WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.120 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.299 --> 00:00:15.300 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:22.120 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:31.880 My name is Elise and I'm part of the Little Faith Group in North Oakland. 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:35.439 Here is a reading from John's first epistle. 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:37.939 1 John 2.15 00:00:37.939 --> 00:00:41.600 Do not love the world or anything in the world. 00:00:42.120 --> 00:00:46.020 If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:56.140 For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, comes not from the Father, but from the world. 00:00:56.980 --> 00:01:02.719 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 00:01:04.040 --> 00:01:13.719 Dear children, this is the last hour, and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:17.099 This is how we know it is the last hour. 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:21.359 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. 00:01:21.739 --> 00:01:25.379 For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:29.180 But their going showed that none of them belong to us. 00:01:29.939 --> 00:01:34.299 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:42.079 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie comes from the truth. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:44.019 Who is the liar? 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:47.959 It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:53.099 Such a person is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son. 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.539 No one who denies the Son has the Father. 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.180 Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.579 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. 00:02:05.579 --> 00:02:11.800 If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:16.020 And this is what he promised us, eternal life. 00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:21.079 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:28.939 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:39.900 But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as it has taught you, remain in him. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:42.719 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:44.680 Thanks be to God. 00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:57.360 Thank you for that scripture reading, Elise. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:04.500 I have something in the back of my throat, unexpectedly, so I have this pink Minnie Mouse water bottle of my daughter's. 00:03:06.100 --> 00:03:07.460 And the straw's not working. 00:03:07.540 --> 00:03:07.780 Great. 00:03:08.060 --> 00:03:08.319 Okay. 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:09.960 We'll see how this goes. 00:03:10.560 --> 00:03:11.520 But good morning, Christchurch. 00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:12.400 My name's Andrew. 00:03:12.460 --> 00:03:13.319 I'm one of the pastors here. 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:14.659 Oh, thank you. 00:03:17.079 --> 00:03:23.219 Our lead pastor, Jonathan St. Clair, has been on sabbatical, I don't know how many weeks now, but we're glad that he's away. 00:03:23.739 --> 00:03:26.840 And I just want to just notify you that he's still a Christian. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:31.219 He texted me this morning, and he said, you know, I miss you, man. 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:32.280 I'm praying for you. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:33.819 I said, I had to double check, though. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.139 I said, hey, where are you going to church, though? 00:03:35.459 --> 00:03:36.479 He's still going to church. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:40.719 He's going to our friend James Westbrook's church, Realm Church in Oakland. 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:42.599 So in case you were wondering, he's still a Christian. 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:44.979 He still worships God on Sundays, all right? 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:45.620 Good news. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:46.120 Good for him. 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:51.379 Well, why don't we open up the scriptures together, and will you join me in prayer? 00:03:51.379 --> 00:04:03.799 Father, we want to come before you, believing with all our hearts that you are the God who wants our best life. 00:04:03.800 --> 00:04:10.540 You are the God who is light, and you want us to walk in that light, and to know your love, and to share that with other people. 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:21.840 And we pray that your Holy Spirit would accomplish that in us, and that your Holy Spirit would do a work on us as we listen to what you have to say in your precious and holy word. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:23.219 So would you change us? 00:04:23.219 --> 00:04:26.759 Would you make us the people that we want to be in Christ? 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:30.779 And would you do that to the glory of your name and for the good of this world? 00:04:31.359 --> 00:04:32.699 In the name of Jesus, we pray. 00:04:33.619 --> 00:04:33.939 Amen. 00:04:33.939 --> 00:04:38.800 So we're continuing our summer series in the letter of 1 John. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:45.639 We're calling this series Life, Light, and Love because 1 John reveals to us that that is precisely who God is. 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:47.079 He is life, light, and love. 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:52.000 And not only is that who God is, but that's precisely what he wants for his beloved children. 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:54.019 He is the God who was from the beginning. 00:04:54.019 --> 00:05:04.399 He is the God who is life, eternal life, abundant life in and of himself, and he wants to include us into that eternal life-giving joy of the Father and the Son and the Spirit. 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:11.079 And this life that he wants for us, it's not just any kind of, you know, choose-your-own-adventure kind of life. 00:05:11.399 --> 00:05:12.939 He isn't any kind of God. 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:17.180 He is the God who is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. 00:05:17.699 --> 00:05:22.699 He is a God who wants us to walk in that light, and so not to stumble in the darkness. 00:05:22.699 --> 00:05:29.439 And what he's revealed to us here in this letter so far is that the way to walk in this light is to walk in love. 00:05:30.039 --> 00:05:37.959 Sacrificially, just like Jesus, who gave his life and his blood to cleanse us of all of our sins and to satisfy God's justice. 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:41.000 He wants us to love others as he loves us. 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:43.459 And this is how we demonstrate that we know God. 00:05:43.539 --> 00:05:49.339 This is how we demonstrate that we are in possession of the abundant life that he wants for us. 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:51.500 It's by living like our Father. 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.060 It's by loving like our Father. 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:57.519 Now, hopefully everything I've just said sounds good to you. 00:05:57.779 --> 00:06:02.600 I imagine it's completely unsurprising and uncontroversial, right? 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:11.920 Even for those of us here who may not be Christians, hearing a Christian minister teach from this religious text that God is about life, light, and love, 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:13.779 it's probably what you would expect. 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:15.660 Especially this love stuff, right? 