WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:10.599 What would you do if someone who you know well comes up to you this week and tells you 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:17.179 that they're struggling with their relationship with God? 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:19.320 They know you're a Christian. 00:00:20.379 --> 00:00:26.580 Maybe someone goes to church here with you and they just talk to you and say, listen, 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:29.399 I have some real doubts. 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:35.280 I don't have assurance of my salvation, that everything's right with God. 00:00:35.379 --> 00:00:38.599 I don't know for sure that I would go to heaven if I die. 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:40.739 But you know me. 00:00:42.439 --> 00:00:44.019 You've known me for a long time. 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:46.019 What do you think? 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:53.519 If this person that you know, your friend, your family member, looks at you and asks you, 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:58.840 help me, do you think I am a Christian? 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:01.080 What would you say? 00:01:02.260 --> 00:01:03.960 How would you respond to them? 00:01:07.379 --> 00:01:11.060 I would not tell them. 00:01:12.260 --> 00:01:13.760 I wouldn't tell Brian. 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:16.780 I have no reason to doubt he's a Christian. 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:29.460 But if he came to me struggling like that, I would not look at him and try to convince him from my perspective. 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:32.340 In my opinion, you're a Christian. 00:01:33.560 --> 00:01:38.219 Because I don't know what's inside Brian. 00:01:38.219 --> 00:01:42.959 Now, what I would do is take him seriously. 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:45.640 And I would want to help him. 00:01:46.539 --> 00:01:50.060 You need to take someone seriously if they come and confide in you. 00:01:50.180 --> 00:01:51.319 They're wanting your help. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:58.840 Tell them, you know, I can't say that because I don't know what's in your heart. 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:00.099 I don't know what's in your soul. 00:02:00.099 --> 00:02:14.680 But God has given us some great counsel, help, evidence of what a Christian is, what a Christian believes, 00:02:14.959 --> 00:02:20.579 how a Christian lives in the Bible, and specifically the book of 1 John. 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:28.099 And so I would direct someone, and I want to encourage you to direct someone who is talking with you about a struggle, 00:02:28.099 --> 00:02:34.199 direct them to the book of 1 John, where I want us to turn this morning. 00:02:35.019 --> 00:02:41.180 John wrote this letter to Christians who were struggling with issues related to who Jesus was, 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:44.740 what salvation really was. 00:02:45.939 --> 00:02:52.099 You see, John was writing to Christians where there had been false teachers 00:02:52.099 --> 00:02:55.979 who had just sort of poisoned their thinking, their theology. 00:02:58.099 --> 00:03:09.819 And so what he's trying to do is help real Christians understand the basics of the Christian faith. 00:03:10.799 --> 00:03:13.979 What we do believe about Jesus. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:15.759 Why we believe it. 00:03:16.379 --> 00:03:21.219 And if we are Christians, how will that be seen in our life? 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:21.959 What are the signs? 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:23.439 What are some of the evidences? 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:34.000 John made it clear toward the end of his letter that he really wanted true believers to have assurance of their salvation. 00:03:34.579 --> 00:03:36.159 Look at it with me one more time. 00:03:36.460 --> 00:03:38.280 1 John chapter 5, verse 13. 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:40.139 We've looked at it over the last two weeks. 00:03:41.020 --> 00:03:41.319 He says, 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:45.039 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:49.680 that you may know that you have eternal life. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:57.360 Now what John does in these five chapters of this little book, 1 John, 00:03:58.700 --> 00:04:03.540 John describes several things about what Christians believe about Jesus, 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:06.620 about their relationship with Jesus and the Father. 00:04:07.460 --> 00:04:09.580 He talks about how a real Christian will live. 00:04:10.819 --> 00:04:14.400 Some of the evidences in his or her life. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:22.879 But what he does is throughout these five chapters, he just sort of mingles it all together. 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:27.399 He doesn't in a sequential way say, here's how you know if you're a Christian. 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:28.920 This, this, this, this. 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:29.540 No. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:35.519 But what I want to do this morning is I want to try to put together three of the things John said. 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:40.300 Three things that if you read the book of 1 John, all five chapters, 00:04:40.300 --> 00:04:49.439 you'll see these statements, you'll see these phrases, you'll see these evidences repeated. 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:52.660 Most of them several times. 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:54.520 Let's look, number one. 00:04:55.220 --> 00:05:00.600 A true Christian experiences a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ. 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:09.740 A true Christian experiences a personal relationship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:17.319 I want you to look at three different passages of Scripture and follow the thinking of what I want you to see. 00:05:18.160 --> 00:05:21.699 Number one comes from 1 John chapter 4, verses 14 and 15. 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:27.379 I'm going to put all these on the screen this morning, but if you have your Bible, open it up, look at it yourself. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:31.840 There may be specific verses that are real helpful to you 00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:37.120 or something you need to go back and look at more carefully because it sort of bothers you. 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:39.340 Have it and mark it. 00:05:39.339 --> 00:05:44.179 But in 1 John 4, verses 14 through 15, John says, 00:05:44.899 --> 00:05:51.560 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:59.899 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. 00:06:00.919 --> 00:06:02.239 Here's what I want to ask you. 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:06.479 Do you truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God? 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.340 You think, I'm in church. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:12.360 You know I would believe that. 00:06:12.400 --> 00:06:13.280 I've heard that all my life. