Love Problem (1 John 3:16-18 & Luke 14:1-6)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well, good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. If you'll grab a Bible, go to 1 John. We've been zooming in on this same passage we've been looking at for the past couple weeks. We've been working through 1 John, and then in our gift series, we usually do something a little different, but we hit a passage in 1 John where he really kind of zooms in on the same idea.
So we've just tried to dig into this same passage we're going to look at again today. But before we start in the text, I want to talk about something very important to me. Sugar cookie eggnog. My brother one time, it's amazing. Sugar cookie eggnog is delicious, and it used to every year at Christmas would get to get sugar cookie eggnog. And I tasted it, and I was like, oh my goodness, I've wasted my whole life eating sugar cookies when I could have been drinking them.
And it is wonderful, and it meant a lot to me. It was very, I had a very special, wonderful bond with sugar cookie eggnog. It was delicious. I actually took a picture at one point. This is me sitting in front of my white Christmas tree with sugar cookie eggnog. And you're thinking, did you go get the thing out of the refrigerator just to pose it in front of the Christmas tree?
There are some drinks. You just bring the whole bottle with you because you know you're going to refill. And so sugar cookie eggnog is like that. It's amazing. My whole family loved it. And then it started being harder to find.
But you could get online. You could figure out what stores it was in. And we started figuring out, okay, I've got to go to this store to get sugar cookie eggnog. Then it got to where there weren't any stores around us that had it. And I received a phone call from my brother one time, and he was in Maryland. And he said, I just found a store that has sugar cookie eggnog in Pennsylvania.
It's only like an hour and a half from here. I've called them. They have it. I'm buying a case. He gets off the phone with them. They get in the vehicle.
They go get a case of sugar cookie eggnog. He brings it back to South Carolina. My family hoists him on our shoulders. He's doing this thing. It was wonderful. It was the last time I ever had sugar cookie eggnog.
They've stopped making it. I have contacted the company about this, but there was nothing I could do to change it. They stuck with their decision. Now, if you were to think that sounds crazy to ride an hour and a half one way to get sugar cookie eggnog, if you were to say that to me, you would sound an awful lot like a person who's never had sugar cookie eggnog. Because if you had it, I think you would change your mind on that. But there's a reality to there are certain things that are worth it to us.
It's worth it. It's valuable that we go. This this is absolutely worth it. And then there are other things that you go. No, that's that's not worth it. That's crazy.
You do what you wake up at five a.m. to run. What is someone chasing you? Stop it. Like like for me, expensive sunglasses. It's not worth it. Every time someone's like, look at this, they're super expensive.
I'm like, they're going to fall off your head in the water like I don't that you're going to lose. You're going to sit on. Why do you have these? But I might get caught spending some money on a watch or a pair of boots because that seems worth it to me. At any given time, you might see me and all of my clothes came from Walmart except for my watch and my boots, because that's worth it to me. That's worth the exchange.
We're doing this all the time. And I don't know what it is for you. I don't know if it's vehicles or vacations or video games. I don't know what you pick to say. This is worth. This has value.
This is something I'll give up time for. This is something I'll give energy to. But we're doing that all the time. And that's something that first John's pressing on here is he's helping us see our value system. And he's kind of poking at it. He's saying, I want to point something out to you.
I want to help you see something because there may be an issue here. There may be some breakdown here on how we're valuing things. There might be something wrong with our math when it comes to deciding what's worth it and what isn't. So let's pray and then we'll read this text together. God, I ask for your help this morning. In order for us to do what John's going to call us to, we need you at work inside of us.
That we cannot generate what we need, but we need you to help open our eyes to it and to fill us. And so, Lord, we ask for your help. We pray that you'd help us to see it. But then we pray that ultimately through your spirit you'd help us to respond. In Jesus' name. Amen.
So 1 John 3, verses 16 and 17. He says, By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Okay, so he says this is the Christian picture of love, is what Christ did for us on the cross. That's how we define love. That's how we understand love. That's how we've come to know love, is this self-sacrificing love.
It's love that lays down its life. And he says, Therefore, that's the type of people that we are, and so we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. Now, in the Bible, it tells us to love our enemies. It tells us to love our neighbors. But John here specifically has in mind this distinct love that is to happen inside the household of the church.
Inside the household, the family of those who belong to Jesus. And so he says, This is how we ought to love our brothers and sisters, our siblings in Christ. That is supposed to be this type of love, this sacrifice and lay down your life kind of love for our church family. This is one of the reasons why Charles Spurgeon says that the church is the dearest place on earth. That it's meant to be this type of love, where there's grace and joy and service. He keeps going.
He says, But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? So he says that negatively. But the positive picture of that is that as God's love abides in us as Christians, we're just open-handed with each other. That we're just generous with each other. That if we see Christian brothers and sisters who have need, stuff just flows through our hand to them. That's what he's saying.
And he says, If that doesn't happen, If you see a brother or sister in Christ in need and you have the stuff but you don't help, He says there's something wrong with your math. You're doing the value wrong. You're not looking at this correctly. That's what he's getting at. And I want us, we're going to jump to Luke chapter 14. And then we'll come back to 1 John.
But I want us to move to Luke chapter 14. Where Jesus is interacting with the Pharisees. And we see this same kind of thing. That he presses on this same idea. So it's Luke chapter 14 verses 1 through 6 is what we're going to look at.
But it's the same idea. And he's going to interact with the Pharisees on this same idea. And then we'll come back to 1 John. Because 1 John, they're both kind of pointing out the same thing. So I want us to spend a little time in this story this morning.
So it says this. One Sabbath, when he, that's Jesus, Went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. They were watching him carefully. Okay. If you've been following along in Luke. If you know what's happening at this point in Luke.
You understand that we've just set this story up to be some conflict. Because we have Jesus. We have rulers of the Pharisees. And it's on a Sabbath. Every time you're reading in the Gospels. And it says on the Sabbath.
There's a good chance there's about to be some tension. Because Jesus, when he interacts with the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. And he's actually at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. He's been invited to his house. So the Pharisees didn't quite know what to do with Jesus.
He obviously had some spiritual authority. He was a teacher. He was performing miracles. So all that was good. He was proclaiming some good news. But he wasn't acting the way they wanted him to act.
And so there was part of them that was drawn to him. And wanted to kind of incorporate him. But they wanted to kind of get him to fall in line with them. And so when he didn't or when he wouldn't. It was a problem. So they're still kind of keeping an eye on him.
And testing is he really from God. And is he doing things right. And one of the primary markers for the Pharisees at this time. Because they were aggressively going to keep the rules. Was the Sabbath. It was one of the only things that marked them as distinct.
Or one of the main things. Not one of the only. One of the main things that marked them as distinct. From the rest of culture. That they took Saturday as a Sabbath. It was a holy day.
They didn't work. They didn't sell. They didn't buy. They didn't even cook. They cooked the day before. And then they would have the Sabbath.
Where they would go to the synagogue. And they marked them as distinct from the Roman Empire. And so when Jesus showed up. And started breaking some of their Sabbath regulations. Not sinning. But breaking some of the Sabbath regulations.
The Pharisees did not like that at all. So they invite him to their house to eat. He's at the house of a ruler. But they're watching him closely. Not. Not.
This isn't a nice watching. They're not adoring him. They're trying to catch him. And so here's what it says. And behold. There was a man before him.
Who had dropsy. Now. It was common. For them to eat. On like a porch. Quite possible.
That they're eating kind of outside. And that people. Would be able to kind of view. What was going on. It doesn't seem likely. That this guy is a guest.
Of the meal. But he could be. But it doesn't seem likely. But he's there in front of Jesus. And seems. To want to be healed.
He has dropsy. Which. The common word. We would call this. Edema. Which is.
Certain parts of his body. Would fill up with fluid. And so that his whole arm. Might swell up. Or his legs. Might swell up.
Or both. And it can get very. Big. And very painful. And it can. Go to a lot of your limbs.
Or it can go to just one. But. It would have been a big. Noticable. Painful. Encumbrance.
And so he's there. In front of Jesus. And he's. It just says. He's in front of him. He's before him.
And it says. Jesus responded. To the lawyers and Pharisees. Them staring him down. I guess. He says.
Is it lawful. To heal. On the Sabbath. Or not. That's why they're watching. Let me see if he's going to break the Sabbath.
So he says. Let me ask you a question. Is it lawful. To heal. On the Sabbath. Or not.
But they remained. Silent. Which usually. When they remain silent. Is that they have an answer. They just don't like their answer.
They don't have to go on record. Saying it out loud. They hadn't learned. What our politicians. Have learned. Which is just answer.
A different question. That you want to talk about. But. They didn't do that. So they just stare at him.
Then he took him. And healed him. And sent him away. That sending him away part. Is one of the reasons. Why I think he probably.
Wasn't invited to the meal. I think he was hanging out. Jesus heals him. Sends him home. Because if it was part of the meal. He would just heal him.
And then be like. Pass the potatoes. Jesus. So he heals him. And sends him home. Then he turns back to them.
And he says to them. Which of you. Having a son. Or an ox. That has fallen into a well. On the Sabbath day.
Will not immediately pull him out. And they could not reply. To these things. Okay. They didn't like that he healed him. They caught him.
He's a Sabbath breaker. Gotcha. But he looks at him. And he says. Which of you. Who has a son.
Or an ox. That falls in a well. On the Sabbath. Will not immediately get him out. Now. It's a good question.
If your son falls in a well. That's terrifying. I recently went. I like roller coasters and stuff. I recently went. On the scariest.
One of those kind of like. Amusement park rides. I've ever been on. In my entire life. Absolutely. Thrill ride of doom.
Terrifying. You know the fair. The one that's right over here. I pointed. Hold on. This is going to mess me up.
I get turned around in this building all the time. I'm not going to point. Take me a second. I really want to point. The fair. The fair.
All right. You know the fair. Fair. That has a little like chair lift thing. That's like a ski lift thing. But it just takes you from one side of the fair to the other.
I rode that. But with a little twist. I took a three-year-old. Yeah. So. I saw other people doing this.
And I was like. It'll be fun. They got little kids dangling up in the sky. I can do that. I was terrified. I get up there.
All there's this one little bar. And I don't know if you've ever like sat with a kid at a picnic table. But they're going to find a way to fall out. And smack their head on something. So this is just awful.
And I'm holding a three-year-old. So I put him in my lap. And I like. Kung fu monkey death gripped him. He's not going anywhere. And the whole ride.
I'm just like. This was a mistake. We should not be on this. Because there's a couple things that are just extremely terrifying with children. Heights is one of them. Water is another one.
It takes an inch of water and 30 seconds for a child to drown. Water is terrifying. And so I just held on to this kid. So if you ever want to have like a really, really scary ride. Take a small child on one of those things. It was terrifying.
I was like. Afterwards. Like I was about to get in a fist fight or something. Had adrenaline pumping. So he says if your son falls in a well.
Let me tell you what happens if your son falls in a well. You do immediately exactly what you need to do to get your son out of the well. No hesitation. I don't care what that is. You jump in the well. If your son's down in a well.
And you can't see him. And he's not responding. And he's not old enough to swim. You're in that well. Very, very quickly. Holding the kid above your head.
If my son's going to drown in a well. If that's what's going to happen. I'm going to have to drown with him. That's what happens when your son falls in a well. And he says. How many of you.
If your son falls in a well. Go. Hold on. Ah. It's the Sabbath. None of them.
He says the same for your ox. Your ox falls in a well. You're not. You're just. You're going to save it. No questions.
No considerations. But what's the response. When he says. How many of you. If your son or your ox falls in a well. What's.
But it's my son. It's my son. And if you follow that up. What's the response. I love my son. Jesus says.
Exactly. That's what he's pointing out to them. The problem. Isn't that this is the Sabbath. The problem is. You don't love this man.
That's what he's getting at. We haven't run into a Sabbath issue. We've run into a heart level love. Issue. Y'all don't care about this guy. You care about your ox.
But you don't care about him. And I want us to see something. Jesus. Sees this man. And loves this man. Because that's who Jesus is.
And he heals this man. Because that's what Jesus came to do. When Jesus is healing people. In the gospels. It's a foretaste. Of ultimately.
What he's going to accomplish. On the cross. It's a foretaste. Of what his kingdom. Is going to be like. If you were hiring.
A chef. You might would talk about. Where they'd studied. You might would talk about. Other jobs they had. But eventually.
They'd cook you some food. Not all the food. That they know how to cook. But some of it. To give you a taste. Of the way that they can cook.
And when Jesus comes. What he's doing. When he heals somebody. When he. When he offers salvation to somebody. In a certain way.
When he casts out the enemy. Or when he brings somebody back to health. What he's doing. Is giving us a foretaste. Of what he's ultimately come to accomplish. And he's ultimately.
Going to pay with his life. For this. Type of healing. But not just for this man. But for all of us.
That all of us. Are in need. Of Jesus's redemption. He sees this man. He loves this man. And he.
Heals this man. Because ultimately. What he came to do. Is to see you. And to love you. And to heal you.
But the Pharisees. Don't see it. Y'all. They miss the miracle. They see somebody. Healed from dropsy.
Goes from being swollen. And in pain. To just fine. Jesus turns. Jesus turns. While he's at lunch.
And heals somebody. If you were. Eating with somebody. And they just had to perform. Like. I don't know.
A tracheotomy. On somebody. Or they did some quick heart surgery. And then they just came right back. To eating. And they.
They don't even acknowledge this. They don't see. How wonderful. And glorious. And beautiful this is. They don't see the power.
That Jesus has. All they can see. Is that he broke the Sabbath. They miss the miracle completely. Because they don't care about this guy. They don't celebrate.
He does. His family does. I'm sure. But they don't. Because they don't care. How often.
Do we do that? We're in the presence. Of some miraculous work of the Lord. And we just can't see it. You ever hanging out. With your community group.
Somebody brings up. The same sin struggle. They've been bringing up. And you think. Oh here we go again. Here's your same old mess.
Do what? Here's a person. Who Jesus is bringing along. Who is actively fighting sin. Which I don't know. If you've ever tried to do.
Is difficult. Actively fighting sin. Walking in community. Saying it out loud. In front of a group of people. And I'm sitting over here.
Saying here we go again. Or worse. They show up. And they're finally. Getting out of some of this. They're finally changing some of this.
And my thought is about time. Really? Jesus is actively working. Redemption in someone's life. Helping them break free from sin. Helping them change who they are.
Which I don't know. If you've ever tried to change. Something about yourself. But it's difficult. And Jesus has to miraculously work in us. To make us different.
And instead of celebrating joyously. For the work of Christ. In the life of somebody. We just sit around and go. Yeah okay. About time.
Thanks. Maybe you'll be less annoying. We're with someone. And they give generously to someone else. Someone asks of them around the street. And they give to them.
And what do we think? They're just going to waste it. You're really helping that person? There's a reason why they're in this position. And we miss the grace. And the generosity.
Of Jesus at work in somebody. To hand some stuff away. We miss it. You see. The answer that they have. They don't answer him.
But the answer that they have. Is well I care about my son. I care about my ox. And that's the exact problem. Is they don't care about this man. And John's pressing on the same idea.
He's not looking at the Sabbath. He's looking at our stuff. The problem wasn't that Jesus broke the Sabbath. The problem was that their hearts were off. And John in 1 John. If we go back to 1 John.
Chapter 3. He's got in mind. He's holding up for us. Worldly goods. The things that you own. And brothers and sisters in Christ indeed.
And he says if the things that we own. Won't just be handed over. The problem. Is a love problem. The problem is that we. Care about our stuff.
Don't care that much about them. He says this. How. How. How. Does God's love.
Abide. In him. Says if he closes his heart against him. How does God's love. Abide in him. See the.
The response to this. Is not for you. To muster up more love. Because it's not your love. It's God's love. It's not for you to go.
Okay. I gotta be more loving. I gotta just figure out. How to make myself love this person. Let me just stare at him. And see if I can fall in love.
And then maybe I'll give him my iPod. Or whatever the heck. I'm supposed to do here. It's not. It's not your love. That animates this.
It's God's love. In us. That animates this. It's his love. Abiding in us. That overflows.
Out of us. And that's the type of love. We have to have. Because the reality is. That loving sinners. Is extremely difficult.
But Jesus does it excellently. And so those of us. Who are overwhelmed. And filled by the love. Of Christ. Get to do that.
Get to participate. In this type of love. So I want to take just a second. And not try to tell you. That you need to be more loving. I want to take just a second.
And tell you the type of love. That our God has. For you. This is written to Christians. If you are a Christian. God's disposition.
Towards you. Is. Love. He's not frustrated with you. He's not upset with you. He's not looking at you.
And saying about time. Get it together. You are not. Welcomed into the family of God. On some sort of technicality. It's not like everybody else.
Was welcomed in. And you get to sneak in. At the back of the pack. He. Loves. That if you belong to Christ.
You're the son. Or the daughter. That fell in the well. And he didn't think twice. About diving in. To rescue.
And to redeem. Because of his great love. For us. That he paid for your sins. Because of his great. Love.
For you. Paul. Writing in Ephesians. Says. Here's my prayer for y'all. I pray that y'all.
Would just begin to. Have be filled. With the power of the spirit. To wrap your head around. The length. And breadth.
And height. And depth. And to know the love of Christ. That surpasses knowledge. He says. This is.
His love. Is unfathomable. And I hope you can just start. Getting your head around it. You ever stood. On the edge.
Of the coast. And just stared at the ocean. And saw how big it was. Paul says. I wish you'd get in a boat. And go out there.
And be in a place. Where all you can see is ocean. I wish that you would start. To dive to the depths. And go until it crushes you. And you realize.
That there's no way. You could have gotten to the bottom. I wish that his. Power of his spirit. Began to fill you. To understand.
How wide. And how deep. And how miraculous. And how unending. His love is towards you. Because that's the kind of love.
We have in Christ. God's love poured out for us. In Christ. That he would redeem sinners. That he would purchase sinners. And you say.
Well I'm not that lovable. He probably doesn't love me. Do not belittle the love of Christ. Do you see a child. Protecting a cricket. It's not that the cricket is glorious.
It's that the child is kind. And Jesus Christ is glorious. And he redeems. And he saves. Because he's good. And because he loves.
And that love is for you. It is a wildfire of love. For you. A love that does not destroy. But protects.
A love that keeps. A love that claims. A love that holds. A love that brings you on. Unendingly into glory with him. Jesus says.
Not only that he came and died. To redeem us from our sins. But he says. I go to prepare a place for you. He says. You're moving into my house.
I love you so much. You're going to stay forever with me. That he prefers us. I don't know if you have someone in your life like this. But if you pick up the phone.
And you call them. They want to talk to you. And they just want to keep talking to you. You have people in your life. That they're hard to get off the phone with. God's love for us.
Is a preferential love. That he pours out on his children. That he wants. Us. That's what he says in 1 John 3. He says.
See what great love the father has lavished on us. That we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. This love for us in Christ. That redeems us. And that makes us part of the family.
Is the animating love. That is at work in our hearts. And so we are first loved. And then we get to respond in love. That's what he says in verse 18. He says.
Little children. Let us not love in word or talk. But in deed. And in truth. That verse gives me a lot of courage. A lot of comfort.
You ever feel like. I must be the only Christian. Who is getting this wrong. I must be the only Christian. Who when someone asks for something. It just catches in my soul.
And I really don't want to give up the thing. Like maybe everybody else here. Really loves their brothers and sisters in Christ. And they are super generous. And I have a hard time with this. You ever feel like that?
Just me? So I really am the only one. Alright. It's cool. I love that these verses are in the scriptures. Where he corrects a thing that's wrong in me.
Because it means it was also wrong in them. And that God and his grace is at work in them. And he's also at work in me. That if there was no sin. If there was no trouble. If there would be no need to write it.
There would be no need for him to pen this letter. And say. Y'all need to grow a little bit. You need to change a little bit. If it was always just perfectly worked out by the spirit. And Christians never had a problem.
He'd never have to pen this letter. But he writes and says. Y'all need to grow a little bit. You need to soak in this love a little bit. You need the love of God to abide in you. We need to respond this way.
This is what we ought to look like. And this is what makes the church beautiful. That we love each other. Because we're animated by this unending. Deep. Forgiving.
Gracious. Forever. Ferocious. Love. Of Christ. For us.
And so we just get to swim in it. So someone in your church family needs something. We ought not to hesitate. We ought to just say. Yeah what do you need? How do I get it to you?
I've got one of those. I've got two of those. Come on. I can handle that. I can help pay that. Someone in our church family is sick.
So we just go spend time with them. We take some food to them. Or we go sit with them in the hospital. There's part of us that thinks. I've got better things to do. Than to sit in the hospital.
And the reality is. Inside the love of Christ. No you really don't. This is a glorious thing to do. Somebody in your church family needs some help. So you give up.
A very very precious Saturday. You answer the phone in the evening. And you go to someone's house. Or you have them over to your house. Somebody in your group is down or sad. And you know it.
So you go get around them on purpose. We're taught by culture to avoid sad people. But Christians don't. And you know what happens. If you're happy. And you go hang around a sad person.
You trade some of your happiness. For some of their sadness. You leave a little more sad. It's just how it works. But when you leave there a little more happy.
That's the type of substitutionary love. That we see in Christ. That he trades out his righteousness for our sin. And we leave righteous. And he leaves in sin. To be crushed on a cross.
And to rise victorious. We are animated by this wonderful love of God on our behalf. The band is going to come back up. The response to this is to not try to muscle up love. The response to this is to try to sit in. And wrap your mind around.
And be filled with the power of the love of Christ for you. If you are in Christ. You are dearly loved. And you are empowered by his love to love. This is how we get to respond. This is how we get to live.
If you are not a Christian. This love is offered to you. This welcome is offered to you. This invitation to be a part of this family is offered to you. This redemption is offered to you. It will not forever be offered.
But it can be forever yours if you will accept the offer. The king has come. He has been born among men. To redeem men. He has come to earth to redeem humanity. He has paid the price of our sin.
And he has offered amnesty. And salvation and forgiveness to all who will come to him. Come. Ask him to forgive you. Ask him to redeem you. And feel the overwhelming love of Christ for you.
And be brought into this glorious home. And Christians. May we celebrate. That our king has come. And that he has worked his love for us. And that his love fills us.
And then may we respond. As those who are overflowing. With the love of Christ. In generosity. And graciousness. And kindness.
And service. To one another. In the church family. The dearest place on earth. Let's pray.
God. God. God. We thank you for your grace. We thank you for this love. That lays down your life for us.
This love that redeems us from our sin. This love. That invites us. To be your children. And calls us into your home. And may we live.
As if our sins are forgiven. Our eternity. Is set. Our home. Is secure. Our hope.
Is held forever. In the resurrected Christ. So that worldly things. Possessions. Our stuff. Our money.
Does not matter. But your people do. And may we be able to respond. In love. As you fill us. And lead us.
In Jesus name. Amen.
Lay Down Your Life (1 John 3:16-18)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are in our Give Series this month and every year we get to pause from whatever sermon series we're doing and we get to walk through the Give Series together. It is our opportunity in the season that we celebrate the gift of Christmas that Jesus was gifted to humanity. We get to respond to that generosity by setting in the call as Christians to live generously towards others.
We get to tackle a Give project every year which is a real action step for us to live generously towards others. We get to have awesome bumpers made like that that just celebrate the season. And it's a fun time for us to pause every year and do this. We typically or sometimes we'll jump into a completely new set of texts but we've been going through 1 John over the last few months and we got to 1 John 3 and it lines up fairly well with where we are in this Give project. So we are in verses 10 through 18.
That's what Chet introduced last week and we're posting up in the back end of that in 16 through 18 today to look at this a little more closely. He says in 1 John 3 verses 16 through 18. He says, By this we know love that He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but indeed in truth. But Chet introduced this last week and we're going to spend more time on it today that God loves the world.
He loves the world but there's something special and specific about the people of God. That He loves us specially and deeply and as Christians we're called to love everyone. But there's this elevator we see in the New Testament, this sense of you're called to love deeply your brothers and sisters in Christ. So we introduced last week that in line with that idea, this Give Project specifically, we are tackling blessing. Some brothers and sisters in the faith who are in need. And then we stumbled upon an opportunity with Bethel Christian Camp.
So Bethel Christian Camp is a camp we've been connected to for years. Isaac Hill, who's on staff with us. His dad Jarl Hill is the executive director of Bethel Christian Camp. Their mission is to help make disciples throughout the summer of campers. And specifically they have a lot of focus on under-resourced families. So we love them.
We've partnered with them for years. And an opportunity came to us when Jarl said we're hiring a new program director. His name is Jason Earhart. So Jason, his wife Christine, and their four kids are moving down from Virginia. And they're going to move into an 1,100 square foot house. Jordan, you can go ahead and throw that up there.
They're going to move into this house. Okay. So it's a family of six moving into this 1,100 square foot house. And this house in particular needs a lot of love. So they said we need to do a lot of renovations on it.
We heard about it. We said, all right, we're in. How much do you need us to raise? So we need about $17,000 to renovate this house for this family who's moving down here to partner with Bethel Christian Camp and make disciples of children. So we're excited about this, this opportunity.
This family is making a sacrifice. So Jason is taking a pay cut to come down here. And a family of six is going to live in a smaller house. But they care deeply about the mission of Bethel. They care about making disciples. And we said, you know what, we want to bless this family.
Before they move down in February, let's raise the money. In January, let's go over there. Let's do some work. It needs HVAC. It needs renovations on the inside. Completely paint.
Kitchen. You name it. We said, all right, we're all in on this. Let's do this. That's the gift project that Chet introduced last week. We are excited about it.
But before we continue in this, I want to sit specifically in this idea that would compel us to actually love them well. That would compel us to rally around this and actually bless this family. And it is this specific idea of laying down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to sit in that and then examine some of the reasons why we actually might struggle to do this. So, let me pray. And then we will jump in today.
Lord, we love you. We are thankful for your goodness and your kindness towards us. God, I pray that you would help us worship this morning, knowing that that is true. Worship you because you're worthy. Worship you because you are generous towards us. But that you would stir in us a desire to want to love one another well.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright, so pull the text back up. Let's walk through this. It says, By this we know love. That he laid down his life for us.
And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. This is brothers, brothers and sisters in Christ. The family of God. But, verse 17. If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.
At Christmas, we get to celebrate that God in his love and his humility came for us. And that doesn't register like it should. Because God is big. He made everything. He made the universe in all of its glory. A few weeks back, I was reading Garden and Gun, which is a magazine that I get.
It's a magazine that I like. And I was reading it and it said that 80% of Americans have never seen the Milky Way. And I was like, I've never seen the Milky Way. You can see that with a naked eye. And then you like go to different, like there are different places that have, around the world that are called dark sites that have less light pollution. You can look up when the sky is right and see the Milky Way.
So I like went all in and looked at pictures and videos and started making plans. Like I want to see this because it's unbelievable to look up at the heavens and see the galaxy. And when you look at that, you just feel so small because the sight is so big. And when you take a step back as a Christian, you realize God made that and it's small to him. Like it doesn't compare. It's a passing worth and his glory.
That's how big our God is. When you understand how big our God is, you understand how much he loves us. That he came for us. That Jesus left the comforts of heaven. And he came for us. Like when you sit in that reality, it's just overwhelming that at Christmas, Jesus loves us so much that he laid down his life and he came for us.
Once you press into that, it says, by this we know love that he laid down his life for us. By this we know Christ who is love. When you understand and believe and are immersed and are infatuated with who he is, it says that his love is going to abide in us. And more specifically, the things that he cares about. We're going to care about. That's what happens when you love someone.
Like a few weeks back, I got to officiate my sister's wedding and it was an exciting time for me. It was the most fun wedding I've ever been to. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The ceremony was beautiful. I was so glad that I got to be a part of it. One of the things I got to share with the people who were there was that I knew that my sister was falling for this guy.
When one weekend I was talking to my mom. I was like, what's Kat? What's my sister? What's she doing this weekend? I said, well, she's at a NASCAR race. I said, wait, what?
Huh? She never, like NASCAR was never on her radar. She was a beauty pageant. She queen. She was a cheerleader. Like, she was dainty.
Like, she, no. Like, at a NASCAR race. And I found out later, oh, yeah, she's also, she goes camping with him. Camping in the outdoors. Are you serious? I was like, man, she's falling for this guy.
That she would, and that's what happens. When you love someone, you become about what they're about, right? You start to love their interests. You start to care about the things that they care about. When you love Christ, you care about what he cares about. You're all in.
And when he says, love your church family. Love your brothers and sisters. That's what you care about. And he's highlighting this is what we should do. Yet you close your heart. That's what he's saying.
You close your heart. The KJV here says, shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him. When you look at all the translations alongside that, it's like, man, that one's a little different. But actually, it's probably the most closest to the text. What it's conveying there is that the innermost part of you. That the love of Christ should impact the innermost part of you.
And when you shut your heart, when you close that off, you are stopping the love of God that should flow through you. And we feel this. When you see something, you're like, man, someone should do something about this. When you see a Compassion International ad and you see children that are in deep need. Whatever thing that you come across that just starts to prod at your heart. You feel this feeling rise up inside you.
That someone should do something. And then something stops us often. And that's the closing of our heart. It damns up the river of compassions that should flow through us. We should look at Christ. Behold him for who he is.
And when we're doing that, his compassion flows through us. But we stop it. That's the problem that John is addressing here. And he has a question for us. He says, how can God's love abide in you if you're willing to close your heart? How can the love of God reside in you, flow through you?
How could Christ be the most important, beautiful, worthy of worship being in the universe for us if you don't love his people? If you don't love the church? If you love Christ, he will capture your heart. And you absolutely will. But there's something in us.
There's something in us that guides to break down the walls that we close off towards showing compassion towards others. And he goes on to say in verse 18, like this isn't a compassion that flows through you that is just talked about. This is not mere words. This isn't just saying someone should do something about this. Someone with means should do something about this. That the heart of a Christian breaks for his brother and sister and says, amen, what can I do?
What do you need from me, Lord? How can I help? That's what John's trying to inspire in these churches he's writing to. That's what the scriptures are pleading with us to do as well. Especially in the American church. In the American church, we have some of the most collective, the highest collective wealth of almost any church in the history of humanity.
And we have a lot of wealth in America and in the American church. And in our church, we're not, you know, we're not killing it, right? We're just not. Like we were a blue collar, middle class. Like that's who we are. But so you might think, okay, well, other churches can go for this even harder because they have more.
But the reality is when you look at us compared to the global church, it's like, no, we have an incredible amount of means. We have incredible ability to bless other Christians, to invest in other ministries, to do, to give. But there's something in us, even in our own selves, even in our own hearts, that stops us all the time. And that's what we're trying to see. That's what John's trying to diagnose. And it's what he's trying to help us see.
There's something in us that keeps us from doing that. So I want to ask some questions. I want to diagnose this a little bit to see what it is that actually keeps us from having a heart that's filled with the compassion and love of Christ. And it's extended towards others. And it's not to, hear this, it's not to do a guilt trip. Okay?
A guilt trip might get you to open your checkbook for this gift project. And that's fine for a moment. But what we need is God to continue to mold and shape and break our hearts so that we might continuously live in generosity and tap into the benefits and the goodness that is found in that type of obedience. We need that. But we need to look at when he says, by this we know love, that he laid down his life for us.
That phrasing there, we need to actually sit in that. That if Jesus is the one by which we know love and his sacrifice and his laying down of his life is something that we need to stare at, be consumed with, and to learn from. That I want to take a few minutes to walk through a few different teachings, a few different things that Jesus did to help us see how Jesus modeled this so that we might be a people that can do this well. And as we walk through a few different things, there are four things I want us to see. If we examine kind of the problem beneath the surface within us that keeps us from doing this, then we have a chance at seeing the love of Christ flow through us.
There are four things I want us to see as we walk through this. First, I want us to see this life in light of eternity. See this life in light of eternity. Second, I want us to see our stuff in light of eternity. We're going to see that's two sides of the same coin there. Three, I want us to see church family as family.
And fourth, I want us to see the sacrifice of Christ. So, four things I want us to see. All right, four. The first two things I want us to see this morning. I want to look at one text from Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus is teaching in verses 19 and 20. He says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. All right, let's sit in this passage for a moment. Let's first see this life in light of eternity. One of the things that we fail to see as Christians is that eternity, okay? 60 million plus years into infinity. That is greater than 80 years.
That equation makes sense on paper. That millions and billions of years is greater than just 80 years. But we don't functionally live like that's true sometimes. We miss that. And when he says, But if anyone has the world's goods, We don't see that. That eternity is longer than just 80 years in this life.
So I want it to be very practical for a moment. When you enter the workforce, Okay? 18, 20, 25, whenever that is for you. When you enter the workforce, You've got 60 to 70 years ahead of you, If you are fortunate. And here's what happens. This is what the world sells us on.
Make as much money as possible. So that you can purchase comfort now. And have some comforts now. And throw money ahead in the future. So you can have a nest egg of comfort later.
That's the American dream. Buy what you can now. Store up for the comfort that you can have later. Go hard after this. It's the reason why right now you see a ton of advertisers on TV that are selling you on. This is what makes you feel good.
Like you see a Lexus commercial. And it says, Buy this with a big red bow on it at Christmastime. It feels good. Which those commercials annoy me for various reasons. First off, Who springs a Lexus on their spouse and gets away with it? Like that, You've got to be in a way different tax bracket to pull it off.
Secondly, Those commercials are almost always with a snowy backdrop. And it's like, Listen, That is only some parts of the country. Like y'all are missing it. It's neither here nor there. But, You get sold on this idea of purchasing comfort. Now, Make sure you save enough for later.
Make sure that when you're 65, You can buy an RV and go all around the country. That you can play golf as much as you want. So that you can travel to Europe. That you can see all the parts of the world. So that you can get the most out of this life right now.
That's the American dream that is given to us. And I want to be very practical here. Nobody here is in the 1%. Alright? We're just, None of us are killing it. Here's why this is really important.
Because if I was speaking to a bunch of people who were absolutely loaded, Packed in the ceiling, It would be a different thing. I would touch different things. But I want to be real practical for us for a moment. If you go hard after that American dream, As middle class people, You can't live generously. The margins aren't there. You can't do it.
You don't have the means to do it. If you've got to upgrade your car every three to five years, If you've got to upgrade your house every three to five years, Which when I was doing more real estate, I saw over and over again, When you've got to continuously throw large chunks of money at your retirement, And do the basics. Like eat. Feed yourself. Feed your family if you've got family. Eat your home.
Which is really painful these days. With inflation and everything that's happening. And then you've got to subscribe to like 15 different things. Because that's now the basics for us in America. But, When you do all of these things, And then you look at your budget if you have one, Or you look at your bank account if you don't. You're like, I don't know how I can live generously.
I don't know how I can give to anything. And you see a need that arises. Or the Christians need help. And it's like, I don't know how I can swing this. The reason we can't swing this, Is because of all the things, That we gear our lives toward in this life right now. Because we've lost sight that we're going towards eternity.
We've lost sight of that eternity is greater than, The 80 years that are in this life. So here's how this could look differently for us. You enter the workforce. Alright? And you've got 60 to 70 years. Or right now, You're rethinking your life.
You've got 30, 20, 40, How many of your years left you've got in front of you. You say, I am going to make an impact for the kingdom, With the time that I have on this earth. Randy Alcorn in the, I think it's the treasury principle, He says, Nothing makes a journey more difficult than a heavy backpack, Filled with nice but unnecessary things. Pilgrims travel light. Like, you own that. And it's like, There's a lot of unnecessary things that I could accumulate, But I don't live for this life.
Like, I don't need this. I'm living for eternity. I'm going to travel light. So what you do is, Is you leverage your life for the kingdom of God. You leverage your life, Your time. And you organize that in a way that you can serve the local church.
You structure your budget in a way that reflects your values. That you don't take positions and jobs that consume your life, That make your job your object of worship. That you leverage your life for the kingdom. That you pass on goods. The world's goods. And everything that will be offered to you, On a regular basis.
Why? Because you believe that that life in eternity is better. Because you see Christians that are in front of you that are eternal. Pitted alongside the things that you could purchase. Like, no, I want to be able to bless those who are in need. That you orient your life around this understanding that life is eternal.
And every decision you make for work and for spending and everything flows through that. That you live modestly because your eye is on the eternal prize. Because you believe that temporary comfort is less than eternal joy. And that is the anthem for how you live. And in the world's goods, that's just a tool. Money.
Stuff. That's just things. That's just a tool. That allows you to take care of your needs and your family and your life. But also be generous towards others.
That we miss this when we exchange it. When we mess this up and we say the end is the things we can purchase. That's how we fall prey to the American dream. We travel light because we know this life is temporary. We pack. And this life has a Christian understanding that it is light because we're living for the next one.
My wife and I, we're getting ready to go to Disney World on Saturday. Which I think I said this two weeks ago. Don't tell my kids. Because my wife will harm you. But it's a surprise of them.
But we are getting ready to go to Disney World. We are going to pack with that in mind. After my wife spent all week packing, I said, Babe, guess what? I want to take the piano with me to Disney World. She'd be like, You are crazy. What are you thinking?
It's a temporary trip. Here, we pack accordingly. In this life, we carry the things that we need. Because our mind is in eternity. Alright, here's the second side of that coin. Second, see our stuff in light of eternity.
So you've got to see your life in light of eternity, but you've got to see your stuff in light of eternity. Alright. Our economy is built off of consumerism. Not a huge shock. Alright. Our economy is built off consumerism.
Advertisements are geared towards helping you see that if you had this product, how good would you feel? How much better would your life be? Right? You see something, scroll across on Instagram, and they're previewing the product. And you're like, I want that. That's going to be good.
Like you see something on TV, and it's like, man, I would look so good in that, driving that. Like that's the whole goal. To help create this need or want in you, and for you to buy that, to fulfill that need. Now, this is what I would love to see happen. Is that if you purchased something, or if you saw something that they wanted you to purchase, and they advertised that product, and then they fast-forwarded like a year, or two years, or three years, or ten years, and they showed you the same product. They showed your iPhone all cracked up.
They showed your car with a bunch of dents in it. Like we need that. Like if the buy now button on Amazon showed the product that they were selling first picture, like let me see the second picture, and it's you throwing it in the trash in six months. Like how much money would you not spend at Amazon, right? Like the picture for us would be six months later selling it on Facebook for sale or wanted for like $5. Come buy it.
Like if we had that, like I want to show you, this is the side-by-side. This is a Samsung phone, right? It looks very sleek and nice. I've never owned a Samsung phone, but that looks very nice. And you look at this, and it's like, man, I want that. But if you just had, I took a screenshot for sale for sale for you wanted.
And that's, that, I don't know how long ago a Galaxy S9 was. But when that was out, man, that was happening. Like that was it. And this person is sadly selling it. There's no way they're going to sell that. But they're selling that for $80.
Please buy this. Like if you just had that mindset, the things that you purchased just don't last. Man, how much more freeing will we live? How much easier it would be to say no to things? It's like, that's why I love how practical Matthew 6 is. How practical Jesus' teaching is.
He says, why would you leverage your money and your hope and some of your anxiety about buying that? Why would you leverage it for things that moth and rust destroy? Translation. Translation. Things that end up, end up in a landfill. Why do we do this to ourselves?
It doesn't last. I mean, it's, I mean, it doesn't last like it did 30 years ago. They don't even build things for you to like buy and repair things now. Like I, I buy something and I want to repair it. And it's like, no, you can't. You must replace it.
I'm like, this is rigged. Like I want, this is ridiculous. Like do you buy, now you just got to buy things and replace things. Like it doesn't last. Like we need to see that. Because what happens is, is that we close our hearts towards other Christians who are in need for that.
We close our hearts towards other Christians in need for stuff that will not last. You need to see that picture right there pitted against a brother or sister in need. And Jesus says, sow up treasures in heaven. That's better. And the New Testament teaching on that is, is that listen, we, we believe that that by the blood of Christ, by grace through faith, he redeems us, he rescues us and brings us into the family of God. But once you are a Christian, there is this teaching that you are storing up riches in heaven.
That your works matter now in Christ. That there's some kind of heavenly reward. And we don't know what that is. Like we don't have real strong pictures for that. But Jesus says it's good.
He says it's eternal riches. Live as if eternity is true. Live as if the stuff that you can buy in this life will not last. It's not worth your hopes. It's not worth your desires. Don't fall for it.
Three. Three. See church family as family. See church family as family. It's going to be difficult for us to actually love to lay down our lives for brothers and sisters in Christ. If you don't view them as brothers and sisters.
We don't have a shot at doing that. If we don't see family, church family in the way that Jesus calls us to. Jesus in Matthew 12. His family is trying to get a hold of him. And we walked through this in the Gospel of Matthew a few years ago. I want to read this.
Because I think this is incredibly important for us to understand. He says. It says while he was still speaking to the people. He's been teaching. It says behold. His mother and his brothers stood outside.
Asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him. Who is my mother? And who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand towards his disciples. He said.
Here are my mothers and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven. Is my brother and sister and mother. Now. Jesus. Loves.
His mama. Okay. Fact. Go to the end of the Gospel of John. Jesus. Loves his mama.
He honors his family. He's not denigrating his family. Not doing that at all. He is elevating. The eternal family of God. He's trying to help us see.
That the eternal. Family. Of God. Matters. We need that. Alright.
Because a cultural southern value. For us. Is family. Like we care a lot about it down south. I love when Hollywood tries to write. TV shows.
And movie scripts. And capture. That idea. It's just like. They. They think everything for us is Hatfields and McCoys.
That if you cross your brother or your cousin. You're going to kill somebody. It's like. We're not. That unhinged. Right.
But they. Are making some observations. That are accurate. We do care about family. More so than different parts of the country. Like we.
Love. Our family. There's a lot of love. And loyalty. And care that we have for our earthly family. And we should.
Absolutely. The Bible teaches this over and over again. But that love. And loyalty. And care. And devotion.
That we have for earthly family. Jesus says. Take that. Step it up. That is elevated also. For the family of God.
For the people of God. For your brothers and sisters. That love. And loyalty. And devotion. Is meant for your church family.
In a way that you would. See your brother in need. And lay. Down your life for them. So that you would see another Christian need.
And say. What can I do? We don't have a shot of that. If we don't see church family as family. If we don't see extended church family. A global church family.
As the family of God. We don't have a shot of that. If we see. What we do right now. As a social aspect. Of what we do.
Like if Sundays. Are just a social thing. That we do. If groups. Are just a social aspect. Of our lives.
We're missing it. We're missing it. And how easy. Will it be for us. To close off our heart. Towards another brother and sister.
In Christ. Who is in need. We have got to see family. As family. Four. We have to see the sacrifice.
Of Christ. That's pinnacle. That's the basis. For all of us. To see. What Christ has done.
He says. By this. Verse 16. We know. Love. That he laid down his life for us.
And we have to lay down our lives. For the brothers. We will never understand the sacrifice. We will never live out this sacrifice for others. If at the forefront of our mind. And our soul.
Isn't the sacrifice of Christ. It's not just that. He left heaven for us. It's not just he left heaven. When we celebrate at Christmas. And came for us.
It's from the manger. To the cross. And everything in between. God lays his life down. Up into the pinnacle sacrifice. Of Christ.
On the cross. For us. His blood spilled out. For us. If we don't hold that out. In front of us.
And have that as the basis. For why we should lay down. Our lives. For our brothers and sisters. We don't have a shot at this. We'll fall for lesser comforts.
And lesser things. Over sacrifice. Towards others. We're called to lay down. Our lives. And our own self-interest.
Which is harm. That's a radical call. That Jesus calls us to. So. I know from time to time. That somebody stands up here.
The other guy who preaches half the time. He likes to play up. That I like weird movies. And it's. He's. He likes to play it up.
He's a funny guy. And he has lots of jokes on. On I like sad movies. Depressing movies. And all. You know.
They have to be called films and cinema. He has all kinds of things to say about. The things I. Watch. I was watching over the day. This indie film about.
This woman who dies of cancer. And. I knew it going into it. Like I chose this. I read this article. On the Gospel Coalition.
Which is a. Is a helpful site. For a lot of different articles. And theology and stuff. And there's this movie. Movie review of this movie.
Called Our Friend. That probably none of you have seen. Because it didn't do well at all. And it does sometimes fit. In the category of movies. That I watch.
But. I can watch this. Because they said. Listen. This movie embodies. This sacrificial.
Friendships. Like I'm going to watch this. Which disclaimer. It's got some language in it. But it does embody this.
It's a true story. Okay. It's a true story. About three friends. And. Three friends from college.
Two of them are married. One of them goes on. They stay connected for years. Then all of a sudden. The wife. Gets.
Terminal cancer. And. And it's. Incredibly hard on him. This is a younger family. They're like late 30s.
They've got kids. And he's trying to take care of his wife. And his friend. Their friend says. I'm going to move in with you. So he moves from New Orleans.
To Alabama. And he. He lives with them. For the last 12 to 18 months. Of her life. And it's just this.
This. Sacrifice. That he. He quits his job. And he moves there. And he.
Serves her. And he serves him. And he watches their kids. And gets them to school. And helps with. Cancer treatment.
As she's slowly fading. And as she's. Her mind is. Falling apart. He. Serves them.
And loves them. All the way to her. Final. Last. Breath. And it's this.
This choice. To sacrifice. Because he. Loves. Them. And he lays down his life.
And when you see that. It's like. That's it. That's a picture of the gospel. That you would lay down your life. That you would.
Moved on their city. If it required it. That you would lay down your life. For. Someone else. Because you see them.
As eternal family of God. And we as Christians. Have a higher ideal. That. That we are bound together. By this.
Jesus. Who laid his life down for us. How much more. Should we. Lay down our lives. For those who are in need.
Like we. Need this. And when we do this. We tap into something. That is eternal. And good.
But it takes some self reflection. It takes looking. At the ways we don't want to die. To ourself. The ways we don't want to sacrifice. I feel this.
Y'all. I feel this. I. I say I'm in a busy season sometimes. It's really just a busy life. Just the reality of it.
And I. And I. And I. And sometimes. Like I. I look at my schedule.
And needs come up. And I'm like. I've got things. I need to do. And I'm so convicted. Because I've got people in my life.
That don't do that. Like they. They move outside of their schedule. Because they love people. And it's like. I need to.
Grow in this. That I wouldn't value. My. Time. So much.
That I would. Not look. At a brother in need. A sister in need. And have compassion towards them. We.
Need this. We need to see the unmet wants. And the unmet needs. And the things that we want to buy. And the things we want to purchase. And the things that we want to accumulate in our life.
We need to say. That is. Less than. Than other Christians in need. That is less than. Than my brother.
Or my sister. Who is in need. We need to see the opportunities that we have in front of us. Some of which come at great personal cost. I mean. Sacrifice is that.
Is great. Personal. Personal. Cost. To you. Just as Jesus.
Had great. Personal. Cost. To him. We get to. Live that out towards others.
And we got an opportunity in front of us. With this. Give project. And some of you might be thinking. Listen. I.
Renovate a house. I got stuff. That needs renovated. I got stuff. That needs to get done. I got.
I got things that I. Want to do. And I want to. Impress upon you. That part of this. When we have opportunities.
To give. It isn't always. About what we're committing to. It's about our heart approach. It's about our heart approach. That says.
Even when I don't have. I give. And I sacrifice. And I choose to do that over. And over. And over.
Again. We got an opportunity in front of us. With the Earhart family. You can build a picture up to them. This. This.
Family. Is sacrificing a lot. To come down here. It's taking a pay cut. Moving into a smaller house. And they're going to sacrifice.
For the mission of Christ. At Bethel. And we got this house. We got this opportunity. And it's a real. Tangible thing.
That we get to do. To live out the gospel. We get to raise. Some money. To be able to bless them. The house needs a lot of work.
And it's just a way to love them well. That as they sacrifice. For the mission of Christ. We get to sacrifice a little bit. To be able to. Serve them.
So they can come in February. Ready to go. But it's not about this. Alone. This is a tangible thing. We get to grow in.
But we get to use this. As a springboard. Into a lifestyle. That understands eternity. The ten trillion years. Is greater than just a few.
That our stuff. Will. Faith. And it's not worthy of our worship. We get to use this. As an opportunity.
To see that. Family. Eternal family. Matters. And we get to use this. As an opportunity.
To look. At the sacrifice. Of our savior. And let that. Flow. Into our heart.
And that compassion. Flow out. In a lifestyle. That chooses. To live generously. Towards others.
Love the Brothers (1 John 3:11-18)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. It is our Give Series. We are excited every time, every year around this time and every time around this year. That's what I almost said.
Go to 1 John chapter 3. We've been working through 1 John and usually we would pause and focus just on Give Series stuff and go somewhere else, but John went there anyway, so we're going to just keep going through John because he's going to talk about what we would have paused to talk about. Our Give Series is around Christmas. We want to celebrate Christmas and we want to respond a little bit to how our culture celebrates Christmas because our culture, Christmas is a Christian holiday and culturally we have a lot of Christian background, a lot of Christian history. And so you have this idea of generosity and sacrifice and love and kindness and peace that all comes in with Christmas.
We have this idea of worship that Jesus would come and that he would humble himself to come redeem sinners, this idea of hope, this idea of light in darkness, that all kind of comes in. And then what happens is culturally we try to pull out the Jesus part. We want to keep peace. We want to keep joy. We want to keep life. We're cool with all of that.
But then we also want to infuse consumerism. And so it's like you bought a filet mignon and you cooked it perfectly and then you pour strawberry syrup on top of it. They just don't go together. It doesn't work right. Certainly Christmas is a time for celebration. Certainly it's a time for feasting.
Certainly it's a time for giving. But we've, we've amped it up so much with consumerism because our whole culture runs off of us buying things we don't need. Buying shoes before other shoes wear out. Buying shoes for this type of occasion. Buying shoes to be this type of person. Buying this shirt that makes us this type of person.
Buying things that help us have an identity. Buying more things than we need and replacing the things that aren't bad with new things. That's our, that's our whole system. It's what it's built off of. And you're a good American. If you go spend money, the news comes out and says, Hey, y'all hadn't been consuming like you're supposed to.
And you go, well, I got to do my duty. I said, I was thankful yesterday and now I got to go get some new stuff. It's just, that's, that's the system that we have culturally. And then we have as Christians, we're supposed to approach this differently. We're supposed to see this differently. And so at our gift series, we try to just push back on consumerism and amp up generosity.
We want some of our money to just walk out the door and to go towards things that don't benefit us. That's why I love the song that was just sung on that little video. It's from citizens. It's called, why don't you marry Christmas? It says, I see the writing on the wall. We've been through all of this before longer lists and grander gifts, brighter lights, entitled kids.
Well, if you love it so much, why don't you marry Christmas? The happy feelings that we had, are they just boxed up in the past? Buying more we can't afford. That's American. The pressure's high, but what's it for? Well, if you love it so much, why don't you marry Christmas?
So our hope in our gift series is to push back on some of this just consumer driven stuff and say, Hey, let's remember what this is actually about. And then let's respond as Christians with generosity. Let's give some money away at this time of year. We bring in money and we give money out for a Lottie moon. It's a Christmas offering, which goes towards the international mission board and towards international missions. It goes directly towards sending missionaries overseas.
And then as a church, we also come together to do our gift project, which is where we've helped church plants in Tennessee and downtown Columbia. We've helped people who had had some flood damage to their home. We came together and raised money for that. We were able to raise some money for some children's gifts and a party that we were able to throw in, in Columbia as well. We raised money for a women's shelter. We've raised money for overseas missions in Honduras and in Egypt.
So I get the distinct privilege of announcing our gift project today. Later. First John chapter three, we're going to pick up in verse 11. I'm going to pray and we're going to walk through as John presses on this idea. And then we'll get to talk through how we're going to be able to practice it together. So let's pray.
God, we ask for joy and delight. As we read your word, we pray that you would help us to see Christ clearly. You might change our hearts. Help us to be loving people in Jesus name. Amen. So John in this section is going to give us one big picture and then one practice.
So he's going to give us one big picture, something for us to see, and he's going to give us something to do the way that this ought to show up in our lives. So he says this in verse 11, for this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. This most likely the beginning of these talking about is the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel, the beginning of Christ's work that we would have love for one another in the church. But it's connected to the call in the old Testament to be loving and gracious to the people of Israel and to the people around you.
We should love one another. Verse 12, we should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not be surprised brothers that the world hates you. So he says this kind of big picture, we shouldn't be like Cain who murdered his brother.
And it's like, okay, sound advice. But he's, he's painting up on one side, the epitome of worldly approach to others. That's why he says, don't be surprised when the world hates you. He's saying, this is kind of the epitome of non-Christian approach. And then he says, and here's the epitome of a Christian approach that he keeps going. Verse 14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers.
Whoever does not love abides in death that the brothers, there is the church that there is supposed to be a distinct, special love for Christians in the church. Now, Christians are told by Christ to love our enemies, to love our neighbors, and to love the church. So you're, you're told if you're a Christian, that's everybody. They fit in one of those categories. He expands neighbor to whoever's around you. Enemies are all the people that dislike you.
And then you're Christian brothers and sisters. So we're supposed to love everybody, but the, the, the Bible presses on this idea that the church should have distinct, special, greater love, protection, care, defense for those who belong to Jesus. Those are the brothers. And this idea that we are all children of God is not a biblical idea. The biblical idea is that we are all made by God and that all humans are made in his image and therefore have value, dignity. But to be a child of God is a blood bought gift from Jesus to those who believe.
That's what John says in chapter one of his, uh, the gospel of John, that for those who believe, he gave him the right to be called children of God. That's what he says at the beginning of chapter three. And this is that he says that we, how great is it? How good is God to us that we get to be called children? And so we are, but it's through the work of Christ that we're children of God. And so there's this family of God that we're meant to show love to one another.
So he keeps going. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. That's a bold claim. We're going to look at that in a second.
By this, we know love that he, that's Christ, laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. One big picture. Cain on one hand, Christ on the other. That our approach is going to be more like Cain's or more like Christ's. That's what he's getting at.
That you're going to look like a disciple of Cain or a disciple of Christ. He says, we know that if we hate, we're murderers. Did we know that? That your heart posture matters. That just painting a smile on your face while you loathe someone is still a problem for you because God sees your heart. That he actually cares about your heart, not your actions.
This isn't just about your morality. Can you act out the right things? It's like, no, he cares about who you are. So for those of you who are unfamiliar with Cain, so far, you know that he murdered his brother. Well, I'm going to tell you that story a little bit. That's from Genesis chapter three.
Adam and Eve have sons, Cain the oldest, then Abel or Abel. My uncle Abel fusses at me because it's spelled Abel and it's probably pronounced Abel or Abel. So I'm going to call him Abel just for the sake of my uncle. Then sorry. So Cain and Abel, they both at some point come to the Lord to give him a sacrifice.
Abel brings sheep from his flock. It says he brings the first. And then it says in some time, Cain brings some fruit. God has regard for Abel and not for Cain. Cain immediately, it says his face has fallen. He's frustrated by this, that God was pleased by Abel's sacrifice, but not by his.
It seems as if Abel was genuinely worshiping the Lord, was delighting in the Lord, brought the first of what he had. And that Cain thought, okay, well, this may be a good thing for me to do. And somehow it'll garner some favor because as soon as it doesn't work, his heart does not tender towards the Lord to say, what's wrong? What did I do? Like to respond well, he hardens himself towards the Lord, which seems as if it was, he came in it self-interested and when it didn't work, he was frustrated. Then it says he talks to his brother, takes him out in the field and murders him.
That's crazy. But it's the epitome, the physical manifestation of Cain's idea of how the world works, which is you exist for his good. Everything's about me. Therefore, everyone else is expendable. If they benefit me, if they help me, if they bring joy to my life, they get to stay. What's her name?
Marie Kondo. He does that with people. Does this inspire joy? No, in the trash. That's what he does. Christ is the opposite of that.
When you look at a manger, when you look at a nativity scene, that's Christ coming and saying, I'm not here to be served, but to serve. I'm here for everyone else. Therefore, I'm expendable. I'm here to sacrifice so that they might be satisfied. I'm here to suffer for them. Whereas Cain says, you need to sacrifice so that I might be satisfied.
You need to suffer for me. That's his big picture, that we're going to have one of those postures. I'm going to show you a few ways that kind of shows up. If you ever had a friend who knew a guy, maybe you're this person, you know a guy, you have a guy, you have a guy that gets you tickets to things. You have a guy that gets you out of tickets for things. You have a guy that, that can help you fix a car.
You have a guy that can, like, I, oh, I know this person to help us get a deal on this. I know, I know a shoe guy. I know a person who can help, like, and that's, you ever been around that person and you've, I've thought, that must be nice. He's got like a bullpen of perks. Oh, you're going to Disney World? Let me make some phone calls.
Who do you, do you know Mickey? What, who do you do it? But the reality of that is I've got these people around me and I appreciate the fact that they enhance my life. I'm going to make a phone call. They're going to make my life better. I don't know what they do on their end, but be honest with you, I don't care.
Just want this thing. Have you ever been the guy that someone knew? You ever been the only person who owned a truck and a group of friends? I have. When we first planted this church, we were part-time movers. It's just a thing.
And you have to work on your heart in those moments because you're getting a phone call and it's, hey, I'd love for you to sacrifice for me. And there's part of us that really wants to be in the Cain position and really dislikes being in the Christ position. I'd really like for you to sacrifice for me. That would be excellent. And I'd really like to not have to sacrifice for you. Honestly, if you make me suffer and sacrifice too much for you, I don't want to be your friend anymore.
Now, if you sacrifice and suffer for me, that's actually how I define a good friend. I don't want to be a good friend. I want to have good friends. So he writes and says, Christians, do we look like Christ or should we be called Cainians? He didn't say that because it's dumb, but that's what he's getting at. Do we look like disciples of Cain?
People exist for my benefit. All right. I'm going to, I'm going to say a thing that may not garner me some friends. Let me get a drink of water first. Let's talk about wedding vows.
All right. I'm not a huge fan personally of people who write, people of when people write their own wedding vows and I'll explain why. Vows are promises, promises that you make so that you'll keep them when you don't want to keep them anymore. That's the point of a promise. When people write their own vows, they often don't write promises. They write poems about how much they like the other person.
