1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:02,720 Well, good morning. It is great to be here with you 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:07,400 as pastor, John Michael said. I probably preached you, what, 3 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,080 5-6 Times Now? And maybe this is the fifth or 4 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:12,840 sixth time. Yeah, this is the first time 5 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:14,840 we've ever been in this room at the same time. 6 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:19,680 So I'm excited about that. I'm honored to be here. 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:26,000 I hope you know how blessed you are to have John Michael as your 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,160 pastor. I love this man, I admire this 9 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:34,560 man, I respect this man and just the influence he's had on my 10 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:39,960 life and in a lot of ways he'll never even know just caused me 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,200 to be higher and better as a man, as a husband, as a father. 12 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:46,200 So thank you for that and thank you for having me here today. 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,400 So as a, as a service was progressing this morning, I kind 14 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,320 of felt like man, somebody's been reading my notes because 15 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,960 through the singing and through the prayers and through 16 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:57,760 everything, it's just the Holy Spirit is just speaking. 1 clear 17 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,760 message this morning. So if you want to turn in your 18 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:03,800 Bibles with me to 1st John chapter 3, we're going to be 19 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,400 looking at verses one through 3 to begin. 20 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:08,840 And then a little bit later we'll take a look at verses 4 21 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,560 through 10. I'm reading from the English 22 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,160 standard version this morning. First John three, first John 23 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:20,080 three, one through 10. As I was preparing, I thought, 24 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,160 oh man, verses one through three are so good. 25 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:24,880 I'm not going to have time to hear the four through 10, but I 26 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:29,240 think we can do it. So again, thank you for having 27 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:30,760 me. It is a blessing and an honor to 28 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,640 be here and to bring God's word to you today. 29 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,480 So thank you. This church has always been so 30 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,800 kind and so welcoming to me, and that really means a lot to me. 31 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,320 So, so first, John, this is an epistle or a letter. 32 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:46,040 It's written by the apostle John, the same author of the 33 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,760 Gospel of John. He's writing to a church that 34 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,000 was having a problem with false teachers. 35 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,400 And so these false teachers, they were denying that Jesus 36 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,960 actually came in the flesh. So they had a belief that 37 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,320 basically spiritual things are good and physical things are 38 00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:03,360 bad. And so because of this false 39 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,400 belief that they had, they couldn't accept the fact that 40 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,800 Jesus came in the flesh, right? Because God could never 41 00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:13,000 condescend to be in the flesh because they thought the flesh 42 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,400 was inherently bad. And so on top of that, they're 43 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,800 denying the reality of sin. They're denying the fact that 44 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,880 human beings have a sin nature. And so basically they're, 45 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,040 they're taking no regard for personal morality or personal 46 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,320 righteousness that they, they were teaching that once you've 47 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,120 been spiritually enlightened, it doesn't matter what sins you 48 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,160 commit in the body. And I can already see the light 49 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,400 bulbs going off like this is red flags everywhere, right? 50 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,320 And so Johnny's writing specifically to people who 51 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:49,440 believe in and follow Jesus so that God's children will not be 52 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,120 deceived by these false teachers and his stated purpose in 53 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,440 writing this book. He says he wants their joy to be 54 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,520 made complete and for them to know that they have eternal 55 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,800 life. And so this morning, my goal was 56 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,440 no different. I want your joy to be so full 57 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:06,040 and complete this morning, and I want you to have assurance of 58 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,040 the hope that you have in Jesus. So let's begin in verses one 59 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,880 through 3. He says, See what kind of love 60 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:16,560 the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of 61 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:17,840 God. And so we are. 62 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:21,200 The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not 63 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,600 know Him. Beloved, we are God's children 64 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,120 now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. 65 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,280 But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him 66 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,920 because we shall see Him as He is, and everyone who thus hopes 67 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,920 in him purifies himself as he is pure. 68 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,680 So today in our passage, we're going to see three simple 69 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:46,120 things. First, what we are. 70 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,800 Second, what we will be, and 3rd, who we should be. 71 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:53,160 So John's essentially saying this. 72 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,640 He's saying this is what you are, this is what you will be. 73 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,720 Now live like it. That's that's the thrust of what 74 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:01,160 he's saying this morning. So we're going to walk through 75 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,680 this text together and, and see what it means for our lives 76 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:06,400 today. And we we can't do that without 77 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:07,960 his help. So before we go any further, 78 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:09,000 let's say a quick word of prayer. 79 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:12,360 Father, I thank you for your word. 80 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,280 I thank you for these precious people. 