Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Family Rules for “Little Children” Msg 416 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living

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Family Rules for “Little Children” Msg 416 - Pastor Chuck Swindoll Insight for Living · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Woven through the fabric of the New Testament are threads
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Speaker 1: of doxologies and benedictions. And when you come toward the
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Speaker 1: very end of the letters, the little one-chapter letter of Jude,
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Speaker 1: it closes with this magnificent benediction. One of my seminary
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Speaker 1: professors challenged us in the class to memorize this. All
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Speaker 1: of the benedictions in the New Testament. I pass that
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Speaker 1: same challenge on to all of you. This is the
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Speaker 1: last of them the choir sang. And then we are
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Speaker 1: led into the revelation which is full of benedictions and doxologies.
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Speaker 1: Doxa is the Greek word for glory. Logos is the
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Speaker 1: word for a word or a statement. So a doxology
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Speaker 1: is a statement related to his glory. This is a benediction.
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Speaker 1: Look at it closely. Now to him who was able,
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Speaker 1: the original text says, able to guard you from stumbling,
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Speaker 1: which is better than to keep you from falling. He
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Speaker 1: guards us from stumbling and to present us not without blemish,
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Speaker 1: but get this, faultless. How good is that? Without one
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Speaker 1: fault before the presence of his glory with exceeding great joy.
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Speaker 1: You know when that will occur? When we stand before
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Speaker 1: him and our Savior presents us to the Father and
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Speaker 1: announces that we are his children standing faultless before his presence.
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Speaker 1: So if this has been a hard week for you,
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Speaker 1: This has been one of those weeks where you've stumbled
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Speaker 1: a bit, maybe even fallen. You have great hope. Today
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Speaker 1: is not forever. This is not the final chapter. How
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Speaker 1: grateful we are for that. Now to prepare us for
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Speaker 1: the second sermon of the morning, please turn in your
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Speaker 1: Bibles to 1 John. Not to be confused with the
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Speaker 1: Gospel of John. This is very near the end of
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Speaker 1: your New Testament. 1 John chapter 2. Because of our
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Speaker 1: love for Christ and gratitude for his willingness to do
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Speaker 1: all that he continues to do for us, out of
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Speaker 1: respect for his word, may we stand together for the
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Speaker 1: reading of these first six verses of 1 John 2.
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Speaker 1: My little children, I am writing these things to you
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Speaker 1: so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins,
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Speaker 1: we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
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Speaker 1: And he himself is the propitiation for our sins. And
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Speaker 1: not for ours only, but also for those of the
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Speaker 1: whole world. By this we know that we have come
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Speaker 1: to know him if we keep his commandments. The one
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Speaker 1: who says, I have come to know him and does
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Speaker 1: not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth
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Speaker 1: is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him,
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Speaker 1: the love of God has truly been perfected. By this
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Speaker 1: we know that we are in him. The one who
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Speaker 1: says he abides in him ought himself to walk in
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Speaker 1: the same manner as he walked. Aren't we grateful God
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Speaker 1: has given us his word, preserved it for us in
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Speaker 1: our own tongue so that we can understand it. You
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Speaker 1: may be seated. You will also find in your worship
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Speaker 1: folder an outline for today's message. And as you heard
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Speaker 1: earlier in the reading of this scripture, it is to
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Speaker 1: little children. So today we're going to be thinking about
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Speaker 1: family rules for little children. Because when we are really,
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Speaker 1: really little, we can't even add. You'll notice on the
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Speaker 1: outline I said there are five elementary rules to live by.
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Speaker 1: Then I give you six. Well, I'm still learning to add.
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Speaker 1: That ought to be six. Now we ought to pray. Come,
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Speaker 1: fount of every blessing, come and tune our hearts to
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Speaker 1: sing your praise. Streams of mercy, never failing, call for
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Speaker 1: songs of loudest praise. Teach us some melodious sonnet from
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Speaker 1: heaven above. Praise the mount. We're fixed upon it. Upon
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Speaker 1: your redeeming love. Oh, to grace how great a debtor.
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Speaker 1: Every day we're constrained to be Because Father we are
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Speaker 1: prone to wonder. Prone to leave the God we love.
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Speaker 1: Here's our heart. Take it. Seal it. For your courts above.
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Speaker 1: Lord we believe right. We just don't live right. And
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Speaker 1: we are a lot like children. Unfortunately, we've learned to
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Speaker 1: run and hide from the truth. Whereas when we were little,
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Speaker 1: we would often just cry and confess it. Help us
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Speaker 1: today to return to our childhood and to sit at
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Speaker 1: your feet as you, our Father, instruct us today. And
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Speaker 1: as we sit before you, may we hear well. And
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Speaker 1: may you speak clearly to each one of us, saying
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Speaker 1: one thing to one person, something altogether different to someone else.
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Speaker 1: We're grateful for the privilege of earning a living, and
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Speaker 1: in this day and at this time, so many are
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Speaker 1: hurting us. Make us all the more grateful for our
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Speaker 1: occupations and all the more joyous as we release from
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Speaker 1: our wages, from our savings, from our treasure. Since you
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Speaker 1: own it all, we release back to you what is
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Speaker 1: rightfully yours. Be honored in the motive, Be honored in
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Speaker 1: the way these expenditures are handled and be honored as
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Speaker 1: we sit before you in quietness, hearing your word through
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Speaker 1: musical instruments. Speak to us, our Father, as we worship
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Speaker 1: you with our gifts. In the Savior's name, everyone said, Amen. Hey,
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Speaker 1: let's face it, we're all just a bunch of little
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Speaker 1: kids at heart. We don't dress like it today, and
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Speaker 1: we don't necessarily look like it right now, but down
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Speaker 1: deep inside, you're just a little girl. You great-looking ladies
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Speaker 1: sitting there, you're just little girls. And you guys, you're
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Speaker 1: just little boys down deep inside. We never really outgrow
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Speaker 1: a lot of things that we loved when we were kids.
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Speaker 1: Stop and think about it. We all still love a
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Speaker 1: great story. It holds us in rapt attention. We love riddles.
