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Are you ready for Christmas? · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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Have your Bible and I hope you do go and make your way to 1st
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John chapter 3, first John chapter 3.
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Before we dive into the sermon, let me just kind of Orient you
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to. What's left for us after we.
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Spend some time in God's Word this morning after worship
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through song. We're going to immediately
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observe the Lord's Supper after the message, so I just go ahead
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and invite you. To prepare your heart to
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partake. If you are a born again,
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baptized believer in Jesus Christ and I want to invite you
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to participate in that, and then following our time of the Lord's
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Supper, we'll have a time of invitation in response to what
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you've heard and and what you've seen before.
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We celebrate some things together this morning towards
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the end. So, but I hope you've found your
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way to 1st John chapter 3. My my question if you're looking
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on the inside of your worship. God, follow along in the notes.
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The question the title of the sermon might catch you off
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guard. 3 1/2 months in advance are.
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You ready for Christmas? Might be wondering what all
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that's about. I'm causing some of you.
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Anxiety just by. Asking the question that I
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didn't really mean to. Of course that means different
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things to different people. If you were to ask any one of my
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3 kiddos, are they ready for? Christmas.
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The answer was they were ready. On December the 26th.
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Of 2024, all right. Now, if you ask me if I'm ready
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for Christmas, that means it's my Christmas list.
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The you know the word. Document updated with hyperlinks
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and. Prices and the right sizes for
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all the people. And family that request it.
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You'll think I'm kidding, but I'm actually not.
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I'll send it to you if you want it.
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And it means I've. Done all my Christmas shopping
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which I've not all right. No, that's that's not.
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What I mean right? I'm obviously not asking about.
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Are you ready for that kind? Of Christmas, is that what?
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We're trying to talk about. No, definitely not.
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So what do I mean when I ask Are you ready for Christmas?
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Well, in order to be ready for Christmas, we have to know what
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Christmas really is. And so we're going to listen to
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1st John three one through 10. And as you listen, I want you to
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listen for Christmas as we read this text.
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Because it's there. All right.
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And then we're going to use that to connect with what John is
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trying to teach us in these verses from first John three one
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through 10. Here we go.
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See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should
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be called children of God. And so we are.
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The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not.
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Know him? Beloved, we are God.
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'S children now. And what we will be has not yet
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appeared, but we know that when he appears.
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We shall be like him. Because we shall see him, that's
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Jesus as he is, and everyone who thus hopes in him, hopes in
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Jesus, purifies himself as he. Jesus is pure.
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Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices
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lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.
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You know that he appeared in order to take away sins.
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And in him, in Jesus, there is no sin.
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No one who abides in him, that is in Jesus keeps on sinning.
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No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him, Jesus, or
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known. Him.
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Little children, let no one deceive you.
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Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he, Jesus, is
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righteous. Whoever makes a practice of
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sinning is of the devil, for the devil's been sinning from the.
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Beginning the. Reason the Son of God appeared
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was to destroy the works of the devil.
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No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's
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seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because
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he's been born of God. By this it is evident who are
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the children of God, and who are the.
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Children of the Devil. Whoever does not.
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Practice righteousness is not. Of God nor.
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Is the one. Who does not love?
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His brother. Did you see, did you hear
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Christmas in this text? If not, I'll point it out to
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you. But starting in verse 5, this
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sentence here, you know that he appeared to take away since
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that's Christmas in a sentence, you know that he Jesus appeared,
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took on human flesh, left heaven, came to earth, the
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miracle of the incarnation where he who was the Son of God fully
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God became fully man, remaining fully God born of a virgin so
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that he can live a sinless life for us, die on the cross as a
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sinless sacrifice in our place and defeat death for us.
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This is Christmas in a sentence he came to take away sins.
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In fact, when the Angel told Joseph what they were to name
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their son, it goes like this. He says you shall call his name
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Jesus, for he will save his people from their from their
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sins. Jesus came to take.
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Away sins, but in addition. To verse 5.
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Christmas is also in verse. 8 Did you see it?
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The reason the Son of God appeared was to I love this by
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the way, destroy the works of the devil man.
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Jesus came on a demolition mission, love that.
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He came to take out what was been built by the enemy, right?
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The Kingdom set up against his own, and of course, ultimately
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sin itself. The author of sin, the author of
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evil, is Satan himself, the devil himself.
