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 --> 00:00:14,640 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,520 We're going to go ahead and continue our study in the book of 10 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:27,160 First John. 11 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:30,860 So if you have your Bibles, turn with me to the book of First 12 00:00:30,860 --> 00:00:31,140 John. 13 00:00:31,140 --> 00:00:32,900 And we're in First John, chapter five. 14 00:00:34,020 --> 00:00:35,540 First John, chapter five. 15 00:00:35,620 --> 00:00:38,580 And our main text here this evening is going to start in verse 16 00:00:38,580 --> 00:00:38,900 18. 17 00:00:39,540 --> 00:00:42,100 Even though I do want to review with you because I know that 18 00:00:42,660 --> 00:00:46,340 sometimes a week can be a long time to remember what we talked about 19 00:00:46,340 --> 00:00:48,900 last time, or maybe you didn't get a chance to be with us last time. 20 00:00:49,220 --> 00:00:52,220 And I want to make sure everybody is up to speed with where 21 00:00:52,220 --> 00:00:52,580 we are. 22 00:00:52,660 --> 00:00:57,170 So the whole book of First John is speaking of the relationship 23 00:00:57,170 --> 00:00:58,650 that we can have with God. 24 00:00:58,650 --> 00:01:01,570 And so the word that I would like to emphasize with you when it 25 00:01:01,570 --> 00:01:03,690 comes to the book of First John is fellowship. 26 00:01:04,570 --> 00:01:09,050 Fellowship with God and the fellowship with God that stems to 27 00:01:09,050 --> 00:01:10,330 fellowship with others. 28 00:01:10,810 --> 00:01:14,370 So fellowship with God and our relationship with him and our spiritual 29 00:01:14,370 --> 00:01:17,610 growth in him, and then fellowship with others in that spiritual 30 00:01:17,610 --> 00:01:17,850 growth. 31 00:01:17,850 --> 00:01:21,090 So we should be fellowshipping with other believers as we fellowship 32 00:01:21,090 --> 00:01:21,450 with God. 33 00:01:21,450 --> 00:01:24,790 But then in, in First John, chapter five, he reminds us of the 34 00:01:24,790 --> 00:01:29,150 confidence that we can have when we are walking in that fellowship. 35 00:01:29,470 --> 00:01:33,550 So as we're walking in obedience to the Lord, as we're walking 36 00:01:34,190 --> 00:01:38,669 in him, as the Bible says to abide in him when we're communicating 37 00:01:38,669 --> 00:01:42,510 with him through prayer and through the word of God, through 38 00:01:42,510 --> 00:01:45,750 Scripture, we are able to have that type of confidence that can 39 00:01:45,750 --> 00:01:49,150 only be found with that confidence and hope in Jesus Christ. 40 00:01:49,150 --> 00:01:52,890 And so in First John, chapter 5, verse 13, he says, these things 41 00:01:52,890 --> 00:01:55,650 have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of 42 00:01:55,650 --> 00:01:55,970 God. 43 00:01:55,970 --> 00:01:57,770 So Jesus is the deciding point. 44 00:01:57,770 --> 00:01:58,970 It's not about the religious. 45 00:01:58,970 --> 00:02:00,450 It's not about the good people. 46 00:02:00,450 --> 00:02:02,490 It's about those who believe in Jesus. 47 00:02:02,810 --> 00:02:06,130 He says, I've done this, that ye may know that ye have eternal 48 00:02:06,130 --> 00:02:06,410 life. 49 00:02:07,290 --> 00:02:12,610 So the confidence that we can have is not in ourselves with fellowship 50 00:02:12,610 --> 00:02:13,170 with God. 51 00:02:13,170 --> 00:02:16,010 It ultimately brings confidence in him, confidence in 52 00:02:16,010 --> 00:02:18,950 what he says, confidence in what he does. 53 00:02:19,350 --> 00:02:21,390 And so ultimately we're trusting in Him. 54 00:02:21,390 --> 00:02:25,870 And so when the idea of doubting, specifically in the context 55 00:02:25,870 --> 00:02:29,430 of our salvation, when we doubt whether or Not God is continuing 56 00:02:29,430 --> 00:02:32,470 to save us, or we doubt that we're enough, or we doubt that we're 57 00:02:32,470 --> 00:02:33,270 going to heaven. 58 00:02:33,829 --> 00:02:37,870 You know that sometimes, sometimes that comes from somebody 59 00:02:37,870 --> 00:02:39,830 not walking in fellowship with God. 60 00:02:39,910 --> 00:02:42,070 So if I'm not walking in fellowship with him, I'm not going 61 00:02:42,070 --> 00:02:43,750 to have the confidence that he extends to me. 62 00:02:44,210 --> 00:02:44,370 Why? 63 00:02:44,370 --> 00:02:47,610 Because my mind is focused on something else other than what he 64 00:02:47,610 --> 00:02:48,370 has done for me. 65 00:02:48,850 --> 00:02:52,290 Another side of that would be I'm focusing on myself. 66 00:02:52,290 --> 00:02:56,690 And when I focus on myself, I'm gonna find all the flaws, I'm 67 00:02:56,690 --> 00:02:57,970 gonna find all the limitations. 68 00:02:58,210 --> 00:03:00,650 And so my salvation is not based in me. 69 00:03:00,650 --> 00:03:02,210 My salvation is based in him. 70 00:03:02,210 --> 00:03:03,730 And that's what he's talking about here. 71 00:03:03,730 --> 00:03:06,050 So he says that's the type of confidence that we can have. 72 00:03:06,690 --> 00:03:09,820 And so he says, when you have that type of confidence in him, when 73 00:03:09,970 --> 00:03:10,650 what does that look like? 74 00:03:10,650 --> 00:03:13,450 That looks like a relationship that calls out to him. 75 00:03:13,450 --> 00:03:14,050 Verse 14. 76 00:03:14,370 --> 00:03:16,050 And we know that we can ask him. 77 00:03:16,050 --> 00:03:18,810 We know that we can bring our requests to him. 78 00:03:18,810 --> 00:03:19,970 And so that's prayer. 79 00:03:20,370 --> 00:03:22,050 We can communicate with our Savior. 80 00:03:22,050 --> 00:03:23,330 We have a personal God. 81 00:03:23,650 --> 00:03:25,810 That's an amazing thing to have in our lives. 82 00:03:26,770 --> 00:03:31,010 But we know that initially our thoughts would be completely about 83 00:03:31,010 --> 00:03:31,690 us, right? 84 00:03:31,690 --> 00:03:33,050 Lord, what can you do for me? 85 00:03:33,050 --> 00:03:35,410 And we pray, and I think we should pray for the things that we're 86 00:03:35,410 --> 00:03:36,290 dealing with in our lives. 87 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:39,260 But the Bible does teach us, and this is what we looked at last 88 00:03:39,260 --> 00:03:43,100 week, that the more we grow in the truth of God, the more we grow 89 00:03:43,100 --> 00:03:46,900 in our spiritual maturity, the more our focus goes to others, to 90 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:50,660 pray for others, to initiate help to others and teaching to others. 91 00:03:50,660 --> 00:03:54,100 And so he talked about how when we see a brother in sin, we 92 00:03:54,100 --> 00:03:57,180 pray for them, and we pray for them, and we encourage them, and 93 00:03:57,180 --> 00:03:58,860 we speak truth into their life. 94 00:03:59,580 --> 00:04:02,540 And so he's going to conclude his thought here in verse number 95 00:04:02,540 --> 00:04:02,860 18. 96 00:04:02,860 --> 00:04:03,340 So we. 97 00:04:03,650 --> 00:04:05,890 We've talked about fellowship, we've talked about confidence. 98 00:04:05,890 --> 00:04:10,410 And ultimately here he's going to explain what we have in this fellowship. 99 00:04:10,410 --> 00:04:15,890 He says in verse 18, we know that whosoever is born of God, sinneth 100 00:04:15,890 --> 00:04:16,210 not. 101 00:04:17,170 --> 00:04:21,170 Now, if you read that out of context, you might say. 102 00:04:21,570 --> 00:04:24,530 You might be tempted to say, well, does that mean that if I'm 103 00:04:24,530 --> 00:04:26,130 saved, I will never sin again? 104 00:04:26,130 --> 00:04:29,090 Well, we know that other places of Scripture contradict that. 105 00:04:29,910 --> 00:04:30,990 First John, chapter two. 106 00:04:30,990 --> 00:04:33,630 He says, my little children, these things write I unto you that 107 00:04:33,630 --> 00:04:34,390 ye sin not. 108 00:04:34,390 --> 00:04:37,670 So the goal for a Christian is to live a sinless life. 109 00:04:38,070 --> 00:04:38,950 That should be our goal. 110 00:04:38,950 --> 00:04:41,870 We should always strive to be honoring God. 111 00:04:41,870 --> 00:04:43,990 Completely in every element of our lives. 112 00:04:44,150 --> 00:04:46,790 But the reality is that we still will stumble. 113 00:04:47,030 --> 00:04:48,950 And he says, so don't sin. 114 00:04:49,030 --> 00:04:50,270 Verse 1 of chapter 2. 115 00:04:50,270 --> 00:04:54,430 And he says, and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the 116 00:04:54,430 --> 00:04:56,520 Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. 117 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:56,760 Why? 118 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:58,760 Because he is the propitiation for our sins. 119 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:00,840 And so the idea would be this. 120 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:03,320 We will still sin. 121 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:06,600 But when we are walking in fellowship with him, when we are 122 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:09,880 walking in the guidance of the Spirit, we will not sin. 123 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,280 And so the idea that John is getting across here is that when 124 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,040 we are walking in the Spirit, when we are following him, we will 125 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,680 not follow the way of the flesh and follow the way of temptation 126 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:20,840 and give into sin. 127 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:23,800 And so he's not saying in verse 18, if you're saved, you're 128 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:24,320 not going to sin. 129 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,280 But what he is saying is that when we're walking with him, we're 130 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:29,640 not going to be given over to habitual sin. 131 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,400 And that's really the idea that he's talking about here in context. 132 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:38,280 In the battle against sin in our life, it's essential, it's important 133 00:05:38,280 --> 00:05:40,840 that we keep in our minds who. 134 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:42,280 Well, Jesus Christ, right? 