1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,920 Well, there's nothing better than to be in the presence of 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:09,040 God, to be talking about God, talking to God, to be singing 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,560 about him, singing His praises and affirming our faith to Him 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,760 and to each other, not just by ourselves, but with other people 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,080 who believe the same thing. It's a great day to be together. 6 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:20,880 And as I mentioned, don't forget, this is the last time 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:22,920 we'll be doing this in the afternoon only. 8 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:25,920 We'll be back to the morning services starting next week. 9 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,240 Thank you for making it once again, and it's a great day to 10 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:31,920 be together. I'm happy to continue our study 11 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:34,800 with you And 1st John. We're in chapter 4 today. 12 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,640 So if you want to turn your Bibles there for those who 13 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,880 haven't been here, we've been studying through the first book 14 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,440 of first John. And this book is a message, 15 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,320 holds a message of assurance, a message. 16 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,640 He tells us at one point that he's writing to them so they may 17 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,480 have full joy, so they may know that they have eternal life. 18 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,480 He writes concerning those who might try to deceive them. 19 00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,920 And so you're going to see this mixture of themes even today in 20 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:02,400 this chapter as to what his goals are. 21 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,920 His goals are to establish and ground them in their faith so 22 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,280 they can know, so that they can be full of joy and so that they 23 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,960 can please God in reality and not just by the things that they 24 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:15,560 say. OK, so one of the things we're 25 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,640 going to talk about today, you may have noticed on the board, 26 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,920 is this idea of testing the spirits. 27 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,160 So just a little bit of a running start from last week in 28 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:28,600 chapter 3, we read. And by this we know that we are 29 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,840 of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. 30 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:36,000 This thing that he was talking about was by this was obeying 31 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,680 and following Jesus and actually doing what he says. 32 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,920 He says that's how you know and that's how you'll be assured. 33 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:46,000 And at the end of the chapter he said, now he who keeps his 34 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,760 commandments abides in him and he and him. 35 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,120 And by this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit whom 36 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:57,080 he has given us. So here we go in chapter 4. 37 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:02,800 He starts out by saying, beloved or these people, these children 38 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,920 of God who he dearly loves, he says do not believe every 39 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,880 spirit. You have to remember he said 40 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,120 this for a reason. And I'm glad he said it because 41 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:15,080 I've needed this. I've needed this statement to 42 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,280 not believe everything you see in here. 43 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,360 And clearly they needed it because the Holy Spirit guided 44 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,160 the writer to say this. So maybe you need to hear this 45 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,120 like I have many times in my life. 46 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:28,800 Don't believe everything you hear. 47 00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,880 And we're going to get into this spirit, but basically don't 48 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,800 believe the essence of everything or don't believe 49 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,640 everyone. He's not saying test, He's not 50 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:42,680 saying it's like some some mystical thing. 51 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,560 It's very straightforward. Don't believe everyone you hear 52 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:47,920 and don't believe everything you hear. 53 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,360 That's the spirit, the essence of the things that you hear. 54 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:54,240 And there may be a lot of people in here that are pretty 55 00:02:54,240 --> 00:03:00,760 skeptical, but not everyone is as refined in their evaluation. 56 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,880 So maybe you need to hear to test the spirits today. 57 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,680 He says do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits 58 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:15,000 whether they are of God. Well, this word test does not 59 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:20,120 again mean some myth, mysterious, mystical thing. 60 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,440 It comes from a Greek word, doki mazo, that means to examine, to 61 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,440 prove or to scrutinized to see if something is genuine or not. 62 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,000 It's really a very straightforward thing. 63 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,600 We're supposed to evaluate something against a certain 64 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,680 standard to see if it is of that genuine standard. 65 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,520 If you have a gold standard, there is a standard set and you 66 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:44,440 have to evaluate every other piece of gold up to that 67 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,960 standard. So we are supposed to test these 68 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:53,040 spirits or these people or these ideas that are out there, right, 69 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:59,040 Because I have a tendency and I think as you get older, you get 70 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,720 more robust to wherever you are in your struggles. 71 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,080 But I have a tendency to thank everybody is good. 72 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,720 And it's not saying like, oh, that's that's so high. 73 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,200 That's so great of you, Wade, because that has its downfalls 74 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,120 too. Taylor's a little bit more like 75 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,440 she's skeptical and she sees saying things for how they 76 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:16,519 really are. Sometimes you need both 77 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:19,320 personalities in the world. You need people who see and want 78 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:20,880 to see the good. You need to see people who are 79 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:26,200 like, I see what's real. I need to hear the examination. 