When We Really Get Jesus

Living in Love is our current message series. Hello, my name is Mark Spurlock, one of the TLC pastors. Thank you for joining us in the service. We are in a series in 1 John. We're going verse by verse, and today we're going to be looking at the first 12 verses. So I'm going to encourage you, if you have a Bible, open it up to 1 John 1. And if you would like to download the message notes, you can do that. I'm also going to have all of the verses on screen.

John's letter begins with the most important question we can ever ponder, and that's no exaggeration because John invites us right at the beginning to think about who is Jesus. And of all of the questions you will ever face in life, that one is far and away the most important. In fact, the first three gospels record a moment when Jesus turns to his disciples and he says, "Who do people say I am?" And they respond by saying, "Well, some say you're John the Baptist, others Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." And what they're saying is that Jesus is a big deal. Like, he's not only on par with the other prophets, somehow he's come back to life as one of them.

But then Jesus looks at them and says, "Who do you say I am?" And you know, Jesus has been asking that same question ever since. Dostoevsky, the famous Russian novelist, said this, "The most pressing question is whether a man as a civilized being can believe in the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, for therein rests the whole of our faith." Albert Einstein was at the very least fascinated by the question of Jesus. He said this, "I'm a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene. No man can read the gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus."

One time an excited fan called Elvis Presley the king. And Elvis said this, he said, "I'm not the king. Jesus Christ is the king. I'm just an entertainer." John Lennon on the other hand said, "Jesus was all right, but His disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." But another famous British singer put it this way, Bono of U2, said, "Jesus isn't letting you off the hook. The scriptures don't let you off the hook so easily. When people say, you know, good teacher, prophet, really nice guy, this is not how Jesus thought of Himself." And I would agree with that.

More recently, Steph Curry said, "There's more to me than just this jersey I wear, and that's Christ living inside me." And to that, Mr. T would have given a hearty amen, because when it came to the gospel of Jesus Christ, He said this, "You've got to testify. Tell somebody about it. God is good. I pity the fool who don't get it." Well, that's my hope and prayer for all of us today that we would get it when it comes to the identity and person of Jesus Christ. And so, because again, how we answer that question, it really penetrates every aspect of our lives.

So today we're going to talk about when we really get Jesus. And I want to say at the top, a thank you to a pastor named Darrell Dash, the way he kind of informed the way I've organized some of my thoughts today. Well, there are three things that I want to point out in today's message. And the first is this, is that when we really get Jesus, we get the reality of Jesus. Not the, you know, Jesus was just a good teacher Jesus, or maybe the Jesus some college professor told you about, the Jesus that allegedly the disciples invented some 50 years after the crucifixion, because apparently they had nothing better to do than concoct a story that resulted in all of them except one being executed.

John was the exception. He wasn't killed. He was merely tortured and banished to a prison island. And since the very beginning, people have had differing views. They answer that question differently when it comes to the reality of Jesus. In this letter we're going to see in the weeks ahead, John mentions the presence of false teachers. We know from John's inferences as well as extra biblical writings that some of these teachers were saying that Jesus wasn't really human. He merely appeared to be. And they said this because they believed that human flesh was just evil. And so Jesus had to be more like a ghost.

Another kind of stream of thought that was kind of percolating at the time and became known as Gnosticism rejected the idea that Jesus could have come in the flesh or that the true God more specifically could come in the flesh because they too believed that flesh and even all matter was evil. They were into knowledge that would somehow elevate them into forms of spiritual enlightenment. But again, for them it was all about secret knowledge. They had little use for the body in some forms of it. In fact, they said it really didn't matter what you did with your body. Again, it was all about the spirit.

And so this is why John emphatically begins saying, "No, the true God, that's exactly what it did. He came in human flesh. He came in the person of Jesus Christ." Let's see what he says starting at verse 1. "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 and we have seen it and testified to it." You notice the emphasis on how we've seen him, we've touched him, we've heard him. It's all this kind of sensory type of physical evidence that we were there, we witnessed it.

