Testimony (1 John 5:6-13)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you. God is light. In Him, there is no darkness at all. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. So that you may know you have eternal life. Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are in 1 John chapter 5 verses 6 through 12.
We have two more weeks in 1 John and we have completed the book. So you can follow along with us on the screen. You can also put a blue Bible around you. It will be on page 593 near the back. If you don't have a Bible at home, please take that. That's our gift to you.
We want you to have a Bible that you can read. Something that Christians struggle with from time to time, though we're not always honest about it, is doubt. It's something that maybe we're not even honest with ourselves when we struggle with this. But we do. If you follow Jesus long enough, you're going to struggle with doubt. Like, as a pastor, even pastors struggle with doubt.
And I have to ask myself sometimes, like, do I really believe this? Like, I preach this. My life is built upon this. Do I actually believe this? And I want to give you a window in into a little bit of how I think about this and some of the reasoning that I go through. My logic is certainly not infallible.
But this is how I process it. There are actually two possible options in how I've observed and studied. There's two possible options for what is true and for what is reality. The first option is that everything is the result of crazy, cosmic, random chance. That life on Earth and everything that we know in existence is just crazy chance. That in the vast expanse of the universe, we have this galaxy.
And within this galaxy, we have this solar system. And within the solar system, we have the Earth. Earth. And it's, like, perfectly positioned in the solar system and perfectly tilted at a 23.5 degree tilt to be able to sustain life. And that everything that we see is just one in, I mean, people try to run odds on this, one in trillion, quadrillion, ridiculous amounts of chance. That everything we see just is.
There's no such thing as love. There's no such thing as purpose or meaning or beauty. All of that's invented. You have to be consistent here. Everything you see just is. And then you die.
And then there's nothingness. All right. That's one possible option. The other possible option for me is that Jesus is who he said he was. That Jesus is the one true God. That when I look at this world, that it's so obvious to me that it's designed.
There's so many things that had to fall into place to the big picture of where the Earth is positioned and how it's positioned all the way down to, like, the design of the human eyeball. There's so many things that show that this was designed. And if I believe that this was designed, I need to work with who actually made this. And when you look at the different faith systems and the different creator type claims, I find Christianity to be the most compelling. Like, I studied world religions in college. I actually studied world religions and visited the different countries where these are practiced.
I studied Islam and then studied that in the context of Morocco and visited there. I studied Hinduism and visited Hindu temples in India. I studied Buddhism and went to a Buddhist temple in Thailand. Did anyone who makes the claim that all these world religions are just claiming the same thing, they don't know what they're talking about. They haven't actually studied these. They're making distinctly different claims.
And Christianity, even more so, is making claims that are distinct from the others. We believe in an eminent God who actually came. But the one thing I must concede in my faith is that my faith is built upon a testimony. That my faith is built upon the testimony of the scriptures. The testimony of our God. The testimony of people who saw Jesus live this life on this earth.
Who saw him die a death on the cross. Who saw him rise from the grave and ascend to the right hand of God the Father. That his body will never be found. I must concede that my faith is built upon that testimony. What I want us to see this morning is that testimony actually, this testimony is powerful. And this testimony absolutely can lead us to belief.
Some of you are not a Christian. And maybe you're just figuring this out. Maybe you're just exploring this. Maybe you are working through doubts. And I want to let you know this is a safe place for that. To be able to work through doubts.
And I want you to clearly hear. I think God wants to meet you here in your doubt this morning. Some of you believe the gospel. You're a follower of Jesus. But you struggle with doubt.
And it maybe shows up in a lot of different forms. I want you to hear very clearly this morning. Built upon the testimony of God. That he wants to continue to win you over. To faith in Christ. The passage that we're going to be in this morning is going to speak about the power of testimony.
My hope is that we would listen. That wherever you are in this journey. That you would listen and by faith respond. So let me read the text and then we will walk through this together. Verse 6. It says, This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.
Not by the water only. But by the water and the blood. And the spirit is the one who testifies. Because the spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify. The spirit and the water and the blood.