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Jesus came to destroy the work of Satan.
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So Jesus came not only to save sinners, but to destroy sin.
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So what is Christmas? Christmas is the fact, y'all,
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that a child was born to save sinners and destroy sin so that
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we could. Become children of God A.
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Child was born. To destroy the work of.
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Sin and save sinners. So we could become children of
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God, that's what. Christmas.
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Is all about, so obviously I'm not.
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Asking Are you ready for December 25th?
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I'm asking if you're ready for something much bigger because
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if. Christmas is the celebration.
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Of the. First coming of Christ Listen
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closely. First, John three one through 10
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tells us how to be. Ready for the second coming of
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Christ? If Christmas is the celebration.
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Of the 1st. This text is how to live ready
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and how to live confident. And that you're ready for the
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second coming of. Christ, there's two parts.
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The 1st. Paragraph verses one through 3.
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We're going to see this as a child of God.
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God is calling you to live ready.
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To live ready for the second coming.
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Of Christ, all right. And then now in Part 2, that'll
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be verses 4 through 10. As a child of God, God is
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calling you to live confident as a child of God.
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Ready for the second? Coming of Christ.
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So we're going to walk through these things and some individual
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things, John tells us. In each part the first one is
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this how are we as children of God to live ready in verses one
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through three the first thing we learned in verse 1 is this
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marvel at God's love which has made you a child of God.
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We ought to daily marvel at the love of God, which has made us a
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a child of God. The first thing John does here,
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you know, is remind us of how in the world think about this.
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How in the world did we become children of God, children of the
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Maker of all things? Because at one time we were not.
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At one time every human being was spiritually dead.
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It was, according to the Bible, an enemy of God, separated from
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God in their sin, rebels of God at heart we were before coming
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to Christ. How in the world is it that we
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would become? How are we able to become
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children of God if that's who we were?
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Something miraculous had to happen that could cause us to
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become children of God. And it has happened.
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John says see what it is. Consider, realize, grasp, and
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marble at the kind of love which God has loved you with.
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When you hear the phrase God loves you, what does that mean?
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John says it like this. God loves you with a kind of
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love so lavish and wonderful and glorious and broad and deep and
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wide and marvelous and incomprehensible and endless
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that it literally changes your identity from someone who is an
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enemy of God, separated from God in your sin, destined for
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separation from God forever, a revel at heart, and the kind of
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love that would change your identity and make you a child of
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God. I wish I had words to describe
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this kind of love with which God has loved you with, and yet I
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don't. There's really no human earthly
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analogy for this. And out of this world kind of
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love some of. You are here this morning.
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You struggle to believe that this is true, that God would
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really love you that much, that God would love you with such an
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utterly kind of love that it could change who you are.
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That he would love you as you are.
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And that he would have the power to change.
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Who you are? To make you all he's designed
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for you to be. And I'm here to tell you, the
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first thing that Bible tells you to be ready for the return of
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Christ is to understand and marvel at the love of God for
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you. You know, even if you've
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realized the love of God for you and you call yourself a
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Christian because you've received that love, this ought
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to be a daily thing you go back to that you just marvel at when
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the sun comes up and there's breath in your lungs and there's
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daylight to be seen and life to be lived.
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God's love is being showered on you.
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You might be struggling with all kind of difficulty or all kind
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of pain or even grief or trial or difficulty, and yet.
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God has made life. Possible and given you an
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opportunity to receive this love to no eternal life to have a
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personal relationship with Him. We ought to daily marvel at the
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love of God for us. This is Part 1 of how you live
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ready right now as we anticipate the return of Christ.
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But there's a second thing we need to understand.
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It's in the end of verse one and it's this understand why this is
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a huge thing in these days in which we live to be ready to
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live ready. You've got to understand why the
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world does not get you. Look what again what it says
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that we should. Be called the.
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Children of God. And so we are.
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The reason why the world. Does not know us.
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That's the children of God, That's believers in Jesus.
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Is that it did not know him. Those who have not trusted in
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Jesus as their Savior, who don't know the love of God, they don't
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understand, they don't get those who have received the love of
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God. The Bible says that those who
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received the love of God and have seen the truth of who God
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is and his Son Jesus Christ have been changed.
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We no longer belong to this world.
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We don't live according to the value system of this world.
