1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,400 This is City Post Church, we're about three things, build 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:09,000 equipped and send all under the lordship of Jesus Christ, a 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,300 small Church Plant in Fort Worth Texas, who decided to do things 4 00:00:12,300 --> 00:00:16,000 a little differently. I would almost I had to Crystal, 5 00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:19,000 I love City Post because of the people. 6 00:00:19,300 --> 00:00:22,100 It's where I belong, we truly preach the word. 7 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:24,100 I love City Post because of the community. 8 00:00:24,100 --> 00:00:25,800 We've been able to build to do ministry. 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,800 Like Jesus perlite to push back Darkness. 10 00:00:30,100 --> 00:00:46,600 This is City, Post podcast. Welcome to city post church so 11 00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:54,400 we can put up a picture of that's me and in high school. 12 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,600 So that was thinking like my sophomore year at past school 13 00:00:59,100 --> 00:01:03,300 and show that. Because between my junior and my 14 00:01:03,300 --> 00:01:07,600 senior year, in high school, I made a decision that I was going 15 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,700 to join the Marine Corps. I know what was I thinking, 16 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:14,000 right? And but I was only 17. 17 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,800 So actually, I had to have my parents signed a waiver. 18 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,800 So, the real question is, what were they thinking? 19 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:25,300 Right now just signing over their youngest boy off to Uncle 20 00:01:25,300 --> 00:01:29,400 Sam, right? So, but haven't already made 21 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:34,000 that commitment between my Junior and Senior year, I was 22 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,500 able to use my senior year to attempt to prepare for what was 23 00:01:39,500 --> 00:01:43,000 waiting for me at the other end boot camp, right? 24 00:01:43,100 --> 00:01:49,000 So, I signed up for the ROTC program, you know, try to learn 25 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,500 a little bit of the basics of military life. 26 00:01:51,900 --> 00:01:57,000 I joined the cross country team, try to get myself in shape, you 27 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,900 know. But come graduation time. 28 00:01:59,900 --> 00:02:04,300 That next month I shipped off to San Diego, California and 29 00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:06,300 arrive. At the infamous Marine, Corps 30 00:02:06,300 --> 00:02:10,800 Recruit Depot and In my whole world was flipped upside down, 31 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:13,400 right? Because in all reality, there's 32 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,700 not much you can do to prepare for the chaos that's waiting for 33 00:02:16,700 --> 00:02:21,700 you when you get there, right? So, but the thing is with the 34 00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:25,100 Marine Corps is really good at besides winning wars is creating 35 00:02:25,100 --> 00:02:27,700 Warriors, right? It's creating Marines. 36 00:02:28,100 --> 00:02:32,800 So they're experts at bringing in young men and women and then 37 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,500 breaking them down. They strip you of everything 38 00:02:35,500 --> 00:02:38,000 this trip, prove your identity, all the bag. 39 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,600 Baggage and garbage, you come with, they get rid of all that, 40 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:46,400 but then they build you back up and they transform you from a 41 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:51,100 civilian to a marine. So, after 3 months of heavy 42 00:02:51,100 --> 00:02:58,100 indoctrination and intense training, I returned home, a 43 00:02:58,100 --> 00:03:01,200 different person. I returned home a United States 44 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,900 Marine, you can put that picture up a film, there it is there. 45 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:08,700 So that's right around my graduation time, right still had 46 00:03:08,700 --> 00:03:13,500 little baby face but I had earned the title United States 47 00:03:13,500 --> 00:03:19,900 Marine and in the process of breaking me down and building me 48 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:24,100 back up the a transformation had occurred. 49 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,200 You see there were Things that were different about me that you 50 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,000 can notice, especially if you knew me before, I went off to 51 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,600 the Marine Corps. First was the appearance, right? 52 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,200 I walked differently. I was marching everywhere and I 53 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:39,000 will talk. Different had all this military 54 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,100 jargon and stuff that I would spit out and then of course the 55 00:03:42,100 --> 00:03:44,300 infamous Marine Corps high and tight haircut. 56 00:03:44,300 --> 00:03:46,700 Right? And and it's funny because in 57 00:03:46,700 --> 00:03:49,700 the Marine Corps after you've been in for a little while, when 58 00:03:49,700 --> 00:03:52,300 you're when you first joined the Marine Corps, you're called a 59 00:03:52,300 --> 00:03:54,900 boot because you're very new to the Core. 60 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,300 So after a while you start to make fun of the boots because we 61 00:03:58,300 --> 00:04:00,300 say you can spot them a mile away, right? 