WEBVTT 00:00:01.660 --> 00:00:05.660 Well, we're looking at God's Word, and we're 00:00:05.660 --> 00:00:08.580 looking at that little book of 1 John, so if 00:00:08.580 --> 00:00:11.000 you want to turn to it, I'm going to be reading 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:14.000 from chapter 2, beginning of verse 28 in a minute. 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:20.679 This section that we're in now is talking about 00:00:20.679 --> 00:00:24.280 hope, and we've been looking at it, and we want 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.440 to just kind of concentrate on the very first 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:31.449 part there, verses 2. chapter 2 verse 28 to chapter 00:00:31.449 --> 00:00:36.630 3 verse 3. But before we do that, let's ask God's 00:00:36.630 --> 00:00:41.130 blessing all this time. Lord, we've gone through 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:43.950 a list of things that we've asked you to be involved 00:00:43.950 --> 00:00:46.950 in and we've approached the throne on behalf 00:00:46.950 --> 00:00:52.009 of some people that have problems, medical problems, 00:00:52.210 --> 00:00:55.450 most of all spiritual problems. We've talked 00:00:55.450 --> 00:00:59.869 about the church. and inquires Bible study, a 00:00:59.869 --> 00:01:03.750 lot of things that are on a mind and I was thinking 00:01:03.750 --> 00:01:07.730 the audacity that I have that I could stand up 00:01:07.730 --> 00:01:11.689 here and open your word and tell people what 00:01:11.689 --> 00:01:17.530 Almighty God says. That's a practice that the 00:01:17.530 --> 00:01:20.290 scripture says don't be too big a hurry to do 00:01:20.290 --> 00:01:25.609 that. There's a lot of accountability. And this 00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:28.670 morning in our text we'll be talking about the 00:01:28.670 --> 00:01:34.189 Lord coming. And that's a fearful thing. Fearful 00:01:34.189 --> 00:01:38.810 in the sense that we are sinners and you're not. 00:01:39.049 --> 00:01:43.349 You're holy. And the only hope that we have when 00:01:43.349 --> 00:01:47.250 we stand before you is if we are in the Lord 00:01:47.250 --> 00:01:51.459 Jesus Christ, that we belong to Him. And so I 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:53.500 pray that as we're looking at the text, you'll 00:01:53.500 --> 00:01:56.799 help me not to confuse the issue or cover it 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:01.459 up or distort it, but that your word would be 00:02:01.459 --> 00:02:05.379 clear and you would have free reign in our heart. 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:10.099 You've promised that your word will not return 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:13.939 void. The idea of returning means that it is 00:02:13.939 --> 00:02:20.240 sent out. But that returning would be the fruit, 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:25.319 the response to that. That you send it out and 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:27.580 then you bring it back and it's productive. It's 00:02:27.580 --> 00:02:30.939 like fishing, almost fishing for men. You go 00:02:30.939 --> 00:02:34.360 out and you share the message and you seek to 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.039 catch people, their hearts, and bring them back 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:40.680 into the fold, bring them to the foot of the 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:46.310 cross. I was reminded this morning at the restaurant, 00:02:46.389 --> 00:02:49.949 the man had a shirt on and talked about people 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:55.150 kneeling for the flag or standing for the flag 00:02:55.150 --> 00:02:58.610 and kneeling at the cross, which I thought was 00:02:58.610 --> 00:03:01.490 an interesting thought. And yes it is, that we 00:03:01.490 --> 00:03:05.030 come to your presence and when we approach your 00:03:05.030 --> 00:03:09.810 presence, we fall on our face because you're 00:03:09.810 --> 00:03:11.969 majestic and you're holy and you're awesome. 00:03:12.330 --> 00:03:16.169 and we're sinful. So as we're looking at 1 John 00:03:16.169 --> 00:03:18.610 this morning, Lord, as we start reading through 00:03:18.610 --> 00:03:21.449 the text, I pray that you'll help us to get a 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:24.750 glimpse, John's talking about things that make 00:03:24.750 --> 00:03:31.830 up hope, that fulfill your will in providing 00:03:31.830 --> 00:03:36.150 us with not just a wish, but a biblical hope, 00:03:36.509 --> 00:03:40.219 a reality of what you've promised. that is not 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:44.060 only promised, but is promised to us. And not 00:03:44.060 --> 00:03:46.240 only is it a promise that we look forward to, 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:49.360 but it is something that we will realize one 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:52.240 day, that you promised it and they will come 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.900 to pass. We will see fruit in our lives. And 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:58.719 so I pray about that. I pray as we look at your 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:02.159 word this morning, you will open our hearts, 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:06.699 protect me from saying stupid things, and to 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:09.830 really... Honor you I pray in Jesus name with 00:04:09.830 --> 00:04:14.569 thanksgiving amen First John chapter 2 verse 00:04:14.569 --> 00:04:18.750 28 And I'm going to point out as I read through 00:04:18.750 --> 00:04:21.389 the text there's several words in that text that 00:04:21.389 --> 00:04:25.389 I want to comment on But it begins at the very 00:04:25.389 --> 00:04:28.769 beginning. He writes in says now little children 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:33.170 And we've talked about that before when he uses 00:04:33.170 --> 00:04:35.889 that phrase little children. He's not speaking 00:04:35.889 --> 00:04:40.259 so much about the age of the audience, that some 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:44.240 are younger than others, but he's speaking, talking 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:47.160 to Christians as general, and he's lumping them 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:51.060 all together and referring to believers of all 00:04:51.060 --> 00:04:54.639 ages as little children. And I suggested using 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.019 the term beloved. It's not really an accurate 00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:59.920 translation, but it does accurately portray, 00:04:59.920 --> 00:05:04.500 I think, what John is saying. So now, beloved. 