WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:03.790 Good morning, everyone. It's good to be with 00:00:03.790 --> 00:00:06.169 you this morning as we get into God's Word as 00:00:06.169 --> 00:00:09.589 we Study it together and as we think about these 00:00:09.589 --> 00:00:14.109 things together indeed it is great to be loved 00:00:14.109 --> 00:00:19.910 by our God and Also have the opportunity to love 00:00:19.910 --> 00:00:25.230 one another One year Shelley and I visited the 00:00:25.230 --> 00:00:29.289 Australian Army Museum in Fremantle now if you've 00:00:29.289 --> 00:00:31.579 never been there you should go you would enjoy 00:00:31.579 --> 00:00:35.420 it. One of the great areas that you see when 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:38.619 you first walk in is the area where they have 00:00:38.619 --> 00:00:42.920 pictures of Victoria Cross recipients, VC recipients, 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:46.880 those who have received the Cross, this Victoria 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:51.600 Cross Award for their sacrifice, for their efforts 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.070 to save others. for their efforts to face the 00:00:56.070 --> 00:00:59.270 enemy and to deal with the risk and sometimes 00:00:59.270 --> 00:01:03.630 even losing their life. The acts that we read 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:05.450 about, the stories that were written there were 00:01:05.450 --> 00:01:08.409 really inspiring, actually quite challenging 00:01:08.409 --> 00:01:12.609 as well. Each of these recipients faced very 00:01:12.609 --> 00:01:16.049 difficult circumstances and gave their lives 00:01:16.049 --> 00:01:19.969 or gave a great effort to save and rescue their 00:01:19.969 --> 00:01:23.859 fellow soldiers. After reading many of the accounts, 00:01:24.299 --> 00:01:26.780 I was surprised by the remarks of one of the 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:31.219 VC recipients who actually ended up being a governor 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:36.060 in New South Wales, of all places, but his name 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:39.459 was Sir Rodan Cutler. I'm going to read you what 00:01:39.459 --> 00:01:43.579 he said about the Australian soldier. He said, 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.599 the Australian soldier is known for not being 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:51.079 good at taking orders. A captain who orders his 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:55.480 men to exit the trenches and go charge the line 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:58.939 will find that his men are not good at that. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.079 However, if the captain jumps out of the trenches 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:07.780 and says, come men, follow me, he will find that 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:11.539 the Australian soldiers will follow him. The 00:02:11.539 --> 00:02:15.580 Australian soldier will follow their commander's 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:21.300 lead. John's teaching in what we see here in 00:02:21.300 --> 00:02:25.659 1 John chapter 2 verses 7 and 8 talks about an 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:29.860 old command and a new command. The new command 00:02:29.860 --> 00:02:33.159 comes from Jesus lips way back in the book of 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:36.639 John in the gospel of John chapter 13 verse 34. 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:41.580 Just as I have loved you, you ought also to love 00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:46.620 one another. That's the command. And our brave 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:51.180 king sacrificed himself to face the enemy, our 00:02:51.180 --> 00:02:55.439 enemy, and to rescue us. The command to love 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:59.020 one another is not from the lips of a king who 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:03.080 gives the order, go and charge the enemy, and 00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:07.539 stays in the trenches himself. Our king ordered 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:13.560 us out of the trenches, but he went first. He 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:20.280 went ahead and we follow his lead giving sacrificially 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:25.900 and sacrificing and loving one another For those 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:28.879 in Christ so what we read in first John chapter 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:31.219 2 verse 6 So a little bit earlier than where 00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:35.000 we started this morning in first John 2 6 for 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:39.120 those of us in Christ Whoever says he abides 00:03:39.120 --> 00:03:44.449 in him ought also to walk in the same way in 00:03:44.449 --> 00:03:49.129 which he walked. We follow the lead of our Savior. 00:03:50.789 --> 00:03:55.169 Genuine fellowship with God in Christ leads to 00:03:55.169 --> 00:03:59.689 genuine love for others who are in Christ along 00:03:59.689 --> 00:04:05.430 with us. So how will we as a church and how will 00:04:05.430 --> 00:04:08.349 us as individual brothers and sisters, how will 00:04:08.349 --> 00:04:14.900 we love? one another. Well, He loved us, so we 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:18.339 need to follow Jesus' command, right? To love 00:04:18.339 --> 00:04:22.800 others. So don't be surprised that the King gives 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:27.660 us a command. He's in charge. We're in His kingdom. 