Well, good evening, everyone. It's good to see you in God's house this evening. And I trust the Lord will bless us as we've met together in His house. As Psalmist said in Psalm 66, verse 1, make a joyful noise unto the God of all the lands. Sing forth the honor of His name. make His praise glorious. And we're here to praise the Lord for His wonderful salvation and for all that He has done for us. Let us do that by turning to the hymn 263. Hymn 263. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Died He for me, He caused His pain for me, who Him to death pursued. The hymn 263. And let us stand together, please, as we sing. ♪ I should have been an interest in the Savior's blood ♪ ♪ I, before me, were not saved by the blood of Christ ♪ ♪ Have mercy ♪ ♪ Amazing love ♪ ♪ How kind you've been to me ♪ ♪ How kind you've been to me ♪ ♪ The Lord, to thy glory give ♪ ♪ This we offer in order of thanks ♪ ♪ Let our song be a strange design ♪ ♪ We'll frame the furthers of sacred flight ♪ ♪ We'll shout with heads above the eye ♪ ♪ Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia. ♪ Empire of love ♪ ♪ We never saw the truth of love ♪ ♪ So free so infinite like this dream ♪ ♪ The world is held in righteous love ♪ ♪ And we'll forever tell the tales ♪ ♪ Dispersing all demons and freaks ♪ ♪ Now the Lord Almighty ♪ I bring. This mercy Lord, he lets unfree. For all my love, in thine all I bring. ♪ Thy presence here within ♪ ♪ Cross the land in sin and misery's night ♪ ♪ Thine I, Jerusalem, with thee pray ♪ in faith we'll find. My chains fell off, my heart was free. I grew most thankful and proud of thee. My chains fell off, my heart O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Come, I will be, I will be with and for thee. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Let's just unite our hearts together, please, in a word of prayer, and we'll ask the Lord to bless us and meet with us, even this evening. Our Father in Heaven, we come before Thee, Lord, afresh this evening. We thank Thee, Lord, as we have met together in this evening, we have once again proved the promise of Thy Word, that as our days, so shall our strength be. We thank Thee, Lord, this day for Thy many blessings Thou hast bestowed upon us. We thank Thee and praise Thee, Lord, for health and strength, for soundness of mind, for all those temporal blessings so often we take for granted. We thank Thee and praise Thee, Lord, for even Thy hand upon us even this day. We praise Thee and thank Thee, Lord, for the opportunity we have afresh again this evening to meet together in Thy house, to gather together with Thy people under the sound of Thy Word. We thank Thee, Lord, for the opportunity we have once again in freedom, Lord, to hear Thy Word proclaimed. We thank Thee, Lord, for the religious freedoms that we have, that we can meet together this evening without fear of persecution. Lord, we thank Thee that we can come and freely praise and lift up Thy precious name. We thank Thee, Lord, for even those words we've been able to sing. Oh, Lord, we thank Thee for the confidence we have when we say, no condemnation now I dread. We thank thee because of Calvary this evening, because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ there, because of the blood that he shed, because on the cross he bore the wrath of God for the sins of all he would trust in him. We thank thee now that there is no more condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. We thank the Lord in salvation as we come to Thee for salvation. We thank the Lord that the burden of our heart, the burden of our sin has rolled away. We rejoice that the punishment for our sin has been erased. And we thank the Lord that we stand before Thee redeemed and justified, clothed in Christ's righteousness. And we rejoice in our standing before Thee afresh this evening. We thank the Lord, like John, who wrote in his epistle that we are now the sons of God. O Lord, we thank Thee that no longer are we enslaved, and under the bondage of the devil and the chains of sin, we thank Thee, Lord, our bonds are loosed. We are being set at liberty, that we are free. And we thank Thee, Lord, that we belong to Jesus, and He belongs to us. And we thank Thee, Lord, for what Thou hast done for each one of us, that are saved by Thy grace. And we rejoice, Lord, that thou art still able to do these things. You're still able to save souls. You're still able to bring those who have wandered away from thee back to thyself. You're still able to save those who have rejected thee for so long. I know how it does our hearts good to know that nothing is too hard for thee. And Lord, this evening, perhaps in our minds and our hearts, there are those that we would love to see sitting beside us this evening under the sound of thy word. But Lord, this evening, it finds them elsewhere in the place of the world. And oh Lord, we ask to have mercy upon their soul. Lord, we think of those round about us in this area, Lord, in this locality. O Lord, so many have no time for Thee, no thought of Thee. O Lord, we