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:24.580 But as we continue in 1 John today, we'll find that this letter has more to say about what it means to love like God loves. 00:06:24.960 --> 00:06:29.900 Because sure, most of us can, most of us are down with, you know, loving people selflessly. 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:32.820 Most of us are down with love your neighbor as yourself. 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:40.680 But today in 1 John, when the instruction continues on love, it tells us actually what we are not to love. 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:42.219 What we're not to love. 00:06:42.379 --> 00:06:43.259 Look at verse 15. 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:47.159 Do not love the world or anything in the world. 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:54.259 We're cautioned here in 1 John that to really love like God is to actually not love certain things. 00:06:54.259 --> 00:07:00.920 And in fact, one might even say that to love the wrong thing is to be anti-Christ. 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:03.459 And that's the title of my sermon this morning. 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:08.480 It's a question you've probably not thought of, but it's a question I think we all need to be wondering. 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:12.399 The question is, am I anti-Christ? 00:07:13.219 --> 00:07:14.939 Am I anti-Christ? 00:07:14.939 --> 00:07:20.899 Now, what we have to understand about the setting of 1 John is that in the early Christian community, 00:07:21.019 --> 00:07:27.980 following from its Jewish roots, there was a common understanding of the coming of the Messiah as marking the end of time. 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:33.199 They called this the last day or the last days or here in 1 John, the last hour. 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:38.500 And while most people, they didn't anticipate that these last days would span, you know, over 2,000 years. 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:40.720 It's been over 2,000 years since Jesus was here. 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:45.180 Most people didn't expect that he would come and then he would ascend and promise to come back again. 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:49.040 But according to the Scriptures, this time period that we are currently in, 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:54.460 even though it's been 2,000 years since the time of Jesus, we are still in what's called the last days. 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:56.260 We're in this last hour. 00:07:56.660 --> 00:08:02.940 Like if we understand all of history as a book, from the time Jesus came even until now, 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:06.560 this would be considered as the last chapter of history. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:12.060 And at the end of history, something else that early Christians expected, according to the words of Jesus, 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:17.519 was an uptick in deception and false teaching and hate and lawlessness. 00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:19.540 When asked by his disciples, 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:23.399 Tell us what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age? 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:24.620 Jesus, he said, 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:53.720 And in particular, at the end of time, the prophet Daniel, the apostle Paul, the apostle John, 00:08:53.720 --> 00:08:58.220 indicate that at the end of history would not just come the return of Christ, 00:08:58.340 --> 00:09:01.660 but right before that, a counterfeit Christ figure. 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:06.440 A counterfeit Christ figure that 1 John here calls the Antichrist. 00:09:06.860 --> 00:09:11.340 In Daniel's prophecy and in John's visions in Revelation, he's called the beast. 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:15.279 In Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, he's called the man of lawlessness. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:21.480 He's this kind of powerful, kingly figure who will dominate and deceive many in the world 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:26.759 and claim to be God, loving and exalting himself above the one true God. 00:09:27.199 --> 00:09:27.439 All right? 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:28.779 So that's kind of the background here. 00:09:28.839 --> 00:09:30.620 I'm sorry, I know that was a lot, but you're following me. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:36.100 End of time, we're in the last days, and we're to expect this Antichrist figure. 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:42.939 That's what these people reading 1 John would have been understanding as they're reading this letter. 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:44.600 That was their expectation, all right? 00:09:45.020 --> 00:09:48.520 So now let's read verse 18 again with that background in mind. 00:09:48.520 --> 00:09:52.300 Dear children, this is the last hour. 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:58.320 And as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. 00:09:59.020 --> 00:10:00.860 This is how we know it is the last hour. 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.860 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.040 For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:13.319 But their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:17.179 So again, the early church had this understanding that they were in the last hour, 00:10:17.539 --> 00:10:21.819 and they were always to be looking out for this deceptive Antichrist figure. 00:10:22.699 --> 00:10:29.120 And what has happened in this church that's receiving this letter is that they had had some false teachers. 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:35.199 They had had some people trying to lead people astray who were previously in the church, but had now left. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:39.759 They'd seen some attrition from these people believing different things about Jesus. 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.920 Now did you catch what 1 John calls these people who left their community in verse 18? 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:53.200 As you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come. 00:10:53.900 --> 00:10:54.200 What? 00:10:54.920 --> 00:10:57.240 More than one Antichrist? 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:03.940 Well, yes, even as there will be one final Antichrist, the beast, the man of lawlessness, 00:11:04.159 --> 00:11:10.580 1 John indicates to us that actually there's a sense in which in the last days, in the last hour, 00:11:10.820 --> 00:11:15.000 in our present time period, there are many Antichrists. 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:18.299 Later in verse 22, 1 John says, 00:11:18.299 --> 00:11:30.259 In the next letter, 2 John verse 7, it says, 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:36.799 Many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh have gone out into the world, 00:11:37.199 --> 00:11:42.339 and any such person is the deceiver and the Antichrist. 00:11:42.340 --> 00:11:46.879 So what 1 John is saying is that now in the last hour of history, 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:51.759 it is more important than ever to watch and consider what we love, 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:54.300 because what we love is what we are. 00:11:55.060 --> 00:12:00.320 For not only is the Antichrist coming, but the spirit of Antichrist is already here 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:04.519 and embodied by anyone who claims to have the truth 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:08.680 and yet does not acknowledge who Jesus Christ really is. 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:13.459 God become flesh to save the world by his death and resurrection. 00:12:14.299 --> 00:12:15.259 So what does that mean for us? 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:15.819 You know what this means? 