"And we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and has appeared to us." We proclaim to you, here we go again, what we have seen and heard so that you 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. John's saying, you know what, you want to know the reality about Jesus? Well, I knew Jesus. I walked with Him, I talked with Him, I ate fish, I sailed with Him. I knew Him, I was there. In fact, I was one of His closest friends. No, actually I was His best friend and that's why John will go on to call himself the beloved disciple in the gospel that he writes.

But his point is, man, you want to know who Jesus really is? Look no further because again, I was one of the people that was there. These are things that I saw, heard and learned from Him. And first of all, He is the Word of Life, John says. He is the source of every living being. And if you go back to Genesis, which this kind of calls us back to when he says, "In the beginning, you know, we're reminded that God created the heavens and the earth and it was good and that in that good creation, He created a beautiful garden called Eden where He set the first couple, Adam and Eve, and God wanted to have fellowship with them.

He wanted to walk with them in the cool of the day because from the very beginning, God was interested in a relationship with us. And sometimes when we think of fellowship, we think of, you know, like church potlucks or maybe even the relationships we have with other Christians and that's true, but it goes much deeper than that. We have fellowship with God because God wants to do life with us. He wants us to participate with Him in what He's doing in the world. That's what we're called to.

But that fellowship was broken when that first couple rebelled against God and went their own way. And you know this from your own life. I know that from my own that we've been doing the same thing ever since. And really the rest of the Bible from Genesis 3 to Revelation is about God rescuing and restoring His good creation and us as human beings from what sin has destroyed and broken. And that was accomplished in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God incarnate on the cross.

And that's why John can say, not only do we have fellowship now with each other, but also he says our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And listen, something that powerful, that revolutionary, that doesn't happen simply because, you know, Jesus had some good things to say. It doesn't even happen because, you know, He could perform miracles. It happened because of the reality of who Jesus is.

And that's why when Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Peter answers in the power of the Holy Spirit, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he says, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And as you and I, as we begin to see who Jesus really is through Scripture and through the Holy Spirit as He opens our eyes to the reality of Jesus, we not only begin to see Him as He really is, but we begin to see ourselves as we truly are, which brings us to the second thing. We also get the reality of sin.

You know, one of the reasons our culture is so divided, and we have to be honest, Christian culture along with it is because we spend so much time focused on, you know, the shortcomings of other people. We have little to no time to reflect, you know, on our own wrongdoings, our own defects. And in fact, just a couple days ago I read the words of a pastor who really resonates with what's going on in this current cultural moment. He said, "The state of the nation, the state of the churches, both are deplorable. Those who should be praying are disputing and fighting among themselves. How many are more concerned for the mistakes of government than for their own sins?" He's got a good point.

Oh, and by the way, this was written by Pastor John Newton back in 1778, so very little has changed since then. I mean, why are we so focused on the sins of others? Well, like I said, it creates a very convenient distraction from our own. John's not going to let us slip off the hook so easily, and so he goes on to describe two ways that we deny the reality of sins in our lives. And the first is to live as if sin doesn't matter.

Here's what I mean by that. It means I adopt this attitude that I can do whatever I want so long as I claim to believe in Jesus. You know, it's just kind of stuff I agree to in my head, but it really doesn't make a difference in the way I live my life. Did you know that according to the Pew Research Center, currently 70% of Americans identify themselves as Christian, seven out of ten people in our nation? Now, I would like to think this was true, but I would also like to think that if it were true, we would be a much different society. We would be more loving, more gracious, more holy.

In other words, we would be more like Jesus because that's what happens when we have a biblical faith in Him. It produces change and we become to resemble Him more and more. In verses 5 through 7, it says this, "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, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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 Christ, His Son, purifies us from all sin."

Now, to be clear, are we saved by grace? Yes, 100%. But listen, the gift of salvation is not simply about what God saves us from. It is ever and always also about what He saves us for, and that's for new life, for transformation, to redeem those things that He rescued us out of. Like I said, God wants to do life with us, full, abundant life. But if I see grace as merely a license to just sin however I want, then John's saying that you're not living in the truth.

