I Write To You 1 John 2:12-14

Adapted from a Steve Shepherd sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/i-write-to-you-

steve-shepherd-sermon-on-church-body-of-christ-145786.asp

1 John 2:12 NET I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven

because of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to

you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one. 14 I have written to

you, children, that you have known the Father.

I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the

beginning. I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of

God resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

“I am writing to you” Does anybody write anymore? What has happened to the art of writing? It seems proper penmanship is not

taught any more.

Penmanship And Brilliance.

A handwriting study made at a large

university revealed that the smarter a

person is, the worse his scrawl. It’s

thinking faster than you write that

makes handwriting messy. The faster

you think, naturally, the poorer your

penmanship. What about you? What

does your penmanship say about you?

Anyone that has seen my hand writing has seen proof of my BRILLIANCE!

I don’t know if I agree with that study

because everyone knows Gayla is a heap

smarter than I am. She has wonderful

penmanship even though she writes with

the wrong hand! I’ve never seen a south

paw with such good writing skills! The

story goes, the reason we like to be

around left handed people is because

it’s fun to watch them write!

A young reporter called on Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) to interview him. He found the writer comfortably snuggled in

bed, reading. The reporter asked Twain for the story of his life. “Well,” drawled Twain, “in the days of George III, when I was a

young man I used to...”

“Pardon me,” interrupted the young man, “I know that you are no spring chicken, but

you couldn’t possibly have been living in the time of George III.”

“Fine, my boy,” exclaimed Mark. “I heartily congratulate you. You are the first and only

reporter I’ve ever met who corrected a mistake before it appeared in print.”

Wouldn't it be great if all corrections were made before they were printed? So with my

sermons. So with everything we write,

OR EVERY WORD WE SPEAK! Wouldn't it be wonderful to speak without error?

A young American preacher was induced to publish a book of sermons. The first copy

was mailed to him. After he read the volume, he said: “I am never so reminded of

the sow returning to her wallowing in the mire as when I undertake to look at what I

have written or preached.”

He literally kicked the book out the window. His name was Henry Ward Beecher, who was considered to be one of the greatest

preachers of his time.

Beecher was the seventh of 13 siblings. There were 7 brothers, all of whom became ministers. His sister, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. Some of the other siblings were famous in their own right, but

we won’t discuss them now.

It was Joseph Pulitzer who offered the following advice on writing to editorial

writers, columnists and reporters: “Put it before them briefly so they will read it,

clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided

by its light.”

That's good advice for not only writing but also for preaching. Make it clear, make it brief, make it accurate, and I might add,

make it simple.

Let's write more! Writing can bless others if we let it!

Let's not lose this art that God gave us. (I will continue to type everything I write so it has a better chance of being deciphered.)

Consider the different groups to whom John wrote and what he wrote.

1- I write to you children

2- I write to you young people

3- I write to you fathers

I WRITE TO YOU CHILDREN12 I am writing to you, little children, that

your sins have been forgiven because of his name.

14a I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father.

“Little children” Children are very dear, aren’t they? But then they grow up! They

are still very dear but not nearly as cute as when they are little and seemingly innocent. Little ones lose their innocence so quickly.

Why? They see and hear far too much from TV, the internet, from other kids at school

and maybe even from mom and dad.

A woman who came from a Mennonite family said she never heard her parents

ever argue or speak ill of each other. They may have had words behind doors but

never in front of the children.

WOW!

We would do well to imitate this.

Now obviously, the children in our text are not little children but rather children of the

faith. I think we all recognize that Christians have varying degrees of faith. Some are

quite new to the faith. Others have been in Christ for many years and hopefully, have matured in the faith. Some are strong and

some are weak in the faith.

We assume that John is probably writing to those who are young in the faith.

12 I am writing to you, little children, that your sins have been forgiven because of his

name.Aren't all Christians forgiven of their sins? Yes, but it may be that new converts are more acutely aware of their forgiveness.

It’s like the guy who was so excited about being baptized that when he was raised up

out of the water, he hollered, “Hot dog! Wohee! Hot dog!”

After a period of time, however, we tend to take our forgiveness for granted, but the

newly converted are much more aware that they have been forgiven and are excited

about it.

Remember when you confessed your faith in Christ and was baptized into Christ. WHAT AN EMOTIONAL TIME IT WAS!

Were you so excited about being forgiven you tried to talk to everyone at work or

school about it?Those who are new to the faith need to be encouraged and helped. We can't expect

them to know much but we may be able to get them to do more than most because of

their new found faith and forgiveness!

14a I have written to you, children, that you have known the Father.

Don't we all know the Father? We should, but again, perhaps the new person in Christ is more aware of God as being their father.

Actually, this should be more true for us who have been in Christ for many years, but perhaps the new convert is just aware

that God is not only God, but also their Father in this new relationship.

Matthew 7:11 NET If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in

heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

I WRITE TO YOU YOUNG PEOPLE

13b I am writing to you, young people, that you have conquered the evil one.

