Assurance of Salvation

[0:00] In Florida, it is such a privilege and it's a blessing and honor to be with you and to our brothers and sisters in the Bahamas.

[0:12] ! I'll tell you what, the world we live in put boundaries, but we are one family, one people. One day we all will be reunited under one King, King Jesus, together, a great family.

[0:27] So, it is a privilege to be with you and an honor to share the Word of God with you. We want to say thank you.

[0:40] All of us, our team, we fall in love with NASA, with the Bahamas. And so, you guys are amazing.

[0:51] Thank you for your warm reception, kindness. Thank you, Pastor Moss, the great name of God. We really, God, we have brothers and sisters all over the world.

[1:06] It is a huge family. I can't wait to see my Jesus in heaven when we will be united with family. And I say that all the time in my church.

[1:17] Now we don't have time. We have to fly back tomorrow. But I promise you this. I promise you this. When we get to heaven, I'll come visit you. I'll give you a vacation, you know, take a vacation with you for 10 years.

[1:31] Each of you will know each other. Talk about, you know, I don't know how many time I'm going to spend with Abraham, but I know. You know, so we're going to spend some time to just talk.

[1:45] You know, talk with David. David, what's going on with you, man? Tell me, you know. And all these things will be enjoying us for eternity. So this morning, let's turn all the things, you know, God has done.

[2:01] The greatest thing he could have done in our lives is saving us by grace. We are his servants because of his mercy. We don't deserve nothing.

[2:12] That's why I tell people I'm sold out because I'm on borrowed time. Okay? So if 25, 30 years ago I die, I'll be in hell.

[2:25] Because I didn't know the Lord. But by the grace of God, he saved me. So my goal was before salvation was to destroy churches, make them look stupid and dumb.

[2:41] Now my zeal has transferred from darkness into light. So proclaiming the word of God without a compromise.

[2:55] Please open your Bible with me, scripture. This morning we're going to be talking in the assurance of salvation.

[3:07] We'll be talking about this topic. Tell you what, I've been preaching in my second year preaching over the book of Galatians. I call it back to the gospel. Because in Palm Beach, in West Palm Beach, we're living in a city, in a county, which is about 64% of people are non-church goers.

[3:29] Okay? So when I told my church, we better be wake up. Because God is going to ask each and every one of us account.

[3:40] I have placed you in that city. And so many people in your surrounding, they are on their way to hell. What have you done with your time? So it's a wake up call.

[3:52] But this morning, the assurance of salvation is something that needs to be repeated. The gospel is something that needs to continue to be preached each and every day in our life.

[4:05] So until we get it. Until we get to heaven. Okay? So please, let's read. I'm going to preach from verse 3 to 29.

[4:16] But because we're going to be reading, let me just read for you verse 1, starting with verse 1. So John said,

[6:26] Nobody, no word of prophecy is a matter of one's own interpretation. But it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can speak the word of prophecy.

[6:37] Father, I pray that this morning you anoint my lips and my mouth. And Father, open their hearts and the mind of your people that they will understand.

[6:51] And Father, not only to have a heart knowledge, but a head knowledge, but a heart knowledge. Knowledge down to application.

[7:03] Father, use me. Let their words speak. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So the assurance of salvation.

[7:17] So how do you know you are truly saved? Anytime we ask people, if you would, yesterday we were working and a guy was, we were talking to him in door-to-door evangelism.

[7:35] And I said, do you know the Lord? He said, yes, I know the Lord. I said, John 3, 16. I said, good. I said, if you were to die today, would you, would you, and you meet Jesus.

[7:47] Jesus asked you the question, why would I let you know to my heaven? He said, you know, I would say, I'm a good guy. I've done this, I've done that. And, you know, so I said, do you know, if you truly say, I cannot, you know, I guess, I hope so.

[8:05] I said, you hope so. See the problem? So in the church, one of the most important things that people, all of us, if you would come, walk through this door, come to church this morning, you do not know.

[8:20] That you do not know, that you have the true assurance of salvation. I'm telling you, we're going, we're going to cancel our flight tomorrow just to sit down with it.

[8:31] Because it is one thing that you cannot, you cannot live one second as a Christian, not having the assurance that you are truly saved.

[8:42] So this morning, through chapter two, we're going to walk through three assurances of salvation, three assurances of salvation that John plainly explained in this chapter.

[9:00] Let me give you just a little background of the book of 1 John. For you to understand the reason why John wrote this book is John 2 verse 26.

[9:16] When he says, look at that, the purpose, the main purpose of the book. Okay? These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

[9:30] See that? I'm really, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, this thing I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

[9:41] He was speaking probably about, you know, people in the first century about the, what we call the encipient Gnosticism at the first century.

[9:53] Gnosticism, basic premises, they saw a sharp dualism like a Platonistic mindset between, you know, spirit, they differentiate spirit and matter.

[10:10] The, the spiritual was regarded as divine and good. While the materialistic was deemed, created, do not bad, not by God, but as evil.

[10:29] You see, they separate spiritual and material. They say spiritual is, is good, but anything that is material is evil. So this is what the teaching that was going on.