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:31.220 This is where we belong. He's called us to live 00:04:31.220 --> 00:04:35.620 here in His kingdom. Therefore, we are to keep 00:04:35.620 --> 00:04:41.730 the King's commands. Again, chapter 2 verse 4, 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:44.930 just leading into the passage that we're in, 00:04:45.550 --> 00:04:48.750 says this, someone who says, I know the king, 00:04:48.850 --> 00:04:52.990 I know Jesus, but doesn't keep his commands. 00:04:53.829 --> 00:04:56.589 Chapter 2 verse 4 says that person is a liar 00:04:56.589 --> 00:04:59.730 and the truth is not in him. Now that's really 00:04:59.730 --> 00:05:02.529 strong language, isn't it? If you're not obeying 00:05:02.529 --> 00:05:05.410 the king's commands, then you're a liar if you 00:05:05.410 --> 00:05:09.100 say you know him. Wow. That's pretty tough, but 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:12.899 it underscores the expectation of what we're 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:15.560 meant to do as brothers and sisters in Christ 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:19.860 in the kingdom of our Savior So there's two commands 00:05:19.860 --> 00:05:22.160 here that Jesus talks about sorry that John talks 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:26.740 about this old command this new command and Together 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:31.079 they teach a crucial truth the gospel command 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:35.660 to believe Jesus to trust him is directly linked 00:05:35.660 --> 00:05:40.339 to the command to love one another. So let me 00:05:40.339 --> 00:05:42.699 just walk you through it. The old command is 00:05:42.699 --> 00:05:45.000 this. We see it in verse seven, so we're finally 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:46.720 getting to our passage now. You're probably thinking, 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:48.879 why is he going to back to all these other passages? 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:53.300 Okay, we're in a passage now. Verse seven, John 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:56.600 writes, an old command you had from the beginning. 00:05:57.230 --> 00:06:01.050 The old command is the word that you have heard. 00:06:01.129 --> 00:06:03.769 What was that word that they heard? Well, they 00:06:03.769 --> 00:06:06.230 first heard about this king. They first heard 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:11.470 his command when they heard the gospel. Remember, 00:06:11.490 --> 00:06:15.649 in the opening of John's letter here, 1 John, 00:06:15.709 --> 00:06:19.389 chapter one, verse three, he talked about Jesus, 00:06:19.569 --> 00:06:23.180 his readers, hearing the apostles. hearing from 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:25.899 the Apostles and the Apostles heard and they 00:06:25.899 --> 00:06:28.240 touched and they saw Jesus who is the word of 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:32.680 life and then John proclaimed this word to the 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:36.000 people and They believed and they became brothers 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.220 and sisters who shared in fellowship with the 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:42.040 Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and all 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:46.139 those who believe So by believing we become part 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:50.759 of the kingdom of God then we take on and live 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:54.540 that way. We obey the old command when we believed 00:06:54.540 --> 00:06:58.279 the gospel. That's the old command. But then 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:01.819 John again appeals after our passage. He says, 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:03.879 let what you heard from the beginning, this is 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:08.199 chapter 2 verse 24, let what you heard from the 00:07:08.199 --> 00:07:11.439 beginning abide in you. If what you heard from 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:14.069 the beginning abides in you, so believing on 00:07:14.069 --> 00:07:17.250 the Lord Jesus, trusting Him, then you too will 00:07:17.250 --> 00:07:20.410 abide with the Son and the Father. And His promise 00:07:20.410 --> 00:07:26.089 is made to us. And it's this eternal life. So 00:07:26.089 --> 00:07:30.050 by obeying the command, we enter into a fellowship, 00:07:30.149 --> 00:07:34.370 into this relationship with God and we have eternal 00:07:34.370 --> 00:07:37.269 life. That's the initial command, the old command. 00:07:37.769 --> 00:07:41.449 Now let's get to the new command. Verse eight. 00:07:42.029 --> 00:07:44.769 He mentions this new command. At the same time, 00:07:44.790 --> 00:07:47.730 it is a new commandment that I'm writing to you. 00:07:48.810 --> 00:07:51.550 Now, he doesn't separate the old from the new. 00:07:52.230 --> 00:07:55.389 The gospel command to believe in the Lord Jesus 00:07:55.389 --> 00:07:59.189 Christ and the new command to love one another 00:07:59.189 --> 00:08:04.129 are linked. You enter the kingdom. You become 00:08:04.129 --> 00:08:09.370 God's child by believing in the Son. And your 00:08:09.370 --> 00:08:12.149 faith in Jesus connects you to this new kingdom. 