WEBVTT 00:00:07.090 --> 00:00:09.250 So before we get started, we're going to read 00:00:09.250 --> 00:00:12.449 and then I'll pray. Let's read the Word of God 00:00:12.449 --> 00:00:16.289 together. All right, so let us read. I'm going 00:00:16.289 --> 00:00:19.030 to start off in verse 4 of chapter 2 and then 00:00:19.030 --> 00:00:20.750 go through 14. We're going to be doing chapter 00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:25.530 2, verse 7 to 14. Whoever says, I know him, but 00:00:25.530 --> 00:00:27.629 does not keep his commandments is a liar and 00:00:27.629 --> 00:00:30.660 the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his 00:00:30.660 --> 00:00:33.840 word in him, truly the love of God is perfected. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.280 By this we may know that we are in him. Whoever 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.600 says he abides in him ought to walk in the same 00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:45.299 way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing 00:00:45.299 --> 00:00:48.700 to you no new commandment, but an old commandment 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:53.159 that you had from the beginning. The old commandment 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:56.119 is the word that you have heard. At the same 00:00:56.119 --> 00:00:59.759 time, it is a new commandment. That I am writing 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:04.340 to you which is true in him and in you because 00:01:04.340 --> 00:01:07.040 the darkness is passing away and the true light 00:01:07.040 --> 00:01:10.500 is already shining. Whoever says he's in the 00:01:10.500 --> 00:01:13.459 light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:15.900 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:20.079 and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:30.290 whoever hates his brother I'm writing to you, 00:01:30.310 --> 00:01:33.549 little children, because your sins are forgiven 00:01:33.549 --> 00:01:35.950 for his namesake. I'm writing to you, fathers, 00:01:36.170 --> 00:01:39.269 because you know him who is from the beginning. 00:01:39.349 --> 00:01:42.250 I'm writing to you, young men, because you have 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:45.269 overcome the evil one. I'm writing to you, children, 00:01:45.489 --> 00:01:49.030 because you know the father. I write to you, 00:01:49.069 --> 00:01:52.519 fathers, because... You know him who was from 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:54.879 the beginning. I write to you, young men, because 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:57.540 you are strong and the word of God abides in 00:01:57.540 --> 00:02:01.640 you and you have overcome the evil one. Father, 00:02:01.719 --> 00:02:03.280 I want to thank you so much for your word. I 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.000 ask you, Lord, that you would guide us as we 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.719 go through these seven verses. Help us to understand 00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:13.539 the importance of your word and help us to understand 00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:16.939 the reflection of Christ in our lives as we love 00:02:16.939 --> 00:02:19.469 one another. Lord, we give you honor, glory, 00:02:19.469 --> 00:02:24.370 and praise in Jesus' name. Amen. So one of the 00:02:24.370 --> 00:02:27.449 things I want us to understand, there are a few 00:02:27.449 --> 00:02:29.430 things I need you to pay attention to as we go 00:02:29.430 --> 00:02:31.650 through this. There are several things you must 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:35.830 pay close attention to. First, John states eight 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:41.110 times, I am writing to you. Second, four times 00:02:41.110 --> 00:02:44.750 he mentions commandment, twice a old and twice 00:02:44.750 --> 00:02:49.810 a new commandment. And third, darkness is mentioned 00:02:49.810 --> 00:02:55.810 four times. So why is this important? Not only 00:02:55.810 --> 00:02:59.310 these, he also deals with the word hate. He deals 00:02:59.310 --> 00:03:00.990 with the word light. He deals with the word love. 00:03:01.090 --> 00:03:04.789 But these main focuses are extremely present 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:09.689 here. And when God mentions things like that, 00:03:09.729 --> 00:03:13.509 it is for us to pay attention to. And obviously 00:03:13.509 --> 00:03:18.919 the most glaring is. I'm writing to you. To walk 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:21.780 as Christ walked is to love your brother as he 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:25.939 loved us. You are your brother's keeper as Christ 00:03:25.939 --> 00:03:32.120 is to his brothers and sisters. Christ is your 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.979 keeper. As a matter of fact, the reality of this 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:37.840 truth shows that that is where the doctrine of 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:41.879 perseverance of the saints comes from. You persevere 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:47.159 because Christ is your keeper. understanding 00:03:47.159 --> 00:03:53.919 that we are responsible to one another. Now, 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:57.599 so when he says that there is a commandment, 00:03:57.599 --> 00:03:59.879 a new one, an old one that was given, and it's 00:03:59.879 --> 00:04:02.400 also a new one, you're going to see this in a 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:06.300 minute. So in John 13, 34 through 35, he says, 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:10.360 a