80 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:31,400 But we also read last time I spoke that the heart is 81 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,120 deceitful above all things. So I can't just examine 82 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:35,680 something and say, oh, I'm going to be a one. 83 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,680 I'm going to be a one man jury here and I'm going to decide 84 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,640 whether what I think is right because our hearts can deceive 85 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:43,320 us. So how are we supposed to 86 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:48,240 examine, and it's against the standard whether they are of 87 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,680 God. OK, so how do we do that? 88 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,680 How do you know what is of God? First Corinthians chapter 2 89 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:00,160 verse 11 says for what man knows the things of a man except the 90 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:02,000 spirit of the man, which is in him? 91 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:08,320 Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God 92 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:10,560 for a very straightforward concept, right? 93 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:12,560 You don't know who I am unless I tell you. 94 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:15,480 No one knows it what's inside me unless I reveal it to you. 95 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:21,280 And God has to reveal himself to us for us to know the things of 96 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:23,280 God. So if we are going to evaluate 97 00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:26,720 whether they're of God, we have to have God tell us. 98 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:31,680 Second Peter 2 verse 21 says for prophecy or the teaching of God 99 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,720 never came by the will of man, but holy men, men who are set 100 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:41,680 apart, holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy 101 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:45,800 Spirit. So in God's word, those holy men 102 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:49,600 who are set apart to teach and write these scriptures were 103 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:51,600 moved by the Holy Spirit himself. 104 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,280 So how do we test the spirits? Second Timothy 3 verse 16, all 105 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:00,720 scripture is given by inspiration of God. 106 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,600 That phrase, as you've heard it before, literally means from the 107 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:07,680 breath of God. So if we are going to evaluate 108 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:12,080 things and test them, whether they're of God, the only true 109 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,680 way we know is to look at God's Word. 110 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:19,640 How do we test the spirits #1 here's a couple rule of thumbs I 111 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,240 came across that might be helpful to you. 112 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:23,320 Number one, were they taught by Jesus? 113 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,880 The things that you hear people teach or that you are wondering 114 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:28,840 about, were they taught by Jesus himself? 115 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:34,440 Number two, were they practiced by the early church #3 are they 116 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,240 affirmed in the epistles? The other letters? 117 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,120 Now, most people are right on with this one. 118 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,080 They're like, man, Jesus said it, at least if he said in the 119 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,080 form of a command, I got you, I'll do it. 120 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:50,280 But a lot of people seem to kind of think these number two and 121 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:54,000 three don't matter as much. Well, yeah, they didn't say in 122 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,920 in the letters or, yeah, the church did that, But you know, 123 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:03,160 doesn't really matter. And, and I would ask why, why 124 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:05,040 did they go through all the work to write that? 125 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:07,680 Many of these people were not very educated. 126 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,440 And so it was difficult sometimes to get someone who can 127 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,560 write it all down to sit down and write line after line after 128 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:14,800 line. These are long letters. 129 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,520 They didn't have great paper. They didn't have a computer to 130 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:20,120 sit down at. It took a lot of work to produce 131 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:21,840 these. So why didn't they even write 132 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:23,840 it? Why didn't they go through all 133 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,680 the work to deliver and pass these letters around and share 134 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:28,160 them? If it doesn't matter what the 135 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,840 early church did, it matters what they did. 136 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,640 And that's why we have the examples in the book of Acts in 137 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,840 other places. And again, being affirmed by the 138 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,520 epistles, all the letters that were written to churches. 139 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,960 This is a a way of asking ourselves to test something, 140 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,920 whether it's from God. Does it pass these tests? 141 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:55,200 And this is your weekly reminder, my weekly reminder to 142 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:58,000 value your time with the book that we're that we call the 143 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:03,280 Bible. We have to value it so deeply. 144 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,720 Why? Because he says, because many 145 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:11,840 false prophets have gone out into the world, we have to value 146 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:13,960 our time with God's word. And the reason I'm telling you 147 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,000 is because I need it. I know how often I get off track 148 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,440 with my attention to God's word. And so I guarantee there's, 149 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,040 there's maybe half the room at least that needs a 150 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:27,280 reaffirmation. You got to get in your word. 151 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:31,080 You've got to get in and study every single day. 152 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:34,960 And I need that because I fall apart spiritually and in my 153 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:36,840 ability to test things if I do not. 154 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:40,159 And why is that important? Because there are plenty of 155 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:42,120 things to leave me astray, he says here. 156 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:46,040 And this was just shortly after the church was set up. 157 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,080 And he said there are already many who have gone out into the 158 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,560 world to teach what's wrong. False prophets. 