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:14.860 That's not what I want you to really think about. 00:06:15.640 --> 00:06:21.700 Do you right now believe that this person that we sing about, we talk about, 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:26.080 his name is on virtually every page of the New Testament, 00:06:26.079 --> 00:06:32.779 Do you really believe that Jesus is the Son of Almighty God? 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:35.379 Do you really believe He is divine? 00:06:36.339 --> 00:06:37.639 He's not just a man. 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:38.579 He is a man. 00:06:39.419 --> 00:06:41.139 He is divine. 00:06:41.639 --> 00:06:42.479 He is God. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:43.399 And He is man. 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:45.199 He is God in the flesh. 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:46.360 That's what Christmas is all about. 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:47.439 We're beginning this season. 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:54.960 It's all about God coming into this world in the form of a man born in a stable Jesus. 00:06:55.960 --> 00:07:00.600 But do you really and truly believe that Jesus is the Son of Almighty God? 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:10.360 And if you do, does your life reveal that by the way you live in relationship to Him? 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:13.500 Is He truly the Lord of your life? 00:07:13.560 --> 00:07:14.400 There's another way to put that. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:20.139 Is Jesus really to you the Son of God? 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:25.939 And as a result, He has the authority and the right to rule your life? 00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:29.000 To be your boss? 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:34.560 Or just to be more accurate, to be your God? 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:42.199 Is it your goal to serve and please God the Father? 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:52.759 Do you have within you this desire to know God, to serve Him, to please Him, to know His Son? 00:07:54.039 --> 00:08:02.860 To not just believe facts about Him, but to truly honor Him and obey Him because He's God. 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:04.740 He's the Son of God. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.339 Look at the next verse I want you to look at along these lines. 00:08:08.339 --> 00:08:10.919 It's 1 John chapter 2 verse 2. 00:08:11.799 --> 00:08:14.359 He is the propitiation for our sins. 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:17.239 That is a big word, isn't it? 00:08:17.539 --> 00:08:18.500 We don't use that. 00:08:18.699 --> 00:08:21.439 We never use that in our regular language. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:26.120 Sometimes it's translated, He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:27.120 Propitiation. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:44.220 It means He is the one who absorbs the wrath of God so that we don't have to. 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:52.000 It's like Jesus, as He hangs on the cross, He takes our sin upon Himself. 00:08:53.259 --> 00:09:01.379 And He absorbs God's just, right, good wrath. 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:05.160 Punishment of sin. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.720 Jesus does that for us. 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:14.460 He turns it away from us because He's dying in our place as our substitute. 00:09:15.820 --> 00:09:25.660 Now, do you really believe, understand that before God, you have failed Him? 00:09:26.580 --> 00:09:29.300 You have lived life your way instead of His way. 00:09:30.519 --> 00:09:31.980 You've broken His laws. 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:32.879 You are a sinner. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:36.860 You don't deserve to be right with Him, to have fellowship with Him. 00:09:37.939 --> 00:09:45.519 You understand that you are a sinner, but you trust that Jesus took your place when He died on the cross 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:47.840 and paid the penalty for your sins. 00:09:49.220 --> 00:09:57.259 And right now, this moment, are you trusting Him for your salvation? 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:00.480 Are you trusting Him as your Savior? 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:02.740 Remember what we looked at last week? 00:10:03.560 --> 00:10:05.779 Saving faith is continuing faith. 00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:09.620 If I ask you, if you're a Christian, if I ask you, do you believe in Jesus? 00:10:10.279 --> 00:10:15.840 Don't even think for a moment about, many years ago, I put my faith and trust in Jesus. 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:17.159 I'm asking you now. 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:22.480 The most well-known verse among us in this room is probably John 3.16. 00:10:23.340 --> 00:10:25.980 For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son, that what? 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:29.100 That whoever believes in Him, that's present tense. 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:38.399 Whoever is believing in Him now has everlasting life. 00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:40.759 Will not perish, but have everlasting life. 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:46.200 Remember, what God starts, He finishes always. 00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:48.019 We don't always do it. 00:10:49.040 --> 00:10:54.100 There's probably projects around your house, somewhere in the past, you started it. 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:58.259 Had good intentions, but never finished it. 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:08.180 God has never started a project without continuing to work in it and on it and will complete it. 00:11:08.300 --> 00:11:12.860 And we, if we're Christians, we are God's project. 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:20.220 And what He started, when He saved us, when He put His Spirit in us and brought about that new birth, 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:22.340 God is continuing to do. 00:11:23.259 --> 00:11:25.600 It's God who enables us to continue to believe. 00:11:26.580 --> 00:11:31.879 And as Paul said, we saw last week in Philippians chapter 1, verse 6, 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:33.600 Paul says, I'm sure of this. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:38.779 I have absolute confidence that He who began a good work in you, writing to Christians, 00:11:39.500 --> 00:11:42.860 will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. 00:11:43.920 --> 00:11:49.379 Now, let's look at one more verse under this big heading of our relationship with the Lord. 00:11:50.580 --> 00:11:52.680 It's in 1 John chapter 1 and verse 3. 00:11:52.679 --> 00:12:13.019 Here's this question. 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:23.139 Do you experience real fellowship with Jesus Christ and your Heavenly Father? 00:12:24.819 --> 00:12:27.559 You know what it is to have a relationship with people. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:33.799 You know what it is to enjoy having fellowship with people. 