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Speaker 1: We love mysteries. We love picnics and parades. We love
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Speaker 1: songs that we've been singing since we were little kids
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Speaker 1: and boat rides and ball games. Speaking of that, most
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Speaker 1: of the games were created for children. We just turned
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Speaker 1: them into very serious events. But baseball, a little boy's game,
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Speaker 1: and hockey, it's a little thug's game, and just a
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Speaker 1: fun game, you know, and football. I loved it when
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Speaker 1: Don Meredith decided to no longer be the Cowboys quarterback
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Speaker 1: back when they had a team we could respect. I
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Speaker 1: remember Meredith when he decided to hang up the spikes.
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Speaker 1: Somebody asked him why, because he had good years left
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Speaker 1: in him. He said, because they've stopped footballing. The fun
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Speaker 1: of the game. It's no longer fun. It's just a
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Speaker 1: little boy's game and they've gotten all serious about it.
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Speaker 1: And I think he's right. Basketball. Bunch of grown men.
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Speaker 1: trying to put a ball in a little tiny, why
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Speaker 1: don't they make it bigger? That's why I don't golf.
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Speaker 1: The holes are too little. Bigger. We still like checkers
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Speaker 1: and fish and Monopoly and we even like puzzles. Now,
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Speaker 1: We may not play tag but we still enjoy gotcha.
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Speaker 1: We may not play hide and seek and wear masks
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Speaker 1: and trick or treating but a lot of adults still
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Speaker 1: run and hide and still wear masks. We're just little
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Speaker 1: kids at heart. We no longer run foot races admittedly
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Speaker 1: but we sure like car races. And Hey, we may
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Speaker 1: stop playing with toys, but now we buy big ones,
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Speaker 1: and they're very expensive. We're just a bunch of grown-up
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Speaker 1: children that have somehow in the process gotten a little
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Speaker 1: snotty sophisticated. I figured I might as well say it
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Speaker 1: like it is, huh? I think that's the reason Robert
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Speaker 1: Fulgham's wonderful little book, All I Really Needed to Know
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Speaker 1: I Learned in Kindergarten, made such a hit back in
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Speaker 1: the 80s when he wrote it. Believe it or not,
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Speaker 1: this little book, it could have been written to children,
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Speaker 1: won its way into the hearts of Americans and people
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Speaker 1: around the world for months. It was a New York
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Speaker 1: Times number one bestseller. You'll be able to understand when
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Speaker 1: I Read you some of his words. He writes. All
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Speaker 1: I really needed to know. About how to live. And
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Speaker 1: what to do. And how to be. I learned. In kindergarten.
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Speaker 1: Wisdom was not at the top of the. Graduate school mountain.
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Speaker 1: But there in the sand pile. At Sunday school. These
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Speaker 1: are the things I learned. And then he lists them.
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Speaker 1: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back
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Speaker 1: where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't
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Speaker 1: take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you
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Speaker 1: hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Some
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Speaker 1: of you would do well to remember that, by the way.
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Speaker 1: Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live
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Speaker 1: a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw
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Speaker 1: and paint and sing and dance and play and work some.
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Speaker 1: Every day, take a nap. Every afternoon. Does that sound
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Speaker 1: like a great idea or what? And when you go
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Speaker 1: out into the world, watch out for traffic. Hold hands
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Speaker 1: and stick together. We resonate with those simple rules because
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Speaker 1: they make good sense and because we tend to forget them.
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Speaker 1: I'm convinced the sooner we return to them, the easier
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Speaker 1: we will be to live with. When we were little kids,
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Speaker 1: we didn't take ourselves all that seriously, but we took
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Speaker 1: God seriously. But as we grew up, there was a
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Speaker 1: strange reversal of rules. We began to take ourselves far
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Speaker 1: too seriously, and we don't take God all that seriously.
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Speaker 1: And that's when we get into trouble. While grazing over
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Speaker 1: the vine, the lines of this second and into the
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Speaker 1: third chapter of John's letter to his friends. It began
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Speaker 1: to make better sense to me when I realized that
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Speaker 1: I'm working my way through words written to families. This
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Speaker 1: is for children. This is for children of all ages.
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Speaker 1: You see, the hard job in these rules that I
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Speaker 1: just read is putting them into practice, not understanding them.
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Speaker 1: And you'll find the same is true in John's letter.
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Speaker 1: But let me show you why I was thinking about
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Speaker 1: family rules when I came into this time of preparation.
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Speaker 1: You got your Bible open to 1 John chapter 2?
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Speaker 1: Just get your pen ready and mark a few words
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Speaker 1: along the way. that are little clues that say this
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Speaker 1: is for family. This is family stuff. Look at the
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Speaker 1: first line of verse 1. My little children. My little children.
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Speaker 1: Mark that. Look at verse 12 of chapter 2. I'm
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Speaker 1: writing to you little children. He said that earlier, but
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Speaker 1: he says it again today. Because this is for the family.
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Speaker 1: Look at 13. I'm writing to you fathers. That's a
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Speaker 1: family term. You never call someone at work father. You
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Speaker 1: call them boss. Superior. Or some officer name. But family
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Speaker 1: term is father. So I'm writing to fathers. Look at
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Speaker 1: verse 18. Same chapter. Children. It's the last hour. So
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Speaker 1: he's writing to children. Look at 28. Now, little children,
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Speaker 1: mark that. And one more, and we'll get back to
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Speaker 1: chapter 2. Chapter 3, verse 1. I love this verse.
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Speaker 1: See how great a love the Father, there's a term,
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Speaker 1: has bestowed on us that we would be called children
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Speaker 1: of God, and such we are. There it is again.
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Speaker 1: This is to children. So why would I want to
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Speaker 1: make this complicated or hard to grasp? This is family talk.
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Speaker 1: These are terms of endearment. If I ever gather my
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Speaker 1: four grown children around me and it has come near
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Speaker 1: the last hour of my life, I may be tempted
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Speaker 1: to say to them, and now little children, Even though
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Speaker 1: they're all in their 30s and 40s and perhaps by then,
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Speaker 1: by God's grace, 50s and even 60s. Little children, I
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Speaker 1: want to talk with you. John sees us as young
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Speaker 1: children in need of instruction. That's what we are in
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Speaker 1: John's eyes. His words lack sophistication. They're not meant to
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Speaker 1: impress or to chide. They're not even rebukes. They are
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Speaker 1: words of warning and instruction. So, first of all, I
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Speaker 1: think it would help us to understand how John, the writer,
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Speaker 1: is looking at us. Okay? Think of yourself as sitting
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Speaker 1: at the feet of your favorite mentor. All right? Now,
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Speaker 1: for some, you may have a mentor that's now gone.