14c I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God

resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

Is John utilizing Hebrew parallelism? “you have conquered the evil one”

You are strong. Isn't this the truth? We were strong in our youth! Remember how it was? What you did? What you could do that you

can't do now?Our neighbor Wayne is 87 and for some

reason, he says he can't lift as much weight as he once did. He can't run his chain saw

very long, he gets worn out on the short walk to the back of his property.

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

We all know very well what the deal is. We all wish we were like Moses. Deuteronomy 34:7 NET Moses was 120 years old when

he died, but his eye was not dull nor had his vitality departed.

Or like Noah who had 3 sons after turning 500 years old?

Genesis 5:32 NET After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem,

Ham, and Japheth.

Then he started building the ark. Genesis 6:14 NET Make for yourself an ark

of cypress wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and out.

Genesis 7:6 NET Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters engulfed the earth.

This man had to be as strong as ever being over 500 years old & building a huge ship!We all would like to be strong until we die,

but we know the odds say that’s not happening.

The strength that John was referring to was probably not physical strength. John is

talking about those who are strong in the faith, which would be a mature or maturing

Christian. ARE YOU STRONG IN THE FAITH? I think

that may well depend on the day and perhaps what we're going through or

experiencing in life.

When things are going well, we may think we are strong in the faith, but when

difficulties come or disasters hit us, we may think our faith is quite weak. However, trials

can make us stronger.It's much like lifting weights. As we strain against the weight, the muscle tissue is

challenged to become stronger. And with proper rest and nutrition the muscles come back even stronger than they were. And so

it is with difficulty in life.

As we endure with the Lord's help, we become stronger in our faith.

If we don't feel strong in our faith, what can we do about it?

How can we get stronger? Romans 10:17 NET Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is

heard comes through the preached word of Christ.

To get stronger, we must get into the Word of God!

Psalms 119:28 NET I collapse from grief. Sustain me by your word!

14c I have written to you, young people, that you are strong, and the word of God

resides in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

Do you get the message in this verse? When the Word of God “resides,” lives in us through reading, meditation, memorization, etc. then we will become strong or stronger

and overcome the evil one.

Are you constantly having trouble in life? Who’s behind it?

IT'S THE EVIL ONE! And there’s only one way to overcome him.

JUST LIKE JESUS DID!Matthew 4:1 NET Then Jesus was led by

the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of

God, command these stones to become bread."

4 But he answered, "It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth

of God.' " (Deu. 8:3)

You can’t say, “It is written,” if you don’t know what is written!

I WRITE TO YOU FATHERS13a I am writing to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the

beginning.

14b I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the

beginning.Again John uses Hebrew Parallelism.

Erma Bombeck (February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) once painted a portrait of a little girl who loved her dad but wasn't sure what

dads do: One morning my father didn't get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. I hadn't thought that

much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night.

He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn't afraid to go into the

basement by himself. He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it

or got excited about it. It was understood when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick,

he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures . . . but he was

never in them.

Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, "I'm going off to work now," and threw him under the

bed. The funeral was in our living room and a lot

of people came and brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the daddy doll.

When I found him, I dusted him off and put him on my bed.

He never did anything. I didn't know his leaving would hurt so much.

I don't know if this picture was the story of Erma Bombeck's father or if this is how she

pictured most fathers. Either way, it's an interesting insight. And if you're like me, you

miss your father as well. Do you have a father in the faith? Do you have someone who is strong in the faith,

whom you admire and seek counsel from? We all should have someone like this.

There is an Elder in a church who is over 80 years old. He is diabetic and blinded

because of macular degeneration. He was admired for his faith in Christ. He was, in a real sense, a father in the faith. He lived his

faith. He served well in the church as a teacher, song leader, and servant in other ways. He was always willing to help in any

way he could.

One Mother's day when the Elder and the preacher were sitting together, out of the

blue the preacher asked, "I never heard you talk of your mother. What took her from this

life?" The Elder said, "She took her own life." the preacher WAS SHOCKED. He was humbled and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry." The Elder relied, "It's all right, you didn't know."

He understood the preacher’s shock. However, the Elder never said anything else

about her. The preacher never did know what

happened that caused his mother to take her own life. But he also saw that it did not hinder the Elder in living the Christian life. If

that had happened to some people, they would have easily turned away from the

faith but not this Elder.

A few years ago, the preacher went back to see the Elder and stayed overnight with him. They visited about many things and

many people. The thing that still impresses the preacher with the Elder is his strong

faith. He doesn't appear to let life's difficulties drag him down. HE REMAINS STRONG

IN THE FAITH.I want to be like that.

14b I have written to you, fathers, that you have known him who has been from the

beginning.

Someone who is mature in the faith knows Him who is from the beginning. They know

him intimately and perhaps have known Him most of their lives. This is the faith we

need: TO KNOW HIM AND

TO KNOW HIM WELL!

I write to you children, young people and fathers. When you write anyone, what

should you write? No matter what you write, please write words that encourage in the faith. What words? Keep walking by faith.

Keep the faith. Seek the Lord. Seek first the kingdom. Lean on the Lord.

Any time we speak or write words that point people to the Lord we're doing a very good thing and this is an indication of our faith

and maturity in the Lord.