81 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,279 God, I ask you right now to prepare our hearts to hear from 82 00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:20,160 you. Holy Spirit, guide us into your 83 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,160 truth. Pray that you guard us from 84 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,520 error, both in what is taught and what is hurt. 85 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:31,440 God that you would help us to see you more clearly today, to 86 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,560 see you as you've revealed yourself in your word. 87 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,680 God help us to not just be hearers, but doers of your word 88 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,280 in Jesus name, Amen. All right, so the first thing we 89 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,920 see is what we are. He says, see what kind of love 90 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,680 the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of 91 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,960 God. And so we are. 92 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:55,720 So John is calling us to stop and look at the love of the 93 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,840 Father, right? He's saying, don't gloss over 94 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:02,360 it. Stop, behold it, look at it, 95 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,720 take it in, consider all that it means. 96 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:08,320 What kind of love is this? You know, in the original 97 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:12,160 language, the connotation here is it's as if this kind of love 98 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,880 is like a foreign kind, like it's from from a faraway place. 99 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:18,360 He's saying this, this is an out of this world love. 100 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:23,000 This is a a love that we can't even begin to comprehend, right? 101 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,280 Those of you who are parents in the room, let me see your hands, 102 00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:27,680 OK? Probably the closest thing we 103 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,440 can think of is the the love a parent has for a child. 104 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,000 But I would suggest to you that John is saying this love goes 105 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,160 even beyond that. It's so far beyond, so much 106 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,760 bigger and so much better and greater. 107 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,200 We can't even begin to understand that the love that 108 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,640 the father has for his children. And he's freely given us this 109 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,360 love. And John says the evidence of 110 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,200 that is that we are called children of God. 111 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:57,000 And so it's this amazing love that John is telling us to stop 112 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:58,600 and look at. How many of you ever tried to 113 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,000 look at the sun before, right? I don't recommend that it's bad 114 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,320 for you. It's like you just, it's 115 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,480 overwhelming. You can't even take it in. 116 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,880 And what John is calling us to do here is a lot like that, to 117 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:15,800 try and behold the love of the Father. 118 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,320 It's like trying to stare at the sun. 119 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:21,720 It's just, it's overwhelming. And to try to understand his 120 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,040 love for us is impossible. Ephesians 319, the apostle Paul 121 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,760 calls it a love that surpasses knowledge, right? 122 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,520 We can't, we can't comprehend it on an intellectual level, but we 123 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:33,480 can comprehend it on a spiritual level. 124 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,840 He also says in Romans 816, the Spirit himself bears witness to 125 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,040 our spirit that we are the children of God, right? 126 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:43,600 So it's not something we can even begin to comprehend 127 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,160 intellectually. We we comprehend it by the power 128 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:48,760 of the Spirit as he bears witness to us that we are his 129 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:52,040 children. John's goal in writing this and 130 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,040 and my goal for you today is just to be overwhelmed by how 131 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:58,240 much God loves you. Think about it. 132 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:02,360 God could have saved us without making us his children, right? 133 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:05,120 Think about it. He could have looked at us in 134 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,240 our broken and sinful state and in his compassion and in his 135 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,160 mercy. He could have saved us from our 136 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,760 sin. And thank God he did. 137 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:16,400 But church, he did so much more than that. 138 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:21,360 He's called us his children. He's adopted us as sons and 139 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,960 daughters. He's brought us into his family. 140 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,160 He's done so much for us because of his great love for us. 141 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:34,120 And this changes the way we relate to him on a fundamental 142 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,360 level, right? He's not just a, a good 143 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:41,960 benevolent king that far off somewhere. 144 00:07:41,960 --> 00:07:45,280 No, he's our father. This is a familial love. 145 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,240 This is a covenantal love. We are as children, we have an 146 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:55,040 access to him, an access that's unbelievable right now. 147 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:58,960 You are the children of God. This isn't just a title. 148 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:01,320 This isn't something we're looking forward to in the 149 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,040 future. Now, he says right now we should 150 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,920 be called the children of God. And so we are. 151 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,520 This is who you are right now. You are no less a child of God 152 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:12,120 right now than you will be an eternity. 153 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:13,200 Amen. Right. 154 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:17,560 You are loved by God no less now than you will be in eternity. 155 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:20,680 Amen. So how can this be? 156 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,280 If you're anything like me, you're like, how could God 157 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:29,520 possibly love me that much? It's only possible because we 158 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,679 are in Christ, as Galatians 326 says, For in Christ Jesus you 159 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,400 are all sons of God through faith. 160 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:40,679 Colossians 33 says For you have died and your life is hidden 161 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:44,840 with Christ in God. So to be in Christ means your 162 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:49,560 old life is gone. You are now hidden in Christ. 163 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,600 When God looks at you, he sees Jesus, right? 164 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,960 His perfect righteousness has been credited to you. 165 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,680 His perfect sacrifice for sin has been credited to you. 166 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,960 This is what it means to be justified, right? 167 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:07,040 Because of what Jesus has done for us in the Gospel, we now 168 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:11,160 stand justified before God. The gospel is simply this, that 169 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,080 Jesus is God. He came to the earth as a man. 170 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,880 He lived the perfect life that you and I should have lived. 171 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:18,920 He fulfilled the law of God perfectly. 172 00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:22,760 And then he went to the cross and died a substitutionary death 173 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,080 in our place, the death that we deserved. 174 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:28,280 He was buried, and three days later he rose again. 