The Son of God Is Life

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 27th of August, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

As we’ve seen, the emphasis of the Apostle John’s letters is on love – primarily God’s love for us and the importance of us loving others.  John has stressed how much God loves us by relating that He sent His own Son to free us from our bonds to sin and offer us eternal life in heaven.  And if God loves us that much, surely we should do as He asks of us and love others.

It really isn’t asking all that much, is it, to give other people the same consideration we would want for ourselves?  That’s all God is asking of us, to love others as we love ourselves.  Why is it so hard for us to do?

This morning we’ll begin to wrap up John’s 1st letter by looking at the opening to his closing chapter.  In finishing up the 4th chapter of this letter, the apostle reminds us that no one has ever seen God, but that God dwells in those who confess that Jesus is His Son.  God lives within us in the person of His Holy Spirit and while we can’t see Him, we can see His effects on us by the fruits of the Spirit.

Moreover, God is love, and whoever lives in love – whoever abides in love - lives in God, and God in him.  This is how Jesus lived while He walked this earth, loving us all enough to give completely of Himself, offering up His own mortal life as a blood sacrifice for the atonement of our sin.  We don’t have to sacrifice our mortal lives, but we should show our love of God by loving others.

So today we’ll continue the theme by looking at the first 12 verses of chapter 5 of John’s 1st letter to the early church, reading from the Living Bible version of our Holy Bible this morning…

1 If you believe that Jesus is the Christ — that He is God’s Son and your Savior — then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love His children too. 2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children — your brothers and sisters in the Lord — by how much you love and obey God. 3 Loving God means doing what He tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all; 4 for every child of God can obey Him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.

5 But who could possibly fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God? 6-8 And we know He is, because God said so with a voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized, and again as He was facing death — yes, not only at His baptism but also as He faced death. And the Holy Spirit, forever truthful, says it too. So we have these three witnesses: the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism, and the voice before He died. And they all say the same thing: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 9 We believe men who witness in our courts, and so surely we can believe whatever God declares. And God declares that Jesus is His Son. 10 All who believe this know in their hearts that it is true. If anyone doesn’t believe this, he is actually calling God a liar because he doesn’t believe what God has said about His Son.

11 And what is it that God has said? That He has given us eternal life and that this life is in His Son. 12 So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have His Son, does not have life.

--1 John 5:1-12 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for loving us so much that You would adopt us as Your own children just because we confess that Jesus is the Christ, Your Son, our Savior.  You chose us to believe, and then gave us the faith to know in our hearts that Jesus is Lord.  Thank You, Father, for these wonderful blessings.  Thank You for giving us life.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we struggle to do the simple things You ask of us.  Too often we fail to love others, even other believers, as we should.  We don’t always treat them like we want to be treated, nor consider their needs and feelings like we do our own.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us be more loving to all.  Keep reminding us of how Jesus showed His love for us.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his wicked deeds here on earth.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us how Your love is perfected in us.  Help us show Your love to others in all our words and deeds, every day in every way.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Someone once took the pains to calculate how a typical 70-year lifespan is spent.  According to their findings, we spend 23 of the 70 years sleeping.  That's 32.9% of our time on earth spent sleeping.  We work for 16 years of the 70, but it sure seems like more than that.  We watch TV for 8 years and eat for 6. We travel for 6 years and enjoy other leisure activities for 4-1/2 years.  We are sick or ill for 4 years, and spend 2 years just getting dressed.  Seems like I've left something out.  Hmm…  That doesn't quite add up to 70 – only 69-1/2 years.  Oh yeah...  Religion.  According to this little exercise, the average person spends only 1/2 of one year of their 70 year lifespan worshiping their God.

Now that 70 year lifespan might be closer to 80 now, but the percentages are probably still the same.  And I don’t know about you, but I think this is a very sad commentary on human life.  We spend 2 years – 24 months - just getting dressed, but only 6 months worshiping our God.  We sit in front of a TV – or a computer - for 8 years, but only half a year with our heavenly Father.

The study didn’t list book reading as a pastime, but it might be wrapped up in the “other leisure activities” category.  One of the easiest ways to spend time with God, second only to prayer, is to read and study His word.  If we’ll take the time to read romance or crime novels or adventure stories or science fiction books, why do we have so little inclination to pick up the Bible and read it?  Our Bible has all of these elements, except it is fact rather than fiction.  It has romance and crime, tales of love and sex, war stories and great battle scenes, treachery, high drama, with even a bit of comedy thrown in here and there.

Is it too difficult to read and understand?  Well, the King James Version certainly can be, but there are many that are easy to read, such as the one we’re using this morning, the Living Bible.  So let’s spend a little more time with our Bibles and in prayer, and see if we can’t bump those numbers up to at least a full year out of our 70.

Toward the end of our scripture passage this morning, John reminds us that God has given we believers eternal life and that this life is in His Son Jesus.  And I say “reminds us” because he first mentioned this in the opening to his Gospel account.  You may remember how he described Jesus, saying, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”  For a slightly different take on that familiar passage, listen to the Living Bible version of the first 5 verses of the 1st chapter of John’s Gospel account...

1-2 Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is Himself God. 3 He created everything there is — nothing exists that He didn’t make. 4 Eternal life is in Him, and this life gives light to all mankind. 5 His life is the light that shines through the darkness — and the darkness can never extinguish it.

--John 1:1-5 (TLB)

Eternal life is in Jesus.  This is what Jesus offers, this is what He freely gives to anyone who will confess Him as the Christ, believe in Him as the Son of God, accept Him as Lord.  Whoever has Jesus – in their heart, in their thoughts, in their life - has eternal life.

Getting back to the beginning of our passage, as he opens the final chapter of his 1st letter, John jumps right in to the topic of love.  Because we believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, God has made us His children.  And if we love our heavenly Father, then we will love all His other children, too.

Here as in other passages of his letters and Gospel account, John is speaking of our loving other believers, our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Jesus tells us to love everyone, even our enemies, those who would do us harm.  I think John is saying that if we can’t find it in ourselves to love everyone as God would have us do, then at least we should love other Christians.  But apparently that is too difficult for us, too.  We don’t have to look very far to see believers acting in an unchristian manner toward other believers.

It isn’t always easy to love our own blood siblings, is it.  Yet here we’re tasked with loving our adoptive brothers and sisters, God’s other adopted children.  John admits it can be a battle for us, but that we can win the fight with the help of Jesus, by believing that He truly is the Son of God.

This part shouldn’t be too hard for those who have accepted and exercised the faith God gave us, because we have three witnesses to Jesus being God’s Son.  Well, two of the witnesses are the same, just at two different times, and all three give testimony to that Father-Son relationship.