And that's fine. Those are great. Some of them are very beautiful. I've listened to some and thought that's beautiful. It's just not a vow saying, I love how much you love my friends. I love how much you love my dog.
I love how much you love me is nice, but it's not a promise. If anything, it puts pressure on them. I'm going to need you to keep loving my friends, my dog and me. I want my, my wife to think I'm attractive. I want her to think I'm fun to be around, but at our wedding, I want her to promise to stay with me when I'm unattractive and no fun to be around. That's what I want.
I want her to look a lot more like Christ who sacrifices for the sake of love. Then I appreciate what benefits I get. Now we certainly should appreciate that. That's a part of relationships. I get that. But what I'm saying is there's this idea that this is the good stuff and this isn't, but this is where Christ went and it's where he invites us to go because it's actually the good stuff.
There's actually joy here. There's actually freedom here. There's actually delight here and Christ is there. So in the sacrifice, we get more Christ because we need more Christ in suffering. We get more Christ because we need more Christ in generosity. We get more Christ because we need more Christ and he's actually what is good.
That's what he's saying. That's the big picture. Then he says this, we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. That ought to be what this looks like. Jesus refers to it at one point as a city on a hill, that it ought to be beautiful to behold, that it ought to be warming and welcoming and joyful, that people ought to come and be around the church for a while and go, oh my goodness, I have to have that. That's one of the reasons why we invite people who are not believers to join community groups.
If you're not a believer, we want you to join a community group. And yes, this is a terrible, terrible trick because if you join a community group and you stick around one for a while and you see what real Christians look like in life and you begin to see how they love each other and how they love you, we're convinced that you'll see how Jesus loves you and you'll begin to love Jesus. And we want Jesus for you because he's wonderful. But that's what it's supposed to be like. It's supposed to be this beautiful thing that draws you in, that we're to love one another. There's supposed to be grace and sacrifice and generosity flowing out all across the board all the time where everybody shows up thinking, I'm here for your good.
And when you do that, you're free and there's delight and there's joy and there's love and it makes everything better. I've said this all the time and I'm convinced of it. If you want to be miserable, think everything's about you. Show up right now and ask, how much do I like this? How much do I appreciate this? How much do I wish things were like that?
And you'll just be miserable. If you show up thinking, I'm here to serve, guess what? You'll have a lot of opportunity for it and you'll be free and there'll be a lot of joy. We're supposed to be marked by this. John was marked by this. The night before Jesus, the night Jesus was betrayed, the night before he dies, he gets his disciples together and he says, the world's going to know that you belong to me by the way you love one another.
And he says, no man has a greater love than this, than that he lay down his life for his friends. And the next day, the disciple John, at a very young age, stands at the foot of the cross, watching his friend die. Not understanding fully why this had to happen, not understanding fully what was going on, but knowing that a man that had magnificent power and strengths, that he understood to be God in the flesh, was willingly laying down his life and dying and that he was intentionally doing this. John sees him rise from the grave. And John says, that's us forever. That's what we were born out of.
That's who we are. That's the blood that pumps through our veins is sacrifice and suffering and generosity for the good of others and the glory of Christ. That's what John calls us to. So he gives us this big picture and he says, we're either going to be in this posture, our heart's going to be bent towards wanting from others, taking from others, towards exalting self, or our heart's going to be bent towards sacrifice and selflessness. So he gives us a test.
But verse 17, if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? This just got real tangible. Takes this big picture that we ought to be selfless, that we ought to love one another, that we ought to be laying down our lives for others. And then you say, okay, yeah, I'll lay down my life for others. And he says, okay, hand over your stuff. And it's like, I thought you said life, not stuff.
It makes it real tangible, real fast. He says, we ought to look like Christ. And you're like, yes, we ought to look like Christ. Hallelujah. Hand me your wallet. What?
For, for, no. What? This is a trick. He says, no, this is an indication of where your heart is. Do you have stuff and see someone who needs that stuff? Do you keep that stuff?
That's the thing about stuff. It's the thing about money. It's the thing about tangible items. If you have it, I don't have it. If you eat the last cookie, I don't eat the last cookie. Because you ate it.
I wanted that cookie. That's how that works. If I, if you need $200 and I have $200 and I give you $200, that $200 does not pay my electrical bill. Or let me go to that concert I've been saving up for. Let me go eat at Ruth's Chris. Or Cracker Barrel eight times.
Or Taco Bell 150 times. I think I covered all of, all of us here now. Made it really, made you really feel it. That's the reality of if we have the things and we give away the things, we sacrifice. We don't have it anymore. We, we suffer because it was taken out of us.
Have you noticed that? That's one of the things they teach you in sales is a hand of the person, the item that you're selling because when they touch it, it becomes theirs. I sold swimming pools. If by the end of the night I had you hugging the item I had handed you, I was selling you a swimming pool. If I handed you stuff and you just put it in your lap, oh buddy, there was a pool in your backyard because it became yours. You ever seen somebody hurt some of your stuff and you felt it?
Invite kids over to your house. You'll see what I'm talking about. You'll watch them start doing something and you'll feel it in your body while they do a thing to a wall. It's like, and if they're your kids, you can respond appropriately. If they're not your kids, you have to look at their parents. Like, are you going to hit them?
But you can feel it. That's why he takes that here. He says, do we love people? Let me ask you a question. Do you give stuff away? Does all your money go to you?
You ever see somebody needing the thing and you just gave them the thing? Do you have a spot in your closet where your favorite coat used to be? Do you have fewer shoes because somebody else has more shoes? Do you not do a thing every month so that someone else can have something like electricity every month? He says, that's how you know if you love. If we can see that someone needs something and we have that something and we can talk ourselves out of giving them that something, he says something really scary.
He says, if you can close the door on your heart like that, I'm not sure Christ is inside there. So he says, let's paraphrase. Yet closes his heart against him. How does God's love abide in him? This idea that the love of God is flowing out from your heart and if you close the doors, it bursts the doors back open. But if you can close the doors and they stay closed, he just says, the love of God's like the Kool-Aid man.
It's coming through. And so if you can just turn that off and keep it off, I don't know if you know Jesus. I don't know if you've been overwhelmed by the love that he has for you because that's what overwhelms us. It's what pours through us. This love that doesn't end. This love that captures us.
This love that saves us. This love that redeems us. This love that flows. And so he says, when you see someone needs, you just think, this is my moment. This is the type of person I am because this is what Christ came to do for me and I get to do it for you. That's what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount.
He says, we're supposed to give to the ungrateful. We're supposed to give to our enemies. This idea that we're just supposed to give. They don't deserve it. Yes. Absolutely.
Isn't that why you became a Christian? Didn't you run headlong to Christ because you didn't deserve it? Isn't that what overwhelmed your soul? He says this, little children, let us not love in word or in talk, but in deed and in truth. Don't just tell people you love them. Don't just show up and sing about it.
Let's do it. My wife and I got to go to stay in a little mountain cabin thing for just a couple of days. It was Airbnb. We had a good time because our children weren't there. I love my kids, but this was nice. And we got to stay there for a couple of days and we were riding down to go try to find some food in the evening.
We rode over and we saw, it was beautiful. It's like nestled in the mountains. It was glowing. It looked like something out of like Disney World magic. Like it seemed almost fake. The city just glowing and we were heading down towards it and it was like, this is, look at this.
And when we got closer, it was a paper mill. It was a lot closer than we thought. It glistened beautifully, but you got close and it was like smoke and pipes and all the things that were little twinkling lights were just so that I guess people wouldn't like run into them or whatever. And it smelled like a paper mill. We're supposed to be a city on a hill that gets more and more beautiful and sweet and delightful the closer you get. Not that seems neat on the outside and the further you get in, the faker it becomes.
That's why he says, let's not love and word and talk. Let's not seem good. Let's not have and have nothing. Let's actually have the good stuff. Let's love and deed and truth.
You actually don't have to talk about it at all. Jesus says, it's better if you don't. Let's just do this stuff. Let's just look like we belong to the king of the universe who gave up everything so that we could belong to him. Let's look like people who were purchased by blood so money doesn't mean anything.
If you've been purchased by the blood of God, green things with Uncle Sam on them just doesn't matter as much. If we can rest in Christ and delight in Christ then the world's goods are just the world's goods. We're going to spend a couple of weeks just looking at this and talking about this and we want this to be who we are and how we practice all the time but we're going to pick one thing to do together right now. So we said John says is there some brothers who have a need? That's a good thing for Christians to jump in on and you may actually know of that. You may have that in your group.
You may have that around you where you say this is a Christian brother that have a need. It's Christmas time. I'm going to help but the reality is that should happen in January and February and March. It should be a hey these people around me they have needs. I have this stuff. Let's go.
And just constantly joyously looking like Christians but we're coming together for gift series to practically apply this in one specific way. So we just said do we know some Christians around us that have a need and anything that fits those categories a brother with a need works. We heard Raz Bradley brought this to our attention because he's on the board at Bethel Christian Camp and he said this is a little weird he said because I'm on the board there and we just said no it's not because all the things we've ever done have been with people that we've known that we knew about that's how this works and this one specifically is who's around who's a brother that you see and need do you see the need so Bethel Christian Camp is a camp in Gaston it's named Bethel and it's a Christian camp they do a lot of during the summer they do a lot of stuff with underserved children most of the children that come are on some form of a scholarship they have a couple of weeks during the summer where all the kids are on scholarship they run a really tight budget so that they can be very generous their director retired program director retired and they're hiring a new one and this new program director this is him and his wife Jason and Christine Arrington they're taking a pay cut moving from Virginia they're moving out of a nicer home into a smaller home they're taking a bigger budget making it a smaller budget so that they can be a part of what's happening and to join and serve and we found out that they were things are tight but they're trying to renovate this home a little bit Bethel is and so we just said hey if it serves them well as they serve y'all well and serve these kids well we want to help renovate that home we want to help make that a little nicer these are their four children and they're moving down with them in the background you can kind of see the home where I think they're coming from and then this is the one they're moving into and so we're going to go in as they try to renovate some of that and we're going to just help because they need some of the world's goods and we have some of the world's goods and we're the type of people because we belong to Christ who give things up so that other people can have them because Jesus gave stuff up so that we can have him and that's just how we act so we're going to practice this specifically together now we asked Jarl who's kind of head of things over there to send us some information what he sent us was a four minute video that explains a little bit of the heart behind Bethel and introduces us to the Arringtons and tells us a little bit about what they're going to do so we're going to watch that it's four minutes then I'm going to come up and say a few more things and that's it that's our gift project this year so we'll watch this hello Mill City my name is Jarl Hill some of you might know me as the director at Bethel Christian Camp some of you might know me as Isaac's dad and some of you might know me as Scott and Kit's son but most important of all is that I'm a child of God I'm a follower of Jesus Christ you see I think that who we think we are who we really believe that we are is vitally important it forms everything that we do we all know the story of how our great great great grandparents Adam and Eve were created by God and given a beautiful kingdom in which to live but that they decided to snub God because they thought they knew better and that's
Adopted for Glory (1 John 2:28-3:10)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. So we care about knowing more of Christ. And one of the things, one of the language you use is spiritual formation, that we would grow to be more like Christ. We have, when you walk out that door over there, a bookcase.
It's called our Spiritual Formation Bookcase. All right, we just made this and it's got some resources in it. It's got a link to our virtual bookstore, which has some recommended reading on it. It's got some stuff for care and counseling. It's got some stuff for Roadmap, which is our kind of guide to home family discipleship. Just wanted to highlight one of the resources we have over there.
This is 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask and Answer About Christianity. This is on the side where there's family discipleship. If you have teenagers, it's a really good resource. All right, if you have teenagers, as parents, both of you can read this together. It's helpful. We have some display copies that are over there, but you also can go online and purchase this.
But just wanted to point that out over there for you all to check that out. We'll continually rotate books over there because we want to be people that know more of Christ. And one of the ways that we pursue Him is through word and prayer and then looking at godly authors who have written things that we think are really helpful for our souls. We're going to be in 1 John today, chapter 2, verse 28, all the way through chapter 3, verse 10. So you can go ahead and turn there in your Bibles.
It's on page 592 in your Blue Bibles. You can also follow along on the screen with us. So I want to jump to the end of this passage because I want it to frame up where we are going today. So starting off in verse 10 of chapter 3, it says, This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are. Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. So it's another week in 1 John, another heavy passage that is a lot to work through.
And he comes out swinging here, differentiating that there are two categorical different groups of people. There are the children of God and the children of the devil. Now, if that's true, if the Bible speaks truthfully and authoritatively, and we as a church, we believe that. If this is true, then understanding where you land in that is one of the most important things you could ever possibly want to understand. It is incredibly important for us to understand this passage and what he is getting at. Like much of 1 John, he is really showing some identifying markers of what it means to be a Christian, and specifically today, what it means to be a child of God.
It's one of the main reasons we exist as a church, is to understand this, to understand what it means to be a child of God and all the benefits that come with that. We believe that being a child of God, being in the family of God, is better than everything else. So we want to know what this looks like. We want to see the unbelievable love and grace and mercy and joy and attainable peace that comes with being a child of God, pitted against what he shows here is belonging to the devil, which is a road that is lined with a lot of self-inflicting pain on a collision course with destruction. So, like much of 1 John, the text is heavy.
And in the midst of this, I don't want us to miss, as we self-reflect, as we look at some of the observations that he's going to make about these two different groups of people, as we look at this, I don't want us to just see what it is saying as a set of observations without missing that in the middle of all of this is an invitation. And it is an invitation into being in the family of God. And that invitation is sweet and it is good and it really is better than everything else. We believe that wholeheartedly. So I don't want us to miss that as we walk through this.
So let me pray as we prepare for this and then we will walk through this together. Lord, we love you. We thank you for your word. Even when it is hard to absorb, it is true and it is good. Lord, I pray that we would put down defenses that we have against this. I pray that we would be present.
You would speak to us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we would respond. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right, so let's start off in verse 28.
It says, And now, dear children, continue in him so that when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. All right, so we've seen this over and over again in 1 John. He has this dear children, this dear friends kind of language. Remember, he is writing this letter to different churches. And John, being an apostle, has been a father to many of these Christians. A father in the faith.
And it's a term of affection. He says, dear children. He charges them, continue in him. This is continue in the faith. So that when he returns, he may stand confident and unashamed.
So the language there, and some of the language we're going to see today, is forward looking. This is when he returns. We take a step back from this. This is when Jesus comes. This is the second coming. When he comes to make all things new.
When he Judges heavens and the earth. When he Judges everything. And he establishes his kingdom. When all of this happens. When judgment day comes. He says, I'm writing you to stand firm in this.
So that you might stand firm in the confidence that Jesus provides. When I was in high school. No, I've mentioned this a few times. When I was in high school, I was a late bloomer. Did not hit my growth spurt until junior, senior year. So I was five foot tall coming into high school.
A hundred pounds. But, was feisty. Like, I didn't take anything off anybody. No matter how. You could outweigh me by a hundred pounds. And eight or nine inches.
I wasn't going to take anything off anyone. So that, I had a mighty mouse kind of heart. No way shows up today in any form or fashion. But, I had this position. But I also had a brain.
And I knew that if I ever got into something that was real. That being a hundred pounds less than somebody. Was not sufficient. For any type of defense. So I knew.
The people I rolled with. Was of great importance. And they were bigger. One of them. His dad owned a karate studio. So he knew karate.
Like, we'd spar with him. Throw punches at him. And he'd just deflect everything. That was huge. I knew that if we ever got into anything. I had guys that would back me up.
I could stand confident. That this is the picture that we're giving here. That when Christ is for us. We stand confident and unashamed. Confident. Because Jesus destroyed the power of death of the resurrection.
Unashamed. Because Jesus, when he went to the cross. He bore our sin and our shame. So on judgment day. We can point back to the work of Christ. And say, that's what my sin was paid for.
This eternal life that I'm entering into. Was conquered at the resurrection. I stand confident because Christ has my back. That's what he's saying. Stand confident. When that day comes.
This is where you stand. In the confidence that Christ offers. And then he continues in verse 29. He says, If you know that he is righteous. And that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. Since we're going to start to see as we work through this passage.
This differentiating. What the people of God look like. What the family of God looks like. Versus what sons and daughters of disobedience. Sons and daughters of the evil one look like. Now.
When you do a first reading of this. There's some tension. Within us. Because we bang the anthem of the Bible. That says that you are saved by grace through faith. It's not of your works.
If you've been in this church long enough. You've heard that over and over again. That we don't earn the favor of God through our good works. It is by faith. It's by grace. Like we will beat that drum.
Because the Bible beats that drum. And when you come upon a passage like this. It's like, wait a second. What? You've got to read it slowly. You've got to read it carefully.
Because what he is saying here. Is that everyone who does what is right. Has been born of him. Meaning. That faith. Proceeds action.
That being born of him. Proceeds. Doing. What is right. We can't miss. That order.
But that's what distinguishes being a child of God. You were born into the family of. God. Through faith in Jesus. And then what follows. Is right.
Action. Now. He's going to keep doing this. All right. We're shifting in chapter three now. He's going to keep doing this.
But he. For one verse. He needs to just pause and celebrate this good news. We saw this a little bit in chapter two. Chet spent a whole week on this. Where he's just.
Celebrating. The gospel. He does it right here in. Verse one of chapter three. He says. See what great love the father has.
Lavished on us. That we should be called. Children of God. God. And that is what we are. He's got exclamation points there for a reason.
I mean. He is. He can't. He can't help himself. This. This is what it means to be a child of God.
Now. This is what we're sitting in. Is the doctrine of adoption. Okay. The. The.
The. The first John teaches that the gospel of John teaches that we see in Ephesians to this idea that we are born into. Sin. That we are once sons and daughters of disobedience. Sort of Ephesians to the language of Ephesians to. But what happens is God and his rich mercy and his grace.
He rescues us and brings us into the family of God. By his love. By his grace. By his mercy. That we can choose to rebel against him. We can choose what is not good for us in this world.
But by his love he rescues us and brings us into the family of God. Scott Hill has been teaching in Sunday school. The book Gentle and Lowly. He's almost done with it. So many good quotes come from that book.
It's a brilliant work. That helps us understand the character of Jesus. I love what Dana Ortlund says. He says. That God is rich in mercy. Means that your regions of deepest shame and regret are not hotels.
Through which divine mercy passes. But homes in which divine mercy abides. You catch that? Like the areas of your life that you have so much regret over. The areas of our sinful nature. That grieve us the most.
Understanding the mercy of God. Is that it's not a hotel stay. And it has come in for a night or two or three. That it is a home that he abides in. He sets up shop in. And his mercy goes nowhere.
It is with us. He goes on to say. It means that the things about you that make you cringe the most. Make him hug the hardest. How good is that? The things that we don't want to look at.
The things that we are ashamed of. The things that make us cringe the most. Make God hug the hardest. He comes in and just hugs us. And says. I see it all.
And I still redeemed you. And I'm with you. And I'm for you. And he goes on to say. It means our haunting shame is not a problem for him. But the very thing he loves most to work with.
It means our sins do not cause his love to take a hit. Our sins cause his love to surge for all the more. All the sin. All the shame. All the brokenness. All the hurt.
His love surges forward all the more. And John just has to stop and celebrate that. That we are as children of God. Who he loves us because he loves us. Because he loves us. Because of his rich love and mercy.
Don't miss that. And then he continues with this difficult teaching. Picking up in the rest of verse 1. He says. The reason the world does not know us. Is that it did not know him.
Dear friends. Now we are the children of God. And what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears. We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is.
All have this hope in him. Purify themselves. Just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law. In fact sin is lawlessness. And this is where I get into the nitty gritty.
Of what it means to be the children of God. And what he is going on to say. Is children of the devil. Two groups. Two distinguishing markers. And two end results.
That is the picture he is drawing. He is forward looking in this. When he says. We shall be like him. That we shall see him as he is. That is forward looking.
That is new heavens. New earth. That is the future resurrection. That we will be like him. We don't have categories of thought. What this is like.
But one day when all things are made new. We have a body that has no more sin. No more hurt. No more pain. That is a distant memory. And the picture there is purity.
Pure. Perfected. In. Cells. He says. That is what awaits us.
In the meantime. As we are preparing. For the glory that awaits us. He says. We purify ourselves. That we.
This is the language of repentance. That we are. Believing the gospel. We are preparing for that. That awaits us. Last weekend.
My wife and I got some really. Really good news. My brother-in-law called. And he said. Listen. Our family.
We get points to Disney World every year. They are Disney resorts. We had a plan. A vacation scheduled. December 12th. The 19th.
None of us can go. You want it? And I said. Absolutely. Yes. We have been saving for three years.
To go to Disney World. So we just. We have a trip. That was planned two years out. And we just. We moved it up.
So. Something you need to know. Actually. A couple of things you need to know. First. This is a surprise to my children.
Okay. So don't go run and tell them. That. Are you excited about Disney World? Because my wife. Will murder you.
Okay. The reason why. She will murder you. Is the second thing you need to know. My wife is a Disney. Believer.
She. Believes. In the magic. Of Disney. She grew up going there. Multiple times.
She's seen all the movies. Like. She. Believes. In the magic. She's all in on Disney.
And. I. Am not. I. I love. There's certain Pixar movies.
That are. I think are top notch. Up. It's like one of my. It's my top ten. Of all.
Movies. I got. I. There's certain things I love about Disney. The Marvel movies. They did a good job with that.
But. I really don't like the company. I just personally don't like the company. They bought ESPN. And they ruined ESPN. And I've always been upset about that.
Like. They just do things. Like. I just. I'm not. I'm not a fan of the company.
I don't believe in the magic. So. Right now. We're getting ready for Disney World. Last night. My wife brings a bag.
And she's like. Look. And she's got t-shirts made. Right. She's got t-shirts. Like.
It's. You know. I'm wearing t-shirts. The kids are wearing t-shirts. We're all wearing t-shirts. We're.
We're watching Disney movies. We are gearing up for the magic of Disney World. We're in this. Period. Like. I came home.
Last weekend. And. She's on a FaceTime call with her sister and her mom. And they. They. They know that I've got problems with Disney.
And they had a statement prepared. They were like. You will not ruin this for your children. You will. Believe in the magic. Like.
This will be your Disney healing experience. Because. I just like. Okay. Like. Listen.
I can put on. I'm not going to. I'm not going to ruin this for my kids. Like. I'm not going to go. And say.
Oh. You see. Winnie the Pooh. You see. I was wearing red. Commie.
Like. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not doing that. Like. I'm going to do what all dads do at Disney World.
And I'm just going to. You know. Put on a smile. And work through it all. And. You know.
Complain about the price of parking and food. Like. I'll do what every dad does. Like. I just chill out. Like.
But. There's a different. There's a difference in approach there. She's all in. She's all in. I'm like.
Yeah. This will be good. Good memories. Two of my children will not remember this. In the future. But.
It'll be good. Memories. Like. I'm. I'm. I'm for.
This. But. I'm not all in. There's a difference there. Listen. As Christians.
We are in. The period. Of preparation. Like. We are preparing. For an endless.
Amount of joy. We're. Preparing for. An eternity. With God. That is beautiful.
That is good. That is joyous. We believe them. But if you don't believe that. You're like. Eh.
You're not bought in. When he tells. When he says. Purify themselves. You're like. No.
I don't. No. Sin. Repent. No. You can even say.
That you're a Christian. But you just kind of go through the motions. Like. I'm going to do a dizzy world. It's like. Yeah.
Put on a face. Look nice on Sunday. In a group. But I actually. Like. Believe this.
Wholeheartedly. In a way that. If that's what awaits me. I'm in. And what. And I.
And I. I get a taste of that now. Through. Leading into the gospel. And believing that. Through repentance.
I get a piece of that now. I'm in. There's a difference. In approach. Between the children of God. And the children.
Of disobedience. That's hugely important. For us to understand. As we read these next few verses. He says in verse. Five.
But you know. That he appeared. So that. He might take away. Our sins. And in him.
Is no sin. No one who lives in him. Keeps on sinning. No one. Who continues to sin. Has either seen him.
Or known him. Catch that first part. He says. If you are a child of God. You. You know.
That he appears. They might take away. Your sins. Like you. Know this. Like you.
Believe this. Wholeheartedly. What that means is. Is that you. Understand that. And you have faith.
Like you. You understand. The cost. That it took. Like that. The literal picture there.
Is you understood the cost. Of what it means to follow Jesus. It cost the blood of God. It cost our murdered savior. On a cross. And if you get that.
If you believe that. If you understand. That cost. You will. Act. Accordingly.
Like that. That's. If you. Gave me. If one of you. Gave me.
An Aston Martin. Vanquish S. Which. Christmas list. You guys. If one of you.
Gave that to me. I understand. The cost. That's one of the most beautiful. Vehicles. That has been made.
In the last 20 years. Like I. Get that. Right. We bring that home. We have one parking spot.
In our garage. That my wife can drive. The swagger wagon into. I'm like. Listen. That's got to go.
The Aston Martin. Is on the inside now. Like when I go. To Walmart. I'm parking. In the back of the parking lot.
Not near anybody. You know what. I'm not going to Walmart. At all in that. Like I. Understand.
The cost. Of that. Gift. I act. Accordingly. When you've been.
Gifted. Jesus. In faith in him. By his. You get. You understand.
The cost. And it changes. The way you approach life. You take sin. Seriously. So he says.
Okay. But he says. No one who lives in him. Keeps on sinning. No one. Continues to sin.
And we touched on this a little bit. In week one. Thank you. Go in a weird direction. At that. If you want to just.
Post up in that. And take it. Out of context. Some people will say like that. Okay. Well that just means that one day you arrive.
At a state of sinlessness. At a state of Christian perfection. And it's just like. No. First off. The rest of the Bible.
Second off. No. Look at it. Read it. It says. Keeps on sinning.
Continues to sin. It's talking about a hard approach. That continues to go after this. I mean goodness. It's not like. John forgot the first two chapters.
In 1a. He says. If we say. We have no sin. We deceive ourselves. In 1.
In 1a. He says. If we say we have not sinned. We make him a liar. In 2a. He says.
I'm writing you these things. That you may not sin. But if anyone does sin. We have an advocate. With the father. Like he.
He understands. That we're broken. That we're sinful. But there's a difference. In your approach. In your trajectory.
In life. It is one that understands. The cost of sin. And does not continue. As. As.
As. As Paul says in Romans 6. 1. Should we continue in sin. That grace may abound. By no means.
Absolutely not. We. We get this. We understand the cost. And because of that. The approach of life.
The trajectory of life. Is one that repents of sin. Does not continue. And does not keep on. Sinning. So.
Goes to this. Then it gets into. Verse 7. Dear children. Not let anyone. Lead you astray.
Which we've talked about. In 1st John. That there are. Must have been people. In the. Just from the context.
You can look at. There are people. In the churches. At these times. That are stirring up. False teaching.
But it looks like here. As well. They're stirring up. Really wrong. Practice. There's some type of.
Stirring up. There's some kind of. Some lawlessness. Some sinfulness. That's just. Making its way.
Through the church. And he is saying. Don't let anyone. Lead you. Astray. The one who does.
What is right. Is righteous. Just as he is righteous. One who is not. The one who does. What is sinful.
Is of the devil. Because the devil. Has been sinning. From the beginning. The reason. The son of God.
Appeal. Was destroyed. The devil's work. No one who is born of God. Will continue to sin. Because.
God's seed. Remains in them. They cannot go on. Sinning. Because. They have been born.
Of God. He. He understands. What's happening. In these churches. And he just addresses it.
In some very black. And white. Length. He says. If you have been born of God. Okay.
That is. New birth. In Christ. That is. The seed of faith. The seed language.
The seed of faith. The Holy Spirit. Seals you. When. That. Happens.
Belief. Proceeds. Change. And the change. That comes out of that. Is one.
That takes. Sin. Seriously. It's the recognition. That. That if you're.
Dealing. And sin. You're dealing. And. I mean. The language.
Destroy the devil's work. Because if you get that. If you came. That's what. Jesus came to do. Is destroy the work.
Of the enemy. Why would we engage. In the things. Of the enemy. Why would we. Go back to that.
When he. Regenerates you. You actually. Change. Change. There's this deep.
Recognition. That has to happen. Here. The one. Who does. What is wrong.
Is of the devil. And it's this. And it's not. It's not. It's not. It's simple.
Just sins. And makes mistakes. But it's a. Pattern of. Not. Repenting of sin.
But one. That goes hard. After the things. Of this world. Is when you are. Sinning.
You're engaging. In this work. You're engaging. In the work. Of. The enemy.
He's been doing this. Since the beginning. In the garden. And if you do this. You're going back to. Or you're joining in.
With. His team. Now. That's difficult to receive. On multiple levels. First off.
It. It's. It seems intense. That you would ever. That anyone would ever be called. A child of Satan.
Like that just. I'm just going to be honest. Like that. That's a hard thing. To even read. That's a hard thing.
To receive. You probably have. Super negative connotations. Of self-righteous people. In the past. Who've thrown out.
Child of the devil. And child of Satan. That's just hard. To read. And absorb. And it's also hard.
To absorb this. Because we have. Habitual sin. We have habits. Of sin. In our life.
We all. Are messy. Sinners. In need of grace. We have habitual sin. And when you.
Read something. As blunt. As this. I mean. It sends you. To this Christian.
Existential crisis. That's like. Do I even believe this? Like. Am I even a child of God? Do I.
Do I. Get this? It's hard to receive. But. We need to receive. And understand.
What he is saying. And we need to see. The warning in it. When it. This. There should.
Be. Self-reflection. As we. Approach this. That if our lifestyle. He used language earlier.
Of lawlessness. And that's really. A. A spirit. Of lawlessness. That just.
Lack of restraint. From. The work of Christ. In your life. That there's this. Lawlessness.
There's this. Pattern of. Pursuing sin. Like. We. You need to.
Evaluate. Whether you believe. The gospel. Or not. And there's all kinds of examples. We've seen in first John.
We're going to continue to see in first John. For the one who. Claims to follow Christ. But is. Cold hearted. Towards.
Others. For the one who claims. To follow Christ. But there are. Hidden. Patterns.
Of. Sin. That we're not bringing. To the light. We saw that in first John one. For those.
Who claim to follow Christ. But look at teachings in the Bible. And say nope. I don't agree with that. Nope. Nope.
Nope. For those who follow Christ. As we're going to see. And we see in verse 10. And we're going to see. Throughout the rest of first John.
Have a lifestyle. Of not loving their brothers and sisters. Which there's all kinds of stuff. Bound up in that. There are those. That say.
Yeah. I'm a. I'm a. I'm a Christian. But I'm.
I don't like the church. I love Jesus. But not the church. And it's like. Yeah. I don't think you love Jesus.
Because if you understood. The gift of the church. How much he cares about the church. You wouldn't speak about the church. Like that. That's.
For those who are cold hearted. Towards Christians. That's those. Very practically. We're going to see. In the very next.
Passage. That close their wallets. Towards Christians. In need. If you. Have.
This. Lifestyle. Of pursuing sin. Of closing your heart. To those in need. You really should assess.
Where you are. Who you belong to. And the trajectory of your life. And where it's going. That reality. Should weigh upon us.
First John is very. Blunt here. If you. Have this. Pattern. Then you.
May very well be a child. Of the devil. You don't belong to him. And that. Listen. Difficult.
Observations. To absorb. Difficult. Teachings. To absorb. At times.
It's like. The sinful part of me. Is like. I'd rather just not. Touch certain passages. And go elsewhere.
There's a reason why we preach. Through books of the Bible. So we don't avoid the hard stuff. But don't miss. The. In the.
Difficulty. Of those observations. Is an invitation. Like it's not. Not just saying those things. And I got.
Bye. Like no. He is. Extending. An invitation. That invitation.
Is faith in Jesus. And entering into the family. Of God. Like God is. If you are here this morning. It's not by accident.
That God loves you. Deeply. He loves you so much. That he sent. Jesus. His son.
To be. Crucified. For you. So that you would experience. The endless joy of Christ. For eternity.
He loves you. Immensely. And wants you. Don't miss that. There's an invitation. Into.
The family. Of God. And it is good. Don't pass it up. Verse 10. We'll close it out.
He says. This is how we know. Who the children of God are. And who the children. Of the devil are. Anyone who does not do.
What is right. Is not God's child. Nor is anyone. Who does not love. Their brother. And sister.
Two groups. The children of God. Children of the devil. And the invitation is there. One of my professors. In seminary.
He had. They had three children. The old fashioned way. And they adopted. Six. Other kids.
They had nine kids. All together. So they had tons of time. On their hands. They. Those adoptions.
Were not. Sometimes you hear adoption stories. Like this. Those are group adoptions. Basically like four or five kids. At once.
These were all. Individual adoption stories. And. He told one story in particular. He. Someone connected him.
To a family. In Virginia. And. So he. Went to. Virginia.
There's. They're getting all the paperwork. Together. Together. And this. You know.
A lot of times. Generalizing. This is not. All situations. But a lot of these.
These situations. There's drugs involved. Or there's immense poverty. There's lots of reasons. That are in this. This is not one of them.
The dad was an FBI agent. This was a. Middle class family. They. There's no drugs. Problems involved.
They just didn't want their son. He's five years old. They didn't want him. I can't. Wrap my mind around it. They didn't want him.
So he. They do the paperwork. They get everything together. And he goes and visits. The child and the family. At his home.
And he sees. The boy. And he's. You know. He's five. But he didn't look five.
Which that's years of neglect. And not nourishment. They go up to his bedroom. He's still sleeping in a crib. At five years old. I mean just.
Immense neglect. And this family. Signs over. Writes their kids. And. They head on back to Kentucky.
And he said. The ride home. Was one of. It was. It was. Wow.
Because. They try to prepare you for. That when. When you're. A lot of these situations. Like.
Listen. These kids. Have attachments. Even bad parents. They're still parents. So they prepare you for.
Listen. Like. You know. This may take months. Years. There may be.
All kinds of things. You'd be ready for. That they might not just jump into. Your family. Like. It's just going to take.
Some time. This kid was not that. When that kid got in the car. He's like. Deuces. And just.
Left. Because he just started. Asking questions. He said. Hey. Alright.
So I'm a Stinson boy now. Right. His name is Stinson. Dr. Stinson. Yeah.
I'm a Stinson boy. Right. Okay. What are we like? What is Stinson boys like? He was like.
He's driving. He's like. What in the world? It's not his first adoption. He's like. Well.
We love baseball. He said. Baseball. I love baseball. I'm all. I'm all in on baseball.
I'm all in on baseball. I'm a Stinson boy now. And he did this. The ride back home. He's just investigating. What it means to be a Stinson boy.
And this kid. Is all in on that. Here's the deal. God. The father. The father.
Comes to us. In a neglected state. What we're born into. Isn't good. What we pursue outside of Christ. Isn't good.
He's. The enemy's not a good father. There's nothing good about that life. And he. He rescues us. And brings us into the family of God.
And we get to. Look at that. And say. Deuces. Come to the family of God. And say.
I want that. I'm in. I'm a Christian now. What does that mean? Tell me. What does it mean to be a Christian?
What. What. What is it? We. What do we do? We.
You got a book. A book about you. A book about. I'm in. I'm reading that. There.
We. Bear fruit. You talking about apples. Bananas. Spiritual fruit. Don't know what that is.
But I'm all in on that. Repenting of sin. Tell me what it is. We sing songs. We got our own albums. Let's do this.
Like we. Jump into. The family of God. And say. This. Is.
Is. Better. I want him. I don't want what I was. Saved from. I want the family that I was brought into.
God the father looks at us. And says. I. Want you. When you come into my. Family.
You will experience the endless. Joy. Of Christ. From the moment of rebirth. Into eternity. The invitation is there.
My hope is that we have the honesty. To reflect in our own hearts. And we accept the invitation. Matt's going to come up. And we're going to prepare for. The Lord's Supper.
And take communion together. This is a. A meal. For the family. Of God. And what that means for us.
As Christians. Is that we're real. We're real. Honest. About our brokenness. And our sin.
We don't shy away from that. We don't feel shame. Because that's been. Paid for at the cross. But we come to this meal.
As a meal of remembrance. That on the night. That Jesus was betrayed. He took bread. And he broke it. And he said.
This is my body. That was broken for you. That he took. The cup. That was the. Cup of the new covenant.
He said. This is my blood. That was shed for you. That as often as you eat. And drink this. You proclaim my death.
Until I return. So this is a meal of tension. We look back. To what Jesus has done. But we also look forward.
Until he returns. So take a moment.
Stand Firm (1 John 2:18-27)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Excited to be with y'all this morning. We are celebrating that we officially joined together two congregations two years ago. In that time, we have seen some really cool things. We've had a lot happen in two years.
We met for about 10 weeks, and then there was a pandemic, and so we stopped meeting. And so some of what we had planned to originally, you know, join together, get to know each other, share meals, become friends. We had to, in order to love each other, stay away from each other. We told our younger congregants who were still living their lives, we said, don't you dare get to know anybody from First Baptist Church of Casey? You disease-harboring sponge? We couldn't be around each other.
We couldn't share meals. We couldn't do anything. We had, though, the Lord kind of kept us together in that, and we walked through that together, and we have grown together in that. There's some handful of things that have happened over the two years that we've been together. We walked through the pandemic together. We went through construction together, and we joined our churches together all in the same year.
We got it out of the way. I mean, we bunched everything together that can be really frustrating in some ways. They're really difficult. We walked through together. We've, in the past two years, we have ten community groups. Nine of those were a part of multiplication.
So either they grew and then multiplied. So we have six new group leaders in the past two years. We saw nine people profess faith in Christ over the past two years. We, at one point, our basement flooded, and it wasn't just water damage. We went down there, and we realized this isn't just water. This is sewage.
So we contacted Casey, and we said, we don't think this is just from the rain. This isn't an act of God. This is an act of Casey. And they contacted us back and said, it actually isn't our fault. It's this company. And we thought, okay, well, they're kind of putting this off.
We're going to try to figure this out. We called that company, and the company said, we don't want to do an insurance claim. Just tell us what it costs, and we'll pay for it. We renovated our basement for zero dollars. Yeah. And isn't that a picture of the gospel?
It's like, there's some mess here. And then he, at zero cost to you, he paid the price and did it for us. The other thing that happened in this was, I remember being frustrated in the middle of the pandemic. I was like, you know, Lord, we prayed. We felt like we were supposed to join our churches together and walked right into a pandemic. And I was just kind of, I was, I was annoyed.
I found the pandemic inconvenient. I don't know if y'all did. And I didn't remember Miss Louise, as we were getting back together, she said she came in one, one day and said that, that the, their group had met and was just talking about how blessed they felt that we had merged when we did, because they didn't know how they'd walk through the pandemic without our congregations being brought together. And I was just like, Oh yeah, I could see that. I see how that would, would have been a very different thing if we'd have been separated. And we'd have been over at Glen Forest trying to figure that out and trying to be in a school and just seeing the Lord's hand, even in the timing that he brought us together.
Cause he, he wasn't caught off guard, but we have been blessed as we decided to come together and celebrate our anniversary today. We were originally planning on coming from a different place and just trying to find something and, and talking as we read through first John, we realized this actually kind of fits. And so we're just going to keep walking through first John. So go to first John chapter two. This in some ways, I think makes sense for where we are today. What we're trying to, the moment that we're trying to celebrate as well as what we've been studying.
So first John chapter two is on page five 92. If you grab one of these blue Bibles that should be tucked under a chair in front of you. Um, we'll also have it on the screen. And so I'm going to pray and then we'll read through this together this morning. God, we thank you for your grace. We thank you for your love towards us.
We thank you for the two years of work that you have done with us as a joined church. And then we pray that you'd bless the many, many more years that we get to serve you until you call us to our eternal home. We love you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen. We're in verse 18. He says, children, it is the last hour.
And as you have heard that antichrist is coming. So stop there for a second. We thought this text was appropriate for the day. Um, we'll get there as to how, but I just want to highlight, we're having a homecoming anniversary Sunday. We're eating a pig. We just saying when the rolls called up yonder, and now we're talking about antichrist.
If I get more Baptist, we're going to pop like this is about to be good. And those of you who it's your first Sunday, you're like, Oh no, before you bust out your end time, your pocket end time Bible chart with your picture of a dragon on it. That's not where he's going. I don't know what the word antichrist brings to mind. He's going to kind of mention maybe what you think when you hear the word, but he's pushing this in a different direction and he's discussing something different. What he's actually going to call, uh, the church to in this instant is to focus on the reality of the gospel, the hope of the gospel and to stand firm in the gospel because it's the last hour.
That's what he's going to get after. But we've got to take a second to just talk about antichrist and what that means. So he says, you heard that antichrist is coming. Now, most of the time, if you're familiar with the term, you think when you hear the term antichrist, you think of some, uh, future figure that is, uh, at the end of the age, some sort of powerful future figure. Um, and I don't know where you've drawn your theology from on that. Maybe it's from passages in the scripture.
Maybe it's from the movie, the omen. I don't know. Maybe it's from the left behind books, but in the scriptures, the only person who ever uses the term antichrist is John and he only uses it in first John and second John. So most of the time when people think of the antichrist, to think of the book of Revelation, it's never mentioned in the book of Revelation. Um, so it gets connected to some ideas from, from, uh, Daniel chapters nine through 11. It gets connected to some of the things that Jesus says when he's talking about things that are to come in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, uh, this, this abomination of desolation, these false prophets that are going to come, it gets connected to some of the things that Pete, that Paul says in first and second Thessalonians, where he talks about the man of lawlessness and it gets connected to the book of Revelation where it talks about the beast, but this idea of some sort of a future figure.
And he says, you've heard that this is coming, but then he says something really interesting. He says, you've heard that antichrist is coming. So now many antichrists have come. Now that messes with some of your working theology of the antichrist. That's not on your pocket chart that there's a bunch of them, but he says, so now many antichrists have come. And this, this term antichrist really just means against Christ, opposed to Christ.
The same way we use, you know, an anti-discrimination lawsuit. It's against discrimination. That's what the, the, the phrase means. So he's just saying, you've heard that this opposition to Christ is coming. And I'm saying it's already come. That's what he's getting after.
I'm saying this has already begun. Yes, there may be some sort of big future figure, but I'm saying that this is already at work. This has already come. And that's what he's going to say in first John chapter four, verse three, we'll get to it later as we continue to study through this, but I thought it was helpful to show here. It says, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming.
And even now is already in the world. So there's this idea of some sort of spiritual opposition to Christ that ultimately may be personified at the end in some sort of a bigger figure, but right now is just at work in the world. And so this means that all opposition to Christ, and he's later going to say all those who don't believe in Christ, those who deny Christ are functioning in an antichrist role. Now, this doesn't mean they're enemies. It just means that in, when, when we're against Christ, we're joining this team. When someone denies Christ, they're joining this team.
Similar to, there's a situation where Jesus and he's talking about going to the cross to one of his disciples, Peter says, far, far be that from you. Like, don't let that, that's not going to be true. That's not going to happen to you. He's giving him a little pep talk. And Jesus looks at him and says, get behind me, Satan. Feels a bit heavy handed.
But the point is that Peter, by a joining in, don't go to the cross, has joined the other team. And so that's some of what he's saying here is that there's a spirit at work that opposes Christ. And there are those who join that team. That's what he's getting at. So don't conflate this, make this some sort of a big, super in time thing, because that's not what he's getting at at all.
He's saying, and he says this, he says, we are in the last hour. It is the last hour. He says that twice. And as many antichrists have come, therefore we know it is the last hour. And that's actually what I think is helpful for us to wrap our minds around today. When John wrote this, we had already entered the period of time where Jesus can return.
We've already entered into the period of time where there is opposition against Christ specifically, not just God the creator, but against Christ and his redemptive work in the world. And therefore they ought to hold fast to Christ, hold fast to the gospel and be active in proclaiming the gospel. And that's where we find ourselves today. That actually is why the First Baptist Church of Casey got started is because we're in the last hour and the gospel needs to move forward and we need to hold onto this hope. And it's why Mill City Church got started is because we're in the last hour. It was a hundred years later, but we're in the last hour and we need to hold firm to the gospel.
It's why we joined together. We thought it was the best thing for us to do as people who are holding onto the gospel and trying to see people come to know Jesus because time is short and we need to hold onto what we have in common and move forward in proclaiming the gospel. That's what he's getting at. So he keeps going. He says, they, now he's referring to the Antichrist with an S, they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
It's a very John sentence. He does this all the time. It's fairly clear if you walk back through it, but it's just like, why do you say this in such a, there's just a lot here. So he says, they, the Antichrist went out from us, but they were not of us. Meaning that those who had been Christians and those who had been leaders, they had some that left and began to stand against Christ, began to preach another gospel, began to say it wasn't in Christ. There was hope somewhere else.
They began to oppose Christ. He says, they went out from us. If they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us. Meaning if they really belong to Jesus, he'd have kept them. And when they leave and say, I was a Christian, but I'm not anymore. And I actually don't believe that anymore.
And you shouldn't believe that either. He goes, all that is, is just showing that they never really knew him. One of the things we say here all the time is that Jesus is better than everything else. We believe that if you really know that, if you really taste that, if his Holy Spirit really claims you, then you don't, you're in an unpluckable hand, as Jesus says, that there's no getting out of that. There's no walking away from that. But those who say, I've walked away, I was a Christian, but I'm not anymore.
John just says, it actually just means you weren't a Christian. And it's a really simplistic way to see it, but that's, that's our theology on that. That if someone says, hey, I, you know, I was a Christian and I know all that, but I've deconstructed my faith. You're reading this on Instagram, by the way, just so you know, that's what it's saying. I've deconstructed my faith. Or they're doing a little YouTube video teaching you how you too can deconstruct your faith for only $5.99.
They'll give you lessons. That's a thing. It was going to be more expensive than that though. But, uh, this idea that someone who was a believer is now not a believer and they're, they've figured out how to break this all apart. And he just says, no, I just actually, that helps us because once they go out from us, it's just to make it plain that they never actually really belong to Jesus. And sometimes this is very hurtful because there's people, you know, there's people we've walked in life with.
That's what John's saying. They were, they were with us, but they left and they've said they don't believe in Jesus anymore. And it just means they never really did. That's clarifying. Doesn't make it not hurtful, but it is clarifying. He says this in verse 20, he says, but you have been anointed by the Holy one and you all have knowledge.
I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it and because no lie is of the truth. So he said, I'm not writing to you because I'm worried over you. I'm not writing to you because you might be about to fall apart. He said, I'm writing to you because you know the truth. There's no lie of the truth. And you've been anointed by the Holy one.
This idea of anointing, we read a verse about it where it says the oil runs down on the beard of Aaron. We read that a minute ago. And it's like sweet. Good. Because we do that all the time, right? You pour oil on your head in the morning and it's sweet and nice.
You ever go to, I go to my wife, sometimes I put oil on my beard and say, see how sweet and fragrant this is. The idea of this oil pouring down on the beard of Aaron is this idea of anointing, meaning that God had set him apart. They would pour an anointing oil. They pour this on David at one point. While he's still young, they anoint him as king. He's not king yet, but he's going to be.
It's this promise of what's going to happen. That he's anointed by God. There are times in the story of David where he's in a cave. He's running for his life, but he could lean into, I've been anointed, meaning God's going to keep his promise for me. And that's what he's pointing to here is he says that you actually have a better anointing because it was done by the Holy Spirit. Your anointing seals you and keeps you.
That this anointing isn't up to you, that it's up to him and it's held by him and it's kept by him. So he's writing to the church saying, hey, you've, you've been set apart. You've been anointed. You are kept by the Holy Spirit. So I'm not worried about you.
I'm saying you've really believed in the Holy Spirit has claimed you. You've been anointed. And he says, and you know that no lies of the truth. That's also straightforward. It's simple, but it's very helpful. One of the things we say periodically is we work, we do teaching team together where we work on studying this together as pastors and then we teach through it together.
And then one of the things we talk about is that if you've come up with a new bit of theology, go back to the Bible, you're probably wrong. If you come up with some new, no one else has ever seen this before in this passage. It's like, no, no, no, go back. You're reading it wrong because that's, that's not how this works. We, we're, we're, we're telling the same old story. We've got the same savior.
We've got the same news. And that's some of what he's saying is that you're starting to hear this new stuff, this different stuff. And it's not true. I asked my wife one time, she works at a bank. I said, do they teach you stuff about counterfeit money and like how to tell something's counterfeit or whatever? She said, no.
She said, it just, you just know it's never right. It doesn't feel right. It doesn't look right. It's you, you count money and you, you go, no, we don't have a lot of money, but you can hand my wife a stack of money and tell her what denomination it is. And she'll tell you how much money is in it. She can hold a stack of money and go, is this ones?
And she'll tell you how much is there. That's usually how we test it out of our house with ones. We don't have all about them Washington's baby. But she just said, you can tell, you can, you can feel and tell this isn't, this isn't right. And that's some of what he's saying is that you belong to the church. If you've placed your faith in Jesus, the Holy spirit has anointed you and you know that no lies of the truth.
So when someone comes along and says, well, that's not really how it is. And you don't really have to follow Jesus and you really can do this. And it's more like this. You start going, no, that doesn't feel right. There's something wrong about that. There's something that doesn't sound right about that.
And you get to walk that out in church family and we get to weigh those things out. But he's saying, I have, I have faith, not in you, but in the anointing of the Holy spirit that he'll keep you and you won't be led astray by lies. And then he goes specifically, here's the lie. He's going to go after it. Verse 22, who is the liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. That is the lie because Jesus is the Christ is the truth.
He's the way, the truth and the life. That's our hope for salvation is the work of Jesus. And so the eternal lie is that you can find hope or salvation or life anywhere, but Jesus. So he says, who's the liar? Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the antichrist.
He who denies the father and the son. Now, again, if your picture of the antichrist is only this future magnificently evil figure, you're missing out on the fact that that is already at work. And so you might be lulled to sleep currently and not taking seriously the reality of the hope we have is in Christ now and the enemy we face is right now. And anything that calls us to love something, to worship something, to follow something, to trust in something that isn't Jesus. That there's opposition already and that we ought to be alert and mindful. He says, this is the antichrist.
He who denies the father and the son. No one who denies the son has the father. Whoever confesses the son has the father also. Here's what this means. When people say all religions are the same, it all leads to the same place. Everybody worships the same God.
Christianity says, no. No. You worship Jesus and you know the father. You don't worship Jesus, you don't know the father. Now, we're told that this is very closed-minded. This is very narrow.
And it is. Jesus also said it was narrow. It's narrow in that the only way is Christ. But that way is open to all. All who will believe will be redeemed. All who will trust in Jesus will be redeemed.
That's the gospel story. That's the good news is that God saw us in our sin, saw us deserving of punishment, and did not give us what we deserve, but that he joined us, that he lived perfectly in our place, that he died. He was tempted as we are. And I heard Scott Hill say this the other day, and it's a good point, that he was actually tempted more than you've ever been tempted. Because at some point, you and I gave in. We don't know the full extent of temptation.
How many licks does it take to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop? I don't know. Three? I don't know. I bit it. That's us.
And Jesus stood fully against temptation and never sinned. If he'd have sinned, he'd have been in the same spot as us. He deserved punishment just like we did. He would be incapable of rescuing us. But he's fully God, fully man, and he never sins so that when he pays the penalty for sin, he's the only one who had credit in his account to do that.
So he swaps places with us, and our hope is in Christ and Christ alone. And if you don't have Christ, you don't have the Father. To deny Christ is to deny the Father because it's Christ who gets us to the Father. And this is good news because sometimes people have in their mind that the picture of God is he's grumpy, and he's angry, and he's disappointed in you. But the Scriptures tell us that Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
And so the way that Jesus interacts with sinners is the way that God chooses to interact with sinners, which is gracious and humble and loving and sacrificially forgiving on behalf of those who don't deserve it. That's good news. And anything else that tells you you're okay without Jesus is a lie. And it may sound nice, and it may sound caring, but if it ultimately leads to your destruction, it is not nice, and it is not caring. I say this every once in a while. I use this illustration every once in a while.
But it's mean for me to push you to the ground in most contexts. But if someone was swinging an axe at you, and I got your head out of the way, you would thank me. My toddler one time was running towards a fire pit. I was too far away. And some other mom just drop-kicked him. She just took him down.
Now, in most contexts, that would be really frowned upon. You just see a kid, and you're like, nah, and just take him down. Like, you just can't do that. But in this context, it's extremely gracious and kind and helpful. And the reality is, for us to proclaim anything other than Jesus as Savior is a lie that leads to destruction. And for us to sit on that truth is wicked.
But for us to hold to it is gracious and loving, and we can't do anything else. He says, no one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Now, I want to pause and give you some future Antichrist things that you can do. Because we've read all the Antichrist passages. There's one more in 2 John.
But that's it. It just kind of says the same thing. That's the only places in the Bible you'll find the term. So now, I know this happens to you all the time. Someone wants to talk to you about the Antichrist. Well, I'm here to help you out.
I'm going to give you some options. Usually, if someone's like, you know, whatever. I've had people ask one time, is this person, you think this person might be the Antichrist? Or whatever. It's like some big political figure. Or they say, what's your opinion on the Antichrist?
You know. Usually they're thinking some sort of Book of Revelation stuff. That they've taken this term and some stuff Paul said in Thessalonians and stuck in there. Usually what they're wrapping their head around. So, one option is for you to just be like, helpful. And say, well, let's talk and try to help them see where the terms come from and what they're doing.
And try to help them show the passages. And just in general have a normal conversation about what the scriptures say. That's one option. It's a good one. I've got two other ones, though. One is, you can be like, yeah, we've studied 1 John.
What questions about 1 John do you have? Because they probably aren't thinking about 1 John. And they'll say, what? No, Book of Revelation. You go, oh, the Antichrist is in the Book of Revelation. You just enjoy yourself a little bit.
But the third option is the most fun. Because John says that those who deny Christ are Antichrists. And that's not how we think about it. And so you probably shouldn't use that term a bunch. But it's theologically accurate.
So if someone says, I want to talk about the Antichrist, do this. Because I actually think I've met about half a dozen Antichrists even last week. They probably won't want to keep talking about it. If they do, I'm sorry. That's going to be a long conversation. Verse 24.
Verse 24. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. There is a gospel message that Jesus saves. And if you believe that and you hold firm to that and you stand firm in Christ, then you belong to Jesus. You belong to the Father.
And that's it. Some people say, isn't that too simple? Yeah, it's beautifully simple. It's graciously simple. It's welcomingly simple. There is no secret truth that you have to find out.
You've got to climb to the mountain and dig to the bottom of this. And anybody who comes and says, hey, I know you've heard this, but I found some secrets. No. No. It's a message that has been proclaimed for 2,000 years. It's not a secret.
It's not supposed to be a secret. It's not supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be gracious and welcoming that you can find redemption in Christ. That there is forgiveness in His name. And that's what we hold on to. There's not some other secret information you need to have.
That you are saved by Jesus. And forgiven by Jesus. And in Jesus you have everything. And then he says this, verse 25. He says, and this is the promise He made to us. Eternal life.
That's a beautiful promise to get from the Creator of the universe. That through Christ we're forgiven of sin. And therefore we have eternal life. One of the things that Paul says in Corinthians is he says, the sting of death is sin. Meaning, what makes death bad is if you die in your sin. Because then you're punished in your sin.
You're condemned in your sin. But death is not bad if we die forgiven in our sin. If we die in Christ, death is sad for those who remain. But glorious for us as we walk in forgiveness and life and joy and delight. So there's some reality to the idea behind Peter Pan.
You know, in Peter Pan, the enemy isn't in Captain Hook. It's age and time. Peter Pan's going to stay young forever. The only bad guys in it are old. And the thing the old guy is scared of is a crocodile clock. That's already eaten some of him and eventually will eat all of him.
That every time the crocodile comes around, it's a tick, tock, tick, tock. Time's ticking away. I've already gotten some of your strength. I'm going to eventually get all of it. There's some amount of us that resonates with us. I want to be Peter Pan.
I want to stay young forever. And the idea that my body would begin to give out. That I would begin to have issues. That I would begin to... You know, you start getting older and you can sleep wrong and wake up in pain. When I was little, you could like beat me with sticks and I'd wake up fine the next day.
Just regenerated overnight. Now, it's like you wake up and it's like, what's wrong with you? It's like, I don't know. My pillow is too mean? I don't know. But you slowly start to give out.
And there's this fear of this coming crocodile with a stomach. With a stomach. Yeah. It has a stomach. That's not the main part. It's got a clock in its stomach.
And it's ticking away. It's going to come get you. And he says, this is the promise we have from Christ. Eternal life. What else are you going to fear? What else are you going to dread?
What else is going to get you? So Jesus says, he says, don't fear those who can only kill the body. Kill my body. He says, fear him who can control your soul. We stand firm in the gospel. And in the gospel, we have unending courage.
Because we have unconquerable life. So we stand firm in this and we proclaim this. Because it's the only message we have. It's the only hope we have. And nothing can be taken from us. So he writes and says, you're in the middle of opposition right now.
And I'm telling you, the enemy's at work. And there are those who are trying to tear this apart. And there are those who are claiming to have been Christians and left. And they're trying to tell you something else. And he says, don't buy it for a second. You stand firm in the hope of the gospel.
Hold fast to it. He says, I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. I mean, don't let them. Don't let them pull you away. Don't let someone come along and tell you they know some sort of secret. Or there's something else other than Jesus.
27. But the anointing that you have received. It's the Holy Spirit at work in us. From him abides in you. And you have no need that anyone should teach you. Now, he's writing this letter to explain things to him.
To coach him up and to teach him. But what he means is that he ultimately trusts the Holy Spirit work in a believer to keep a believer. This is extremely encouraging. If you've ever thought, oh my goodness, I had that wrong for a while. I thought, how was I so confused? How did I wonder?
And it's like, no, the Holy Spirit brings us back. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and is no lie. Just as it taught you. Just as it has taught you. Abide in him. We stand firm in the hope of the gospel.
We have nowhere else to stand. We have no other hope. We have nothing else to run to. We have glorious good news in the work of Christ. And that's it. It's simple.
It's not about us. It's not about our works. It's not about our ability. It's not about our intelligence. And that's good news for us. It's real good news for me.
