This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. Amen. Well, let's pray together. Our Father, we come into your presence tonight in the strong name of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, we thank you for that immeasurable gift, your only begotten Son. Father, we thank you that he has made an end to all of our sin. We thank you, Father, that our sins can never again condemn us because Jesus Christ cried, it is finished. Father, we rejoice in that tonight. That is the best thing in this life or the life to come. And Father, we pray tonight that those who don't know the joy of being forgiven, that don't know the joy of being in fellowship with you, with your son, with your people. Father, we pray that tonight your Holy Spirit would come with power and open blind eyes and remove hearts of stone and put in their place hearts of flesh. Father, we pray that your spirit would come with power. Father, we depend upon your spirit. We believe in your spirit. We pray for his help tonight. We thank you for this opportunity to gather together and to hear from your servant and we commit this time to you in Christ's blessed name, amen. Amen. Well, I have the distinct privilege of being able to introduce our speaker. And you might be wondering, how in the world did we get Conrad Mbewe to come to Minden, Nevada? I mean, it's Minden, Nevada. And the answer to that is guilt manipulation and bribery. I was in Zambia in January lecturing four hours in the morning at the Lusaka Ministerial College and then preaching two hours every night at Lusaka Baptist Church. And Pastor Conrad said, boy, they're really working you hard. I feel sorry for you. They're going to wear you out. And I said, well, if you feel that sorry for me, then you can come to Nevada next time you're in the States. And he agreed. And here we are. And let me just give a very, very brief introduction. You might know, and I know that this probably embarrasses him a little bit, He is known as the African Spurgeon. And I would imagine that that's for two reasons. One is not only because of his preaching but because he does the work of 10 men. He is the pastor of Caboada Baptist Church. He is the chancellor of African Christian University. He is the principal of Lusaka Ministerial College. He is the editor of Reformation Zambia, which is the only Christian magazine in all of Zambia. He speaks half of the year in other places all over the world. And this brother is, he is a treasure for the body of Christ and we are absolutely blessed to have him here. And so brother, would you please come and bring God's word to us. Well. Let me begin by just expressing my delight in finally finding my way here. As was already said by Brian, we had the privilege of hosting him in our home at the beginning of this year, and I first met him A few years ago when they came to lecture back home in Zambia and we hold some outreach work at a commercial show and they passed through and having made use of his book previously, which I saw over dinner a few minutes ago, it was good now to add a face and personality to that. And then there was the visit that took place at the beginning of this year, and what a delight it was to spend some time together. So when the invitation came, I didn't hesitate, I just didn't realize that it would materialize in this same year. And here we are. The Lord has his surprises. Well, I do bring you greetings from Caboata Baptist Church. I have had the inestimable privilege of being a pastor to wonderful people back home. and I wouldn't exchange anything for that. There are a lot of other things that I do as you heard, but right at the heart of it all is the ministry to the people of God. Well, we're looking at 1 John and under the theme of walking in the light. As you turn there, let me quickly say one or two words by way of introduction. First of all, The phrase itself is coming from the seventh verse of that first chapter, which says, 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, cleanses us from all sin. We'll be looking at that passage Tomorrow morning, and consequently I won't say much about that, except to perhaps put everything together by speaking in terms of the fullness of the concept that John uses, the apostle John, when he brings home the phrase of light. Light is something that is difficult to describe, for instance, to a person who's been born blind. You can try and define it, And you can tell that language is beggared. You just can't convey it to a person. You can try and throw in a lot of side definitions that perhaps might approximate to it. But when a person's eyes have been opened and they consequently see the light, It won't just be mental faculties defining it, but there is a warmth, there is a joy, there is a sense of fulfillment, and everything else that is wonderful that is captured behind that phrase. So I trust that as we are going through the theme this weekend of walking in the light, that by the end of the weekend, there will be something of that same joy, exuberance, sense of fulfillment, everything being captured in our own hearts as we rejoice in walking with God. The letter itself of 1 John is about assurance of salvation. And even that in itself gives us something of the idea of what John would have been seeking to share with those that he was writing to in the first century. Because it is when individuals have come to not only salvation, but to assurance of salvation, that consequently there is that peace, there is