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Wednesday Evening Message: Guest Speaker - Tom Mason · CCC West Covina

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How is everybody doing? All right, All right.
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Welcome to Summertime Wednesday Nights Christ Community Church.
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Let's open with prayer. Father, We do thank you for your
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great grace toward us. We thank you for Jesus Christ
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our Lord. We thank you for the privilege
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of prayer. We ask now that you would direct
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us in our time that we might honor you, and all that we do.
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We pray to this in Jesus name. Amen.
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Tonight we will be in First John.
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For some of you it would be the first time that you've heard me
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teach from First John. For others of you and you will
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remember that we have been going through First John for a while.
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But the last time I spoke on 1st John was Wednesday night, March
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4th, 2020. So Needless to say, we going to
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have to do some catching up to see what it is that we have
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been, what it is that we have learned and then have an
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opportunity to move forward. And in moving forward then we
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will have an opportunity to catch up and move on as we have
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those times together. So when we think of first John,
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we think of the author, the name has been given because it
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relates to the apostle John. There's no argument about who
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the author is. The setting writing would have
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been somewhere around a D90 to 95.
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At the time of the writing, John was in Ephesus and although he
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was the youngest of the apostles when chosen, now he is a man
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that is well aged and out of that wisdom he writes as he is
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inspired by the Holy Spirit in Asia Minor, what is today
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Turkey. In that area.
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It was a hotbed of false religions, cults, philosophies,
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worshippers of emperors, and there was no shortage of objects
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of worship, with inclusivism being the watchword for the day.
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Whatever religion you came up with, you had to have it to
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where everybody could get a piece of it, no matter what it
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is that they believe. And then here it is.
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John comes along and he writes first John, and he's writing it
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from the idea of exclusive. It was as if John was saying to
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them, all roads may lead to Rome, but there's only one way
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to have it, and that heaven is exclusively through Jesus Christ
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our Lord. And so he comes and he presents
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his writings and he is setting up that he might help the people
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of that area understand the truth.
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And when you are set out for your intentions to be to talk
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about the truth, the opposite of truth would be a lie.
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OK, so John sits his whole writings to always give 2
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examples. And I like what John MacArthur
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says about that. He says he in his writings.
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In both John and this epistle, he puts out a series of
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comparisons of two. Never with a third entry.
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For instance, when he talks about light and darkness, he
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doesn't add in there a shade of Gray.
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He wants you to understand that the contrast is between light
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and darkness. He talks about love and hate.
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He talks about in the world or out of the world.
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He talks about the fact that there is death and there is
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life. He wants us to understand that
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there are comparisons, but the comparisons are best known when
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you just deal with the two. So as we look at this writing
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tonight, we want to be able to keep that in mind.
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Whether he's talking about light or darkness, whether he's
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talking about truth or lies, whether he's talking about the
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love of the Father or the love of the world, you will always
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see John bring it down the two. And then in doing so, he's
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trying to help us. Not to be confused, but there
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are times that we simply confuse ourselves.
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Other day, Don and I was at home and there was a knock on the
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door and we, I, I make it to the door.
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And there was 2 Jehovah Witnesses and they was telling
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me that you have to bring comfort to folks.
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Those people are confused. People need to be made
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uncomfortable. And matter of fact, when I
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describe to them what you are to share with those who are outside
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of Christ, they said, oh you, you would scare people if you
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tell them. My idea is I would love to scare
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them out of that pit that they're in or hit it to.
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John wants us to understand that there is truth and there is
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error, and he wants us to understand that when we head in
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that direction of truth, that there is no alternative.
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We must follow the truth. So as we look at what we've
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covered, we've started back with John.
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First John chapter one, verse one, what was from the
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beginning. John wants to take them all the
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way back to the beginning of the gospel and say to them that we
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are still teaching the same thing that Christ taught when he
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was here on earth. And you can go back to Matthew
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chapter 4 verses 7, chapter 4 verses 12 to 17.
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It says. Now when Jesus heard that John
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had been taken into custody, he departed into Galilee and
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leaving Nazareth he came and lived in Caprinium, which is by
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the sea in the region of Lebanon and Nepali.
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In order that what was spoken in Isaiah the prophet would be
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fulfilled, Jesus is ready to start his ministry.
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And how does he started? He started by fulfilling the
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scripture. Look at verse 15 in Matthew
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chapter 4. It says in the land of Lebazon
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and the land of Naphtholi, by the way of the sea beyond the
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Jordan, the Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who were
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sitting in darkness was saw a great light, and those who were
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sitting in the land and shadow of death upon them a light
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dawned. From that time Jesus began to
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preach and say repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
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So when John makes this statement, what was from the
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beginning, He says that has been true from that time in Jesus's
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ministry. And here we are some 60, some
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years later and he says we're still preaching the same thing.
