1 John 1:1-4
Do you want to be revived? Refreshed? God will point you in the right direction in the pages of 1 John. This post recaps the first in a series of revival sermons that began yesterday. The sermon in a sentence: Revival is found in Jesus. You will only find the revival and refreshment you crave in him. As you pursue this, here are three facts about Jesus to keep in mind:
Jesus is not new.
That which was from the beginning… (1 John 1:1a)
The revival you crave will not be found in something new. It’s easy to think that some new idea, philosophy, time management strategy, magazine article, book – some new word will hold the key to climbing out of your particular valley. The word we need was in the beginning.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)
There are roughly 2.2 million new books published each year, over 50 million new tweets each day and two new blogs born every second.* That means that in an average 20 minutes, about the time it took to preach this sermon, 90 new books, 700,000 new tweets and 2,400 new blogs are published. If you devote your life to sifting through new words for something helpful, you’ll never scratch the ever-widening surface. Besides, how many of these new words last anyway?
As we look for refreshment, we don’t need a new word. We need the Word which has been since before the beginning and withstands the test of time.
Jesus is real.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have 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 and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us… (1:1-2)
When you think of revival, do you think of some vague mystical experience? Some metaphysical force washing over you, invigorating you in some magical way? I suggest that the revival you desire is found in something more tangible.
John and the other disciples heard Jesus’ voice. They saw his appearance. They saw what he looked like when he first awakened in the morning, when he laughed, when he was serious, when he got tired. They touched him. They felt his hugs and pats on the back. They knew Jesus as a real person, not a vague force. And it is in this real person that we will find refreshment.
John says that Jesus, the word of life, was made manifest, which means visible, plain and clear. Therefore, our pursuit of revival in Jesus is the pursuit of something plain and clear. It requires real committment, real confidence, real faith in Jesus, the real person.
Jesus is life.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have 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 and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us… (1:1-2)
What seems like true life to you? What is real living? A quick look through the magazine rack displays many common conceptions of real living: Country Living, Cottage Living, Southern Living, Coastal Living, Martha Stewart Living, Healthy Living and locally, Charlotte Living. We tend to flip through the pages of magazines like these and think, “If my home looked like that, I’d really be living.” Or, “If I was healthy like that, I’d really be living.”
The truth is, you can be sitting in the perfect house in perfect health and be the living dead if you do not know Jesus. Jesus is life. Therefore, the closer you are to Jesus, the closer you are to life. The further you are from Jesus, the further you are from life.
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In your pursuit of revival, you don’t need a new word, you need the word that has been from before the beginning. You don’t need some metaphysical experience to wash over you; you need Jesus, the real person. And you don’t need any change in situation or circumstance. You only need Jesus because Jesus is life.
*According to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Twitter and Technorati.