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:19.539 This means that you can be Antichrist. 00:12:20.039 --> 00:12:25.419 This means that I, preaching up here, I can be Antichrist. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:28.879 See, 1 John is written to wake us up. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:34.240 To not be looking just outward for some evil future figure 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:37.120 to determine the times and interpret history. 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:39.679 1 John is written for us to consider, 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:44.639 how might I actually be Antichrist? 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:48.620 Like, in what ways am I not for Christ? 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:51.279 In what ways am I not pro-Christ? 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:53.620 It prompts us to ask, 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:59.159 what are the things in my life that I might love more than my Father in heaven? 00:13:00.060 --> 00:13:00.919 All right, so in case you were wondering, 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:04.220 that's my take on Antichrist here in 1 John, all right? 00:13:04.220 --> 00:13:10.100 And it's really important because, again, what we love is what we become. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:11.820 What we love is what we become. 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:12.860 And I want us to hold on to that. 00:13:12.899 --> 00:13:13.840 We're going to talk about love now. 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:16.980 Let's go back to the beginning in verse 15, having this background. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:18.200 Let's go back to verse 15. 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:20.480 And I want to ask, what does it mean when it says, 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:24.240 do not love the world or anything in the world? 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:28.200 Or in the Greek, do not agape the cosmos. 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:30.120 Do not agape the cosmos. 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.700 I mean, wow, that's pretty comprehensive, right? 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:36.820 How can you tell me not to love the world or anything in the world? 00:13:36.899 --> 00:13:39.600 How can 1 John say we're not supposed to love anything 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:43.480 when God himself, in John 3, 16, the Gospel of John, it says, 00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:45.659 for God so loved the world. 00:13:46.179 --> 00:13:49.899 And 1 John just told us a couple weeks ago to love our brothers and sisters, 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:52.159 to love our neighbors, to love people in this world. 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:55.220 Well, what we have to understand is, you know, 00:13:55.220 --> 00:13:57.620 as is common in pretty much every language, 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:00.960 in the Bible there can be and are often multiple senses 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:03.540 to words like the word world. 00:14:04.160 --> 00:14:06.399 And so depending on the sense that's used, 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:07.980 there are right ways to love the world 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:10.340 and there are wrong ways to love the world. 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:12.740 So for example, the Bible talks about the world 00:14:12.740 --> 00:14:15.879 as God's good creation that we are to care for 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:17.639 and that we are to cultivate. 00:14:18.240 --> 00:14:21.200 Or the world sometimes just refers to all the people of the world 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:23.960 whom God loves and whom we are supposed to love. 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:28.480 But the Bible also, particularly here in verse 15, 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:31.040 also talks about the world in another sense. 00:14:31.160 --> 00:14:33.840 It talks about it as this prevalent way of thinking 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:35.980 in our broken, fallen world. 00:14:36.540 --> 00:14:40.220 And this way of thinking is what we might call worldliness. 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:43.580 Worldliness, where all that matters is matter. 00:14:44.740 --> 00:14:46.700 Where all that matters is the world. 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:49.660 And the world, not God, is ultimate. 00:14:50.680 --> 00:14:52.400 Worldliness is where we put all our hope 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.419 and trust in the things of this world and not God. 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.720 Where we love and pursue and admire and honor 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.779 everything else above God. 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:03.019 Anything else above God. 00:15:03.579 --> 00:15:06.039 So when 1 John is saying not to love the world 00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:07.319 or anything in it, it doesn't mean 00:15:07.319 --> 00:15:09.279 don't love God's creation, 00:15:09.539 --> 00:15:11.559 don't love the people in God's creation. 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:13.019 God himself loves the world. 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:14.279 But it's saying, 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:16.779 do not love the world above God 00:15:16.779 --> 00:15:18.059 in the way of worldliness. 00:15:19.059 --> 00:15:21.159 And this might be basic to some of us 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:22.799 who've maybe been Christians for a long time. 00:15:22.859 --> 00:15:24.199 Of course, I know I'm not supposed to be worldly. 00:15:24.299 --> 00:15:26.919 But it's so important to understand this distinction 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:30.959 between the world and worldliness. 00:15:31.599 --> 00:15:33.500 See, because throughout Christian history, 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:35.619 on one side of the spectrum, 00:15:35.779 --> 00:15:38.559 many conservative and fundamentalistic Christians 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:40.459 have understood this word world 00:15:40.459 --> 00:15:42.579 simply as God's creation. 00:15:43.359 --> 00:15:45.839 And so what they've done in order to try to be holy 00:15:45.840 --> 00:15:47.960 is they've sought to separate themselves 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:51.080 from the creation, from the culture, from society. 00:15:51.560 --> 00:15:54.720 And they've often done this in self-righteousness. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:58.620 Self-righteously disengaging from culture, 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:00.860 disengaging from society and politics, 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.280 looking down on those outside of the church 00:16:03.280 --> 00:16:06.259 as merely depraved human beings. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:08.980 Such Christians have often focused solely 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:12.360 on what they perceive to be spiritual matters, right? 00:16:12.400 --> 00:16:15.420 Not caring for the material needs of the orphan 00:16:15.419 --> 00:16:18.120 and the widow and the poor and the hungry, 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:21.860 seeing their day jobs as only necessary evils, 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:23.839 their workplaces only as places 00:16:23.839 --> 00:16:27.719 to proselytize the unfaithful unbeliever, 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:30.679 and not as places to put God's redemptive story 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:33.939 on display by working with excellence and integrity. 