And these three agree. If you receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that he is born concerning his son. Whoever believes in the son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar. Because he has not believed in the testimony that God has born concerning his son.
And this is the testimony. That God gave us eternal life. And this life is in his son. Whoever has the son has life. Whoever does not have the son of God does not have life. Let me pray for us.
And then we will walk through this together. Lord. I pray that you would open our hearts to the scriptures this morning. That for those who are struggling with doubt. That they would be able to listen. To your word.
To your calling. May you win each of us over. Amen. Okay. So we're going to walk through this.
And see his argument. And then I want to sit in the power. And the importance of testimony. So I'm going to go back a verse. To where Chet left off last week. In verse 5.
It says. Who is it that overcomes the world. Except the one who believes. That Jesus is the son of God. That as John is wrapping up his final arguments. In this book.
One of the things we've seen over and over again. Is that he wants us to know. What it means to believe. That Chet walked us through last week. This really this triangle. That he's hitting over and over again.
That over and over again. He's been teaching us. And telling us. That this evidence of faith in our lives. That we would love God. That we would love one another.
That we would obey the commandments. And he's teaching us over and over again. And now he's going to switch gears. And he's going to show. What this evidence testifies to. And in these seven verses in our passage.
It says testimony eight times. The word testimony in some form. Shows up eight times. Anytime that you study the scriptures. And you see a word repeated over. And over.
And over. And over. And over again. Highlight it. Right. Circle it.
Underline it. Make a mental note. The Lord is trying to teach you something in this. He's trying to show us something about testimony. Now. When you hear the word testimony.
I would argue that most of you. Probably your mind runs to. The courtroom. It's one of the most familiar. Uses of testimony that. That we have.
Is in the courtroom. Someone who is giving testimony on the witness stand. Right. There's enough crime TV. There's enough law and order. There's enough things that you're just familiar with.
Testimony is something that you give. I actually think that's probably a very helpful picture. For this passage. That type of testimony on the witness stand. Is actually probably a helpful image. For this.
I think John. What he's trying to convince us of. In belief. Is putting. He's going to try to convince us of belief. By putting three different witnesses.
On the stand. Three different witnesses. They're going to give testimony. To. Christ. And we're going to see each of these.
The first is the water. The second is the blood. And the third is. The spirit. And by verse eight. Where he's going to help us see.
All three of these are in agreement. But we're going to take them one on one. And put them on the stand. And see what each one has to. Add to this argument. To compel us over to faith in Christ.
So let's look at the first. Which is. The water. The water is the first. To take. The stand.
What does he mean. When he says. This is he who came by. Water. What is John getting at. Now.
Like other parts of John. First John. Like other parts of the scriptures. It's debatable what he means. When he says. The water.
And there's some Sundays. I think it's valuable. To take a few minutes. To get into the weeds. Of interpretation. To go a little bit deeper.
To list out all the options. And when I do that. I find it fairly exciting. And there's about 10 to 20 of you. That also find it exciting. But the rest of you.
Inwardly. Or audibly. Grown. It's like. Just. Tell us.
What. He means. And move on. Well guess what. Sunday's for you. I'm not going to get in the weeds.
I'm going to tell you. What. I think he means. When he uses water. In this passage. All right.
Here's the most compelling argument. I found in the commentaries. This week. John is referencing. Baptism. When he says water.
He's referencing. Baptism. I think this encompasses. First. The baptism of. Jesus.
That initiated his ministry. And then what followed. Was a ministry of. Baptism. That John was. Baptizing his disciples.
Then he becomes lesser. Jesus becomes greater. After his disciples. Continue baptizing. And that what's being referenced. In the water.
Is the beginning of Christ's ministry. And baptism. And the continuation of ministry. That he baptized. Which is pointing to. Really.
I would argue. The whole. Of Christ's ministry. And the message. That accompanied. Those.
Baptisms. Which we saw. In the gospel of Matthew. That we walked through. Last year. And the year before.
Which was over and over again. Repent. The kingdom of heaven. Is at hand. It's this message. Of this kingdom.