the joy, there is a fullness of love that overflows in their own hearts and lives. And so, again, clearly, you can't miss the relationship between the two. Now, I don't expect that we'll make our way throughout this entire book this weekend, and so I will be limiting our study to just the first two chapters, so that at least it gives us something of a sense of what John is dealing with. But even as we do so, I'm hoping that every so often we will be going into other parts of this epistle as we follow the threads that John introduces in the first part of this epistle. So I hope that that's the way we will go, and I trust that by the end of the weekend, John's first epistle will mean so much to many of us. For this evening, I want us to look at the first four verses. I will quickly read them to us under the theme finding complete joy or finding fullness of joy. I'll read the first chapter, the first four verses. It sounds a little complicated because John seems to love to say things like a person who's unraveling a maze, but don't worry. By the end of tonight's message, you will see that this is not complicated at all. Let's proceed. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. that which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy, or as some visions would put it, your joy may be complete. And I'm deliberately beginning with that last verse. We're writing these things so that our joy, including you, our joy together might be complete, that we might find fullness of joy. There's one thing that I can take for granted concerning all of us in this place. I may never have met you before, but there's one thing I know about you already, and it is this, you want to be happy. In case I'm wrong, let me know. And often, The issue is not so much that there's some people that are not seeking after happiness while others are, the difference rather is where we are seeking that happiness from. The tragedy, especially with young people, is that we so easily believe lies that are told to us. that make us think that we will find joy in, for instance, mere entertainment. being in places where there is a lot of noise and people are just laughing and laughing and laughing all the while and somehow we think that if I can be there, I will know true joy, I will know true happiness. And in a world that is characterized by materialism, we also made to think that if I can simply have more and more of the world's goods, then I will be happy. We think that a fat bank account and the latest gadgets in this world is what really makes up true happiness. Sadly, that's a lie. And one of the ways in which you discover that it's a lie is with the passage of time, when the individuals that are at the center of the attention of the world, individuals we call idols, We soon discover along the way that they were in fact very miserable. That the smiles that we were seeing on glossy magazine covers were simply meant to be a marketing gimmick. But they're actually surviving on all kinds of medications to just keep themselves going. And sadly, many of them leave all the world's finances and extraordinary buildings and so forth through suicide. And we are shocked that the very people we were admiring, wishing we were in their shoes, When the media begins to now open up what was happening in the background, we realize that in fact, we were happier than them. Our pillows were softer than theirs. The truth is that joy is not found in those places, but rather in relationships. In having wholesome relationships. In being in truly loving relationships. Being with people that you know love you. and have your welfare in mind. When my daughter went to university, my youngest daughter, that is, a few years ago, four to five years ago now, after her first semester, she came home and hugged me the way she's not hugged me for a very long time. And I was interested to know what was going on. And she said, Dad, I took this home and your love so much for granted. Until I went away and I was with friends who were constantly complaining about the kind of homes they were coming from. the infighting, the quarreling, the insults, the drunkenness, the drug abuse, the immorality in terms of sexual immorality, the unfaithfulness of one parent to the other. And as they are pouring out their hearts about all these things and weeping their hearts out, I'm thinking, wow, what a fool I've been. I've actually had a privilege of a lifetime being brought up in a home where these things are not there. And so she came home now saying, I appreciate that I'm in a context of true joy. And that's really what John is dealing with in this first passage as he begins his epistle. Really saying to those that will be reading this letter that we have found joy. We have found complete joy. We have found fullness of joy. And you know why? It is because we've entered into a relationship with the most special person in the entire universe. The Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what I want us to look at in the time that we have together today. Because you see, Christianity is not so much individuals chasing after joy, but it is individuals who have sought the Lord Jesus Christ, and in coming into a relationship with him, have indeed found true joy. Have you done that yet? Have you as an individual come into that relationship and consequently would speak in very clear terms that that which the world is seeking in all the wrong places, you have already found. Now why is that so? Why should