Now, of course, none of us is perfect and not even close, and John gets this. That's why he keeps on bringing up the issue of forgiveness in Christ. But through God's grace, over time, it becomes our desire, our heartfelt prayer, to please Jesus, to increasingly hunger and thirst for righteousness. You know, even as, you know, we sigh under the burden of our own weaknesses. Well, the second way to deny the reality of sin is this, is to tell yourself, "You don't have a sin problem. You know, hey, I'm good."

You know, growing up, one of the first things that we are taught as kids is how to say sorry, right? And I don't know about you, but this is not something that I took to, you know, right out of the gate. I was reluctant, and I know that I'm not alone. In fact, here's some actual apologies from kids who, shall we say, are still learning the art. This first one says this, "Dear Brody, Miss P made me write you this note. All I want to say sorry for is not being sorry. I tried to feel sorry for you, but I didn't." Or I don't. You know, sorry, just stop feeling it.

These next couple of ones, the kids don't even sign their names at the end, which is good because it probably can't come back to haunt them. But this first one, I love this, says, "I'm sorry, Ben, I didn't mean to hurt you. I really hope you accept my apology. When I threw the scissors, I was aiming for crisps." Well, there we go. It makes it a whole, that's a different thing all together. This next one really does come from the heart. "I'm sorry for kicking you, even though I didn't, but I am writing this apology to get out of a time out." And finally, the kind of the cold hardest, the coldest one of all goes like this, "Sorry because of nothing." I use the word sorry, but I'm not.

Now, it's kind of amusing when it comes from little kids. It gets annoying if we don't learn to say sorry by the time we enter into our teens, and it is downright tragic. If we reach adulthood and rather than owning our own shortcomings, rather we become masters at rationalizing and denying our sins. And so John says in verse 8, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." And when John refers to sin in the singular here, he's likely referring to our kind of natural state that we are inherently sinful.

Like going back to those kids or think of your own childhood, no one ever has to teach us how to kick, hit, throw scissors at others. You know, we just figure that out all on our own. And for some of us, maybe it was even harder for you because you grew up in a dysfunctional or an abusive family and the hurt, the pain, the confusion, it just fills you with anger. And I'm so sorry that if that was your experience, because it can make it all the more challenging as pain has a way of inflaming our inherent sin nature. But even so, you can grow up in the best of circumstances. You can have awesome parents like I did. And yet sin can be alive and well in your heart. And I am living proof of that.

So bottom line, no matter what your background, we all have a sin problem. We're all in the same boat. George Whitfield, who was a famous preacher in the 18th century, he put it this way. He said, "I do not know what you may think, but I can say that I cannot pray, but I sin. I cannot preach to you or to any others, but I sin. I can do nothing without sin. Even my repentance wants to be repented of. Our best duties are as so many splendid sins." And perhaps you can relate. I certainly know I can.

It reminds me of a time a couple years ago, I talked about this when René and myself, along with our wives, we took Jeanette Kraft out to lunch. And some of you, many of you know Jeanette. She was the wife of the longtime senior pastor prior to René here at Twin Lakes Church, Roy Kraft. And Jeanette was held in the highest regard for her poise, for her Christ-like character. And so it came as a surprise that shortly into the lunch, she turns to René and to me and she says, "Okay, now that I have these two fine theologians here with me, I have a question for you."

And René and I kind of sit up straight like, "Well, we are happy to serve you. What can we tell you?" And she says, "Well, answer me this." She says, "You know, why is it that the older I get, the more difficult my battle with sin becomes? I would think that as I grow closer to Jesus, it would be the opposite." And in that moment, I'm thinking, "Well, I'm going to let the other fine theologian take first crack at this because I didn't know what to say." And apparently, René was in the same predicament because it was just crickets. Like neither of us. In a rare moment, neither René nor I had anything to say.