00:08:13.610 --> 00:08:19.149 And you love those in that kingdom as well. John 00:08:19.149 --> 00:08:22.449 says, and this is the commandment that we believe 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:26.170 in the name of his son, and we love one another 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:34.070 just as he commanded us. So these verses, chapter 00:08:34.070 --> 00:08:38.279 two, verses seven and eight. And right at the 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:40.940 end of verse 8 illustrates the connection of 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:43.620 the old and new commandment using that illustration 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:47.659 of light. John loves this illustration. He talks 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:51.059 about light often. Light and contrast to darkness. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:57.019 Now Jesus Christ loved his people. That's really 00:08:57.019 --> 00:09:00.299 evident from all of the Gospels and really across 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:06.120 all of scripture. Our God loves his people. His 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:10.519 command to love was fully active in Jesus. He 00:09:10.519 --> 00:09:15.019 was the one who perfectly loves and So that's 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:18.759 why when John says in verse 8 at the end of verse 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:21.659 8 He says the true light was already shining. 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:25.779 What's he saying? Jesus is light Jesus is the 00:09:25.779 --> 00:09:29.600 light of God's love Jesus loves perfectly. He 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:34.559 is light And the astounding truth in verse eight 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.759 is that this new command is true and in him, 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:43.700 not only in him, but look at what verse eight 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:50.399 says, and in you. If Jesus is alive in you, if 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.860 his light is shining in you, then you are shining 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:57.769 as well. because the darkness is passing away. 00:09:58.309 --> 00:10:01.789 Jesus abiding in Jesus and Him abiding in us 00:10:01.789 --> 00:10:05.470 means that we are light, the light of Christ 00:10:05.470 --> 00:10:10.129 we love as well. The light that shines in Him 00:10:10.129 --> 00:10:15.480 shines out from believers as well. Jesus and 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.940 his love if I could think of oh, there's bigger 00:10:17.940 --> 00:10:20.779 numbers than this But think of Jesus as a two 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:24.039 million candle power torch You know, just this 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.620 huge bright if you want to say two billion, that's 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:28.919 fine. If I say two trillion That's fine, too. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:32.820 Just a big number a very very very bright torch 00:10:32.820 --> 00:10:38.500 He's entered your life and he lights it up If 00:10:38.500 --> 00:10:41.080 you're a believer in Jesus he has entered your 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:46.679 life and he lights up your life Faith connects 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:51.240 you to the true light and your darkness is passing 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:54.519 away. And again, when we talk about individuals, 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:57.120 we know that God works in individual lives, but 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:00.860 he works in us as well as a body. So don't just 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.460 think in your life, but think about what he does 00:11:03.460 --> 00:11:07.100 in the life of this congregation. Think about 00:11:07.100 --> 00:11:09.879 what he does in the life of the church across 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:13.440 Perth and across the globe and throughout time. 00:11:14.400 --> 00:11:19.860 The light of Christ shines and it drives away 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:27.659 the darkness. See, His related, this new command 00:11:27.659 --> 00:11:31.720 and old command, it calls us to believe in Christ 00:11:31.720 --> 00:11:35.139 and then it calls us to love one another. So 00:11:35.139 --> 00:11:38.240 how are you going to love one another? How are 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:40.559 you going to carry this off, this loving for 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.600 one another? Because I know you guys, some of 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:45.440 you are very difficult to love. And if you really 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.500 got to know me, see I'm smiling and happy up 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:49.279 here, but if you got to know me in my down times, 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:53.019 I'm a little cranky person. In fact, Shelly thinks 00:11:53.019 --> 00:11:54.759 that I'm one of the grumps that she really does 00:11:54.759 --> 00:11:57.299 love. She loves the grumpy people. If you talk 00:11:57.299 --> 00:12:00.299 to Shelly about the history situation, she loves 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:02.940 