62 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:02,200 Because they just kind of walking robots, you know? 63 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:07,600 So, so anyhow, those were the physical things that you could 64 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:10,900 see in me. But there was something deeper 65 00:04:10,900 --> 00:04:14,000 than that. There was a transformation and 66 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,800 character. See, I started addressing people 67 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:21,600 as yes, sir, yes, ma'am, holding the door, open for people being 68 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,100 more respectful to my parents, I would get up. 69 00:04:25,300 --> 00:04:28,300 Early in the morning and go for runs for no good reason. 70 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,300 You know, these were things that I wouldn't do before, but these 71 00:04:32,300 --> 00:04:35,700 were changes in my character. There were a direct reflection 72 00:04:35,700 --> 00:04:38,600 of the doctrine that I believe to be true. 73 00:04:38,700 --> 00:04:42,800 The values of the Marine Corps, honor, courage, and commitment. 74 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,900 And the Marine Corps model, which is simplified Ellis and 75 00:04:45,900 --> 00:04:48,300 Latin. Meaning always faithful. 76 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:54,700 So when before I went to boot camp, I was just a little 77 00:04:54,700 --> 00:04:57,500 knucklehead travieso from the south side of Fort Worth. 78 00:04:57,900 --> 00:05:02,400 But once I graduated, there was a visible in objective 79 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,000 transformation that I had occurred and I was now the 80 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,600 United States Marine and I acted in accordance to that belief 81 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:14,100 actions matching beliefs. Right. 82 00:05:14,100 --> 00:05:18,200 So today, as we walk through, we're going to be back into the 83 00:05:18,300 --> 00:05:21,800 book of First John. On and we'll be picking up where 84 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,000 Pastor Ricky left off a few weeks ago, but the Apostle John 85 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,300 is going to talk to us about this idea of transformation, 86 00:05:30,300 --> 00:05:33,200 what it really means to be transformed. 87 00:05:34,100 --> 00:05:37,600 And but before we jump into that, it's important to have 88 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,600 have an understanding of the context when this letter was 89 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:43,800 written. Because at this point, the 90 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,500 Apostle, John is up there in age. 91 00:05:46,500 --> 00:05:49,700 He's the last living, Apostle, this is towards the end of the 92 00:05:49,900 --> 00:05:53,300 First century. So as you can imagine, he 93 00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:58,000 doesn't have time on this side. So what's really neat about this 94 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,000 letter is there's a sense of urgency in this message. 95 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:06,500 He is very clear and Direct in this message, he doesn't have 96 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:08,300 the luxury to beat around the bush. 97 00:06:08,300 --> 00:06:12,200 He knows that his time is limited and he wants to get his 98 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:16,300 message across. Because if you remember that, 99 00:06:16,300 --> 00:06:19,200 he's writing this as an open letter to the churches. 100 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,500 And he's addressing his concerns with the false theology that has 101 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:29,100 infiltrated the church. These it was a gnostics at the 102 00:06:29,100 --> 00:06:35,100 time, there were distorting the true Doctrine and bringing their 103 00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:38,700 Greek philosophies and beliefs and practices and what this was 104 00:06:38,700 --> 00:06:43,500 doing what's causing chaos and division within the church. 105 00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:50,800 So although the letters are written to the church, Is he 106 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:55,700 specifically addressing the gnostics of this time and 107 00:06:55,700 --> 00:06:59,500 there's three tests as we walk through this letter going to see 108 00:06:59,500 --> 00:07:04,600 that John is pointing out to three tests that that have a the 109 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,900 point out or demonstrate that we have a true fellowship with God. 110 00:07:08,900 --> 00:07:12,000 Meaning three tests that demonstrate, the you have been 111 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,600 saved. And the first of those tests, if 112 00:07:15,600 --> 00:07:19,000 you're taking notes Here is the doctrinal test, right? 113 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:24,400 The doctor No test refers to a Doctrine, a Creed, or a set of 114 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:27,500 beliefs, right? So something that you hold to be 115 00:07:27,500 --> 00:07:29,000 true. So dr. 116 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:34,900 No has to do with faith. Now, the moral test, the second 117 00:07:34,900 --> 00:07:39,200 test is concerned with the principles of, right and wrong, 118 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,100 essentially it's a matter of conduct. 119 00:07:42,100 --> 00:07:49,200 So you so, having so has to do with obedience and the third 120 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:54,100 test, Is a Gothic, which has to do with unconditional love. 121 00:07:55,100 --> 00:07:59,700 So, these three tests our faith, obedience and love. 122 00:08:00,900 --> 00:08:03,400 But it's important to understand that these are not three 123 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:08,300 isolated test know these three tests are interdependent of each 124 00:08:08,300 --> 00:08:13,800 other meaning that you conduct yourselves in ways that reflect 125 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:16,600 what you love and hold to be true. 126 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:23,600 Simply put your morals reflect your doctrinal beliefs, or you 127 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,700 can put it this way. You are obedient to what you 128 00:08:26,700 --> 00:08:32,700 truly love. So, a few weeks ago as Pastor, 129 00:08:32,700 --> 00:08:35,900 Ricky was walking us through chapter one, in the beginning of 130 00:08:35,900 --> 00:08:41,600 chapter 2, that set of scripture address that doctrinal test, 131 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:44,200 right? It had to do with having a 132 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:48,700 proper view of Christ and a having a proper view of sin. 133 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:53,500 Meaning that they believed in Jesus Christ. 