Oct 3, 2021 Sunday Morning Service

Well done.

Well, good morning, everybody. We're glad that you here to be with our family, and to worship Our God together, again, thankful for your presence. We've been in discussion in a world series of lessons on the book of 1st, John. And we have entered into chapter 4. So if you have your bottles turn to First, John chapter 4. And we'll be reading that from a different version this morning. But as we consider singing, I couldn't help. But notice my two young friends over here, just saying it away. I mean, just saying and I love to see that, you know, years ago when I was growing up in our congregation, there was an older man. He couldn't sing worth a lick, but this guy would sit in the middle of the congregation and that guy would just bail out. And he be singing and there's nothing more beautiful than we think you're singing in the church. Would think of this Perfection of singing s, not about that. That has a connection to singing with our Christian Life and let me put it to you this way. The lord requires that we sing. That's a lot of people get nervous about that because they think that maybe I am not as good as single as some of these other people. It doesn't matter. God wants you to sing. So when you sing, and when I sing, I use myself as an example, I cannot sing worth a lick, but I'm going to sing as loud as I can, to drown out my own self. So I can hear myself saying what I want to do it because I love Jesus and I want you to do it because you love Jesus. It's not about the performance. It's about what's in the heart and it's about the singing and praising Our God for everything that he has done for us. Will I sing perfectly know, will you sing perfectly? No, isn't there a parallel there to our Christian Life? God wants us to do certain things perfectly. No one ever going to do things perfectly. That's the beauty of Jesus. That's the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because his blood makes up for what we can't do. Right? Things perfectly. We have the blood of Jesus Christ to rely upon. That's the message that John is giving to the folks here to him. He's riding he saying, you can't go through life without Jesus Christ and you certainly can't get through life without the ever-flowing. Powerful blood of Jesus Christ. We need that brother--and in our life. Remember? Works, will not save us.

But you can't be saved without works, see how that goes. It's about Jesus. It's about his blood. And so when we do those things, remember that it's not about me. It's not about the things I do, and even if I could do them all perfectly, then I have something to boast about, but I have nothing to boast about and like the song. We just said, like a Wretch, like Me A Wretch. Like me, that's about it. In fact, I think about other passages in the Bible that talk about me being a worm, a worm in the eyes of God. Well, I shouldn't say in the eyes of God, but a, my own eyes, that's the way I see myself less than a worm. And yet, Jesus looked at me and said, I love Doug. And Jesus looked at you and said, I love you and I'm sending my son. So in that perspective, I'm no longer warm. I'm something worthy not because of who I am, but because of who Jesus is and that's what makes the difference, that's what makes a difference. So we're talking about Hearing this morning. We need to test our our hearing and we need to do this on a constant basis. So we find that it's a critical thing for followers of Christ to test their hearing. And what do I mean by that? Well, when it comes to there's two things that are required of us. I think the first thing that we have to do is we need to hear. That's where faith comes from. Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God, but Jesus, then turns the tables and he says, be careful what you hear and be careful how you hear. So, two points. Be careful. What you hear? Be careful of the person preaching to you. Be careful of me. Be careful of teachers, be careful of people in the community. That's something that all Christ followers must do. It's not something at arbitrary. It's not something that is capriciously done, but it's something that we are to do for our own souls and for The Souls of others who says be careful. How you hear? So, if you're listening to the preacher, you need to be careful to listen properly, to hear properly to give attention to, that's what that means. And so that we can hear things properly without getting error involved, because we misunderstood because we miss her. So John is pointing out this fact in chapter 3 and chapter 4. There. He begins in chapter 3, talking about the need, the need to love your brethren. He says you need to practice righteousness, but then part of the practice of righteousness is practicing loving your brethren. And why do we practice dear brother in practice makes perfect, practice, makes complete. And so, when we consider the idea of loving our brethren, we have to think about doctoring. A lot of people want to separate from love as if I can get everything right in scripture and somehow missed the boat on loving my brother. You can't have one without the other its Doctrine teaching. That's What doctrine is. The Bible teaches us indoctrinated us to love one another. So you have to love. We have to love. And here's the example, here is the standard. I Have to Love You by my own standard. Stop. There's something wrong with that. Right? Did you hear properly? What are you listening? No, I Have to Love by the standard of Jesus.

