1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,680 All right, we're going to go ahead and start our Bible study here 10 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:26,120 this evening. 11 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,820 If you have your Bibles, turn there with me to First John, First 12 00:00:29,900 --> 00:00:31,820 John, Chapter two. 13 00:00:32,620 --> 00:00:36,540 We have gone over so far the first ten verses of the book of First 14 00:00:36,540 --> 00:00:36,780 John. 15 00:00:36,780 --> 00:00:39,940 And what we've learned so far is that the book of First John is 16 00:00:39,940 --> 00:00:43,980 speaking directly to the believer and the relationship that 17 00:00:43,980 --> 00:00:45,900 the believer has with the Lord. 18 00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:49,660 And we know that through the first chapter. 19 00:00:49,900 --> 00:00:54,700 It talks about how we can have the same testimony as the writer 20 00:00:54,700 --> 00:00:59,040 here, the Apostle John, and how we can know that we have fellowship 21 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,640 with the Lord through Jesus Christ and we can walk in the light. 22 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,640 And he talks about, if we say we have no sin, verse 8, we deceive 23 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:07,080 ourselves. 24 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,520 So saying that sinlessness is never going to be the reality. 25 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,280 But ultimately, what we can do is we can strive to live a life of 26 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:16,440 holiness and righteousness. 27 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,560 And verse nine, he tells us what to do when we do fall. 28 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,360 If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our 29 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,680 sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 30 00:01:25,250 --> 00:01:28,770 And so what we can tell in the first chapter is this, the Christian 31 00:01:28,850 --> 00:01:33,850 walking with Christ, though he or she will stumble, there is that 32 00:01:33,850 --> 00:01:37,810 restoration, there is that reconciliation in him. 33 00:01:38,050 --> 00:01:41,049 And so we're going to get to chapter number two here, and we're 34 00:01:41,049 --> 00:01:42,930 going to see exactly how that happens. 35 00:01:43,090 --> 00:01:46,050 How can we have that ongoing relationship with the Lord? 36 00:01:46,130 --> 00:01:49,810 How can we have that ongoing fellowship with him even though we 37 00:01:49,810 --> 00:01:50,210 sin? 38 00:01:50,860 --> 00:01:53,700 Because the truth of the matter is, is that though we are 39 00:01:53,700 --> 00:01:57,220 saved, we still have sin that pops up in our life because of our 40 00:01:57,220 --> 00:01:57,580 flesh. 41 00:01:57,740 --> 00:02:02,060 And so how can we continue on with fellowship with the Lord? 42 00:02:02,060 --> 00:02:05,180 Well, it says in verse number one of chapter two, my little children. 43 00:02:05,180 --> 00:02:07,100 So we know that he's addressing Christians here. 44 00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:11,100 He says these things, write I unto you that ye sin not. 45 00:02:11,100 --> 00:02:13,740 So the challenge here at the very beginning is this. 46 00:02:14,140 --> 00:02:16,060 We should strive not to sin. 47 00:02:16,060 --> 00:02:18,620 Now, you might say that that sounds like a contradiction because 48 00:02:18,620 --> 00:02:21,780 he just said in verse eight, if we say that we have no sin, we 49 00:02:21,780 --> 00:02:24,460 deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 50 00:02:25,100 --> 00:02:26,340 So what is he? 51 00:02:26,340 --> 00:02:27,060 What is he doing here? 52 00:02:27,060 --> 00:02:29,420 He says, you're going to sin, but don't sin. 53 00:02:29,580 --> 00:02:32,900 But what we're kind of understanding through the context 54 00:02:32,900 --> 00:02:36,420 of Scripture is that he says the goal for us as believers is that 55 00:02:36,420 --> 00:02:37,180 we don't sin. 56 00:02:37,180 --> 00:02:39,660 So what we can understand through that is this. 57 00:02:40,060 --> 00:02:43,580 God makes it very clear in Scripture that the believer does 58 00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:45,100 not have to sin. 59 00:02:45,990 --> 00:02:49,790 There are some people in this world that say, well, I'm just a 60 00:02:49,790 --> 00:02:54,630 human, so inevitably I will sin, so I'm just going to sin. 61 00:02:55,030 --> 00:02:57,350 And so what this passage of Scripture says is this. 62 00:02:57,430 --> 00:02:58,390 We will sin. 63 00:02:58,390 --> 00:03:02,310 But God makes it very clear that we do not have to sin. 64 00:03:02,950 --> 00:03:04,790 God does not make the believer sin. 65 00:03:04,790 --> 00:03:06,350 And the book of James tells us that. 66 00:03:06,350 --> 00:03:09,990 James, chapter one says that sin does not come from God. 67 00:03:10,310 --> 00:03:12,390 It's not the way that God created us. 68 00:03:12,990 --> 00:03:16,390 And so the, the marring of sin in this world does not come from 69 00:03:16,390 --> 00:03:16,750 God. 70 00:03:16,750 --> 00:03:20,110 It comes from God's allowance for the individual to make a decision. 71 00:03:20,430 --> 00:03:24,710 And the individual as a believer, though we can walk in the 72 00:03:24,710 --> 00:03:27,230 truth, in the Spirit, we can appeal to the flesh. 73 00:03:27,470 --> 00:03:30,710 So he says, I'm writing these things to you so that you don't sin. 74 00:03:30,710 --> 00:03:32,870 The desire of God is that we don't sin. 75 00:03:32,870 --> 00:03:36,110 So God's desire for the believer, his perfect will for the 76 00:03:36,110 --> 00:03:38,030 believer is that we do not sin. 77 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:43,240 But even though God's desire is that we don't sin, it is inevitable 78 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,720 for us because we are not God, we are not perfect. 79 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:50,320 And so the truth is, is that when we do sin, God has a plan for 80 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:50,520 us. 81 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,680 He has a path for us to come back to him in fellowship. 82 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,520 And so we know verse nine says, if we confess our sins, he's 83 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,200 faithful and just to forgive us our sins. 84 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:00,520 But how can God do that? 85 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,720 How can a holy, righteous God extend forgiveness to someone who 86 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:05,400 is a sinner? 87 00:04:05,860 --> 00:04:06,020 How. 88 00:04:06,020 --> 00:04:09,220 How can God, what we would say, accept sin? 89 00:04:09,220 --> 00:04:09,580 Well, we. 90 00:04:09,580 --> 00:04:10,740 He doesn't accept sin. 91 00:04:10,820 --> 00:04:16,140 But verse number one tells us exactly how and why God allows for 92 00:04:16,140 --> 00:04:18,020 us to come back to him in fellowship. 93 00:04:18,100 --> 00:04:21,620 Says there, and if any man sin, so he says, don't sin. 94 00:04:22,100 --> 00:04:28,740 But if you do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, 95 00:04:28,820 --> 00:04:29,540 the righteous. 96 00:04:30,500 --> 00:04:33,960 And so God desires that we don't sin. 97 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:37,400 But then he says, if you do sin, you have an advocate. 98 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,440 There is a provision for us in our flesh. 99 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:42,440 So it's basically this. 100 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:46,200 We have a defense lawyer on our side, and that is Jesus Christ. 101 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:50,120 It says right there, he is our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ 102 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:50,720 the righteous. 103 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,600 And I'm not Josh Massaro the righteous, because I didn't earn 104 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:55,800 my salvation. 105 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,880 It Wasn't my righteousness that deemed me acceptable to God. 106 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:01,800 It's the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 107 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:03,960 And so what we can see here is this. 108 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:09,680 When we fall into sin, when we turn our backs away from the will 109 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,400 of God and appeal to the flesh instead of yielding to the Spirit, 110 00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:18,480 the Bible says the only way to restore our fellowship with the Father 111 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,840 is through our relationship with Jesus Christ. 112 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:23,240 It's not trying harder. 113 00:05:24,130 --> 00:05:26,290 It's not, you know, praying harder. 