The first witness is God Himself, when His voice rang out from heaven at the event of Jesus’ baptism.  This is how the Apostle Matthew recorded it, in the 3rd chapter of his Gospel account, verses 16 and 17…

16 After His baptism, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to Him and He saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with Him.”

--Matthew 3:16-17 (TLB)

“This is My beloved Son!”  God didn’t say, “This is an angel” or “This is a great prophet”.  He said, “This is My Son, whom I love dearly and with whom I am wonderfully pleased.”

And the second witness is the same as the first, but this time it comes shortly before Jesus is arrested and crucified, when He is transfigured on the mountainside before Peter, James, and John.  Matthew relates this in the 5th verse of the 17th chapter of his Gospel account, just after Peter offers to build three tabernacles…

5 But even as he said it, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him. Obey him.”

--Matthew 17:5 (TLB)

Again God proclaims that Jesus is His beloved Son.  And God should be pleased, for Jesus did everything asked of Him, obeying His Father to the very end.  

Oh, and did you notice that this time God adds, “Obey Him.”  This wasn’t a request.  There were no conditions tacked on, like, “Obey Him if you agree with what He tells you.”  We are to obey Jesus, God’s beloved Son, and do what He commands.  What does He command but to love God, to love others as we love ourselves, and to go out making disciples.  It’s all about love.

And the third witness to Jesus being God’s Son, if we needed another witness after those two, is the voice of God’s Spirit in our hearts.  The Holy Spirit always tells the truth, and He whispers to us that Jesus is the Son of God; Jesus is God.

The voice of God’s Spirit in our hearts, the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism, and the voice before He died – all three proclaim Jesus to be the Son of God.  John points out that if we are willing to believe the testimony of other humans in a court proceeding, then surely we should be able to believe what the Almighty God declares.  All who believe know this to be true.  Our faith tells us it is true.  And those who don’t believe…  well, they’re effectively calling God a liar, because they don’t believe what God Himself has said.

So we’re back to where we started.  Jesus is the Son of God, and in Him is eternal life.  That life, the life that is Jesus, is the light of mankind, the light that shines in the darkness, the light that can never be dimmed or extinguished.

Jesus is life, eternal life to all who believe.  Believe, and live for all eternity with God in heaven.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave His all for us.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for having pity on us poor sinners, for having mercy on us.  Thank You for the many blessings You pour out over us.   And most of all, thank You for giving us the faith to believe that Jesus is Your beloved Son.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to do as Jesus commands us, when we don’t obey Him as You ordered.  Forgive us when we get too caught up with the things of the world and don’t take the time to spend with You.  Forgive us when we neglect the needs of others, when we can’t even show love to our fellow Christians.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us remember how He lived, how He loved.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You are our light.  You show us the way out of darkness and into eternal life.  Thank You, Jesus, for giving of Yourself for us.  Please forgive us when we fail to give of ourselves for others.  Forgive us when we don’t treat other believers the way we ourselves want to be treated.  We pray, Lord, that You please help us see the times we displease You, and show us how to do better.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all traps and snares he lays in our path.  Help us see though his temptations.

Lord Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Seeing God

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 20th of August, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

In our reading of the Apostle John’s letters to the early church, we’ve seen how he emphasizes love with the occasional warning thrown in.  God loves us, and if we love Him, we will show our love by loving others and helping them in their times of need.

We can also see that John is very concerned about the spiritual welfare of those reading his letters, which includes us.  He encourages us to avoid the darkness and walk always in the light, to cleanse ourselves of unrighteousness and strengthen our faith so that we can be one with God and He with us.

John clearly practiced Jesus’ command to love others, as he showed his love to all, even folks he would never meet, like us today.

This morning, we continue with John’s 1st letter by finishing up chapter 4.  Remember that he opened the chapter by giving us a simple test to determine if someone who claims to speak for God truly has God’s Holy Spirit within them, or the spirit of the world.  There are those working against Jesus, who have the spirit of the Antichrist within them, who believe in and spread only the views of the world.  John warned us not to be drawn in by the world’s viewpoint and be blinded to the biblical view.  The Apostle Paul echoed many of John’s comments and also encouraged us to look deep within ourselves as well, to test the strength of our own faith.

So for today, let’s return to where we left off and finish chapter 4 of John’s 1st letter by looking at verses 12 through 21, reading from the Modern English Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us.

13 We know that we live in Him, and He in us, because He has given us His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way God’s love is perfected in us, so that we may have boldness on the Day of Judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Whoever fears is not perfect in love.

19 We love Him because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 We have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

--1 John 4:12-21 (MEV)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You giving the Apostle John insight into both Your love for us and what You expect of us.  At the request of Your Son Jesus, You gave us Your Holy Spirit and He dwells in us.  You are in us, and Your love is perfected in us.  Thank You, Father, for loving us so much and for showing us how to love.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we just can’t find it within ourselves to love others as we love ourselves.  Too often we fail to love as Jesus loves: unconditionally, sacrificially.  Forgive us these times, please Father.  Help us be more loving, and help us show our love in tangible ways.  Keep reminding us of how much You and Jesus love us.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us how best to live in love.  Help us show Your love to others in all our words and deeds, every day in every way.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Bruce Shelly, in his book Christian Theology in Plain Language, wrote: 

“It is possible for a person to contend that a poem is nothing but black marks on white paper.  And such an argument might be convincing before an audience that could not read.  You can examine the print under a microscope or analyze the paper and ink but you will never find something behind this sort of analysis that you could call 'a poem'.  Those who can read, however, will continue to insist that poems exist.”

What is a poem but simply a bunch of words placed together in some semblance of order.  And what is a word but a grouping of marks, again in a certain order.  To someone who can’t read, would some grouping of marks have any meaning to them?  If you can’t read and understand Japanese, is their writing at all meaningful, other than maybe looking pretty?

Do “words” behind those markings really exist, and if they indeed are words, do they come together to make a “poem”?  Well, if you can read words printed in any language, and see how those words come together to form a poem, then that poem can convey not only meaning but something of significance in the reader’s life.

And so it is with God.  Those who do not know Him cannot truly see Him.  They will doubt there even is a God.  Those who believe, on the other hand, those whose faith is strong, will continue to insist that God exists.  And not only does He exist, but His hand is still at work in our lives.

There really is a poem here, and it is God’s word.

So John starts our passage this morning by claiming that no one has seen God at any time.  Now this makes sense, when we consider that God is spiritual, not physical.  Our eyes cannot see into the spiritual spectrum.  We may be able to see His “hand” at work, but we cannot see Him.

Since we’ve already seen that John repeats himself often, to make sure we get the point, we shouldn’t be too surprised that he said the same thing about God in the 18th verse of the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, when he wrote...