And I know I fall short and I know, you know, you fall short but every day we work on your brother. Why? Well you and I we are brothers and I saw there's a special bond. There's a special relationship that you and I enjoy together by virtue of the blood of. Jesus Christ was entered into that blood. We enjoy, that was together. We enjoy coming together as a family to love one another, to catch up with one another, but to be in the presence of God himself, on the first day of the week, giving our hearts in mind and complete Devotion to him. That's a beautiful picture here, but it's also a beautiful picture of heaven. Because what we do here is in preparation for what we're going to be doing there. And if you don't like it here, you're probably not going to like it there. And so it's because of this love this, love for one another and for God motivates us motivates us to worship him and to do as he commands. But as we think about this idea of love,

We think about the point that love and chapter three says it's a must you would must love your brother. If you don't love your brother, you don't love God. And really, if you don't love your brother, you don't love God because you don't love yourself.

That's how that works. And so remember the two greatest Commandments love God with what? All your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength and your neighbor will just say and others as yourself. With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind with all your strength. It doesn't just end with God, it we have to continue those things over to our neighbors, to our other people.

To our community, even to our enemy, even to our enemies. But love is not. Discriminatory does not discriminate. God's love for mankind was not based upon any discrimination. He loves all the world. All the people equally therefore he sent his son to die for the world.

Love must discriminate. Then you just say love does not discriminate. Yes, love does discriminate and it must discriminate. It must discriminate between truth. And error. And this is what John is going to point out to us. 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. This is how we know if they have the spirit of God. Notice. This is where I agree memory in our class on his Spirit were talking about. Just because the word spirit is in the text, doesn't necessarily mean, it's a big ass Spirit. It could be a little ass Spirit. Sometimes the translators put a big ass. We're a little, it should be. I should be. And saw the big ass there are saying Holy Spirit. We have heard of God. If a person claim to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ real body. Real Barbie actual flesh. That person has the spirit of God, 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 an evil spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here, but you belong to God, my dear children. I love how John Wright's, he's calling the people there. They're chill, his children, God's children, their children, that he's lying to people, probably in the neighborhood of anywhere from a hundred years old on down little children, but you belong to God, my dear children, Spirit little less who lives in, you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world. So they speak from the world's viewpoint. And the world listens to them. Notice the contrast now 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, big ass because the spirit provide truth scripture, or the spirit of the deception. So the point is that we've understood that there are a group of people within this group of people called gnostics and they were tearing the church apart dividing it and they were teaching that Jesus did not come in the flesh that Jesus, the man that was on the cross whose name was Jesus was an imposter because God. That person that became crushed could not live in Flash because flesh is sinful. You see that's how the Gnostic Butte sings. They believed that there was a great God, the Creator, and then God gave power to the little gods and the little guys did their creating and when they did their little creating it was sinful. And so they created the flesh, according to the gnostics and therefore, the flesh is sinful. So Jesus could not have inhabited flesh. Could not have been in a material body, but that's what they were teaching. But they're teaching also went on to suggest that because they are Spirit living in this fleshly body. They can sit all they want it. They could do as they trolls and their sins would not affect the spirit within them. And so that's why John rights. If we say, we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us when we sin. It's an indictment upon humankind, we said.

Me not so much, but you made it, okay.

We understand how human we are. And then we also understand that it's about listening to what God has said until he goes back. And he says, listen test, all the spirits, test every spirit and Aries talking about teachers prophets. That's what a prophet is. I am a prophet. In the sense that I forced tell, I have no Supernatural power to for tell. I'm going to tell you right now. The Cowboys are going to win today.