the grumpy ones in history. And I'm one of the 00:12:02.940 --> 00:12:06.509 grumpy ones that she loves as well. I know we're 00:12:06.509 --> 00:12:10.889 all difficult at times to love, right? So how 00:12:10.889 --> 00:12:12.990 am I going to love you when you're difficult 00:12:12.990 --> 00:12:15.250 to love? How are you going to love me when I'm 00:12:15.250 --> 00:12:20.970 difficult to love? We need to walk in Jesus' 00:12:21.350 --> 00:12:27.389 light. We need to walk with Him. See, John's 00:12:27.389 --> 00:12:31.350 use of light illustrates two key issues for us, 00:12:31.350 --> 00:12:34.470 two key things we need to take on board. First, 00:12:34.830 --> 00:12:39.529 Jesus is the light. That's the first thing we 00:12:39.529 --> 00:12:43.529 really need to take on board. Those who say, 00:12:43.990 --> 00:12:49.330 I follow Jesus, we are in the light. Believe 00:12:49.330 --> 00:12:51.990 it or not, if you're a follower of Jesus, you 00:12:51.990 --> 00:12:55.600 are in the light. You may not feel like it. your 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:59.259 light will shine in the light of Jesus will shine 00:12:59.259 --> 00:13:05.279 through you that love of Jesus or if it isn't 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:09.159 shining verse 9 is true of you look at what verse 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:12.620 9 says whoever says he is in the light in other 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:15.159 words I'm a follower of Jesus whoever says he 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:19.879 is in the light but hates his brother he's still 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:26.029 in darkness So you can't hide behind spiritual 00:13:26.029 --> 00:13:30.409 words, yes, I'm a believer in Jesus, and not 00:13:30.409 --> 00:13:36.070 love your brother. It's not allowed. Or to put 00:13:36.070 --> 00:13:38.889 it this way, think of it as a test. If you're 00:13:38.889 --> 00:13:41.370 hating your brother, but you say you're a believer, 00:13:42.309 --> 00:13:50.750 you fail the test. See, we reject the gospel 00:13:50.750 --> 00:13:58.320 of the king if we hate our brother. However, 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:01.340 verse 10 is also true. If you're thinking of 00:14:01.340 --> 00:14:04.419 that as a test, whoever loves his brother abides 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:11.659 in the light. So you put nine and 10 together, 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:14.899 putting verse nine and 10 together, the right 00:14:14.899 --> 00:14:18.899 place to be is in the light. Those who are outside 00:14:18.899 --> 00:14:23.000 the light are in the darkness. They hate their 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:26.240 brother, but those in the light, they love their 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:31.909 brother. Jesus two million candle power light 00:14:31.909 --> 00:14:36.610 is shining in your life as you love one another 00:14:36.610 --> 00:14:40.470 Those who follow him will shine the light of 00:14:40.470 --> 00:14:46.590 Jesus light in your life. It will happen As we 00:14:46.590 --> 00:14:49.929 walk together with Jesus again that togetherness 00:14:49.929 --> 00:14:55.509 You see love is a group activity It's something 00:14:55.509 --> 00:15:00.039 we do together I can't just say I'm lover if 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:04.259 I don't have someone to show love to. Jesus from 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:06.580 all eternity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:10.220 Spirit, they loved each other perfectly, always. 00:15:11.399 --> 00:15:14.259 Three persons in the Trinity loved perfectly. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:19.860 And then they love us and bring us in. And so 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:23.080 we love like they love. Well, we're learning 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:27.289 anyway, right? We're learning. Okay, so we learned 00:15:27.289 --> 00:15:29.490 the first thing is that Jesus is the light. The 00:15:29.490 --> 00:15:32.490 second thing we learned from these commands is 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:35.889 that walking in the light removes stumbling. 00:15:38.149 --> 00:15:41.730 Jesus walked in perfect obedience to the Father. 00:15:42.230 --> 00:15:46.769 He obeyed all of God's commands. He perfectly 00:15:46.769 --> 00:15:50.549 displayed God's love. He is the perfect Son, 00:15:50.549 --> 00:15:55.789 and He perfectly loves. And as we follow Jesus, 00:15:56.710 --> 00:16:00.129 obedience to His light, or in obedience to His 00:16:00.129 --> 00:16:03.649 command, then the light shines in us as well. 00:16:05.070 --> 00:16:08.049 The benefit of His light is, look at what verse 00:16:08.049 --> 00:16:10.669 10 tells us, the end of verse 10, the benefit 00:16:10.669 --> 00:16:13.990 of walking in the light is that there is no cause 00:16:13.990 --> 00:16:16.429 for stumbling. The word for stumbling there is 00:16:16.429 --> 00:16:19.309 scandal. Scandalon, that's the Greek word, but 00:16:19.309 --> 00:16:21.909 you can hear the word scandal. We don't cause 00:16:21.909 --> 00:16:25.750 others to stumble. We don't cause others scandal. 00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:32.970 We don't desire to see other people tripped up 00:16:32.970 --> 00:16:39.710 by our mess -ups, by our lack of love. In my 00:16:39.710 --> 00:16:43.549 childhood, my sister and I had an uncle. His 00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:46.190 name was Uncle Pete, and Uncle Pete was blind. 