1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,400 Good morning. It's always such a pleasure to be gathered with you all here at Grace 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:11,920 Christian Church. You are though an ever-growing sea of faces which is really encouraging. 3 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:17,120 So those who have not had the chance to meet before or not been here since you've been 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:23,600 here, my name is Justin. I'm a pastor at Gosnell's Baptist Church, married to my wife Stacey. 5 00:00:23,600 --> 00:00:29,680 We have five beautiful children together who you might have noticed in the form of a tornado 6 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:35,760 down the front here. I've been friends with Michael for a long time now and I still think 7 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,720 he's a pretty decent guy and I think you're quite blessed to have him as your pastor. 8 00:00:42,480 --> 00:00:49,120 As you guys are in between sermon series at the moment, I've got free rein to preach this sermon 9 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:54,640 and I preached this at my church just a few weeks ago from one John. We've been making our way 10 00:00:54,640 --> 00:01:00,640 through it in a series, hearing from the Apostle John, what are ways in which you can tell genuine 11 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:06,560 Christianity from the counterfeit. If possible, could I have the clicker please if that's okay? 12 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:20,720 What ways you can tell genuine Christianity from the counterfeit? The real from the fake. 13 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:26,640 And John writes this letter to a church or possibly a group of churches for their assurance. 14 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:32,560 Chapter 5 verse 13 says that, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the 15 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:39,760 Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. And so John wants us to know too 16 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:47,520 that we have eternal life. He wants us to know that what we have is real. And so we see these 17 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:54,800 three things appear over and over in a typical circular fashion for John, light, love and loyalty. 18 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:03,840 Light referring to the holiness which we are to walk in because God is holy, because God is light. 19 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:12,800 Love referring to the love with which we must love one another with because He loved us first, 20 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:20,960 He loved us first because God is love. And loyalty referring to the firmness with which we are to 21 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:28,400 hold on to the apostolic gospel. The resolve that we are to have to hold on to the truth about 22 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:34,880 who the Lord Jesus is and what He has done for us. And it's these three things which John clearly 23 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:42,960 shows us over and over again to be the true markers of a Christian. And so on the basis of these things 24 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:50,240 we can have assurance, confidence that we have eternal life. And our passage this morning 25 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:56,240 will show us something of this, though not necessarily for the assurance of our salvation, 26 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:01,760 though it does do that as well, but more specifically our passage shows us how we can have 27 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:09,840 confidence at the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So would you pray with me now that 28 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:16,320 God's Spirit would delight to use our time together in His word to see our Lord Jesus more clearly 29 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:21,440 and that we might live more faithfully for Him and then we'll dive into our passage. Let's pray. 30 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:31,040 Gracious Father, we thank you and praise you for all of your blessings to us in our Lord Jesus. 31 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:38,160 Please would you show us more and more of Him this morning in your word by the power of your Spirit 32 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:46,080 that we might have deep and lasting joy, full assurance and delight in your love for us. 33 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:51,760 And please change us to be more like Jesus so that we would honour you for all of our days. 34 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:58,800 We ask these things for your glory and for your good plans and purposes in us as your people. 35 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,000 In Christ's name we pray, amen. 36 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:11,840 So I'll begin this morning by asking us to consider this question. How would you respond 37 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:21,280 if Jesus was to return at this very moment? How would you respond if you found yourself before 38 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:29,760 the throne of the Son of Man, the Almighty King of Kings, the One who causes the earth to tremble, 39 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:38,720 the mountains to fall down, the sky to tear in two? How would you respond if you knew that at the end 40 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:44,160 of the day you were to stand before the Judge of the universe and the books would be opened 41 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:52,240 and every single thought and deed of your life would be laid bare before the courtroom of heaven? 42 00:04:54,720 --> 00:05:00,000 Do you think you would be confident? Or does that thought terrify you? 43 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,640 And if not, why not? 44 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:12,080 I mean when Isaiah the mighty prophet, he stood before God on his throne, he cried out, 45 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,080 Woe is me, I am a man undone. 