114 00:05:26,290 --> 00:05:28,370 It's not going to church more. 115 00:05:29,170 --> 00:05:32,450 It's not, you know, trying to avoid all the sin in my life. 116 00:05:32,450 --> 00:05:36,210 The Bible says here very clearly the way that we can find 117 00:05:36,210 --> 00:05:40,010 that restoration with the Father is through our relationship 118 00:05:40,010 --> 00:05:40,850 with Jesus Christ. 119 00:05:41,970 --> 00:05:46,410 And so what we can understand in this is that Jesus is our defender. 120 00:05:46,410 --> 00:05:51,580 And so even when we sin, Jesus says, I have paid the price. 121 00:05:52,380 --> 00:05:55,460 Jesus, the one who knew no sin, the Bible says, became sin for 122 00:05:55,460 --> 00:05:55,620 us. 123 00:05:55,620 --> 00:05:56,780 He is the one who paid the price. 124 00:05:56,860 --> 00:05:59,820 So verse two tells us how Jesus Christ paid the price for us. 125 00:06:00,220 --> 00:06:04,940 And he talking about Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. 126 00:06:05,580 --> 00:06:09,900 And that word, propitiation is a big word, not a word that we use 127 00:06:09,900 --> 00:06:13,380 frequently in our language today. 128 00:06:13,380 --> 00:06:14,340 But what does this mean? 129 00:06:14,340 --> 00:06:18,610 This means that Jesus is the one who atones or takes away our 130 00:06:18,610 --> 00:06:18,850 sin. 131 00:06:18,850 --> 00:06:20,010 He's the one who paid the price. 132 00:06:20,010 --> 00:06:24,330 He's the one who received God's wrath, the wrath that we deserve. 133 00:06:24,410 --> 00:06:26,570 And you could read all about this in Isaiah 53. 134 00:06:27,130 --> 00:06:31,570 Jesus was the one who bore the wrath of God that we deserve. 135 00:06:31,570 --> 00:06:34,490 And therefore he satisfied God's wrath. 136 00:06:34,490 --> 00:06:36,490 He satisfied God's judgment. 137 00:06:36,890 --> 00:06:41,890 And so propitiation implies or explains to us that Jesus is the 138 00:06:41,890 --> 00:06:42,610 sin offering. 139 00:06:42,610 --> 00:06:44,330 He is the perfect sacrifice. 140 00:06:44,820 --> 00:06:48,620 And it says not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole 141 00:06:48,620 --> 00:06:48,900 world. 142 00:06:49,780 --> 00:06:52,780 And so what we can see is this, that all those that come to 143 00:06:52,780 --> 00:06:55,060 him in faith can receive forgiveness. 144 00:06:55,060 --> 00:06:57,220 They can receive salvation. 145 00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:01,540 And so I believe that verses 1 and 2 of 1 John, chapter 2 are some 146 00:07:01,540 --> 00:07:04,580 of the most beautiful verses in all of Scripture because it basically 147 00:07:04,580 --> 00:07:06,900 says, hey, you don't have to sin. 148 00:07:07,700 --> 00:07:09,540 We have a choice to follow God. 149 00:07:09,620 --> 00:07:13,060 But the reality is, is that in our humanity we will stumble. 150 00:07:13,060 --> 00:07:15,300 But there is a path for reconciliation. 151 00:07:16,020 --> 00:07:19,780 And that reconciliation is found in appealing to what Jesus 152 00:07:19,780 --> 00:07:22,780 Christ has done for us going back to our salvation. 153 00:07:22,780 --> 00:07:26,820 This is so important because many times Christians will trust 154 00:07:26,820 --> 00:07:31,020 in Jesus Christ as their Savior and then try to walk the rest 155 00:07:31,020 --> 00:07:32,500 of their life in their own strength. 156 00:07:32,740 --> 00:07:36,340 Try to find forgiveness, try to find satisfaction, try to find 157 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:38,580 peace and comfort in their own strength. 158 00:07:38,580 --> 00:07:42,130 But what the Bible says is that we always must go back to what 159 00:07:42,130 --> 00:07:44,050 Jesus Christ has done for us in salvation. 160 00:07:44,050 --> 00:07:44,970 Salvation is not. 161 00:07:45,130 --> 00:07:46,370 It is a one time moment. 162 00:07:46,370 --> 00:07:49,290 It is a miracle of the moment when it comes to the justification 163 00:07:49,690 --> 00:07:51,290 of us being declared righteous. 164 00:07:51,450 --> 00:07:54,490 But salvation is a thing that we appeal to throughout all of our 165 00:07:54,490 --> 00:07:58,250 lives when it comes to our strength, our assurance, our hope, 166 00:07:58,250 --> 00:08:00,730 our confidence, our joy, our peace. 167 00:08:00,810 --> 00:08:05,050 We have to be indwelled and then filled with the Spirit to understand 168 00:08:05,610 --> 00:08:08,930 the great riches that God has extended to us through our relationship 169 00:08:08,930 --> 00:08:09,770 with Jesus Christ. 170 00:08:10,740 --> 00:08:12,180 And so what we can know is this. 171 00:08:12,340 --> 00:08:17,300 If we stumble, if we doubt, if we falter, we can go back and say, 172 00:08:17,300 --> 00:08:17,700 you know what? 173 00:08:17,700 --> 00:08:18,020 No. 174 00:08:18,020 --> 00:08:20,260 Jesus Christ is the one who paid my price. 175 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:21,900 I am not enough. 176 00:08:21,900 --> 00:08:23,020 But Jesus is enough. 177 00:08:23,020 --> 00:08:28,460 And I rely on his strength and his sacrifice to understand what 178 00:08:28,460 --> 00:08:32,580 it means to have a fellowship relationship with the Lord again. 179 00:08:32,900 --> 00:08:36,180 One of the many things that Christians struggle with today is 180 00:08:36,180 --> 00:08:37,460 assurance of salvation. 181 00:08:38,430 --> 00:08:41,470 And, and we could sit here all night and try to guess why people 182 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:42,910 doubt their salvation. 183 00:08:42,910 --> 00:08:46,270 But ultimately what it is, it's a lack of understanding number 184 00:08:46,270 --> 00:08:47,630 one of what salvation is. 185 00:08:47,870 --> 00:08:50,550 Maybe they think, well, maybe I didn't say the right words, maybe 186 00:08:50,550 --> 00:08:53,310 I didn't mean it enough, maybe I'm not a good person. 187 00:08:53,629 --> 00:08:56,590 And the truth is, is that if we have a skewed version of what 188 00:08:56,590 --> 00:08:59,950 salvation is, we might be tempted to doubt if we are saved. 189 00:09:00,110 --> 00:09:03,510 If I think that salvation is something that I do, I'm going to 190 00:09:03,510 --> 00:09:04,110 doubt myself. 191 00:09:04,110 --> 00:09:06,430 There's going to be times in my life where I stumble and therefore 192 00:09:06,430 --> 00:09:07,230 I'm going to doubt. 193 00:09:07,670 --> 00:09:11,910 So if my security and my salvation is based in me and my performance, 194 00:09:12,790 --> 00:09:13,710 I'm going to doubt. 195 00:09:13,710 --> 00:09:15,510 I'm not going to have assurance of my salvation. 196 00:09:16,630 --> 00:09:19,870 If I think that I can lose my salvation, if I think that God is 197 00:09:19,870 --> 00:09:22,910 going to turn his back on me, if I think that Jesus's sacrifice 198 00:09:22,910 --> 00:09:25,910 was only good enough for these types of sins, then eventually I'm 199 00:09:25,910 --> 00:09:28,870 going to go to a place where I am not secure in my salvation. 200 00:09:29,030 --> 00:09:30,150 I'm going to doubt. 201 00:09:31,030 --> 00:09:35,120 And so what we can also see is this, that unconfessed sin in our 202 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:40,360 life, sin that we harbor, sin that did not go through 1 John 1:9 203 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:41,600 confessing our sins. 204 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,080 Remember what that word confess means? 205 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:50,440 Confess in the Greek is two words, homo logeo, same word meaning 206 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:52,760 I agree with God about my sin. 207 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:54,400 God says my sin is wrong. 208 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:55,800 I say my sin is wrong. 209 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:57,720 God says this is wrong. 210 00:09:57,720 --> 00:09:59,280 And, and, and against his word. 211 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:00,370 I, I agree with that. 212 00:10:00,370 --> 00:10:02,450 And so confessing our sins is this. 213 00:10:02,450 --> 00:10:05,570 I'm agreeing with God on my sin and I'm turning it over to him. 214 00:10:05,730 --> 00:10:09,050 And he cleanses us from all unrighteousness because of the righteousness 215 00:10:09,050 --> 00:10:09,890 of Jesus Christ. 216 00:10:10,050 --> 00:10:13,810 So the beauty of this is that I can have security in my salvation 217 00:10:14,050 --> 00:10:16,370 no matter what my circumstances are on the outside. 218 00:10:17,170 --> 00:10:18,610 I can go back to the truth. 219 00:10:18,610 --> 00:10:23,770 I must go back to how I got saved, what I am saved from and what 220 00:10:23,770 --> 00:10:24,850 I am saved to. 221 00:10:25,740 --> 00:10:29,500 So verse number two tells us that Jesus is the propitiation. 222 00:10:29,740 --> 00:10:32,580 I didn't pay the price, I didn't do enough. 223 00:10:32,580 --> 00:10:33,660 I can't do enough. 224 00:10:33,820 --> 00:10:34,860 But he can't. 225 00:10:35,660 --> 00:10:38,460 And so sometimes people struggle in their salvation because 226 00:10:38,460 --> 00:10:40,540 they think, well, how could God forgive me? 227 00:10:41,020 --> 00:10:44,460 Okay, I've done a lot, I've done terrible things in my past. 228 00:10:44,540 --> 00:10:47,540 I, I don't even know if I forgive myself, so how could God 229 00:10:47,540 --> 00:10:48,140 forgive me? 230 00:10:48,300 --> 00:10:51,220 The Bible very clearly teaches that there's nothing that we can 231 00:10:51,220 --> 00:10:52,860 do too far for God's grace. 