00:05:05.969 --> 00:05:09.050 Abide, and that's one of the words I want to 00:05:09.050 --> 00:05:13.250 focus on here. When he says abide, abide has 00:05:13.250 --> 00:05:19.970 the idea of holding on, of staying without yielding, 00:05:21.269 --> 00:05:24.730 without giving up, without quitting. I think 00:05:24.730 --> 00:05:31.009 of the military preparation for the Marines. 00:05:31.009 --> 00:05:34.540 They go through At least they used to pretty 00:05:34.540 --> 00:05:38.439 strenuous and heavy -handed discipline, and they're 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:43.519 very strict with them in the training. And you've 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:45.779 heard stories, and I've heard stories. I was 00:05:45.779 --> 00:05:48.560 talking to a Marine the other day, and I asked 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.240 him how he liked Parris Island, and he said, 00:05:51.279 --> 00:05:53.360 well, they have a lot of sand fleas and mosquitoes 00:05:53.360 --> 00:05:56.459 down there. And what he's saying is that when 00:05:56.459 --> 00:05:58.819 they're standing at attention and they get mosquitoes 00:05:58.819 --> 00:06:01.220 and sand fleas and stuff on the skin, they can't 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:04.100 do anything. They can't slap them or push them 00:06:04.100 --> 00:06:06.920 away. You know what I'm talking about. They're 00:06:06.920 --> 00:06:10.519 not allowed to do that. And the reason is it's 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:14.519 not so much because they like mosquitoes or sand 00:06:14.519 --> 00:06:17.639 fleas or whatever, but they want to teach them 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:19.879 that if they're out in the field and they're 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:21.899 guarding a bridge or something and there's an 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:24.800 enemy on the other side. They can't afford the 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:27.899 luxury of slapping a mosquito or something like 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:29.839 that and giving away their position. They have 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:34.480 to be able to be faithful and endure whatever 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:39.160 painful issues arise in their lives before them. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.839 And so that's kind of the idea here. When he 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.699 says little children abide, you stay faithful. 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.300 You can't just exit and walk away. we're not 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:54.360 given that privilege he says abide and notice 00:06:54.360 --> 00:06:57.540 the pronoun he uses he says abide in him who 00:06:57.540 --> 00:07:02.980 is that that's christ but um he's telling us 00:07:02.980 --> 00:07:09.939 to be faithful um it is easy for us sometimes 00:07:09.939 --> 00:07:13.860 to want something more than christ to want some 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:20.459 promotion or want some uh provision or even some 00:07:20.459 --> 00:07:23.660 relationship. I have a young man at work that 00:07:23.660 --> 00:07:28.740 has a girlfriend and he was asking me to pray 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:30.639 for him because he's trying to quit drinking 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:32.899 alcohol. He's a young guy. If you look at him, 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:35.639 you wouldn't think he's a day over 18 or so. 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.600 He's probably older than that, but he's trying 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:40.680 to quit alcohol. So as I was talking to him, 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:45.670 I said, Cory, why are you doing that? And I said, 00:07:45.670 --> 00:07:47.230 I'll be praying for you. And he said, well, I'm 00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:49.149 doing it because my girlfriend, I get mad when 00:07:49.149 --> 00:07:53.389 I get drunk and act up. And she's going to leave 00:07:53.389 --> 00:07:56.490 me. And so he said, I've quit alcohol. I haven't 00:07:56.490 --> 00:08:01.250 had a drop in a month and a half or so. And so 00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:07.670 that's a nice saying. But you can kind of clean 00:08:07.670 --> 00:08:12.269 up the outside, the activity of doing something 00:08:12.269 --> 00:08:16.459 like that. and yet not change your heart, not 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:19.939 make a difference in your personal relationship 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:23.139 with the Lord and you can discipline yourself 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:25.459 and you quit alcohol or quit smoking. I used 00:08:25.459 --> 00:08:29.600 to smoke for ten years and Elaine told me when 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:32.379 I first met her, after I first met her, that 00:08:32.379 --> 00:08:35.919 I had an erratic heartbeat and she was concerned 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.870 about that so I quit. And you can do that. But 00:08:39.870 --> 00:08:42.330 the difference here is what he's talking about 00:08:42.330 --> 00:08:45.330 is staying in a relationship with Christ, focusing 00:08:45.330 --> 00:08:50.870 on Him, putting Him first. It's easy to put ourselves 00:08:50.870 --> 00:08:53.330 first. It's easy to put things that we want, 00:08:53.350 --> 00:08:56.629 whether it be a girlfriend, whether it be a vacation 00:08:56.629 --> 00:08:59.129 like Pete and Doria are going on, whether it 00:08:59.129 --> 00:09:01.769 be a new car like a Subaru, which I know you 00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:04.129 would really like to have, or something like 00:09:04.129 --> 00:09:07.029 that. These are things that we could really be 00:09:07.029 --> 00:09:11.190 impassioned for. He says to abide in him to remain 00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:14.990 faithful in him don't yield and He says that 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:17.309 because it's coming today when he's going to 00:09:17.309 --> 00:09:19.110 be revealed. That's what he says in the text 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:22.009 He said now little children abide in him so that 00:09:22.009 --> 00:09:26.450 when he is Manifested we may have confidence 00:09:26.450 --> 00:09:29.309 and not shrink away from him notice that all 00:09:29.309 --> 00:09:32.830 this is around the idea of abiding I mean says 00:09:32.830 --> 00:09:36.129 abide in him so that when he is manifested that 00:09:36.129 --> 00:09:44.080 idea of manifested means to perceive and particularly 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:48.279 it focuses on perceiving by sight. So that what 00:09:48.279 --> 00:09:50.519 he's saying is that when he stands before us 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:53.019 and we see him, we'll behold him with our very 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:56.200 eyes. If you remember in the scripture, Bible 00:09:56.200 --> 00:09:58.639 says no man can see God and live, can't look 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:02.740 at his face. It's a deadly thing because you're 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:05.919 standing in the presence of absolute holy God 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:08.519 and the only response is to fall on your face. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:12.200 your mouth in the ground because he's holy and 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:16.179 we're not we're not ready for that but in Christ 00:10:16.179 --> 00:10:19.320 we can be accepted in the beloved we can have 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.559 our sins paid for our relationship with the Lord 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:27.460 can be cleaned if you will Bible talks a lot 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:30.980 about cleanse me from sin and remove the stain 00:10:30.980 --> 00:10:34.840 in my heart we're dirty God is holy and so he 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:38.269 we can be cleansed And so what he's saying here 00:10:38.269 --> 00:10:41.309 is, abide in him, stay faithful, stay without 00:10:41.309 --> 00:10:45.210 yielding, don't compromise, stay in him so that 00:10:45.210 --> 00:10:48.590 when he is manifested, when we stand before him, 00:10:48.629 --> 00:10:53.009 we may have confidence. To be honest with you, 00:10:53.149 --> 00:10:55.590 it kind of terrifies me. I know it sounds funny, 00:10:55.730 --> 00:10:58.990 the way to say that as a pastor, you should be 00:10:58.990 --> 00:11:01.110 bold and everything should be all right and you 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:03.309 don't have any problems. No, I do have problems. 00:11:03.830 --> 00:11:06.279 The biggest problem is in my heart. because I 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:08.019 know what it's like to lust, I know what it's 00:11:08.019 --> 00:11:10.940 like to struggle, and I'm sure you do too, struggle 00:11:10.940 --> 00:11:13.960 with sin and stuff like that. And I think, you 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:17.039 know, I got to stand, I got to stand in the presence 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:20.419 of the Lord one day and give an account. And 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:24.720 I just really, that's a scary thing for me. And 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:26.360 all of us are going to have to do that. We're 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:28.200 going to stand before Him. That day is actually 00:11:28.200 --> 00:11:31.669 coming. And we want to be ready for that. We 00:11:31.669 --> 00:11:38.669 want to take him seriously and to put that challenge 00:11:38.669 --> 00:11:42.649 maybe before us and let it be kind of a purifying, 00:11:42.710 --> 00:11:45.149 having a purifying effect, which is kind of where 00:11:45.149 --> 00:11:48.049 he's going with this. So he said, abide in him 00:11:48.049 --> 00:11:51.710 so that when he is unveiled, when he is revealed, 00:11:51.830 --> 00:11:55.210 when we can perceive him by sight, that we may 00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:59.820 have confidence and not shrink away. Again, I 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:02.600 keep changing the words here, but the word confidence 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:07.980 there, an interesting word, has the idea of boldness 00:12:07.980 --> 00:12:11.120 of speech, believe it or not. Boldness of speech. 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:15.019 You say, well, that's kind of a funny thing to 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:17.419 say. Well, if you remember in the scriptures, 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:20.720 I think it's Romans, it is Romans chapter three, 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:25.740 where it says in there, Paul is listing from 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:31.409 Psalms a lot of the passages in Psalms that describe 00:12:31.409 --> 00:12:35.049 man's sinful condition and some of the words 00:12:35.049 --> 00:12:37.389 he says, there are none righteous, no not one, 00:12:37.610 --> 00:12:39.250 there are none that understand, there are none 00:12:39.250 --> 00:12:41.490 that seek God, all are turned aside together 00:12:41.490 --> 00:12:45.330 to become useless. And that goes on to the very 00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:48.990 end, when it gets to the very end of that, he 00:12:48.990 --> 00:12:52.590 says that every mouth will be stopped, that all 00:12:52.590 --> 00:12:55.610 the world will become guilty before God. part 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:58.330 of where the Lord is standing, that when we stand 00:12:58.330 --> 00:13:04.470 before Him, it's not that God's going to say, 00:13:04.750 --> 00:13:08.110 and put His hand over our mouth so that we can't 00:13:08.110 --> 00:13:10.590 talk. It's not going to be like that. It's going 00:13:10.590 --> 00:13:14.629 to be that man realizes how absolutely guilty 00:13:14.629 --> 00:13:17.590 he is and he has nothing he can say. Can't add 00:13:17.590 --> 00:13:21.759 anything to it. You can't say but. You can't 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.120 blame your wife, or your husband, or your school, 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:26.320 or the company, or the government, or the president, 00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:29.820 or your neighbor, or whatever. It's your fault. 