six if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we live. Notice what happens in church (I mean here we are.

Everyone you look so holy everyone of you look so clean. Each looks so happy in Jesus, but you think everyone has his or her heart right with God this morning and I've been preaching on know that is not true. I've been preaching on know the people can come to church or Bible and enhancing the songs nod their heads and say men down in the heart things are not right if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we line there some living lies sitting on seats in this building this morning and you know in your heart that you are playing again.

You're playing the church again you're playing a role, but that's what happens we get set in our hearts may be big. It may be small but it is there and we come to church. We go to Sunday school. We teach the class. We sing in the choir. We do whatever we do, but there's that secret fault. There's that secret. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we live now what happens when a man does that have to he does that for wanting what happens to he gets to believing his own line. Now notice what he says you look at next. In verse eight if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. When you set out to deceive somebody if you know you can see most of all, you are going to deceive yourself manager sees himself is a well, he's on the verge of a mental breakdown. When a man cannot even believe himself when he blurs the distinction between light and dark between truth and lie and that many of you who have begun to save yourself that you've stonewalled God for a while and after you have moved and now the fellowship and and nothing seems to happen.

You still sing in the choir you still teach the Sunday school class, you still in the congregation you still shaky and you still buddy with all the people say or maybe is not sin at all may be all right.

Maybe it was just an error. Maybe it's psychological idiosyncrasy. Or maybe God doesn't call that a sin and maybe I am a pretty good fellow, and so you begin to smooth over your sin and not the second step in evolution of life. First of all, we deceive others that we deceive ourselves, and then finally we lie to God we light others that we light ourselves and then we lie to God. Look, if you will hear down in verse 10 he says he if we say we have not sin, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. What you see when we call God a liar will once was lying in that group because God cannot lie and so God brings us on the conviction and we sell none of God that you're wrong. It was a mistake. It was an era. It was a glandular malfunction. It was the environment it is legitimate resentment. It is righteous indignation, what ever it is and we'll let the Holy Spirit of God convicts us of that sin.

First of all we light others that we line ourselves and then we had the unmitigated gall and audacity to stonewalled God and ally to Almighty God, we lie to deny sin.

We like to deceive yourself and rely to defy the Savior.

Now when we do that fellowship is. It is gone with step out of the light were over in the darkness.

Now how does God bring us back. Well God will not bring us back unless we expose ourselves to the light stairway in the darkness will never be any conviction. But if you as a child of God will just get back into the light. God will shine the light of his holiness. Upon your life and God will bring you on the conviction and coming up tomorrow will your part two of this important message but maybe today you have questions about who Jesus is what he means to you how you can begin a relationship with God through Christ.

Can we discover Jesus page@lwf.org/radio and you'll find resources and materials that will answer questions you may have about your faith again go to LWF.org/radio and click discover Jesus if you like to start receiving daily devotions and links to our program. Make sure you sign up for our daily emails LWF.org/radio and we hope you'll join us for part two things that hinder fellowship coming up next online word find