That he is coming to establish. That will have no end. And all the goodness. That is found. In this kingdom. It's this message.
Of repentance. That he preaches. Over and over again. To turn from this world. Turn from your sin. Turn to me.
I am better. It's the message of the kingdom. It's the. The whole ministry. Of where he. Healed the sick.
That he cared for the forgotten. The outcasts. The outsiders. Others. It's how he healed the sick. It's how he challenged.
The self-righteous. Religious establishment. Over and over. And over again. It's like all the things. That we love.
That make Jesus. Punk rock. And awesome. We love it. That's all of his ministry. I think it's bound up.
It's summarized. In this word. Water. Jesus came. By. Water.
That's the first. To take the stand. The second. Is the blood. The blood. He says in verse six.
This is he who came by water. And blood. Jesus Christ. Not by. The water only. But by the water.
And the blood. Now. If you've been with us. In first John. For a minute. He doesn't write.
Very. Clearly. Times. It's like. Wait. What?
And this is one of those times. Where he says something. It's like. Why couldn't you just said. He came by water. And blood.
Let's move on. To the spirit. But he says. No. Not by the water only. That should clue us in.
To ask some questions. What are you getting out there? What are you not saying. When. You're saying that. Like there was a.
There was a picture. That was circulated online. A few years ago. And it was a picture. Of a. Of a notice.
At the library. At someone's public library. And it said. It said. In light of recent events. There will be.
No Oreos. Allowed. In the library. And it's like. Really. Tell me more.
What are you not saying. I want to know what happened. Like I want to know. What kind of mess was made. With Oreos. In the library.
Like I. I get a little messy. With Oreos. What I like to do. Is like to take the cup of milk. And I like to just.
I don't dunk it. I let it. I just drop it. I let it bathe. All right.
I let it. I let it get. You don't want it to fall to the bottom. Because it falls to the bottom. It gets a little messy. You got to get your hand in the glass.
And sometimes it gets stuck. And then you pull it out. Sometimes milk. And Oreo guts go everywhere. It is worth it. But it gets a little messy.
I want to know what happened. At the library. Right. When you see that. It begs the question. What's happening here.
That's what's happening here. In first John. Okay. Not by water only. What are you talking about? And if you've been with us in first John.
As we've walked through it. This should make a little bit of sense. Because what we've seen over and over again. In first John. As he's making this argument. That Jesus was real.
That he was a real physical person. That from the very first verse. All the way into the end. There's this theme. That he's hitting at. Jesus actually physically came.
Because there was a false teaching. At the time. That swept through. These churches. That John was writing to. That taught the opposite.
That taught that Jesus only came in spirit form. That he didn't come in physical material form. And we believe that was the early seedbed. The early beginnings of Gnosticism. So he's just making a point here.
Not by water only. He did come physically. In blood. So that's part of what he's saying here. But also when you get to the blood.
This is the easiest part to interpret. Because the blood is talking about. The blood that he shed on the cross. That he shed real blood. For our real sins. On a real cross.
That this actually happened. So what's happening here a little bit. Is the water. The beginning of Christ's ministry. Bringing through the ministry of baptism. Up to the event.
Which is the pinnacle event of salvation. In the scriptures. The cross. And the empty tomb that follows. That as we saw in 1 John 2. 2.
It said. He is the propitiation for our sins. And not for ours only. But also for the sins of the whole world. The blood references this. That he teaches.
Over and over again. That we deserve wrath. That Jesus stands in our place. That blood was shed for us. That he made atonement for us. That he made it right for us.
By his blood. And not our own. He came by water. Not water only. He came by the real blood. That he shed for our real sins.
That should compel us into belief in Jesus. And then the third witness takes the stand. The spirit. He says. With the spirit. And the spirit.
Is the one who testifies. Because the spirit. Is. The truth. Now. It's capital S.
It's talking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is. The truth. Now part of this picture. Undoubtedly goes back to when Jesus was baptized. When Jesus was baptized.