00:16:34.939 --> 00:16:37.219 Such Christians fail to acknowledge 00:16:37.219 --> 00:16:41.159 that every square inch of creation belongs to God, 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:43.939 and that whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, 00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:46.900 we're supposed to do it all unto the glory of God. 00:16:47.640 --> 00:16:49.080 Such Christians fail to acknowledge 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:51.220 that even those who aren't in the faith 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:53.660 are still made in the image of God. 00:16:54.280 --> 00:16:56.620 And just as Christians can and have committed 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:58.480 horrendous evils in this world, 00:16:59.100 --> 00:17:00.340 people who aren't Christians 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:03.380 can do amazing good in the world 00:17:03.380 --> 00:17:06.940 because of God's common grace at work in the world, 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:09.660 restraining evil and preserving good. 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:14.279 Do you remember what happened after Cain killed Abel? 00:17:15.600 --> 00:17:18.180 Evil Cain killed his brother in the beginning, right? 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:19.840 And then he had his descendants. 00:17:20.840 --> 00:17:21.320 But guess what? 00:17:21.360 --> 00:17:24.779 It was evil Cain's descendants who built cities 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:28.560 and made music and cultivated farming 00:17:28.560 --> 00:17:30.660 and created culture, and they made tools. 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:33.740 Even if they pursued evil ends 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:35.700 and did not call upon the name of the Lord, 00:17:35.700 --> 00:17:40.039 God still used them to bring much common good to the world. 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:43.299 And so often conservative fundamentalist Christians 00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:44.920 have failed to see that. 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:47.279 And my prayer is that that will not happen here. 00:17:48.080 --> 00:17:50.460 But now you have the other end of the spectrum. 00:17:51.299 --> 00:17:52.580 There have been the modernistic 00:17:52.580 --> 00:17:54.620 or so-called progressive Christians 00:17:54.620 --> 00:17:57.840 who have had so positive a view of the world, 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.539 so great an appreciation for the world 00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:02.460 and Cain's descendants 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:04.720 and the good things outside the church, 00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:07.440 so much belief in the world's inherent goodness 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:08.539 and so little attention 00:18:08.539 --> 00:18:11.160 to the world's fallenness and brokenness, 00:18:11.860 --> 00:18:13.460 that these progressive Christians 00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:15.539 have often slid into worldliness, 00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:19.559 often self-righteously condemning conservative Christians 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:22.799 for being irrelevant or backward, 00:18:23.539 --> 00:18:26.500 focusing solely on material matters. 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:28.600 Yes, they feed the hungry, 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:32.559 maybe they protest and they pursue great causes in this world. 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:34.980 But progressive Christians have often, 00:18:35.299 --> 00:18:37.559 when passing out food at the food bank, 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:40.099 you know, bread that will either pass through people's bodies 00:18:40.099 --> 00:18:41.500 or rot and mold, 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:45.639 they often never think to share the eternal bread of life, 00:18:46.459 --> 00:18:48.299 the good news about Jesus, 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.519 the good news of eternal and abundant life 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:53.719 that yes, can be experienced now, 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.119 but is still yet to be consummated 00:18:56.119 --> 00:18:58.859 when Jesus returns to make all things new. 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:03.079 Like so rosy are many liberal Christians' views 00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:04.339 of this broken world 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:07.139 that they virtually slip into believing 00:19:07.139 --> 00:19:09.559 that with enough love and hard work 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:11.139 and ingenuity, creativity, 00:19:11.419 --> 00:19:13.859 they can actually save the world themselves 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:16.819 merely inspired by the Jesus myth 00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:20.119 that to them may or may not even be true. 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:22.459 But see, here at Christ Church, 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:24.799 contrary to those on the right and the left, 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:26.500 the way of the real Jesus, 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:29.279 we believe, rejects both of these errors. 00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:31.379 Faithful followers of Jesus, 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:35.220 we bear witness to new creation with our whole lives. 00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:37.500 We love the world, we engage culture, 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:40.019 we pursue excellence in all we do, 00:19:40.659 --> 00:19:42.419 but not out of worldliness, 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:45.159 but out of a love for God, 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:48.539 who himself will make all things new in the end. 00:19:49.419 --> 00:19:50.659 And this comes out more clearly 00:19:50.659 --> 00:19:52.139 in the second part of verse 15. 00:19:52.140 --> 00:19:53.580 If anyone loves the Father, 00:19:53.960 --> 00:19:55.160 I mean, sorry, verse 15. 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:56.280 If anyone loves the world, 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.540 love for the Father is not in them. 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:01.480 See, that's the ultimate goal. 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:04.380 The ultimate goal of this teaching about love 00:20:04.380 --> 00:20:06.720 is not spirit versus matter, 00:20:06.840 --> 00:20:08.080 it's about loving the Father 00:20:08.080 --> 00:20:09.540 more than loving the world, 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.180 loving the Creator more than loving the creation, 00:20:12.300 --> 00:20:14.780 loving God more than anything else. 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:16.820 And I know that to some of us, 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.600 this might seem rather restrictive 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:22.359 and even counterintuitive to our understanding of love. 00:20:22.419 --> 00:20:25.119 This notion of being told what to love 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:27.219 and what not to love. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.119 It really, it flies in the face of so much 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:32.719 of what we're taught to believe as Americans, 00:20:32.919 --> 00:20:34.599 especially in the Bay Area. 00:20:35.379 --> 00:20:36.639 Because here in America, 00:20:37.219 --> 00:20:40.079 we live by the principle of what this Cal sociologist, 00:20:40.219 --> 00:20:42.679 Robert Bella calls expressive individualism, 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:45.360 where each individual has their own unique 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:47.600 internal feelings and intuitions 00:20:47.600 --> 00:20:50.539 that they must faithfully express to the world. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:52.920 And no one else can tell us what to do 00:20:52.920 --> 00:20:55.120 and certainly not what to love. 00:20:55.779 --> 00:20:58.820 Choosing what to love is our fundamental human right, right? 00:20:59.580 --> 00:21:01.640 It's like that lawn sign I ran past 00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:03.259 in my neighborhood this week. 00:21:03.340 --> 00:21:05.420 I'm sure you've seen them in your neighborhoods. 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:06.920 In this household, 00:21:07.060 --> 00:21:09.420 we believe that black lives matter, 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:10.900 that science is real, 00:21:10.900 --> 00:21:13.440 that no humans are illegal, 00:21:13.560 --> 00:21:16.220 that women's rights are human rights. 00:21:16.620 --> 00:21:18.060 And right there, smack in the middle, 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.560 bold and bright and pink, 00:21:20.080 --> 00:21:21.259 that love is love. 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:22.660 That love is love. 00:21:22.700 --> 00:21:23.740 It's just common sense, right? 00:21:23.820 --> 00:21:26.560 Love is just love and it's always good. 00:21:27.160 --> 00:21:28.940 So everyone should just be free to love 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:31.120 whomever and whatever they want, 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:32.160 however they want, 00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:34.380 and for as long as they want. 00:21:35.100 --> 00:21:37.580 Why are we restricted to loving God the most? 00:21:37.580 --> 00:21:39.420 Why put restrictions on love? 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:42.140 Why put restrictions on a good thing? 00:21:42.560 --> 00:21:46.180 And is it even love if we are commanded to love? 00:21:46.860 --> 00:21:48.200 Shouldn't we just follow our hearts? 00:21:49.340 --> 00:21:49.920 Well, maybe, 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:53.140 but I want to read what the prophet Jeremiah said. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:54.900 The prophet Jeremiah said, 00:21:54.900 --> 00:21:58.480 the heart is deceitful above all things 00:21:58.480 --> 00:22:00.120 and desperately sick. 00:22:00.620 --> 00:22:01.940 Who can understand it? 00:22:02.620 --> 00:22:04.620 So what I want to do is I want to question. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.500 I want to question whether or not 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:08.700 we should all be completely free 00:22:08.700 --> 00:22:11.560 to just love whatever we want. 00:22:12.320 --> 00:22:13.740 I want to remind us, 00:22:13.940 --> 00:22:15.500 as the author Rebecca McLaughlin 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:16.660 reminds her children, 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:18.700 whenever they drive by signs like that 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:19.100 that say, 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:19.940 love is love, 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:20.860 she reminds her children 00:22:20.860 --> 00:22:22.500 of what the scriptures say. 00:22:22.500 --> 00:22:24.420 Actually, right here in this letter, 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:25.940 1 John chapter 4, 00:22:26.460 --> 00:22:28.099 that sure, love can be love, 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:29.880 but first and foremost, 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:31.539 what's most important to know 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:33.359 is that God is love. 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:35.000 God is love. 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:36.420 He is the standard. 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:38.119 He is the authority, 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:40.039 and his ways are not arbitrary. 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:42.180 See, when God tells us 00:22:42.180 --> 00:22:43.799 what to love and what not to love 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:44.779 in 1 John, 00:22:44.859 --> 00:22:45.839 it's not like God's saying, 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:47.519 hey, love the color green, 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:48.859 but not the color blue. 00:22:49.419 --> 00:22:50.199 He's not saying, 00:22:50.439 --> 00:22:52.079 love cheese board and not sliver. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:54.779 God wants us to love 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:55.919 in a way that comports 00:22:55.919 --> 00:22:58.000 with the world that he's made, 00:22:58.199 --> 00:22:59.919 down to the very last detail. 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:01.699 He wants us to love 00:23:01.699 --> 00:23:03.579 like we were always meant to love, 00:23:03.659 --> 00:23:05.099 and not according to the lust 00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:06.079 of our flesh, 00:23:06.219 --> 00:23:07.439 the lust of our eyes, 00:23:07.479 --> 00:23:08.419 or the pride of life. 00:23:08.919 --> 00:23:10.000 Look with me at verse 16. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.299 For everything in the world, 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:13.219 the lust of the flesh, 00:23:13.719 --> 00:23:14.679 the lust of the eyes, 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:16.000 and the pride of life 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:17.819 comes not from the Father, 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:19.140 but from the world. 00:23:19.819 --> 00:23:21.220 The world and its desires 00:23:21.220 --> 00:23:21.980 pass away, 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:24.119 but whoever does the will of God 00:23:24.119 --> 00:23:25.700 lives forever. 00:23:26.619 --> 00:23:28.160 See, the reason God wants us 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:29.319 to love some things 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:30.900 and not other things 00:23:30.900 --> 00:23:32.480 is because he wants us 00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:34.799 to love and to live forever. 00:23:35.480 --> 00:23:36.480 He wants us to love 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:37.819 what lasts forever. 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:39.880 And if I'm honest with you, 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:40.960 my lust of the flesh, 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:42.480 they don't last forever. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.740 I used to not like hamburgers. 00:23:44.740 --> 00:23:46.120 I love hamburgers now. 00:23:47.779 --> 00:23:49.339 And it's good that 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:50.200 my lust of the flesh 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:51.460 for fried chicken 00:23:51.460 --> 00:23:52.700 doesn't go on forever. 00:23:53.180 --> 00:23:53.400 Okay? 00:23:53.460 --> 00:23:54.500 I eat too much of that. 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:56.720 We need to love things 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:58.140 that last forever. 00:23:58.660 --> 00:23:58.900 All right? 00:23:59.620 --> 00:24:01.099 God wants us to love 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:03.180 and live forever with him. 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:04.079 The lust of the flesh, 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:04.880 the lust of the eyes, 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:05.640 the pride of life, 00:24:05.640 --> 00:24:06.660 none of these last. 