Please turn with me to 1 John 5 - starting at verse 18.

There’s a story about a frightened woman on the Titanic who had found her place in a lifeboat about to be dropped into the raging North Atlantic.  Suddenly - staring into the face of death - suddenly she thought of something she needed.  She asked for permission to go to her state room.  She was given 5 minutes or she would be left behind.

She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle.  She ran through the gambling room that had money pushed aside - in one corner the money was ankle deep.  She came to her state room and pushed aside her jewelry and reached above her bed and got three small oranges.  Then she found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.

Death had found the Titanic.  Instantly priceless things had become worthless.  Things of seemingly little value had become priceless. (1)

John - as he brings his letter to a close - very purposefully John ends this letter by writing about who and what is to hold the greatest value in our our lives - especially in our fellowship together with God.

There are three statements here in verses 18 to 20 - that John makes about what we’re to value.  The first comes in verse 18.  If you’re there in your Bibles or have your sermon notes let’s read this verse out loud together.  We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

Statement number one:  The value of being made right with God.

John writes, “We know - which is how he introduces each of these three statements - we know...  The certainty and value of this is without question.  We know that no one who is born of God - that’s us - sins;

Anyone here ever sin?  Do Christians sin?  We all do.  But God’s children do not persist in sinning - continuously doing what they know to be sin.   That’s what John is writing about.

In 3:9 John writes:  No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed - God’s seed - abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

When we’re born again - spiritually reborn trusting in Jesus as the Savior - God places His life in us.  We have a new nature at work within us.  God loves His kids.  When we sin - which we all do - God won’t leave us alone.  He  keeps after us - convicting us - pointing out sin - showing us what must be surrendered - repented of - cut out of our lives.

“but - verse 18 - He who was born of God - meaning Jesus - born into the flesh and blood of humanity to die on a cross - Jesus - keeps him” - meaning us.

This is what John said in chapter one - verses 7-9:  “We have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He - Jesus - is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We can’t lie about our sin.  Pretend sin doesn’t happen.  When we’re honest about our sin - agree with God - “God you’re right.  I sin.  I need Jesus.  I need your forgiveness - your cleansing - your restoring of our relationship.”  God - through Jesus - does.  As if we had never sinned.  Is that valuable?

Verse 18 - “And the evil one does not touch him.”  When we’re right with God - whatever accusation Satan makes - to drag us down in guilt - to lead us into doubt - to question God - to renew sinful desires and passions with us with the idea that they cannot be resisted - its all a lie.

Chuck Swindoll, writing in The Grace Awakening, writes this:  “A war had been fought - the bloodiest in our history.  A president had been assassinated.  An amendment to the Constitution had been signed into law.  Once-enslaved men, women and children were now legally emancipated.  Yet amazingly, many continued living in fear and squalor as though it had never happened.  In a context of hard-earned freedom, slaves choose to remain as slaves.”

Our freedom from slavery to sin has come through the hard-earned victory of Jesus on the cross.  When we come to Jesus as our Savior - when we’re born of God - spiritually reborn - we’re set free.  We don’t need to live in bondage to sin.  We don't need to dwell in the squalor and guilt and self-destruction of sin.  We don’t need to return to what keeps us from fellowship with God and each other.

We need to cling to that - to see the value of being made right with God - having fellowship with Him.

In Jesus we are made right with God.  Say that with me, “In Jesus we are made right with God.”

Statement number two comes in verse 19.  If your with us in your Bibles or the sermon notes - let’s read this verse together - verse 19:  “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

Statement number two is:  The value of separation from the world.

Human history proves John’s point.  Just looking around us today - turn on the news - read a newspaper - log on.  The proof of what John says is all around us.  This world lies in the power of Satan.  And somehow human kind suffers from the delusion that somehow we’re evolving into something greater than ourselves.

Philip Mauro was a Christian lawyer who - many years ago - worked with the United States Supreme Court.  Listen to what Philip Mauro wrote way back in 1908.

“Among the strong delusions of these times there is none stronger than that Man’s Day - what we are achieving all by ourselves without God - if God exists at all - among the strong delusions of these times - is that this - is a day of glorious achievement, successive triumphs, and continuous progress and that by the forces operating in it mankind is eventually to be brought to the condition of universal blessedness and contentment.” (2)

Humankind is deluded into thinking that we choose our own way.  And yet that way is controlled by Satan.   The history of the human race is one long unending account of brutality, violence, murder, war, death, destruction, fear, misery…  ultimately leading to eternity without God.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:  “You formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience...we all formerly lived in the lusts of the flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath...dead in our transgressions...having no hope and without God in the world.”  (Ephesians 2:2,3,5,12) 

There’s no middle ground.  Either we’re of God or we’re of the world.  When we are “of God” we’re going in a completely different direction than the world system around us.  There is such value in separation from the world.  God sets us free from the delusions of this world - from hopelessness - the emptiness.

To say, “We are of God” is not arrogance.  But, to value what God has done for us - knowing what it means to have fellowship with Him.

Statement number three comes in verse 20.  If you’re there let’s read it together - verse 20:  “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.  This is the true God and eternal life.”

Statement number three is:  The value of knowing truth.

Listen to this quote - thinking about how our society views truth.  Quote:  “Having a clear faith, according to the credo of the church, is often labeled as fundamentalism.  Yet relativism - that is, letting oneself be carried here and there by any wind of doctrine - appears as the sole attitude good enough for modern times.”