175 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,960 He defeated death hell in the grave, proving that he alone has 176 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:35,960 the power over them, and he has ascended to the Father at his 177 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,160 right hand, where he's now ruling and reigning over all 178 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:39,520 things. Amen. 179 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,320 And it's because of that reality that you and I, when we are in 180 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,920 Christ, we are justified before God. 181 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,320 He promised us that all who believe in Him, all who repent 182 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,400 and believe will be justified and will have eternal life. 183 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,680 Amen. So all who believe in and follow 184 00:09:56,680 --> 00:10:01,640 Him have been justified by faith through grace, Sorry, by grace 185 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:04,280 through faith in Christ. Those of us who are in Christ, 186 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,120 we've not only been justified, but we've been made as children. 187 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,200 And I think this is one of the most simultaneously encouraging 188 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,080 and humbling things at the same time. 189 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,160 Why do I say it's humbling? It's because I didn't earn it, 190 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:24,760 and I know I don't deserve it. And yet I belong to Him, right? 191 00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:28,280 This is deeply offensive to my pride. 192 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,400 My pride wants me to be loved because I'm lovable. 193 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,160 My pride wants me to be accepted because I've earned it. 194 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,680 But the reality is that you and I have not earned anything 195 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:45,160 except the wrath of God, right? We are accepted based on the 196 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:47,360 merit of Christ, not our own merit. 197 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,560 Romans 58 says for God showed his love for us in this that 198 00:10:51,560 --> 00:10:56,480 while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, right? 199 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,080 So you and I were not only we weren't in neutral territory, we 200 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,560 were actively rebelling against our Creator. 201 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:09,760 We were citizens of the Kingdom of darkness and God pulled us 202 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:11,800 out of darkness into His marvellous light. 203 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:20,120 It's amazing. So this identity that we have, 204 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,760 it not only changes the way we relate to our Father, it changes 205 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,880 the way we we see ourselves. It changes the way we understand 206 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,600 who we are. It is the foundation of 207 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:33,720 everything we are and everything that we do every every thought, 208 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,400 every action. It should stem from this truth 209 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:41,440 that I am a child of God. We live it our lives in such a 210 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:46,240 way as to please our Father. And so because this we live this 211 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:49,200 way. John goes on to explain not only 212 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,960 is our relationship to God and to ourselves different, but it 213 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,960 also has a profound effect on our relationship with the world 214 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:57,520 around us. He goes on to say in verse one 215 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:02,160 says the reason why the world does not know us is that it did 216 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,400 not know him. So what does this mean? 217 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:10,280 It's important to note here John uses this word world differently 218 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,240 depending on the context, right? So we all know John 316, right? 219 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,600 For God, so love the world, right? 220 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:18,040 But what does he say in first John 215? 221 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:22,040 He says do not love the world or the things in the world. 222 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:26,240 So clearly there's a difference in how he's using the term and 223 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,760 in this context here, he's referring to a worldwide system 224 00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:32,720 of hostility and rebellion against God, right? 225 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:34,880 This is the world that does not know him. 226 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:36,400 This is the world that has rejected him. 227 00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:39,600 This is the world that as a result, does not know us either. 228 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:42,120 So let me illustrate it to you this way. 229 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:47,080 My daughter, my oldest, is working at Campionca Tank this 230 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:48,520 summer as a counselor right up the road here. 231 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,480 And one of the things they do with their staff training, they 232 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:54,760 call it wacky Walmart and Tacky TJ Maxx. 233 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,080 And So what they do is they dress in the silliest, most 234 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,160 ridiculous outfits that they can possibly come up with because 235 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:05,240 it's the sillier the better. And they just go walk around in 236 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,360 Walmart and they walk around in TJ Maxx. 237 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,240 The goal is they want to kind of it's a team building thing. 238 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,440 They want to get them out of their comfort zone, get them 239 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,480 just stop taking themselves so seriously and just kind of build 240 00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:17,720 that camaraderie with one another. 241 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:21,600 And so I wanted to see her. They were coming from Walmart 242 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:25,400 going about to go into TJ Maxx. And so I'm standing there 243 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,360 dressed normally and I'm in this group of people that just look 244 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:34,760 absolutely ridiculous. And I, I look at the camp 245 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:36,320 director who's dressed as a pink Bunny. 246 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:40,160 And I said, you know what's ironic? 247 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:42,280 I'm the one that looks out of place right now. 248 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:46,680 I'm standing in this group of people that look absolutely 249 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:48,840 ridiculous and I'm the one that looks out of place. 250 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:50,200 I'm the one that feels out of place. 251 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:54,600 And in the same way, church, this might come as a surprise to 252 00:13:54,600 --> 00:14:00,520 you, but the culture we live in doesn't always honor God, right? 253 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:05,120 I know that's shocking, but that is the reality. 254 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:11,720 And so it can be easy at times living in this culture that we 255 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,120 live in, to feel like somehow, although we are the ones trying 256 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,600 to live out God's design for our lives, that somehow our beliefs 257 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,320 and ways of living are somehow outdated or wrong, right? 