159 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,680 The word prophecy or prophet, as Darren often says, doesn't have 160 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:58,760 to just mean telling something ahead of time. 161 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,080 It's not just like I have to tell you, oh, this is going to 162 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:03,640 happen in the future. That's a prophecy. 163 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:08,320 Prophesying can also be forth telling or just saying it. 164 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,280 So there are people who say things, whether they're 165 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:14,320 predicting something in the future or just saying about 166 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:17,320 what's going on now, or they're teaching you something, they're 167 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,360 forth telling things that are false. 168 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:26,480 OK, Why is that a big deal? If you look in the garden, the 169 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:28,920 devil is set up as the master deceiver. 170 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:34,400 In the early days of the world, the devil was in there and he 171 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,280 deceived man and woman, and he led them to sin. 172 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:41,640 Let's think about the context that we were in there. 173 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:46,240 You had one command. Don't eat that tree. 174 00:09:47,240 --> 00:09:48,560 Tend the garden, do everything else. 175 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,800 Don't eat that tree. He had one command. 176 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,400 They had one command. They had two people. 177 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:57,400 Just two. Don't mess this up. 178 00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,640 You got one command, two people. You got this right. 179 00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:03,720 You can handle this. And they had all the ideal 180 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,840 circumstances you could ask for. It was there was no pain. 181 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,480 There was no suffering. There was no daily struggle. 182 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:12,280 It was peaceful work. You had everything. 183 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:17,240 You think we can handle it right as humanity, But the devil was 184 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,240 such a deceiver that he said this twist. 185 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:22,720 He said you will not die if you eat that tree. 186 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:27,120 God knows you'll become wise. Remember, we've talked before. 187 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,520 He teaches in half truths. Yes, they became wise, but to 188 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:35,840 the destruction of their soul. So if the devil can twist one 189 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:41,880 command with two people in a perfect environment today, there 190 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:43,640 are many instructions we had to follow. 191 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:44,640 I was going to show you my Bible. 192 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,560 I'm the whole my Bible. If you look at your Bible, there 193 00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,520 are a lot of instructions. There are a lot of things to 194 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,440 teach and to learn. So that provides a lot of room 195 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:53,840 for people to get in there and mess it up. 196 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,840 There are many people on this world of all different 197 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,280 backgrounds, all different experiences, all different 198 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,600 tendencies, and we are dealing with fallen circumstances. 199 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:07,640 We're not dealing with an ideal world. 200 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,720 We get tired, we get burdened, we get weakened by so many 201 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:14,480 things. So if we think we can waltz out 202 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,560 there and say God, I, I've read your Bible before, I know these 203 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:19,920 three things that I've learned, I'll be all right. 204 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:25,440 He says we have to be ready to test the spirits against the 205 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,000 standard of God's word. And if we don't know God's word, 206 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,920 we don't stand a chance. You may think you go to a church 207 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,400 that practices good things and you're safe. 208 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,360 It's not that simple. We're here for a little while 209 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,480 and sure we can do our best together, but you stand and have 210 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:49,280 to bear your own burdens. We must spend time in the Word 211 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:53,280 of God so that we are not deceived because the danger is 212 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,440 real. The opportunity is real for us 213 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,600 to be deceived. Maybe you may seem small, but it 214 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,480 will cause issues in our walk if we don't know and live in God's 215 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:04,680 Word. Verse 2, we may not get through 216 00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:05,600 the whole chapter. Don't worry. 217 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,440 If you're wondering why we're just getting through verse one, 218 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:11,480 verse 2 by this, you know the Spirit of God. 219 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:16,040 Now I don't believe he's drawing all the doctrine, the doctrinal 220 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,680 lines here. He's not saying this is the one 221 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:20,520 test that's going to tell you whether someone's going to be a 222 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,000 spirit of God. Rather, he's been talking about 223 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:28,800 a doctrinal issue and he's saying here is the Spirit of God 224 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,080 in this doctrinal issue. Let's remember back what he just 225 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:33,560 tell them in the last couple chapters. 226 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,440 If someone comes and says Jesus didn't come in the flesh, he 227 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,240 said that's the spirit of the Antichrist. 