00:12:34.279 --> 00:12:38.159 Hopefully you experience that with the people you live with. 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:47.500 Hopefully in your home, you have a healthy relationship with those people. 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:53.439 Hopefully where you work, you have some good relationships with people. 00:12:53.839 --> 00:12:56.419 At school, you have some good, healthy relationships. 00:12:56.620 --> 00:12:57.319 You interact. 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:00.980 You share life with them. 00:13:02.139 --> 00:13:03.899 And you enjoy that. 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:06.600 Well, think about how that's done. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:11.159 You talk. 00:13:12.779 --> 00:13:13.719 You listen. 00:13:15.219 --> 00:13:16.639 It's back and forth. 00:13:17.819 --> 00:13:22.299 It's just living life, sharing life with a person. 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:24.980 Let me ask you this. 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:27.379 Do you have such a relationship with God that, 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:30.259 let's just say you're riding down the road, 00:13:30.319 --> 00:13:31.779 that you've got some things on your mind? 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:36.419 Is it normal and natural for you to just talk to God? 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:42.259 Ask Him to help you, give you insight, give you wisdom. 00:13:42.259 --> 00:13:50.840 You know, we've, a lot of us in this room, we've had some family gatherings this week. 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:56.800 And some of those family gatherings, some of those people in those family gatherings, 00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:58.240 we really wanted to see some of them. 00:13:58.759 --> 00:13:59.580 Let's just be honest. 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:00.960 We didn't. 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:08.300 And were there some people there that you just talked to God about and said, 00:14:08.299 --> 00:14:13.139 God, help me not to get into it with so-and-so. 00:14:13.699 --> 00:14:16.199 Help me to keep my mouth shut. 00:14:16.839 --> 00:14:25.359 Help me not to react when they start saying all those stupid things that they always say and do 00:14:25.359 --> 00:14:27.319 when the family gets together. 00:14:27.539 --> 00:14:32.059 Now, if you don't know who that person is, chances are you are the person. 00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:34.839 That somebody's asking God to help. 00:14:37.479 --> 00:14:38.299 They're there. 00:14:39.139 --> 00:14:42.779 And for us to pretend they're not, it's just not being real. 00:14:43.979 --> 00:14:48.639 But the point here is, do you just know God as your Heavenly Father? 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:49.959 Is Jesus real to you? 00:14:50.059 --> 00:14:52.859 You just talk to your Father. 00:14:54.359 --> 00:14:55.399 Because you know Him. 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:56.679 You love Him. 00:14:56.679 --> 00:14:59.459 That's what prayer is you're talking to. 00:15:00.179 --> 00:15:04.139 When you read the Bible, you're thinking, this is God's Word. 00:15:04.219 --> 00:15:08.939 This is God making Himself and His ways and His will known to me. 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:22.159 Do you have a real, loving, ongoing, meaningful relationship with and fellowship with 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:26.699 your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? 00:15:28.539 --> 00:15:33.139 That's what we should be experiencing if we're Christians. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:35.659 Let's look at something else John tells us. 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:41.360 A true Christian will experience a personal relationship with God and the Lord Jesus. 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:48.579 But he also tells us a true Christian desires to please God by the way he or she lives. 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:51.120 A true Christian does have a desire. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:54.399 It's just a God-given desire within us. 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:56.879 We want to please Him. 00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:00.139 And I want you to look at three ways John points that out. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.879 First, a true Christian desires to obey God's Word. 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:07.799 Look at 1 John 2, verses 3 through 6. 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:16.060 And I want you to be, note, this is about as clear as you're going to find anywhere in the Bible 00:16:16.059 --> 00:16:21.399 about how do you know that you know Him. 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.019 Look at it. 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:24.039 John writes, 00:16:24.139 --> 00:16:30.679 And by this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments. 00:16:31.199 --> 00:16:37.759 Whoever says, I know Him, but does not keep His commandments is a liar, 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:40.679 and the truth is not in Him. 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:44.059 By this we may know that we are in Him. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:47.720 Whoever says he abides, he remains in Christ. 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:52.620 Ought to walk in the same way in which He walked. 00:16:54.620 --> 00:16:55.939 John's just real clear here. 00:16:55.940 --> 00:17:00.260 If you're a Christian, you're going to want to obey God. 00:17:00.780 --> 00:17:02.060 You're going to want to keep His commandments. 00:17:03.400 --> 00:17:04.360 So let me ask you this. 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:09.580 Do you consistently seek to know and do God's will as He has revealed it in the Bible? 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:13.120 And does it show in your life? 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:16.019 Think about it. 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:20.460 The Bible talks about how we ought to relate to one another in our home. 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.240 The Bible talks about, for an example, in Ephesians chapter 5, 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:26.059 about husband-wife relationships. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:33.160 Do you as a Christian really want to know and do God's will about being the husband He wants you to be? 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:34.859 Being the wife He wants you to be? 00:17:35.660 --> 00:17:41.619 Being the parent that He intends for you to be for your children's overall well-being? 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:47.459 Do you care about being the child showing honor and respect to your parents 00:17:47.459 --> 00:17:55.719 that God clearly says in His Word in Ephesians 5 and 6 that you ought to be? 00:17:58.699 --> 00:18:06.419 Do you seek to please God by the way you respond to people that you don't like? 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:13.600 People who don't like you and they even maybe mistreat you. 