46 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:23,600 When the writer of this very letter, John the Beloved, the one who laid on Jesus' breast at the 47 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:32,640 last supper, when he stood before the Son of Man, he fell at his feet and he was 48 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:40,800 fell at his feet as though dead. The picture is painted in the scriptures so very clearly, isn't 49 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:45,920 it? It's a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 50 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:54,080 And so these words of John in verse 28, the first verse which we read, ought to absolutely shock us, 51 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:59,840 right? John, what do you mean that we may have confidence at the coming of the Almighty Judge? 52 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:07,600 How could we not shrink from him in shame when he comes with his host of 10,000 times 10,000 angels 53 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:15,280 to judge the living and the dead? The big question for us today then is how could we possibly 54 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:22,320 have confidence? How could we possibly know that we have eternal life? How could we possibly be 55 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:30,080 confident at the coming of the King and not shrink from him in shame? How is that even possible? 56 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:35,920 And so there's two main things that I want to help us to see this morning that John wants to show us 57 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:43,600 to give us his confidence. We can be confident because God has made us his children and we can 58 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:50,480 be confident because we bear the family likeness. So firstly, we can be confident because God has 59 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:56,880 made us his children. I wonder if you could identify the last time that you had a meeting 60 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:02,400 scheduled and it was with someone and about something that you just really weren't sure 61 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:08,240 how it was going to go. You play out the conversation in your head with all the different 62 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:14,400 scenarios that could play out and you wonder what the outcomes would be but there is just no sense 63 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:20,960 of confidence. It can really be quite an anxiety-inducing experience. I think for me the 64 00:07:20,960 --> 00:07:28,480 worst part is always like those final 10 minutes before the moment narrows in. When you aren't sure 65 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:37,440 how things are going to go, it can be terrifying. But compare that experience to how my kids would 66 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:44,000 feel as they know that it's almost 4.30 and dad is about to walk through that door from the door 67 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:50,560 home from work at any moment. And they hear the sound of the door open and almost always I walk 68 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:57,360 into the screams of dad! Every day it's like I've been gone for this month-long trip or something. 69 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:06,000 There's a great joy and explosion of words as they try to tell me about their day. Or on the more than 70 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:14,000 odd occasion when I come home at 4.35 instead of 4.30, like they expect, the first thing I hear is 71 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:21,120 dad you're five minutes late. Where have you been? It's such a different experience isn't it? 72 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:29,920 My kids have huge confidence at my coming because they aren't wondering what our meeting is going 73 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:38,000 to be like. They know that I'm going to grab them and hug them and give them a kiss. And why would 74 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:47,280 I do that? Well for the simple reason being that I love them. And the coming of our Lord Jesus 75 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:53,840 ought to be no different for us church. We can have confidence that our Lord's appearing 76 00:08:53,840 --> 00:09:00,560 because of what John says in verse 1. See what great love the Father has lavished on us 77 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:07,360 that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. 78 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:17,920 Our Heavenly Father, He has set this eternal, redemptive, lavish, extravagant, unfailing love 79 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:27,600 on us to the degree that we can be called His children. No longer His enemies who walk in 80 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:38,400 rebellion to Him, who have rejected Him in His ways, but restored as His children, adopted as His own, 81 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:47,200 and now counted worthy of all the privileges that come with being a child of God. This is the kind 82 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:55,440 of love that He has set upon His people friends. And it is this great love that ought to give us 83 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:06,720 confidence at His coming. Which raises the question, are you letting this eternal, 84 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:15,760 redemptive, extravagant, lavish, unfailing love with which your Heavenly Father has set upon you 85 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,280 affect every part of your life? 86 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:33,520 This is not just a truth to acknowledge right? This is an unbelievable reality that must shape us to 87 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:41,440 our core as those who are beloved children of God. This is at the heart of what we must be preaching 88 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:51,040 to ourselves every day and in every circumstance. My great God has loved me and I am His child. 