Well, we were bailed out by Lori Schlepper, who turned out to be the better theologian than both of us, who said this. She said, "Well, you know, Jeanette, I think it's because the closer we grow in our faith and relationship to Jesus, the more sensitive we become to our own sins." I think that was spot on. In fact, now that I've had a few more years under my belt, I can relate to that much more than I could when I was younger. But you know the good news of the gospel is right here in this next verse. It's this wonderful promise at verse 9 when he says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

It's that simple. Just admitting that I have a sin problem and believing that that's a problem that only Jesus can cure and he is happy to do so. On the other hand, verse 10, "If we claim we have not sinned, if we deny the reality of sin, we may come out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives." In other words, if somebody says that they don't have a sin problem, they are denying their need for God's grace. In fact, they are denying their need for Jesus Christ.

Now, I'm guessing that the majority of us are happy to admit our need for a Savior. That's why we're tuning into this service. But where I think this really touches home for a lot of us is not so much the issue of God saving grace, but what is called his sanctifying grace. That's after we've taken that first step of faith and Jesus moves into our lives and he wants to start making changes. He wants to sanctify us, make us like him, make us holy. And we kind of say, "Well, wait a minute. There are some things I don't want to change, Jesus. In fact, there are sins that I would just as soon hold onto."

There are things like bitterness, unforgiveness, things like a destructive habit or addiction. An immoral activity or relationship. That can be how we treat other people, the daggers we shoot with our words. And at first, when those things, God makes them aware to us, pricks our conscience, it bothers us. But if you or I, if we tolerate those sins and hold onto them long enough, our hearts will become hardened. We will literally seal off those dark pockets of our soul to Jesus, which is not a good place to be. Because it will always lead to pain and regret. That's what sin does. It always reaps a bitter harvest in our lives.

But today I want to invite you, I want to invite you to welcome, invite Jesus into those dark pockets in your heart, in your soul, and say, "Lord, I am so tired of living that lie. I want to again say, 'Lord, thy will be done, not mine. Would you take away the thing that has been enslaving me?'" I plead with you, don't miss this opportunity. If the Lord is speaking to you right now, hey, let's not play church here. I know you're at home. I'm on screen. But the Holy Spirit is with both of us right now.

And if He is speaking to you about a specific issue in your life, will you listen to Him? And some of you might be thinking, you know, Mark, I'm in too deep. I can't change. You know what? That's exactly what your enemy wants you to believe. That God's grace is sufficient for some people, but not for you. But you know what? Today could be the day that that all changes. It could be the day that you start to turn a corner in your life. And you know what? We would love to help you.

If there's an issue of sin in your marriage, or you're addicted to porn, or you're addicted to some kind of substance or alcohol, Jim Jocelyn, one of our pastors here, oversees ministries that deal with all of those things and more, he would love to help you. I can tell you that every week lives are being changed in those ministries and yours could be one of them. Will you let Jesus in? I invite you, if that is relevant to your life right now, to reach out to Jim. You can email him at Jim, J-I-M, at TLC.org. Or reach out to any one of the pastors here. Our emails are just our first name at TLC.org. We would love to get you the help and the support that you need to turn that corner and to find the freedom that Jesus wants you to have, the freedom that He secured for you on the cross when He took that sin upon Himself.

And let me assure you that when we get the reality of Jesus in our lives, and yes, we get the reality of sin, that there's the wonderful thing awaiting us. We get this third thing. We get the reality of forgiveness. Even if you don't fully understand it, you still get it. He generously gives His forgiveness, His grace to us, and we can live in the joy of knowing that God's grace is greater than all of our sins. As John says in the first two verses of chapter two, he says, "My children, I write this to you so that you will not sin." But if anybody does sin, and he knows we're going to sin, he's being polite here, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. I mean, He took your sin upon Himself and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. And you know what? That is still as true today as it was the day that John wrote this. "And when you or I live in this reality, the reality of God's forgiveness, it will change your life." And I'll close by giving you a powerful example of this.