134 00:08:53,508 --> 00:08:56,100 Professing that he was the Son of God. 135 00:08:56,100 --> 00:08:59,000 The Messiah that he was born of a virgin lived. 136 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,000 The sinless life was crucified died and rose from the dead and 137 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:08,700 ascended into heaven, right? And that he was the light and 138 00:09:08,700 --> 00:09:12,600 not the darkness. And it was also important to 139 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,900 understand that he is the savior sent by the father as an 140 00:09:16,900 --> 00:09:22,800 atonement for our sins and not Our sins, but the sins of the 141 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:26,200 world. And also the, he is the one, and 142 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:30,900 only way to Salvation in John 14:6. 143 00:09:32,300 --> 00:09:38,000 Jesus says this, I am the way and the truth and the life. 144 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:43,800 No one comes to the father, except through me. 145 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:48,200 Therefore, we can't say that. We know God, but not believe in 146 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:50,700 Jesus. That's what he's saying here. 147 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,800 And as, for sin, he's pointing out that we are sinners. 148 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:59,800 And if we claim to be without sin, we are deceiving ourselves 149 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:01,900 and we are making him out to be a liar. 150 00:10:02,100 --> 00:10:11,200 And we are liars. But if we have faith in him and 151 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,700 we confess our sins so meaning that we admit that we are 152 00:10:15,700 --> 00:10:21,100 sinners, then we have an advocate in Jesus Christ, right? 153 00:10:21,100 --> 00:10:25,700 He is the propitiation of our sins, okay? 154 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,600 So again, having a proper view of Christ and of sin was the 155 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,000 first test that demonstrates, our Salvation that being the 156 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:40,000 test of faith. Now in Chapter 2 verses 3 157 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:45,600 through 6, John is going to be describing the moral test that 158 00:10:45,700 --> 00:10:50,100 that demonstrates our salvation. But before we jump into 159 00:10:50,100 --> 00:10:56,300 scripture, let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, we love you. 160 00:10:56,300 --> 00:10:59,600 Lord, we worship you Lord. And we thank you, we, thank you 161 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:04,000 for this opportunity to gather today, in Fellowship to gather 162 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,000 in your presence. Lord, we asked that you carry us 163 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:09,400 through today. That you carried me through 164 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,700 today's message, Lord the the word spoken here today are your 165 00:11:14,700 --> 00:11:19,200 words and your words, only Lord, the you help me to have Clarity 166 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:24,400 and accuracy my message Lord. So that we may receive Receive 167 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:29,000 the message that you have prepared for us in advance and 168 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:30,100 it's foolish. Lord. 169 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:32,600 And in your name, we pray. Amen. 170 00:11:33,700 --> 00:11:36,800 So now if you have your Bibles and you want to open it up to 171 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:41,000 the book of First John we're going to be walking through the 172 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,600 verses three through six. So only four verses today. 173 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,300 If you have the black NIV Bible will be in page, twelve eighteen 174 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:53,300 twelve eighteen. So I'll start off with just 175 00:11:53,300 --> 00:11:56,200 reading it all four verses in its entirety and then we'll 176 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:02,100 break it down verse by verse. So John goes on to say, we know 177 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,000 that we have come Know him if we keep his commands. 178 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:12,500 Whoever says I know him but does not do what he commands is a 179 00:12:12,500 --> 00:12:18,900 liar and the truth is not in that person, but if anyone obeys 180 00:12:18,900 --> 00:12:25,100 his word love, for God is truly made complete in them, whoever 181 00:12:25,100 --> 00:12:31,700 claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 182 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:34,900 That's pretty straightforward, right? 183 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,100 But what's in, what's interesting, is that John has a 184 00:12:39,100 --> 00:12:43,900 couple of favorite words that he likes to use in this letter, to 185 00:12:43,900 --> 00:12:48,700 drive home the message, and those words are no and keep so 186 00:12:48,700 --> 00:12:54,500 to know and to keep and know he uses approximately 40 times in 187 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:57,800 this letter and it's a short letter, it's only five chapters 188 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,800 and then he uses the word. Keep ten times. 189 00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:04,800 Alright, so therefore there There's something to be said 190 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,200 about the repetition of these two words. 