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We don't see as the world sees. Our eyes have been opened to the
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truth. We're citizens of heaven now,
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still living in for a period of time on this earth until Christ
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calls us home. But This is why, if we belong to
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a new Kingdom and a new savior, have a new identity, a new life,
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we're no longer spirit, virtually dead.
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We're no longer separated from God, and the world doesn't
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understand that. Therefore, the world won't get
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those who belong. To Jesus Christ, mark it down.
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Jesus puts it more clearly. Than I can put it.
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OK, if you. Listen to what he says and John
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15 verse 18. Listen to this.
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This is just point blank if the. World hates you.
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Know that it has hated me. Before.
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It hated you. If you are of the world, the
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world would love you as its own. But because you're not of the
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world, why have you been saved out of the world?
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You've been called out of the world.
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Your identity has been changed by the love of God.
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You're not of the world. I chose you out of this world.
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Therefore the world hates you. This past week.
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We witnessed A tragic, violent reminder, but the world does not
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get those who belong to the Kingdom of God.
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The Wicked. Act of the assassination of
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Charlie Kirk. Whether or not you agree with
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all his perspectives on politics or culture or not, regardless,
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Charlie was a man who stood flat footed for his faith in Jesus
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Christ unapologetically. And I don't pretend to know or
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understand the mind or motive of the of the shooter, but I can
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tell you this, The same world that crucified Jesus is the same
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world we live in today, which is the same world.
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Jesus says that they hated me. Guess what they're going to do
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if? You stand for me.
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They're going to hate you now, I realized in our modern day, you
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know. In the values in which.
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Were instilled in the DNA of our country.
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In a day where we believe a religious liberty ought to
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reign, sometimes we think these things aren't going to happen.
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Jesus said they were going to happen because he said if you're
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going to stand for me, you're going to be hated.
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By the world and we. Saw.
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We saw the absolute most violent, heinous example of that
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on display for a man who's bold for his faith in Christ on the
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front lines. You got to understand as a child
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of God why the world doesn't get you if you're a Christian.
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We need to keep this in mind because if we seek to live for
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Christ, you're going to encounter this.
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Maybe not to the extent that Charlie did, but whatever extent
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it is, you can't let it shake your faith when Jesus said this
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is part of what it's going to involve until we see Him face to
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face. All right #3 realize that what
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we are now is not all that we will be.
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This is amazing verse 2. Beloved, we are God's children.
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Now, what we will be has not yet appeared.
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But we know that. When he appears, we.
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Shall be like him, because. We shall see him as he is.
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This. This fires me up, honestly,
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because I'm like, man, God's word says we don't even fully
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understand all that's coming for us as children of God.
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We don't even fully understand all that we will be.
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We know we're going to be changed and made completely in
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the image of Christ. It's not that we'll be like
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identical to Jesus, like we're not.
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We're all going to look like Jesus physically, but there's
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going to be the striking similarity because our character
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is going to match Jesus. Our righteousness is going to
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match Jesus's right. Our purity is going to match our
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sanctification. We're going to be fully
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transformed so that God's very character, through his Son
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Jesus, will be imaged in us as we are fully transformed, fully
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finally sanctified and glorified with him.
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The best is yet to. Come for the believer.
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In Jesus Christ, this gives us hope beyond hope.
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This is why even if you lose your life for standing for
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Christ at 31, it's worth it. It's worth it because 31 years
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or even 75 or 90 if given it, can't compare it to an eternity
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with your King experiencing life that we can't even fully
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articulate. All that it's going to involve
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and all the blessings thereof. These temporary sufferings that
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we're going through in trials are light, momentary
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afflictions. Let me even put it more starkly,
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because this is hard to. Fathom but.
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One day if his two. Children that lost their father
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put their faith in Jesus. They too will realize the
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tragedy even of losing their father one day if they live for
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Jesus is worth it because they'll be with him around the
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throne of Christ one day forever.
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Forever. You all you.
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Got to mark it down. It does not.
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It does not matter what happens in this life.
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It does not matter. Ultimately, what happens in our
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lives as Christians under the sovereign control of God will be
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worth it to receive His love and to walk in it.
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Because the best is yet to come. And on days you get up and
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you're discouraged or. You're angry or you're hurting.
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You've got to go back and marvel at the love of God for you.
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You got to understand Jesus said why the world wouldn't get you.