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We want people to repent and to come to a point of understanding
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that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
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The false teachers of that day taught that the knowledge of
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God's provision for you must be reached to some higher level of
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spiritual awakening, which then would put you in some elite
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class. Then and only then could you
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know what God had for you. But John would come along and he
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would start to write. And when he says, I write to you
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little children, he's not talking about an elite class.
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He's talking about people like you and me.
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I write unto you, little children, that you might
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understand the way to God. And he was directly in contrast
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to what the false teachers were saying.
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And in these first four verses, John has shown us what is the
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truth compared to the false teachers.
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He goes on to say what we have heard, what we have seen with
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our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands
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concerning the word of life. And the life was manifested, and
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we have seen and testified and proclaimed to you that eternal
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life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us what
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we have seen and heard, we proclaim to you so that you may
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have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is
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with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
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These things we write to you so our joy may be complete.
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This Word fellowship, it's a partnership.
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It's a sharing in common, he says.
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I want you to know that our fellowship is with the Father
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and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and we want you to share in that
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fellowship with us believers. That's what you and I have been
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left on this earth for. So we can share with others how
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we have a fellowship with the Father and how we want them to
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share that fellowship with us. But then as he moves on through
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this letter, he would talk about this fellowship and how it is
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that it is to be announced and how it is to be sent out so
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others might hear it. In verse five, he said, this is
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the message that we have heard from him and announced to you
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that God is light. Wow, what's the opposite of
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light? Darkness, he says.
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God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.
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None. God is light, and in God there
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is no darkness at all. He's setting up something here
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for us. He wants us to understand if our
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life is tracking in darkness. God is not in us.
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That's what he is bringing out here.
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Matthew chapter 5, verse 14 says you are light of the world, a
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city sit up on the hill that cannot be hidden.
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Jesus is making this statement to his disciples that would
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apply to you and to me today. We are light of the world.
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We are a city that is set on the hill that cannot be hidden.
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He wants us to understand that Paul would pick up on this in
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Philippian chapter 2, verses 14 and 15.
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He says do all things without complaining and and arguments,
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so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and
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innocent children of God above reproach, in the midst of a
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crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights
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in the world. Wow.
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Paul saw the world of his time as crooked and perversed.
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I wonder how he would see it today.
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But notice what hasn't changed, you and I, or to appear to them
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as lights in the world. And he wants us to understand
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that John said. I want to declare to you that
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God is light first John chapter one verse 7 says, But we walk in
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the light as he himself is in the light and we have fellowship
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with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ
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his Son cleanses us from all sin, doesn't clean us from some
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sin, cleans us from all sin. First John chapter 2, verse 8.
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He says On the other hand, I have written to you a new
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commandment to you which is true in him and in you, because the
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darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
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That's how he refers to the true light is already here.
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We're here to take this message out.
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Look at the next verse first John 29 he says the one who says
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that he is in the light and yet hate his brother is in the
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darkness until now. Translation the one who says he
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is a Christian but hate his brother.
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He says he is in the darkness to now he says he's no Christian at
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all. Why?
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Because the very thing that God is bringing to us is love.
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And if we don't have that love for one another then there is no
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God in us. That's what he is pointing out
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to us. The one who loves his brother
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remains in the light, and there is nothing in him that would
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cause him to stumble. The Christian is going to love
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his brother, and by doing that he remains in the light and
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there's nothing there for him to stumble over.
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We have the light in us and therefore there is and no
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stumbling for us back to first John six.
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I'm sorry, first John one verse 6.
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If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in
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darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
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But if we walk in the light, as he himself is in the light, we
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have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
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Christ cleanses us from all the sin.
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If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the
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truth of God is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
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faithful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and to
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cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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If we say that we have not sin, we make him out to be a lie, and
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his word is not in us. Wow, just full of good
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information for us. If we say that we have
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fellowship with him and walking darkness, we lie and do not
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practice the truth. But by walking in the light it
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helps us to understand that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
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us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin.
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Now when he says we he's actually talking about
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Christians. If you claim to be a Christian
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and you say that you have no sin, he says that you May God
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ought to be a lie. But since we Christians have
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sinned, he says in verse 9, if we confess our sins, He's
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faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from
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all unrighteousness. If we say we have never sinned,
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we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in ours.