258 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,440 It's easy to take that pressure from the world around us. 259 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:33,640 But the reality is the world around us is rebelling against 260 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,040 God. They're rebelling against God's 261 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:40,560 design for them. And church, we should not feel 262 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,360 that pressure. We should not feel a lack of 263 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,320 confidence because of the world around us. 264 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,560 No, because we are children of God, we should feel a confidence 265 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,480 to live out his design for us to live it out. 266 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,880 When John, John echoes the the words of Jesus in verse 13 of 267 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:00,560 the same chapter when he says do not be surprised brothers, that 268 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,960 the world hates you. Now that doesn't mean every 269 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,720 single person in the world is going to hate you and treat you 270 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:07,800 badly. Not of course not. 271 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,560 That doesn't mean you can't have an unbelieving friend. 272 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:15,600 No, of course not. But what it does mean is that at 273 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,720 some point in your life, this unbelieving world is going to be 274 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,720 in opposition against you because you belong to him. 275 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,480 And they have rejected him. And that's what John wants us to 276 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,960 see here. So there's a tension for us to 277 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:31,880 manage here, right? First Timothy 3 says that 278 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,280 overseas overseers in the church should be well thought of by 279 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,280 outsiders, right? Romans 12 says that as much as 280 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:41,440 it depends on us, we ought to live at peace with everyone, 281 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:43,600 right? So we're not just out looking 282 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,680 for a fight all the time. Being quarrelsome, like the idea 283 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:51,280 is not to be hated because you're a jerk, but if, if we're 284 00:15:51,280 --> 00:15:53,000 hated for Christ's sake, then so be it. 285 00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:58,160 So be it. It should not surprise us. 286 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,600 It should not cause us to lose confidence in who we are as 287 00:16:01,600 --> 00:16:03,920 children of God. So the fact that we are children 288 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,800 of God gives us a confidence that the world cannot give us 289 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,960 and cannot take away from us. I want you to think about that 290 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:13,200 for a second. I'm going to say it again. 291 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,960 The fact that we are children of God gives us a confidence that 292 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:20,280 the world cannot give us and cannot take away from us, Amen. 293 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,560 That's a good word. Another way to put it is our 294 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,360 daddy can beat up their daddy. That's right. 295 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,520 So we can be confident in who we are because of who's we are, 296 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,720 Amen. So because of the Father's great 297 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:36,040 love for us, He has made us into His children. 298 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,440 That is the foundation of how we relate to Him. 299 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,240 It's the foundation of how we see ourselves and it is the 300 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:44,040 foundation of how we relate to the world around us. 301 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,880 And this is who we are. And we can live confidently 302 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:49,960 because of that. And as if that's not enough, 303 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:53,200 there's more. Second thing we see this morning 304 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:58,120 is what we will be. Verse 2 says, beloved, we are 305 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:02,200 God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared. 306 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,880 But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him 307 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,480 because we shall see him as he is. 308 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:17,880 So we're God's children now. And bonus, what we will be has 309 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:20,839 not yet appeared. John's describing here this 310 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:22,760 tension that theologians call the now and then. 311 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,520 Not yet. It's the reality that we live in 312 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:27,760 as Christians. There are things that are true 313 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,000 of us right now, and there are things that have yet to come. 314 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,080 So yes, we're God's children now, but we also aren't what we 315 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,960 will be. Let me illustrate it to you this 316 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,040 way. We're like an orphan who's been 317 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,160 adopted from the orphan home we're on. 318 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:46,480 We're in the car, we're on the way to our new home, right? 319 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,840 We still have our faded and I'll fitting orphan clothes. 320 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:51,280 We still smell like the orphanage. 321 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:54,080 We're still learning what it means to be a son and a daughter 322 00:17:54,080 --> 00:17:55,480 because we haven't made it home yet. 323 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:58,800 That's a lot like our life in this world. 324 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,160 We are sons and daughters. We are adopted. 325 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,400 It's a fact, but we haven't made it home. 326 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,800 Philippians 320 says our citizenship is in heaven and 327 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,920 from it we await A Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will 328 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:16,800 transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body by the 329 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,720 power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 330 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,120 And So what I want you to see here is that here in verse 2 331 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:27,000 when John says, but we know that when he appears, we shall be 332 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,360 like him because we shall see him as he is. 333 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:32,120 This is second coming language, right? 334 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:35,840 He's referring to when Jesus returns in glory, disappearing. 335 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,360 He says we'll be like him because we shall see him as he 336 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:41,520 is. And I want you to see something 337 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,680 here that is so cool. This has never really stood out 338 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:47,640 to me before until I was preparing for this sermon. 339 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:54,000 But think about the fact that even John says he has not seen 340 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,200 him as he is. Think about it. 341 00:18:56,920 --> 00:19:01,040 This man was Jesus closest friend, Jesus closest, most 342 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:03,200 trusted disciple. He lived with him for three 343 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:05,920 years. He was there on the day of 344 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,960 Pentecost. He saw all the things he did all 345 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,040 the things. Yeah, he saw him in his 346 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,800 resurrected state. And even he says we have not 347 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:19,760 seen him as he is. So just imagine the glory that 348 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,520 is yet to be revealed when Jesus comes again in glory. 