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Speaker 1: You may have read his biography or her biography and
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Speaker 1: you just admire them. You're sitting at her feet or
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Speaker 1: his feet. For others of you, you would name one
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Speaker 1: of your profs at school. Maybe one of your elementary
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Speaker 1: school teachers or junior high, senior high teachers. Very common
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Speaker 1: for people to have a college professor that became their mentor,
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Speaker 1: if you've ever read Tuesdays with Maury. Wonderful book by
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Speaker 1: Rich Albom. If you haven't read it, read it. Read
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Speaker 1: it soon. Mitch Albom's mentor is a man named Maury.
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Speaker 1: Maury Schwartz, who died with Lou Gehrig's disease. And Mitch
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Speaker 1: went to meet with him every Tuesday. The name of
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Speaker 1: the book. So you're sitting at the feet of your grandfather.
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Speaker 1: I hope you were close to him. I hope even
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Speaker 1: more so with your father. John is like your father
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Speaker 1: and that's how he sees us. So there's a lack
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Speaker 1: of sophistication, not a lack of wisdom. Don't confuse the two.
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Speaker 1: Take away sophistication, you can have a lot of wisdom
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Speaker 1: as with the children's rules. But they're not meant to
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Speaker 1: impress us. They're not even meant to rebuke us. They're
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Speaker 1: meant to warn us like a mentor does. Son, before
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Speaker 1: you go off to college, you've got your own car.
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Speaker 1: You've got an amount of money. You're going to have
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Speaker 1: a lot of privacy. You're going to run with kids
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Speaker 1: you've never met before. You're going to be dorming with them.
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Speaker 1: Our sweetheart, remember what your mom and I have said
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Speaker 1: to you as you grow up, we want to warn you.
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Speaker 1: When you're on your own, then comes the advice. It
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Speaker 1: isn't to rebuke you, it's to warn you. And we'll
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Speaker 1: find out why John writes like that a little later.
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Speaker 1: Now this ought to change the way we see ourselves, okay?
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Speaker 1: John sees us as young children in need of instruction.
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Speaker 1: So we need to see ourselves as little children listening
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Speaker 1: to our mentor's counsel. or in John's case, an old
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Speaker 1: man's council. He's now well into his 90s. Do you
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Speaker 1: know that by the end of his life, they had
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Speaker 1: to carry him into the church, and the people hung
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Speaker 1: on his every word, and they ultimately became the same
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Speaker 1: words every time he would say to them, little children,
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Speaker 1: love one another, love one another. They waited every week
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Speaker 1: to hear those words from John. If you will adopt
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Speaker 1: this mindset, it will help you understand what is written
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Speaker 1: as well as be ready for the warnings. You need
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Speaker 1: to see yourself and I need to see myself as
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Speaker 1: a little child. In that sandpile where you used to play,
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Speaker 1: Or strapping on what was then called your roller skates.
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Speaker 1: Or back when you were just learning to get around.
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Speaker 1: And you would just learn how to ride your bike.
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Speaker 1: Remember then? Remember? I remember teaching our children to ride
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Speaker 1: their bikes. And I'll never forget. They would lean. I
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Speaker 1: would think they can't stay up. But they do somehow.
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Speaker 1: They lean back. And then they lean another way. Until
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Speaker 1: finally they learn to do what? Keep their balance. Put
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Speaker 1: yourself first. in that mentality. Get rid of all your degrees.
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Speaker 1: Take away all your high-powered stuff. Forget the fact that
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Speaker 1: you can drive and that you can take care of yourself.
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Speaker 1: Think of yourself still as a dependent youngster. By the way,
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Speaker 1: to do this, it doesn't matter how strong you are
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Speaker 1: physically or how mature you are spiritually. or for that matter,
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Speaker 1: how old you are chronologically. Let's all see ourselves as
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Speaker 1: little children. Before I go any further, I want to
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Speaker 1: help you relax. So don't think of John as a
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Speaker 1: killjoy because some of the things he will say are
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Speaker 1: pretty sharp and strong. He isn't Eeyore. He's not Ebenezer
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Speaker 1: Scrooge or some Puritan with a five-pound cross hanging around
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Speaker 1: his neck. frowning at you like a Pharisee. H.L. Mencken
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Speaker 1: once described a Puritan as someone who lives with the
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Speaker 1: constant fear that someone, somewhere, might be happy. It's not
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Speaker 1: true of John. Remember his words in verse 4 of
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Speaker 1: chapter 1? That your joy may be, what? Made complete!
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Speaker 1: Filled up! I want to see you kids laughing again.
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Speaker 1: I want to see you laughing at life and even
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Speaker 1: at times laughing at yourself. But when it comes to me,
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Speaker 1: I want to find you on your knees. I want
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Speaker 1: to see you looking into my face as the Lord Jesus,
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Speaker 1: hanging on my every word. Now you've got the right
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Speaker 1: mentality for it all. Here comes six simple rules for
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Speaker 1: family living. I deliberately have taken out all of the
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Speaker 1: big words. So all of us can write the words
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Speaker 1: in crayon if you want to do that. Here we go.
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Speaker 1: Verse 1. Don't ever mess with stuff that gets you
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Speaker 1: into trouble. This is the way John says it. My
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Speaker 1: little children, I'm writing these things to you so that
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Speaker 1: you may not sin. Now, I immediately hear some of
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Speaker 1: you sophisticates that haven't yet dressed in knickers, sat down
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Speaker 1: in the sand pile. You're saying, Chuck, we always sin.
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Speaker 1: We're going to sit and stop it. John is writing
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Speaker 1: to say, I want to help you avoid sin. That's
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Speaker 1: the way J.B. Phillips renders this. To help you avoid sin.
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Speaker 1: To guide you out of sin is the way Eugene
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Speaker 1: Peterson renders it in the message. Stay with the word picture.
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Speaker 1: of the family. I want you to stay in a
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Speaker 1: safe neighborhood. I almost used those words. Don't mess around
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Speaker 1: a dangerous neighborhood. When our kids were little, we lived
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Speaker 1: in Southern California and we were living in a fairly
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Speaker 1: nice section of town in Fullerton, California. We lived up
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Speaker 1: kind of on a hill, and everything from us was downhill.
