WEBVTT 00:00:01.184 --> 00:00:05.113 "I am writing to you, little children, 00:00:05.113 --> 00:00:07.017 because your sins are forgiven 00:00:07.017 --> 00:00:10.761 for His name's sake. 00:00:10.761 --> 00:00:13.167 I am writing to you, fathers, 00:00:13.167 --> 00:00:16.244 because you know Him who is from the beginning. 00:00:16.244 --> 00:00:20.406 I am writing to you, young men, 00:00:20.406 --> 00:00:24.521 because you have overcome the evil one. 00:00:24.521 --> 00:00:27.261 I write to you, children, 00:00:27.261 --> 00:00:30.079 because you know the Father. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:31.597 I write to you, fathers, 00:00:31.597 --> 00:00:35.723 because you know Him who is from the beginning." 00:00:35.723 --> 00:00:39.180 Him who is from the beginning. 00:00:39.180 --> 00:00:40.949 The "He" and the "Him" 00:00:40.949 --> 00:00:44.899 throughout this section is Christ. 00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:47.133 The Father is called out distinctly 00:00:47.133 --> 00:00:52.599 by "Father" or by the term "God," the title. 00:00:52.599 --> 00:00:55.762 The name. 00:00:55.762 --> 00:00:57.603 Him who is from the beginning 00:00:57.603 --> 00:01:01.106 throughout 1 John is 00:01:01.106 --> 00:01:02.673 the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:01:02.673 --> 00:01:04.497 "I write to you, fathers, because you know 00:01:04.497 --> 00:01:05.850 Him who is from the beginning. 00:01:05.850 --> 00:01:07.355 I write to you, young men, 00:01:07.355 --> 00:01:08.802 because you are strong 00:01:08.802 --> 00:01:12.006 and the Word of God abides in you, 00:01:12.006 --> 00:01:14.823 and you have overcome the evil one." NOTE Paragraph 00:01:14.823 --> 00:01:17.303 Now, I'm just going to tell you right off, 00:01:17.303 --> 00:01:23.673 this might be a little bit strong to say this, 00:01:23.673 --> 00:01:26.753 but John perplexes me. 00:01:26.753 --> 00:01:28.872 And I don't know how else to say it. 00:01:28.872 --> 00:01:32.793 His mind does not work 00:01:32.793 --> 00:01:36.099 the same way mine does. 00:01:36.099 --> 00:01:37.723 He has an inspired mind, 00:01:37.723 --> 00:01:39.373 so if there's any fault here, 00:01:39.373 --> 00:01:41.253 it's undoubtedly with me. 00:01:41.253 --> 00:01:45.238 To me, Paul is systematic. 00:01:45.238 --> 00:01:47.458 I like Paul's way of thinking. 00:01:47.458 --> 00:01:49.133 I love Paul's letters. 00:01:49.133 --> 00:01:51.982 I can follow his logic. 00:01:51.982 --> 00:01:56.038 He somewhat goes on a straight line. 00:01:56.038 --> 00:01:58.587 John is just so different. 00:01:58.587 --> 00:02:00.123 I'm not saying he's not logical, 00:02:00.123 --> 00:02:01.613 but he's just different. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:01.613 --> 00:02:03.741 John Piper I think hits it on the head. 00:02:03.741 --> 00:02:11.823 He likens John's mind to a bee 00:02:11.823 --> 00:02:13.648 that's coming up to a flower. 00:02:13.648 --> 00:02:14.995 Here you've got the flower 00:02:14.995 --> 00:02:17.497 and the bee just kind of buzzing around like this. 00:02:17.497 --> 00:02:19.300 (buzzing) 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:21.510 That's kind of how his mind works. 00:02:21.510 --> 00:02:23.871 He likes to circle. 00:02:23.871 --> 00:02:25.841 In other words, he likes to come around 00:02:25.841 --> 00:02:28.106 to the same things over and over again, 00:02:28.106 --> 00:02:30.044 but he doesn't take exactly the same 00:02:30.044 --> 00:02:31.630 trajectory each time. 00:02:31.630 --> 00:02:33.618 He's kind of buzzing around the flower. 00:02:33.618 --> 00:02:35.188 When you get the feeling Paul - 00:02:35.188 --> 00:02:38.652 he's out here and he just goes right in there. 00:02:38.652 --> 00:02:42.050 And I think that's a good way. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:42.050 --> 00:02:43.734 And that's what we see right here. 00:02:43.734 --> 00:02:45.317 I mean, we're going to see this 00:02:45.317 --> 00:02:47.015 all the way through 1 John. 00:02:47.015 --> 00:02:48.777 John is going to repeatedly 00:02:48.777 --> 00:02:52.382 come back around to the same ideas 00:02:52.382 --> 00:02:53.446 over and over. 00:02:53.446 --> 00:02:56.111 He uses a little bit different terminology, 00:02:56.111 --> 00:02:57.755 it's true but you're going to see, 00:02:57.755 --> 00:03:00.389 it's clearly the same thing 00:03:00.389 --> 00:03:02.825 all over again, and all the way through the book, 00:03:02.825 --> 00:03:05.376 he just continuously does this 00:03:05.376 --> 00:03:07.235 same kind of thing. 00:03:07.235 --> 00:03:09.761 Yes, as he buzzes around that flower 00:03:09.761 --> 00:03:12.148 he tends to introduce some new information. 00:03:12.148 --> 00:03:13.556 He takes us deeper. 00:03:13.556 --> 00:03:14.942 He takes us further. 00:03:14.942 --> 00:03:17.637 But he just keeps buzzing around in these circles. 00:03:17.637 --> 00:03:19.324 He's doing it right here. 00:03:19.324 --> 00:03:20.412 I mean think about it. 00:03:20.412 --> 00:03:21.813 "I'm writing to you, little children..." 00:03:21.813 --> 00:03:23.125 "I'm writing to you, fathers..." 00:03:23.125 --> 00:03:24.749 "I'm writing to you, young men..." 00:03:24.749 --> 00:03:27.328 You get the feeling if that was Paul - 00:03:27.328 --> 00:03:28.983 I get this feeling: 00:03:28.983 --> 00:03:30.809 if it was Paul, he would have given me 00:03:30.809 --> 00:03:32.559 an order that was like, 00:03:32.559 --> 00:03:33.674 little children, 00:03:33.674 --> 00:03:34.715 young men, 00:03:34.715 --> 00:03:35.735 fathers. 00:03:35.735 --> 00:03:37.709 I mean, there's descending 00:03:37.709 --> 00:03:38.986 or ascending order. 00:03:38.986 --> 00:03:40.095 There's order there. 00:03:40.095 --> 00:03:42.186 And he would have said it once. 00:03:42.186 --> 00:03:44.567 But that's not good for John. 00:03:44.567 --> 00:03:46.467 He has to come back around and say it 00:03:46.467 --> 00:03:47.516 all over again. 00:03:47.516 --> 00:03:49.240 "I write to you, children..." 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:50.736 "I write to you, fathers..." 00:03:50.736 --> 00:03:52.269 "I write to you, young men..." 00:03:52.269 --> 00:03:53.753 And you know if you look at it, 00:03:53.753 --> 00:03:55.022 he says some of the things 00:03:55.022 --> 00:03:56.490 exactly the same, 00:03:56.490 --> 00:03:58.537 but he changes some things. 00:03:58.537 --> 00:04:00.788 And he adds different details. 00:04:00.788 --> 00:04:03.612 And that's just John's style. 00:04:03.612 --> 00:04:04.894 You can see this. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:04.894 --> 00:04:10.658 And I'm not saying that there's anything wrong. 00:04:10.658 --> 00:04:13.820 John is not illogical. 00:04:13.820 --> 00:04:15.643 And repitition can be good, right? 00:04:15.643 --> 00:04:20.011 Wise teachers repeat themselves. 00:04:20.011 --> 00:04:22.233 It's like, you know, John is buzzing 00:04:22.233 --> 00:04:23.139 around this thing, 00:04:23.139 --> 00:04:25.176 and if he goes around it once and you didn't get it, 00:04:25.176 --> 00:04:27.057 well, he's going to buzz around it again 00:04:27.057 --> 00:04:29.032 and he's going to say it a little bit differently. 00:04:29.032 --> 00:04:31.168 So probably, if you don't get it the first time 00:04:31.168 --> 00:04:33.884 you can get it the second or the third or the fourth time. 00:04:33.884 --> 00:04:35.305 And each time, he's going to develop it 00:04:35.305 --> 00:04:36.643 a little bit more for us. 00:04:36.643 --> 00:04:38.282 And like I say, we're going to see 00:04:38.282 --> 00:04:40.236 in the months ahead throughout 1 John, 00:04:40.236 --> 00:04:42.298 you're going to feel like, 00:04:42.298 --> 00:04:44.801 weren't we already here? 00:04:44.801 --> 00:04:47.751 Yep, just look back a chapter. 00:04:47.751 --> 00:04:51.734 John already had us right here. 00:04:51.734 --> 00:04:54.909 So, anyway, we see that circling style 00:04:54.909 --> 00:04:59.248 in these three verses before us. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:59.248 --> 00:05:01.575 Now, what I want to do here 00:05:01.575 --> 00:05:03.328 is give you an observation 00:05:03.328 --> 00:05:06.353 and ask a question or two, 00:05:06.353 --> 00:05:08.668 and then seek to answer those questions 00:05:08.668 --> 00:05:09.726 before we move on. 00:05:09.726 --> 00:05:12.027 Here's an observation. 00:05:12.027 --> 00:05:14.211 Throughout 1 John - 00:05:14.211 --> 00:05:16.255 I just want you to think about this. 00:05:16.255 --> 00:05:17.553 I can tell you, 00:05:17.553 --> 00:05:19.217 since I've been reading my Bible 00:05:19.217 --> 00:05:25.525 as a brand new convert 25 years ago, 00:05:25.525 --> 00:05:29.000 every time I'd read this, 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.142 I guess I would wonder, 00:05:31.142 --> 00:05:34.157 why is it even here? 00:05:34.157 --> 00:05:38.410 Why does John have to say it twice? 00:05:38.410 --> 00:05:47.807 Why aren't these folks apparently in order? 00:05:47.807 --> 00:05:51.253 Doesn't he deal with all the Christians 00:05:51.253 --> 00:05:52.773 that he's writing to as though 00:05:52.773 --> 00:05:54.327 they're little children? 00:05:54.327 --> 00:05:56.551 I see that title repeatedly 00:05:56.551 --> 00:05:57.727 throughout this letter 00:05:57.727 --> 00:05:59.409 when he's addressing everybody. 