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Are You There Yet? · Sermon Podcast at Cartersville1st

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You have your Bible. Go and make your way to 1st John
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chapter 4, verses 13 through 21. First John 413 through 21.
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I just want to say thank you again to Danny for leading us
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this morning in John's absence. By the way, tomorrow is Danny
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Barker's birthday, so if you see him, give him a high 5 or a hug.
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Tell him happy early birthday. Praise God for him and stepping
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in to serve so well this morning, leading us as we sing
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in worship. If you've ever taken a family
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vacation or road trip, especially one with young
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children, what question gets asked about 10,000 times within
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the 1st 10 minutes? Are we there yet?
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I finally had AI had a friend older than me.
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Very godly guy. Just in case you're wondering.
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After I tell you what I'm about to tell you.
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Said finally. He just got so fed up every time
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his kids would ask the question he just answered yes, yes we're
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there. Open the door.
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They'd look at him all 45° like this.
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Damn what? What?
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And they're like, Daddy, what do you mean?
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Open the door, We're still moving.
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He's like, exactly. That's why we're not there yet,
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right? When the when the car stops,
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we'll be there, right? Yeah.
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So John doesn't exactly have us on a road trip in first John,
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but you can think of it like 1 John has had us on a journey
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towards a destination he's wanting us to arrive at.
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And that destination is not a physical position.
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It's a spiritual position of absolute assurance of our
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salvation. The question wants us to arrive
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at is a solid 100% knowledge of knowing we've been saved that
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we've been rescued from our sin and that we belong to Jesus
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Christ. In fact, he points to this
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ultimate destination in first John chapter 5 verse 13 when he
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says I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
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son of God. Here it is final destination.
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You ready that you may know that you may know if you read the
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word know over and over and over.
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If you've been reading first John that you may know that you
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have eternal life. John wants us to arrive at the
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destination of absolute assurance of our salvation.
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So this text this morning is answering the question, how do
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you know that you've been truly saved?
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Now, all along the way, John has been posting mile markers, if
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you will, to this ultimate how do you know question, right?
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He's asked and answered the how do you know questions of how do
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you know Christianity is true? And how do you know that you're
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a true Christian? And if you're a true Christian,
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how do you know what's dangerous to you as a Christian?
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And then how do you live ready as a true Christian for Jesus's
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return? How do you live in the last
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days? How do we live towards one
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another? And then now and of course, even
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last week or week before he we, we asked and answered, how do
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you tell what teaching is true or not?
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And now how do you know that you've been truly saved?
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All right, John wants you to have absolute assurance of your
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salvation. The question this morning is,
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are you there yet? Are you there yet?
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Listen to the Word of God first. John 4, beginning in verse 13.
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By this we know that we abide in Him and He and us, because He
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has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testified
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that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
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Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in
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him and He in God. So we have come to know and to
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believe the love that God has for us.
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God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God
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abides in Him. By this is love perfected with
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us, so that we may have confidence for the day of
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judgement, because as He is, so also are we in this world.
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There is No Fear in love, but perfect love cast out fear, for
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fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been
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perfected in love. We love because He first loved
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us. If anyone says I love God and
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hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his
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brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not
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seen. And this commandment we have
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from him, whoever loves God must also love his brother.
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Here's the message this morning. Absolute assurance of salvation
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comes from undeniable evidence of salvation.
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Absolute assurance of salvation. This destination John wants you
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and me to arrive at, he says, comes from undeniable evidence
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of salvation. Then you're perhaps like, well,
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Kyle, what's that undeniable evidence?
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What John tells us, we're going to walk through it together.
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First is this absolute assurance of salvation comes from the
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undeniable evidence of possessing the Holy Spirit.
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Did you notice what verse 13 says?
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Look at it again. He says by this we know that we
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abide in Him and He and us. So just stop right there.
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That's John's language of salvation.
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God abiding in you, His Holy Spirit residing in you and your
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life being in Him, being made alive by Him.
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This is how we know that's the case because He's given us of
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His Spirit undeniable evidence number one that you've been
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saved is your possession, your indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
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You see receiving the Holy Spirit of God living within you
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is exactly what Jesus said what happened the moment he ascended
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to the right hand of the Father and sent the helper the spirit.