pray that this evening in wrath You would remember mercy upon their souls. That, Lord, that I would convict them of their need of salvation. O Lord, that I would trouble them. And, Lord, we pray that, Lord, they would seek out that way whereby they can be freed from their trouble, and, Lord, that they can be freed from their sin, and, Lord, that they would know the message, that they would come to know Him as they know His life eternal. Oh, Lord, we thank Thee for the faithful gospel preaching even here in this place, and, Lord, we ask that Thou be pleased to bless it in these days, that, Lord, that Thou would draw out unsaved, draw out backsliders, Lord, under the sound of Thy Word, And we pray, Lord, that Thou be pleased to save them by Thy grace and bring them back to Thyself. And we ask, Lord, at this place, O Lord, that these pews be filled with men and women, Lord, who have, Lord, been saved by Thy grace. O Lord, who are praising and rejoicing all that Thou hast done for them. O Lord, we pray, make this place that soul shop in the yard of hell. O Lord, we pray, bless even thy servant who you administer here week by week. We pray, Lord, that thou would undertake for him at this time, at, Lord, this time of holiday and break, that thou would refresh him in his soul, that, Lord, that thou would encourage him in his heart. And we pray, Lord, as he would come back in a few days' time, Lord, that thou would undertake for him. Bless his ministry even here. And, Lord, I would give him cause rejoicing. of our sinners being saved and brought to the Saviour. O Lord, we pray that Thou would bless and undertake for us even now. O Lord, we've met together to worship Thee. Help us, Lord, as we sing Thy praise. Help us, Lord, as we come in a few moments to Thy Word. O Lord, we pray, shall assimilate Thyself. O Lord, we pray, You'd hide me far behind the cross. Come be afresh in thy precious blood. Help us, Lord, to lift high Jesus Christ. O Lord, be reminderful of thy word that tells us that if I be lifted high, I will draw men unto myself. And O Lord, we pray for this promise to be proven once again, even this evening. O Lord, as I were to go forth, that thou would use it even to each one of our hearts to meet, even our needs, we pray. So, Lord, bless us now. Fill us in with thyself. O Lord, we pray against the devil. O how he will seek to snatch away the seed of the word. O Lord, we pray, bind the strong man this evening. And Lord, may we feast on the fineness of thy word, we pray. And Lord, we pray that thou would know, even this evening, that we have met with thee. So bless us now, we pray. And we'll praise thee and thank thee for all thy will do, for we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. At this point of our service, I ask our brother for you to come now and bring the necessary announcements, please. Thank you. Let me just welcome each one to our service this evening. Thank you for coming, and we pray we know the Lord's blessing here this evening. As well as that, I would welcome those who are joining with us online, and we pray you too. will receive a blessing from the Lord. It's good to welcome back to our pulpit, Mr. Mark Woods. I just said to him before the meeting, he's like one of our own, and it's good to have him here. He was here taking our prayer meeting not that long ago. So welcome back to Dunedin Ave, and we pray that he'll know God's blessing on his own soul as he preaches the word this evening. The announcements today is Building Fund Sunday. Remember that, please, in the offering. Then on Wednesday at 8 o'clock is our Bible study and prayer time, and Reverend McClung, God willing, will be back with us. I mentioned this morning, last Wednesday, we had that special meeting for the school, and the offering that came in. I have to say, since that, during the day today, there's another £270 come in. So we acknowledge these gifts, and when the offering in another week or so, we'll announce the total, or Mr. McClung will announce the total of the offering. But thank you very much for your giving to that cause. Then on Friday at 7 o'clock is the Bible Club. The next Lord's Day, the 9th of November, we'll be having an Act of Remembrance. It's Remembrance Day. We'll have that Act of Remembrance at the morning service. The services here start at 10 with the Sabbath school, then the seasons of public worship, 11, 30, and 7, both preceded by the half hour of prayer. And we'll have communion. remembering the Lord's Table after the morning service next Lord's Day. Our minister, God willing, will be back with us next Lord's Day. Then in the evening at 8.45, there will be the youth meeting here in the church. A couple of meetings, just a little bit of notice. There's a committee meeting on Thursday the 13th of November. And on Wednesday, the 12th of November, there'll be a deputation meeting by Mr. Christopher Orr. I mentioned this morning the appeal for the work in Jamaica, and I just bring that to your attention again. There was a WhatsApp message sent out about it But if you