Can you guess who said that?  Pope Benedict XVI! (3)

A boy and a girl are in the back seat of a car.  They’ve been led to believe that as long as they love each other anything they do is all right.  We consume and pollute and destroy in the name of self-justifying greed.  Deceit is everywhere - lying, cheating, distorting the truth - in our homes - at work - school - government.  Live with your lover.  Marry your lover.  Marry your dog.  Same sex marriage.  Who cares?  Marriage is about what turns me on and keeps me interested.  Stick junk in your body.  Kill yourself.  No one cares.  We kill babies and old people because they’re inconvenient.  There is no absolute truth.  Only what benefits me.

“We know that the Son of God has come.”  That’s truth.

“He’s given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true.”  Truth clarified.

“We are in Him - Jesus Christ.”  More truth.

“He is the true God.  He is eternal life.”  Absolute truth.

Is there value in knowing that there is truth?

The Son of God came.  In chapter one John writes, “We heard Him.  We saw Him.  We felt Him.  We know Him and have fellowship with Him.”  God has entered our history.

He gave us understanding - explained life as it really is.  Clarified life.  How God intends it to be.  How we’re to live.  Stripped away the darkness and delusion of Satan and sin.  We know what it means to live life as God intended it to be lived.  God points out the mine fields - gives us His wisdom to make good choices - understanding to navigate through the storms.

We are in Him.  We have eternal life in Him.  Life has meaning and purpose.  Our lives have value.  God loves us.  He has been - is - will be there for us - always.

The value of truth is what it reveals about fellowship with God - His presence and reality in our lives - knowing Him - now and forever.

Verse 21 is a final powerful - God hitting us on the side of the head - wake up call - warning.  Read it with me:  “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”

Don’t compromise.  Don’t settle for anything less than true fellowship with God and each other.  Don’t give value to anything other than the tremendous privilege God has given you in knowing Him.

Worship is the celebration of God!  To exalt Him.  To praise Him.  To boast in Him.  To give ourselves unreservedly in devotion to Him.  Idolatry is giving a greater place in our hearts to someone or something other than God. 

Worship deepens fellowship.  Idolatry destroys fellowship.  Try that with me.  “Worship deepens fellowship.  Idolatry destroys fellowship.”

John writes, “guard yourselves from idols,” because its easy for us to get off track - to loose focus - to believe the lies of the world around us.  Its easy for us to slip into the mindset of the world - man centered - self-sufficient - proud of our accomplishment.  Its easy for us to focus on ourselves in worship - and on what pleases us - not on what pleases God.

When we focus on ourselves worship becomes divisive.  We see this today in America.  The form worship takes is one of the most divisive issues.    Imagine - the highest expression of the depth of our fellowship together - the highest expression of the depth of our adoration and value of God - is also the most divisive within Christ’s Church.  Quarrels - antagonism - anger - churches coming apart - over this tremendous gift of God - the ability to draw together and adore Him.

When we focus on ourselves worship looses its value in our lives.  Our family gatherings - our time with friends - our recreation - our work and career - all these assume greater priority.  Worship becomes “going to church” - an intrusion - an addition to our already busy lives.

Focus on anything or anyone else besides God and its easy for us to take for granted the tremendous truths of God which He has revealed to us - the foundational truths on which we rest our faith.  Its so easy for us to take for granted our relationship with God - the wonder of Jesus’ love - the nearness of His presence - His peace within our hearts.  The joy of being together in His presence.

The contrast - what we’ve been looking at here in First John - The Fellowship of the King - fellowship is when we’re possessed by God and experience life in Jesus together.

Someplace, deep within us, God has placed a longing to experience life with Him - to draw from Him as the source for our lives - to be possessed by Him - to have fellowship with Him.  Someplace within us God has placed a longing for community - for intimacy between each of us - drawing on our relationship with Jesus Christ - to experience a deeper - more joyful - more satisfying fellowship than any type of relationship or experience the world can offer us.

The highest expression of our fellowship is when we come together in worship of God - when we value Him most highly - and mutually express our adoration to Him.

When we began this series we shared communion together.  In a moment we’re going to again come together to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  “Koinonia” - the Greek word for fellowship - is also translated “communion” - the celebration of life together in Jesus.

Bread - Jesus used to symbolize His own body - what was seen and touched.  His body - broken - sacrificed on the cross - taking the penalty for our sins - our condemnation to eternal death - taking all of that upon Himself.

Wine - Jesus used to symbolize the relationship we have together in Him.  He said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood.”  God establishes fellowship with us - the fellowship we have together - through the shed blood of Jesus.

If we take these elements together we’re saying that we’ve died with Jesus and we’re alive because of Him.  We can no longer go the way the world is going.  We can be with them - love them.  But, we can no longer live as they live.  What we value is different.  What we honor with our lives is different.

As we share communion together - thinking together about fellowship - I’d like to encourage you to think about these things.  Fellowship doesn’t focus on us - it focuses on God.  Fellowship is a celebration of God’s grace and a renewing of our relationship together in Jesus Christ - a joyful coming together to experience life as the Body of Christ.

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1. W. E. Sangster, The Craft of Sermon Illustration
2. Philip Mauro, Man’s Day, Morgan & Scott, Ltd., London, 1908 - quoted by Ray Stedman in his sermon, “Christian Certainty”
3. Quoted in Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox, Issue #204