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.399 You're sinful. You have said you stand before 00:13:33.399 --> 00:13:38.120 God guilty, and so we really have nothing to 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:41.820 say. But in this verse, He's saying that when 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:45.580 we stand before the Lord, we are to abide in 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:48.980 Him so that when He is manifested before us, 00:13:49.210 --> 00:13:51.850 We may have freedom to speak. We may be able 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:54.830 to say something. You see what I'm saying? That 00:13:54.830 --> 00:13:57.909 our sin will be paid for. That's what he's saying. 00:13:58.009 --> 00:14:02.470 Abide in him so that when you stand in his presence, 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:06.149 that you'll be able to talk. You'll be able to 00:14:06.149 --> 00:14:07.970 say, I don't know the best way to word that, 00:14:08.129 --> 00:14:11.830 but it's just that the text says, confidence 00:14:11.830 --> 00:14:14.529 means that you'll be bold enough to be able to 00:14:14.529 --> 00:14:17.820 speak. and not to shrink away. The shrink away 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:23.460 means to cower. There we have this contrast where 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:27.580 he's standing before the Lord and one of two 00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:30.000 things are going to happen. Either we're going 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:32.399 to have the freedom to say something and speak 00:14:32.399 --> 00:14:36.080 or we're going to cower and run away and hide 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.500 and not be able to be bold before him like that. 00:14:41.269 --> 00:14:44.330 that that's a challenge to you and it's a challenge 00:14:44.330 --> 00:14:47.690 to me and I I just want you to know that it's 00:14:47.690 --> 00:14:50.769 not something that I Really enjoy saying oh good. 00:14:50.769 --> 00:14:53.830 I'm going to see Jesus and I it's not quite that 00:14:53.830 --> 00:14:58.710 simple. It's pretty severe in scriptures Anytime 00:14:58.710 --> 00:15:02.870 anybody sees God or an angel angels many Angels 00:15:02.870 --> 00:15:05.769 are many times in the scripture when angels appear. 00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:08.470 What's the first? What's the first thing to say 00:15:08.470 --> 00:15:12.070 be not afraid exactly fear not Because that's 00:15:12.070 --> 00:15:14.529 a fearful, fearful thing to stand in the presence 00:15:14.529 --> 00:15:17.649 of an angel. How much more fearful is it to stand 00:15:17.649 --> 00:15:20.590 in the presence of Almighty God? It's terrible. 00:15:21.090 --> 00:15:23.470 And yet here he said that you'll have confidence 00:15:23.470 --> 00:15:25.730 you'll be able to speak and not shrink away from 00:15:25.730 --> 00:15:31.789 him in shame, not be put to shame in embarrassment 00:15:31.789 --> 00:15:37.850 at his coming. Shame is a way of saying that 00:15:37.850 --> 00:15:46.309 we would not I want to say that we would not 00:15:46.309 --> 00:15:50.350 be embarrassed, but I think the idea is a lot 00:15:50.350 --> 00:15:54.190 more serious than just embarrassment. Think of 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:58.190 the things that you've done or that I've done 00:15:58.190 --> 00:16:04.450 that we're really embarrassed about. Things that 00:16:04.450 --> 00:16:08.870 are private, things that only you know about, 00:16:09.370 --> 00:16:12.610 things that if they were revealed to the public, 00:16:13.019 --> 00:16:15.899 you would go away and never want to be seen again. 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:20.580 You would hide. When we stand before the Lord, 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:25.919 all our past is going to be exposed. And I don't 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:29.559 like that. Even though I'm a pastor and you think 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:31.059 you've got it all together, no, don't have it 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:33.299 all together. And I know my life and I know my 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:37.000 thoughts and I know things that I've done both 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.990 publicly and privately. And yet he says here 00:16:40.990 --> 00:16:42.990 in this passage the word that we're looking at 00:16:42.990 --> 00:16:45.490 is the word abide in him, be faithful in him, 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:49.149 walk close to him so that when he is unveiled 00:16:49.149 --> 00:16:53.070 or manifested or revealed that we may have boldness 00:16:53.070 --> 00:17:00.509 of speech and not run away or hide in shame at 00:17:00.509 --> 00:17:02.690 his coming, which by the way there is a reminder 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:05.930 there that he is coming back. The world has not 00:17:05.930 --> 00:17:08.380 seen the last of our Savior. The last time he 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:11.140 was here, they spat upon him and they mocked 00:17:11.140 --> 00:17:12.839 him and stuff like that. But when he's coming 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.259 back, he's going back on a white horse. He's 00:17:15.259 --> 00:17:18.420 coming back, the Bible describes him like a sharp 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:20.380 sword coming out of his mouth, which is the way 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:22.640 of seeing that his word will cut and destroy 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:27.079 and expose. And so this is a terrifying picture, 00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:29.440 but that's the first picture that he has there 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.000 that John paints, is that we want to abide in 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.779 him so that when he has appeared, when he comes 00:17:34.779 --> 00:17:37.400 back, we will not be ashamed. We will not... 00:17:38.069 --> 00:17:40.289 run away from him. The second thing in verse 00:17:40.289 --> 00:17:44.710 29 is he says, you know, and that has to do with 00:17:44.710 --> 00:17:47.349 an objective, you know for sure in your heart, 00:17:47.390 --> 00:17:49.849 you know, not because you've experienced it, 00:17:49.849 --> 00:17:54.730 but you know as a fact that he is righteous. 