new commandment I give to you that you love 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:14.139 one another. Just as I have loved you, you also 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:17.199 are to love one another. By this, all people 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:19.600 will know that you are my disciples if you have 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:23.879 love for one another. You see, in the Old Testament, 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.439 he said, love your neighbor. Jesus summarizes 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:31.500 the commandments concerning your neighbor, and 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:34.120 he says, love your neighbor as yourself. This 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.860 new commandment that Christ gives, though it 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:40.180 is an old one, is that you should love the family. 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:47.009 Do you love each other? That is the question 00:04:47.009 --> 00:04:52.170 here. Do we love the family? Love for one another. 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.290 The world will know that we are his disciples 00:04:54.290 --> 00:05:00.089 when we love one another. Now in first John chapter 00:05:00.089 --> 00:05:02.750 two, verse seven through 11, kind of clarifies 00:05:02.750 --> 00:05:08.490 this reality. Beloved, I am writing you. He's 00:05:08.490 --> 00:05:12.810 not writing to everybody. John is writing to 00:05:12.810 --> 00:05:16.370 you. He's saying to the believers, That have 00:05:16.370 --> 00:05:20.089 been dispersed and are scattered. And he's not 00:05:20.089 --> 00:05:23.310 writing a new commandment. No new commandment. 00:05:23.310 --> 00:05:27.310 But an old commandment. This is a commandment 00:05:27.310 --> 00:05:29.569 that's been from the beginning. That you had 00:05:29.569 --> 00:05:32.209 from the beginning. But what is that? We know 00:05:32.209 --> 00:05:37.029 what that is. We know because Cain had just killed 00:05:37.029 --> 00:05:41.870 his brother. And Jesus goes to him and says, 00:05:41.990 --> 00:05:44.800 Cain, where's your brother? And Cain says, am 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:49.339 I my brother's keeper? Yes, you are. This is 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:52.740 nothing new. As a matter of fact, we know because 00:05:52.740 --> 00:06:00.160 Christ loved us. The reality of love is from 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:04.560 the beginning. And we know that he loves us because 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:09.660 he has loved us before he created anything. So 00:06:09.660 --> 00:06:11.720 the old commandment is the word that you have 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:15.819 heard. What old commandment? To love one another. 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:24.420 This idea that God loves us and has sent propitiation 00:06:24.420 --> 00:06:28.860 for us, which we've read previously. This old 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:31.800 commandment that the word that you have heard. 00:06:31.899 --> 00:06:36.040 We also know that because in John 1, 1, 1, John 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:39.939 1, 1, it says that which was from the beginning, 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:43.079 which. We have heard, which we have seen with 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:45.439 our own eyes, which we've looked upon and have 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:48.439 touched with our hands concerning the word of 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:50.980 life. In the beginning was the word and the word 00:06:50.980 --> 00:06:54.180 was with God and the word was God. The Logos, 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:58.019 the word became flesh. It is an old commandment 00:06:58.019 --> 00:07:05.420 from the ancient of days. So this word that we 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:10.100 have heard to love one another. At the same time, 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.720 and this term at the same time means again or 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.920 on the other hand. On the other hand, it is a 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:17.240 new commandment. We know what that is because 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:23.680 Jesus gives it. Love one another, not just the 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:26.060 neighbor. We know that the Jews were commanded 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:28.360 to love their neighbors because when a sojourner 00:07:28.360 --> 00:07:32.019 would come into the country and into the city, 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:37.089 they as Jews were to host them. and take them 00:07:37.089 --> 00:07:39.329 in and feed them and house them. And then eventually, 00:07:39.470 --> 00:07:43.110 when they leave, to send them off with food. 00:07:43.670 --> 00:07:48.189 They were to be good neighbors to the sojourner. 00:07:48.709 --> 00:07:51.250 And so what we see here is this new commandment 00:07:51.250 --> 00:07:55.970 is, are you loving towards one another? With 00:07:55.970 --> 00:07:59.250 that, I'm writing to you, he continues in 1 John 00:07:59.250 --> 00:08:05.850 2, which is true in him and in you. What's true 00:08:05.850 --> 00:08:12.790 in Christ? Love. He is the word. He is love. 00:08:12.870 --> 00:08:16.310 And if he is love and he is in you, then you 00:08:16.310 --> 00:08:19.170 are to love. You are to walk as he walked. And 00:08:19.170 --> 00:08:22.149 that's what he means here. Which is true in him, 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:25.430 in Christ. And is also in you because love lives 00:08:25.430 --> 00:08:29.889 in you. Because the darkness is passing away. 