135 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:43,640 He's talked to us about this. 136 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:48,270 And when we're born of him, when our identity is in him, we know 137 00:05:48,270 --> 00:05:52,230 that we can be free from sin and the bondage of sin, meaning this 138 00:05:52,710 --> 00:05:56,910 we are freed from the power of sin, we are freed from the bondage 139 00:05:56,910 --> 00:06:01,430 of sin, and essentially we're free from the burden of habitual 140 00:06:01,430 --> 00:06:03,110 sin, meaning we can't get out of it. 141 00:06:03,589 --> 00:06:05,950 And so if there's a Christian who says, hey, I'm dealing with a 142 00:06:05,950 --> 00:06:09,150 sin that I cannot get victory over, there's a big issue there because 143 00:06:09,150 --> 00:06:12,550 the Bible says that God has given us the victory over the power 144 00:06:12,870 --> 00:06:14,950 and of the guilt and of the control of sin. 145 00:06:15,750 --> 00:06:18,710 And so if there's a Christian who is dealing with a habitual sin, 146 00:06:19,030 --> 00:06:21,950 it's not a matter of not being able to overcome that sin. 147 00:06:21,950 --> 00:06:25,270 It's a matter of me following the truth of Jesus Christ and getting 148 00:06:25,270 --> 00:06:26,390 victory over that sin. 149 00:06:27,110 --> 00:06:31,710 So furthermore, he says this, but he that is begotten of God keepeth 150 00:06:31,710 --> 00:06:32,150 himself. 151 00:06:32,230 --> 00:06:36,350 Now, that does somewhat look like this idea that I have to keep 152 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:36,830 myself. 153 00:06:36,830 --> 00:06:38,790 But really what it's saying here is this. 154 00:06:38,790 --> 00:06:42,350 When we're born of God, when we are walking in the Spirit, when 155 00:06:42,350 --> 00:06:44,840 we are fulfilled following the truths of Jesus Christ according 156 00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:47,520 to His Word, God will basically keep us. 157 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:53,240 So we find God's provision, we find God's sustaining power when 158 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:54,560 we are kept in him. 159 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,960 And then it says here, this is an amazing thing in verse 18. 160 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,360 And I think that many people forget that this is the truth. 161 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,200 And it says, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 162 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:06,680 What does that mean? 163 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:07,240 It means this. 164 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,920 If we are born of God, if we are walking with him, we have protection 165 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:11,600 against evil. 166 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,120 We have protection against the evil one. 167 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,520 And that's the type of confidence that we can have in the 168 00:07:17,520 --> 00:07:19,080 midst of spiritual warfare. 169 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:22,040 Now, I'm just going to pause here for a few moments and talk about 170 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,080 spiritual warfare. 171 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:27,440 The Bible is very clear that if we are believers in Jesus Christ, 172 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,960 we are facing spiritual warfare. 173 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:31,400 We are in a battle. 174 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:33,360 It's not a matter if you've signed up or not. 175 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:35,840 If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are in the battle, whether 176 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:36,760 you know it or not. 177 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,360 And Satan's trick is to trick Christians into believing that it 178 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:44,720 is not a battle, that we have the victory completely in our flesh. 179 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:46,600 And no, the victory is not in our flesh. 180 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:48,400 The victory is in the power of God. 181 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:50,400 But Jesus very clearly teaches. 182 00:07:50,640 --> 00:07:53,120 And throughout the New Testament and the Old Testament, 183 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:54,880 there is a battle between good and evil. 184 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,480 And the book of Ephesians tells us all about that. 185 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,480 The book of Ephesians tells us to arm ourselves, to protect ourselves 186 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:02,160 with the armor of God. 187 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:02,440 Why? 188 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:05,280 Because Satan is firing his darts of temptation towards us. 189 00:08:06,420 --> 00:08:09,580 And so the recognition would be that we are in a spiritual battle, 190 00:08:09,580 --> 00:08:13,900 but ultimately the wicked one, the evil one, Satan cannot touch 191 00:08:13,900 --> 00:08:14,180 us. 192 00:08:14,420 --> 00:08:17,740 Now, that idea of toucheth in the King James here, it says toucheth 193 00:08:17,740 --> 00:08:18,260 him not. 194 00:08:18,420 --> 00:08:22,580 The idea here would be in the Greek, it's more than just touching 195 00:08:22,580 --> 00:08:26,580 or affecting, because we all know Satan can to some degree affect 196 00:08:26,580 --> 00:08:29,380 us with temptation, with evil circumstances. 197 00:08:29,780 --> 00:08:30,980 That's not what this is saying. 198 00:08:30,980 --> 00:08:32,020 Because the Christians. 199 00:08:32,300 --> 00:08:34,460 The Bible says that Christians will face persecution. 200 00:08:35,660 --> 00:08:37,820 Satan is going to be firing those darts at us. 201 00:08:37,900 --> 00:08:40,860 But the idea here would be laying hold of. 202 00:08:41,420 --> 00:08:44,380 So that word touch is deeper than just a touch like this. 203 00:08:44,540 --> 00:08:47,500 It's grabbing hold of and having control of. 204 00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:50,300 And so what the Bible essentially says is that Satan cannot 205 00:08:50,380 --> 00:08:50,980 control you. 206 00:08:50,980 --> 00:08:54,620 If you were in Jesus Christ, he's not gonna lay hold of you and 207 00:08:54,620 --> 00:08:55,580 stick to you. 208 00:08:56,300 --> 00:08:59,780 And so the idea for the believer is, hey, I know that I'm 209 00:08:59,780 --> 00:09:00,620 facing evil. 210 00:09:00,620 --> 00:09:05,290 I know that I, I am going to be facing against temptation and 211 00:09:05,370 --> 00:09:08,130 naysayers, and ultimately Satan trying to get in the way and 212 00:09:08,130 --> 00:09:09,130 be a stumbling block. 213 00:09:09,210 --> 00:09:12,410 But ultimately what he does cannot overcome me. 214 00:09:12,410 --> 00:09:14,010 It's not going to control me. 215 00:09:14,650 --> 00:09:17,610 And so it means to lay hold of or grasp onto. 216 00:09:18,170 --> 00:09:21,530 And so the idea that John is trying to get across here is this. 217 00:09:22,490 --> 00:09:25,170 If you're walking with Jesus, there's nothing that Satan can do 218 00:09:25,170 --> 00:09:27,130 to affect you in the long run. 219 00:09:27,540 --> 00:09:30,100 There's nothing that he can do to take away your eternal hope. 220 00:09:30,260 --> 00:09:32,660 There's nothing that he can do to take away your confidence. 221 00:09:33,140 --> 00:09:36,060 It's when you turn your eyes off of the Lord and begin to think 222 00:09:36,060 --> 00:09:38,580 that you know what, maybe he is winning. 223 00:09:38,660 --> 00:09:40,500 Maybe evil is stronger than good. 224 00:09:40,900 --> 00:09:43,620 Maybe the darkness is overcome the light. 225 00:09:43,940 --> 00:09:47,100 And that's the doubt that he's trying to warn us against here, that 226 00:09:47,100 --> 00:09:48,820 there's no way that he can touch us. 227 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:49,540 Verse 19. 228 00:09:50,020 --> 00:09:55,630 And we know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 229 00:09:55,870 --> 00:09:58,670 And so he really poses this battle like this. 230 00:09:58,990 --> 00:10:02,430 We are of God and when we're on God's side, we are against the 231 00:10:02,430 --> 00:10:02,590 world. 232 00:10:02,590 --> 00:10:05,950 We know earlier on he says you can't have the love of God and the 233 00:10:05,950 --> 00:10:07,070 love of the world at the same time. 234 00:10:07,070 --> 00:10:08,830 You can't love God and the world at the same time. 235 00:10:09,390 --> 00:10:10,750 It just cannot happen. 236 00:10:11,150 --> 00:10:13,470 We have a lot of Christians who try to do that. 237 00:10:13,870 --> 00:10:16,470 I know there's been periods of my own life where I've wanted to 238 00:10:16,470 --> 00:10:20,390 have the things that we call the blessings of the world and the 239 00:10:20,390 --> 00:10:21,950 blessings of God at the same time. 240 00:10:22,690 --> 00:10:25,530 And the Bible says that's not going to be so because we can't serve 241 00:10:25,530 --> 00:10:26,290 two masters. 242 00:10:26,930 --> 00:10:28,530 You can only serve one master. 243 00:10:29,010 --> 00:10:33,330 And the Bible goes on to say that the reality is this, if we love 244 00:10:33,490 --> 00:10:36,450 the world, the love of the Father is not in us. 245 00:10:37,730 --> 00:10:40,370 That's all throughout first John and he speaks of that. 246 00:10:40,370 --> 00:10:42,330 And so I would encourage you to think about that. 247 00:10:42,330 --> 00:10:45,610 I would encourage you to think about what is in this world that 248 00:10:45,610 --> 00:10:48,890 I'm holding onto that is replacing the things that I should 249 00:10:48,890 --> 00:10:50,930 be holding onto in the truth of Jesus Christ. 250 00:10:51,980 --> 00:10:53,980 The power of this world is a strong power. 251 00:10:54,780 --> 00:10:57,740 And the thought would be here this evening that it's attractive. 