89 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:59,040 And sorry, I am not firstly a pastor or a husband or a father. This reality, it gets to the very 90 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:04,160 heart of our identity doesn't it? First and foremost, you are a child of the living God. 91 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:11,840 Which means that when you don't get what you think you need or deserve out of life, 92 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:20,080 it need not crush you. Because who you are is not ultimately found in that job or that relationship 93 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:28,240 or that hope or that dream. You are now defined by the eternal, redemptive, lavish, extravagant, 94 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:36,720 unfailing love of God. And so if we know that He loves us in this way, then we are not going to 95 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:44,080 be confident at His coming. How could we not be looking at the clock, eagerly anticipating 96 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:52,480 the proverbial 4.30 when He returns? Which is, you know, this can be difficult because we don't know 97 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:59,200 what time He's coming. But nevertheless, may we not set our love on the things of this world like 98 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:06,160 John talks about in the book of John. And so, we are not going to be looking at the clock 99 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:11,920 that John talks about earlier in this chapter. May we not let our confidence waver because 100 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:18,480 of the deceitfulness of our sinful hearts or the distractions of putting our hope in other things 101 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:27,040 because the weight is hard. But instead, let us be deeply encouraged by John's words here in verse 2. 102 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:35,280 Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not been yet been made known, but 103 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:43,280 we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 104 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:52,640 Even though we are waiting for that day when He returns for us to be like Him, now we are children 105 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:59,440 of God. Church, we do not have to live this life in doubt and uncertainty about whether our faith is 106 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:07,120 real or whether God loves us or not. No, John wants us to be assured now. And it's this knowledge 107 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:13,920 of God's love for us now that we are children of God now that can give us great confidence at His 108 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:25,360 return. And so it's why John tells us back in verse 28 to continue in Him or abide in Him 109 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:34,000 so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed at Him before His coming. 110 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:44,160 Dear friends, continue in Christ. Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Don't stop holding fast 111 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:51,680 to our Lord Jesus when the doubts creep in and things get hard. Don't let the deceitfulness of 112 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:59,840 sin bring you shame and cause you to turn from Him. You are now a boy of God. 113 00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:04,400 Be assured again today of His matchless love for you. 114 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:15,760 And hold fast. Remain. Abide in Christ in the same way a branch stays a part of the vine. 115 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,480 And you can have confidence at His coming. 116 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:28,720 And on that day, when we see Him as He is, we will be like Him. 117 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:37,840 And every doubt, every fear, every hardship, every sorrow, every sin, 118 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,920 it'll all be taken away from us. And we will be like Him. 119 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:52,160 And every hardship, every sorrow, every sin, it'll all be taken away. 120 00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:01,200 The day is coming when everything will be made new and set right. 121 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:11,360 And until then, we can be confident because God's made us His children. 122 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:23,760 Secondly, we can also be confident because we now bear the family likeness. 123 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:30,800 For our more literal, linear, Western minds, I think this point can be a tricky one to see in 124 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:35,840 this passage. I really wrestled with this because we want to be faithful to what John is saying, 125 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,800 right? But it can also be quite hard to reconcile with other parts of Scripture. 126 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,800 Here are some really difficult things which John has said to us in this passage. 127 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:52,080 No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either sinned 128 00:15:52,080 --> 00:15:57,200 or sinned. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him. 129 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:05,040 No one who is born of God will continue to sin because God's seed remains in them. 130 00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:09,120 They cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God. 131 00:16:11,760 --> 00:16:17,040 It's tricky because it actually feels like John is trying to rob us of confidence here, 132 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:24,240 because we all keep sinning, don't we? John, how can we be confident at our Lord's appearing 133 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:29,040 when you're telling me that if we keep on sinning, then we don't belong to Him? 134 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:35,760 Well, there's two things that I think John wants us to keep in mind here. 135 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:43,680 The first is that the Christian now pursues a life of faithfulness, not flawlessness. 