That God saves sinners who need help. Who can't keep it together. That's the hope of the gospel. It's in the work of Christ. And I want to read something to y'all. I find it encouraging.
This is the handwritten church record. From the First Baptist Church of Casey. From 1919 to 1925. There are handwritten records. From Mrs. W.J.
Casey. In here. She was the clerk when they first started. First Baptist Church of Casey. It began in 1912. As a Sunday school.
And as a mission church. It was constituted as a mission church in 1912. And then in 1919. It constituted as a church. The First Baptist Church of Casey. We have a pastor team here.
When we say. When we get up sometimes. We'll say. I'm one of the pastors here. They had a presbytery. Which is an elder team.
When they first started. So. Just bringing that back. You guys. But on the.
The first day. This was in 1919. And this is a typed up version. The handwritten version. Is back here later. But I'm going to use the typed up version.
Because it's easier to read. When they. When they constituted themselves. As a church in 1919. They had someone give the charge. Commission them.
To be a congregation. To move forward in the mission. And he says this. He said. First. This was the message that he shared.
He said. First the church should be evangelistic. Meaning the church should tell people about Jesus. Because that's the hope we have. Second. It should be educational.
So those who believe. Should be disciples. Should be trained. Should be broad. To know. The reality.
And the depths. And the truth. Of the scriptures. Third. It should be. Missionary.
Meaning. Not just evangelizing. Those who show up. But actively going. To those who aren't here. That's one of the reasons.
People asked us. When we first started the church. In 2013. In this area. It's like. Why would you plant a church.
Where there are already churches. Because if people want. Want to show up to a church. They'll show up. But there are a lot of people.
Who still don't believe the gospel. And we're supposed to go to them. We'll take all the churches. We can get. We'll take all the people. Commissioned.
And sent out as missionaries. As we can get. And we'll go. Actively. To try to see those. Who don't know Christ.
Come to know him. Some of your neighbors. Are not going to show up here. And if you brought them today. And I started in on Antichrist. I'm sorry.
I hope it worked out. But some of your neighbors. And co-workers. They're not going to show up here. If you invite them. To come to your house.
Just to share a meal. And to. We have people. Who've come to our community group. Before they would eat. And we'd be like.
All right. It's Bible time. And they'd be like. All right. I'm going home. And it's like.
Cool. We're glad. They just eat with us. Some of them aren't going to come. But guess what?
Jesus is already sent. You're already there. You live in that neighborhood. You work in that office. Pray. Plead.
Be a missionary. So he says that. Third. They'd be missionaries. Fourth. It should be systematic in giving.
We don't talk about that a whole lot. But he did first thing. And then he said. That fifth. We should pull together. We should be unified.
That was what was said on the first night. That this church was constituted. That's why we chose to join together. We believe the same things. We're fighting for the same stuff. We have one hope.
We have one king. We want to stand firm in the gospel. And be active in sharing that truth with others. Because it's the last hour. And there is no other hope. If you have not placed your faith in Jesus.
Oh we want you to. He is so good. He forgives sinners. He gives hope to us. All based off of his work. Not ours.
There is joy and delight with Christ. The band is going to come back up. But we're going to sing to Jesus. We're going to celebrate 2,000 years. Of his work. We're going to celebrate 100 years.
Of this church. We're going to celebrate 2 years. Of this church. All to the glory of Christ. For his redemptive work. On our behalf.
Let's pray. God we thank you that we have hope in the gospel. We thank you so much that it's in Jesus. And his work. And in his name. And not in us.
Not in our behavior. Not in our morality. Not in our ability to keep our joy level. Not in our ability to have a beautiful vision for our lives. But Lord that it's in Christ.
And it's eternal. We praise you.
Don't Love the World (1 John 2:15-17)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
With COVID, which if you're looking for fun things to do this fall, don't put that on your list. Not the most fun experience, but glad to be back up here. We're gonna be in 1 John chapter 2 verses 15 through 17. So COVID for me was, it was not fun, but my doctor said, hey listen, you should get what's called a monoclonal antibody treatment. You're eligible for this, you totally should do it. And I heard about this and I heard it was like the game changer that it just like kills COVID.
So I said, yes, I'm in because I feel terrible. So I went, but I knew that this was going to be a difficult experience for me because it's about a 30 to 45 minute IV drip treatment. And I don't do well with IVs. I have what's called a vasovagal response, which is the fancy medical word for you faint. So I, I can get a shot and it's fine, but you leave it in me and you're taking blood out and you're putting stuff in.
It's like, nope. And about a month and a half ago, I was like, I got, I got to get blood, uh, blood work done. And I was like, I went through the whole time. I did not, I didn't faint. And I was like, you know what? You're doing it, man.
I think you're getting over this. And then I walked into the treatment facility and I was like, no, no, this is, this is happening. Like I saw all the people. There's like 10 different people getting the treatment at once. And there's a recliner there right beside them for me. And I was like, no, no, I'm going down.
Like, this is not, this is not going to go well for me. And I told the nurses, I said, listen, I have this response. It's involuntary. I can't help it. And sometimes I have to tell nurses this because sometimes when I pass out, they just get mad. I was like, I told you that was going to happen.
Like I told you this was a possibility. It's a 50, 50 shot. I'm going to go. And they put it in me and about, I don't know how many minutes it took. I was gone. Just completely passed out.
And they were pros. They handled it like a champ. They took my mask off, let me breathe. All of a sudden, a couple minutes, I'm back to it. And then all of a sudden I'm breakout and it's cold, just awful sweat. And I'm just like, I'm just, I'm just kind of like this.
And then the nausea sets in. And, and I know that you came from a medical history. So I might as well go deeper. I can't, about 10 years ago, I had a stomach surgery to where I can't throw up. I literally cannot throw up. I can dry heat, but I can't throw up.
So the nausea sets in and like, I'm just like dry. I'm like, ah, like I'm just like, I'm dry even. And there are all these people who are like behind me, beside me, are handling their treatment like a pro, like an adult. I'm just like dying. And it's just for 30 to 45 minutes of just intense suffering. But I know, like I, the mindset I have when I go in, in the midst of all this, this humiliating experience for me, is like, this is temporary.
Like it's not, like I, I know what's going to happen. Like if I, if I can make it through the next hour and get through the end of the day, like tomorrow, I'm going to feel better. And it's going to be great. And guess what? I woke up the next day and it killed COVID. Like it was, it was an amazing, like it was just a complete turnaround.
But I had to have this mindset, like I needed to keep the bigger picture in play. I had to tell myself, this is really hard, but just get through it. Get to the other side and it's going to be better. All right. Sometimes you got to reframe your reality. You got to have a proper perspective and understand how things are so that you can make it through it.
And that is what we get to do in first John today. First John is going to give us a big picture for how to approach some of the more difficult teachings that he's giving us, that he's going to call us to some really difficult obedience as he's already done, but he's going to reframe it in a way that helps us understand why we do this, that helps us understand the purpose behind this. And the hope is that as we receive difficult teaching, we can take a step back, we can reframe our reality so that we can do this in a way that is helpful and good for us. So let me read 15 through 17, then we will jump in.
15. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. So let me pray and then we'll jump in.
Father, you are good. We are thankful that your steadfast love endures forever. Lord, you call us to difficult teachings and difficult obedience. God, I pray that you'd help us understand this in light of your greater purposes and your will for us in our lives. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Okay, so verse 15. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. So if you were here last week, we got to walk through some really encouraging verses. Like John feels this tension of, I am calling you to some difficult teaching, some difficult obedience. And we just, we actually originally had last week's text and this week's text together.
But we're just like, no, we, 1 John is a lot. So we need to just take a moment and just appreciate, like being encouraged, who we are in Christ. And he does that and then jumps right back into a really difficult statement that is heavy. Do not love the world or the things in the world. Now, you can take that as kind of a blanket statement and run with it in a lot of different directions. Like what does that mean, not love the world?
We don't love the literal world. Do not love the world like culture. I mean, you could fill that in with whatever boogeyman you want from the world. Don't, do not love socialists. Like you could just fill in the blank with whatever you want. Does that mean that whatever it is, whatever the world is, we just need to like remove ourselves from it?
Do we need to go and live like monks out in the wilderness and get away from the world? Like what is he calling us to? Now, when you study the Bible, you don't try to say, what does the text mean to me? All right? That's one of things, if you've been with us in community groups the last couple of months, we're walking through 1 John, we're trying to grow in studying the Bible. But the text actually has meaning.
There's interpretation that is meant to, that isn't just whatever we feel it is, that actually, if you study it closely, the Bible tells us what it means. And in this passage specifically, it doesn't just leave us hanging where we can fill world in with whatever we want to. It actually goes on to define what the world is in verse 16. So he says, for all that is in the world. And then he goes, hyphen, okay? This is what's going to define the world.
This is what he means when he is using world in 1 John. He says, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. Okay? So that is how John is using in 1 John world. Desires of the flesh, desires of the eye, pride of life. All right?
Does it mean that every time you see world elsewhere in the scriptures, that's exactly how it's being used, but it means for right here in its context, this is what he's getting at. And these worldly loves are in opposition to the love of the Father. They're in opposition to the love of God. They are not from the Father. They are from the world. So understanding what this is, is incredibly important for our faith.
When I was a kid, I learned that if you lit a candle, you didn't have to, if you wanted to extinguish the flame, you didn't just have to blow it out. You could just take the lid and you could cover it up and then it would snuff it out. Like that flames, that fire needs air. And if you don't have air, it's just going to go out. So I would take the top and I just kind of put it over the top and watch the flame kind of slowly flicker and dwindle.
And then I'd open it back up and flood it with air and then the flame would come back to life. I'd do that over and over again until finally, like it would finally just completely just be out. So we need the love of God and it is the air that actually breathes life into our faith. It is the air that breathes life into the flame of our faith. And when you remove it, you're just, you're taking that top and you're putting it right over the candle. You're putting it right over your faith.
You are taking out the love of God in the way that actually sustains our faith. It gives life to our faith. And when you choose to love the world and the things in the world, you are removing the love of God. You're removing the love of the Father. So if that is true, if we need this type of love to sustain us, we need to remove the love of the world that will extinguish our faith.
And we need to understand what he is getting at when he talks about the world. We need to understand these three different statements. I want to walk through these three different descriptions of what the world is, starting with the desires of the flesh. So desires of the flesh. The Greek word for desires there is the Greek word epithumium. So every now and then, just like to help us understand this, the New Testament is written in Greek.
The Old Testament was written down in Hebrew and Aramaic. What we have in English are amazing translations of those languages. Amazing translations. So if any of you get really excited about translations and like to argue over which one's the best, just stop. First off, almost nobody wants to hear that. And second, we're really blessed in the English language to have like 200 different translations and many of them are very, very good.
But the word for desires there is epithumium. Now, when that word is used in the New Testament in different areas, it takes on the word desires. It also takes on the word passions. And it also takes on the word lusts. So that's kind of the idea that it's capturing.
And what it's getting here is this strong desire. This strong desire, passion, lust for. That we have these strong desires in the flesh. Now, that can be fairly broad and have a broad range of meaning. That can mean like strong desires of the flesh, like desire for substances, like alcohol or for weed or for pills. Like there can be strong desire for that.
I can also range all the way to, which is one of the clear pictures that we get from this, which is lust of the flesh, which is sexual sin. One commentator puts it this way. He says that this should, he translates this, whatever the body hankers for. Whatever your body, whatever your flesh craves for. And a lot of time, the most immediate meaning, and it's one of the bigger impacts on not just our culture, but all cultures throughout the last 2,000 years, it is talking about sexual sin. That sexual sin is something that is bound up in the desires of the flesh.
And it is something that can extinguish the flame of faith within us. I was listening to Tim Keller, who is a pastor that we look up to. And I was reading this. He was retelling a story about a college pastor that he was talking with. And the college pastor told him, said, listen, I have students. They're in college and they're learning different things in academia.
And some of them come to me and they have this conversation that says, I'm really struggling right now. I don't know if I believe this anymore. I don't believe this aspect of the Bible anymore. And he would listen to them and some of their struggles with some of the harder things that are understood about our faith and light of this world. And then when they get done talking, he would look at them and just say, all right, so who are you sleeping with? And he's real blunt.
And he said, they just immediately, their face just like, man, God, how did you know? He said, because this is what happens. Because when you start to engage in this and then you start to question everything. I've seen this with people that I've walked with. We've seen this in the life of our church. That all of a sudden someone starts removing themselves from community.
They start removing themselves from the body of Christ. They're not coming to group. They're not coming on Sundays. And then a few months go by and you start to ask questions. And you realize that they have a new boyfriend, a new girlfriend. And they start to chase after this at the cost of the love of God and pursuing him.
And what happens when you chase after the world is that it begins to capture your heart. It begins to capture your allegiance. If you study the recent history of espionage, you can find there's a lot of different stories of spies who defect to the culture that they're spying on. And that's not just Russian spies, although there are quite a few of those that have defected to Americans, to our American ways. Because we have Star Spangled Banner and awesomeness and it just woos them. It's not just that though.
Like we've got, there are American spies that defect. British spies, Indian spies. And what happens is they get immersed in the culture that they're spying on. They get immersed in that culture. They live it. They eat it.
They breathe it. They sleep in it. And all of a sudden it captures their allegiance. It captures their love and they defect to that country. If you immerse yourself in the world, and specifically if you immerse yourself in sexual sin, it can capture your allegiance. And we don't believe that God leaves us.
If you've been around our preaching long enough, you know that God, when he saves us, he holds us firmly in the grasp of his hand. But the reality is, is that you just stop loving God. That changes your heart and your affection story. You don't want God anymore. That's the danger of the desires of the flesh. James 1 teaches this, gives a vivid picture of how this works.
It says, But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. The desire, when it's conceived, gives birth to sin. And sin, when it's fully grown, brings forth death. We chase after this, after being tempted and lured, and it's birthed in us. And then eventually it grows and matures until it destroys us. Now, I know that when we preach on this, I know the response can be is that Christians just exaggerate this a lot.
I love that I was reading this study this week from the NIH, the National Institute of Health. And they actually were doing a study on sex addiction and pornography addiction. One of the things they realized was, when I was reading the abstract, is that there are, when someone is looking at pornography, there is, the reward center of their brain is stimulated in a way that when they come back to it, it's not enough. That they need more explicit content, more pervasive images to continue this reward center being rewarded. That there's something that happens in our brain. We need to keep, we need more of this.
We need more of this. We need more of this. Now, that's the NIH. NIH. It's not a Christian organization. That's the government.
But that's the consensus amongst psychology, neuroscience. And the reality is, as Christians, I find those studies helpful. But we don't actually need that to understand this is what happens within us. We need brain scans to tell us of what's happening in our souls. It's never been just sex. It's never been just sex.
The more that you pursue it, the more that you want it, the more that it removes the joy for the Lord within you. It robs you of the love of the Father. Now, we do this not just with sexual sin, but the desires of the flesh. This happens with lots of different things. It can happen with substances. That's why you have one substance that you take, and then all of a sudden you need more, and you need more, and you need more.
Like, I felt that back in the day when I was not following Jesus. It was getting drunk, and then it was marijuana, and then it was more and the more, and then luckily God snatched me out of that and saved me. But there's this part of us that craves and craves and craves and wants more. We do this with gluttony. That's the desire of the flesh. We fill this empty void of just eating and eating and eating and being satisfied with food.
We do this. There are some people who have fleshly desires to want to hurt others, to be violent towards others, to say mean and cruel, hateful things towards others. The book of Galatians, chapter 5, gives a whole list of desires of the flesh, works of the flesh. It says in verse 19, Now the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. We have these desires of the flesh, and what's important for us as Christians is to identify and be honest with what those actually are.
To understand ourselves and the danger that those things impose upon us if left unchecked in pursuit. So, desires of the flesh, part of how he's defining the world. Then he moves to desires of the eyes. Now, I looked at desires of the eyes. Chet and I both looked at this this week. And it's not, it's not the clearest of the three to understand.
Like, it's not super clear. Alright, so same word for desire, lust, passion, right? Same word, but now it shifts from the flesh to the eyes. Now, it's possible that it could be further explaining that first concept, right? Desires of the flesh, but it's more of a visual thing. It's possible it could roll into the next one.
We'll get you a pride of life in a moment. It's possible it could be hitting on both of those. There's a few different commentators that looked at this, and I thought that there's an element of this that I found to be helpful in understanding it. They said that part of this is covetousness. It's this visual desires of the eyes. It's not just what you have in your flesh that you're tempted by.
It's seeing what you don't have in coveting it. So, I have three children. We actually got a pile of children in this church. And when you get them together, one of the things that's kind of funny to watch is, especially young children, they... You can visually see covetousness on their face. Like, it's just...
It's visual. Like, they see a toy that they don't have at a friend's house, and it's like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. My precious. Like, they cue in, and it's like, if you watch it, you're like, that kid's going to steal that toy. That's small enough to fit in their pocket. That...
We're getting a phone call in a few days. That will not be here by the end of the night. Like, they see it, and they want it. Like, there's this strong desire that says, I want this. Now, when you become an adult, you realize that's socially unacceptable to stare at people like that. But we...
So, you find more socially acceptable ways to covet. And it shows up in a lot of different ways. It shows up in the promotion that you don't get. Somebody at work gets that promotion. You're not just going to stare at them from across the cubicle, because that's weird. But you just...
You are stewing. You're angry, because they got something that you wanted. We covet when we look at the marriages that we don't have. We covet when we... There are men or women that we want and we don't have. We covet the friendships we don't have.
We covet the life that we don't have. The desires of the eyes look around and find the things we don't have. And ultimately, this is a picture of putting hope in stock in the things of this world. It's putting our hope in things or in people as opposed to God. As opposed to finding our hope and satisfaction in Him. So, that's desires of the eyes.
And then it moves to this third aspect, which is the pride of life. The pride of life. So, pride of life is an interesting phrase that he uses here. The meaning really comes to life when you look more into it. No pun intended. But you look at this word and how it's being used.
And it doesn't just mean our literal life. What it's conveying here a little bit is our lifestyle. The things that make up your life. So, don't love your life and the lifestyle that you live. And what's in that phrase. And what different translators and commentators are all catching the same thing.
This is the stuff in your life. So, John moves from coveting the things that you don't have. To putting pride in the things that you do have. The stuff that makes up your life. There is vanity bound up in loving the stuff that is in your life. One of my favorite short stories is a French short story called The Necklace.
And the gist of it is that there is this couple. And they're in lower middle class French society. And they so badly want to level up into the next kind of higher, more elite classes. And which is, I mean, this is the 19th century. So, this is very typical of that culture. But it just, they so badly want to advance.
And the husband gets invited to this work party. And at this party are going to be all the different elite people. All the different elite classes. And they know that this is their chance. They want to level up and move up. They can use this party as a way to brush arms to different people.
So, they can move into this part of society. So, the wife, who's really desperate to get out of this lower middle class life. She says, I need a dress. I need something that's beautiful. I need to stun people. So, he goes and he spends money that they really don't have.
And they get this dress for her. And then she's like, I'm just missing something. I need jewels. I need something that just makes me stand out. So, she has a friend who's kind of in those social elites. It's the only friend they have in those elite circles.
And she has this beautiful necklace. So, she goes to her and she asks to borrow it. And then she borrows it. And they go to the party and they kill. I mean, they just, she's beautiful. The talk of the party.
He's making connections. This is their moment. Their opportunity. And then they go home. When they get home, they realize the necklace is gone. They have lost this beautiful necklace.
And they have a choice to make. They can either go to the woman they borrowed it from and say, we're so sorry. And admit what happened. And if they do this, risk being really excommunicated from ever being a part of those, that elite circle of people again. Or they can sell and mortgage everything for the next ten years. Buy when it looks like it and replace it.
And they choose the latter. They go. They mortgage the next ten years. They're in deep, deep financial debt. They buy it. They replace this.
And their whole lives fall apart. Their marriage suffers. I mean, everything. It's so bad that when you fast forward ten years, that woman runs into the woman she borrowed the necklace from. And that woman looks at her and goes, oh, dear, like, life has been so hard on you these last ten years. Which is a total French thing to do, to be so blunt.
And then she goes, oh, well, let me tell you why that is. And she tells the whole story, the whole back story of why the last ten years have been so hard. And then she looks at her and says, oh, dear, those were costume jewels. Those weren't real. And that's how it ends. And when you hear the ending, immediately it clicks.
It just makes sense. The whole point is it's so vain to put so much hope in moving up. And so much hope in having money and riches and moving up in this world. And you hear that and it clicks. But the reality is that's us.
We do this. Like, we put hope in this world. We say, if I could just have this. If I could just, if we could just move to this part of town. If we could just move up and be here. Then we'll be okay.
And we've seen this parable play out in our own lives over and over and over again. We know this. And yet, it's something the American church has failed to address on a meaningful level. Like, I was reading a study that was published this week. And it said that the median giving for evangelical American Christians. Okay?
The median giving is 0.57%. Alright? That's half of 1% to the church. And then, the extra charitable giving was 0.1%. That's one-tenth of a percent. That's the median giving for us.
And as we're going to see, that points to putting a hope in this world and the pride of this life. We're going to see that in the next chapter in 1 John 3. That attaches this idea of a lack of generosity towards other Christians to putting pride and hope in this life. That we do this. And some of us are like, yeah, I get this. I know.
Like, I feel this. There are a lot of things that I want. That I'm chasing after. And it's hard to make the Numbers work and give. And there are others of us that are like, but I do give. I give 5%.
I give the 10%. I do the 10% plus. Like, I'm giving to this. I'm giving to that. I'm giving to this. What happens is, we can hear this.
We can hear this and exclude ourselves from it. We can say, no, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. Sorry. I'm doing what I'm called to do as a Christian. There's not much room for me to actually give to something else. We don't have room in the budget.
And the reality is, is that the reason why we don't have room is because we love our stuff. Our budget is filled with subscriptions and things that we love. And what I realized was, in preparing for this, is that if you've been with us the last few years, this isn't new. Like, we know this. Like, we, the studies on giving have only gotten worse over the last few years. And we also know, if you've been with us for a few years, that we have our gift series coming up.
If you haven't been with us for a gift series, our gift series, every year in December, we walk through generosity because we want to actively combat materialism in our lives. And we tackle a gift project every year, which is a ton of fun, that we can, we can serve and give towards different things that we've tackled over the last few years. And we know the gift series is coming up. And I, and I'm, I'm preparing for it. And I go through this kind of this thing every year where, as a pastor, I, I appreciate, I appreciate the gift series. Because it schedules this subject as a part of our discussion every year.
Because Jesus didn't flinch when he talked about money. He talked about it a lot. I mean, he understood that money is connected to the things that we worship and desire in this life. So, I, I appreciate that it's a part of what we talk about every year. I'm not a huge, it's hard for me to get in the zone to be ready for it because I know, I mean, very practically, I've, I've got to do some repenting and self-reflection as I prepared for the gift series every year. And it's like, oh, that's a lot to do.
Like, I've got to prepare how, look at all the ways in which I'm not growing in generosity. And also, as, I mean, just cards on the table, as a pastor, I hate to play into stereotypes. So, I hate to play into stereotypes that, like, the church just cares about your money, the pastors just want you to give. It's like, I, I'm not a huge fan of playing into stereotypes. So, selfishly, I'd just rather not talk about it at all. But then I repent every year around this time.
And then I get excited about it. You know what? Give is fun every year. And it's exciting. And then we get to do a gift project. We tackle it.
And we love it. And then January hits. And the credit card bills hit from Christmas. And, man, it's like we're right back in it. We're right back to where we were. We do this.
We go through this every year. And I ask myself this week, like, why do we do this? Why do we do this to ourselves? And it's very clear. It's because we love our stuff. Do not love this world or the things in this world.
We put pride and hope in things. We love our stuff. You know, I love, when I get to drive a full-size truck, it is awesome. Because it's like driving a tank. Especially because I drive a little matchbox car that runs on hopes and dreams and is good for the environment. Like, I love to drive a full-size truck.
Because I feel like I can just drive over any vehicle as opposed to being threatened by every vehicle. Like, I love it. It's a lot of fun. I love the Buy Now button on Amazon. It is great that you can just hit the button. And then, like, a day or less than a day.
Like, it just shows up on your doorstep. I love, on my Christmas list this year, I've got some nicer preaching shirts. So, just shirts that are alright for preaching. Especially in the summertime. I've been told that I wear the same shirts a lot. And it's because I don't have a lot of those kind of nicer preaching shirts.
But I'm excited about that. That I've got some nicely fitting shirts. Because there are people who preach up here that sometimes wear shirts that don't fit very nicely. So, I want to step our game up just a little bit and say, let's actually... I'm excited about that. We love expensive decor that we buy that makes our house look better.
Even though that's going to go out of style in like a year or two. And we'll do it again. We love Christmas. If you have kids, you love Christmas morning. It's a lot of fun seeing your kids get to open presents. You know what's crazy?
We're only few cultures in the world that replaces their toys every year. You know what the majority of the world does? They get a soccer ball and they keep it for seven years. Like, they get a few things and then they don't toss it. And we're lucky if that stuff makes it to the summer. And we do it all again.
Why do we do it? Because we love our stuff. We love all of it. Now, if you've been with us long enough, you know what the opt-out from getting conviction there is. It's like, listen, those things aren't inherently evil. None of that's inherently evil.
We know it's just about not making idols of it. Don't worship that stuff. And that's how I excuse myself from it, right? That's how we excuse ourselves from the conviction weighing over us, right? It's like, just don't make an idol of it. It's okay.
It's fine. But if... Here's the deal. If God started to poke and pry at your heart and saying, You know what? That money that you've been saving up for, that you want to upgrade your vehicle, you want to upgrade this, you want to... How about don't?
Drive that thing for a few more years and give to missions. Like, the moment that happens, we just plug our ears. Like, no, no, no. I don't want... I give here. We've worked on saving for this right now.
Like, I just... I know. Like, I should always be generous. I get it. But, like, I... No.
And we just plug our ears and we try to move forward. And don't let the conviction of the Holy Spirit actually lead us to not love the things of this world. Maybe you don't do that. But I... That's what I do. To get out of having to not love our stuff.
We love it. We love how it feels. We love how we're perceived in it. We love the status that it gives to us. And the scriptures in 1 John is teaching that that love of stuff is incompatible with the love of God. Because pride in this life is a cheap substitute for God.
That you will look to your things and your lifestyle for status, for security, for comfort, for hope. And it's like, it's not worth it. Those things are meant to be found in Christ. So he says, don't do it. Don't fall in love with the things of this world. Don't make...
Put your hope in the pride of this life. It says, desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes, pride of this life. The pride of life. Don't do it. Don't fall for it. Don't buy it.
Don't fall for the passion for pleasure and the pride in your possessions. Because if you do this, it ends up in hopelessness. So, it's a difficult thing to receive. I'm thankful that verse 17 exists. Because it gives us a remedy. He says in verse 17, And the world is passing away, along with its desires.
But whoever does the will of God, abides forever. And that is the perspective that we need. That is how we take a step back from loving this world. The desires of the flesh. The desires of our eyes. The pride of life.
17 Is the perspective that we need. To be eternally focused. In a way that we would see the things that we have and look past them. Like, I love that John is just so logical here. He says, don't you see? Those things are going to pass away.
Like, they don't last into eternity. And pass away. It's a very clean way of saying that those are going to be burned up in judgment. They won't last. And if you pursue those things wholeheartedly, you will follow that path too. Don't do it.
That's why I think a few months back I mentioned this. And every now and then I want to help us see that sometimes you just have got to play the logic out. Of what your sin is pursuing. And realize where that goes. That it doesn't end well. Like, I'll do this.
Like, if there's sexual temptation. Like, alright. If I give in here, then it leads to this. And if it leads to this, then I can wreck my family. My marriage. My wife.
And I ultimately know that if I chase after this, that it's going to grab my affections. And I'm not going to want Jesus anymore. And if I go after this headlong, it leads into destruction. And judgment. And I play that out for a thousand years to come. And I'm like, I'm not doing it.
I'm not doing it. I'm not taking that step forward. And we've got to do that. We've got to reframe your understanding to see past the things that you want in this present life. And look into eternity. And reframe your reality.
And say, is the click worth it? Is swiping right worth it? Is leveling up and putting all of your hope in moving up, is that worth it? Is it worth it in filling our days with gadgets and toys and trinkets and things that will not last? Is it worth it? It's not worth it.
One of my favorite moments in the New Testament is when Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane. And there's this moment where you just see his humanity. You just see he doesn't want to go to the cross. Because he understands what's waiting there. It's not just the immense suffering of being tortured, having his flesh ripped open, and suffocating slowly to death on the cross. It's not just the physical suffering that awaits him.
It is the disfellowship with God the Father when the full cup of his wrath is poured out on him. It's the spiritual, intense suffering that awaits him. He understands what's ahead of him. And what I love about what he does, he says, I'm going to obey the will of the Father. Because temporary suffering is worth it. Because he understands that he buys us and purchases us eternal satisfaction and joy in Christ.
And his temporary suffering is at the cost of the eternal joy of you and me and those who have trusted in Christ. Like Jesus gets it. He gets this eternal mindset that it's worth it. It's why Augustine says, hold fast to Christ. For he became temporal so that you might partake of eternity. He does this for us so that we can experience eternal joy in Christ.
And we have to get out of the next just few days or few weeks or few years mindset and see past that to where it's blurred out. And we see that as it resounds into eternity. You all ever seen the show, Let's Make a Deal? Right? Pretty easy show. Bring on a contestant.
Compete for some prizes. And really the main part of the show is they have this prize that they've won. And they say, alright, let's make a deal. You can take this prize right here. Or behind that curtain over there is another prize. You can't see it.
But you can take the risk and get it. Alright? Either keep the prize that you have or go behind what's the curtain over there. Now, if you played that game and they said, hey, you know what? You came with your best friend? They actually can stand at the curtain, peek behind it, and tell you if you should take it or not.
It would be a boring show. There would be a pilot episode and everyone would go, this show is dumb. Because the suspense of not knowing what's there is what keeps you there. But the reality is, is that we get that in Christ. Right? That we have this present world that's in front of us.
And Jesus stands at the curtain and he's looking behind and says, oh, you want this. You want what's waiting you. Just ditch that. Don't go after that. Go forth this. It's way better.
And what we do is, is that we look at what's right in front of us. We look at this life. Desires of the flesh. The desires of the eyes. The pride of life. When we say, I don't know.
I don't know what I've got. It's pretty good right now. And we reject that. And that shows that we don't actually trust Jesus when he says, what I offer is better than everything else. Do not love the world or the things in the world. The world is passing away along with its desires.
But whoever does the will of God abides forever. That's the hope. Saying no to the desires of the flesh. The desires of the eyes. The pride of this life. Is hard.
It's difficult. No doubt. Like it's hard. And sometimes it feels like suffering. Because you feel like you're denying what's actually good. What's actually isn't.
Joyable. But we have to take a step back and reframe our reality in light of eternity. Because sacrificing your budget so that you don't get the newest and the nicest all the time. Feeling the squeeze of that. Trusting God. That's hard.
That's choosing hardship over temporary ease. That's choosing to get the antibody treatment now so that you can be better later. We have to trust him in this. I mean he says that we are storing up riches in heaven. We don't know what that is. We know that if you're in Christ you get Jesus forever.
But there's some additional reward on top of that when you are obedient to him. Like we don't know. The scripture doesn't give us real clear handles. But what he's saying is that it's good. And that it's worth it. And it's not just that the eternal riches that are bound up in that.
It's the temporary of joy knowing that you're not a slave to the things in this earth now. That you're not a slave to trinkets, into toys, into promotions. That you're free. Free to be satisfied in him. Choosing not to give in to the desires of the flesh in your eyes. Whatever that is for you is hard.
The denial of self is hard. But Jesus says if you do it, you'll abide forever. You will abide forever. That 10,000 years from now you will still be joyfully worshipping the God of the universe. Like you will abide forever. That's worth it.
We just need the faith to be able to see that falling for what's right in front of us pales in comparison to what awaits us. Don't love this world. Love Christ.
Encouragement (1 John 2:12-14)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well, good morning. My name's Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. I preach about half the time on Sundays, and Spencer Carey, one of our other pastors, he preaches about half the time. We're working our way through 1 John, the letter of 1 John, so if you want to grab your Bibles and go to 1 John, we're in chapter 2. If you grab one of the Bibles under the seat in front of you, or if you're on the front row, on the row with you, it's on page 592 is where we'll be today.
I was talking with Spencer recently. One of the things that Spencer does is that he talks about movies, and he'll tell you things about movies and movies that he's watched. Most of the time, though, he doesn't call them movies. He calls them films, which is fine. That's fine. And he'd really like to have us all convinced that he only watches films and that they're deep and they have a lot of subtext to them, that most of the films he watches have subtitles, so not only subtext but also subtitles.
And they all end with sad endings, you know, because he's deep and he's like that. He does like those movies, to be fair. He does like that. I'm sorry. He does enjoy those films. But his favorite movie is Mean Girls.
It's definitely in the top five if it's not his favorite. So he can say what he wants to, but he likes Mean Girls. And if you haven't seen Mean Girls, it's like a teen comedy from 2004. But he was talking about it recently, and he said there's a scene in Mean Girls where the main character, Regina George, one of the main characters, and if you haven't seen the movie, it's in a high school. Regina George is a girl, and she's mean. You're all caught up.
She's been mean to everybody the whole movie, and they have this assembly where they're dealing with the fact that everybody's mean to each other. And at one point she stands up and she says, I think we just need to acknowledge that some of the people here, you know, are just victims. And the teacher looks at her and goes, that's a good point. Raise your hand if you've been personally victimized by Regina George. And everybody raises their hand because she was mean. Even the teachers, they're like, the teachers slowly raise their hands in this thing.
And Spencer said that he feels like that's how our church feels right now about John. We're not even through the second chapter, and if we said, who here feels personally victimized by the Apostle John? It's like, he's said some mean things so far. This has been a lot. There's been a lot that I've had to look at and consider. And that's true because what he's doing is he's writing to the church, the church at large.
He's writing to Christians, and he's saying, hey, there are a lot of people around saying they belong to Jesus, but they don't. And so he's adding clarity. But in order to add some clarity, he's drawing some lines, and he's giving some kind of, he's dividing in some ways. And so there is this amount of, as we study this together, it's like, oh, okay, this is heavy. Let me consider this. Let me think about this.
As he's talking about people who've said they believe in Jesus, but don't actually have a life that matches. And so John seemingly understands the tone of his letter, and he does something very interesting and helpful and encouraging in the passage we're going to look at today. He changes the way he's writing to a direct address. Greek people, y'all pumped? Isn't that exciting? Here's what he does.
It's so clear in the Greek that if you're holding a Bible, it actually is now indented. It looks like he's broken out into like a poem or something. It's like in a movie where the characters are all interacting with each other, and then one of them just starts singing about how they really feel inside. It's kind of what this feels like, but what he's done is it's more like in the movie Ferris Bueller where he'll just stop and turn directly at the camera. He's changed the tone of what he's saying to make sure that his readers don't miss this. And so in some ways the whole letter is him standing shoulder to shoulder with us and saying, now you need to understand this, and you need to see this, and you need to be able to pay attention to this, except for this one section where he turns, and he turns our shoulders, and he says, look at my face.
I have something I need to make sure you understand. Because if we miss this part, we'll miss the tone of everything else that's being said here. And so this is foundational for us and helpful, and I'm so glad that John says, hey, look me in the eye real quick. So let's read this, we'll pray, and then we'll walk through it. But you've got to understand that's what he's done here.
That's why it's written the way that it's written. He says this, we're looking at verses 12, 13, and 14 in 1 John chapter 2. I'm writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I'm writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I'm writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. Let's pray.
Lord, I pray that you would help us to hear this, to make eye contact, and to soak this in, and to understand what is true for those who are in Christ. And may we never forget it. In Jesus' name, amen. I want to make two kind of big picture observations, and then we're just going to walk through the main points that he makes here. And we're going to take this encouragement, because that's what he's doing, is he's grabbing them and saying, hold on a second. This is why I'm writing to you.
This is what I need you to hear. As we talk about all this other stuff that you need to be aware of, and you need to pay attention to, and you need to be mindful of, I need you to hear this, because this is why I'm writing. First off, he gives a lot of addresses, like personal addresses. He says, little children, fathers, children, fathers, young men, young men. He does this a couple of times where he's specifically kind of singling out people. And so there are some who've looked at this and said, okay, little children, young men, fathers.
He's talking about like stages of Christian development. I think this is very generally to the entire church. First of all, little children is just the way that John addresses the church. If you take these two times out, where he says little children here, he says it 11 other times in this letter. He says that we're the children of God a couple of times, and then he also just says children, little children, my little children, children, little children, my little children, 11 times. He's 80 to 90 or so at this point, and he's saying that we belong, if you belong to Jesus, then you belong to God the Father, and we've been made a family.
It's the same thing Paul says over and over again, where he calls us brothers, brothers and sisters. When he writes, he's saying I'm writing to the family. That's what he's saying, is that we're a family. And then a few times in here, he also says fathers and young men. Now, it's possible. He's specifically wanting to talk to those actual groups, those who have been a father and parented children and young men.
Other people say, no, it's more like he's talking to just young believers and older believers. And all the things he says apply to all Christians. There's not a thing here that isn't true for all Christians. And so I'm more inclined to think he's just continuing to arrest our attention. He's just continually saying, look at me, look at me. It'd be like if I grabbed my son and said, son, I need you to know something, son.
Listen to me, boy. I need you to know something, son. Like if I just did that over and over again, he'd be like, OK, I get it. You want me to keep looking at your face up here? I look at me. You know, that's kind of what he's doing is he's just saying, hey, I need you to see this.
And so we won't spend a lot of time paying much attention to those understanding that he's writing to the family. He's writing to those who believe those who are children of God. And he wants us to hear this. Observation number two is that he kind of uses a formula. He says, I'm writing to you because I'm writing to you because I'm writing to you because I write to you because I write to you because I write to you because. And he changes this verb.
They're writing me. And I'm actively doing it. I write to you means I've already done it. And again, he's just saying, hey, I want to make sure if someone later says, why did John write this letter? You have an answer. What was the point?
Why did he write? He said, no, I'm writing to you because I need you to see this. I need you to know this. This is the reality for you. That word because could be translated that I'm writing to you that meaning I'm writing to you because this is true, whether you know it or not. So if someone called you and said, hey, I'm calling you because you've you've completely paid off your bill.
You sent us payment, but your bill is paid off. It's like I'm calling to you in case you don't know this. It's true whether you like it or not, whether you know it or not. And that's what he's saying is I'm writing this because this is true about you, because this is the reality. And the other thing that he's saying when he says I'm writing to you because, because, because. Is that we wouldn't get confused about what was the purpose of his letter.
Is he anxious? Is he frustrated? Is he upset with us? Does he think that we are actually Christians? And he says, no, this is why I'm writing to you. So we're going to look at what he says and he repeats himself a couple of times.
So we're going to kind of batch these together as we go. But the first one's just first 12. I'm writing to you, little children. Because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. So the first primary reason that I'm writing this and he says little children, meaning those who are Christians.
So if you're here and you're not a believer, this is what's true for Christians, but not true for people in general. But if you're here and you're a Christian, he's writing to you because. Because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. John wants us to know that if we're in Christ, our sins are forgiven. If you're in Christ, your sins are forgiven. Now, this is a church.
We've gathered today as a church family to talk about Bible stuff, to say things about Jesus. Odds were we were going to talk about forgiveness of sins. At some point, we were going to mention it. It was going to be said. But there's the ability for us to hear that over and over again and fail to comprehend what that actually means.
Your sins are forgiven. The entire storyline of the Bible is what is God going to do with all of these sinful humans? Because he's perfectly just and just destroying us. Perfectly just and just eradicating us. Because I don't know if you've known this, but you've just run around causing problems. Ask your friends, your roommate, your spouse.
If you need a cosigner, there have been things that you've made worse. There's stuff that you've failed at. Stuff that haunts you. Stuff that you're like, it's bedtime. You're laying down. You're like, I'm going to go to sleep.
And your brain's like, or you can think about this thing that you did. He says, that's forgiven. I'm writing to you because your sins are forgiven. I'm not writing to you so that your sins might be forgiven. I'm not writing to you so that you might keep it together. I'm not writing to you so that you'll know that you've got to be good enough.
I'm writing to you because your sins are forgiven. And he already said, it's not just past tense because he says that our sins are forgiven. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father. Meaning that our present sin and our future sin is forgiven in Christ. There is no debt for you. There's nothing between you and God.
It would be like if tomorrow, for fun, you went and showed up at magistrate court and just stood in line. When you got up there, you're like, I'm here. And you told them your name. And they were like, we don't have anything on you. Some of you probably shouldn't try that because they might have something. But the point is, Jesus doesn't.
Because he's paid for our sins. And when we stand before the Father, there's not like he knows all about it and he set it aside. And so it's like, I'll forgive you, but I'm going to kind of hold it against you in some way or things are going to be awkward between us. He's put all of that on Christ. And there is nothing on your record. Nothing on your account.
There is no debt left to be paid. Bone Weed is in our church family. They're leaders in training. He and his wife. Bone told me one time that his brother, at one point when he found out that identity theft was a thing, said, man, I wish somebody would steal my identity. Then the debt collectors could call them.
Bone. And that's what Jesus has done. He took our debt. Our identity was a terrible one to swap with. And he swapped with us because he's good. There is no sin left on your account if you are in Christ.
You need to take a deep breath. Your sin is forgiven. But what if I did this? What if I do that? What if I missed? No.
Your sin is forgiven. And it gets better. He says, I write to you because your sin is forgiven for his name's sake. It's not forgiven for your sake. It's not forgiven because of your work or your worth or your intelligence or your ability or your goodness. It's not to your credit or your reputation.
If it were that, you'd have some work to do. To keep it. To tend to it. You potentially could mess it up and ruin your reputation. Guess what? He's staked his name on it.
He's put his reputation on it. So when we think, okay, I've sinned. I've done so terribly. In some ways, maybe I'm going to lose this. Do you realize that's not humility on yourself? That's actually an accusation against the work of Jesus that it somehow can't handle the ability that you have to sin.
That he somehow is out sinned by you. That he can't save to the uttermost those who call on his name. He's put his name on it. He's staked his reputation on it. It's for his sake, for his glory, for his praise that you are forgiven. It's not going anywhere because he won't be belittled.
It's not. Your forgiveness isn't being taken away because he is saved fully and completely. When you sin, we praise Jesus that he forgives sinners. I told somebody this past week that I've written the first line of my funeral. And they can say whatever they want to after that. But they've got to walk up and say it's on days like today that we're very thankful that Jesus saves sinners.
Without it, he'd have no hope. And that's the reality that he saves sinners and he does it for his name and for his glory. And so he says, I'm writing to you because this is true for you in Christ. Second thing he says, this is in verse 13 and twice. And in 14, he says, I'm writing to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you children because you know the father.
I write to you fathers because you know him who is from the beginning. Him who is from the beginning is God, but more specifically Christ. That's the way he refers to Christ, that that which was from the beginning, which we have seen, which we have heard. It's this Jesus, the word incarnate, Jesus, God incarnate. And then he says, you know him. And he talks later, he says that if you know the son, you know the father.
And so he's saying that we have the father and the son. We know the father and the son. And he says, I'm writing this to you because you belong, because you've placed your faith in him, because you are Christians. And that we actually know him who is from the beginning. And we know the father. And I think there's two things that are extremely encouraging.
There's a bunch, but we're going to talk about two. They're extremely encouraging from this. First, there's something about us that desires to know what's really going on. Something about us that desires to be in on the secret. To know what's at work behind the scenes. There's something so wonderful when Toto ran behind that curtain and they snatched it back.
And there was just a guy talking into a microphone. And that big green face wasn't that scary anymore, was it? He's like, man, just push that old guy to the ground. You're like, you got an axe, do your thing. But they didn't do that.
That's not how the movie ends. But there's something about that. And there's something about us that kind of desires and thinks, do I really know all there is to know? Do I really have the information I need to have? Am I right about this? Is there more to this?
And you'll meet people sometimes and they'll go, well, you know, you really need to know how to really read the Bible. You really got to start figuring out the Numbers. Or I know the secret secrets. And he says, no, I'm writing to you because you know him who is from the beginning. The mystery has been revealed in Christ. The mystery is him who is from the beginning coming to join us and to become human.
Don't demystify that. Don't grow used to that so you fail to see how beautiful that is. That we know the creator of the universe in Christ who has died for us. And we have the hope that lasts for all eternity. It's him who is from the beginning. There is no secret secrets.
It was ready to be revealed at the last time it's been revealed in Christ. That is our hope. It is beautiful. Magnificent. Glorious. And it's pretty straightforward.
There's hope in Christ. And there's hope nowhere else. And we know him who is from the beginning. And in knowing him, we know the father. And we get to become children. Children.
And I don't know your family situation. I don't know if you've ever been in a situation where you got to walk into a house. Where the sounds and the smells and the voices helped untie you. That you just got to loosen up and you were free. And maybe there was extended family there. And you were just excited to get to talk to everybody in the room.
You didn't meet a stranger. You just went from person to person that you belonged to. And they belonged to you. And it was just free and joyous. And where you could hear laughter in the other room. And everything was warm and safe and good.
And you felt finally like you were in the place you were meant to be. And there were times where you just caught that for just a moment. I don't know your family situation. I don't know if that's true for you. But I know that if you're in Christ, it will be eternally true for you.
We don't wear name tags in heaven. It's not a glorious, eternal meet and greet. Which I know some of y'all have to gear yourselves up just to be here on Sunday and talk to a person. You're like, I'm going to do it. They said I'm supposed to. We're a family.
We're going to do this for eternity. I'm going to meet a person. I'm going to meet a person. I got this. I got this. I got this.
Hey, my name's Chet. It's me tonight. You. I'm going home. I'm done. That was it.
I'm never talking to another person. I'll see y'all in eternity. I'm going to go sit over here and drink coffee until my eyes cross. In heaven, every time we get at his glorious table, every time we're in this house, he went to prepare a place for us where we all belong, where we're all children and brothers and sisters. There is no time where you're uncomfortable or where you're around someone that you haven't longed to be around and would enjoy for eternity. There's no time where we aren't in where we're meant to be.
And he says, I'm writing this to you not because you need extra secrets. And I'm writing this to you not because you don't belong, but because you do belong. That you're in. You've been made into the family. That's the tone of this letter. He says, look me in the face.
You're supposed to be here. And if you're a Christian, you're supposed to be here. You belong. I make things awkward. I feel uncomfortable. So what?
People in our church gave me a cup that says I came, I saw, I made it awkward. I make things awkward all the time. I have the benefit of not feeling real uncomfortable about it. But we belong. If I'm in Christ, if you're in Christ, we eternally belong to one another because we eternally belong to him. And that's not being changed because it was accomplished through the work of Christ.
We know him who is from the beginning. And we have the father and we're children. Third thing he says. He says this twice. The first one's kind of the headline. And then he gives a little more information.
But he says this, I'm writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. And then in 14, I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one. So you have overcome the evil one is the headline. There's more to it. You're strong. The word of God abides in you.
You have overcome the evil one. So we're going to go in that order. You are strong. If you belong to Jesus, that's biblically, eternally true for you. You are strong. Spencer stood up here and said 500 years ago, we're celebrating Reformation.
It's Reformation Day. Some of you are like, I thought it was Halloween. Same day. A hundred years ago, Albert Halloween. No, I'm just kidding. That's not true.
We got some reformedness in us. So if I say you're weak, yes. You're small, yes. You're dead in your trespasses and sins, yes. Like that's the stuff, like I'm ready to hear that. You've sinned, I have.
You're ugly, I know. We have some of that. You're strong. And you want to say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Without Christ, I'm weak. Without Christ, I'm small.
Without Christ, I'm frail. Without Christ, I'm vulnerable. Without Christ, I'm dangling over the pit of hell. Yes, but you aren't without Christ. You are not strong. You are not weak.
You are strong in Him. We're weak in ourselves. We're strong in Him. You are not vulnerable. You are not about to be lost. You are not about to be overcome.
You are not about to be sunk or swamped or stolen or captured or taken. Not if you were in Christ. None of those are even remotely close to being true for you. You are in an unpluckable hand of the Father who you have been purchased by the blood of the eternal Son of God. You are strong. Now, you say, well, okay, I'm strong in Him.
Yes, but you're in Him. You're in. So I don't mind if mentally you have to walk out the I'm weak on my own, but I'm in Christ. I'm not on my own, and so therefore I'm strong. That's what Paul says. He says, I glorify my weakness because when I'm weak, I'm strong.
I don't mind if you have to do that so that you feel like your theology is right. That's fine. That's fine. But don't walk around feeling weak and small and vulnerable with bad theology. To the glory of God. Put your shoulders back.
Stick your head up. To the glory of God. Walk like you are free and purchased and you have hope and nothing can get you. Because you walk in Christ. One of the things that they say about Americans when they go abroad is that they're extremely loud. That Americans don't know how loud they are.
They walk around just being loud and they use loudness to translate to other languages. There's something about the ethos of Americans that they just kind of feel safe wherever they are. Right or wrong. Jesus is better than America. We're safer in him. You are strong because you are in Christ.
There's no room for fearfulness, for pitifulness, for I'm so small. None of that. None of that that doesn't roll into the glorious praise of a king who has made you not that in him. You can start there. I'm fine. I'm fine with that.
That's the beginning of a good sermon. I'm weak. I'm sinful. I'm pitiful. Come on. Let's go.
And you get the end. No, boo. Get your Bible out. That's not the end. I'm weak. I'm small.
I'm vulnerable. I'm in Christ. I'm gloriously victorious for eternity. I'm strong. I have hope. And nothing can get me to the praise of his glorious grace.
He says you are strong. I'm writing this to you are strong. And I want you to hear that. He's not saying I'm writing this to you because you're weak and you're vulnerable. And I had to write this. And I hope it gets there in time.
That's not what he's doing. I write this because you are strong. And the word of God abides in you. Here's what he's saying here. This word of God that abides in you is not small and simple and fit in your pocket. This word of God that he's talking about that abides in you is the written scriptures.
But it is not limited to the written scriptures. It includes that. See the written scriptures are an expression of the word of God. But the word of God has existed from eternity past. The word of God has become incarnate in Christ. The word of God created all of eternity.
The word of God is the gospel that has come to you as Paul says. This word of God is an eternal hope filled conquering truth. And he says it's in you. And he's later going to talk about the anointing that's in you. It's this empowered by the Holy Spirit that seals you and keeps you. He's going to tell them later, I'm not worried about y'all.
I don't even have to teach you things because the word of God's in you. Because this anointing is in you. Pentecostal brothers and sisters are like, yes. And our reformed people are like, well, you do have to teach. You're going to have to teach the things. Here's what he's saying.
This word is in you. The truth of the gospel is in you. You know this. And I'm not worried about you. Because he's in you and the gospel has captured you, nothing else can. I know where you end up.
I'm writing. I think he gives some instruction. He's teaching them and says, I don't have to teach you. But it's helpful. But I'm not fearful.
If it doesn't make it to one of the congregations, if they belong to Jesus, if the gospels actually come to them, if the Holy Spirit's actually there, they're going to get it okay. They're going to make it to the end. Because he's the one who keeps it. He's the one who authors it. He's the one who works it. He says, the word of God is in you.
I'm not sweating this. Do you ever think, am I going to mess this up? Am I going to get this wrong? Am I going to... You ever reading back through your Bible and you see something and go, how did I not know that before? Oh my goodness, how long is it going to be?
How often am I going to keep learning things that I needed to know? How often am I going to be so confused and wavered? Am I going to mess this up? John says, no. Do you belong to Jesus? He's going to get you there.
Yeah, you'll have to learn. He's going to teach you. He's going to correct you. But if the word of God's in you, the correction will work. You'll hear it. You'll change.
He's already perfected us and he is perfecting us. All right, back to the headline. You have overcome the evil one. We believe in a literal devil, Satan, who's the enemy of God, humanity, God's people, who actively steals, kills, destroys, harms, lies, accuses. He's an adversary. He's powerful.
Harmful. If you don't understand that, then you don't know how beautiful this is to say you have overcome the evil one. South Carolina fans still talk about beating Alabama. Alabama. Because it was awesome. But it's only awesome because Alabama is big and good.
We don't talk a ton about beating some of these random teams that we can't even remember their name. Sometimes because we didn't beat them. So we don't talk about it. The reason he lists this is that we've overcome the evil one is because that is the enemy. It would be like if you watched through the whole Avengers franchise, movies, the things I like to watch and talk about. If the subtitles are on, I have pressed the wrong button at my house.
It would be like if they defeat Thanos and they save the world. And in the next movie, they're like, we found out that there's a kid named Mikey who's being a bully at this middle school. Avengers assemble. Avengers assemble. We've overcome the evil one through Christ. Who else is scary?
What else are they going to do? What war has to be won? Ultimately. We should. Christians should not be fear mongers. All right, this is coming.
This is going to happen. Oh. Yeah, we can make wise decisions. And yeah, we ought not to get into. I mean, the real war happens and causes problems, but we don't. We're all terrified.
We're conquerors, more than conquerors through Christ who loves us. We've overcome the enemy, the evil one. There's freedom and hope and life. No one can get us. So if you've been walking through life and you're like, I'm scared, I'm anxious, I'm fearful.
If first John has made that worse, John stops, grabs you, says, look at my face. No. Not if you're in Christ. I'm writing this to be helpful. I'm writing this to clarify. I'm writing this with my shoulder next to yours so that we can look and make wise decisions about how to live in the church.
And yeah, there's some things you need to consider and apply. But look at me. If you belong to Jesus, your sins are forgiven. You know Christ who was from the beginning and you've been brought into the family. You know the Father. You are strong.
The word of God is in you. And you've conquered the evil. Not on your own, but through Christ. So all glory to Christ. But we glorify Christ by living like this is true.
If I'm walking with my sons through some place that is scary and they say they're scary and I say, don't worry about it. I'm here. Hold my hand. They do me great honor by stopping being scared and looking at me going, OK. And if they kept being scared, eventually I'd be going, don't you? I got this.
That's what he's saying. He said, you belong to Jesus. You're OK. He's not wringing his hands. He's not fretting. What?
If this is true for us in Christ. If you if you can't sin and mess this up. Which if you're afraid of things, your own sins got to be a big category, right? But if you belong to Jesus and you can't sin and mess this up because he's going to forgive us and that ultimately he'll get us to the end. If you're not going to get wayward because the word of God is in you and so that at some point you'll be brought back. Belong to church family.
Someone to correct you. There'll be something. The Holy Spirit will bring you back. Like if you actually belong to him, he's going to keep you. You say, OK, well, like an actual like physical harm. Yeah.
OK. Jesus at one point says, don't be afraid of those who can just kill the body. It's pretty big, though. Killing my body is the thing I'm actually afraid of. Like. But we know him who's from the beginning and we're a child of the father.
That's a glorious reunion. We finally go home. And if the enemy's already been conquered. You're unconquerable. That's the hope we have in Christ. So the band's going to come back up and we're going to sing to Jesus about how glorious he is.
We're going to sing like our sins have been forgiven. We're going to sing like we've been made strong in the work of Christ. We're going to sing like the word of God dwells in us and keeps us and guides us and leads us. We're going to sing like the enemy has been conquered and there is no fear any longer about how things are going to work out. Because Jesus is a glorious king who saves to the uttermost all those who would call on his name and will not lose one. You are not hanging by a string.
You are not dangling at the edge. You are not wondering to be lost. You are not a blemish that somehow snuck in. You are not marked or scarred or covered or fearful or to be lost. If you are in Christ, you are clean and holy and righteous and beautiful and welcomed and loved and guarded and kept to a glorious eternity where we praise the glorious king who redeems sinners like us to the praise of his glorious grace and his glorious work that he's accomplished on the cross. So we gather to learn.
Yeah, there's some things we're going to read and study we need to take seriously. But we need to take it seriously like people who have had their sins forgiven and who have hope in Christ that's unconquerable. We need to take it seriously like this is real and it matters, but joyously and confidently in Christ. With smiles on our face, with our heads held up. Walking not in our sin because we don't walk in our sin anymore. Walking not in our shame because our shame has been taken away.
Walking not in fear because he's conquered the enemy. Walking with joy and delight and hope that is not grounded in you, your temperament, your behavior, your wisdom. But to the praise of Jesus. He takes a ragtag group like us. And gets us to eternity. Amen.
A ragtag group like us. And he brings us to an eternal home where there's joy and hope and life. Let's pray. Lord, may we not forget this. And in our moments when we feel weak and small and scared and sinful. May the Apostle John grab us by the shoulders and say, Don't you know Christ?
Aren't you in him? Praise be to his glorious name that he saves sinners, that his word abides in us, that you have conquered the evil one, and that in you we are strong. And we belong to you as your children forever. We know Christ. May we worship and live like it. In Jesus' name.
Amen. Y'all stand listening together. Amen.
Love the Brothers (1 John 2:7-11)
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 that you have eternal life. Good morning. Our church has four pastors. In 1 Peter, it says that Jesus is the chief shepherd. So we think that we have a senior pastor is Christ and that we're an elder team.
We're a team of pastors. We don't have a senior pastor. We have four pastors. Two of us have the privilege of being able to work full-time for our church, and two of our pastors have other jobs and still serve our church as much as they can. Spencer and I take turns preaching. And it's not to take turns.
He preaches about half the time. I preach about half the time. We go back and forth. This week, he was slated to preach this sermon. We walk through it together on Tuesday. We always one person writes and preps everything, and then we work on them together to make sure that we're not completely out of bounds on something.
You know, if you make up a new bit of theology, it's probably wrong. So we just try to make sure that we're on the same page, and the Spirit's leading us in unity on that. And he walked through it on Tuesday, and it was so bad that he gave himself COVID so he wouldn't have to preach it. I say that to say this. If you've ever heard one of my sermons that I had a lot of time to prepare and plan for, and had someone help me work on and make sure it was organized, and still thought that was a bit all over the place, buckle up. We're going to be in 1 John chapter 2.