[10:45] So this fundamental Gnostic premise adversely touched two areas of Christianity. And the people to whom John wrote of these letters in, in, in Asia Minor were facing with those kind of false teaching.

[11:02] The first aspect that they were, that this, this false teaching address was the orthodoxy. The orthodoxy, what we mean by orthodoxy is the correct doctrine.

[11:14] And the other aspect was what we call autopraxis, which is the, our, our correct conduct, our behavior. So narcissism, they denied the incarnation of Jesus.

[11:31] They advocated that a pure spirit, like God, could have nothing to do with evil matter, such as a human body. So they offered two possible solutions to this problem.

[11:48] So if some of you, you were there on, I think Friday, we covered a broad topic teaching over the Jehovah Witnesses. You will find a similarity between what Jehovah Witnesses is teaching right now.

[12:02] You have first, the docetic Gnostics. They denied Jesus' humanity. They say, Jesus, he, he only seemed to be a human being.

[12:14] Only seemed to be a human being. This was an attempt to preserve Christ's deity as the expense of his humanity. So now, you have another false teacher, Serentus, a calling by the name of Serentian Gnosticism.

[12:33] It maintained that early Jesus was nothing more than a human being, upon whom the heavenly Christ, or Logos, descended at his baptism, but then left him prior to the cross.

[12:51] This kind of type of what Muslims believe about Jesus. This was an attempt to preserve Jesus' humanity at the expense of his deity.

[13:05] So now, talking about the autopraxis, with respect to autopraxis, the Gnostic heretics had an inadequate sense of both sin and moral behavior.

[13:21] Some Gnostics claim, we have not sinned. We have never sinned. And John will respond from John 1, 10, you see?

[13:35] Verse 10, chapter 1, 1 John 1, verse 10. He said, if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. And his word is not in us.

[13:46] You see that? Verse 10, verse 10. And others said, you know what? We have no sin at all. In verse 8, John replied in chapter 1.

[13:58] He said, if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. And the truth is not in us. You see that? For those who are saying, Jesus did not come in the flesh.

[14:12] You see how John introduced his book. He said, verse 1, what was from the beginning. Actually, John didn't put any salutation, nothing. It just goes straight to the matter.

[14:23] What was from the beginning? What we have heard? What we have seen with our own eyes? Yeah, I know you see. You see with eyes.

[14:35] Why did John emphasis on this? He said, what we have seen with our own eyes. We have looked at and what?

[14:47] Touch. You don't touch the spirit. You see that? With our hands concerning the word of life. So, according to them, sin was a matter of the evil flesh from which they had supposedly been liberated.

[15:07] So, they argued that sin was not a matter affecting the noble spirit into which the knowledge had allegedly brought them.

[15:19] So, listen to this. More conduct was an unnecessary issue to discuss. It sounds familiar with the emerging church in America today.

[15:36] Just preach. All you need to do is believe in Jesus and that's it. It doesn't matter if you're sleeping with a boyfriend outside of marriage.

[15:48] Boyfriend, girlfriend living in an apartment outside of marriage. It doesn't matter. All you do, John 3.16, believe in Jesus and that's it. You see that? Sin and you have a whole movement now.

[16:02] People trying to twist the word of God to promote the homosexual gospel. Preachers. Pastors.

[16:14] They say, it doesn't matter. So, moral conduct was an unnecessary issue to discuss. You just believe. So, the immediate purpose for one thing to proclaim his experience of seeing as we just see in chapter 1.

[16:34] And hearing Jesus is found in verse 3 to 4. So, his readers, John's readers may have a horizontal relationship with the saints.

[16:49] And also, a vertical relationship with the father and his son. You see that? A second purpose for writing these things is so John's joy may be made complete.

[17:02] So, these purposes, they are very extremely important to the author. John, you need to understand John. John is a black and white author.

[17:14] John doesn't use no gray arrow. He is very direct. He's telling you straight to your face what it is. He provides three essential tests.

[17:27] Or three, what we call three, assurances of salvation in chapter 2. So, the first one, the first test, the reason I...

[17:38] John, because John is writing very directly, he doesn't write like this book like where you find the Colossians or Romans, the Ephesians. So, because the Gospel, there is an indicative aspect of the Gospel.

[17:53] There is also an imperative aspect. John will present like... The reason I'm going with the theological assurance first is because I want to give you the indicative, how you get there.

[18:05] But John put it in verse 18 through 29. Okay? Of 1st John chapter 2. So now, theological assurance is believe in the doctrine of the incarnation.

[18:19] You see that? That was a big problem. A huge problem with the Gnostic Gospel. They did not believe in the incarnation. Let me ask you the question.

[18:33] How did they become a Christian? How did you become a Christian? John already wrote the Gospel to explain that. In John 6, 44, John said, No one in the Word of Jesus, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me, what?

[18:52] Draws him and I will raise him up on the last day. And Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 1, 13.

[19:03] For you, after listening to the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, right? Having also believed, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

[19:18] You see that? The Holy Spirit indwells you when you believe. You believe the message. You understand that you are a sinner. Jesus came to fulfill, to take the punishment that you deserve.