The heavens opened up. The Holy Spirit. Descends upon Jesus like a dove. This happened. And the people saw this. And this really marked.
This is the Christ. God the Father said. This is my son with whom I'm well pleased. This is the one who has come. Listen to him. That's part of the picture here.
Is the Holy Spirit. That descends upon Christ. At the beginning. But it's also a picture forward to. The Holy Spirit. That descends upon the people of God.
This is a picture. That looks forward to. Pentecost. When the fulfillment happens. Of God. And his temple.
God. And his people. The Holy Spirit. Descends upon the new temple of God. The people of God. The church of Jesus Christ.
And the Holy Spirit. Lives in his people. This spirit is the truth. And testifies. Over and over again. To us.
And through us. That he is the Christ. That he is God. Verse 7. For there are all. There are three that testify.
The spirit. And the water. And the blood. And these three agree. They're all three in agreement. When each one.
Takes the witness stand. They're all testifying. To the same. Truth. They're all in agreement. That this is.
The Christ. And then John. Goes on to say. In verse 9. If we receive. The testimony of men.
The testimony of God. Is. Is. Greater. For this is the testimony of God. That he is born concerning his son.
I think it's a general statement. That he's making to say. God's. Testimony. Is. Greater.
Than. Man's. If you are. Willing. To accept the testimony. Of mere men.
How foolish. Would we not. Would we be. To not. To accept the testimony. Of.
The God who created. All things. God's testimony. Is. Greater. And then he goes on.
To say. When you receive. This testimony. It comes. To live within you. Verse 10.
He says. Whoever believes. In the son of God. Has the testimony. In himself. Whoever does not believe.
God has made him a liar. Because he has not believed. In the testimony. That God is born. Concerning his son. When you believe in Jesus.
This is a picture. Of the Holy Spirit. The testimony. In you. The Holy Spirit. Comes.
Into your life. And makes you. New. This is the gift. That we are given. By faith.
The testimony. Comes to live. In us. If you believe in Jesus. You have this. Unbelievably.
Amazing. And powerful gift. Don't. In true. John form. You're a liar.
Which we've seen. Over and over again. In first. John. Is like. One of his.
Go to things. He's like. You believe this. Or you're a liar. Or you make God. To be a liar.
All right. As the young guns say. Cap. No cap. Which took me a minute. To figure out what they were saying.
But front run knows. What I'm talking about. Okay. Lie. No lie. Right.
That's the language he uses. Over and over. And over again. And he gets to verse 10. He says. Whoever believes.
In the son of God. No. Verse 11. And this is the testimony. That God gave us. Eternal.
Life. And this life. Is in his son. Whoever has the son. Has. Life.
Whoever does not have the son of God. Does not. Have. Life. That's how he finishes. This argument.
That if you believe this. You have eternal life. In Christ. If you believe this. You have this eternal life. That he offers.
If you don't. You don't have this. So John's closing argument. As he's finishing up. First John. Is.
Believe this. Believe this. John wants us to believe this. God wants us to. Believe this. So much so.
That three take the stand. The water. The blood. And the spirit. And the hope. Is that we would.
Believe. Now. That's the argument he's making. I want to look at four conclusions. That we can draw from this defense. That we can draw from this.
Argument. That deal with the power. Of testimony. The first is this. The testimony. Is of a real.
God. The testimony. Is of a real. God. Verse six. He says.
This is he who came by water and. Blood. Jesus Christ. Not by the water only. But by.
The water. And the blood. Y'all. This isn't just something. The early Christians. Needed to be convinced of.
That Jesus came in the flesh. We need this. Christians. We. Need. To believe this.
Because what happens is. Is that we start to. When life gets difficult. We start to believe. That God is so distant. He's so big.
He's so glorious. He's so powerful. He's so mighty. And all of that's true. That he can't possibly understand. What I'm going through.
He can't possibly understand. My circumstances. Like God. Don't you want to change. What I'm walking through right now. Like don't you understand.
How hard this is. How hard. Life. Is. And because of the water. And the blood.
He does. He does understand. How hard this life is. Because he came. Because he didn't stand distant. In the heavens.