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:36.169 I love this statement. in a state of transition. 00:08:37.850 --> 00:08:42.570 Now I know, I think we can all agree, that if 00:08:42.570 --> 00:08:46.549 we were looking to hope or looking to win on 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:49.950 this battlefield, it's not going to happen. The 00:08:49.950 --> 00:08:55.389 reality is we've already won in Christ. But this 00:08:55.389 --> 00:09:00.230 idea where we know that the world will get darker, 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:04.899 But here John states something that's quite remarkable. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:10.940 Darkness is in a state of transition. There's 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:13.980 something we know concerning the reality of darkness. 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:19.659 And that is what? The darker the darkness, the 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:24.080 brighter the light. As dark gets darker, light 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.440 gets brighter. And there's one thing that we 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:30.240 know. Darkness cannot and will not. ever have 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:33.240 victory over light because light chases away 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:37.259 the darkness so the reality is is that darkness 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:41.320 is passing away darkness is in a state of transition 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:45.620 because we see that in creation in genesis 1 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:50.120 in the beginning god created the heavens and 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:51.700 the earth and the earth was void and without 00:09:51.700 --> 00:09:55.220 form and and there was darkness over the face 00:09:55.220 --> 00:09:57.299 of the deep and the spirit of god was hovering 00:09:57.299 --> 00:10:02.730 over the God said, let there be light. And what 00:10:02.730 --> 00:10:06.090 happens to the darkness? Whoosh, it's gone. You 00:10:06.090 --> 00:10:09.009 turn off all the lights in this room. If there 00:10:09.009 --> 00:10:13.350 is one light, it will start to eat away the darkness. 00:10:13.490 --> 00:10:17.730 And that's what he means here. Just because we 00:10:17.730 --> 00:10:19.610 live in a dark world and the darkness seems to 00:10:19.610 --> 00:10:23.070 get darker, we should not fear that the darkness 00:10:23.070 --> 00:10:26.309 will overtake us. Because where darkness is, 00:10:26.970 --> 00:10:30.629 Light is brighter. And that's what he means here. 00:10:31.490 --> 00:10:35.129 And, he says, continues, and the true, the real, 00:10:35.250 --> 00:10:38.009 the genuine light. And we know what this word 00:10:38.009 --> 00:10:40.409 is in the original because it's dealing with 00:10:40.409 --> 00:10:44.769 the issue of the light of Christ, the phos. The 00:10:44.769 --> 00:10:49.629 light of Christ is already shining. What a victory 00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:54.870 statement. What a confidence we have as believers. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.620 That even in the midst of the darkest darkness 00:10:58.620 --> 00:11:02.399 you can imagine, the brightest light of Christ 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:07.720 is already shining. And this word already shining 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:11.980 means even now and before now continues to give 00:11:11.980 --> 00:11:14.779 light. In other words, he was giving light before 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:18.440 creation and he's even now giving light and that 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:24.399 light will continue to give light. Wow. We will 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:28.789 never. be in darkness again. Whoever says he 00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:33.809 is, or he exists in the light, the light of Christ, 00:11:33.929 --> 00:11:39.070 and hates, detests, has ill will, or abhors his 00:11:39.070 --> 00:11:41.909 brother, who is a fellow believer and a family 00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:46.730 member, united by our common bond, is still in 00:11:46.730 --> 00:11:50.669 darkness. You cannot say that you exist in the 00:11:50.669 --> 00:11:55.210 light of Christ and still hate. Or have ill will 00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:59.169 against your brother. Who is a believer. One 00:11:59.169 --> 00:12:02.529 who is supposed to be in common union with you. 00:12:04.889 --> 00:12:09.690 And still be in darkness. And expect to be in 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:11.350 the light. Because you won't be. The reality 00:12:11.350 --> 00:12:15.730 is you are still in darkness. You remain in the 00:12:15.730 --> 00:12:19.049 ignorant. You remain ignorant of divine things. 00:12:19.509 --> 00:12:24.779 And you remain in wickedness and misery. To not 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:30.820 love your brother is to not exist in the light. 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.840 But you still remain in your wickedness, in your 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:39.379 misery, in your sin. Whoever loves his brother 00:12:39.379 --> 00:12:44.600 abides, means to be held or kept continually. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:51.720 This is again proof that we persevere. That Christ 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:55.860 holds us and keeps us continually. Because he 00:12:55.860 --> 00:13:00.480 is our keeper. This understanding of abiding. 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:04.220 Do you abide in Christ? Are you being held and 00:13:04.220 --> 00:13:08.440 kept continually in the light? And in him there 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:12.519 is no cause for stumbling. In a brother or sister 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:16.740 who is held and kept continually in the light 00:13:16.740 --> 00:13:21.019 of Christ. Will not stumble. He doesn't walk 00:13:21.019 --> 00:13:26.720 in the dark. Even the darkest of paths are his 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:32.200 light to us. We never really walk stumbling. 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:36.539 And that's what he means here. There is no cause 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:40.799 for us to stumble. But whoever hates his brother. 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:44.080 This word hate is a very clear term which we've 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:48.330 just read previously. Is in the darkness and 00:13:48.330 --> 00:13:53.649 walks in the darkness. Continues to live in wickedness 00:13:53.649 --> 00:13:57.669 and misery. And does not know where he is going. 00:13:57.789 --> 00:14:03.330 He is walking and leading away in his life in 00:14:03.330 --> 00:14:07.250 the blindness of his sin. Because the darkness 00:14:07.250 --> 00:14:15.840 has blinded his eyes. Wow. So why so clearly 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:20.899 stated, John? Why is he clearly stating this? 00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:24.460 Because there was a continual problem among those 00:14:24.460 --> 00:14:28.259 who say they believe. They did not love one another. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:32.039 It's a demand to be right. It's a demand to be 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:33.759 in control. It's a demand and all these other 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:37.179 things. And they weren't loving. And Jesus says 00:14:37.179 --> 00:14:40.220 it this way in John 11, 10. He says, Jesus said, 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.600 if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:48.080 the light is not in him. So you can't say you 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:53.740 are in Christ and walk as if you're not in him. 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:59.919 That's hypocrisy, obviously. I love in Pilgrim's 00:14:59.919 --> 00:15:04.769 Progress what John Bunyan states here. Christian 00:15:04.769 --> 00:15:09.789 states concerning talkative, quote unquote. This 00:15:09.789 --> 00:15:13.529 is in play one. If you ever read it, it's a play. 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:20.049 And he gets together with, he's talking, I believe 00:15:20.049 --> 00:15:22.269 he's talking to Pliable at this point. I can't 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:26.029 remember if it's Pliable or, I can't remember 00:15:26.029 --> 00:15:30.830 who it is. And Christian had just got done talking 00:15:30.830 --> 00:15:36.409 to talkative. Talkative is a terrible dude. Talkative 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:39.210 is just that dude that just talks but doesn't 00:15:39.210 --> 00:15:44.210 live. He just blabs. And that's the point here. 00:15:44.350 --> 00:15:46.210 As a matter of fact, Christian states it this 00:15:46.210 --> 00:15:50.750 way, quote unquote, for my part, I am of opinion 00:15:50.750 --> 00:15:55.929 that he, talkative, has by his wicked life caused 00:15:55.929 --> 00:16:00.750 many to stumble and fall and will be if God prevents 00:16:00.750 --> 00:16:06.570 not. the ruin of many more. Quote, unquote, John 00:16:06.570 --> 00:16:14.129 Bunyan. Wow. This type of quote, unquote, believer 00:16:14.129 --> 00:16:19.289 is really the ruin of many people. And this is 00:16:19.289 --> 00:16:21.210 what John was stating concerning the reality 00:16:21.210 --> 00:16:25.690 of, am I walking as Christ walked? And if I am 00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:28.370 walking as Christ walked, I will not be a stumbling 00:16:28.370 --> 00:16:33.470 block. Nor will I stumble in the dark as if I 00:16:33.470 --> 00:16:37.250 can't see. Second, have you ever asked why did 00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:41.529 God give us his word and why Jesus is the Logos? 00:16:41.850 --> 00:16:46.090 Why is Jesus the word? Why did God give us the 00:16:46.090 --> 00:16:51.169 Bible? What's the purpose? In 2 Peter chapter 00:16:51.169 --> 00:16:54.870 1, 3 through 4, his divine power has granted 00:16:54.870 --> 00:16:59.029 to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 00:16:59.820 --> 00:17:02.899 Through the knowledge of him who called us to 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:06.839 his own glory and excellence. By which he has 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:11.680 granted to us his precious and very great promises. 00:17:12.700 --> 00:17:16.559 So that through them you may become partakers 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.839 of the divine nature. Having escaped from the 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.220 corruption that is in the world because of sinful 00:17:23.220 --> 00:17:28.160 desire. Why has God given us his word? That we 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:33.420 may know him. The one place you can come to know 00:17:33.420 --> 00:17:39.019 Jesus. This is important. Because far too often, 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:43.259 we have this statement. You are the only Bible 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:46.740 anybody will ever read. If you're the only Bible 00:17:46.740 --> 00:17:50.059 anybody will ever read, you're a terrible Bible. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:52.680 Because there's one thing I know about my Bible. 00:17:53.660 --> 00:17:57.079 It's the inerrant, infallible word of God. And 00:17:57.079 --> 00:18:01.490 I am not. And I'm a very inconsistent example 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:06.329 sometimes of this word. So don't be the only 00:18:06.329 --> 00:18:10.990 Bible that someone will read. Be the one who 00:18:10.990 --> 00:18:15.170 will quote the Bible. Because man does not live 00:18:15.170 --> 00:18:20.049 by every example you show or that comes out of 00:18:20.049 --> 00:18:22.150 your mouth. Man lives by every word that comes 00:18:22.150 --> 00:18:25.569 out of the mouth of God. Think about that. You 00:18:25.569 --> 00:18:28.869 aren't. sharper than a two -edged sword, dividing 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:32.089 soul and spirit, bone and marrow, judging the 00:18:32.089 --> 00:18:34.690 thoughts and intentions of the heart. The word 00:18:34.690 --> 00:18:38.890 is. And so when we look at this, we know why 00:18:38.890 --> 00:18:41.930 the word is important. We know why he's given 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:45.789 it to us. As a matter of fact, in 1 John chapter 00:18:45.789 --> 00:18:49.829 12, verse 14, 12 and 4, chapter 2, sorry. 1 John 00:18:49.829 --> 00:18:53.569 chapter 2, verse 12 through 14. Listen to what 00:18:53.569 --> 00:18:57.890 John states here. I am writing to you, little 00:18:57.890 --> 00:19:02.349 children, because your sins are forgiven. I want 00:19:02.349 --> 00:19:05.329 you to get this term. What happens here is many 00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:09.890 pastors will go, oh, do a little, they'll do 00:19:09.890 --> 00:19:13.190 a children's, little children's corner thing 00:19:13.190 --> 00:19:16.750 and they'll go, listen, little children. This 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:21.630 isn't John writing to little kids. This is John 00:19:21.630 --> 00:19:25.569 writing to you. Because Jesus calls you children. 00:19:26.490 --> 00:19:30.690 He calls me child. He calls you child. Those 00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:33.910 who believe in his name have been given the right 00:19:33.910 --> 00:19:37.009 to become a child of God. We are children. And 00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:40.630 he's implying here the issue of immaturity. Little 00:19:40.630 --> 00:19:45.869 children. Little children don't know much. So 00:19:45.869 --> 00:19:49.269 he's implying that for those who are just starting 00:19:49.269 --> 00:19:52.009 off in their Christian walk, who are immature 00:19:52.009 --> 00:19:56.329 in the faith, The one thing that is the reminder 00:19:56.329 --> 00:20:02.089 for you is that you are forgiven. That's the 00:20:02.089 --> 00:20:07.509 simplest thing, right? For a child, they want 00:20:07.509 --> 00:20:10.289 to know that mom and dad aren't upset. That's 00:20:10.289 --> 00:20:11.789 what he's implying here. I'm writing to you, 00:20:11.829 --> 00:20:15.349 little children, to you. And I'm a little child, 00:20:15.410 --> 00:20:17.289 to be honest with you. You're like, you're a 00:20:17.289 --> 00:20:20.950 pastor. You shouldn't be looking. There's a lot 00:20:20.950 --> 00:20:23.069 of things I'm immature in, a lot of things I'm 00:20:23.069 --> 00:20:26.069 mature in. How about the things I'm not maturing? 00:20:27.390 --> 00:20:30.069 I got some work to do. So he says, I'm writing 00:20:30.069 --> 00:20:32.970 to you little children because your sins are 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:35.650 forgiven. This word sins is harmatia. And the 00:20:35.650 --> 00:20:37.569 reason why this word is important is because 00:20:37.569 --> 00:20:40.890 it's where we get the word harmatology from, 00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:43.970 which is the study of sin. It's the doctrine 00:20:43.970 --> 00:20:48.509 of sin. And this word is important because we 00:20:48.509 --> 00:20:50.569 need to know why we're forgiven or what we're 00:20:50.569 --> 00:20:54.589 forgiven from, which is our sins. And the word 00:20:54.589 --> 00:20:59.289 forgiven here means to send away. As far as the 00:20:59.289 --> 00:21:02.690 east is from the west. The deepest part of the 00:21:02.690 --> 00:21:09.230 ocean. Christ has sent away your sin. He has 00:21:09.230 --> 00:21:13.430 removed it. And when he has removed it, for your 00:21:13.430 --> 00:21:18.710 sake? No. For his name's sake. For his name's 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:24.519 sake, you are forgiven. It's his name is on this 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:27.380 work. And what's interesting, he says, this word 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:30.420 sake means on account of his name, we have obtained 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:37.279 something. It's the name of Christ that you have 00:21:37.279 --> 00:21:40.599 obtained forgiveness. It's on account of his 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:44.319 name. It's on account of his name that you are 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:46.519 considered the righteousness of God. It's on 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:49.950 the count of his name that you are. are delivered. 00:21:50.089 --> 00:21:53.289 It's on account of his name that you are redeemed. 