[19:34] You cry out to him. You say, Father, forgive me. What happened? He indwells you. Now, the Holy Spirit in you will enable you to put his foot.

[19:48] Now, the unorthodox teachings to which John's readers are exposed was trying to erode their confidence in the truth.

[19:59] Therefore, it will endure their relationship both with God and the Christian community. Such injured relationships will impair their joy.

[20:15] If you do not have assurance of their salvation, I am telling you, you know what's going to happen? It's going to be bitterness. That's why the work-based salvation must be destroyed.

[20:26] Because it keeps people in bondage. Because we will never do good enough. In this letter, therefore, John sets forth apostolic truth.

[20:42] Which, if they hold fast to it, it maintains their horizontal relationship as well as vertical relationship and increase their joy.

[20:58] You see that? I believe this message of 1 John is so relevant to our culture today. What I've heard yesterday, we were doing door-to-door.

[21:13] A guy was talking to him. He talked that. I was talking to him over 30 minutes. He thought I was a Jehovah witness. Until, you know, he was sick. Until he didn't want me.

[21:24] Oh, my girlfriend is a Jehovah witness. I'm not a Jehovah witness. He said, I'm not a Jehovah witness. You know? He said, oh, wait. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, it is so important today.

[21:35] So, with respect, with a Christian committing sin, John argues. You know, chapter 2, verse 1. He said, his case, you see, my little children, I'm writing these things to you.

[21:54] So that you may not sin. You see that? And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

[22:06] You see? If anyone sins, his case is not hopeless. Christ is his advocate with the Father.

[22:17] You see that? Now, I'd like to suggest to you this morning, when Christians, when we sin as believers, Jesus does not plead our innocence before the Father.

[22:33] He does not. That is, he does not maintain that our virtues or good deeds are sufficient to obtain and maintain divine favor.

[22:50] No, no, no, no. That's not what Jesus did. Rather, he himself is the perpetuation for our sins.

[23:03] When Satan, if Satan goes to God to say, look at you sinners, God, you said, you saved him, but look at what he has done. He presented to Jesus.

[23:14] Jesus did not say, no, he did not do it. Jesus said, yes, he did it, but look at my hands. I have paid for him already. I have died for him already.

[23:25] Sometimes, after you have done something, I tell you, even after you repent, one of the ways for Satan to keep you in bondage is keep on accusing you. Look at you ugly sinners.

[23:36] You should kill yourself. Don't you see what you have done? You look at Satan saying, yes, I've done it. I've done it.

[23:47] I've sinned. But guess what? Jesus paid it for me already. Because of the cross. You see that? You cry to God, God, forgive me.

[24:01] I'm such a reckless sinner. Please deliver me from this body. It's what you do. And then remind the enemy of what is coming for him, the judgment that is coming for him.

[24:17] Don't let him keep you in bondage, in sin, to think, I'm a failure. I can't do it anymore. I can't move forward. Don't let that happen to you. That is tactic to do that, to keep you in bondage.

[24:31] Jesus came to set you free. Jesus came to set you free. Jesus' atonement satisfies God's judgment demands regarding our moral failures.

[24:52] Thus, securing our forgiveness. That's what John said in verse 2. And he himself, he's the, what?

[25:03] Propitiation for our sins. And not for us only, but also for those of the whole world. Let me tell you something.

[25:17] When someone becomes a Christian, it's what happens. Christ's righteousness is imputed into your account.

[25:28] That's what you need to know. Nobody will make it to heaven for all the good works you've done. Nobody will make it to heaven for being repented of every sin.

[25:39] What about the sins you've done you never know you've even done? Will you be able to repent of these sins? No! When you become a Christian, Christ's righteousness, there's a double imputation that happens.

[25:55] You see that? Your sins have been imputed, like Gizomai, I'm going to show you the word, like Gizomai to Christ, and His righteousness have been transferred into your account.

[26:07] You see that? That's why you need to believe. Romans 4, verse 4-5, Paul said, Now, to the one who works, his which is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.

[26:29] You see that? The word credited, credited, the Greek word, legezomai, credited or reckoned.

[26:41] Only God, only God has the asset to back it up. You see that? And he says, okay, but to the one who does not work, but, what?

[26:54] Who believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith. You see what happened with the first? He's credited as what?

[27:06] As a righteous man. So, now, why do we need this imputation of righteousness so much?

[27:17] It's because we must be perfect before God dies. We must be perfect. God cannot overlook sin.

[27:28] Sin is against God's nature. God is holy. And we don't have the ability to perfect ourselves.

[27:40] God said, be holy, be perfect for I am holy. Brothers and sisters, listen. God will never, never lower his standards to accommodate the weakness of men.

[27:57] God's not going to lower his standards. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same God who hates sins, the same God who struck Achan, is the same God today.

[28:13] Our good works are not good enough to make us right with God before and after salvation.

[28:26] That's why Paul said in Galatians 2, 16, he said, Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus.

[28:38] The problem is, as long as we have this envelope, this body, sin will continue to dwell in our flesh.