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John lays this out for us that we might clearly understand what
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it is that he's trying to take us to.
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Let's look at first John chapter 2.
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My little children, I write these things to you so that you
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may not sin. And if in this one sin we have
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an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and
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He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
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only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
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When we think of Scripture, don't think of an epistle as a
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book written. It was not.
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It was a letter that is written. So he didn't finish with chapter
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one and say, okay, let me start chapter 2.
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He's simply continuing his letter.
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But he he points out to us that the whole thing is that we would
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not sin. He says, But if anyone sins, do
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we have an advocate? We have one who speaks on our
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behalf and he says he is Jesus Christ the righteous, and he
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himself is the perpetuation satisfaction for our sins and
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not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
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And I know we we talked about earlier that John writes in
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comparisons and he always just gives two.
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He never gives a third one. Some commentators, when they get
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to this verse, they want to throw a third group in.
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So well, maybe he's including just the believing Jews.
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Why would he do that? His comparison is between the
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world and us. He says he's the satisfaction
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for our sins and he says it goes further than that.
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He's not just the satisfaction for our sins, but he's the
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satisfaction for the sins of the world.
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Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of the whole world.
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Then why isn't everybody going to heaven?
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Because of sin? And John tells us that light
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came into the world. But because men love their
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darkness, they love their sin. They stayed in the dark.
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And that's why people today are still in darkness.
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The Geo witnesses that came by my house, they think they're
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carrying a light, they are in darkness.
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They are out there trying to bring comfort to a Sinner.
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Sinner has no comfort. He needs to get into a
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discomfort situation to where he knows he is on his way to hell
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for eternity. But God has provided an an
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alternative. That's the message that we
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carry. Matter of fact, she told me.
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She says you try to scare people.
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No, I don't. I try to share with people the
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truth. And so these are the things that
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we John says that he's the perpetuation for the sins of the
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whole world. Now guess who I'm going to
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believe the scripture or commentator.
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I'm going to believe in the scripture If when he says it's
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the whole world, it's the whole world.
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And then chapter 2, verse three, he says by this we know that we
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have come to know him if we keep his commandments.
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Everybody want to talk about I I know God, I love God.
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But when you start talking about people keeping God's
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commandments, they want no part of that, he says, and this we
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know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments.
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The one who says I have come to know him and does not keep his
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commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.
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But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has been
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perfected. John said You can say all you
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want to I'm a Christian. But if you do not keep God's
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commandments, you are a liar and the truth is not in you.
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Now read it. Read it for yourself.
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I I'm that's not my word. Those are John's word inspired
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by the the Holy Spirit. Why?
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Because he doesn't want us going the wrong direction.
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Think and we are on our way to heaven, he goes on to say in
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verse 6. The one who says I abide in him,
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ought himself to walk in the same manner as he was.
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When you see that word walk is talking about conduct yourself,
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We ought to conduct ourselves in the same manner that Christ
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conducted himself. That's how you tell whether you
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are walking in the light or not. Then chapter 2, verse 15.
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He said do not love the world or the things that are in the
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world. If anyone loved the world, the
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love of the Father is not in him.
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For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust
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of the eyes and the boastful pride of life is not from God
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but from the world. The world is passing away and
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also it's lost. But the one who does the will of
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God will live forever. The one who does what God says,
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that person will live forever. That's the message that John is
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bringing. He wants us to understand that
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there's a way to live and there's a way not to live.
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He goes through, and he described this to us.
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Look at verse 18, the same chapter, children.
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It is the last hour. And just as you've heard that
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the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
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appeared. From this we know that it is the
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last hour they went out from us, but they were not really of us.
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If they had been of us, they would have remained with us, but
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they went out so that it would be shown that they are all not
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of us. But you have an anointing from
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the Holy One and you all know he said they went out from us, but
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they never was up. Now this isn't talking about
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people who leave Christ Community Church and go to
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another church. It's not talking about that at
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all. But if you left Christ Community
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Church and you went join the Jehovah Witnesses, then yes, he
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would. That's that's when he would be
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talking about these people was in the church.
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They sung out of the same hymn books that all of them sung.
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They heard the same message, but they got to this point and said,
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guys, we have risen above you and we have some knowledge that
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you don't have. So we going to leave?
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John said don't worry about them.
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They went out because they never was a part of us.
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If they had been of us, they would have stayed with us.
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Every Christian that has ever come to Christ stays with
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Christ. Those who come in and leave,
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they left because they never were Christians in the 1st
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place. By the way, the guy who started
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Joe Witnesses came out of the evangelical church.