can't give that way, if you give through the church, just put money in an envelope and mark it for that to make an appeal. Only other thing I want to mention then is please, in your prayers, remember the services, but remember also those in our congregation who are unwell. We have quite a number unwell at the moment. And just remember them, please, in your prayers. These are all the announcements. They're all in the will of the Lord. We'll hand back now to Mark. We thank our brother for the words of welcome. It's good to be along with you, and we thank your minister for the invitation to come along and to share in your meeting, even this evening. I trust the Lord will help us and bless us in a few moments as we come to God's word. We're going to have our offering hymn at this time, Hymn 370. Hymn 370. I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love. The Hymn 370 remains seated for the opening part of this hymn. as your tithes and offerings are received. Hymn 370. story of Jesus and his love. I know you can tell the story because I know it's true. It's not as hard as you know it. story of Jesus and his blood. O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Let's stand just for the verse 3, just the verse 3. Let's stand as we sing, please. ♪ This passion to repeat ♪ ♪ Of sins which I might tell it ♪ ♪ O'er all her foolish feet ♪ ♪ Shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom, shalom. Well, let's take our Bibles together, please, and turn in God's Word to 1 John, the first epistle of John to the chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1, and we'll take the time this evening to read this chapter together. 1 John chapter 1, and we'll commence the reading from the opening verse of the chapter. At 1 John chapter 1 and the verse 1, we read, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it. and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto 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, 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, cleanseth 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 declines us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. and His Word is not in us. Amen. We trust the Lord to bless even the reading of His Word to our hearts this evening. Before we come to God's words, let's just sing again the hymn 403. Hymn 403. There's a peace in my heart that the world never gave, a peace it cannot take away. so the trials of life may surround like a cloud. I have a peace that has come there to stay. " The hymn 403, and we'll stand together again, please, as we sing. A peace in my heart that the world never knew. A peace in that I'll take away. Don't you cry, oh, don't you cry. Please don't cry, don't cry. Once we find Jesus is born, Once we find the true divine, ♪ I will ever remain here, Jesus is mine. ♪ ♪ The birds seem to sing of my Savior and King, ♪ ♪ When they swiftly enter my heart. ♪ ♪ Blessed Jesus, the glorious God. ♪ ♪ We love thee ♪ ♪ We choose you so kind ♪ ♪ God forever be with thee ♪ ♪ Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ We treasure our love ♪ ♪ In temple or grave ♪ ♪ God is coming today ♪ ♪ It's a glorious day ♪ ♪ Alleluia to our heavenly host ♪ ♪ Come to live by me ♪ ♪ Jesus is born of thee ♪ love me Let's take God's Word again together, turn back to 1 John 1. In 1 John 1, and this evening I want to take from my text the verse 3. And it's just one phrase we find here in the verse 3 of 1 John. And as we go through the message this evening, we will refer to the whole chapter. But I feel this phrase is really the key to the chapter. 1 John 1, verse 3, we read, that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you. And hence this phrase, that ye also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. That ye also may have fellowship with us. Let's just unite our hearts in a word of prayer. We'll ask the Lord to bless us, even now as we come to his word. I trust, if you haven't already prayed, but pray that the Lord will speak to you, and that you'll be praying for me as we even bring God's word this evening. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank thee, Lord, for even those wonderful words in the hymns we've been able to sing this evening. Rejoice in the truth of them. Rejoice in the peace that floods our souls. Lord, when we come to know Thee as our Saviour, we thank Thee, Lord, with sins forgiven, Lord, with a home in heaven, and Lord, with Thee dwelling within us, Thy Holy Spirit, that, Lord, our hearts are filled with the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. We thank Thee, Lord, our hearts rejoice with a joy, joy unspeakable and full of glory. And, O Lord, we pray this evening that as we look at the source of this joy, that comes from having fellowship with Thee. We pray, Lord, in our hearts this evening that Thou would show to us, Lord, perhaps something that Thou are not happy with in our lives. Lord, we think of those who maybe are hearing Thy word this evening who are yet out of Christ, and Lord, they have no fellowship with