232 00:10:53,580 --> 00:10:57,300 And so what we understand is that if God can forgive us, we must 233 00:10:57,300 --> 00:11:00,860 in, in every sense of the word, come to a place where we don't 234 00:11:00,860 --> 00:11:01,980 hold ourselves guilty. 235 00:11:01,980 --> 00:11:04,940 Because sometimes it's self imposed guilt that we put on our 236 00:11:04,940 --> 00:11:05,100 life. 237 00:11:05,100 --> 00:11:08,140 And the Bible says In Romans chapter 8, verse 1, there's therefore 238 00:11:08,140 --> 00:11:10,700 now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. 239 00:11:10,940 --> 00:11:14,300 Condemnation is, is guilt, condemnation is judgment. 240 00:11:14,460 --> 00:11:20,570 And so therefore one of the areas of confusion within the struggle 241 00:11:20,570 --> 00:11:23,690 with the assurance of salvation comes from a misunderstanding 242 00:11:23,770 --> 00:11:27,610 of what our salvation is and how we have our salvation with Jesus 243 00:11:27,610 --> 00:11:28,010 Christ. 244 00:11:28,170 --> 00:11:30,650 And so I think that that's something to be important with because 245 00:11:30,730 --> 00:11:34,570 you might have a child, you might have a friend, you might have 246 00:11:34,570 --> 00:11:39,090 a family member, you yourself might struggle with the doubts of 247 00:11:39,090 --> 00:11:40,410 your assurance of salvation. 248 00:11:40,650 --> 00:11:43,810 And so I wanted to point that out here this evening. 249 00:11:43,810 --> 00:11:47,390 So he is our advocate, he is the propitiation. 250 00:11:47,390 --> 00:11:50,070 And not just for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. 251 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:53,190 And I think that's so important to note as well. 252 00:11:53,750 --> 00:11:55,270 So let's go to verse number three. 253 00:11:55,910 --> 00:11:58,630 We'll come back a little bit to those first two verses because 254 00:11:58,630 --> 00:12:00,790 that's essentially our reference point for this evening. 255 00:12:01,030 --> 00:12:03,790 But now we're going to see, starting in verse number three, the 256 00:12:03,790 --> 00:12:06,070 fruit of the fellowship with God. 257 00:12:06,470 --> 00:12:09,390 So, so, so we sin, we get it right with God. 258 00:12:09,390 --> 00:12:10,270 What's the fruit of that? 259 00:12:10,270 --> 00:12:13,790 What's, what's the outcome of me walking in fellowship with the 260 00:12:13,790 --> 00:12:14,150 Lord? 261 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,920 Well, we're going to see that it says, and hereby we do know that 262 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:18,840 we know Him. 263 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:21,960 If we Keep his commandments. 264 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:27,080 Now, this is not the Apostle John teaching legalism. 265 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:30,360 You've got to keep the commandments to be saved, because 266 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:31,720 that's what sometimes people teach. 267 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,720 You got to be doing this and you got to be doing that, and therefore 268 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:36,440 you can be saved. 269 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:37,240 That's not what he's saying. 270 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:40,800 He says this, and hereby do we know that we know him. 271 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:41,920 That's that relationship. 272 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:47,070 So the relationship is the start, the proof, or the fruit would 273 00:12:47,070 --> 00:12:50,190 be what we keep his commandments, obedience. 274 00:12:50,830 --> 00:12:54,470 This is echoed throughout the New Testament when Jesus says, if 275 00:12:54,470 --> 00:12:56,110 you love me, you'll keep my commandments. 276 00:12:56,430 --> 00:12:57,310 And so what does he say? 277 00:12:57,310 --> 00:13:03,110 Says the proof of a healthy relationship with God, proof that 278 00:13:03,110 --> 00:13:07,230 there is fellowship with God, is that we obey him. 279 00:13:07,230 --> 00:13:11,570 We obey his commandments in our life and not perfection. 280 00:13:12,130 --> 00:13:15,890 But when we're walking in the Spirit, we are walking in obedience. 281 00:13:16,770 --> 00:13:19,570 Sometimes people will say, I don't. 282 00:13:19,650 --> 00:13:23,850 I don't know if that action that I just did is in the flesh or 283 00:13:23,850 --> 00:13:24,450 in the Spirit. 284 00:13:24,450 --> 00:13:27,170 I don't know if I treated my wife in the flesh or the Spirit. 285 00:13:27,170 --> 00:13:28,370 How do I know, Pastor? 286 00:13:29,090 --> 00:13:31,890 Well, there's this place in the book of Galatians, Galatians, 287 00:13:31,890 --> 00:13:37,150 chapter 5, verse 22, that tells us what is the fruit of the 288 00:13:37,150 --> 00:13:37,590 Spirit. 289 00:13:38,870 --> 00:13:40,830 And we can go there and we can look at that. 290 00:13:40,830 --> 00:13:44,630 But essentially what we see is that the Bible says there is a test 291 00:13:44,630 --> 00:13:49,470 to know whether or not we are walking in the Spirit or walking 292 00:13:49,470 --> 00:13:50,230 in the flesh. 293 00:13:50,550 --> 00:13:52,270 And a lot of times people will say, well, I just. 294 00:13:52,270 --> 00:13:55,590 I'm not sure if that was something that God told me to do 295 00:13:55,590 --> 00:13:55,910 or. 296 00:13:55,990 --> 00:13:58,230 Or is it something that I just did on my own? 297 00:13:58,230 --> 00:14:00,750 Well, you can look at Galatians, chapter five, and you 298 00:14:00,750 --> 00:14:04,660 can clearly give yourself a test on whether or not you are walking 299 00:14:04,660 --> 00:14:06,820 in the Spirit or walking in the flesh. 300 00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:09,860 Galatians, chapter 5, verse 22. 301 00:14:10,020 --> 00:14:11,420 But the fruit of the Spirit. 302 00:14:11,420 --> 00:14:14,420 And by the way, it's fruit, not fruits of the spirit, because 303 00:14:14,420 --> 00:14:16,820 we can't pick and choose which one we want to live in. 304 00:14:16,980 --> 00:14:19,140 It's fruit of the spirit love. 305 00:14:20,500 --> 00:14:23,740 And this is just a shameless plug because we're going through 306 00:14:23,740 --> 00:14:26,100 a Bible study on Tuesday nights this summer about the fruit 307 00:14:26,100 --> 00:14:26,660 of the Spirit. 308 00:14:26,820 --> 00:14:30,850 That type of love is not the type of love that the world teaches 309 00:14:30,850 --> 00:14:31,810 on Valentine's Day. 310 00:14:31,810 --> 00:14:33,810 That's a different type of romantic love. 311 00:14:33,890 --> 00:14:36,330 And by the way, in the Greek, there were four different types of 312 00:14:36,330 --> 00:14:36,530 love. 313 00:14:36,530 --> 00:14:41,090 There was the type of love, Eros, which was a romantic love. 314 00:14:41,090 --> 00:14:42,330 There was filet. 315 00:14:42,330 --> 00:14:45,410 Oh, where we get the word Philadelphia, that's brotherly love. 316 00:14:46,050 --> 00:14:48,890 There was store J, which was like a familial love. 317 00:14:48,890 --> 00:14:52,930 But then this is not the type of love that, that we're talking 318 00:14:52,930 --> 00:14:53,050 about. 319 00:14:53,050 --> 00:14:56,260 The type of love we're talking about here is agape, sacrificial 320 00:14:56,260 --> 00:15:01,260 love, love that does not seek after its own good, own well being. 321 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:07,180 So love, joy, peace, longsuffering, that's patience, gentleness, 322 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:11,619 goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, self control. 323 00:15:11,619 --> 00:15:13,100 Against such there is no law. 324 00:15:13,260 --> 00:15:14,940 And so the test is this. 325 00:15:15,020 --> 00:15:17,980 I know that was a long, long trail to get there. 326 00:15:17,980 --> 00:15:21,900 But essentially it's this, did I respond in those ways? 327 00:15:22,710 --> 00:15:25,270 If I did not respond in those ways, that was I'm in the flesh. 328 00:15:25,750 --> 00:15:29,030 And so what the Bible says is that it's not just about keeping 329 00:15:29,030 --> 00:15:29,910 rules in the Bible. 330 00:15:29,910 --> 00:15:32,590 Well, well, you know what I did, I didn't steal from someone 331 00:15:32,590 --> 00:15:32,950 today. 332 00:15:33,270 --> 00:15:34,870 Well, it's more than that, okay? 333 00:15:34,870 --> 00:15:36,830 It's more than just my outward actions. 334 00:15:36,830 --> 00:15:39,630 Remember what Jesus said in Matthew chapter five, it's not just 335 00:15:39,630 --> 00:15:42,070 what I do and my action, it's about my attitude. 336 00:15:42,150 --> 00:15:45,070 And so at the end of the day, keeping his commandments is not just 337 00:15:45,070 --> 00:15:49,750 keeping a list of rules, it's walking in the spirit and exemplifying 338 00:15:50,630 --> 00:15:53,910 what God has said to be what it looks like to be a spirit filled 339 00:15:54,070 --> 00:15:54,790 believer. 340 00:15:55,510 --> 00:15:59,550 And so if we say that we have fellowship with him, if we say we 341 00:15:59,550 --> 00:16:03,230 love him, and it says in verse three, and hereby we do know there's 342 00:16:03,230 --> 00:16:07,110 confidence there that we know him if we keep his commandments. 