191 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,200 You see, he uses these words to drive home. 192 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:15,100 The message that our Salvation is objectively. 193 00:13:15,100 --> 00:13:20,900 Demonstrated through our obedience to God's commands. 194 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:27,000 You know, if you keep right, so keep that in mind as we walk 195 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:32,100 through the verses. Now in verse 3, John says, we 196 00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:37,400 know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 197 00:13:37,900 --> 00:13:41,800 So John uses the word? No twice in the word. 198 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:46,000 Keep once. Now, the first snow is actually 199 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:51,100 pretty self-explanatory, right? It is its meaning that we have a 200 00:13:51,100 --> 00:13:54,000 sense of assurance. We know, we are for sure. 201 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,000 It is very clear, right? That's that's what is meaning, 202 00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,400 what the first one? But what the second know. 203 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:02,900 He states that we have come to know them. 204 00:14:02,900 --> 00:14:07,700 So we know that we have come to know him so by no he is 205 00:14:07,700 --> 00:14:11,900 referring that. We have a personal valid and 206 00:14:11,900 --> 00:14:16,700 loving relationship with God. That's what it means by if we 207 00:14:16,700 --> 00:14:24,000 know him so in and then he ends it with the sentences first with 208 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,300 the with if we keep his commands. 209 00:14:26,300 --> 00:14:28,700 So we know that we have come to know him. 210 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:33,100 So we know that we have a Kinship with God, if we keep his 211 00:14:33,100 --> 00:14:35,500 commands, right? You see that connection? 212 00:14:35,700 --> 00:14:40,700 Now in this verse what John is saying is there's a tangible and 213 00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:43,200 objective expression of knowing Christ. 214 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:47,900 That is that the way we conduct ourselves by keeping his 215 00:14:47,900 --> 00:14:52,800 commands, is an outward expression of the personal and 216 00:14:52,800 --> 00:14:55,700 valid relationship that we have with Christ. 217 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:03,000 It is proof that an act of Union with Christ has occurred, and we 218 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,200 have been born again, we have been saved the, you are 219 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,700 objectively different than when you were a non-believer, right? 220 00:15:10,700 --> 00:15:14,500 For example, when I graduated boot camp, I was objective. 221 00:15:14,500 --> 00:15:18,500 I was objectively a different person than when I was in high 222 00:15:18,500 --> 00:15:21,900 school. A transformation had occurred. 223 00:15:22,300 --> 00:15:25,000 And one, could tell that I was a Marine. 224 00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:34,300 Now if we jump into Ephesians 2:1 through to the Apostle, Paul 225 00:15:34,700 --> 00:15:39,600 puts it this way. Ephesians 2:1 through to Paul 226 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:44,500 goes on to say, as for you, you were dead in your transgressions 227 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:50,600 and sins in which you used to live when you follow the ways of 228 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,500 this world, and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the 229 00:15:54,500 --> 00:15:58,700 spirit, who is now? At work and those who are 230 00:15:58,700 --> 00:16:01,900 disobedient. Essentially, you were once dead 231 00:16:01,900 --> 00:16:05,700 in your transgressions and sins. But now you have been 232 00:16:05,700 --> 00:16:09,700 transformed. However, and this is a big 233 00:16:09,700 --> 00:16:14,700 however for us to understand, let us not confuse what John is 234 00:16:14,700 --> 00:16:19,200 saying with the works based salvation or Works based 235 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:25,600 theology. He is not saying that we earn 236 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,300 our salvation. Salvation, by keeping his 237 00:16:28,300 --> 00:16:33,100 commands, right? We cannot work our way into 238 00:16:33,100 --> 00:16:37,500 heaven. No, we keep his commands because 239 00:16:37,500 --> 00:16:41,100 we are saved. Very important for us to 240 00:16:41,100 --> 00:16:43,500 understand. And sometimes that's hard for us 241 00:16:43,900 --> 00:16:46,600 because we come from different cultural backgrounds. 242 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,100 Different churches that maybe had taught us in the past that 243 00:16:50,100 --> 00:16:53,400 you have to earn or work your way into heaven. 244 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:56,900 That's not correct. That's not what he's saying. 245 00:16:57,500 --> 00:17:00,000 The price has already been paid for all starvation. 246 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,800 It is through faith and through the grace of the Lord, that we 247 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:07,400 are saved. Which he goes on the Apostle 248 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,800 Paul in Ephesians 2 8 through 10. 249 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:15,800 He goes on to say, for it is by Grace you have been saved 250 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,599 through faith and this is not from yourselves. 251 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:24,200 It is the gift of God, not by your works. 252 00:17:25,900 --> 00:17:31,100 So that no one can boast for we are God's handiwork created in 253 00:17:31,100 --> 00:17:35,400 Christ. Jesus to do good works which God 254 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,000 prepared in advance for us to do. 255 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,400 And in Romans 3:20 through 22 through 25. 