349 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:29,280 It's amazing. It's I'm almost, almost don't 350 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:33,880 want to talk about it because I because it's so far beyond what 351 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:37,160 I can comprehend that I know I'm not doing it justice right now. 352 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:44,440 It's amazing. This First Corinthians 1312 says 353 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:47,880 for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. 354 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,240 Now I know in part then I shall know fully even as I have been 355 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,200 fully known. So this is the blessed hope of 356 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:58,040 everyone who is a child of God. One day we shall see Him face to 357 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,680 face. We shall see him in his glory 358 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,520 and be made like Him. And what does it mean that we 359 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,920 will be be made like Him? This is referring to when we 360 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:13,080 also will be resurrected from the dead as He was, when we will 361 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:17,200 be given glorified bodies like He has right. 362 00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:19,240 And our new bodies will be immortal. 363 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,760 They'll be imperishable. They'll be freed from sin, freed 364 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:25,520 from sickness, freed from death forever. 365 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,720 Amen. We will be made like Jesus in 366 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,400 every way in church. There is a million things to 367 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,600 look forward to about eternity, but I think very near the top of 368 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:40,640 the list is that we will be freed from sin fully and finally 369 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:42,760 freed from sin in our glorified state. 370 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:47,120 Pastor Jeff Durbin tells a story about sitting across from a man 371 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:50,920 named John Barrows and John Barrows was dying of an 372 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:55,080 aggressive form of pancreatic cancer and Jeff asked him. 373 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,240 He said, brother, if the Lord should choose to call you home, 374 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:02,520 what are you most excited about? And John Barris looked at him 375 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,160 and he said, I'm most excited about not sinning against him 376 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,320 anymore. I'm so tired of sinning against 377 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:12,440 him. I just want to be with him and 378 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,800 not sin against him. This man, he's not concerned 379 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,480 about the pain he's in. He's not concerned about the 380 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,040 life he's about to lose. He's concerned about being with 381 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,240 Jesus and not sinning against him. 382 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,520 What a powerful perspective. I know I felt convicted just 383 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:31,600 reading that. The apostle John, he says when 384 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,200 we see Jesus as he is, we will be made like him. 385 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:40,680 So the implication there is that seeing the glory of Jesus is 386 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,200 what is going to make us like him, right? 387 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,520 And I want to suggest to you that's also true in this life to 388 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:52,240 an extent, right? The degree to which we see Jesus 389 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:56,080 as He is now is the degree to which we will be made like Him 390 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:00,120 now. This is why it's so important 391 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:05,360 that we know His Word, that we know Jesus as he's revealed 392 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:07,880 Himself in the Scriptures. This is why it's so important 393 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,280 that we seek His face in worship, that we communion with 394 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:15,680 Him in prayer, that we get to know the real hymn. 395 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:19,000 Amen. Because as we see Him as He is, 396 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,880 we will be made like Him. So we want to see Him in all of 397 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:27,880 His glory to the maximum extent possible in this life so that we 398 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,840 can be made like Him to the maximum extent possible in this 399 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,880 life. And it's this process of being 400 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:43,280 made like Him that John goes on to talk about in verse 3, talks 401 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:48,480 about who we should be, verse 3. And everyone who thus hopes in 402 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:52,080 him purifies himself as he is pure. 403 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:54,720 So here's where this becomes practical, right? 404 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:58,240 We have been justified. We have been made children of 405 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:00,960 God. We will be glorified. 406 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:05,720 We will be made like Him. And now in the present tense and 407 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,520 the now and not yet, we are being sanctified. 408 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:15,160 We are being made more like Him. That's what this process of 409 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:18,000 purification is. Sanctification is simply the 410 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,760 ongoing process by which you and I are made more like Jesus. 411 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:25,080 The Holy Spirit works in US progressively over time to make 412 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,920 us more and more like Jesus in this life. 413 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:32,520 So because of the hope that we have in Him, we purify ourselves 414 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,640 as He is pure. Now, what does it mean in verse 415 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,680 3 when it says purifies himself? What does that mean? 416 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:43,720 Well, first, what it does not mean, it does not mean that we 417 00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:46,720 do this in our own strength. It does not mean we purify 418 00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:49,560 ourselves in our own strength. One commentator put it this way. 419 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,920 He said the idea of purifying oneself does not mean that 420 00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:56,480 believers can generate their own sanctification. 421 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,480 Rather, it emphasizes that the sanctifying work of the Holy 422 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:05,000 Spirit does not take place apart from the believers obedience and 423 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,080 the use of means of sanctifying grace, right? 424 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,160 So it's not that though we're out here just white knuckling in 425 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:13,720 Christian life and making this happen. 426 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:16,480 No, it's the Holy Spirit is doing it in us. 427 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,600 A phrase that helps me understand this is that God 428 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,880 works in and we work out, right? And I get that from Philippians 429 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,400 chapter 2, verse 12, which says work out your own salvation with 430 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,400 fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you 431 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,960 both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 432 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:35,440 So it's God that does the work in you. 433 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:39,160 He began the good work. He's faithful to see it to 434 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:41,640 completion. He works in you and then you 435 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,960 work out that work that He has begun in you. 436 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,280 So it's this hope that we have that motivates us to live 437 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,800 righteously. Now John's communicating the 438 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:57,520 reality of who we are and what we will be so that we will know 439 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:00,320 who we should be. He's essentially saying this is 440 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:01,880 who you are, this is who you will be. 441 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,400 Now live like it. Live like it today. 