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Listen John 15 chapter 15 verse 26.
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Jesus says, But when the helper capital H, the Holy Spirit
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comes, who I will send you from the Father, that's the Spirit of
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truth who proceeds from the Father.
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That was the promise. Acts 18 Again, Jesus tells his
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disciples you're going to receive power when the Holy
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Spirit has come upon you and then Paul writing to the
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Ephesian believers in verse 13 and 14 of chapter 1 says you
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also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
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salvation and believed in him that's believed in Jesus.
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We're sealed with the promised Jesus promised the Holy Spirit
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who is what's this the guarantee of our inheritance until we
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acquire possession of it. Don't miss that word guarantee
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there. That's like a down payment.
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See, your salvation, if you've been saved is a reality right
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now. It's just not a full complete
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reality yet. It's full completion won't
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happen until you're locking eyes with Jesus face to face the
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moment you see him and righteousness in your life is
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perfected and Christ's likeness in your life is perfected and
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you're in his presence perfectly in paradise forever.
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Your your salvation if you've been saved, it's a reality now.
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But there's more to come. And so in the meantime, you've
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been given a down payment. The very presence of the person
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of the Holy Spirit of God living within you.
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This is undeniable evidence, number one, that you have truly
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been saved. You say, Kyle, how do I know if
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I've received the Holy Spirit? The way John states it here, he
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just like states it. And if you're going to notice in
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a second, it's like he just moves on.
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I can't, can't help but think that John is thinking.
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If you've received the Holy Holy Spirit, there's no doubting it.
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You simply know. I'll never forget the first time
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I say I'll never forget. Like it was this big moment in
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my life. I just remember when I passed a
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billboard and I saw the acronym for the first time, IYKYKIYK.
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Somebody looking at me like I got to think real hard about
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this. IYKYKI had no clue what that
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meant. It was an advertisement.
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I had to Google it. Y'all know what that means?
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If you know, you know, no pun intended.
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Literally the acronym is if you know you, you know, I kind of
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think that's the way John is almost processing it right here,
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right? I mean, it's almost like he, you
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know, if you've received, if you've possessed, if you've been
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given off the, if you've been given the Holy Spirit, He
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doesn't explain much more. But I think I would expand upon
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it like this if I were, if I were trying to explain if you've
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been saved, you've responded to the presence and the power and
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the person and the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God.
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It's because there was a day and time in your life when you were
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under the conviction of sin, when your eyes were open to
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Jesus and your need for a Savior.
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Do you remember that day when you encountered the work of the
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Holy Spirit in your heart, and then if you responded to that in
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faith and confess Jesus as your Lord?
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Let me ask you now, are you continually, even to this day,
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experiencing the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit in
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your life? Do you sense the Holy Spirit
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guiding you, impressing upon you decisions and direction and the
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things that you've since God would have you do and say and
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where you would have you go? Would you say you, you
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experienced the continued conviction of sin in your life
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and the leadership of the Spirit in your life and the comfort and
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the help and the strength of the Holy Spirit in your life?
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I think you could if, if that's the case, if you know you, you
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know now if you've never responded to the conviction of
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sin and the need for a Savior in your life, then what you don't
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know that you need to know is that God so loved you, He sent
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his Son to die on the cross for your sin and your place so that
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whosoever will believe in him should not perish but have
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everlasting life. Jesus says I'm the way, the
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truth and the life. There's no other way of
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salvation. Every religion, every quote
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effort, religious effort, spiritual effort to get to God
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is an effort to receive righteousness and eternal life,
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to please God, to be good enough.
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There's no good enough. Jesus is the only one good
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enough. But he was good enough in your
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place. He was perfect in your place and
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the Holy Spirit. When you hear the word of the
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gospel, that good news of what Jesus has done for you, living
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and dying and rising from the dead for you, When you hear that
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news, the Holy Spirit of God works in your heart to convict
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you of your sin and unrighteousness and need for the
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righteousness of Jesus and the fact that you are separated from
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Him and the conviction of your sin that leads you to a
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realization of Jesus. Has that happened in your life?