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:19.460 The most natural way for us to respond to people that we don't like, 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:21.940 if they don't like us, especially if they mistreat us, 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.940 the way that we naturally respond is not good, it's not healthy. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:29.840 We exert our power in some way. 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:32.060 We try to get even in some way. 00:18:32.340 --> 00:18:33.420 We try to retaliate. 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:35.100 These things like this. 00:18:35.099 --> 00:18:39.439 But as Christians, we're called to not do those kind of things. 00:18:40.699 --> 00:18:42.480 You can't always just play tit for tat. 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:44.399 You can't always just give what you get. 00:18:46.199 --> 00:18:48.759 And as Christians, we know this. 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:50.179 We've read it. 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:52.779 We've studied it in Sunday school in these services. 00:18:53.419 --> 00:18:55.539 Not too long ago, we went through Romans chapter 12. 00:18:55.879 --> 00:18:58.619 It talks a lot about our relationships with one another. 00:18:59.179 --> 00:19:01.859 If we're Christians and the Spirit of God lives within us, 00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:05.519 we're going to want to know and do God's will in the details of our life 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.799 and how we do our job 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:12.299 and attitude toward the people we work with 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:15.179 and the way we spend our time and our money. 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:23.500 Do the people that know you best know that while you are far from perfect, 00:19:23.840 --> 00:19:25.940 they know your weaknesses, they know your failures, 00:19:26.340 --> 00:19:28.560 but bottom line, do people who know you best know 00:19:28.560 --> 00:19:33.160 that there is within you a real desire to know and do God's will, 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:35.019 that you take God's word seriously? 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:41.059 It does not matter what your personal statement of faith is about the Bible 00:19:41.059 --> 00:19:44.079 if you don't seek to do it. 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:50.680 You can talk about, I believe all the Bible is the very word of God, 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:52.400 inspired, infallible, inerrant. 00:19:53.079 --> 00:19:55.019 If you don't seek to live it, you don't. 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:55.879 You're just lying. 00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:58.579 That's what John says. 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:01.059 Liar is the word he used. 00:20:01.059 --> 00:20:07.159 See, we demonstrate what our real theology is 00:20:07.159 --> 00:20:09.720 by the way that we live, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.819 not just by the words that we say. 00:20:15.379 --> 00:20:16.519 A true Christian, number two, 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:19.639 desires to stop living a sinful life. 00:20:20.019 --> 00:20:22.000 I want you to look at what John says, just real plain, 00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:23.859 1 John 3, 9 and 10. 00:20:24.859 --> 00:20:28.159 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:33.080 for God's seed abides in him. 00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:37.080 And he cannot keep on sinning 00:20:37.080 --> 00:20:39.920 because he has been born of God. 00:20:42.259 --> 00:20:44.380 When God does this work of regeneration, 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.779 brings about a new birth, puts his spirit in us, 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:49.820 the Holy Spirit in us changes us, 00:20:50.100 --> 00:20:53.900 and we cannot help but be different, 00:20:54.820 --> 00:20:56.380 to have different desires, 00:20:56.380 --> 00:21:00.120 one of which, not to go on living the sinful life 00:21:00.120 --> 00:21:01.240 we did before we became a Christian. 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:02.500 We're not living the sinful life 00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:05.140 that we know does not please God. 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:06.500 Look on in this verse. 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:10.300 By this it is evident who are the children of God 00:21:10.300 --> 00:21:11.820 and who are the children of the devil. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:14.940 Whoever does not practice righteousness, 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:16.860 that means doing right before God. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.560 Whoever does not practice righteousness 00:21:19.560 --> 00:21:21.040 is not of God, 00:21:21.220 --> 00:21:23.240 nor is the one who does not love his brother. 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.840 We'll come to that love brother part in a moment. 00:21:26.380 --> 00:21:27.900 Let me ask you this real simple. 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:30.720 Do you hate sin and really and truly want to overcome it? 00:21:31.360 --> 00:21:32.340 Now we still sin, 00:21:32.840 --> 00:21:35.160 every single one of us. 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:37.080 And John makes it clear that we do. 00:21:37.560 --> 00:21:40.660 And he says some things about if we say we don't, 00:21:40.980 --> 00:21:41.540 we're lying. 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:43.440 John likes the word liar. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:46.460 He's not worried about offending anybody. 00:21:46.460 --> 00:21:49.880 He just says it like it is. 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:53.180 About what we are. 00:21:54.059 --> 00:21:55.360 Based on how we live. 00:21:57.100 --> 00:21:58.220 Do you hate sin? 00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:01.600 And want to overcome it? 00:22:03.840 --> 00:22:04.559 Understand now. 00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.900 We all still as Christians have a sinful nature. 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:12.480 And there's part of us that does like sin. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:13.339 And if we didn't, 00:22:13.400 --> 00:22:14.259 we would never do it. 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:17.380 And in moments of, 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:18.400 you know, 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:19.759 where sometimes we're tempted, 00:22:20.259 --> 00:22:21.019 and in those moments, 00:22:21.660 --> 00:22:23.720 we basically do what we want to do. 00:22:26.339 --> 00:22:28.680 I'll use Mike as a bad example this time. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:30.039 You know, 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:31.759 if he does something that makes me mad, 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:35.360 but I know I shouldn't say anything to him. 00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:35.960 I'm tempted. 00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:36.440 I want to say, 00:22:36.539 --> 00:22:39.299 you are just a moron. 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:41.480 That's what I want to say. 00:22:43.899 --> 00:22:45.759 And I know I should not say that. 