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Speaker 1: And if you went far enough downhill and let your
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Speaker 1: bike coast far enough across Commonwealth, you'd be in a
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Speaker 1: tough section of town, just a few blocks away. And
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Speaker 1: we would say to the kids on Saturday morning before
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Speaker 1: they'd hop on their bikes to go down the hill
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Speaker 1: and play over at Hillcrest Park or wherever, we'd say
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Speaker 1: to them, now, don't go in a tough neighborhood. You'll
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Speaker 1: get into trouble. Or they'll steal your bike. Or even worse,
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Speaker 1: if you stay there with them, you'll learn their ways. Now,
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Speaker 1: you've been raised right. We want to protect you. But
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Speaker 1: have fun. Just stay out of the wrong neighborhood. Isn't
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Speaker 1: that amazing? Cynthia and I shake our heads. We think,
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Speaker 1: back then you could say, bye, kids. We'll see you
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Speaker 1: at lunch. And off they go. Today, we don't let
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Speaker 1: them out of our sight in the mall. We put
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Speaker 1: a harness on them. Why? Well, things are different. Back then,
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Speaker 1: there were tough neighborhoods. I remember when Cynthia and I
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Speaker 1: did the bicentennial tour, and we went from Jamestown up
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Speaker 1: all the way to Boston on a bus. Wonderful time
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Speaker 1: with friends from Biola University. We got to New York,
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Speaker 1: and all of us were getting a little cabin fever,
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Speaker 1: that bus by then, so we decided six or eight
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Speaker 1: of us couples would take a walk around Manhattan, looking
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Speaker 1: like we knew our way around. So we started walking
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Speaker 1: and we did a few blocks here and we took
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Speaker 1: a few blocks in that direction, a few blocks here,
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Speaker 1: a few blocks. All of a sudden, we ran into
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Speaker 1: New York's finest. And the man in blue said, hold it.
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Speaker 1: You folks are not from New York, are you? No, sir,
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Speaker 1: we're not. Don't go any further. There's danger behind me.
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Speaker 1: Don't go there. That's what John is saying. I'm writing
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Speaker 1: you these things so you won't go too far. Some
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Speaker 1: of you are playing with sin. And you're right on
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Speaker 1: the edge. And you've no longer just tolerated it. You're
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Speaker 1: now picking up the habit. And because you've gotten sophisticated,
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Speaker 1: you're talking yourself out of the fact that it's sinful.
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Speaker 1: John says don't. You're messing around with something that's going
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Speaker 1: to get you into trouble. We've all had that experience.
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Speaker 1: Hold your place and look at Psalm 1. Turn back quickly,
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Speaker 1: will you? Psalm number 1. How blessed is the man
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Speaker 1: who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
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Speaker 1: nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in
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Speaker 1: the seat of scoffers. The word blessed used all the
28:34
Speaker 1: way through the Psalms is always in the plural in
28:37
Speaker 1: its original form in Hebrew. We could render it how
28:41
Speaker 1: happy many times over. How multiple joyful life will be
28:48
Speaker 1: for you if you don't hang around people that are
28:51
Speaker 1: bad for you. And that would be the counsel of
28:55
Speaker 1: the wicked. The path of the sinners are sitting alongside
29:02
Speaker 1: the seat of the scoffers. Notice the journey slows down. First,
29:07
Speaker 1: you're on a path. You're on a journey. And then second,
29:12
Speaker 1: you are standing in the path. And finally, you are
29:15
Speaker 1: sitting alongside them. Even the verbs slow you down. That's
29:20
Speaker 1: what happens when you get in the wrong territory. Run
29:24
Speaker 1: with the wrong crowd. One more. On our way back
29:27
Speaker 1: to 1st John. Is 1st Corinthians 1533. Stop off there.
29:33
Speaker 1: On your way back. I don't hear many pages turning.
29:38
Speaker 1: 1st Corinthians 1533. 15, verse 33. Some of you are
29:43
Speaker 1: going to cheat and go right away to 1 John.
29:45
Speaker 1: Let me quote this verse. I want you to do that.
29:48
Speaker 1: I want you to see the verse in the Bible.
29:50
Speaker 1: Right here in the context of the resurrection, Paul drops
29:54
Speaker 1: in a little practical comment that I find people forgetting
29:58
Speaker 1: all of the time. 1533, do not be deceived. Bad
30:04
Speaker 1: company corrupts good morals. That's the implication of 1 John 2,
30:15
Speaker 1: verse 1. I'm writing these things to you little children
30:18
Speaker 1: so you won't mess around with others who live in
30:21
Speaker 1: trouble and want to get you in trouble as well. Okay,
30:26
Speaker 1: back to 1 John. Verse 1 ends with sliding on
30:33
Speaker 1: into verse 2. When you foul up, here's the second rule.
30:39
Speaker 1: Remember you have somebody always in your corner. That's what
30:45
Speaker 1: this is teaching. Remember you have somebody who is always
30:50
Speaker 1: in your corner. Capitalize the word somebody if you're writing
30:55
Speaker 1: this down. Look at how he puts it. I love
31:01
Speaker 1: John's realism. I'm writing these things to you so that
31:05
Speaker 1: you won't get into trouble, so that you will stay
31:08
Speaker 1: away from sin. And if anyone sins, he goes right
31:11
Speaker 1: to the reality of the fact that most of us
31:14
Speaker 1: will fall into some kind of trouble. We'll make a
31:17
Speaker 1: mess out of something. So he says, if anyone sins,
31:23
Speaker 1: it's a third class condition, meaning maybe you will and
31:26
Speaker 1: maybe you won't. But you have a choice. Every sin
31:30
Speaker 1: represents a fork in the road, a mental fork. And
31:33
Speaker 1: you know before you do it if it's wrong. Unless
31:38
Speaker 1: you live in this blurred generation where there is no
31:41
Speaker 1: right and wrong line. But most of us have lived
31:44
Speaker 1: to know right from wrong. And when you get to
31:46
Speaker 1: the fork, he says, hold it, hold it, wait, wait,
31:49
Speaker 1: don't go to the left, go right. But when you
31:53
Speaker 1: do go to the left and you make a mess
31:55
Speaker 1: of things, you got someone in your corner. And how
31:58
Speaker 1: does he describe him? Two big-time words in the text.