18 No one has seen God at any time. The only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

--John 1:18 (MEV)

Of course, John simply got this little tidbit from God Himself, and it all goes back to when Moses asked to witness God in all His glory.  Moses recorded God’s reply in chapter 33 verse 20 of his Book of the Exodus, when God said…

20b “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live.”

--Exodus 33:20b (MEV)

God is God, after all.  And if God wanted us to be able to see Him, then we could see Him.  Since He is the one almighty God, the Creator of all there is, I can only imagine that His face would shine brighter than a thousand suns.

Then again, if we could see Him, what would be the point of faith?  It’s easy to believe in something we can see with our own eyes, even though we can be fooled sometimes.  But God gave us faith so that we can believe without the need of physically seeing.  We can “see” God through our hearts, where He dwells within us in the person of His Holy Spirit.

God dwells within us, and His love is perfected in us.  God is revealed to us through His Holy Spirit within us.  And while we cannot “see” the Spirit either, we should be able to see His fruits at work in our lives.

If we look deep within anyone who truly believes, we can see God in His Holy Spirit by the fruits of His Spirit.  The Apostle Paul put it like this, in the 15th chapter of his letter to the Galatians, verse 16 and verses 19 through 26…

16 I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

19 Now the works of the flesh are revealed, which are these: adultery, sexual immorality, impurity, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, rage, selfishness, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I previously warned you, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, and self-control; against such there is no law. 24 Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.

--Galatians 5:16,19-26 (MEV)

This is our guidance.  Those who believe that Jesus is Christ and who follow Him, God’s Holy Spirit lives in us.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit, bearing His fruit to the world.

Let us love all others, being always joyful and peaceful.  Let us be patient and gentle with all, showing our faith by spreading goodness where we walk.  And let us exhibit meekness and humility as Jesus asks of us by exercising self-control.

Let us bury our passions and lusts and conceit, no longer provoking or envying one another.  For how can others see God in us if we can’t see Him within ourselves?

God is love.  John promises that whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  And this is how God’s love is perfected in us, because when we love as Jesus loved, we are as Jesus was in this world.  So we need have no fear when we stand before God on the Day of Judgment, for love casts out fear.

Last week in the first part of this chapter, John reminded us that, “This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us.”  Today he adds to that by saying, “We love God because He first loved us.”  If we truly love God, we will love others, so that they too might see God through our love and our deeds, in our words and our actions, by our patience and gentleness.  This is what we are commanded to do.

Let us show our love so that all can see what - and Who - is in our hearts.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, who loves us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for showing us so great a love.  Thank You for being so merciful upon us that You would adopt us as Your own and give us eternal life just for following Your Son Jesus.   And thank You for showing us through Your word what love truly means.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to show Your love to all, refusing to love those we deem unlovable.  Forgive us when we act out of our passions rather than always out of love.  Forgive us when we hesitate to step out of our comfort zone and try to help someone come to know Jesus, the greatest love of all.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us remember how He loved, giving of Himself and His all just for us.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, when You walked this earth, You loved without condition and without the expectation of any earthly reward or recognition.  You followed Your Father’s command to love others, knowing that Your reward would be saved up in heaven.  Thank You, Jesus, for setting the example for us to follow.  Please forgive us when we hesitate to love as You loved.  Forgive us when we aren’t willing to give of ourselves equally to those we like and those we don’t like.  We pray, Lord, that You please help us be better disciples, following You and Your commands more closely.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

Lord Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

A Simple Test

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 13th of August, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

As we continue our reading of the Apostle John’s letters to the early church, we can still see his emphasis on love, but we also receive a warning.  And this isn’t all that unusual for John, either.  Earlier, he warned us about the Antichrist, and the anti-Christs.  He cautioned us to stop walking in the darkness of sin but stay in the light that is Jesus, to stop deceiving ourselves by thinking we do not sin, to stop loving the world and all its shiny things, to not hate others in our hearts, because God sees that as the same as murder.

And he tells us all this because of love.  John is sharing the love of God with us by warning us of how God sees our actions and inactions, our words and our thoughts, even the very stirrings of our hearts.  God loves us and wants us to be with Him forever, but He is just and righteous and demands our obedience.

So John is letting us know what we should and shouldn’t do, and love is at the center of it all.  If we love others, we will not hate them.  If we love God, we will obey Him.  If we love Jesus, we will be on the alert for those who work against Him and not fall victim to their lies.  So it is in our best interests to pay close attention to what the beloved disciple and apostle has to say.

This morning, we continue with John’s 1st letter and his opening to chapter 4.  He concluded the 3rd chapter by telling us to love others so that we can stay one with God.  It was in that passage that he warned us about how hatred can doom us, because God sees hating someone in our hearts as being the same as murdering them, as taking their life from them.

John reminded us of two key points, two things God expects of us.  Our heavenly Father wants us to have faith in His Son Jesus Christ, and He wants us to love each other.  His Holy Spirit within us is proof of His love, and proof of our faith.

So let’s get to it and delve into chapter 4 of John’s 1st letter, starting with verses 1 through 11, reading today from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. 5 Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.

--1 John 4:1-11 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for inspiring the Apostle John and giving him insight into Your heart.  Through His writings, we know how much You love us, and what You expect of us.  Thank You, Father, for the warnings John gives as well as the encouragement.  Sadly, Father, sometimes we are stubbornly disobedient.  Too often we let the things of this world distract us from doing what we know we should do.  Forgive us these times, Father, when we rebel.  Please help us loosen our grip on the world.  Help us love others just as Your Son Jesus loved.  Keep reminding us of what You see as good and righteous behavior.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Show us what to look for within our own hearts as we test ourselves and examine our faith.  Help us purge ourselves of all hatred and prejudice, leaving only love in their place.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Dr. Joseph Stowell, in his book Fan the Flame, wrote: 

“Discernment in Scripture is the skill that enables us to differentiate. It is the ability to see issues clearly. We desperately need to cultivate this spiritual skill that will enable us to know right from wrong. We must be prepared to distinguish light from darkness, truth from error, best from better, righteousness from unrighteousness, purity from defilement, and principles from pragmatics.”

We can see a lot of John’s message echoed in these words Dr. Stowell shared with us.  For the sake of our eternal souls, we need to be able to see issues clearly and discern the difference between right and wrong, between truth and lies, between righteousness and evil, between light and darkness.

John cautions us about those who are working against Christ, who tell believable lies, who spin the devil’s message into a parody of the truth.  These are the false prophets who do not have the Spirit of God within them, who are children of the devil.  And they are so good at their craft that countless souls are lost to them and doomed to everlasting punishment.  We must not join them!

Thanks to God, we have a faithful Guide to help us discern what is true and good.  God sent His very own Holy Spirit to live within those who truly follow His Son Jesus.  But it’s up to us to listen to the Spirit and go only where He leads us.  He will help us, if we listen.

