The following is a sermon I gave on January 23, 2005. It is the first of a two part series. If the Lord is willing I will post the 2nd part in a few days. Here it is almost exactly a year later and I find the words are needed again. I generally refuse to use a sermon twice, it seems like “cheating” to me. I prefer to seek the Lords will through prayer and faith that the Holy Spirit will guide me. I know I have often preached the same things because I believe that is what the Lord wanted me to do but I have done so without consulting any of the “old” sermons I have kept. Why I kept them I don’t know but I have my suspicions now.
As I believe the Lord so desires I will post these but please understand that these are copies of my notes. The scriptures are provided but please check them with your own Bibles being sure to read above and below the scriptures provided to be sure that I haven’t taken anything out of context. I am human and I do make mistakes. Don’t let me make a mistake with your walk with Jesus. Double check me with what the Spirit says to you.
1st John chapter one please
koinoônia is the name of a really good Christian Jazz group that I used to listen to back in the 80s. It’s the first time I ever encountered the word and as it was used by a band I liked, naturally I was interested in its meaning. Some of you may already know of course that Koinonia is the Greek word for “fellowship”. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible will give you the definition as: “ partnership, that is, (literally) participation, or —(to) communicate, communion, distribution, fellowship.”
Partnership, Communion, & Fellowship, this doesn’t sound like a passing acquaintance does it? Partnership is a word we often use to describe a marriage. Communion is the name we have given for the receiving of the Lords Body and Blood into our Bodies. Fellowship with the Lord isn’t saying, “Grace” and “Now I lay me down to sleep”. This word Koinonia is used quite a bit in the New Testament. Every time the word fellowship is used I find that its root word is Koinonia. It is the same word but lately it seems that we have placed “fellowship” on a much lower priority than we should. Perhaps I am mistaken and I pray that I am but I believe the world, our country, our area, and our little church here as watered down the strength of the meaning of the word fellowship. We have weakened the importance of Fellowship by weakening the meaning; partnership and communion. If you would, please turn in your Bibles to the 1st book of John chapter one. It comes right after 2nd Peter. 1st John chapter one, verse one.
1 John 1
Introduction The Incarnate Word
1What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
Ok let’s stop there for a second. This chapter is what is often referred to as milk. Real basic Christian Principles spelled out simply to avoid confusion as much as possible.
John starts out confirming what we know: They really saw Jesus before and after the Crucifixion. It’s not rumor its truth. They touched and Experienced the Power and Love of God manifested in His Only Begotten Son so that we might have fellowship- that is Koinonia,-that is partnership,- that is communion with God Our Father. They then proclaim this to you and to me and to the world so that you, me, and the world can have Koinonia with God and with each other.
Now, lets go back to 1st John chapter 1 verse 5:”
5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Christ Is Our Advocate
1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an £Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
3By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
7Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. 8On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. 9The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. 10The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. 14I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Do Not Love the World
15Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
The Promise Is Eternal Life
25This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
26These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
28Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.
Now that’s a lot of scripture to be reading for a single sermon but you have to admit it’s good stuff. John does a fairly good job of laying the important basics down. Here is the stuff that we all have to get a grip on before we worry about too much else. I feel myself that it is uniquely situated to us here. Because we Know all this. This isn’t knew to us. We just forget sometimes or we simply haven’t perfected yet in our lives.
Let me introduce you to another Greek word. I don’t know if I am pronouncing it correctly but where we have been seeing the word “abide” in our Bibles in the original manuscripts you would have seen the word:
menoô
men'-o
A primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):—
abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), X thine own.
We need to abide in Him and must let Him and His Anointing abide in us. This is not a temporary thing. This is not like putting a bottle of water in your backpack in case you need it. This is Blood. We need to treat our fellowship With God like the blood in our veins. You start to bleed the first thing you do is try to stop it. But its even more than that isn’t it? We often take our own blood for granted until its too late. Our abiding in Him and He in us should be not 2nd nature to us but first. It should be a constant permanent thing. Always on our mind.
We have heard the phrase “…Too heavenly minded to be any Earthly good” haven’t we? But I have to wonder if its possible to be residing in the Lord and His anointing and not be any Earthly good. I don’t think so. Look at the life of Jesus. He was constantly interested in the well being of the people around Him. Friends family and even strangers were of such a concern that He was constantly turning aside to help people. We are a Church. This little building houses a group of people who get together for what purpose? Why are we here? To Worship the Lord? What do you mean by worship? Why here? why not at home in your closet? Are we here to learn more about God? Why not at home in your closet with your Bible? This Group of People Gather here in this little building because the Lord has drawn us together in Fellowship. It’s the same word Koinonia. Koinonia with God the Father and Koinonia with Each other through Him and by His Spirit. We are here so you can help me to walk in the path laid down by Jesus. I am here to do the same for you. We are here to do the same for our community and for the World. This little church building has housed a just a few people who already have touched the world over and over. As long as we abide every minute of every day In Jesus and the anointing of His Holy spirit; and as long as we don’t forget Koinonia with each other. Using the same spirit of Forgiveness and “givingness” with each other that Jesus uses with us. The kind of spirit that doesn’t rely on how well the other person is behaving but only relies on how we know we must behave if we are to abide in Him and He in Us.
Lets pray:
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