THE MESSAGE DEFINED

Greetings all of you KNOWERS...whatcha KNOW?

We have finished the third session in our study of the First Epistle of John...and I hope that you are being encouraged, edified and moved to a deeper relationship with the Father.

This session we dealt with THE MESSAGE. That's right...THE MESSAGE was pre-Eugene Peterson. I John 1:5-7 was covered as we looked at the MESSAGE...and the implication of that MESSAGE on our KNOWING.

The MESSAGE is from a Greek word...ep-ang-el-ee-ah that means announcement, assent, pledge, promise. This particular announcement, assent, pledge, promise...was what they had heard from Him and were announcing to us.

THE MESSAGE

GOD

IS LIGHT----------------------------------------------->IN HIM (God)

(shine/manifest/luminous)

(Hebrews 1:3)

THERE IS

NO

DARKNESS

(shadiness, obscurity, dimness)

If God is light....and in Him there is no darkness...then this must mean that:

OUTSIDE HIM----------------->THERE IS---------------.DARKNESS.

Hebrews 1:3......speaks of the RADIANCE of Jesus. A ray....eminates from a source. The SUN is our source of light and heat...but we could not stand in the presence of the sun...we would burn up...so we experience the true nature...the exact representation of the sun...via the RAYS...the RADIANCE. So it is with the FATHER (our source for everything)... and the RAYS...RADIANCE of Jesus. John 14 makes it very plain that if you have seen the SON...you've seen the FATHER. "And He (Jesus) is the radiance (rays) of His (the Father) glory and the exact representation of His (the Father's) nature (His character, His will, His wishes, His desires), and upholds all things by the WORD OF HIS POWER." (Hebrews 1:3)

It would behoove us to get in the Light...and out of the darkness. This is how we get in the light...."For he delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son."

Once we get in the light....what we do will determine our connection with the Father, the Son, and others...it will determine our FELLOWSHIP FACTOR (F.F.).

Once we are in the light....and who and what we are is revealed...we have to make a verbal statement about the condtion. We see that we are sinnners....we are filthy...we are lost. We now speak. What we speak will either be a lie...or the truth. Jesus prayed..."Lord sanctify them by truth...Thy WORD is truth."

Confession is from the Greek word....homolegeo=same...word. When we are in the light...we either will say the SAME WORD that God says about our condition...or our CONFESSION will be what satan whispers to us. We will either come into agreement with the truth or a lie.

Romans 3:10 states, "As it is written, there is none righteous no not one."

That is one aspect of our confession. We get in the light...and we don't deny who we are outside of Him. We are sinners...in need of a Saviour.

But once the BLOOD OF JESUS is applied by our CONFESSION...we are then cleansed from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS...and transcend into II Corinthians 5:21....where we are NOW..."the righteousness of God in Christ."

Phase two of our confession...confess...come into agreement...say the same word that God says about our new cleansed being...new creation in Christ...righteousness of God in Christ...the righteous living by faith.

That's the MESSAGE that will put you into a position of KNOWING. 39 times God wrote that He wants us to KNOW.

See ya next session.

Rodney