John brings up some interesting points in these opening verses this morning.  The first is that if a person says they speak for God and acknowledges that Christ Jesus came into this world in human form, in a real body, then that person indeed has the Spirit of God within them.

If you’ll recall from a few weeks ago, one of the purposes for John to write this letter was to counter what the Gnostics had been teaching the people.  The Gnostics did not believe that God, being entirely spiritual, could interact with a physical human to create a physical being.  So either Jesus couldn’t be God or He couldn’t have come to earth in a human body.  Which means the Gnostics did not have the Spirit of God in them, but instead the spirit of the Antichrist.

And then John notes that since we belong to God, we already have a victory over the world and its people, because we have God’s Spirit within us and He is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.  We won the victory through Jesus, who did all the fighting for us.

John goes on to say that the people of the world speak from the world’s viewpoint.  Worldly people see things in a worldly way.  We don’t have to look very far to see the world’s viewpoint; it’s plastered all around us.  Bigger, newer, more expensive is always better.  You need this shiny new thing to be happy.  Here, buy this, and be more popular.  Do what you want to do whenever you want to do it – everyone else does.  Just be what you want to be.  Contrast this to the biblical view, where all that truly matters, all we really need in this life, is to love God, believe in His Son, and love others as we love ourselves.

So John tells us to love one another and to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us.  The Spirit will help us discern what is right, what is in the biblical view, and what is wrong, what is consistent with the worldview.

John isn’t the only one to give this advice.  The Apostle Paul also tells us to love God and listen to His Holy Spirit.  Hear what Paul wrote in his 1st letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 5 verses 16 through 22…

16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil.

--1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 (NLT)

God loves us and we can show our love for Him by being joyful and thankful in any and all circumstances.  Keep praying to Him in good times and bad.  For this is what God wants us to do, we who belong to Christ Jesus.

Paul also warns us not to hold back the Holy Spirit, not to muzzle Him, and certainly not to ignore Him, for He will guide us around the devil’s traps if we let Him.  He will show us what is right and wrong if we’ll just listen.

And Paul adds that we shouldn’t disregard those people who say they speak for God, but we need to listen carefully, testing everything they say through the Holy Spirit within us.  We can hold on to what is good, but steer clear of anything that is evil.

So we have a simple test to see if a person has the Spirit of God living within them, or the spirit of the world, and it boils down to their belief in Jesus as the Son of God.  But this test shouldn’t be applied just to other people.

Remember in our opening invocation where King David reminds us that the Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked.  So maybe the first person we need to test… is our self.  Hear what Paul tells us in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13 verse 5…

5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is in you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

--2 Corinthians 13:5 (NLT)

We need to test ourselves as well as others.  We need to look at our faith to make sure it is genuine – real, and not just phony lip-service in an attempt to appease God.  We should have no doubt that Christ is in us, that God’s Holy Spirit lives within us.  If we are unsure, then maybe our faith isn’t real.

It’s only natural to question ourselves, to wonder if we really are saved, if we’re really being true to Jesus.  But if we look deep enough, we should be able to tell whether we’re really doing as our Lord commands us.  Or are we holding back, still holding on to too much of the world?  Do we truly love others in the same way that Jesus loves, or do we harbor hatreds and prejudices in our hearts?  Are we too afraid to even look?

Family, God is good.  He loves us, and John reminds us that God showed how much He loves us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him.  This is love – not that we love God, but that He loves us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sin.  Since God loves us this much, surely we ought to love each other.

And if we truly believe in Jesus and are following Him, we will examine ourselves.  We’ll look through every nook and cranny of our lives.  It may prove to be a painful examination.  But it is necessary in order for us to maintain good spiritual health.  And we have God’s own Holy Spirit to help.

So let’s be sure to test others, to see if the Spirit of God is within them, and test ourselves to be sure He is truly within us as well.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You sent Your own Son to save us.  Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit to live within us and guide us, helping us discern good from evil.   And thank You for inspiring the Apostle John to share with us what you expect of us.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we fail to follow Your Spirit’s guidance and look to the world’s viewpoint instead.  Forgive us when we struggle to let go of the world, or even loosen its grip on us.  Forgive us when we hesitate to look within ourselves, to test ourselves, to examine our faith.  Please help us see the truth.  Help us remember Your love and Your warnings.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You showed Your love for Your Father by obeying His commands.  And You showed Your love for mankind by giving of Yourself that we might be freed from sin and gain everlasting life.  Thank You, Jesus, for loving us this much.  Please forgive us when we hesitate to follow You completely, when we are afraid to step out of our comfort zone to do as You command.  Forgive us when we don’t listen to the Holy Spirit and let the world lead us astray.  We pray, dear Lord, that You please help us give ourselves fully to You.  Help us heed all the Holy Spirit’s urgings, going only where He leads.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Showing Our Love

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 6th of August, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

I mentioned two weeks ago that the Apostle John is very concerned with the subject of love.  In our Bible, he is often referred to as the beloved disciple or the disciple beloved of Jesus.  And he returns that love by emphasizing love, both in his Gospel account and in his letters to the early church.

John reminds us constantly of how much God loves us, that He sacrificed His own Son so that we might be washed clean of our sin and gain eternal life in heaven.  And he encourages us to love one another, for this is what Jesus commanded us to do.  John certainly followed Jesus’ command during his life, and he left us a lasting legacy of love through his writings.

This morning, we are going to continue reading John’s 1st letter to the early church, picking up right where we left off the week before our sing-along.  In the first part of the 3rd chapter of this letter, John had been telling us how to know the difference between children of God and children of the devil.  Those who keep on sinning and do not love others do not belong to God.  They belong to Satan and are his.  But those who live in Jesus and refrain from sinning, who love other believers, and who live righteously, these are the children of God.  So it really boils down to love.  True children of God show their love for Him by their love for others.

So let’s not be too surprised if John stays on the topic of love as we finish chapter 3 of his 1st letter, verses 11 through 24, reading today from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

11  From the beginning you were told we must love each other. 12  Don't be like Cain, who belonged to the devil and murdered his own brother. Why did he murder him? He did it because his brother was good, and he was evil. 13 My friends, don't be surprised if the people of this world hate you. 14  Our love for each other proves we have gone from death to life. But if you don't love each other, you are still under the power of death.

15 If you hate each other, you are murderers, and we know murderers do not have eternal life. 16 We know what love is because Jesus gave His life for us. This is why we must give our lives for each other. 17 If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. 18 Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely by talking about it.

19 When we love others, we know we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God. 20 But even if we don't feel at ease, God is greater than our feelings, and He knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if we feel at ease in the presence of God, we will have the courage to come near Him. 22 He will give us whatever we ask, because we obey Him and do what pleases Him. 23  God wants us to have faith in His Son Jesus Christ and to love each other. This is also what Jesus taught us to do. 24 If we obey God's commandments, we will stay one in our hearts with Him, and He will stay one with us. The Spirit He has given us is proof that we are one with Him.