136 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:48,480 I've listed some verses there where I think we can clearly see this in John's writing, 137 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:56,560 and he knows that we will sin and praise God that we have an ever faithful and all-sufficient 138 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:06,240 advocate in our Lord Jesus when we do. Indeed, He appeared so that He might take away our sins. 139 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:12,400 What we will be has not yet been made known. Our sinless state has not yet come, but we know 140 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:20,560 that when Christ returns, we will be like Him, sinless, for we shall see Him as He is. 141 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:27,520 And this reality of a faithful, not flawless is reflected more helpfully, 142 00:17:27,520 --> 00:17:31,120 I think, in the ESV translation of these verses where it says, 143 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:38,720 whoever makes a practice of sinning, it's the life of habitual sin with no remorse, 144 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:48,480 no repentance, no desire for God to be glorified. It's that life who does not know God and who has 145 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:57,040 not been born of God. The Christian, however, now longs to put their sin to death. They have 146 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:04,400 new desires, ones for righteousness and holiness, which they are not always able to act on because 147 00:18:05,360 --> 00:18:10,160 of their sinful flesh. It's still at work within them, but nonetheless, there will be increasing 148 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:18,000 degrees of faithfulness to what is pleasing to God. As God's children, we do not make a practice 149 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:25,440 of sinning anymore, but now we make a practice, a habit of walking in the light of the Lord Jesus 150 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:32,720 of walking in the light as He is light, faithfully, but not flawlessly. 151 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:40,880 The second thing that John wants us to keep in mind is if sin will cause us to shrink from Christ 152 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:47,040 in shame at His coming, then don't you think that righteousness will do the very opposite? 153 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:55,360 Faithful living can actually give us confidence. Let's go back to imagining my kids at 4.30 when 154 00:18:55,360 --> 00:19:01,200 they're expecting me home. It's a Thursday and that morning I told them that they must make sure 155 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:08,240 that their rooms are clean when I got home or I won't be taking them to the park. And surprise, 156 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:18,720 surprise, I get home and their rooms are trashed. Would you expect them to meet me joyfully at the 157 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:28,000 door that afternoon like they normally do? Probably not, right? They have not put into practice what I 158 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:36,960 commanded them to do and so that will produce a fear and anxiety, a lack of confidence at my coming 159 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:43,920 home because they don't know how I'm going to respond to them. They might even doubt my love for 160 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:50,400 them in that moment. Of course, not that they should. And so in this way, I think we can see 161 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:57,120 how John is suggesting that we can have confidence in him at his coming. I think we can all recognise 162 00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:02,720 those moments when we sin and we shrink from God in shame, whether it be for a few moments 163 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:13,680 or a few weeks or maybe it has even been a few years for you now and we lose confidence before him. 164 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:18,640 And we would shudder at the thought of him returning in all his glory at this moment. 165 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:27,120 But how true is it that when we are walking in the light, when we are loving one another as he has 166 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:35,600 loved us, there is an immense joy and intimacy and fellowship with him. There is a nearness and a 167 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:44,960 delight that we enjoy when we are walking in his ways. And so flip back again to my kids, how 168 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:51,680 confident, how joyful, how expectant are they when their rooms are clean and they are even more 169 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:57,760 excited that dad's nearly home and we've done what he's asked and we get to go to the park when he gets here. 170 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,400 And John, he wants us to have this same confidence, friends. 171 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:11,920 And so why can we have this confidence when we walk in righteousness? 172 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,840 Well, because we are bearing the family resemblance. 173 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:26,720 It's in this letter that we have these simple yet profound statements that God is light. God is love. 174 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:33,680 Love and holiness are not things that God does, it is who he is. 175 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:41,520 And so when we practice righteousness, when we are holy, when we love one another, 176 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:48,160 we are bearing the family likeness. We look like our father in heaven, 177 00:21:50,560 --> 00:21:56,720 which is why John can say in verse 10, this is how we know who are the children of God, 178 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:04,720 or more literally by this it is evident who are the children of God and who the children of the devil are. 179 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,800 So we can have confidence when we are obedient to the commands of our heavenly father, 180 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:19,360 not because it merits our salvation in any way whatsoever, but because it proves, it is evidence that we are his children. 