343 00:16:08,070 --> 00:16:15,030 So when a person, let's say in this case a believer, is not walking 344 00:16:15,030 --> 00:16:19,040 in the Spirit and walking in the flesh and not obeying God, what 345 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:20,360 would be the opposite of this? 346 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:25,640 So it says we know that we know him by keeping his commandments, 347 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,840 but when we're not keeping his commandments, we lack the confidence 348 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:30,200 of knowing that we know Him. 349 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,200 And therefore we can have people that say, I just don't feel 350 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:35,320 saved today, I don't know if I'm saved today. 351 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,720 And we're basing our salvation, we're basing our assurance 352 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:40,920 off of a feeling. 353 00:16:42,050 --> 00:16:44,610 And I'm going to tell you that our feelings can betray us. 354 00:16:44,610 --> 00:16:46,210 Our feelings can deceive us. 355 00:16:46,290 --> 00:16:53,170 We even saw back in verse number eight of chapter one, if we 356 00:16:53,170 --> 00:16:55,730 say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. 357 00:16:56,290 --> 00:16:57,130 So what does that say? 358 00:16:57,130 --> 00:17:00,050 The Bible says that our emotions can actually lie to us, 359 00:17:00,050 --> 00:17:01,410 we can lie to ourselves. 360 00:17:02,530 --> 00:17:06,610 And so the assurance of my salvation, my confidence in God is 361 00:17:06,610 --> 00:17:10,090 not based in how I feel or what the circumstances are around 362 00:17:10,090 --> 00:17:10,450 Me. 363 00:17:10,500 --> 00:17:13,770 And it goes back to what I know and what the Word of God says. 364 00:17:14,410 --> 00:17:17,210 And so the way that we know that we know him is by following 365 00:17:17,290 --> 00:17:18,010 His Word. 366 00:17:19,610 --> 00:17:21,690 And so verse four, he that saith. 367 00:17:22,330 --> 00:17:26,689 So the Apostle John is appealing to somebody in a, maybe 368 00:17:26,689 --> 00:17:28,970 a hypothetical situation or a real situation. 369 00:17:29,290 --> 00:17:36,330 He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments is. 370 00:17:36,330 --> 00:17:38,330 And by the way, this is not Pastor Josh. 371 00:17:39,060 --> 00:17:40,660 This is, this is the word of God. 372 00:17:40,980 --> 00:17:44,140 The person who says that they know God but don't keep his commandments 373 00:17:44,140 --> 00:17:47,460 is a liar and the truth is not in Him. 374 00:17:48,340 --> 00:17:53,300 And so the evidence of someone knowing God in the fellowship with 375 00:17:53,300 --> 00:17:57,380 him is proved through obedience. 376 00:17:58,260 --> 00:18:04,860 A simple love based obedience is the natural manifestation that 377 00:18:04,860 --> 00:18:08,080 happens in the believer's life when we're walking in the truth. 378 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:11,720 And so the opposite side of that would be someone that says, 379 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,160 I know him, and in this case, like I have a personal relationship 380 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:17,040 with him, I'm walking with God. 381 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,920 But then their lifestyle is the opposite. 382 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,600 They're in rebellion to Him. 383 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,560 The Bible says that that person is not walking in fellowship 384 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:27,040 with God. 385 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,360 I'm not saying that that person is unsaved by the way. 386 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:30,800 I need to be very clear about that. 387 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,680 We're not saying that every single person that sins is not saved 388 00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:35,040 because none of us could be saved. 389 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,320 What we're saying is, is that someone says, I'm walking with God, 390 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:41,960 I've got fellowship with God, I'm following His Word, I'm walking 391 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,720 in the Spirit, I have everything before God clearly. 392 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,320 But then their life shows the complete opposite. 393 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,640 They're disregarding the Word of God, they're disobeying what God 394 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:51,559 has told them to do. 395 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:53,640 They are now walking in fellowship with God. 396 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:57,480 And so the Bible says that that is the, the contrast between 397 00:18:57,960 --> 00:19:00,800 who is walking with him and who is not walking with Him. 398 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,120 And that would be the obedience. 399 00:19:02,930 --> 00:19:07,290 And so the truth is that if someone is so certain that they are 400 00:19:07,290 --> 00:19:10,410 walking with God, then it will be manifested by the way that they 401 00:19:10,410 --> 00:19:11,090 live their life. 402 00:19:11,410 --> 00:19:14,090 And so what essentially the Apostle Paul is doing is challenging 403 00:19:14,090 --> 00:19:14,610 their heart. 404 00:19:15,810 --> 00:19:17,370 So, so who, who are you? 405 00:19:17,370 --> 00:19:18,290 Who are you trusting? 406 00:19:18,290 --> 00:19:19,410 Are you trusting in yourself? 407 00:19:19,410 --> 00:19:21,250 Are you trusting in the Word of God? 408 00:19:21,890 --> 00:19:22,770 So verse 5. 409 00:19:23,170 --> 00:19:27,050 But whoso keepeth His Word in him, verily or truthfully, is the 410 00:19:27,050 --> 00:19:28,370 love of God perfected? 411 00:19:28,370 --> 00:19:31,430 Now that were perfected doesn't mean that we reach that perfect 412 00:19:31,430 --> 00:19:32,350 pinnacle of love. 413 00:19:32,350 --> 00:19:33,870 It just means that it's matured. 414 00:19:35,230 --> 00:19:39,710 And so what we're seeing here is that when we follow God in obedience, 415 00:19:40,750 --> 00:19:45,310 the truth shows the love of God is growing in our life. 416 00:19:45,790 --> 00:19:48,990 The love of God is seen through the way that we deal with 417 00:19:48,990 --> 00:19:49,550 other people. 418 00:19:50,750 --> 00:19:55,310 So it says hereby know we that we are in him when the love of God 419 00:19:55,310 --> 00:19:56,910 is maturing in our life. 420 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,560 And when the love of God is maturing in our life, what happens? 421 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,640 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even 422 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:04,360 as he walked. 423 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:08,000 And so what the Bible says is that someone that's walking in fellowship 424 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,880 with God is growing in their love for the Lord and understanding 425 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:13,480 God's love more in their life. 426 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:15,560 And what does verse number six say? 427 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:17,120 That we walk as he walked. 428 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:19,480 That's essentially what we call Christ likeness. 429 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:25,300 So walking in the example of Christ walking with his type of love, 430 00:20:25,540 --> 00:20:28,300 his type of forgiveness, his type of mercy. 431 00:20:28,300 --> 00:20:31,620 Not completely, because none of us can perfectly be like Christ. 432 00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:34,660 But in this case, we are becoming more and more like him. 433 00:20:34,660 --> 00:20:39,380 So to simplify this topic, it's this. 434 00:20:39,700 --> 00:20:43,740 A Christian that is in fellowship with God, that's obeying 435 00:20:43,740 --> 00:20:46,580 him, will become more and more Christlike. 436 00:20:47,060 --> 00:20:47,820 That's the test. 437 00:20:47,820 --> 00:20:52,020 And so if you want to inspect your own life and say, am I walking 438 00:20:52,020 --> 00:20:52,620 with the Lord? 439 00:20:52,620 --> 00:20:54,060 Number one, the test is this. 440 00:20:54,140 --> 00:20:55,660 Am I following his Word? 441 00:20:56,300 --> 00:21:00,380 Number two, am I responding more and more in the Spirit and walking 442 00:21:00,380 --> 00:21:01,500 Christ like in my life? 443 00:21:02,300 --> 00:21:05,700 Again, this isn't legalism, because legalism would teach that 444 00:21:05,700 --> 00:21:07,420 if you're not Christ, like, you're not saved. 445 00:21:07,740 --> 00:21:10,300 And you got to do all these things to be more Christ like. 446 00:21:10,620 --> 00:21:11,300 Again, the. 447 00:21:11,300 --> 00:21:14,780 The outcome is the action, but the start of this is the heart. 448 00:21:16,150 --> 00:21:20,670 And so John makes a link here between our obedience and our love 449 00:21:20,670 --> 00:21:21,270 for God. 450 00:21:22,630 --> 00:21:27,030 And what he's saying is that if you say you love God, but you 451 00:21:27,030 --> 00:21:30,870 don't love His Word, you say you love God, but you disregard what 452 00:21:30,870 --> 00:21:33,070 he tells you, you don't really love God. 453 00:21:33,070 --> 00:21:33,830 That's what he's saying. 