252 00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:00,540 There's a lot of people that would say, well I want a little bit 253 00:11:00,540 --> 00:11:01,660 of this, but a little bit of that. 254 00:11:01,660 --> 00:11:04,220 The Bible has a statement to say about that in the book of James. 255 00:11:04,780 --> 00:11:07,660 In the book of James, chapter one, it says that a double minded 256 00:11:07,660 --> 00:11:12,260 man is unstable in all of his ways because he's like a wave that's 257 00:11:12,260 --> 00:11:14,060 tossed to and fro back and forth. 258 00:11:14,540 --> 00:11:16,100 So the Bible says a double minded man. 259 00:11:16,100 --> 00:11:17,140 What is a double minded man? 260 00:11:17,140 --> 00:11:19,790 Well, biblically speaking, a double minded man is trying to be 261 00:11:19,790 --> 00:11:21,110 controlled by two different things. 262 00:11:21,590 --> 00:11:25,110 His mind and his heart are set on two different things. 263 00:11:25,110 --> 00:11:26,790 They're set on the good and the bad. 264 00:11:27,350 --> 00:11:29,750 And the Bible says to set our minds on the things above. 265 00:11:30,310 --> 00:11:31,350 Romans, chapter 12. 266 00:11:31,350 --> 00:11:35,710 Renew Our Minds daily to think on the right things, to believe on 267 00:11:35,710 --> 00:11:36,230 the right things. 268 00:11:36,230 --> 00:11:38,470 And so he says, don't think that you're part of the world. 269 00:11:38,470 --> 00:11:40,550 The whole world lieth in wickedness. 270 00:11:41,190 --> 00:11:42,870 So why would we want to be under that? 271 00:11:43,510 --> 00:11:44,710 Essentially, it's saying this. 272 00:11:44,710 --> 00:11:46,870 The whole world is under the sway of evil. 273 00:11:46,870 --> 00:11:48,470 Why would we want to be a part of that? 274 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,960 If we're born of God, we are set apart from the world. 275 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,320 I could show you verse after verse in the New Testament that says 276 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,840 that we're different, we're distinct, we're set apart. 277 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,000 Let's not join in to what the world is doing in the way that they 278 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,520 think, in the way that they act, in the way that they respond, 279 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:08,360 in the way that they love. 280 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,040 The world's trying to do what they believe is right. 281 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:15,590 But at the same time, we know that the Bible says that the world 282 00:12:15,590 --> 00:12:18,270 sees wrong as right and right as wrong. 283 00:12:19,470 --> 00:12:23,950 And so knowing this means that we can be free from the bondage and 284 00:12:23,950 --> 00:12:26,870 the darkness of this world, and we can separate ourselves from 285 00:12:26,870 --> 00:12:27,950 the truth of Jesus Christ. 286 00:12:28,190 --> 00:12:32,710 And we can essentially separate ourselves from the conflict 287 00:12:32,710 --> 00:12:35,270 that the world has put in our path. 288 00:12:35,270 --> 00:12:36,550 And the idea would be this. 289 00:12:36,550 --> 00:12:37,470 The conflict is this. 290 00:12:37,630 --> 00:12:39,150 Well, the world is so attractive. 291 00:12:39,150 --> 00:12:42,510 The things of the world are pulling me. 292 00:12:42,820 --> 00:12:44,500 Well, if that's the case, what do we do? 293 00:12:44,980 --> 00:12:48,460 Well, we don't try to just hate the world, because that's actually 294 00:12:48,460 --> 00:12:49,580 sometimes what's preached. 295 00:12:49,580 --> 00:12:51,460 Just hate the world, hate the things in the world. 296 00:12:51,540 --> 00:12:54,540 I would venture to say that the Bible says to hate the world 297 00:12:54,540 --> 00:12:55,860 means to love God more. 298 00:12:56,580 --> 00:12:59,620 And so instead of just trying to avoid things, try to go after 299 00:12:59,620 --> 00:12:59,980 the Lord. 300 00:12:59,980 --> 00:13:02,580 There's a song, and I think it's an amazing song. 301 00:13:02,740 --> 00:13:06,180 It says, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful 302 00:13:06,180 --> 00:13:09,140 face, and the things of earth will go strangely dim and in the 303 00:13:09,140 --> 00:13:10,340 light of his glory and grace. 304 00:13:12,100 --> 00:13:15,300 So instead of just telling a child, don't eat those cookies or 305 00:13:15,620 --> 00:13:16,100 don't. 306 00:13:16,500 --> 00:13:19,300 What we do, and the Bible actually tells us this, the more 307 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:22,860 we think about how bad sin is, and the more I try in my flesh to 308 00:13:22,860 --> 00:13:25,860 avoid it, the more I'm going to be drawn to that temptation. 309 00:13:26,180 --> 00:13:28,140 And so what do I need to do as a Christian? 310 00:13:28,140 --> 00:13:29,140 Love God more? 311 00:13:30,420 --> 00:13:30,980 I don't. 312 00:13:30,980 --> 00:13:32,900 So let me give you an analogy about this, okay? 313 00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:35,460 In my marriage, okay, I'm going to talk about a marriage. 314 00:13:35,770 --> 00:13:37,650 And sometimes people get uncomfortable when I talk about my 315 00:13:37,650 --> 00:13:39,050 marriage, but it's the only one that I know. 316 00:13:39,050 --> 00:13:40,050 So I'm going to talk about mine. 317 00:13:40,050 --> 00:13:40,250 Okay? 318 00:13:40,250 --> 00:13:41,290 I won't talk about yours. 319 00:13:41,610 --> 00:13:44,170 I don't walk around, I'm supposed to love my wife completely, 320 00:13:44,170 --> 00:13:44,770 100%. 321 00:13:44,770 --> 00:13:47,450 I am not supposed to have a love for anybody else. 322 00:13:47,610 --> 00:13:50,130 So I don't walk around and look at other people and go, well, 323 00:13:50,130 --> 00:13:52,410 I just need to stop loving these other women so that I love 324 00:13:52,410 --> 00:13:53,050 my wife more. 325 00:13:53,610 --> 00:13:54,010 Right. 326 00:13:54,250 --> 00:13:55,170 That would not make sense. 327 00:13:55,170 --> 00:13:56,530 That would not be a healthy way to think. 328 00:13:56,530 --> 00:13:56,850 Like. 329 00:13:56,850 --> 00:13:57,690 Well, I mean, I just. 330 00:13:57,690 --> 00:13:58,050 I just. 331 00:13:58,050 --> 00:14:00,130 I want to love that person, but I know I can't. 332 00:14:00,130 --> 00:14:01,850 So I'm just going to not try to love that person. 333 00:14:02,350 --> 00:14:02,750 No, it's. 334 00:14:02,750 --> 00:14:05,630 I love my wife so much that everything else is gone. 335 00:14:06,190 --> 00:14:06,990 There's nothing there. 336 00:14:06,990 --> 00:14:07,790 I don't want that. 337 00:14:08,110 --> 00:14:10,030 That's the opposite of what I'm desiring. 338 00:14:10,110 --> 00:14:11,230 It's the same thing with God. 339 00:14:11,230 --> 00:14:13,550 It's not about trying to stop sinning. 340 00:14:13,550 --> 00:14:15,710 It's more just loving him and growing in him. 341 00:14:15,710 --> 00:14:18,109 And the Bible says we will separate ourselves from those things 342 00:14:18,109 --> 00:14:18,670 of this world. 343 00:14:18,750 --> 00:14:20,750 So if you live like Christ, you will be different. 344 00:14:21,230 --> 00:14:23,390 If you live like Christ, your desires will change. 345 00:14:23,870 --> 00:14:26,790 If I live for Christ, there are going to be people that notice 346 00:14:26,790 --> 00:14:28,750 the distinct change that happens in my life. 347 00:14:28,750 --> 00:14:31,260 I'm not going to talk the way that I used to talk. 348 00:14:31,580 --> 00:14:34,340 I'm not gonna have joy in the things that I used to have joy in. 349 00:14:34,340 --> 00:14:37,180 There's gonna be things that die in my life, and it's not gonna 350 00:14:37,180 --> 00:14:38,620 be that I wanted that. 351 00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:41,820 It's just gonna be the natural response to a love for Christ. 352 00:14:42,540 --> 00:14:46,620 Now, of course we should not want those bad things, but there's 353 00:14:46,620 --> 00:14:48,900 a lot of people in this world that claim to be Christians that 354 00:14:48,900 --> 00:14:51,220 say, I don't wanna do those things, but they're still doing them. 355 00:14:51,220 --> 00:14:51,580 Why? 356 00:14:52,220 --> 00:14:54,260 Because it's a lack of love for God. 357 00:14:54,260 --> 00:14:57,440 It's a lack of understanding the separation that we have for the 358 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,280 things of this world. 359 00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:01,000 And what we ultimately need to do, as the Bible says, is to be a 360 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,160 distinct people, a different people. 361 00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:06,440 And not different in a weird way, but different in a way that 362 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:07,240 honors God. 363 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:08,600 So we go further. 364 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:10,800 This is an amazing verse. 365 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:11,080 This. 366 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,280 This next verse is something that I get super excited about talking 367 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,680 about, because here in this verse, he essentially has the whole 368 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:19,240 thought that. 369 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:21,400 That the whole book is about in this verse. 370 00:15:22,690 --> 00:15:28,690 And I. I understand that most of us, our first language is English. 371 00:15:29,730 --> 00:15:31,170 My first language is English. 372 00:15:31,650 --> 00:15:36,450 But to read this verse completely and to understand it completely, 373 00:15:37,330 --> 00:15:37,810 I do. 374 00:15:37,810 --> 00:15:38,090 I. 375 00:15:38,090 --> 00:15:40,250 And by the way, I Don't believe that you need to be a Greek 376 00:15:40,250 --> 00:15:42,570 scholar to know the Bible. 377 00:15:42,570 --> 00:15:44,530 Okay, let me just clarify that, okay? 378 00:15:45,010 --> 00:15:48,010 God has preserved it and there's a good translations that 379 00:15:48,010 --> 00:15:49,550 we can see here the truth. 380 00:15:49,550 --> 00:15:53,070 But I will tell you that knowing the Greek does help in some 381 00:15:53,070 --> 00:15:54,750 ways of understanding context. 