Where. He could have rightly. Ruled and reigned from. He. Came. And he lived.
He took on flesh. And dwelt among us. And he lived a life. And he experienced loss. He knows what that's like. I mean the reason why you don't see his.
Earthly father Joseph. Pass. When he's a child. Is because he died. He knows what it's like to lose. He knows.
What it's like to endure loss. He knows what it's like to endure. Betrayal. Someone that he invested in for three years. Discipled. Loved.
Served. Sold him for 20 pieces of silver. He knows what it's like to be abandoned. It's abandoned by all but one of his disciples. He knows what it's like to endure temptation. For those of us who struggle in the.
Throes of temptation. Like I just. It's so hard. It's so hard. It's so hard. To continue.
To pursue what is good. It's so hard to endure this. He knows. What it's like to endure it. For we don't have a high priest. Who's unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.
But one who in every respect. Who is tempted and tried. And yet was without sin. Hebrews 4. He knows. What it's like.
To be human. Because he came. And when God feels distant. And he feels foreign. We need to remember. He is a real God that came.
We need to remember the eminence of Christ. Meaning that he descended in bodily form. That he knows what it's like. It's not just us that needs to know this. The world needs to know this. I mean.
He stands apart. He is not Allah. That stands distant. And demands submission. This isn't a system of Buddhism. That leads to nothingness.
This isn't any false projection. That our culture puts upon him. That he's vindictive. Or that he's cruel. Or he doesn't care. He does care.
Because he came. And the world needs to know that. That he needs to know that he came. That he was baptized. He spent three years ministering to the least of these. And that he laid down his life on the cross.
For us. And he rose to give us new life in him. That is a testimony y'all. And it speaks to a real God. The second conclusion we need to draw. Is that this testimony is true.
This testimony is true. Back in verse 6. And the spirit is the one who testifies. Because the spirit is the truth. Verse 7. For there are three that testify.
The spirit. And the water. And the blood. And these three agree. John makes this point. The three in agreement.
The spirit is the truth. They line up. This testimony is true. And that's so incredibly important. Because we live in a time. Where there's so many false testimonials out there.
There's so many false things that are put out there. And believed. I mean. Choose your adventure. I mean. There's.
I was listening to a short story. I was working in my bathroom. Remodeling. And I wanted to listen to a series of short stories. Because that's what I do for fun. And.
And I was listening to this short story that came up. Called The Egg. And it turns out this story is like one of the more critically acclaimed short stories. In the last two decades. And this story is about a guy who dies. And he immediately appears before God.
And he starts to have a conversation with God. And what he learns is. Is that he's about to be reincarnated. And he's going to return to the sixth century. And he's going to be back in time. Reincarnated in the form of a Chinese woman.
And what he learns is. Is that every human that has ever existed. Is the same consciousness. And that when she dies. He's going to reincarnate to something different. And get better and better and better.
Until the very end. He's become this God-like figure that he's talking to right now. And I listened to it. And I was like. This is the most baseless. Ungrounded.
Ridiculous. Argument. And I just. When I realized. That this is one of the more critically acclaimed short stories. That last draw their entire faith and reality.
From movies. And from novels. And as Christians. We have to winsomely. Boldly. And lovingly say.
That's not. True. That's not true. As this passage. Teaches. The testimony of God is greater.
For this. Is a testimony of God. That he has born. Concerning his son. That we say. Jesus is better than everything else.
We need to boldly. And winsomely. Argue that. That he is true. What he offers. Is better.
This testimony is true. That it's rooted in historical reality. They're not going to find his body. This is rooted in a historical reality. This is rooted. This is rooted in a supernatural reality.
The Holy Spirit at work within us. It's anchored in a living hope. And a real person. Who took on real flesh. Don't miss that. For a moment.
This testimony. Is true. The third thing we need to see. Is this testimony. Is in you. This testimony.
Is in you. Verse 10. Whoever believes in the son of God. Has. The testimony. In himself.
And as we said earlier. That's talking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit. That. The testimony. In us.