We're walking through 1 John together this morning. We're going to study verses 7 through 11 together. One of my favorite things about getting to ride around in small towns is to see the signs that small towns put up for the things that they're bragging about. Like, Irmo, you ride through, and it's like, the home of the okra strut. Well, good for you, Irmo. When I was working pools for my parents growing up, I would have to ride through some small towns in Georgia and Harlem.
They have signs that say it's the birthplace of Oliver Hardy, which was from Laurel and Hardy, and they have this face painted all over everything. In Waynesboro, Georgia, they have this giant water tower that says, Bird Dog Capital of the World. So Waynesboro's really getting it done. And they got all the bird dogs. But it's fun.
You're right there, and you see these things that people are bragging about. And these small towns are saying, This kind of marks us. This defines us. This is what we're known for. And as we're looking in this passage today, John's going to be talking about something that the church is supposed to be known for. Something that if the church got together and had a water tower, this is what we should put on it.
This is what we're known for. This is what we're supposed to be famous for. And so we're going to study this together and try to hopefully identify this in ourselves and repent where we need to, but to be people who are known for this in KC, South Carolina, in the year 2021. So let's pray. Oh, let's read the whole text together, then we'll pray, and then we'll walk through it. So this is the whole text we're going to look at today.
It says, Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Let's pray. Lord, we pray that you would bless our time this morning as we study your words together as your people brought together by the work of your son. We pray that you would help us to grow and that if we are stumbling around in darkness, that you would help us to not be blinded any longer, but that we might see clearly. And we ask, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would help us to love one another in the way that you have loved us. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, so let's look back at the beginning.
He says, Beloved, I'm writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I'm writing to you. What? I love John, but sometimes he writes some things and it's like, what are you talking about? He's saying, we've been told this from the beginning.
We've heard this in the word that was proclaimed all along. And it's this idea that we are to love. That this is the greatest commandment, Jesus says, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. That God very early on said, if you're going to belong to me, you're going to be a people that loves. But then Jesus tells his disciples, I'm giving you a new commandment on top of these, and that is to love one another especially.
Love one another in a distinct way, as almost the pinnacle of love, as the love in the church. And they've had that from the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel, but it's also new. But also the command of love is not a new command. That's been around forever. So there's this command that's not a new command, but it is a new command, but you've had it the whole time.
That's what he's talking about. John 13, 34, this is the command where Jesus says it. And this is John, the John who wrote this letter, wrote this gospel about his time spent with Jesus. He says this, A new commandment I give to you, so this is Jesus speaking to his disciples, that you love one another just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.
This love in the church, for the church, by the church, as brothers and sisters in Christ, is to be the thing that marks us. He says, by this they will know that you belong to me by the way that you love one another. So this is the thing we put on our water tower. Now, the brother here is not a biological brother. It is brothers in Christ. So if you're just reading this, the English is going to trick you a little bit because you might read it and go, okay, well, I've got two brothers, so that's what it's talking about.
And you might read it and say, I'm an only child, off the hook on this one. Some of you might be like, well, I've got a sister. She's the worst, but that's fine because it's just talking about brothers. No, what it's saying is this word brother means brothers and sisters, and it means in the church, those who belong to Christ. The word is actually in Greek, the word brother, but Greek does something that English doesn't. Spanish does it, does this, where the word brother can include brothers and sisters.
So every time you read, that's why some translations will say brothers and sisters, others will just say brothers, but it's meant to be brothers and sisters or siblings in the family of God. And John defines for us what he means by this in 1 John chapter three. So one chapter over, he says this, see what kind of love the father has given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Okay, just trying to help you see when it's saying brother, it means children of God.
And he does have a distinction between those who are in the family of God through the work of Christ and the world. Those who are not in the family of God through the work of Christ. The idea of the brotherhood of man, while we get some of that from scripture, the idea that we're all made in the image of God and therefore everyone has dignity and value, there is something distinct about the church that we are an eternal family through the work of Christ. This is what John says at the beginning of his gospel, that he gave the right to all who would believe in him to become children of God. And so that's who he's talking about.
So in order for us to understand this passage, we have to know that. We have to know that when he says brother, he means brothers and sisters in Christ. The church. Our church family, both locally and globally, we are to love one another. And so he says this, back in verse 8. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I'm writing to you, which is true in him, that's Jesus, and in you, that's you, the church, people he's writing to, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
And this is an imagery that he uses throughout his letter, this idea of light and darkness and walking in the light. Oh, I'm going to do it this way. Walking in the light and walking in darkness. That we would be in the light as he is in the light, that we would confess our sins, that we would, as we obeyed commandments, we would be in the light. As we love one another, we would be in the light. And then there's darkness.
And in some ways in John's framework, what he's saying, the true light is already shining, is that it's like a sunrise. I love being outside when the sun starts to rise. It just slowly, almost imperceptibly, the color starts to change over here. And you really can't tell at first, but then you start realizing, wait a second, no, it's different. And then at some point it's like, okay, it's actually starting to be daytime over here, but I can turn and it's still night over here. And you start realizing that you're able to see more, that even though the sun hasn't come up, you're starting to, it's revealing things to you.
And in some ways that's what John's saying, is that Jesus, when he was in the incarnation, in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, he's the sunrise. It's breaking through and piercing the darkness. That's some of what makes this command new, is that it was given to us as something that we were not able to live out, but now it's true in him and in us, because the light has begun to shine. That we're actually able, empowered to love this way, because he's loved us this way. We've seen what this is supposed to look like, and so that it's shining. And so in John's framework, those who love Jesus are running towards the light.
Ultimately, that light is going to conquer. The darkness is being broken. It's going to take over. But we're running towards the light. In confession of sin, he says in chapter one. In obedience, in chapter two.
And in love, that we're covering now, that the church gathers in, stands in the light. And that's why he keeps saying, if you say I'm in the light, but you're practicing things that happen in the dark, you're a liar. Some people have fled from the light, and are hiding over here. Now eventually the light's going to conquer. That's some of what he's saying. So let's look at verse 10.
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. So he says if you love your brother, if you love the church, if you love fellow Christians, that's living in the light. Whoever does that is over here. Whoever's operating that way, living that way, has run to the light. And I love the idea when he says abides in. Because in chapter one he says, that we're going to sin.
Meaning that we're going to fall short. And he even tells us that when we do, he doesn't want us to sin, but when we do, this is the beginning of chapter two, when we do, there's propitiation, there's forgiveness in Christ. So Christians at times are able to have behaviors, and do things that line up better with the darkness, than the light. But the question is, where do you abide? Where do you live? Where have you taken up residence?
Because sometimes Christians sin, and he says, but when we do, we take that back to Jesus, we walk in the light, we have forgiveness, and we move on. But if your life is characterized, by living over here, he says, you don't know Jesus. If your life is characterized by hatred, or is it characterized by love? Now it helps us to understand, what he means by love. So that we can begin to evaluate, am I abiding over here, or am I abiding over there?
Because if there's one thing you're good at, it's lying to yourself. Oh, you're so good at it. You just told yourself, no I'm not. And you believed yourself. That we're good at this. We're good at tricking ourselves.
We're good at looking and going, well I know I didn't do something that was right, but my motives are good, and I'm kind of good over here. We just, we can justify almost anything. And so we need to be able to see, what does he mean, so that we can begin to evaluate, not in our estimation, but in his, whether or not we're doing this. So what does he mean by love? Because when we read the word, just like we said when we read the word brother, it can trick us. The same thing with the word love, that we have a cultural definition, but it helps to look in the context, and see, does John define love for us?
Good question. Yes he does. And he gives us a really simple, helpful definition, that we'll spend more time on later, but it helps us to look at today. John, 1 John 3.16. By this, we know love. So this is how we know what love is.
This is how we know love. That he, this Jesus, laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. He says, do you want to know love? Do you want a definition of love? Self-sacrifice. Sacrifice.
That he laid down his life for us, and therefore, when we love, we ought to lay down our lives for others. So as we try to figure out what does John mean about loving the brothers and living in the light, or hating the brothers and being in the dark, one of the best questions to ask is, where is self? Are you elevating self? Or are you sacrificing self? Because Christian love has a posture of self-sacrifice. That those around me in the church matter more than I do.
That their preferences, their desires, their cares, their hurts, their weaknesses, that they matter more than mine. That I'm not here for me, I'm here for them. I'm here for my brothers and sisters in Christ to make things better. That that's self-sacrificial love that we see modeled in Christ and that we're supposed to display in the world. And this is some of what he's saying when he says, this is how they'll know that you belong to me. Is that you'll look like me in self-sacrificing love.
Now, there's one place that I know of that we see this regularly and expect it and in some ways are repulsed when it's not present. When we see this kind of love in friendship, it's beautiful. When we see it in romantic relationships, it's beautiful. But we don't always see it in those categories. But one of the places I think we see it very regularly is in the way that parents love their children. that you'll see quite often parents sacrificing for the sake of their children and part of us expects that.
It's weird and repulsive when we don't see it. When you see a parent that's putting their needs above their child, it's like, ah, no, that doesn't fit right. That doesn't look right. The parents are supposed to. Now, pause for just a second. I think Americans can get this wrong where they build their entire life around their children and worship them.
And that's not what I'm talking about. But move it to some self-sacrificial, I'm here for your good. If someone's got to go hungry, it's the parents, not the children. If someone's got to take harm, it's the parents, not the children. If someone's going to be inconvenienced or made uncomfortable, it's the parents, not the children. I'm not talking about chores and difficulties where you try to help your children grow into good, healthy adults.
I'm talking about where really parents understand that I exist for the sake of protecting and caring for and developing these children. And we see it all the time. This is one of the reasons why a happy married couple has children and then has a hard time relating to one another because some amount of their love has shifted. That they love their children in a self-sacrificing manner and have started to expect more out of their spouse. No longer am I self-sacrificing for you. You're supposed to be sacrificing for me as I sacrifice for the children.
And it messes up the tone of love which is meant to be freed and enjoyed as we sacrifice for others. That's actually the best place that we have the most love. You are less frustrated with your children even though they're the worst people in your house. It's just true. Because you have set in your mind that I'm here for their good and so you don't evaluate it all the time on what am I getting out of this. If you have an infant and you ask well what am I getting out of this?
Nothing. Torture. And you're like I just wish they can talk and then they start talking and they have opinions and they say rude things and you're like I wish they would shut up. I love my children. But there is something about the fact that you have set yourself up in a way that I'm here for their good that this doesn't factor in as to what I'm getting out of this.
And you're free and it's delightful. But when we enter into situations with well what am I getting out of this? How is it working for me? We've ceased to model Christian love. And it robs us of joy. And that we are meant to show up.
Can you imagine what it would be like if you got out of the car this morning and you were completely free from self? And you walked in here and you were just looking for people that you could serve that you could talk to that you could encourage. Someone walks by and doesn't seem to notice you and you think hey I wonder if they're having a hard time rather than why wouldn't they talk to me? Or I notice they're talking to them and they don't want to talk to me. You didn't talk to them. But that's not how this works.
They're supposed to talk to me. We sometimes can get in this where we're strutting around I'm the most important person in the room. But could you imagine what it looks like among a group of people where that's not the attitude? I'm here to serve. I'm here to make this place better. You see a mess and you think how can I clean that up rather than why is it so junky around here all the time?
Someone does something that's frustrating and you give them the benefit of the doubt and you assume maybe they're having a hard time and that maybe they need more care from you and more love from you and more grace from you that we respond with kindness and generosity. And we do this. That's what I'm saying. It's helpful to look at how this interacts this happens with children. Children come in and throw a little fit and a lot of times parents go what's wrong buddy? But when I walk in and throw a fit like that my wife never goes what's wrong buddy?
And that's our general attitude is that we need to understand that we exist for the good of the others and when we do that there's joy and delight and freedom because we look like Jesus and his spirits at work among us. This is why. Mission trips. I always love the recap night of mission trips when people share what's happened. We got a mission trip we're trying to plan and go to Honduras next year. Be praying for that that'll work out and that with COVID and everything we'll be able to get a team down there to help the Rockies who are in Honduras.
But what happens a lot of times is people when I was growing up in my church people would come back for mission trips and they'd get up to share and what they would say is I went there to bless them. I can't do this without sounding real southern because that's the church I went there to bless them. I was blessed. Every time. And do you know why? It's the one time that we're able to really flip the switch in our mind that I'm just going here to serve this isn't about me.
And when that switch gets flipped the promises of Christ where it's better to give than it is to receive begin to be a blessing in our lives and that's what John is saying is that Christians look like they don't think they're the most important person in the room. Christians love as if self doesn't matter and everybody else around them does and it is beautiful when it happens. That's why he says in him so whoever loves his brother abides in the light in him there is no cause for stumbling. We're meant to put Christ on display and when we're operating in self-sacrificial love we're doing it so no one trips over us.
Nobody goes well I know some Christians and whoo I went to one of their business meetings and it broke out in a fist fight. We look like we actually are here to serve and here to make things better and here to love one another. We look like Christ. If you're doing a puzzle you dump all the pieces out you look at the box to try to understand what kind of puzzle am I making? What's this picture supposed to look like? You can get puzzles wrong or right and you make the puzzle and it looks like the box and we're supposed to look like Christ.
So we're supposed to look at him and go how are we supposed to do this? And if you've ever done a puzzle with a child or at least my child he every once in a while just decides this is where this piece goes and makes it work. And then you're trying to work on the puzzle and you're going what is going on over here? I can't find it and then you realize who stuffed this in here? And you stumble over it. It makes it not work.
And so that when we as Christians live as if Jesus is at work in us and that our model for love is self-sacrificial love and we show up being the least important person in the room all of us then no one stumbles because it looks like a whole bunch of Jesus got together. But when we show up with the opposite attitude we trip over each other we run into each other we stumble and people stumble over us because we're not putting on display what we ought to be putting on display. So let's look at John's definition of hate let's begin to understand what he's saying here. So verse 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
John says I don't care that you say you know Jesus. If you say oh I'm in the light I'm over here with Jesus he says but if you operate in hate towards your brothers no you're not. Now in my sunrise illustration you have the sun over here it's lit up you have where it still looks dark over here and then you got this whole big middle section where it's kind of both. In John's light darkness stuff he doesn't have a big middle section where it's kind of both. He has you abide in the light or you abide in darkness. You love or you hate.
We have a category in between love and hate. neutral. I don't know them. I know them and they're kind of annoying but I'm not going to fight them over it. John doesn't have that category. He has you live self-sacrificially for the benefit of others or you have drifted into functional hate. hate. that's uncomfortable but it's good for us to hear that we can practice hatred in very simple ways. Now certainly it can be active and aggressive.
Certainly there are people who actively hate the church and rail against the church and who would say I'm a Christian but I've gotten rid of the church and I don't have anything to do with the church because the church and it's like he just says they're not that's not a Christian so I don't care if you're following their podcast or them online or their Facebook they're not you can't hate the church and belong to Jesus. So he gives us a category.
For that. There's also a way for us to be actively in opposition to the church and be here for you to hang out with your group slander other people be constantly bitter and angry towards other people show up here on a Sunday with an attitude of we'll see if they actually notice I'm here this time and be functionally in contempt of your church family operating with hatred towards them that in some ways we have the choice between being a Christian and being a consumer living as.
If I'm here for the benefit of others or they're here for the benefit of me. We took my son my older son we hadn't gotten to go back but we took my older son to Disneyland Disney World not Disneyland that one's the far away one took him to the one we could drive to we went to Disney World he was three or something but we thought it would be fun to go we saved up and we went and the best thing that happened.
While we were there was he lost his voice and it's not because he couldn't talk I love my son I love the stuff he has to say it's because he had no concept for losing his voice and so he lost his mind when he lost his voice because it's just loud you have to talk loud so the end of like the second day we were there he went to say something and he was like and we had to be like it's.
Okay buddy because we knew what was happening if I start losing my voice I think oh I'm losing my voice but for him it was like this is witchcraft I had to actually grab him and be like it's okay while laughing hysterically at him but when we first got there when we first got there we my son when he enjoys things especially when he thinks new if he's enjoying something he's enjoyed before he might smile he might be relaxed but when it's new he just looks like this all the time he just he's taking everything in.
But you don't know like when you're little real little and you're playing with him he'd just stare at you and you would get done he'd go do it again and you're like okay he enjoyed it I had no clue now you gotta stop and see like am I tormenting you like he so the first bit of us being at Disney World that's all he's doing you know he's riding the rod and so we we got to where we were asking him.
Because we came primarily for his enjoyment we thought this would be fun you know but you take a little kid on it's a small world and he's like you know it's like okay you know so we started asking him did you like that was that fun trying to get him to you know calm down enjoy this you know was that fun did you like that did you we started doing this and about three hours in we had messed him all up.
Because he had become a little tyrant we were here for his pleasure and it messed him up I had to look at my wife and say we're done asking him we're all gonna enjoy this and he'll enjoy it or not but we're done making him think that he's got to evaluate everything and rank everything and decide whether or not he loves or doesn't love everything enjoyed or didn't enjoy everything because it's messing up his little heart he did have fun he couldn't tell it from his face and I don't know where he got that.
But we can do that to ourselves you can go to the happiest place on earth and if all you do is evaluate and grade everything and decide that everything's just there for your enjoyment and did you like that or did I not like that and did I like that better you can just rob yourself of joy and we can walk around in our church family just absolutely robbing ourselves of joy and somehow convince ourselves that it's everybody else's fault when in reality we're meant to.
Look like Jesus and when we do there's joy and delight and freedom and hope and the truth is this happens all the time that we shift into consumer mode and it messes us up because we're not designed to be there that we're walking in darkness and we're going to run into everything and everybody I'm going to give you a couple of ways that I think this shows up to try to help us identify this there's a bunch but I'm going to give you a couple one is to be a consumer everything's here.
For me for my tastes my desires did I like that did I like the way they did that music did I like the way they came and what they said when our group got together did I like how this happened did I like the way they were handling that or I don't really appreciate how our group does this or I don't really like that this person says that and that somehow everybody's here for you like you like you don't belong to the family those of you who are younger I encourage you to try that.
When you go home for Thanksgiving sit down at the table and act like it's a restaurant see how much joy you bring to the Thanksgiving my potatoes were cold take these back this isn't what I ordered if you have good parents there will be some good correction that comes out of that and it will be good for your soul but that's the truth that we show up at the church and act like I don't belong here I'm not part of the family I'm a customer.
And then you say I don't feel like I belong here and it's like well you assumed that position when you showed up as a customer you show up to your group as a consumer and then say I don't feel like I'm a fan I'm family here and it's like well you set the default show up and serve let me tell you something stay late and clean you'll feel more like family show up with something that you prepared beforehand you'll feel more like family stop talking.
Listen when somebody says they're hurting call them check in on them when somebody's not there call and check on them you'll feel more like family but if you sit around going well I didn't really like that I didn't like that nobody ever brings them yeah yeah you won't feel like you belong because you've already chosen that by your posture we can assume the worst the functional way to hate each other is just to assume the worst this is why you start telling yourself other people's motives this is why they didn't talk to me this is why they made that face this is why they get together without me this is why this happened someone sins.
Against you and you just assume the worst and you go yeah that's just what they're like do you know that to correct someone in sin you have to assume some good things about them I have to assume that you probably didn't do this maliciously if you did do it maliciously I have to assume that the Holy Spirit is at work in you and you'll repent I have to actually think highly of you think highly of Christ think highly of his church think highly of his Holy Spirit.
For me to come correct you in sin and I think very lowly of you if you sin against me and I go well that's just how they are assuming the worst is a way that we can functionally live in the dark and hate our church family neglect is a beautiful form of hate just don't care somebody shares something they're going through you just don't care someone confesses sin you just don't care someone doesn't show up to your group you just don't care you don't show up to your group.
Because you just don't care group is there for your convenience every time that you don't show up because it would be inconvenient you have reinforced in your mind that your group exists for your convenience rather than you exist for your group every single time and after a while you'll just they're inconvenient and can I just be honest with you let me just step away from this for a second I guess it made it seem like I wasn't being honest over there.
But whatever your group is inconvenient it is I'm going to be honest with you I don't know exactly which group you're in but I can tell you that some of the people in that group are annoying just how it works it might not be annoying to me but you'll find someone in that group that annoys you and there's your opportunity to love like they're more important than you and to act like you belong to a family or to act like they exist.
For your benefit and walk a little further into the darkness we can just not care following Jesus is meant to make us warmer walking in the light is meant to warm our hearts towards one another not make us colder I love that this passage comes right on the heels of what he just said about following commands because there's an ability for us to convince ourselves that following the commands is just the moral imperatives of how I'm supposed to behave and therefore I'm one of the good ones and I'm.
So frustrated with these sinners that are all around me you ever met a Christian who says I'm a Christian I've been a part of my church for 57 years and it's the coldest most angry person you've ever met and it's like you haven't been in the light for 50 years you'd be so soft and warm and kind I'm going to be honest with you I've said this to other people I haven't said it to our church when First Baptist Church of Casey started coming to talk with us our church plant about a union us coming together we're going to celebrate two years in just a month we didn't feel like we could just say no.
And we thought let's get together and let's talk but my assumption was that we were walking into a hornet's nest my assumption was this was going to be the angriest most frustrated people you'd ever met and we walked in and we met people that acted like they'd been in the light of Christ for years and years I told people I expected Baptists and I met Christians there's a reality to when we walk with Jesus he does something in us that helps us think that we're not the most important person in the room and that he is and that others are and that.
When we show up to serve there's something beautiful about it something compelling about it and nobody stumbles and nobody runs into each other and if we don't before I say that let me say two things if following Jesus has made you colder has made you more self-righteous if you've sat through this thinking I'm so glad he's saying this because my group really needs to hear it you're in danger of being blinded to the fact that you may not be in the light Pharisees hear sermons and think I'm glad this person's here.
So that they can repent and they never see how it applies to them do not sit here and continue to elevate yourself but to understand that you need to walk in humility and grace towards the people around you secondly the love here we have infiltrated we have smuggled love smuggled this idea into love in our culture that love for us is all affirmation that it's all I'm supposed to if I really love you I'm just supposed to figure out what you want to do and clap.
For you that's not a Christian idea in love our picture for love is the cross which is sacrifice for the benefit of others but it is also correction without rejection that's Christian love our culture doesn't understand it the United States doesn't understand that they're going to say you're hateful if you try to correct anybody but I'm just letting you know the reality is if I'm walking with you and I actually believe this people say who are you to decide what's right and wrong nobody.
But I got a book and I know him who decided this stuff and I trust him but if I'm walking with you and I see that you're in sin and I don't want to address it I'll tell you some of the reasons most people cite for not wanting to address sin in someone else number one I don't want to seem judgmental well immediately you've elevated yourself and the perception of others to you two I don't want to ruin our relationship and again you've elevated your comfort and your desire.
For a relationship over the good of another person that you think if you actually believe the Bible is headed in the wrong direction towards harm and the reality is that you sacrifice yourself for their sake by correcting them in their sin because you believe they're more important than you and you believe good in them that the Lord would bring them back but even if he doesn't you understand that I love them enough to lose this relationship because it's for their good we are in danger of failing to.
See this this is what he says verse 11 but whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes we're in danger of not knowing where we're headed and this means functionally that we run into each other functionally we cause problems but it also means we think we're in the light if someone says they're in the light but they're walking in the darkness and he says that means they don't belong to.
Jesus then ultimately they're wandering around waiting to head to hell and the danger is that we would not realize that's where we're headed and that we'd be blind to it and so my encouragement to us this morning to look back at verse 8 he says this is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining my encouragement would be to walk towards Jesus this morning and say shine your light on me and help me.
See this to walk towards him and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you where you've been blind where have I allowed self-exaltation to creep in so that I'm frustrated where have I allowed self-exaltation to creep in so that I'm mistreating those around me where have I begun to act like a consumer rather than a family member where have I begun to walk as if I'm the most important person and I'm so frustrated with this person in my group because they can't.
See it and if they just knew I was the most important person they wouldn't act like this to ask the Lord shine your light on me in the light of the gospel and help me to see it so that I might be free from it and that I might enjoy the delight that comes with walking as if I belong to you as the band comes back up and we begin to play I want to encourage you to do that in a moment we're going to take communion which is where we as Christians remind ourselves that we needed Jesus' sacrifice once.
For all for us we needed his body to be broken we needed his blood to be shed and that we proclaim his death until he comes but we're supposed to look at ourselves first we're supposed to evaluate ourselves and not take it flippantly and so I would encourage you to take a moment replace the music just sit for a minute and ask where have I been blind to my self-exaltation where have I robbed myself of joy where have I wandered in the darkness.
Because I have failed to follow Christ and enjoy the freedom that he gives and ask him Lord help me to see this and then when you're ready take communion but before you do you may have to go talk to somebody you may have to step out and make a phone call you may have to find somebody you say I've been mistreating you and I shouldn't be and then we'll take communion and we'll celebrate that Jesus Christ saves sinners like us and that he invites us into his light where there's freedom and joy and love and peace forever.
And if you're not a Christian we would invite you to run to Jesus and be redeemed we would invite you to see your sin and to repent and to have him who gave up his life for us give up his life for you and bring you into a family and then you'd be welcome to take communion for the very first time but if you aren't a believer we would ask that you don't take communion until you have trusted Jesus because this is a celebration of what he's done.
For us and what he's going to do for us and it's a celebration that we belong to him through his work on the cross and until that's true we just ask that you would refrain let's pray for we ask for the move of your Holy Spirit we ask that we would walk in the light of Christ that you might show us where we've been begun to wander in the darkness that you might remove where we've been blind we ask that your Holy Spirit would reveal that you would speak even.
Now to help us to see where we've allowed hatred to grow for we ask for repentance and the joy and the freedom and the delight that comes from that because when we do sin we have a sacrifice that covers us in our sin so that we get to walk in freedom and hope may we look like a family whose king gave himself up for us so that we ought to give ourselves up for others may this be a place filled with servants who delight in putting others.
First so that the warmth and the joy of the gospel is on display here help us to be quick to forgive quick to repent we ask this in Jesus name amen you continue to pray and as you are ready take communion.
Evidence of Love (1 John 2:1-6)
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Our Advocate (1 John 2:1-2)
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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 Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. We are walking through the book 1 John. If you'll grab your Bibles and go to 1 John, we'll have the words on the screen.
We're going to look at two verses this morning. The letter of 1 John was written by the Apostle John to the church. And it was meant to be spread out and used throughout the church. And that's what we're doing still today. It's written to those who belong to Jesus for them to answer some questions and to be able to identify what it looks like to belong to Christ and what a church, the church, is supposed to look like. The identifying markers of the church.
Our aim this morning is pretty simple. So I'm going to give a bit of an illustration to try to help you picture what we're going for this morning and we'll get into it. Given the way my wife works right now and the way my wife, her job and my work and our sons in school, we spend a lot of time just kind of swapping off who's working, who's watching children. But every once in a while, if both of my sons are in school, I have about three hours where I have no responsibilities, no children, no demands on my time. I like to refer to this three hours as the best three hours ever. It's very rare.
I love my family. I love the work I get to do. But this happens once a week at best where I have about three hours. It used to be that I could get up early in the morning and have that time to myself. But my sons wake up at 5.30 in the morning.
So it's hard to want to get up that early to have that much time away from where it's still and quiet. So in that three hours, a lot of times what I'll do is I'll go somewhere where it's quiet and where I just get to kind of take in my surroundings. And so one of the places I love to go is I love to go to the river. And there's a spot by the river if you go like you're going to the zoo. And instead of going to the zoo, you turn right. There's a place over there where you can trespass and see the river.
They may have opened it now, so it may not be trespassing. And I was out there one day, and I'm watching the river. And it looks the same, but it looks constantly different. Like it's moving, but it's the same the whole time. There's some of those big river rocks out there, and it was right when it was starting to get warm, which I know in South Carolina is an ill omen. But I was just enjoying it that day.
It was earlier this year, and everything smelled green. Like I remember just standing there smelling, and everything smelled alive. I remember one time when I was young, my dad said that something smelled green, and I was like, how on earth can you smell a color? And I like thought that was crazy. But now I'm old enough to be able to smell colors, and it smelled green, and it was great.
And I was just soaking it in. And just, as Ecclesiastes says, that the eye never tires of seeing, and the ear never tires of hearing. And I'm just absorbed in God's beautiful creation, and just appreciating it, and just trying to gaze into it, and just take the time to slow down and enjoy something as beautiful, and as good as the scenery that I was in. And that's our goal today. Okay. There's a bit of doctrine in the two verses we're going to look at that is absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful.
So our goal, as we've gathered this morning to study this, is just to try to take it in. To just for a little bit gaze at the glorious nature of the salvation that we have in Christ, and just try to wrap our heads around it, try to get it into our hearts, try to grow in our love for Christ this morning as we see what He has done for us in the cross. And then respond in surrender and worship to a glorious Savior King. That's our hope this morning. So we're going to read the verse, we're going to pray, or the verses, we're going to pray, and then we're going to walk through it.
It says this, it's 1 John chapter 2 verses 1 and 2. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins. And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Let's pray.
God, we ask that by the empowerment of Your Spirit, that we would be able to grasp the beauty of the reality of the propitiation in Christ. And we pray, Lord, that by Your Holy Spirit, those who believe would grow in their love and their worship of You. And those who do not yet believe, that You would draw them, that You would convict them, and that You would save them. So that they might participate in this glorious truth that is ours in Christ. In Jesus' name, amen. So John's writing, and he says, My little children.
It's an endearing term. He's older at this point. It's a bit condescending, but I don't think he means it that way. That he's loving and looking out for his family. And he says, My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Now, that's helpful.
We need the apostles. We need those who are empowered by the Spirit to help us know how not to sin. To give us some direction. To give us some counsel. To guide us away from sin. Sin is bad.
And it's destructive. It harms us. It's a baited hook. Tastes good for a second. And then causes great harm. And so we want to not sin.
This idea of sin is missing the Mark. It's going past where you were supposed to. So it's rather than hitting what you were aiming at or what is right, you fail and you sin. Or that you, there's like a no trespassing sign. We're not supposed to go beyond this bounds, but we go beyond it. And it is what has ruined and destroyed the world.
It's where all the trouble and all the pain and all the hatred and all the injustice comes from. Our desire to sin. And so he says, I'm writing this so that you won't sin. But then his next word is a little bit odd. He says, but. Now you would expect, and if you're not familiar with Christianity, you would think that he would say, I'm writing to you that you wouldn't sin.
And immediately, if this is your first time hanging out, it's your first time looking at the Bible, you go, knew it. That's all they care about. That's come on. I'm in here at Good Behavior Club. And then he says, you would think he would say, so. Therefore, the rest of the thing would be lists of do's and don'ts.
That's not what he does. He says, I'm writing that you might not sin. He doesn't want us to sin. He says, but. If anyone does sin. You ever just see yourself show up in the Bible?
Isn't that nice that that's there? I'm hoping it gets better from here. But he's making some. I know. I don't want you to sin. We don't want to sin.
Collectively don't want to sin. But if we do. Then he goes into what happens next. But if anyone does sin. We. Have an advocate with the father.
Jesus Christ. The righteous. Now in order for that statement to be as beautiful. And as appreciated as it needs to be. We have to understand how sin works. Because the first question you need to ask is.
Why do we need an advocate with the father? If you don't understand the nature of sin. You have to ask. Why do I need an advocate with the father? If you understand the American legal system. And you and I are out doing.
Hooligan things. And. You go to get arrested. And as they're. You know. Making sure you don't hit your head.
They've already beat you up. But now they're really worried about the front of your head. And they're getting you in the car. And I said. Don't worry. My dad's a lawyer.
And then they close the door. That information makes sense to you. That's helpful information to have. Because you understand. I'm going to have to face a judge. I'm going to need a lawyer.
But if I yelled at you. Don't worry. Village idiot has buy one get one free pizza on Mondays. You're like. I don't. What?
I'm still. What does that have to do with. Anything. If you don't understand. What's happening here. Then him saying.
Jesus is our advocate. Is like. I don't. Okay. What happens with my sin and the father. Like.
I need to understand this. This reality of what's going on. So we're going to take a second. Before we can appreciate. We need to understand the nature of sin. And how it works.
There is. A judgment. Day. First John 4 17 says this. That there's the day of judgment. That the father is a righteous.
Judge. Colossians 3. 5 and 6 says this. Put to death. Death therefore. What is earthly in you.
Sexual immorality. Impurity. Passion. Evil desire. And covetousness. Which is idolatry.
On account of these. The wrath. Of God. Is. Coming. God.
The father. Is a righteous judge. Who has wrath. For sin. And. Sinners.
That it's not just. Against the sin. But it's against the sinners. It's those who participate. In the sin. That he has.
Wrath. That is coming. First John. He says God is love. We're going to get there later. Americans know that.
But God has wrath. For sin. And. Culturally. We're not. We're not big fans.
But I just want to pause for a second. Help you understand. That you actually. There's part of you. That appreciates wrath. You just don't like it.
When it's God. Having wrath for sin. But there's part of you. That appreciates it. In the. In the book.
True Grit. The main character. Her dad's been murdered. She's going to find. A U.S. Marshal.
To hunt down the guy. Who's run into Indian territory. Out in Oklahoma. I believe. He's trying to escape. And she's going to find.
A U.S. Marshal. To help her catch the guy. And when she shows up. She says. I got some money.
I'm trying to hire a marshal. And this guy says. Well there's a couple in town right now. He says. There's a guy named Rooster Cogburn. He's.
He has no pity. He's very aggressive. And he. He. He's. He's rough.
And they go. But this other guy. You don't want him. This other guy. He's by the book. He brings people back in alive.
And she says. I want Rooster Cogburn. I want the guy with no pity. Who. Who's going to get this job done. I don't.
I don't want the guy. Who. Who may or may not. Be able to keep doing. I want the guy. Who's going to find the person.
Who harmed my father. There's a reality to. We. Desire. When there's real sin. And real harm.
We desire. Real. Justice. We want something. To be done about it. It's like when we're watching.
The Denzel Washington movie. Where he's. The bodyguard of that little girl. And she gets taken. And you see him get upset about it. You want him to be upset.
And you want him to go get the people. Who took her. And you're like. Which movie is that? It's like four Denzel Washington movies. But that's what we want.
There's part of us that desires this. Now we can get it wrong. Sinfully. And we can go into revenge. But if you have real harm.
Someone has really hurt you. There's been real sin against your family. You want a real judge. You want a real prosecutor. You want a real prosecutor. There's part of us that knows this is good.
And desires it. But then when it comes to. God sits in this seat. We need to see the beauty of that. But because we're sinful.
We want to reject that idea. Or. We want to say. I'm glad that he does that. Because I know there are some bad people out there. But what I've done actually isn't that bad.
I'm not that sinful. But if you don't understand. How much wrath you deserve. You won't see how beautiful Christ is. The rejection of the idea of the wrath of God. Is first and foremost a rejection of.
The authority and truthfulness of the scriptures. You've got to get rid of the Bible. If you want to reject the idea of the wrath of God. Because it says over and over again. That he's a judge. And that he has wrath.
Zephaniah 1.18. I'm going to show you just a couple. Neither their silver nor their gold. Shall be able to deliver them. On the day of the wrath of the Lord. And part of us wants that.
We don't want. Just because you're rich. You don't have to face consequences. God's a righteous judge. In the fire of his jealousy. All the earth shall be consumed.
For a full. And sudden. End. He will make. Of all the inhabitants of the earth. That God has a day of judgment.
He has a day of wrath. Matthew 3.7. This is John the Baptist. When he's preaching. He says. When he saw that many of the Pharisees.
And the Sadducees. Were coming to his baptism. He said to them. You brood of vipers. Who warned you. To flee.
From the wrath. To come. That God has wrath. Anger. Judgment. Coming.
For. Sin. We have to understand. That this is the. Teaching. Of the scriptures.
And so if we say. Well what I have. What. Yeah. That's good. That's fine.
But what I've done. Isn't that bad. Well. I want to show you something. Ephesians 5. 5 and 6.
Ephesians 5. We're about to read. Is very much. Basically repeating. Repeating. What we just read.
In Colossians. But I just want to show you. It shows up in multiple places. Says. You may be sure. Of this.
That everyone. Who is sexually immoral. Or impure. Or who is covetous. That's an idolatry. Has no inheritance.
In the kingdom of Christ. And God. Let no one deceive you. With empty words. For because of these things. The wrath of God.
Comes upon the sons. Of disobedience. The reason I think. This passage. In Ephesians. That passage.
In Colossians. Is particularly helpful. For us. Is that you might have. A place in your brain. Where you go.
Yeah. Stalin. Hitler. Murderers. Serial killers. But I'm just in a different category.
I'm not that bad. But in both of those lists. It listed sexual immorality. And covetousness. And if those aren't foundational. To the United States.
If those aren't foundational. To the things that we say. Well this isn't that big of a deal. The idea that I want things. I don't have. And I want my neighbors things.
And when I see what they have. You know one of the most normal questions. We have. In this perfectly normal conversation. Where did you get that? That statement.
It comes after. Covetousness. I like that. Where did you get that? How much was that? Where can I find that?
Because in general. We see things. We want them. We pursue them. And we pursue sexual sin. And one of the things.
That our culture has told you. Over and over. And over again. Is that sexual sin. Does not harm anybody. But the reality is.
That it is an attack. On the beautiful design. Of God's world. And he has wrath. To come. To say.
That what I have done. Is not that bad. Is to reject. The glory of God. And it is a rejection. Of the beauty.
Of his creation. Because so often. We evaluate. The harmfulness. Of something. By the object.
That it was committed against. If I took a pencil. And a sheet of paper. And I poked a hole. In that sheet of paper. Blank sheet of paper.
This is destructive. Probably shouldn't have done it. Did I do it. While I was angry. Why are you tearing things up? If that was your Scantron.
For your SAT. That you had just gotten done taking. Well that was a lot more malicious. I have caused you. A lot of trouble. Less trouble than you think.
You didn't do that well on it. If that was the Mona Lisa. I am in a whole lot of trouble. If that was someone's face. Because we were in an argument. This.
I mean. We've jumped up in. Because it's the object. That the action is done against. So when I say.
My sin's not that big a deal. What I'm saying is. God's not that glorious. He's not that holy. Also. When I say.
My sin's not that big a deal. I'm saying. I'm a better judge. Of morality. Than God is. You just got to at least.
Own. That's where you're coming from. That I. The one who sinned. And did something wrong. Have a better gauge.
On what is right and wrong. Than God. When we say. Well I lied. But you know.
It wasn't that big of a lie. Well your lie. Wasn't just the situation. Your lie was an attack on truth. And truth is beautiful. And God wrote truth.
And God wrote truth into the world. So that we might have ease of relationship. And we might have joy and delight. And we might be able to trust one another. And you know how much problems are in the world. Because we don't believe in one another.
And we don't trust one another. And your one little lie. Is not just an assault on the situation. And the relationship you're in. But it's an assault on the truth of God.
And when you say. It's not that big a deal. You're saying. He's not that glorious. And his world isn't that beautiful. A rejection of the idea of wrath.
Is a failure to see. The absolutely contaminating nature. Of sin. And it doesn't harm us that much. It's not that big a deal. I love the way.
A friend of ours is. A youth director. How she illustrated this. She's a good cook. She bakes well. And she made brownies for her.
Entire youth group. And she just set them out. When they showed up. And they were all hanging out. You know. I don't know.
Playing ping pong. It was back in the day. They were probably playing hacky sack. With Spencer or whatever. And eating the brownies. And enjoying themselves.
And she gets up to talk. She starts talking about sin. And she says. I have a confession. I need to confess. Probably a sin.
It's probably a sin. I need to confess that to y'all. I went in my backyard. While I was making my brownies. I had the batter all mixed up. I went in my backyard.
Y'all know I have a dog. And I've got just a little bit. Just a little bit. Of dog poop. And I put it in the brownie mix. Just a little bit.
And they were like. What? She's like. The brownie mix y'all ate. Y'all know. Look.
It didn't mess it up. It tasted fine. Y'all didn't notice. They're like. You made us eat poop. Poop brownies.
We ate poop brownies. She's like. They're not poop brownies. They're brownies with poop. You know. No.
These are. And they. They lost it. They're arguing with her. Kids were picking up the phone. Like.
I'm going to be sick. I need to call my mom. Like. She's like. You're not going to be that sick. And the point she was making.
Maybe I should say. She didn't actually feed them poop. The point she was making. Was that it only takes a pinch of poop. To make. A whole batch of brownies.
Poop brownies. Poop brownies. That's how sin works. Righteousness is 100% purity. It only takes a pinch. To make us unrighteous.
And to say. Well it's not that big a deal. That's not how it works. And do not. Treat brownies. With greater care.
Than you would treat your eternal soul. That's crazy. And so to reject the idea of the wrath of God. Is to reject the scriptures. Reject the glory of God. Reject the beauty of creation.
To reject the understanding of the extreme contamination of sin. And it is to reject your hope of salvation. Because if God isn't that wrathful. And if he's not that glorious. Then Jesus isn't that beautiful.
And the cross isn't that glorious. You see he says this in Romans 2 5. He says. Because. But because of your hard.
And impenitent heart. Meaning that you've heard these things. You've been called to repentance. You've been told to see your sin. And your heart. It just bounces off.
Your heart is impenitent. You're not. You're not repentant. You're not seeing your sin. You don't feel shame. You don't feel guilt.
Because of that. You are storing up wrath. For yourself. On the day of wrath. When God's righteous judgment. Will be revealed.
If you have not repented. And placed your faith in Jesus. I want you to hear this. This is not an attack. This message is not wrathful. To tell you that wrath is coming.
Is not wrathful. To wait until it shows up. Is harmful and wrathful. But we are pleading with you. Paul's pleading with you. The scriptures are pleading with you.
To repent. To see your sin. And to run to Jesus. But if you have not repented. I need you to know. And I need you to hear clearly.
If you have not trusted in Christ. You are storing up wrath. For yourself. On the day of wrath. And there is a day of wrath. But.
If anyone does sin. We. Have an advocate with the Father. This is what 1 Thessalonians says this for Christians. God has not destined us. For wrath.
But to obtain salvation. Through our Lord. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Christ. Lived.
A perfect sinless life. That is why he is called in 1 John. 2. 1. Jesus Christ. The righteous.
That he is. Righteous. He lived. A perfect. Sinless. Life.
He did not. He did not deserve wrath. He did not deserve wrath. Had not earned wrath. Was not in the same position of us. Where he had stored up wrath.
For the coming judgment. He was blameless. And therefore. Was the only one. Who could swap places with us. To bear the wrath of God.
And to give us righteousness. If he had sinned. He would be in the same spot with us. Deserving of wrath. But because he had not sinned.
And he is righteous. He dies on the cross. And those who place faith in him. Can be redeemed. He dies on the cross. He is buried.
He rises again. And he lives forever. Before the throne of God. As an advocate. For those who sin. Hear what he is saying.
He says. My little children. My little children. I don't want you to sin. But if you sin.
We have an advocate before the father. We have the risen Christ. Who stands. Before the throne of God. Our sin. Does not make it.
To the father. Our sin. Made it to Jesus. And Jesus atoned for it. And he stands before the father. And he says.
There is no wrath. For this one. We have an advocate. That stands before the father. Who lives. Who has conquered sin.
On our behalf. How does he do this? He is the propitiation. For our sins. Say propitiation. Say propitiation.
Yeah. You want to. You want to get a Greek word tattooed on your shoulder. That's it. Do propitiation. It's a good one.
Propitiation. Propitiation. Is the idea of the sacrifice. That absorbs the wrath of God. For an actual offense. It's the.
In the Septuagint. Which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. It's the day of atonement. It's the day of propitiation. It's this day where the sacrifice is made. See in the Old Testament.
They would sin. And they knew they'd sin. And they would go to the temple. And they would. Go take an animal. And the animal would.
Would go in their place. This lamb or this bull. Would go in their place. To atone for their sin. Because when we sin. There's real punishment that is deserved.
And God made a system. To help them learn. The devastating. Life. Murdering nature of sin. And that they would.
Sacrifice a lamb. And that Jesus Christ comes. As the perfect lamb of God. Who atones for our sin. That's what it says. In 1st John chapter 1.
That he does this by. The blood of Jesus. That we're cleansed by. The blood of Jesus. This is why we talk about. The blood of Jesus.
This is why we sing. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Because it takes blood. To atone for our sin. Because we are deserving of death. In our rebellion.
We are deserving of wrath. Hebrews 9. 22. Indeed. Under the law. Almost everything.
Is purified with blood. And without the shedding of blood. There is no forgiveness of sins. Your sins. Will be paid for. In blood.
And it will either be. The blood of Christ. Who bears the wrath for sinners. Or you will pay for it. Bearing the wrath. For your sin.
But that's how it works. So I want us to see something. I think John says this. With a smile on his face. Do you know how beautiful it is. For him to look at you.
And say. You ought not sin. I know. But if you do. Jesus stands in front of the Father for you. I know.
I know. I don't want to sin. I know. I don't want to sin. But I keep on sinning.
Praise Jesus. The advocate. Who stands in front of the Father for you. Glory. Glory. To the name of Christ.
Who stands before the Father for you. That your sin. Does not hold you. Or claim you. Or accuse you. Or condemn you.
Praise Jesus. You need to know that your forgiveness was costly. That he paid for it. I've heard recently this argument. That it's not really forgiveness. If someone pays for it.
That's crazy. All forgiveness is paid for. If you owe me a hundred dollars. If I owe you a hundred dollars. This will be more realistic. If I owe you a hundred dollars.
And you say don't worry about it. Did that one hundred dollars disappear? You paid for it. That hundred dollars came out of you. You can try to get it back out of me. But somebody's got to pay for it.
And God the Father. Through Christ the Son. Both God. Paid for our sin. He incurred the debt. And the wrath.
For us. So that we might be forgiven. It has been paid for. Our forgiveness was costly. But guess what?
Your debt's been paid. And there is no more wrath for you in Christ. There is no more wrath for you in Christ. We are not destined for wrath if we're in Christ. When you sin. You see your sin.
And you hate your sin. And there's this tendency to feel this shame. And this weight. And this oh my goodness. I've separated myself from God. Oh.
I've fallen so short. If you are in Christ. You do not atone for your sin. You do not bear the wrath of God. You do not feel bad for a week. So that you can atone and pay back.
We don't pay back. It's already been paid. When we see our sin. We walk in the light. And we praise Christ the King. Who stands forever before the Father.
To actively apply the work of the cross for us. He stands by the Father. To complete continually. The work of His sacrifice for us. And that our sin is not stored up. Our sin is washed away continually.
By the active advocate that we have before the Father. The risen Christ. We bear no shame. We store no wrath. We carry no guilt. Because Jesus bore our shame.
Jesus took our wrath. Jesus carried our guilt. And we do not rob the glory of Christ. To act like for one ounce of a second. That I can bear the weight of my sin. And that I can somehow atone for it.
But I press back into Christ. And I press the glory of His risen work. And His atoning sacrifice. And I praise the King. Who does not hold me accountable for my sin. But that in Christ has taken the wrath.
Through His propitiating work. And stands as an advocate before the Father. On our behalf. This is why John. The same John in the book of Revelation. In a vision.
He's standing there. And they say. Behold. The lion. Of the tribe. Of Judah.
And John says. But when I looked. He looked like a lamb. Who was slain. Because Jesus Christ. Is the lion.
Of the tribe. Of Judah. But if you're in Christ. He's the lamb. Who was slain. He's the atonement.
For your sacrifice. He is not out to get you. He is out to redeem you. He has worked for you. And in our sin. We do not grovel in shame.
But we praise the glorious nature of Christ. Who redeems sinners like us. It's to the praise of His glorious grace. We need to know that our forgiveness was costly. We need to know that our debt was paid. But there is no wrath anymore for us.
And we need to know this was done in love. 1 John 4.10. We'll get to this later. But it's going to be a while. So we're going to go ahead and read it now.
In this is love. Not that we have loved God. But that He loved us. And sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. That He came to redeem us. Because He loved us.
That His pursuit of us was a pursuit in love. He's not frustrated with you if you're in Christ. He's not disappointed in you. He's not withholding good things from you. He's not disgusted with you. He's not growing angrier and angrier with you.
All of those would be functions to degrade the finished work of Christ on the cross. And that is not degraded. When He said it is finished, it is finished. And if you are in Christ, He pours out love and grace and peace and forgiveness on you continually through the work of Christ. Then He says this.
1 John 2. 2 John 3. We who are in Christ have an advocate in Christ who has propitiated our sins. Who has taken the wrath of God on our behalf. Who stands to apply it. And He is our hope.
But He's also the only hope for the world. That if they are going to flee the wrath that is to come, they must flee to Christ. That there is no other hope. There is no other salvation. There is no other propitiation. There is no other way to stand on the day of judgment.
You either stand in your own self-righteousness and are destroyed. Or you stand in the righteousness of Christ and are forgiven. He's not just the forgiver of our sins. But he's the hope of salvation for the world. If you have not trusted Christ, flee the wrath that is to come and run to him where there is forgiveness. Yes, we ought not to sin.
We're going to talk more about that. This is the fuel for obedience. We'll look at that next week. We ought to repent of sin. We ought to walk in the light. We're going to.
He says that's actually a Mark of Christians. We're going to. But we're going to because when we sin, we have an advocate. When we sin, we are forgiven. When we sin, we have a continual hope. Come to Christ and be forgiven and be redeemed and have his work applied to you.
Forever. The band's going to come back up. And we're going to respond by praising Christ. John 3, 36 says this. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life.
But the wrath of God remains on him. If you are in Christ, let's praise his glorious name. We may have some sin to confess. You may have some things you need to bring in the light. Bring it in the light as someone who has an advocate that stands before the Father. Bring it in the light as someone who is redeemed.
Do not hide in the darkness like you have stored up wrath for yourself. Do not run from this Savior. And if you are not a believer, if you have not yet placed your faith in the Son of God, we would invite you to trust Christ who atones for sin. In just a moment, as Raz plays, we're going to receive communion as a church family, which is where we actively, physically, tangibly remind ourselves of the active, physical, tangible work of Christ. That he died on a cross. That he was buried in the tomb.
That his body was broken and his blood was shed for us. And that it covers us. That he, through that sacrifice, covers us. That there is no wrath for us. That there's freedom and hope and joy. And so when we fall into sin, when we fall into temptation, that we repent and we run back to him in praise.
We don't grovel. We walk boldly into the throne room of grace, to the glory of Christ, not to our Lord. We do not act as if we somehow earn the right to walk into his presence, but we come boldly because that right has been sealed and satisfied and earned for us by Christ. And so we partake in communion. We remind ourselves of that. If you are not a Christian, this is not for you.
Because this is a remembrance of Christ's work. It's an application of Christ's work. And it's looking forward to Christ's continued work and his return for us. We want Christ for you. We want his blood to cover you. We want him to stand as an advocate for you in the heavens before the Father so that we are not storing up wrath.
We would invite you to repent of your sin and to ask Jesus to save you. Let's pray. God, we ask that through the power of your spirit you would help us. Help us to believe this. Help us to feel this. Help us to know this.
So that we might respond. In the midst of our sin. In the midst of our failure. That we might respond like we have an advocate in the heavens. Who has atoned for our sin. That it does not stain us.
That it does not separate us from you. To believe that is to believe that Christ is incapable of saving. That Christ has not given us his righteousness. And so, Lord, may we respond as those who are redeemed. Hating our sin. And loving our Savior all the more.
And God, we ask that your Holy Spirit would bring conviction. That you would help the wrath that is to come to be so real. So that we might flee. So that anyone in this room who has not trusted in you as their Savior. But has been trusting in their own morality and their own wisdom.
Who's been thinking, I'll get it together later. I'll do this later. That would quit soaring up wrath. But would run to you so that you might atone for them. And you might satisfy the wrath of God. I pray all this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Walk in the Light (1 John 1:5-10)
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. So we are in the book of 1 John.
And last week we introduced this book. And when we introduced it last week, we saw that John is writing to churches in the New Testament that are dealing with some false teaching. They are dealing with some people that are leaving the faith. So John, very clearly in this letter, is outlining here are some identifying markers of what it means to be a Christian. This is what Christians look like. And if you don't believe this thing, we looked at true belief last week as a theme that is going to run through the book of 1 John.
If you don't have an obedience that is true, we looked at how true obedience is going to be a theme that flows through 1 John. We looked at true love as a theme that is going to flow through 1 John. That if you don't have these identifying markers, then you are actually not a Christian. And he is very clearly outlining as we walk through 1 John, this is what it means to be a part of the church, to be a part of the family of God. And we introduced the first four verses. We are picking up in verses 5 through 10 this morning where we are going to seek more of how this is outlined, more of what it means to be the people of God.
And we are going to see a teaching that actually shows the church to be beautiful. If we practice and embody what we are going to walk through today, we live out the gospel in a way that is beautiful and is captivating. My wife has taught dance for 15 years. And I have been around for about a decade of those years. And I have seen a lot of dances in those years. A lot of them.
At our old studio, I used to emcee the dance recitals and the Nutcracker events. So I have been in a lot of dance competitions, a lot more recitals, and I have seen some dances that are done really well. I have also seen some dances that are done not well. And if you have a darker sense of humor, which I do sometimes, they can be somewhat entertaining as they are a train wreck in slow motion. It's painful because you see that some of these students have not, you can tell they haven't worked really hard. They haven't been practicing.
And you can't tell, like they're not, you know, my wife, she taught jazz and ballet and contemporary and just all types of dances. And there's all types of lines you have to hit and steps you have to hit. It has to be coordinated. It has to be in sync. There's all these things that go into it. And you look and it's like they're not doing any of that.
This kid's looking off in the distance. This kid has a blank face. The teacher who's kind of coordinating the dance, who's trying to make sure everything's going the way it's supposed to, has this smile, but it's a fake smile. And she's panicking because she's watching all the work that they put in just fizzle out and die. You have parents that are watching, right? And they're hoping their kid doesn't break down in tears.
They're also hoping that, you know, the things that you just make it to the end and there's not a big scene. Like there's all kinds of things that are happening at once. Yet some parents, they're holding the iPad up in the air, taking video. There's all kinds of things that are a little bit humorous to watch. But when you pit those against some of the really good dances, they're done well.
Like when you see some students, you can tell they've worked hard all semester. They've worked hard all year. They have practiced and they're hitting their steps. They're hitting their lines. They're doing the things they're supposed to do. It's awesome because there's a joyous look on their face.
They're a teacher. There's a joyous look on their face. The audience, they're captivated by it. It's a beautiful thing to actually watch when everyone's in sync doing what they're supposed to be doing. Now we're looking at 1 John 1, 5 through 10 today.
And the teaching that we have in this passage is going to call the church to operate in a way where if we do this well, if we obey this teaching well, we are in sync together. We're doing what we're supposed to be doing. And when God sees the church doing this, it's joyous. It's exciting. And if we do this well, it taps into something that is beautiful and compelling that many of us long for. And that hopefully as we walk through this today, we will get to embody and see in our church family on a regular basis.
So let me pray for us and then we will walk through this verse by verse. Lord, we love you and we thank you. God, I pray that you would help us sit under the authority of your word this morning, that we might see what it means to be the people of God and obeying a teaching that is good for our souls and is good for one another. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right.
So last week, John introduces in the first four verses, he says, Jesus is a real person. He makes that abundantly clear. He's a real person. I saw him. I heard him. I touched him.
He's a real person because there was some false teaching that was saying the opposite at the time. And because that's true, he said, I want you to be in fellowship with us as we're in fellowship with God. That the goal is that you would obey these teachings that you might be in fellowship with God together. Now that's setting up the rest of 1 John. And then we get to verse 5, which is a thesis for the next few verses. But 1.5 is also a thesis for the rest of 1 John.
It is a header for everything that we're going to see. It says, verse 5, This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light. And in him there is no darkness at all. That sets up the rest of 1 John. God is light. Light in the scriptures is symbolic of moral perfection.
Of excellence. God is light. This is the perfection of God. This is the goodness of God. This is the holiness of God. This is the glory of God.
It's all the things that make him worthy of our worship and our praise. God is light. And there's no darkness in him at all. So darkness is symbolic of sin. We see in the scriptures. There's not an ounce of darkness in him.
Now, 1 John in a lot of ways operates a little bit like a commentary of the gospel of John. There's a lot of interactions that it has further explaining things in John. This is not the first time that God has declared himself to be the light. In John 8.12, Jesus says, And Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. The Lord, whoever follows me, will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So the idea here is the world is beset with darkness.
It is filled with darkness. God doesn't look at the darkness and say, I'm going to destroy it. He says, no, I'm going to step into it. Light steps into darkness. And he calls us to walk in the light with him. As he steps into darkness.
And he makes it abundantly clear. At the end of verse 5. He says, no darkness in him at all. That's an extra little forceful statement. There's not an ounce of darkness. Not an ounce of sin.
God does not make mistakes. He does not commit transgressions. He is beautifully radiant. Displaying his goodness, his perfection, his glory. So he makes that very clear.
God is light. There's no darkness in him at all. Now that sets up the next four verses that we've got in our passage. Because that's true, pick up in verse 6. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.
And the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. So, what follows out of that thesis statement that God is light are five different conditional statements. It says, if we say verse 6, but if we walk verse 7, but if we say verse 8, if we confess verse 9, if we say verse 10.
All that flows out of verse 5. What he's doing here is he's making a logical argument. Based on what he introduces in verse 5, because that's true, here's a logical argument that follows. Let's follow the logic. Verse 6 says, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Again, John's aim is to help him see that you are in Christ, that you have fellowship with us, as we have fellowship with God, that you are in fellowship with God.
But he says, if we say we have fellowship with the God who is light, while you walk in darkness, we lie. You don't practice the truth. So, that begs the question, okay, what is walking in darkness? Jesus taught on this in John 3. He said in verse 19, and this is the judgment. The light has come into the world.
And people love darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. Now, there are two things that are clear from there about walking in the light. The first is that walking in the light is walking in sin. He says, because their works were evil.
Because their works were evil. Now, as we're going to see in a few verses in 1 John, what he's not saying is that walking in darkness is someone who contains sin. Someone that has sin. What he's not saying is someone who actually struggles. Someone whose flame is flickering. That's not what he's getting at.