228 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:43,800 If somebody tells you that Jesus didn't really come, that's evil. 229 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,800 So what he's saying is you're going to know the Spirit of God, 230 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:52,200 the spirit of truth, by this. Every spirit that confesses that 231 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:56,640 Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every 232 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,720 spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in 233 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:03,000 the flesh is not of God. So that is the context he was 234 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:04,920 writing about. We have been talking about 235 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,320 these, the Gnostic teachings that said Jesus couldn't really 236 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:10,440 have come in the flesh because all flesh is evil. 237 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:12,400 So Jesus wasn't evil, He didn't really come here. 238 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,840 It was an illusion, right? It's funny, we've talked about 239 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,080 this a couple of times. Modern day we see the more 240 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:24,080 common issue is there are plenty of religions that don't believe 241 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,840 Jesus was really God. They actually don't have many 242 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:29,920 problems with the fact that he was here on the earth. 243 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:34,320 Muslims, Jehovah's Witness, Mormons. 244 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:35,840 They do not believe Jesus was God. 245 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:38,840 They believe these other things, but not God. 246 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:41,880 But it's funny, during John's day, that didn't seem to be the 247 00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,920 real issue. Clearly God was among us. 248 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,360 He healed the sick, He raised the dead. 249 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,960 He brought sight to the blind. They couldn't deny that this 250 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:56,680 figure was God, but they said he couldn't have really been man. 251 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:59,000 It's funny how we we just turn it around. 252 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:02,040 The struggle has changed today. Jesus was proven to be a man 253 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,240 clearly because he lives. History says it, but he's not 254 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:09,800 really gone. The problem is if we twist or 255 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:13,880 undermine any part of Jesus work, we are going to critically 256 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:18,200 undermine our faith. He goes on to say, and this is 257 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:21,760 the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming 258 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:26,120 and is now already in the world. The spirit of the Antichrist, 259 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:30,080 the essence of the teaching of the anti Christian principles 260 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:33,040 teach. Yes, Jesus did not come in the 261 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,440 flesh. But I think maybe the greater 262 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:40,600 and more widespread issue this represents is like we just said, 263 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:44,160 anything that would undermine the teaching of truth from its 264 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,480 pure simplicity and from faith in the facts. 265 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,000 Anything of that would be anti Christian and would undermine 266 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:59,200 Jesus's work. Verse four He says you are of 267 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:05,840 God little children and have overcome them because he who is 268 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,240 in you is greater than he who is in the world. 269 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,000 They are clearly struggling and he starts by affirming that they 270 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,640 are from God himself and maybe you need that information. 271 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,880 Maybe you need to be reminded of your identity. 272 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,680 You're not put here for no reason. 273 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:30,520 You have a great purpose in service to the Almighty Creator 274 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,640 and can't afford to be overcome by the by the works of evil 275 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,320 because He's living in you and He is. 276 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,440 He was in you is greater than he who is in the world. 277 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,840 This is the anthem of the people of God and has been for 278 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,240 millennia. Maybe you remember in Second 279 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:53,720 Kings chapter 6 this is said almost verbatim the same thing 280 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:55,200 and I'll just give you a quick rundown. 281 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:57,560 I think I taught on this about five years ago. 282 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,040 I don't think we've talked about it much then. 283 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:02,080 So maybe you need a refresher or someone hasn't heard it. 284 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:06,480 Second Kings, chapter 6 in this point in the narrative of the 285 00:16:06,480 --> 00:16:12,000 Old Testament, the Israelites are at war or the the king of 286 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,080 Assyria is coming to make war with the Israelites. 287 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:18,000 So God's people, he's trying to make war with God's people. 288 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,760 And every time he tries to go attack the Israelites, he's got 289 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:27,120 an ambush set up. His plans are foiled and somehow 290 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,560 they, the Israelites avoid the attack of this evil king. 291 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,720 He's a warring king. He wants to come after and crush 292 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,800 them. And pretty soon he gets fed up 293 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,680 and he's like, who among you are is a spy? 294 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,600 Because someone in here is telling the Israelites what's 295 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,080 going on. There's no way they've avoided 296 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,680 my attacks this many times. And one of his people stands up 297 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:50,280 is like, it's not us. The prophet Elijah, who's in 298 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:53,320 Israel, hears the words that you speak in your bedroom. 299 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:57,000 He says, and he is probably freaked out by that, but he's a 300 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,160 warring king. And so he says, OK, I got to go 301 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:01,040 get this guy. And they tell him where he's at. 302 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:02,760 They say he he must be in Dothan. 303 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:08,079 Therefore he sent horses and Chariots and a great army there. 304 00:17:09,599 --> 00:17:12,319 This man has charge of a massive army. 305 00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:16,920 The Assyrians were very well established as a military force, 306 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:18,880 and he had come after this one man. 307 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,839 They surround the city with all of his force of his army. 308 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:25,880 And they came by night and surrounded the city. 309 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,280 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, 310 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:34,520 there was an army surrounding the city with horses and 311 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,800 Chariots. So Elijah has a servant with him 312 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:39,320 to help him along with everything. 