--1 John 3:11-24 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for saving the writings of the Apostle John for us so we can know just how much You love us.  By John’s words we know that we belong to the truth, we belong to You.  Thank You, Father, for bringing us into Your family.  Sadly, though, Father, sometimes we have trouble loving other people, even other believers.  Some folks just aren’t all that loveable.  Forgive us these times, Father, when we struggle to do as we are commanded.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us love without conditions, as He loved.  Remind us that we bear His name, the name of Your Christ, so it is important that we represent Him in the best possible light.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us show Your love through our real service, and not just by giving lip service.  Help us stay one in our hearts with You and with Jesus, so that You will stay one with us.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Back in 1962, the following ad appeared in the San Francisco Examiner newspaper: 

"I don't want my husband to die in the gas chamber for a crime he did not commit.  I will therefore offer my services for 10 years as a cook, maid, or housekeeper to any leading attorney who will defend him and bring about his vindication." 

One of San Francisco's greatest attorneys, Vincent Hallinan, read or heard about the ad and contacted Gladys Kidd, who had placed it.  Her husband, Robert Lee Kidd, was about to be tried for the slaying of an elderly antique dealer.  Kidd's fingerprints had been found on a bloodstained ornate sword in the victim's shop.  During the trial, Hallinan proved that the antique dealer had not been killed by the sword, and that Kidd's fingerprints and blood on the sword got there because Kidd had once toyed with it while playfully dueling with a friend when they were both out shopping.  The jury, after 11 hours of deliberation, found Kidd to be not guilty.  Attorney Hallinan refused Gladys Kidd's offer of 10 years' servitude.

You may ask, what has this to do with showing love?  Well… everything.  Mrs. Kidd was willing to subject herself to base servitude because she loved her husband.  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  Mrs. Kidd was ready to lay down 10 years of her life to anyone who would help her husband.  Mr. Hallinan must have been impressed with this show of love, for he gave his services free of charge, which is another act of love: love for his fellow man.

Now it’s easy to understand a person loving their spouse enough to sacrifice for them, for we tend to do more, to give more, for the people we love.  But to sacrifice for a complete stranger - to give of ourselves, our time, our resources – that is the kind of love Jesus commands of us.

There’s an old saying: “Give until it hurts.”  Well, I think Jesus would have said, “Give until it hurts, then give some more.”  This is love: giving until it hurts then giving even more.

Now family, I know it must seem to you that I’ve been talking about love and loving others a lot lately.  Maybe you think enough is enough, that I’ve exhausted the subject by now and I’m just repeating myself.  Well, in a way, that’s true – I am repeating myself.  But there’s a very good reason for it.

As I’ve mentioned before, when we read something in our Bible in more than one place, it is because this is something that is important for us to grasp, to understand, to remember.  God is repeating Himself to make sure we get the point.  The more it is repeated, the more important it is for us.

Love – love for God, God’s love for us, love for others – love is a constantly recurring theme in our Bible.  It is our commandment: to love others as we love ourselves, as Jesus loves us.  In my way of thinking, this is the most important thing for us to do, or else it wouldn’t be repeated so much.  And it may just be the hardest thing for us to do.

It’s hard to love the unlovable.  It’s hard to love someone who has done us wrong, who hates us, who wishes us harm.  It’s hard to love those other people who aren’t like us, who don’t think like us, who don’t look like us.

Sometimes it’s even hard to love our own sibling.  John, who is all about love, starts out today’s scripture reading talking about hatred.  And he gives Cain and Abel, the very first siblings, as an example.  There was no love in Cain.  He hated his brother because Abel did good in the eyes of God, while Cain cared more about himself because he was under the control of the devil.  So John warns us that the world will hate us, does hate us, when we do good in God’s eyes.  And it is our love for one another that shows we are doing good, that we are no longer under the power of death.

John also says that hating another person is the same as murdering them, in God’s eyes, just as hatred led Cain to murder Abel.  Jesus Himself warned us of this, in His Sermon on the Mount, when He said that if we hold hatred for one another, we will face judgment for it, just as will a murderer.

But we know that hatred and love are closely entwined.  Sometimes it’s far easier to hate than to love.  Of course, if loving others was easy, anyone could do it, and we know that so seldom happens.  Wouldn’t it be nice, though, if everyone did?  If everyone loved each other as they loved themselves, there’d be no more wars, no more crime, no more killings, no more hunger or homelessness or thirst.  But the world only knows hatred, because the world only knows Satan.

So loving each other is important, to ourselves and to God.  Hating is bad, loving is good.  But there’s a lot more to love than just saying, “I love you”, isn’t there.  I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say, “So-and-so hardly ever said, ‘I love you’, but he showed it every single day.  I knew I was loved.”

What is love?  How can we show it?  Poets and song-writers have tackled the subject for thousands of years, with varying degrees of success.  I think the Apostle Paul says it best, in the 13th chapter of his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, verse 1 through the first part of verse 8 when he writes…

1 What if I could speak

all languages of humans

and even of angels?

If I did not love others,

I would be nothing more

than a noisy gong

or a clanging cymbal.

2 What if I could prophesy

and understand all mysteries

and all knowledge?

And what if I had faith

that moved mountains?

I would be nothing,

unless I loved others.

3 What if I gave away all

that I owned

and let myself

be burned alive so that 

I could brag?

I would gain nothing,

unless I loved others.

4 Love is patient and kind,

never jealous, boastful,

proud, or 5 rude.

Love isn't selfish

or quick tempered.

It doesn't keep a record

of wrongs that others do.

6 Love rejoices in the truth,

but not in evil.

7 Love is always supportive,

loyal, hopeful,

and trusting.

8 Love never fails!

--1 Corinthians 13:1-8a (CEV)

Love never fails.

The ancient Greek philosophers acknowledged three kinds of love, and they gave a name to each.  There is eros, what we would consider romantic love.  There is philios, from which we get filial love, or love of family and close friends; a warm, affectionate love.  And there is agape, the unconditional, sacrificial love for others that Jesus commands us to do.

This is the love that Paul touts, a love that is patient and kind, just as a parent for their child.  A love that is never jealous, never boastful, never proud, and certainly never rude.  Jealousy is a form of self-centeredness, and being self-centered has no place in love, because love isn’t selfish.

Oh, and love doesn’t keep a list of all the wrongs that others do, but instead, like God, chooses to forget them and forgive.  Love is supportive, encouraging, uplifting.  Love is loyal, faithful, ever hopeful, always trusting.