What he's getting at is that you are walking in darkness in a way that is incompatible with walking in the light. That is in direct opposition to walking in the light. But the second thing he makes note of is that those who walk in the darkness do not want to be exposed. He says, does not come to light, lest his works should be exposed. Those who walk in darkness hide. They don't want to be exposed by the light.
They don't want their works exposed. They want their sin exposed. It's hiding. So, verse 6, back to verse 6. He says, if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness. While we walk in darkness, like what was just taught there in John 3.
We lie. We don't practice the truth. We lie, meaning you aren't a Christian. You don't practice the truth, which quite literally means do the truth. You don't do the truth. That's a little bit of James.
Be doers of the word, not hearers only. You're not doing what the Bible says. You're not practicing what you preach. You lie. You don't practice the truth. Then he continues the argument in verse 7.
But, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. So, walking in the light is pitted against walking in darkness. All right. So, then you've got to define what walking in the light means. Now, before we define that, before we see what that means, look at what's offered.
Look at the offering. If you walk in the light, here are the two things that you get. You get fellowship with one another. You get fellowship that your soul longs for. You get fellowship with one another. It's good and it's beautiful.
And the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Cleanses us. That's the language of sanctification. God is cleansing us. He's renewing us. That the things that, that trouble you, the sin that plagues you, you get offered cleansing from those sins.
Who doesn't want that? Who doesn't want a fellowship that is good? Who doesn't want cleansing from sin? If that's what's held out in front of us as Christians, the understanding what walking in the light means is unbelievably important. So, what is walking in the light? Walking in the light is standing firmly in the radiance of Christ.
It is living in the light of the glory of God. 2.4, we're going to see next chapter says you know him. That part of the walking in the light is that you actually know God. 2.10 is going to say you're abiding in the light. It's this standing firmly in the light in a way that's different than the rest of the world. And that so much of what we're going to see the rest of 1 John is going to be fleshing that out.
With those major themes that we see. With true belief. With true obedience. With true love. But there's something that you need to know.
You won't understand what walking in the light is. You won't understand the rest of 1 John if you don't understand the important first step for those of us that are Christians. The important first step for humanity in walking in the light is found in these next few verses. And if you don't get these next few verses then you don't get the gospel. Then you don't get anything that he's going to teach next.
You don't get anything in the implications of what it means to walk in the light. So we have to understand these next few verses. It's vitally important. Verses 8-10 he says, If we say we have no sin. We deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned we make him a liar. And his word is not in us. So part of walking in the light for us is acknowledging that walking in the light is not sinlessness.
Walking in the light is not our moral perfection or effort. It is not that. If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. That part of walking in the light is realizing and owning and facing the reality of that we have sin within us. And if you don't do that you don't understand the gospel. There's some folks that used to work for this family business.
And the family owners they have this teaching they believe called Christian perfectionism. It shows up every now and then over the last few centuries. It's this idea. It's debated even amongst Christian perfectionists what that means. But the general idea is that you can actually achieve moral perfection.
Moral obedience. A true love. A moral holistic love and obeying of the scriptures. It's a terrible doctrine. The worst version of it are those that believe you actually can achieve sinless perfection in this life. And this family who owned this business believed that about themselves.
They believed. The owner believed that they had arrived at this state of sinlessness. Now, can you imagine working for an owner that was sinless? That never made mistakes? Anytime a mistake was made, ever. It's never their fault.
It's always your fault. And it was. It was a miserable working experience for anyone that worked there. Because it's delusional. They're crazy. That's nuts.
To think that you are sinless and perfect. And that's what he's getting at. It's delusional. You deceive yourself. Now, I don't know all of you. I know most of you.
I don't know all of you. I don't think any of you are going to say that, right? In fact, it's a cultural vice to say that you're better than everyone else. Like, no one likes that in our culture. All right?
But here's the deal. I think this verse is getting at more than just admitting, oh, I'm not perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. I don't think it's saying just generally, yeah, okay, I'm a sinner in general. I think what this is tapping into is something deeper. That it's getting more specifically.
No, these are the ways in which I am broken. I am acknowledging that there is sin within me. And that sin is harmful to myself and others. And because that's true, and because that's stated in verse 8, these next two verses that come out of it are unbelievably important for how we walk that out. In verse 9, he says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.
The part of walking in the light, part of having fellowship with God, is that part of walking in the light, is not just acknowledging sin. It's confessing it. It is a life of confession. So, that's the logic of his argument. God is light. There's no darkness in him at all.
Because that's true. We're called to realize that we have sin in us. To walk in the light as he is in the light. When we do this, we get true fellowship with one another. When we do this, we get cleansing from our sin. Acknowledge we have sin in us.
Confess that sin. Experience forgiveness that is offered. If you don't do this, you're deceived. You're a liar. You don't understand the gospel. The logic of the argument is actually not very hard to follow.
Living that out and applying that is a different story. And that's what I want to spend the rest of our time looking at. Is how do we actually live this out? How do we actually apply this in a way that's practical for our lives? And I have three specific ways. Face reality.
Experience real confession. Enter into a confessional fellowship. We need to face reality. We need real confession. And we need to be a part of a confessional fellowship. So, let's look at that first one.
Face reality. We need to face the reality of our sin. This is not, hear me. This is not just saying, I'm a sinner. I'm not perfect. It cannot be just that.
It is facing the reality of our sin. And how destructive it is to us. And how destructive it is to one another. One of my favorite Denzel Washington performances is the movie Flight. The story of flight is that Denzel is a pilot. And he's a really good pilot.
And one morning at takeoff, as they take off, very shortly after, there's massive mechanical failure. And the plane, and he understands very quickly, this plane is going to crash. And he very miraculously lands the plane. He flies it upside down. And then eventually lands the plane. And only six people die.
They did flight simulations later on, where a bunch of pilots tried to do the same thing with the same mechanical failure. All of them crashed. Everyone dies. He flies it. Only six people die. One of them was his good friend, a flight attendant.
But in the investigation to figure out what happened in the crash, they discover in the cockpit trash can, there are two empty mini bottles of vodka. And what's also happening is we see that he is not just a pilot, he's an alcoholic. And the rest of the story is he is not really facing the reality of his addiction. He's not facing that at all. He's prideful. I'm a good pilot.
I'm the one that landed on that plane. No one else could have done it like me. He's not facing the reality. And then the airline finds out about this, and they are actively trying to keep the authorities and keep the public from knowing about his alcoholism, knowing about his drinking, knowing about that he was drinking on that flight, because it would open them up to liability. So the rest of the story is him not facing his addiction.
It's this airline actively hiding it until you get to the very end where it's at a public hearing. And at this public hearing, it's being questioned about the crash. It's being questioned eventually about the mini bottles that they found. And the legal strategy is for him to pin those mini bottles on the flight attendant, on his friend who died. That's the legal strategy. But they put her face on the screen.
And when he sees her face, he finally realizes that he cannot throw her under the bus. He finally faces the reality of his sin. And he finally confesses. And he says, Nope, I was. I did drink those bottles. I was drunk that morning.
I'm actually drunk right now because I'm an alcoholic. And when you see this, when you see someone who's absolutely, finally owned the fact that they are a sinner, and they've owned their brokenness, when you see this in real life, when you see people finally realize and face the reality of the brokenness that's within, of the sin that's beneath the surface, when you see that, it's beautiful. Because what they've experienced finally is freedom. They've experienced freedom. And some of you have been struggling for years. And you've got sin in your life, and you don't want to look at it.
You don't want to deal with it. Even right now, you're just like, how quickly can we get through this? I don't want to look at this. I want to think about this. Can we move on? And you don't want to face the reality of what's happening underneath the surface.
We need the type of freedom that is offered when we actually face reality. We cannot hide. We need to be exposed. And if you will take a step of faith and allow this to happen, if you'll do this, then you can enter into real confession. We need real confession. Once you face the reality of your sin, we need real confession.
Part of walking in the light is this. Verse 9. If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Part of walking in the light is this type of confession. So, what type of confession is this? Is it to God?
Is it to God alone? Does it involve other Christians? Does it involve everyone? What does the Bible teach about this type of confession? To be honest, the Bible does not give us some super prescriptive play-by-play, this is how you're supposed to approach confession. It doesn't.
It describes some instances throughout the entire Bible, but it doesn't actually prescribe. This is what it means to walk in confession. So, there are a few things we can very clearly see. Yes, absolutely it is to God. Confession involves confessing your sins to God. We see that all over the New Testament.
Let me just give you just two places that I see it beautifully displayed. In Psalm 32, David is working through brokenness and sin within him. And in verse 3, he says, For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long. Just picture that. Many of us have felt that. But when you keep silent about your sin, when you keep silent about the brokenness within you, it eats you alive.
He says, My bones are wasting away in silence. It's groaning all day long. But he goes on to verse 4. He says, For the day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as by heat of the summer. Verse 5, I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. So, I was not going to continue to let my bones waste away in silence. No, I came to the Lord in confession, and He covered my iniquities. And I experienced this forgiveness that He offers. Proverbs 28, 13 says, Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Hiding your sin.
Listen, hiding your sin does not lead to prosperity. Some of you are like, I just hide this. If I don't bring this into the light, it will be better for me. The Scripture says, No, it will not. You're wasting away in silence. You will prosper, and you will experience.
You will experience mercy. You will experience mercy. Do you want to waste away in silence? Do you want to keep this all to yourself? Or do you want what He offers to be covered by His blood? Do you experience His mercy and His grace, His forgiveness and His cleansing?
Do you want to keep this all to you? Y'all, Jesus stands in the heavens right now with holes still in His hands. Still in His hands. Outstretched as our great high priest, waiting for your confession. I mean, feel the reality of that. That Jesus, the one who poured out His blood on the cross for your sins, because He loves you, because He's jealous for you, because He wants you, stands in the heavens and says, I want your confession.
I am your great high priest. I am ready to take it. That's how much our God loves you. He wants you to bring confession to Him. You don't need a priest in this life. You don't.
You have a great high priest who wants you to confess. He does not want you to carry this on your own. He does not want you to deal with this on your own. He doesn't want you to think that you can just cover this up with good works, because you can't. He wants you to humble yourself before the Lord and confess. And when you do this, the next thing that we see in 1 John, something that is beautifully displayed is a confessional fellowship, that we get to enter into a confessional fellowship.
Verse 7 says, But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. When you use the New Testament, confess, the word shows up a lot in the New Testament. The overwhelming majority of the time, it's used in the aspect of confessing faith and confessing Jesus. There are actually only four times in the New Testament confession is linked to sins. Only four times. Two of them are described in the same event.
Matthew and Mark both describe that when John the Baptist was preaching a message of repentance, people heard the message of repentance, and they were confessing their sins publicly and being baptized. That's two of the mentions. There's one in James 5 that says, Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. And then there's our passage in 1 John 1.9. So, with those mentionings of confessing sin, how do you piece those together and get a picture of what we should do? I would argue that we catch a very beautiful glimpse of a New Testament people of churches that knew they needed one another.
They knew they needed one another. I mean, James 5 in particular, Therefore, confess your sins to one another, pray for one another, that you may be healed. That's in the context of a teaching in James where if anyone is sick, call the elders and have the elders come and pray for you. He's teaching that when you're sick, the elders will come and they will pray for you. But then he shifts gears in 16 and he says, Therefore, because all that's true, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.
And what's clear is that he's not just addressing physical sickness, that he's addressing this spiritual sickness as well that's within us. And he says, A regular practice of what you should do is to confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. That the church should practice this regularly. Confess your sins to one another. Pray for one another that you may be healed. And that is also true in 1 John 1.9.
1.9 Is directly linked to this true fellowship idea. The part of walking in the light is letting those who bear the light. We are called, as Christians, children of the light. It's letting children of the light see your sin and give you the light and give you the gospel in return. This is what we do at care nights. Which, have you ever been a part of groups?
About once every four, five, six weeks on our community groups we have these care nights. And I've heard from some of you, because I have ears, that you're not the biggest fan of care nights. They're not fun or an enjoyable experience at times. Some of you don't like care nights. I get it. So why do we subject you to them once a calendar month-ish?
Why do we do this? Because you need it. Because it is good for your soul. Because you need to live out this teaching in a way that exposes what is earthly within us. Because we desperately need one another. And this journey together and this marathon of faith together.
You need confession. You need to confess your sins to others. And we believe that community groups are a wise place for you to do it. That you have these Christians who are in your life that get to know all of you. Get to know the brokenness within you. And they get to give you the gospel.
They get to remind you of what is good. Does that mean that you have to confess your sins to everyone? No. No, you don't. If any Christian comes up and he says, spill it. You just say, first of all, that's weird.
But no, I'm not. No. I've seen people that have confessed their sins on Facebook. I don't think that's wise. But we do believe community groups are an unbelievably good place for you to actually confess your sins to one another.
If you don't, you are wasting away in silence. Your soul is decaying. You're like a closed-off cellar that gets no air, that doesn't get any light. And inside, it's just mold is growing and it's rotting the wood and it's rotting it from the inside out. When you waste away in silence, when you don't actually practice this confessional fellowship, when you don't let light in from other Christians, it's dark and darkness is growing and sin is spreading, we've got to open the door. We've got to let some air in.
We've got to let some light in. We've got to let Christians see what is earthly within us, what is broken, the sin that is beneath the surface. It says in verse 7, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus' son cleanses us from all sin. In college, I was discipling some guys and then I taught this section of the text and I taught them this. And I said, all right, that's basically exactly what I'm close to what I'm teaching right now. I just said, we need to walk in the light with one another.
We need to actually live this out together. And it was beautiful. I watched each of them as they, some of them for the first time were actually walking in the light and they were confessing sin and they felt this freedom, this burden had been lifted off of them. And I walked away from that and I felt like the biggest hypocrite in the world because I've never actually done that because there was still sin in my life that I've never brought to the surface. And I didn't want to trust other Christians. I didn't want to bring people into this.
I thought I could manage this myself. I'll be okay. And I wasn't. And I felt the weight of hypocrisy. I felt this, this liar that the first John was talking, I felt it weighing on my soul as I can't do this. I can't be a Christian and continue to do this.
I can't be a pastor one day and continue to do this. I've got to take a step of faith. And it took a lot. It took weeks of fearfulness. And finally, I started to. So I talked to one Christian and a couple more.
I started to finally walk in the light. And all these fears and all these outcomes that I played out in my head that were going to go so poorly, God in His grace and His mercy brought freedom. And He brought grace. And He brought mercy. And He brought this fellowship that I've been missing out on. This fellowship that is beautiful and is good.
And ever since then, I said, that's what I'm doing. For the rest of my life, I will walk in fellowship with other Christians. I will bear my soul. They will see the depths of my nature. And I want them to speak the light of the gospel into this. It is beautiful when you have Christians in your life that you can say, this is what it is.
This is what's happening at the surface. And they don't, for a moment, flinch. They're unwavering. And they declare the gospel. They speak light into your life. It is beautiful.
It is like a well-coordinated and well-choreographed and well-done dance. The church needs to be this dance where there is facing reality, where there is this confession before God, this humbling ourselves before God, this confessional fellowship where we are confessing sin to one another and praying for one another and we're experiencing this spiritual healing and this mercy and this forgiveness of sins and this cleansing of sins that's offered but you won't experience this if you don't take a step of faith. You won't experience this if you don't do it. So I want to, for those of us that are still walking in darkness, don't leave this morning.
Don't leave your community group this week. Don't leave without actually experiencing the mercies of God that are offered in this. If you don't, you will only decay away in silence. But if you do, if you do, I'm telling you, you'll experience a fellowship that you've never experienced before. You'll experience fellowship with God in a way you've never experienced before. You will experience the God who is light.
Carson's going to come up and he's going to close this in a song and I want us to prepare our hearts for worship. I do not want us to simply be hearers of this and ignore it. I want us to do the truth. I want us to do this teaching. some of you need to take a few moments and you need to just sit and pray. Some of you need to take a few moments and you need to actually consider. Have I actually done this?
Some of you haven't done this in years. Some of you actually haven't trusted other Christians in years. I'm not saying that wasn't attached to some experiences that could have been difficult. I'm saying that faithfulness here is obeying this teaching is doing the truth and in this church family we fight hard to be a confessional people that give each other the gospel. I want you to take a leap of faith. Do not leave tonight, today, do not leave this week without doing it.
Walk in the light as he is in the light and you will have fellowship with one another and the blood of his son will cleanse you of all sin. That's the promise of the gospel. Let's be a people that lives that out. God, we love you and we thank you. We pray that you would go to work on our hearts. Help us be a people that believe the gospel so firmly and so fiercely that we do not walk in darkness but we walk in the light as you is in the light.
God, I pray right now if there's anyone here that has never done this at all, if they're honest themselves, they don't even know if they believe this fully. God, I pray you'd be so beautiful and compelling to them right now. They would open up their soul and they would confess their sins to you and they would experience faith and forgiveness, the washing and renewal of the blood. God, I pray that you would help them believe the gospel. I pray there are Christians here that have not experienced this walking in the light, they've been holding on to darkness, that's been beneath the surface for decades.
God, I pray right now that you would help them take a step of faith. They wouldn't leave today without grabbing another Christian and confessing sin. But God, we need you. We need the faith that you give so that we can walk in obedience. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Introduction to 1 John (1 John 1:1-4)
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 starting 1 John. Today we'll be in this for the next few months.
If you have a blue Bible, it'll be on page 591. If you have a regular Bible, it's towards the back, towards the end of the Scriptures. So, in our culture, and more specifically, in the American church, there's been this new kind of thing that's been happening over the last few years. At least, newly branded thing that's been happening over the last few years. It's the idea of deconstruction. Deconstruction is loosely based on this philosophical idea that you can deconstruct your beliefs down to the bare bones of what you believe.
This can be faith. This can be any belief system. But you can deconstruct to the bare bones, and then with the hope that you can rebuild something back that's better. And this has kind of become a thing over the last few years. As American Christians, who many are really disenfranchised with the American church, they're not happy with the American church. And to be fair, the American church isn't super great.
It's got a lot of problems in comparison to the global church. Also, to be fair, if you're basing your faith on the American church, that's a problem, because it's not a complete and beautiful reflection of Christ. But anyways, the reality is that people are leaving. They're deconstructing their faith, naively thinking they can build something back that's better, and they're just leaving. They're abandoning the faith. This is becoming more of a thing, and it's becoming something that people have to have this deconstruction journey, and they post it on Instagram and Facebook, because you can't do anything without posting it online.
And it's happening more and more, and there are pastors who are doing this. And culture, many in the culture, are celebrating this. This is a happy thing for many people. I mean, there's one pastor years ago that did this, and he got a team up with Oprah. There's another pastor who did this recently, and he went to try to sell classes on how to deconstruct. And this is happening over and over again.
When you see it out in public, when it's not people you know, it hurts. But when you see people that you love, people that led you to Christ, people that you're in community groups with, people that you've been in Bible studies with, and church with, and ministries with, when you see them start to walk away from Jesus, it hurts. When you see people abandon the faith that they once celebrated, when they reject obedience they once used to uphold, when they trade in the love of God for a cheap cultural substitute, it is painful. And if you follow Jesus long enough, you're going to see this over and over and over again.
And when this happens, lots of questions come out. Like, what happened? What happened to this person? What happened to this person? I mean, were they ever even a Christian to begin with? And then when you start to think about what led them to walk away from Jesus, then you start thinking about yourself and having some existential questions.
Am I even a Christian? How do I know that I'm saved? How do I know that I'm a Christian? How do I know that I'm not going to fall away too? And that is where 1 John gets to be a helpful book, one of the more helpful books in the Bible for that subject matter. Because the same discouragement that we are feeling in the American church as we're watching people reject Jesus, is the same discouragement that the early church felt, which is why this letter has been so helpful for centuries.
So, we're going to walk through 1 John. And in the coming months, we're going to see what it means to be a true follower of Christ. 1 John is going to clearly outline some things of what it means to be a Christian. This is what it means to follow Jesus. This is what it means to be in the church of Jesus. We're going to walk through this.
And as we walk through this, here's the hope. That for those of us that are in Christ, we will be lovingly confronted by 1 John in a way that corrects us, in a way that calls us to repentance, but also helps us see, okay, I have assurance that I'm walking in Christ because of what we're going to walk through in 1 John, the things it's going to outline. And that for those who claim the name of Christ, for those who say they're a Christian, but what's actually there isn't an authentic faith in Jesus. My hope is that as we walk through 1 John together, you would be confronted with that reality. And that God would be so compelling that you'd say, I actually want that type of faith in Jesus.
That's the hope of 1 John as we walk through the next few months. So let me read the first few verses. We're going to be in verses 1 through 4. And then I'll pray and we'll launch in. Verse 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life.
The life was made manifest and we have seen it and testified to it and proclaimed to you the eternal life. Which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. Let me pray.
Lord, we love you and we're thankful for the word of God. We're thankful that we get to come here every week. We get to sing about it. We get to read it together. We get to sit under the authority of it as you mold us and shape us into your image. God, I pray that as we introduce 1 John today, you would begin to point out some things in our hearts and that we would respond by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So we're going to start in verse 3. That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you. All right.
So you've been with us long enough. We walk through books of the Bible. We go verse by verse. Begs the question. Okay. Why start in verse 3?
1 John, in the Greek, which is the original language of the New Testament, is constructed in some very interesting ways. The first three verses is one long sentence and in it is one main verb. It's proclaim. That we've seen and heard, we proclaim also to you. So it's a proclamation that is happening at the onset of this book.
So before we look at that, we need to see who's proclaiming this and kind of give some background here. So 1 John was written by the Apostle John. It's the same disciple who wrote the Gospel of John, who wrote 1, 2, and 3 John. The same son of Zebedee who wrote the book of Revelation is the one who wrote this. But this letter is not a normal style New Testament letter.
Not a normal style letter from their time. When you read a lot of the other letters in the New Testament, whether it's Paul or Peter, it begins with, I, Paul, I, Peter, writing to this church, writing to this group of churches. There's a normal introduction. 1 John doesn't start that way. He doesn't introduce himself at all. Which also begs the question, how do you know it's John who wrote it?
A few simple reasons. First, the Greek in John is, 1 John is very, very similar to the Gospel of John. So we have those kind of look at each other. That looks the same. And the church historically has almost unanimously understood this since the very beginning, that this is John who wrote this. So John is writing this, but he doesn't identify a church.
Why? One of the more compelling theories that I've seen is that this is not a letter that was written to one specific church. That actually, by design, this letter was a letter that was written to circulate amongst a bunch of churches. This letter was meant to travel from church to church to church to church because in the church at this time, when this letter is being written, it is apparent that there is something sweeping through the churches that is causing a lot of problems. that there is a false teaching that is happening, that is swept through the churches all over Europe and Asia and Israel and North Africa.
And there are people, there are brothers and sisters in Christ who are walking away from Jesus. They're walking away from the faith they once used to proclaim. So, it appears that John, one of the disciples closest to Jesus, is going to address this head on. So, what was the false teaching that was spreading through this early church? Well, we don't know exactly because it doesn't identify exactly what this false teaching is, but we can look at the first couple of verses and we can actually see and get some clues as to what is actually happening. So, verse 1.
I want you to see some things. He says, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard. He says, We have heard this. And then he says, Which we have seen with our eyes. That we've seen it. That we've looked upon it.
That's not just glanced at. That we've beheld, looked, gazed upon it. We've looked upon it. That we have touched with our hands. It gets tactile. That we've touched with our hands concerning the word of life.
The life that was made manifest. This is revealed for you to see. Manifest. We've seen it. And testified to it and proclaimed to it the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest, revealed to us. That seems overkill, right?
Seen. Heard. Manifest. Touched. Seen. Heard.
He's getting at something. That the language here is meant to show that Jesus is actually a real person. And when you look at who he's talking about, verses 1 and 2, it says, That which was from the beginning, concerning the word of life that was made manifest. That language? Very close to the Gospel of John. Very, very close.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. We're talking about Christ. And this wasn't just the Word of flesh that was, the Word that took on flesh that dwelt among us in the Gospel of John. It gets more specific in that. We saw Him. We heard from Him.
We touched Him over and over again. It's hitting this to say that Jesus was a real person. He was real. We saw Him. We heard from Him. We touched Him.
So, He begins this letter by going really hard after that. It probably means that there were people in the churches that did not believe that, that Jesus was a real person. Like if I was teaching world history, and I said, alright, world history, first lecture. First, you need to know something. The world is round. It's round.
Oh yeah. I, in college, I studied abroad and I was on a ship and we circumnavigated the globe and I'll tell you something, we did not fall off the edge of the earth. We went all the way around, baby. There are satellites up in the sky owned by different countries and private companies. You know, all the pictures they show, the world is round. If you were in that class, you might go, is there a flat earther here?
Why are you addressing that the world is round? That's what's happening here. Right out the gate. We've seen him, we've heard, we've touched him. He is a real person. He is going hard after that for a reason.
And we don't know exactly which false teaching it was, but we have some general good ideas for what it could have been. Probably, it could have been the early seedbeds of Gnosticism. Gnosticism was a false teaching that arose at the end of the first century. It said a lot of things, but one of the things that it taught was that Jesus was not a real material person. That he was a spiritual being, but he wasn't actually a real material in the flesh being. And there's another heresy called Docetism that rose in the second century.
This could be the early seedbed of that, the early beginnings of that. That also taught that Jesus was not a real person. And out the gate, John is like, no, seen him, heard from him, seen him, touched him, absolutely is a real person. He's going to address this as a false teaching. He's going to address later in this book the false teachers. He's going to call them antichrists repeatedly.
And some of you just got really excited and said, oh, left behind? No. This is different for a lot of reasons. And then he goes on and he's going to acknowledge that people are leaving the church in chapter 2 over this. He said, no. We saw him.
We spent time with him. We got to know him. I saw him. We ate meals with him. He is a real person with a real body and a real existence. And that has real implications for your life.
Comes out making that abundantly clear. Now, when we read that, we're not real blown away because there isn't really anybody today that says Jesus is not a real person. That's not a problem for us. You can find the most hardened atheist historian and they're going to say, oh, no, Jesus was absolutely a real person. No one disputes that. Well, religions don't dispute that.
Islam doesn't dispute that. He absolutely was a real person. So that doesn't shock us. Like, wow, thank you for overstating. He's a real person. Here is the problem that we have with this culturally.
Verse 2, it says, While we don't have a problem with the fact that he was a real person, we do have a problem with the implications that he came from the Father and their eternal life implications for his coming. That is a problem culturally. When people deconstruct, they're like, no, I'm done with that. He's a real person, but that good moral teacher. But God, that's not something that our culture is okay with.
So, that's a little bit of intro for where this comes from. Now, let's look at verse 3 and start to see what he is proclaiming and what he's going to proclaim for the rest of this letter. That which we have seen and heard. You have to get in one more time. We saw and we heard him. We proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us.
Indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. The goal of this letter is that they're writing to these churches that they might have fellowship with them as they have fellowship with the Father. The Greek word for fellowship there is koinonia and as best I can tell in etymology studies, which is just studying the origins of words, that is where we get our word community. So, we talk about being a gospel-centered community on mission. A gospel-centered fellowship on mission. That, he's saying, I would like, I want you to see, I want you to know that you are in fellowship with me as we're in fellowship, as we're in community with God the Father.
And the rest of this letter is aimed at that. 1 John draws a line in the sand. This is what it means to be a Christian. This is what it means to follow Christ. This is what it means to be in fellowship with us, John is saying, as we're in fellowship with God the Father. He's drawing a line in the sand.
And to be honest, it's a fairly blunt line as we're going to see throughout 1 John. He is fairly straight to the point. And he wants them to see that if you are in Christ, here's some main things that you are going to take away. So, throughout 1 John, we're going to see three big themes that draw a line in the sand that helped us see are we actually in Christ or not. And here are the three big themes. The first is true belief.
The second, is true obedience. And the third is true love. So, true belief, true obedience, and true love. That's what we're going to see throughout 1 John. So, let's take a look at that first one, true belief. 1 John is filled with doctrinal nuggets, these little teachings that are designed to help the hearers, to help these churches see this is what true belief looks like.
Here are some things you need to believe because there are those who are leaving the faith, who are rejecting Jesus, that don't have these beliefs. So, I just want to highlight some of the things we've got coming out in front of us. Some of these real, true beliefs. 1 John 1.5, next week, we're going to hit this. This is the message that we have heard from Him, proclaim to you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. I don't know if you saw the bumper video, but it had a lot of lights in it and that's for a reason.
God is light. That's an opening statement that He's going to build so much of the rest of 1 John off of that God is perfect. He is glorious. He is light. In Him, there is no darkness at all and the implications that come out of that are going to be huge. He goes on to say in verse 10, if we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us.
So we're going to learn next week, if you think that you don't have real sin, if you're not honest about the fact that you have real sin in your life and you claim to be a Christian, 1 John says, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. And we'll walk through that next week. In chapter 2, verse 2, it says He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. We're going to learn about propitiation. Some of you are like, is that like aerospace engineering? Like what is propitiation?
Give it a couple of weeks. We're going to sit in that because that concept, that teaching actually is something that a lot of people are very much not okay with. And He makes that point clear. It's going to show up later as well. And then 5, now I'll give you one more. He says, we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
It's going to show up multiple times in John. This idea that Satan has power and dominion in this world. And if you haven't been confronted with that, it's like, whoa! And there are a lot of beliefs right there that are thrown in 1 John that absolutely can be jarring. But over and over again He's going to be building this case.
This is what it means to be a Christian. This is what it means to believe this. This is what distinguishes us in a way that is different from the rest of the world. We're going to see this over and over and over again because there are lots of people in these churches that he's writing to that claim to be Christians but they don't actually have true belief. And honestly, it could easily be written to a lot of southern churches across the south because the overwhelming majority of the south is going to claim Christianity. You ask a southerner, most likely, they're going to say, yeah, I'm a Christian.
And as Chet walked us through last week as we closed up our I Am A Missionary series, there are lots of people in America that claim to know Christ, that claim to be followers of Jesus but their beliefs don't line up at all. One of the things he cited last week was that in a survey it said 58% of American evangelical Christians contend that the Holy Spirit is not a real person. The Holy Spirit is a spiritual force but not a real person. And that's a major problem because we believe in a Trinitarian God. Our entire faith is built upon it. If you reject the third member of the Trinity, you've rejected the faith.
58%. I found some other surveys. There's one survey that American evangelical Christians have found that 51% of the people that responded to the survey said that all religions lead to God. All world religions, they're all just pathways that lead to God. That's 51% of those who were surveyed. 78% in that survey said that Jesus was created and was not eternally God.
Now not in getting the weeds of church history because I know that only three of you would get super excited about church history. But that was the biggest debate of the first few centuries. There was a heresy called Arianism that taught that Jesus was not eternally God. That He was a created being. And it almost ripped the church apart. Really big deal.
78% Of American evangelicals said, yep, that's what we believe. Now, polls are polls and surveys are surveys. Give or take 10 or 15, 20% off. That's alarming. And there are a lot more that you can cite that show that. That what you believe matters.
Now, I know some people will respond and go, alright, preacher man, I know you love theology. I know you get real excited about that. But is it just our faith about loving God and loving people? Isn't that some of the main teachings? You don't have to get into the weeds of all of this. Listen, I'm not advocating that you've got to love, love, love theology.
Alright? I'm not saying you've got to have systematic theology by your bedside every night and just get real giddy. I'm not saying that is the case. I think it would be fun. But I'm not saying that's what has to happen.
But the reality is you need to understand is that your beliefs matter because your beliefs ultimately shape how you worship. Your beliefs shape your understanding of God. Your beliefs shape the way that you practice your faith. I mean take just the self-proclaiming Christians in this survey that said that all paths lead to God. What you're essentially saying is is that faith can be found outside of the finished work of Jesus on the cross. That you can have eternal life with God outside of the blood being shed outside of the resurrection.
And if that is the case then Christ died for nothing. And the resurrection is meaningless. Now what you believe absolutely matters. You can play out the logic of any belief and lead it to its conclusions. It matters. What you believe matters.
And John understood this. That is why he comes out addressing something that is a very big problem in their churches. He's a real person with a real body and that matters. And so the beliefs we're going to walk through absolutely matter. And they're challenging but I'm glad we get to walk through them because they matter. Alright.
Beliefs also affect a major theme that runs through this and that is true obedience. That part of being a Christian means you have true obedience. Let me walk through a couple of verses that we're going to see as we walk through 1 John. 2.4 says whoever says I know him but does not keep his commands is a liar and the truth is not in him. It's a lot of lying accusations that John makes. Real blunt.
1.4 Says if you say you know him if you say you are a Christian and you don't follow his commands you're a liar. You aren't actually a Christian. What you say does not line up with actual obedience that he calls us to. 2.15 He says do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. We'll sit in that teaching the idea that if you love the world or just break it down even further if you look like the rest of the world in a way that does not distinguish you as a Christian if there's not any separating difference that you love the world so much that you look like the world he goes on to say that the love of the Father is not in you.
3.6 He says no one who abides in him keeps on sinning no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him and that's jarring and when we get to that we'll walk into the nuances of what is happening there but the real blunt takeaway is is that if you don't progress in a way where you are growing to be more like Christ and you continue in sin that grace may abound he's saying you don't know him. 3.8 He says whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. He doubles down on it and says if you keep on sinning you are son or daughter of the devil and it's like man that's abrasive calling people children of the evil one. Walk through that and see that in 3.8 and I'll just give you one more in 5.2 He says by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.
The defining feature is that you love God and you obey his commandments. That has some harsh teachings some hard teachings ahead of us but it matters. Somebody in my community group was talking about this the other day. I was in a relationship with a co-worker and that co-worker has gotten to know her she says she's a Christian and he finally just kind of took a step and said hey if you were a Christian and he addressed something that was in her life and he had kind of the rapport to be able to do this
He just said hey you're living with your boyfriend right now and why don't you actually let's talk about marriage because that's actually not honoring to God he started to walk get ready to walk her kind of through this challenge her on this and she said okay yeah but the Bible says a whole lot of things about wearing clothing with two different types of garments in it and shellfish we shouldn't eat shellfish and the Bible says a lot of things and in that moment she dismissed it outright
With a really bad Old Testament law hermeneutic bad Old Testament biblical interpretation but dismissed it dismissed it outright why? because she doesn't want to be challenged and that's us we don't want to be challenged in obedience we don't want to be challenged we like the way we live we don't want to be uncomfortable we don't want to be told this is what you should be doing this is what is ultimately good
This is what you should aim your life we don't want that and the reason why John is going to go hard after this is because obedience matters because disobedience leads to more disobedience it leads to more straying away one of my favorite TV shows of all time is Breaking Bad it is one of the more brilliant shows I've ever seen it is not like The Office you do not watch it over and over again
Because it's really dark but one of the things I appreciate so much about Breaking Bad is it shows this is the sinful nature of man and this is what happens when you indulge in this it leads to more rebellion I mean the whole story arc of the show shows this it's about a high school chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with cancer and he doesn't have money enough money and his health
Insurance doesn't cover his treatment so he says I'm going to make meth with my chemistry skills and he starts out with I'm going to make one deal of meth I'm going to get my money I'm going to get out but the show is called Breaking Bad because he starts Breaking Bad and it just keeps going and it turns to another deal and another deal and another deal
Until he becomes a drug kingpin in the southwest and as his life is completely falling apart it's just showing what happens when you indulge sin when it completely falls apart and he's ruined his family and he's become a major fugitive in the very last episode he has this conversation with his wife he gets a chance to see her one last time and she thinks he's going to get the same speech about oh you did
This for the family oh you did this for us and he's finally just honest and he says I did it for me I did it because I liked it I did it because it made me feel good and that's sin it taps into something disobedience taps into something that's earthly within us but we just want to keep going and keep going I hear people say
I hear people say I just don't know why people do drugs I don't know why don't they see how self-destructive it is as someone who used to do drugs I can tell you why people do drugs it feels really good it's honest that's the honest response doing drugs feels really good in the moment I mean indulging in sin feels really good
In the moment and yes it leads to self-destruction yes it leads to your life falling apart but man it feels good and John gets this and understands that if you go down the road of disobedience it is only going to get worse you will inoculate yourself to the love of God you will you will become so used to sin and so used to
Loving the world that you just won't you won't love God anymore and you will walk away he goes hard after true obedience and he also goes hard after true love true love true love 1st John 4 8 anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love a lot of people that aren't even familiar with much of the teachings
Of the Bible at least have heard that God is love in college in my philosophy classes I took logic which was a ton of fun you learn about logical fallacies which makes arguments really fun because you can just point out things that are logical fallacies in people's arguments you also learn about syllogisms syllogisms are
They're if if then statements if if therefore statements three part syllogisms are if this is true and if this is true therefore this is true four part syllogisms are if this is true and this is true and this is true therefore this is the conclusion so I want to show you a few of these syllogisms that that are helpful to see
This is how syllogisms works all mammals are animals logic point one all elephants are mammals logic point two if that is true therefore all elephants are animals alright that's how syllogisms work but you can have fun with it and you can kind of insert some logical fallacies within it and you can make them say all kinds of fun things
Unicorns are awesome fact I am awesome fact therefore I am a unicorn I am a unicorn alright see how syllogisms work they can be really fun this this was one of my favorite syllogisms in all of my logic classes alright it's a four part one God is love love is blind Ray Charles is blind therefore
Ray Charles is God and it's silly the reason I love that syllogism is because it highlights how badly our culture has gotten love I mean love has been just abused in so many ways in a post-modern world where all that objectivity is out the door
And you create your own meaning and words have completely lost their own meaning I feel like love has taken the biggest beating I mean love has been abused and I can't I'm serious I can't think of a more important word in the English language for you to know the absolute true definition of love I cannot think
Of a more important word for you to actually know this is what love means because how you define love reveals what you believe about God it reveals how you view God love is a huge theme in 1st John this is a letter it is five chapters long it is not
They're not very long chapters in fact I think it would be good for all of us once a week to read 1st John just for the entire time we're in it it will not take long if you do it it will take you about 15 minutes once a month read 1st John become acquainted with the arguments that are being made in 1st John love is mentioned 26 times 26 times it's the second most
Of any book in the New Testament the only book in the New Testament that mentions love more is the gospel of John which is 21 longer chapters so love per capita usage 1st John is packed with it and we just saw the one that says God is love there are other challenging verses on defining what this love is
314 It says we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers whoever does not love abides in death we're going to get to that teaching and it says if you don't love the brothers if you don't love brothers and sisters and
The Best Use of the Time
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here, excited to be here with y'all this morning. I recently read an article on the Gospel Coalition written by a man named Joe Carter, and he was just reviewing some research that had been done by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, and that's where George Barna works. He's over top of that research center. And they recently did a study, and basically one of the major findings was that of self-reporting Christians, and we're going to get to that in a second, but people who would, if you gave them a little fill-in-the-blank or checkbox and they had to put whether they were Christian or Muslim or nothing, they would check Christian.
Again, 60% of them don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a real being. So the Holy Spirit is not a real person, does not have personhood, is more of a force or some kind of an idea. So that's startling. The Holy Spirit is a real being, but that means 60% of the people who would say they're Christians aren't Trinitarian, so they don't believe some basic doctrine. But the beginning of this article, it kind of goes into understanding what it means to be kind of a self-reporting Christian.
I want to read some of this. It says, determining how many Christians are in America depends on how we limit the term. For example, the vast majority of Americans, right at 70%, still self-identify as Christians. So if you just ask somebody in the U.S., are you a Christian? 70% of them will say yes. And at first, that sounds great.
Sweet. Sweet. 70% of Americans are Christians. But then, if you break this down further, it says, if we consider only those who consider themselves to be born-again Christians, the number drops to about 35%. So being born again means I wasn't a Christian when I was born.
I didn't just get born into this and grow up Christian. I actually had to, at some point, repent of sin, place faith in Jesus. I had to have him change me. That's what a born-again Christian is, that I was at one point dead in my sin, and now I've placed my faith in Jesus. Just so you all know, that's what we believe. That's what we are, is that we've had to be redeemed by Christ, and we had to place our faith in him.
So it's not just, I celebrated Christmas growing up. My favorite movie is Christmas Vacation, so I'm a Christian. That's not what this is. It's, I actually have placed my faith in Jesus. Well, that drops the number to 35%. It keeps going.
It says, it breaks it down further, and they have a category called Integrated Disciples. They hold beliefs like the Bible is accurate and the reliable word of God. They believe that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and just, meaning he's a good creator of the universe, and that he still rules the universe today, and that our choices are moral choices that honor or dishonor God. So, the percentage of Americans that believe the Bible is God's word, that God is good, and he rules over the world, and that our choices are moral choices, is 6% of the population in the United States. That's also what we are.
We believe that the Bible is true. That's why we spend all this time every Sunday opening it. That's why we study it together. That's why we do the things in it that we don't want to do. Y'all know that? That's obedience.
We read parts of the Bible where we go, I wish that wasn't a rule, but okay. I trust that you're good, and you're all-knowing, and you're powerful, and you rule over the universe. That's 6% of the population. The reason I share that is that we're in the third week of our series where we're saying, I am a missionary, and I don't want us to miss the fact that if you are a Christian who believes the Bible and actually seeks to apply it to your life, you are the vast minority in the country that you live in, and that you already live on a mission field. The idea that we're Americans, so we should send missionaries abroad because that's where the pagans are, is incorrect.
That you are surrounded by people who do not know Jesus. Many of whom do not want to know Jesus, or in some ways, worse, already think they're Christians when they aren't. Some of the work we have to do in the South is deconvert people from fake Christianity so that we can convert them to real Christianity. It's 6%. Let's say it's better in the South.
Let's say it's 25%. Let's say it's 30%. That means that on the road you live on, probably 7 out of the 10 houses are filled with people who don't know Jesus. That the job you work, probably 7 out of 10 people who don't know Christ. Of the friends you have, 2 out of the 3. That's just a joke about how well you can make friends.
But there's this reality to, we're surrounded by people. When you're stuck in traffic, 8 out of 10, 7 out of the 10 of the people in traffic with you, when you're in line at the grocery store, we're surrounded by people who don't know Jesus and it matters that they don't know Jesus. We want them to know Christ. And so it matters that we take seriously the call to be missionaries. That's what we've been studying. We're in Colossians chapter 4.
If you want to grab a Bible, go to Colossians chapter 4. We will have this on the screen as well. But we are Christians and we want people to know Christ. And in Colossians 4, Paul's writing. He's in prison. He's writing to them.
The past two weeks we looked at verses 2 through 4. We're going to look at 5 and 6 today, but we're going to pick up in 2 just to kind of walk through and remind us what we've been looking at. He says this, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us. And this is what we looked at the first week was that for us to be effective missionaries, we need the effective work of God. And therefore, we ought to be praying, being watchful in it and steadfast in it.
Spencer pointed out that without prayer, it ain't got no gas in it. That prayer is the fuel for mission. And therefore, if we're not praying, we're not going to see the effective work of God. And so we have to be, if we're going to be a missionary people, we have to be a praying people. Then he says this, he says, at the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
So second week, we looked at the fact that Paul's in prison and he's not praying that he'd get out. He's not praying that he'd get favor with them, that he'd be released, that they'd know that he was innocent. He's not praying any of that. He's praying, hey, while I'm in prison, pray that the Lord will open some doors for me to share the gospel. And he says, it's a word that I have to declare and pray that I'll make it clear. And so we looked at the fact that as we are people praying for opportunities, that we have to be ready to articulate the gospel.
We have to be ready to tell people the good news about Christ. And then here's what we're going to look at. Paul turns in five and six and begins to give them instruction. He says, walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. That's what we're going to study kind of bit by bit as we go through today.
So let's pray and let's study that together. God, we ask for your grace. We ask for your help. We ask for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to understand this, to apply this, and to be effective missionaries to the people around us who don't know you. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
So let's read that again. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. The first thing I want us to look at is that term outsider. There's one word here that he uses to describe those who don't know Jesus. He says outsiders.
Now we probably don't use that language a lot. Maybe you thought it was a pretty good book that you read in middle school. But Paul says that we ought to understand that those who are inside and those who are outside. This idea that there are those who are in Christ. That's who he wrote this book to. He says to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.
This idea of being an outsider is a negative term. But Paul's not against outsiders. Christians aren't against outsiders. We actually don't believe that we are better than outsiders. Do you know that about Christians? That we don't believe we're better.
We just believe we're better off. That if I'm in Christ it's not from something I've done. It's from something Christ has done. And therefore I'm better off to have Christ than to not have Christ. That there are those who are in Christ and those who are outside of Christ. And to be outside of Christ is to be outside of the love of God.
To be outside of the grace of Christ that redeems. To be outside of the family of Christ that he's made. And this is extremely helpful that Paul uses this word. Because what he does is he says hey there's two types of people in the world. Those who belong to Jesus and those who don't. And that is the primary way that we ought to as Christians look at the world.
Now. My prayer is that there are some people in this room this morning. Who would be considered outsiders. Who have not yet placed their faith in Jesus. Let me tell you something. You're welcome here.
And we want you to know Jesus. Because we believe he's good. That he saves sinners. We have that little blue screen thing that says we believe that Jesus is better than everything else. We actually believe that. I recently learned how to deep fry Oreos.
Yeah. It's actually a lot easier than you think. I don't mind sharing it with you at some point. If you'd like to gain some weight. I went on vacation with my family. And one of the things I did was I deep fried Oreos for them.
Because deep fried Oreos are delicious. And I love my family. And I want to share good things with them. And the truth is that's how we feel about Christ. But so infinitely more.
That he's good. That he's wonderful. That he redeems. And so we want to share Christ with other people. Not because we think we're better. But because we think he's better.
And that we're better because of him. We're better off because of him. And so this idea that we would look at the world and we would see it as there are those who are outside of Christ. And there are those who are in Christ. And we want everybody to be in Christ. Because he's good.
But this is helpful for us. Because it's quite possible that you use a different gauge. And you probably don't use the language of inside, outside. But you probably have a different gauge of who you think is your club. Maybe it's Americans. Maybe it depends on what the competition is.
But we're for America. Maybe it's who you vote for. So you're an elephant or a donkey. Some of you are like, I'm Green Party. Well, good for you, man. Like, maybe that's your club.
And if people believe these things, then that's who's inside. Maybe it's people who like a certain thing. Ride motorcycles or play board games or whatever. This soccer team, that soccer team. We pick random things to say that this is the main thing that I'm about. This is who I know.
These people are my people. And the reality is, Paul says, no. You have people who are in Christ. And then you have everybody else. And we ought to be mindful of when we're walking in life with people who don't know Christ. That's how we ought to think about the world.
That there are people on the other side of the globe who belong to Christ. And therefore, they belong to you. In a much more real way than people who live across the street. That vote like you. Drive the same kind of vehicle as you. Enjoy the same type of fried chicken as you.
But don't know Christ. And that you ought to consider. When you're interacting with people, whether or not they belong to Jesus. For their good. Not in some sort of elitist way. And we're going to get there.
Not in some sort of, I'm better than you. That's not the reality. That's not what we believe. We believe that we're better off because of Jesus. But that we want everybody to know Jesus.
And so he says, walk in wisdom towards outsiders. That you ought to think, am I going to be interacting with people who don't know Jesus? And you ought to think about how you ought to interact with them. So that's the next thing he says. He says, making the best use of the time. So let's talk about time for a second.
Let's talk about this idea of making the best use of the time. But we're going to talk about time before we talk about using it well. Everybody has a limited amount of time. That's why we talk about spending time or wasting time. It's running out. We don't know how much time we have.
But we know that we're, in any given week, we're all given the same amount of time. But we don't know in our lives how long that's going to be. And one of the things about time is that it speeds up the older you get. It runs by faster. This is why, parents with small children, you can win anything with your children. Because you've got all the time in the world.
Just so you know, when you're facing off with a toddler, if they're sitting in a high chair, 30 minutes in a high chair is like a week to them. 30 minutes is nothing to you. You can win a battle of wills with any toddler you'd like. Because time is slow. At the beginning of my son, it was his second day of kindergarten. We're in the line to go drop him off for his second day of kindergarten.
And he's in the back and he goes, Daddy, I can't wait until I'm six and all of this is over. I thought, ooh, buddy. It's going to take a little longer than that. But guess what? The first day of kindergarten was apparently a really long day. And the second day was daunting.
But if you think about it, elementary school is a really long time because it's twice the length of your life. You enter when you're five. You exit when you're ten. It's half your life was spent in elementary school. It took forever. Middle school was a little faster.
Some people stayed in a little longer than others, but it was a little faster. High school was a little faster than when you went and got your first Job or you went to college. That zipped by pretty quickly. Suddenly you turn around. You've lived in a neighborhood for five, ten years. You've been married for 20 years.
You've got 30-year-old children. You look and you realize you've been in a job for 35 years, 40 years. You start clipping off decades. It feels like 1980 was 10 years ago. And it was 40 years ago. There's a reality to this.
Here's the other thing we believe about time. I didn't invent this illustration, but I think it's helpful. Let's say this is a timeline. This yellow part of the string is your life. You're born here. During your life, you work some jobs, have some friends, have some hobbies.
Maybe you get married. Maybe you have some children. Maybe you work different jobs. Maybe you work one Job for years and years and years. Pretty soon, 60, 70, 80, 90. But at some point, your life ends.
You say, well, that looks pretty short. There's a saying. Life is short. But we're Christians. And we believe there's an eternity. And that when you die, you step into eternity.
Whether you know Christ or don't. So here is your life, and you meet Jesus. Everybody meets Jesus at some point, face to face. For those who know Christ, that's what we've been waiting for. And for those who don't know Christ, that's terrifying. And then we go into eternity.
And pretty quickly, we've been in eternity three, four, five, ten, twenty times longer than we were ever on earth. We sing Amazing Grace, and it says, we've been there for 10,000 years. And we have all the time left. We haven't clipped off any amount of time because it's eternity. If you belong to Jesus, this is joyous. There's peace.
There's family. There's good food. There's delight. There's worship. You're finally at home. And it never ends.
And if you don't belong to Jesus, and you stood in your own righteousness, which the Bible would say is unrighteousness, and you said, I'll bear the penalty for my sin, rather than trusting Christ and His grace, that He would bear the penalty for your sin. And Jesus says, this is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. That is a place where the worm doesn't die and the fire isn't quenched, meaning internal and external torment. Now, if we're Christians, at some point, we've got to realize we believe this part is more important than this part. At some point, if we really believe what we say we believe, then we've got to acknowledge that this part ought to be lived in light of this part.
We understand this in small ways. You know when you take your kids to like a little fair, or if you go to a fair and you see little kids and they're all running around with like Elsa on their face, or like a tiger face or whatever? There's a reason why that washes off. There's no actual tattoo artists set up at the county fair. Because children shouldn't make decisions like that. Because when you're eight, looking like a tiger is amazing.
Not when you're 38. Makes it harder to get a job. And the reality is, some of us run around making decisions that only make sense here. And if we belong to Jesus and we believe in eternity, we ought to make decisions that make sense here. And we ought to care. We ought to care deeply about our co-workers and our neighbors.
And what this is going to look like for them. That's why Paul says, make the best use. Because you only got a little bit here. The rest of it's here. So he wants us to make the best use of the time.
That we would consider, as we interact with people, do they know Christ? And how do I use that time well? Some of you, you're in school right now. You're in high school. You're about to spend four years. Or you're about to be done spending four years with people.
Four years. That you've known them. That you've connected with them. That you've been their friend. Have you told them about Jesus? Have you prayed for them?
Some of you, you're finishing up your major. You've been in the same classes with the same people. You studied together. Laughed together. High-fived. Cried in the same math classroom together.
Have you prayed for them? Have you cared about their eternity? We'll turn around. And you'll realize, I've lived in the same neighborhood for ten years. Did you spend the time well? Did you pray for your neighbors?
Did you get to know them? Did you go out of your way to be a little weird here? Because you care about something that's way, way more important? Or we'll work a job for twenty years. Twenty years. You'll have had twenty years.
Did we care about our coworkers? Did we plead with God for the sake of their souls? That's what he means by make the best use of the time. Do we actually live as if we believe eternity is real? Brandon Clements, one of the pastors at Midtown in Lexington, is part of the Grassroots Network with us. He helped co-author a book called The Simplest Way to Change the World.
And in it, they're talking about how to use your home. How to use hospitality as a way to try to help share the gospel with people. And they list four things that they think are current in our culture that help fight against us. actually using our homes well. And I would say it's the same for using our time well. But the four they list are, first one is isolation.
That we just isolate ourselves? That it's easy to live by ourselves? That our culture allows us to be isolated from one another? Cambria, if you'll go to the isolation's level. That we would be, we can just work at home. We can work and go home.
We can pick up food. We can cook food for one. We don't live in a village. You don't have to. The truth is, a lot of us don't really like people. And I'm with you.
We're Christians. We believe people are the worst. It's just easier to be. We have this new thing that's consistently growing. But we have social anxiety where it's just hard to be around people.
You talk yourself out of it. It takes energy to do it. It's scary. And so there's this idea that most of my life, I just kind of want to be by myself. It's easier that way. The second one is relaxation.
That a primary goal in our lives as Americans is just to have downtime. That work hard just so that you can rest. That the purpose of your home is for you to get away from everything. The purpose of your home is to just be protected from the world. That it's your oasis. That we somehow deserve the idea that we would work, but then we would just go relax.
And that we just need all this extra relaxation time. And it keeps us from being good missionaries. And it wastes our time. Not to say relaxation is bad, but that we have overdone it. Third one is entertainment. Entertainment.
Once a week, my phone dings and tells me how much time I spent staring at it. Very rudely, I might add. But how much time we spend on social media, how much time we spend watching television, how much time we spend watching TV shows. If you could get a doctorate from watching The Office, I would be Dr. Phillips. We waste our time just being entertained.
Like that's the purpose of life. The fourth one is busyness. We just fill our schedules with things that don't really matter. But our schedules are full. Got too much going on. Got too much on my plate.
Can't participate in that. We live our lives as if this is all that really matters. And honestly, I think the four of those come together to just give us an overall apathetic numbness to the reality of the world. That there are those who are in Christ and those who are outside of Christ and that it matters eternally. I think we have to consider what really matters and are we living our lives as if we actually believe the gospel and are we living our lives in a way that makes the best use of the time. And the way that phrase works to make the best use of the time, it actually means redeeming the time.
Meaning buy it back. Buy up the time. So you're going to have to spend the time. Well, redeem it. Use it for something good. So that we would be wise in our walking with outsiders.
So that we would redeem the time. Now think about this. Some of you are in school. Well, redeem that time. Get to know your classmates. Pray for them.
Share the gospel with them. Go out of your way to be around them. You say, I don't really like being around people. Okay? Love people enough to put up with it. You don't have to be an extrovert to be a good missionary.
You can do this one-on-one. You can do this slowly, but we have to do this. And we have to do this intentionally. Some of you work 40 hours a week, 50 hours a week with the same people. Guess what? God in His grace has infiltrated your workplace with a Christian and held four or five other office mates hostage.
They can't go anywhere. They have to clock in. They have to stay there. Pray for them. Talk to them. Don't just stare at your phone on your lunch break.
Get to know people. I've had people say before, I just don't, it's so hard to work where I work because I'm the only Christian. Thank Jesus that He sent a Christian. Don't retreat from that. Charge into that. Thank God in His mercy.
It's so hard to be in my neighborhood. All my neighbors are pagans. They're up partying at night. Why don't you be up praying? Why don't you go to some of the parties? Why don't you interact with them?
Why don't you love them? Why don't we take seriously the idea that we were missionaries? The reality is that if you were like, okay, I'm going to move to this other country to be a missionary, you would consider how am I going to join and infiltrate the culture and how am I going to be able to get along with the norms of life with them and how am I going to use that for the gospel? And the reality is if you belong to Jesus, you have already done that part of it. You're already in the culture. You already have people around you.
Now begin to be a missionary. Use the time wisely. There are kind of rhythms of life that people go through and we get to join the normal rhythms of life with gospel intentionality. So if you work at a gym, start praying for the people at the gym. Have you ever been at a park? Have you been at the gym and some weirdo comes over and just starts talking to you?
I'm not talking about hitting on you. I'm just like some person who just wants to be your friend for some odd reason. You have this thought, at least I do, this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I came to the park because I wanted to be away from humans and this one showed up and wants to be my friend. But what if I thought less about this and more about that and I said, thank you, Jesus.
This person wants to talk and now it's my chance to talk. This person wants a friend. They must be lonely or they have a bunch of friends and this is how they make them. But now they've run into a Christian and so I get to start redeeming this time. If you go to a gym, if you do recreation, if your children play little league sports or you go sign up for an adult kickball league. My children play, my son signed up for t-ball.
And I don't want y'all to feel sorry for me, but it did almost kill me. I don't know much about baseball, but I know about sports and watching them practice was torture. But I realized I'm going to be here, all these other parents are going to be here and I need to just start getting to know these people. So I just started being the person who just went around and started talking to other parents. And guess what? Just let me tell you some things.
They know they're going to have to stay part of the club and be there with their kids. They're not going to be rude to me. They're going to let me, they don't want me to talk to them, but they're going to let me come talk to them. And so I just started going and meeting all the dads and talking to them, trying to get to know them. Thankfully, COVID ended, t-ball, and I didn't have to keep going, but I was going to redeem the time. You eat 21 meals a week.
So do most of the people around you. Some of you are like, no, I do intermittent fasting. Okay. Well, good for you. You're already fasting. Start praying.
So the amount of time you would have been eating in the morning, pray. Pray. And then use your other 14 meals to try to build relationships with people. There's something about inviting people around the same table that signifies we belong to each other. Use your home to invite people to eat a meal. If that's too daunting, start by inviting them to a restaurant you like.
Start going to lunch with coworkers. But you're going to eat, start eating with people to build relationships with them. Start using the normal rhythms of life. There are neighborhoods where you can join Facebook groups, where you can have a bonfire, where you can have a cookout, where you and a group of people can watch the same TV shows. Some of you are moms with little children and you spend all your time at your house with little children. Guess what?