I have been wrong A lot of times over the past twenty or thirty years with those cowboys, but I don't have any power to do that. But I've been expelled and preached and teached the word of God. And so therefore I can do that. That's something that I can do, but it's not something of a supernatural background. And so as Paul says in 2nd Thessalonians are 1st Thessalonians. Chapter 5. In about verse 19 says, do not. Quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Do not despise property.

Prove all things, hold fast to that, which is good. And so this is essentially, the point that John is making test the spirits, hold fast to what is good. That is if the spirits the prophets the teachers and preachers if they're preaching something good. Take it to heart, learn from it. But if you know, they're preaching error, Let It Go have nothing to do with it. Isn't that what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 23 regarding the Pharisees? He says, if the Pharisees are teaching something that's true. Listen to them. Otherwise don't listen to them. Don't be like them. Don't be hypocritical when it comes to Doctrine. And so, Is 2nd Corinthians chapter? 11. Paul says, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me for. I am jealous for you with a jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bred to one husband Christ. And so Paul saying, listen, I brought you into this world. I can take you out with that. I was Bill Cosby. He says, I preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to you. You were begotten. Therefore by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you put on Christ in baptism and now you are part of the family of Christ and he says, I presume such a beauty him as a loving bride. The church is the bride of Christ, chaste and pure, not because of what I do, not because of what you do, but because of what Jesus did he shed his blood for you and me. And so, it's his blood that makes us clean. Pure and whole But I fear that somehow you are pure and undivided Devotion to Christ. I asked you that question. Do you today have a pure undivided Devotion to Jesus Christ? Are you here today? Because you think it's something that you have to do in order to get to heaven. Or are you here today? Because Jesus loves you and you love Jesus. There's a whole plant there. That's totally different than what most people think.

It's about love being motivated by love. That's the kind of love that Christ desires of you and me. We do things not out of law, not because we have to do, we do things because Jesus wants us to, and we want to please Jesus because he loves me. Is there any greater friend in your life than Jesus Christ? None. Yeah, a lot of people like to put their Earthly friends before Jesus. There's a lot of people in the world like to put their Earthly families before Jesus.

Their child. They'll do anything for that child, but bring that child to church. They'll do anything for that child. But let that child learn about Jesus Christ.

I got a backwards. You love that child. You bring that child to Jesus. Let him learn about Jesus Christ. Let him grow in Jesus Christ, because there is no greater friend that that child will then Jesus Christ. Because many parents did not do that. We have a whole generation or two out there in the world. Not knowing the relationship, they could have with Jesus Christ. Friends, Jesus makes the difference and without him in our lives, there is no hope, undivided Devotion to Christ will be corrupted. Just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent that listen to this. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you. I know there's people that go home and on Sunday mornings or maybe even during the week. They'll turn on the religious station and we'll take some of that stuff in. But then I begin to believe some of the things that those people are saying. And Paul saying you happily put up with whatever anyone tells you. Even if they preach a different Jesus than the one, we preach, or a different kind of spirit than the one, he received, or a different kind of gospel than the one who believed, but I don't consider myself inferior in any way to these super Apostles. I will love that translation claiming to be better than Paul. Paul Apostle of Jesus Christ, he really is not an apostle of Jesus Christ, you know, what the argument was because he didn't live at the time of the 12, original Apostles, 12 original Apostles, what the Bible tells us that he was an apostle born out of time. That Jesus Christ made him an apostle at the right time. He thought necessary. Cancel, Paul became an apostle of Jesus Christ and then posted up when he said I didn't receive this message from man. I received it directly from Jesus himself. It's all these people in the Church, of course, were jealous of Paul. And so they're saying don't listen to him. He really is not an apostle. Listen to us. And so Paul says they're super apostles. There's super one sent. The ones said that's apostolos one who sent. So anyway, to the super Apostles to teach such things, I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I'm not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. It's a park pointing out. Yeah, you know, there's a lot of people out there that look at The Superficial things know, how does the preacher look is he skinny like Doug, does he? Good looking like me know, I should say good looking like Steve Wright. But a lot of people put stock in that and Paul saying, listen, I wasn't a great speaker, but I had a message. That was great. And that message you thought was not important. By virtue of me, not being a great speaker. Imagine that remember. It's always about the messenger, the true Messenger and his message. It's not so much about this messenger, but it's about the message that I delivered to you. That's what's important. And so it was and has been that way for 2000 year must discriminate. These people are false Apostles. They just they are deceitful workers with who disguise themselves as Apostles of Christ. And that's what he says about the devil. He doesn't he disguises himself as an angel of Light, you know, the devil doesn't step up into your life and say, I'm the devil and I am the maker of bad things and send. And I'm going to drag you to hell and I'm going to make you an atheist. I'm going to make you a devil worshiper. He doesn't do that. He stands before you like a. Beautiful, angel of Light. So gentle and true that preacher up. There's just magnificent. Look how gorgeous he is. He would never lie to me.