00:05:59.409 --> 00:06:01.683 Why in this one place does he call out 00:06:01.683 --> 00:06:06.249 fathers and young men as well? 00:06:06.249 --> 00:06:08.276 I just want you to see this. 00:06:08.276 --> 00:06:09.963 Throughout 1 John, 00:06:09.963 --> 00:06:11.682 notice 1 John 2:1. 00:06:11.682 --> 00:06:12.779 "My little children..." 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:14.805 Who's he writing to? 00:06:14.805 --> 00:06:16.169 He's writing to everybody. 00:06:16.169 --> 00:06:18.776 Everybody that he's writing to who's saved. 00:06:18.776 --> 00:06:19.808 Let's just say that. 00:06:19.808 --> 00:06:22.157 He is making a distinction throughout this letter. 00:06:22.157 --> 00:06:25.437 He definitely has Christians in mind. 00:06:25.437 --> 00:06:27.588 But he calls all the Christians 00:06:27.588 --> 00:06:30.603 in 1 John 2:1 "my little children." 00:06:30.603 --> 00:06:32.174 "I'm writing these things so that 00:06:32.174 --> 00:06:33.533 you may not sin." 00:06:33.533 --> 00:06:35.220 Well, he certainly isn't excluding 00:06:35.220 --> 00:06:37.694 the older, more mature whatever 00:06:37.694 --> 00:06:40.430 and saying I don't care about you guys. 00:06:40.430 --> 00:06:43.670 Obviously, he's talking to everybody here. 00:06:43.670 --> 00:06:47.245 "If anyone does sin..." 00:06:47.245 --> 00:06:50.579 If anyone. He's talking to all of them there. 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:52.554 1 John 2:18 00:06:52.554 --> 00:06:54.133 "Children, it is the last hour 00:06:54.133 --> 00:06:56.530 and as you've heard that antichrist is coming." 00:06:56.530 --> 00:06:59.700 Again, he uses two different Greek terms 00:06:59.700 --> 00:07:02.579 throughout 1 John for "little children," 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:04.868 but nevertheless, he uses both of them, 00:07:04.868 --> 00:07:05.868 by the way. 00:07:05.868 --> 00:07:08.898 The first time in v. 12 he uses one, 00:07:08.898 --> 00:07:10.906 and then when he refers to the children 00:07:10.906 --> 00:07:13.194 again at the end of v. 13, he uses the other. 00:07:13.194 --> 00:07:16.004 But he's using both of these titles 00:07:16.004 --> 00:07:17.265 throughout the book 00:07:17.265 --> 00:07:19.838 to speak to everybody. 00:07:19.838 --> 00:07:21.177 1 John 2:28 00:07:21.177 --> 00:07:23.135 "Now little children, abide in Him." 00:07:23.135 --> 00:07:24.991 That's everybody. 00:07:24.991 --> 00:07:26.742 Everybody needs to abide in Him. 00:07:26.742 --> 00:07:28.384 1 John 3:7, "Little children, 00:07:28.384 --> 00:07:29.977 let no one deceive you. 00:07:29.977 --> 00:07:33.079 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous as He is righteous." 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:34.266 That's everybody. 00:07:34.266 --> 00:07:35.831 1 John 3:18 "Little children, 00:07:35.831 --> 00:07:37.594 let us not love in word or talk, 00:07:37.594 --> 00:07:38.996 but in deed and truth." 00:07:38.996 --> 00:07:40.608 1 John 4:4 "Little children, 00:07:40.608 --> 00:07:42.557 you are from God." 00:07:42.557 --> 00:07:44.034 1 John 5:21 "Little children, 00:07:44.034 --> 00:07:46.732 keep yourselves from idols." 00:07:46.732 --> 00:07:48.383 That's the observation. 00:07:48.383 --> 00:07:50.005 The observation is that 00:07:50.005 --> 00:07:52.872 all the way through 1 John, 00:07:52.872 --> 00:07:56.423 he deals with all of the Christians 00:07:56.423 --> 00:07:59.531 as being little children. NOTE Paragraph 00:07:59.531 --> 00:08:06.781 So, here in 1 John 2:12-13 - 00:08:06.781 --> 00:08:09.461 (incomplete thought) 00:08:09.461 --> 00:08:12.464 actually all three of these verses - 00:08:12.464 --> 00:08:14.080 John does something that he does 00:08:14.080 --> 00:08:15.546 nowhere else in his writings. 00:08:15.546 --> 00:08:17.460 Not just anywhere else in this epistle, 00:08:17.460 --> 00:08:19.481 nowhere else in any of his writings 00:08:19.481 --> 00:08:21.581 does he ever call out 00:08:21.581 --> 00:08:24.011 distinct categories of Christians. 00:08:24.011 --> 00:08:26.336 That's my observation. 00:08:26.336 --> 00:08:29.319 And the question is: why? 00:08:29.319 --> 00:08:30.813 And before we try to answer, 00:08:30.813 --> 00:08:33.248 perhaps a second question should be asked as well. 00:08:33.248 --> 00:08:35.776 Why does he throw these categories at us 00:08:35.776 --> 00:08:38.907 in such a seemingly random order? 00:08:38.907 --> 00:08:41.659 Little children, then fathers, 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:45.795 then young men. 00:08:45.795 --> 00:08:50.231 And you know, who knows, right? 00:08:50.231 --> 00:08:53.839 (incomplete thought) 00:08:53.839 --> 00:08:57.399 Here's a possible solution. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.626 Why does John address three groups here 00:08:59.626 --> 00:09:01.119 and in the order that he does? 00:09:01.119 --> 00:09:02.924 I mean here's a possible scenario. 00:09:02.924 --> 00:09:07.527 The use of "little children," 00:09:07.527 --> 00:09:10.077 "fathers," "young men," 00:09:10.077 --> 00:09:12.064 and the order that they're in 00:09:12.064 --> 00:09:15.923 may have originated something like this. 00:09:15.923 --> 00:09:19.187 It's very possible that what John's doing here 00:09:19.187 --> 00:09:21.911 in v. 12 "I'm writing to you, little children..." 00:09:21.911 --> 00:09:24.050 is he does what he does everywhere else 00:09:24.050 --> 00:09:25.142 in the book. 00:09:25.142 --> 00:09:29.510 He is talking to everybody. 00:09:29.510 --> 00:09:34.502 But then, what he does, 00:09:34.502 --> 00:09:36.299 just this one time 00:09:36.299 --> 00:09:39.083 and perhaps for no other reason 00:09:39.083 --> 00:09:42.883 than respect, 00:09:42.883 --> 00:09:46.744 just to show honor, 00:09:46.744 --> 00:09:48.765 he feels led to address 00:09:48.765 --> 00:09:51.137 these two specific groups directly 00:09:51.137 --> 00:09:52.654 just this one time. 00:09:52.654 --> 00:09:54.832 And the reason I say that 00:09:54.832 --> 00:09:58.002 is with some biblical validity. NOTE Paragraph 00:09:58.002 --> 00:09:59.873 Think with me here. 00:09:59.873 --> 00:10:01.551 You don't need to turn to it, 00:10:01.551 --> 00:10:02.760 but let me just tell you 00:10:02.760 --> 00:10:04.674 how Philippians starts. 00:10:04.674 --> 00:10:08.364 Philippians - Paul is addressing 00:10:08.364 --> 00:10:09.799 the Philippian believers. 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:13.498 He says, "Paul and Timothy, 00:10:13.498 --> 00:10:15.322 servants of Christ Jesus..." 00:10:15.322 --> 00:10:17.858 Listen to how he addresses them: 00:10:17.858 --> 00:10:27.046 "to all the saints who are at Philippi 00:10:27.046 --> 00:10:31.508 with the overseers and deacons." 00:10:31.508 --> 00:10:34.356 Now you think about the three categories there. 00:10:34.356 --> 00:10:36.667 The first one is all-encompassing. 00:10:36.667 --> 00:10:39.162 And then the second and third, 00:10:39.162 --> 00:10:43.466 he calls out distinct people 00:10:43.466 --> 00:10:45.584 in the church. 00:10:45.584 --> 00:10:47.990 And he calls out those that are to have 00:10:47.990 --> 00:10:50.493 the highest honor first 00:10:50.493 --> 00:10:54.355 and then those that are honorable, 00:10:54.355 --> 00:10:57.222 but not quite with that venerability second. 00:10:57.222 --> 00:11:04.898 That seems to be perhaps why we get this. 00:11:04.898 --> 00:11:06.642 "Little children" is very endearing. 00:11:06.642 --> 00:11:09.154 He calls them all by that. 00:11:09.154 --> 00:11:10.562 But John knows he's got these 00:11:10.562 --> 00:11:14.318 venerable, grey-haired 00:11:14.318 --> 00:11:16.331 warriors of the cross out there 00:11:16.331 --> 00:11:18.646 and these vibrant, spiritually strong 00:11:18.646 --> 00:11:19.693 young men as well. 00:11:19.693 --> 00:11:21.195 And I don't think it necessarily needs 00:11:21.195 --> 00:11:22.690 to be gender specific. 00:11:22.690 --> 00:11:25.860 He might be encompassing the grey-haired 00:11:25.860 --> 00:11:27.197 and those that are young, 00:11:27.197 --> 00:11:28.586 but he calls them out. 00:11:28.586 --> 00:11:30.536 Like I say, maybe for no other reason 00:11:30.536 --> 00:11:35.388 than just to identify them 00:11:35.388 --> 00:11:37.133 and show his regard for them 00:11:37.133 --> 00:11:39.047 and to show respect. 00:11:39.047 --> 00:11:41.785 Anyway, Philippians 1 gives me 00:11:41.785 --> 00:11:44.501 kind of a pattern for this same thing. 00:11:44.501 --> 00:11:47.767 And so I think it is a worthy cross reference. 00:11:47.767 --> 00:11:50.216 It is worthy to look at. NOTE Paragraph 00:11:50.216 --> 00:11:53.152 Another observation that I would make here: 00:11:53.152 --> 00:11:54.982 As you read through this, 00:11:54.982 --> 00:11:56.160 you never want to say, 00:11:56.160 --> 00:11:59.873 ok, well, I'm not in two of these categories. 