313 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,440 And that servant gets up early and rubs his eyes, wakes up and 314 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:49,160 he is surrounded. And his servant said to him, 315 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,400 alas, my master, what should we do? 316 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:53,720 What are we going to do? We're surrounded. 317 00:17:55,280 --> 00:18:00,040 And Elijah prayed and said, Lord, I pray open his eyes that 318 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:03,840 he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of 319 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:10,600 the young man, and he saw. Did it say the Lord put 320 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:15,720 something else there? It said, open his eyes and what 321 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,880 did he see? Maybe it looked something like 322 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:23,520 this. And behold, the mountain was 323 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:28,080 full of horses and Chariots of fire all around. 324 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:30,760 Elijah, he says you brought horses. 325 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,400 Great, I got horses, you got Chariots, I got Chariots. 326 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:38,080 But mine are horses and Chariots of judgement, of destruction, of 327 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,120 power that is beyond anything that the enemy has against you. 328 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:44,040 And they were surrounding. It says that the mountain was 329 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,200 full of these horses and Chariots of fire. 330 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:58,600 He said do not fear for those. I think I failed to leave off 331 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,560 the the phrase. He said those who are with us 332 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:03,080 are greater than those who are with them. 333 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,600 That's the phrase he includes that is almost verbatim with 334 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,600 what John said. And 1st John, those who are with 335 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:13,680 us or he who is in you is greater than those who are 336 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:18,320 against you. And I need to have a spiritual 337 00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,600 perspective. If we are going to survive 338 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:26,080 spiritually, we won't survive without a spiritual perspective. 339 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,480 We are going to be like that servant who's freaking out in 340 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,160 the middle of his troubles, who has no Peace of Mind, who has 341 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:37,200 all this unrest and inside of him if we do not have a 342 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:41,560 spiritual perspective. And that perspective is that the 343 00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:47,280 Lord's help is always there and he is with us every day. 344 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:52,880 God's might is surrounded you, and it was always there all 345 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:55,520 along, whether he took the opportunity to see it or not. 346 00:19:55,960 --> 00:20:00,400 So we might as well get used to and enjoy looking at those 347 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:01,960 realities that should comfort us. 348 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:05,640 So he's giving them these affirmations. 349 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,400 He's saying you back in first, John, you are of God and you've 350 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,680 overcome them, not because you are so awesome, but because he 351 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,080 who is in you is greater. Our God, who works in US and 352 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:19,760 lives through US, is the greater force. 353 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,560 Verse five, he says they are of the world. 354 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:26,080 He's talking just about those, those false teachers. 355 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:30,240 He says they are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the 356 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:35,120 world and the world hears them. We talked about maybe some of us 357 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:37,680 have a hard time believing any someone else is really wrong. 358 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:42,280 We don't say it. God, whose word makes the 359 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:43,920 distinction. We don't have to make that 360 00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:45,800 distinction. And don't let people throw that 361 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,680 in your face like you're somehow so judgmental and so rude that 362 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,920 you see something as truth. You and I don't make the 363 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,320 distinction. The distinction is already made. 364 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,320 God's word makes the distinction whether something is true or 365 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:00,840 not. And we just help people see it. 366 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:02,120 Hopefully that's our goal, right? 367 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:07,320 With humility and gentleness. Verse 6, We are of God. 368 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:13,240 He who knows God hears us. He who is not of God does not 369 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:15,320 hear us. Who is the US he's talking 370 00:21:15,320 --> 00:21:16,960 about? Well, it's the people who wrote 371 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,600 the inspired Word of God. John is inspired writer and if 372 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,680 people who are writing that inspired word and people who are 373 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:29,160 sharing the truth are not heard said, they're not of us. 374 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,400 When she goes back again to making sure we understand the 375 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,560 word of God and listen to these writers because those are the US 376 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:42,200 who we must be listening to. He says by this we know the 377 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,960 spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 378 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,400 Remember Spirit of being the essence of something or the one 379 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:53,240 who is of truth or the one who is of error. 380 00:21:54,560 --> 00:22:00,360 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God and 381 00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,640 everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 382 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:09,720 Now last time we talked in chapter 3, we talked about this 383 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,720 idea of laying down our lives for the brethren. 384 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,560 I don't know about you. I felt really challenged by 385 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:17,480 those scriptures. We talked about how aggressive 386 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,280 of a command it is to literally lay down your life for someone 387 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:25,000 else. And I left that wanting to speak 388 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,560 a little bit more and, and it came back up in this chapter. 