181 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:26,400 Do you see the correct ordering of this? That fruit is the evidence of our faith. 182 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:31,680 And so we can rejoice and be confident before our father when we see it. 183 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:36,240 It's not a source of boasting, it's not a source of merit, 184 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:42,720 but a source of joy and confidence because we are being changed by the love of the father, 185 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:50,400 by his spirit, through his word and we bear the family likeness as we live out the righteousness 186 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,320 which is being brought about us in us by the spirit. 187 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:03,440 Sometimes though it can be really hard to see it in our own lives, can't it? 188 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:10,640 Oftentimes I'll find myself praying for patience and later on that day I will just demonstrate the very opposite, 189 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:15,440 usually around that 430 mark or not long after. 190 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:20,640 It can be really discouraging, can't it? 191 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,640 But let us remind ourselves that this is not how fruit is normally produced. 192 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:31,440 Can God change us in a moment? Yes, he can and he will. 193 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:36,960 One day. But until then fruit comes in seasons, doesn't it? 194 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:44,560 After the soil has been cared for with water and fertilizer so that the roots can be strengthened. 195 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,560 And so I've often found this question to be much more helpful. 196 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,040 Can I see evidence of growth in the last year? 197 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,960 In the last five years? 198 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,600 And if the answer to that is yes, then rejoice, praise God. 199 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:08,640 Let it grow your joy and your confidence in him that you are his child 200 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,640 and be confident and wait expectantly for his return. 201 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,640 And might that spur you on to love him more and more? 202 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:21,840 What if the answer to that question is no? What if you would say, 203 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,640 Justin, I just can't see any evidence of growth in holiness. 204 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,840 I can actually see where I do make a practice of sinning. 205 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:39,760 There are things which I feel enslaved to and despite my best efforts, I still do. 206 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:46,640 There are things which I feel enslaved to and despite my best efforts, I just cannot give them up. 207 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:56,800 I would say to you, Jesus Christ is the atoning sacrifice for your sins. 208 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:04,800 And if you confess your sins, he is faithful and he is just and he will forgive you 209 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,800 and he will cleanse you of all your unrighteousness. 210 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:16,800 You have an advocate before the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 211 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:24,800 So I would say to you, hold fast to him. Trust deeply in him. 212 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:30,800 Be in utter dependence of his righteousness to be worked out in you. 213 00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:40,800 And trust the process. As you keep trusting in Christ, keep trusting that just as he has justified you, 214 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:48,800 giving you a right standing before God, trust that he's also sanctified you, that he has made you holy. 215 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,800 And that he is working that out in you bit by bit. 216 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:58,800 And as you keep trusting that he is doing that work, work with him in that too. 217 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:06,800 Fill your mind with what is good and what is pure. Be on your knees in prayer, pleading that he would change you. 218 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:14,800 Make good and wise decisions to minimize opportunity for your sinful flesh to rear its ugly head. 219 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:20,800 And remember the right ordering of what John is showing us here in this passage. 220 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:30,800 That evidence will come, not because we're good enough, not because we've made it, 221 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:34,800 but because we are God's children now. 222 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,800 And that's where our confidence is. 223 00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:44,800 Not in the works themselves, but because we're bearing the family likeness. 224 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:58,800 And so the correct ordering of this also means that the marker of God's blessing, his love, his favour in your life now, 225 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:00,800 is not how well your life has been. 226 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:08,800 It also means that the marker of God's blessing, his love, his favour in your life now, is not how well your life is going. 227 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:12,800 Like some sort of Christian karma. 228 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:22,800 We cannot have confidence before him because we have the job or the house or the number of healthy children or fill in the blank. 