They need to know Jesus and you have hours upon hours to disciple them. Redeem that time. You're teaching them that school's important and that brushing their teeth is important. Have you taught them that Christ is important? It matters. Also, there are other moms potentially in your neighborhood that are also watching their children.
Redeem that time. Start inviting them to watch kids together. Start using your children as a mission opportunity. I use my children all the time as mission opportunities because it makes me less scary to have kids with me. I use them to go talk to other parents. I use them when I go knock on doors in my neighborhood to just tell them a thing or get to know them.
I have my kids with me because they just would assume I'm less likely to attack them. I'm not going to attack them anyway, but they at least get to see, okay, he's got a kid. He probably won't. But we want to redeem the time. We want to find things that our culture's normally doing. The trunk or treat that we're doing for Halloween.
Halloween is not a primary Christian holiday. It's not our favorite, you guys. But guess what? All your neighbors are going to come knock on your door or they're going to let you go knock on their door. Get to know your neighbors. Redeem the time.
They're going to knock on your door. You don't have to get super into Halloween, but to be thankful that all of your pagan neighbors are going to come hang out with you for a minute and you get to be kind and you get to be welcoming and you get to say, hey, we haven't met yet. Where do you live? It's nice to meet you. You get to talk to them. You get to know your neighbors one night of the year where they might all show up.
We're doing trunk or treat because the same thing, this neighborhood's going to show up. We get an opportunity to care about their souls for eternity. We get an opportunity. Christians should join PTA. Christians should join neighborhood watch associations. Christians should join every annoying little club that's offered just so you can redeem the time and be around some people who don't know Jesus.
Could you imagine? You go to meetings as a missionary. You help coach as a missionary. Let's not waste it. But let's buy it back.
So if we're in the right frame of mind, we're intentional, we're praying, and we're redeeming the time, this is what he says next. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. So he says, be intentional about being around non-believers. Then he says, here's how you interact with them. Here's how you talk. Here's how you talk.
Make it Clear
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. So I don't know if you noticed last week and this week. Bulletins are back, you guys. Yeah, we stopped those before the pandemic.
They're back. So it's an encouragement. If you want to take sermon notes, there's a space in there. If you want prayer, we believe in prayer in our church. And if you want corporate prayer from the rest of your church family, you can reach out to our secretary for that. And it's also got some announcements in the back.
So there you go. They're back. All right. We are in a three-week series called I Am a Missionary. This is a three-week opportunity for us to refocus on what it means to be an everyday missionary here in our city. Last week, I started with what is one of the more important steps in mission and one that is often skipped, including by us, and that is prayer.
That if we aren't praying, if we're not getting on our face and pleading for God to save sinners, pleading for God to bring the revival that we want to see in our city, we are missing out on the power of God. We're missing it. So if you weren't here last week or you didn't listen to that online, I encourage you to go back and listen to that. If we are missing that aspect of mission, we have skipped a step. So we are in Colossians 4, verses 2 through 6.
We spent a lot of time last week in 2 and 3. This week will be more in verses 3 and 4. So you can follow along on the screen behind me. You can go to your Bibles on page 573 in your blue Bibles. But we are going to continue to look at what it looks like to grow as an everyday missionary.
In college, when I was first learning about this idea of being a sent missionary locally, being an everyday missionary, of learning about evangelism, the idea of sharing the gospel with those who may not believe, who do not believe, it was awkward at times. I was learning how to do it. And there were a lot of awkward interactions that I had in college and learning how to do this and sharing the gospel with others. And I remember one in particular. There was a freshman. I was a junior.
He was in my freshman orientation group. And he was in it. Spent some time with them. And as we're getting to know each other, getting to hear a story, it sounds like he doesn't really want anything to do with Jesus. And then we went to Sonic and we're talking. And I remember sharing the gospel with him.
And he was beet red in his face. Like you just tell with everything in him. He didn't want this message. He didn't want anything to do with Jesus. And I shared with him. And that was the last time we really ever talked in college.
Like for the rest of college, he just, every time he saw me, he just kind of looked away and just wouldn't talk to me. And I was like, oh, well, that's awkward. And that happened a little bit. There was moments of rejection where he shared the gospel. Maybe they didn't avoid me for the rest of the college, but they made it abundantly clear I don't want this for me. Quite a bit of that happened.
But I do remember one story in particular where there was a guy that I was getting to know. We were, you know, I go to his freshman hall and we play hacky sack together. You know, what college kids do. I guess they still front row. Do they still do that? No?
Okay. Back then, when hacky sack was a thing, all right, getting to know each other, getting to know his story a little bit, and then slowly started to bring in the gospel and share it with him. And he was resistant, but listening and continued to process. And then he went away for winter break. And when he came back spring semester, he said, I'm in. He said, I've placed my faith in him.
I'm a follower now. And he still is to this day. We keep in touch. He lives in Houston, Texas. He's married. He's part of a local church there.
Still following Jesus. And I love it. And the reality is I would have 30. I will have 100 of those awkward conversations if it means just one of those results and that kind of eternal life change. That's the hope. That's what we're going for.
As we are seeking to grow in being everyday missionaries, we would learn what it looks like to share Christ. And today we're going to get a little bit practical. As we walk through verses 3 and 4. As we seek to grow in being everyday missionaries. So let me pray and then we will jump in.
Lord, we love you. We thank you for your word and what it means to us. God, I pray that you'd help us listen and that we respond. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right.
Verses 2 through 4. Mostly being verses 3 and 4. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison, that I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. All right.
So if we want to grow in everyday missionaries, I want us to see three parts of this passage that I think are important. The first is that we would share the gospel no matter your circumstances. Share the gospel no matter your circumstances. He says, on account of which, I am in prison. Paul is writing this letter from prison. There are four, they're called prison epistles, four prison letters that while Paul was in prison for sharing the gospel, he wrote Colossians, he wrote Ephesians, he wrote Philemon, he wrote Philippians, these letters to these different churches and different people.
And he's writing this from prison. All right. So he's not in a good state. And even the years leading up to this, it hasn't gone well for him. All right.
So he, on one of his missionary journeys, he is praying and God says, I want you to go to Jerusalem and there you're going to be arrested. And he says, okay, he's obedient. And then he goes to Jerusalem. He gets arrested. The Jews there that hate Paul try to have him killed. And then he's transferred as a prisoner to Caesarea, which is near the coast.
Spent a few years there in prison. And then he appeals to Caesar. He wants to appeal his case to Caesar's and Caesar Roman citizens. So he gets on a ship. He's on his way to Rome. And it shipwrecks.
And after he shipwrecks, he ends up on an island. He gets bit by a snake. I mean, it's just not going well. He finally ends up in Rome. And now he's in Rome. And he, as he's writing this letter, is on house arrest.
He's on house arrest. There's one prison guard. He has some visitors who comes to see him. But he's mostly alone. It has been a rough three to five years for Paul leading up to writing this letter. Under the threat of death.
Under the threat of persecution. Imprisoned. And I would argue that probably none of us have had that last three to five years. I don't know all your stories. But I'd be willing to bet that most of you have not been in prison for your faith.
You haven't been shipwrecked. You haven't been under the threat of death from religious political forces. That's not something that we have faced. Right? Maybe you felt like the last couple months, maybe the last year has been really difficult. You know, at the beginning of the pandemic, it felt like we were on house arrest.
You know? Two weeks to slow the spread. And then it kept going. And some of you felt isolated. And you felt alone. And you were in your home trying to do your best.
And you were struggling. Maybe the last year has been hard. Maybe the last two years has been hard. Maybe the last ten years has been difficult. And we talk about being everyday missionaries. And you're like, I don't even know where to start.
My life is a complete mess right now. I don't even know where to begin. But Paul, enduring hardships that are much more than what we've had to face. Enduring those hardships. He's still sharing the gospel. I mean, he's still praying that he might share the gospel.
Possibly with his prison guard. Possibly with people that will come and visit. He still wants to declare the mystery of Christ. How does he do it? I mean, how does Paul do it? He gets stoned in a city.
Outside the city. Then limps back in and starts sharing the gospel. What's his secret? How does he keep going back again and again sharing the gospel? How does he continue to live on mission? I would argue that the difference between us and Paul.
Is that Paul had such an eternal mindset and perspective on his reality. Like he just, he understood. Everything he was facing in light of eternity. In 2 Corinthians 4 he says, For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. And it's like, really? When you hear that, if you're honest, you say light momentary affliction.
Have you, do you remember the last few years as you've been writing these letters? You've been getting stoned and beaten? Whipped? How do you consider this as light and momentary? I mean, I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel that has just been difficult. And it does not feel light and momentary.
And I mean, I just, I mean, that's what we do. We think about what's right in front of us. What we're facing. What's difficult. And we don't look at it in light of eternity. But he did, what he understood so clearly is that the moments of suffering, really this life as a whole.
He understood it as we, as the Bible teaches it. That it, this life is like a vapor, the Bible says. It is like dew on the grass. It is here and then it is gone. That this life is like a drop of water. All the years of your life is like a drop of water.
And the rest of time, eternity, is all of the oceans and all the waters in them. And he had that perspective. That right now it's just light and momentary. Because what's coming in eternity are the eternal riches and glory. The way of glory that awaits him. He understood that right now, though suffering is hard.
It pales in comparison to what awaits us. And he understood all of it in light of that truth. So that in the midst of hardships, he's, oh, absolutely. I want more people to be a part of this. I want more people to taste and see this Jesus for eternity. I want them to experience the weight of glory that awaits us.
He, he got this. He so, he absolutely understood this. Now, that doesn't mean that our hardships right now don't matter. My hope is, is that you were with us the last month when we did Soul Care as a series. We care very deeply about hardships. We care very deeply about suffering and sin and brokenness.
It absolutely matters. You may be struggling financially. You may be struggling spiritually. Your health may be a mess and in decline. Your emotional stability is just all over the place. You may be enduring actually really tough times.
But, but if we can strive to view this like he did. To view everything that we face. All of the suffering and hardships. In light of eternity. We can absolutely, no matter what your circumstances are. We can actually share the gospel.
We absolutely can share. In spite of our circumstances. And the second thing I want us to see here. Is that we must share words. We must share actual words. He says, at the same time pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word.
To declare the mystery of Christ. On account of which I'm in prison. That I may make it clear which is how I ought to speak. The gospel is a message. It is a message. You must share actual words.
We go after this from time to time. But there's that famous Francis of Assisi quote that says, Share the gospel. And if necessary use words. Which we've said before. It's not clear that he actually ever said that. Also, if he did.
It's dumb. That's not. No. No. No. The gospel is a message.
Yes. How you live your life matters. Absolutely. Absolutely. The New Testament is full of that. Like it.
How you live your life matters. First Peter talks about having good conduct towards outsiders. First Timothy 3 says that one of the requirements of being an elder. However. Is that you may be well thought of by outsiders. So yes.
The way you live your life absolutely matters. But it is still a message. It is not a lifestyle. The gospel is a message. Paul did not ask people to pray for him. So that God could open a door.
So that he could be kind. He did not pray for them. Pleading for them. To join him in prayer. That they'd open a door. So that he could be a good neighbor.
Though kindness. And being a good neighbor. Absolutely matter. I mean Jesus goes hard after that. The Bible goes hard after that. But our kindness isn't what saves people.
If you believe that you're good works. If you believe that you're. You're cleaned up personality. The way you display yourself. If you believe. That is what actually leads people to Jesus.
Then by default. You believe that your works. Is what saves people. That your works. Is what leads people to Christ. And that is not true.
The gospel is a message. And the reason that's really important. Is because for a while. Like the last few decades. There's been this whole idea. Of lifestyle evangelism.
It's like I'm just going to live my life. And win people of the kingdom. By my conduct. And it's like. There are aspects of that. I want a yes and an amen.
But at the end of the day. The gospel is still a message. And you still have to share words. And the problem is. That people. People get psyched out by that.
Because if you're not. If you believe that fully. You're not actually living out. The gospel like you should. You're like. Oh.
Then I can't. I have to. My witness has to be in such good shape. Or I can't share. The gospel. I'm going to mess it up.
And it's like. No. Yes. You snapped at your co-worker. Yes. You dropped an F-bomb in the work room.
Okay. But you know. You can still share the gospel. Through that. Right? The reality is.
Is that you can go to your co-worker. And say. Hey listen. I should not have snapped at you. My faith teaches me. That I should be slow to anger.
That I should be kind. And I was none of that with you. And I am sorry. Hope you can forgive me. There are ways. But absolutely.
In spite of our conduct. Where you can come in. And share the gospel. It is a message. It is not just a lifestyle. That we win people over with.
Maybe it's that. That you've fallen to. Maybe it's that you just don't care enough. To risk awkwardness. To risk rejection. Romans 10.
13. A passage. That if you grew up in the church at all. You are probably familiar with. It says. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
Will be saved. We love that. That anyone. Who has encountered Christ. And their heart has been changed. They can call out to God.
And they're saved. That's absolutely true. But then. He goes on to make a little bit of a rhetorical argument. In the verses that follow. He says.
How then will they call on him. And whom. They have not believed. He's like. How are they going to call. On Christ.
If they haven't believed this message. In the first place. Then he goes. And how are they to believe in him. Of whom. They have never heard.
How are they going to believe in Jesus. If they have not. Heard. The message of the gospel. Then he says.
And how are they here. Without someone preaching. How are they going to hear. If someone doesn't share it with them. That's not just preaching. Like what I'm doing now.
That is proclaiming. That is sharing. How are they going to hear the gospel. If someone doesn't preach. And how are they to preach. Unless they are sent.
As it is written. How beautiful. Are the feet of those. Who preach the good news. He's like. How are they going to hear.
If you don't actually share it with them. We got to absorb that. Christians. Brothers and sisters. We got to absorb that. That you may be the only Christian.
In somebody's life. Who can share the gospel. With that person. You may be their best chance. At actually hearing. About how our God.
Is better than everything else. In this world. And if we can't. Let that reality. Impress upon us. We can't let that.
Sit on our hearts. In a way that brings about. Change. Then we need to get on our faces. And pray. And pray that God might.
Soften our hearts. He might break our hearts. He might help us see. Everything. In light of the eternal reality. That's all around us.
That we need to go back to step one. And pray. That God would absolutely. Break our hearts. And motivate us. To actually share words.
Share actual words. And then lastly says. Make it clear. That's the third thing. I want us to see today. Make it clear.
That's where we spend most of our time. He says. At the same time. Pray also for us. That God may open to us. The door for the word.
To declare the mischief of Christ. On account of which. I am in prison. That I may make it clear. Which is how I ought to speak. That putting effort into.
Making it clear. Matters. So. Many of you. May not know this. But I have a mild speech impediment.
I do. Just a mild one. So that when I actually preach on Sunday. I have to really think about how I speak in a way that is clear. But. For those of you that know me best.
If you've ever been in informal conversation with me. You know that every now and then you're going to go. Wait. What? I have an incredible ability to take 20 words and make it 10 syllables. And I don't even know I'm doing it sometimes.
And it's really frustrating for me. Because all of a sudden I'm like. Oh. I got to repeat what I'm going to say. Oh. I got to re-clarify.
Oh. Like there's this. I have to intentionally think about that type of clarity. Now that's not. That may be part of what Paul is saying. But the reality is.
Is that we should have that type of intentionality. In being clear. When it comes to the gospel. That we might think about how we present it. We might think about how we share. That that work matters.
It matters. That you are clear. So. I'm going to make two assumptions here. If you are. Going to take this on.
In trying to be clear. The first is. That you believe in Jesus. That you've been saved by him. That you've been set apart by him. That you have the Holy Spirit in you.
Assumption one. Assumption two. Is that you care enough to share. And that's the second part that we're going to have to work on. We're going to have to pray that God would help us see. The reality that's at hand.
But once you have those in place. Now it is time to work on making it clear. Now it is time for us to grow. In gospel clarity. The reality is. Is that sometimes is the reason.
Why you don't want to share the gospel. It's because you're like. I think I'm going to mess it up. I think I'm not going to be very clear. I don't. I don't want to botch this.
And what's encouraging about this passage. Is that on some level. Paul felt that too. Because he's asking for prayer here. He's asking them to pray. That God would open a door.
So that he can make it clear. So. That's good news. That Paul of all people. Pray for this type of clarity. Alright.
So we should absolutely. Seek to grow in. Gospel clarity. I have some. Practical ways that I want us to. Do this.
And how I want us to grow in this. And the first way we can grow. In making it clear. Is to read. And know. And grow.
Read. Know. And grow. We have to read. We have to grow. We have to learn.
About. Christ. And the scriptures. We've got to. Got to do it. I know some of you have not read a book.
You've not read. A book since the ninth grade. And that was to kill a mockingbird. Okay. And you're like. I don't like to read.
And it's like. Okay. But the Bible's a book. And guess what. We've talked about this over and over again. If you don't like.
Visually reading. Download the Bible app. And start listening. Listen to. The word. Yes.
Learning is difficult. It is. Take it from somebody. Who did the eighth grade twice. Okay. It.
Learning has never come easy for me. I'm. I'm rarely the smartest person. In the room. All right.
A lot of times. Because my wife is in the room with me. But. I'm rarely the smartest person. In the room. I usually am.
One of the most learned people. In the room. Because I. Work. Really hard. To learn.
I work really hard. To know things. And some of that stuff. Is useless knowledge. But sometimes.
It's the Bible. We should seek. To learn. And know. And grow. That's why we emphasize.
Scripture memory. That's why it shows up. And we have one every month. We have 36 verses. Over three years. Memorize one of those.
Every month. And do that again. For three years. And then three years again. And three years again. You're going to have 36 verses.
Locked in your memory bank. That matters. It matters. It matters. That you would know the word. So deeply.
Be so hidden. In your heart. That when it came time. To actually share good news. You could share the word of God. And the reason that matters.
Is because what Hebrews 4.12 teaches us. The word of God is living and active. It's living and active. It's sharper than any two-edged sword. It's piercing the division of soul and spirit. Of bone and marrow.
It discerns the thoughts. And intentions. Of the heart. That when you share God's word. God uses it like a sword. And it pierces the heart.
And it discerns what's going on underneath the surface. So that people might can realize. They deeply need Christ. It matters. That you know God's word. It absolutely matters.
That you might be able to share this. All it takes is a few words. And then God can go to work. So maybe you have a. Maybe you've been really intentional. About being a good co-worker.
You've been working hard. In the workplace. To show good work ethic. You've been. You've been caring about your conduct. Which you should.
You haven't been engaging in office gossip. All right. You're not complaining. You're working hard. And then. You're building a relationship with your co-workers.
You're getting to know them. You're going to some happy hours with them. Spend time with them. And then one day. At the office. Or at the work site.
One of your co-workers just says. They just. That you just see they're down. And they're sad. And you say. Hey.
What's. What's going on? Maybe she says. I just. I mean. I just went through a terrible breakup.
He broke up with me last night. And this is the. I thought he was the one. We were going to spend. Just for lives together. We've been dating for a year and a half.
This is the third terrible breakup I've had. And I just. I'm just having a. I'm sorry. Like I'm trying to work hard. And not be a distraction.
I just had a really difficult day. And in that moment. Armed and ready. You can look at her and say. I'm. I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry. Can I share something that I think is helpful. That I've. That I've found to be helpful. Psalm 34 teaches that the Lord is near to the broken hearted. And he saves the crushed in spirit.
That in the midst of. Of hurt. Like God can be really near to us. And I. I don't know. I feel like I just want to share that with you.
That God can be near to you in the midst of this brokenness. So I'm just. I'm going to go back to my desk. I pray for you and the rest of our coworkers regularly. I want to take some time to just pray for you. I pray that you sense that.
That God is near the broken hearted. I pray that your boyfriend gets hit by a car. Like. I just. But you.
And then you do the actual Christian thing. Not the southern Christian thing. And you actually pray for them. That's all it takes. And then what can happen is. Is that the word is shared.
And all of a sudden it starts to. Work on them. And grate on them. And they start to. Question. And they come back and want to know more later.
That. It's that easy. And it's not that intimidating. We need to. Read. We need to know.
We need to grow. In knowing God and his word and prayer. Second. We need to grow in gospel fluency. We need to grow in gospel fluency. This is something we talk about.
Quite a bit in our church. It's the idea that. You be so fluent in the gospel. Just like you might be fluent in a language. You don't have to think about how you speak. That you be so fluent in the gospel.
That you be able to. Think in it. Process in it. And it would be part of your language. Part of your ethos. Part of who you are.
That when it comes time. You're easily. Sharing the gospel. Applying it to people's lives. Applying it to your own life. Applying it to the people in your group.
We're talking about growing in gospel fluency. That matters. Because if you're a co-worker. Who you just talked to. Says. Okay.
Wait a second. All right. So. That's Psalm 34. That's nice. Tell me.
Why God wants my life to be so miserable. Why is it. That I. Keep. Having these relationships that fall apart. Why is my.
Why am I so unhappy. You. If you think God is near the broken heart. And he's good. And he's loving. Why is my life so.
Bad. That. That if you are fluent in the gospel. You can begin to. In that moment. Apply the gospel.
One of the things we talk about. Is creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration. That understanding the gospel.
And the bible as a whole. Is creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration. That maybe in that moment.
You just. You come alongside her and say. Listen. Listen. The reason why we love relationships. Whether it's friendships.
Whether it's romantic relationships. Is because we're built for that. We're built for relationship. God created us. That when he created Adam in the garden. He said that.
It wasn't good. That he was alone. That we're made for relationship. But the reality is. That when. Sin came into the world.
It broke relationships. It. It. It. It made relationships and friendships. Difficult.
Even more so. What it did. Is that. Because of sin. We seek to find relationship. With everyone else.
As opposed to God. That God actually built us. Ultimately for relationship with him. But because of. Sin. We reject that.
We don't want him. But the good news of the gospel. Is that. God didn't leave us here. In our rejection of him. But that he sent Jesus.
To die for us. To live the life that we could not live. To die the death on the cross. And to conquer the death of the resurrection. So that we can have.
A relationship that is. Better than everything else. With him. And that this isn't the end of it. The pain of your relationship hurts now. But the reality is.
That one day. He's going to restore all things. In all relationships. There will be no more sin. There will be no more brokenness. There will be no more hurt.
That when you're fluent in the gospel like that. You're able to apply something like that. Creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration.
To somebody's life. In a way that helps them see. Their problem. Their struggle. In light of. Eternity.
We need to grow in gospel fluency. But there also may be times. Where they take it even. A little bit deeper. They're like. Okay.
So. But why would God allow for sin to happen in the first place? Right? Why is suffering even a reality? And they might ask some bigger questions. And the third thing.
In making it clear. That we need to grow in. Is that we need to dig deeper. We need to dig deeper. The reality is. Is that.
People have big questions. And we cannot resolve. Every. Mystery of Christ. God is mysterious. But for a lot of people.
God is a complete mystery to them. And it is our opportunity. To clarify. And to give a defense for. So we get the word apologetics.
Which literally just means a defense for. Our faith. That might compel them. To actually. Explore who God is. Hebrews.
Five. Teaches. Four. Though. By this time. You ought to be teachers.
You need someone to teach you again. The basic principles. Of the oracles of God. He says. You need milk. Not salad food.
The writer says. Listen. At this point. In following Jesus. You should be mature enough. That you can teach others.
That you can encourage others. That you can. Disciple others. But it's clear. Right now. He says.
Verse 13. He says. You need milk. Not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk. Is unskilled in the word of righteousness.
Since he is a child. But solid food. Is for the mature. For those who have their powers of discernment. Trained by constant practice. To distinguish good.
From evil. That. He says. You should be able to. To mature past. Just milk.
The elementary doctrines. Right. Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Is so good.
And so true. But the depths of that actual statement. Going deeper. Into that. We. Some of us are still stuck on wanting milk.
We want it spoon fed. And he's like. At this point. You got to be eating some steak. You. Here. You.
This is California. You. euh. an abundance of resources that help us in this. You could read books like Reason for God by Tim Keller, Mirror Christianity by C.S. Lewis. There's your little starter pack right there.
Boom. Read those. Slowly take them in and start to digest it.
Prayer is the Fuel for Mission
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. Like I said, my name is Spencer. I'm one of the pastors here. We are in a series called I'm a Missionary for three weeks. We had planned to jump into 1 John, but we decided to push that off for three weeks. We'll get to that and start that at the end of the month.
So we have four elders. We get away every year for an elder retreat. And it's the four of us pastors. We go and we go to Lake Greenwood and we take some time to pray and process and think through where we need to grow as a church family. At the beginning of August, we went this year and we were praying and thinking through kind of where we are as a church family. Where do we need to grow?
And it did not take very long for us to come to the consensus that one of the areas we need to grow in is being everyday missionaries here. That we had lost a little bit of our missional hustle here. So for the next three weeks, we're going to refocus on what it looks like to be everyday missionaries here in the Columbia area. We want to see Casey in West Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, Chapin, Gaston, even Red Bank. We want to see disciples made all over this city because in the Columbia metro area, there are hundreds of thousands of people that are not part of a gospel-centered church, that do not have a relationship with Jesus, and we don't want to be okay with them.
So that's what we're going to be doing the next three weeks. One of Chet, who's one of the other pastors here, one of his favorite movies, I assume, is Sling Blade. I assume this because he loves to quote it with the voice. So if you want to get awkward for a minute, just get him excited about that movie and let him do some impersonations. But there's a scene in Sling Blade where Billy Bob Thornton, the main character, he's not overly bright.
He gets a job at a service station. And at the service station one day, this guy brings a lawnmower that won't start. And there's some guys outside looking at it, you know, standing around, theorizing about what's wrong with it, as guys do. You know, something wrong with the carburetor, maybe the spark plug, I don't know. Going back and forth, back and forth. And Billy Bob Thornton comes outside, sees them, walks over to the lawnmower, unscrews the gas cap, looks in it, screws it back.
Says, ain't got no gas in it. That'd be a good first place to start is to check if it's got gas in it. Like when I'm doing home projects, it's a good first start to check if there's gas, to check if the batteries are charged. As opposed to tinkering with everything else, theorizing what else could be the problem. And before we tackle mission, we've got to check to see if there's gas in the tank. Because we are so prone to checking everything else.
I mean, we will strategize. We will plan. We will brainstorm about mission. We'll brand. We'll do all sorts of things to kind of help us refocus on being everyday missionaries before we actually do check the gas to see, check the tank to see if there's gas in it. And the first step that we need to have in mission is prayer.
Is prayer. If we're not praying to see Jesus change the city, there ain't no gas in the tank. Prayer is the fuel for mission. And unless we understand that, we will not see the type of revival, the type of change we want to see in this city. So for the next three weeks, we're going to be in Colossians 4, verses 2-6.
Today, we're just going to be in 2-4. And I just want us to see this. I want us to see that prayer is the fuel for mission. And my hope is, is that we actually believe that. So let me pray, and then we'll jump into the text.
Father, we pray that you would soften our hearts to believe what is true. God, I pray that you would speak to us this morning and that we would actually respond. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, so verses 2-4.
All right, so I'm going to give some context for this as we're going to be in this passage the next three weeks. I'm going to give some of the history that went into this command. Colossae is a small town. It's a small town in a province called Phrygia in the Roman Empire. It's in present-day Turkey. And Colossae is this town, the Colossians.
That's what the letter is named after. It's written to them. And Colossae, it's a small town. It's not like nearby Ephesus, which is a big city, or Thessalonica, which is a big city. If you look at the book of Acts, God is doing some amazing work in some of these big cities. It's not one of those cities.
It's a small town, rural, in the middle of nowhere. If Ephesus is Columbia, Colossae is Pillion, or North, or Palmyria. It's out in the middle of nowhere. So why is Paul writing a letter to a small town miles away from these big cities where God is saving by the thousands? Better question is how did the gospel actually get to Colossae? So I want to take a quick journey through the book of Acts to help us see how the gospel gets to this small town.
So when Jesus commissions the church and ascends to the right hand of God the Father, He says, wait, because this Holy Spirit is coming. And the early church doesn't wait by sitting on their hands. It says in Acts 1.14, they join together constantly in prayer. They are prayerfully, constantly, steadfastly in prayer, waiting for God to come. And then after that, the Holy Spirit descends upon the church. Pentecost Sunday happens.
Peter steps out, preaches the sermon where 3,000 plus people place their faith in Jesus. And then in one of the more pivotal passages in the entire New Testament for what the church should do, in Acts 2.42-47, at the very beginning of Acts 2.42, it says, they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayer. They devoted themselves to prayer. And we're going to see this as a theme that runs throughout the book of Acts. Prayer is all over the book of Acts. Shows up all over the place.
In Acts 6, when the early church is covered up with need, and they're caring for orphans and widows who are in daily need of food, the apostles realized we actually don't have enough time for word and prayer. So they bring about what are the first deacons to be able to oversee the distribution of food so that they can be in a ministry of word and prayer. They valued word and prayer so much because they understood that prayer was essential to seeing the kingdom move forward. And you see it all over the book of Acts. It says that in multiple places they prayed as they commissioned people out for service and permission.
They prayed over people that they might be healed. It is in Acts 10 when Peter is praying. During prayer is when God gives the vision to Peter that extends the gospel past the Jews to include also the Gentiles. That's a pivotal moment. That's important because most of us here are Gentiles. And the gospel came to us through that prayer.
And then in Acts 13, which is one of the more pivotal moments in not just the early church, but in all of history, in the church of Antioch, as they're fasting, as they're praying, God says set apart Barnabas and Paul for mission work that is going to reach the Jews. They pray over them. They send them out. And the world is never the same. They flip Europe and Asia upside down with the gospel. Over and over again we see prayer throughout the book of Acts.
And eventually in their missionary journeys, Paul, they come to a church. They plant it in Ephesus. And then he leaves Priscilla and Aquila, two faithful leaders in the church. And they minister there for years. And that is where scholars think a man named Epaphras who shows up twice in Colossians. See, Ephesus is about the two-day walk from Colossae.
And scholars think that he, that being the closest big city, was there, heard the gospel, was discipled, and sent back to Colossae where he planted the church. We see in Colossians 1.7 that it says he's a fellow. He was the one that they learned the truth about the gospel from him. And then in 4.12 he is of the people of Colossae. So all that history brings Epaphras back to Colossians.
A church is planted. All of that fueled by the prayers of the people of God and the mission going forth. It brings the gospel to this small town, which is all the history that is packed into this passage. When he says, continue steadfastly in prayer, there's history there. There's background there. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
At the same time, pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ, on which account I am in prison. Praying that a door might be opened. That is a central idea in the book of Acts. They are praying that doors might be opened so that people would hear the gospel. I want to share a story of what happens when we pray for this type of door to be opened. In the Hebrides Islands in northern Scotland, back in 1949.
So just in context. 1949 is right after World War II. In Europe especially, there's a lot of depression, a lot of darkness, a lot of just apathy after seeing the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. And in this village, in the Hebrides Islands, in northern Scotland, there are these two older women who feel the lostness in their village. Feel it on their island. There's no young people in the churches.
There's this lingering haze from World War II. They feel it. And these two older women, one of them blind, one of them arthritic, not powerful people but believe in a powerful God, they begin to pray. They begin to pray for revival to happen on this island. And they pray. They prayed every Tuesday and Friday, fervently, that God might bring revival to the island, the Hebrides Island.
And then they said, all right, we're going to get our elders involved. So they go to their elders. They bring their elders in to pray with them. They go to a barn on Tuesdays and Fridays. They pray and pray and plead for God to bring revival to their island. And eventually, they decide to reach out.
They want an evangelist to come. So they reach out. They eventually land on a man named Duncan Campbell. They invite him to the island. And then he comes. Now, this is Duncan Campbell's retelling of this.
So he travels all day by rail. Then by ferry to get over to the island. Very tired. Shows up. And they say, we know you're tired. We know you're hungry.
We'll take care of that. We've got a place for you. We're going to feed you. But can you come to the church first? At 9 o'clock, 9 p.m. meeting. We just come.
And he says, I never got that meal. Shows up at 9 o'clock. And he said nothing was really remarkable about the service in and of itself. He said he preached and felt the spirit moving. But, you know, they prayed, sang Psalms together. And then as they're closing out their time, this man who had been praying in the barn with those older women just prayed and called out to God for revival.
Pleading for God to bring revival. And when they ended the service, they stepped out of the church. This is about midnight. They stepped out of the church. And there's 600 people outside the church. Now, 100 of them were young people that were at a dance hall not far away.
And they just all felt in a moment that they just needed to cut the music and to step outside. And when they stepped outside, they saw the lights of the church. And they started walking there. The other 500 of them were people that in the middle of the night just felt compelled to put on their clothes and start walking towards the church. So they invite them in until 4 o'clock.
The people of that town plead for the mercy of God. In repentance, he preaches. And they pray. And they sing Psalms in repentance and faith. And then at 4 o'clock in the morning, they finish. And they step outside.
And there's a man there. He said, you've got to come to the police station. There are 400 people that are around the police station. The police station which happens to be right next to where these women lived. So Don Campbell says he's walking there.
And there's people praying in the ditches. Pleading for the mercies of God. He gets there. He says, I don't even have to preach. Because the people are crying out to God in repentance. He said, there was one man that said, Oh God, hell is too good for me.
He just saw a sin. He's like, hell is too good for me. And this entire town gets swept up in a revival. That's the first night of a revival that lasted for three weeks there. It's incredible. It's one of the last known Western revivals that we know about.
And then Duncan Campbell, in recounting this, he says this, Then I would like to make it perfectly clear what I understand of revival. When I speak of revival, I'm not thinking of high pressure evangelism. I'm not thinking of crusades or of special efforts convened and organized by man. That is not in my mind at all. Revival is something altogether different from evangelism on its highest level. Revival is a moving of God and the community.
And suddenly the community becomes God conscious. Before a word is said by any man representing any special effort. That's what revival is. That kind of revival, that God conscious movement that happens in people, that happens to the power of prayer. When two women got on their knees and pleaded for God to bring revival. Revival.
Now that still happens. You want to know where the biggest revival is happening right now? I give you ten guesses. You probably wouldn't say it. Yes. The biggest right now is in Iran.
In Iran, guys. The church is exploding in Iran. Because people are getting on their faces and they're pleading for God to bring revival. And Duncan, he says, this isn't special efforts convened and organized by man. It is the power of God at work. It is the power of prayer.
I was a part of a church before I was a part of our church here. And I love the church I was a part of. Thankful for it in so many ways. God did some incredible things in that church. It was a huge growing church in the city where I used to live. And I thought about my experiences there.
I thought about the growth they had going from one congregation to four congregations all over the city of Louisville. And a lot of really cool things happened that I'm thankful for. But as I thought about it, we talked a lot about strategy. A lot about, I mean, they wrote books about mission strategy and all kinds of things. But one of the things that did not show up a lot at all was praying and pleading for God to save the lost.
It wasn't an aspect that I saw hardly at all. And as I reflect on my time there, the reality is that one of the reasons that church grew a ton was it was a cool church. It was a cool church that had cool music, had some really good teaching, some really good things going on in it. And it was a transient city. So when you moved to the city, whether it was for seminary like me or for jobs, a lot of people ended up at that church.
It was also near the fifth biggest church in the country, this huge mega church. People got tired of the six flags that were Jesus field there. And they just kind of said, all right, we're done with this. And they came. There's a lot of transfer growth that happened there. And I'm thankful for a lot of the things that I learned there.
But I realized is that one of the things that we hope to see there, it didn't happen on the scale that we wanted. And when I think about our church, I love our church. We planted years ago with the hope to reach outsiders. Being everyday missionaries, sharing the gospel on everyday mission with those who did not know Christ, who didn't want Him, that we might compel them to know who Christ is. I'm thankful for so many of the things that have happened in our church as we sought to be everyday missionaries. I'm thankful for the journey of the past couple of years.
I'm thankful for this incredible building that we have, this incredible church family that we have, the things that we have here. Y'all, the worship at our church, I mean, it's just great. And the teaching is great. Half the time. I'm thankful for a lot of things that are happening in our church. But the reality is, as I think about the last year, two years of our church, church, we're a little bit on a similar trajectory to the one I was a part of.
A lot of really good things going on. We've lost a little bit of our missional hustle. And I don't want us to lose that. I don't want us to lose the heart that says, I want to go to the highways and hedges. I want to find people who need Christ. And part of that is because we're not getting on our faces and pleading for God to open the door.
Verse 3 says, At the same time, Pray also for us that God may open to us a door for the Word. You know why Paul says that? You know why he's telling the Colossians to join him in prayer? They got my open a door? It's because he believes it. He believes it.
He believes the only way that God is going to work and bring the dead to life, the only way he's going to open and soften the hearts of those who don't believe, the only way he's going to unstop the ears that people might believe the gospel is that they get on their faces and they plead that he might save sinners. He says, Oh, Colossians, get on your faces. A door needs to be opened that people would hear the gospel and believe. He believes it. And do you know what our lack of prayer reveals about us, what my lack of, what my prayerlessness reveals? It believes that I don't.
It believes that we don't believe this, that we'd rather trust in our own strategies, our own efforts, to see about, to see change happen in this city. And I have all four strategies. We're going to be doing them, right? We're not going to stop plotting. I'm all for strategies. I'm all for the things that are good.
Absolutely. But not if that is all that it is. One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Psalm 20, verse 7. It says, Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord. And as David sang as a king, some people trust in their own efforts, their own chariots, their own horses, but we trust in the power that is bound up in the name of the Lord. And I would rather myself trust in chariots of my own choosing than pleading in the name of the Lord where there is power to actually bring about the change that we desperately need for our dying city.
How faithless am I? That's what I've learned about myself over the last few months. How faithless am I? J.I. Packer, he says, When we are on our knees praying, when we're on our knees, we know that it's not we who control the world. It is the acknowledgement that we can't bring change.
You can't do it. You can't bring change in people's lives. He says, It is not in our power, therefore, to supply our needs by our own independent efforts. Every good thing that we desire for ourselves and for others must be sought from God and will come if it comes at all as a gift from His hands. It is the acknowledgement that we don't have the power in us to bring about change. It comes in pleading in the name of the one who actually can.
And if it's not faithlessness, if it's not a lack of faith in the power of God, it's a general apathy that we just don't care. The reality is that some of us would rather not discomfort ourselves with the reality, the eternal reality that surrounds us, that people that are without Christ are dying and going to an eternity in hell. We'd rather not think about that. We have this general cultural aversion to death. We don't like death. We put death in a corner.
We don't want to think about it. It's sad. It's not positive. And you... That sinks into the church, and it gets applied to hell. We don't want to think about it.
We get uneasy. I feel it. Uneasy. When anyone mentions it, talks about it. I heard a pastor once say that people in hell are no closer to the end of their misery and not one day brings them closer to that. We don't want to think about that.
We don't want to discomfort ourselves with that idea. There used to be a Puritan pastor who when he prepared sermons by candlelight, he would sometimes hover his hand over the flame just to help him understand the reality of what's at stake when he preached. We don't want to think about that. It makes us uncomfortable. We'd rather not discomfort ourselves for the sake of the discomfort of those for eternity. We'd rather not think about it.
We went through the gospel. Remember, we were in the gospel of Matthew for a year and a half. And over and over again, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches on hell over and over and over and over again. And the early church was very okay with talking about it. Are we? Are we okay with that reality?
Do we let that sink in for us? Brothers and sisters, if we want revival to happen in our city, we've got to have revival that happens in our own hearts. We have to understand what's at stake. And we have to get on our faces in desperation and pray. Pray that our friends, that our neighbors, that our coworkers, that people in our lives would be spared the horrors of hell and would taste and see that Christ is good. He says at the same time, pray also that God may open a door for us.
I just want to close with looking at three aspects of prayer. This prayer that he's pleading that might open a door for the word of God, three aspects that we see in verse 2. Steadfast prayer, watchful prayer, thankful prayer. Look at verse 2. Continuing steadfastly in prayer. He says, pray steadfastly.
The Greek word for steadfastly there has the idea of attaching oneself to this idea. Clinging to. Continual, steadfast prayer. That's where we get very similar to 1 Thessalonians 5, 17 when it says, pray unceasingly. Don't stop. We cling to this in prayer.
Pray steadfastly. We're steadfast in quite a few things. Some of those things are very good. You need to steadfastly drink water. Because if you don't, you'll die. You steadfastly will eat food three, sometimes four, maybe even five times a day.
You feel a physical urge in your body that says, eat. Food is a steadfast part of what we do every day. And we do other things steadfastly that we should not. Like me, getting on the internet looking at news ten times a day because I might miss a story. a steadfast routine that I cling to. Those of you that love social media, steadfastly going to the well of social media which makes everybody happy. Over and over again figuring out what's going on in people's lives so that you can post things about ourselves.
I love what John Piper said once. He said, one of the greatest uses of Twitter and Facebook is to reveal on the last day that prayerlessness was not for lack of time. We will be steadfast in so many things and God says, no, steadfastly pray. Pray steadfastly. Cling to this as we cling to food and water as our hope for physical sustaining. Cling to sustain in prayer as if your spiritual power depends upon it.
Years back, I became a Christian. When I became a Christian, my brother Sean, we went from getting high together to me saying, hey, I don't want to do this anymore but I do want to talk to you about Jesus. And we started talking. My brother's smart and he was a skeptic. And he just, I'd share something. He'd say, have you thought about this?
And I'd be like, nope. Run back and think about it and come back to him. I'd say, alright, have you thought about this? And I'd be like, nope. And did this whole thing for years? We'd go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, talking, trying to convince him, trying to compel him.
And in the midst of all of that, there's something I actually did steadfastly. And I would argue that some of us do this type of steadfast prayer. I prayed for him all the time. And we do that sometimes, right? We do that with family, your kids, people that are close to you. Some of us very much are steadfast in that type of prayer.
And we should be. And I prayed over and over and over again. that he might be saved. About three or four years ago, I decided to come one Sunday. He came because I was preaching. And he said, you know what? I want to check out one of these groups that y'all talk about.
I said, cool. Not mine. He said, you heard the gospel from me for years, a decade. I said, I want you to go check out Chet and Anna Phillips' group. So we did.
Started going there. And after about a year, Charlie did finally click. And he finally realized that Jesus is better than everything else. And he placed his faith in Jesus. And in 2019, in an inflatable bathtub, I got to step in the waters with him and baptize him. And it was one of the happiest moments of my life.
But that was a decade of praying. A decade of pleading for God to save my brother. And we do that with the people that are closest to us. And you should. But the reality is that you've got friends and you've got neighbors and you've got coworkers and you've got people in your life that desperately need Christ.
And we need to plead and pray steadfastly. Unceasingly. We need that type of prayer. We need steadfast prayer. We need watchful prayer. Let's continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
He says, be watchful. Watchful means be alert. Stay focused. Stay awake. It's what Jesus says in the garden with His disciples. His watch and pray.
Same word. Be watchful when you pray. There's this need for this strategic alertness in our prayer. That we be alert of the spiritual reality. The spiritual reality that we live in is that we're in a war with the enemy. And there are bullets flying and there's a lot at stake.
And we need to have this watchful alertness when we pray for the mission to go forward. So we've got to start praying intentionally, strategically, with alertness. Because the reality is that most of our prayer, if we're honest, much of our prayer, if we're praying, is a list of sick people and a list of needs. And listen, you should do that. Pray for daily bread. Pray for the sick.
Pray for those who are hurting. Pray for people in you. Absolutely, yes and amen. But in the continual steadfastness of prayer, we've got to add this mission element. We've got to plead for God to save people. And not just generally, right?
Not just say, God, I pray you bring revival. Save Columbia. No, we've got to get strategic. We've got to start naming names and naming streets and classes and people. Right? Like when you're, when we send people off to war, soldiers aren't carrying shotguns.
This is not an effective weapon. It's a shotgun spray. They're carrying rifles for a reason. It's a strategic shot. We've got to have that type of strategic, alert prayer. Start naming names.
Get on Google Maps and print your street that you live on. Or if you're artistic, draw your street. And start writing in names of people that you live by. And get to know your neighbors. Get to write down facts about their life. Pray for them.
Go on prayer walks down your street. And pray for your neighbors. When you go to your soccer game, pray for the names of the people on your soccer team. The guy would open up a door for you to declare the gospel to them. Pray for the people and your classes on your way to work. Pray for the people and your work.
We need to start naming names with a strategic alertness, being watchful, knowing what's at stake. We need to pray watchfully. And if it takes us imagining the horrors of hell that await our friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, do it. We need to understand what's at stake. I'm so tired. This happens to me every few years.
I'm so tired of for myself. When someone dies that I know that they were not a Christian. I go through this thing where I evaluate all the opportunities I had. I could have shared the gospel here. I could have pressed in here. I could have done this.
And I think about it. I'm like, I'm going to grow in this. I'm going to grow in being more strategic in my evangelism. I'm going to grow in not wasting opportunities with people. And then, a couple months go by and it fades. And I'm back into the normal rhythms of life.
And I think the reason why this happens to me is I'm not on my face continually praying. We can go through this series, I'm a missionary, three weeks. And like, for two or three months we'll be killing it. We'll be excited. And we should. But if we don't pray regularly, it'll fade.
It'll fade. It happens. We need to get on our faces. We need to get on our knees. We need to pray continually, watchfully, and thankfully. Thankful prayer.
It says, continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. The reason it's thankful prayer is it's a miracle that God saves anyone. We are so prone to wander. We will worship anything else. We'll chase after anything else. All the idolatry we talked about in soul care, we'll go headlong after it.
Reject God. Part of the sovereignty and the beauty of the sovereignty of God is that He steps in the middle of all that says, no, I'm saving you. That I'm going to rescue you. We deserve hell, but God comes in and He rescues us. I'm so thankful that our God does this. I was sharing the gospel with a co-worker years ago when I worked at a coffee shop and then we got to the subject of hell and I was kind of expecting normal skepticism that he was going to say.
He said, oh no, people deserve hell. I was like, what? He's like, people are messed up. He didn't say messed up. He said, food absolutely deserves hell. And he caught on to something.
He said, no, we do, but God in His kindness, even though we reject Him, even though that we spit on His commands, even though we don't want any part of Him, He steps in and He saves us. Paul, who wrote this? Paul was a murderous, self-righteous, pharisaical, Pharisee, thug. He was on his way to imprison more Christians, possibly murder some more. And Jesus steps in the road of Damascus and says, no, you're mine. We should be thankful that God saves any of us.
It's the reason why when we have baptisms, we celebrate and cheer when people are baptized. It's the reason why in Luke 15 it says, angels rejoice when people repent. With thanksgiving we pray. Steadfast prayer, watchful prayer, thankful prayer. We need to pray like this. Pray like this that God would open doors because we are too busy trying to pry open doors ourselves.
Trying to pry it open with our own strategies, with our own efforts. We, Paul is just trying to help us see right here. He's like, yeah, you ain't got gas in the tank. You're trying and all these efforts are good but if you're not praying, you ain't got gas in the tank. There's a story of a professor who took some students to England and they were touring different sites in England and they, this is a Bible college and they took them to John Wesley's house. John Wesley, one of the most famous missionaries, pastors, started the Methodist movement, him and his brother Charles.
Go to John Wesley's house and they tour the house and they go up to his bedroom and in John Wesley's bedroom there are divots, holes, impressions where his knees were beside the bed where he was praying. That's how much John Wesley prayed. They see this and then they're done seeing this and they get back on the bus and they realize, they realize that one of the students is not on the bus. The professor gets, goes back in the house and goes upstairs and he finds this, he finds this student and the student says, he says to the student, hey, we got to go and the student's just there praying. He's like, Lord, do it again.
Do it again. Praying for revival. Do it again, Lord, praying that revival would come. He said, Billy, we got to go. And that student was Billy Graham. And Billy prayed that God would do it again and God did it again.
Like two women in a village in Northern Ireland pleading that God would bring revival like Billy Graham on his knees. We got to pray that God would do it again. My hope is that we believe in the power of prayer that we'd see God do it again so that we can be the gospel-centered community on mission that we say we are. Raz and Isaac are going to come up and I just, for a few minutes, I want, I want us to pray. I want us to take a few minutes and just pray. I want us Christians, I want us to pray that God would bring revival to this city.
I want to pray, I want you to think about the people in your life that don't know Christ. I want you to think about your neighbors, I want you to think about your co-workers, I want you to think about your classmates, I want you to think about family members, I want you to think about the people in your life that don't know Christ and I want you to understand what's at stake and I want you to pray. I want you to plead that God might save them. Maybe you're here and all of this is just a lot and you're like, I don't even know where to start, I don't even know if I believe this. I want you right now over the next few minutes, I want you to pray that God will reveal Himself.
I want you to know that God loves you so deeply that He sent Christ to have His blood shed for you, that He might cover your sins and your rebellion, and that is good news. But you've got to believe that your life has to be His. Let's take a few moments we have here and pray. And as we leave here, may we not just be a people that pray for a moment, but pray continuously, pleading to God, but open a door that we might see the gospel go forward and we might see our city be changed.
Soul Care Until the End
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab your Bibles, go to Philippians chapter 1. This is the last week in our soul care series. We've taken four weeks to just try to uncover some of our sin, some of our idolatry, some of the things that have affected how we view God and how we relate to Him and relate to each other.
And it hopefully has been heavy and helpful. When I was growing up, if you were, if you'd hurt yourself and you were telling my dad, if you'd say like, yeah, I hurt my arm or whatever, I got a bruise here. He'd say, come here, let me see. You get close to him and he put his hands around it real tenderly. He's a very gentle man. And then he would take his thumb and he would press it and say, is it hurt right here?
And just push down on whatever was painful. Um, cause he thought it was funny. And when I was about seven, my grandmother had hurt her arm and it was very bruised. Y'all see where this is going? And so I said, let me see. I'm so sorry that happened.
And she gave me her arm and I said, does it hurt right here? And she had my thumb into it. Uh, and apparently this was inappropriate. And it's hard for a seven year old to gauge what, what the context of things are, but it's different from father to son than from grandson to grandmother. Uh, when we do series like this, when we take time to investigate sin and pain and drag up some things from the past and try to look at our lives, sometimes it can feel like this is all we've done. Look at something painful and go, does it hurt right here?
And just kind of poke at it rather than actually being helpful. But that's, that's not the goal. The goal is as we investigate these things, we want to, to view this a lot more. Like if you had a rock in your shoe, you don't just muscle through. You stop, you take your shoe off, you get the rock out and life gets to be better. And so the hope is, as we've investigated some of this, as we walk through this together, that we've seen some of our sin, but that we seen some of the things that have hurt us from our past and some of the ways that we're affected by what people have done to us and the things that we've done.
And that we take the time to stop and to get rid of it so that we can move forward without a limp. That's, that's our hope in this series. And last week Spencer talked to us about the fact that we're capable of change, that you can change. And he kind of laid out for us a bit of a roadmap for that. But today, as we finish up the series, what we want to see is that if you belong to Jesus, you will change.
Not just you're capable of it, but you will change. That he is going to make us into something whole and complete and cured. That if you're struggling with sin, if you're struggling with depression and anxiety, if you're struggling with past things that seem like they loom over you like a cloud and dictate to you what life is going to be like from here on. If you have this thought of, I better just get used to this because this is how it's going to be forever. I want us to take courage this morning from Philippians to see that you are incorrect. If you belong to Jesus, it will not be like this forever.
So let's pray and let's study this section of scripture together. God, we thank you for your word. And more than that, we thank you for your salvation in Christ. We pray that as we study your words, that we would understand your work. So that we might take courage and rest.
And that we might continue. To move forward in the hope of what you have accomplished for us and what you will accomplish in us. We love you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen. So in Philippians chapter 1, Paul is writing from prison to the church in Philippi.
He was arrested for going around and presenting the gospel. It was causing a lot of trouble, but he kept at it. And he was arrested. He's writing to the church in Philippi. He's writing to the Philippians. And he has a good relationship with them.
And they have consistently been good to him and partnered with him in ministry. And so we're going to pick up in verse 3. And we're going to take some encouragement from his words to them. And we're going to see that they apply to us in Christ. So it says, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.
Always in every prayer of mine for you all. Making my prayer with joy. Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. So Paul in prison says, Every time I pray for you, I'm just filled with joy. I'm filled with thankfulness because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Now the gospel is the message, the news, the good news of what Jesus has done for us.
That Jesus Christ is the son of God who came, who lived a perfect, sinless life. Who did not come to teach us how to be better, but came to save us out of our sin. That he was crucified, that he was dead, that he was buried, that he rose again. And that we have hope in him. That all those who place their faith in him will be saved. And Paul went around proclaiming this message and the people in Philippi believed and then partnered with him so that more people could know this news.
So he's in jail. And he writes, I'm so thankful for your partnership in the gospel. And one of the things that Paul's taking to encourage him in his walk with the Lord, in his midst of his difficulty as he faces persecution, is that he's not alone. He's in prison, but he's writing and said, I'm so thankful that I'm not alone. That y'all have partnered with me in this. And that's one of the first things I want you to see.
That as you walk in your desire to follow Jesus and your struggle against sin, you're not alone. That you have gathered this morning. That's why it's a gathering of the people who belong to the Lord. This is not an individual experience. That you're not alone. That you belong to a people.
That you can be in a community group. Many of you are, most of you are, in community groups where you belong to a group of people. And they're not allowed to get rid of you. That you get to walk out in life with them, following Jesus and being known by them and being loved by them. That they are partners with you in the gospel. See, the Philippians had partnered with him in everything, as far as how you would partner in the gospel.
They partnered with him in repentance and faith. They had partnered with him in proclamation of the gospel and in persecution that comes when we proclaim the gospel. And so I want you to know that you're not alone. Every so often our community group will just take a night where we just kind of tell our stories or we'll spend a couple of weeks just doing this, reminding everybody, here's how I got here. Just kind of who I am. And I love this.
Because every time we do this, I'm reminded, oh yeah, I'm not alone. Everybody has pain. Everybody has hurt. Everybody has bad decisions and sin and struggles. And Jesus is good. I'm not the only one here who's a sinner just trying to fit in with all these well-behaved people in my group, hoping they don't find me out.
No, we all are here because Jesus is good and we're not alone. And so he takes courage in the partnership that they have. And I want you to do that as well. As you fight sin, you do not have to be alone that we have partnered in the gospel. Verse 6. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
We'll spend most of our time there today. But let's look at verse 7. It is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. So Paul says, I'm certain that he who began a good work in you is going to bring it to completion at the day of Christ. And it's right for me to feel this way because I love you. That's nice.
I hold you in my heart. And he says, because you're a partaker of grace with me. You've joined me in ministry that we've partaken in grace together. And I want you to know that that's the qualifying thing for the statement that we're about to spend our time studying is have you partaken in grace? Have you seen your sin? Repented of your sin and asked Jesus for grace, which is unmerited favor, unearned love, that he would do the work on our behalf, that he would redeem us.
Have you partaken in grace? Because Paul says, it's right for me to feel this way because you've partaken in grace with me. And then he gives, it's active grace. It's at work grace. It's not just you partaken in grace and then you moved on, but you partook in grace in, and he says, as displayed by my imprisonment and in defending the gospel that you've joined in this. So let's go back to verse six.
And we're just going to break this statement down a little bit and spend our time here this morning. He says, I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. The day of Jesus Christ is judgment day. That's the day of our Lord. That he comes and time's up. That he sets up his active rule and reign as king.
This is when we were walking through the book of Matthew. This is when he has the sheep and the goats. This is when it comes down and the master returns and sets his house in order. That's the day of Jesus Christ. And if you want to, you can go search in a Bible app or on the internet, or if you have a concordance, which is a big book, you can look up the day of the Lord or the day of Christ, and you'll see that that's what this is. And so what he's saying is that there's going to come a day when Jesus calls everybody to account and to give an account of themselves and that he's certain that on that day, you'll be complete if you've partaken in the grace of Christ.
That he's certain on that day that you'll be whole. Didn't that help your soul? Because of how incomplete we feel so often, how broken and how marred, and how much we feel like we've fallen short to think that someday I'll be whole. I'll be complete. But I want us to see what he's putting this on.
So if you will, just look ahead to your very last day. If you belong to Jesus, on that day you are complete. There's nothing out of alignment. There's nothing missing. There's nothing wrong with you. On that day you'll stand before Christ complete.
How? He says, I'm sure of this, that he... That's very important. That he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion. He does it. It's personal and it's powerful.
That it's done by Christ. That he began the work, you didn't begin the work. And he finishes the work, you don't finish the work. You're not done, but he's begun. And that he's going to bring you to completion. That he's going to fix you, finish you, complete you, make you whole.
That's good news. That he is the one who empowers this. Jesus says, he gives a parable at one point in the Gospels, and he says that the kingdom of heaven is like yeast. It's like leaven that's put in a lump and it takes over. Guess what? Your sin doesn't win if you belong to Jesus.
And your desire to hold on to your sin doesn't win if you belong to Jesus. Sometimes it feels like we're wounded and we come to Jesus and he binds us up. Other times it feels like he hunts us down and wounds us and then binds us up. Sometimes we're on board with the fixing that we're getting and other times we're going, please, please, please just let me keep this. And he's like, no, it's bad for you. That he actively works in you.
It's not an impersonal thing, but it's Christ himself at work to bring us to fullness. So he is the one who supplies the power and it's a promise. Paul says, I am sure of this. It's a certainty. Do you belong to Jesus? I'm sure that you will be brought and made complete.
You will be whole. You will be fixed. You will be repentant. You will be changed. It's a certainty. And it's not because Paul believes in you.
It's not because he believes in the Philippians. It's because he believes in Jesus. He says this elsewhere in 1 Thessalonians 5, 23. He's 5, 23. He says, Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. That means make you perfectly good.
The sanctification is the process by which he actively, practically redeems us from sin. Now that he sets us apart. Now may he sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So the same thing, that you'll be blameless, that you'll be complete on that day. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it.
Oh, that's so good. Because it'd be a little scary if Paul wrote to the Philippians. I am sure of this, that on the day of Christ, you will be complete because y'all are great. Because if there's one thing I know about the Philippians, is that y'all keep it together. If there's one thing I know about the Philippians, is that you make good choices. Galatians, not so sure.
Corinthians, I'm sure, but it's the other direction. But you Philippians, I'm proud of y'all. You got this. You ever have anybody encourage you that way? You're trying to work something out and they go, you got this. I know you.