[28:51] You see that? Adding to that, sometimes, we drive away the Holy Spirit. That's why we need to continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit each and every day.

[29:04] I ask Moody, why do you think we have to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Moody said, because I leak. Ladies and gentlemen, we leak. That's why we need to be in the Word.

[29:16] We need to be on our own needs each and every day. We fall into sin, like Peter, like David, like Abraham, like all the other saints, like Paul, and all the holy men we've known in the Bible.

[29:37] Nevertheless, we may always take recourse to this fact, that our sins are covered, and that God will not lay them to our charge.

[29:48] Sin is not held against us for the sake of Christ. All our sins, past, present, and future, have been forgiven.

[30:02] That's what you need to understand. All of them. There is no righteousness without forgiveness. I give that illustration in my church a couple weeks ago about forgiveness.

[30:19] I've heard it, and I think it's good I can share it with you also. Listen to that, to understand forgiveness. Just imagine you passed out of this life now.

[30:32] Bam! This is just an analogy. You don't have to worry. So, now, you wake up in a gigantic theater, and in front of you is a huge, bigger than that screen, huge 3D screen.

[30:55] And all of a sudden, doors open, and an angel flies in, and comes up to you and says, Welcome to the theater of judgment.

[31:12] Please relax and watch the screen. There, on the screen, you see your life.

[31:27] Everything you've ever done on earth. Everything you've ever said here on earth. Every thought you've ever thought here on earth.

[31:43] Think about it. Everybody. These are the sins of commission. Then you proceed to see the sins of omission.

[31:56] See, look at them. All the things you should have done, but you didn't do. You look at the screen. Every detail. At the end of the film, as you are recovering, the angel comes back, and said, Please, relax.

[32:18] There is going a second showing. Okay? This time, by the way, all the people you have met in your life, they are all waiting outside.

[32:34] We just, what we are going to do, we are just going to let them in, to come and view your life a second time. So, relax.

[32:46] Let's think about that. Think about that. How would you feel if your life would have to be judged on that basis?

[33:04] Everybody you've known, they sit down here, just like this morning, and they say, Who's? Pastor Moss. Okay, you next. Pshhh. Pastor Dano. Pshhh.

[33:15] Ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly how God judges us.

[33:27] Every little detail. Everything. So, I don't know about you, but me, I wouldn't want a private viewing, let alone a public viewing of my life, at all.

[33:44] I don't. I do not want to be more convinced that I have done things I shouldn't do.

[33:58] And I haven't done things that I should do. I don't want nobody to convince me of that. All these things, you know what, work like an overdraft on our account.

[34:16] The truth is, the reason you want to be a problem before we do it right here, because I have an overdraft. Pastor Moss has an overdraft.

[34:29] You have an overdraft. All of us have an overdraft. You see that? I can't help you. You can't help me.

[34:42] Religion cannot help you. Religion cannot help me. What can help us is someone in credit.

[34:55] Like Gizomai. Some of us, we're trying to deflect it and deny. But I tell you, deflection and deny cannot help.

[35:08] You cannot join it at all. The only way to get rid of it is to dissolve it in the blood of Jesus Christ.

[35:19] That's what we see. What can wash away my sin. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[35:30] The only thing that can make a difference in that setting that I just described here is forgiveness. Forgiveness. Forgiveness. Forgiveness.

[35:41] Unless somebody has paid for everything displayed on that screen, you're going to have to defend yourself. Forgiveness can be obtained only by faith in Christ.

[35:59] Jesus came in this world to clear our overdraft. Where faith, Christ, and petition of righteousness are, there is forgiveness.

[36:14] You see that? Forgiveness, the end, results in justification. Where Christ and faith are lacking, there is no permission or covering of sins.

[36:29] But only condemnation. Only condemnation. Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, this is the theological assurance which has been preached in the entire Bible.

[36:45] Only by belief in Jesus Christ. God draws us to Christ. The means of justification is by faith alone.

[37:01] Not by work of the law. Now, you have the Gnostic Gospel who is trying to tell people, do, do more, do more. And you have another side. You have the legalism aspect which Paul addressed in the book of Galatians.

[37:16] I consider those two the greatest enemy of the Gospel. And they continue today. Legalism. Which tells people, my ongoing relationship with God is based on my personal achievement or accomplishment.

[37:34] Those who say, yeah, we are justified by faith alone, but we are being sanctified by work. So what is that? Legalism is whenever I focus more on how I am doing instead of what Christ has already done for me.

[37:54] The assurance of salvation is not only theological, but it has a moral, there is a moral aspect attached to it.

[38:07] Verse 3 to 6. Okay? So this has four component attached to it. First one, we find it in verse 3.

[38:20] See? Obedience indicates salvation. Look at how John put it. So, verse 3 said, By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.

[38:35] You see? So, to have come to know Him means to have come to faith in Christ. The way we know that this has occurred in our life is if we keep obeying His commandments.

[38:52] See? Obedience is not the means to salvation, but of fruit, evidence, or result of regeneration.

[39:06] Once you save, you're gonna produce fruit. Because Christ deals with the root of the matter. He deals with the tree. Once He makes the tree good, you're gonna produce fruit.