it be that it is in entering into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, rather than a relationship with so many other persons, millions if not billions that have walked this planet, that we find true and lasting joy? Well first of all, it is because of who Jesus is. who Jesus is. Look at the way he's introduced by John here. He refers to him as that which was from the beginning. And that's an interesting phrase. That which was from the beginning. What does John mean by putting it that way? Well, he's essentially saying to us, he's referring to Jesus here as we shall see in a moment, but he's essentially saying to us that when Jesus was born to Mary, that was not the beginning of his existence. It's not like us, when we are born from our parents, that's when, in fact, we are brought into existence by God. Not so with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was from the beginning. He is one who had been with the Father. Look at verse two. It says there, the life was made manifest, and we've seen it, and testified to it and proclaimed to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. He is one who has always been with the Father. He is the Son of God. He is God the Son. He is referred to here as the word of life at the end of verse one. He's also referred to as the eternal life in verse two. And consequently, clearly, he is God himself. And it is in that uniqueness that we begin to realize why it should be that in entering a relationship with him, we are indeed entering into the best relationship that anyone can ever be in. So, John uses the phrase that he was made manifest. That's the way he came into this world. He was made manifest. We see that at the beginning of verse two. The life was made manifest. And at the end of verse two, he was with the father and was made manifest. It's the picture of a stage actor, and he's already there, but he's behind the curtains. And when the curtains open and you see him, that's not the beginning of his existence. He's always been there, but now he has come onto the stage for him to carry out the plan, the purpose, the program, the agenda that is on his hands. So it was with Jesus Christ. He was already there, but on a day that was ordained by God, at the fullness of time, he came into this world, was born, in that virgin birth, came under the law to redeem those who were under the law. He is God. That immediately tells us a few things. First of all, it is the fact that all of us, can actually have a relationship with him without any of us feeling as though he is overcrowded already. You understand what I mean? Often people who belong to a large church speak like this. They come to you, they've got a problem, and then you say to them, yeah, but why don't you share with your pastor? And they say, well, you know, I don't think he even knows that I exist. There are too many church members, too many. That's why I'm coming to you for help. So yes, I sit there, I hear his preaching, I know him, but I don't really think he knows me. With respect to Jesus, even though we may be billions upon billions upon billions that belong to him, it is as though you are the only one. He is God. He counts the hair on our head. He knows every little bird that falls to the ground. He is God. Each little raindrop that falls to the ground, the snowflakes, each little one is as though it is the only one in existence before Him. That is who He is. And so it's wonderful to imagine that you can enter into such a relationship knowing that you have his undivided attention as though you were the only one. When his coming into the world was being prophesied by Isaiah, It was spoken in terms of a little child that would be born, a son that would be given, and it is said that his name would be Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, and there's that little phrase, Everlasting Father. Why refer to this little baby that would be born as Everlasting Father? He wouldn't marry, he wouldn't even have children, so why refer to him as everlasting father and prince of peace? Well, the reason is quite simple. It is the role of fatherhood, the role that a father plays with respect to children. that he would be playing for those who would be his. He would provide that immediate counsel, the immediate protection, the immediate guardianship that each one of his children would need. That which was from the beginning. John is saying, that's what we want to talk about. But secondly, I want you to notice that with respect to this joy, the reason why it's possible for you to find joy in him is because he has deliberately come to enter into a relationship with you. To enter into a relationship at a level where you can actually relate. Hence the phrases that John is using here. John is overwhelmed. by the thought that the eternal God, the immensity of this sovereign being who is eternal in all his ways, infinite in all his ways, should have come so close that he says, We have heard him. We have seen with our eyes. We have looked upon him. In other words, we've gotten close enough to say, he's sleeping in this boat, look. He's sleeping. We have touched him with our hands. Blows my mind. Can hardly believe it. You know the way in which when a president comes visiting town and passing through and people shake his hand? The way they are hesitant to wash their hands when they get home? They want everybody to know. Believe it or not, these hands greeted the president in his hands, his hands. But you see, in