256 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:50,000 He puts it this way, this righteousness is given through 257 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,400 faith in Jesus Christ to all, who believe there is no 258 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:59,300 difference between Jew and Gentile for all, have sinned and 259 00:17:59,300 --> 00:18:06,100 fall short of the glory of God and all are Justified freely by 260 00:18:06,100 --> 00:18:10,500 his grace through the Redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 261 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:16,900 God presented Christ, as a sacrifice of atonement, through 262 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,800 the shedding of his blood to be received by faith. 263 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,500 The price has been paid through the cross. 264 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,100 You see our Salvation is a gift, this received by faith. 265 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:31,900 So important for us to understand that. 266 00:18:32,100 --> 00:18:38,300 Now in verse 4, first John, John goes on to say whoever says I 267 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:45,300 know him but does not do what. He commands is a liar and the 268 00:18:45,300 --> 00:18:51,400 truth is not in that person. So again, John uses the word. 269 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,200 No. And keep and, but in the NIV 270 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,900 version instead of keep it says, does not do what he commands, 271 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,300 but it's the same message. So he continues with this 272 00:19:02,300 --> 00:19:05,200 repetition of the words. No, and keep again. 273 00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:10,100 Emphasizing that there is a correlation between knowing god 274 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:16,700 and being obedient to his word. But in this verse, John is 275 00:19:16,700 --> 00:19:19,300 bluntly pointing out the hypocrisy. 276 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:25,100 At the time and then claiming to know him again professing that 277 00:19:25,100 --> 00:19:28,000 they have a personal and valid and love and relationship with 278 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,100 God. But their actions do not reflect 279 00:19:32,100 --> 00:19:36,700 his his commands so he straight up calling them liers. 280 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:42,300 See, this is the bowed and bluntness of the upon the 281 00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:43,100 Apostle. John. 282 00:19:43,100 --> 00:19:47,900 At this time, he's being very direct with his message and this 283 00:19:47,900 --> 00:19:50,600 is the type of urgency that John has when he's writing this. 284 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,400 Better, because remember he's addressed in the gnostics, at 285 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:58,300 this time, who are living this dualistic life in which they 286 00:19:58,300 --> 00:20:02,700 separate the spiritual from the physical right from their 287 00:20:02,700 --> 00:20:04,800 bodies. They, they believe that it is, 288 00:20:04,808 --> 00:20:08,900 their bodies is irrelevant to their salvation there. 289 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,600 The way they conduct themselves. So they have this kind of 290 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:15,500 dichotomy in their thinking, in which they claim to have this 291 00:20:15,500 --> 00:20:18,800 special knowledge, this special power, and a long as they have 292 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,600 that, it doesn't matter what they do with their bodies. 293 00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:24,300 He's that's what they're doing at the time, and that kind of 294 00:20:24,300 --> 00:20:26,500 theology is infiltrating, the church. 295 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:33,400 So John is, is you know what's beautiful about this? 296 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,100 Is that he's so concerned about his children. 297 00:20:37,100 --> 00:20:40,200 It's not the gnostics that he's concerned about it, they want to 298 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:44,700 go off and do their own thing. That's it doesn't matter but the 299 00:20:44,700 --> 00:20:49,900 fact that they were infiltrating the church and and messing up 300 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,800 the the true scripture that there were the doctrine that 301 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:55,900 they were following. That's what he was concerned 302 00:20:55,900 --> 00:20:58,900 about. He was being protective over his 303 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:04,000 flock. So John lays it down straight 304 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,500 with them and he calls them out on their hypocrisy. 305 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:12,800 Now, if we go to the Book of James, James addressed it. 306 00:21:12,808 --> 00:21:19,300 This way he goes on to say and James 2 verses 14, through 18. 307 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,700 He goes on to say what good is it? 308 00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:28,000 My brothers and sisters if someone claims to have faith but 309 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,700 has no Deeds, can such Faith save them. 310 00:21:33,700 --> 00:21:38,700 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 311 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,400 If one of you says to them go in peace, keep warm and well fed. 312 00:21:45,100 --> 00:21:47,700 But does nothing about their physical needs. 313 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:53,600 What good is it in the same way Faith by itself? 314 00:21:53,800 --> 00:22:01,200 If it is not accompanied by action is dead but one will say 315 00:22:01,700 --> 00:22:04,300 you have faith. I have Deeds. 316 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:11,600 Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by 317 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:15,900 my Deeds. You see, our actions are a 318 00:22:15,900 --> 00:22:21,000 reflection of what we believe to be true and acting in. 319 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,300 Contrary to what we claim to believe in is simply hypocrisy. 