So yes, family, I am repeating myself.  And as long as our Bible keeps reminding us to love one another, I’ll keep on repeating myself.  For love is important to God, because God is love.  He loves us so much, He sent His Son to save us.  And all He asks is that we love in return.

If we truly believe in Jesus, if we really are following Him, we will love as He loved.  It’s not easy.  It requires constant attention, constant reminders.  But we have God’s own Holy Spirit within us to remind us when we forget, or when our anger or prejudices get the best of us.

Listen to the Holy Spirit, listen to Jesus, and love one another.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You would have mercy on us and send Your Christ, Your Son, to offer us forgiveness and freedom from our sin.  Thank You for stressing how important love is for us, not only that You love us but that we should also love You and love others just as much as we love ourselves.   And thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit to keep reminding us to love.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we find it too difficult to love unconditionally, sacrificially.  Forgive us when we are unwilling to give of ourselves.  Forgive us when we allow hatred to take control.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us see others through His eyes, loving them enough to not want to see them suffer eternal damnation.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You love us so much that You gave up Your mortal life for us, to set us free from our sinful ways, to give us new life in You.  And all You ask is that we love one another and show our love by helping others.  If we truly do love one another, including our enemies and those who would do us harm, then we will try to help make disciples of them, so that they too can be saved from eternal torment and punishment.  Please forgive us when we let hatred and prejudice get in the way of loving.  Forgive us when we don’t listen to the Holy Spirit and let the world lead us astray.  We pray, dear Lord, that You please help us ignore the world and its hatred and cruelty.  Help us be more like You, loving as You love: unconditionally, selflessly, sacrificially.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Make a Joyful Noise

 

[The following is a manuscript of my brief devotional delivered on Sunday morning, the 30th of July, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was our 5th Sunday Sing-Along service, and we also hosted a Gideon speaker.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Hear the song of a psalmist whose name has long been forgotten, from the 100th Psalm as recorded in the English Standard Version of our Holy Bible…

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

2 Serve the Lord with gladness!

Come into His presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, He is God!

It is He who made us, and we are His;

we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

and His courts with praise!

Give thanks to Him; bless His name!

5 For the Lord is good;

His steadfast love endures forever,

and His faithfulness to all generations.

--Psalm 100 (ESV)

Family, for a church of our size, we are truly blessed with so much talent.  We have members with angelic voices, and those with great musical gifts on instruments.  Some are gifted in crafts, others in finances, others in teaching, and many excellent cooks.

The psalmist is talking about praising the Lord, and you’ll notice that he doesn’t say a word about employing any specific talent in doing so.  He tells us to make a joyful noise, to come into our Lord’s presence with singing, with thanksgiving, and with praise.

It doesn’t matter how good a voice we have, how much talent or what special gift we’ve been given.  All that matters is what is in our hearts.  Are we truly thankful?  Do we fully, unconditionally love our brothers and sisters in this life?  Do we strive on a daily basis to do what is right in God’s eyes, to live more closely to how Jesus lived?  Do we serve the Lord, and with gladness in our hearts?

God is the Creator of all there is!  He made us, and He chose us to be part of His family.  By His mercy and grace, and by the sacrifice of His Son upon mankind’s cross, He gives us eternal life in paradise if we only follow His Christ Jesus.

God is good!  All the time!  His steadfast love endures forever.  And He is ever faithful to us.  So let’s give Him all the praise and glory!  Let’s lift our voices and play our instruments in a joyful noise of thanksgiving and praise!  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our King.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for forgiving us of our disobedience and sin.  Thank You for offering us eternal life if we would just follow Your Son, and for giving us the faith to do just that.  Thank You for Your steadfast, unfailing love.  May we always come before You with thankful hearts, glorifying You in all we do.  This we pray in the blessed name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Belonging to God

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 23rd of July, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

As we read the Apostle John’s letters, and remembering what he’s told us in his Gospel account, we can see that John is very much concerned with the subject of love.  This should be expected, as Jesus commands us to love one another, and John is very diligent in following Jesus’ command.

Throughout his Gospel account and his letters, John emphasizes love, and especially God’s love for us.  God loves us so much that He sent His own Son to wash us clean of our sin and offer us eternal life.  God loves us so much that He adopts us into His family as His own children, equal heirs with Jesus.  The world may hate us, just as it hates Christ Jesus, but God dearly loves us.

In his 1st letter, John also contrasts the children of God with the children of the devil, Satan’s workers.  For John is very concerned that we understand how our faith and belief should directly affect our relationships with others.  He encourages us to be in fellowship with one another, to practice righteousness and brotherly love.

One thing to keep in mind while reading his letters is that at the time John wrote them, the heresy of Gnosticism was beginning to make inroads into the early church.  The Gnostics pretty much rejected the teachings of the Apostles and disciples of Christ, holding to their own set of beliefs that ran counter to even early Christian standards.  For instance, they rejected the immaculate conception, stating that a spiritual being, such as God, could not directly unite with a physical being, like a woman.  So then the birth story of Jesus would be a fabrication.  And since they also did not believe in resurrection, if there had been such a person as Jesus, He could not have risen from the dead back to life again.

So a lot of what John addressed in his letters, without mentioning them by name, was to counter these heretical beliefs before they could fully take root.  Since the moral standards of the Gnostics was quite low, John stressed that true Christians must maintain a high ethical standard, better reflecting those of the earthly life of Jesus.

So let’s continue our examination of John’s 1st letter to the early church by opening the 3rd chapter and reading verses 1 through 10, from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. 2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. 3 And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as He is pure.

4 Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 5 And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him. 6 Anyone who continues to live in Him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know Him or understand who He is.

7 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. 8 But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. 10 So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.

--1 John 3:1-10 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for reminding us through the writings of the Apostle John of just how much You love us.  By this we know that we are Yours, we belong to You.  Thank You, Father, for calling us and accepting us as Your children.  Sadly, though, Father, sometimes we are very disobedient little brats.  Sometimes we just can’t find it in ourselves to love others unconditionally, especially those that don’t love us and that wish us harm.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us maintain a higher ethical standard than those of the world around us.  Remind us that we bear the name of Your Christ, so it is important that we represent Him in the best possible way.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil works.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Help us recognize heresy when we hear it and counter it with the truth.  Help us avoid those children of the devil who try to drag us down with them.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The Sunday Express of London once reported that, “Most people wish to serve God -- but in an advisory capacity only.”

That’s a rather funny remark, but also a sadly true commentary.  Of those people who say they believe in God, too many would rather give Him lip service than actively go to work for Him.

Think about it a moment…  How many times have we advised God on what He should do?  How many times have we told Him to send some rain, or to rain down judgment on our enemies?  How many times have we demanded He damn someone because of what they did to us?  Compare that to how many times we love unconditionally, seeing to the needs of others, visiting the institutionalized, helping the lost find their way to the truth, breaking the chains of those still captive to sin and death.  The Apostle James says that faith without works is dead.  We've all been given a measure of faith.  What do we do with our measure?