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:08.079 And thus, 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.559 nothing that our flesh 00:24:09.559 --> 00:24:11.359 or that our eyes lust after, 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:12.460 no worldly achievement, 00:24:12.460 --> 00:24:15.559 is worthy of our ultimate love. 00:24:16.220 --> 00:24:17.319 According to 1 John, 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:18.819 according to all the rest 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:19.340 of the scriptures, 00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:20.900 according to Jesus himself, 00:24:21.620 --> 00:24:23.059 human beings were always meant 00:24:23.059 --> 00:24:25.920 to only have one ultimate love. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:28.400 One love that would define 00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:29.160 who we are 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:30.380 and what we were made for. 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:32.100 One love to orient 00:24:32.100 --> 00:24:34.299 the whole of our lives. 00:24:35.100 --> 00:24:35.819 In his book, 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.079 You Are What You Love, 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:38.640 author Jamie Smith says, 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:40.140 love is like gravity. 00:24:40.140 --> 00:24:41.759 It's something that pulls on us. 00:24:41.800 --> 00:24:43.060 It's like autopilot, 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:44.180 orienting us 00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:45.240 without our even 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:46.420 thinking about it. 00:24:47.060 --> 00:24:47.820 And that's why Jesus 00:24:47.820 --> 00:24:48.500 never said 00:24:48.500 --> 00:24:49.360 the greatest commandment 00:24:49.360 --> 00:24:50.420 is to just obey 00:24:50.420 --> 00:24:51.500 or to be good 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:52.820 or even to be kind 00:24:52.820 --> 00:24:54.000 and unselfish. 00:24:54.100 --> 00:24:55.080 The greatest commandment, 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:55.940 according to Jesus, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:57.540 is to do what humans 00:24:57.540 --> 00:24:58.780 were created to do 00:24:58.780 --> 00:25:00.100 in the first place. 00:25:00.620 --> 00:25:01.100 When asked 00:25:01.100 --> 00:25:02.360 what the greatest commandment was, 00:25:02.440 --> 00:25:03.060 Jesus quotes 00:25:03.060 --> 00:25:03.940 from the great Shema, 00:25:04.140 --> 00:25:05.340 from the Jewish law, 00:25:05.500 --> 00:25:07.140 emphasizing exclusive allegiance 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:08.700 to Yahweh. 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:10.299 Hear, O Israel, 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:12.080 the Lord our God, 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:13.039 the Lord is one. 00:25:13.600 --> 00:25:14.340 And you shall love 00:25:14.340 --> 00:25:16.000 the one Lord your God 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:17.660 with all your heart, 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:19.120 with all your soul, 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.440 with all your mind, 00:25:20.500 --> 00:25:22.000 and with all your strength. 00:25:23.140 --> 00:25:24.220 You know, in reality, 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:25.640 it should be silly to us 00:25:25.640 --> 00:25:27.059 that we even needed 00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:29.200 to be commanded to love. 00:25:29.860 --> 00:25:31.480 Just as it should be silly to us 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:32.680 that we needed to be commanded, 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:33.480 you know, 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:34.920 thou shalt not murder. 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:36.720 But ever since 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:38.140 the world fell into sin, 00:25:38.539 --> 00:25:39.740 when humanity 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:41.100 went our own way 00:25:41.100 --> 00:25:42.019 and loved 00:25:42.019 --> 00:25:44.140 an infinite number 00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:45.480 of things 00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:46.279 other than God, 00:25:47.060 --> 00:25:48.180 God had to give us 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:49.100 this basic command 00:25:49.100 --> 00:25:49.920 to love Him, 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:50.740 not because He's 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:52.380 some egomaniac, 00:25:52.960 --> 00:25:54.160 but because in sin 00:25:54.160 --> 00:25:55.240 our hearts went after 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:56.640 a whole lot of other things, 00:25:56.860 --> 00:25:58.279 only leading to further death 00:25:58.279 --> 00:25:59.920 and further despair. 00:26:00.100 --> 00:26:01.460 Things that would make us 00:26:01.460 --> 00:26:03.180 simultaneously less human 00:26:03.180 --> 00:26:05.160 and less like God. 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:07.100 That's what happens 00:26:07.100 --> 00:26:08.400 when people originally 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:09.880 made in God's image 00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:10.779 love other things 00:26:10.779 --> 00:26:11.700 more than God. 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:12.940 We become less human 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:15.220 and less like God. 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:17.140 Adam and Eve thought 00:26:17.140 --> 00:26:17.700 they were becoming 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:18.400 more like God, 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.400 but they already were. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:20.740 They already were 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.960 perfectly like God. 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:23.759 And they only dehumanized 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.120 themselves 00:26:24.120 --> 00:26:24.920 and made themselves 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:26.500 less like God. 00:26:27.120 --> 00:26:28.160 See, God's not about 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:29.560 denying or restricting 00:26:29.560 --> 00:26:30.519 our loves. 00:26:30.620 --> 00:26:31.640 He wants to perfect 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:33.900 and elevate our loves. 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:35.300 He wants His children 00:26:35.300 --> 00:26:36.840 to love and not to lust. 00:26:37.620 --> 00:26:38.240 You know, this word 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:39.360 for lust in the Greek, 00:26:39.680 --> 00:26:40.660 epithumia, 00:26:40.920 --> 00:26:42.380 comes from epithumia, 00:26:42.620 --> 00:26:44.480 epi-over-thumia, desire. 00:26:44.860 --> 00:26:46.660 It means to over-desire. 00:26:47.540 --> 00:26:48.360 Why do we lust? 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:50.100 Why do we over-desire? 00:26:50.860 --> 00:26:52.020 It's because our flesh 00:26:52.020 --> 00:26:52.800 and our eyes 00:26:52.800 --> 00:26:54.180 are insatiable 00:26:54.180 --> 00:26:55.740 outside of a loving 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:57.560 relationship with God. 00:26:58.320 --> 00:26:58.860 And the things 00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:00.059 that we want to achieve 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:01.459 and boast about 00:27:01.459 --> 00:27:02.639 are innumerable. 00:27:03.339 --> 00:27:04.579 We've given ourselves 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:05.359 the final say 00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:05.959 in what to love, 00:27:06.039 --> 00:27:06.579 but the thing is, 00:27:06.879 --> 00:27:08.139 can we actually handle 00:27:08.139 --> 00:27:09.419 that responsibility? 00:27:10.379 --> 00:27:11.299 Can we actually handle 00:27:11.299 --> 00:27:11.979 that responsibility? 00:27:12.779 --> 00:27:13.619 I'm reading an awesome 00:27:13.619 --> 00:27:14.259 book right now. 00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:14.619 It's called 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:15.559 You Are Not Your Own 00:27:15.559 --> 00:27:16.859 by Alan Noble. 