Thee. Maybe, Lord, as we read in Thy word, they have deceived themselves into thinking that they do have fellowship with Thee, but Lord, they're walking in darkness. O Lord, we pray this evening that Thy would bring them into the light of the glorious gospel, and Lord, that they would, Lord, come to know Him who is to know His life eternal. Lord, they may fellowship with Thee, and Lord, that they would know the joy of Lord being with Thee, and knowing Thee walk with us each and every day. We pray for each of Thy people here, Lord, as we come to perhaps just familiar verses in Thy Word, but we pray, Lord, that with that freshness, that Thou would come to us and speak afresh to our hearts this evening. O Lord, we pray that Thou would open our eyes and may behold wondrous things of Thy Word. And Lord, like Elijah of old, may we be careful to hear that still, small voice of the Savior coming to speak to us even this evening. So, Lord, we pray, give me fresh hope for myself. I ask, Lord, that Thou would come afresh in the precious blood and fill me afresh with Thy Holy Spirit. And we pray, Lord, even this evening, that Thou would guide me and lead me as what Thou would have us to say. And we pray, Lord, even this evening, Thou would have all the honor and all the glory. Blessed I word we pray, for we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. In a modern world today that we live in, we all consume information like never before. Information is available to us at our fingertips instantly, like never before. Whether it's in the internet, whether on social media, or the news, or perhaps you prefer the newspaper, whatever it is, we have information so readily at our disposal. And each and every day, we consume so much information. We consume information by listening, by seeing, and we would be naive to believe everything that we read and we see. We would be naive to believe every bit of news that we hear. And we have to, when we look at news, look at things that are told to us, we have to understand whether the source is reliable, the actual message sounds believable, and that we can actually trust what is being told to us. And it reminds me of a book written by John Bunyan called The Holy War. And in that book, he detailed the Christian having a number of gates. He called one gate the eye gate, and ear gate, and mouth gate. And he highlighted to the reader that there was a need to guard what goes in through those gates. For what comes into those gates then will live in our heads, and then will have to, at some point, come out. What comes in through our ears and into our eyes will, at some point, come out through our mouth. All you have to do is look at a little child and how they pick up on things that the parents say and those around them say, and then they begin to repeat those things, even as they maybe don't even understand what they're saying, but they repeat those things. And so, as Christians this evening, I remind us to have that have that understanding when we come to information that is given to us. But one thing we can be assured of every time we open God's Word, that every time we read the pages of Scripture, we can be assured what we're reading is truth. For God is truth. God cannot lie. And His Word is true and will stand forever. And we find that John has now been moved by the Spirit of God to share some things in a letter to God's people It's not given to specific people, but rather a general epistle to God's people. And there is no official address at the opening part of this epistle. Some commentators would have different reasons for this. Some would say that John, in humility, did not want to put his name to this letter at the beginning. He likes to give priority to the message that he was moved to bring. And so at the very beginning, he goes straight into the message. Others would say that the message he has to give is so important that formalities of names and introductions had to be forgotten about. And I trust as we go through the message, you will see how important the message of this book is. And so, as we look through this book, we find that John addresses the reader in a number of ways. We see in chapter 3, in verse 2, we find that he addresses the reader as beloved. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. In chapter 4, in verse 1, he says, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God. In chapter 2, in the verse 7, he addresses the reader as brethren. Verse 7, brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. And then he also not only addresses the reader as beloved and as brethren, but in chapter 2, in the verse 1, he addresses the reader as my little children. And then he goes to the other end of the scale. In chapter 2, in the verse 13, the fathers. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. " And so this is a message for God's people, and also a message for those who will become God's people. And so it's a message that must be preached to all who will hear. All in the family of God, young and old alike. And as we look at 1 John 1, we find in this opening chapter some wonderful truths about the gospel. about the message that we must share to all who will hear us sharing it. And I want you to notice three simple things in this chapter this evening. Notice, firstly, the source of the message. The source of the message we find in the opening verses of 1 John chapter 1, that John says, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life." Of the word of life. And this is the wonderful source of the message, is the word of life, which we find is Jesus Christ. John also, in his gospel, the gospel of John, chapter one, he refers to Jesus Christ again as the word. John's Gospel in the chapter 1 and the verse 1, we read, that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. And as we find that it was God the Son who created this world, Verse 3 will then detail to us that the particular part of God, the person of God that is the Word is, in fact, Jesus Christ. He is the Word of life. And in John chapter 1 and the verse 4, we find that, in Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. In those five verses in John 1, or really go hand-in-hand with what we read here in 1 John chapter 1. We find that this man, Jesus Christ, is given the title, the Word of Life. He is the Word of Life. He is Jesus Christ. And in these opening verses of 1 John, we find that John clearly states that the things that he is writing in this epistle These things that he has been moved by the Spirit to write are things that he has known himself. They are things that he has seen with his own eyes, things that he has heard with his own ears. As you read in verse 3, that which we have seen and have heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us. If we look at verse 1, John writes, that which was from the beginning, We think of what was at the beginning. In Genesis 1, verse 1, we read, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning, God. So clearly here, that which was from the beginning is God. He has been from the beginning, before the beginning. He has existed for all eternity. He has no beginning. But our finite minds cannot understand, and so John says, that was from the beginning. And it appeals to our minds that from the beginning, it was God was there. And so we understand that what he is writing about is of Christ, of God, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes. Again, appealing to what he has heard himself, what he has, during his earthly, the Lord's earthly ministry, when John walked right beside Christ, telling of these things, things that I have seen with our eyes, In that word there, we have seen as means to see, to understand, to perceive. John is telling, I'm writing the things that I have understood, and also which we have looked upon, and that is to give the understanding of considering, considering. In God's Word, we're told to consider Him and endure such contradiction of sinners against Himself, And so John is saying, I'm giving you the things, I'm writing the things that I've heard, which I have seen with my eyes, I have understood, and the things I have considered. And it doesn't mean he has understood all of them. Because there are things in this chapter that we'll find that we cannot understand. We can't understand the love of God for us. In 1 John chapter 3, in the verse 1, John writes, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Behold what manner of love. We cannot comprehend the love of God that He has for us, that He was sent as only begotten Son to die for us, to provide salvation for our souls. Verse 2, for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness. That word manifest really means to make known. And Christ, he manifested himself to the whole world when he came into this world. And as he began his earthly ministry, that there at the River Jordan, where John baptized him, and the Father spoke from heaven, this is my beloved Son, declaring to all the world, all who adhere, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Christ was manifested. He was made known. And as he went about doing miracles, as teaching those he would hear, we find that in Luke's gospel, it was noise that brought his fame. In Matthew 14, we find that even the ears of Herod heard the news that Jesus, this man, was preaching the gospel. He was preaching Himself. He was doing good. He was healing the sick, raising the dead, and all these things. And Christ was manifesting Himself. And in those healings, raising from the dead, He was showing that He has power. Power not only to raise the physical body, but power to give life to the spiritual soul. Because, as we find in Ephesians chapter 2, that we were dead in trespasses. and in sin. This is the glorious source of the message, Jesus Christ. But notice also the purpose of the message. In 1 John 1, verse 3, we find, that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us. That ye also may have fellowship with us. This is the purpose of the message. The purpose of the gospel is that we may have fellowship with Christ. If you