454 00:21:34,150 --> 00:21:36,950 And I know that's hard for us in our minds to wrap around, because 455 00:21:36,950 --> 00:21:39,990 again, love is an emotion for us in our culture today. 456 00:21:40,310 --> 00:21:41,910 Why feel the love of God today? 457 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:42,960 But. 458 00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:46,760 But the truth is, when we're looking at it from this perspective, 459 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,360 love is a choice. 460 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:50,960 So I. I have to choose to love God. 461 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,440 It's a decision that I make. 462 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:55,800 And that makes sense when it comes to this understanding of action. 463 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:57,800 Action speaks louder than words. 464 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,600 And so when it says that it's perfected, the idea is, is that it's 465 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:03,080 maturing, that it's growing. 466 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:07,080 So another test to a Christian who's walking in fellowship with 467 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:11,730 God is, is their love Growing for God? 468 00:22:11,730 --> 00:22:12,930 Or is it stagnant? 469 00:22:12,930 --> 00:22:15,730 Or is it, is it receding, going back? 470 00:22:16,770 --> 00:22:21,010 And so for us as Christians, that love should continuously be 471 00:22:21,010 --> 00:22:21,450 growing. 472 00:22:21,450 --> 00:22:24,010 The more and more we understand him, the more and more 473 00:22:24,010 --> 00:22:24,770 we know Him. 474 00:22:25,250 --> 00:22:29,970 And so the more we experience God's love, the more it gives us 475 00:22:29,970 --> 00:22:33,170 assurance in the security that we have and our salvation through 476 00:22:33,170 --> 00:22:33,810 Jesus Christ. 477 00:22:34,900 --> 00:22:40,820 So when one becomes a Christian, there is hopefully a change 478 00:22:40,980 --> 00:22:41,940 of desire. 479 00:22:42,500 --> 00:22:46,660 And, and there's that song when, when we set our eyes upon Jesus, 480 00:22:47,060 --> 00:22:49,020 we look full in his wonderful face. 481 00:22:49,020 --> 00:22:52,540 The things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his 482 00:22:52,540 --> 00:22:53,460 glory and grace. 483 00:22:54,180 --> 00:22:55,740 Now that's a scriptural principle. 484 00:22:55,740 --> 00:22:56,500 What does that mean? 485 00:22:56,500 --> 00:23:01,300 That means the more I desire God, the less I will desire the world. 486 00:23:01,710 --> 00:23:04,630 Now, we're going to see this topic in a little bit in First John, 487 00:23:04,630 --> 00:23:05,190 chapter two. 488 00:23:05,190 --> 00:23:06,510 But what is he essentially saying? 489 00:23:06,670 --> 00:23:10,510 He's saying, the more you love God, the less you love the things 490 00:23:10,510 --> 00:23:11,150 of this world. 491 00:23:11,390 --> 00:23:14,950 The more you love God, the less you love your flesh, the more 492 00:23:14,950 --> 00:23:18,150 you love God, the less you love the sin that held a grip on 493 00:23:18,150 --> 00:23:18,590 you before. 494 00:23:19,630 --> 00:23:22,510 And so he's going to talk a little bit about this later on, but 495 00:23:22,510 --> 00:23:25,910 he says you can't love the world and love God at the same time. 496 00:23:25,910 --> 00:23:27,550 You can't serve two masters. 497 00:23:28,530 --> 00:23:32,250 And so a lot of times what we see is Christians really wanting 498 00:23:32,250 --> 00:23:35,810 to not love the things of this world, but they try to just stop 499 00:23:35,890 --> 00:23:39,090 loving the things of this world without trying to love and, 500 00:23:39,090 --> 00:23:41,890 and ultimately trusting in the love of God and their life. 501 00:23:42,290 --> 00:23:44,130 And so it's a principle of replacement. 502 00:23:44,930 --> 00:23:47,930 The Bible says in Ephesians, chapter four, it's put off and put 503 00:23:47,930 --> 00:23:48,210 on. 504 00:23:48,290 --> 00:23:50,530 You don't just put off the old man. 505 00:23:50,690 --> 00:23:52,690 You don't just stop doing the bad things. 506 00:23:52,930 --> 00:23:55,010 You put off and you put on the good. 507 00:23:55,790 --> 00:23:57,830 You, you put, you insert into your life Christ. 508 00:23:57,830 --> 00:24:00,910 You insert into your life the truth and the love of God. 509 00:24:00,910 --> 00:24:07,510 So when a Christian is, is changing and growing, we see that 510 00:24:07,510 --> 00:24:10,670 there is a less of a love for the things of this world. 511 00:24:10,670 --> 00:24:12,150 Now, are there going to be ups and downs? 512 00:24:12,150 --> 00:24:12,750 Certainly. 513 00:24:13,710 --> 00:24:18,430 But a Christian in fellowship with God should no longer love sin 514 00:24:18,510 --> 00:24:20,350 like they did before. 515 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:26,040 A Christian should no longer boast about the sin of their past. 516 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:32,040 And I know that sometimes that's used in some ways of testimony. 517 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:36,280 But one of the things that is sometimes a danger is when, though 518 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:38,640 we are Christians and though we don't do the things we used to 519 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:42,280 do, we almost glorify the things of our past in a way of boasting 520 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:42,840 about it. 521 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:43,880 And we don't want to do that. 522 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:49,590 A Christian should, hopefully, at this point in their life as they're 523 00:24:49,590 --> 00:24:53,950 growing, never enjoy even sins that they commit now as much as they 524 00:24:53,950 --> 00:24:55,590 did before they became a Christian. 525 00:24:56,710 --> 00:25:00,630 Though there is pleasure to sin, the Bible very clearly teaches 526 00:25:00,630 --> 00:25:01,670 that principle as well. 527 00:25:01,670 --> 00:25:02,550 Because if there. 528 00:25:02,630 --> 00:25:05,030 There was no pleasure to sin, no one would ever do it. 529 00:25:05,670 --> 00:25:09,150 But it's not resting in the pleasure of sin. 530 00:25:09,150 --> 00:25:13,800 It's realizing the repulsiveness and the filth of that 531 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:14,960 sin and saying. 532 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,880 And seeing it for the way that God sees it and saying, I want to 533 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:18,400 get out of that. 534 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:19,880 I want to turn away from that. 535 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:22,920 And so really, you could sum it up this way. 536 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:24,600 And I like the way that. 537 00:25:25,560 --> 00:25:29,600 That many theologians phrase it, but Spurgeon phrased it pretty 538 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:29,880 well. 539 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,840 He put it this way, that the Christian no longer loves sin. 540 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,160 It's the object of his sternest horror. 541 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,720 He no longer rewards it as a mere trifle, plays with it, or talks 542 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,520 of it with unconcern. 543 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,600 Sin is dejected in the Christian's heart, though it's not 544 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:46,400 ejected. 545 00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:51,120 Sin may enter the heart and fight for dominion, but it cannot 546 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:52,160 sit upon the throne. 547 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,520 And so what we have to understand as Christians is that 548 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:02,280 there is a huge red flag when sin is what we are drawn to in our 549 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:02,480 lives. 550 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:04,480 And that is what we're characterized by. 551 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:07,360 And some people say, how do you know that person's saved? 552 00:26:07,360 --> 00:26:07,840 Is it. 553 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,600 Well, at the end of the day, I cannot see somebody's heart. 554 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,040 I don't know if somebody's saved. 555 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,720 But if there's someone struggling in their salvation, and 556 00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:16,560 they say, well, I don't really know that I'm saved. 557 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,520 I don't really know, and I don't have confidence. 558 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,600 I would go back and appeal to them to say, what are you putting 559 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,440 your confidence in? 560 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:25,040 What did you put your confidence in? 561 00:26:25,680 --> 00:26:28,400 Well, I really like the feeling that church brought to me. 562 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:33,260 I really like the emotional appeal of the music, or I like the. 563 00:26:33,260 --> 00:26:36,380 The preacher's stern way that he brought forth the truth, folks. 