00:21:53.329 --> 00:21:57.609 It's on account of his name that you are regenerated, 00:21:57.690 --> 00:22:04.650 justified, sanctified. His name, it's on account 00:22:04.650 --> 00:22:09.390 of his name that you are all these things. And 00:22:09.390 --> 00:22:13.529 in John 1, 12, but to all who did receive him, 00:22:13.630 --> 00:22:17.349 who believe in his name. He gave the right to 00:22:17.349 --> 00:22:19.410 become children of God. On account of his name, 00:22:19.589 --> 00:22:24.190 you're a child of the living God. It's his name. 00:22:24.269 --> 00:22:29.450 And there is power in the name. In Acts 10 .43, 00:22:29.769 --> 00:22:33.210 to him all the prophets bear witness that everyone 00:22:33.210 --> 00:22:37.049 who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins 00:22:37.049 --> 00:22:42.690 through his name. You have been forgiven. Why? 00:22:43.630 --> 00:22:47.849 Because his name is God saves. That's his name. 00:22:48.950 --> 00:22:54.190 His name is God forgives. That's his name. His 00:22:54.190 --> 00:22:56.190 name is the righteous one. God the righteous 00:22:56.190 --> 00:22:59.869 one. That's his name. His name is God heals. 00:23:01.009 --> 00:23:04.930 That's his name. I am the bread. I am the everlasting 00:23:04.930 --> 00:23:10.829 water. That's his name. What a wonderful name. 00:23:11.230 --> 00:23:15.180 In 1 John 1 .1. Well, let me just do this. Verse 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:19.079 13, I'm sorry. I'm writing to you fathers because 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:25.200 you know him. Now, I shared this earlier. When 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:29.200 we lived in Delaware and my kids first learned 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:35.079 father and mother in Greek, they'd never stopped 00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:38.259 saying it to me. So they wouldn't call me dad 00:23:38.259 --> 00:23:43.700 or pops or they'd call me pater. Because that's 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:47.700 what father is in Greek. And they do it with 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:53.660 the typical real bad English. It's not like they're 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:56.079 Hispanic. They should know how to roll the R's. 00:23:56.140 --> 00:23:59.519 Pater. But they don't do that. They go, hey, 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:09.339 pater. Pater. It's true. But it's good. What's 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:11.299 implied here is that he's implying maturity. 00:24:12.089 --> 00:24:14.690 So you see the extreme. You see little children 00:24:14.690 --> 00:24:19.349 immature. Here, a father is seen as mature. The 00:24:19.349 --> 00:24:23.470 one who is the caregiver, the mature. And a father 00:24:23.470 --> 00:24:27.109 implies that we know things. What do we know 00:24:27.109 --> 00:24:30.809 as fathers? You know him who was from the beginning. 00:24:31.849 --> 00:24:36.190 We know him. And that's why in 1 John 1, which 00:24:36.190 --> 00:24:39.210 I read earlier, that which was from the beginning, 00:24:39.269 --> 00:24:42.720 which you have heard. which we have seen with 00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:46.380 our own eyes, which we have looked upon and have 00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:49.740 touched with our own hands concerning life. We 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:53.480 know him. And we know we know them. It's sort 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:55.680 of like when you come home and your kids are 00:24:55.680 --> 00:24:59.599 like really little. I used to go through this. 00:24:59.640 --> 00:25:04.319 Now my kids never rush the door. I walk in, Mocha 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:09.160 shows up. My dog. She's like. You know, she's 00:25:09.160 --> 00:25:12.319 wiggling and, but she knows me. I wish my kids 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:20.180 knew me like that. Right? But what happens is 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:22.720 they hear the voice of the father and they come 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:29.200 running in. Dad's home. Pater. And they get excited. 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:32.000 And that's the implication here. That little 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.799 children know him. My sheep know me and they 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:41.809 know my voice. And he even says to Philip, Philip 00:25:41.809 --> 00:25:44.849 goes, show us the father. And he says, Philip, 00:25:44.970 --> 00:25:47.730 have you, have I been with you so long that you 00:25:47.730 --> 00:25:55.410 still don't know me? You should know me. And 00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:59.430 we know because he also then says to Philip, 00:25:59.470 --> 00:26:03.349 you know him and have seen him. And then he writes 00:26:03.349 --> 00:26:09.759 to the young people, the young adults. Not really 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:12.839 to the young adults, it's to us. We are fathers 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:15.279 and mothers. We are mature and we are also little 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:17.359 children. And there are times when we are also 00:26:17.359 --> 00:26:23.000 young adults. Young men and young women. I'm 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:26.259 writing to you, young men, because you have overcome 00:26:26.259 --> 00:26:30.720 the evil one. Interesting that they put the word 00:26:30.720 --> 00:26:33.480 one in there. Because I really don't want to 00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:36.140 just overcome the devil. Like, what is that? 00:26:37.130 --> 00:26:39.150 How about if I overcome the evil that's in me? 00:26:40.390 --> 00:26:44.549 To overcome sin. I want to know that I have overcome 00:26:44.549 --> 00:26:47.490 evil. And that's what John is implying here. 00:26:48.490 --> 00:26:50.750 This is not particularly talking about the devil, 00:26:50.829 --> 00:26:53.769 though we have overcome the devil. The question 00:26:53.769 --> 00:26:56.910 is, have you overcome the evil that is present 00:26:56.910 --> 00:27:02.630 there? And the way we overcome is that we are 00:27:02.630 --> 00:27:05.529 strong in the Lord. In Ephesians 6 .10, finally 00:27:05.529 --> 00:27:07.230 be strong in the Lord and in the strength of 00:27:07.230 --> 00:27:10.049 his might. I don't want to just be strong in 00:27:10.049 --> 00:27:12.190 the Lord and in the strength of his might when 00:27:12.190 --> 00:27:16.569 I have to deal with the devil, which barely ever 00:27:16.569 --> 00:27:20.650 happens. How about being strong in the Lord and 00:27:20.650 --> 00:27:22.250 in the strength of his might when I look at myself 00:27:22.250 --> 00:27:23.970 in the mirror and I have to deal with my junk? 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:28.980 And I go, why do I keep doing the things I don't 00:27:28.980 --> 00:27:31.599 want to do, but the things I hate I keep on doing? 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:37.259 Because I have not, because I haven't realized 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:42.660 that I have overcome the evil already. And that's 00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:45.740 why Paul states in Ephesians 6 .10, finally be 00:27:45.740 --> 00:27:48.140 strong in the Lord and in strength of his might. 00:27:50.029 --> 00:27:52.650 So this implication of being a young man and 00:27:52.650 --> 00:27:55.109 a young woman is also implying this understanding 00:27:55.109 --> 00:27:58.549 of what it means to overcome. If you want to 00:27:58.549 --> 00:28:01.809 overcome, you must be self -controlled. Older 00:28:01.809 --> 00:28:04.150 men teach the younger men to be self -controlled. 00:28:06.450 --> 00:28:08.309 We know what the fruit of the Spirit is. The 00:28:08.309 --> 00:28:10.670 fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, 00:28:10.789 --> 00:28:12.809 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 00:28:12.890 --> 00:28:20.400 and self -control. Self -control. Is the strength 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:24.599 of the Lord and his might on display. I have 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:27.960 truly overcome evil. And then he says again, 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:31.480 I write to you children. Because you know the 00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:36.740 father. Yes, we do know him. Which I had said 00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:41.240 earlier. As a child, as a father walks in the 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:45.119 door from a hard day at work. And they hear dad's 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:49.130 voice. They come running. Because they know him. 00:28:49.890 --> 00:28:53.009 Now, for those of us who are fathers of girls, 00:28:53.230 --> 00:28:58.150 they know exactly what to do. Being jerks. They're 00:28:58.150 --> 00:29:01.049 being jerks. Because they know. They take advantage 00:29:01.049 --> 00:29:05.369 of dad. Because we just, that's my baby girl. 00:29:08.289 --> 00:29:10.490 Boys, we just like toughen up and suck it up. 00:29:10.549 --> 00:29:14.890 Let's go. Be a man. Girls are like, we melt. 00:29:15.470 --> 00:29:18.240 It's not fair. But that's the implication here. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:22.400 We know the father. We know we can go to him 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:26.000 and sit before him and ask of him and he will 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:29.740 give and seek and we will find because the father 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:34.859 wants to give good gifts. So as children, we 00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:42.119 know the father. Verse 14, I write to you fathers 00:29:42.119 --> 00:29:44.640 because you know him. who was from the beginning. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:47.039 And again, he brings us back to the same understanding. 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:52.160 Not only do the children know the heavenly father, 00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:56.140 but the fathers know the heavenly father because 00:29:56.140 --> 00:29:59.380 he's from the beginning. And I love this statement 00:29:59.380 --> 00:30:02.579 here. It's the reminder when Jesus says, I am 00:30:02.579 --> 00:30:06.539 the alpha and omega. He is the everlasting father. 00:30:06.740 --> 00:30:12.920 We know him. He is in you. He is light present 00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:20.259 in you. We know him. I write to you, young men, 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:25.900 because you are strong. I kind of like that. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:29.640 As children, we depend on the father to be our 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:34.180 strength. As fathers, we know him and we've learned 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:37.980 to grow and know that he is all he says he is. 00:30:38.019 --> 00:30:43.480 As young men, We need to be reminded. Why? Because 00:30:43.480 --> 00:30:48.259 young people think they are invincible, but they're 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:54.000 not. So again, John is reminding them. I'm writing 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:57.319 to you, young men, young women, young people, 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:02.480 because you are strong in Christ. Why are you 00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:05.640 strong in Christ? Because the word of God abides 00:31:05.640 --> 00:31:10.720 in you. Christ lives in you. His word is present 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:15.079 in you and he is present in you. And you have 00:31:15.079 --> 00:31:19.400 overcome evil. It's more than just the evil one. 