32:02
Speaker 1: We have an advocate. If anyone sins, we have an
32:05
Speaker 1: advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. I love
32:11
Speaker 1: the word advocate. The Greek term is parakletos. It's from para, P-A-R-A,
32:19
Speaker 1: meaning beside. If I put this paper here on this
32:23
Speaker 1: pulpit beside me, I put it para, para. It is
32:27
Speaker 1: beside me. And kleitos is from kaleo, K-A-L-E-O, meaning to call,
32:35
Speaker 1: to call out, to call alongside when you put para
32:40
Speaker 1: and kaleo together, parakletos. It's translated comforter in John's gospel.
32:46
Speaker 1: It's translated advocate here. It means, if you will, a defined...
32:51
Speaker 1: a divine defense attorney. That's the way to think of it.
32:57
Speaker 1: If anyone sins, we have a divine defense attorney. He
33:02
Speaker 1: has been called alongside, meaning he is in our corner.
33:08
Speaker 1: You never have to whistle. You never have to make
33:12
Speaker 1: an appointment. And unlike every other attorney on the planet,
33:16
Speaker 1: he's free. And you know what else? He's never lost
33:21
Speaker 1: a case. And you know what's best of all? He
33:26
Speaker 1: can stand before God not to declare your innocence, but
33:30
Speaker 1: to declare your guilt and to say, but my death
33:36
Speaker 1: has acquitted him of the penalty. Isn't that great? Isn't
33:42
Speaker 1: that great truth? We have an advocate. We have someone
33:46
Speaker 1: in our corner who hung on the cross on our behalf.
33:50
Speaker 1: And now he stands in our defense, saying I paid
33:55
Speaker 1: the price for him. And you know what happens as
33:57
Speaker 1: a result? Next verse, big word. He himself is the propitiation,
34:03
Speaker 1: just right in the margin of your Bible, satisfaction. He
34:08
Speaker 1: is the satisfaction for our sin. The father hears the
34:13
Speaker 1: plea and says, I'm satisfied. Case dismissed. Isn't that wonderful?
34:24
Speaker 1: The finished work of Christ satisfies the father's righteous demands.
34:31
Speaker 1: Let me tell you a story that prompts in my mind.
34:33
Speaker 1: A number of years ago at a former church, I
34:38
Speaker 1: was looking for an intern for the summer. And I
34:42
Speaker 1: went to a seminary campus. It wasn't Dallas Seminary in
34:44
Speaker 1: that case, but another. And while there, I met a
34:47
Speaker 1: young man. We didn't choose him as our intern, but
34:51
Speaker 1: I loved meeting him and hearing his story. Let's call
34:53
Speaker 1: him Aaron, not his real name. Aaron was between his
34:58
Speaker 1: second and third year at the seminary. And at the time,
35:04
Speaker 1: as he tells me his story, he had by then
35:07
Speaker 1: just about entered his third year, but he said earlier
35:09
Speaker 1: this summer I had an experience I'll never forget. He
35:12
Speaker 1: said I needed a job. If I was going to
35:15
Speaker 1: get back into school, I needed to make the money
35:17
Speaker 1: to take care of tuition. And I couldn't find a
35:20
Speaker 1: ministry job, so I finally applied and got on with
35:24
Speaker 1: the transit company of Chicago. And I found out after
35:27
Speaker 1: getting on with the transit company that the reason I'm
35:30
Speaker 1: riding and driving this bus is because it's in the
35:32
Speaker 1: south side of Chicago. And you who are laughing or
35:35
Speaker 1: smiling know That's a tough section of the city. He said,
35:39
Speaker 1: I drove a bus for several days in Southside Chicago,
35:44
Speaker 1: same route. And as soon as I had learned to
35:46
Speaker 1: handle this big bus, my trainer got off and I'm
35:50
Speaker 1: on my own. So about the third day on this route,
35:53
Speaker 1: a handful of thugs got on. There were probably five
35:57
Speaker 1: of them, five or six. They didn't pay. They cursed
36:02
Speaker 1: me as they walked by and swaggered back to a
36:05
Speaker 1: seat and sat around and yelled obscenities and offensive things
36:09
Speaker 1: to people who were on the bus, and yelled out
36:12
Speaker 1: the window and kept yelling at me. I didn't do
36:15
Speaker 1: anything about it. Next day, they got back on the bus,
36:19
Speaker 1: and there were too many of them for me to stop.
36:22
Speaker 1: So I let them get on. Again, they didn't pay.
36:25
Speaker 1: Third day, the same thing, and I decided enough is enough.
36:30
Speaker 1: So I looked up ahead, and at the next corner
36:32
Speaker 1: was a police officer So I just pulled over and
36:37
Speaker 1: I asked him to get on the bus. And I said,
36:39
Speaker 1: I pointed him out, see these fellows right here for
36:42
Speaker 1: the last three days, they've gotten on, they've not paid.
36:47
Speaker 1: They're not only broken that law, but they're making everyone
36:50
Speaker 1: around them miserable. And the officer went right back and
36:54
Speaker 1: got their money and had them pay. So they paid.
36:57
Speaker 1: In fact, they paid for the last two days as well.
37:01
Speaker 1: And unfortunately he said, uh, The officer got off and
37:05
Speaker 1: they stayed on. The door closed and he said about
37:11
Speaker 1: a half a block later the lights went out. And
37:14
Speaker 1: I woke up, had blood all over my shirt, these
37:16
Speaker 1: two teeth missing. The money box was gone, the bus
37:21
Speaker 1: was empty, and both of my eyes were swollen and
37:25
Speaker 1: I've got a real pain in my jaw. Obviously they
37:30
Speaker 1: had beaten him mercilessly and left him sitting behind the
37:35
Speaker 1: wheel of the bus still idling. He said, I drove
37:40
Speaker 1: the bus back to the terminal and turned it in
37:43
Speaker 1: and told him I was going home, that I was sick,
37:47
Speaker 1: and briefly mentioned what happened. He said, I lay there
37:50
Speaker 1: on my single bed. I looked up at the ceiling
37:53
Speaker 1: and I thought, why in the world has this happened
37:56
Speaker 1: to me? I mean, for all the right reasons, I
38:00
Speaker 1: got this job, I was doing it well, and I
38:05
Speaker 1: try to make this thing right, try to take care
38:08
Speaker 1: of the people on the bus, and this is what happens.