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And you got to realize the best is yet to come and you can put
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another foot in front of the other and keep following Jesus
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knowing it's worth it. The best is yet to come #4 He
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says here to put your hope in Christ and to pursue Christ's
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likeness. This is verse three.
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He says in everyone who thus hopes in him, that's hopes.
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In Jesus purifies himself as he is pure.
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John is not using the word hope the way we.
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Define it in English. A wishful optimism about what
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may or may not happen. Like 5050.
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That's not what he's talking about.
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He's talking about a guarantee by promise of what is absolute,
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a settled certainty, a confident expectation based on the
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promises of God. John saying here that everyone
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that's placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and the
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reality of his return pursues purity because Christ is pure.
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In other words, the deal is if you know and believe Jesus is
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returning, it's going to change the way you live.
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You're living in expectation of someone that you put your hope
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in, that you're not like 5050 about, that you know for certain
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is coming back, that you have staked your life in this truth,
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in this reality. Then it permeates everything
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about what you do, everything you think, everything you say,
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everything you're living in light of, you're hoping in
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Christ. And that hope in Christ is
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purifying your life because you're seeking to follow Christ,
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not because it's a list of do's and don'ts or a list of rules,
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but because you carry a personal relationship with Him whom
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you're hoping in. Let me see if I can make this
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clear to you. I had a text message come to me
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from a young teenage boy recently.
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By the way, I just praise God for what God's doing in the
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lives of our young people. And seeing.
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Seeing. God get a hold of them and
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create a fire for His Word and for Jesus and living for Him.
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At a young age, this young man text me a prayer request for his
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family. And then he.
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Also included one for him and he said this.
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Also pray for me, I'm going to be honest I still struggle with
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lust. And I just.
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Realized that I've been lusting. For my own sake.
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But now I've got this mindset that I'm stopping to show my
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love for Jesus. Everyone who hopes in him
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purifies himself as Jesus is pure.
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If you hope in Christ and you know with guaranteed certainty
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he's coming back for you, guess what?
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It's going to change the way you live.
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It's going to change the way you do life.
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It's going to purify your life. It's going to cause you to run
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away from those things that don't honor Christ and run and
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grasp at those things with all that God's put within you for
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that which would honor. Christ y'all Part 1 as children
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of. God, we're called to live ready.
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How do we live ready? How do we live ready for
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Christmas? 2 point O the return of Christ.
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We marvel at God's love #2 we understand why the world doesn't
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get us #3 we realize what we are now is not all we will be.
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The best is yet to come. And we put our hope in Christ,
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and we pursue Christ likeness. There's a Part 2.
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And it says the. Children of God, we not only
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live ready, we ought to live confident.
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We ought to live confident. Not just ready, but confident.
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How are we going to live confident?
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Well, John is going to walk us through.
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A kind of a. Logical thought.
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Progression here in this second. Paragraph giving us some.
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Things we need to know in order to live confident.
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They may not all seem to be related, but they build on one
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another to get us to where He wants us.
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To be in our understanding. So let's pick up verse 4,
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everyone who makes a practice of sinning.
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Also practices lawlessness and. Sin is lawlessness.
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So lawlessness is a rejection of the law of God.
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It's a rejection of the word of God, of the truth of God, right.
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So John is saying here someone who lives with a blatant
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disregard for God's truth, God's word and for what is right is in
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lawlessness. Lawlessness is what I was.
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I remember when I was about 8 years old and I was in my.
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Living room and it was before church.
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One Sunday and my dad, who used to play a lot of golf, was
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practicing his putting toward a solo cup in the.
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Corner of the living room All right, So what you're doing
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waiting on the everybody else to get.
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Ready. All right.
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So now he teaches me. He teaches me in this moment how
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to grip a putter. All right, So I still remember
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he showed me how to grip the putter.
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And in my lawlessness, I wasn't saved yet.
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I was 8 years old. I got saved when I was 9.
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So I walked up and I gripped the putter.
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My dad's way or my way? My way didn't say anything and
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took my putting. Strike made the putt, looked at
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my dad and said dad. I made it my way instead of your
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way. Never forget the look on my
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dad's face. That's lawlessness.
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That's I heard what's right. I heard what's true.
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I heard what I ought to do. And I'm going to grip life my
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way. I'm going to do it my way.
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I believe I know best. I've got a blatant disregard.
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Forgot the way God. Says life's supposed to work.