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Why? He was not of us in the 1st
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place. The guy who started the Mormons
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came out of the local evangelical Church of his day.
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Why? Because he never was a Christian
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in the 1st place. That's what John is pointing out
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to us and that's what he wants us to understand.
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Verse 28 He says, look, the children abide in him so that
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when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink back
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from him. In the same way at his coming.
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If you know that he is righteous, you know that
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everyone who practice righteousness is born of him, he
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said. You know God is righteous, so
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everyone who practice righteousness is born of God.
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That's how you tell who the Christians are and who are not.
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By the way, John in his letter doesn't tell you how to get
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saved, but he tell you who to save people are, and the first
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person that we have to look at is ourselves.
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Do I measure up to what John has laid out here for us?
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And I love that word. Practice, he said.
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The one who practice righteousness is born of God.
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See, the difference between practice and perfection is what
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we call humanity. You and I practice
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righteousness. We are not perfected in it yet.
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We are still learning how to do because there are times that sin
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would come up. But what does How does practice
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show itself? I am.
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I'm doing more that is righteous than I'm doing more that is
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sinful. So that's what he's talking
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about. He wants us to understand that
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that the person who practice righteousness is born of him.
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Then we get to chapter 3 and he says see how great a love the
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Father has bestowed upon us, That we would be called the
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children of God. Think of that.
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God, the creator of the universe, the creator of
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everything there is, the giver of every good and perfect gift
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allows you and me to be called his child, He says.
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Look how great a love the Father has restored upon us that he
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that we would be called the children of God and search we
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are. For this reason the world does
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not know us because it did not know Him.
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Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it is not yet
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appeared to what we should be. But we know that when He appears
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we will be like him, because we will see Him just as He is.
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And everyone who has this hope fixed himself, excuse me, have
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this hope fixed on him. Purifies himself just as he is
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peer. That's how you know he's talking
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to Christians. You'd never tell a Sinner to
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purify himself. But how do you and I purify
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ourselves? Let's go back to that thing
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about practicing righteousness. I should be practicing more
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righteousness in a day today than I was last year.
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This time, if I am, not, there's a problem in my life.
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So that's what he's talking about, he says.
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Anyone who has this hope fixed up on him.
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What is the hope? An assured expectation.
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Something God has promised to us, but we have not received it
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yet. I have the assured expectation
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that I will spend eternity in heaven with him.
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I haven't received that yet, but as I live here on this earth, I
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want to line myself up more with that heavenly walk than with an
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earthly walk. And that's what he is, He's
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bringing us to understand. In verse four, he says everyone
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who practice sin also practice lawlessness.
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Notice the word practice again. If you see in your life or in my
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life more sin than righteousness, there's a
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problem, he says, and sin is lawlessness.
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You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in
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him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins.
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Now sin has an S on it sins. You could take that word.
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Practice again. It's not talking about
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perfection. But no one who abides in him
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will practice sin, and in him there is no sin, No one whose
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sin has seen him or know him. No one who practice sin has seen
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God or knows God. Again, I told you, John doesn't
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tell you how to get saved here. He just tell you who the saved
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folks are. He gives you an area where we
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can line ourselves up to look at the word of God and ask and ask
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ourselves the question, how am I doing?
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Let the children make sure that no one deceives you.
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Now why would he put that in right here?
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Because, see, there was those out there that were saying,
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well, you know, it really doesn't matter how you live down
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here. Because see, the flesh is one
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thing, but the Spirit is another.
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It really doesn't matter. John says.
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It does matter if you practice sin.
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You do not know him and you have not seen him.
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Let no one fool you. The one who practice
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righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous.
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The one who practice sin is of the devil and the devil has
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sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this
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purpose to destroy the works of the devil.
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The one who is born of God. Excuse me, the one who is born
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of God will. I'm sorry, no one who is born of
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God practice sin because his seed abides in him and he cannot
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sin because he is born of God. The one who has been born of God
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will not practice in because the seed of God is in us.
32:13
God gives us His Holy Spirit to live within us, and the Holy
32:18
Spirit is there to guide us through this life and to tell us
32:22
there's a temptation coming your way.
32:24
Look away or step away. You don't have to follow that
32:28
temptation. That's what the Holy Spirit does
32:31
in our lives. So he wants us to understand
32:34
that verse 10 is my favorite verse in First John.
32:42
He says by this, the children of God and the children of the
32:45
devil are obvious. Obvious what?
32:52
What? What does that mean?