think back in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve were created at first, they were perfect. They enjoyed the Garden of Eden. They enjoyed perfect paradise. They enjoyed fellowship with God. We find that in the cool of the day, the Lord came and spoke with them and talked with them and fellowship with them. But in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve sinned, when they ate of the forbidden fruit, that that made an end to that fellowship. They were put out of the garden. They were no longer allowed to enjoy the fellowship with God, and so they were put out. And that fellowship with Christ was interrupted. They could not, in the same way, fellowship with God. And sin separates us from God, and sin separates us from God. That means we cannot have fellowship with God. And we find that throughout God's Word that we have all sinned. Romans 3 and 23, all sin comes short of the glory of God, and we have sin in our hearts. That separates us from God, and we cannot have fellowship with Him. In Romans chapter 5 and the verse 1, Paul was writing to the Romans, and he was speaking of being at peace with God, therefore being justified by faith. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And they're being justified. Once we are justified, a word can really simply mean it's just as if I had never sinned. It's like we had never done anything wrong. And Christ looks upon us. He sees Christ's righteousness. We have been justified. Our sin is no longer seen. And then we have peace with God because we have been justified. So many are not at peace with God because their sins have not been washed away. And if you're not at peace with somebody, you don't fellowship with them. If you fall out with somebody, you don't go and ask them to go to lunch with you. No, there is that separation in fellowship. But because of what Christ has done, because of the message of the gospel that we find in 1 John, we can have fellowship with Christ. This is the purpose of the message, that we can, as sinful creatures, be saved from our sin, and then we draw into that relationship with Christ and fellowship with Him, that we can become the sons of God. There's a second purpose to the message we find in verse 4. And these things write we unto you, That your joy may be full. That your joy may be full. This is the second purpose of the message. Your joy may be full. And it goes hand in hand with the first. The first was that we have fellowship with God. The purpose of the message, we can have fellowship with God. And as you fellowship together, one with another, there is joy in our hearts. There is joy in the fellowship and the company of one another. The same is true when we have fellowship with Christ. There is joy in our hearts. And if that fellowship is ever interrupted, that joy seems to disappear for a while. There is fellowship. When there's fellowship with God, there is joy. In Psalm 51, the verse 12, David, at a time when he had sinned against God, had sinned with Bathsheba, In his prayer to the Lord, he said, "'Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.'" He understood what it was for the sin to come in and ruin his relationship with Christ, to interrupt his fellowship with God, and he lost the joy of having his sins washed away, of fellowshipping with Christ. In Psalm 16, in the verse 11, we're told that, "'In thy presence, in the Lord's presence, the presence of Christ, there is fullness of joy.'" And at that right hand, there are pleasures forevermore. In Galatians chapter 5, we're told the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. There is joy in fellowship with Christ. And Paul exhorted the Philippians, the church in Philippi in Philippians 4 and 4 to rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. And the purpose of the message this evening, the purpose of the message of the gospel is that we will have joy. We have fellowship with Christ. Which brings us to the final point this evening, which is the summary of the message. The message of the epistle is summed up in these final five verses, six verses of the chapter. Verse five to verse 10, we have a short summary of the gospel. We have a short summary of how that we, sinful creatures, can be brought into fellowship with Christ, and enjoy the joy of sins forgiven, to enjoy fellowship with the Lord. We notice in verse 5, this then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. There is a declaration that God is light, God is perfect. God is holy. God is just. God does not like sin. He hates sin. He cannot tolerate sin. He cannot even look upon sin. God is light, and there is no darkness at all. And in verse 6, we find that if we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. You see, darkness and light cannot have fellowship one with another. You cannot go into your room and say that it's light and dark. It's either light or it's dark. It's one or the other. You either go in and you need to turn the lights on, or you go in and you can see with the light coming through the window, whatever