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That what? John is trying to tell.
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Us here is this first truth, anyone.
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Living a lifestyle of sin. Lawlessness is in rebellion
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against God. Anyone living in a lifestyle of
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sin is in rebellion against God. That's.
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One thing you need to. Understand if you're going to
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live confident, ready for the return of Christ now verse 5,
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right? He says.
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That you know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and
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in him there's no sin. Again, this is Christmas in a
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sentence, right, that Christ came for the purpose of doing
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away with sin. This was our problem, right?
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Jesus stepped in. Why?
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To take away the practice of sin, the power of sin, the
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penalty of sin, and ultimately one day even the presence of
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sin. Sin was our problem.
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It separated us from God. Sin still is your problem if
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you've not trusted in Jesus. Christ for salvation and
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forgiveness of sin. The problem is sin.
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The problem is that you've not trusted in the blood of Jesus to
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cleanse you and wash you of your sin.
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You say, Kyle, how do I do that? You realize that you're a
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Sinner. You realize Jesus is the only
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savior. And the Bible says simply.
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You. Call on the name of the Lord to
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save you you. Literally ask from your heart,
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the bottom of your. Heart God, would you forgive me?
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Would you cleanse me? Would you be my Lord and Savior?
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Would you save me from my sin? The deal here second we need to
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know is that Jesus came to eliminate sin and could because
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he was without sin. Jesus came to eliminate it
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because he was without it. Verse 6 now shouldn't catch us
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off guard. Look what it says.
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No one who abides in him keeps on sinning.
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No one who keeps on. Sinning has either seen him or
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known him. If Jesus came to eliminate sin
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and never send himself naturally, those of us who truly
23:40
know Jesus don't continue to live in a habitual, ongoing
23:45
lifestyle of sin. Now, this doesn't mean that once
23:49
someone becomes a Christian that they never sin again.
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All right, by keep on sinning, John means one who keeps on
23:55
living a habitual lifestyle of sin.
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A child of God doesn't do this. Yes, singular, isolated
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instances of sin can and do happen, but it's not the norm
24:07
for them. How do how do you know?
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How do you know that Trevor Lawrence is a professional NFL
24:15
quarterback? Is it because he's 66200 and 20
24:22
lbs? No, there's lots of people that
24:26
size that are not. NFL quarterbacks?
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Is it because he wears a Jaguars jersey?
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No. There's people who wear jerseys.
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Who are not on the team, right? So how do you know?
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Well, you know, because of his career total of 70 touchdowns,
24:47
completion rate of 63.3% at an average of 10.73 yards per
24:52
completion. You know Trevor is a
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professional quarterback because he consistently normally makes
24:57
the play. It doesn't mean he makes it
24:59
every time. It doesn't mean he doesn't
25:01
fumble. It doesn't mean he throws never
25:03
throws an interception. It doesn't mean he never throws
25:05
an incompletion, but normally most of the time, Trevor makes
25:10
the play. It's the same for the child of
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God. It's not that they never fumble.
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It's not that they never make an interception or throw an
25:16
incomplete pass, but normally their habitual lifestyle of
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what's normal for them is. Walking in the ways of God.
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This is how you know. So third thing John wants you to
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know is that those who know Jesus will not live a habitual
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lifestyle of sin. In verse seven and eight, we get
25:38
John's purpose for revealing how we can know for truly a child of
25:43
God. Do you notice that little phrase
25:45
he says They're little children. Let, let, let no one.
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What? What's that word?
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John does not want you to be deceived.
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John wants you to know the truth and how to know it.
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How do you clearly know? If you can live confident or
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not, If you should be confident or not for the return of Christ.
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He says here, let no one deceive you.
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Those who live a consistent lifestyle of righteousness,
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think obedience, belong to God. Those who belong or live a
26:13
consistent lifestyle of sin belong to the devil.
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It's as simple as that. John says the bottom line y'all
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is that there's only two spiritual families to belong to.
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There's only two. You belong to one of two right
26:25
now, and there is no in between. It is all one or all the other.
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There is the family of God. There is belonging to the family
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of God. Having received the love of
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Christ, having called on Jesus for salvation, having been born
26:40
again and made alive and transferred from the Kingdom of
26:43
darkness to the Kingdom of life. There is that.