32:56
If I told you that Tim was sitting down over here, you guys
32:59
would say, hey, that's obvious. We all see that.
33:01
That's what it's talking about. You don't have to wonder if a
33:05
person is a child of God or not, he said.
33:08
The children of God and the children of the devil are
33:11
obvious. Let me give you another clue.
33:17
There's only two fathers when it comes to the human race.
33:22
Either God is your father or the devil is your father.
33:26
There's not a third alternative. Talking to Guy on the bus one
33:31
day brought this idea up of there's only two, he says, I
33:39
have a third one. You have a third one, he said,
33:42
Yeah, I said, well, what is that third one consist of?
33:48
He says I'm still searching to see who I would be.
33:52
I said that means you're under the child of the devil.
33:56
Yeah, there's not a third one. And don't let anybody fool you
34:00
that there is the children of God and the children of the
34:06
devil, and they are obvious. Remember the conversation Jesus
34:12
had with the Pharisees and John chapter 8 three times in in in
34:17
In that chapter he said you were of your father.
34:20
Only the third time did he identify who the father was.
34:24
He said you were of your father, the devil.
34:28
What did he base that on? He said to them you claim to be
34:33
Abraham's children. He said Abraham would have never
34:36
tried to kill me, but you tried to kill me so he could look at
34:40
their lives, what they were doing, and say to them you are
34:47
of your father, the devil, because you were doing what the
34:50
devil tried to do from the first day Jesus showed up on there
34:55
that was to destroy him. Jesus could share this with them
35:00
that they might understand who he is.
35:04
Then we get to 1st John 4. Beloved, do not believe every
35:11
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God
35:16
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
35:20
By this you will know the Spirit of God.
35:23
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
35:27
flesh is from God. Now let's talk about that Jesus
35:33
Christ has come in the flesh. What does that mean?
35:36
That means that they believe that Jesus Christ came in the
35:42
exact form, as the Bible says that he is Jehovah Witnesses
35:48
says that Jesus is a God, but he is not the God.
35:56
He's not the Son of God. He is a God.
36:00
And therefore God created him first and then let him create
36:05
everything else. But the Bible says about Jesus
36:09
Christ, everything was created by him.
36:14
Now, if he was created, then that would take away everything.
36:18
He could not have been created 1st and then create everything
36:22
because you would have him over here being created.
36:25
And he didn't do that. He was God in the flesh from the
36:30
very beginning, and He created everything.
36:33
The Scripture is clear on that. But see, they come along and
36:37
they want to tell you, no, that's not Him.
36:38
So there's we believe in Jesus Christ.
36:41
Do they believe in Him as the Scripture has described him?
36:45
No, they do not. And by the way, there's not
36:48
another religion out there that does not another one that would
36:55
believe the way that the Bible would describe him.
36:59
So he wants us to know this, that we are to test the spirits.
37:07
So what does that mean? That means when you hear a
37:13
message, whether it's from here or anywhere else, test that
37:20
message by the scripture to see if it is the truth of the
37:27
scripture. If it is, then that person is
37:32
following Christ. If it is not then they are not
37:38
following Christ. He goes on to say verse three
37:43
and every spirit that does not confess that that Jesus is from
37:48
God. This is the spirit of
37:50
Antichrist. Then he goes on to say you've
37:53
heard that Antichrist is coming, but I want to tell you that many
37:56
Antichrist is already in the world.
37:59
Anti just simply means against. There are many people out there
38:03
poking themselves in a religious garb but appointing to another
38:07
Christ instead of the Christ of the scriptures.
38:11
And he wants us to understand this.
38:15
By the way, sometime in your spare time, read first John
38:19
chapter 4 and you're going to pick up on some things.
38:23
The word you, us, we shows up over and over again.
38:29
And then the word they and them again.
38:33
He's making a comparison. We would be the believers.
38:36
They and them would be the outsiders.
38:40
He never throws a third person in here.
38:42
He wants you to see clearly there's a comparison of two.
38:47
We do this, the world doesn't listen to us.
38:53
Why? Because they are the world.
38:56
But the believer will listen to us.
38:58
Why? Because we are in this together,
39:03
and that's what he is pointing out to us, that we can know
39:08
this. Because as he brings this to us,
39:13
he wants us to understand, to know the difference between the
39:19
spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
39:23
We must do that. We must be sharp enough to do
39:27
that. And by the way, when the Jehovah
39:29
Witnesses and woman come by your house, stop pretending you're
39:33
not home. Get your Bible.