00:11:59.873 --> 00:12:01.273 I'm only in the third, 00:12:01.273 --> 00:12:03.235 and so only what's in that third category 00:12:03.235 --> 00:12:04.285 applies to me. 00:12:04.285 --> 00:12:06.020 Listen, I can tell you this. 00:12:06.020 --> 00:12:08.455 Every single thing said 00:12:08.455 --> 00:12:10.841 in each of these categories 00:12:10.841 --> 00:12:12.288 is said of everybody 00:12:12.288 --> 00:12:14.452 somewhere else in 1 John. 00:12:14.452 --> 00:12:16.099 In other words, 00:12:16.099 --> 00:12:17.441 my observation is this. 00:12:17.441 --> 00:12:19.275 When John addresses "little children," 00:12:19.275 --> 00:12:21.762 when he addresses "fathers," when he addresses "young men," 00:12:21.762 --> 00:12:23.504 he does not mean that what he says 00:12:23.504 --> 00:12:25.721 about the fathers is only applicable 00:12:25.721 --> 00:12:27.274 to them and not to you 00:12:27.274 --> 00:12:30.055 if you're not one of the fathers. 00:12:30.055 --> 00:12:33.480 You follow what I'm saying? 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:35.278 What's true about one here 00:12:35.278 --> 00:12:37.311 is true about all. 00:12:37.311 --> 00:12:40.606 1 John will show us clearly 00:12:40.606 --> 00:12:41.771 that knowing the father, 00:12:41.771 --> 00:12:43.790 knowing Christ, overcoming the evil one, 00:12:43.790 --> 00:12:45.608 having the Word of God abiding in you, 00:12:45.608 --> 00:12:47.350 these are all realities that are true 00:12:47.350 --> 00:12:49.216 of all Christians. 00:12:49.216 --> 00:12:51.372 John applies these truths 00:12:51.372 --> 00:12:53.500 to specific groups that are real 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:55.476 and true and valid for the whole church. 00:12:55.476 --> 00:12:57.681 So you don't want to skip over any of these verses as though 00:12:57.681 --> 00:12:59.029 they don't apply to you. 00:12:59.029 --> 00:13:00.885 What's true in each category is true 00:13:00.885 --> 00:13:02.626 of every Christian here. 00:13:02.626 --> 00:13:04.252 That's just an observation. NOTE Paragraph 00:13:04.252 --> 00:13:08.350 So, now, I think we need to really ask ourselves, 00:13:08.350 --> 00:13:11.588 why are these verses here? 00:13:11.588 --> 00:13:15.958 Now, look, if you're not really acquainted 00:13:15.958 --> 00:13:16.997 with 1 John; 00:13:16.997 --> 00:13:18.726 if you just read this letter through 00:13:18.726 --> 00:13:20.717 over and over and over, 00:13:20.717 --> 00:13:23.358 I think it will begin to jump out at you 00:13:23.358 --> 00:13:27.009 that these seem to interrupt the flow. 00:13:27.009 --> 00:13:29.062 They almost seem misplaced. 00:13:29.062 --> 00:13:30.514 I mean, I'm thinking about 00:13:30.514 --> 00:13:32.208 if I'm going to write to somebody 00:13:32.208 --> 00:13:33.658 and tell them why I'm writing - 00:13:33.658 --> 00:13:34.854 "I'm writing to you, little children, 00:13:34.854 --> 00:13:37.016 because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake." 00:13:37.016 --> 00:13:39.463 If I'm going to tell somebody why I'm writing to them, 00:13:39.463 --> 00:13:41.416 I'm typically going to tell them that 00:13:41.416 --> 00:13:43.876 at the beginning of the letter. 00:13:43.876 --> 00:13:45.600 Why am I just going to jump in? 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:46.957 And the thing about this, 00:13:46.957 --> 00:13:49.487 get a feel for the flow here. 00:13:49.487 --> 00:13:51.044 (incomplete thought) 00:13:51.044 --> 00:13:53.819 Let's read down through these verses 00:13:53.819 --> 00:13:58.438 and omit v. 12, 13, and 14. 00:13:58.438 --> 00:14:00.799 We have these tests of true Christianity 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:03.591 coming at us one after another 00:14:03.591 --> 00:14:06.382 after another. 00:14:06.382 --> 00:14:09.923 I mean, if you just think about 2:3. 00:14:09.923 --> 00:14:12.299 "By this we know that we've come to know Him 00:14:12.299 --> 00:14:13.746 if we keep His commandments." 00:14:13.746 --> 00:14:15.089 Bang! You're hit with this. 00:14:15.089 --> 00:14:17.119 Do you keep His commandments? 00:14:17.119 --> 00:14:19.031 If you keep His commandments, 00:14:19.031 --> 00:14:21.238 you can know that you know Him. 00:14:21.238 --> 00:14:23.222 This is a test of true Christianity. 00:14:23.222 --> 00:14:25.154 "Whoever says 'I know Him,' (v. 4) 00:14:25.154 --> 00:14:27.718 but does not keep His commandments 00:14:27.718 --> 00:14:30.458 is a liar and the truth is not in him." 00:14:30.458 --> 00:14:34.610 Wow! John's being dogmatic about 00:14:34.610 --> 00:14:36.588 who is in and who is out. 00:14:36.588 --> 00:14:38.443 "Whoever keeps His Word (v. 5), 00:14:38.443 --> 00:14:40.877 in Him truly the love of God is perfected." 00:14:40.877 --> 00:14:42.115 I mean, he's saying, 00:14:42.115 --> 00:14:43.431 you need to be those that 00:14:43.431 --> 00:14:44.781 keep His commandments. 00:14:44.781 --> 00:14:48.007 You need to be those that keep His Word. 00:14:48.007 --> 00:14:50.118 "By this we know that we are in Him." 00:14:50.118 --> 00:14:51.827 How? "Whoever says he abides in Him 00:14:51.827 --> 00:14:53.907 ought to walk in the same way in which 00:14:53.907 --> 00:14:56.531 He walked," and if you don't, you're not true. 00:14:56.531 --> 00:14:58.608 You're not real. 00:14:58.608 --> 00:15:00.052 He goes on to talk about 00:15:00.052 --> 00:15:01.209 this one commandment. 00:15:01.209 --> 00:15:03.209 Love. "I'm writing you no new commandment, 00:15:03.209 --> 00:15:05.035 but an old commandment, that you had from the beginning. 00:15:05.035 --> 00:15:06.545 The old commandment is what you have heard. 00:15:06.545 --> 00:15:07.827 At the same time, it is a new commandment 00:15:07.827 --> 00:15:08.760 that I am writing to you, 00:15:08.760 --> 00:15:10.387 which is true in Him and in you 00:15:10.387 --> 00:15:12.073 because the darkness is passing away; 00:15:12.073 --> 00:15:13.825 the true light is already shining." 00:15:13.825 --> 00:15:15.419 He says this about that commandment: 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:16.826 "Whoever says he's in the light 00:15:16.826 --> 00:15:19.141 and hates his brother is in the dark." 00:15:19.141 --> 00:15:20.702 You are not true. 00:15:20.702 --> 00:15:22.584 You are not real. 00:15:22.584 --> 00:15:24.958 "Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, 00:15:24.958 --> 00:15:27.324 and in him there is no cause for stumbling." 00:15:27.324 --> 00:15:29.348 "Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness 00:15:29.348 --> 00:15:31.899 and walks in the darkness and does not know where he's going 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:33.840 because the darkness has blinded his eyes." 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:35.201 Now you skip over to v. 15. 00:15:35.201 --> 00:15:36.976 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. 00:15:36.976 --> 00:15:38.120 If anyone loves the world, 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:39.932 the love of the Father is not in him." 00:15:39.932 --> 00:15:41.601 Again. He goes right back to the tests. 00:15:41.601 --> 00:15:42.751 Bang! Bang! Bang! 00:15:42.751 --> 00:15:45.557 You love the world, you don't know God. 00:15:45.557 --> 00:15:47.381 The love of the Father is not in you. 00:15:47.381 --> 00:15:49.638 That means you're lost. 00:15:49.638 --> 00:15:51.310 "All that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, 00:15:51.310 --> 00:15:53.435 the desire of the eyes..." He goes on in v. 18. 00:15:53.435 --> 00:15:55.381 "Children, it is the last hour. As you have heard that antichrist..." 00:15:55.381 --> 00:15:58.251 In v. 19, "they went out from us because they were not of us." 00:15:58.251 --> 00:16:00.539 I mean, what's a good indication that somebody's not real? 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:02.565 They go out from us. If they go out from us, 00:16:02.565 --> 00:16:03.707 they're not of us. 00:16:03.707 --> 00:16:05.756 I mean, he's got these tests - one after another. 00:16:05.756 --> 00:16:07.963 Why in the world did he just stop in v. 12 00:16:07.963 --> 00:16:09.987 and say, "I'm writing to you, little children, 00:16:09.987 --> 00:16:12.098 because your sins are forgiven." 00:16:12.098 --> 00:16:16.660 It's like John, this interrupts the flow 00:16:16.660 --> 00:16:18.492 of these tests. 00:16:18.492 --> 00:16:21.831 It's like we're getting this barrage, 00:16:21.831 --> 00:16:24.492 and then here's all these tests 00:16:24.492 --> 00:16:25.635 coming at us; 00:16:25.635 --> 00:16:27.476 shaking us with the reality 00:16:27.476 --> 00:16:28.615 of true Christianity 00:16:28.615 --> 00:16:32.343 and John just sort of unexpectedly 00:16:32.343 --> 00:16:36.572 injects v. 12-14. NOTE Paragraph 00:16:36.572 --> 00:16:40.640 So what are we supposed to make of this? 00:16:40.640 --> 00:16:43.328 Well, I think it's clear. 00:16:43.328 --> 00:16:46.847 I think if you have any pastoral bone 00:16:46.847 --> 00:16:48.440 in your body, 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:51.116 it's clear why he does. 00:16:51.116 --> 00:17:00.568 Just compare 1 John 2:4 and 1 John 2:12. 00:17:00.568 --> 00:17:02.294 Compare them. 00:17:02.294 --> 00:17:03.258 1 John 2:4 00:17:03.258 --> 00:17:05.573 "Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not 00:17:05.573 --> 00:17:08.478 keep His commandments is a liar 00:17:08.478 --> 00:17:10.285 and the truth is not in Him." 00:17:10.285 --> 00:17:12.682 Now, let's do that all over again 00:17:12.682 --> 00:17:15.251 with me adding this; 00:17:15.251 --> 00:17:17.298 with you thinking about this. 00:17:17.298 --> 00:17:22.460 How does this make you feel? 00:17:22.460 --> 00:17:24.660 "Whoever says I know Him but does not 00:17:24.660 --> 00:17:26.964 keep His commandments is a liar 00:17:26.964 --> 00:17:30.559 and the truth is not in Him." 