most situations there, the president didn't even know you from a block of wood. Just greeting as he was going by. to have such close dealings with the eternal and infinite one. Friends, that's a privilege. That's a privilege. And it is this that John speaks about, that God himself has condescended, reached out to us and mingled with us at our level so that we can honestly speak in these terms that we have had fellowship with him. We've had fellowship with him. Verse three. That which we have seen, he repeats, and heard, we also proclaim to you, so that you may have fellowship with us, and listen to this, and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. You see, the fact that Jesus was on earth, and people related to him at that level in a physical way should not make you think that that's all that John is speaking about. The fact that we've seen him physically and we've touched him physically. Because there were so many other people that saw Jesus, even touched him, and right now are burning in hell. A few examples, Judas, Herod, Pilate, they had opportunity to see him close range. So when John is speaking in these terms, don't sit there thinking, well, he can say that because at least he saw him physically. We don't have that privilege. That's not the point. Because ultimately, this seeing and knowledge for you to be able to enter into fellowship with him is an act of faith. That's what it is. It's believing in him. And as you believe in him, you are enabled to enter into this relationship So the challenge is not has he walked here physically? The challenge is have you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you? Have you come to that position yet where you have, as it were, with the eye of faith, seen him not simply as a Jew that lived a few thousand years ago, but as God himself who came into this world in order to take away your sins, to die in your place, to suffer your agony because of your sins. and consequently, ultimately, to redeem you, to redeem your soul from hell by his own death on the cross. Has your eye of faith beheld that? You remember when Jesus was on the cross, there were two thieves with him. And it seems that initially both of them were antagonistic to him, but clearly somewhere along the way, one of them began to see things differently. He began to realize that this person hanging next to us here is unique, he's special, he's innocent, righteous. and he is God the Son. He is going to come in his kingdom, in his power, not in the weakness that we are currently seeing here. Two thieves, one of them is still hurling insults at him. The other one with the eye of faith, rebukes his friend, and then appeals to him. Jesus, remember me. Remember me. When you come in your glory, remember me. That's the question I'm asking. Has that change happened in you? From a position of ongoing antagonism unbelief, indifference. And most of what you do with respect to God is simply venting out your anger to him. Because not all things are going well in your life. And so if you are truly there, why are you allowing this and why are you allowing that? Come on, do something about it. out of selfish anger. And then being transformed from that to the position where you know, you know what? I deserve not only what is happening here, but a thousand times worse because of my sin. I'm born a sinner. grown up a sinner, surrounded by sinners, we all deserve to be thrown deeper than the grave into the flames of hell. And the fact that we are not there is in itself the grace of God. And then for you to turn to that same Jesus in heartfelt prayer, and say, Lord Jesus, forgive me. Lord Jesus, receive me. Have you done that yet? Have you? Because, you see, it was because these brethren, John and his friends had done that, that they had entered into fellowship with God's Son. They had become reconciled to a holy God. They could now speak of Him in these terms. Loved with everlasting love. Led by grace that love to know. Spirit breathing from above, thou hast taught me it is so. All this full and perfect peace, all this transport all divine, in a love which cannot cease, I am his and he is mine. They could speak in those times. because they had now become reconciled to God the Father through the Son. They were in fellowship with Him, real fellowship with Him. Friends, that's Christianity. You see, a lot of people think Christianity is a list of rules, do's and don'ts. following some code of behavior, always tipping over your shoulders to make sure that the right people are not seeing you in your worst situation. It's about entering into fellowship with God. being reconciled to this God through the great God-man, Jesus Christ. And you know it. You know it. You know it. What we notice in the third place is that when you have come into this reconciliation and fellowship with God through his son Jesus Christ. You want to share it with others. You can't keep it to yourself. You just can't. It's too good to be over-privatized. And this is where John ends the passage that we have read together here. He says in those wonderful words where we started from, and we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. But notice that he had been concerned that they join into this fellowship at the beginning of verse three. That which we have seen and heard, we also proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. He's basically saying, look, When we are evangelizing, it's not simply because we want to have more church members. It's