Now I will admit I’ve often served God in an advisory role in my past, and sometimes even still today.  But I pray that now my role is that of more active service, helping to build His family, spreading the Gospel truth, leading others to Jesus.  Belonging to God is more about serving Him than serving ourselves and our own selfish wants and desires.  So let’s resign from our advisory positions, put on our work clothes, and get out there in the fields.

Like I said earlier, John is all about love.  Our reading this morning starts out talking about God’s love for us.  But there is also a cautionary note in this letter.  The world does not love us.  We are God’s chosen children, but the world refuses to believe that because the world refuses to accept God.

The people of the world sin against God by breaking His law, which John says is the very definition of sin: not keeping God’s law.  Since Jesus came to take away our sin by taking them all on Himself, if we continue to live in Him we must strive to no longer sin, for those who do continue sinning, who go back to the ways of the world, do not understand who Jesus is or what He did for us.

Now if we understand what the church was going through at the time, we can see that John was addressing part of Gnosticism here.  The Gnostics were not keeping themselves pure.  They continued to sin, refusing to accept even what Jesus Himself taught.  We who follow Christ must strive to keep ourselves pure, just as Jesus was pure.

And here is where John warns the church not to let the Gnostics or anyone else deceive us or mislead us.  When people do what is right, it shows they are righteous, just as Christ is righteous.  But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the very beginning.  So John draws a distinction between those who refrain from sin being the children of God, and those who keep on sinning being children of Satan.  Those who do not live righteously and do not love others do not belong to God.

If we truly belong to God, we will do as He commands.  For that is the key to righteous living.  And what does He command us to do but to love others, just as Jesus loves us.  The Apostle Paul, in the 13th chapter of his letter to the church in Rome, verses 8 through 10, puts it like this…

8 Owe nothing to anyone — except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These — and other such commandments — are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

--Romans 13:8-10 (NLT)

If we’re not helping Jesus, if we’re not out there working the fields for Him, then we’re harming Him, we’re driving nails into His hands all over again.  If we’re not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem.  And all those people not helping Him are anti-Christ, in His own words.

Love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.  In his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, Paul reminds us that, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never fails.”  In all of this, love does no wrong to others, so love meets our requirement of God’s command.  And we’re talking true love here, the kind of love Jesus showed, taking care of others, acting without any consideration of personal reward or recognition, showing God’s love through our love.

John says we Christians must keep ourselves pure, do what is right, act righteously in all things.  Jesus freed us from our chains of sin and now we must stay free.  For if we truly belong to God, we will be a new creation, cleansed of our sin and obeying God's word, just as we heard from Peter a few weeks ago.  In the 1st chapter of his 1st letter to the early church, verses 22 and 23, Peter reminds us that…

22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

--1 Peter 1:22-23 (NLT)

We have not been given new life just so we can return to our old worldly life.  We have not been saved from death just to die again.

We have been shown great mercy and love by our heavenly Father God, and now we must show our love, our sincere love, by loving each other as brothers and sisters, loving each other with all our heart.  This is how to live the new life that Jesus has given us.  This is how to show we’re that new creation, by loving what the world would hate.  This is how we show we belong to God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us so much that You would have mercy on us and send Your Christ, Your Son, to offer us forgiveness and freedom from our sin.  And thank You for the faith to believe in Jesus and to follow Him.   He was pure and without sin, but He took all our sin upon Himself and washed us clean.  Forgive us those times, please Father, when we return to our old sinful ways and the lustful life of the world.  Forgive us when we care more about ourselves than about others.  Please help us be more like Jesus.  Help us see others through His eyes, recognizing their need and acting on it.  And please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You gave of Yourself for us, to set us free from our sinful life.  And all You ask is that we love one another.  If we truly do love one another, even our enemies and those who would do us harm, then we will try to help make disciples of them, so that they too can be saved from eternal torment and punishment.  Please forgive us when we slip back into our old ways.  Forgive us when we let the world whisper in our ear and tempt us.  We pray, dear Lord, that You please help us let go of the world and all its charms.  Help us refrain from sin and be more righteous as You are righteous, doing what is right in God’s eyes.  And help us love as You love: unconditionally, selflessly.  And Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Focus On the Truth

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 16th of July, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, our culture here in the US is very focused on things – the possession of things.  The more things, the better.  And quantity isn’t all that counts, but quality as well.  Only the very best things are to be desired.  We can’t possibly be happy if we don’t drive this model of car, or wear those designer clothes, or have that brand of refrigerator in our kitchens.

All these man-made items have become modern-day idols for the masses, reflected in the advertisements plastered across our TV screens, in our magazines, and all our internet browsing.  These things are what the world holds out before us, enticing us to seek more and more, luring us into a deepening trap of want and desire.

Now, this is not really a new phenomenon.  Sure, all the advertising and putting all these things right in our faces is a relatively recent trend.  But desperately seeking after worldly goods and pleasures rather than spiritual rewards is as old as mankind itself.  The early Christians faced these temptations just as we do today.

The fact is that the world does not love God and will do anything it can to pull our love away from Him.  Because the world has been given to Satan, to give him free reign to try to break our faith in God and shatter our belief in Jesus.  Just like he did with Job.  This is our test of faith.  Job passed.  Will we?  Do we really love God, or do we care more about the things the world has to offer?

The Apostle John had a message for those early Christians, new to the faith.  And it is a message still valid for us today, just  as important for us as it was for them.  Please listen and follow along as I continue reading chapter 2 of the Apostle John’s 1st letter to the early church, verses 15 through 29, and I’ll be reading this from The Living Bible translation of our Holy Bible…

15 Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; 16 for all these worldly things, these evil desires — the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance — these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. 17 And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever.

18 Dear children, this world’s last hour has come. You have heard about the Antichrist who is coming — the one who is against Christ — and already many such persons have appeared. This makes us all the more certain that the end of the world is near. 19 These “against-Christ” people used to be members of our churches, but they never really belonged with us or else they would have stayed. When they left us it proved that they were not of us at all.

20 But you are not like that, for the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you know the truth. 21 So I am not writing to you as to those who need to know the truth, but I warn you as those who can discern the difference between true and false.

22 And who is the greatest liar? The one who says that Jesus is not Christ. Such a person is antichrist, for he does not believe in God the Father and in His Son. 23 For a person who doesn’t believe in Christ, God’s Son, can’t have God the Father either. But he who has Christ, God’s Son, has God the Father also.

24 So keep on believing what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will always be in close fellowship with both God the Father and His Son. 25 And He Himself has promised us this: eternal life.