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:32.335 How does that make you feel? 00:17:32.335 --> 00:17:33.736 1 John 2:12 00:17:33.736 --> 00:17:35.831 "I'm writing to you, little children, 00:17:35.831 --> 00:17:37.514 because your sins are forgiven 00:17:37.514 --> 00:17:38.920 for His name's sake." 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:40.275 How does that make you feel? NOTE Paragraph 00:17:40.275 --> 00:17:42.948 Now, I recognize I changed my tone. 00:17:42.948 --> 00:17:45.062 (incomplete thought) 00:17:45.062 --> 00:17:47.894 But that's kind of the feel. 00:17:47.894 --> 00:17:50.462 Why does he stick these in here? 00:17:50.462 --> 00:17:52.592 I have a feeling he's sticks them in here 00:17:52.592 --> 00:17:56.628 just because of the rigors of these tests. 00:17:56.628 --> 00:18:00.221 These tests can shake you. 00:18:00.221 --> 00:18:02.973 They sift us. 00:18:02.973 --> 00:18:08.075 John knows this letter is tough. 00:18:08.075 --> 00:18:10.200 And it is, is it not? 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:11.803 I mean, he knows. 00:18:11.803 --> 00:18:15.614 He's calling people out. 00:18:15.614 --> 00:18:19.378 He's calling people liars. 00:18:19.378 --> 00:18:21.465 This is tough stuff. 00:18:21.465 --> 00:18:23.133 (incomplete thought) 00:18:23.133 --> 00:18:25.337 What happens when you start 00:18:25.337 --> 00:18:28.925 telling people, "by this we know 00:18:28.925 --> 00:18:30.390 that we've come to know Him, 00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:31.807 if we keep His commandments." 00:18:31.807 --> 00:18:34.070 I mean, where are your minds going? 00:18:34.070 --> 00:18:37.156 Man, what does my life look like? 00:18:37.156 --> 00:18:39.062 I mean, am I keeping His commandments? 00:18:39.062 --> 00:18:40.723 We just came off the one about loving. 00:18:40.723 --> 00:18:42.108 I mean, you start thinking, 00:18:42.108 --> 00:18:44.131 am I really loving the brothers and the sisters? 00:18:44.131 --> 00:18:45.401 Am I really loving them? 00:18:45.401 --> 00:18:47.674 I mean, any of us that have consciences - 00:18:47.674 --> 00:18:49.739 our imperfections, our failures, 00:18:49.739 --> 00:18:51.287 they begin to jump up and down 00:18:51.287 --> 00:18:52.494 in front of our face 00:18:52.494 --> 00:18:54.137 and we're saying, ok, we know 00:18:54.137 --> 00:18:55.207 this isn't perfection; 00:18:55.207 --> 00:18:56.838 we know that this is a pattern of life, 00:18:56.838 --> 00:18:59.159 and we're asking ourselves, I hope, 00:18:59.159 --> 00:19:00.786 trying to ask ourselves honestly, 00:19:00.786 --> 00:19:02.367 is there an evidence that God has 00:19:02.367 --> 00:19:04.050 done something in my life 00:19:04.050 --> 00:19:05.913 and produced this kind of person 00:19:05.913 --> 00:19:07.092 out of me? 00:19:07.092 --> 00:19:08.867 I mean, he knows that he is 00:19:08.867 --> 00:19:11.577 describing true Christianity 00:19:11.577 --> 00:19:13.987 in terms that are strong. 00:19:13.987 --> 00:19:17.402 Isn't John dogmatic? 00:19:17.402 --> 00:19:19.515 If you say you know Him, 00:19:19.515 --> 00:19:20.907 but this isn't true, 00:19:20.907 --> 00:19:22.743 you're a liar! 00:19:22.743 --> 00:19:27.762 He doesn't have much grey area. 00:19:27.762 --> 00:19:29.549 It's just boom! 00:19:29.549 --> 00:19:31.535 This or this! 00:19:31.535 --> 00:19:33.314 This is true or this is true! 00:19:33.314 --> 00:19:35.356 That's it. Two categories. 00:19:35.356 --> 00:19:37.465 There's no in-between. 00:19:37.465 --> 00:19:40.082 And you can come out of these things 00:19:40.082 --> 00:19:45.486 and feel beat up. 00:19:45.486 --> 00:19:48.527 And you can imagine, 00:19:48.527 --> 00:19:57.216 John - what's the reputation we have of John? 00:19:57.216 --> 00:19:58.980 He's the one that Christ loved. 00:19:58.980 --> 00:20:04.621 He was also called "Boanerges" with his brother. 00:20:04.621 --> 00:20:06.268 The sons of thunder. 00:20:06.268 --> 00:20:08.651 This feels kind of thunderous here. 00:20:08.651 --> 00:20:10.507 But you can imagine John feeling like, 00:20:10.507 --> 00:20:12.763 perhaps - think about it - 00:20:12.763 --> 00:20:14.492 preachers know this. 00:20:14.492 --> 00:20:16.028 You say hard things. 00:20:16.028 --> 00:20:19.370 You get a feeling when, you know, 00:20:19.370 --> 00:20:21.610 you're hitting people with hard things. 00:20:21.610 --> 00:20:22.779 You get that feeling. 00:20:22.779 --> 00:20:24.521 And undoubtedly, he's feeling, 00:20:24.521 --> 00:20:26.193 wow, I've been really forceful; 00:20:26.193 --> 00:20:34.542 I've been intense with people. 00:20:34.542 --> 00:20:37.584 (incomplete thought) 00:20:37.584 --> 00:20:38.962 What happens? 00:20:38.962 --> 00:20:40.373 What happens when you start 00:20:40.373 --> 00:20:43.117 laying tests out like this? 00:20:43.117 --> 00:20:44.926 You know another thing preachers know 00:20:44.926 --> 00:20:47.697 a lot of times is they take out 00:20:47.697 --> 00:20:49.792 the spiritual shotgun 00:20:49.792 --> 00:20:55.676 and this thing is full of bird shot, 00:20:55.676 --> 00:20:58.409 and they aim at a certain person 00:20:58.409 --> 00:21:00.197 or they've got certain people in mind 00:21:00.197 --> 00:21:01.867 that this is really applicable to 00:21:01.867 --> 00:21:02.817 and kaboom! 00:21:02.817 --> 00:21:04.794 They blow a person off the front row 00:21:04.794 --> 00:21:07.024 that they did not mean to hit. 00:21:07.024 --> 00:21:08.632 But that's one of the problems 00:21:08.632 --> 00:21:11.831 when you speak like this, 00:21:11.831 --> 00:21:14.412 you have people that sit there 00:21:14.412 --> 00:21:15.714 who are genuine Christians 00:21:15.714 --> 00:21:19.337 with very tender consciences. 00:21:19.337 --> 00:21:22.772 And you start talking like this, 00:21:22.772 --> 00:21:26.280 and the hardened professing sinner 00:21:26.280 --> 00:21:28.291 back there in that back row 00:21:28.291 --> 00:21:31.511 who this is every bit meant for - 00:21:31.511 --> 00:21:33.891 right over the top of their heads. 00:21:33.891 --> 00:21:36.302 You shoot them and they've got 00:21:36.302 --> 00:21:38.190 the bulletproof vest on. 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:40.270 It just bounced right off of them. 00:21:40.270 --> 00:21:42.515 And you blew away sister so-and-so 00:21:42.515 --> 00:21:44.483 in the third row. 00:21:44.483 --> 00:21:46.753 And she's feeling crushed, 00:21:46.753 --> 00:21:48.662 like going out of there thinking, 00:21:48.662 --> 00:21:51.839 I can never be a Christian. 00:21:51.839 --> 00:21:54.590 Her failures are there in her face 00:21:54.590 --> 00:21:57.056 and she's going out. 00:21:57.056 --> 00:21:58.306 She's wounded. 00:21:58.306 --> 00:21:59.996 And that's the kind of thing that 00:21:59.996 --> 00:22:02.964 he recognizes happens. 00:22:02.964 --> 00:22:06.316 This very kind of thing. 00:22:06.316 --> 00:22:08.236 As a child of God, 00:22:08.236 --> 00:22:11.376 you can begin to feel like 00:22:11.376 --> 00:22:13.984 you're made aware of your weaknesses. 00:22:13.984 --> 00:22:15.860 You're made aware of your own failures 00:22:15.860 --> 00:22:17.142 and your own struggles, 00:22:17.142 --> 00:22:18.788 and John knows. 00:22:18.788 --> 00:22:21.033 You say hard things like this; 00:22:21.033 --> 00:22:23.046 strong statements. 00:22:23.046 --> 00:22:24.954 You end up wounding people 00:22:24.954 --> 00:22:26.167 and so what he does is 00:22:26.167 --> 00:22:31.176 he actually interrupts these hard things 00:22:31.176 --> 00:22:34.437 and he sticks something very comforting 00:22:34.437 --> 00:22:37.829 and very encouraging right here 00:22:37.829 --> 00:22:40.519 in verses 12, 13, and 14. 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:43.402 He's backing off. 00:22:43.402 --> 00:22:45.029 He's certainly not backing down 00:22:45.029 --> 00:22:46.375 from anything that he said. 00:22:46.375 --> 00:22:49.192 But he's backing down from his 00:22:49.192 --> 00:22:51.559 rigorous dogmatism 00:22:51.559 --> 00:22:55.089 as to who's a liar and who's true. 00:22:55.089 --> 00:22:58.859 He seems to turn aside for a moment 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:01.540 of comforting his hearers before he 00:23:01.540 --> 00:23:03.433 goes back and he resumes again 00:23:03.433 --> 00:23:06.020 the strong and rigid doctrine 00:23:06.020 --> 00:23:09.458 that goes back to sifting the hearts of men. NOTE Paragraph 00:23:09.458 --> 00:23:11.522 Now, I think the thing we need to ask 00:23:11.522 --> 00:23:14.670 is well, ok, how are these verses encouraging? 00:23:14.670 --> 00:23:16.284 Because here's the thing; 00:23:16.284 --> 00:23:18.768 here's the thing I'm thinking about. 00:23:18.768 --> 00:23:23.141 Let's say I have a revelation from God, 00:23:23.141 --> 00:23:24.493 just like he did. 00:23:24.493 --> 00:23:25.911 And I know, 00:23:25.911 --> 00:23:28.155 there are lost people 00:23:28.155 --> 00:23:32.513 who profess to be Christians in this room. 00:23:32.513 --> 00:23:34.176 And I come up here 00:23:34.176 --> 00:23:36.180 and I'm giving you the test. 00:23:36.180 --> 00:23:38.689 And I begin to lay these tests down. 00:23:38.689 --> 00:23:40.940 I seek to weed out those who are false. 