564 00:26:36,380 --> 00:26:39,020 Those are all things that can be beneficial. 565 00:26:39,020 --> 00:26:42,580 But at the end of the day, if we are not trusting in the work of 566 00:26:42,580 --> 00:26:47,020 Jesus Christ and putting our faith in that alone, it is not salvation. 567 00:26:47,420 --> 00:26:47,860 Okay? 568 00:26:47,860 --> 00:26:49,500 And there's so many people that are. 569 00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:52,100 What we would maybe say is Christian adjacent. 570 00:26:52,100 --> 00:26:54,380 They're very, very close to being a Christian. 571 00:26:54,460 --> 00:26:54,780 They. 572 00:26:54,780 --> 00:26:58,660 They like the appeal and the morals and the things that come along 573 00:26:58,660 --> 00:27:01,190 with church and with the Christian values. 574 00:27:01,190 --> 00:27:04,230 But at the end, they have not fully trusted in Jesus Christ. 575 00:27:04,470 --> 00:27:06,190 And when the things of Earth come. 576 00:27:06,190 --> 00:27:09,710 They draw to that more than the things of God. 577 00:27:09,710 --> 00:27:13,190 And so we are called to walk as Christ walked. 578 00:27:13,190 --> 00:27:17,470 We aren't called to, to be exactly like Christ because none 579 00:27:17,470 --> 00:27:20,910 of us can be exactly like him, but we are called to appeal to the 580 00:27:20,910 --> 00:27:25,270 same power of, of God and ultimately walk as he walked. 581 00:27:26,380 --> 00:27:27,780 And so that's the understanding. 582 00:27:27,780 --> 00:27:28,860 The understanding is this. 583 00:27:28,860 --> 00:27:33,380 Understand God's love, rest in God's love. 584 00:27:33,380 --> 00:27:37,700 And, and he appeals the more here because he says, okay, if you 585 00:27:37,700 --> 00:27:40,940 understand God's love, your life will be different. 586 00:27:41,420 --> 00:27:42,020 Verse 7. 587 00:27:42,020 --> 00:27:44,700 Brethren, again a reference to believers. 588 00:27:44,860 --> 00:27:47,500 I write no new commandment unto you. 589 00:27:48,140 --> 00:27:50,980 He says, what I'm about to tell you is not something new. 590 00:27:50,980 --> 00:27:54,850 It's not something revolutionary to our culture because 591 00:27:54,850 --> 00:27:56,650 it's already been told to us before. 592 00:27:57,050 --> 00:28:00,490 He says, brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an 593 00:28:00,490 --> 00:28:03,770 old commandment which he had from the beginning. 594 00:28:04,490 --> 00:28:08,169 The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the 595 00:28:08,169 --> 00:28:08,650 beginning. 596 00:28:09,530 --> 00:28:13,530 And so the commandment John wrote of here was at the same time 597 00:28:13,530 --> 00:28:14,770 both an old commandment. 598 00:28:14,770 --> 00:28:18,470 They knew this before in the sense that it's been preached their 599 00:28:18,470 --> 00:28:21,190 whole lives that, that they've been alive there. 600 00:28:21,190 --> 00:28:23,950 But it's a new commandment in the sense that Jesus said it was 601 00:28:23,950 --> 00:28:25,750 a new commandment in John 13:34. 602 00:28:26,550 --> 00:28:28,590 So he says, this is an old commandment. 603 00:28:28,590 --> 00:28:29,710 This has been around a long time. 604 00:28:29,710 --> 00:28:30,270 Verse 8. 605 00:28:30,270 --> 00:28:31,270 Again, a new commandment. 606 00:28:31,270 --> 00:28:34,750 I read unto you which thing is true in him and in you, because the 607 00:28:34,750 --> 00:28:37,430 darkness is passed and true light has now shineth. 608 00:28:37,830 --> 00:28:42,470 He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in 609 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:45,200 darkness even until now. 610 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:47,600 So he takes the test a little bit further. 611 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,240 He says, okay, you say that you love God. 612 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:52,640 You say that you understand the love of God. 613 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,120 Now, do you love your brother? 614 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:58,000 He that saith he's in the light. 615 00:28:58,000 --> 00:28:59,640 He that saith he has the truth. 616 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:04,440 He that saith he believes in God and hate if his brother is in 617 00:29:04,440 --> 00:29:06,000 darkness even until now. 618 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:08,720 And so what is this new commandment? 619 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,420 Well, we know John 13:34, Jesus says we a new commandment I 620 00:29:12,420 --> 00:29:15,260 have given unto you, that you love one another as I have loved 621 00:29:15,260 --> 00:29:17,140 you, that you also love one another. 622 00:29:18,180 --> 00:29:23,060 And so one of the most important reasons that Jesus told 623 00:29:23,060 --> 00:29:26,780 us to love one another is because if we don't understand the 624 00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:30,340 love that he has, we're never going to be able to love our neighbor 625 00:29:30,340 --> 00:29:30,860 as ourself. 626 00:29:30,860 --> 00:29:33,940 So he wants us to experience our love, his love to us. 627 00:29:33,940 --> 00:29:37,620 And so then that is manifested by what we, what we do in Our life. 628 00:29:38,120 --> 00:29:43,160 And so the new commandment of love is a necessity because of the 629 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:44,760 opposite side of this. 630 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:46,640 And that would be that what the world teaches. 631 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:47,800 The world teaches what? 632 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:49,480 Get even with people. 633 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:54,040 Only love people that love you and be kind to people who are kind 634 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:54,520 to you. 635 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:56,640 Well, that's not Christian values. 636 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,480 Christian values is be loving to people that aren't loving to you. 637 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,280 Do good to people that don't do good to you. 638 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,160 And so he says that one. 639 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,270 So, you know, people say, why obey God, right? 640 00:30:07,270 --> 00:30:10,190 Go, go back to what he said in verse three. 641 00:30:10,270 --> 00:30:13,390 And hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. 642 00:30:13,630 --> 00:30:15,910 You, you remember there was that one guy that went to Jesus and 643 00:30:15,910 --> 00:30:17,590 he says, you know, what do I have to do to be saved? 644 00:30:17,590 --> 00:30:20,110 And Jesus says, you know, keep the commandments. 645 00:30:20,110 --> 00:30:21,910 I've done that since I was a, you know, all the way up. 646 00:30:21,910 --> 00:30:23,150 I've always kept his commandments. 647 00:30:23,230 --> 00:30:25,750 Well, the reality is, is that none of us could keep all the commandments. 648 00:30:25,750 --> 00:30:28,590 But nonetheless, even if someone felt like, hey, you know 649 00:30:28,590 --> 00:30:32,750 what I do, everything that the Bible says, John tests them. 650 00:30:32,750 --> 00:30:35,590 And he says, well, he that saith he's in the light and hated 651 00:30:35,590 --> 00:30:37,470 his brother is in darkness even until now. 652 00:30:37,870 --> 00:30:39,430 So, so you don't love God. 653 00:30:39,430 --> 00:30:41,670 You, you aren't walking in fellowship with him if you hate your 654 00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:42,030 brother. 655 00:30:42,190 --> 00:30:45,590 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is 656 00:30:45,590 --> 00:30:47,550 none occasion of stumbling in him. 657 00:30:48,910 --> 00:30:52,790 And so what we see John doing is exactly what Jesus said. 658 00:30:52,790 --> 00:30:54,750 He says, love God with everything. 659 00:30:55,230 --> 00:30:56,590 Love your neighbor as yourself. 660 00:30:57,160 --> 00:30:59,480 That's really what the Christian life is wrapped up in. 661 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,600 He said, on these two things hang all the law and the prophets. 662 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:07,280 So he's not discounting the law and the prophets, by the way. 663 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,640 A lot of people say, well, that means we just wipe out all the 664 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:10,360 law and the prophets. 665 00:31:10,360 --> 00:31:14,760 No, but all of that is hanging on these two principles of loving 666 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,080 God with everything and loving our neighbor as ourselves. 667 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:23,890 And so it's all too easy for us as people within the church to, 668 00:31:23,970 --> 00:31:28,610 to love people that make sense to love. 669 00:31:30,290 --> 00:31:34,130 But really the true test of ministry is am I going to love people 670 00:31:34,130 --> 00:31:35,170 that are difficult? 