26 These remarks of mine about the Antichrist are pointed at those who would dearly love to blindfold you and lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, in your hearts, so that you don’t need anyone to teach you what is right. For He teaches you all things, and He is the Truth, and no liar; and so, just as He has said, you must live in Christ, never to depart from Him.

28 And now, my little children, stay in happy fellowship with the Lord so that when He comes you will be sure that all is well and will not have to be ashamed and shrink back from meeting Him. 29 Since we know that God is always good and does only right, we may rightly assume that all those who do right are His children.

--1 John 2:15-29 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for the warnings saved for us in our Bible.  Through these we can see the activities and behaviors we must avoid.  We can understand how even our thoughts can harm us in Your eyes.  And we can watch out for those who are actively working against Your Christ.  Thank You, Father, for showing us what these “anti-Christs” look like as we await the final Antichrist that will come at the end.  Sadly, though, Father, sometimes we are fooled by those who only teach and preach what the people want to hear.  Sometimes we allow their false promises to lead us astray.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us see through the lies.  Help us be better workers for our Lord Jesus.  Reminding us that we are His, chosen by Him, we belong to Him.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please help us remain faithful and true.  Help us focus on the truth and not on what the world would have us believe.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State in President Woodrow Wilson's Cabinet, was interviewing a man who was seeking a diplomatic post in China.  Bryan warned the applicant that it was necessary to qualify as a linguist.  "Can you speak the Chinese language?" he asked.

The man was equal to the occasion.  Looking Bryan squarely in the eye, he replied, "Try me.  Ask me something in Chinese."

We don’t know the outcome of that interview, but I’d say it’s a safe bet that Bryan did not ask a question in Chinese.  The man, of course, was taking a chance that Bryan didn’t know the language well enough to speak it.

The problem we face, though, is that our adversary is well versed in the language of truth: our Bible’s scripture.  He knows what the truth is, he just doesn't want us to believe it, or follow it.  So he lies and paints pretty pictures and offers empty promises, all the while speaking the language we know.  He is the great deceiver, the greatest liar.  And while he does indeed know God, and he knows that Jesus is God’s Son, he works against Them and tries to keep the truth from mankind.  Only by God’s grace, Jesus’ sacrifice, and our belief and faith can we be spared eternal death.

Our reading this morning opens with John admonishing us to stop loving this world, this life, and all the hollow things it can offer.  If we love the world, we can’t let go of it, and it will drag us to our ruin.  Our lusts and desires for worldly things – the mad craze for sex, the thirst for wealth and importance that drives our ambition to buy anything and everything that appeals to us, even to the point of going deep in debt, and the pride that comes from all this -  these are not from God, but are temptations laid out before us from Satan, the evil one.

God doesn’t tempt us, but He does make promises to us - promises of life eternal in paradise, promises of forgiveness of our sin and salvation through our belief in His Son Jesus, promises of our reunion with all our loved ones who went home before us.  If we stop and think of what God has promised and what awaits us in heaven, for all eternity, then any love we hold for this life, this temporary existence on earth, should vanish into thin air.

This world won’t last, nor any of the things in it.  It is slowly fading away.  We can see it all around us, as society falls apart and our resources are depleted.  So we must resist the devil’s temptations.  We must see through his lies.

Thank God, though, that we have help to do so.  We have God’s very own Holy Spirit living within us, counseling us, showing us the way to walk without falling into the devil’s traps.  But we have to listen to Him.  And we have to stay in fellowship with our Lord Jesus.  For He is coming back some day, and He will set everything right.

John talks about those people who are against our Christ a good bit in this passage, pointing out that they are the ones who dearly love to lead us astray and keep us from seeing the truth.  But who are these folk that are so dead-set in their thinking and actions, so anti Jesus?

I find it interesting that John says that many of these “against-Christ” people used to be members of our churches.  But then he adds that they never really belonged with us, or else they would have stayed.  Family, this is a pretty good description of those folks who call themselves Christians, but who aren’t.  They don’t really follow Jesus or obey His commands.  They’re not out there working for Him.

The Apostle Matthew recorded what Jesus had to say about these folk, in verse 30 of the 12th chapter of his Gospel account.  The New King James Version of our Bible has Jesus saying…

30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

--Matthew 12:30 (NKJV)

The Living Bible version is more to the point…

30 “Anyone who isn’t helping Me is harming Me.”

--Matthew 12:30 (TLB)

If we’re not helping Jesus, if we’re not out there working the fields for Him, then we’re harming Him, we’re driving nails into His hands all over again.  If we’re not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem.  And all those people not helping Him are anti-Christ, in His own words.

Now I know that there comes a time when we just aren’t physically able to go into the world making disciples, when we can’t see to the needs of the homeless or the sick or the institutionalized.  Our bodies, even our minds, eventually fail us and our service capabilities diminish.  But there are still things we can do to “help” Jesus.  We can continue to pray – pray for the lost and the needy.  We can keep Jesus in our hearts, abiding in His love.  We can let go of our lusts and desires, ignore what the devil offers, loosen our grip on this worldly life.  We can walk with our eyes wide open, and keep believing what we've been taught.  

And we can stay focused on the path Jesus laid for us, a path only a few will follow.  Again please hear the words that Jesus spoke and Matthew recorded in the 7th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 13 and 14…

13 “Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The way that leads to destruction is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. 14 But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.”

--Matthew 7:13-14 (TLB)

Family, John has told us how to abide in Jesus.  We just need to turn from the ways of the world, cast off earthly desires, and focus on the narrow road beneath our feet.  In this way we will remain in happy fellowship with our Lord so that when He returns, we will not have to be ashamed or afraid to meet Him face to face.

Focus solely on the truth, and our salvation is secure.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for offering us salvation and the forgiveness of our sins through the precious blood of Your Son Jesus, shed to wash us clean.  And thank You for the gift of faith that allows us to believe in Jesus as Your Christ, to follow Him as our Lord, to worship Him as we worship You.   Forgive us those times, please Father, when we let the world hold us back from fully loving You.  Forgive us when we just can’t release our grip on our worldly possessions, our worldly desires, our worldly sins.  Please help us give ourselves completely to You.  Help us resist the devil’s temptations and listen only to Your still, small voice within us.  Please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You said it quite clearly and quite plainly – if we’re not working for You, we’re working against You.  If we’re not helping You, we’re causing You harm.  Thank You for letting us know exactly where we stand in this regard.  Please forgive us when we harm You, when we drive more nails through Your hands.  We pray, dear Lord, that You please help us be more obedient to Your commands, more diligent in our striving to follow You.  Help us rid ourselves of worldly wants and desires.  Help us focus only on the truth of God’s word and God’s love.  And help us endure any persecution that may befall us.  Shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.