00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:50.490 And one of the house rules, when we would play 00:16:50.490 --> 00:16:53.330 over at my grandmother's house, my grandmother 00:16:53.330 --> 00:16:55.570 was married to this guy, Uncle Pete, who was 00:16:55.570 --> 00:16:57.490 not my grandfather, he was, but we called him 00:16:57.490 --> 00:17:00.549 Uncle Pete. Anyway, so when Uncle Pete, when 00:17:00.549 --> 00:17:02.210 we were around the house and we were playing, 00:17:02.730 --> 00:17:05.210 our toys had to be picked up when we were done 00:17:05.210 --> 00:17:09.779 playing. We also like to set up little... furniture 00:17:09.779 --> 00:17:11.680 tents, you know, you put out the blankets over 00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:14.240 two chairs and you make a little cubby and we 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:16.319 make little forts. And so my sister and I used 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:19.059 to play around. And when we were done, the house 00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:21.460 rule was you picked up all your toys and you 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:24.619 put the furniture back where you found it so 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:28.460 that you didn't cause Uncle Pete to stumble. 00:17:30.339 --> 00:17:33.660 However, like little children do, many times 00:17:33.660 --> 00:17:36.900 we'd forget that we had put out or left out our 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:40.640 toys or we'd forget to put furniture back and 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:42.980 then we cause Uncle Pete a bit of pain because 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:44.980 he would run into the furniture or you'd stumble 00:17:44.980 --> 00:17:47.099 on a toy and if any of you've ever stepped on 00:17:47.099 --> 00:17:49.660 a little Lego you know what that feels like so 00:17:49.660 --> 00:17:54.859 we we sometimes we messed up our disobedience 00:17:54.859 --> 00:17:58.960 would cause Uncle Pete to stumble over our toys 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:03.180 and to hit his shins on the furniture since we 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:07.839 never intended to hurt our beloved uncle When 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:12.599 our disobedience injured him, we always apologized. 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:17.940 Because we had hurt him, we were hurt as well. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:23.759 We felt bad. You see, we walked in the light 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:27.460 and we wanted to make sure that our uncle did 00:18:27.460 --> 00:18:30.119 not stumble and that we had no cause, that we 00:18:30.119 --> 00:18:34.920 had done nothing to make him stumble. But when 00:18:34.920 --> 00:18:37.920 we failed to obey, when we failed to obey the 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.859 house rules, when we failed to love Uncle Pete 00:18:40.859 --> 00:18:45.720 properly, we humbly admitted that we caused him 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:52.279 to stumble. Similarly, as Jesus' true followers, 00:18:52.420 --> 00:18:55.519 none of us will follow Jesus perfectly. We won't 00:18:55.519 --> 00:18:59.960 always get it right. We don't always obey, sometimes 00:18:59.960 --> 00:19:04.190 intentionally messing up, sinning. And sometimes 00:19:04.190 --> 00:19:09.349 by mistake, we sin by just not doing it right. 00:19:10.509 --> 00:19:12.910 We don't want to cause others to stumble, but 00:19:12.910 --> 00:19:18.650 when we do, we must humbly admit our disobedience. 00:19:19.869 --> 00:19:25.569 We must return to walking in the light. That's 00:19:25.569 --> 00:19:31.049 the loving thing to do. Now, what if my sister 00:19:31.049 --> 00:19:35.279 and I actually hated our uncle? What if we really 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:37.279 didn't care about him? What if we actually put 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:39.160 out Legos in front of him just so that we could 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:41.920 watch him fall over and stumble? What if we left 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.220 out the furniture so that we could just, you 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:47.720 know, have a giggle when he ran into it and goes, 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:53.140 oh, again? We'd be ratbag children, wouldn't 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:56.079 we? I mean, we'd be some pretty awful kids to 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:58.200 make a blind guy stumble. You'd have to be pretty 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:03.859 callous to do that. Essentially, look at verse 00:20:03.859 --> 00:20:08.500 11. That's what John is saying. Whoever hates 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:11.039 his brother is in the darkness. You're a rat 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:16.039 bag. And you walk in the darkness and you don't 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:18.880 know where you're going because the darkness 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:26.519 has blinded your eyes. See, again, it's love. 00:20:28.280 --> 00:20:32.019 practical ways of showing love, demonstrable 00:20:32.019 --> 00:20:35.839 ways of showing love that truly show that we 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:41.279 walk with Jesus. How will you love your brother? 