382 00:15:55,390 --> 00:15:58,110 Now don't just take my word for this. 383 00:15:58,510 --> 00:16:00,910 Please don't be a berean and check this, okay? 384 00:16:00,910 --> 00:16:04,150 But in verse number 20, I'm going to read it for you here. 385 00:16:04,150 --> 00:16:06,990 And then I want to point out a few different things it says. 386 00:16:06,990 --> 00:16:07,870 And we know. 387 00:16:08,030 --> 00:16:10,030 So there's the first know, okay? 388 00:16:10,030 --> 00:16:15,240 K n o W. And we know that the Son of God is come and have given 389 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,480 us an understanding that we may know him. 390 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:18,520 That is true. 391 00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:19,880 Now I'm going to stop there. 392 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:25,160 We see two instances where the word know K n o w is used. 393 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,919 Now I'm going to tell you that in the Greek those are two different 394 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:31,560 words. 395 00:16:31,880 --> 00:16:35,880 Now we know that in English I can say the word like, for example, 396 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:36,160 love. 397 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:37,080 That's a good example. 398 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,960 Like, I love my wife, but I also love steak. 399 00:16:40,750 --> 00:16:42,230 Now, I don't love them the same way. 400 00:16:42,230 --> 00:16:42,630 Okay? 401 00:16:42,630 --> 00:16:43,150 That's the. 402 00:16:43,150 --> 00:16:43,470 You. 403 00:16:43,470 --> 00:16:47,470 You understand by way of context that those are two different 404 00:16:47,470 --> 00:16:49,710 words, even though it's the same word. 405 00:16:50,190 --> 00:16:53,070 So in English we have to understand context, but in the Greek, 406 00:16:53,070 --> 00:16:54,510 they're completely different words. 407 00:16:55,070 --> 00:16:55,870 So, so it says. 408 00:16:55,870 --> 00:16:56,670 And we know. 409 00:16:56,670 --> 00:16:59,070 Now this word know is the word edu. 410 00:16:59,950 --> 00:17:00,350 And. 411 00:17:00,350 --> 00:17:03,630 And you don't have to remember that, but what that word means in 412 00:17:03,630 --> 00:17:04,990 the Greek is essentially this. 413 00:17:05,070 --> 00:17:08,190 To intellectually know, to understand a concept. 414 00:17:08,830 --> 00:17:10,430 Like, I know that. 415 00:17:10,830 --> 00:17:12,110 I live in Middletown. 416 00:17:12,110 --> 00:17:12,390 Why? 417 00:17:12,390 --> 00:17:16,550 Because I see it, okay, I'm witnessing. 418 00:17:16,550 --> 00:17:17,870 I can comprehend something. 419 00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:22,390 So he says here, and we know that the Son of God has come. 420 00:17:22,390 --> 00:17:26,550 So he says, you can know that Jesus has come intellectually, you 421 00:17:26,550 --> 00:17:29,550 can understand by evidence that Jesus has come. 422 00:17:30,750 --> 00:17:34,110 But then he goes further and he says, and have given us an understanding. 423 00:17:35,250 --> 00:17:39,890 And so he says, God has not just come in the flesh in Jesus Christ, 424 00:17:39,970 --> 00:17:42,370 but he's also given a spiritual understanding. 425 00:17:43,010 --> 00:17:45,890 Now we know in the Holy Spirit, we have guidance, we have 426 00:17:45,970 --> 00:17:47,410 teaching, we have truth. 427 00:17:47,570 --> 00:17:52,130 And so he says, God has given you evidence to know that he exists 428 00:17:52,130 --> 00:17:55,610 and to know that he works and to know that you can trust in him. 429 00:17:55,610 --> 00:17:58,650 And then he says this that we may know him. 430 00:17:58,650 --> 00:17:59,490 That is true. 431 00:18:01,180 --> 00:18:03,260 So kind of sounds interesting here. 432 00:18:03,580 --> 00:18:07,260 We know that he's come so that we know he's true. 433 00:18:07,900 --> 00:18:13,820 That other word know is ginosko, which means to experientially 434 00:18:13,900 --> 00:18:14,300 know. 435 00:18:14,300 --> 00:18:18,980 It's like so to experientially know it in a way that I have experienced 436 00:18:18,980 --> 00:18:19,820 this myself. 437 00:18:21,020 --> 00:18:22,700 Like this is real for me. 438 00:18:22,700 --> 00:18:25,340 So I don't just know it in my mind as a. 439 00:18:26,410 --> 00:18:30,890 But I know it by way of experience that I have imparted in 440 00:18:30,890 --> 00:18:31,330 this love. 441 00:18:31,330 --> 00:18:32,490 I have a part of this. 442 00:18:32,570 --> 00:18:34,530 I have experienced this in a personal way. 443 00:18:34,530 --> 00:18:37,610 So for example, like I know that. 444 00:18:39,210 --> 00:18:39,730 Let me see. 445 00:18:39,730 --> 00:18:42,090 Like I know the country of Australia exists. 446 00:18:43,050 --> 00:18:43,810 Like I know that. 447 00:18:43,810 --> 00:18:44,370 I believe that. 448 00:18:44,370 --> 00:18:44,570 Why? 449 00:18:44,570 --> 00:18:47,050 Cause I've read about it, I've watched it on tv, but I have never 450 00:18:47,050 --> 00:18:48,570 been there to experience it. 451 00:18:49,210 --> 00:18:49,610 Right? 452 00:18:50,250 --> 00:18:53,090 So I could tell you animals that are there, I could tell you 453 00:18:53,090 --> 00:18:55,770 what the landscape might look like, but I have never experienced 454 00:18:55,770 --> 00:18:56,330 it myself. 455 00:18:57,550 --> 00:19:00,150 Same way is that I have been to Israel. 456 00:19:00,150 --> 00:19:02,510 Before I went to Israel, I knew that Israel existed. 457 00:19:02,670 --> 00:19:04,350 I saw buildings on pictures. 458 00:19:04,430 --> 00:19:08,150 But now that I've been to Israel once, I can tell you I know 459 00:19:08,150 --> 00:19:10,350 it a lot differently because I've experienced it. 460 00:19:10,430 --> 00:19:11,510 I know what it feels like. 461 00:19:11,510 --> 00:19:13,990 I know the smells there, I know the food that was being cooked. 462 00:19:13,990 --> 00:19:17,310 I know all the things that come with that experiential knowledge. 463 00:19:18,030 --> 00:19:19,390 I've used the example before. 464 00:19:19,550 --> 00:19:22,230 I could get up here all day and tell you how great chocolate 465 00:19:22,230 --> 00:19:22,750 tastes. 466 00:19:23,340 --> 00:19:25,460 But if you've never tasted chocolate, you could be like, well, 467 00:19:25,460 --> 00:19:25,820 you know what? 468 00:19:25,820 --> 00:19:27,100 I think that sounds good. 469 00:19:27,100 --> 00:19:28,020 I think I might like that. 470 00:19:28,020 --> 00:19:30,620 But once you know it, then you can experience it. 471 00:19:30,620 --> 00:19:32,620 So what is John saying here? 472 00:19:32,620 --> 00:19:33,420 He's saying this. 473 00:19:33,660 --> 00:19:39,620 God has given us all the facts, all of the proof that he is 474 00:19:39,620 --> 00:19:44,180 who he says he is and so that you can know him in that way in faith 475 00:19:44,180 --> 00:19:47,580 and have fellowship so that you can experience him and know him 476 00:19:47,580 --> 00:19:48,460 on a greater level. 477 00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:54,800 Like I know people that I've come across as acquaintances, but 478 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,160 I know my family on a different level. 479 00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:58,440 So it's experiential. 480 00:19:58,920 --> 00:19:59,920 That's what he's saying here. 481 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:05,760 He says God is come to us in the flesh not just so that we can 482 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:10,160 know facts about him, even though facts about him are important 483 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:10,760 to know. 484 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,040 Knowing facts about my wife and my family is an important thing 485 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:15,440 to know. 486 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,920 But there's something further than just knowing in my mind facts 487 00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,220 about God and seeing proof he exists. 488 00:20:21,300 --> 00:20:22,580 Those are all great things. 489 00:20:22,660 --> 00:20:27,100 But if it stops there, if our relationship with God stops with 490 00:20:27,100 --> 00:20:29,540 an intellectual knowledge of, hey, you know what? 491 00:20:29,540 --> 00:20:32,180 I believe that he did miracles. 492 00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:34,260 I believe that Jesus came to this earth. 493 00:20:34,260 --> 00:20:36,180 I believe that he died on a cross. 494 00:20:36,180 --> 00:20:37,540 I believe that he rose again. 495 00:20:38,100 --> 00:20:42,940 That's enough to know him on a basic understanding but the whole 496 00:20:42,940 --> 00:20:46,180 idea here is that God wants to know us on a deeper level. 497 00:20:46,180 --> 00:20:47,700 He wants to fellowship with us. 498 00:20:49,270 --> 00:20:53,270 He wants us to grow in him and to know him and to abide in Him. 499 00:20:53,670 --> 00:20:57,950 So he says, and we know that the Son of God has come and hath 500 00:20:57,950 --> 00:21:00,430 given us an understanding that we may know Him. 501 00:21:00,430 --> 00:21:02,470 That is true and we are in Him. 502 00:21:02,470 --> 00:21:03,110 That is true. 503 00:21:03,110 --> 00:21:05,590 So he says it's more than just knowing about Him. 504 00:21:05,910 --> 00:21:10,470 It's about being in him, the identity in him, abiding in Him. 505 00:21:10,550 --> 00:21:12,870 Jesus talked all about this in John chapter 15. 506 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,760 He speaks of the vine and the branches. 507 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:17,800 He is the vine, we are the branches. 508 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:19,120 We can do nothing without Him. 509 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:20,680 And so what does he say here? 510 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:21,280 He says this. 511 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:26,600 The goal of God is not just to have a basic acquaintance relationship 512 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:26,960 with you. 513 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:28,560 He wants to know you personally. 514 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:30,400 He wants there to be growth. 