Recently in light of the
political campaigns we have been listening to advertisements.
These begin or end with the following message from the candidates.
I
approve this message:
In
American politics, "I approve this message" is a phrase said by
candidates in political advertisements on television. Under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act candidates are
required to appear in ads paid for by their campaigns and to say the phrase.
The
phrase is most often said at the end of the ad, though in some ads it is said
at the beginning. It is often said to make candidates look foolish; for this
reason, some candidates have used the phrase with the word
"because", as in "I'm Howard Dean and I approve this message
because it's time to take our country back."
The
political message is given, but most of the time it is hard to determine
exactly what is the position of the candidate on any given topic.
It can be that way for Christians also.
But, it isn’t for God. He
says:
Scripture
Text:
1John 1:5 This is the
message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there
is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in
the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without
sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from
all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be
a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
This is the message.
God is light!
He is good, just, righteous, truth, love, caring, and giving. Psalms 92:15
They will declare, “The Lord is
just! He is my rock! There is
nothing but goodness in him!” Where does the message come from?
Who is it to?
God loves you enough to send
you this message so that you can see the light.
Don’t be deceived because God is not fooled.
It is possible to fool the preacher, your parents, and your spouse, but
no one will fool God. We are only
fooling ourselves. He is light
and light alone.
True Fellowship is walking
in the Light. Will
we walk in the light with the Lord? He
came to have fellowship with His people.
Some may say they have fellowship but they don’t walk with the Lord
in the light. Walking in the
light is having fellowship with God and one another.
Don’t fool yourself. You
can’t do both light and dark. Which
will you choose? Isaiah
5:20 Destruction is certain for those
who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is
dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.[1]
Walking in the light with God
is walking with one another. Doing
the right things in our lives is described as walking with the Lord.
If we acknowledge, confess, and repent then we will be going with the
Lord and will be enjoying the presence of the One who is called salvation.
The blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin as we walk in the light.
The election is yours.
Will God be your God? How
do you vote? We
cast our spiritual vote. His
blood purifies us from sin. We
all have sinned. If we confess
our sin He will forgive. If we
are His then we are sinners who have His word living in us.
We
can’t serve two masters. Matthew
6:24
Some may say they have cast
their vote for God yet they walk in the darkness and have no fellowship with
Him or with each other. Others
may say they have no sin and don’t need to repent or confess.
But God says that we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
Today we will be given a
piece of bread and a cup of juice.
If we take this bread, which represents his body broken for us, and if
we take this cup, which represents his blood, which was shed for us, then we
are saying yes to the Lord. We
will vote by which way we live. If
we live in fellowship with the Lord and in fellowship with one another, then
we are walking in the light. Take
Him or not. Walk with Him or not. Walk
with one another or don’t. Live
with Him or without Him. Repent
and confess and or don’t have his forgiveness and cleansing.
It is clear what our choice is because of the choices we make in our
lives. It is clear to God and to
you. What choice will you make?
He is the only choice. Everybody
wants to go to heaven, but how many will go with God.
There is no other way. He
is the way the truth and the life. Which
choice will you make?
God’s position:
He loves you and died for you. He
wants to have fellowship with you through the life and sacrifice of His one
and only Son, Jesus.
What is your position? Will you? Have
you? Have you confessed your sin
to Him? This means to give Him
your life and walk with Him in the light and walk in the light with one
another. It is more than just
saying the words or a little prayer that has little meaning in your life.