it may be. Light and darkness cannot fellowship together. And it reminds us this evening in our sinful state, we cannot fellowship with Christ. We cannot fellowship with Christ in this life. And then when we die, we stand before Christ. He looks upon our hearts and he sees our sin. He cannot let us into heaven because darkness is in our heart. Light and darkness cannot fellowship together. And there is that awful reality that left in the darkness of our sin that we will be sentenced to hell forever, for all eternity, that there is no fellowship with Christ. In verse 6, we find that some say, we have fellowship with Christ, yet they walk in darkness and they lie. In verse 8, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Verse 10, if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. And you will find people today who will say, I have no sin. I have done no sin. I am perfect. Some will say that they have done nothing wrong. They don't need salvation, but they are lying. They are, in saying that, they are sinning because they have sinned. They are born in sin, even if we had kept every law of God from we were born. The fact is we are born in sin and sheep and then iniquity. And so we say we have no sin, we lie. The truth is not in us. And there are many in our land today and throughout the world who will say that our sin does not need to be dealt with, our sin does not separate us from God. And they say that they are not preaching the true gospel. There are many who are not real Christians, rather decoy Christians, if you like, putting on a show. They're there just to deceive. You notice a number of things about decoy Christians. They have no fellowship. They have no fellowship with God, first and foremost, because they are still in darkness, still in sin. They perhaps have fellowship with some people, but do not enjoy the fellowship of God's people the same, because they are not rejoicing in the same things as God's people are rejoicing in. They're not rejoicing to the same extent and sense forgiven. They also have no faults. You'll find they are perfect. They go through life, and nothing is wrong. They don't seem to have any problems. Everything seems to go swellingly well for them. They don't fly. They don't soar. They don't enjoy God's presence. They have, we think of decoys. Decoys are used I remember seeing this message being a thought of a decoy Christian, and of a duck, and the duck is set into the water, and how it's there to bring others down, bring the prey, what the hunter is looking for, down into the water, that he can then, with a trap, catch them. And they sit in the water. They float around. They're perfect, no faults. no on-their-own usually. They have no features. They have no faults. They have no freedom. Because they are there, they have to be there. And there are those this evening who are not real Christians. They say they are Christians. They say they have no sin. But they are lying. The truth is not in them. And they are there to deceive others, saying, no, you don't need to come to Christ for salvation. No, you do not need to be saved. And so they are there deceiving those around. But we also see the mercy of Christ in these verses. Verse 7 of verse 9. Verse 9, if we confess our sins, If we understand we need to be saved from our sin, if we understand that the message that people say that we have no sin, we understand that we do have sin and that our sin has separated us from God, that if we realize our need of salvation, if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This was a message that John sought to bring to those who read his epistle. This was a message Peter sought to bring in the day of Pentecost. He cried out, repent ye and believe. Repent, turn away from your sin. And the message is still the same this evening. Despite what others may say, despite what you may think, if you think that you have no sin, let me tell you it's even your mistake. All have sinned. All have come short of the glory of God. All of us must have our sins forgiven to have fellowship with God. And in verse 7, 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. That is how we can have fellowship with Christ, because of the blood of Jesus Christ cleansing all of our sins away. and that continual cleansing in the precious blood, those of us who are saved, enables us each and every day to have fellowship with God, to enjoy that fellowship with Christ. But let me tell you, it's only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us from our sins. If you turn to Exodus 12, if you think back to the time of the Passover is instituted, the Egyptians were going to be the firstborn of all, the Egyptians and Israels would be killed. The angel of death would pass through. But if he seen the blood on the door post and on the lintel, he would pass. The angel of death would pass over and would not enter into that house and smite. And you find there in Exodus 12 and the verse 12, that when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Every house that did not have blood on