515 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:37,000 And so it says, even in His Son, Jesus Christ, this is the true 516 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,320 God and eternal life. 517 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,780 That's the whole point of everything, to know Jesus and to 518 00:21:41,780 --> 00:21:44,060 walk with him and to live in his truth. 519 00:21:44,060 --> 00:21:48,580 And so the work of Jesus gives us a basic understanding and the 520 00:21:48,580 --> 00:21:49,980 ability to know Him. 521 00:21:50,460 --> 00:21:54,500 But abiding in fellowship with him gives us an opportunity to grow 522 00:21:54,500 --> 00:21:56,140 in that and grow in our trust in Him. 523 00:21:57,180 --> 00:21:59,900 So the understanding of God is given to us. 524 00:21:59,900 --> 00:22:01,420 We cannot obtain that on our own. 525 00:22:01,420 --> 00:22:04,940 I cannot find God in my good works in my own wisdom. 526 00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:07,300 I can only find God through the power of God. 527 00:22:07,300 --> 00:22:09,290 He reveals Himself to us. 528 00:22:09,930 --> 00:22:13,130 That's something that we talk where there's two aspects of God's 529 00:22:13,130 --> 00:22:13,530 revelation. 530 00:22:13,530 --> 00:22:16,570 There's general revelation that every individual can experience 531 00:22:16,890 --> 00:22:19,130 by just opening their eyes and seeing this world. 532 00:22:19,370 --> 00:22:22,890 But then there's specific or what we would call special revelation 533 00:22:23,050 --> 00:22:25,970 that God gives us in accordance to his word that we can 534 00:22:25,970 --> 00:22:27,610 know that yes, there is a God who exists. 535 00:22:27,610 --> 00:22:29,810 But the God who exists is this God right here. 536 00:22:29,810 --> 00:22:33,970 The God who we see in Scripture, who shares with us that 537 00:22:33,970 --> 00:22:36,010 the only way to know him is through Jesus Christ. 538 00:22:37,690 --> 00:22:40,930 And so the theme of John's whole letter is this, the importance 539 00:22:40,930 --> 00:22:48,730 of true belief, trusting in the true Jesus, and then obviously 540 00:22:48,810 --> 00:22:51,130 walking in fellowship with him after that. 541 00:22:52,250 --> 00:22:55,170 And so the Jesus of the Bible is the one who is true. 542 00:22:55,170 --> 00:22:56,410 There is only one Jesus. 543 00:22:56,410 --> 00:22:57,850 It's not the Jesus that we create. 544 00:22:58,810 --> 00:23:01,810 It's not a made up Jesus that many people have made up over the 545 00:23:01,810 --> 00:23:02,090 years. 546 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:07,720 You know, there's basically, if you do your research, which I 547 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:12,480 know that many of you have, all of the religions of the world, 548 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:16,840 all the cults of the world, every religious movement believes 549 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:19,720 that Jesus existed in many different ways. 550 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,320 They believe that he was a good teacher. 551 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:23,360 Or maybe they believe that he did work miracles. 552 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,640 I know when we were in Israel, one of our tour guides, who was not 553 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,980 a believer in Jesus Christ, believe that Jesus came and did all 554 00:23:30,980 --> 00:23:33,780 these amazing things, and he recognized that Jesus wasn't in the 555 00:23:33,780 --> 00:23:34,140 tomb. 556 00:23:34,460 --> 00:23:35,780 He said, I don't know how that happened. 557 00:23:35,780 --> 00:23:37,180 I don't know what went on there. 558 00:23:37,180 --> 00:23:39,020 Maybe something miraculous happened, I don't know. 559 00:23:39,260 --> 00:23:41,820 But that wasn't enough to save him. 560 00:23:41,820 --> 00:23:42,180 Why? 561 00:23:42,180 --> 00:23:46,020 Because he had not put his faith in the salvation that Jesus 562 00:23:46,020 --> 00:23:48,500 Christ extends through the grace of his. 563 00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:51,820 Of his life, burial, his life, death, burial and resurrection. 564 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:55,980 So the thing that John is saying here is this. 565 00:23:56,570 --> 00:23:57,530 You want to be a Christian? 566 00:23:57,930 --> 00:23:59,610 You want to know what it means to be a Christian? 567 00:23:59,930 --> 00:24:01,930 Are you questioning whether or not you're a believer? 568 00:24:02,170 --> 00:24:04,810 Go back to the only thing that can save you. 569 00:24:04,810 --> 00:24:07,930 Do you believe in the one true God through Jesus Christ? 570 00:24:08,410 --> 00:24:10,490 That's the only thing that's going to bring eternal life. 571 00:24:11,050 --> 00:24:12,810 John tells us who Jesus is. 572 00:24:13,770 --> 00:24:16,970 Yes, he was 100% man, but he was also 100% God. 573 00:24:18,330 --> 00:24:20,730 He is fully both God and man. 574 00:24:20,810 --> 00:24:22,570 That is our Savior, Jesus Christ. 575 00:24:22,570 --> 00:24:24,970 And so he says, that is what you worship. 576 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:26,740 That is what you follow. 577 00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:30,580 Whenever someone comes and tells you something else that is 578 00:24:30,580 --> 00:24:32,820 not that, that is a lie, that is a. 579 00:24:32,980 --> 00:24:34,180 Is deceit. 580 00:24:35,060 --> 00:24:37,860 And then he goes on, which a lot of people will read this and 581 00:24:37,860 --> 00:24:40,660 they'll say, well, this kind of sounds out of place, that he ends 582 00:24:40,660 --> 00:24:43,340 in verse 21 with little children, keep yourselves from idols. 583 00:24:43,340 --> 00:24:46,580 I think it makes complete sense because he says, anything outside 584 00:24:46,660 --> 00:24:50,180 of this true Jesus that I just told you about is an idol. 585 00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:54,240 Anything you worship, anything outside of Jesus Christ and the way 586 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:57,560 that he has said to worship him is an idol. 587 00:24:57,640 --> 00:24:59,160 Now, let me be very clear here. 588 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,520 I understand that many of us are different, and many of us, when 589 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,280 we say worship differently, I know what we mean by that. 590 00:25:07,079 --> 00:25:10,600 Because many different cultures worship in different styles. 591 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:17,480 And so I would not expect a church in a faraway land to have 592 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,320 the exact same snapshot of how we worship here in Middletown, Delaware, 593 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,720 because culturally speaking, there are different styles of worship. 594 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,920 But the question would be, what is the ultimate object of that 595 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:30,440 worship? 596 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,520 And so I'm going to tell you here today, there might be different 597 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,760 styles of worship, but there are not different ways of worship. 598 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:43,640 Because worship is ultimately boiled down to one thing, exalting 599 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:44,280 somebody. 600 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,760 So the question would be, what is the style of worship? 601 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:50,160 Yes. 602 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:50,920 Okay. 603 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:55,040 But then we would go further and say, who Are we worshiping? 604 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,040 Who are we lifting up? 605 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:00,120 And so that would be the thought that I would have, is that 606 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:03,200 there are people that sometimes will say, well, I worship 607 00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:04,080 God my way. 608 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:08,720 I worship God my way in the way that I want to worship Him. 609 00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:10,800 That is a very dangerous thing to say. 610 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:11,800 That is idolatry. 611 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:14,160 And essentially you're worshiping yourself by saying that 612 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:15,840 you have a better way than what God has said. 613 00:26:16,450 --> 00:26:18,930 God is very clear in how we worship. 614 00:26:19,090 --> 00:26:23,650 How we worship is by lifting up the one true God. 615 00:26:24,370 --> 00:26:25,410 That is worship. 616 00:26:25,570 --> 00:26:29,930 If we were lifting up anything else, even partially, that is idolatry. 617 00:26:29,930 --> 00:26:32,369 Now, there's a lot of things that God says about idolatry. 618 00:26:33,170 --> 00:26:36,970 You understand that the Old Testament speaks very frequently 619 00:26:36,970 --> 00:26:39,410 about God's hatred for idolatry. 620 00:26:39,970 --> 00:26:43,250 It's not that God just gets upset with idolatry. 621 00:26:43,250 --> 00:26:44,690 God hates idolatry. 622 00:26:45,330 --> 00:26:48,530 Now, we could look at all those Old Testament passages, which 623 00:26:48,610 --> 00:26:50,890 I'm completely fine with doing at some point. 624 00:26:50,890 --> 00:26:53,330 But I will say that even in the New Testament, there's warnings 625 00:26:53,330 --> 00:26:54,530 against idolatry. 626 00:26:54,930 --> 00:26:59,570 First Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 14 says, Wherefore, my dearly 627 00:26:59,570 --> 00:27:02,210 beloved, flee from idolatry? 628 00:27:03,570 --> 00:27:07,930 Not, not just, hey, turn away from it, but flee from it, run from 629 00:27:07,930 --> 00:27:13,110 it, get as far away as you can from anything that even smells of 630 00:27:13,110 --> 00:27:13,870 idolatry. 