That's the way the world thinks we Paul saying a little bit. That's not true. He said there's a lot of people like that in this world. They disguise themselves. They come at you like, there's some Angel, but they're not.

He says, but I'm not surprised even Satan disguise himself as an angel of Light. So it's no wonder that his servants off of Disguise themselves as Servants of righteousness. In the end. They will get their wicked Deeds deserve.

Now, by this, we know that we know him, I love that because it represents who a true Christian is as opposed to one who is not

A lot of people claim to know Jesus Christ. Virtue of his birth that we see on TV during Christmas time, or is that that you see on TV? Eastern Time.

We know him. Well, here's what John says about knowing him now, by this, we know that we know him if Conditional statement if we keep his Commandments. No, notice it's perfectly. You know, there might be stretches of time where you and I are doing things, right? We're in the groove. So to speak, right? We got our mind on heaven. We got our mind on Jesus, and we're just Trucking along,. Happy Christian to I'm faced with the temptation. And boo. That's something I like.

What I just did prior to, that doesn't mean a thing now.

I can't erase the Thins and from doing something, right this, but I can't erase my right, but I can erase my righteousness by the sins. I come in.

That's why you, and I need the blood of Jesus Christ because he sang, you need to keep the Commandments. But yet, we're going to remember. He just got done saying if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in there for the truth teaches that you and I as we walk in the light we some we stumble we sin, we fall. But because of the grace of God, it because of the blood of Jesus Christ, when, because of his love were motivated to do better. And so we get off the ground and we keep walking, and we keep pressing forward to the upper, call the prize in Christ. Jesus, by Paul said, I have it at ain'd Perfection yet, but I'm striving. I'm keep Reaching Forward. And so must we. It's all he says he who says I know him and does not keep his Commandments is a liar. Strong language, but the Holy Spirit, gave John those words to speak. And the truth is not in it. So, that's where John is Drawing the Line. He's saying, we know who the true Christian is the one who loves God, so much that he's willing to do those things that God wants them to do. And then there were others. You think well, I got to do this when I got to do that and then concerned about not being able to keep up with God. And then they fall down and they say, I can't do it and I turned back to the world.

They forget. The blood has entered into their lives. The grace of God has entered into their lies, the power to turn them around the powder motivate them forward. That's the difference. Between lot and his wife. Watson lot wasn't a perfect man. No person in the Bible was a perfect person. But God said Don't Look Back. Black kept looking forward but Lot's wife turned back you. No turning back will kill every one of us. Jesus said the server that puts his hand to the plough turning backward is worthless. Don't Look Back To The Past. Don't look back to your sins. Don't go always me. My life behind me is so bad. I can't move forward. That's looking back. Paul said of Philippians chapter 3, beginning verse 12. He says this one thing that I do. I forget those things that are behind. If there's any person in this world that needed to forget the past. It was Paul. He persecuted the Church of Christ. Jesus said, why do you persecute me? He was persecuting. Jesus, by virtue of persecuting the church. He was putting people to death. He was tearing apart families in the Name of Love for God. He thought he was doing right. But then he came to know Jesus.