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:18.219 He did his PhD at Baylor, 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:19.219 and I think it might be 00:27:19.219 --> 00:27:20.199 the most important book 00:27:20.199 --> 00:27:21.619 I've read in years. 00:27:22.339 --> 00:27:23.359 And his basic thesis 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:25.419 is that modern people 00:27:25.419 --> 00:27:26.439 like us, 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:27.879 to our own detriment, 00:27:27.880 --> 00:27:29.740 we have bought 00:27:29.740 --> 00:27:30.500 into the lie 00:27:30.500 --> 00:27:31.780 that we human beings 00:27:31.780 --> 00:27:33.640 are fundamentally our own 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:35.020 and that we ultimately 00:27:35.020 --> 00:27:37.120 belong only to ourselves. 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:38.540 And thus, 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:39.440 we have made ourselves 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.360 all responsible 00:27:40.360 --> 00:27:41.760 for the meaning 00:27:41.760 --> 00:27:43.040 of our own lives. 00:27:43.120 --> 00:27:44.320 We all now bear 00:27:44.320 --> 00:27:44.820 the burden 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:46.580 of justifying our lives 00:27:46.580 --> 00:27:47.480 by how we will live 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:48.420 and what we will value 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:50.220 and what we will love. 00:27:51.040 --> 00:27:52.100 But, he writes, 00:27:52.800 --> 00:27:53.900 the responsibilities, 00:27:53.900 --> 00:27:56.040 the responsibilities, 00:27:56.040 --> 00:27:56.259 the responsibilities 00:27:56.259 --> 00:27:57.640 of self-belonging 00:27:57.640 --> 00:27:59.860 require God-like powers 00:27:59.860 --> 00:28:00.800 to sustain, 00:28:01.660 --> 00:28:02.780 leaving us exhausted, 00:28:03.300 --> 00:28:03.660 tired, 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:04.720 burned out, 00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:05.780 and finally bored. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:07.740 We are always becoming 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:09.220 a fully realized human 00:28:09.220 --> 00:28:10.500 and never arriving. 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:12.040 Nobody ever arrives 00:28:12.040 --> 00:28:13.800 because there is no destination 00:28:13.800 --> 00:28:15.200 outside ourselves 00:28:15.200 --> 00:28:16.160 to arrive at. 00:28:16.820 --> 00:28:18.080 All we have are options 00:28:18.080 --> 00:28:19.640 and shifting opinions 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:21.880 and an overwhelming feeling 00:28:21.880 --> 00:28:23.520 that whatever the standard 00:28:23.520 --> 00:28:24.520 might be, 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:26.480 we aren't measuring up. 00:28:27.080 --> 00:28:28.100 Our work is inadequate. 00:28:28.320 --> 00:28:29.259 Our house is inadequate. 00:28:29.600 --> 00:28:30.680 Our tastes are inadequate. 00:28:30.860 --> 00:28:31.860 Our spouse is inadequate. 00:28:32.020 --> 00:28:32.960 Our body is inadequate. 00:28:33.100 --> 00:28:34.600 Our education is inadequate. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:36.560 And so on and so on. 00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:38.100 So please, 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:39.180 can we at least consider 00:28:39.180 --> 00:28:41.060 that this might be good news? 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:42.060 Can we at least consider 00:28:42.060 --> 00:28:42.860 the good news 00:28:42.860 --> 00:28:43.540 of a God 00:28:43.540 --> 00:28:44.100 who tells us 00:28:44.100 --> 00:28:44.840 what to love 00:28:44.840 --> 00:28:47.000 and what not to love? 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:48.420 because we, 00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:49.279 on our own 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:49.960 and in our sin, 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:50.980 we cannot handle 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:52.259 that responsibility. 00:28:53.539 --> 00:28:53.700 Like, 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:54.680 thanks be to God 00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:55.500 that He has shown us 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:56.299 a way to live 00:28:56.299 --> 00:28:57.099 and love 00:28:57.099 --> 00:28:58.500 that actually lasts. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:00.220 That actually lasts 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:01.440 by loving Him. 00:29:02.180 --> 00:29:02.859 By loving Him, 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:04.960 the eternal triune God 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:06.240 to whom the great 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:07.200 African theologian 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:07.839 Augustine prayed, 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:08.720 you have made us 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:09.460 for yourself 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:10.599 and our hearts 00:29:10.599 --> 00:29:11.220 are restless 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:12.599 till they find 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:13.519 their rest 00:29:13.519 --> 00:29:14.339 in you. 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:16.359 Christ Church, 00:29:16.359 --> 00:29:17.379 what do we love? 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:19.299 And will it last? 00:29:20.139 --> 00:29:21.000 What do we love 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:21.899 and will it last? 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:23.839 How we answer 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:24.619 this question 00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:25.199 will change 00:29:25.199 --> 00:29:26.639 everything for us. 00:29:26.699 --> 00:29:27.079 It'll change 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:28.079 everything for us 00:29:28.079 --> 00:29:28.579 because the quote 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:29.240 Jamie Smith again, 00:29:29.539 --> 00:29:30.679 you are what you love 00:29:30.679 --> 00:29:31.859 because you live 00:29:31.859 --> 00:29:33.159 toward what you want. 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:34.779 You are what you love 00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:35.439 because you live 00:29:35.439 --> 00:29:36.939 toward what you want. 00:29:37.959 --> 00:29:39.199 Do we love Christ 00:29:39.199 --> 00:29:40.899 or are we 00:29:40.899 --> 00:29:42.179 anti-Christ? 00:29:43.059 --> 00:29:44.240 Do we love Christ 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:44.859 or are we 00:29:44.859 --> 00:29:45.500 anti-Christ? 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:46.059 And if you're here 00:29:46.059 --> 00:29:46.579 this morning 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:48.039 and you are unsure, 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:49.960 maybe you look 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:50.559 at your life 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:51.700 and your flesh 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:52.700 just has so many 00:29:52.700 --> 00:29:53.079 lusts, 00:29:53.079 --> 00:29:53.859 I know mine does, 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:55.579 so many over-desires, 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:56.420 you just can't 00:29:56.420 --> 00:29:57.220 kick that addiction 00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:58.180 to alcohol 00:29:58.180 --> 00:29:58.920 or porn 00:29:58.920 --> 00:30:00.000 or whatever it is 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:00.579 that you're using 00:30:00.579 --> 00:30:01.380 to self-medicate 00:30:01.380 --> 00:30:01.980 your pain 00:30:01.980 --> 00:30:02.920 and your trauma 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:03.799 and your emptiness 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:04.799 and your insecurity 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:05.819 and your loneliness. 