Walk this Way
This morning we're beginning a new series on the book of 1 John. As we thought about what to call this new series, we kept noticing the repetition of the word "walk" in the Bible. It occurs in 1 John and it occurs hundreds of times in scripture. The Bible invites us to walk with God, walk according to truth, walk according to the light, walk in accordance with God's commandments, and walk the same way Jesus walked. The Bible also warns us how not to walk.
Isn't it true that from our earliest recollection, people have been telling us how to walk? When you're younger, it's your parents and teachers, adults, who are telling you how to walk. Then it's your friends, and television icons, and pop stars lecturing you. Then college professors, employers, employees, and the government. Everyone has an opinion about how we should walk. Remember the old Aerosmith song "Walk this Way"?
In Haggai 1:5 (ESV) the Lord commands us to, "...Consider your ways." That means to consider your walk. We really need to decide what voice we will listen to, take cues from, and follow.
The simplest definition I've seen for walk is, "to move forward by putting one foot in front of the other." That's what 1 John is about. Moving forward. Putting one foot in front of the other. And really that's all we can do. And it all begins with the person of Jesus. We learn to walk with Jesus, walk like Jesus, and live for Jesus. We do this by moving one step at a time. Jesus invites us to walk in a manner that is radically different than any other manner of walking. In time, as you walk with God, the changes in your life will be more evident. But it all happens just one step at a time, and you start from wherever you are.
Why Lakeside Matters
As I read the opening verses of 1 John, I decided to title this first sermon, "Why Lakeside Matters." Obviously, Lakeside matters enough that you braved Snowmaggedon 2014 to be here. But more than that, why does Lakeside matter? Why does what we do here, and talk about here, matter? I came up with four reasons.
Because Jesus is the Son of God
1 John 1:1-2 (ESV) says, "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..."
At Lakeside, Jesus is the subject matter. Jesus is our message. This is one of the only places where you can come and learn about Jesus. The Bible is our textbook, but the subject matter of the Bible is Jesus. This book teaches that the God of the universe became a fully alive human being, and physically, literally, walked among us.
The apostle John was with Jesus from the very beginning of his public ministry. "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..." A part of us longs for that kind of physical, face to face encounter with God. What did Jesus' voice sound like? How did he carry himself? What did it feel like to look into his eyes? What was it like to touch him, shake his hand, hug him, fish with him, or walk with him?
We don't get to experience Jesus in the same way the apostles experienced Jesus. They had the incarnate Son of God. We have the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Through the word of God, the Bible, the Spirit teaches us, nudges us, guides us, rebukes us, and convicts us. The Spirit makes Jesus real to us. We also believe in the imminent return of Christ. Christ will indeed return, and we'll see him face to face. We'll hear his voice, stand in his presence, feel his power, and touch his hand.
Past, present, and future, Christ is a reality that cannot be ignored. We can't just relegate Jesus to the margins of our lives. As a church, we are not relevant in spite of Christ. We are relevant because of Christ. Everything we do is in preparation for day we will stand in the presence of the Son of God. The Greek word for testify in 1 John 1:2 is "martureo." It's the word for martyr. We are called to testify, preach, teach, and proclaim Christ, although it may cost us everything.
Because Jesus reveals the life of God
1 John 1:2 (ESV) says, "...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 made manifest to us..."
Notice what this verse actually says about eternal life. John says that eternal life was with the Father and made manifest to us. The eternal life isn't a thing, it isn't an accessory, it isn't an application for you to download and install. Eternal life is Jesus.
1 John 5:20 (ESV) says, "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He (Jesus) is the true God and eternal life."
1 John 5:11-12 (ESV), "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." John 17:3 (ESV), "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."
John 3:16 (ESV), "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." If you have the Son, you have eternal life! In John 11:25-26 (ESV) Jesus tells Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believer this?"
John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus tells his disciples, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 5:39-40 (ESV) says, "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."
Lakeside is an amazing place. If you are financially ruined, we can help you find financial peace. If you feel lonely, you can form genuine friendships here. If you are unfit, you can play basketball and get in shape. If you've ruined your life, you can learn sound moral principles that govern your life. If your family is a mess, marriages get healed, relationships get restored, and we turn the hearts of fathers toward their children, and children back toward their parents. If you're in crisis, our church gives counsel, financial assistance, and support. These are all good things.
But there is a reason that Lakeside matters even more than all these good things. It's because we hold out the word of life, Jesus Christ. If we stop proclaiming Jesus, it doesn't matter how many habitat homes get built, how many people find financial peace, how many marriages get saved, how big our youth group becomes, or how much money we give to the poor. We are relevant because we hold out Christ to a dying a world. No Christ, no relevance. No Christ, no eternal life. No Christ, just a little more of this life.
It strikes me that churches are giving people morality, but not eternal life.. They are giving people niceness and tolerance, but not eternal life. Knowledge, but not eternal life. Activities, but not eternal life. Practical steps for living, but not eternal life. Great music, dazzling lights, a big show, social programs, political and community activism, but not eternal life. May it not be happening like this at Lakeside.
Because Jesus invites us into fellowship
1 John 1:3 (ESV), "...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."
The whole reason we want to draw people into our fellowship, our church, is so that ultimately they'd be drawn into deeper fellowship with the Father and the Son. Otherwise, what's the point? We need to have services, classes, groups, gatherings, meals, trips, outings, sports, Bible schools, and youth groups. But these are a springboard to having deeper fellowship with God. Let's make sure we keep the main thing the main thing. Let's make sure that what we do matters for eternity, because we didn't stop shy of holding out the word of life, Jesus Christ, to all we encounter.
This word fellowship carries the idea of communion, marriage, partnership, joint-ownership, and shared work. We are all stakeholders-- cultivating relationships with people that will foster eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When you greet someone new, you're not just shaking some hand, you could very well be saving a life. Every relationship potentially matters for eternal life.
Let me mention one last point. Why does Lakeside and our ministry matter?
Because one of the deepest sources of joy is
bringing people into fellowship with God
1 John 1:4 (ESV), "And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete."
There is deep joy in personally knowing Christ. But an even deeper joy is helping someone else come to Christ. At Lakeside, when a student leads another student to Christ, he gets the joy of baptizing him. When a parent leads her child, or her spouse, or a friend to Christ, that joy belongs to her. I pray that you will experience that same joy in 2014. Not just the joy of seeing others come to Christ, but the joy of personally helping someone come to know Christ. That joy belongs to you! I hope you'll claim it in 2014!
Let me finish where I started. Walking is all about moving forward, and putting one foot in front of the other. It doesn't matter this morning what is behind you, in the past. What matters is who stands before you, and whether you are taking the next step in your walk with Jesus.
Get connected in fellowship. Admit to God that your old path failed you (confession). Believe on Jesus, not because he gives eternal life, but because he is life. Turn from the old path, to a new path (repent). Pledge your life in baptism, to live for God. Be washed and forgiven. Receive the Holy Spirit.