442 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,440 And what great confidence we have going into the 443 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,320 sanctification. Why? 444 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:12,480 Because we know it's going to be successful. 445 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:19,440 We know that this process of sanctification is going to 446 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,840 result in us being made like Jesus we are. 447 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,280 We are working toward a goal that we know we will achieve. 448 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:27,680 Amen. We can persevere in this 449 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:31,280 Christian life because of the hope that we know one day we 450 00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:32,880 will finally see Him and be like Him. 451 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,080 So how much more confident would you be going into a fight when 452 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:39,360 you know for a fact you're going to win? 453 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:43,320 How much more confident would you be taking a test that you 454 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:46,640 know you're going to get 100 on, right? 455 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,080 That's what that's what the Christian life is like because 456 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,000 of Jesus. You know you're going to get 457 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,720 100%. You know you're going to win the 458 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:57,240 fight. So start now. 459 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,040 Start now and let that hope motivate you now. 460 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,280 This confidence should motivate us to start being like Jesus. 461 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,280 Now. The problem is that some people, 462 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:13,680 rather than being motivated, turn to apathetic disobedience, 463 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:17,760 have an apathetic attitude towards sanctification, right? 464 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,080 There's a real danger in saying, well, if I'm already a child of 465 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:24,440 God and one day I'm guaranteed to be made like him, that it 466 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,040 really doesn't matter how I live, now does it? 467 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,240 Think about it this way. I like music, so I'm going to 468 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,160 use music as an example. If you don't like music, then 469 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:36,280 just pretend I said something else. 470 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:40,680 But imagine you enrolled in a music class and on the first day 471 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:43,360 of the class the teacher said, hey, we're not going to worry 472 00:26:43,360 --> 00:26:46,960 about grades in this class. Everyone's going to get an A. 473 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,440 You have two, two groups of students. 474 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,680 One group says, see me? We get to come in and we get to 475 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,600 learn about music and enjoy playing music together without 476 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:00,200 the burden of worrying about a grade. 477 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:02,040 We can just come in and do this because we love it. 478 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:06,320 Man, this is wonderful. And you have a second group of 479 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,120 students who say I'm getting an A anyway. 480 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:14,560 Then I guess I'm just going to goof off, maybe take a nap on 481 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:15,960 the way out the door. I'm probably just going to toss 482 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:20,240 my textbook in the trash. All right, These are drastically 483 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,120 different responses. Yeah, that's good. 484 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:25,480 In the same way, the hope that we have in Jesus, it should 485 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:29,080 motivate us to joyfully obey and follow him, right? 486 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:32,760 Not be seen as an excuse for apathetic disobedience. 487 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:37,120 Remember, this is the exact kind of thinking that John is 488 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:39,480 teaching against in his day. This is the exact kind of 489 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,720 thinking that these false teachers were putting out there, 490 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:44,800 right? They they emphasized spiritual 491 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,400 enlightenment over sins committed in the body. 492 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:50,320 They were. They were teaching that it 493 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:51,960 didn't matter what sins you committed. 494 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,240 And John had strong words against these ideas. 495 00:27:56,360 --> 00:27:59,680 In fact, he argues in the coming verses that anyone who responds 496 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:02,120 that way is proving they were not a child of God. 497 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:07,800 In the 1st place, verse 4 does everyone who makes a practice of 498 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:10,200 sinning also practices lawlessness. 499 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,720 Sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in 500 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,360 order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 501 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:19,320 No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning. 502 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:22,880 No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 503 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,520 Little children, let no one deceive you. 504 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,840 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he is righteous. 505 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,960 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the 506 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:34,840 devil has been sinning from the beginning. 507 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,040 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the 508 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:40,800 works of the devil. No one born of God makes a 509 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:45,000 practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he 510 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,240 cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 511 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,760 So by this it is evident who are the children of God and who are 512 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:53,760 the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice 513 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:57,640 righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his 514 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:01,960 brother. They're sobering words, John 515 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,280 makes it clear. If you want to know who's a 516 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:08,320 child of God and who is not, look at their behavior, right? 517 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:13,520 Look at their fruit, John. It sounds an awful lot like 518 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:18,000 you're judging people. Yep, it's exactly what he's 519 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:19,480 doing. That's exactly what he's telling 520 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,640 you and I to do. To look at not with a 521 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,880 hypocritical judgement, but with a righteous judgement. 522 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,600 To look at the fruit, look at the actions. 