And this is what John is say?

Paul John, all the apostles first century Christians didn't do things because they had to

they did things out of love. Why are you here today?

Because you have to because of something you got to check off the list. There's no check. There's no list that you can check. There's no good thing that's going to race your sin. But there are bad things that can erase your righteousness. So, what are you doing? You're here. Because you love Jesus. You're here, because this is what we do. We come here to think about our Lord. Our Savior, our elder brother. He died for you and me, it's always says, hey, come along with me. Who has a brother and sister that you love that you look up to don't you want to be with that brother and sister? Well, Jesus is our older brother. Don't you want to be with your older brother? Do what? He says be with him all the time. Joke around with your brothers and sisters. Absolutely. That's the life in Christ Jesus. But I love this next. This is what Paul says. 1st Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13. This is from Young's literal translation. So that means it's a literal translation that young did. What Ye Ye stands, you all. Watch y'alls. Watch y'all stand in the face, the gospel be men.

He's talking to a Congregation of both men and women and now he's admonishing, the congregation of both men and women be mad.

Act Like a Man song translation, say be strong. Evidently there is a difference between males and females, don't know, if you know that a lot of people like to consider that a lot of people like to investigate that. But yet we know there's a difference. And the thing that makes the difference is, well, one thing at least testosterone. Testosterone levels in the body elevated make a man a man. And this gives a man. Those qualities of the DNA of a man. I'm one of those qualities is fighting in leading. Dirty dirty protecting. That's part of it. And so he says be like that guy be men like that be strong in the face. Not afraid to wield. That's that's sword. And I'm not talking about a real sword. I'm talking about the sword of the word of God. The sword of the spirit. And so he says, this is what you need to do, stand up to all this stuff. No longer be children cost to and fro carried about by every wind of Doctrine by the trickery of man and cutting to see full plotting. You understand? The Paul saying they're just people that come along at because there's something they have against God. They're going to hold something against you. Let you listen to them. Listen to God. Listen to God. That's why we need to know the word. That's why we have Bible. That's why we have Bible study. That's why we come together and we read and study and we do all those things. Now having said that I have a story to share with you and we're going to close story of a teacher professor in college. He was given a test to the Bible class that he was teaching. This is at a Christian school and he said for the final exam. You're going to have to know everything that I said in class. You're going to have to know every book that you've read. Because all of it is going to be on the final exam. So for the next week or so, these students are killing themselves are going to the library. They're studying their cramming their way. They're reading their books. For the first time. Some of them are reading the books again and again and again and they're going through their notes and they're getting together for study classes and having study partners. And finally, the day of the exam comes and they're all sitting in their chairs that he says, don't start until I tell you to turn that exam over.

Attorney exam over. Return their exams over, and every answer was given to every question. Every answer was written in red. And then it says you finished and completed the exam and you pass this course. And then he said, that's because the creator of the test is the one that passed you, you did nothing to pass that test. You understand how that works. You see how Grace Works in our Salvation. There's things for us to do. things for us to say, but in the final analysis, it's all about Jesus Christ and you can be with Jesus today if you so desire. And Jesus says these words he that believes and is baptized shall be saved. Those are beautiful words because Jesus said them. Jesus says all men need to repent or they'll perish. Maybe you put Jesus Christ on in baptism. But you've not kept up with his word. And you walked away from his teachings and Jesus says, come on back. It's very simple. We sing that song, One Step at a Time. One step at a time. When you turn your back on Christ, you can take one step back and return to Christ one step at a time. He's he's willing to accept you back. Where all patient is brothers or sisters and we're encouraging you this morning. That you come and face this morning. And if you're Amitabul to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you are willing to accept his invitation. Won't you come as we stand together and say?