320 00:22:27,500 --> 00:22:31,000 And this is a point that John is making in this verse. 321 00:22:32,300 --> 00:22:37,600 Now, moving on to verse 5 John goes on to say but if anyone 322 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:43,400 obeys his word love for God is truly made complete in them. 323 00:22:45,100 --> 00:22:50,300 So now here he uses the word obey which again means to keep 324 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,300 while in verse 3. If you remember he uses it the 325 00:22:53,300 --> 00:22:57,800 other way around. Keep in place of obey And I find 326 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:01,200 it to be quite interesting because again, remember he 327 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,600 doesn't have much time so he wants to make sure that he gets 328 00:23:04,600 --> 00:23:08,500 his message across. So he frames the message in 329 00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:14,300 different ways and you know, it really reminds me of like when 330 00:23:14,300 --> 00:23:18,100 you have two people and you give them the exact same message and 331 00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:20,400 then you ask them to repeat it and you get two different 332 00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,400 responses. So this is kind of the concept 333 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,300 that I understand when I'm reading this is a he wanted to 334 00:23:26,300 --> 00:23:29,600 make sure that That he framed, the message in different ways 335 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:32,600 that you, there's no way that you could refute the message, 336 00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:35,400 and especially especially the gnostics, right? 337 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,000 He wanted to make sure that they couldn't refute the message that 338 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:43,000 he was given. And but what John is saying, 339 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,600 here in and this verse is it, our obedience is a completion of 340 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:57,200 our love for God, so simply put obeying Jesus equals loving 341 00:23:57,300 --> 00:24:01,100 Jesus, you know, I like to I like to see it like a circle, 342 00:24:01,100 --> 00:24:02,200 right? Where love for. 343 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:06,100 God is at the center and we know that a circle goes complete and 344 00:24:06,100 --> 00:24:08,100 closes in on itself. Right? 345 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,000 So that first doctor, no, test of faith is the first half of 346 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:17,600 the circle, but our actions, our obedience to God's command is 347 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:21,800 what completes that Circle of our love for God? 348 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,500 And, you know, if we go to the Gospel of John in chapter 15, 349 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:33,200 you know, Jesus is addressing his disciples using the metaphor 350 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:37,200 of the vine and the branches and this Parable he said in Forth 351 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,600 the basis of Christian Living. So he identified himself as a 352 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,600 Vine, the father, as a gardener and the disciples and other True 353 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,800 Believers. As the branches that bear fruit 354 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:51,300 and the branches that don't bear fruit are people who claim to be 355 00:24:51,300 --> 00:24:54,900 Believers but are not right. So if we jump Forward verses 8 356 00:24:54,900 --> 00:24:58,500 through 10 and the Gospel of John chapter 15. 357 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:06,300 Jesus goes on to say, this is to my father's Glory that you bear 358 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:12,600 much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples as the father 359 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:18,100 has loved me. So have I Loved You Now remain 360 00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:23,500 in my love. If you keep my commands you will 361 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:28,800 Main in his love. You see if we love Jesus. 362 00:25:30,100 --> 00:25:38,700 We keep his commands. Now, verse 6, John goes on to 363 00:25:38,700 --> 00:25:46,300 say, whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. 364 00:25:47,900 --> 00:25:51,100 So, what does he mean by living as Jesus did? 365 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,600 This is really a good question. A good valid question. 366 00:25:55,700 --> 00:25:57,500 So it's important for us to understand that. 367 00:25:57,500 --> 00:26:02,000 It doesn't mean to literally repeat, everything that Jesus. 368 00:26:02,300 --> 00:26:05,700 Did you see Jesus. Perfect and sinless, right? 369 00:26:05,700 --> 00:26:09,400 He's the Messiah and the Savior we don't we don't possess those 370 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,900 attributes, right? So, it doesn't mean you know 371 00:26:12,900 --> 00:26:16,300 that Joseph should walk out of his house and try to walk across 372 00:26:16,300 --> 00:26:19,400 Echo Lake. No, it's not going to happen. 373 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:23,500 Joseph, I'm sorry you're going to draw and that water is nasty, 374 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:25,700 right? So you have you definitely don't 375 00:26:25,700 --> 00:26:30,200 want to do that, right? It's not saying that we are to 376 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:35,300 grow out our hair and walk around and chanclas and and and 377 00:26:35,300 --> 00:26:39,000 you know just trying to mimic Jesus physical appearance. 