39:39
Meet them at the door. By the way, the other day I told
39:43
you when she stopped by my house, I didn't know she was
39:45
coming. So I'm at the door without my
39:47
weapon. As soon as my wife hears you
39:50
over witnesses, she go get my Bible and stick it right here in
39:53
my back. So she wanted me to be equipped.
39:58
So she comes up, she brings the Bible.
40:00
She just lays my back. I just read back and get it.
40:01
And now I can preach them from the description.
40:04
Do not pretend you're you're not home.
40:08
Don't do that. That's a mission field that God
40:11
is bringing to your door. Answer that door and speak to
40:16
them and share with them. Chapter 4, verse 19.
40:24
We love because he first loved us.
40:27
If anyone says I love God and yet hate his brother, he is a
40:31
liar. But the one who does not love
40:35
his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not
40:40
seen. And this commandment we have
40:43
from him that the one who loves God must also love his brother.
40:53
And by the way, that's not talking about my identical twin
40:57
brother, Okay. That's talking about all of you
41:00
is my brothers and sisters in Christ.
41:02
Now, fortunately for me, my identical twin brother is a
41:07
Christian, is a pastor Okay. So.
41:10
But that's what he's telling me. He's not talking about family
41:12
here. He's talking about the family of
41:14
God. And notice what he says about
41:17
us. He says we must love each other.
41:21
That's that's not an option. He wants to bring that to us
41:25
that we can understand that. First, John Chapter 5.
41:30
We're just about to get to where we wanted to be for the night.
41:35
Everyone who believes in Jesus. Excuse me, everyone that
41:40
believed that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.
41:50
In that phrase, I want you to notice 2 verbs.
41:55
Everyone who believes that's a verse and that verse is
42:04
continuing. It's not a one time shot.
42:09
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.
42:19
Now that's another verb born. That verse is in the perfect
42:27
tense, meaning it happened at a time back Yonder and it is still
42:33
true today. It's not continually happened.
42:35
The first one is continually happened.
42:37
What does that mean? That means I continue to believe
42:40
in Jesus every day. Okay.
42:42
But where this salvation happened, salvation happened
42:46
when I was born of God. A1 time act in my life and your
42:54
life whenever that was. But because that one time act
42:59
has happened in our lives then every day we continually to
43:03
believe it doesn't matter for somebody brings something new on
43:07
the scene or not. That doesn't change the fact
43:10
that what we believe. When I was working at Edison,
43:15
somebody brought in. So Tom, I want you to take a
43:18
look at this new religion that has come up, he said.
43:23
Have you ever heard of it? It was called Christ Adelphians.
43:26
I had never heard of it before, but the last time I was at the
43:29
LA Counter Fair they had a booth out there.
43:32
So he said what do you know about Mr. Nothing?
43:34
He said, well, let me bring you something tomorrow and then you
43:38
read it and tomorrow is our Bible study and you can tell me
43:41
what do you think of it in Bible study?
43:42
So you did. The way you become a Christian
43:47
in that group is over accumulation of time and
43:54
knowledge. You keep learning and then you
43:58
will reach a point to where God would say, OK, you can you're
44:02
not a believer. So we got the Bible study.
44:08
He said, Tom, do you have a chance to read that yet?
44:09
He said what do you think about it?
44:10
I said it's a cult. He said yesterday you didn't
44:14
know anything about him, but today you call him a cult.
44:16
Why is that? Because you brought me what they
44:19
believed, and when I read what they believe is contrary to
44:24
Scripture, I don't need to know anything else about them.
44:28
They are a cult and therefore they are not to be followed, he
44:36
said. But they give good Bible
44:38
studies. I said no.
44:40
They may give good talks, but they don't give a good Bible
44:43
study. It would be impossible for a
44:46
cult to do that. And everyone who loves the
44:52
Father loves the child that is born of him.
44:57
Verse two, Chapter 5. By this we know that we love the
45:03
children of God. When we love God and follow His
45:09
commandments, there's that word again.
45:13
You're not just to love God, you're to love Him and follow
45:18
His commandments. If you have a problem following
45:22
His commandments, then there's a problem with loving God.
45:25
He brings this to us that we might understand that.
45:28
And then he says by this we know that we love the children of
45:32
God. So that's why we love each
45:36
other. By the way, our team that's down
45:38
in Argentina, I can tell you already that they have met some
45:43
believers down there, end up on meeting the believers.
45:47
It's almost as if they've known them already.
