August 4, 2013
Evening Service

This morning we found that we could put our faith in action by believing what the Word tells us even when we don’t fully understand it and in some cases it is okay to say, “I don’t know.”

 

Together we “rightly divided” John’s teaching on practicing sin.  It is not a question of whether we will sin as Christians, we will, but rather who is control of our hearts.  If we allow the flesh to rule, we are imitating the devil himself and rebel against God, thus practicing sin.  If the Spirit has control, we will live righteous (doing our best) as we imitate our Savior.  We will not be perfect, yet our hearts desire will be to please our Lord.

 

Finally our life’s journey to be in “God’s Will” is actually made up of small decisions we make each and every day.  We choose to obey His Will and not our own.  We make “Thy will, my will.”

 

John now looks another area of our lives that must be very active and evident in our daily walk with the Lord.

 

1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

·         This is not anew message John is revealing to us, it is a base upon which Jesus’ ministry was built.

 

John 15:12-17 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  (13)  No one has greater love than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.  (14)  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  (15)  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master does. But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.  (16)  You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you.  (17)  These things I command you, that you love one another.

·         This is Jesus’ commandment to us, that we love one another as He loved us.  This love does not come naturally; it is one that is given divinely by the Holy Spirit working through us.  John then goes back to the oldest recording of someone not loving their brother, Cain.

 

1Jn 3:12 not as Cain who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. And for what did he kill him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's things were righteous.

·         Here is a perfect example of the question we asked this morning.  Who is controlling your heart?  Who are your trying to please?

·          Cain allowed jealousy to rule his heart and it led him to murder his own brother.  Abel was innocent in this whole affair yet Cain’s (world) hatred killed him.  Can we expect any less?

 

1Jn 3:13-15 Do not marvel, my brothers, if the world hates you.  (14)  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. He who does not love his brother abides in death.  (15)  Everyone hating his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has everlasting life abiding in him.

·         This is the battle that has been raging from the time of creation.  Love versus hate, good versus evil, light vs. darkness, righteousness vs. sin, and life vs. death.  It is quite clear hating your brother has no place in a Christian’s life.  However, we can expect that hate to present in our relationship with the world.  Jesus said this is John’s gospel;

 

 

 

 

 

Joh 15:18-21 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  (19)  If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  (20)  Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept My saying, they will also keep yours.  (21)  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

·         Look at how the world treated the One and Only Perfect Son of God.  He brought love, healing, and forgiveness and was treated with disdain, hate and they even killed Him.  Remember, it is not you who the world hates, but Christ.  We are blessed to suffer for Him.

 

1Jn 3:16-18  By this we have known the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.  (17)  But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother having need, and shuts up his bowels from him, how does the love of God dwell in him?  (18)  My children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

·         John calls us out here that we again love each other as Christ has loved us.  This love has to be one of action not of words only.  We need to quit saying it and just do it!  James says this about our faith being proven by our works.

 

Jas 2:14-18  My brothers, what profit is it if a man says he has faith and does not have works? Can faith save him?  (15)  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,  (16)  and if one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body, what good is it?  (17)  Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself.  (18)  But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith from my works.

·         What a challenging statement here.  The Spirit teaches us the same lesson here as John is teaching.  Your love and faith must be active.  Words of good intentions are only words until we prove them to be true by our works.

·         Let us not love by words alone, but let our actions speak much louder.

 

1Jn 3:19-20 And in this we shall know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him,  (20)  that if our heart accuses us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

·         We know the state of our heart.  If we are living a life John is describing here we know we are not perfect, but we are doing our best.  In that, we are able to live a life free of condemnation from God (Rom. 8:1) and our own heart (conscience).  Look what that life gives us.

 

1Jn 3:21-22 Beloved, if our heart does not accuse us, we have confidence toward God.  (22)  And whatever we ask, we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

·         We are granted a confidence toward God in our prayer life.  When we ask, we know He will hear and answer.  In this state we are always seeking for His will to be our will.  I want what God wants for me.  When we put Him first, everything else falls into place.  There is a peace and contentment there that “passes all understanding.”  We fully trust Him and yield everything to His control.

 

1Jn 3:23-24  And this is His commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment.  (24)  And he who keeps His commandment dwells in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He gave to us.

·         Oh what a comforting statement.  If we believe on the name of Jesus and love one another, we dwell in Him and He is us.  This is the mystery that was revealed to us, the church, in the Colossian letter.

 

Col 1:27 For to them God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,

·         It is through this presence that we can attain eternal life. 

John calls us out to live out our faith through or works, he said be ready to be hated by the world, and be confident in our salvation because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

 

Lord, may our love be sincere and our hope be secure.