631 00:27:14,030 --> 00:27:15,390 Now, let's stop here. 632 00:27:15,870 --> 00:27:20,270 When we think of idolatry, maybe I'm speaking for myself, but 633 00:27:20,350 --> 00:27:21,870 maybe you would be the same as me. 634 00:27:21,870 --> 00:27:27,150 When I think about idolatry, I think of like a statue or some type 635 00:27:27,150 --> 00:27:31,190 of monument or anything that we would kind of frame in our mind 636 00:27:31,190 --> 00:27:34,040 as the old school idolatry, a golden calf or. 637 00:27:34,190 --> 00:27:38,070 Or some type of statue of a person, even though that would be 638 00:27:38,070 --> 00:27:39,270 definitely idolatry. 639 00:27:39,270 --> 00:27:42,670 If we worship one of those things, we know that through context 640 00:27:42,670 --> 00:27:46,030 of scripture that it could be anything in our life that we exalt 641 00:27:46,030 --> 00:27:47,950 and worship above the Lord. 642 00:27:48,670 --> 00:27:53,950 It could be something that's evil, like worshiping some type of 643 00:27:53,950 --> 00:27:54,350 sin. 644 00:27:54,510 --> 00:27:57,990 Some of you know that some of the goddesses and the gods, little 645 00:27:57,990 --> 00:28:02,800 G. Gods of the old days were maybe goddesses of fertility or a 646 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:04,520 God of the weather or whatever. 647 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,080 But then there's other things that we could even say are what we 648 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,080 would say, quote, unquote, good things that can become an idol 649 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:11,640 in our life. 650 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,160 I'm going to tell you that there are periods of time in my life 651 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:21,120 where that I am tempted to look at my ministry as an idol or 652 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:23,800 my job as an idol as that. 653 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:25,720 That's the number one thing that I'm focused on. 654 00:28:26,610 --> 00:28:27,450 Or some of us. 655 00:28:27,450 --> 00:28:28,490 Maybe it's money. 656 00:28:28,490 --> 00:28:30,530 Now, is money a bad thing? 657 00:28:30,530 --> 00:28:33,130 Well, the Bible doesn't say that money is the root of all evil. 658 00:28:33,130 --> 00:28:34,050 It's the love of money. 659 00:28:34,210 --> 00:28:37,970 Money is a necessity that God has put in our life to deal with. 660 00:28:37,970 --> 00:28:42,690 But at the same time, if the love of money comes up, that's idolatry. 661 00:28:43,970 --> 00:28:47,010 And so we could sit here all night and talk about things that 662 00:28:47,010 --> 00:28:51,010 can fill the gap that really should be only saved for the worship 663 00:28:51,010 --> 00:28:52,370 of our Savior, Jesus Christ. 664 00:28:53,210 --> 00:28:55,610 And that's really what we have in this world today. 665 00:28:55,850 --> 00:28:58,810 The temptation isn't so much that we would all go bow down to 666 00:28:58,810 --> 00:29:02,210 an idol, even though there are some places and some areas that are 667 00:29:02,210 --> 00:29:02,970 still doing that. 668 00:29:03,690 --> 00:29:06,930 But for us in American society, the idols have changed to 669 00:29:06,930 --> 00:29:07,530 some degree. 670 00:29:07,610 --> 00:29:09,290 An idol can just be another person. 671 00:29:09,770 --> 00:29:11,130 An idol can be a movement. 672 00:29:11,130 --> 00:29:13,850 An idol can be something even in our own lives. 673 00:29:13,850 --> 00:29:16,650 It could be worshiping ourselves, which that idol then becomes 674 00:29:17,210 --> 00:29:17,610 me. 675 00:29:18,180 --> 00:29:19,420 And that's something called humanism. 676 00:29:19,420 --> 00:29:20,980 That's been a lie from the very beginning. 677 00:29:20,980 --> 00:29:24,620 If you think about Satan's lie to Eve, it was, hey, you can be like 678 00:29:24,620 --> 00:29:24,940 God. 679 00:29:24,940 --> 00:29:26,020 You can be just like him. 680 00:29:26,580 --> 00:29:28,660 You can have all the access that he has. 681 00:29:28,660 --> 00:29:30,180 You can have all the power he has. 682 00:29:30,420 --> 00:29:31,620 So lift up yourself. 683 00:29:31,940 --> 00:29:34,059 And that's a lie that's been told from the very beginning. 684 00:29:34,059 --> 00:29:37,060 So there's warnings in Scripture so much about idolatry. 685 00:29:37,060 --> 00:29:42,900 Galatians chapter 5 lists idolatry as one of the manifestations 686 00:29:42,900 --> 00:29:44,180 of the work of the flesh. 687 00:29:45,030 --> 00:29:48,310 One of the aspects of the work of the flesh is idolatry, among many 688 00:29:48,310 --> 00:29:48,870 other things. 689 00:29:49,670 --> 00:29:53,150 And so we see over and over again the Bible warning against the 690 00:29:53,150 --> 00:29:54,310 dangers of idolatry. 691 00:29:54,310 --> 00:29:56,630 First Corinthians, chapter 10 says, don't be idolaters. 692 00:29:58,150 --> 00:30:03,630 Don't follow in the path of the world, because the world is basically, 693 00:30:03,630 --> 00:30:05,750 the Bible says here, made up of idolaters. 694 00:30:06,550 --> 00:30:09,030 And so he says, little children, keep yourself from idols. 695 00:30:09,030 --> 00:30:09,390 Amen. 696 00:30:09,390 --> 00:30:11,630 Now he says little children there because again, we know he's 697 00:30:11,630 --> 00:30:16,370 speaking to believers, and in many cases, he's speaking to immature 698 00:30:16,770 --> 00:30:17,490 believers. 699 00:30:18,450 --> 00:30:23,490 And I think that we live in a world today that struggles with idolatry. 700 00:30:24,610 --> 00:30:29,730 And it might seem like a weird way to end the letter, but I think 701 00:30:29,730 --> 00:30:31,490 it follows right along with the theme. 702 00:30:32,210 --> 00:30:33,970 And so the thought would be this. 703 00:30:34,130 --> 00:30:37,530 We should only have a true, real relationship with God, who is 704 00:30:37,530 --> 00:30:38,010 really there. 705 00:30:38,010 --> 00:30:39,290 Everything else is empty. 706 00:30:39,290 --> 00:30:40,770 Everything else is going to fail us. 707 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:44,040 Everything else is going to lead us down a path of destruction. 708 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:48,600 And so he says, my little children avoid this. 709 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:54,160 And I think if I could give any advice to a believer in this 710 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,640 world today, it would be avoid those things that pull you away from 711 00:30:57,640 --> 00:30:58,920 your love for Jesus Christ. 712 00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:02,200 You know, for me it can come in very subtle ways. 713 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:06,680 It comes in very quietly sometimes it comes in very. 714 00:31:07,670 --> 00:31:10,070 What we would say is just non threatening. 715 00:31:10,630 --> 00:31:14,310 But eventually those little steps of compromise that can happen 716 00:31:14,950 --> 00:31:18,390 can eventually manifest itself in a huge wedge in our fellowship 717 00:31:18,390 --> 00:31:18,870 with God. 718 00:31:20,150 --> 00:31:23,550 And before we know it, we can be so far away from our love for 719 00:31:23,550 --> 00:31:27,830 God that we have really not even perceived how far away we've 720 00:31:27,830 --> 00:31:28,710 actually drifted. 721 00:31:30,070 --> 00:31:32,310 And the struggle would be then is what do we do? 722 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:34,640 What does our country do? 723 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:37,680 Like what does our family do? 724 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:39,760 What does our church do? 725 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:42,160 Well, it's very simple. 726 00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:42,880 It's very simple. 727 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:47,440 If we want revival, I don't know if you've been around our church 728 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,080 long enough or you've been around any church long enough, you'll 729 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:51,040 hear the word revival. 730 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:54,400 And that word revival can mean many different things to many different 731 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:54,720 people. 732 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:56,960 For me growing up, you know what revival meant for me? 733 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:00,640 It meant that we were going to be at school and hear from a preacher 734 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,520 all day at school and we were going to hear it every single night 735 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,280 because we had a seven day revival at our church. 736 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:08,920 And it was going to be a lot of yelling, there was going to be 737 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:13,080 a lot of guilt trips, and there was going to be a lot of opportunities 738 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:14,920 for us to come forward and get right. 739 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,880 Now I'm not saying that those are wrong, I'm just saying that we, 740 00:32:19,240 --> 00:32:22,680 me, I'm not going to judge anybody else, but I reduced revival 741 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,410 down to a time when where people were gonna come and try to 742 00:32:26,410 --> 00:32:27,250 stir me up. 743 00:32:27,970 --> 00:32:30,930 Okay, what's that person gonna do to get me excited for God? 744 00:32:31,730 --> 00:32:35,010 But you know, and I was part of those services, I was part of 745 00:32:35,010 --> 00:32:37,490 the services that we had a big campfire at the end of the week and 746 00:32:37,490 --> 00:32:39,490 we got all of our idols and we threw it into the fire. 747 00:32:39,490 --> 00:32:41,249 And that's good, we can do that. 748 00:32:41,330 --> 00:32:44,850 Problem was, is like I was right on the cusp of the digital 749 00:32:44,850 --> 00:32:47,850 age and someone threw a CD into the fire, but they could go 750 00:32:47,850 --> 00:32:52,260 download a CD the next week when that initial conviction wore 751 00:32:52,260 --> 00:32:52,500 off. 752 00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:52,860 Right? 