229 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:24,800 Can I confess something to you? 230 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:30,800 I find myself having more confidence before God when my favourite sports team has had a win. 231 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:36,800 How ridiculous is that? 232 00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:46,800 That I, that we would feel like we have a more worthy status as a child of God and more confidence before him. 233 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:50,800 When we have a sense of success. 234 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,800 But John says in verse 7, little children, let no one deceive you. 235 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:03,800 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as he, as God is righteous. 236 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:08,800 Let no one deceive you. 237 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,800 Worldly children, let no one deceive you. 238 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:15,800 Let no one deceive you. 239 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,800 Worldly success is not a marker of the child of God. 240 00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,800 Being a nice person is not a marker of the child of God. 241 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,800 Going to church is not the marker of the child of God. 242 00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:34,800 But how easy is it to be deceived into living this nominal Christian life 243 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,800 and think that there will be pie in the sky when we die, 244 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:43,800 but not being deeply shaped by the realities of the gospel. 245 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:51,800 No, we can only have confidence because we have been loved by God in his son Jesus. 246 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:59,800 Because his Holy Spirit is deeply at work in us, producing the righteousness of God in us. 247 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,800 And whenever we fall short, which we will every day, 248 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:10,800 we run into the arms of our Saviour once again for his forgiveness, 249 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:13,800 utterly dependent upon him. 250 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:18,800 The Christian life is a life of faith, 251 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:26,800 trusting that only God can bring about the things in us which we need for eternal life. 252 00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:32,800 So friends, let us not hope in anything or anyone other than our Lord Jesus. 253 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:38,800 Everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 254 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,800 The Apostle John wants to say to you again this morning, 255 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,800 Beloved, hope in him. 256 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:50,800 Hope in him. 257 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:58,800 Hope in him. Hope in the one who appeared in order to take away your sins. 258 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,800 Hope in the one who makes you pure. 259 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:07,800 Hope in the one in whom we will see face to face, 260 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:13,800 we will in the twinkling of an eye be made like him because we shall see him as he is. 261 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:18,800 Hope in Jesus and abide in him. 262 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,800 Find your assurance in his finished work. 263 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:30,800 Find your identity as a child of God in the love of the Father displayed nowhere more clearly than in the cross of Christ. 264 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:39,800 And live out the righteousness which he has won for you and is bringing about in you. 265 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:46,800 And in this we can have confidence that is coming because we are children of God. 266 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:48,800 Because we are children of God. 267 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:51,800 And because we bear the family likeness. 268 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:54,800 Let's pray. 269 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:06,800 Gracious Father, we thank you and praise you for your word to us. 270 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:13,800 Thank you Lord for your Holy Spirit who works its power out in our lives. 271 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:22,800 And thank you for your son Jesus who has done everything for us that we might enjoy eternal life with you. 272 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:29,800 Father would you help us to cling to our Lord and Saviour. 273 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:32,800 To deeply abide in him. 274 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:37,800 To love him and to treasure him for all of our days. 275 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:49,800 And Lord that you would help us to live in ways that are pleasing to you because they reflect your goodness and your character and your glory. 276 00:31:50,800 --> 00:32:00,800 Father would you comfort those of us here this morning who would be lacking confidence at your return right now. 277 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:07,800 Comfort us in the love that you have for us. 278 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:16,800 That you long to see us live in the reality of more and more each day. 279 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:23,800 And Lord give us confidence when we do see fruit. 280 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:35,800 That there would be a momentum that would grow in our lives as we put sin to death and as we find joy and life in righteousness. 281 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:42,800 May we indeed be those who bear the genuine faith of a Christian. 282 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,800 That our lives would look like what John is laying out for us in his letter. 283 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:57,800 And Lord that in all of that you would be glorified and that we would grow more and more into the image of our Lord Jesus for our good. 284 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:18,800 In his name we pray. Amen.