671 00:31:35,890 --> 00:31:39,010 Am I going to love people who might say that they're my brother, 672 00:31:39,010 --> 00:31:40,610 but they might not act like my brother? 673 00:31:41,410 --> 00:31:44,970 And so ultimately we know that what he's telling us here is that 674 00:31:44,970 --> 00:31:48,490 the true test to whether or not we love God is do we love our 675 00:31:48,490 --> 00:31:48,850 neighbor? 676 00:31:49,280 --> 00:31:49,800 Verse 11. 677 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:53,080 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness, 678 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,480 and knoweth not whether he Goeth because that darkness have 679 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:57,480 blinded his eyes. 680 00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:58,520 And so what is he saying here? 681 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:04,600 He says that if you think that you love God, but you're hating your 682 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:05,600 brother, you. 683 00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,200 You are walking in blindness. 684 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,440 You know, if we turned all the lights off in here and we could darken 685 00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,240 all the windows, and we told everyone, all right, get out as fast 686 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:16,360 as you can, we're all going to be stumbling all over each other. 687 00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:18,080 We're going to be tripping over the pews. 688 00:32:18,450 --> 00:32:20,170 And let's say there's obstacles in the way. 689 00:32:20,170 --> 00:32:22,450 Someone put obstacles in the way, we wouldn't be able to get out. 690 00:32:22,450 --> 00:32:23,650 And what he's saying is this. 691 00:32:23,810 --> 00:32:29,490 When we try to live our lives this way, saying that we love God, 692 00:32:29,490 --> 00:32:31,570 but we don't love our neighbor, we're essentially stumbling 693 00:32:31,570 --> 00:32:33,570 around trying to figure things out on our own. 694 00:32:33,570 --> 00:32:35,970 And ultimately that's going to lead to destruction. 695 00:32:36,530 --> 00:32:40,850 And so knowing that Jesus put a huge emphasis on love for one another, 696 00:32:40,850 --> 00:32:44,490 John says, hey, that if you hate your brother, you're walking 697 00:32:44,490 --> 00:32:46,490 in darkness, you've blinded yourself. 698 00:32:46,490 --> 00:32:47,250 You're walking. 699 00:32:47,820 --> 00:32:52,020 And not the truth, but in the lie of the enemy, to say that you 700 00:32:52,020 --> 00:32:53,100 can do both of these things. 701 00:32:53,500 --> 00:32:57,340 So we're gonna really read verse number 12, and then. 702 00:32:58,620 --> 00:33:01,340 And, well, we'll go down to verse number 14, because I think 703 00:33:01,340 --> 00:33:02,780 that'll be a good stopping place for this week. 704 00:33:02,940 --> 00:33:03,420 Verse 12. 705 00:33:03,420 --> 00:33:05,900 I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven 706 00:33:05,900 --> 00:33:08,460 you for his name's sake. 707 00:33:08,620 --> 00:33:09,460 So what is he saying? 708 00:33:09,460 --> 00:33:12,820 He says again, little children, Christians, because your 709 00:33:12,820 --> 00:33:16,335 sins are forgiven you for his name's sake, I write unto you fathers, 710 00:33:16,335 --> 00:33:17,680 and because you have known him. 711 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:18,920 That is from the beginning. 712 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:20,400 I write unto you young men. 713 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:20,840 So he's. 714 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:21,800 He's covering all the people. 715 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:22,920 He says, I'm writing to fathers. 716 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:23,640 I'm writing to the young men. 717 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:25,840 I'm writing to those that are saved because you have overcome the 718 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:26,240 wicked one. 719 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:28,280 I write unto you little children, because you have known 720 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:28,840 the father. 721 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:32,800 So he says, I'm writing to you because you've been forgiven. 722 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:34,600 You need to know what you've been forgiven from. 723 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,880 You need to understand the reality of your relationship with 724 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:38,400 the Lord. 725 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:38,960 Verse 14. 726 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,400 I have written unto you fathers, because ye have known him. 727 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:42,840 That is from the beginning. 728 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,400 I have written unto you young men because you are strong and the 729 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:49,130 word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 730 00:33:50,090 --> 00:33:51,970 And so we. 731 00:33:51,970 --> 00:33:53,290 We begin to see. 732 00:33:53,610 --> 00:33:56,890 In this case, we see the different aspects of the spiritual 733 00:33:56,890 --> 00:33:57,210 life. 734 00:33:58,250 --> 00:33:59,570 When we are in the. 735 00:33:59,570 --> 00:34:02,610 The baby state of being a Christian, it's Enough for us just 736 00:34:02,610 --> 00:34:05,290 to know the truth of God and the forgiveness of God. 737 00:34:05,690 --> 00:34:08,530 And that's, that's right, that's appropriate at that age. 738 00:34:08,530 --> 00:34:14,150 But as we begin to grow in our spiritual maturity, we should then 739 00:34:14,150 --> 00:34:15,750 understand more depth. 740 00:34:16,470 --> 00:34:20,030 And so he says, he says to the little children, your sins are forgiven. 741 00:34:20,030 --> 00:34:21,190 That's, that's amazing. 742 00:34:21,430 --> 00:34:24,830 Verse 13, I ran to you fathers, because you have known him, 743 00:34:24,830 --> 00:34:25,830 that is from the beginning. 744 00:34:25,830 --> 00:34:28,070 I write into young men because you have overcome the wicked one. 745 00:34:28,070 --> 00:34:30,750 So there's, there's more layered on there. 746 00:34:30,750 --> 00:34:34,430 And so just as the little children needed to go back to their 747 00:34:34,430 --> 00:34:37,830 salvations, the fathers needed to understand how to lead and, and 748 00:34:37,830 --> 00:34:41,099 where they were at in their spiritual understanding and how they're 749 00:34:41,099 --> 00:34:42,059 guiding other people. 750 00:34:42,779 --> 00:34:46,019 And so I think that what we have to understand that as Christians, 751 00:34:46,019 --> 00:34:49,499 we start with the most basic elements of our forgiveness, but 752 00:34:49,499 --> 00:34:53,299 we also, as people begin to mature in their faith, we challenge 753 00:34:53,299 --> 00:34:55,179 them to live lives differently. 754 00:34:55,179 --> 00:34:58,739 We challenge them to understand that there is spiritual 755 00:34:58,739 --> 00:35:03,219 battle out there and that ultimately the spiritual enemy, which 756 00:35:03,219 --> 00:35:06,459 we know ultimately is Satan, he wants to destroy us. 757 00:35:06,459 --> 00:35:09,990 He wants to, he wants to totally wipe us out. 758 00:35:09,990 --> 00:35:13,790 And it says, but verse 13, he says that they could overcome the 759 00:35:13,790 --> 00:35:15,430 wicked one with the truth of God. 760 00:35:16,550 --> 00:35:21,910 And so ultimately, what we can tell here is that John is essentially 761 00:35:21,910 --> 00:35:24,750 challenging them to be consistent with what is, what is 762 00:35:24,750 --> 00:35:26,310 there, what is, what is in the Word. 763 00:35:26,310 --> 00:35:31,550 And if he says verse number 14, you're going to be strong, and 764 00:35:31,550 --> 00:35:34,850 the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked 765 00:35:34,850 --> 00:35:35,050 one. 766 00:35:35,050 --> 00:35:38,250 So it shows us the formula to overcome the temptation, overcome 767 00:35:38,250 --> 00:35:41,610 the enemy, being strong in the power of God, in the word of God, 768 00:35:41,610 --> 00:35:45,850 and allowing God to dwell in us and rule and reign in our lives. 769 00:35:46,410 --> 00:35:49,209 And so he's going to stop there and he's going to kind of shift 770 00:35:49,209 --> 00:35:53,370 gears and talk about how we as believers walking in fellowship with 771 00:35:53,370 --> 00:35:59,170 God should love not the world or the things in the world, but ultimately 772 00:35:59,170 --> 00:35:59,970 point to Christ. 773 00:35:59,970 --> 00:36:01,290 And then he's going to talk a little bit. 774 00:36:01,730 --> 00:36:03,490 I kind of whet your appetite for the next time. 775 00:36:04,530 --> 00:36:08,250 He's going to talk about the spirit of the Antichrist within our 776 00:36:08,250 --> 00:36:08,610 midst. 777 00:36:08,610 --> 00:36:11,250 And we're going to talk about basically anything that goes against 778 00:36:11,970 --> 00:36:17,330 the truth of Jesus Christ is, is, is Antichrist and therefore destructive 779 00:36:17,410 --> 00:36:18,450 to our lives. 