00:23:40.940 --> 00:23:43.496 I stress you have no true fellowship with God 00:23:43.496 --> 00:23:45.116 if you walk in the darkness. 00:23:45.116 --> 00:23:48.126 I stress that you're a liar about knowing Christ 00:23:48.126 --> 00:23:49.792 unless you keep His commandments. 00:23:49.792 --> 00:23:51.298 I mean, I'm hitting you hard. 00:23:51.298 --> 00:23:53.003 I have this revelation from God. 00:23:53.003 --> 00:23:55.257 I know some of you are not real. 00:23:55.257 --> 00:23:58.398 But at the same time, 00:23:58.398 --> 00:24:01.583 I know that I'm likely going to wound 00:24:01.583 --> 00:24:02.973 some of God's true ones. 00:24:02.973 --> 00:24:04.350 I don't want that to happen. 00:24:04.350 --> 00:24:06.372 But I know in trying to get to the others, 00:24:06.372 --> 00:24:07.924 I've got to speak that strong. 00:24:07.924 --> 00:24:11.208 But I also know how true Christians 00:24:11.208 --> 00:24:15.215 are going to deal with this. NOTE Paragraph 00:24:15.215 --> 00:24:16.607 My question is this, 00:24:16.607 --> 00:24:18.424 if I'm speaking really strong 00:24:18.424 --> 00:24:20.686 and you've got sister so-and-so there 00:24:20.686 --> 00:24:24.249 who is trembling. 00:24:24.249 --> 00:24:28.785 She feels like I'm weak. 00:24:28.785 --> 00:24:31.087 There's these doubts that are cropping up. 00:24:31.087 --> 00:24:32.847 She's questioning. 00:24:32.847 --> 00:24:34.818 She's wondering: am I true? 00:24:34.818 --> 00:24:36.114 Am I false? 00:24:36.114 --> 00:24:39.598 And you know the devil can take advantage right there too, 00:24:39.598 --> 00:24:44.090 and say, you're not keeping His commandments. 00:24:44.090 --> 00:24:46.788 Think about this time and this time. 00:24:46.788 --> 00:24:48.174 You're not loving so-and-so. 00:24:48.174 --> 00:24:49.738 Think about your failures here. 00:24:49.738 --> 00:24:51.086 He can come right along. 00:24:51.086 --> 00:24:53.143 That standard is so high, 00:24:53.143 --> 00:24:55.251 you've never measured up to it. 00:24:55.251 --> 00:24:58.014 Just listen to how he's talking. 00:24:58.014 --> 00:25:01.685 Just listen to John's words. 00:25:01.685 --> 00:25:04.115 And a feeling of condemnation can creep in. 00:25:04.115 --> 00:25:05.983 You feel like there's no hope. 00:25:05.983 --> 00:25:07.652 And here's the thing, 00:25:07.652 --> 00:25:10.032 if you're a true Christian sitting out there 00:25:10.032 --> 00:25:11.522 and you suddenly are flooded 00:25:11.522 --> 00:25:18.270 by what are unwarranted doubts, 00:25:18.270 --> 00:25:20.304 by these tests, 00:25:20.304 --> 00:25:24.623 how is it going to be encouraging to you 00:25:24.623 --> 00:25:27.124 for me just to interrupt all these 00:25:27.124 --> 00:25:29.358 strong assertions, 00:25:29.358 --> 00:25:31.833 and say, "I'm writing to you, little children, 00:25:31.833 --> 00:25:34.317 because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake." 00:25:34.317 --> 00:25:37.064 I mean, if you've just been shaken 00:25:37.064 --> 00:25:39.497 to even wondering if you're truly a child or not, 00:25:39.497 --> 00:25:41.765 and I come along and I say "I'm writing to you, little children," 00:25:41.765 --> 00:25:44.031 you're saying, yeah, but he knows some of us aren't true, 00:25:44.033 --> 00:25:45.626 and I think I'm one of those. 00:25:45.626 --> 00:25:47.374 So I'm not even in that crowd. 00:25:47.374 --> 00:25:49.539 How does that comfort me? 00:25:49.539 --> 00:25:51.466 What does that do for me? 00:25:51.466 --> 00:25:54.220 How does that help? NOTE Paragraph 00:25:54.220 --> 00:25:57.015 If your assurance has been shaken 00:25:57.015 --> 00:25:58.510 by these things, 00:25:58.510 --> 00:26:00.065 some of you, your assurance 00:26:00.065 --> 00:26:03.877 should be shaken by these. 00:26:03.877 --> 00:26:05.872 But if you're genuinely a Christian 00:26:05.872 --> 00:26:07.905 with a sensitive conscience, 00:26:07.905 --> 00:26:11.571 the devil's there throwing accusations at you, 00:26:11.571 --> 00:26:13.357 if your assurance has been shaken, 00:26:13.357 --> 00:26:14.668 how does a verse like this 00:26:14.668 --> 00:26:19.801 rescue you from this? 00:26:19.801 --> 00:26:21.787 I mean, do you see what I'm saying? 00:26:21.787 --> 00:26:23.152 If you're already doubting, 00:26:23.152 --> 00:26:25.213 how does this take away your doubts? 00:26:25.213 --> 00:26:27.767 Wouldn't you just be minded to say 00:26:27.767 --> 00:26:30.802 I don't even think I'm in that group? 00:26:30.802 --> 00:26:31.991 He comes along here 00:26:31.991 --> 00:26:34.136 and he's really positive 00:26:34.136 --> 00:26:37.321 that somebody's sins are forgiven 00:26:37.321 --> 00:26:40.032 for Christ's name's sake. 00:26:40.032 --> 00:26:42.342 But we can tell by the way he's talking, 00:26:42.342 --> 00:26:45.499 he already assumes some of us aren't real. 00:26:45.499 --> 00:26:48.011 And I'm thinking I might be one of those people. 00:26:48.011 --> 00:26:50.003 And so when he goes and he starts talking 00:26:50.003 --> 00:26:51.616 just to the little children, 00:26:51.616 --> 00:26:53.323 how does that help me? 00:26:53.323 --> 00:26:57.445 How does that rescue me 00:26:57.445 --> 00:27:00.965 from my assurance being shaken? 00:27:00.965 --> 00:27:03.215 Here the Holy Spirit undoubtedly prompts 00:27:03.215 --> 00:27:04.822 John to back off for a second 00:27:04.822 --> 00:27:06.537 in order to comfort and encourage 00:27:06.537 --> 00:27:07.803 the true people of God 00:27:07.803 --> 00:27:09.549 lest they become overwhelmed 00:27:09.549 --> 00:27:12.943 by a false sense of condemnation. 00:27:12.943 --> 00:27:15.516 How does saying this rescue them? 00:27:15.516 --> 00:27:17.770 If they come away from these tests with doubts 00:27:17.770 --> 00:27:19.520 by the highness of the standard, 00:27:19.520 --> 00:27:20.837 the dogmatism of John, 00:27:20.837 --> 00:27:22.146 then he just shifts gears 00:27:22.146 --> 00:27:26.657 and he throws these three verses at us. 00:27:26.657 --> 00:27:28.815 "I'm writing to you, little children..." 00:27:28.815 --> 00:27:30.738 Isn't this person just going to conclude 00:27:30.738 --> 00:27:32.409 that they probably aren't really 00:27:32.409 --> 00:27:34.948 one of the little children that John's addressing? NOTE Paragraph 00:27:34.948 --> 00:27:37.744 And brethren, it happens all the time. 00:27:37.744 --> 00:27:39.489 The devil is an accuser. 00:27:39.489 --> 00:27:43.469 And you start setting up things like this. 00:27:43.469 --> 00:27:46.146 Look, there's not one of us that have 00:27:46.146 --> 00:27:48.586 loved the brothers and sisters perfectly. 00:27:48.586 --> 00:27:51.034 There's not one of us that have kept the commandments perfectly. 00:27:51.034 --> 00:27:52.299 There's not one of us that is 00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:55.077 imitating Christ, walking like Christ walked perfectly. 00:27:55.077 --> 00:27:57.364 And as soon as we start looking at this 00:27:57.364 --> 00:27:58.919 and examining this in our life - 00:27:58.919 --> 00:28:00.108 and these are the tests. 00:28:00.108 --> 00:28:01.607 You don't want to ignore them. 00:28:01.607 --> 00:28:02.862 These are God-given tests. 00:28:02.862 --> 00:28:04.599 These have to be true in your life. 00:28:04.599 --> 00:28:06.749 You are in one camp or the other. 00:28:06.749 --> 00:28:08.756 We have to take these things seriously. 00:28:08.756 --> 00:28:12.534 But as we're sorting through our life, 00:28:12.534 --> 00:28:16.159 I think any of us that are honest, 00:28:16.159 --> 00:28:22.761 this makes us feel like 00:28:22.761 --> 00:28:25.863 this is a high standard. 00:28:25.863 --> 00:28:29.951 Who can measure up? 00:28:29.951 --> 00:28:31.506 Does anybody feel like that 00:28:31.506 --> 00:28:40.250 when you hear these things? 00:28:40.250 --> 00:28:44.749 (incomplete thought) 00:28:44.749 --> 00:28:45.697 And I know this. 00:28:45.697 --> 00:28:48.386 I hear this from Christians. 00:28:48.386 --> 00:28:50.521 They struggle. 00:28:50.521 --> 00:28:54.010 They just feel like I don't feel like 00:28:54.010 --> 00:28:56.646 I'm loving the brethren like I ought to. 00:28:56.646 --> 00:28:57.893 I don't feel like my life 00:28:57.893 --> 00:29:00.662 is committed to Christ as it ought to be. 00:29:00.662 --> 00:29:03.429 I don't feel like there's a level of purity there 00:29:03.429 --> 00:29:07.087 that I know there ought to be. NOTE Paragraph 00:29:07.087 --> 00:29:10.675 Here John, he sees the Christian struggling, 00:29:10.675 --> 00:29:12.089 and he interrupts things. 00:29:12.089 --> 00:29:13.331 Just interrupts by saying, 00:29:13.331 --> 00:29:15.685 "I'm writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven 00:29:15.689 --> 00:29:18.637 for His name's sake." 00:29:18.637 --> 00:29:20.082 Isn't there a possibility that 00:29:20.082 --> 00:29:22.416 that Christian is just going to get carried away 00:29:22.416 --> 00:29:24.067 with their doubts and assume that 00:29:24.067 --> 00:29:28.215 John's probably not talking about them? 00:29:28.215 --> 00:29:29.175 You know John knows 00:29:29.175 --> 00:29:31.626 that there's imposters among us. 00:29:31.626 --> 00:29:33.433 So he doesn't for a second believe 00:29:33.433 --> 00:29:35.959 that we're all little children. 00:29:35.959 --> 00:29:37.782 How does this really help bolster 00:29:37.782 --> 00:29:41.967 the assurance of the true Christian? 