I trust you. You don't mess stuff up. You always end up making the right decision. We should hang out more. I've been with me my entire life. That is incorrect.
There's part of you that takes that at first. You're like, yes, you're right. I am smart. I make the right decision. Then you leave and you go, wait, no, I don't.
And now all this waits on me and this feels overwhelming. Now I've just got all this extra pressure. It's like it builds us up just to have more come crashing down on us. And Paul does not say to them, y'all got this because you're great. He says, he's going to do it. So I'm certain.
He didn't say, I know you. He says, I know Jesus. Now that's good news. That when you stare right now in the face of your sin and your pain and your weakness, it is not, can I muscle up enough to bring myself to the finish line? It's will Jesus who is faithful be faithful? Yes, he will.
Is Jesus who is strong be strong? Yes, he will. Is Jesus who loved us so much that he would die for us? Will he keep loving us with that same type of love? Yes, he will. Will we stand complete?
Yes, we will because he will. That's the reality of this. That not only can we change, but we will change. But I want you to see something else. He says, I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. See that in?
It's not just a work that he did for you, but it's a work that he's doing in you. That dramatically changes how this plays out. I heard a comedian say one time, I'm sick of following my dreams. I just want to find out where they're going and hook up with them later. And some of us in our growth in Christ want to be able to do the same thing. I just want to show back up when I'm all grown.
I just want to be there. Can I just get to the end growth part? I just want to like, can I just putter around and then just show up and the answer is no. He's going to do this in you, which means that you'll be here the whole time. This process, empowered by him and it's a promise carried out by him, will take place in you. So for you, what's it going to look like?
It's going to look like a lot of work. Let's go to verse 8. I want you to see this. For God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with all knowledge and discernment. I love that.
One is, if it abounds more and more, it means we grow in it. Paul says, I'm praying you grow. He says, I pray you abound in love. And as Americans, we're like, yes, love. All we need is love. Love.
We love that. We love love. Love's great. Love wins. Love. Love.
But he says, no, no, hold on. With knowledge and all discernment. I want you to grow in love, but not the stupid love that y'all have. Wise love. I want you to love the things you should love and not love the things you shouldn't love. And that's what we've been spending some time looking at.
That's what idolatry is, is that we don't love God enough and we love other things that are worse more than we should. He says, I want you to abound in love, but I want it to be wise love, discerning love, love that's pointing in the right direction. And he says this, so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. Okay. He says, I'm certain of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ. So I'm praying that you will make good decisions so that you'll be pure and blameless at the day of Christ.
Which is it? It's both. He's going to do this, but you're going to have to be there. And so his prayer is basically, I pray Jesus is going to do what Jesus said he's going to do. That's my prayer. That's a good prayer for you to have.
Lord, do in me quickly what you said you're going to do. I had it quickly, but I think it's okay. Sneak it in there. That I pray that you will change me and mold me into what you said you're going to change me and mold me into. It is in you through him. So what's that look like?
Well, he keeps going. In chapter 2, verse 12, he says this, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. You see it again? Obey, work, because he works in you. But what's it look like to us?
It looks like obedience. I've said this before. I say it a lot because it's really helpful for me, but obedience and agreement are different. Agreement's nice. We can obey when we agree. It works out well, but obedience shows up where agreements differ, that we obey the Lord even when we disagree with him.
So he says, obey and work. So what's it look like? Well, it looks like waking up early so you can read your Bible or staying up later so you can read your Bible or both because you need a lot of your Bible. It looks like psyching yourself up to show up to your community group. I love so much that we host our community group. All we have to do is psych ourselves up to unlock the door.
I don't have to every week sit and go, okay, remember, remember it's good. You remember, you remember how you feel afterwards because there's always right before it's time to leave, there's just like, huh, do I actually want to have to get in my car and use the steering wheel and press the thing with my foot? There is, there's some kind of pressure that pushes on us to not be around each other and the reality is it's going to take some energy for you to go be around your group. It's going to take some energy for you to actually confess some sin. It's going to take some energy for you to pick up the phone and invite somebody to a thing or accept an invitation.
It's going to take some energy for you to walk this out. It takes energy for you to show up in the morning. It's going to take some work. It's going to take some obedience. It's going to take you some times where you wrestle with the Lord and you say, I don't want to give this up, but I believe that you're good and I believe that you're doing something good in me, so I'm going to repent. So he says in chapter 3, verse 12, he says it again, not that I have already obtained this, talking about this resurrection, talk about being made new, or am already perfect.
Isn't that nice? Paul doesn't think he's perfect. He isn't saying get on my level. He's saying let Jesus do what Jesus is going to do. But I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
I press, I work, I labor, I obey to make this my own, to become what he says I'm going to be, to receive this resurrection life because Christ has already done it in me. He's already made me his own and he's promised he's going to bring me there so I fight to get there. That's encouraging. Messes with our head a little bit. Is he going to do it? Yes.
Are you going to do it? Yes. Is he going to do it in you? Yes. Do you have to be there the whole time? Yes.
Is it going to hurt at times? Yes. Is it going to be good? Always. In one of the Harry Potter books, they're time traveling, which if they had just done this earlier could have fixed a lot of problems, but whatever. They're time traveling and there's this time where Harry Potter is about to die, which also would have ended the books.
And he sees himself come save his life by doing some really like amazing stuff. And so you experience this the first time. He shows up and saves his own life. Then later, because of time travel, he shows up as this version of himself and does the really cool thing to save his own life. He's hanging out with his friend afterwards and she says, how did you do that? And he said, well, I knew I could do it because I already saw myself do it.
Does that make sense? And she says, no. That's right here. I'm pressing on to be made perfect because I already see that he's going to make me perfect. I'm repenting because I know that he's working repentance in me. I'm showing up.
I'm doing the stuff. I'm obeying because I know that he's working obedience in me. I'm empowered to do what I'm supposed to do because I know that I've already seen that he's going to do it in me and that one day I'll stand before him holy, blameless, above reproach that on the day of Christ I will be complete so I press on towards completion. And the reason I press on towards completion is that he's already promised to do this and he's going to get me there. I already know I'm going to win so I run the race to win. Does that make sense?
No. Does it work? Yes. That's how this plays out. That you take courage from the fact that Christ is going to complete what he says he's going to complete and then you walk with him in it. So he says I'm sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
So at the day of Jesus Christ and we're going to look down at verse 10 and 11 because this idea comes back up. So this is where he says I pray that he works this in you so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. There it is again the day of Christ. I want you to know two things about the day of Christ. If you belong to Jesus if you've placed your faith in him if you are a partaker of grace which means Jesus has done the work and is doing the work not that you are a partaker of your own good works or your own good effort or your own righteousness that's not what it is it's a partaker of grace.
On the day of Jesus Christ there are two things that you need to know about yourself on that day. If you belong to Jesus this is a reality we're just peeking into the future. There are two things that are true about you on that day. One you are pure and blameless filled with the fruit of righteousness. Come on. Good Job y'all.
Pure and blameless filled with the fruit of righteousness. That's what we want. Don't you wish when your group was like hey we're going to get together we're going to spend some time just looking at ourselves kind of repenting of sin. Don't you wish that you could with all certainty just be like oh that's not a thing I have to do. I'm pure and blameless. I don't know if y'all have noticed I'm filled with the fruit of righteousness.
He's working that in us. Part of the process of that is repentance. Which repentance is a joy that is given to us that we could let go of things that are bad and take hold of things that are good. I heard somebody say birds fly fish swim Christians repent. This is something that we get to continually do as we work on towards being more like Christ. But on that day when he lays the world bare and you would be completely exposed in your sin if you belong to Christ you're covered by his blood you're filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.
He's accomplished it but you're filled with it. So on that day if you belong to Jesus you are pure blameless and filled with the fruit of righteousness and it says to the glory and praise of God that we are praising God that he does this work in us so that he gets the glory. We get the results of it we get the joy of it but he gets the glory. We've said this before when we get to heaven we are not singing praises to our own names. I will not stand up and sing glory be to Chet or Chester I don't know what name you have to use when you're in heaven. I don't know if it's a nickname situation or like you know given name whatever.
I won't do it. I won't have earned myself the opportunity to be there. I will not be there by my own works I will not be there by my own goodness I will not be there by my own intentionality or my morality or anything. I will be there because of the work of Christ and so when we gather there all praise and all glory goes to Christ we sing his name because he is the one who has accomplished this for us and in us. All glory be to Christ. There's one name that's sung and shouted in heaven and let me tell you something that you need to know about praise.
The first thing you need to know about praise is that all genuine praise true praise includes genuine delight. True praise includes genuine delight. Praise without delight is flattery. This is really good. Of all the meals I've eaten this is one of them tastes like someone cooked it. And we're trying to find a way to be nice but we don't have anything really good to say.
We get to heaven when you actually genuinely praise something when you actually genuinely enjoy something it just falls out. If you're eating something really good sometimes you just make a noise. It's a little weird for the people around you. You bite into it and you go mmm and it's like okay take it easy we get it you like it stop. Somebody starts dating somebody and that's all they want to talk about. And it just falls out this genuine delight so there's genuine praise.
So all true praise includes genuine delight which means that if we're there praising the Lord we are delighting in the Lord. second the best praise and the moments in life right now when you are the most free is when you are caught up in enjoyment of something else other than yourself. There's a true self forgetfulness to genuine praise that brings freedom. There are moments in life where you stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon and you just stare. when you hear a certain type of music and you're just swept away. You don't exist anymore. You're just getting to participate in the music. You're eating a meal and you're able to just enjoy the meal and not think about yourself.
Being praised we all like being praised and there's a place for it. But there's something about receiving praise that is never quite the same never quite as enjoyable as actually being swept up in genuine praise for something else. It never hits the same place. And so what you need to know about that day if you are in Christ is on that day you are whole. Nothing out of place. Nothing there that shouldn't be there.
You're complete. Nothing that you're dragging behind you. Nothing that's looming over your head. You are delighting in the Lord. Genuine delight. And you are free from yourself. that's a good day.
If you belong to Christ you're free you have joy and you're complete. And if you belong to Christ that stands as the finish line marker of your life. And it can't not stand that way because you can't escape Christ. You can't out sin him. You can't outrun him. If you belong to Christ you are in an unpluckable hand.
In an unpluckable hand. You will be there. You can be the worst person in your community group. On that day you're complete. You're whole. You're in Christ made wonderful delighting in him singing his praise. completely free from
Yourself. You can have day after day month after month year after year of struggle and pain and hurt where you're hurting others where you're
Wrestling with the Lord where you're fighting him over your sin and on that day you will be standing complete in Christ because he
Is the one who does the work that is the reality for you so we press on towards it that we might the truth
That's the reality for you if you belong to Jesus the band is going to come back up I want us as best we
Can to put this in our mind to see this this next week on Thursday I get to go to the beach with my
Family this week is going to be a good week all week not just when I get to the beach all week leading to
The beach because it's going to be hard to make me sad because on Thursday I get to the beach you know that school
Is about to be over you get to go on vacation you just keep stuff happens and you go well it's about to be
Over I'm about to be at the beach I'm about to be on vacation this class is about to be over this teacher is
The worst but guess what only for another week and the reality for us in Christ is that we get to look forward to
That day to give us courage and strength in this one that we can face this day because of that day and this day
Actually gets swept up in that day to make that day more glorious that this day actually stands in testimony to the goodness of
Christ to bring you along to bring me along that when we stand and praise Christ he's actually praiseworthy because he got us there
How powerful how good how loving how gracious did he have to be to do that infinitely he is good and that day is
A glorious day when we stand complete in him some of you are tired tired tired of your sin tired of your struggle tired
Of your pain tired of your weakness tired of your depression you're tired it's labor and work to get out of bed and to
Make it here on Sundays you don't even know how many songs our church sings because you've only ever made it to the one right before we start preaching because you're tired on that day there's nothing out of joint there's no exhaustion
Your lungs never tire of singing the praise of Christ you're complete some of us are sad just down on that day you are swept up in a joy that you cannot fathom that your best moments right now
Are just the taste just the hint just the scent of what's going to be tasted at that time some of us are anxious and we're worried well there's a day when you are a conqueror so that we're more than a
Conqueror now Jesus says that in this world you'll have trouble but take heart because he's overcome the world and that we get to stare at the end and go I don't know how it's all going to play
Out but I know what the scoreboard's going to be at the end of it I know where I'm going to be at the end of this when I was in high school my wife she wasn't my wife in high school but I was playing
My senior year of football and she was making a scrapbook so it turns out it was a great great scrapbook it was really kind thoughtful thing for her to do turns out she was a keeper she was making this
For me and we were in a game and in the first quarter the team that we were playing was up on us by three touchdowns it was 21-0 it was not going well and my younger brother took the camera from her
And took a picture of the scoreboard and sat back down and she said why did you do that and he said it's going to look really good in your scrapbook when they come back and win this game for us to have
Seen that it was 21-0 so the home game so the scoreboard says 0-21 and there's a picture in the scrapbook that says 7-21 and there's a picture in the scrapbook that says 14-21 and there's a picture
In that scrapbook that says 21-21 and there's a picture in that scrapbook that says 28-21 and he was right that 0-21 actually just looks really good because you get to see a 28-21 later and the reality is that for some of
You right now in your exhaustion and in your sadness and in your depression you need to just take a picture because if you belong to Christ this day is going to look really good when you stand complete
In him when you stand before the king made pure and blameless filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ to the praise and glory of God this day will just be a testimony it'll just be a moment in time that points and screams the name
Of Christ for all eternity that you can look back and go he got me from there to here because he's good so let's press on we know where it ends let's go and let's cling to Christ as we go knowing that he who is faithful
Will do it let's pray God we thank you that you're faithful and we pray that you would help us to press on to make it our own but we are not perfect it's not ours yet but we are yours so it will be ours later Lord you've made us yours
Through the work of Christ may we cling to you and praise you and may we work and obey as you empower us to do it and God for anyone in this room who on that day will not stand complete in Christ because they
Have not partaken in grace that they will stand in their own work in their own sin Lord we ask that by the power of your spirit and your spirit is in this room right now moving we pray that by the power
Of your spirit that you would convict and that you would help them to repent so that they might place their faith in you and not themselves so that they can stand with the chorus of the redeemed screaming Christ is glorious
At the top of their lungs free from their selves free from their sin and made complete in you oh Lord work through your spirit in Jesus name we pray amen
Process of Change
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Spencer. I am one of the pastors here. We are in week three of our four-week series on soul care. This is an introduction to the idea of soul care that we would, as Christians, grow in understanding the brokenness and the sin that's beneath the surface that's in our soul and that we would treat, we would help grow in the gospel and grow as Christians as we care for ourselves and ultimately care for one another. So the first two weeks of this series, in the first week we introduced this idea of soul care that at the core of our souls is our heart and at the core of our heart is our view of God, how we worship Him, our lack of worship of Him, and our view of self in light of who God is.
That's at the core of who we are and we took a step back from that and looked at us as complex people with complex stories, that our history, that the way we're built, that our behavioral patterns, that there are things that affect our hearts. So we walked through that in week one. Last week Chet walked us through what is the core problem of our hearts, that we worship things in the place of God, that we have functional saviors that we run after. And even beneath that we've got deep idolatry, deep idols that's at the core of our heart, that creates this dysfunction in us, in our souls. So the first two weeks was really getting to know what's going on underneath the surface.
And it stirred up quite a bit, I'm sure. Sometimes my wife and my kids will go out to my parents' house, they live on the lake, and they've got this entryway into the water. And at the lake, before you walk in, you can kind of see the water, you can kind of see underneath the surface. After about a minute of being in the lake and standing there, the whole, like, the water's cloudy and muddy. We've been, our feet has been all in the mud beneath and all this stuff's been stirred and clouded the water and clouded to the surface. And that's kind of what it's felt like the last couple of weeks as we've walked through this.
We've just been stirring up stuff, we've been poking at things underneath the surface, and some of you are like, okay, thank you for telling me everything that's wrong with me. Appreciate it. And others of you, there's probably a range of responses. Others of you are excited, and you're like, yes, you've told me what's happening beneath the surface. Let's go.
I want to tackle this sin. It's like, okay, we're getting there. The first two weeks is really getting beneath the surface. This week, what we want to do is walk through Colossians 3 and walk through the process of change. Now that we know what's been going on underneath the surface in our souls, what do we do with that?
How do we actually change? That's what we're going to do today. And as we walk through Colossians 3, we're going to see three stages of change, three kind of steps of change for us. So I hope this morning can be incredibly practical for us as we seek to change and grow to know more of Christ. So let me pray, and then we'll jump into the text.
Lord, we love you. I'm thankful for the last couple of weeks that we've been able to walk through the Scripture's teaching on our soul and what's going on beneath the surface. God, I pray this morning that you would, as that has been brought to the surface, as that's been brought to the light, as that's continually going to be brought to the light, that you would give us a vision for change. That we would not be hopeless as we face sin and brokenness in our life, but you would give us hope from the Scriptures. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, so we're going to walk through Colossians 3, but I want to give some context because we're jumping into a book. Typically, we walk through books of the Bible. But when we are kind of going through topical series like this and we're sitting in a chapter, I want to give you a little bit of context for where we are in Colossians 3. In Colossians 2, in the middle of it, Paul is proclaiming the gospel to this church. This is a letter to the church at Colossaea. He's proclaiming the gospel to the Colossians.
In the middle of it, he says, and you who were dead in your sins. Those of you who were once dead, that's the idea that before we knew Christ, we were dead in sin. We were spiritually dead. We did not know him. He says, and you who were dead in your sins and the sinful nature of your flesh. God made alive together with Christ.
He made us alive. When you place faith in Jesus, he brings you to life. And he says, having canceled the record of debt that stood against you with its legal demand, the sin debt that we've accumulated, it says, this he set aside, nailing it to the cross, that your sin was bought and paid for as you were raised to life in him. He proclaims this truth to this church. This is what's true about you because you've trusted in Jesus. And then he shifts into addressing kind of some problems that's been happening in the church, the Colossian church.
Some self-made, self-religious efforts that have been added on to the gospel. So he addresses some of these things that they're doing, they're adding on to the gospel. And he closes out chapter two with saying in verse 23, these have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion, an appearance of wisdom in promoting asceticism and severity to the body. But they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. This self-made, self-religious effort, it has no value in actually stopping the indulgence of the flesh. There's no value in bringing about the change that you want to see.
You're doing it wrong. You've got a bad model that you've been surrounded by for change. My daughter, my oldest, she's in first grade this year, which is crazy to me that she's now in first grade. And last year, she was in kindergarten, and she was learning to read. And the teacher said, hey, I want to do a parent-teacher conference. I couldn't be there.
My wife did it. It was a Zoom conference. But later that night, right before we went to bed, she said, hey, let me tell you how the parent-teacher conference went. And I said, okay. She's like, is she doing well here? She's doing well here?
But when it comes to reading, the teacher is taking extra time. She's sitting down with her and reading. And Ellie won't look at the pictures. She's like, look at the pictures and the words and try to make the connections here. And Ellie just looks at the words. She won't look at the pictures, and the teacher can't figure out why.
So I was like, hmm, I think I know why that is. I said it to myself. And then I said it out loud. All right, well, good night. The next day, I was like, no, I can't hide this. I need to fess up.
So I said, honey, I think I know why our daughter doesn't look at the pictures. It's because every time that we're reading together, I say, don't look at the pictures. You're cheating. Don't look at the pictures. Look at the words. Don't look at the pictures.
Don't look at the pictures. To which I find out by talking to teachers about this is harmful to learning process. It damages your child. And I didn't know. Listen, I pay my taxes. I send my kids to public school so they can learn.
I can't. We don't teach. I just I didn't know. I'm just kind of rocking with what I got. It seemed like pretty logical. She's cheating.
Looking at the pictures. Focus on the words. And since then, we've had to implement the correct process. It was a bad model for change. And the problem is for us is that we sometimes have a bad model for change. We want to grow in our faith, but we were doing it wrong.
So I want to let the scriptures address some of our self-made, muscling through, trying to own change by our own strength. I want the scriptures to address us with this process that it lays out in Colossians 3. So pick up in verse 1. This is the first step in change. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Step 1 is to set your mind on Christ. It is to focus on Him. You look to Him first. If you have, Christian, if you've been raised with Christ through believing in Him, if you've laid down your life and trusted Him, it says continue to look to Him.
Set your mind on things that are above. Set your mind on Christ. Because here's the problem. If you jump straight into addressing sin, if that is your first focus, your effort to affect change will be by your own effort, not Christ working in you. It is of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. It is a self-made effort of your own.
He says, Behold Him. Behold Christ. Set your mind on Him. The one who died for your sin. The one who conquered death of the resurrection. The one who ascended to the right hand and is seated at the right hand of the Father in power.
The one whom you can hide in, in the face of fire. He says, Look to Him. And I love the physical nature of that command. He's literally saying, Look up. Look above. I love that, because often when we are in sin, we don't do this.
We look down. When we feel the effects of depression and the effects of sin through deep sadness and depression. The Bible has a category of language for this. In the Psalms, you're downcast. You're literally, your body language is down. That when you're ashamed in sin, your body language, you're looking down.
I remember a few years back, I was confessing some sin and some brokenness to a friend, to a brother of mine. And as I was confessing this, I didn't realize this. The whole time I was talking with him, my head was down. I could not look at him in the eyes. And he finally just said, Hey, look at me. Look at me.
You're proclaiming the gospel over me. You can look at me. I love this command to look up. Jesus, in the midst of our sins, says, Hey, look up. Look at me. Focus on me.
Set your mind on me. You're no longer a slave to sin. You're no longer identified by your sin and your brokenness and the worst aspects of your sinful nature. Look to me. Set your mind on things are above. Set your mind on Christ.
And this is not a formality. This is not a checkbox. We say, Okay, okay, step one. All right. Set your mind on Christ. All right, I pray.
All right, Jesus, now help me with my sin. This cannot be a formality. This has to be a desperate need in looking to Him. This is you in the ocean as the waves are crashing over you. And you see a life buoy. And you're like, That is my only hope.
You fix your eyes and your grasp and your hope on that to save you. That's the type of desperate need that it takes to set your mind on Christ as your only hope for change. It starts with this. Now, how do you practically do this? Well, you practically do this through a desperate pursuit of Him through word and prayer. A desperate pursuit of Him through word and prayer.
And I know that when I say that, that the response from some is, Oh, huge shock, preacher man. Read your Bible and pray more. It's not like I haven't heard that before. And others will say, That's over simplistic. To look at someone and their sin and their brokenness and their disorders, and to say, Read your Bible more. That's overly simplistic.
You don't understand the complexity of the problem. My hope is that the last couple of weeks have highlighted that we absolutely believe that the problem is complex. That the sin and the brokenness, that our stories, that our idolatry is absolutely complex. But I, hear this, I wholeheartedly reject any idea that does not place word and prayer as a sin. central aspect of soul care. I reject any idea that doesn't, that downplays the need for word and prayer in the process of change. I mean, honestly, that, I mean this, that, that can really only come from someone who hasn't desperately sought Christ as their only hope through word and prayer.
Not just for a moment, not just for a couple of days, not just for a couple of weeks, but has for seasons, for years, clung to Christ in word and prayer as their only hope for change. That critique can honestly only come from someone who has not done that. And I have seen, over the last three years, some of the people I've watched grow in our church immensely have grown in this. They have, there's a common thread. They have sought the Lord and word. They're growing in prayer.
It is a long-term approach. It is a long-term pursuit. One of my former pastors, he used to say, I'm sure he's not the source of this quote. He used to say, soul work is slow work. That soul work is slow work. It takes time.
It takes more than just a couple of months pursuing God. You need to look at him as your only hope and continue to look and fix your gaze upon him. And that happens practically through word and prayer. Over and over and over again to see the change you want to see happen. Now, the reason this is so important is that when you focus on him, when you continue to look at him in his word, he starts to change your perspective on all of it, on yourself, on life. There's a book that I'm almost done reading called Gentle and Lowly.
It is the book you see on both sides. Crossway was, the publisher was generous enough to give us 200 free copies. So today I want you all to take a copy when you leave. But this book just does that. It looks at the heart of Christ. As a diamond, you're turning all the facets and seeing different aspects of it.
And as you sit in it, as you look at the heart of Christ, it begins to change your perspective on everything. It changes your perspective on your sin, on your brokenness. That's what he's calling us to do. To continue to look at him, continue to gaze upon him, continue to fixate on him, to pursue him in prayer, to go after him. We need to tether ourselves to Christ, to fixate on him. And when you do this, it sets you up for the second part of this, in step two, which picks up in verse five.
He says, put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. And these, you too, once walked, when you were living in them. But now, you must put them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self and its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge after the image of its creator. Here, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all.
Now, we could spend a few weeks just walking through that right there because there's a whole lot packed in. But I want us to see, take a step back and see that the big second step in the process of change is this. It is an aggressive approach to sin. It is an aggressive approach to sin that when you put and focus your mind on Christ, it will inevitably result in this, an aggressive approach to sin. There's an illustration in that book, Gentleman Lowley, that I found incredibly helpful. He says that the father's view of sin in us is similar to a father's view of cancer in their child.
That when their child is diagnosed with cancer, they hate it. They hate the cancer in them. They hate seeing it hurt them. They hate seeing it harm them. That you hate that in your child. You want it destroyed.
That you will aggressively treat it with chemo, which hurts. But you will aggressively treat, you will treat this disease. And he says that's the father's approach to sin in us. That he hates sin in us. He hates the disease of sin. He knows what, he can see what it does to us.
He sees how it destroys us, how it kills our fellowship with him, how we run to lesser things. He sees what it does to our friendships, to our marriages. He sees what it does to our community groups, what it does to our churches, what it does to our society. He hates the disease of sin in us. And he wants us to aggressively approach it. And he gives two basic metaphors in this.
The first metaphor that he gives is put to death what is earthly in you. That's the first aggressive approach to sin that we're given. It's to put to death what is earthly in you. He says, therefore, linking back to everything he just said, therefore, put this to death in you. Week one, we talked about knowing our hearts and knowing our greater story and how that's all connected and how that knowledge helps us in the change process. Last week, we looked at deep idols and functional saviors.
And all this is knowledge to help us understand the brokenness that's within us, the brokenness that's underneath the surface. And the scriptures say, now that you know this, you can see this, put it to death. Murder it. Bludgeon it to death. Strangle it. Snuff the life out of it.
It is, I mean, it's an aggressive approach. I mean, this isn't unique to Colossians. You can go to Galatians 5, 24, where it says, crucify the flesh with a similar list of sins. Crucify. We walk through the crucifixion regularly in our church and teaching to understand how awful that death was. The ripping apart of the flesh that Jesus went through.
The suffocating on the cross. The scriptures say, crucify. With that aggression, crucify the flesh. It's violent language. And the reason it's violent is because we are called to take sins seriously. The disease is serious.
We need to look to God and as we look to Him and He stirs in us a holy hatred of sin. We look back at our sin and say, oh no, it's got to die. And I've got to murder it and if I'm going to bring people in in my group to help me murder it, I will crucify this. I will kill this. I will end this. And then it gives a second metaphor.
The second action it says is put them all away. Put off. Now the language of that in the Greek has to do with clothing. that you would put off, put away bad clothing. He's saying, you have bad clothing. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene, talk from your mouth. He says, put it away.
Take it off. Get rid of that clothing. It's not good for you. There was a brief time when I was a kid that I pulled for Tennessee. And if you know me, I'm a huge Gamecock fan. But in the 90s, I saw Peyton Manning play and I went, oh man, that's a quarterback.
That's not a Tannehill. That is something different. And I fell in love with him. I was like, to this day, he was my childhood hero. I followed him to Colts. I'm a huge Colts fan.
I love Peyton Manning. And for a brief period of time, I also pulled for Tennessee. And then after he went to the NFL, I went to a Gamecock game where Tennessee was playing and I had a Gamecock shirt underneath and a Tennessee sweatshirt on. And about halftime, I looked around and I looked at myself and I was like, I look ridiculous. Why? Peyton's gone.
He's never coming back. I don't like this team. I look ridiculous. So I repented of my ways and I never wore anything Tennessee ever again. It was a bad look. And he's saying, it's a bad look.
These patterns that you were once enslaved to. Don't go back to them. Put it away. Pornography. Sexual sin. Masturbation.
This pursuit and gratification that comes from the flesh. He says, put it away. Get rid of it. You don't need to wear this anymore. He says, self-hatred. You can add cutting, disordered eating.
Did it ever bring you, did it ever fix anything in you? Did going after that ever actually bring you an ounce of joy? He says, put it away. Put it away. Greed. Materialism.
The worship of money. Did it ever satisfy? Did it ever bring you the true joy that Christ offers? He says, no, put it away. Don't wear it anymore. It's a bad wardrobe.
These two metaphors for approaching sin are helpful. We need to absorb this. Now, how do we take that, take a step back and apply that to what we've been learning about the last few weeks? How do we apply that to the complexities of our story, to our deep ideology, to our functional saviors? I think part of this is knowing what is earthly in you so that you can respond accordingly, aggressively. I think it's part of knowing your anxiety and some of the, not just some of the feeling of anxiety, but some of the unbelief that's attached to and within anxiety that you get to know yourself.
You get to understand yourself. And maybe as you study yourself and you study the anxiety in you, you start to understand that maybe for you, what's underneath the surface is some control idolatry, which we walked through last week. That you want to be like God and control everything and if you can't control everything, then what happens is you start to get anxious and as you know yourself and you know this deep idolatry and as you take a step back like we looked at in week one and start to know yourself and know your story, that maybe part of it is is that there are things that you do that add to, that fuel unhelpfully the anxiety in you. We talked about one of those things is if you're prone to anxiety, drinking coffee and caffeine can stir you up in a way that's unhealthy, that maybe some of these behavioral patterns, some of these physical aspects of yourself and some of the deep idolatry, when you know this and you can piece it all together, you say, okay, I know what I'm up against and I'm going to put it away.
I'm going to put it away. I'm going to take it off. I'm going to put it to death. You can do this with depression, that as you see some of the hurt that comes from depression, maybe you've identified some deep idolatry that's underneath the surface, that maybe there's some approval idolatry that's underneath this deep sadness in your life and that part of it is is that you are seeking the approval of others always and it's not working and you're never satisfied and it makes you very sad and then you look at some of your behavioral patterns we walked through in week one and you realize that you spend a lot of time on social media, on Instagram, on Facebook, over others of you, on the news and it makes you cynical and it makes you sad and comparing yourself to others makes you even more, I mean, you understand all of this.
You piece together your story, your idolatry, these functional saviors and you understand it and you say, okay, no, no, I'm going to put this away. I'm not going to wear this anymore. Maybe this is, for some of you, this might be unrighteous anger and you have these fits of unrighteous anger or you just stay angry all the time and maybe you identify that for you there's some power idolatry underneath the surface that there's this need for power and that when people at work make jokes at your expense that you see then you get angry and then you can also take a step back and look at your story and realize that, oh, when I was 12, I had brothers who used to flex their power over me. I had friends that used to flex their power over me and I made a decision a long time ago that nobody was ever going to outman, outgun me, that I was going to be the one in power and when you piece all of this together you understand it and you're like, no, this will be put away.
I will aggressively address this. Part of aggressively addressing your sin is knowing what you're up against. It's knowing the bad wardrobe that you have and once you know the bad wardrobe that you're wearing it's got to go. It's got to go like a Abercrombie polo flipped up, flipped up collar or Matt Freeman's goatee that he rocked in college which you can go back on Facebook. It's a bad look. It just is.
It's got to go. It didn't fit anymore. You've got something new that is better. We aggressively approach our sin and then we move into what he gives us in the third step that we get to put on something that is better. Here's the third step. Verse 12.
Put on then. Alright, that same language in the Greek for clothing. Alright, you put off, you put away and now you're putting on, you're replacing the wardrobe. Put on then as God's chosen ones holy and beloved. As God's redeemed people that he chose that he redeemed that he scooped up out of our sin and our brokenness and set us apart and that we get the righteousness of Christ applied to us. He says, put on then as chosen ones holy and beloved.
Here are the things you put on. Compassionate hearts. Kindness. humility. Humility. Meekness. Impatience.
Put these on. The spiritual fruit that comes from pursuing Christ. Put these on. Bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against one another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must, you also must forgive. As you're putting on this fruit that comes from Christ, it's not ultimately just good for you, it's for the good of one another.
It's for the good of your church family, for your brothers and sisters that you might bear with one another better, that you might forgive one another better. It says, put this on and above all, verse 14, put on love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love. The love of Christ. It binds, it's the glue that holds us together. It binds us together.
So people ask sometimes when we talk about our elders, the four of us and how we work together, they're just like, man, how do y'all do this? How do y'all work together so well? And I'm like, man, it's a lot of heavy drinking. No. I'm like, no, honestly, it's love. We love one another.
We love one another deeply. We work through stuff. We fight through stuff. We fight for what is good and we argue, but we absolutely love one another. That binds us together. And I see our groups and I fight for this, that love binds them together in their healthy place.
They love one another. We're replacing what is earthly in us with this deep, abiding love of Christ. Verse 15, it says, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. As that, we should aim, we should, we should absolutely pursue that wholeheartedly. For those who feel turmoil in our souls, he says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. You should pray for this.
You should seek this. One of your regular prayers, if you feel like there's turmoil in your soul because of sin, it should be, Lord, the peace of Christ rule and reign in me. Let your peace just flood over me and be in me and ruling in me. He says, rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly that we would continue as we look up and behold him in his word and prayers. We're looking at our sin and dealing aggressively as we're putting on the righteousness of Christ.
We are letting the word of God dwell in us richly. And then he keeps going. He says, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And y'all, that's what we do here every Sunday. Teaching and admonishing one another. Singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Listen, part of your sanctification, part of you growing to be more like Christ, part of you changing is this, is being here on a Sunday morning. It's worshiping together. It's sitting on the authority of his word. It's reading scripture together. This matters. I'm thankful that we have really good group attendance week in, week out.
I want us to grow in this. To not just come once every couple weeks. To be here. To be present. To worship. And to sing praises.
And to be molded and shaped by his word. It is important in the process for change. And in 17, he says, And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. That it's all in the name of the Lord Jesus. The power comes from him. Clothing ourselves in righteousness, that comes as a gift from our God.
That he grants us this righteousness. That we get to grow in this as we have the righteous standing of Christ eternally. The fruit of that gets to well up in our lives. We get to display this fruit as we actively replace sinful patterns in our life with something better. Repentance is not just putting off, it is putting on. It's not just turning from things, it's turning to Christ.
That's what we're called to do over and over and over again. The direct application of this is what he said. Meekness, kindness, it's Galatians 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. It is this fruit that we put on. Kind of a next application from that is something that I do in counseling. It's called gospel replacement.
Gospel replacement is the idea that attached to sinful behavior, idolatry, attached to some of the sin and functional saviors that's beneath the surface is this these bad confessions, these bad narratives, these bad refrains, this bad liturgy, this negative talk that we cycle through over and over and over again. And we reinforce some of the brokenness within us by saying the same things to ourselves over and over again. And what this does in gospel replacement is it addresses that by replacing it with the gospel. it's similar to there's a therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy. It's one of the more popular therapies out there.
And cognitive behavioral therapy is the idea that if you have a bad behavior or something you want to change you introduce something that is different and good to address it and through every time you have a bad thought you replace that with a good thought that it ultimately changes your behavior that it can rewire synapses in your brain to be able to change behavior. And it's like that I understand that psychologically I understand that through observation but behavior modification doesn't bring about the change that we want. But when you take the gospel and you apply that to some of the deep idols to some of the functional saviors to the sin and broken and you replace some of the bad confessions with good ones then we're doing the work that God has called us to.
Deep Idols and Functional Saviors
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Excited to be with y'all this morning. Grab your Bibles and go to John chapter 4. We're in the second week of our Soul Care series.
We're going to spend four weeks looking at this idea. Last week we talked through, Spencer talked through, that the primary kind of core of who you are and how you approach life has to do with your view of God and your view of self. That's kind of the center of life and identity. And that our view of God affects our view of self. It's the primary thing that affects our view of self. Who you understand God to be, your understanding of Him or your lack of understanding affects who you are.
And so this view of God and view of self. And then he said there's complex kind of layers around that that we have to kind of understand to know our stories and to walk through this so that we can see who we really are and who God really is so that we might heal, so that we might repent, so that we might walk with Him. We talked a little bit about trying to figure out who you are and your story, and it's not self-discovery for the purpose of self-exaltation, which is what the U.S. is pumping out for you. Figure out who you are and then celebrate that and run with that and that only you can really know you.
It's this understanding our stories in light of who God is so that we might exalt Him and that we might be healed and we might be made right. And so we're going to look at that today, that we're looking kind of at that core element of who God is and how we relate to Him in worship. So we looked at kind of the stuff that gets in the way last week and the stuff that you have to think through. And hopefully as you've been thinking through that, we'll be able to look together today at who we are, who He is, and how we worship. And some of how our worship can go astray and how that affects us. We'll be looking at the concept of idolatry, which is worshiping something other than God.
But we're going to begin in John chapter 4. We're going to see this interpersonal relationship, this interaction between Jesus and this Samaritan woman. And we're going to see how He comes to this one individual person and kind of gets to the core heart level issues. And hopefully it'll help us to do the same. So let's pray, and then we'll start in John 4 together.
God, we pray that we would rightly and fully worship You so that we might be healed, that we might be satisfied, that we might be filled up. Thank You for Your grace. We pray that You'd help us to see this well this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. So we're going to read this story and talk through it a bit together.
It says, Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees, and that's kind of a ruling class of religious elites that were not His fans, when they had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus Himself did not baptize but only His disciples, He left Judea and departed again for Galilee, and He had to pass through Samaria. Okay, so Judea is down here. Galilee is up here. That's kind of His home base. Samaria was in the middle. A lot of times Jewish people would go over to the Jordan River and up so they didn't have to go through Samaria.
He goes straight through Samaria. So He had to pass through Samaria, verse 5. So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, wearied as He was from His journey, because He's fully God and fully man, so He got tired, was sitting beside the well.
It was about the sixth hour. That's noon, middle of the day. It's hot. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink. For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to Him, how is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? Whoa. That's an awkward response to that. Let's keep reading. It says, for Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. So Jesus says, give me a drink.
And she says, why are you talking to me? There's some tension here. The Jewish people didn't like the Samaritans. And so the Samaritans jumped right up and didn't like them back. It's like my sons. He started it and he started it.
And well, I did this because he did that. That's kind of what they were doing. What had happened was when the Jewish people had been taken into captivity, they had left some of the Jewish people there. There was a remnant that stayed in the land and they intermarried. And then when the Jewish people got out of captivity and came back, they weren't a big fan of this intermarriage. There was fist fights and beard pullings and all kinds of stuff.
You can read about it in Ezra and Nehemiah if you'd like. But they basically ran off that group of people and then they kind of grew next to each other and didn't like each other. If you're familiar with Harry Potter, the Jewish people thought the Samaritans were mudbloods. If you're not familiar with Harry Potter, the Jewish people were racist. That's really what they had going for. But the Samaritans were racist back.
And that's what's happening here. That in general, Jewish people didn't have any dealings with Samaritans. So when Jesus asked this question, it's so blatantly obvious that this is odd that she just says, what? A little bit of not a fan of you sitting on my well, but why are you talking to me? Now, I just want to point this out. I don't have much time.
It's not the main point of things. She says, how are you being a Jew? He was obviously Jewish. We know his birth lineage. We have that. He's a line of David all the way down.
But he also looked Jewish. So the next time you hear people arguing about we don't really know what he was and he might have been white or whatever. No, he was Jewish. He was very obviously Jewish. And that's fine. But that's in here.
So just don't do that and help other people when they do. Say, hey, open your Bible. Let's go. And then you get to talk about this next part, which is way better. You can walk through and say, it gets better from here. So anyway, Jesus answered her.
This is verse 10. If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. This conversation was off to a rocky start. It gets a little weirder. I mean, Jesus can say stuff like this all he wants and he means it and it's true. But if you just met someone and they said this to you, you'd be a little bit like her because she's going to basically respond with what?
So he says, if you don't know, if you knew the gift of God and you knew who I was, you'd ask me and I'd give you living water. I'd give you flowing water, not well water, but water that lasts forever. Water that continually is refreshed. The woman said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father, Jacob?
He gave us the well and drank from it himself as did his sons and his livestock. It's hard to tell how genuine her response is, how coded with she thinks maybe he's messing with her or looking down on her because she says, do you think you're better than Jacob? Like she's, he's our father too, you know, us Samaritans also. And so she just kind of responds with what, what are you talking about? You don't even have a bucket. Where is this coming from?
Verse 13, Jesus said to her, everyone who drinks of this water, the well will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Okay. Jesus is not talking about actual water. That's clear to us.
We know that Jesus talks about spiritual things, but he's not. He's not talking about actual water. That's why she was like, well, where's your bucket? And he just keeps on going. He's not talking about actual water. He's talking about some sort of spiritual water, some sort of eternal life, some sort of spiritual life that he would give those who would come to him.
And we understand this because we know the rest of the story that Jesus goes to the cross, that he dies, that he rises again, and that he offers salvation and hope and eternal life to all who would believe in him. And so he's basically saying, I'm the Christ. If you knew that, you would ask me for life. I'm thirsty right now in small part and need some water to sustain short-term life. But if you really knew who I was, you'd ask me for water and I'd give you eternal life.
So that's what he's setting up. That's the idea he's getting at. He can't just be talking about water because we still all have to drink water, even though we're Christians. For those of us who are Christians, you still have to drink water. You still have to get one of those little big jugs and then it says, get started and then like way to go and I'm proud of you or whatever. And you carry that half a gallon around with you everywhere.
So everybody knows you're super hydrated. We're proud of you. We're proud of you. As proud of your water bottle is of you, we're proud of you too. We still have to do that. So he's not talking about that.
He's talking about spiritual water, but let's see what happens. 15. The woman said to him, sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water. Okay, so if you're talking to someone and you're trying to help them see that they need Jesus, this is the moment you want. She says, okay, I'll bite. Give me that water then.
It feels like there's a little bit of a joke. That'd be great. Then I won't have to come back here with my bucket every day. Like some idiot who, you know, lives in this town and has to use this well. I'd love your super water that keeps me never thirsty again. That's what you want because then you go, well, I'm glad you, I'm glad you said that.
And then you get to explain it fully. Like that's the moment he's at. You're building a relationship with your neighbor. You're talking about stuff. You say, well, you know, as a Christian, I believe this. And they go, wait a second.
And then you're like, okay, here we are. I can help them see who Christ is. So he says, verse 16, Jesus said to her, go call your husband and come here. Not the response I was expecting. And then the woman answered, I have no husband. This has been one of the roughest conversations.
If you were just, you know, in a coffee shop and you were listening to this, you feel uncomfortable. Like it's fair to assume given the lady's age, and we find out a little bit more that helps us fill that in later. But given the lady's age and in this culture, you basically lived at your father's house. Then you got married. Pretty much all women were married. It was, it was, if someone was unmarried at the age she was, it's not like our culture where there was a way to be single and to live fully.
They didn't really have that set up in their culture. So immediately when she says, I have no husband, this is a sad story. We don't know how it's sad. We don't know how she got to this place. But we know that given the age she is, when she answers, I have no husband, it's a sad story.
Now, I do this in conversations. I ask questions and make things awkward. Hey, how's your, how's your boyfriend doing? We broke up. Oh, okay. Well, he was probably the worst anyway.
Hey, how's your dog? He's dead. All right, I'm going to go over here. Sorry, I brought that up. I do that, but Jesus doesn't do that. This isn't an accident.
His response is going to make that very evident in just a second. He did this on purpose. So we have to ask why, but let's see how he responds. He says this. She says, I have no husband. And Jesus said to her, you are right in saying I have no husband.
For you have had five husbands and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true. Okay. So he asked this question on purpose to press on this on purpose. And he did it right when she said, okay, I'll take some of that water you have. He's not talking about real water.
He's talking about worship. He's talking about what you run to to quench your thirst. And so when she says, I'll take that water, he says, let's talk about the real well you've been running to this whole time. Oh. Oh, she's run to this well over and over and over again. He says, the thing that you keep coming back to is not this water well in the center of town.
The thing that you keep coming back to. And that's why he says, go get your husband. She says, I don't have a husband. He says, you're right, you don't. You've had five. The one you have now is not your husband.
That's very uncomfortable, but extremely helpful that Jesus jumps right to the heart level issue. That stands in the way of her actually getting the living water that he has. And we know it's the heart level issue because she says this in verse 20. She says, or 29. Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?
She immediately responds, I see that you're a prophet. Then she runs into town and says, he told me all that I ever did. So in her reckoning, that's her whole life story. It wasn't just a parlor trick to help her see that he knew things she didn't know. He tapped right into the core heart level. She said, he knows me.
He turned me inside out. Now, I have a feeling. We see Jesus do this in other times as well. It's not the only lady he does this to. He does the same thing to the rich young ruler. Ask a few questions, talk to the rich young ruler, and then he strikes on the exact thing that the rich young ruler has so dug his claws into to give him life and joy and hope and satisfaction.
The rich young ruler doesn't let it go. It seems like this lady does. But I have a feeling that all of us could play this out. We could meet Jesus at a well. We could have this conversation, and he could jump right to the thing, the thing, that you've run to over and over and over and over again and convinced yourself, if I can just have this, I'll be happy. If I can just have this, I'll be full.
Jump right to the heart level issues of worship for us. And this is the central issue of relating to the Lord, is this idea of worship, that we would have him in his right place, and that from him we would derive all that is good, all that is right, that our affection would be for him. This is in Exodus chapter 20, when God gives the Ten Commandments. The first two commandments are, you'll have no other God but me, and then he says, and you'll make no graven images. He doubles down on it. Not only am I the only God, but also you're not going to use anything to represent me.
You're not going to bow down to anything, up in heaven, down on earth, in the water, nothing. It's me and only me. And he says in that, that he's a jealous God. He's jealous for our affection. He's not jealous of us. He's jealous over us, that we're meant to have our hearts only beat fast, only love and cherish him above all else.
I've given this example before, but I think it captures this idea really well. That if I saw my wife, and she was talking to a strikingly handsome young man, and he was making jokes, and she was laughing, and he reached over and touched her elbow, I'd be having problems. I would be jealous, not of her. I wouldn't think, why doesn't that young lad touch my elbow? I'd be jealous over her, because I want her affections for me. I want her to think my jokes are funny, and your jokes are dumb.
I want her to viscerally react, if anyone touches her elbow. I want, like that's what I want. I want affection for me. And so God says, that you're meant to worship and love him, and him alone, and that he's jealous over you, that nothing else can clutter this up. And that we consistently clutter this up. We pick something else that we love, and cherish, and desire more than him.
We pick something else that we convince ourselves, if I could just have that, then I'd be happy. Then I'd be full. Then I'd be complete. So Martin Luther, is a German reformer, and he wrote a large catechism, and in his large catechism, he says this, when he's talking about the Ten Commandments, but he's also talking about idolatry. He says, a God means, that from which we are to expect all good, and to which we are to take refuge in all distress. He says, you want to start defining what a God is?
What do you expect to get good from? What's going to bless your life? What's going to give you hope? And then, he says, okay, what do you run to in distress? What's going to protect you? What's going to keep you safe?
He says this, so that to have a God, is nothing else, than to trust, and to believe him, from the heart. That, now I say, upon which you set your heart, so what you set your heart on, and put your trust in, is properly your God. So he says, we're able to take something, and begin to trust in it, begin to hope in it, begin to set our hearts on it, begin to trust, that it'll protect us, that it'll keep us safe, that it'll give us good, and that when we do that, we're idolaters. We're breaking the first two commandments. So Jesus is having this conversation, with this woman at the well, and he's talking about this idea, of thirst and worship.
And so Jeremiah 3, 11 to 13 says this, this is where Jeremiah's talking, about the same idea, and he's correcting the people of Israel. He says, has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory, for that which does not profit. Be appalled, oh heavens at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people, have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. That's what Jesus says he'd offer, living water, continual, forever, refreshing, satisfying life.
They've forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that hold no water. A cistern is the worst way to get water, in an arid place. It's essentially, an above ground pool, or an in ground pool, that catches water, and you drink out of it. You catch rain water, you drink out of it. And you only do that, if you have no other way for water. So if you live next to a flowing river, or a spring of water, and then you drink out of a cistern, and a broken cistern at that, you're dumb.
And it doesn't work well. And that's what Jeremiah says the people of Israel are doing. And that's what Jesus is saying to this lady. Hey, can I talk to you about your broken cistern? Can I talk to you about the thing that you run back to over and over and over again, convincing yourself that this time it'll fill you up? Can you all imagine, before her first wedding, excitement, fear, hope, my life is beginning.
This is what, this will set me up, this is how, and just trying to figure out what that was gonna look like, and then, as it fell apart, we don't know how. And then going into the second one, this one will be better. Now I'll be okay again. And then going into the third one, and then going into the fourth one, going into the fifth one, how much was she continuing to hope? How much was she doubtful? How much was she wrestling with herself?
How much was she saying, this will be the right one? Till finally, when Jesus talks to her, she's had five husbands, and the guy she's with now, and her husband. It's gotten worse, and she's still going back. It's a broken cistern. That's why when she says, okay, give me this water, he says, okay, we gotta talk about where you've been getting water. That's, that's us.
That our primary issues, are worship issues, before they're anything else. That we've convinced ourselves, that something else will fill us up, make us happy, give us joy. So what I'm gonna do for the next little bit, is just try to help you identify, if you have somewhere, that you've begun to believe, that something's better than Jesus. And the reason I wanna help you do that, is because you're wrong. I don't know if you saw our colorful blue slide, Jesus is better than everything else. We want Jesus for you.
He wants Jesus for you. He's jealous for your affection, not just because he loves you, but because that's what's best for you. I have two sons. If one of them says, you're not my daddy, I'm not gonna hug you. You know what I do? Pick them up, and hug them.
Say, I am your daddy. When you get bigger, this will be harder. But you do love me, because the reality is, their life is better, if they have a good relationship with me. I love them, I desire them, but it's also good for them, and God in his goodness, wants what's best for you, which is him, because he's the best. And it would be silly, for him to point you to anything else, other to himself, and not only silly, but wrong, and harmful, for God to look at you, and go, you know what's really good? Money.
Because he'd be selling you short, on what's best, which is himself. So he wants himself for you, he actually is better, that's why Jesus says, if you knew who you were talking to, you'd ask me. So I want to help us, try to identify, give us some tools for this, some questions to ask, some things to look for, so that we can see, if we're doing this, because the reality is, even if you've placed your faith in Jesus, you can still functionally, run after other things. There are times, where Christians are very upset, and they're like, well Jesus is letting me down, and the reality is, you hadn't been running to him, for your joy, and your hope, and satisfaction.
You've been running, to something else, and hopefully, God in his grace, will let that fail miserably, so that you'll go somewhere, where you can actually, get some water. Let's talk a second, about the idea, of a functional savior. That you look at something, and say to it, you're going to make me whole. You're going to give me life. That this is the thing, that will get me to heaven. That's what a savior does.
A savior fixes your problems, gets you to heaven, so you look at a functional savior, it's something that promises, to fix you. I had a friend, who was a co-worker, and he was doing online dating, and every time, he would start interacting, and just chatting, some via text, or whatever, with some girl, he would get so excited, disproportionately excited. And it wasn't just, that it was nice for him, to have someone, he might go on a date with, it was what that person represent. They were going to save him. They were going to fix his life, and then, a week later, when they had quit talking, he would be despondent, he was broken, disproportionately broken.
It's like, you didn't even know this person, a week ago. But it was because they represented, they were a functional savior. They were making God level promises, and the reality is, there are things around you, in your life, that are making God level promises, to you. I'll fix you. I'll give you a future. I'll give you life.
I'll give you an identity. I'll give you hope. I'll give you joy. I'll give you satisfaction. If you could just have me, you'd be full. I'm never going to fail you.
I'm never going to give you up. I'm never going to let you down. I'm never going to run around, and desert you. But there's things that tell us nonsense, and we believe it. That we're willing to believe these lies, and so we trust them. And the reality is, usually these are pretty good things.
Relationships. Your children, you say, if my kids just turn out all right, I'll be okay. Then I'll know I'm okay. Then I'll know I'm fine. If I can just have a relationship, if I can just have someone who loves me, if I can just have a marriage, if I can just get out of this marriage and get to another one, if I can, my job, if I can just be paid enough, if I can just have a good enough Job. We just pick things that consistently, we tell ourselves, if I can have that, then I'll be okay.
Then I'll be complete. Then I'll be full. And it's a lie, because they can't provide it. That's a functional savior. The next thing I want to talk to you about is deep idols. Because functional saviors often just work to get you the thing you really want.
But you may have a functional savior and it's actually just showing you what you truly desire, what you're pursuing. So this is just the best tool you have at hand to get you there. I'm going to explain this and help you see this. We got this concept from Tim Keller. He's a pastor in New York. It's a concept.
It's not from the scriptures. It's just to help you. He says there's four deep idols. You could say there's six. You could say there's three. Fine.
The concept is helpful. So I'm going to show you these are the four that he lays out. He says comfort, control, approval, and power. So let me give you an example. And sometimes you have to work from one to the other. So you might say, I just love money.
That's my functional savior. That's good. We're on the right track. But the reality is you don't love money. You love what money offers you. You love what money promises you.
Nobody just loves money. None of you have Monopoly money in your pocket because it doesn't promise you anything. It does when you're playing Monopoly. So you care immensely about it for seven hours until someone flips over the table and ruins Christmas at grandma's. But all of us, when someone says, would you like a million dollars?
The answer is yes, please. Sounds great. But the reasons why we would want that are very, very different. So we're just going to run through this, try to help you understand how you could use money to chase after the thing you really want because money is just a really easy one to give examples. So comfort.
You believe the primary goal in life and what makes life good is being at ease, not having things bother you, being comfortable. Well, money is excellent for this, you guys. If you have enough money, things don't bother you. They don't get to you. You don't have to stress about stuff. You can have a nice couch and a big TV.
You can pay people to deliver you your food, cook it for you, bring it to you. You get rich enough, I think they'll cut it up and stick it in your mouth. But none of us are at that level. But maybe your primary amount of money goes to KFC and McDonald's and a couch and Netflix and that's the good life. It's just living comfortably. So your money just goes to that.
And if you got more money, that's where you'd want it to go. Control. Money's a good way to have control. You get enough money, you can help get political candidates in, you can help get things passed through, you can be in control of your circumstances, you can get arrested, it's not that big a deal. Most of us aren't there, but if you have enough, some of you, you just, a certain amount of money in the bank account lets me know I'm okay. I don't have to worry about the future.
You can get a flat tire. I saw somebody who was paying for, I was doing the premarital counseling, they're not a part of our church, they live somewhere else, but I was doing their premarital counseling and the mother-in-law, the mother of the bride, sorry, it would be mother-in-law to me, but that just depends on who you are. The mother of the bride was paying for most of the wedding, but because she was paying for most of the wedding, she was dictating how everything played out in the wedding. And then this carried on into newlywed life because she was helped a lot. She paid for a car, she paid for this.
Eventually, this couple had to say, look, we don't want your money because we don't want you to be in charge of our relationship. And we want to have a good relationship with you. And this is messing it all up. But the money all had strings attached. It's just a good way to be in control. Approval.
Get the nicest car. Nicest shoes. Nicest clothes. You can be the person who orders cheese dip for the table. That's a good way to get people to smile at you. You can be the person who covers costs for other people.
You can be the grandma who gives the best gifts. That's all generosity in some ways, but in other ways, it's just I want people to love me and this is one of the best ways I've found. Money lets me do that. It gives me approval. Power. I read recently that there was a billionaire who was building a house and he paid $16,000 in parking tickets.
Some of you are very glad. You don't think he pays enough taxes. That goes to the city. You're welcome. No? No?
All right. Paid $16,000 in parking tickets because he could park wherever he wanted. $16,000 isn't that much to him. I can't pay $16,000 in parking tickets. If I was going to get $16,000 in parking tickets, I wouldn't because I would park somewhere else. But he did that because it's just, it's a good way to be powerful.
You can be in charge of, in some ways, of who gets elected, of what gets pushed through. You can, you can, I mean, this shows up in other ways that you can try to be, have exert power. You could try to be the person who gave the most money to your local church and that way you get to help make decisions. I don't know if it worked. Give it a shot. Some of you don't have that kind of money, but you're arguing about where you're going to eat lunch and you say, I tell you what, come to the place I want to come.
I'll pay for you. It's $10 and power. But see, you can use money to get this. You could use other things. This is where it gets really scary. Some of you immediately are like, okay, I know, I know what my, my functional savior is.
This is the thing I've gone to over and over again. This is the thing I've run to over and over again to tell me I'll be okay. And some of you go, I don't know if I have one. But the reality is you can swap out functional saviors to chase after the thing you really want. That's where it gets scary. Let's say, somebody's going through high school, they really love power.
Best way in high school to have power is to lift weights and be good at sports. So they do that. They get to college and they're not as good at sports anymore because the other people are gooder at them. And so they realize the best way to get power is not to lift weights and to do sports. In the first couple years of college, they think the best way to be in power and have powerful positions is to chase girls and drink. Then they get to the back half of their college career and they think, this won't last very much longer.
So they start really studying. Mom's super happy they've turned their life around. Start really studying, working really hard, go get a good job. Maybe at some point they find religion. Because one of the best ways to be powerful is to be the only person who has the right answers to things. Now if you watch their life, we'd say, hey, they've gotten better.
The reality is they've been worshiping at the same altar their entire life. They've just found different things to get them there. This is the Pharisees. This is why Jesus had so much trouble with them. They consistently were very well-behaved people and their hearts were far from Him because what they loved was not the Lord but something else. This is one of the reasons why we consistently talk about heart level issues because the reality is you can be in a community group with someone who's walking blatantly into obvious sin and their heart is chasing after Jesus.
They keep failing. They keep repenting. And you sit over there with a heart that is stone cold towards Christ very well-behaved. And what you primarily love is how well-behaved you are and how people look up to you and you do not love Jesus. And that's terrifying. So we need to understand what are our functional saviors?