Y'all. The implications for that. Are. Massive. It's huge. That the Holy Spirit.
Comes to dwell. In us. Comes to minister. Within us. Is. It's a similar language.
To. To Romans 8. And the argument. That Paul is making. In the middle of Romans 8. When he says.
In verse 14. For all. Who are led. By the spirit. Of God. Are.
Sons. Of God. That when you are led. By. The spirit. That when he.
Dwells. Within you. That. You're no longer. A slave. To this world.
As he argues. For you do not. Receive. The spirit. Of slavery. To fall back in fear.
You're no slavery. Slave to this world. A slave to your. Flesh. You've been. Freed.
And more than that. That you belong. To him. The spirit. Within us. Reminds us.
Of. This. By whom we cry. Abba. Father. 16.
The spirit himself. Bears. Witness. And the Greek word. For witness. Is the same Greek word.
We have in 1st John 4. Testimony. Same concept. Bears. Witness. Testifies.
With. Our. Spirit. That we are the children. Of God. That the Holy Spirit.
Lives. And reigns. Within us. And testifies. Within us. That we are the children.
Of God. That is. Huge. Because there are moments. In this life. Where we fail to believe that.
There are moments. In this life. I feel this. There are moments. Where I'm in the midst. Of doubt.
And I. I'll go back to. My reasoning. Right. That I believe. That the faith claims.
Of Christ. Are way more compelling. To the wide leaps. Of faith. That it takes. To have.
Nothing. I'll reason there. I'm like. No. This is. The most reasonable.
Argument. This compelling argument. The reason. In and of itself. Is not enough. It's not.
Always. Enough. And sometimes. I feel. This doubt. It's like.
A dark haze. Of hopelessness. That just. Lingers. In the midst. Of that.
Doubt. The spirit. Goes. To work. One of the more. Beautiful songs.
That I've. I've heard. In the last few years. Is this song. By ghost ship. We.
We sing. Some ghost ship songs. From time. To time. They had this song. That came out.
A couple years ago. Called. Belief. And I love. What the songwriter. Works to.
Because he's working. Through this doubt. He's working. Through this. This darkness. That he's.
Struggling through. And he. In the first verse. He says. Darkness. Haunts me.
Again. Today. So. Confused. Have I lost. The way.
If you're. There. And you're. There's God. If you're there. I can't see.
Your face. I don't know. I don't know. Sometimes. It's hard. To believe.
Help me. In my. Unbelief. And he's quoting. The father. Who brought a son.
Jesus. And said. Oh Lord. I believe. But help.
My. Unbelief. Like I feel. First. Like I. I feel that.
It's just so. Hard. To believe. Sometimes. That we. We feel this.
Doubt. That just. Hovers over us. Where we question. The. Goodness.
Of God. Or the. Existence. Of God. Or the. Faithfulness.
Of God. Or the. Love. Of God. Or the. Character.
Of God. We begin to. Question. Who. God. Is.
And this. Doubt. Just. Lingers. Over us. And it.
Leaves us. In this. Place. Of desperation. And it's. In those.
Moments. That the. Holy Spirit. Comes. Into his. People.
And begins. To do. His. Work. He begins. To minister.
Within us. And I love. How this. Him. In the midst. Of his.
Doubt. And has. Gone. To work. Because he. Finishes.
The song. By saying. There are. Only. A few. Things.
I. Know. I know. That he. Rose. Which.
Is a testimony. Of true. Events. He came. By the water. And the blood.
That he. Really. Did come. And. This. Really.
Did happen. I know. That he. Rose. I know. That he.
Loves. Me. So. I know. That he. Won't.
Let. Go. And. Those. Two. Statements.
I know. That he. Loves. Me. So. And.
He. Won't. Let. Go. You. Can.
Read. Those. But the. Holy. Spirit. Makes.
Us. Feel. Those. He. Makes. Us.
Feel. The. Love. Of. God. In.
A. Way. That he. Is. Close. That we.
Can. Feel. His. Presence. He. Makes.