378 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,500 That's not what he said. He stayed in here. 379 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,700 What John is saying is that we are to live with the same 380 00:26:46,700 --> 00:26:51,500 principle All of relying on our father in Heaven, to work 381 00:26:51,700 --> 00:26:59,300 through us and in us to submit fully and lean into him in all 382 00:26:59,300 --> 00:27:03,600 that we do. To express the same love that 383 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,200 Jesus expressed to his father being that. 384 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:12,000 He kept all his commands and was faithful, all the way all the 385 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,100 way to the point that he gave his life on the cross as a 386 00:27:16,100 --> 00:27:20,700 sacrifice for our sins. He remained faithful to the end 387 00:27:21,300 --> 00:27:25,300 in Philippians 2. Verses 5 through 8. 388 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:30,800 The Apostle Paul writes in your relationships with one another 389 00:27:31,500 --> 00:27:37,400 Have the same mindset as Christ. Jesus who being in very nature. 390 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:40,700 God did not consider equality with God. 391 00:27:40,700 --> 00:27:45,900 Something to be used to his own Advantage, rather, he made 392 00:27:45,900 --> 00:27:51,900 himself Nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being 393 00:27:51,900 --> 00:27:56,700 made in human likeness. And being found in appearance. 394 00:27:56,700 --> 00:28:03,500 As a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even 395 00:28:03,700 --> 00:28:11,100 death on a cross. Now, that's the type of love and 396 00:28:11,100 --> 00:28:14,400 obedience that we are to express to God. 397 00:28:14,900 --> 00:28:19,800 We are to Humble ourselves to offer our lives, not just a 398 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,400 portion of it, but all of it over to God. 399 00:28:23,900 --> 00:28:27,800 You see Jesus. Is the one that set forth the 400 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:34,200 basis for Christian Living, he set the standard by which we aim 401 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:41,000 to live our lives. So, I'll end here with the quick 402 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,200 story. Halfway through. 403 00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:47,100 My first enlistment in the Marine Corps, my active duty 404 00:28:47,100 --> 00:28:50,700 enlistment, we had a thing called, a change of Command, 405 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:52,200 right? We had just gotten back from our 406 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:56,400 second deployment and the change of command is winning the old 407 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,100 leadership leaves. And you get a new set of leaders 408 00:28:59,100 --> 00:29:02,900 come in in preparation for our next deployment. 409 00:29:02,900 --> 00:29:06,100 So we ended up with the new staff, sergeant in my platoon, 410 00:29:06,100 --> 00:29:08,400 right? So he was in charge of us and at 411 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:13,300 first sight, I'll be honest with you, he I was impressed, right? 412 00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:16,000 Because from a physical standpoint, from a physical 413 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,900 perspective, he fit the part of a marine leader. 414 00:29:20,900 --> 00:29:25,100 You see his uniform was pristine, his boots were shiny. 415 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:28,500 He spent hours at the gym so he was ripped, right? 416 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:32,000 He was all jacked up. He kind of reminded me like of a 417 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:33,500 Ninja Turtle. He was bored. 418 00:29:33,500 --> 00:29:36,400 He had a really shiny head of bald shiny head. 419 00:29:36,500 --> 00:29:39,900 You know, he was just like all jacked up, most of the things. 420 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,500 Popping out of everywhere, you know. 421 00:29:41,500 --> 00:29:48,300 So it reminded me of a Ninja Turtle but however, as time went 422 00:29:48,300 --> 00:29:51,700 by, as we started going through our training because he trained 423 00:29:51,700 --> 00:29:53,500 for a year before we deployed again. 424 00:29:54,700 --> 00:30:02,200 His true color started to show and to start off with, you know, 425 00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,300 he didn't lead from the front as we are taught in the Marine 426 00:30:05,300 --> 00:30:10,000 Corps. He wouldn't show up to certain 427 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:13,400 training exercises. He wouldn't show up to do the 428 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:17,600 PT's with us in the morning. He spent more time, hanging out 429 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:20,800 with some of the junior Marine friends that he had and actually 430 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,900 leading us And then come deployment, we're halfway 431 00:30:24,900 --> 00:30:31,500 through our second deployment in Iraq and it comes to light that 432 00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:34,800 he was having an unlawful relationship with one of the 433 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:44,100 junior Marines in our platoon. And the thing about that is it, 434 00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:50,200 you know, he was removed of his leadership role. 435 00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:54,900 Because not only was he fraternizing amongst the junior 436 00:30:54,900 --> 00:30:59,100 Marines but as a married man with children, he was committing 437 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:03,800 adultery as well. You see, although he looked the 438 00:31:03,800 --> 00:31:06,900 part. Of a marine. 439 00:31:07,900 --> 00:31:11,000 He didn't demonstrate that with his actions. 440 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:16,100 He didn't demonstrate the values of the Marine Corps of Honor 441 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:20,400 courage and commitment. Not to mention the Marine Corps 442 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,800 model of semper, fidelis always faithful. 