the doorpost and on the lintel, the angel of death went in and smote the firstborn. But every house that had the blood, when it seen the blood, it passed over. This evening, unless Christ sees the blood upon our hearts, that it cleansed away all our sins, on the judgment day, we stand before him, unless they see the blood. He will have to punish us for all eternity. If any sees the blood on our hearts, well, He will welcome us into His presence to fellowship with Him, into heaven for all eternity, and so shall we be with Him for all eternity. We shall enjoy His fellowship. In Matthew chapter 7, at the end, coming to the close of the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7, verse 21, He said to those who had gathered, He warned them, not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. He that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Verse 23, and then will I profess unto them. That is those who, in verse 22, said, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. And there is, like, great warning that not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. You know, there are those this evening who have not come to Christ in true repentance of sin and confession. They're saying they're not trusting in Christ for salvation. But they think they're saved. They think that their works have saved them. They think what they have done will save them. They say, Lord, have we not won wonderful works in thy name? Our works will never save us. Only Christ can save us, and only His blood can wash away our sin. And this evening, can I ask you, has you come to Christ for cleansing in the blood? Has your sin been washed away? Do you, as we read in verse 3, have fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ? Are we enjoying the fellowship that He desires to have with us? Do we know what it is to walk with Him day by day? Do we know the joy of looking forward to someday being with Him face to face, enjoying His fellowship for all eternity? I trust this evening that you can say you do know for sure 1 John chapter 5 and the verse 13 says, John, the close of his epistle, he says, these things have I written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God. Notice these words, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life. Do you know you have eternal life this evening? I trust this evening you'll be able to say that you do. And if you don't, let me urge you, come to Christ. Come to Christ, confessing your sin, trusting in Him for salvation. We're told in verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What a promise that is. What a promise that we come to Christ. He will. He will save us. He will take away our sin, that we may have fellowship with Him. Let's just close by saying one verse of a hymn. It's a hymn 247. Hymn 247, "'Tis the grandest theme through the ages wrung, "'Tis the grandest theme for a moral tongue, "'Tis the grandest theme of the world e'er sung, "'Our God is able to deliver thee.'" At this time, we'll sing the first verse in the chorus of Hymn 247. Mr. God, listen to the angels' song. Mr. God, listen. ♪ The Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word, the Word Let's just close in a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank thee, Lord, afresh for thy word to our hearts this evening. We thank thee, Lord, that we can have fellowship with thyself. We thank Thee, Lord, for the way that's been opened up to us, that we can come to Christ, that we can have our sins forgiven, we can know we have a home in heaven. Lord, we can enjoy the joy of Thy salvation. We know what it is to fellowship with Thee. And Lord, with those times of sweet fellowship with Thee, O Lord, we can look forward to that day. We shall stand before Thee. We shall see Thee as Thy art. and we shall be with thee for all eternity. But Lord, we are mindful that some this evening are yet out of Christ. There are those who have yet not come to thee for salvation. They have not yet trusted in thee to take away their sin. Lord, we pray this evening that thou would speak to their hearts. Do thou work which man cannot do, we pray. And Lord, may they come to know thee as their own and personal saviour, we ask. O Lord, we thank Thee, Lord, for the promise of Thy Word, that if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We thank Thee, Lord, for the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from our sins. O Lord, we pray this evening that Thou hast blessed Thy Word to our hearts. Lord, we pray that we would each and every day, Lord, as Thy people, enjoy Thy fellowship. And Lord, we pray even those yet out of Christ. O Lord, we pray that they would come to know Him we used to know, His life eternal. Accept our thanks for Thy goodness to us this evening, for Thy help given. O Lord, we pray this evening that Thou would have all the honour and all the glory. Lord, we ask that Thou would bless our time together. We pray, Lord, that Thou would even take us to our homes in safety. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. so you