523 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:30,760 Those who practice righteousness are righteous. 524 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:37,440 Those who practice sin are not. So you might be saying, wait a 525 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:43,440 minute, I still sin. I still struggle with sin. 526 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:47,480 I sinned yesterday, probably send this morning. 527 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:50,880 I'll probably send this evening at some point. 528 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:56,160 So where does that leave me? What does this mean for me? 529 00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:58,480 Well, if that's you, you're in good company. 530 00:29:59,880 --> 00:30:02,640 Because if we're being honest, we, we would all say that we 531 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,800 still on some level struggle with sin. 532 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,720 In fact, John says the beginning of this letter in John 1/8. 533 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,680 He says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and 534 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,400 the truth is not in US. So how do you and I understand 535 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:20,120 verses 4 through 10 in light of the fact that we still struggle 536 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:24,400 with sin? Where do we draw the line? 537 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:29,000 How much sin is too much sin? Friends, these questions missed 538 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,920 the point. Completely missed the point. 539 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,080 Notice the language here. John's using phrases like keeps 540 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:39,760 on sinning makes a practice of sinning. 541 00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:42,200 He's not referring to a momentary stumbling here. 542 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:48,240 He's referring to an ongoing pattern and practice of sin in 543 00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:50,400 our lives. So imagine it this way. 544 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:51,840 Imagine there's two paths before you. 545 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:54,160 There's a path of righteousness and the path of sin. 546 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:58,680 They go in opposite directions. So the question for John is not 547 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:03,440 how fast you're walking down the path or how successfully you're 548 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,600 walking down the path without tripping or stumbling. 549 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,360 The question is, which path are you on? 550 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:11,160 Because there's a world of difference between imperfectly 551 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,240 walking down the path of righteousness and not being on 552 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,640 the path at all, right? There's a world of difference. 553 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,960 It's not about perfection, it's about direction, right? 554 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,480 Which direction is your life headed for those of you that are 555 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:28,360 into financial investing, right? Every wise investor knows your 556 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,240 investments go up, they go down, they go up, they go down. 557 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,440 A wise investor doesn't freak out and sell the moment things 558 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:37,520 go down, right? If you look at it on my graph, 559 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:38,840 it's not a straight line going up. 560 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:40,320 It'd be great, but it's usually not. 561 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:47,040 But a wise investor also knows there should be, over time, a 562 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,840 trajectory of growth, right? What direction are things 563 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,160 moving? Yes, there's some up and down, 564 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,760 but what is the direction? What is the direction of your 565 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:58,800 life? Since we're in a gym today, I 566 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,560 use this illustration too. You're not going to add weight 567 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,880 to the bar everywhere. Some weeks you're going to go in 568 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,920 and you're not going to be able to bench press as much as John 569 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:15,920 Michael. But again, it's, it's not about 570 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:17,080 perfection, it's about direction. 571 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:19,320 Which direction is your life trending? 572 00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:22,280 You know, as as an elder in a local church, unfortunately 573 00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,720 there are times where the other elders and I will have to sit up 574 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,480 a member of our church down and say, hey, we're seeing a pattern 575 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,160 of sin in your life and we're calling you to repentance and we 576 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,960 want to help you get back on the path of righteousness. 577 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:42,280 Unfortunately, sometimes that doesn't result in that person 578 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:44,000 being restored. Sometimes it does, praise God, 579 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:47,320 but sometimes we're left with it. 580 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:50,120 The only choice is to put that person under church discipline 581 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:55,280 and treat them as an unbeliever. And that's what John is telling 582 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,240 us how to do right now, how to look at a person's life, how to 583 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:02,400 look at our own lives and determine what is the direction 584 00:33:02,400 --> 00:33:05,200 here? What direction is your life 585 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,880 trending? So I want to challenge you this 586 00:33:08,880 --> 00:33:10,800 morning. Take a look at your life at 2nd 587 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,840 Corinthians 13, five says examine yourselves to see 588 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:16,520 whether or not you're in the faith, right? 589 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:18,640 We need to examine ourselves before the Lord. 590 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:20,320 What is it? What is the trajectory of our 591 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:23,280 lives? Are we imperfectly but sincerely 592 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:28,000 pursuing Jesus or are we clinging to our sin? 593 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:32,520 Is our is our life marked by practicing sin or is it marked 594 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:37,240 by practicing righteousness? So if you're a child of God and 595 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,640 you are finding yourself falling into sin, I want to remind you 596 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,520 of what John said earlier in this letter in chapter 2, verse 597 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:45,400 1. He said, my little children, I 598 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:49,840 am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, but if 599 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:53,960 anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus 600 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,320 Christ the righteous. Thank God we have an advocate. 601 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:03,360 He also said in chapter 1, verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is 602 00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:07,680 faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all 603 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:09,920 unrighteousness. Amen. 604 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,080 So church, when you sin, how do you respond? 605 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:18,480 Do you deny it? You try to hide it? 606 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:25,159 You try to justify it or does it grieve you? 607 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:31,120 Does it cause you to repent as it caused you to turn to your 608 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:33,880 advocate? When we sin church, run to your 609 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,679 advocate. He is faithful and just to 610 00:34:38,679 --> 00:34:41,040 forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 611 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:43,880 Run to your advocate. Chapter 3. 