443 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:29,500 You see just as a gnostics at the time of John's letter, he 444 00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:33,900 was living a dualistic life and simply put he was being a 445 00:31:33,900 --> 00:31:37,800 hypocrite. And as the Bible teaches us 446 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:45,000 light will always expose sin and it came to light and the sad 447 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,200 part and there's very lots of sad parts about saying it's all 448 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:51,800 sad. But thing is it, it doesn't only 449 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:54,700 affect the person who's living in sin. 450 00:31:54,900 --> 00:31:59,400 It affects everyone around you. Everyone around that person 451 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:03,500 because you see that experience of serving under that false 452 00:32:03,500 --> 00:32:07,000 leader that fake Marine. It led many of them Marines in 453 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,600 my platoon, to get out of the Marine Corps, once their first, 454 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:13,300 and listen to what's over because they were tired of the 455 00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:16,100 hypocrisy. They had a bad example of what 456 00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:19,400 it was to be a marine and they wanted nothing to do with it and 457 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:25,600 they left. You see the same thing happens 458 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:32,200 in the church when we claim to know Jesus, when we claim to 459 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:38,900 love Jesus, but then our actions don't reflect What He commands 460 00:32:38,900 --> 00:32:43,500 of us. When we talk the talk, but don't 461 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:48,800 walk the walk. We to drive away people from the 462 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:54,000 church. So I'll leave you with these 463 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:57,900 three questions that I believe we should be asking ourselves. 464 00:33:01,100 --> 00:33:09,200 Are we living as Jesus did? Are we following his commands? 465 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:16,900 We obey incur his word. And if not, what are we waiting 466 00:33:16,900 --> 00:33:20,500 for? What's keeping you? 467 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,400 From submitting your life. Over to the Lord. 468 00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:29,000 What's keeping you from going all Lin? 469 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:36,400 Is our love for the world greater than our love for the 470 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:43,800 Lord. You seem the world would tell us 471 00:33:44,100 --> 00:33:49,500 that you will find happiness. Through our Pursuits of our 472 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:55,700 selfish and Earthly desires. But let me ask you this. 473 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,500 When you go chasing More Money, More accomplishments more 474 00:34:01,500 --> 00:34:05,900 titles, more recognition, these selfish Ambitions. 475 00:34:06,500 --> 00:34:15,000 Are you less satisfied? When you run two substances to 476 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,300 the bottle, when you have problems, you have different 477 00:34:17,300 --> 00:34:18,800 emotions that you can't deal with. 478 00:34:19,699 --> 00:34:21,699 Are they still there? The next morning when it wrote, 479 00:34:21,699 --> 00:34:27,300 when it wears off? when you're searching for love 480 00:34:27,300 --> 00:34:31,800 in all the wrong places and broken relationships from 481 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:37,100 partner to partner, do you still feel lonely? 482 00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:41,600 You see, we know the answers to that. 483 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,900 Because our Earthly desires the world was always going to fail 484 00:34:47,900 --> 00:34:51,900 on those promises. It promises to make us happy and 485 00:34:51,900 --> 00:35:00,700 leaves us empty every single time because it's only through a 486 00:35:00,700 --> 00:35:07,100 valid relationship with God that we truly get to experience. 487 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:13,900 True joy that we get to experience an everlasting 488 00:35:13,900 --> 00:35:20,600 satisfaction It is only through our relationship with Christ 489 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:26,200 that we are satisfied. He satisfies all of our needs. 490 00:35:28,300 --> 00:35:33,100 So I ask you again. What are you waiting for? 491 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:41,100 Let us pray. Lord Jesus. 492 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:46,500 We thank you. We love you, Lord, and we are 493 00:35:46,500 --> 00:35:52,700 grateful for this opportunity. To gather here today to receive 494 00:35:52,700 --> 00:35:56,200 your message. Lord, we ask you that you open 495 00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:04,900 up our minds, open up our hearts to not just receive this message 496 00:36:05,300 --> 00:36:09,800 but also the courage to apply in our lives. 497 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:15,200 Lord we ask you that. You help us to submit fully to 498 00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:19,200 you. Lord to surrender all aspects of 499 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:25,500 our Our Lives, Lord, that you help us to walk the talk, Lord, 500 00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:33,000 the you help us to be faithful and obedient to you, Lord, and 501 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:39,400 not to the world. I asked Lord that if anybody 502 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:44,700 here is struggling with that and hasn't surrendered their life to 503 00:36:44,700 --> 00:36:48,900 you Lord, that you work in them, you work in their hearts, you 504 00:36:48,900 --> 00:36:54,300 create a transformation in them in which they can surrender to 505 00:36:54,300 --> 00:36:59,400 you Lord and truly experience unconditional. 506 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:04,100 Love Lord, we ask you that. You guide us. 507 00:37:05,300 --> 00:37:08,000 That you care for us and that you love us. 508 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:12,800 All this, in your name, we pray. Amen.