Before Jack Murphy was a criminal, he was a championship surfer in Florida. And after accomplishing much in the surf world, he started to get involved in jewelry heists in the coastal Florida area of Cocoa Beach, and that kind of whet his appetite for how quickly he could get money just on a couple hours of breaking into people's homes. And so he and a partner set their sights on something way, way higher than just petty jewelry thefts. They actually stole the J.P. Morgan collection that was housed in the National Museum of Natural History in New York City. It was called "The Greatest Jewelry Heist in the History of Our Country." They stole the Star of India, which was the largest star sapphire in the world, and 27 other precious gems.

They did so by scaling a 125-foot wall, came down a rope, and got into the gem room where they just broke open these cases and took every single thing that they had. The crime caught the attention of the media. Even Hollywood made a movie about what they called "Mirth the Surf." He was kind of this celebrated criminal, and yet he was arrested just days after the heist. In fact, by the time the movie came out, he was in prison, Rikers Island, where he spent three years, and he emerged hardened. And he quickly slipped into a life of deep crime. He racked up charges, felony charges, including murder, and he was sentenced ultimately to two life sentences plus 20 years. You can imagine that.

The bottom line is, he was never going to see the light of day again. Some of his fellow prisoners tried to tell him about Jesus, but in his own words he would say, "I didn't want any part of it. I was Mirth the Surf." One day one of his friends is visiting him, and he says, "Mirth, you need to get into the programs, especially the programs they offer in the chapel." And Mirth says, "No way. I'm just not ready to give it all up." His friend says, "Give up what?" And then he just kind of looks around, and there's prisoners kind of walking around in the courtyard, and it's a depressing scene, and his friend calmly says, "Yeah, I get it, Mirth. Why would you ever want to give all this up?"

That's when Mirth realized that what he was really clinging to was his pride, and that was the beginning of his journey into faith. In fact, he said, "I started my journey with God with this simple prayer. Help me. Help me, God." And eventually his life became so transformed. He was ministering to other inmates in prison that he was released in 1986, decades before his original sentence would have turned out. In fact, it never would have. He would have been long gone, and by that time he was already involved in prison fellowship, and in fact, he would go on to visit 2,500 prisons worldwide sharing this message of hope.

This is what he says, "Those people need to know there is hope, and that hope's name is Jesus." Well, in September of 2020, Jack Murphy, Mirth the Surf, passed away and met the Lord who had already made him a trophy of his grace. And you know what? That same power of forgiveness is available to you right now. If you will simply say what Jack did so many years ago, "Help me, Lord. Help me, Jesus." And then trust that the real Jesus who is both God, fully God and fully man, who wants to forgive you and deal with your sin problem will eagerly respond to your cry of help. I can promise you this, that the more we lean into this reality, the more it transforms our lives.

So let's go to him right now in prayer so that he can inflame our hearts with the life that we get when we really get Jesus. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness and your grace. We are humble, Lord, because we don't deserve any of it. But of course, that's the point. That's why the eternal Son of God came and lived the life we could never live and died the death we deserved and then rose from the grave to prove that he had broken the power of sin and death.

And Lord, you invite us back into relationship, into fellowship with you so that we can do life together. And so I pray anyone right now who's watching this or listening to my voice that they would say, if you're speaking to them, if you're calling them, if you're confronting them with an issue of sin, that they would have ears to hear and an open heart and they'd say, "Lord, Jesus, help me. I need the hope, the life, the forgiveness that only you can provide." In other words, they want to say, "Yes, Jesus, I want to follow you. I admit my need. I'm a sinner, but you are my Savior.

And Lord, I know you will lead that person just like you led Jack Murphy through this amazing story of redemption. And for those of us, Lord, who may be holding on to a sin that has just dogged us for years, Lord, would you break those bonds? Would you open the prison door and then give us the willingness to step out, to take that very first step, whether it's talking to a friend or talking to a pastor or whatever it is, Lord, that represents that first little step of faith so that we can all be free and live the lives that you intend for us.

Lord, I pray this in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I ask that you would make it a reality in our lives today. It's in His name we pray. Amen.