[39:19] I love mangoes. You know? A tree, a mango tree produce mangoes. You see that? The second aspect of the moral assurance is verse 4.

[39:38] Okay? Disobedience indicates a lack of salvation. Look at what he put it. The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar.

[39:51] And the truth is not in him. You see? So, the person who claims to have come to know Christ, yet does not keep His commandments, is wrong. The truth is neither in Him nor affects Him.

[40:06] Here, John should not be understood to refer to the recurring sins of truly saved individuals. He made it clear in verse 1 to 2 that believers do sin.

[40:21] Okay? But that the blood of Jesus also covers them on those occasions. You see that? Okay? Okay? So, but if an individual, listen to that, professes to be right with God, yet lives in consistent disobedience, if he or she denies the reality of sin, is repulsed by believers, and does not believe in the incarnation, if he or she believes that Jesus was Michael, the archangel before the incarnation and after the incarnation, like Jehovah's Witnesses says, if they believe that Jesus did not physically resurrected, talk about with a spiritual resurrection, all these factors together indicate that one has not embraced the Savior in any saving way.

[41:32] That's why we don't consider Jehovah's Witnesses as Christians. They are not Christians because they preach a different gospel. And Paul makes it clear. This is a different gospel.

[41:44] Of course, we need to address them with kindness, with gentleness, and knowing that there are people in Jehovah's Witnesses that need to hear the gospel. That's why we shouldn't shut our doors at them.

[41:55] When they come, we should welcome them, give them water, and cool them with the gospel. Because they need the gospel. They are not Christians. What you see, they are indoctrinated.

[42:06] Because the problem is, because we as Christians, we come in church only on Sunday morning. Okay? Then they've been indoctrinated them. Okay? The doctrine is demonic.

[42:18] They don't know. They're not called to reasoning from scripture. They are washed or right. Okay? Okay? So, we need to preach the gospel.

[42:29] Because Jehovah's Witnesses needs salvation too. Not only obedience indicates salvation and disobedience indicates lack of salvation.

[42:44] But verse 5, obedience leads to love for God. Look at verse 5. Verse 5. It's fine. But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected.

[43:01] By this, we know that we are in him. On the contrary, in an obedient believer, the love for God is what?

[43:12] Perfected or matures. Obeying and loving God, even imperfectly, is how we know that we are in a true and right relationship with him.

[43:27] Love for God expresses itself in obeying his commandments. You cannot say you love God and then you keep on habitually living in sin.

[43:41] It's impossible. It's impossible. You cannot say you love God, you are a Christian. You are living outside of the principle of the Bible.

[43:54] Now, if you're struggling, what I can do, we can do as people. If we have somebody, someone in our church struggling with a monstery or with adultery or whatever, what we do with people like that, we shouldn't shun them away.

[44:10] We embrace them. We love them. But you say, listen, I'm not your judge. There's a judge. But there's a judge. It's God. He says in scripture, this is him.

[44:22] There are people who overcome this situation, this struggle. We will help you. We will embrace you. Okay? But you must repent.

[44:33] See that? Not only obedience indicates salvation and disobedience indicates lack of salvation.

[44:44] Obedience leads to love for God. Verse 5. But also obedience leads to Christ's likeness. Verse 6. Look at what he said.

[44:55] John said. The one who says he abides in him, up himself to walk in the same manner as he walked.

[45:08] Wow. A huge statement. Obedience in turn results in imitating Jesus.

[45:24] So now the question is, what was Jesus' mission when he was on earth? What was his mission? Jesus' mission, let me propose to you, was not to heal and perform miracles.

[45:38] Jesus wasn't a magician. Like a baker. Gives people bread. John wrote actually a whole gospel in which he organizes it around eight times.

[45:55] The gospel of John. Or proof that renders Jesus' true identity leading to faith. Because the gospel of John was more apologetic and evangelistic.

[46:08] I give you the reason to believe so that you can have eternal life. Okay? What John did, he centered the first half of the gospel of John around seven miraculous signs, including the resurrection of Lazarus.

[46:28] Right? Right? Carefully selected to reveal Christ's person and gender belief. The reason he raised Lazarus from the dead is for what?

[46:41] Because he wants people to believe in him, to demonstrate his deity. Only God can do that. That's why Jesus called Lazarus only. He didn't come, you know, to call everybody.

[46:55] But Lazarus died again, by the way. Shame on the word of faith movement. The fake gospel of today. Who is trying to turn our savior to a simple magician or a baker.

[47:13] Think that, he's telling you, come to Jesus. You're going to have a good job. You're going to be healed. Although he can't do those too.

[47:24] Jesus' mission was not to provide temporal comfort to the Jews, but eternal comfort.

[47:36] One, prophesying that he abides in a relationship with him, must walk as he walked. So now, you ask yourself, how did Jesus walk? What was his mission?

[47:47] Jesus has two primary missions when he came. He came first to glorify the Father. You see that? And 17, and what? And seek and save the Lord.

[48:00] Simple. The gentleness of one's relationship with an invisible God is seen in a person's visible behavior.

