Why Bother | Guest Speaker: Pastor Isaac Friedel – Follow Me: The Adventure of Discipleship

Pastor Isaac Friedel Devotional Plan for: Week of June 21 - June 27 Monday - Read 1 John 1 1 John 1 NIV: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us." What does it mean when someone says you're the real deal? If you describe something or someone as the real deal, you mean that they are a genuine, high-quality example of something. This line between real and fake is blurred in our society. We view television and read touching stories and later find out that the stories were complete fabrications. We are used to politicians making us promises to get our votes, only to forget those promises once they get into office. We are so used to seeing realistic dramas on television that we often find ourselves forgetting that what we are watching is just pretend. People stand up and make passionate arguments and we simply accept that what they are saying is actually true. So, in 1 John 1:1-4 we see four realities about Jesus and our fellowship with him. The Reality of Jesus Humanity: Look at all of the verbs John uses to prove the reality of Jesus' humanity from his own personal experience as one of Jesus' best friends and students. He's not talking about someone he has simply studied or read about, he's talking about someone he knew personally. He talks about Jesus as someone he has HEARD and SEEN and OBSERVED and TOUCHED. To dispel any notion that Jesus' appearing was imagined or partial in any way, John speaks graphically of the sensory confirmation that he personally witnessed. The Reality of Jesus Divinity: Why did John call Jesus the Word? Jesus reveals to us the mind and heart of God. Jesus is the living means of communication between us and God. He is God's Word to us. John was very intentional about identifying Jesus because if a man is wrong about Jesus, he is wrong about God. Jesus is the final and complete revelation of God and we must understand this or else the rest of our theology is incorrect. We Have Real Fellowship with God: In verse 3 John explains why he is declaring this great truth of Jesus' identity to his audience: "so that you may have fellowship (along with us, and indeed our fellowship is) with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." Why is John writing this letter? So, people can come to have a personal relationship with Jesus and so they can have healthy, unified relationships with one another, based on a correct understanding of Jesus. We have Real Fellowship in Community: Also important to John was his desire (and God's desire) for these churches to understand that right thinking about Jesus leads to right living within community. Remember, John is writing to a community where there is considerable disunity. In this diverse community, the Christians were trying to discern what was essential for Christian identity. It's not far-fetc