JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF THE SON (Series)
-through the eyes of John
Remaining in Fellowship
1 John Chapter 1-2
In today’s society it has never been easier to stay connected with friends, most youth in the US today have their cell phones by their sides, text messaging away, whether they be in a classroom setting, church, riding in a vehicle, sitting at the dining table, etc. The monthly minutes and text messages young people use on their cell phones are incredible. It is now possible to remain in fellowship with the ones we love no matter what the distance. While it a lot easier to remain in fellowship with others, it seems harder to remain in fellowship with God who is closer to us than any other.
God created man for the purpose of fellowship; it is what our soul longs for. Living outside of fellowship with God is sin. When Adam and Eve chose to pick from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they were choosing to receive something apart from fellowship with Him. The root behind all sin is doing something separate from God. Even if the intent is good, if it is outside of fellowship with God it is evil. The bible says our righteousness is as filthy rags. One may know the bible in and out, and follow its principles, but outside of fellowship with God is still unrighteous.
1Jo 1:3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Fellowship with God comes from believing and following through with what he reveals to us. Enoch, Abraham, Moses, David, etc. were declared friends of God for this very reason, they believed and obeyed what God revealed to them. God reveals truth we believe and therefore walk in His light; it is in His light that we have fellowship with Him. To remain in His light we must stay free from darkness, one goes into darkness by believing a lie. It is a lie to believe we can do or become anything apart from Him. This is how the serpent deceived Eve, and how He continually works to separate us from God today. All religions are based on this lie.
1Jo 1:6-7 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
1Jo 2:3-5 And we can be sure that we know Him if we obey His commandments. If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him.
Love of God is seen in our obedience to His truth, which keeps us in His light, and allows us to remain in fellowship with Him. Now the devil comes in disguise usually through family members, friends, co-workers, church members, and etc. to turn off the light. They are Satan’s agents sent to distract, disrupt, and destroy.
1Jo 2:9-11 If anyone claims, "I am living in the light," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
We must not be ignorant of Satan’s devices, if He was successful in breaking the fellowship in the Garden of Eden, then we know He is going to try to do the same. He will send others our way to try to make us busy, get us angry, feed us lies, and just take us away from the perfect will of God. We can tell where we are if we examine our fruit. When we are abiding in Him we yield the fruit of the spirit, when we are apart from Him we yield the fruit of the flesh. If through our examination we discover we are separate from Him, we simply repent of our sins, and return to fellowship with Him, for our sins are forgiven through Christ Jesus (1 Jo. 2:12).
1Jo 2:15-6 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.
We also are drawn away not just by others but by things. We have been born into sin, our flesh is easily drawn away, but thank God through Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit is at work within us delivering us from our sinful nature. This work does not happen over night, we need to be alert, aware, for Satan comes like a thief in the night, seeking whom he can devour, we must put our guard up, put restrictions around us, so that we don’t give in to temptation. We must not put ourselves out as easy targets, but beware of what we listen to, careful what we watch, and wise where we go, in order to remain in the light of His fellowship.
1Jo 2:24-9 So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life He promised us. I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.
Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God's children.
Application: Let’s examine this week the amount of time spent in fellowship with others and things compared to the God who lives within. Let’s repent of our sins, and choose to remove our idols and return to our first love. Let’s put boundaries up around us that may keep us in fellowship with Him and from being pulled into the world.