00:29:41.967 --> 00:29:43.680 That to me is huge, 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:45.014 because I'm looking at this 00:29:45.014 --> 00:29:46.758 and I'm recognizing, 00:29:46.758 --> 00:29:49.801 we get this. 00:29:49.801 --> 00:29:51.660 I know we get people that struggle 00:29:51.660 --> 00:29:52.857 with their assurance, 00:29:52.857 --> 00:29:54.428 and they need to struggle with it 00:29:54.428 --> 00:30:00.916 because they're not measuring up. 00:30:00.916 --> 00:30:03.276 But we get people that get shaken 00:30:03.276 --> 00:30:05.871 and they ought not to be shaken. 00:30:05.871 --> 00:30:09.646 They're not ones that God wants us to weed out. 00:30:09.646 --> 00:30:11.969 They're His true children. 00:30:11.969 --> 00:30:14.489 And so I'm really interested pastorally 00:30:14.489 --> 00:30:17.736 to just examine this and say John, 00:30:17.736 --> 00:30:19.873 teach me here. 00:30:19.873 --> 00:30:28.210 Teach me how to help and to comfort 00:30:28.210 --> 00:30:33.080 the little children when they get shaken. NOTE Paragraph 00:30:33.080 --> 00:30:35.137 So how does it help? 00:30:35.137 --> 00:30:39.381 Well, look, to the best 00:30:39.381 --> 00:30:43.132 that I can decipher here, 00:30:43.132 --> 00:30:45.321 it helps just this way. 00:30:45.321 --> 00:30:47.712 If you think about what's being said here. 00:30:47.712 --> 00:30:49.185 John stops. 00:30:49.185 --> 00:30:54.142 He looks at the Christian 00:30:54.142 --> 00:30:59.102 who is feeling condemned; 00:30:59.102 --> 00:31:04.931 who is feeling overwhelmed; 00:31:04.931 --> 00:31:06.512 who's seen these tests 00:31:06.512 --> 00:31:10.170 and is somewhat unsure, 00:31:10.170 --> 00:31:13.074 and he says, look, 00:31:13.074 --> 00:31:16.263 walking like Christ walked, 00:31:16.263 --> 00:31:18.763 walking in the light, confessing your sins 00:31:18.763 --> 00:31:20.233 when you sin, 00:31:20.233 --> 00:31:21.867 keeping Christ's commandments, 00:31:21.867 --> 00:31:25.882 loving the brethren, 00:31:25.882 --> 00:31:28.003 are you feeling that this is way out there? 00:31:28.003 --> 00:31:31.121 Are you feeling like this is only for Charles Spurgeon, 00:31:31.121 --> 00:31:32.917 Amy Carmichael? 00:31:32.917 --> 00:31:34.318 Only they can live this way. 00:31:34.318 --> 00:31:36.353 Do you feel like this is just impossible 00:31:36.353 --> 00:31:38.299 for the average Christian? 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:40.523 Do you feel the standard is just too high? 00:31:40.523 --> 00:31:43.052 And that what he's saying in this letter 00:31:43.052 --> 00:31:44.630 is just being too dogmatic 00:31:44.630 --> 00:31:46.488 and there's no hope for you to live 00:31:46.488 --> 00:31:47.522 up to this standard? 00:31:47.522 --> 00:31:49.044 The devil's throwing accusations 00:31:49.044 --> 00:31:50.179 of your failure at you 00:31:50.179 --> 00:31:51.522 and your own ineptness 00:31:51.522 --> 00:31:53.154 at loving the brethren? NOTE Paragraph 00:31:53.154 --> 00:31:54.737 He comes and he says, 00:31:54.737 --> 00:31:59.535 "I'm writing to you, little children, 00:31:59.535 --> 00:32:01.941 because your sins are forgiven 00:32:01.941 --> 00:32:04.666 for His name's sake." 00:32:04.666 --> 00:32:06.217 You see what he's doing? 00:32:06.217 --> 00:32:08.008 He's saying, look, you're thinking 00:32:08.008 --> 00:32:10.530 these things are hard. 00:32:10.530 --> 00:32:12.585 But he says, I know there's reality 00:32:12.585 --> 00:32:13.979 among you. 00:32:13.979 --> 00:32:15.075 I see it. 00:32:15.075 --> 00:32:16.514 I know it. 00:32:16.514 --> 00:32:20.240 He says precious children. 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:24.972 Let's take your eyes off the tests 00:32:24.972 --> 00:32:27.869 for a second. 00:32:27.869 --> 00:32:30.993 Let's just get your eyes off those 00:32:30.993 --> 00:32:34.325 rigorous tests of true Christianity, 00:32:34.325 --> 00:32:36.758 and turn your eyes 00:32:36.758 --> 00:32:40.963 back to the initial wonders of being a Christian. 00:32:40.963 --> 00:32:44.715 Just forget your own failures. 00:32:44.715 --> 00:32:49.463 You are forgiven for His sake. 00:32:49.463 --> 00:32:51.706 Now you just need to dwell there. 00:32:51.706 --> 00:32:54.994 It doesn't depend on your performance. 00:32:54.994 --> 00:32:58.532 Because that's where tests like that take us. 00:32:58.532 --> 00:33:00.662 They take us to examining our life. 00:33:00.662 --> 00:33:04.317 Rightly so. 00:33:04.317 --> 00:33:06.376 But you can't get away from it. 00:33:06.376 --> 00:33:08.019 You start looking at your life; 00:33:08.019 --> 00:33:11.929 you start looking at your failures; 00:33:11.929 --> 00:33:15.136 you start looking at your performance, 00:33:15.136 --> 00:33:17.104 and he backs off this for a second. 00:33:17.104 --> 00:33:20.214 He says, eyes off performance. 00:33:20.214 --> 00:33:22.410 I want to take you back 00:33:22.410 --> 00:33:24.875 just to the wonders 00:33:24.875 --> 00:33:26.933 that you encountered in Christ 00:33:26.933 --> 00:33:28.128 at the beginning. 00:33:28.128 --> 00:33:30.685 It does not depend on anything 00:33:30.685 --> 00:33:32.698 you have done or are doing 00:33:32.698 --> 00:33:34.408 or will ever do. 00:33:34.408 --> 00:33:38.181 Forgiveness of sins. 00:33:38.181 --> 00:33:41.219 It's all about receiving a gift. 00:33:41.219 --> 00:33:44.820 And it is free. And it is by faith. 00:33:44.820 --> 00:33:45.894 And you know what? 00:33:45.894 --> 00:33:48.145 The enemy of your souls may hound you 00:33:48.145 --> 00:33:50.797 and accuse you and condemn you. 00:33:50.797 --> 00:33:52.923 That may be true. 00:33:52.923 --> 00:33:54.217 For your sins and failures, 00:33:54.217 --> 00:33:55.474 and yes, they're there. 00:33:55.474 --> 00:33:56.795 But you know what? 00:33:56.795 --> 00:33:59.454 You can answer the snake. 00:33:59.454 --> 00:34:01.398 But as much as anything, 00:34:01.398 --> 00:34:07.356 you can answer your own conscience. 00:34:07.356 --> 00:34:09.105 I mean here he is and he's saying, 00:34:09.105 --> 00:34:12.715 I wrote to you because your sins 00:34:12.715 --> 00:34:15.878 have been forgiven for His sake. 00:34:15.878 --> 00:34:17.326 For His sake. 00:34:17.326 --> 00:34:19.753 They haven't been forgiven you 00:34:19.753 --> 00:34:22.492 for keeping any of these tests. 00:34:22.492 --> 00:34:25.268 They've been forgiven for His sake. 00:34:25.268 --> 00:34:26.904 You need to remember that. 00:34:26.904 --> 00:34:28.933 You need to go back there. 00:34:28.933 --> 00:34:30.889 Answer that snake every time 00:34:30.889 --> 00:34:34.340 that he brings up accusations. 00:34:34.340 --> 00:34:36.724 You bring up the name, 00:34:36.724 --> 00:34:38.669 the blood, the righteousness 00:34:38.669 --> 00:34:40.322 of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:34:40.322 --> 00:34:42.592 You know what you do not want to do? 00:34:42.592 --> 00:34:44.657 You do not want to argue your performance 00:34:44.657 --> 00:34:46.718 with the devil. 00:34:46.718 --> 00:34:49.510 Don't do it. 00:34:49.510 --> 00:34:52.069 Let him back you right into the corner 00:34:52.069 --> 00:34:53.901 where your eyes have no place to go 00:34:53.901 --> 00:34:55.507 but back on the Lord Jesus 00:34:55.507 --> 00:34:58.050 just like in the very beginning. 00:34:58.050 --> 00:35:00.591 It's for His name's sake. 00:35:00.591 --> 00:35:02.782 You rely absolutely and utterly 00:35:02.782 --> 00:35:05.767 upon Jesus Christ and upon Him alone. 00:35:05.767 --> 00:35:06.953 He is your only hope. 00:35:06.953 --> 00:35:09.607 You can be sure that your sins are forgiven. 00:35:09.607 --> 00:35:11.824 Why? His name is at stake. 00:35:11.824 --> 00:35:14.184 It's for His name's sake. 00:35:14.184 --> 00:35:15.715 It must be. NOTE Paragraph 00:35:15.715 --> 00:35:17.304 And he goes on to say this - 00:35:17.304 --> 00:35:19.415 and I'm going to deal with these in pairs. 00:35:19.415 --> 00:35:21.844 If you go down to 1 John 2:13, 00:35:21.844 --> 00:35:23.328 to the end there, 00:35:23.328 --> 00:35:24.789 "I write to you, children." 00:35:24.789 --> 00:35:27.918 This is the second thing he says. 00:35:27.918 --> 00:35:30.590 To the children - the little children - 00:35:30.590 --> 00:35:37.280 "because you know the Father..." 00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:42.550 You know the Father. 00:35:42.550 --> 00:35:44.429 Brothers and sisters, 00:35:44.429 --> 00:35:45.842 again, this backing away 00:35:45.842 --> 00:35:47.382 from these rigorous tests. 00:35:47.382 --> 00:35:48.420 And it's saying this: 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:50.886 I know this. 00:35:50.886 --> 00:36:00.226 The Spirit is known as the Spirit of adoption. 00:36:00.226 --> 00:36:03.732 And as the Spirit of adoption, 00:36:03.732 --> 00:36:10.647 what does He produce within us? 00:36:10.647 --> 00:36:12.414 What comes out? 00:36:12.414 --> 00:36:14.233 What comes forth? 00:36:14.233 --> 00:36:16.473 What's the cry? 00:36:16.473 --> 00:36:20.995 Abba, Father. 00:36:20.995 --> 00:36:23.741 Abba, Father. 00:36:23.741 --> 00:36:29.666 Again, he backs them off of these tests 00:36:29.666 --> 00:36:33.157 just to the glories, 00:36:33.157 --> 00:36:36.798 just to the simplicity. 00:36:36.798 --> 00:36:43.111 Christian, have you not found 00:36:43.111 --> 00:36:46.611 that God is no longer some far off force? 