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:46.619 That is not good. 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:48.720 I shouldn't do that to my brother. 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:51.940 But there are times, 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:53.279 I just want to say, 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:54.639 you are a moron. 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:56.079 And I do. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.039 That's what we do when we sin. 00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:03.059 It may be something that you actually do in action. 00:23:04.200 --> 00:23:04.899 It may, 00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:08.339 it may be something you entertain with your mind. 00:23:08.339 --> 00:23:09.379 You just keep on with it. 00:23:11.419 --> 00:23:11.559 See, 00:23:11.659 --> 00:23:12.740 sin is appealing, 00:23:12.919 --> 00:23:13.819 or we wouldn't do it. 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:15.899 But deep down, 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:19.259 do you really want to do that, 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:21.379 which you know displeases God, 00:23:21.459 --> 00:23:23.279 which is all about doing what you want to do? 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:26.199 Or do you really not want to do that? 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.439 You want to overcome that. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.619 You want to live the kind of life 00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:33.419 that would truly please the Lord. 00:23:34.919 --> 00:23:35.639 When you sin, 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:36.419 does it bother you? 00:23:36.459 --> 00:23:37.199 Let's look at it this way. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:39.420 Do you feel guilty knowing 00:23:39.420 --> 00:23:40.680 that you have done something, 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:41.620 said something, 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.120 that you know displeases God? 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:47.000 Does it bother you? 00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:49.120 Does it make you feel guilty? 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:52.880 Does God convict you of that sin? 00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:55.860 And if you don't do something about it, 00:23:55.900 --> 00:23:56.680 you just keep on and on. 00:23:56.860 --> 00:23:58.259 Does God discipline you 00:23:58.259 --> 00:23:59.340 when you continue in it? 00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:02.299 God disciplines His children. 00:24:02.620 --> 00:24:04.539 Look at what the writer to the Hebrews 00:24:04.539 --> 00:24:06.200 in chapter 12 says. 00:24:06.680 --> 00:24:08.139 Our Heavenly Father disciplines 00:24:08.139 --> 00:24:09.240 those He loves 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:10.299 and punishes everyone 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:11.319 He accepts as a son. 00:24:11.879 --> 00:24:12.539 I'm going to guess 00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:13.599 in a crowd this size, 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:14.779 there are people in this room, 00:24:15.159 --> 00:24:16.339 children, teenagers, 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:17.680 some of you right now, 00:24:17.759 --> 00:24:18.720 you are in trouble. 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:20.319 Some of you right now, 00:24:20.379 --> 00:24:21.440 maybe you're on restriction. 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:23.279 Some of you right now, 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.019 there's some things going on at home 00:24:25.019 --> 00:24:27.000 that you're being disciplined. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:29.519 And it's no fun. 00:24:29.579 --> 00:24:30.539 I've been there, done that. 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:32.500 It's no fun for your parents. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:35.660 But if your parents are disciplining you, 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:36.940 whenever they discipline you, 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:38.319 it's because they love you. 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:40.059 They care enough about you 00:24:40.059 --> 00:24:41.980 not to just let you do things 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:43.480 that are not good, 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:44.339 that are not helpful, 00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:46.180 that may actually harm you. 00:24:46.380 --> 00:24:47.940 And some things as parents, 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:49.920 you just have to go to war over 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:51.440 because you love them too much 00:24:51.440 --> 00:24:52.640 to let it go. 00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:55.380 And there's some things in our life, 00:24:55.380 --> 00:24:56.780 if we're God's children, 00:24:57.080 --> 00:24:58.740 God's just going to crush us. 00:24:59.840 --> 00:25:01.620 He's going to make our life miserable 00:25:01.620 --> 00:25:04.420 until we wake up, 00:25:04.760 --> 00:25:05.900 confess that sin, 00:25:06.420 --> 00:25:07.480 seek His forgiveness, 00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:09.180 reconcile with a person 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:10.580 if another person is involved. 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:14.120 God disciplines His children 00:25:14.120 --> 00:25:15.360 because He loves us. 00:25:16.580 --> 00:25:18.360 And then when God does discipline you, 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:20.680 do you confess your sins? 00:25:21.620 --> 00:25:23.340 Do you seek God's forgiveness? 00:25:23.340 --> 00:25:25.340 Do you seek other people's forgiveness? 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:28.460 When you've wronged them? 00:25:30.260 --> 00:25:32.120 That's something that we as Christians 00:25:32.120 --> 00:25:33.780 should be very familiar with, 00:25:34.780 --> 00:25:37.520 confessing and turning from our sin. 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:38.780 And when we do, 00:25:39.020 --> 00:25:39.660 as Christians, 00:25:39.840 --> 00:25:40.740 knowing we're God's children, 00:25:41.520 --> 00:25:42.700 we should get relief. 00:25:43.800 --> 00:25:47.360 We should experience emotionally. 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:51.359 We should experience forgiveness 00:25:51.979 --> 00:25:53.819 and restored fellowship with God. 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:55.459 I want you to look at something 00:25:55.459 --> 00:25:56.919 that hopefully is familiar 00:25:56.919 --> 00:25:58.139 to all of us as Christians. 00:25:58.639 --> 00:26:00.019 1 John 1, 8 and 9. 00:26:00.679 --> 00:26:01.839 If we say we have no sin, 00:26:01.919 --> 00:26:02.759 we deceive ourselves 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:04.439 and the truth is not in us. 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:06.799 But if we confess our sins, 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:08.599 He is faithful and just 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:09.679 to forgive us 00:26:09.679 --> 00:26:12.319 and to cleanse us 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:13.359 from all unrighteousness. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:17.799 Do you confess your sins 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:20.099 and experience God's forgiveness 00:26:20.099 --> 00:26:22.639 and it's just a great release, 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:23.819 relief? 00:26:25.579 --> 00:26:27.079 That's what we should experience, 00:26:27.139 --> 00:26:27.699 we feel in. 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:29.719 Look at one more thing. 00:26:29.959 --> 00:26:30.939 A true Christian desires 00:26:30.939 --> 00:26:31.759 to live a pure life. 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:34.439 We're talking about how a real Christian 00:26:34.439 --> 00:26:36.019 will desire to please God. 00:26:36.699 --> 00:26:38.119 What we'll want to know and do is will. 00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:40.599 We'll want to overcome sin in our life. 00:26:40.599 --> 00:26:41.439 We'll hate it. 00:26:42.159 --> 00:26:43.079 And a true Christian desires 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:44.059 to live a pure life. 00:26:45.119 --> 00:26:46.619 Look at what John says about this 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:48.439 in 1 John 3, verses 2 and 3. 00:26:49.219 --> 00:26:51.679 Beloved, we're God's children now 00:26:51.679 --> 00:26:54.539 and what we will be 00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:55.579 has not yet appeared, 00:26:56.139 --> 00:26:58.079 but we know that when He appears, 00:26:58.219 --> 00:26:59.119 we shall be like Him 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:01.179 because we shall see Him as He is. 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:03.299 We don't know what we'll be like in heaven, 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:05.219 but one day when Jesus returns, 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:06.279 when everything's wrapped up, 00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:08.279 we will be like Him to some degree. 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:10.339 Look at the next sentence. 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:14.039 And everyone who thus hopes in Him 00:27:14.039 --> 00:27:16.679 purifies himself as He is pure. 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:18.959 One of the evidences of someone, 00:27:19.079 --> 00:27:20.000 that someone is a Christian, 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:22.339 is they have a desire, 00:27:22.539 --> 00:27:23.719 a God-given desire, 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:27.740 to live a morally pure, 00:27:28.939 --> 00:27:32.699 separate from this world kind of holy life. 00:27:33.719 --> 00:27:34.679 That's something the Spirit of God 00:27:35.379 --> 00:27:38.279 causes us to desire, to want. 00:27:39.139 --> 00:27:40.279 Do you see that in you? 00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:43.339 Do you have such desires? 00:27:45.179 --> 00:27:47.439 No one has only pure desires now. 00:27:48.219 --> 00:27:49.619 Remember what we said earlier about sin. 00:27:50.399 --> 00:27:52.679 All of us struggle with temptation. 00:27:53.779 --> 00:27:56.459 All of us struggle in some way 00:27:56.459 --> 00:28:01.759 with impure thoughts, words, actions. 00:28:01.759 --> 00:28:04.759 But do you have this desire? 00:28:04.759 --> 00:28:06.299 And do you put forth, 00:28:06.500 --> 00:28:08.680 it's evident, people can see, 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:11.559 that you really do want, deep down, 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:17.140 to live a pure life as Jesus is pure. 00:28:17.140 --> 00:28:20.840 I want us to look at one more major issue 00:28:20.840 --> 00:28:22.740 that John describes throughout his letter. 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:24.660 And that is number three. 00:28:25.259 --> 00:28:27.140 A true Christian genuinely loves 00:28:27.140 --> 00:28:29.180 his or her brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:28:30.160 --> 00:28:32.700 A true Christian loves other Christians. 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:35.640 Look at what two things John says about this. 00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:38.600 And again, he says it real forthrightly. 00:28:39.640 --> 00:28:42.340 We know that we have passed out of death into life 00:28:42.340 --> 00:28:43.900 because we love the brothers. 00:28:44.600 --> 00:28:47.520 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:28:48.860 --> 00:28:50.720 And then 420. 00:28:51.380 --> 00:28:52.160 Anyone who says, 00:28:52.320 --> 00:28:53.560 I love God, hates his brother. 00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:55.120 He is a liar. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:57.279 For he does not, 00:28:57.799 --> 00:28:59.479 he who does not love his brother, 00:28:59.679 --> 00:29:00.779 whom he has seen, 00:29:00.899 --> 00:29:01.839 cannot love God, 00:29:02.119 --> 00:29:04.519 whom he has not seen. 00:29:05.659 --> 00:29:07.899 John makes some strong statements, doesn't he? 00:29:08.879 --> 00:29:12.799 About the necessity of love among Christians. 00:29:13.099 --> 00:29:14.019 Why would he do that? 00:29:15.099 --> 00:29:18.000 Well, maybe he just always remembered, 00:29:18.139 --> 00:29:19.000 could even visualize, 00:29:19.459 --> 00:29:21.939 when Jesus told him and the other disciples 00:29:21.939 --> 00:29:24.579 about a new commandment, 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:25.699 about loving one another. 00:29:25.859 --> 00:29:26.879 Look at what Jesus said. 00:29:27.099 --> 00:29:28.720 It's in John chapter 13. 00:29:29.559 --> 00:29:31.059 A new commandment I give to you, 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:32.279 that you love one another. 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:33.759 Just as I have loved you, 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:36.000 you also are to love one another. 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:38.000 By this all people will know 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:39.199 that you are my disciples, 00:29:39.699 --> 00:29:40.939 if you love, 00:29:41.539 --> 00:29:43.559 if you have love for one another. 00:29:44.779 --> 00:29:46.639 Do you show that you are a Christian, 00:29:46.639 --> 00:29:47.639 a disciple of Jesus, 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:49.019 by the way that you love other Christians? 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:50.579 It doesn't mean you always like them. 00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:52.819 Let's just be real honest. 00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:54.079 You don't like everybody. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:55.319 I don't like everybody. 00:29:57.619 --> 00:29:58.899 Going back to Thanksgiving, 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:01.519 most, a lot of us, 00:30:01.619 --> 00:30:03.059 we had people at our table, 00:30:04.179 --> 00:30:04.960 they're our family. 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:06.679 We love them, 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:08.699 but we don't like them. 00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:10.720 And we were glad to see them leave. 