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:23.680 And this is important because we have settled 00:31:23.680 --> 00:31:32.859 that our battle is with a fallen angel. That's 00:31:32.859 --> 00:31:38.579 bad theology. We get to blame. The creature. 00:31:40.539 --> 00:31:43.440 It's the devil's fault. The devil made me do 00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:48.880 it. And here the reality is, if we overcome, 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:55.019 we have overcome evil. How have we overcome evil? 00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:58.200 I asked the question earlier. Why did God give 00:31:58.200 --> 00:32:03.900 us his word? Because it requires that I read 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:08.690 it. What good is the word? If it's closed, it's 00:32:08.690 --> 00:32:12.549 sitting on your end table. What good is the word 00:32:12.549 --> 00:32:18.069 if I don't have a Bible app on my phone or it's 00:32:18.069 --> 00:32:21.049 off? What good is the word? What good is the 00:32:21.049 --> 00:32:27.769 word if you don't read it? Why is John saying 00:32:27.769 --> 00:32:30.329 I'm writing to you? Because he's telling them 00:32:30.329 --> 00:32:35.650 you have to read. I'm writing to you that you 00:32:35.650 --> 00:32:41.349 may read it so that you will know. The question 00:32:41.349 --> 00:32:47.150 is, do you know? Do you read it? Or do you just 00:32:47.150 --> 00:32:49.890 come on Sunday because you think Sunday's enough? 00:32:50.950 --> 00:32:54.369 It's enough word for me. I get my word on Sunday 00:32:54.369 --> 00:32:56.309 morning and I go home and I'm good for the rest 00:32:56.309 --> 00:33:00.710 of the week. Because such and such gave a good 00:33:00.710 --> 00:33:06.269 message or I learned this. No, man does not live 00:33:06.269 --> 00:33:07.789 by bread alone, but by every word that comes 00:33:07.789 --> 00:33:10.190 from the mouth of God. And you have heard from 00:33:10.190 --> 00:33:14.369 many pastors. I'm sure even I've said it, right? 00:33:14.490 --> 00:33:17.390 If you feed your physical body, you got to feed 00:33:17.390 --> 00:33:21.450 your spiritual body. I mean, after all, we don't 00:33:21.450 --> 00:33:24.750 want to be spiritually initiated. It's more than 00:33:24.750 --> 00:33:28.140 that. The very life of being comes from God's 00:33:28.140 --> 00:33:33.019 mouth. And he, in his wisdom and kindness and 00:33:33.019 --> 00:33:36.140 goodness, has given us his word, which he has 00:33:36.140 --> 00:33:41.940 written through men for you to read. Spend time 00:33:41.940 --> 00:33:45.839 in it. If you read one chapter, it'll take you 00:33:45.839 --> 00:33:48.960 less than five minutes. Even if you listen to 00:33:48.960 --> 00:33:51.619 it. And my challenge to you is if you are going 00:33:51.619 --> 00:33:53.279 to read it, read it out loud so you hear yourself. 00:33:54.829 --> 00:33:56.529 Because faith comes from a hearing and hearing 00:33:56.529 --> 00:34:00.609 that of the word of Christ. How important is 00:34:00.609 --> 00:34:05.069 the word to you? Or as I said to the young ones, 00:34:05.269 --> 00:34:13.170 is it boring? Granted, the begats are hard to 00:34:13.170 --> 00:34:15.849 get through. But there's a reason why it's there. 00:34:16.190 --> 00:34:21.269 And all the begats give you life. So enjoy reading 00:34:21.269 --> 00:34:24.800 the begats. As you get through the begats, you 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:27.980 move on to another thing. But all of it's important. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:33.820 All of it's important. All of it is life -giving. 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:40.559 How important is the Word to you? We are a Word 00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:44.139 -centered church because we are Christ -centered 00:34:44.139 --> 00:34:50.599 people. Be in the Word. Read it. Because He gave 00:34:50.599 --> 00:34:54.030 it to you. Father, I want to thank you so much 00:34:54.030 --> 00:34:56.909 for your goodness and faithfulness. Thank you 00:34:56.909 --> 00:34:59.309 for your word. Thank you for what you're doing 00:34:59.309 --> 00:35:02.389 in our lives. Lord, I do pray that you would 00:35:02.389 --> 00:35:04.210 give us a hunger and thirst for your word, but 00:35:04.210 --> 00:35:07.329 that we, when we are initiated and we are not 00:35:07.329 --> 00:35:11.329 hungry because we have gone beyond the spiritual 00:35:11.329 --> 00:35:16.750 pain of hunger, where we have just surrendered 00:35:16.750 --> 00:35:24.820 to a life of lifelessness. I pray that you would 00:35:24.820 --> 00:35:32.760 wake us up through your word. I have hidden your 00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:34.380 word in my heart that I might not sin against 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:38.980 you. How can a young man keep his way pure by 00:35:38.980 --> 00:35:42.780 living according to your word? Lord, I thank 00:35:42.780 --> 00:35:45.460 you and praise you for your word. And I most 00:35:45.460 --> 00:35:49.639 of all thank you and praise you for you, the 00:35:49.639 --> 00:35:52.480 living and true God, the one whom we worship. 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:55.219 And thank you that you have given us an opportunity 00:35:55.219 --> 00:35:59.559 to know you, not only in spirit, but also in 00:35:59.559 --> 00:35:59.800 truth.