45:50
Why? Because we share in common this
45:53
thing called fellowship, this relationship that we have in
45:57
God. And wherever you are around the
46:00
world, you may not even be able to speak their language, but you
46:05
know that you're believers and you have that fellowship
46:09
together, he says. For this is love of God, that we
46:15
keep His commandments. He keeps bringing us back to
46:18
that point. This is the love of God that we
46:22
keep His commandments. By the way, there's nothing
46:25
emotional about that. You just have to do what the
46:29
scripture tells us to do, and he brings it out, and he lays this
46:34
out for us. Then he says, and his
46:38
commandments are not burdensome. What would be a burden if you
46:46
gave me 200 pounds on my back and told me I had to walk with
46:50
it? That would be a bird.
46:52
He's saying that his commandments are not burdensome.
46:59
For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world, and this is
47:06
the victory that overcomes the world.
47:11
One of John's favorite word, this victory thing.
47:15
Think it's used 23 times in the New Testament?
47:18
John uses it. Eighteen.
47:19
Of those 23. He just comes back to the fact
47:23
that you and I, we are victors and we have overcome the world.
47:30
Then he says something that's interesting.
47:33
He says we have overcome the world.
47:37
By our faith, we have overcome the world.
47:43
By our faith, Now there's two types of faith.
47:46
It could be my faith in Christ and I'm overcoming the world by
47:51
that. But I don't think that's what
47:55
he's talking about. Look at Jude Three, he said.
48:05
Beloved, while I was making every effort to write to you
48:07
about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to
48:13
you, appealing that you would contend earnestly for the faith
48:21
that was once and for all handed down to the Saints.
48:28
He's talking about the faith that Christ produced in us.
48:32
That's what he's saying. We have overcome the world by
48:36
the faith that Christ has implanted in us.
48:41
And when we see that, we understand that Acts Chapter 6,
48:45
verse seven says the word of God kept spreading and the number of
48:53
the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem.
48:58
And many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
49:07
That's what you're talking about, many of the priests.
49:08
Now what does that mean? I mean, that's a little phrase.
49:10
It's just thrown in here. Think about the priest.
49:14
How did the priest make his living from the temple and from
49:17
the sacrifice that everybody brought in?
49:20
He says, Now many of the priests believe, What does that mean?
49:23
No more food from the temple. They now had to get a job and
49:27
start to work and do the whole thing.
49:28
But he says many of the priests believed in the faith.
49:34
And I love how they now he He explains it here, becoming
49:39
obedient to the faith. See, there's one thing to say.
49:43
I have faith. There's another thing to be
49:45
obedient to the faith. And that's what he is bringing
49:49
to us here that he wants us to understand.
49:54
Verse five, Chapter 5. The one who says I've overcome
49:58
the world. Who is the one who overcomes the
50:06
world but the one who believed that Jesus is the Son of God?
50:13
Again, when you hear that phrase, the one who believes
50:16
that Jesus is the Son of God is talking about believing in Jesus
50:20
Christ as the Bible has described him.
50:24
He wants us to understand that that's how it is that we come to
50:30
know him. Verse 6.
50:35
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ
50:42
not by water only, but with the water and with the blood.
50:50
It is the Spirit who testifies because the Spirit is true.
50:58
What is John telling us here? He says Jesus Christ has been
51:07
identified by the Father in three ways, By the water, by the
51:16
blood, and by the Spirit. And when we see this, then we
51:22
get to understand what it is that he's talking about.
51:26
So look at Mark's Gospel, chapter one, he said John the
51:32
Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching A baptism
51:39
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
51:43
And all the country of Judah was coming out to him and all the
51:47
people of Jerusalem, and they were being baptized by him in
51:53
the Jordan River. Confessing their sins.
51:57
John was closed and Campbell hair and wore a leather belt
52:02
around his waist, and his diet was locust and wild honey, and
52:10
he was preaching, saying, after me comes one who is mightier
52:15
than I, and I am not fit to bend down and tie his latches of his
52:22
sandals. I baptize you with water, but
52:28
there's one who's coming who would baptize you with the Holy
52:32
Spirit. Matthew, chapter 3, starting at
52:35
verse 13. Then Jesus arrived in Galilee at
52:40
the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him.
52:44
But John tried to prevent him, saying, I have the need to be
52:50
baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me.
52:55
But Jesus answered and said unto him, Allow it at this time.
53:01
For in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all
53:08
righteousness. Then he allowed him, And after
53:13
he was baptized, Jesus came up immediately out of the ward, and
53:16
behold, the heavens open. And he saw the Spirit of God
53:21
descending upon him like a dove sitting up on him.