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:57.509 The idea of righteousness when it says you know 00:17:57.509 --> 00:18:00.609 he is righteous means that you know that he is 00:18:00.609 --> 00:18:05.589 right. He's doing what's right before God. He's 00:18:05.589 --> 00:18:08.660 doing what's right. And we're told to be righteous. 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:10.799 We're told to be righteous before God. We're 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:13.000 told to do what is right, to be what is right. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.619 What does the scripture say? Righteousness exalts 00:18:17.619 --> 00:18:20.339 a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:23.839 Righteousness, what is right? Doing what is right. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:29.099 Being what God has said and pleases Him. Doing 00:18:29.099 --> 00:18:33.000 what is right. The practice of that, the pursuit 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:37.650 of that, the investment of that. makes a nation 00:18:37.650 --> 00:18:41.990 strong, exalts a nation, but to live for personal 00:18:41.990 --> 00:18:45.569 gain, personal lust, personal sin, personal advancement 00:18:45.569 --> 00:18:49.809 is a disgrace, it's an insult, it's death to 00:18:49.809 --> 00:18:54.329 a nation. What do you think we stand in our country 00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:58.670 today? We've got it all over the place. Riots 00:18:58.670 --> 00:19:01.690 in the street, fires, political battles that 00:19:01.690 --> 00:19:05.029 are going on. We need to pray for our country. 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:07.839 We need to pray for our country. We saw the assassination 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:11.940 that we were talking about that. I don't know 00:19:11.940 --> 00:19:13.579 what God's going to do with it. He could stop 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:15.839 it if he wanted to. He's absolutely sovereign. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:18.839 That's a comfort that I have to know that God 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:22.460 is sovereign. It doesn't mean that he's happy 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:25.660 that the assassination took, but I think it means 00:19:25.660 --> 00:19:29.279 that he's going to use it. That he is able to 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:34.759 take tragedies both in public and in your life. 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:38.420 He's able to take these tragedies and remake 00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:41.799 them and use them. What does the Lord Joseph 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.660 say? You meant it for evil, but God meant it 00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:46.619 for good. He's able to turn it around and turn 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:49.440 it into a blessing to make it good. And so here 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:53.259 in this text here, he says that you know for 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:58.119 certain that he is righteous. He is conforming 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:04.230 to God's will. And you know that everyone Who 00:20:04.230 --> 00:20:07.329 does righteousness that is not only do you know 00:20:07.329 --> 00:20:09.369 that he is righteous? But you know that everyone 00:20:09.369 --> 00:20:12.089 who does righteousness who practices righteousness 00:20:12.089 --> 00:20:16.029 whose habit is doing what is God's will? has 00:20:16.029 --> 00:20:20.329 been Born of him so that not only is he telling 00:20:20.329 --> 00:20:22.470 us to abide But he's saying you know what God 00:20:22.470 --> 00:20:24.750 is like that you know that those that do his 00:20:24.750 --> 00:20:26.289 will and that's what he's talking about us to 00:20:26.289 --> 00:20:29.990 do What is what is pleasing to him to do what 00:20:29.990 --> 00:20:33.380 is consistent with him and righteousness? Everyone 00:20:33.380 --> 00:20:37.140 that does that is born of Him. To be born of 00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:41.279 Him, what does Jesus say to Nicodemus? You must 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:45.980 be born again. That comes out of John 3. To be 00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:50.500 born again means to have a new life, a new nature, 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.640 a new beginning in a way. It's not just that 00:20:55.640 --> 00:20:58.680 you need to have a little turning over of a new 00:20:58.680 --> 00:21:00.720 leaf, but you need to be reborn. You need to 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:03.779 have a new life. I don't know where you stand 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:05.799 on that. I know that most of us in church hear 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:08.900 that and we talk about that, but have you been 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:13.359 through that fire? Have you met the Lord face 00:21:13.359 --> 00:21:15.519 to face and surrendered your life? Because that's 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:18.559 what he says. If anyone wants to come after me, 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:21.920 let him deny himself. In other words, stop putting 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:26.720 yourself first and take up his cross and follow 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:29.059 me. And you know, we talked about the cross where 00:21:29.059 --> 00:21:31.500 in the New Testament time if you saw somebody 00:21:32.190 --> 00:21:35.309 carrying a cross on their back and they were 00:21:35.309 --> 00:21:38.609 going somewhere. They would have soldiers with 00:21:38.609 --> 00:21:41.390 them. That person that had the cross on his back 00:21:41.390 --> 00:21:45.049 is a person that's been tried and found guilty 00:21:45.049 --> 00:21:48.329 and condemned to die. And all he's doing is going 00:21:48.329 --> 00:21:52.329 to the place of execution. What Jesus says is 00:21:52.329 --> 00:21:56.049 you deny yourself. Don't put yourself first. 