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:13.159 I've had people this morning already tell me 00:30:13.159 --> 00:30:14.539 they enjoyed Thanksgiving, 00:30:14.679 --> 00:30:16.379 but they were glad to see some of them go. 00:30:16.380 --> 00:30:19.520 And that doesn't mean that you're not, 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:21.200 you're an inferior Christian. 00:30:22.820 --> 00:30:24.000 Nobody likes everybody. 00:30:25.040 --> 00:30:26.000 We're just different. 00:30:26.080 --> 00:30:26.760 We're made different. 00:30:26.820 --> 00:30:27.900 We look at life differently. 00:30:31.340 --> 00:30:31.840 I've got, 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:33.120 I'm not going to say in this service, 00:30:33.300 --> 00:30:34.120 because this is recorded, 00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:36.320 but I've got a family member. 00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:38.200 All my life, 00:30:38.360 --> 00:30:41.780 we've just basically never really been close. 00:30:42.200 --> 00:30:43.260 Never got along great. 00:30:43.259 --> 00:30:45.519 have nothing in common. 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:51.140 But I can remember back many years ago, 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:52.019 being kids, 00:30:52.980 --> 00:30:53.599 being in a car. 00:30:53.640 --> 00:30:54.640 I can remember it's like it was yesterday, 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:55.339 being in a car. 00:30:56.640 --> 00:30:57.559 And in that car, 00:30:58.559 --> 00:30:59.640 parents not there, 00:31:00.379 --> 00:31:01.200 buddy there, 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:03.039 in that car, 00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:05.039 if I wanted to do something to him, 00:31:05.120 --> 00:31:05.980 I would have done it, 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:07.100 not felt guilty. 00:31:07.259 --> 00:31:08.120 I'd have aggravated him, 00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:08.680 I'd have hit him, 00:31:08.860 --> 00:31:09.840 or done anything else. 00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:15.220 But when my buddy hit my relative, 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:19.360 even though I didn't really like that relative much, 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:21.740 when he hit my relative, 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:23.660 the love came out, 00:31:23.660 --> 00:31:25.860 and I popped my buddy, 00:31:25.860 --> 00:31:28.740 with my fist, 00:31:29.540 --> 00:31:32.560 because he hit my family member. 00:31:33.360 --> 00:31:34.720 I loved him. 00:31:36.580 --> 00:31:38.759 Love among Christians, 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:41.700 is something special, 00:31:41.900 --> 00:31:43.660 that we should experience, 00:31:44.320 --> 00:31:46.540 even if we don't particularly, 00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:48.340 like everything about, 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:49.400 one another. 00:31:50.340 --> 00:31:51.000 There's something about, 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:52.200 a family relationship, 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:53.059 physically, 00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:53.859 biologically, 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:54.859 and there's something about, 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:56.920 a spiritual family relationship, 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:00.099 that should unite us, 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:01.299 cause us to care, 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:02.500 take an interest in, 00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:03.799 want the best for, 00:32:04.619 --> 00:32:05.220 one another. 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:06.259 But, 00:32:06.579 --> 00:32:07.779 however you want to slice it, 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:09.079 John makes it clear, 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:12.220 that love is one of the vital signs, 00:32:13.539 --> 00:32:14.440 of a genuine Christian. 00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:17.519 The best way, 00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:18.660 that you and I, 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:19.579 can help someone, 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:20.980 with assurance of their salvation, 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:22.079 is to get them, 00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:23.079 to read the scripture, 00:32:23.460 --> 00:32:24.680 especially 1 John, 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:25.759 and see what God, 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:27.000 God's word reveals, 00:32:27.079 --> 00:32:29.359 about what true Christians believe, 00:32:30.099 --> 00:32:31.740 and how true Christians live. 00:32:33.099 --> 00:32:34.240 But the way God, 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:35.579 actually provides, 00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:37.859 personal assurance, 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:39.900 peace, 00:32:40.940 --> 00:32:41.420 comfort, 00:32:42.460 --> 00:32:43.819 is through his Holy Spirit. 00:32:44.980 --> 00:32:46.299 It's the spirit of God, 00:32:46.339 --> 00:32:47.900 who actually gives us assurance, 00:32:47.900 --> 00:32:49.240 if we are Christians, 00:32:49.240 --> 00:32:51.580 for example, 00:32:51.820 --> 00:32:53.540 as we read through 1 John, 00:32:54.740 --> 00:32:56.120 look at what Paul says, 00:32:56.200 --> 00:32:56.660 about this. 00:32:57.660 --> 00:32:58.620 He says in Romans 8, 00:32:58.660 --> 00:32:59.060 16, 00:32:59.300 --> 00:33:00.500 the spirit himself, 00:33:00.600 --> 00:33:01.980 testifies with our spirit, 00:33:02.360 --> 00:33:03.820 that we are God's children. 00:33:04.420 --> 00:33:05.300 That's what we're going to look at, 00:33:05.380 --> 00:33:05.940 next week, 00:33:05.980 --> 00:33:06.780 in more detail. 00:33:07.660 --> 00:33:08.600 But before we go, 00:33:09.660 --> 00:33:10.720 let me make one thing clear, 00:33:10.800 --> 00:33:11.200 this morning. 00:33:11.200 --> 00:33:14.080 No one will everly, 00:33:14.340 --> 00:33:14.620 perfect, 00:33:14.900 --> 00:33:16.559 will never perfectly, 00:33:17.180 --> 00:33:18.160 experience, 00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:20.360 unbroken fellowship, 00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:21.600 with God the Father, 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:22.720 or the Lord Jesus. 00:33:23.779 --> 00:33:24.840 No Christian, 00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:27.240 will always desire, 00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:28.440 to please God, 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:29.059 in these ways, 00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:29.880 we've been looking at. 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:31.960 And you know, 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:35.500 no matter how faithful we are, 00:33:36.360 --> 00:33:38.160 we don't always love one another, 00:33:38.160 --> 00:33:40.259 as we should. 00:33:42.180 --> 00:33:43.620 But to some degree, 00:33:43.980 --> 00:33:45.060 if we're real Christians, 00:33:45.960 --> 00:33:47.740 these things will be true, 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:49.000 in our lives. 