612 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:47,239 Verse 5 says he came to take away sins and in him there's no 613 00:34:47,239 --> 00:34:50,360 sin. Verse 8 says he came to destroy 614 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:53,000 the works of the devil. So what does that mean for you 615 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,560 and me? It means sin has no dominion in 616 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:59,280 our lives, right? Whatever sin you're struggling 617 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:03,320 with, it has no power over you. There's a way out. 618 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:06,000 It has no power over you. You can say no. 619 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,000 You can not give in to temptation. 620 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:10,840 Jesus came to take it away and to destroy it. 621 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:16,080 It has no power over your life. Doesn't matter what it is, 622 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:21,000 whether it's one of the really big sins or or maybe one of the 623 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,840 more socially acceptable sins like gossip, things that things 624 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:25,760 that we don't take very seriously, but we should. 625 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:29,080 Doesn't matter what it is that you're dealing with. 626 00:35:29,080 --> 00:35:34,720 You came to take it away. You came to destroy it so you 627 00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:38,280 can fight this fight against him with confidence because you know 628 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,160 it's a fight you're going to win, right? 629 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,280 You know you're going to win. You, your hope and your future 630 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:48,840 are secure in Christ. You know what you are. 631 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:51,600 You know what you will be, so you can be who you should be. 632 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,280 And this isn't just about avoiding sin, but it's about 633 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:59,200 practicing righteousness, right? He goes on in this chapter to 634 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:02,320 talk about what it looks like to love our brothers and sisters. 635 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,000 So we're not only just avoiding sin, but we're actively pursuing 636 00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,200 righteousness and pursuing walking in love. 637 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,560 And you're not being graded on your performance, church, 638 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:16,280 because Jesus has already earned a perfect score. 639 00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:19,280 He's already earned that for you. 640 00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:22,080 The question is not how are you performing? 641 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:23,800 The question is, are you abiding in Him? 642 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:29,720 Are you abiding in Him? Are you being sanctified by the 643 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:33,880 power of His Holy Spirit? So this morning as we close, I 644 00:36:34,280 --> 00:36:36,840 want to leave you with just some simple and practical steps you 645 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:38,280 can take to respond to God's Word today. 646 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,080 If you're not yet a child of God, or if there's any doubt 647 00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:46,280 about that in your mind, you can simply repent and believe. 648 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,480 Repent of your sin. Trust in Jesus for salvation. 649 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,040 You can be justified before God today. 650 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:59,240 All this hope that we're talking about, it could be yours in 651 00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:03,240 Christ Jesus today. If you are a child of God, which 652 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:05,360 I would venture to say is probably all of us in this room, 653 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:11,240 praise God. Meditate on this reality of who 654 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:13,800 you are and what you will be every single day. 655 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:16,640 Make this a part of your daily prayer life. 656 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:22,640 Thank God for making you His child right when you're praying, 657 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,360 thank Him. Ask Him to help you walk in the 658 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:31,000 confidence of a child of God as you relate to the world around 659 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,280 you. Look forward to the day. 660 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,200 Actually set aside time to look forward to the day when you will 661 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:42,960 see Him, when you will see Him as He is, and you will be made 662 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,800 like Him. So when the world around you is 663 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:49,320 spinning out of control, you don't have to be anxious or or 664 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,280 grieved about what's going on in the Middle East or what's going 665 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:57,920 on down the street because you are a child of God and you, your 666 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:01,800 hope is secure and your future is sure in Christ. 667 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,440 He will come again and glory will make us like Him. 668 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,200 And this is a hope that the world cannot give us and it 669 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:14,520 cannot take away from us. Ask God to motivate you because 670 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,800 of this hope that you have. Motivate you to purify yourself, 671 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,240 resist temptation, walk and holiness, actively obey God, 672 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:26,800 practice righteousness, love others, live as children that 673 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:33,520 want to please their Father. May we all be motivated by his 674 00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:35,120 love for us and our love for Him. 675 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,200 Let us be motivated by the hope that we have in Jesus. 676 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:45,520 Let's pray. Father, we thank you that you 677 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:48,200 have because of your great love, You have called us your 678 00:38:48,200 --> 00:38:53,120 children. You have made a way for us to 679 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:59,920 know you, to be made like you. They have a deep and intimate 680 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:06,240 relationship with you. God, we thank you right now that 681 00:39:06,240 --> 00:39:08,760 our lives are hidden with Christ because we are in Christ. 682 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:15,600 When you look at us, you see Jesus, his perfect 683 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,120 righteousness, his perfect sacrifice. 684 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:22,640 God, I pray that each and every day we would remind ourselves of 685 00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:26,800 that reality, Lord, and we would walk in the confidence that 686 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:31,280 gives us as your children, God, we thank you for the hope that 687 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:32,920 we have in you. God, I pray that it would 688 00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:38,280 motivate us not to wait for eternity to be like you, but to 689 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:43,360 be like you now. Help us to walk in righteousness 690 00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:48,320 now through the power of your Holy Spirit that guides us and 691 00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:51,640 empowers us each and every day. Thank you for these people. 692 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:54,520 Thank you for this church. God, I pray your blessing over 693 00:39:54,520 --> 00:39:56,680 them. Thank you for the opportunity to 694 00:39:56,680 --> 00:40:00,720 be with them today. God, I pray that your love will 695 00:40:00,720 --> 00:40:04,920 continue to grow and flourish here in this community. 696 00:40:05,120 --> 00:40:07,480 Thank you for it. In Jesus name, Amen.