00:21:56.730 --> 00:22:00.089 Take up your cross. That is the emblem of self. 00:22:02.059 --> 00:22:05.920 Execution, if you will. Die to self and live 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.799 to me, if you will. That emblem, Paul says, I 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.900 am crucified with Christ. I died to self. When 00:22:12.900 --> 00:22:16.519 Christ died for me, I was with him and we died 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:18.960 together. In that sense, we're associated together 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.400 with that. I am crucified with Christ, yet I 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:26.380 live. Nevertheless, I live yet not I but it's 00:22:26.380 --> 00:22:28.539 Christ living in me and the life which I now 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:31.160 live by faith I live in the faith of the Son 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:33.660 of God who loved me and gave himself for me that 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:37.220 personal sacrifice that personal personal death 00:22:37.220 --> 00:22:40.859 To self is what he's talking about here. And 00:22:40.859 --> 00:22:46.160 so he says here We know you know for sure that 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:48.480 he is righteous that he is conforming to God's 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:51.700 will and you know for sure that everyone who 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:54.240 does what is conforming to God's will, has been 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:58.660 born of Him. And what does that mean? What it 00:22:58.660 --> 00:23:01.700 means is that in our life and in our flesh, we 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:05.240 don't do God's will. We pursue our own selfish 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:08.839 goal. We pursue our own purpose, our own agenda. 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:13.740 To be honest with you, we might say that we care 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:16.460 about God thanks, but we only say that for a 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:18.940 little while because in truthfulness we care 00:23:18.940 --> 00:23:21.240 more about what we think. We want to do what 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:23.380 we want to do. We want to put our will first, 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:26.279 our goal first, our purpose first, our passion 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:31.019 first, instead of Him. And that's sin. And so 00:23:31.019 --> 00:23:33.079 you know that everyone that does what is righteous, 00:23:33.140 --> 00:23:37.079 what is proper, they're not doing it in the flesh, 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:38.660 they're doing it because they've been born of 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:41.980 God and they belong to Him. And so that's kind 00:23:41.980 --> 00:23:44.339 of the second thing. First thing is to abide. 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:47.230 The second thing is to live. in a way that's 00:23:47.230 --> 00:23:50.089 consistent with God's purpose and God's will 00:23:50.089 --> 00:23:53.289 for your life. And then maybe one more we'll 00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:57.869 look at out of this text. That is verse one of 00:23:57.869 --> 00:24:01.130 chapter three. See how great a love the Father 00:24:01.130 --> 00:24:05.710 has given to us. This love is the provision of 00:24:05.710 --> 00:24:09.289 His Son, is salvation that He has made available. 00:24:10.049 --> 00:24:15.769 The word that I would focus on here is the little 00:24:15.769 --> 00:24:20.750 word given. God has given out of His great love, 00:24:20.869 --> 00:24:24.430 that's what the verse is saying, is given to 00:24:24.430 --> 00:24:29.309 us so that we would be called the children of 00:24:29.309 --> 00:24:32.269 God, the children of God to offspring. See how 00:24:32.269 --> 00:24:35.049 great a love, how a massive love. Do you know 00:24:35.049 --> 00:24:38.569 that the cross is a display, it's not just a 00:24:38.569 --> 00:24:40.750 display of God's love, it is a display of His 00:24:40.750 --> 00:24:43.319 love. But it's more than that, it's a display 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:47.880 of His Holiness. Christ died not just to show 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:51.140 love, but He died to pay for sin, to pay for 00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:53.380 your debt and my debt. It's like an exchange 00:24:53.380 --> 00:24:58.579 where we're guilty before God. I don't know if 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:01.960 you've ever had, or you probably have had your 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:05.359 parents, thank you. I know that I was in school. 00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:09.839 In fact, I was home. I remember one time that 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:15.140 I had started to set my sister on fire. Before 00:25:15.140 --> 00:25:19.599 you get upset about that, we were little kids 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:23.019 and we had a tool shed in the back of the house 00:25:23.019 --> 00:25:26.579 in Wake Forest and somehow I'd gotten hold of 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:29.180 some matches and there was some newspaper there 00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:31.599 and I could see my little sister standing on 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:34.920 the side there and I lit that paper and all of 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:36.579 a sudden it started getting a big fire and I 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:39.980 got scared so I ran. and left her there. Well, 00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:42.740 there were college students upstairs. There was, 00:25:42.920 --> 00:25:44.579 at that time, the college was in Wake Forest, 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:48.799 and we had boarding students there. And they 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:50.839 saw the smoke coming, and they ran down there, 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:53.500 and it was going out, but they grabbed her and 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:56.799 stuff. My mother was really upset. I can remember 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:59.299 to this day, I can remember the first thing she 00:25:59.299 --> 00:26:02.079 said when she came out of the yard, where's Peter? 