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If not, that's what first of all needs to happen.
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Have you, have you arrived at the undeniable evidence of
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possessing the Holy Spirit? Are you there yet?
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Are you there yet #2 Absolute assurance of salvation comes
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from the undeniable evidence of confessing Jesus as Lord.
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Look at verse 14 and 15. And we've seen and testify that
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the Father, that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of
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the world. Now, John is not dealing with
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these things in a strict chronological order because if
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he was doing that, he would have started with this one because
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this is what happens first before you receive the Holy
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Spirit. But John is talking to us now as
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those who if you have received the Holy Spirit, it's because
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you've confessed Jesus as your Lord.
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Of course, when John says here we've seen, he's literally
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referring to the fact that he and the other apostles
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physically witnessed the incarnation Jesus in the flesh,
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living and walking among them. Of course, we don't have that
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physical testimony, but we have that physical testimony recorded
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for us as the Holy Spirit inspired those eyewitnesses to
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write of what they witnessed so that we could be receivers of
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that testimony. And not only we have that, but
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we didn't have the internal witness of the Holy Spirit that
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testifies to us as they testified and wrote it down for
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us. So God the Father, John says,
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has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
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That is the heart of our faith right there, that God the Father
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sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
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The world includes you. God the Father sent his Son,
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Jesus to be your Savior, to be my Savior.
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Is Jesus your Savior because you've confessed him as Lord and
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believed on him for forgiveness of sin?
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Salvation happens. That rescue happens the moment
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when someone believes and confesses Jesus as Lord, the Son
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of God the Savior. Y'all That happened in the first
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service as a young lady walked the aisle during the invitation
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and knelt right there and prayed to confess Jesus as her Lord and
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as her Savior, and she was saved right there when she did it.
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Praise God, that's when it happens when you realize your
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need of a Savior, you realize your sin and you say I'm
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confessing Jesus because I realized the Father has sent the
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Son to be my savior, the savior of the world.
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Has this happened? This confession happened in your
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life. Verse 15 since whoever confesses
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that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him and he and God
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there it is again. God abides in him by the Spirit
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now possessing the whole that that believer possessing the
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Holy Spirit on the inside as he resides in us as those who
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confessed Christ as Lord. Have you undeniably confessed
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Jesus as Lord and have you undeniably received the Holy
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Spirit dwelling in you? Absolute assurance of salvation
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comes from undeniable evidence. Are you there yet #3 absolute
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assurance of salvation comes from the undeniable evidence of
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love for God, love for God. Listen to verse 16 and 17 again.
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So we have come to know John says, and to believe the love
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that God has for us before we get to our love for God.
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John starts where it all starts with God's love for us.
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Y'all if salvation. We're a diamond of massive
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proportion that we could hang from the ceiling and let the
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light shine and reflect off every individual facet of it.
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We could sit here and describe all the unique dimensions and
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facets of our salvation because it's so much to describe.
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It is being born again. It's being made alive.
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It's being made a new creation, the old being gone and the new
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coming. It's being forgiven of your sin.
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It's being rescued from death. It's being rescued from hell.
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It is being freed from shame and guilt and bondage to sin.
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It is redemption. It is purification.
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It is justification. It is the reception of Christ's
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righteousness. It's adoption into God's family.
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It's eternal life. And I'll run out of breath
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telling you all it is. We could keep going.
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Salvation is all of these things and more.
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But the facet of salvation that John is wanting to point out to
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us this morning is a bone marrow deep awareness of God's love for
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you and me. Salvation is ultimately a bone
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deep awareness that God loves you.
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And it's your response to that realization that God loves you.
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We've come to note which John says and still know and we have
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come to believe and still believe the love that God has
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for us. Y'all, to attempt to describe
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the love of God for you and for me is to try something that will
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take us to a loss of words. I feel the most feeble as a
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preacher when I'm trying to tell you how much God loves you.
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Paul describes it sort of like this.