00:20:43.259 --> 00:20:46.539 Followers of Jesus, you and I, us together as 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:49.019 a church, as a congregation of God's people, 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:53.059 we need to walk in the light. Just as He loved 00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:57.190 us, so we love our brothers and sisters. But 00:20:57.190 --> 00:21:03.210 when we don't, we must apply the gospel. Love 00:21:03.210 --> 00:21:07.109 can still be shown. Ask Jesus for forgiveness. 00:21:07.410 --> 00:21:10.529 He's the lover, the perfect one. He loves his 00:21:10.529 --> 00:21:15.089 people. He will forgive. And ask those who you've 00:21:15.089 --> 00:21:20.230 sinned against to forgive you. Ask for forgiveness. 00:21:21.130 --> 00:21:24.089 When you cause another brother or sister in Christ 00:21:24.089 --> 00:21:27.960 to stumble, rely on Jesus' promised love to forgive 00:21:27.960 --> 00:21:31.519 you, and allow your brothers and sisters the 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:36.059 opportunity to practice their love for you as 00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:43.900 they forgive you as well. We read Leviticus earlier. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.700 Leviticus 19, and there's a lot of commands there. 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:48.500 And did you notice at the end of each one of 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.779 those commands, those little sections, it was, 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:54.500 because I am the Lord your God, was the command 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:59.200 there underscored by the fact that God is God. 00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:02.559 We need to listen to him because he's God. We 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:04.819 need to do what he says because he's God. Here 00:22:04.819 --> 00:22:08.380 we have, in a similar way, Jesus commanding us 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:12.940 to love one another because he's God. And those 00:22:12.940 --> 00:22:15.380 were practical things that we saw in Leviticus 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:19.819 19. Love the needy. Love the poor. Love the stranger. 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:22.180 If you see your brother in need, make sure they 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:26.180 have what they need. Don't be false with your 00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:30.519 brother. Don't lie to your brother. Don't steal 00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:32.859 from your brother. Don't oppress your brother. 00:22:32.940 --> 00:22:37.410 These are all from Leviticus chapter 19. Don't 00:22:37.410 --> 00:22:40.349 do injustice to your brother always treat them 00:22:40.349 --> 00:22:43.690 equitably always treat them with respect and 00:22:43.690 --> 00:22:47.710 dignity Don't slander them Don't talk evil. Don't 00:22:47.710 --> 00:22:53.089 say untrue things about them Don't hate them 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:55.670 don't seek vengeance if they've done you wrong 00:22:55.670 --> 00:23:00.019 don't seek vengeance in return Actually, in Leviticus 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:02.599 19, it isn't just with your brother, it's with 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:05.220 those around you, your neighbors, even the aliens 00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:12.339 and strangers among you. Love your neighbor as 00:23:12.339 --> 00:23:15.799 you love yourself. That's not just a New Testament 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:19.660 command, it comes from the Old Testament as well. 00:23:22.279 --> 00:23:25.980 You see, we overcome... in what Jesus has done 00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:29.980 for us in loving us and saving us, not in what 00:23:29.980 --> 00:23:35.500 we do. No sin or failure to love others. If we 00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:38.119 fail, if we don't, if we don't do this properly, 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:42.680 no sin gets us kicked out of the family. Jesus 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:45.400 work is complete. He saves to the uttermost. 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:49.099 He's taken care of all of our sin. He's accomplished 00:23:49.099 --> 00:23:53.000 our salvation. It is all powerful. He is all 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:57.660 sufficient. The darkness is passing. His true 00:23:57.660 --> 00:24:02.880 light is shining. But don't hide your sin when 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:07.700 you fail. Don't hide your sin. Instead, humbly 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:12.920 admit your sin. Allow Jesus' love and the love 00:24:12.920 --> 00:24:16.339 of your brothers and sisters to shine and drive 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:21.900 out the darkness. Do you remember what Jesus 00:24:21.900 --> 00:24:25.119 said was proof to the world that you are Jesus' 00:24:25.799 --> 00:24:30.420 disciples? It's from John 13. You are my disciples 00:24:30.420 --> 00:24:36.619 if you love one another. That's the proof that 00:24:36.619 --> 00:24:39.599 we are really the followers of Jesus Christ, 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:43.400 not our words. but our actions of love towards 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:45.779 one another. Well, our words as well. We do want 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:48.220 to give hugs and say we love you and all that. 