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:07.089 And I was hiding under a fig bush. And she said, 00:26:07.190 --> 00:26:09.910 wait till your daddy gets home. And sure enough, 00:26:10.109 --> 00:26:13.210 he came home and gave me a spanking, which was 00:26:13.210 --> 00:26:15.789 pretty severe. I mean, about that, it was painful. 00:26:16.029 --> 00:26:18.470 But I can remember anticipating that, thinking, 00:26:19.029 --> 00:26:21.349 I'm not looking forward to that. That's not something 00:26:21.349 --> 00:26:25.710 I want. Wait till your daddy gets here. It's 00:26:25.710 --> 00:26:28.309 not very pleasant. Well, here is a text here 00:26:28.309 --> 00:26:30.930 in this passage. See, our greater love, the Father 00:26:30.930 --> 00:26:32.890 has given to us that we should be called the 00:26:32.890 --> 00:26:37.720 children of God. This is that anticipation here 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:39.920 that He said that we have this love that God 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:43.079 has provided for us, and that He has given this 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:47.579 to us, that if that sacrifice has paid for the 00:26:47.579 --> 00:26:49.900 sin that we otherwise would have to pay ourselves, 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:52.619 that we would stand before Him as guilty. And 00:26:52.619 --> 00:26:55.660 so here is a display now, not just of abiding 00:26:55.660 --> 00:26:59.539 and not just of righteous living, but a display 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:02.609 of God's love and God's provision. in the cross 00:27:02.609 --> 00:27:07.230 to pay for our sin in Christ and so he says see 00:27:07.230 --> 00:27:10.170 how great a love and the fact that he uses that 00:27:10.170 --> 00:27:12.630 phrase see how great a love means that this is 00:27:12.630 --> 00:27:15.269 something that we want to contemplate here it 00:27:15.269 --> 00:27:19.210 is before you this is a love this is not just 00:27:19.210 --> 00:27:24.250 a a feeling but a sacrifice that was paid a sacrifice 00:27:24.250 --> 00:27:27.950 by Jesus on the cross see how great a love the 00:27:27.950 --> 00:27:32.700 father has given This is freely the the the idea 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:39.279 is abundantly given to who? to us So that we 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:41.940 would be called the children of God when he uses 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:46.250 the phrase children of God It's actually just 00:27:46.250 --> 00:27:49.410 saying that we are offspring of God That's one 00:27:49.410 --> 00:27:52.390 of the aspects and it took them to look at the 00:27:52.390 --> 00:27:54.450 scriptures You see somebody as a child of God 00:27:54.450 --> 00:27:56.730 or you talk about Jesus being the son of God 00:27:56.730 --> 00:27:59.490 means that he is like his father He is taken 00:27:59.490 --> 00:28:02.190 of the same nature the same personality the same 00:28:02.190 --> 00:28:05.029 character. God is holy He is holy God is God 00:28:05.029 --> 00:28:09.630 He is God these are the same thing and we He's 00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:11.950 saying this is a love that Christ has paid for 00:28:11.950 --> 00:28:15.720 us that we would be called children of God. We 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:22.319 would be called sons of God. And the word call 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:26.519 there just simply is a word that means it's summoned. 00:28:27.539 --> 00:28:31.660 So that we would be summoned before God as His 00:28:31.660 --> 00:28:35.859 children. Before we stand before Him to see Him 00:28:35.859 --> 00:28:38.480 as He is, now we are being summoned before Him 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:42.380 as His children. And it says for this reason, 00:28:42.809 --> 00:28:46.849 The world does not know, that means they intimately 00:28:46.849 --> 00:28:50.309 know us because we are standing before God as 00:28:50.309 --> 00:28:52.390 his children. The world does not intimately know 00:28:52.390 --> 00:28:57.190 us because it did not intimately know him. It 00:28:57.190 --> 00:29:00.690 didn't have that relationship with him. That's 00:29:00.690 --> 00:29:03.609 another thing that we can see in it in our lifetime. 00:29:03.750 --> 00:29:07.180 We can see it as believers. that our heart and 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:10.099 our passion is different from the world's. Jesus 00:29:10.099 --> 00:29:13.680 said, I've given them thy word, and the world 00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:17.220 has hated them. If we have God's word in our 00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:19.539 heart, it puts us on a different level, a different 00:29:19.539 --> 00:29:21.220 family, and a different goal, and a different 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:24.960 direction. The Bible says, being unequally yoked 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:26.559 together with unbelievers, that's one of the 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:28.539 reasons why you shouldn't marry unbelievers, 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:31.279 because you're still not going in the same direction, 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:34.599 you're going in opposite directions. and you 00:29:34.599 --> 00:29:36.779 can't walk together, two can't walk together 00:29:36.779 --> 00:29:39.180 if you're not in agreement like that. And so 