00:36:46.611 --> 00:36:49.469 Some distant, out there God 00:36:49.469 --> 00:36:53.242 on the horizon? 00:36:53.242 --> 00:36:56.702 So often, the lost man just has this idea 00:36:56.702 --> 00:37:00.142 of God either as Santa Claus 00:37:00.142 --> 00:37:01.914 or is opposed to Him. 00:37:01.914 --> 00:37:05.271 But it's not that anymore. 00:37:05.271 --> 00:37:07.142 He's not some old man upstairs. 00:37:07.142 --> 00:37:10.913 Suddenly, God produces something in you 00:37:10.913 --> 00:37:14.428 when He saves you that cries, 00:37:14.428 --> 00:37:17.534 not just "Father," - "Abba." 00:37:17.534 --> 00:37:20.160 There's an endearment. 00:37:20.160 --> 00:37:23.265 And it's true. It's real. 00:37:23.265 --> 00:37:25.066 Do you not find a sweetness in that? 00:37:25.066 --> 00:37:27.152 It's like he's pulling these Christians 00:37:27.152 --> 00:37:31.025 back from "you're a liar," 00:37:31.025 --> 00:37:32.447 if you don't do this. 00:37:32.447 --> 00:37:35.963 He's pulling them back in to 00:37:35.963 --> 00:37:40.319 just come back to the very wonders 00:37:40.319 --> 00:37:42.236 of the foundations upon which 00:37:42.236 --> 00:37:44.662 your Christianity is built. 00:37:44.662 --> 00:37:48.859 You've been brought into this family. NOTE Paragraph 00:37:48.859 --> 00:37:50.852 And then he says this, 00:37:50.852 --> 00:37:53.395 1 John 2:13 "I'm writing to you, fathers, 00:37:53.395 --> 00:37:56.681 because you know Him who is from the beginning." 00:37:56.681 --> 00:38:00.470 In 1 John 2:14 where he addresses the fathers 00:38:00.470 --> 00:38:02.620 the second time, he says, 00:38:02.620 --> 00:38:04.038 "I write to you, fathers, 00:38:04.038 --> 00:38:06.048 because you know Him who is from the beginning." 00:38:06.048 --> 00:38:07.856 He says exactly the same thing 00:38:07.856 --> 00:38:10.551 about the fathers both times. 00:38:10.551 --> 00:38:13.560 And I don't necessarily think 00:38:13.560 --> 00:38:15.720 Scripturally speaking that we need to 00:38:15.720 --> 00:38:21.188 think just of fathers in an age - 00:38:21.188 --> 00:38:25.114 a physical age sense, 00:38:25.114 --> 00:38:28.435 but more so the spiritually mature. NOTE Paragraph 00:38:28.435 --> 00:38:31.013 But think about this, "Him who was from the beginning" 00:38:31.013 --> 00:38:32.247 as I pointed out before, 00:38:32.247 --> 00:38:34.645 this is speaking of Christ. 00:38:34.645 --> 00:38:36.911 And it's just come back from ideas 00:38:36.911 --> 00:38:38.488 about your performance 00:38:38.488 --> 00:38:41.415 and just think. 00:38:41.415 --> 00:38:43.745 John's saying I know this is true about you. 00:38:43.745 --> 00:38:46.132 I can see it. 00:38:46.132 --> 00:38:48.558 You've been professing to be a Christian 00:38:48.558 --> 00:38:51.249 for a long time, and I can see. 00:38:51.249 --> 00:38:54.399 There's an intimacy you have with Christ. 00:38:54.399 --> 00:38:58.058 I can stand off to the side and watch 00:38:58.058 --> 00:39:00.221 as some of these glorious lines 00:39:00.221 --> 00:39:02.481 come off these songs. 00:39:02.481 --> 00:39:04.922 I'm putting myself in John's position 00:39:04.922 --> 00:39:06.282 if he could see. 00:39:06.282 --> 00:39:07.775 He's saying, I know. 00:39:07.775 --> 00:39:09.447 I can see. 00:39:09.447 --> 00:39:12.234 I can see it in your eyes 00:39:12.234 --> 00:39:15.326 when the name of Christ comes up. 00:39:15.326 --> 00:39:19.720 It's not just some cold, dry, 00:39:19.720 --> 00:39:21.947 like you think when you're lost 00:39:21.947 --> 00:39:24.179 about the idea of religion. 00:39:24.179 --> 00:39:26.814 It was just dry. NOTE Paragraph 00:39:26.814 --> 00:39:29.001 But the name Christ comes now, 00:39:29.001 --> 00:39:30.468 there is a sweetness. 00:39:30.468 --> 00:39:32.549 There is a beauty. 00:39:32.549 --> 00:39:34.650 He can look and say, I know. 00:39:34.650 --> 00:39:38.073 You guys have been walking with the Lord. 00:39:38.073 --> 00:39:39.599 I can see it. 00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:42.342 You know His voice 00:39:42.342 --> 00:39:44.773 in a way you used to not know it; 00:39:44.773 --> 00:39:50.634 His promptings. 00:39:50.634 --> 00:39:54.556 I see this. 00:39:54.556 --> 00:39:56.497 Not just knowing His voice, 00:39:56.497 --> 00:39:58.049 not just knowing His promptings, 00:39:58.049 --> 00:40:01.801 but knowing His silence. 00:40:01.801 --> 00:40:03.860 Just coming to know His dealings 00:40:03.860 --> 00:40:06.927 with His people. 00:40:06.927 --> 00:40:08.104 He says, I see it. 00:40:08.104 --> 00:40:10.508 I know it's there. 00:40:10.508 --> 00:40:12.567 This is spiritual maturity. 00:40:12.567 --> 00:40:13.783 John says I know, 00:40:13.783 --> 00:40:15.626 some of you might be shaken 00:40:15.626 --> 00:40:18.540 by the high standard that I put up. 00:40:18.540 --> 00:40:20.256 But I look at many of you, 00:40:20.256 --> 00:40:21.814 I look at your lives, 00:40:21.814 --> 00:40:27.452 I can see Christ is special to you. 00:40:27.452 --> 00:40:30.326 I know you are not serving Him the way 00:40:30.326 --> 00:40:32.329 you want to. 00:40:32.329 --> 00:40:37.035 I know you're not living the way 00:40:37.035 --> 00:40:40.264 you know He's worthy of. 00:40:40.264 --> 00:40:45.961 But I can see your eyes light up at His name. 00:40:45.961 --> 00:40:48.016 I can see the pain that you have 00:40:48.016 --> 00:40:49.930 when He's dishonored. 00:40:49.930 --> 00:40:51.777 I see that you know Him in a way 00:40:51.777 --> 00:40:54.640 that the rest of the world just doesn't know Him. 00:40:54.640 --> 00:40:56.304 You see, he's bringing these people 00:40:56.304 --> 00:40:58.448 to a place where he's going to 00:40:58.448 --> 00:41:00.020 some of the basics; 00:41:00.020 --> 00:41:06.229 some of the rudimentary realities 00:41:06.229 --> 00:41:12.062 about our walk, 00:41:12.062 --> 00:41:17.723 and how we view Christ. 00:41:17.723 --> 00:41:21.557 How we relate to Christ. NOTE Paragraph 00:41:21.557 --> 00:41:24.230 And then he says this, 00:41:24.230 --> 00:41:26.417 he's going to talk to the young men 00:41:26.417 --> 00:41:30.257 about the devil. 00:41:30.257 --> 00:41:33.977 1 John 2:13 "I'm writing to you, young men, 00:41:33.977 --> 00:41:38.481 because you've overcome the evil one." 00:41:38.481 --> 00:41:39.863 He says just the same thing, 00:41:39.863 --> 00:41:41.159 but adds more detail 00:41:41.159 --> 00:41:43.104 like that bee that he is, 00:41:43.104 --> 00:41:44.717 he circles back around 00:41:44.717 --> 00:41:46.462 and deals with it the second time. 00:41:46.462 --> 00:41:49.328 1 John 2:14 "I write to you, young men, 00:41:49.328 --> 00:41:51.773 because you are strong, 00:41:51.773 --> 00:41:53.407 and the Word of God abides in you, 00:41:53.407 --> 00:41:56.759 and you have overcome the evil one." 00:41:56.759 --> 00:41:58.214 It's like can you imagine? 00:41:58.214 --> 00:42:00.923 You get all these tests thrown at you. 00:42:00.923 --> 00:42:02.114 And you're feeling like 00:42:02.114 --> 00:42:07.202 you've not measured up so perfectly. 00:42:07.202 --> 00:42:08.974 You feel weak. 00:42:08.974 --> 00:42:11.581 You feel defeated by John's high standards. 00:42:11.581 --> 00:42:13.655 And John says, 00:42:13.655 --> 00:42:16.316 what are you talking about? 00:42:16.316 --> 00:42:18.788 I can see you. 00:42:18.788 --> 00:42:21.227 I know you're not perfect. 00:42:21.227 --> 00:42:22.334 But weak? 00:42:22.334 --> 00:42:23.962 When you sit there and talk about 00:42:23.962 --> 00:42:25.633 your weakness and your failures, 00:42:25.633 --> 00:42:28.658 it's sheer ignorance. 00:42:28.658 --> 00:42:30.741 Really? 00:42:30.741 --> 00:42:32.951 What does he see that we don't see? 00:42:32.951 --> 00:42:35.741 John says I know you fail, 00:42:35.741 --> 00:42:38.969 but as I mentioned, 00:42:38.969 --> 00:42:42.666 the true Christian is going to confess it. 00:42:42.666 --> 00:42:44.680 I'm writing to you that you don't sin, 00:42:44.680 --> 00:42:46.560 but when you do, 00:42:46.560 --> 00:42:48.224 the true Christian is going to find 00:42:48.224 --> 00:42:50.281 an Advocate in Christ. 00:42:50.281 --> 00:42:52.405 Their hope is only going to be there, 00:42:52.405 --> 00:42:55.411 and the propitiatory work of His 00:42:55.411 --> 00:42:57.899 upon that cross in satisfying God. 00:42:57.899 --> 00:43:00.285 He says it's ignorance when you talk about 00:43:00.285 --> 00:43:03.158 weakness like this. 00:43:03.158 --> 00:43:06.620 That's strength. 00:43:06.620 --> 00:43:07.892 We look at it as though, 00:43:07.892 --> 00:43:11.944 well, it's only strength if we live perfect. 00:43:11.944 --> 00:43:14.224 He sees strength. 00:43:14.224 --> 00:43:20.007 He sees triumph over the evil one 00:43:20.007 --> 00:43:23.545 when we sin and we go to God 00:43:23.545 --> 00:43:25.722 and we confess it. 00:43:25.722 --> 00:43:29.162 And we look to the healing blood 00:43:29.162 --> 00:43:31.585 of Christ. 00:43:31.585 --> 00:43:35.321 Do you recall what this same John 00:43:35.321 --> 00:43:39.363 tells us in Revelation 12? 00:43:39.363 --> 00:43:43.257 How do they overcome the evil one? 00:43:43.257 --> 00:43:46.757 By the blood of Christ. 00:43:46.757 --> 00:43:51.045 How does the conquering take place? 00:43:51.045 --> 00:43:53.245 So much of the conquering is here 00:43:53.245 --> 00:43:54.498 that when we do fail, 00:43:54.498 --> 00:43:59.289 when we do sin, where do we go? 00:43:59.289 --> 00:44:01.829 We go back to the blood. 