38:11
Speaker 1: He decides to press charges. He goes to the police precinct,
38:15
Speaker 1: and he happens to find the same policeman from that area.
38:19
Speaker 1: Tells him what happened, shows him the result, and they,
38:23
Speaker 1: with the help of others, rounded up about four or
38:26
Speaker 1: five of the fellows who were guilty. Within a matter
38:31
Speaker 1: of days, they were put in jail, and they were
38:34
Speaker 1: brought into prison. into a courtroom he said i walked
38:38
Speaker 1: in with my attorney and i'm sitting there they're glaring
38:41
Speaker 1: at me i know if they could get their hands
38:43
Speaker 1: on me they'd finish the job they started so i
38:47
Speaker 1: began to shake he said the charges were read and
38:50
Speaker 1: every one of them was accurate it's exactly what had
38:53
Speaker 1: happened he said as i was sitting there looking at
38:57
Speaker 1: them there by now some of them are looking down
38:59
Speaker 1: realizing they're going to do jail time i thought uh
39:04
Speaker 1: this isn't going where i wanted to go So I
39:07
Speaker 1: stood up. I said, I got a whole new idea.
39:11
Speaker 1: I said, Your Honor, of course my attorney is like
39:15
Speaker 1: kind of grabbing me at the shirt and coattail to
39:17
Speaker 1: have me sit down. He said, Your Honor, I would
39:19
Speaker 1: like for you to add up all the time that
39:21
Speaker 1: they would spend behind bars and I want to go
39:25
Speaker 1: in their place. I want to serve time for them.
39:29
Speaker 1: And of course the judge doesn't know whether to spit
39:31
Speaker 1: or wind his watch he looks at him and and
39:35
Speaker 1: says what do you mean and he said well sir
39:38
Speaker 1: he said I I want to forgive them for what
39:41
Speaker 1: they've done and I want to prove my forgiveness by
39:44
Speaker 1: doing time for them judge says You're out of order.
39:49
Speaker 1: Please be seated. He said, Your Honor. The judge added,
39:52
Speaker 1: This has never been done before. He said, Your Honor,
39:55
Speaker 1: it was done before 20 centuries ago. Now, if I
39:59
Speaker 1: could have a few more minutes of your time, I'd
40:01
Speaker 1: like to explain it in the judge's book, okay? So
40:04
Speaker 1: he gives them the gospel. Christ took our sins on
40:08
Speaker 1: his behalf, and he bore the result of our sins
40:11
Speaker 1: in his body on the cross, and he died. And
40:15
Speaker 1: about the time he got to the punchline, the judge said,
40:17
Speaker 1: you may be seated. The attorney's jerking on my scooter.
40:20
Speaker 1: Sit down, sit down. So he didn't get his wish,
40:24
Speaker 1: but the boys were put behind bars. And he said,
40:26
Speaker 1: for the next several days, I went to visit them.
40:30
Speaker 1: And most of them have come to Christ. I've got
40:32
Speaker 1: one more to go. It's pretty hard. And he's my project.
40:37
Speaker 1: I've led them all. I will lead them all to Christ.
40:42
Speaker 1: You know what that's called? Being in someone's corner. Being
40:46
Speaker 1: an advocate. That's exactly what Christ is on our behalf.
40:51
Speaker 1: Not only for our sins, but for the sins of
40:53
Speaker 1: the whole world. Remember, you have someone who is always
40:58
Speaker 1: in your corner. Third rule for little children. Behave yourself
41:03
Speaker 1: since you're a member of the family. How's that for
41:07
Speaker 1: a summary of verse 3? Behave yourself since you are
41:11
Speaker 1: a member of the family. This hardly needs any comment.
41:15
Speaker 1: Our actions speak louder than our words. By this we
41:19
Speaker 1: know that we have come to know him if we
41:22
Speaker 1: keep his teachings, his commands. The best proof that we
41:27
Speaker 1: know him is a life of obedience. I think John
41:32
Speaker 1: may have had a sudden flashback to the Last Supper
41:35
Speaker 1: where Jesus drove home that point. If you love me,
41:38
Speaker 1: you will do as I say. If you love me,
41:41
Speaker 1: you will live like you're loving me. If you love me,
41:45
Speaker 1: you will love one another just as I have loved you.
41:48
Speaker 1: If you love me, you will wash their feet just
41:51
Speaker 1: as I have washed yours. He's setting it all up
41:54
Speaker 1: and leaving in their minds that obedience is revealed in actions,
41:59
Speaker 1: not words. By the way, you ever had your dad
42:03
Speaker 1: do that to you? Remember, son, you're a member of
42:05
Speaker 1: the family. Don't shame the family. I still remember that.
42:12
Speaker 1: You remember the Swindoll family. Don't bring down the name
42:17
Speaker 1: of the family by doing something that would break your
42:19
Speaker 1: mom and dad's heart. And that ties in with behave
42:23
Speaker 1: yourself since you're a member of the family. Here's the fourth.
42:27
Speaker 1: No matter what you say, your actions tell the real truth.
42:32
Speaker 1: No matter what you say, your actions tell the real truth.
42:38
Speaker 1: Verse 4. The one who says... I've come to know him.
42:45
Speaker 1: But literally, it should say, it could read, but does
42:48
Speaker 1: not keep on keeping his commandments, keeping his truths, obeying
42:54
Speaker 1: his teaching is a liar. If you don't obey, even
43:01
Speaker 1: though you say you're obeying, you're a phony. We have
43:04
Speaker 1: a word for it that we learn from the scriptures, hypocrite.
43:09
Speaker 1: We're saying one thing, but we're living another thing. It's
43:13
Speaker 1: easy to live a lie. It goes on all the time,
43:18
Speaker 1: especially among adults. The man who says, I love my wife.
43:24
Speaker 1: I love my wife. But he has women on the
43:28
Speaker 1: side that he is having sex with. If he's involved
43:34
Speaker 1: in things that hurt his wife, Treating her brutally or unfairly,
43:43
Speaker 1: without affection, he doesn't love his wife. His words are lies.