[48:11] So, if I say, I am walking like Christ, walk! My mission was, I'm going to show you later, is how to live to walk like Jesus walked.

[48:23] And, in fact, the social assurance, which leads us to our last and third test. The social assurance, which is covered in verse 7 to 17.

[48:36] Social assurance indicates salvation. The mission of Christ consisted of, like I said, two aspects. But Christ-likeness required the same type of mission.

[48:49] The same aspect in our lives. So, listen. After we save, after we believe, we are in the world with the Holy Spirit, right? The Holy Spirit is in us. So that we can glorify who?

[49:01] Jesus! In John 16 verse 14, Jesus said, The Holy Spirit, what? He will glorify me. For he will take up mine and disclose it to you.

[49:15] Love for sinners by seeking and save them. For example, because you have the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers is not to, okay, to tell you, I'm going to heal you.

[49:30] You will schedule a service of healing. Come, I'm going to heal you. To exalt yourself. The Holy Spirit is the shyness person in the Trinity. He doesn't come to, he points people to Jesus.

[49:43] That's his work. So, in your life, what the Holy Spirit is doing, he's working to glorify Jesus. And not only is that, and take you to the Great Commission.

[49:56] Jesus said, all authority has been given to me. Because you are of the Holy Spirit, he said, go and make disciples. You see that? Same as Jesus.

[50:07] The primary mission, ladies and gentlemen, of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is to conform him, conform you into Christ-likeness. Into Christ-image.

[50:19] It is not speaking, you know, ecstatic tongue, gibberish, or name it, claim it, gospel, like you see on TV, on TBN.

[50:34] Guy was saying, obviously, send me money, and I'll send you this. Now, one said, speak to your wallet, and say, be thou fool.

[50:49] Last time, I tried, my wallet was full of air. It didn't work. It's not the gospel.

[51:00] The Holy Spirit is not a spirit of chaos. I was watching a post on Facebook, a guy who had a towel, he just blew it, and people just fell.

[51:13] You know, on the ground, rolling like a pig on the floor, dirty. The Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the food of the Holy Spirit is self-controlled.

[51:24] You see? You cannot have the Holy Spirit. What's that? What is that? That's not the Holy Spirit. I know what they call that. I've seen it in Haiti.

[51:35] That's voodoo. Demons. That's all they are. I remember I went to the south in Haiti in a mission.

[51:49] And there was a group. We were the only Baptist. We planted a Baptist church there. Full of charismatic church. When we went there, they were trying to stop us. And they came from Port of Rome, the main capital.

[52:02] And then what they were doing, I heard they were doing miracles and stuff. When we came, we started preaching against these things. And then those people, they come with hundreds of them.

[52:13] There was a tree. That's where they come to do their ceremonies. We went to do a street evangelism. And they come to me and they say, these people are there. And then the people in the region, they say, every year when these people come, they do a lot of things.

[52:29] Miracles and stuff. And that's why people believe in them. So, okay. I was a young preacher, young pastor. But I took the risk anyway. I went down there.

[52:40] I saw them. And then I said, listen, as long as I'm here, if your spirit, whatever you're doing, if it's from God, it will come down. If it's not from God, it's not going to happen.

[52:52] And I prayed. I tell you, I just sit down. They beat their cymbals singing all that. Nothing happened. And you know the challenge that people said, if that happened, if they're able to do the same thing, they're going to take the mansions.

[53:11] They're going to have us leave the city. And I prayed. I trust God. I say, God, I know these people, they are demonic. I want you to manifest your spirit. We stay there.

[53:22] They're looking at us in the face. Nothing could happen. They spent hours singing, dancing. Nothing could happen. After that, they get their baggage and they left.

[53:33] People came into the church. We prayed with them. We teach them. We say, stay away from them. They are demonic.

[53:44] Today, in the Western world, you know, we don't believe in those spiritual darkness that is going on. I tell you what, just because we have electricity 24 hours, demons are still active.

[53:58] In America, in the Western world, whenever we have something, we said, we have a name for everything. We call them, you know, addiction.

[54:10] We went to medical. I'll tell you, when my children are sick, the first thing I do before I go to the doctor, I pray with them. We're still living in a darkness world.

[54:21] We got to pray. We need to be aware of the demonic activity that is going on here. There are people, that's why the gospel is not something only you do intellectually to debate.

[54:35] You got to be on your knees. You can't save people. You can't. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to convict the heart. Only the Holy Spirit can move them, free them from demonic activity.

[54:51] I remember one of my, my sister has a, for my half, she's my half sister, went from a Bible study.

[55:03] I stopped by my dad's house and she was, I heard she had demons, pusses. And I came for a week. When I came and I saw people, my dad used to be a very, a mystic guy.

[55:19] She's doing all kinds of things. So the, the lady stay, couldn't eat for the whole week. I didn't know that when I came, she never talked, never eat. And just finding, they, they tired her.

[55:32] The minute she saw me coming into the house, she screaming, ah! I already know what's going on. I tell you what, I just applied scripture. Scripture says, hey, guess what?