What are the things that we'd be chasing after? We need to be able to have some questions that help us see this. I'm going to give you a few questions as we finish this up. What is making God-level promises to you? What's telling you it will give you the good life? What's promising you a hope and a future and joy in life?
What do you turn to when you're stressed or scared? What do you run to when everything's hard and difficult to make yourself feel okay again or to feel safe? What do you believe the thing that you that's giving you God-level promises what do you believe it's going to provide for you? What do you hope it will give you? What do you if some of you say well this is the thing I'm chasing after it's like well what do you want it to give you? What do you think it's going to provide?
Some of you say this is the thing that I want it's like well what are you using to get there? What are you willing to sin to have? What are you willing to sin to keep? It's one of the best ways to discover what it is you really worship because when Jesus says don't do this and the thing you worship says in order to have me you're going to have to do that and you do it you love that thing more than Jesus and that's part of the reason why sin is such a problem it's not just that it's rules that you broke it's that every time it betrays the fact that you love something more than Jesus he does not have your affection and so if you consistently sin to have something or to keep something you have declared that it is your God and you are willing to serve it now Jesus says if you knew who he was you'd ask him and he'd fill you up he'd satisfy you let me tell you something we have longings and cravings and desires and empty spots in our souls look up quit running from thing to thing on earth quit getting your face down in a broken cistern over and over again that will not help you run to Jesus and tell him you promised to satisfy me satisfy me not in him I mean not in something else but in him not saying you said you'd satisfy me so give me the relationship I want I need you Jesus because you're big to serve my idol that's not how it works I need you Jesus because you're big to destroy my idol and fill me up with you that's the hope that we'd see what we worship so that we could worship something better Matt's gonna come up we're gonna sit for a moment and consider this I would beg you to ask the Holy Spirit to help you see this to see for a second just as the Holy Spirit through the power of Christ was sitting there and he was able to point right to the thing that they had run to over and over again that you might have this same thing happen in your soul and that you would not run from it as soon as the Holy Spirit starts pressing on those things one of our favorite things to do is to just shut that down and get away because we don't want to have to go through the pain it takes to be set free from something but I will promise you that Jesus is better so let's take a moment and to consider what is it that's making God's eyes promises to me what is it I believe it'll provide for me what am I willing to send to have and by God's grace may we go to him and say I need you I need you more than I need this I need you to forgive me I need you to give me a hope I need you to give me satisfaction I need you to forgive me and to fill me up let's pray God we ask right now that your Holy Spirit would be at work in this room for freedom and for life Lord that your Holy Spirit be at work to help us to see our sin and our false idols that are mute and deaf and helpless to save us and helpless to satisfy us and helpless to fix us and Lord we pray that by the power of your Spirit through the work of Christ that you would redeem and that you would forgive and that you would move to lead people to satisfaction and to salvation in you the fountain of living water in Jesus name Amen Amen Amen Amen
Soul Care and Story
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
So we have four pastors, we have four, we use elders as well as one of the biblical words that we use for the men who oversee this church. We had an elder retreat this week, we got to go away for a few days, pray, plan, and then come back. And it's reminding me of the things that we oversee and that actually be helpful for you to know who our different elders are and what they oversee. We have four elders who oversee four different sets of areas. Raz Bradley is one of our elders, he's the one with the Australian accent. He oversees basically everything hospitality.
So that's Connect, that's Events, that's our host team on Sunday mornings. Chet Phillips is one of our elders, he oversees community groups and basically anything that has to do with operations, executive leadership, all the things that kind of make our week go well. Matt Freeman, who was just leading worship, he oversees worship, basically anything that happens in this room on a Sunday morning. And he also oversees communications. And then I oversee teaching is one of the things that I oversee. I oversee missions, so our efforts with the connection with the Rockies in Honduras and our connections in Egypt.
I oversee spiritual formation, which is kind of our attempt to grow in knowing more of Christ together. It's some of the things we're doing like training weekend. And then I also oversee counseling and care. So that's one of the things that I oversee. And in counseling and care, I get to have a front row seat to watching Jesus heal people. And it is awesome.
I love being involved with and overseeing counseling and care. I get to see people that are struggling. I get to walk with someone who has been wrestling with pornography for over a decade. And they are feeling hopeless. And as we walk together, I get to see Jesus start to change their affections, that they would no longer be enslaved to sin, but they would behold Christ so much in His glory and His goodness that they would say, no, I don't want this anymore. I get to have a front row seat to watching Jesus heal people.
And it's incredible. I love it. I also have a front row seat to seeing people who are in pain, to seeing people who are struggling, to see people who are wrestling with sin and brokenness. I mean, there is a reason, y'all. Well, there are a thousand different ways to distract yourselves, right? You can distract yourself from reality on a thousand different ways.
Our culture offers so many things to escape reality. There's a reason why there's so many different substances that you can enjoy that will numb the pain of life. Because life is hard. It is incredibly difficult. And when I talk to people, they're in the midst of a sea of emotion and frustration and pain. Because they have sin and brokenness that they're struggling with.
And they can't pinpoint why. Sometimes it's anxiety. They're so overwhelmed with anxiety they can't begin to even pinpoint what causes it, what deepens it. Sometimes it's depression. And those who struggle with depression, even gathering the energy to begin to articulate how they feel when they are depressed is hard enough. Sometimes it's addiction to substances, to pornography, and the shame that comes with addiction.
Sometimes it's a cycle of cruel communication, an inability to resolve conflict in marriage that leaves couples at the end of their rope. There are a lot of different reasons for why I meet with people in our church family. But there's one common thread that you can stream throughout each of them. It's that there largely is an inability to understand our current struggles in light of our bigger story. It's a difficulty in understanding our sin and our brokenness in light of our story. So we are doing a four-week series where we're introducing this idea of soul care.
And in this week, what we're going to tackle is understanding our brokenness and our sin in light of our story. Soul care is exactly what it sounds like. It is caring for your soul and addressing the sin and brokenness that is within us. That is what we're going to be doing over the next four weeks. But it's very difficult to do this if we don't have a bigger picture on what's going on.
And we don't have a zoomed out picture of what's going on in our soul. So that's what we're going to do this morning. We talk a lot about the heart and we will get to that a little bit this morning. But more next week. But largely what we want to tackle is zooming out and understanding ourselves in light of our greater story.
We're going to be a little bit in Psalm 139 and different places of Psalm 139 today. As we see a Psalm that David wrote that kind of is this heart exposure before the Lord. And my hope for today and the next four weeks is that we would take steps towards healing. That we would see that we have a good shepherd in Christ who wants to lead us to joy in Him. That's the hope this morning. So let me pray.
And then we'll jump in. Lord, we love You. And I thank You that You care for our souls. That You care about all the sin and brokenness that we brought into this room this morning. God, I pray You'd help us understand this better this week and over the next four weeks. We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Alright, so. We're going to get to our bigger story in a moment. But I want to lay some foundations for soul care as we begin. At the core of understanding how to care for your soul is understanding our heart. Alright?
The Bible talks about this. This is key to understanding how to care for your soul. It's understanding the heart. Now that is not the physical, literal organ of your heart. Okay? It's not what our culture reduces the heart down to, which is mostly just love and emotions.
It's deeper than that. A biblical understanding of heart is your inner self. It is the core of who we are. The early church father, Basil of Caesarea, is quoted as saying that the heart is the internal court of the soul. The internal courtroom of the soul. The seat of judgment in your soul.
It is where you determine what is right and what is wrong. It is where you determine what is good from bad. It's where you determine what is beautiful and worth your pursuit. And what is ugly and worth your disdain. Your heart is the core of who you are. So if our souls are our immaterial self, right?
So we have a body, but we also have a soul. If our souls are our immaterial selves that exist for eternity, your soul, if you have placed faith in Jesus, will one day be united with Him in heaven for eternal fellowship. And if you have rejected Christ, it will be suffered judgment in hell. If our souls are our immaterial selves, our heart is at the center of our souls. It is the judgment seat. It is what directs us ultimately towards worship.
Our hearts direct us towards what we will worship, what we ultimately find to be good. So that's at the center of soul care is our heart. The central aspect is understanding what's happening in our hearts. Psalm 139 is bookended by this. If you read the whole, which we won't read all of Psalm 139 today, I'd encourage you to read it when you go home today. But it starts with this and it ends with this idea.
In verse 1 it says, O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. Search me, verse 23, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. And see if there be any grievous way in me.
And lead me in the way of everlasting. David is saying, You know me. You know my heart. Down to the core of who I am. You know when I sit up, when I get down. You know my thoughts.
You know my heart. Search me. Expose me. Help me see the grievous ways in the inner court of my soul. Help me understand what's happening in here. He wants to know God and behold God for who He is.
But He also wants to know Himself. To understand what's happening within His soul. John Calvin at the beginning of the Institutes of Christian Religion says that wisdom, true wisdom, consists in two things. Knowledge of God and knowledge of self. That we would know God. And hear this.
Not just know about God. Alright? Not just know things. We'd actually know Him personally. And as we know God and behold Him, we'd see ourselves for who we are. In light of who God is.
That we know our true selves in light of God. Over the past few years, I've been battling some chronic back pain and back issues. And a few months back, I went to a rheumatologist. And when I met with a rheumatologist, he has a theory on what type of possible degenerative back disease it might be. He said, you know, you'll know this more. It'll set in more about the time that you're 40.
But what we can do is send you for an MRI so we can see what's happening in your spine to see if the disease has begun its work. So he said, but I don't want you to just go anywhere. He said, I want you to go to a machine called a 3T machine. And I was like, awesome. Where are they? He's like, there's not many of them.
There's a few in the state. Alright? But you're going to have to track one down. You need to get an MRI from this machine because this machine is so powerful, it's going to give you the most accurate picture of what's happening in your spine. And that's what the Lord does for us. That as we're exposed to who God is and all of His power and all of His infinite knowledge and His infinite wisdom, as we're exposed to God, He gives us an accurate picture of the brokenness and the disease of sin that's happening in our soul.
The psalmist is saying, David says, verse 4, even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. He said, You know, You're behind me, You're before me, You know all of this, Lord. Reveal what is broken within me. Thomas Merton, who's a Catholic monk in the 20th century, He said once, What can we gain, What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? He said, What can you gain by accomplishing all these things, by going to the moon?
If you can't actually cross the abyss, to actually know yourself, to know what's happening within you, we desperately need the Lord to help us cross that abyss, to help us know ourselves. Now, we make very clear what I'm not arguing out the gate as we walk through this. I am not saying that what the psalmist is saying here, what David is saying here, I'm not saying that he's advocating that we would know ourselves, search me, so that I can be the best version of me possible. That's not what he's arguing for. This isn't self-discovery for the sake of worshipping self. Much of the self-help movement, self-love movement, maybe you've heard self-care described on Facebook, much of the philosophical underlining of those movements is post-enlightenment, meaning after the enlightenment, we focused on ourselves.
We rejected God and we said, look at humanity, look how great we are. Much of that is, look and focus on yourself so that you can be a better version of yourself. And it's like, no, that's not what the psalmist, the Bible is not arguing for you to focus on yourself. John Calvin is not saying that true wisdom is self-knowledge for the sake of self-worship. It's not for you to focus on yourself. The goal here is to focus on God and as we focus on God, He reveals what's within us so that we might rightly worship Him.
So that is the goal of knowing ourselves. Alright, so, if you've been following Jesus for a bit, many of you know some of your sin and your brokenness and even your idolatry. Right? I know, I know the sin and brokenness. You don't have to tell me that I have a porn addiction. You don't have to tell me that I struggle with anger.
You don't have to tell me that I'm in the middle of anxiety or depression. I don't need a four-week series to tell me what I already know. What I want to explore is not what type of brokenness that you have, though I hope the Lord reveals some of the what. My hope is, is He reveals why. That's what we're getting at. That's the more complicated answer that we're searching for.
Is that we would expose our hearts before the Lord. We would, God would reveal what's happening in the inner court of our soul. But the reality is, is that it's, it's not the what sometimes that we need help with. It's the, it's the why. And part of that is not just examining our heart, but examining really some complex layers around the heart that involve our story. That involve kind of who we are in light of who God is.
Verse 3 says, You search out my path and my lying down and you are acquainted with all my ways. He says, God, you know all my ways. My question for us is do we? Are we acquainted with our ways? Are we acquainted with our story? That's what we're aiming for.
I was, a few months back, I was talking with, with an individual walking through some stuff. He gave me permission to share this, though I'm not going to share his name. And we're working through some of his, some of his sin and brokenness that he's trying to figure out. And we started to work through some of his story. And as we're working through his story, he started to, to talk a little bit about his upbringing. He talked about his stepdad.
And I was talking about his stepdad. He was, he was learning, we were talking about how, how some of the things he'd learned, some of the patterns that his stepdad modeled for him. And then over the next few months he started to make some connections. Some of the ways he operates as a husband and as a father can be traced back to his relationship with his stepdad. Some of the things that his stepdad did or didn't do. And when he started to make some of those connections, it colored in the picture and it gave him more of a why to help him understand the heart issues that we're within.
That's the kind of stuff that we're going for. That's the kind of stuff that we're asking God to reveal in us. We need to see this kind of stuff. And guys, I see some version of that story over and over and over again in counseling and care. We just, we don't know ourselves well enough. We don't understand these complex layers of our story and how that affects our heart and how that affects how we operate, how it affects how we view God, how we view ourselves in light of who God is.
We have an inability to understand our stories. So, I want to introduce you to something that I use in counseling. This is my attempt at showing how we get to the heart. And it's going to show up on the screen hopefully there. All right.
So, I know, first off, a couple things. I know you can't read that. All right. Also, I made this. This is my, this is my graphic that I use for counseling. So, if you look at that and go, oh, that needs some love in graphic design and you're gifted in graphic design, come see me because I really want this to look better and it would be helpful to have something that is easier to explain.
But I got a zoomed in version a little bit that you can see which is even more beautiful. But I have, what I'm trying to articulate and show here is that at the core of who we are is our heart. It's what I was just talking about. It's our view of God and our view of self in light of who God is. That's the core of who we are. Now, if you could just pinpoint what the problem is at your heart level, solve it and move on, then, I mean, we'd all be okay.
But the reality is we have these complex layers that surround us in our story. And as I work through this, there's different aspects of who we are and how God has made us in different parts of our story. There's a physical layer that we walk through, a mental layer, there's personality type, there's a behavioral layer, there's some family history, there's some relational history, there's some spiritual warfare that we work through. I work through these different layers not in any order. That when I meet with people, I'm not saying, all right, we're going to do this next, we're going to do this next, all right?
Also, there are other people that could parse this out differently, right? You could break this out into finer subjects, you could hit different layers of who we are. This is just what I use as to help us see that our stories are complicated, how we tick in light of who God is is complicated. So what I want to do this story, this morning, is walk through some of these layers to help us see how complicated we are and how this actually helps us understand our heart in light of who God is first. So, let me go through this first layer, you can pull it down, Brandon, and go to the first layer that we're going to talk about.
That is the physical layer. It's the physical layer. The reality is is that our souls reside in physical bodies. And you need to understand that your physical body can affect your view of yourself and your view of God. We're not just disembodied souls. We have bodies.
And I remember years ago, my wife and I, we moved to Louisville, Kentucky for seminary. We moved up there. I thought that we were going to church plant in Boston. And we spent one summer or one winter in Louisville and that totally killed that. Louisville is about six hours south of Canada. It is colder up there.
There is less light up there. The winters are darker. And we've come to find that my wife suffers from seasonal affect depression. And during the winter time, there is less sunlight. And when you have less sunlight, that can affect you. There's less vitamin D that you actually get.
And some people struggle with this with vitamin D deficiencies. And seasonal affect is somewhat connected to that. That's a physical reality. Unless you understand that, unless you know yourself, you might not realize that that's a part of your reality. One of the things that I see often is that people who are prone to anxiety, they have this persistent struggle with anxiety. One of the things that makes that so much worse, that it's like gasoline on fire, is caffeine.
It's coffee. And I tell people who struggle with anxiety that this is a daily battle. You probably should stop drinking coffee. Alright? You probably should stop drinking caffeine. And I'm dead serious about it.
I mean, the reality is it's gasoline on fire. For someone who struggles with anxiety and their thoughts are racing and racing and racing, you put caffeine on that, it amps it up even worse. And people who have stopped drinking coffee, who struggle with anxiety have gotten some freedom. It doesn't solve the problem. But it's a part of the reality.
So if you drink lots of coffee and you're prone to anxiety, you should start cutting back immediately. I mean, listen, I know, we're addicted, it's a drug, alright? I'm with you. But the reality is you've got to know yourself well enough to know that this is not good for your body. You've got to know that if you struggle with depression that actually working out is good for you, that exercising is good for you, that it releases endorphins into your body, if you struggle with depression, you need to start walking, you need to start running, you need to start doing things that are good for you. I mean, you should probably, if you're struggling, one of the things, I had a counseling pastor who said this, he said, one of the things I do with people when I meet with them, is sometimes I just go and tell them, you need to go get a physical.
You need to go see a doctor and let them test levels complete picture of who you are. We've got to understand that our bodies matter and we've got to have help with this. One of the things that Matt Freeman and I hold each other accountable to is that he knows I've got back problems and one of the ways to help treat that is exercise and stretching, so he holds me accountable and asks me about this on a regular basis and one of the things that I know about him is he has an unhealthy relationship with food historically and he's just said, hey, listen, hold me accountable on this, that I might have a right reproach to food and exercise. We do this with one another because we care about this, we understand this, we need this.
We have physical bodies and that's a part of understanding who you are and how God has made you in a fallen world. Alright, the next layer that I walk through sometimes is the mental layer. It's the mental layer. Now, this is probably one of the more debated layers out there, right, is mental health. I have been thankful that our culture and the American church has grown in awareness of mental health. Two decades ago, it was a taboo subject, even before that, even more so.
We didn't talk about these things. People ask, do mental disorders affect your view of God and view of self? Does it affect you? Are they real? And I would say absolutely yes. Absolutely.
There are things about the brain that are complex. There absolutely are mental disorders. Now, what happens is that culture and the church are a pendulum swing. This is what happens. Martin Luther says the church is like a drunk man on a horse. He's on one side and he gets up and he falls off onto the other.
This is what we do. So there's been this huge pendulum swing towards mental health and this celebration of mental health in a way that has been unhealthy at times. It says it's an immovable, unremovable label that you can't get rid of, that it defines exactly who you are. There are people that get really excited about the DSM-5, the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual for Mental Disorders. It's basically the Bible for psychology. They're like, yes, the DSM, absolutely.
And it's like, well, no, take it with a grain of salt. There are helpful disorders, between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, that absolutely are helpful to know. The DSM has a whole lot of terrible stuff in it too. I mean, if you really love the DSM, you need to know something. The DSM is made for insurance companies. It is made so insurance companies can have billing codes for disorders that they can cover.
It is not inerrant, not even close. So there's been this pendulum swing towards absolutely embracing and celebrating mental health. And it's like, no, we need to have some sobriety and some wisdom in how we approach this. Right? We need godly doctors and nurse practitioners and psychiatrists who can help. I mean, because the reality is that medicine can be incredibly helpful sometimes.
For people who take SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, Paxil, Zoloft, take certain drugs, it can be very helpful. It can actually help with the physical side of depression and anxiety. But a lot of times, these scripts are thrown out without thinking about it. I mean, it's very easy to get that stuff and it's very hard to manage it. If you talk to neuroscientists who approach this, the ones who have the most humble approach understand we don't exactly know how all these drugs work. It is a very complicated science.
So we need to have a sober approach to this, a humbling approach to this, and we need godly men and women in this field to be able to help navigate this. The last thing I'll say on the mental layer, I don't have a whole lot of time to spend on this, but there is a reality also in the mental layer that we have patterns of thoughts that absolutely can set us up for success or failure. Right? I would encourage you that if you want to understand how the way you think and the way you approach things can affect your reality, I would encourage you to go back and listen to the sermon from two weeks ago.
It was a sermon in Proverbs that Chet Phillips did. I think he did an unbelievable Job in helping explain how our attitude and our approach and our thought patterns help inform how we operate. And that's a part of this that sometimes I walk through as well. The next layer that I walk through in counseling sometimes is personality type. It's your personality type, how you were made. You were made differently.
There's something about you that's different from others. Psalm 139 says, 13 and 14 says, For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works. My soul knows it very well.
I'm so thankful for passages like this. I mean, one of the ways this passage is helpful is it helps us see that God cares about the unborn, that in the womb he's knitting children together who have souls. I'm thankful for that aspect for us that helps us fight for the unborn. But one of the things that we miss in this is that God has made us fearfully and wonderfully made us and that we're uniquely designed in this image. We all reflect a different aspect of the image of God beautifully. And that means that we have different personalities.
So I encourage taking personality type tests, right? Those of you that are into Enneagram, Enneagram, Disc, Myers-Briggs, I think those things can be incredibly helpful. You can also go up the deep end, right? Like you can get on BuzzFeed or Facebook and figure out what character of friends you would be or what house of Hogwarts you'd be or if your spirit animal is a bear or a beaver and it's like, nah, like that, that's just weird. You should slow your roll a little bit. But the reality is that knowing your personality type is helpful.
I personally use Enneagram because Enneagram is a helpful kind of gauge on certain personalities. Now the caveat I give, because I know some of you are very excited about Enneagram, is that Enneagram is not inerrant, okay? In fact, Enneagram is based in some really weird mystic, like Kabbalah religion, weird stuff, like some psychology. A psychologist from the 90s grabbed a hold of it and made a test, all right? So those of you that get really excited about Enneagram, breathe, okay?
You're not defined by your number. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, that's okay too, all right? But the reality is that you need to know, here's why it's important for you to know your personality. It is important for you to know your personality and how you relate to other people. If you don't know yourself, you're not going to know how you relate to others. One of the things that I see over and over again is you might have a couple that's, the husband's introverted or the wife is extroverted or vice versa.
And when they get married, one is like all up in the other's business. And she's, you know, she's looking, I mean, she's fueled by other people and she wants to, you know, she's hanging out with her husband and wants to hang out with him. And he's like, I need some space. Like, I'm introverted. I need some time to myself because I'm not fueled by people. And all of a sudden, you've like, you've got some people who are upset with one another.
And it's like, you've got to know yourself. You know, you're designed a little bit differently. These things are helpful in knowing yourself and how God made you. To know yourself in life, who God is. Another thing that I walk through is the behavioral layer. I walk through behavioral layer with people.
This means that you have certain patterns of behavior that affect you in a way, affect your heart in ways you don't even begin to realize. How you act matters. I was listening to a counseling pastor once. And he was talking about a guy who he was meeting with. And this guy came in and he was having, he came in because he was struggling with sleeping. So he got really anxious right before bed and he couldn't go to sleep.
So he met with this guy for weeks and weeks trying to figure out. They're walking through his heart issues. They're walking through idolatry. They're trying to work through all this stuff. And then finally, weeks later, he just said, hey, what do you do right before you go to sleep? He said, well, actually, I like to watch scary movies.
And I watch scary and horror movies right before bed. And he said he felt so embarrassed because he's like, well, don't. You should stop and come see me any week. And shocker, he found better sleep when he stopped watching horror movies right before he went to sleep. And he was embarrassed because he's like, we should have, this should have been something that came up sooner. Right?
But that happens. We have these behavioral patterns that affect us in ways we don't realize. Some of you are tired and groggy and life feels hazy. But you stay up late every night playing video games or scrolling through your phone. And you're wondering why life is so difficult. Some of you struggle with anxiety and depression and discontentment.
And you just are so, you hate yourself. You constantly are saying, I hate myself. And you're preparing yourself to others. And then if I said, give me your phone. Let me see your screen time usage. Some of you would have hours on Instagram and Facebook.
And the reality is, is those places can be toxic if you compare yourself to others. Because everyone puts their best version of themselves on Facebook and Instagram. Their life is awesome. And I look at myself and my life and it's awful. And it's like, you should stop. You should cut this out of your life.
There is a distinct difference, y'all, between taking a book, a good book, going outside in the sunlight and reading. As opposed to being under your covers, scrolling through Twitter, just getting angry about our culture and angry at people. There's a difference there. And if you don't understand your behavioral patterns, if you don't understand how those affect you, you can't actually get to the heart and understand what's happening there. A lot of times it becomes very difficult. So behavioral patterns matter.
Also, your relational history matters. This is very much part of your story. Not just a romantic relationship, but this is friendships. This is relationships with coworkers. This also is romantic relationships. Some of you have a very difficult time opening up in group and trusting people.
And if you go back and you look at your friendships from the past, you might find some situations. Maybe you were in a church or a youth group or whatever in one time and you shared some stuff and it came back to bite you. You open up some people and it came back to, it got exposed and you felt embarrassed. That happened a decade ago. There might be a connection between your relational history, what's happened in the past, and why you have a difficult time trusting people now. Maybe there are some people that walk away from Jesus and it's actually become a kind of a popular thing to do now.
It's called deconstructing, which is so dumb. It happens on Instagram and people have to take a picture of themselves out in the mountains and say, I'm deconstructing. It's just like, oh gosh. Now the reason why Instagram's the worst. But when you hear their stories, a lot of times what they'll say is that some pastor or some ministry wrecked them and now they're walking away from Jesus and it breaks my heart because you put your faith in the wrong person.
Don't put your faith in a pastor. Put your faith in a ministry. Put your faith in a perfect savior. But the reality, that happens, y'all. And if you don't recognize that, if you don't recognize that your approach to church, to the people of God, to even to God, is affected by churches and pastors and ministries and Christians that have hurt you in the past, you won't actually understand yourself in light of who God is. Some of you struggle from relationship to relationship because you don't actually want to trust someone that you're dating.
But if you look in your past, you may have had someone that cheated on you, someone that lied to you, someone that hurt you in your past. And it affects your approach to dating and your approach to marriage. You have to know yourself. You have to know yourself in light of who God is. And a big one that shows up all the time is family history. When I counsel and care for people, one of the things that shows up the majority of the time is family history.
I mean, it shows up over and over and over again. The first 20 years of someone's life are absolutely foundational. And as a parent, it is sobering to realize how much of an effect you can have on your child. It took me until I was 30 to realize that some of the sin and idolatry and brokenness within me is traced back to the fact that I have a complicated relationship with my dad and my stepdad in between the two of them. And listen, I had a great childhood. I love all three of my parents.
But I came from a family of divorce and there were things that came out of that and there were experiences that came out of that. And when I was 30, it just hit me and I was like, oh man, I've got daddy issues. I never thought I'd ever realize this. But it matters to actually realize that's a part of your story. For those of you that had fathers that hurt you, for those of you that had fathers that weren't present or your father wasn't even a part of the picture. You don't think that affects your view of God as father?
There's an absolute connection there that happens over and over and over again. You have family members that hurt you, brothers or sisters or mothers that hurt you. You don't think that affects your approach to church, family, and the language that we use over and over again? This shows up time and time again. The way that we view God often is affected by the way we were raised, which as fathers should humble us immensely. You don't think that for those of you that struggle with approval, that struggle with striving to prove yourself, whether it's at work or in life that I'm struggling to prove myself.
I want to be, I want to be, I want accolades. I want recognition. I want satisfaction. A lot of times that can be connected to the way that you were raised. You grew up in a house where you had to have straight A's, or you had to be this, you had to be that. A lot of times it's not even, I mean, you have really good parents and that makes one or two comments and all of a sudden the enemy just twists it and becomes your reality and then you don't realize until you're 30 or 40 that so much of your striving and your ceaseless work is to prove yourself to God, to others.
When the God of the universe says, you don't have to prove yourself to me, that you're, you're, you're bought and paid for in Christ. When I see you, I see the perfect work of Jesus. You don't have to gain my approval. This matters over and over again. Maybe you're raised in a, in a home where your primary caregiver was angry or, or maybe you was an animated and excited household. That shows up, shows up in friendships, shows up in marriages, showed up in our marriage.
I grew up in a house. We're animated and we're intense, which you would never guess if you knew me. But I just, I would get animated. I would get intense and I would be like this. My wife would be like, why are you yelling? And I'm like, I'm not yelling because she came from a household.
That wasn't a reality. Our family history shapes us in ways we don't want to admit. And unless we start to begin to understand that aspect of us, a lot of us are going to have a very difficult time understanding the why behind what's happening deep in our souls. The final layer that I'll walk through is spiritual warfare. This is something that we as Western Americans are not a big fan of. We are rational thinkers.
We don't have a category for spiritual warfare. Right? And in other cultures, you can go to Africa or South America or East Asia, they're a lot more comfortable with the idea of the spiritual realm. That's something they're way more willing to accept. But as Western American thinkers, we don't have a category.
I know I struggle with this. And about four years ago, I was talking with Chet Phillips, and we're working through, I'm just talking through, man, I have this really, this negative feedback loop that shows up in my life over and over again. I was just, you're going to fail. You're going to wreck your marriage. You're going to wreck your ministry. And he just said, hey, you know, do you think that's you?
Or do you think that actually might be the enemy at work? And as a Western rational thinker, I said, no, I think it's probably me. And then we walked through this process called freedom in Christ, which is a process of structured prayer, where we walked through some of this. And I absolutely, after walking through that, realized that I had this negative feedback loop in my life that was the enemy speaking, that was reinforcing this over and over again. And since then, I found a credible amount of freedom to not hear this as much anymore. Have you considered this, that maybe the negative thoughts that enter your mind on a regular basis aren't just you talking?
That maybe your anxiety is spiked by lies from the enemy, or your depression is deepened by spiritual forces of evil, or your sexual temptation is made worsened by the evil one. We don't like to think like that, but the Bible is very blunt about this. Ephesians 6, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against cosmic powers of this present world, is an absolute reality. And I would argue that you can't actually address what's going on in your soul a lot of times until you actually work through some of this. These are just a few. You could add more layers that surround the heart.
But all this affects our heart, it affects our view of God and self. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Each of us have these complex layers that surround our heart, that affect our view of God and our view of self in light of who God is, that corrupt the inner court of our souls. We need to examine them. And we desperately need Christ to help us examine them.
We need Christ to help us walk through this. And the final paragraph of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, it's one of his greatest works. He's talking about basically this approach to life where you're focusing on yourself, where you're muscling through life all on your own. And he says this, he says, look for yourself. I mean, this is the focus on self.
Look for yourself and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay, depression, anxiety, sexual sin. Sound familiar? Look for yourself and you'll find these things. But he says, but look for Christ. Look for the Christ who had his blood spilt for our sins, who conquered death at the resurrection, who stands at the heavens and reigns as the sovereign king over all eternity. Look for Christ and you will find him.
And with him, everything else thrown in. And what he's getting at is, is you don't just find Christ. You find his goodness, his kindness, his faithfulness. You find peace, love, joy, goodness, gentleness, self-control. You find the riches of Christ. It all gets thrown in with it.
The reality is, if you try to bring change on your own, if you try to change yourself, if you try to do self-care or self-love and focus on yourself, it will not work and it will not last. It is behavioral modification at best. It does not solve the root issue. We need Christ to absolutely change our hearts. And hear this, it's not just exposing the grievous ways within us. It's not just exposing, as the psalmist says, look at the grievous nature of the things in my soul.
It's not just that. We need it to be replaced with something better. It's not just the grievous ways that we need to get rid of and the sin and brokenness. We need to shed and repent stuff. We need ways everlasting is how the Psalm ends. We need the everlasting ways.
We need eternal things that resound into eternity. The only things that Christ can give us. We need that to replace the grievous ways within us. Search me, oh God. Know my heart. Try and know my thoughts and see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way of everlasting.
We need this. Jesus wants this for you. He wants to care for your soul. Believe that. That the God of the universe, he wants to reveal the grievous ways in the inner court of our soul so that he can begin to heal us and repair us. That's why he says in Matthew 11, 28, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Do you hear that? Do you hear your chief shepherd calling saying, come? Are you tired? Are you tired? Are you tired? Are you wrestling with sin?
Are you wrestling with brokenness? He says, come. Shepherd says, come to me. Psalm 55, 22 says, cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. The God of the universe, the one who upholds everything, holds it all together, says, come. You have cares.
You have burdens. You have burdens. I'm here. I'm ready. I'm ready to take them. I'm ready to hear them.
I'm ready to replace them with everlasting ways. Psalm 34, 18 says, the Lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. You feel crushed. You feel like life is breaking you apart. He says, I'm here and I'm near. I'm ready to walk with you.
If you'll come to me, we can take the journey together. That is what our Savior offers you, if you're willing to take it. And I also would say, we are willing to walk this out with you. We have four different layers of care in our church. The first layer is community groups. We believe in our groups.
Our groups are where we get to live out the gospel together. It's where you get to come in your brokenness and your sin. And you get to share your burdens. Galatians 6, 1 says, bear one another's burdens. That's what we get to do together. Our groups are where we get to live this out.
If you're in a group and you're not trusting the people in your group, if you're not being honest and open, you're missing out. You're missing out on the gospel. The people get to share the gospel with you. As you share your brokenness, someone's going to come in and tell you how good Jesus is and how the Savior is going to meet you there.
Wisdom and Righteousness
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Good morning. My name is Chet. I'm one of the pastors here. Grab your Bibles. Go to Proverbs chapter 1. We have spent our summer in the Proverbs the past couple of months working through it.
We've made it all the way to chapter 1. And Proverbs is a collection of wisdom sayings, and so we've approached it differently than when we usually work through a book of the Bible. Usually, you know, the book of the Bible progresses intentionally. Proverbs has some stuff that kind of anchors it at the beginning, some stuff that anchors it at the end. But we've walked through kind of topically addressing some of the ideas that Proverbs addresses over and over.
And so today we're going to finish up our series in the book of Proverbs talking about righteousness. So at the beginning of Proverbs, we read this section in chapter 1, and we said that some of what the Proverbs is getting at is that it wants us to grow in wisdom and that it's going to teach us how to be wise, that it's going to develop us in wisdom. And as we read through it, we got to Proverbs 1-7 that says this, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. And so the beginning of growing in wisdom is that we would actually fear the Lord, that we would trust Him.
In some ways, God's coming and saying, This is how to live in the world to enjoy the world I created. In some ways, it's like unboxing a board game, and then you get the instructions out and you read, How do I play this board game? You don't unbox it and go, Instructions are for losers and throw those away and then say, Let's do this. And so what He's doing is He's saying, I created the world. Let me give you wisdom on how to live in it and live in it well. And so He says some things we don't necessarily agree with, and so that's where we begin with the fear of the Lord.
That we trust Him. That we want to honor Him and obey Him and that we want to follow Him. And so that when He tells us how to live and to live well, we listen. That's the beginning of wisdom. But if the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and we follow through and listen to wisdom, the end of wisdom is righteousness.
It says that in chapter 1. It says that twice in chapter 2. I want to show you Proverbs 2.9. It says basically if you listen, then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity and every good path. Or Proverbs 2.20, it's saying again, if you listen, it says, So that you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. That if we follow wisdom, we walk in righteousness.
If you go to the school of wisdom, you graduate with a degree in righteousness. If wisdom is your sensei, you get a black belt in righteousness. Now, that's how that works. And so that as we've talked through all the things we've talked through over the course of the summer, which has been a good bit. We've talked about parenting, manhood, womanhood, friendship, words, anger, money, work, decision making, sexual purity, lying. If you're like me, as I read through that list, you had a little PTSD because some of those weeks weren't that fun.
We've walked through these things and we've said this is what wisdom looks like. We could have also just said this is what righteousness looks like. This is how to live rightly in God's world. But as we finish up the book of Proverbs, we want to develop our understanding of righteousness a little better. So that we can really appreciate and kind of understand what it's calling us to.
Because the reality is we have kind of a natural draw, a desire for wisdom that I think is a little distinct from our desire for righteousness. Here's what I mean. If we said, hey, would you like wisdom? You'd say, yes. I'd love wisdom. I'd love to be wise.
And if we came and said, hey, would you like righteousness? You'd be like, sure. I guess. What do you mean? Where? How much?
Like, what are we talking about? What do you mean by righteousness? How's that going to affect my life? There's this general, it's a little bit like chivalry sometimes the way we use the word righteousness. You kind of know what it means. And you know that people used to care about it a lot.
But you're not sure how it affects you. And y'all know that since I'm a pastor, I'm supposed to care about it and talk about it. But I'm not even sure I'm doing it right because I'm a Baptist pastor in the South. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to pronounce it like righteousness. You really got to grab the word and break all the syllables out of it. You know, you got to shake them out to get to really talking about it the way you're supposed to.
There's this general sense of like, what do we mean by righteousness? What? How does that benefit me? And in some ways, what God is doing when he teaches us wisdom, he's calling us into righteousness. And it's not that Toto ran around and pulled the curtain back for us. But that God himself is pulling the curtain back and saying, do y'all want what's good in life?
Do y'all want to see how I designed this? Do you want to have joy? Do you want to have hope? Do you want to have security? Do you want to have things work out well for you? Then come follow me in wisdom and righteousness.
It makes things better. Wickedness usually works well short term. Makes things easier quickly. Righteousness, we're told, often makes things more difficult at first, but then ultimately leads us to life and betterness. And that's what he's saying. The other thing is I think we have a vague picture of righteousness that affects us.
We don't have as clear a picture as we should. But my wife and I, when we first got married, we started watching through the Band of Brothers, which is a TV show. We had borrowed a DVD box set from my brother because that's how you used to watch things if you were going to watch them. You often bought box sets. It used to be VHSs. We had DVDs because they were moving up in the world.
And so we were watching this DVD box set of the Band of Brothers, and we were thoroughly enjoying it. And it worked really well for us for the first couple of episodes until they went to war. And when they went to war, we ceased to be able to watch. Not because it was too violent, but because my wife could no longer follow the story. Because they were all wearing the same uniform. They all had on helmets.
All of their faces were dirty. And she could no longer tell who was who. She was using other clues to know. Haircuts. Hair color. But like we would have these discussions all the time where she would go, wait a second, wait a second.
Why did he just kill his best friend? I'm like, who killed? What are you talking about? Who's best friend? His best friend. He just killed him.
They were best friends. I was like, wait, wait, the guy that just died? She's like, yeah. This is a legit conversation we had. I said, he was a German soldier. We just met that guy.
She was like, no, that's the guy from... I was like, no, it's not. She would get surprised because people would come back from the dead. She'd be like, I thought that guy died. I'd be like, what guy? She'd be like, that guy.
I'm like, that guy just showed up. It was tearing our young family apart. So we just had to give up on it. We watched the Marvel movies work really well for us because Captain America and Iron Man don't look anything alike. It's easy to keep up with. And so whatever she uses to categorize people, it apparently isn't like nuanced faces.
Which I'd like to think I was handsome, but I married a person who doesn't even notice faces, so I don't know. But she had a general picture of each person and then when they became too similar. And I think in some ways that's the way we are with righteousness. If someone asked you to define righteousness, you'd be like, you know, doing right. And if they pressed you, you'd eventually kind of usually flip it to just saying negative statements. And not negative like righteousness is bad, but we define it by what righteousness doesn't do.
Well, you know, you don't lie and you don't pursue like sexual sin. You don't sleep around and you don't, you know, like cuss or chew tobacco. I don't know. There's a lot of things you don't do and that makes you righteous. And if that's your only definition, some of you own old dogs that would make excellent Christians. Because they don't do anything.
But righteousness has to be more robust than that. What God's calling us to has to be a bigger picture. And when he calls us into wisdom and he calls us into righteousness, we need to have a better definition. And so that's the hope this morning is that we would have a more full definition of righteousness. And the first thing I want us to see as Proverbs paints this picture up for us is that righteousness has a social aspect. That it is not simply personal morality.
That is a part of righteousness, but it's not simply personal morality. Let's look at Proverbs 11, 10. Proverbs 29, 10. To benefit those around them. It is not simply that they're personally going to do what is right, but there's some benefit to being surrounded by, being led by, being cared for by the righteous. That if you are righteous, it's not just a benefit to you personally as you relate to the Lord.
It is that it begins with a fear of the Lord, but that in some ways God then commissions us in righteousness to be his agents in the world to make the world better through righteousness. Through doing what is right. Not simply not doing what is wrong. Now the wicked do what's wrong and they harm others, but the righteous do what is right and they benefit others. Bruce Waltke, who we've used his commentary. Goodness, that word just ran out of my head.
Commentary on the Proverbs throughout this series says this. He says, That's a helpful, memorable way to understand how righteousness and unrighteousness work. How wickedness and righteousness work. That righteousness will disadvantage, the righteous will disadvantage themselves to advantage those around them. To make things better for those around them. That they'll go out of their way.
They'll take up their time. They'll take up their money. Their energy will be spent at their own expense to benefit others. And the wicked do the exact opposite. They're trying to figure out how they can get out of others to benefit themselves. That's a really good, simple test for am I living righteously in my relationships?
Am I trying to advantage myself out of this relationship? Is it about what I get out of it? Or am I disadvantaging myself for the sake of my roommate? For the sake of my friends? For the sake of my spouse? One of the only places we do this very easily and clearly and have some of the most joy and some of the best relationships is with children.
Parents to children naturally do this because you just have to disadvantage yourself for the sake of your children. And you'll notice that you really love your children. You've been around parents and they adore their children. And their children are the worst. You've seen their children and you're like, what? But that's because they've set themselves to act righteously in that relationship.
Where they are disadvantaging themselves for the advantage of the others. And the truth is we can have joy and righteousness in all relationships if we'll approach it that way. So that's why it says, when the righteous increase, the people rejoice. But when the wicked rule, the people groan. I want to show you a couple places that it shows up. Proverbs 12, 26.
One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor. But the way of the wicked leads them astray. So that by righteousness, those who are around you benefit. That if you work with righteous people, it's not just that they show up and do what they're supposed to. They do. But they make the whole place better.
All the people around them benefit. They help others. They give extra time to work on projects that aren't theirs. They stay late to help fix things that they didn't cause. They disadvantage themselves for the advantage of others. That's righteousness at work.
That if you live in a neighborhood with righteous people, it's not just that they tend to their own stuff and they mind their own business. They do. But they also help tend to the things around them. They keep an eye on things. They care for other people. That's righteousness at work.
Proverbs 29, 7 says, A righteous man knows the rights of the poor. A wicked man does not understand such knowledge. The poor, as a whole class, aren't much benefit to anyone. The only way historically people have benefited from the poor was to enslave them. To take away what they had and use it for their own gain. But it says, The righteous knows that what makes you valuable isn't what you offer.
It's not how I can take advantage of you. That's not where value comes. That you have rights intrinsically. And the righteous understand that, but the wicked don't. So the righteous care about those that are around them.
Care about those that can't pay for things. Care about those who can't get along on their own. Care about those who are weak and who are poor and who are in trouble. One of the ways to understand if we are righteous as an individual or as a church is, Do we care about the poor? Do we care about those who are hurting around us? Or is it just, If you can carry your own weight, great, you're welcome.
And if you can't, Sorry. It's one way to understand the righteousness of your group. Is does your group rally around those who are hurting and disadvantage themselves for their sake to help them? Or do they just get overwhelmed by them and burdened by them and bothered with them? It's not just the poor. It says this, Proverbs 12, 10, Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, But the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
That the righteous are a benefit to everything that's around them. They care for their animals. They tend to their animals. They love their animals, even if they don't like their animals. One of the tests of righteousness is how do you respond when you are the one in power? How do you respond when you're the one in control of the situation?
How do you respond? Not when you're an employee, but when you're a boss. When you're the supervisor. When you're the older sibling. How do you respond in the situations in your marriage and in your friendships and in your roommate situations where you're the one who has the most control and the most say? Does your strength benefit those that are below you?
Does your wisdom benefit those that are unwise? Does your money benefit those that don't have money? That's righteousness. That it's not simply I behave and don't do the things I'm supposed to don't do. But it's actually that we're at work as agents of the Lord to benefit those around us.
So the righteous benefit and care for those that they have the opportunity to care for. The option to care for they do. The other thing that the righteous do is they oppose wickedness. Proverbs 12, 6. It says the words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them. Proverbs 20, 26.
A wise king winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them. That wisdom and righteousness at work oppose wickedness. And it's difficult to oppose wickedness. Proverbs 24, 24 and 25 says, Whoever says to the wicked you are in the right will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight and a good blessing will come upon them.
But so often the wicked are very difficult to deal with. They're problematic. They cause drama. They lie. It's often much more easy to appease the wicked than it is to stand up to the wicked. It's often much more easy to convince the other nice people around you to help you appease the wicked rather than to stand up to the wicked.
I was reading recently a story of a husband and wife. They were getting a divorce and the husband had basically led the family into this through a lot of rebellion and sin. And then as they were going through the divorce, the husband was doing absolutely everything he could to destroy the wife. Borrowed heavily against their house. Quit making payments on the house. Eventually locked her out of the house.
Took all the kids' toys away. Locked them up. Lied to the kids about the mom. Was trying to get her saddled with a lot of debt. Was just, I mean, at every turn was doing everything he possibly could to cause problems. And the wife has a lawyer.
The wife has a therapist. The kids have a therapist. They're working through all this. And the guy who was one of the therapists in this situation said that as he was dealing with the wife later on, he began to realize that everybody around her, although they knew the husband was wrong, was telling her, why don't you just meet him halfway? Why don't we just, like, let's just try to work this out with him. The banks, the police, the lawyers, the people who were dealing with the therapy for the children were saying, well, look, can't we just, and the reason was she was easier to deal with than he was.
And eventually, the guy who's writing this book said he asked one of the people, why didn't you say all this about how he'd handled the children? And they said, look, frankly, I just didn't want to have to deal with it. I didn't want him attacking me. And the truth is, isn't that how it works? You have someone in your family who causes problems, and it's just much easier to tell everybody else in the family, can't y'all just deal with it rather than us standing up to this person? You got someone at work that causes problems.
You got a boss, a supervisor, and it's like, isn't it easier to just do what they ask? Can't we all just, let's just bear with it rather than standing up to them? The reality is the righteous step in at great cost to themselves to defend the weak. Most people who stand up to bullies end up with a bloody nose. That's just how it works. And there are times where you, in the midst of righteousness, should end up not getting a promotion because you stood up to somebody for the sake of others, not just for your own name and your own pride, and I'm going to make sure I look awesome.
That's not what this is talking about. But that you did some work that took some backbone to stand in righteousness, to defend and to care, and it's hard to do. So the righteous care for those around them, they benefit those around them, they defend those around them, and they care for the long-term souls of those around them. Proverbs 11, 30. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. Whoever captures souls is wise.
Now the tree of life, in the scriptures, is the tree that gives eternal life. And so then it says capturing souls, and what this is saying is that the righteous help others live eternally. It keeps going. It says again in Proverbs 24, 10 through 12, it says, If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death. Hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, Behold, we did not know this. Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay man according to his work? Part of what the righteous does is that they step in in the day of adversity and take on some difficulty for the sake of carrying and defending. Now, that proverb includes things like World War II.
To step in in the day of adversity to help those who are being carried to the slaughter. But for us, who have been sent with a mission to see people redeemed from hell and wrath because of their unrepentant sin, it also includes your co-workers that work the night shift with you who are stumbling to the slaughter and that later we can't say, well, I didn't really know that we were meant to care for their souls. That includes those that live in your neighborhood. That it includes those that go to class with you. That it includes those in your community group who are choosing sin currently over loving Jesus.
And it's so much easier to just say, well, let's love them. Let's be nice to them. Let's hope they figure that out rather than to sit them down and say, you are wrong and you're headed in the wrong direction and we love you enough to oppose you because you're stumbling to the slaughter. As the chorus of America says, if you say anything to correct them, you don't love them. We have to fear the Lord and trust His wisdom and stand in the way even though it's difficult and it costs us. As the chorus of America sings that you should mind your own business and not try to convert people and not try to get in their way to talk to them about the Lord and not harass people and not do any of these things that they're going to add these labels to and that somehow we're oppressing people by helping them submit to Jesus.
And we'd say, I don't care. I can't let people stumble to the slaughter. I can't stand before the Lord later and say, I didn't know because I knew. I knew. It says, does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it and will he not repay man according to his word? Now, as the Proverbs paints up for us and fills in for us what righteousness looks like and as we've done this this whole time being called into wisdom and as we've been called into wisdom been called into repentance and righteousness.
I don't know about you but it turns out I'm a sinner. Some of these weeks were very difficult. There were weeks where in preparation I had to repent before I could get up here and even say these things. I had to continue repenting afterwards. We talked about parenting. Manhood and womanhood.
Friendship. Words. The rejection of correction and the pursuit of foolishness. We talked about anger. Money. Work.
Decision making. Sexual purity. And honesty. And we've looked further today at what righteousness looks like and I'm inclined to say I don't think I'm righteous. And maybe that's what you're thinking. I may not be righteous.
I don't know if I'm doing this. Honestly, when righteousness was just don't do bad things I didn't even do that. I just picked some of the bad things I didn't do and tried to act like those were the most important. But as soon as it becomes I've got to defend people and I've got to care for those around me and every time I'm in a position of power I'm supposed to use it to defend and care for those who are disadvantaged around me. I'm supposed to be disadvantaged to advantage them. I don't know if I'm righteous.
And if that's you and if that's been you throughout this series that you've consistently come face to face with your own foolishness and sin I'll have something that might make you feel a little better. The New Testament also talks about this. Romans 3 says this. Next one. As it is written none is righteous no not one. You're not righteous but at least you were right about not being righteous.
That make you feel better? You're not big capital R right but you were right about this. Thank goodness for small victories. that the reality is as we come face to face with our sin we aren't righteous. And so then you go okay hold on a second what's it say next? Because our general tendency is okay then I better get it together. I better get to work.
Some of us as we've come through this series that some of your response is okay I'm going to get to work I'm going to do this better I've been bad at it but I'm going to do better I just need more of me and the problem is as you found that as you pressed into I need more of me is that the problem was you so more of you makes it more better. So this is what it says next. It doesn't say get to work. It says this Romans 3 20 is 10 verses later it says for by works of the law no human being will be justified justified in his sight to be justified means to be made right. No human being will be righteous in his sight since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
So we've seen more of what he wants from us and what did we see? More of where we sin. Through the law comes knowledge of sin the more we've seen what he desires of us the more we've seen oh I didn't realize that was a category look at that it's like at the end if you started school and then at the end of the semester when they gave out grades there were a couple classes you didn't realize you were supposed to be taking so you have F's in them. That's what this feels like sometimes you're reading the Bible and you're like oh look at that I'm failing at other things I didn't even realize that was a class I was supposed to be in.
That's what this feels like sometimes you're reading the Bible and you're like oh look at that I'm failing at other things I didn't even realize that was a class I was supposed to be in. For some of us that's a nightmare. You have a recurring one of those where you realize it's the end of the semester and you didn't realize you were in that class and sometimes that's what the Bible's like it's like oh I didn't even realize that was a thing. But by works of the law no one is made righteous
Which means that you cannot leave here and go okay I'm going to get bigger I'm going to get better I'm going to get stronger I'm going to do this I'm going to find out give me the rules I'll do them. The reality is what you will find is that maybe you can keep that going for a while but what it ends up doing is leading you into further sin and further seeing your sin or that becomes so unbearable you cease to be able to see your sin and you begin
To convince yourself you're fine and you begin to promote your own self-righteousness which is not the righteousness of God so how do we become righteous well the New Testament has more to say than just this we become righteous through Jesus Christ the righteous who actually perfectly embodies righteousness he fears the Lord and submits to his Father and comes sent by him he says this multiple times that I do the will
Of the Father a thing that we're incapable of doing at least consistently and perfectly that he has perfect personal morality that he's tempted in every way that we are but he's without sin that he does not sin that he does not pursue sin that he was a blessing to those who were around him and every time he came into contact with someone who needed something from him who was downhill from him
He blessed and cared for and worked in that he opposes the wicked personally in his day to the point of them killing him and ultimately eternally to the point of facing off with Satan sin and hell taking the keys from death and ultimately crushing death through the power of the resurrection so that he rules forever because he defends the weak
And opposes wickedness and that he has a day of wrath that is coming for the wicked and he cares about the souls of those on earth that he so cares about your soul and the fact that you're stumbling to the slaughter that he would come and not stumble to the slaughter but walk headlong into it that he would set his face towards Jerusalem so that his disciples
Would say come let's go die with him that he would ultimately be sacrificed brutally beaten murdered and die so that the unrighteous could be made righteous by the blood and the work and the resurrection of Christ the hope is not that the book of Proverbs would give you wisdom so that that's
All you'd need and you could walk out of here and get it together the hope is that the book of Proverbs would get you wisdom so that you would fall at the feet of the Lord in fear that he might rescue and redeem you so Galatians 2 says this yet we know that a person is not justified made righteous by works of the law
But through faith in Jesus Christ so we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law because by works of the law no one will be justified you are not good enough Jesus is that's why it's good news there's a thing that we have the Baptists do they go to
Schools and they have a thing after school called the good news club it's not the good behavior club if it were Baptists wouldn't be allowed in it this isn't the good behavior club we don't gather on Sunday to grow in good behavior we gather to grow in good news and we gather at times
To see our sins so that we would more dearly love our Savior that we would have the wounds from a friend that would lead us to redemption and to joy and to hope and to worship that's why we raise our hand and sing that he redeemed us that he saved us that he rescued us I once was
Dead in sin alone and hopeless that's a weird thing to sing y'all y'all ready to sing something good I deserve to die I'm the worst yeah but then we get to the joy of a risen Savior who so loved us that he would die for us and do you want to know the primary thing that the Proverbs have to say about
Righteousness I want to show you two more passages in the New Testament and then I want us to see that it says 1 Corinthians 1 30 it says because of him you are in Christ who became to us wisdom from God the wisdom from God righteousness he became
To us righteousness and sanctification and redemption so that it is written let the one who boasts boast in the Lord that we would walk out of here today and people would say are you righteous and you wouldn't go yeah because I took the Proverbs class and I got it together you'd walk out of here and go yeah because Jesus is great let's go get some chicken and have some lunch
He's good I have hope that we ought to see our sin we ought to be broken of our sin and then we might turn to see that Jesus became for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification which means he makes us good and redemption which means he gets rid of all of our old bad then he pulls us out of it and then we might boast in the Lord we would praise Jesus because he saves sinners
That we really can sing a song that's I'm the worst Jesus is great thank you Lord 2nd Corinthians 521 says for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God Jesus Christ came to redeem you so that at the end of all eternity he might be praised not you so that as you try to get it together and you say what he really wants from me is to get it together so that I might stand in front of him later and have
Done this and that's to the praise of your own glory but he made him to be sin so that we might be made the righteousness of God through the work of Christ to the praise of his glorious grace and his name for all eternity you say well I'm a terrible sinner yes he's a glorious savior let's praise him for all eternity I shouldn't be in heaven no you shouldn't and that honors and glorifies Christ who can redeem a sinner like you so that he receives glory but do you want to know the primary thing that the
Proverbs has to say about the righteous says it 28 times the righteous endure the righteous make it to the end and in Christ that is fully forever true for you you can read the Proverbs it'll tell you 28 times if you've been made righteous by Christ you will not be lost you will not be crushed you will not be defeated not because you're good enough or you're strong enough but because Jesus is good enough and he's strong enough and you are in him if you climbed in a tank and then bulldozed through the city you wouldn't say look at how
Strong I am you would say look at how great this tank is and we have climbed in Christ and in his righteousness he bulldozes through everything and gets us to the end Proverbs 24 15 says lie not in weight as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous do not do no violence to his home for the righteous fall seven times and rises again but the wicked stumble in times of calamity you know the righteous have seven lives some of you are like I've fallen I'm in the middle of sin I'm broken I don't know how I'm gonna get out of this you can find anybody
In this church has been following Jesus for some time and they'll go yeah I was there in 1992 yeah I felt that in 2002 yeah I thought that last year but the righteous fall and rise again because Jesus fell and rose again and ultimately we will rise again Proverbs 10 25 when the tempest passes the wicked is no more but the righteous is established forever Proverbs 10 27 the fear of the Lord prolongs life but the years of the wicked will be short Proverbs 10 30 the righteous will never be removed but the wicked will not dwell in the land Proverbs 12 7 the wicked are overthrown and are no more but the house of the righteous will stand 28 times
The righteous will stand the righteous will make it the righteous will not fall the wicked will be destroyed and one day there will be a kingdom that belongs to the righteous those made righteous by Christ and we will stand forever to the glory of Christ may we grow in wisdom by loving Jesus and following him in righteousness and freedom now this wisdom is practical and it's helpful and the hope is that you would live a life of wisdom and righteousness in your relationships that you would live a life of wisdom and righteousness confessing your sexual sin confessing your anger confessing and repenting of lying that you would walk in wisdom and righteousness so that you might be a good agent of Christ on earth
Disadvantaging yourself to the advantage of others which he ultimately did fully and beautifully in the cross that we might be righteous people and we might be the type of free righteous people who do not have to be righteous on our own to be okay so that we are free and enjoy following Christ and at times mourning our sins so that we might more fully praise the Savior band's going to come back up and as we close the book of Proverbs the hope is that we would see our sin so that we would repent and be redeemed and be rescued that he would become to you wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption and salvation and king do not leave thinking I'm good enough I'll be okay do not leave thinking well I'm not good enough but I can get there leave in Christ made good
Through his work to his glory for all eternity that you might stand with the unconquerable righteous redeemed of Christ because Christ is the unconquerable righteous king and you come to him by faith which means you ask him to save you you come to him by faith saying I trust that you did this and I trust that my hopes in you you come to him by faith not works the only reason you'd bring a resume was to show why you shouldn't be included so that he might take it and cover it by his grace to the praise of his glorious name we get to endure forever let's pray God I pray that nobody would leave here unrighteous because righteousness is given to those who hide in your name that nobody would leave here in their own strength that nobody would leave here trying to do better at the works of the law because by the works of the law no one will be made righteous we know that that will not redeem it will not save and Lord may we leave rejoicing as we see our sin may we rejoice not that we're sinners but that we have a savior who redeems and sanctifies and fixes and as we feel low and destroyed and like we have failed so many times over may we rejoice that the righteous fall and rise again because you're the king fell and rose again and with you we will rise again we ask all this in Jesus name amen