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And then there is the Kingdom of the devil, even if you don't
26:50
know that's to whom you belong. If you never trusted Christ,
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that's where the Bible says you are spiritual.
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You say, come on, I don't feel in bondage to the devil.
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No, you don't, because the devil doesn't want you to feel that
26:59
you're in bondage to him. And sometimes you don't even
27:00
realize until your eyes are open to the fact of your sin
27:03
separating you from God. And that sin holds you in
27:05
bondage until the love of Christ opens your eyes and you realize,
27:09
Oh my goodness, I am separated from God.
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I'm justly deserving of the wrath of what I've done against
27:15
God. And the only way to God is
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through his Son Jesus Christ, if I call on Him.
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For salvation, there's only two spiritual families.
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John says that one can belong to.
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Which one do you belong to? Satan has been sinning from the
27:29
beginning. Jesus Christ came from heaven to
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earth to destroy his work #4 what he's saying is this verse 7
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and 8 what you do. Proves who you are.
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What you do proves who you are. Y'all, this does not mean a
27:45
Christian never sins, but when a Christian sins it ought to be
27:51
like this. Have y'all ever caught the tip
27:53
of your finger on a cheese grater?
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God will bless you right there. That ought to be like what
28:08
happens in your life when sin happens.
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You react to it. It's painful.
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You wouldn't do that again if somebody paid you, you didn't
28:18
mean to, you didn't want. To and it hurt.
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That's. The way sin ought to feel in the
28:25
life of a child of God, it ought to grate against your soul.
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You wouldn't want to do that again if given the opportunity
28:35
you wished you wouldn't have. You do everything you can next
28:38
time to avoid it. And so therefore what happens in
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the life of a child of God is when it does happen.
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Because every now and then we do scrape our finger against the
28:44
cheese grater is what we do is we seek forgiveness and we say
28:47
I'm sorry and we say I was wrong and we repent.
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So it's not that sin never happens in the life.
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Of a child of. God, but when it happens.
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It's not pleasurable, it's not what you want to do, it's not
28:59
what you wish you did. Verse 9.
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Why can a child? Of God not continue a habitual
29:07
lifestyle of sin, John says Here, listen to it again.
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No one born of God. Makes a practice of sinning, for
29:17
God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because
29:21
he's been born of God. What in the world does it mean
29:23
to be born of God? When one realizes your sin and
29:28
you realize the truth of what Jesus Christ has done for you,
29:31
living a sinless life, dying on the cross for your sin and your
29:35
place, defeating death for you by overcoming the grave, walking
29:39
out alive on the third day. When one realizes that and one
29:43
realizes that in your sin you're separated from God and you
29:46
desire to call on the name of God, and you do from your heart
29:49
of hearts, you say, Lord Jesus, would you forgive me?
29:52
Would you be my Lord and Savior in that moment?
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The Bible describes that as what happens as being born again.
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Not born physically, but born spiritually made alive
30:00
literally. Born of God, a divine birth,
30:04
it's called. Regeneration is the fancy word
30:06
for it. You're made alive spiritually.
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You're made alive from death to life.
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If one has been born of God, John says here, then God's seed,
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that is the life of God, the Holy Spirit of God literally
30:19
abides in you. God is living in you.
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If you've been born of God and are alive, and if God's living
30:25
in you as one who's been born again and made alive, then such
30:29
a person with the life of God in them can't continue to live a
30:32
lifestyle of sin and death and sinning against God who's made
30:36
them alive. It's not natural to them.
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Think about it like this, if God and it's truly given you birth
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and he is your father, who are you going to resemble as his
30:52
child? You ought to resemble him.
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Not perfectly, but there ought to be a resemblance.
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I know the proper word in English is acorn.
31:10
I don't say acorn, I say acorn. Don't laugh at me.
31:14
Y'all do too. Don't laugh at me.
31:15
Come on now. But you know what?
31:18
They say in the country, acorns don't fall far from the the
31:21
tree. If you've been born of God,
31:25
God's seed abides. In you when you.
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Send it off to great against your soul.
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And it all cannot be the lifestyle in which you live.
31:35
John says, because #5 A child of God cannot continue to live in
31:39
sin because they are born of God.
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They are born of God. Verse 10 finally brings it all
31:44
together. Listen to this.
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By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are
31:50
the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice
31:53
righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his
31:57
brother. John says, how can you know that
32:01
you can live confident for the return of Christ?