389 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,440 Let us love one another. So if we're going to become 390 00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:34,640 commanded to love one another according to this love that is 391 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,120 of God, then it's a big serious task. 392 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,480 He goes on to say, well, we'll get there in a minute. 393 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:47,320 He's commanding us to love as God loved, and I need a little 394 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:49,760 bit more help with getting there all the time. 395 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:57,120 So how might we do that? Now it is clear that we must 396 00:22:57,120 --> 00:22:59,000 understand God's Word, as we've already said. 397 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:01,840 And we all, I think, get the idea that we have to understand 398 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,680 what God wants from us in his Word to practice it. 399 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:09,040 But sometimes there's a gap between how and what you know, 400 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,080 And maybe you're at the point where you're like, I want to, I 401 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,800 want to know, I want to do it, but how do I do it? 402 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:21,480 Asking others, as we've said often, is one of the best ways. 403 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,840 If you ask a spiritual leader in this congregation, if you ask 404 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,040 Frank, if you ask some of the older brother, Carl and Darren, 405 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:32,160 anybody who has lived the life and who have been faithful, they 406 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,880 can give you some great advice. And many others, I don't mean to 407 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,560 leave it there. They can give you great advice. 408 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:42,880 So yes, start there. That's great, but in reality, 409 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:47,680 they are living their own life. They don't see every little 410 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:51,040 thing that's going on in your life to give the best advice all 411 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,360 the time. We always pray, you know, to to 412 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:57,960 be able to give good advice, but sometimes you don't know exactly 413 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:01,200 what somebody needs the way maybe they know what they need. 414 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:05,160 And so I want to encourage you if you have tried asking someone 415 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,160 else, what should I do to show love? 416 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:12,000 How can I be an example of God's love for the world and how I can 417 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,320 be one who loves as God loves because that's a command from 418 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,320 God. The bar is set. 419 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:24,720 How do I love like God? Don't underestimate the power of 420 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:31,600 your heart going to God's heart, because once you know God's 421 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:34,280 word, you can study it all you want, but there comes a point 422 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:35,960 where you have to start to dig deep. 423 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,640 There comes a point where you have to ask God earnestly in 424 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:41,720 prayer. God help me to see. 425 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:47,000 In the book of James, he says, let him who lacks wisdom do what 426 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:52,520 ask of God who gives to all, How does he give to all? 427 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:58,560 He says who gives to all generously and and how and 428 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:05,160 without reproach. If you lack wisdom, he says ask 429 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:10,880 of God and he gives generously and without reproach, not giving 430 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,000 you shame like you're silly, don't know enough. 431 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,600 How could you not know what to do? 432 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:16,520 How could you not know how you should show love? 433 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,680 You should already know this. He says no, he gives generously 434 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:23,680 and without reproach. So if you want to love like God, 435 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:29,400 yes, ask, but ask God for guidance and don't underestimate 436 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,640 the value of what you can be aware of. 437 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:36,440 Because of that connection with God and because of the awareness 438 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:39,280 when you pray a prayer like this, this is a prayer that I 439 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,040 was taught and I think helps me a lot. 440 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:48,400 God, please help me to have opportunities to do good and 441 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,640 please help me to see those opportunities and please help me 442 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:53,400 to have the strength to take those opportunities. 443 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:56,000 Because sometimes you, you just missing it. 444 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:57,640 You don't care about people in the world. 445 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:00,840 You don't care about people around you sometimes as I do. 446 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,120 And I have to be willing to see that and then I can take 447 00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:07,560 opportunity and take advantage of it. 448 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:12,520 So don't underestimate the process of the heart in seeking 449 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,360 communion with God. And something I don't normally 450 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:18,920 think about is one of God's guidance for prayers. 451 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,400 In Luke 18 it says this. Then Jesus told his disciples a 452 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:25,320 parable to show them they should always pray and not give up. 453 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,320 He said in a certain town there was a judge who neither feared 454 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:29,680 God nor cared what people thought. 455 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,880 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with 456 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,000 the plea, Grant me justice against my adversary. 457 00:26:36,280 --> 00:26:40,160 For some time he refused, but finally he said to himself, even 458 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,920 though I don't fear God or care what people think, yet because 459 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:46,360 this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice 460 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,280 so that she won't eventually come and attack me. 461 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,320 I think this is the NIV and the Lord said listen to what the 462 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:58,040 unjust judge says and will not God bring about justice for his 463 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,120 chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? 