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It's, it's greater than life and death, it's greater than angels
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or rulers. It's greater than things
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present, past or things to come. It's greater than height or
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depth and anything in creation. And the love of God is, is
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greater than we can put into words and nothing can separate
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us from it. Why?
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Because God is love. We looked at this last week, how
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God and his character and nature is this word in the Greek New
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Testament that means agape, that means God has chosen to, to, to
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love you. Why?
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Because in his character and in his nature, he is love.
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Love that is not one activity God picks out on Monday morning.
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Love is what informs and drives and motivates everything God
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does and all that He is. God is love.
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Some people struggle with the idea that God could love them.
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We talked about this last week. If you missed it, I want to
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repeat it, even if you didn't miss it, because this is worth
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taking home. Some people struggle with the
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fact that God could love them, and to be honest, they're
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thinking about how unlovely they are.
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And when it comes to our sin and our natural tries at
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righteousness, you would be right.
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We're unlovely compared to God's righteousness.
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We can never earn his favor or earn his love.
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But maybe you've made some really big mistakes and you're
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thinking, well, even if I want to believe that God is love or I
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want to receive Jesus, God could never forgive me.
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God could never love me. And if God's love operated by
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your human logic, you would be right.
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You would be right because we can never earn God's love.
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We can never be lovely enough for God to love us.
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But praise God, God's love doesn't work by human logic.
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God's love doesn't work on the fact that our love is always a
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response to a condition of something being lovely.
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But God doesn't say he loves you based on the condition of you
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being lovely. God's word says he loves you on
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the unconditional condition of he being loved.
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God doesn't love you because you're you.
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God loves you because he's God. And God is love in some ways.
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If you feel like God couldn't love you, this is the, this is
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the hard truth, the blunt truth. I'll say it to you in love, you
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got to get over yourself. God loves you.
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God loves you. It's just a matter of whether
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you believe it or not because it has nothing to do with you being
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lovely or unlovely. It has everything to do with God
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being God. Do you know in your bones that
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God loves you? Or do you have days when you
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feel like he might not? You're still thinking about you
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instead of thinking about God. Absolute assurance of salvation
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comes when you realize the depth of the love of God for you.
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Listen to what famous preacher by the name of Charles Spurgeon
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said about grasping God's love for us.
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Listen to this. Get the thought in your head for
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a minute. God loves me, not merely bears
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with me, thinks of me, feeds me, but loves me.
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Oh, this is a very sweet thing to feel that we have the love of
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a dear wife or a kind husband, and there is much sweetness in
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the love of a fond child or a tender mother.
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But to think that God loves me, this is infinitely better.
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Who is it that loves you? God, the Maker of heaven and
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earth, the Almighty All in all, does He love me, even He?
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If all men and all angels, and all the living creatures there
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that are before the Throne loved me, it were nothing to this the
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Infinite. One loves me and who is it that
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he loves me? The text saith us.
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We love him because he first loved us by this.
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But this is the personal point. He loves me.
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An insignificant nobody full of sin, who deserves to be in hell,
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who loves him so little in return.
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God loves me. Have you realized God loves you
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and that can ever change? Are you there yet?
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John then says next verse 16 end of it.
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God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God
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abides in him. Is He?
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To truly know the love of God, y'all produces from the depths
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within you a love for God in return.
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We love not because we first loved him, but because He first
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loved us. This is where love of God comes
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from. Love of God doesn't come from
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because somebody's better than somebody else, so they love God
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and somebody else doesn't. That's how we think.
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Love of God comes when you realize God loves you
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unconditionally. And when you receive that love,
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you can't help but love back. You can't help but reciprocate
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it back verse 17 by this is love perfected with us.
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Now John's not talking about being perfect in terms of
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righteous practical behavior. That's not what he's talking
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about. He's using that word perfected
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in a different way by this love is perfected with us so that we
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we may have confidence for the day of judgement because as he
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is so also are we in this world. All right, so by this, and the
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reality is the reality of God abiding in US and us and him,
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that's John's way of saying salvation.
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All right, so by perfected, John means that as we abide in God
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and God in us, the love of God reaches its intended goal, its
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intended point. It achieves its purpose in the
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sense that when we realize God's love for us and it produces in
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US a love back toward God and a love towards one another, that's
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when God's love is perfected than us, when it actually
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achieves its design, when we receive it and then we show it.