753 00:32:53,420 --> 00:32:54,220 So what do we do? 754 00:32:54,380 --> 00:32:56,260 So what is biblical revival? 755 00:32:56,260 --> 00:32:57,060 What is revival? 756 00:32:57,060 --> 00:32:59,140 Well, just look at that word revive. 757 00:32:59,140 --> 00:33:03,740 It means to come back to life, to be renewed, to be refreshed, to 758 00:33:03,740 --> 00:33:05,900 be challenged, to get to where we need to be. 759 00:33:05,980 --> 00:33:07,500 Revival does not happen. 760 00:33:07,660 --> 00:33:12,140 You can read the Book of Judges, you can read all the Old 761 00:33:12,140 --> 00:33:15,820 Testament instances where the Israelites were revived. 762 00:33:17,140 --> 00:33:20,580 Revival, true revival, always comes with repentance. 763 00:33:21,540 --> 00:33:22,580 What is repentance? 764 00:33:22,980 --> 00:33:28,020 Repentance is recognizing where we have gone astray. 765 00:33:29,460 --> 00:33:33,740 And then actually the word is to about face, to go the opposite 766 00:33:33,740 --> 00:33:35,940 direction, to run away from. 767 00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:37,540 So repentance would. 768 00:33:37,540 --> 00:33:42,060 And it's not just turning away to nothing, it's turning away from 769 00:33:42,060 --> 00:33:42,740 the sin. 770 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:46,280 It's turning away from our rebellion and turning to God. 771 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,360 And so that's repentance. 772 00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,320 And so then with repentance, well, what does repentance look like? 773 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,080 It could look like a lot of things. 774 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,640 But in repentance there's got to be conviction. 775 00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,720 Without conviction, there's not going to be repentance. 776 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,680 Because if I don't perceive and respond to the conviction of 777 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,160 the Holy Spirit, I'm not going to see a need to change. 778 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:09,440 And so with repentance comes conviction. 779 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:13,280 But I will also say that with repentance comes confession. 780 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:14,680 Conviction. 781 00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:16,360 Confession, you say confession. 782 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,080 I didn't think we were in a Catholic church. 783 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:19,200 I don't think I need to confess. 784 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:20,720 Well, you don't have to confess to me. 785 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:22,560 But remember where we started. 786 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:26,000 In First John, chapter one, verse nine, he's talking to Christians. 787 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:31,440 And a lot of times we quote this verse in the context of salvation, 788 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:36,960 which is true, but it's in the way that I read First John, it's 789 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:37,400 two Christians. 790 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:40,010 And so he says if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just 791 00:34:40,010 --> 00:34:42,570 to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 792 00:34:42,650 --> 00:34:45,370 That doesn't mean that we have to get resaved over and over again. 793 00:34:45,450 --> 00:34:50,530 But what that does mean is that when we fall into sin, the conviction 794 00:34:50,530 --> 00:34:52,330 leads us to a place of repentance. 795 00:34:52,330 --> 00:34:55,050 And repentance brings us to a place of confession. 796 00:34:55,130 --> 00:34:58,210 And by the way, all confession means is to say the same thing about 797 00:34:58,210 --> 00:34:58,530 something. 798 00:34:58,530 --> 00:35:02,650 To agree with someone, we're agreeing with God about the sin that's 799 00:35:02,650 --> 00:35:03,210 in our life. 800 00:35:03,290 --> 00:35:04,555 We turn away from that. 801 00:35:04,555 --> 00:35:04,700 We. 802 00:35:04,850 --> 00:35:06,810 We ask God for our forgiveness. 803 00:35:06,810 --> 00:35:07,450 And what does he do? 804 00:35:07,450 --> 00:35:10,770 He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse 805 00:35:10,770 --> 00:35:13,730 us from all unrighteousness, to restore us back into fellowship. 806 00:35:14,930 --> 00:35:17,650 And so the idea here would be that's revival. 807 00:35:18,290 --> 00:35:19,890 Revival starts with me. 808 00:35:20,690 --> 00:35:22,130 Well, actually starts with God. 809 00:35:22,130 --> 00:35:24,610 And then it's my decision in revival. 810 00:35:25,090 --> 00:35:30,090 And so revival is not a feeling because we can try to fabricate 811 00:35:30,090 --> 00:35:33,590 some sort of situation which makes people feel really guilty about 812 00:35:33,590 --> 00:35:34,150 certain things. 813 00:35:34,150 --> 00:35:36,270 And by the way, Remember Romans, chapter 8? 814 00:35:36,270 --> 00:35:39,430 There's no more guilt, there's no more condemnation in Christ Jesus. 815 00:35:39,430 --> 00:35:41,430 And so it's not a guilt that we bring upon people. 816 00:35:42,630 --> 00:35:44,390 It's the Holy Spirit's conviction. 817 00:35:44,390 --> 00:35:46,230 Conviction always leads us to a place of change. 818 00:35:46,390 --> 00:35:47,950 It leads us to a place of righteousness. 819 00:35:47,950 --> 00:35:49,590 It doesn't lead us to a place of hopelessness. 820 00:35:50,550 --> 00:35:53,070 So revival isn't, hey, you guys are a bunch of sinners and you 821 00:35:53,070 --> 00:35:53,990 leave tonight with no hope. 822 00:35:53,990 --> 00:35:54,710 You guys are just. 823 00:35:54,950 --> 00:35:56,310 No revival is. 824 00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:58,120 God has convicted me on something. 825 00:35:58,120 --> 00:35:59,600 He's gonna lead me to the truth. 826 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:00,840 He's gonna bring me to. 827 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:06,640 And by the way, with the conviction comes the confession. 828 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,600 And with the confession and the restoration comes comfort. 829 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:09,880 Right? 830 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:10,840 He is the comforter. 831 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:12,880 He is the convictor, but he's also the comforter. 832 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:18,960 And so anytime we come with repentant hearts to him and confess 833 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,720 our sins to him, he's faithful and just to forgive us and bring 834 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:24,640 us that comfort that only he can bring. 835 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:30,400 And so false guilt and false condemnation never comes with comfort. 836 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:33,560 But hope in Jesus Christ always brings comfort. 837 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:35,120 And so we end with this. 838 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:39,359 You and I could fall into the trap of idolatry. 839 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,240 It is possible to slip. 840 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:46,160 But the Bible says that we as Christians recognize that, and we 841 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:50,370 come and die to our flesh and say, lord, I confess my sin. 842 00:36:50,850 --> 00:36:53,770 He already, by the way, confession is not telling God something 843 00:36:53,770 --> 00:36:54,530 that he doesn't know. 844 00:36:54,530 --> 00:36:55,890 He already knows where we are. 845 00:36:56,530 --> 00:36:57,810 He already knows what we're doing. 846 00:36:58,290 --> 00:37:00,530 He already knew what we were doing before we did it. 847 00:37:00,850 --> 00:37:02,290 He already knew what we were doing. 848 00:37:02,690 --> 00:37:04,810 He already knows what we're doing tomorrow before we were even 849 00:37:04,810 --> 00:37:05,130 born. 850 00:37:05,130 --> 00:37:05,650 Okay? 851 00:37:05,650 --> 00:37:07,170 That's the grandeur of God. 852 00:37:07,730 --> 00:37:10,210 So it's not telling God something that he doesn't know, but 853 00:37:10,210 --> 00:37:13,970 it's showing him that we agree with him. 854 00:37:14,290 --> 00:37:17,450 And it's allowing ourselves to humble ourselves before him and not 855 00:37:17,450 --> 00:37:22,110 try to save ourselves and not try to sweep away the conviction 856 00:37:22,270 --> 00:37:24,390 and try to figure out a plan to get out of it. 857 00:37:24,390 --> 00:37:27,750 It's confessing to God and saying, God, I need you to save me. 858 00:37:27,750 --> 00:37:29,430 I need you to restore me. 859 00:37:29,430 --> 00:37:31,550 I need you to bring me back into fellowship. 860 00:37:32,190 --> 00:37:34,830 And so, again, it's not being re saved. 861 00:37:34,910 --> 00:37:37,630 I mean, I grew up in an environment that there were individuals 862 00:37:37,630 --> 00:37:40,550 who thought that every single Sunday when a preacher would preach, 863 00:37:40,550 --> 00:37:42,510 they would have to go forward and get saved. 864 00:37:42,830 --> 00:37:45,390 I got saved again today because I knew I fell into sin. 865 00:37:46,070 --> 00:37:47,670 That's a miserable life to live. 866 00:37:48,070 --> 00:37:49,230 To think that I have to keep. 867 00:37:49,230 --> 00:37:50,470 I have to just keep doing this. 868 00:37:50,630 --> 00:37:51,550 God's got us. 869 00:37:51,550 --> 00:37:52,590 He's not gonna let go. 870 00:37:52,590 --> 00:37:56,630 No man can pluck us out of his hand, including myself and So I believe 871 00:37:56,630 --> 00:37:59,110 in eternal security, and I believe one John teaches that. 872 00:37:59,350 --> 00:38:03,270 But at the same time, I believe that there are many people 873 00:38:03,270 --> 00:38:06,510 who have claimed to be Christians who are grabbing onto 874 00:38:06,510 --> 00:38:08,030 the wrong things for their confidence. 