464 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,280 Will he keep putting them off? The teaching in this is this 465 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:12,520 worldly person can be convinced by a a woman who is persistent 466 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,520 in her asking. He's like I'm a good God. 467 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,880 Don't you think if you are persistent and ask me, I will 468 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:22,240 give to you? And it dawned on me, maybe I'm 469 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,080 not praying to God for guidance enough with that kind of 470 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,600 attitude. Oh sure, when when someone I 471 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,520 love is sick and struggling deeply, I will be persistent in 472 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:34,960 prayer and beg and I'll stay on it and stay on it. 473 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:40,760 But do I do that with turning my heart to God's word? 474 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:46,160 Do I do that with turning a mindset into action that has 475 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:48,280 never been in really an action before? 476 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:54,880 May we be as persistent as that widow in pursuing the actions in 477 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:58,320 the heart of God beyond maybe what we've ever done before. 478 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:01,960 Verse 8. He who does not love does not 479 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,920 know God, for God is love. He who does not love does not 480 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:11,680 know God, for God is love. God is defined by love. 481 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:15,080 God is the essence of love encapsulated. 482 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,800 So if we're going to be godly, we should probably start there. 483 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,080 Verse 9. In this the love of God was 484 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:25,800 manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten Son 485 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:28,440 into the world that we might live through him. 486 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,640 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us 487 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,000 and love, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the 488 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,600 propitiation for our sins. Whenever the Word of God is 489 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,800 seeking to convince us of God's love for us, to teach us, it 490 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:50,000 doesn't do a whole lot of explaining. 491 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:54,200 It usually just gives US1 strong, concrete, undeniable 492 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,480 example. God loves you. 493 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,400 He sent a son to die for you. And that reminds me to look at 494 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:04,200 my love for God and for others that way. 495 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:08,480 Do I need to give some long oration about, well, I really do 496 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:14,600 love people. I just, God says I love the 497 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:18,680 world and here's how. Here's my action, here's my 498 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,280 proof. And I don't want to ever make 499 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,160 this seem like we are our our works earn our salvation because 500 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,560 they do not. No matter what I did, it would 501 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,440 not earn me salvation without Jesus Christ to save me. 502 00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:39,680 But don't let people say that if you are evaluating your life to 503 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:44,960 see if you're a saved person, don't let them take you off the 504 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,440 fact that you show your faith by your works. 505 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:54,880 As James says, God to prove his love for us and to prove that he 506 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:56,880 does have love for us, reference an action. 507 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,480 So maybe we can reference, hey, I love God and I have faith. 508 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:07,600 And here's how I know that you can prove your love by action. 509 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,920 It doesn't have to be something that earns your salvation to be 510 00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:13,160 assured, as we talked about in the last chapter. 511 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,960 Love that and be confident and to be able to reference your 512 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,240 faith by action. There's nothing wrong with that. 513 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:24,720 Verse 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love 514 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:31,200 one another. What if God loved me the way I 515 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:38,360 love my brothers and sisters? What if God loved you the way 516 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:42,560 you love the people who are your brothers and sisters in Christ? 517 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:53,760 Where would your soul sit today? He says to love God or to love 518 00:30:53,800 --> 00:31:00,440 like God loved the world? Sure, we don't want to ever be 519 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:03,160 doing direct wrongdoing to people around us in the church. 520 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:05,320 I think that's obvious, like we don't want to be doing that. 521 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:07,440 But let's take it a little bit further. 522 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:14,560 What if God loved me like I can be toward my brothers and 523 00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:19,960 sisters uninvolved in their life, and maybe they're on the 524 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,520 back burner. Maybe I treat you all sometimes 525 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,280 like you're on the back burner. Like you don't matter as much to 526 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:29,520 me as what's going on right now. Like it's really not worth my 527 00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:30,800 time. I've got other stuff to do. 528 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,240 These people have their own. Go do your thing. 529 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,440 I'll go to church. I'll be whatever, but you're not 530 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:39,320 worth my time. Sometimes we, I think we as 531 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,720 humans, develop this attitude toward our brothers and sisters. 532 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:48,280 What if God loved you the way you and I sometimes love each 533 00:31:48,280 --> 00:31:53,240 other? What if God loved me with the 534 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,040 spirit of just being annoyed at dealing with my brothers and 535 00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:58,920 sisters? And I'm not saying you can't be 536 00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,200 annoyed because there are things that deserve annoyance. 537 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,480 But if I just stay annoyed at my brothers and sisters? 538 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:09,160 If I don't move on past that and make something beyond that, I'm 539 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:12,280 living in annoyance with them. What if God lived in just 540 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:16,840 perpetual annoyance with you? And as we've kind of already 541 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:20,680 mentioned, what if God said I just got more important stuff to 542 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:23,560 do than to deal with them? Beloved? 