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John says when salvation is genuine, when we've received
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really the love of God and the love of God is shown back out,
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that's when God's love is perfected in US.
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That's when it achieves its point, love towards God and man
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as we abide in God and he and us producing love and confidence
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before God. Listen to what John says here.
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It literally produces a confidence in us for the day of
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judgement. Now this is what verse 17 says.
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Listen to it by this is love perfected with us so that we may
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have confidence for the day of judgement.
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If there is one day that you want to have confidence for of
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all days, it is this day. It's not the day of your big
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interview. It's not the day of the big
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presentation. It's not the day of the sale.
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It's not the day of your wedding or proposal.
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The day you want to have confidence for men and women,
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ladies and gentlemen, friends, boys and girls, is the day you
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stand before your maker. This is the day you want to have
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confidence for. How do you have confidence for
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that day? Literally the word confidence.
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There is a word that means freedom of speech, like an
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ability to feel good about stating your status.
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OK, so think about it like this. Let's say you're on the way home
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today and blue lights are all the sudden behind you and sure
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enough, you pull over. But you know what?
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You know between you and God, you weren't in the wrong.
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You weren't speeding. You didn't run a red light.
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Your tail lights aren't out. You don't know why he's pulling
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you over. But there was a car about 10
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seconds earlier that flew by you at about 100 miles an hour that
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look just like your car. And you know, you weren't in the
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wrong. You know you saw somebody in the
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wrong. And you it's pretty clear he got
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the wrong guy. But now he's walking up to your
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window for judgement. And if you're not, if you know,
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if you're confident of your status when he goes to say, hey,
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I mean, what's going on? What are you going to say?
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I was speeding. Forgive me, Sir.
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I all my heart before you. I I know nothing that I did to
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violate the law. I I I declare I'm I'm innocent.
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Think what you wanted is that other truck that just drove by
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that looked just like mine, right?
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You you're what I'm trying to say.
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You're given a confidence to speak up when you're aware of
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your status is right when when when you're aware your status
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with God is right because of Jesus's righteousness in your
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place. You show up confident on the day
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of judgment before Almighty God. Now I'm not saying you're going
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to start talking on that day. I'm just saying you're going to
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feel confident for that day, probably going to bow in silence
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to put your face on the floor before the glory of Jesus on
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that day. But what is this?
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What does this mean right? So he says here, John says
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living in the love of God and love for God produces in us this
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amazing confidence for the day of judgment.
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I want to be clear about the day of judgment.
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The Day of Judgment is the day we'll stand before our Maker to
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give an account of our lives. The Day of Judgment is the day
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we're going to face the verdict of heaven or hell, eternal
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paradise or eternal punishment. It's the day when unrepentant
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sinners who have refused Jesus are sentenced to an everlasting
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hell. And it's a day when sinners who
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have repented and trusted Jesus will be invited into everlasting
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life. The two verdicts could not be
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more different. It will all be based on whether
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you've received or rejected Jesus.
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This is what will happen on the day of Judgment and a day that
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could strike terror in your souls.
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The Bible says you can have absolute, complete confidence
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for that day. Are you there yet?
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Are you there yet? Because you've trusted Jesus
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Christ as your Lord and Savior, confessed him as Lord, you've
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received the Holy Spirit, You've realized in your bones God loves
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you. You can't help but love Him in
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return. And the love of God's being
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perfected in you because you're loving God back and loving
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others and you've got confidence for the day of judgment as He
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is. John says we as so we are.
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So are we also in this or what does that mean?
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He's comparing now our status because of those who've been
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saved with the connection with Christ as he is right?
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Listen to this. As Jesus abides in the Father,
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so do we. As Christ is the Son of God,
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we've become as those that have been saved, the adopted sons and
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daughters of God. As Christ is righteous, we have
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his righteousness. And as Christ is loved by the
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Father, so we too have been loved by the Father.
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So our confidence from the day of judgement comes from the
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assurance of knowing. Listen to this.