Feel. That he. Holds. Us. That he. Won't.
Let us. Go. That is the ministry of the Holy Spirit at work within us. And the spirit wins us over and over and over again. And he testifies to our soul. To our spirit.
That you belong to me. That you are my child. That no one is going to snatch you out of my hand. That I love you. Because I love you. Because of my great love.
And I will carry you all the way to the finish. The people of God have the Holy Spirit at work within us. Testifying at work within us. And the last thing I want us to see. Is that the testimony grants us eternal life. That this testimony gives eternal life.
Verse 11. He says. This is the testimony. That God gave us eternal life. And this life is in his son. Whoever has the son has life.
Whoever does not have the son of God. Does not have life. And as Chet is going to pick up next week. In verse 13. He says. I write these things to you.
Who believe. In the name of the son of God. That you may know. That you have eternal life. The argument he is making over. And over.
And over again. In first jump. God. Gave us. Eternal life. In Christ.
The testimony of God. Is greater. For those of us. That trust. That he came by. The water.
That he lived. A life. He fulfilled. The law. Perfectly on our behalf. For those that believe.
That he came by. The blood. That his blood was shed for us. On the cross. That our sin. Is what puts him on the cross.
And his blood was shed for us. For those who believe. The Holy Spirit comes. And makes us. New creations. In Christ.
And testifies. To our spirit. We have. Eternal. Life. The three take the stand.
The water. The blood. And the spirit. And they're all in agreement. And they're all. Compelling us.
To believe. Some of you. Some of you have never. Surrendered to this Christ. Some of you have been around church. Your entire life.
Some of you are just checking it out. For the first time. But you've never. Surrendered to this Christ. And I want you so. Clearly to hear this morning.
Jesus. Wants you. This testimony shows. He. Wants you. That he.
Desires you. That he doesn't. That your past. Does not have to define you. That your life right now. Does not have to define you.
That faith in Jesus. Is putting all of our hope. And what he has done for us. That by grace. He saves us. That there's nothing that you bring to the table.
But your sin. And he wants you. He wants to take your sin. On the cross. He wants you. Believe this.
That God has you here this morning. That he desires you. That this testimony is good. It is pure. It is perfect. And it is for you.
Don't. Stop running. Stop running from God. He wants you. Believe this testimony. It is worth your life.
Some of you. Are Christians. And you got to be honest about the doubt. That you are facing. And John so clearly. Is teaching of this morning.
He's teaching us. Keep believing. Continue. To believe. Believe is not a one-time event. That happens.
It is a continual. You believe over. And over. And over. And over again. The testimony.
Is of a real. God. Who came. Who died for us. Who took on flesh. The testimony.
Is true. And the testimony. Is in you. And this morning. He so clearly. Wants you to know.
That is true. And that what is held out. In front of you. Christian. Is a testimony. That does not end.
That heads into. Eternity. We continue. To fight. To believe this. By the power.
Of the Holy Spirit. Matt's going to come up. And he's going to. Take that song. Belief. That I just.
Read through. And he's going to sing it. Over us. And as he does. I want. Us to listen.
Listen to the voice of God. That for those of you. That are here. That have never surrendered. To who this God is. That never fully believe.
In the testimony of Christ. My hope and prayer. Is that you would. Believe. That this song. Would be a confession.
And you confess. It for the first time. Maybe. Maybe you are a Christian. You've been struggling. For.
Years. You've been struggling. With doubt. Make this your prayer. Help me in my unbelief. Help me believe.
In what the water. And the blood. And the spirit. Testify to. Help me believe. In this Christ.
May this encourage. Your soul. Remind you. Of your savior. And remind you. How good this testimony is.
Let me pray. Father. We need you. We need you. In a world. That has.
Darkness. And doubt. In our lives. Where there is darkness. And doubt. May you cut through it.
And we see you so clearly. And so beautifully. Right now. For those who have never trusted in Christ. May they believe. Right now.
For those who have trusted in Christ. But are struggling. May you help them. To continue to believe this testimony. In Christ's name. Amen.