543 00:32:23,560 --> 00:32:26,960 And if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 544 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,760 Verse 12. No one has ever has seen God at 545 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,760 any time. If we love one another, God 546 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,960 abides in US and His love has been perfected in US. 547 00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:40,800 No one has ever seen God. God is spirit. 548 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:43,400 You can't see him. No one, no one in flesh has seen 549 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,560 God in reality. And John 14 verse 7, this idea 550 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:48,960 comic came up with his disciples. 551 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,680 Jesus said if you hadn't known me, you would have known my 552 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:54,560 Father also. And from now on you know him and 553 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,160 have seen him. Maybe you say see right there it 554 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:02,040 says you've seen God in a sense. He's not saying you've actually 555 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:05,040 seen God. He says Philip said to him, 556 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:07,240 Lord, show us the Father and it's sufficient for us. 557 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,200 He's like, yeah, it'd be great. I'd love to see God. 558 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:11,840 Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long? 559 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:15,560 And you and yet you have not known me, Philip, He who has 560 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,320 seen me has seen the Father. So no one has literally seen 561 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,720 God. No one wakes up in the morning 562 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,320 and says hi there, God, good morning. 563 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:25,960 No one does that because no one's really seen him. 564 00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:30,480 We see him in another way. We see him in a spiritual sense. 565 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,960 We see him in an awareness. How? 566 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:38,240 If we love one another, that's how you see God. 567 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:42,560 If you love one another, God abides in US and his love has 568 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:48,200 been perfected in US. Do you think you would love him 569 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:52,720 more if you saw him? If you saw Jesus or God standing 570 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,200 here today in in your presence, do you think you love him more? 571 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,840 I think reaction might be to initially say, yeah, sure, I 572 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,320 think I would. I think I'd be more focused and 573 00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:12,520 more attentive to that. But he just said it would not. 574 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,320 We would not love him more in a way that really matters to God. 575 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:19,840 Sure, we might have feelings that well up inside of us. 576 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:24,440 And this love is the word agape. The word agape means a self 577 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:29,199 sacrificing love that will give to another and show that aside 578 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:31,920 from what 1 feels, that's phileo love in the Greek. 579 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,199 If we might feel a phileo love more toward God if we saw him. 580 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,159 Doesn't sound like that's really what matters to God as much. 581 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:45,159 Obviously that comes with it. But God's love being perfected 582 00:34:45,159 --> 00:34:50,239 in us in a way that matters to God comes in love for one 583 00:34:50,239 --> 00:34:55,600 another. I might feel more love for him, 584 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:01,280 but the significance and what is great importance to Him is that 585 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,600 I love my brothers. By this we know that we abide in 586 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:11,000 Him and He and us because He has given us of His Spirit. 587 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,760 And I'm going to have to cut it off there. 588 00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:17,400 We have a little bit less than half the chapter left, but I 589 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:21,400 hope this morning you have a written stilled, a reinstalled 590 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:27,000 desire to love God and to love your brethren with the kind of 591 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,720 love that God showed again, agape love. 592 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:33,360 That would be self sacrificing and do whatever it took for the 593 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,400 betterment of your brethren for mine. 594 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,440 And I stand the first in line of that list to be better at that. 595 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,640 And this church will be what it can be. 596 00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:45,360 This church will grow in love and I believe in number as 597 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:48,680 people are drawn to that just said, the world will know the 598 00:35:48,680 --> 00:35:50,480 love of God by how we love each other. 599 00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:52,680 The lesson is yours this morning. 600 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:56,400 I hope that if you have not started this walk that you will 601 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,520 want to, that you'll want to be in God to know that He is with 602 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,560 me and living in me and He's greater than anything I'll face 603 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:06,200 in this world and it is powers surrounding me. 604 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,120 And if you have not started that walk and you want to enjoy that, 605 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:11,800 you can start it today. Obviously by hearing the word of 606 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,960 God, you got to hear something to believe and by believing that 607 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,160 Jesus Christ is the Son of God and repenting of your past life, 608 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,480 saying I'm going to change, I'm going to turn from my way to 609 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:24,360 God's way and confessing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 610 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:28,000 As we've already said, you have to confess this in this study 611 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:31,440 that that Jesus was the Son of God, that he came to this earth 612 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,920 and he died and saved and rose again to save us. 613 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,800 You have to confess that, but there's no other way by by which 614 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:41,160 we can be saved. And if you've already done that 615 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,240 and you're and you're ready to be baptized, we can be immersed 616 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:47,280 into water for their mission of sins to be added to the church. 617 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,640 Now the sins washed away. And you can do that today if you 618 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:52,440 have not, and start the walk.