32:04
Christmas 2 point. O Take a paternity test.
32:09
Two criteria #1A lifestyle of consistently normally doing what
32:15
is right, and #2A lifestyle of love towards others.
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A normal. Habit of doing what's right and
32:25
a lifestyle of love towards others.
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John Stott, famous British preacher, said it better than I
32:30
could say it. He says it like this.
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Lack of righteousness and lack of love prove lack of divine
32:38
birth, lack of righteousness, lack of love.
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Prove lack of divine birth number six final thing we know
32:45
we. Are children of God if we
32:47
practice righteousness and love 1.
32:50
Another. We know we are children of God.
32:53
If we practice righteousness and love one another, Y know what is
32:57
Christmas. It's the fact that a child was
33:00
born. To save sinners and to destroy
33:05
sin so we could become children of God.
33:11
Do you know that? You know you're a child of God?
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Do you realize this one born of God, Jesus, who took on human
33:18
flesh? Do you realize he's no longer a
33:21
baby? He is the.
33:23
Sovereign King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the resurrected One
33:27
who is alive forevermore, reigning and ruling, and will
33:31
return for his own. Have you surrendered your life
33:35
to him? Are you ready to live?
33:37
Ready. And live confident for his
33:39
return. How John's told us here.
33:44
The marvel it is love to understand who you are.
33:47
Understand those why those who are not, who like you are why
33:50
they don't get you. Understanding that the best is
33:53
yet to come, understanding that what all we are now, what we
33:57
will be, we can't even fully articulate.
34:00
But one day we have a hope that can't be taken away from us,
34:02
knowing that Christ. And His promise for us, we can
34:07
live ready and we can live confident.
34:09
By the way, there's no better way, even 3 1/2 months in
34:15
advance of Christmas, to celebrate the fact that a child
34:17
was born for your salvation than to give your life to Jesus
34:21
Christ and be born of God. I'm going to give you a chance
34:26
to respond in just a moment, but for now, we're going to turn our
34:29
attention to the Lord's Supper. Deacons, I'm going to ask if you
34:32
would to position yourselves to prepare to service.
34:35
But as we come to a time of the Lord's Table, here's what I want
34:38
to invite you to do to prepare your heart to participate #1
34:44
what this is about is marveling again at the love of God for
34:48
you. And say, Kyle, what is to marvel
34:52
at? To marvel at the reality that
34:54
what the bread and the cup. Symbolizes is literally the
34:58
price. That was required to pay for
35:01
your sin and for mine was the price of Jesus's body, His
35:06
broken body, and his shed blood. That's the price that God was
35:12
the Father was willing to pay to purchase your salvation to pay
35:18
for your sin if you've received. That payment by faith in.
35:23
Jesus Christ, I'm inviting you to marvel at that once again.
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Perhaps you're here this morning.
35:28
You've you know deep down you've not made that decision.
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I just. Simply want to tell you it is OK
35:33
to allow the. Elements to pass you.
35:35
By that would be the proper response if you're here this
35:39
morning. And you've got anything going?
35:40
On in your. Life where just today is not
35:42
the. Day you can partake.
35:43
It is OK for the elements to pass you by in a moment.
35:47
I'm going to give you a chance to just bow your head and close
35:48
your eyes to just talk with the Lord about anything that may be
35:51
on your heart. You need to deal with anything
35:53
you need to. Confess if there's someone you
35:55
need to text or go to and say I'm sorry, I need to apologize,
35:59
I've wronged you. I can't participate in this and
36:02
act like everything's right between me and God when it's not
36:05
right between me and a brother or sister in Christ.
36:06
This is why the Bible says don't participate in an unworthy
36:09
manner. Don't do this in a way that
36:12
wouldn't honor God if there's other businesses that needs to
36:15
be done 1st and if you can't do that business first, then just.
36:17
Let the elements pass you by. That's OK.
36:20
I'm going to invite you to bow your head and close your eyes.
36:26
Part of what Jesus told us to do, to live ready and to live
36:29
confident, is to continually remind ourselves of His love and
36:33
His sacrifice through the bread and the cup of the supper.
36:38
Physical symbols, the reality that Jesus took on flesh for you
36:43
and for me. I'm going to give you just a
36:45
moment to sit quietly before the Lord and talk to Him about what
36:49
you need to talk about before we pass the elements.