43:49
Speaker 1: You're a liar. Husbands who say, I love my wife,
43:53
Speaker 1: remain faithful to their wives. Treat them with dignity and
43:58
Speaker 1: respect and courtesy and kindness and, when necessary, with forgiveness. Otherwise,
44:05
Speaker 1: we don't love our wives. We just say we love.
44:08
Speaker 1: How about a fellow who says, I really love this
44:11
Speaker 1: team that I'm playing on, but he doesn't show up
44:14
Speaker 1: to all the practices. He doesn't pay attention when they're
44:17
Speaker 1: showing films. He doesn't treat the coach with respect. He
44:19
Speaker 1: doesn't love the team. He's in it for other reasons,
44:24
Speaker 1: but it isn't out of the love for the team.
44:26
Speaker 1: The point is obvious. Your actions really tell the truth,
44:31
Speaker 1: not your words. Think of it this way, our actions
44:38
Speaker 1: prove the truth of our words. Here's a fifth rule
44:45
Speaker 1: to remember for family members. Always remember our obedience reveals
44:58
Speaker 1: how much we respect our fathers. Always remember our obedience
45:05
Speaker 1: reveals how much we respect our father. See this fifth verse?
45:11
Speaker 1: Whoever keeps his word. Here's the opposite of verse four.
45:15
Speaker 1: Whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God
45:20
Speaker 1: has truly been brought to completion. Really been perfected. By
45:24
Speaker 1: this we know that we are in him. How easy
45:30
Speaker 1: again to say, look, I love God. And then to
45:35
Speaker 1: follow it up with, but it doesn't really matter that
45:37
Speaker 1: much what his word says. Those are triangles that will
45:41
Speaker 1: never be congruent. For them to fit together as a
45:46
Speaker 1: part of the pattern, our respect reveals itself in our obedience.
45:55
Speaker 1: I remember back when I first learned to drive, if
45:58
Speaker 1: I could go back to the dangerous part of my
46:00
Speaker 1: earlier years. First of all, my granddaddy was the first
46:07
Speaker 1: to risk that. I think I was about 11. Just
46:12
Speaker 1: able to see above the dashboard and below the steering wheel,
46:16
Speaker 1: you know, like most of the people in southern Florida.
46:19
Speaker 1: You've ever been there? We have a friend who calls
46:23
Speaker 1: them Q-tips. They're little, they drive. That's the way I
46:26
Speaker 1: was driving. Like this. And so my granddaddy says, now, son,
46:31
Speaker 1: I want you to learn how to drive this into
46:33
Speaker 1: the garage. And I first thought was, where's the garage?
46:37
Speaker 1: He says, now you want to go in between these
46:39
Speaker 1: two posts and off drop the right fender from this
46:45
Speaker 1: little 39 Ford. He said, just back up, son. Back
46:49
Speaker 1: up and try that again. Now move a little further
46:51
Speaker 1: to the left. He didn't yell or scream. Then my
46:54
Speaker 1: mother should have said, but my grandfather said, just back up, son.
47:02
Speaker 1: My mother never really understood small children, so let me
47:05
Speaker 1: leave it that way. So we got a fender dangling
47:09
Speaker 1: on the right side, and I'm backing up, and I
47:12
Speaker 1: put it in first gear. And you know, when you're
47:16
Speaker 1: learning to drive, you mix up brake and accelerator. I
47:19
Speaker 1: did that. There goes the left fender. He said, I
47:24
Speaker 1: think I need a wider garage. Backed up. He said,
47:28
Speaker 1: don't worry about it. I can buy new fenders, but
47:31
Speaker 1: I can't buy new grandsons. Let's stay at it, I thought.
47:35
Speaker 1: You're the greatest man on the planet. Will you adopt me?
47:38
Speaker 1: Because I knew I had to go back to see
47:40
Speaker 1: my dad. And finally, my dad finished the job. And
47:46
Speaker 1: he would teach me. He would sit in this seat.
47:48
Speaker 1: I still remember it. By now, I'm older, 15. And
47:52
Speaker 1: I'm driving along. And he would say, I want you
47:54
Speaker 1: to remember, son, when you learn to drive, you're on
47:56
Speaker 1: your own. Always think of it as if I'm still
47:59
Speaker 1: sitting right over here beside you. Don't forget that. You
48:02
Speaker 1: understand that sign? I said, yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
48:06
Speaker 1: So we'd drive along. And he'd say, turn, right, turn, right.
48:09
Speaker 1: Hit a curb. And I'd say, daddy, the curb wasn't
48:11
Speaker 1: there yesterday. It's amazing how they move these curbs. Finally,
48:15
Speaker 1: I learned. OK? I passed my driver's license. Helen Keller
48:22
Speaker 1: was my teacher, but that's another subject. Anyway, I'm behind
48:27
Speaker 1: the wheel, and my dad says, oh, good for you, son.
48:31
Speaker 1: I'm proud of you. Here are the keys. You got
48:38
Speaker 1: the car all to yourself. You'd stay gone for two hours. Really? Yeah.
48:46
Speaker 1: First thought was, Man. Yes. What's the record in going
48:54
Speaker 1: from Houston to Galveston? I can set a new one.
49:01
Speaker 1: But it's interesting. I didn't do that. I backed out
49:04
Speaker 1: of the driveway like an 83-year-old woman. Part of the
49:11
Speaker 1: reason is my dad was standing at our screened-in porch
49:13
Speaker 1: watching me as I backed out. And I turned. And
49:19
Speaker 1: truth be told, I don't know that I drove over
49:22
Speaker 1: 40 miles an hour or that I was even gone
49:25
Speaker 1: an hour and a half. Why? Because I wasn't free
49:30
Speaker 1: to do that. No, I was free to do that.
49:33
Speaker 1: I was free to go far. But I respected my father.
49:41
Speaker 1: When you have a respect for your heavenly father, it
49:45
Speaker 1: does an amazing thing to your personal life. That's what
49:52
Speaker 1: verse 5 is teaching. Always remember, your obedience reveals how
50:01
Speaker 1: much you respect your father. Verse 6. The one who
50:06
Speaker 1: says he abides in him ought himself to walk in
50:10
Speaker 1: the same manner as he walked, capital H referring to Jesus.
50:16
Speaker 1: When you're looking for a hero to follow, choose Jesus.