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.819 All the greetings that we have. Afterwards, each 00:24:50.819 --> 00:24:56.079 of you hug one another. Okay, never mind. A holy 00:24:56.079 --> 00:25:00.240 kiss? I don't know, whatever. Demonstrate love 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:04.039 for one another. Stay around, socialize, pray 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:06.640 for one another, care for one another. You see, 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:09.539 it's really God's Word here that is feeding and 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:12.200 strengthening us, encouraging us to love, to 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:16.619 care for one another. It's what we're going to 00:25:16.619 --> 00:25:20.119 see at the table, Jesus giving His life for us, 00:25:20.299 --> 00:25:24.059 that shows us that God has proven His love for 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:31.279 us. God doesn't command us to love without supplying 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.359 us with the love that we need to love one another. 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:38.579 God commands and He also gives us the love that 00:25:38.579 --> 00:25:42.599 we need to carry out His commands. That's what 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:45.400 Jesus has given to us. That's what He proves 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:47.400 to us with the table. That's what we're going 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:50.220 to celebrate in a moment. God's love for us, 00:25:50.220 --> 00:25:55.980 but also in communion, loving one another. I 00:25:55.980 --> 00:25:58.880 read an article this week reflecting on the mercy 00:25:58.880 --> 00:26:03.819 all of us need from Jesus. as we seek to walk 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:08.039 in obedience. The article told the story of someone 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:12.339 who battled sin and really struggled to properly 00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:16.599 love one another. And over time, here's what 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:19.960 this person learned. Here's what he came to learn. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:22.960 I'm just gonna quote from the article. Christ's 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:27.380 love for him. Was the given on which his life 00:26:27.380 --> 00:26:29.920 depended it was the bedrock it was the anchor 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:34.059 on which his life depended the love of Christ 00:26:34.059 --> 00:26:38.900 He could daily because of Jesus love he could 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:43.279 daily Seek Christ's mercy for what he needed 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:49.680 forgiveness from the lamb strength from the king 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:55.220 protection in the refuge of Christ's love guidance 00:26:55.220 --> 00:27:01.460 under the shepherd's hand. How will we love our 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:05.559 brothers and sisters? We need to follow Jesus 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:10.480 commands. We need to walk in His light. We need 00:27:10.480 --> 00:27:15.519 to follow our King out of the trenches and sacrificially 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:23.779 love, forgive, and serve one another. Brothers 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:28.420 and sisters depend on Jesus love to meet all 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:33.579 your needs seek his mercy to forgive your sins 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:37.859 and His strength to persevere in the difficulties 00:27:37.859 --> 00:27:43.160 that you face each day Seek his protection from 00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:49.539 the evil one and Seek his guidance all along 00:27:49.539 --> 00:27:55.160 the way each step of your day. Let's do that 00:27:55.160 --> 00:27:58.920 together as the body of Christ here in Armidale. 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:07.180 Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we recognize because 00:28:07.180 --> 00:28:11.640 you love us and your light shines in us, our 00:28:11.640 --> 00:28:16.299 lives are changed. Lord, we want to see that 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:18.779 darkness driven out, not just individually in 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:23.160 our lives, but this darkness driven out of this 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:27.099 congregation, of the people of God, so that we 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:31.519 would be proper witnesses to a world that we 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:34.779 indeed do love one another because we are followers 00:28:34.779 --> 00:28:40.400 of yours. Lord, help us to do this well by the 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:43.339 power of your Spirit and by the love that you 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:47.619 shine in and through us. Heavenly Father, thank 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:50.200 you for sending your Son. Thank you for loving 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:55.559 us. certainly beyond what we deserve, help us 00:28:55.559 --> 00:28:58.359 to walk in Jesus' name.