Light
Whoever Loves His Brother Lives in the Light
In 1 John, one of the
5 books John wrote
We see him talking of
an old command and a new command
Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which
you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have
heard. Yet I am writing you a new
command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and
the true light is already shining. 1 John 2:7,8
The old command is to
Love One Another
The new command calls
us to be strong in the Word of God
Don’t forget where
your battle is, it is with the “evil one”
It is the evil one
who has darken the eyes and has made us lost to the answers
The evil one wants us to focus on each other
rather than the issues
Hatred will keep
America from fixing the issues
Love will humble us
so that the Light of Truth might be seen
How we doing?
Is the political
environment of hate taking you back into the darkness?
Or, are you walking
in the Light of Love?
Remember Jesus said, “Love your enemies”
Whoever Loves His
Brother Lives in the Light
John the Apostle in his youth was called
by Jesus one of the Sons of Thunder.
A young man characterized by zeal,
passion and ambition.
In his early days with Jesus,
at times John acted rashly, recklessly,
impetuously, and aggressively.
Jesus corrected John for rebuking
those casting out demons in Mark 9…
And wanted to call down fire
from heaven in Luke 9.
But John aged well.
He said he was the
disciple Jesus
John was touched by the love of Jesus
and as we read the later writings of John,
we see a man balanced
with love and truth.
In 1 John, one of the five books
John wrote, we see him talking of an
old command and a new command…
Dear friends, I am not
writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the
beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth
is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is
already shining. 1 John 2:7,8
The old command is to Love One Another.
We can go all the way back to
Moses to find this command.
It may be old but should never get old.
At the time of John there
was a lot of political hatred.
Christians were hated and put to death.
According to history John is the only
disciple of Jesus who lives and died a
natural death, the rest were martyred.
John was very concerned with
the climate of hate in the world.
The lack of love for brother and sister
in the human race was affecting the
love for brother and sister in Christ.
John says I am writing you a new command…
Anyone who claims to
be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light,
and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11 But whoever hates his
brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know
where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. 1 John 2: 9-11
Why is this so important to us today?
The political environment
today is promoting hate.
The movement of hate
is attacking
the old command, Love
One Another.
We need a new command.
We need the new
command John
wrote to the early church about.
It is a command that embraces love and truth.
Hate brings darkness.
When you hate someone you cannot see what they see.
We have people killing people they have never seen before.
It is a terrible thing to hate someone you
disagree with, but to hate people you
do not even know, is insane.
The anger in America is at a boiling level and
the church of Jesus Christ in in the middle of it.
I have a great love for the people Christ
died for.
Christ died for them, just like you and I…
“While we were yet sinners.”
I have to confess watching the news
and listening to the agreements of those
in the world, challenges my ability to love.
The church of Jesus Christ should not
be Republican or Democratic.
The voice of the church should be
focused on the Kingdom of God.
But in the church are people on the
right and left of the political divide.
John warns us that if we hate our
brother we are still in darkness.
Still in the darkness we were
in before we meet Christ.
But if we love one another, we live in the
Light and nothing can make us stumble.
We have an enemy.
John says a little later
in 1 John 2:14…
I write to you, young
men,
because you are
strong,
and the word of God
lives in you,
and you have overcome
the evil one.
The new command calls us to
be strong in the Word of God.
Don’t forget where your battle is…
It is with the “evil one”.
It is the evil one who has darken the eyes
and has made us lost to the answers we need.
The evil one wants us to focus on
each other rather than the issues.
Hatred will keep America from fixing the issues.
Love will humble us so that
the Light of Truth might be seen.
How we doing?
Is the political environment of hate
taking you back into the darkness?
Or, are you walking in the Light of Love?
Remember Jesus said…
“Love your
enemies”
Scripture Reading
1 John 2:7-14 NIV
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an
old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the
message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen
in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already
shining.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother
is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and
there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11 But whoever hates his brother
is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he
is going, because the darkness has blinded him.
12 I write to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, dear children,
because you have known the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you have known him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
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