not about selfish goals. It is the fact that we have found life and found it more abundantly and we want you to enter into that abundant life and rejoice together with us. That's what it's all about. And that's why we share with you this good news concerning Jesus Christ and him crucified. We are not big-gotted individuals who cannot think beyond some old, old book that was shoved down their throats. It's got nothing to do with that. It's that we have found life with a capital L. And when we look at you, searching for joy in all the wrong places, we say come, come, come together with us that we might share in this together. Basically, that is what the gospel is all about. John is saying here that the very reason why I'm writing this letter is that I want to open up even further before you this salvation that we have and that you might be assured in that salvation and consequently that your joy might be full. That's why I'm writing all these words and chapters for you, that you might rejoice in this reality, that it might be yours in a personal way. And you know, that's one of the tests of salvation. It is this that you cannot keep to yourself. You know, imagine meeting a friend who has just gotten married. and you were together at high school. And then you just bump into each other. The person has just come from honeymoon. And then you say to them, I've noticed the ring on your finger. Yeah. I've got married. No. We need to press the rewind button there. Let's start again. Because what's going to happen is that this person will say, yeah, you know, John, you may have forgotten him. He was in the other class at high school. You know that great, I was going to say soccer player, but we use baseball for now. That baseball. I'm learning quickly here. I know we went to Hawaii and from there crossed over to Africa and saw all the wild animals, the big five and everything else. But above all, he's a great chap. Oh, I'm blessed to have such a guy for my husband. I mean, you can't miss the joy. Those are all the kind of things you want to keep to yourself. You're not passing it on with a sense of sadness and misery. It is good news. And good news cannot be hidden. In fact, it beams right across your face. So there is a test for you with respect to whether you are walking in the light, whether you've experienced this salvation. It is this Christian faith, is it something you keep to yourself or is it something you genuinely share with others? Now, in speaking about it this way, we're not in any way suggesting that we then hide the reality of the demand for repentance. We still preach that. You see it across this epistle. John is very clear that there must be a changed life. There must be a moral transformation. There must be a hatred for sin and a love for righteousness. Those things must be there. But the emphasis nonetheless is this experience of joyful fellowship with God and consequently joyful fellowship with one another. Let me hurry on then to say this. Remember where we started. We all want to be happy. We all do. But if you're still continuing thinking that your joy is going to be found in a fat bank account, in the career of a lifetime, in the world's goods, or even in a fellow human being. I'm saying to you that you have begun a journey in the direction of sure misery. It's a matter of time. There is a vacuum in your soul. A vacuum that can never be satisfied by any of this or even all of this put together. It is a vacuum that only God can fill and only God can satisfy. So here's my statement to you. I know you are seeking for joy. But if you are looking for it anywhere other than in this person being spoken about in these verses, two words you need to hear from me. Two simple words. Stop it. Nothing complicated about those two words. Stop it. And do so today. Don't wait until you are an old, grumpy, miserable person making everybody miserable around you. Now is the time. while you are still young, to find your all in all, in an all-sufficient Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So that in finding Him, and you find that life abundant, that fullness of joy, it then radiates to all around. And you can say to them, come to Christ. What is done for me, he will do for you also. That's what John is saying here. And if you're a true Christian, your own heart says a hearty amen to that. Because you want to share this Jesus with others. Oh, that's my appeal to you tonight. Stop it! Make a beeline to the cross. Plead with the Savior there that in Him you might find fullness of joy. Let's pray. Eternal and gracious God in heaven, we thank you that this letter that we are studying this weekend was written by a witness. An individual that testifies in first term basis. Basically saying we have found life more abundantly and appealing to all to do the same by seeking it in Christ. Father we pray, especially for the young people here, easily impressionable. following often the deceitfulness of this world, the pretense of those who are totally bankrupt as far as real joy and fulfillment are concerned. Oh Lord, that by your Holy Spirit they might be caused to realize that life with a capital L is only found in Jesus Christ. That in the midst of their present frustrations, whatever they might be, they might stop looking to fellow human beings for an answer, but close themselves up with you until they experience the peace of sins forgiven. This we ask in Jesus' name, amen. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.