[55:44] Commend the human. And I came, he's got to sit down. Ah! Shaking, crying, screaming. I pray, I commend the spirit to leave her.

[55:56] And then all of a sudden, I say, give her food and she ate. But I tell you what, even after I've done it, I say, what? I don't know, why do I do that? The power is not in me. I just trust the Bible. You see that?

[56:07] I trust what the Bible says. Because I know the enemy is real. We're fighting and we'll walk. Fortunately today, we are too technologically savvy.

[56:25] Love for Christians indicates salvation. Love indicates one is in the light of the new era.

[56:38] Verse 2, chapter 2, verse 7 through 11. Love for other believers is one of the most important aspects in Christian life during this present time.

[56:55] In which there is an inauguration of fullness of future messianic days. Such love present becomes a prime marker that one is in a right relationship with the Father.

[57:14] John said, beloved, I'm not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is in the word which you have heard.

[57:29] On the other hand, I'm writing a new commandment to you, which is true in him and in you. Because the darkness is passing away. And the true light is already shining.

[57:42] This admits that the old commandment described in verse 7 is a new in essence. Because Jesus, what happened? Jesus raised the Old Testament injunction to love your neighbor as yourself in Leviticus 19, 18 to a higher level.

[58:03] He said what? Love one another even as I loved you in John 13, 34. Such love is true or being expressed in the reader's lives.

[58:17] Because their moral darkness is being removed and the true light of holiness is increasing and already shining. We read in verse 8.

[58:29] One of the primary indicators that they are in the light of the Messianic age is through their love for other Christians.

[58:41] See that? You cannot say you are theologically solid if you do not love other Christians. Love one another. And from verse 12 to 15, you see, he shifts to God's family.

[59:00] Right? Like most human families, has members at different levels of maturity. Because not everybody is going to be solid like you.

[59:11] There are people in different levels of maturity. Okay? So, the initial group address is little children. Look at what he said in verse 12. I am writing to you little children because your sins have been forgiven you for his name's sake.

[59:28] He is not talking about those little children. That is not what he is talking about. Okay? These are new converts or immature believers. Okay? John assures them they have been forgiven on account of Jesus' atonement.

[59:45] You see that? The next group, verse 13, I am writing to you fathers because you know him who has been from the beginning.

[59:57] You see that? The next group is what? Fathers. These are believers, not my father. These are believers advanced in years and spiritual maturity.

[60:10] They know Christ intimately. He who has existed from the beginning of eternity. So now, the last group, he is talking about, I am writing to you young men.

[60:24] You see that? Because you have overcome the evil one. You see? So here John repeated basically the same remark. Young men, they have overcome the spiritual adolescent.

[60:37] Okay? This was his way of saying, What I have written in verse 13 about your being saved, I will not retract it.

[60:48] We have other believers. I tell you, the problem they have, the Serenitian Nazis, they could not fellowship with other believers.

[61:02] The greatest obstacle we face when we go through evangelism and with other churches, you know who? Those are self-proclaimed believers. Because they believe we are reformed.

[61:15] We don't believe the same thing with them. They are the ones challenging us. If you are brothers, I am doing what the job you are supposed to do. If you see me in the sun, what you should do, give me a cup of water.

[61:29] Not trying to stop me from doing what I am supposed to do. You know, they try to do that with Moody also. With the way he is doing evangelism.

[61:40] They say, Moody says, you know how you say, I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it. There is not a black and white way of doing it.

[61:53] There is not a prescription of how to do it. But, listen, circumstance culture will dictate how we do things. But what we do, we should not, we should not, we should live in harmony.

[62:08] There are those who are solid in doctrine. There are those who are fathers. There are those who are children. Of course you should not say children, child all the time. Like you see, they are rebuked, they are encouragement in Hebrews.

[62:22] The author to the Hebrews, he says, at this time, after 15 years in church, you should be able to receive meat. Not milk. Spiritual adolescents.

[62:33] But he did not, you see what the author did? He gave them the most sophisticated book in the New Testament. It is not an excuse to be a child. Oh, I am still a new believer.

[62:45] Making excuses. If you are a new believer and infant, what you do, come to Bible study. Learn. See that study. You have to grow in maturity. These are the tests of salvation, brothers and sisters.

[63:04] It is clear in the book. I don't know if you will see my face again. But I know. All that I know. You have this book.

[63:15] You are here. You have the word. And I am confident in, impressed by Pastor Moss. His faith, his faithfulness. Please, just come to church on Sunday morning.

[63:29] Get involved. Get involved. There are works to do. God is going to ask each of you an account. He puts you in this region for a reason.

[63:41] He puts you in the Bahamas. I tell you what. It is possible for a revival to happen in the Bahamas. It is possible that the Bahamas will influence all the other islands.

[63:52] It is possible that the Bahamas will influence America. Because you know what they're doing. You see what they're doing right now. But Pastor Moss cannot do it.

[64:05] Those who are faithful to the word to preach, they are very few. They are very few. And they are having, receiving personal attacks. You know how many people hate us?

[64:18] Or what we're doing? Theological assurance. Believe in the doctrine of the incarnation. Jesus is 100% God, 100% man.