00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:50.980 That's what the scripture is telling us. 00:33:52.040 --> 00:33:53.960 The question we need to ask ourselves is this, 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:56.080 are these things, 00:33:56.080 --> 00:33:56.800 basically, 00:33:57.160 --> 00:33:57.680 generally, 00:33:58.140 --> 00:33:59.240 true, 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:00.380 evident, 00:34:01.420 --> 00:34:02.200 in my life? 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:04.700 Do I see these attitudes, 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:06.680 in me, 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:10.599 do I have these kind of desires? 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:12.740 Can I, 00:34:13.159 --> 00:34:14.440 and people who know me, 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:16.400 see evidence, 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:18.200 that while I'm far from perfect, 00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:21.860 God is working in me, 00:34:23.579 --> 00:34:24.780 helping me to grow, 00:34:25.780 --> 00:34:26.920 in my relationship, 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:27.820 and fellowship with Him. 00:34:28.220 --> 00:34:29.700 Helping me to grow, 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:31.519 in putting forth the effort, 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:32.420 to please Him. 00:34:33.260 --> 00:34:34.700 Helping me to develop, 00:34:34.700 --> 00:34:35.960 more love, 00:34:36.679 --> 00:34:39.000 for my brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:34:40.039 --> 00:34:41.480 Ask God to make it clear, 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:43.940 what your, 00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:46.299 status is, 00:34:46.659 --> 00:34:47.519 before Him, 00:34:47.940 --> 00:34:48.579 right now. 00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:51.159 And then you respond to Him, 00:34:51.799 --> 00:34:52.639 as you need to. 00:34:53.179 --> 00:34:53.899 Let's pray together. 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:55.039 Dear God, 00:34:56.519 --> 00:34:57.980 in this room right now, 00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:00.739 help all of us to see, 00:35:00.899 --> 00:35:01.940 how you see us, 00:35:02.359 --> 00:35:03.319 which is how we really are. 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:03.880 Father, 00:35:03.880 --> 00:35:04.780 Father, 00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:05.680 for those in this room, 00:35:05.740 --> 00:35:07.160 who are truly Christians, 00:35:07.720 --> 00:35:09.660 give them assurance, 00:35:10.660 --> 00:35:12.260 help them to see, 00:35:12.380 --> 00:35:13.360 from Your Word, 00:35:14.980 --> 00:35:15.980 affirm them, 00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:17.400 from within, 00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:18.380 by Your Spirit, 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:20.340 that they are Your children, 00:35:20.420 --> 00:35:20.880 if they are. 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:22.260 Father, 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:23.160 if there are people in this room, 00:35:23.220 --> 00:35:24.400 who really are Christians, 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:26.139 but they've allowed some, 00:35:26.380 --> 00:35:28.039 things to develop, 00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:28.500 in their life, 00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:29.599 they have some attitudes, 00:35:30.460 --> 00:35:32.380 they are holding on, 00:35:32.440 --> 00:35:33.160 to some pet, 00:35:33.840 --> 00:35:34.480 sins, 00:35:35.360 --> 00:35:37.440 they're refusing, 00:35:37.639 --> 00:35:38.360 to confess. 00:35:39.019 --> 00:35:39.639 Help them to see, 00:35:39.720 --> 00:35:40.000 dear God, 00:35:40.059 --> 00:35:40.920 they don't have assurance, 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:41.880 because they're not, 00:35:42.880 --> 00:35:44.079 pleasing to you. 00:35:44.559 --> 00:35:45.400 They're rebelling, 00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.099 against you. 00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:48.139 And show that, 00:35:48.420 --> 00:35:48.760 person, 00:35:49.680 --> 00:35:50.519 what they need to do, 00:35:50.579 --> 00:35:50.860 right now, 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:51.559 what sin, 00:35:51.619 --> 00:35:52.360 they need to confess, 00:35:52.360 --> 00:35:54.519 what attitude needs to change, 00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:57.320 what needs to be done, 00:35:57.360 --> 00:35:57.860 right now, 00:35:58.340 --> 00:35:59.680 in order to, 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:01.500 confess, 00:36:01.780 --> 00:36:02.760 and repent of their sin, 00:36:03.260 --> 00:36:03.880 and experience, 00:36:03.960 --> 00:36:04.599 Your forgiveness, 00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:06.500 and a restoration, 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:07.480 of good fellowship. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:08.880 Show them right now, 00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:09.820 and help them to do it. 00:36:11.120 --> 00:36:11.519 But Father, 00:36:11.579 --> 00:36:12.480 if there are people in this room, 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:13.420 who are not Christians, 00:36:14.420 --> 00:36:14.940 make it, 00:36:14.940 --> 00:36:16.360 very clear to them, 00:36:16.780 --> 00:36:17.539 plain to them. 00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:18.960 Then Lord, 00:36:19.019 --> 00:36:19.820 we pray that You will, 00:36:20.180 --> 00:36:21.340 so work in them, 00:36:21.340 --> 00:36:22.800 to burden them, 00:36:23.800 --> 00:36:24.640 break them, 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:25.760 over their sin, 00:36:26.720 --> 00:36:27.180 over the fact, 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:28.120 that they don't know You. 00:36:29.400 --> 00:36:30.460 Call them to put their faith, 00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:31.300 and trust in Jesus, 00:36:32.740 --> 00:36:34.660 to turn from their sin, 00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:35.240 their attitude, 00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:35.880 words, 00:36:35.980 --> 00:36:36.260 actions, 00:36:36.620 --> 00:36:37.340 to just repent, 00:36:37.460 --> 00:36:38.160 change their mind, 00:36:38.220 --> 00:36:39.000 about the way they've been living. 00:36:40.579 --> 00:36:41.600 Open their eyes, 00:36:41.640 --> 00:36:42.079 of faith, 00:36:42.140 --> 00:36:43.180 to see that when Jesus died, 00:36:43.200 --> 00:36:43.600 on the cross, 00:36:43.680 --> 00:36:44.620 He died for them. 00:36:45.320 --> 00:36:46.039 Help them right now, 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:46.840 to call upon Jesus, 00:36:47.600 --> 00:36:48.340 to save them. 00:36:49.600 --> 00:36:50.640 In an attitude of prayer, 00:36:50.639 --> 00:36:51.719 you just listen to the Lord, 00:36:51.799 --> 00:36:52.539 and obey Him. 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:55.119 Do whatever He's telling you to do. 00:36:55.739 --> 00:36:56.579 Let's just be still, 00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:57.059 and quiet, 00:36:57.199 --> 00:36:57.739 heads bowed, 00:36:57.759 --> 00:36:58.199 eyes closed, 00:36:58.279 --> 00:36:59.119 respond to the Lord. 00:37:00.500 --> 00:37:01.480 If I could pray with you, 00:37:01.519 --> 00:37:02.159 I'll be here at the front, 00:37:02.239 --> 00:37:03.279 and would be happy to do that.