875 00:38:08,030 --> 00:38:11,590 And so therefore maybe they think that they are believers. 876 00:38:11,590 --> 00:38:14,230 But we know that in Matthew chapter seven, there's many people 877 00:38:14,820 --> 00:38:17,820 that say, well, I did this, I did this. 878 00:38:17,820 --> 00:38:18,740 I served here. 879 00:38:18,740 --> 00:38:20,420 No, did you know me? 880 00:38:20,580 --> 00:38:21,940 It was their fellowship. 881 00:38:23,540 --> 00:38:26,380 And so I'm not saying that a lot of people are unsaved in churches, 882 00:38:26,380 --> 00:38:30,100 but I am saying according to scripture that there are many people 883 00:38:30,100 --> 00:38:33,660 that possibly believe that they are saved for the wrong reasons 884 00:38:33,660 --> 00:38:35,260 and will doubt and have to say, you know what? 885 00:38:35,260 --> 00:38:37,420 I need to keep doing this, I need to keep doing that. 886 00:38:37,420 --> 00:38:39,740 There's nothing that we need to keep doing for our salvation. 887 00:38:39,740 --> 00:38:41,060 Jesus has already done the work. 888 00:38:41,700 --> 00:38:43,060 It's just trusting in him. 889 00:38:43,780 --> 00:38:47,060 And so just kind of a quick snapshot of revival. 890 00:38:47,060 --> 00:38:47,860 What is revival? 891 00:38:47,940 --> 00:38:52,300 It's when the individual believer perceives the conviction 892 00:38:52,300 --> 00:38:56,140 of the Spirit, files the conviction of the Spirit in a heart 893 00:38:56,140 --> 00:38:58,900 of repentance, comes to a place of confession. 894 00:38:58,980 --> 00:39:02,060 In that confession comes righteousness through Jesus Christ. 895 00:39:02,060 --> 00:39:03,940 And that brings us to a place of revival. 896 00:39:05,140 --> 00:39:08,820 And that's the desire that God has for all believers is to be walking 897 00:39:08,820 --> 00:39:09,620 in fellowship with him. 898 00:39:10,090 --> 00:39:12,650 The greatest place to be is to be walking in fellowship with the 899 00:39:12,650 --> 00:39:12,970 Lord. 900 00:39:13,770 --> 00:39:16,050 When we have that type of confidence, when we can lay our head 901 00:39:16,050 --> 00:39:18,730 on the pillow at night saying, lord, I know I'm not perfect, but 902 00:39:18,730 --> 00:39:19,530 I know you are. 903 00:39:20,330 --> 00:39:23,450 That's a beautiful thing to understand that peace and comfort. 904 00:39:24,250 --> 00:39:29,930 I mean, I don't know about you, but there are times in my life 905 00:39:30,170 --> 00:39:35,690 here recently that I have been tempted to slip from a place of concern 906 00:39:35,770 --> 00:39:37,770 about the things that are going around me. 907 00:39:38,390 --> 00:39:39,430 Like, just turn on the news. 908 00:39:39,750 --> 00:39:43,070 Okay, concern's a good thing. 909 00:39:43,070 --> 00:39:46,150 I think we should be concerned about things around us that's biblical. 910 00:39:47,270 --> 00:39:51,750 But when that concern slips to worry and it consumes, that's where 911 00:39:51,750 --> 00:39:53,110 we get into a really bad place. 912 00:39:54,150 --> 00:39:57,150 And folks, it's easy to slip into that place of being consumed 913 00:39:57,150 --> 00:39:58,470 by the fear of man. 914 00:39:59,350 --> 00:40:02,990 And I'm going to tell you, there's a lot of deception in this 915 00:40:02,990 --> 00:40:03,590 world right now. 916 00:40:03,850 --> 00:40:07,850 There's always been a lot of deception, but it's on the uprise 917 00:40:07,850 --> 00:40:09,370 more and more of this deception. 918 00:40:09,850 --> 00:40:14,250 All the more reason we need to strap in into our driver's seat and 919 00:40:14,250 --> 00:40:15,530 say, lord, okay, you're driving. 920 00:40:18,090 --> 00:40:19,450 This is where the answers are. 921 00:40:19,610 --> 00:40:22,650 Okay, you are going to be told a lot of things. 922 00:40:23,450 --> 00:40:25,610 And there's Going to be a lot of promises and there's going to 923 00:40:25,610 --> 00:40:27,690 be a lot of information. 924 00:40:28,090 --> 00:40:31,470 The Bible says that in the last days, which I believe started 925 00:40:31,470 --> 00:40:35,950 at the time of Jesus resurrection and ultimately his ascension. 926 00:40:36,510 --> 00:40:41,870 It says in the last days there will be people who are ever learning 927 00:40:41,870 --> 00:40:44,430 but never coming to a place of knowledge and wisdom. 928 00:40:45,230 --> 00:40:46,830 I believe we're in that society today. 929 00:40:46,830 --> 00:40:47,950 We have a lot of information. 930 00:40:48,350 --> 00:40:51,470 We're on information overload, okay? 931 00:40:51,470 --> 00:40:55,270 But with all that information, there's really not a lot of true 932 00:40:55,270 --> 00:40:58,050 Bible wisdom within this world today. 933 00:40:58,450 --> 00:41:01,410 And so we as Christians, we have to recenter our minds and not 934 00:41:01,410 --> 00:41:04,370 allow ourselves to be told what the truth is. 935 00:41:05,410 --> 00:41:08,610 Anything outside of the word of God is not truth and that's idolatry 936 00:41:08,930 --> 00:41:11,570 and we have to be on guard for that. 937 00:41:11,810 --> 00:41:14,730 And so I would encourage you to think about that when we conclude 938 00:41:14,730 --> 00:41:15,650 here in First John. 939 00:41:15,650 --> 00:41:20,890 I hope that each and every one of you can find and follow what it 940 00:41:20,890 --> 00:41:22,850 means to be in the fellowship of Jesus Christ. 941 00:41:23,740 --> 00:41:25,620 It's an amazing, amazing place to be. 942 00:41:25,620 --> 00:41:28,140 And my prayer for all of us is that we have that. 943 00:41:28,780 --> 00:41:31,300 But if you don't have that right now, if you're struggling in 944 00:41:31,300 --> 00:41:32,700 that, there's hope. 945 00:41:33,980 --> 00:41:35,260 And hope is not in me. 946 00:41:36,780 --> 00:41:40,540 Whether they say you can lead a horse, the water, I'm not calling 947 00:41:40,540 --> 00:41:41,980 you horses, but you understand what I mean. 948 00:41:42,140 --> 00:41:45,740 The idea for me as a Christian is I cannot impart to you living 949 00:41:45,740 --> 00:41:46,060 water. 950 00:41:46,540 --> 00:41:47,620 I'm not Jesus Christ. 951 00:41:47,620 --> 00:41:49,780 When Jesus went to the woman at the well, he says, I have living 952 00:41:49,780 --> 00:41:50,460 water, okay? 953 00:41:50,820 --> 00:41:51,940 I don't have the living water. 954 00:41:52,100 --> 00:41:55,900 Or at least I don't have the opportunity to give that to you. 955 00:41:55,900 --> 00:41:58,500 All I can do is lead you to that living water in Jesus Christ. 956 00:41:59,140 --> 00:42:03,300 My job as a pastor is to try to make that living water as appetizing 957 00:42:03,380 --> 00:42:05,140 and as beautiful as it is. 958 00:42:05,780 --> 00:42:08,260 But I'm going to tell you that the world is trying to pose that 959 00:42:08,260 --> 00:42:10,580 other water that's not living, it's bitter. 960 00:42:10,820 --> 00:42:12,820 And trying to pose that is really attractive. 961 00:42:13,140 --> 00:42:17,220 And so I'm going to tell you here tonight, trust me or don't trust 962 00:42:17,220 --> 00:42:17,380 me. 963 00:42:17,380 --> 00:42:20,670 Trust the word of God that knowing him is the greatest type 964 00:42:20,670 --> 00:42:21,790 of knowledge you can ever have. 965 00:42:22,590 --> 00:42:27,390 And so know the facts so that you believe the truth, but ultimately 966 00:42:27,390 --> 00:42:30,990 believe the truth so that you can know him in a personal way. 967 00:42:31,470 --> 00:42:33,950 And so I encourage you to think about that as we conclude here 968 00:42:33,950 --> 00:42:34,549 in one John. 969 00:42:34,549 --> 00:42:36,750 Now some people have been asking me, where are we going after 970 00:42:36,750 --> 00:42:37,390 one John? 971 00:42:37,790 --> 00:42:40,110 I'm glad you asked if you didn't ask that you're about to get 972 00:42:40,110 --> 00:42:40,470 your answer. 973 00:42:40,470 --> 00:42:43,590 Anyway, we're going to just go ahead and continue on in the theme 974 00:42:43,590 --> 00:42:46,440 and do second John and then go on to three John. 975 00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:48,760 Okay, so they're very short books. 976 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,440 So they're literally just one chapter each. 977 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:56,160 And so if you look at two John, there's 13 verses, and then 978 00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,200 if you look at third John, there's 14 verses. 979 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:01,200 And so for the next few weeks, we're going to go through those two 980 00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:03,360 books and then we'll move on. 981 00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:04,360 We'll go to another book. 982 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:07,560 So thank you so much for your attention in this study. 983 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:11,320 If you missed any of the lessons and you want to go back, 984 00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:15,190 we do catalog all of ours on our YouTube page page or our Facebook 985 00:43:15,190 --> 00:43:16,990 page and you can go back to those. 986 00:43:17,550 --> 00:43:19,390 But I just wanted to extend that to you. 987 00:43:20,590 --> 00:43:23,230 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 988 00:43:23,230 --> 00:43:23,870 podcast. 989 00:43:24,030 --> 00:43:26,430 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 990 00:43:27,070 --> 00:43:29,350 If you would like to find out more information about our church 991 00:43:29,350 --> 00:43:32,830 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 992 00:43:33,150 --> 00:43:35,710 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 993 00:43:36,430 --> 00:43:40,130 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro at middletown baptist 994 00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:43,560 baptistchurch.com if you've enjoyed this podcast. 995 00:43:43,720 --> 00:43:48,120 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 996 00:43:48,840 --> 00:43:49,720 Thank you so much. 997 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:50,680 God Bless. 998 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:52,280 Have a wonderful day.