780 00:36:18,450 --> 00:36:20,850 And so we'll talk more about that when we come back. 781 00:36:20,850 --> 00:36:27,900 So just remember, verses one and two, don't sin, but if you do, 782 00:36:28,060 --> 00:36:32,220 you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 783 00:36:32,620 --> 00:36:36,700 He's the propitiation, he's the substance, he's the sacrifice, 784 00:36:36,700 --> 00:36:38,140 he's the sufficiency. 785 00:36:38,620 --> 00:36:43,820 And so anytime you feel inadequate, anytime you feel doubts, 786 00:36:43,820 --> 00:36:48,980 anytime you feel concern, go back to the root and say, is my faith 787 00:36:48,980 --> 00:36:51,420 in Jesus or is it in anything else? 788 00:36:51,420 --> 00:36:54,500 If your faith in your assurance is in anything else outside 789 00:36:54,500 --> 00:36:58,380 of relationship with Jesus, you will have doubt, you will have 790 00:36:58,380 --> 00:37:02,260 confusion, you will have uncertainty in your life. 791 00:37:02,260 --> 00:37:04,660 But ultimately we have to go back to the root. 792 00:37:04,740 --> 00:37:06,100 We have to go back to the core. 793 00:37:06,100 --> 00:37:07,860 We have to go back to the foundation. 794 00:37:08,020 --> 00:37:13,300 The Bible calls him the chief cornerstone, the sure foundation, 795 00:37:14,020 --> 00:37:16,100 the rock on which we stand. 796 00:37:16,100 --> 00:37:17,340 And that is Jesus Christ. 797 00:37:17,340 --> 00:37:20,900 And so ultimately, when someone is struggling with their 798 00:37:20,900 --> 00:37:24,310 salvation, someone's struggling with doubts, we take them 799 00:37:24,310 --> 00:37:25,070 back to Jesus. 800 00:37:25,070 --> 00:37:28,630 We take them back to the Word, we take them back to the truth. 801 00:37:28,630 --> 00:37:31,390 And not, well, you know, did you feel good today? 802 00:37:31,710 --> 00:37:33,150 Because I don't know about you as Christians. 803 00:37:33,150 --> 00:37:34,990 There are days where I wake up and I feel great. 804 00:37:35,070 --> 00:37:37,070 There are days when I wake up and I don't feel great. 805 00:37:37,710 --> 00:37:40,190 There's days when I wake up and I feel confused. 806 00:37:40,190 --> 00:37:42,790 There's days when I wake up and I'm not sure what to do. 807 00:37:42,790 --> 00:37:44,750 The Bible says, when you don't know what to do. 808 00:37:44,990 --> 00:37:47,150 James, chapter one, Ask God, Give. 809 00:37:47,150 --> 00:37:48,190 Ask God for wisdom. 810 00:37:48,190 --> 00:37:50,830 He'll give it to you liberally, as the Bible says. 811 00:37:50,830 --> 00:37:53,350 And he abrades not, meaning he doesn't hold it over our heads. 812 00:37:53,430 --> 00:37:55,110 God wants us to come to him. 813 00:37:55,190 --> 00:37:56,710 We can never annoy the Lord. 814 00:37:56,790 --> 00:37:58,470 We can never come to him too much. 815 00:37:58,950 --> 00:38:02,710 And so ultimately, when someone's doubting, we don't lead 816 00:38:02,710 --> 00:38:05,269 them to more confusion by trying to overanalyze. 817 00:38:05,269 --> 00:38:07,070 We just say we go to Jesus Christ. 818 00:38:07,070 --> 00:38:09,870 And so if there's someone in your life that maybe is struggling 819 00:38:09,870 --> 00:38:14,110 with assurance of salvation, obviously take them to the gospel. 820 00:38:14,110 --> 00:38:16,970 But if they would like to read a book of the Bible first, John is 821 00:38:16,970 --> 00:38:21,050 a wonderful book of the Bible to read and analyze and say, is this 822 00:38:21,050 --> 00:38:22,610 really a mark of who I am? 823 00:38:22,610 --> 00:38:24,530 Am I walking in fellowship with the Lord? 824 00:38:25,330 --> 00:38:27,410 And, and so there's, there's two levels to that. 825 00:38:27,410 --> 00:38:30,690 Number one, do I know him on a personal level? 826 00:38:30,850 --> 00:38:35,010 But number two, I might have known him at one point, but I'm walking 827 00:38:35,170 --> 00:38:35,930 out of step. 828 00:38:35,930 --> 00:38:37,650 I'm not walking in fellowship with him. 829 00:38:37,730 --> 00:38:38,930 That might need to. 830 00:38:38,930 --> 00:38:40,650 That's why we have revival in this world. 831 00:38:40,650 --> 00:38:41,890 That's why we need revival. 832 00:38:41,970 --> 00:38:43,020 We need, need new life. 833 00:38:43,020 --> 00:38:44,860 We need to be recharged, we need to be re. 834 00:38:44,860 --> 00:38:45,420 Energized. 835 00:38:45,740 --> 00:38:47,180 That's why we meet on Wednesday Nights. 836 00:38:47,180 --> 00:38:48,020 I mean, there's, there's. 837 00:38:48,020 --> 00:38:48,580 I don't. 838 00:38:48,580 --> 00:38:50,860 Maybe you guys found it when you were reading through the Bible. 839 00:38:50,860 --> 00:38:53,540 I didn't find anything in the Bible that said we must meet on Wednesday 840 00:38:53,540 --> 00:38:54,060 nights. 841 00:38:54,220 --> 00:38:54,780 Okay. 842 00:38:54,780 --> 00:38:57,900 But I do know in the Bible it says we should meet all the more 843 00:38:57,900 --> 00:38:59,500 as the day, the day approaches. 844 00:38:59,740 --> 00:39:01,300 So why not meet on Wednesday nights? 845 00:39:01,300 --> 00:39:04,660 That's a great time for us to be recharged, to be revitalized, 846 00:39:04,660 --> 00:39:07,420 to be renewed and refreshed in the middle of our week. 847 00:39:07,420 --> 00:39:09,420 Because I don't know about you, but about halfway through my 848 00:39:09,420 --> 00:39:11,040 week, I'm, I'm pretty weary. 849 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:13,280 I'm pretty, I'm pretty down in the dumps. 850 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:14,440 If I've turned on the news or. 851 00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:17,680 I've had some people in my life that have had pain and suffering, 852 00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:20,360 but at the end of the day, we always come back and we recharge 853 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:20,760 in the Word. 854 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:22,800 But the beauty is, is that we don't have to wait till Wednesday. 855 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,640 The beauty is, is that you can walk with Jesus Christ, you can have 856 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:28,240 that personal relationship with him. 857 00:39:28,240 --> 00:39:29,400 You have the word of God. 858 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:32,320 If I told you, hey, you know what, guys don't read the Bible because 859 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:34,160 you wouldn't be able to understand it. 860 00:39:34,240 --> 00:39:35,840 Well, let me explain it to you. 861 00:39:36,390 --> 00:39:39,270 That's what the many people long ago would do. 862 00:39:39,270 --> 00:39:41,150 They would get up in front of the church and the Bibles would be 863 00:39:41,150 --> 00:39:43,950 chained to the pulpit and it would be in a language that the people 864 00:39:43,950 --> 00:39:44,470 didn't understand. 865 00:39:45,030 --> 00:39:46,390 And it would be through one person. 866 00:39:46,390 --> 00:39:47,630 Anyone can find any truth. 867 00:39:47,630 --> 00:39:49,430 And how do you know that I'm not misleading you? 868 00:39:49,750 --> 00:39:51,070 So we'd be like Bereans. 869 00:39:51,070 --> 00:39:53,510 And I say, hey, you read the Bible, you check things. 870 00:39:53,830 --> 00:39:57,790 And that's the mark of, I believe a healthy relationship within 871 00:39:57,790 --> 00:40:01,230 the church and ultimately with the Lord is that I go to the Word, 872 00:40:01,230 --> 00:40:05,070 I get fed, and I, I can see that happening in my own life personally 873 00:40:05,070 --> 00:40:06,750 and not through somebody else. 874 00:40:07,150 --> 00:40:10,950 And so, yes, come to church, get fed that way, but also get some 875 00:40:10,950 --> 00:40:12,030 snacks throughout the week. 876 00:40:12,190 --> 00:40:13,710 Study the word of God yourself. 877 00:40:13,870 --> 00:40:17,390 And I think that's so much more valuable than saying, you know 878 00:40:17,390 --> 00:40:17,470 what? 879 00:40:17,470 --> 00:40:20,150 I, I gotta, I, you know, I just don't know what to do. 880 00:40:20,150 --> 00:40:23,150 I have to, I have, you know, if there's questions, sure, that's 881 00:40:23,150 --> 00:40:23,950 what people are there for. 882 00:40:23,950 --> 00:40:27,310 The Bible speaks of going to godly counsel and having, having 883 00:40:27,310 --> 00:40:30,380 shepherds and having people that can spiritually lead. 884 00:40:30,380 --> 00:40:33,980 But at the same time, God designed it for you to have that 885 00:40:33,980 --> 00:40:37,540 personal walk with him because you can go boldly before the throne 886 00:40:37,540 --> 00:40:38,060 of grace. 887 00:40:38,540 --> 00:40:42,580 So I encourage you to think about that and trust in that throughout 888 00:40:42,580 --> 00:40:43,500 your week. 889 00:40:44,539 --> 00:40:47,060 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 890 00:40:47,060 --> 00:40:47,660 podcast. 891 00:40:47,900 --> 00:40:50,300 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 892 00:40:50,940 --> 00:40:53,220 If you would like to find out more information about our church 893 00:40:53,220 --> 00:40:56,440 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 894 00:40:57,150 --> 00:40:59,550 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 895 00:41:00,270 --> 00:41:04,790 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 896 00:41:04,790 --> 00:41:09,190 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 897 00:41:09,190 --> 00:41:11,950 along for future podcast and updates. 898 00:41:12,670 --> 00:41:13,630 Thank you so much. 899 00:41:13,870 --> 00:41:14,590 God Bless. 900 00:41:14,830 --> 00:41:16,110 Have a wonderful day.