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:42.500 he says, for this reason the world does not, 00:29:44.420 --> 00:29:46.119 for this reason, this is talking about intimate 00:29:46.119 --> 00:29:49.900 knowledge, does not know Him. And then he uses 00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:53.980 again a very dear phrase, beloved, now are we 00:29:53.980 --> 00:29:56.759 the children of God. This is right now at this 00:29:56.759 --> 00:30:00.119 present, and it does not, it has not been manifested, 00:30:00.140 --> 00:30:03.210 it has not been opened up, it has not been has 00:30:03.210 --> 00:30:05.950 not appeared to us as sight we have not been 00:30:05.950 --> 00:30:09.789 able to see it what we will be this is future 00:30:09.789 --> 00:30:12.029 this is another word i would have to stop here 00:30:12.029 --> 00:30:15.630 at this point but what we will be does not manifest 00:30:15.630 --> 00:30:20.470 we are looking um kind of down the road at the 00:30:20.470 --> 00:30:23.029 future promise of what we will be we don't know 00:30:23.029 --> 00:30:26.029 yet what it will be we don't know exactly except 00:30:26.029 --> 00:30:28.769 we know that when we stand before him we will 00:30:28.769 --> 00:30:36.740 stand before him in perfect fullness um Have 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:38.059 you ever thought about what it's going to be 00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:41.299 like to stand before God? To stand before Him, 00:30:41.519 --> 00:30:44.819 really? Because you are and I am too. You can 00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:46.619 tell this morning I've been talking about this 00:30:46.619 --> 00:30:50.079 is a serious wake -up call for me and I'm sure 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:53.940 it is for you as well. That this is what we will 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:56.000 be when we stand before Him. That He's making 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:58.660 that change in our hearts and our lives so that 00:30:58.660 --> 00:31:03.079 we stand before Him complete in Christ. We will 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:07.309 look like Him. We will see Him. as he really 00:31:07.309 --> 00:31:11.410 is, and we will be at peace in his presence. 00:31:11.450 --> 00:31:13.990 I don't know if you had loved ones, I know I 00:31:13.990 --> 00:31:20.190 have, that have died, and you look down at the 00:31:20.190 --> 00:31:21.589 empty coffin, or you look down at the coffin, 00:31:21.750 --> 00:31:26.470 it's not empty, and you miss them, but if they 00:31:26.470 --> 00:31:28.450 know the Lord Jesus and you know the Lord Jesus, 00:31:28.450 --> 00:31:30.450 you'll see them again. I have that happen all 00:31:30.450 --> 00:31:33.829 the time at work. People would talk about the 00:31:33.829 --> 00:31:36.119 military, and I tell them I... married a girl 00:31:36.119 --> 00:31:38.940 who outranked me. She's a better wife than I 00:31:38.940 --> 00:31:42.640 deserve. And I said, she died October 10, 2013. 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:45.779 Oh, I'm so sorry. And I said, it's OK. I'll see 00:31:45.779 --> 00:31:47.759 her again. I know who she is. I know who she 00:31:47.759 --> 00:31:49.819 is. She's doing better. She's a better off man 00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:54.299 than she ever was before. I looked over at David. 00:31:54.380 --> 00:31:57.220 I just remembered his dad. I remember Vernon 00:31:57.220 --> 00:32:00.519 and all the things. We used to have a picture 00:32:00.519 --> 00:32:02.460 of him on my phone there. I can look at that 00:32:02.460 --> 00:32:05.710 and see him. He was a great man. He was one of 00:32:05.710 --> 00:32:10.309 the most godly men I knew and you probably all 00:32:10.309 --> 00:32:12.230 of you could say the same. He was a great man. 00:32:12.789 --> 00:32:15.309 We'll see him again because we know where he 00:32:15.309 --> 00:32:18.230 is and we just want to take him seriously. So 00:32:18.230 --> 00:32:20.529 here he is. We stand before the Lord. We want 00:32:20.529 --> 00:32:23.630 to abide in him. We want to do what's righteous 00:32:23.630 --> 00:32:27.970 and because we're his children and we want to 00:32:27.970 --> 00:32:30.109 be pleasing to him. Now let me close this in 00:32:30.109 --> 00:32:34.529 prayer. Father has been sort of I kind of rushed 00:32:34.529 --> 00:32:37.490 through this maybe too much but I do thank you 00:32:37.490 --> 00:32:40.589 for your your patience and your mercy and your 00:32:40.589 --> 00:32:42.750 grace and your love for us. Thank you for your 00:32:42.750 --> 00:32:46.410 love for me in spite of all the rebellions and 00:32:46.410 --> 00:32:49.289 bad things that I've done and said and still 00:32:49.289 --> 00:32:53.430 say and things you have been you have been and 00:32:53.430 --> 00:32:56.210 I shouldn't put that in the past since you are 00:32:56.210 --> 00:33:01.630 merciful and you are gracious to me and to us. 00:33:01.710 --> 00:33:05.670 And I pray that those here sitting here in this 00:33:05.670 --> 00:33:08.230 room this morning who have not surrendered their 00:33:08.230 --> 00:33:10.730 life, I ask you to speak to their hearts. Help 00:33:10.730 --> 00:33:13.549 them to realize that it's not a toy, not something 00:33:13.549 --> 00:33:18.089 to play with, that we can't just decide what 00:33:18.089 --> 00:33:20.130 we're going to do like that. We make the decision 00:33:20.130 --> 00:33:22.309 to walk away from you. We may walk away for the 00:33:22.309 --> 00:33:26.329 last time. So it's not a toy. It's not just a 00:33:26.329 --> 00:33:29.289 guessing game. It's real. And I just pray for 00:33:29.289 --> 00:33:32.500 our hearts, that you'll work in our hearts. My 00:33:32.500 --> 00:33:36.259 heart, make this obedient. Open our lives to 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:39.279 examination by you and show us the things that 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:42.980 need to be confessed and show us how we can turn 00:33:42.980 --> 00:33:45.900 our lives over to you. You said that if we want 00:33:45.900 --> 00:33:49.079 to come to you, we deny ourselves, take up our 00:33:49.079 --> 00:33:52.140 cross, but that's not all. Then we are to follow 00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:55.359 you. Help us to do that. I pray in Jesus' name 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:56.940 of thanksgiving. Amen.