00:44:01.829 --> 00:44:04.004 Remember right before that verse, 00:44:04.004 --> 00:44:07.096 it says he's an accuser of the brethren. 00:44:07.096 --> 00:44:09.111 You see, it's in his accusations 00:44:09.111 --> 00:44:10.668 we overcome by the blood. 00:44:10.668 --> 00:44:12.197 How? 00:44:12.197 --> 00:44:14.543 Because you don't want to argue 00:44:14.543 --> 00:44:17.293 performance with the devil 00:44:17.293 --> 00:44:20.879 How do you overcome? 00:44:20.879 --> 00:44:23.278 You know what the way to deal with the devil is? 00:44:23.278 --> 00:44:27.566 And even the accusations of your own conscience? 00:44:27.566 --> 00:44:30.250 It's true. I failed. 00:44:30.250 --> 00:44:32.946 But let me tell you about the blood. 00:44:32.946 --> 00:44:35.844 Let me tell you what that was shed for. 00:44:35.844 --> 00:44:39.742 Devil, I did just fail. 00:44:39.742 --> 00:44:45.617 I can list lots more failures in my life than just that one. 00:44:45.617 --> 00:44:47.788 But let's talk about the blood. 00:44:47.788 --> 00:44:51.627 Let's talk about what that accomplishes in my life. 00:44:51.627 --> 00:44:53.606 These realities are found in Scripture. 00:44:53.606 --> 00:44:55.254 He's talking to these young men 00:44:55.254 --> 00:44:56.787 about the fact that this Word of God 00:44:56.787 --> 00:44:57.906 is abiding in them. 00:44:57.906 --> 00:44:59.660 And John's saying, I see you out there. 00:44:59.660 --> 00:45:01.551 I see you that are reading your Bibles. 00:45:01.551 --> 00:45:03.788 I see you that are affected by the truths in there. 00:45:03.788 --> 00:45:06.548 I see those of you that see the Christ in there. 00:45:06.548 --> 00:45:07.908 And He's your hope. 00:45:07.908 --> 00:45:10.232 I see that. 00:45:10.232 --> 00:45:12.245 I'm writing to you because you're strong; 00:45:12.245 --> 00:45:13.242 you're not weak. 00:45:13.242 --> 00:45:16.152 These things may make you feel like that, 00:45:16.152 --> 00:45:20.382 but you have to recognize, 00:45:20.382 --> 00:45:22.858 the Christianity that God puts forth 00:45:22.858 --> 00:45:24.792 is for the average Christian, 00:45:24.792 --> 00:45:25.954 if we can talk that way. 00:45:25.954 --> 00:45:27.516 It's not just for the Charles Spurgeon's 00:45:27.516 --> 00:45:29.149 and for the Amy Carmichael's. 00:45:29.149 --> 00:45:31.879 This is for us. 00:45:31.879 --> 00:45:37.287 And what these things look like in reality 00:45:37.287 --> 00:45:38.836 is the kind of Christianity 00:45:38.836 --> 00:45:40.925 we're living out in this place 00:45:40.925 --> 00:45:43.131 by and large, most of us. 00:45:43.131 --> 00:45:44.539 Those of us that are true. NOTE Paragraph 00:45:44.539 --> 00:45:45.862 What does it look like? 00:45:45.862 --> 00:45:48.660 Yes, there's going to be failures. 00:45:48.660 --> 00:45:50.241 Yes, that's going to be there. 00:45:50.241 --> 00:45:53.093 Yes, we're going to fall on our faces at times. 00:45:53.093 --> 00:45:55.439 We have doubts and things will crop up. 00:45:55.439 --> 00:45:56.543 And we're not perfect. 00:45:56.543 --> 00:45:58.548 And we know it and John knows it 00:45:58.548 --> 00:46:01.023 and the devil knows it. 00:46:01.023 --> 00:46:03.875 But we don't deny those things. 00:46:03.875 --> 00:46:08.098 We confess it. 00:46:08.098 --> 00:46:13.072 We know. We acknowledge we sinned. 00:46:13.072 --> 00:46:14.476 But devil, you tell me, 00:46:14.476 --> 00:46:16.618 how do you answer to the blood? 00:46:16.618 --> 00:46:19.027 Are you going to keep on with your accusations? 00:46:19.027 --> 00:46:20.718 It says we conquer him that way. 00:46:20.718 --> 00:46:23.698 The truth is he has no answer to that. 00:46:23.698 --> 00:46:25.884 And you know what happens when you do that? 00:46:25.884 --> 00:46:28.361 You just overcame the evil one. 00:46:28.361 --> 00:46:30.652 Really? Wow! 00:46:30.652 --> 00:46:32.328 See, that's what he's saying. 00:46:32.328 --> 00:46:34.632 You're strong! 00:46:34.632 --> 00:46:37.390 You're strong when you do that. 00:46:37.390 --> 00:46:39.857 John is just looking out at many of us 00:46:39.857 --> 00:46:42.746 and he's saying, I know your faith. 00:46:42.746 --> 00:46:45.614 It may be weak, 00:46:45.614 --> 00:46:48.181 but though it's weak, it clings to Christ. 00:46:48.181 --> 00:46:50.095 I see you hesitating; I see you at times 00:46:50.095 --> 00:46:53.544 questioning at the forcefulness of these tests. 00:46:53.544 --> 00:46:55.914 Yes, they're forceful. 00:46:55.914 --> 00:46:57.371 They're strong. 00:46:57.371 --> 00:46:59.564 Yes, your obedience is not always perfect. 00:46:59.564 --> 00:47:03.046 Our love is certainly not always perfect. 00:47:03.046 --> 00:47:05.852 But he says, look, there's evidence; 00:47:05.852 --> 00:47:08.671 there's evidence of reality. NOTE Paragraph 00:47:08.671 --> 00:47:13.787 We must not expect this to be easy. 00:47:13.787 --> 00:47:15.941 Because it's not going to be. 00:47:15.941 --> 00:47:17.627 We're told to strive to enter in. 00:47:17.627 --> 00:47:19.744 Many are going to seek to enter in there 00:47:19.744 --> 00:47:22.819 and they're not going to be able. 00:47:22.819 --> 00:47:24.746 We must not expect everything 00:47:24.746 --> 00:47:27.356 in this Christian life to be automatic. 00:47:27.356 --> 00:47:31.324 A lot of Christians, they become unsettled 00:47:31.324 --> 00:47:32.493 because they feel like, 00:47:32.493 --> 00:47:33.959 well, if I truly got saved, 00:47:33.959 --> 00:47:36.061 this shouldn't be so hard. 00:47:36.061 --> 00:47:37.585 They just feel like the switch 00:47:37.585 --> 00:47:38.845 should just get turned off 00:47:38.845 --> 00:47:45.176 on these lusts and desires of the flesh 00:47:45.176 --> 00:47:48.031 that wage war against my soul. 00:47:48.031 --> 00:47:51.189 It's just like, well, if I was really saved, 00:47:51.189 --> 00:47:55.822 wouldn't I stop feeling that? 00:47:55.822 --> 00:48:00.692 Wouldn't I stop feeling the pull of these things? 00:48:00.692 --> 00:48:02.487 Well, as the Christian, 00:48:02.487 --> 00:48:03.939 you battle this with truth. 00:48:03.939 --> 00:48:05.426 You battle this with the blood. 00:48:05.426 --> 00:48:07.008 Certainly, if you're born again, 00:48:07.008 --> 00:48:08.906 you're a new creation. 00:48:08.906 --> 00:48:10.777 But we know - Peter lets us know, 00:48:10.777 --> 00:48:12.890 it's still a battle. 00:48:12.890 --> 00:48:14.401 You're going to face combat. 00:48:14.401 --> 00:48:15.893 You're going to face conflict, 00:48:15.893 --> 00:48:16.783 fierce warfare. 00:48:16.783 --> 00:48:17.582 It's hard. 00:48:17.582 --> 00:48:18.655 We feel the hardness. 00:48:18.655 --> 00:48:20.343 We watch others fall away. 00:48:20.343 --> 00:48:22.400 It may cause us to tremble all the more, 00:48:22.400 --> 00:48:24.972 but John says I see you there. 00:48:24.972 --> 00:48:27.045 You have foundations in place. 00:48:27.045 --> 00:48:30.010 I see there are those of you that struggle, 00:48:30.010 --> 00:48:31.913 but you show promise. 00:48:31.913 --> 00:48:34.739 I write to you because I see those things. 00:48:34.739 --> 00:48:36.106 Take courage. Take heart. 00:48:36.106 --> 00:48:37.978 Be brave. Be courageous. 00:48:37.978 --> 00:48:41.301 Press onward; upward; forward. 00:48:41.301 --> 00:48:43.033 You may feel weak. 00:48:43.033 --> 00:48:45.177 But you've got to remember, 00:48:45.177 --> 00:48:48.823 when you deal with sin by the blood, 00:48:48.823 --> 00:48:52.481 you overcome a mighty fallen angel. 00:48:52.481 --> 00:48:55.192 You're showing strength. 00:48:55.192 --> 00:48:57.651 You show yourself strong. 00:48:57.651 --> 00:49:01.335 Not in yourself, but in Christ. 00:49:01.335 --> 00:49:07.072 This seems to be what these three verses 00:49:07.072 --> 00:49:09.873 are meant to do; 00:49:09.873 --> 00:49:12.338 just to bring us back 00:49:12.338 --> 00:49:17.763 to the wonderful glories 00:49:17.763 --> 00:49:19.664 of being a Christian. 00:49:19.664 --> 00:49:22.265 Some of these things that are just 00:49:22.265 --> 00:49:25.316 they're there, they're realities. 00:49:25.316 --> 00:49:29.190 John can look at them and say, 00:49:29.190 --> 00:49:31.155 "I'm writing to you, little children," 00:49:31.155 --> 00:49:33.487 because I know these things are true about you. 00:49:33.487 --> 00:49:37.014 I see these things are true about you. 00:49:37.014 --> 00:49:43.246 Look, if these things are not true about you, 00:49:43.246 --> 00:49:47.331 then Christ bids you - 00:49:47.331 --> 00:49:48.862 He bids you to seek Him 00:49:48.862 --> 00:49:50.009 while He may be found. 00:49:50.009 --> 00:49:53.363 He bids you to cry out to Him. 00:49:53.363 --> 00:49:55.732 He bids you, like He says, 00:49:55.732 --> 00:49:57.684 "Come unto Me, all you that labor 00:49:57.684 --> 00:50:00.740 and are heavy laden." 00:50:00.740 --> 00:50:03.613 He bids you to plead for mercy 00:50:03.613 --> 00:50:05.555 in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:50:05.555 --> 00:50:10.925 He bids you do that. 00:50:10.925 --> 00:50:14.979 We don't want to give the dogs 00:50:14.979 --> 00:50:19.936 the children's food. 00:50:19.936 --> 00:50:21.261 But at the same time, 00:50:21.261 --> 00:50:23.305 He doesn't want the children all shaken 00:50:23.305 --> 00:50:27.357 about these things.