50:23
Speaker 1: There's a ticket. When you're looking for a hero to follow,
50:29
Speaker 1: choose Jesus. Put your feet in his footsteps in the snow.
50:36
Speaker 1: Take your cues from his life. study his ways and
50:42
Speaker 1: learn his style, watch how he handled difficult people and
50:48
Speaker 1: impossible situations, and then go there. In fact, there's nothing
50:55
Speaker 1: really wrong with that saying that kids for the longest
50:57
Speaker 1: time wore on their wrist. What would Jesus do? What
51:07
Speaker 1: would he do if he were alone by himself in
51:11
Speaker 1: the house, with the ability to get through the password
51:16
Speaker 1: on the computer and he's got all the internet in
51:18
Speaker 1: front of him, what would Jesus do? What would Jesus
51:26
Speaker 1: do if, you know, you're driving out of the church
51:30
Speaker 1: parking lot and somebody yells at you, maybe even cusses
51:36
Speaker 1: you out here? Thought I might as well make it real,
51:39
Speaker 1: so run out here in the church parking lot. I
51:45
Speaker 1: know what I would do in the flesh. I'd drive
51:48
Speaker 1: a pickup. Big. But you know, if in a moment
51:54
Speaker 1: of restraint I think about what Jesus would do, it's
51:56
Speaker 1: amazing what he does to my tendency to retaliate. The
52:02
Speaker 1: one who says he abides in him ought himself to
52:06
Speaker 1: walk just like he walked. Now, admittedly, I've kept this very,
52:15
Speaker 1: very simple. No big words, nothing all that complicated. Let's
52:22
Speaker 1: see how you do this week, class. Let's see how
52:27
Speaker 1: you do when you're out of the sandpile and you're
52:30
Speaker 1: playing with your friends, or in our case, you're working
52:33
Speaker 1: with them. Don't ever mess with stuff that gets you
52:38
Speaker 1: into trouble. When you foul up, remember somebody's in your corner, always.
52:44
Speaker 1: Behave yourself since you're a member of the family. And
52:46
Speaker 1: no matter what you may say, your actions reveal the
52:50
Speaker 1: whole truth. Remember, obedience announces how much you respect your father.
52:56
Speaker 1: And if you're looking for a model, choose Jesus. By
53:02
Speaker 1: the way, don't get Don't get so involved in life
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Speaker 1: you miss the wonder of it all. I close with
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Speaker 1: Fulgham's words, wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup?
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Speaker 1: The roots grow down and the plant grows up and
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Speaker 1: nobody really knows how or why. We're all like that.
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Speaker 1: Goldfish and hamsters and white mice. Even the little seed
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Speaker 1: in the Styrofoam cup, they all die. So do we.
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Speaker 1: And then remember the Dick and Jane books and the
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Speaker 1: first word you learn, the biggest word of all, look.
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Speaker 1: Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The
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Speaker 1: golden rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics
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Speaker 1: and equality. and sane living. Take any one of those
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Speaker 1: items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply
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Speaker 1: it to your family life or your work or your
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Speaker 1: government or your world and it holds true and clear
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Speaker 1: and firm. Think what a better world it would be
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Speaker 1: if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk
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Speaker 1: about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on
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Speaker 1: our blankies for a nap Or if all governments had
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Speaker 1: a basic policy to always put things back where they
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Speaker 1: found them. And to clean up their own messes. And
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Speaker 1: it's still true, no matter how old you are, when
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Speaker 1: you go out into the world, it's best to hold hands.
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Speaker 1: And stick together. Of all the things I regret in
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Speaker 1: growing up is that most of us become far too independent.
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Speaker 1: We act like we don't need anybody. Oops. Until the
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Speaker 1: doctor says, I think your spouse needs to come with
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Speaker 1: you when you come back to the office. We got
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Speaker 1: the results of the CT scan. Or until a subpoena
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Speaker 1: is served. And it has ugly words full of legalese
55:33
Speaker 1: that say the wedding, the marriage is over. At those
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Speaker 1: moments we go, what did I miss? Let's bow our
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Speaker 1: heads together. I don't care how old you are chronologically.
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Speaker 1: I don't care how mature you think you are psychologically
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Speaker 1: or Even spiritually, you need these family rules. Truth be told,
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Speaker 1: we all need to clean up our own messes. If
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Speaker 1: you're making a mess in somebody else's playground, you need
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Speaker 1: to clean that up and get back where you belong.
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Speaker 1: If you're lying through your teeth about being faithful and
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Speaker 1: you're not, you need to confess that and get that straight.
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Speaker 1: You're strutting around like you're the big deal does not
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Speaker 1: change what God already knows. And if you've never met Jesus,
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Speaker 1: you can't possibly be a follower of his. So start there.
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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ, I understand today that I really have
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Speaker 1: gone the wrong direction. I've messed with stuff I shouldn't
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Speaker 1: be messing with. I've made a mess of my life.
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Speaker 1: And in all of my wrong, I come because I
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Speaker 1: need somebody in my corner. Thank you for dying for me.
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Speaker 1: I want to hold your hand the rest of my life.
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Speaker 1: If you will do that, we can help you on
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Speaker 1: the journey, but only you can make that decision. Do
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Speaker 1: that now. You're not in such a hurry today. You've
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Speaker 1: got time to stop by one of the prayer rooms
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Speaker 1: staffed with very caring and compassionate people who understand grace
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Speaker 1: and mercy and forgiveness. They'll help you get back on
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Speaker 1: your feet. Our Father, we pause right now to thank
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Speaker 1: you for teaching us out of the kindergarten class, as
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Speaker 1: it were. Thank you for bringing us back to the
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Speaker 1: basics and for writing it in such a way that
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Speaker 1: people like us can get it. I pray it will
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Speaker 1: make a difference in how we live with each other
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Speaker 1: and how we live before you. And now to him
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Speaker 1: who was able to guard us from stumbling and to
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Speaker 1: present us faultless before the presence of his glory with
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Speaker 1: exceeding great joy. To the only wise God, our Savior,
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Speaker 1: be glory and majesty, dominion and power now and forevermore.
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Speaker 1: And everyone said, Amen. The preceding message Family rules for
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Speaker 1: little children. And the sound recording were copyrighted in 2009
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Speaker 1: by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
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Speaker 1: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use. is strictly prohibited.