[64:30] You got to believe in Jesus for who he claims he is. Not creating a Jesus from the figment of your imagination. Everything he says is in scripture.

[64:44] There is a moral assurance. Obedience indicates salvation. And obedience indicates love of salvation. I'm not saying it's easy, ladies and gentlemen. We're facing temptation all the time, every day.

[64:58] It is a spiritual warfare. But we have to guard ourselves. Take the word. Be in prayer. Believe in relationship.

[65:12] Create a community of accountability. If you're struggling with sin, don't keep it secret in you. Don't fight it alone. Find a prayer partner. Take someone. If you are a father spiritually disciple.

[65:26] There should be multiple STIs in this church. In the Bahamas. All of you. The good commission have been given to you. And create and go all over the wall.

[65:38] There should be social assurance. You shouldn't be. The church is not against this wall. Let the building burn. The church will meet on the tree. As the people in the Middle East.

[65:53] In Africa. In those countries where they don't have a church. To meet. But we've been comfortable with air conditioning. And we think that's church.

[66:05] That's not church. God is called. He called you. He saved you. I tell you what. Your life must be submitted to Him. To go and preach the gospel. Because there are other people.

[66:16] Who needs to be saved too. The reason I'm preaching. I'm calling you. Just like the author to the Hebrews.

[66:28] And John said clearly too. God how he concluded. He said children. It is the last hour. Verse 18. And just as you heard that.

[66:39] Antichrist is coming. Even now. Any Antichrist have appeared. From this we know. That. It is the last hour. They went out from us.

[66:50] But they were not. Really of us. This is clear. A lot of people. Not everybody in the church are saved. That's why even the author to the Hebrews. He preached.

[67:01] Because he didn't know who. As a pastor. We don't know who is saved. In our church. When they say we preach. Expository teaching. Verse by verse. Some people are angry. They left.

[67:12] We preach harder. If I preach. One hour. You are hungry. I preach one hour and a half. Until you leave the church. Until you purge it. Purge it.

[67:24] Those who are hungry. For the word. Will stay. Those who are willing to. Sacrifice. To love. To go and share the gospel. They will say. Because you say what?

[67:35] They went out from us. But they were not willing. I am not saying that in a mean way. Get me. No. The thing is. If you believe. You have the Holy Spirit. That will transform your life.

[67:46] You cannot live. Stay the same way. Live in the same manner. You used to live. You live with a boyfriend. With a girlfriend. You know it's outside of marriage. Quit.

[67:57] Leave him. Flee. Because. God is angry. He is going to judge you. If you save. We must repent. Whatever you are doing. Last time. You don't have the power.

[68:08] To change yourself. But he can change you. To do that. And they leave. John said.

[68:19] They went out from us. But they were not really of us. Judas was there. He heard. He probably went. And among the disciples. Baptized people. Guess what?

[68:30] What happened? Satan. Enters into his heart. For if they had been. Of us. You see.

[68:41] In the church. They are. You know. Believers. They are. Make believers. And we say. Outside the world.

[68:52] They are. Non-believers. But the biggest problem. Is. Make believers. People think. They come to church. Every Sunday morning. That's what. Is that what. Is that what.

[69:03] Jesus. Live. Have to be healthy. Have a right. The consumerism. Attitude. They are the ones who tell you. How to do the church. Now church. We say no. Scripture.

[69:14] Dictate our conscience. May the God of peace. Encourage you. May he strengthen you. May you never. Keep.

[69:25] Keep the cross. Keep it. Deny yourself. May you never. Be discouraged. May you be called. The great commission. And to proclaim Jesus.

[69:36] May you love. One another. Because the world. Will come to Christ. Not. Because of our theology. But the way. We love. One another. Father God.

[69:48] Thank you. For your people. Father. Only you can bring repentance. Only you can bring salvation. We can save ourselves.

[69:59] No one will come. Jesus proclaim it. Boldly. No one will come to me. Unless the father. Then to me. Father.

[70:10] Is. Is. Is anyone sitting in the congregation. Right now. Who. Never. Been regenerated. Never. Jesus. Would you please. Open their eyes.

[70:21] Don't let them sit here. You know. Another day. Without being repented. If those. Who are living in sin. Continually. Habitually living in sin. Father.

[70:32] Would you please. Grant them repentance. We know repentance. It is a gift from you. Just like faith. Father. Please. Don't let them continue. To deceive themselves. Let them repent.

[70:43] Of their sin. And. And surrender their lives. Say. I am yours. Use me. Father. I have been struggling. With that sin. It is. Either you save me.

[70:54] Or you kill me. I don't want to continue. To live that style of life. Change me. I don't have the power. To change myself. But. The Holy Spirit. Can please. Lord.

[71:05] Do it. And they completely surrender themselves. Father. And may you use them. For your own glory. Bless this church. Bless Pastor Moss. Encourage him.

[71:16] Let this church. Be. A light. On the hill. Father. In this place. The name of Jesus. We will continue to. Proclamable.

[71:27] Boldly. In Jesus name. We pray. Amen.