53:25
And behold, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son
53:32
in whom I am pleased. This is the baptism.
53:36
He has now been baptized, and have been presented to the
53:39
world, not for his sins, but for those that would be put on him
53:44
by us. And he is baptized and he is now
53:49
announced to those around. This is my beloved Son in whom I
53:55
am well pleased. This was the Spirit of God.
54:01
The voice of God announcing Jesus Christ is God, and God is
54:07
well pleased in him. Then when we moved to the blood,
54:12
Matthew chapter 27 starting at verse 45 he said Now from the
54:20
6th hour darkness fell up on all the land until the 9th hour.
54:26
And about the 9th hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice
54:29
saying Eli, Eli they may support the name.
54:35
This is my God why have you forsaken me?
54:41
And some of those who were standing there when they heard
54:45
it. They said this man is calling
54:48
out for Elijah and immediately one ran and was taking a sponge
54:54
and filled it with sour wine and put it on the reef and gave him
54:58
the drink. But the rest of them said, let's
55:02
see if Elijah will come and save him.
55:06
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and he gave up the
55:12
spirit and behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from
55:18
top to bottom. Why is top to bottom significant
55:22
here? Show the man didn't do it.
55:25
There's no need to keep the holy of holies hidden from mankind
55:30
because Christ has now paid the full penalty for our sins.
55:34
No more need for for the holy of holy.
55:37
So the rip from top to bottom says the rock split.
55:41
All of this is an action taken by God to announce to those
55:46
present This is my beloved Son, and I am pleased in him.
55:55
And when John sees this, he is letting us know that this is the
56:00
way that God has testified of his Son while he was here on
56:07
earth. For there are three First, John
56:11
57. For there are three that
56:14
testifies the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the
56:21
three are in agreement. There was nothing at the baptism
56:28
that contradicted anything at the crucifixion, and the Spirit
56:33
making the announcement did not change any of that, he said.
56:36
They are in agreement. That's why we see the Scripture
56:41
written over these 1500 years still all pointing in the same
56:47
direction. And when we see that, we give
56:50
glory to God, because this is what God has brought to us, that
56:57
we might clearly understand the things that he has shared with
57:03
us. And when we take the scriptures
57:06
and we read it, we find out it's not enough just to read it, we
57:10
must live it. And that's what we have been
57:14
called to do. Every day that God gives us on
57:20
the face of this earth is a day that we can get the word out
57:23
about the Christ. Let's be faithful in doing that,
57:30
that we would fulfill the things that God has left us here to do.
57:38
You know, there are many commands in the Bible.
57:42
Be fruitful and feel the earth is one of those.
57:46
Okay, love thy neighbor as thyself.
57:49
You can go down the list. Just keep going on the things
57:51
that the Bible tells us to do. We only do those things because
57:57
he has left us here for one purpose and that's to get the
58:02
word out about him. Because see, if I'm not loving
58:06
you, then how the world going to believe that there is love in
58:11
the church or love from God. That's why he tells us to love
58:15
with one another. I love the verse that says bear
58:18
with one another. See that's that's an
58:22
acknowledgement that we're not all there yet.
58:26
But he says bear with one another.
58:31
I teach Charlie all the time, Charlie, you have to bear with
58:34
me further. They come up most of the time in
58:39
our families for for their believers.
58:44
Okay, believe it or not, as as dressed up as I look on Sunday
58:49
morning, Donna has to bear with me sometimes.
58:54
That's what we're called to do with each other.
58:57
Why? So when people see us together
59:00
and we stop to share the gospel with them, they're not actually
59:03
questionable. Why are you acting different now
59:05
than you're acting later on? Okay.
59:08
That's what this thing is, and that's what we call to do.
59:13
And we need to keep in mind that we have one purpose on this
59:17
earth. Now, there are many other things
59:19
that we may do while we're here, but one purpose that we may get
59:26
the word out about the Christ. When we do that, then we have
59:32
fulfilled what God has called us to do and left us here.
59:38
For let's pray, Father, we thank you for your great grace toward
59:45
us. We thank you for Jesus Christ
59:48
our Lord. We thank you for your word and
59:52
how plain you have made it. Father, help us to be obedient
59:57
to your word that others might see, and acts of the hope that
1:00:02
is within us. We thank you for our time
1:00:06
together. Tonight we pray for our
1:00:08
Argentina team as they have one more day on the field and then
1:00:12
the journey back home. We commit them to you and the
1:00:16
word of your grace. We thank you for our time in
1:00:20
Jesus name. Amen.