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Our confidence to stand before God in the day of judgment comes
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from the fact that we know that God will treat us just like He's
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treated his one and only Son, because our lives are in him.
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Our righteousness is his shared with us.
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He by His blood has forgiven us of our sin.
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And we're going to be ushered into the presence of Almighty
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God because of Christ as He is, so also are we.
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Are you there yet? Are you there yet?
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You can have absolute assurance of salvation because of
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undeniable evidence. You've confessed Jesus as Lord,
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you possess the Holy Spirit, and because of love for God, love
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for God #4 absolute assurance of salvation comes from the
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undeniable evidence of fourthly, No Fear.
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No Fear. This is closely connected to
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what we just processed. But this is verse 18.
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John gets even more clear. He says there is No Fear in
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love, but perfect love cast out. Fear for fear has to do with
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punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
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You see, living in love of God and living in love with God
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eliminates all fear of punishment from God.
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There's No Fear in love. Love and fear don't mix.
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They don't mingle. Love and fear cannot coexist
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towards God in the same heart. So if we're afraid, if you're
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someone who's still afraid of what's going to happen when you
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stand before God, you're not yet fully living in the love all God
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for you, because love for God and fear of God and fear of
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what's going to happen on that day can't coexist in the same
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heart. Not someone who's truly received
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fully the love of God. General Stonewall Jackson is
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noted to have said the following statement.
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He said my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in
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battle as in bed. God has fixed the time of my
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death. I do not concern myself about
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that, but to always be ready no matter when it may overtake me.
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That is the way all men should live.
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And then all would be equally brave when you know the love of
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God for you, because you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior,
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and you know God ordained the day that you took your first
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breath. And in God's Providence and
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sovereignty, He knows the day you'll take your last.
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You can live each day without fear.
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Christian, listen to me. You ought not fear death.
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I'm going to say it one more time that needs an Amen.
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You ought not fear death. The day you take your last
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breath is a day you get to see your Savior eye to eye, face to
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face. It's a day when the life that
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God is planned and prepared for those He loves are ushered into
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a reality that no words could describe this side of heaven.
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The day you take your last is the day you walk into His
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presence forever. Nothing can snatch you out of
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His hand. And the day you stand before
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judgement, if you're covered by the blood of Jesus and praise
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God, praise God. I don't have to give an account
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for my sin. I'm going to get to see the one
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who died in my place. I'm going to get to walk in to
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the presence of my Savior. You don't have to fear.
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If you know the love of God what Jesus has done for you, you can
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have No Fear. Are you there yet #5 Absolute
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assurance of salvation comes from the undeniable evidence of
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love for others, Love for others.
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This is verse 19 through 21. It says here John writes, we
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love because he first loved us. If we live in God and God lives
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in US and God is love, guess what you're going to do?
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I thought it was more obvious than that.
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You're going to love like you're not going to have to make
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yourself do it. You're going to, you're not
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going to have to put it on your To Do List.
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You're not going to have to set a reminder on your phone.
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You live in God and God lives in you and God is love.
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You're going to John says this is just going to happen.
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If your salvation is genuine, this is going to happen.
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This is how you can know if you've been truly saved.
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And John says if you haven't or you don't love, then listen to
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what he says. Verse 2221.
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If anyone says I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar.
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I love John. I wish I could have a
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conversation with him. He'd said a lot of things
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straight in my life. For Hugh does not love his
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brother, whom he has see, has seen, cannot love God, whom he
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has not seen. And this commandment we have
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from him, whoever loves God must also love his brother.
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Now, you need to be reminded there that the word hate there
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in John's usage does not mean like digging a hole and throwing
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somebody in it. All right?
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Hate is anything less than love, and love is acting for the good
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of someone else at your own expense.
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You can do nothing and be hating.
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All you got to do is turn your head the other way and ignore
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the obvious need in front of you that you could have met.
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He who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, the
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book of James says, is sin. Sin is hate.
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Hate towards God and man to anything less than love in our
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lives is hate. So John says, you claim to say I
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love God, but don't act sacrificially for the good of
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others in your life when you see obvious needs that God could use
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you to me and you say you love God.