00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:07.980 You just can't 00:30:07.980 --> 00:30:08.559 let go of your 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:09.380 worldly ambitions 00:30:09.380 --> 00:30:10.160 and your pursuit 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:11.079 of the pride of life 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:12.119 and your work 00:30:12.119 --> 00:30:12.660 commitments 00:30:12.660 --> 00:30:13.940 continually supersede 00:30:13.940 --> 00:30:14.580 and override 00:30:14.580 --> 00:30:15.080 your commitments 00:30:15.080 --> 00:30:16.320 to your family 00:30:16.320 --> 00:30:16.940 and your friends 00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:17.560 and your church 00:30:17.560 --> 00:30:18.100 and your health 00:30:18.100 --> 00:30:19.240 and even your God. 00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:21.340 I want you to know 00:30:21.340 --> 00:30:22.500 that 1 John 00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:23.540 was not written 00:30:23.540 --> 00:30:24.740 to condemn you 00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:26.060 but to give you 00:30:26.060 --> 00:30:26.680 assurance 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:27.860 and hope 00:30:27.860 --> 00:30:29.160 and direction. 00:30:30.320 --> 00:30:31.240 Verse 21 says, 00:30:31.240 --> 00:30:31.960 it is not written 00:30:31.960 --> 00:30:33.059 because you do not 00:30:33.059 --> 00:30:33.880 know the truth 00:30:33.880 --> 00:30:35.279 but because you do 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:35.779 know it. 00:30:36.620 --> 00:30:37.599 If you are 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:38.400 a child of God, 00:30:38.460 --> 00:30:39.299 if that's truly 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:40.420 who you want to be, 00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:41.259 to be His, 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:43.039 to belong to Jesus, 00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:44.180 yes, 00:30:44.319 --> 00:30:45.900 there may be 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:47.160 many antichrists 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:48.259 in this very room 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:49.140 but, 00:30:49.740 --> 00:30:50.319 verse 20, 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:51.259 but you, 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:53.339 the ones sticking around, 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:55.019 continuing to pursue Christ 00:30:55.019 --> 00:30:56.539 and seeking to love 00:30:56.539 --> 00:30:57.799 like God loves, 00:30:57.880 --> 00:30:59.299 even with all of our failures, 00:30:59.579 --> 00:31:00.359 you are not alone 00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:02.119 but have an anointing 00:31:02.119 --> 00:31:03.279 from the Holy One 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:04.500 and all of you 00:31:04.500 --> 00:31:05.039 know the truth. 00:31:05.979 --> 00:31:07.099 God's word to us 00:31:07.099 --> 00:31:08.059 even in our struggle 00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:08.839 to hold on, 00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:10.179 even in our struggle 00:31:10.179 --> 00:31:11.099 is to hold on, 00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:12.299 is to hold on 00:31:12.299 --> 00:31:13.240 and to hold fast 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:13.819 to Him, 00:31:13.899 --> 00:31:14.500 to hold fast 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:15.379 to the good news 00:31:15.379 --> 00:31:16.679 that won our hearts 00:31:16.679 --> 00:31:17.299 to Christ 00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:18.799 in the first place. 00:31:19.699 --> 00:31:20.619 That God Himself 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:21.679 took on flesh 00:31:21.679 --> 00:31:22.519 in the person 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:23.339 of Jesus Christ 00:31:23.339 --> 00:31:24.939 to be with us, 00:31:25.159 --> 00:31:26.259 to identify with us 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:27.299 in every wound 00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:27.919 and trauma 00:31:27.919 --> 00:31:28.679 and temptation 00:31:28.679 --> 00:31:30.179 and to emerge 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:31.220 sinless yet still 00:31:31.220 --> 00:31:33.240 to die for our sins, 00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:34.680 to die for us, 00:31:35.380 --> 00:31:36.500 to raise us up 00:31:36.500 --> 00:31:36.820 with Him 00:31:36.820 --> 00:31:38.080 unto new life, 00:31:38.420 --> 00:31:38.700 light, 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:39.660 and love. 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:41.380 Verse 24, 00:31:41.600 --> 00:31:42.460 as for you, 00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:44.320 see that what you have heard 00:31:44.320 --> 00:31:45.080 from the beginning, 00:31:45.640 --> 00:31:46.200 the gospel, 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:47.820 remains in you. 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:49.440 If it does, 00:31:49.840 --> 00:31:51.140 you also will remain 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:51.840 in the Son 00:31:51.840 --> 00:31:52.980 and in the Father. 00:31:53.860 --> 00:31:54.539 And this is what 00:31:54.539 --> 00:31:55.460 He promised us, 00:31:56.100 --> 00:31:56.960 eternal life. 00:31:58.019 --> 00:31:59.160 That's what this is about. 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:00.820 Eternal life. 00:32:01.660 --> 00:32:01.840 Friends, 00:32:02.080 --> 00:32:03.320 this promise 00:32:03.320 --> 00:32:04.480 is still good for us. 00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:05.540 It's still good 00:32:05.540 --> 00:32:06.040 and available 00:32:06.040 --> 00:32:07.019 to all of us. 00:32:07.080 --> 00:32:07.620 This promise 00:32:07.620 --> 00:32:08.840 of eternal life. 00:32:10.640 --> 00:32:12.420 That God wants 00:32:12.420 --> 00:32:13.279 to be with us forever. 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:16.040 This is good news. 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:17.500 This promise 00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:18.560 is still good 00:32:18.560 --> 00:32:18.960 that He wants 00:32:18.960 --> 00:32:19.540 to abide 00:32:19.540 --> 00:32:20.640 and be with us 00:32:20.640 --> 00:32:21.640 and enjoy us 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:23.060 as we enjoy Him 00:32:23.060 --> 00:32:23.860 forever. 00:32:24.920 --> 00:32:25.740 So as it says 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.620 in verse 27, 00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:28.119 as the gracious 00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:29.359 anointing we receive 00:32:29.359 --> 00:32:29.719 from Him 00:32:29.719 --> 00:32:31.159 remains and abides 00:32:31.159 --> 00:32:31.659 in us, 00:32:32.399 --> 00:32:32.839 God's Word 00:32:32.839 --> 00:32:33.659 is calling us 00:32:33.659 --> 00:32:35.359 to let us remain 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:36.019 and abide 00:32:36.019 --> 00:32:36.899 in Him. 00:32:37.979 --> 00:32:38.739 He is divine. 00:32:39.739 --> 00:32:40.259 He will bear 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:40.859 much fruit 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:42.719 and we will so prove 00:32:42.719 --> 00:32:43.699 to be His disciples. 00:32:44.679 --> 00:32:45.179 This is what 00:32:45.179 --> 00:32:45.979 He wants for us. 00:32:46.599 --> 00:32:47.259 Do we want it 00:32:47.259 --> 00:32:48.179 for ourselves? 00:32:48.959 --> 00:32:49.659 Eternal life, 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:50.239 light, 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:50.779 and love 00:32:50.779 --> 00:32:51.519 with God, 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:52.739 in Christ, 00:32:53.239 --> 00:32:53.959 and with the Spirit. 00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:55.439 Will you pray with me? 00:32:56.619 --> 00:32:57.619 Amen. 00:32:57.619 --> 00:32:58.619 Amen.