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John says point blank to your face, you're a liar.
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It's not true. Now what John is not trying to
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say is that loving people is easier than loving God.
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We all know that's not necessarily the case.
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Don't know some hard to love people, come on that make you
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uncomfortable. You can say Amen, I know some
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hard to love people. But John's point is that listen,
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you're given more opportunity on the daily to act sacrificially
34:13
for one another, then you're given up, you know, practical
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opportunity on a daily basis to show love towards God.
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So if you're not doing it towards those in your life, even
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those closest to you, your spouse, your kids, your family,
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your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers, and even
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strangers, if that's not happening in your daily life,
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don't act like you love toward you.
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You love God. You don't unless it's first
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happening with the people in your life.
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If God lives in you and you live in God, and God is love, guess
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what you're going to do? John says you can have love
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towards others. Jesus says this, If you love me,
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you will obey my commands. Listen to what 1 preacher said
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you said. Brothers and sisters, one of the
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main reasons why so many professing Christians have
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little confidence with God and little boldness is because their
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lives are not devoted to the salvation of the lost and to the
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glory of God, but rather instead are devoted to providing earthly
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security and comfort for themselves and their families.
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What he's saying is we get so caught up in the things of this
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world as Christians and pursuing what we think should give us
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earthly security. We don't have earthly confidence
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toward God because we're living for our Kingdom instead of His
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Kingdom, at living for what the world says we should love rather
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than what God says we should love, and it messes with our
35:43
confidence. Absolute assurance of salvation
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comes from undeniable evidence. That final undeniable evidence
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is love for others. So here's what we've walked
35:53
through. You ready?
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I'm asking you, are you there yet?
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Absolute assurance of salvation comes from undeniable evidence.
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What is that undeniable evidence?
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Let me put it in a little different order.
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Number one is confessing Jesus Christ is Lord, and then two,
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the one we started with, it is possessing the Holy Spirit and
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#3 it's love for God. You can't help but love Him back
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if you know how much He loves you.
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And then it's No Fear. No Fear in life, No Fear in
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death, No Fear for the day of judgment.
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And then finally, it's love towards others.
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If you've received it, you can't help but show it.
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Are you there yet? Are you there yet?
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I'm going to ask you to bow your head and close your eyes.
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Jesus knows right where you are. If you're not at the final
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destination of absolute assurance of your salvation,
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would you be willing to do something about it this morning?
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Maybe it's because you need to be saved.
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You need to trust Christ. You need to confess Jesus as
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Lord, just like that young lady named Allie did in the first
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service. She just walked right up to me
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where from where she was sitting.
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She said, Pastor Carl, I really don't have the words to say, but
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I want to trust Jesus as my Savior.
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Do you need to do the same thing?
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Would you step out and come in a moment when we stand and sing?
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Or if you have, are you lacking confidence in any of those
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categories? Is there a lack of undeniable
37:41
evidence? And if so, do you need to
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confess that before Lord? Do you need to ask God to change
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something in your life, to let go of something?
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Do you need to come and get it on your knees at this altar and
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say, God, I'm lacking in this area?
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Would you show me why? Or God already know why?
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I just need to tell it tell you or you already know, but I just
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need to be honest with you God, I need you to redirect me in
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this area because it's causing me a crisis of confidence in my
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life and living for you now and even on the day of judgement.
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God give me absolute assurance. Help me to see this undeniable
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evidence in my life. I'm going to ask you to respond
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as the Lord leads you as we worship heavenly Father.
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I pray in just the next few moments that we would do
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business with you unashamed to do it before men, as we'll stand
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before you unashamed one day and you unashamed of us.
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Lord Jesus, you came and bore the shame for us so that we
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could walk free of our sin and shame because of your blood.
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Father, I want to thank you for the confidence you've allowed us
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to have. I want to pray for every person
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in this room and watching online that they wouldn't walk out of
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the room today or walk away from the screen until they have
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absolute assurance of their salvation.
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Let it be, Lord Jesus, we pray in your name, Amen.
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Would you stand with me? Cheers family.