Isn't that a glorious thought? I was lost and undone without God or his son, when he, that he would reach down for me. That was special. Thank you, brother. Thank you, brother Mike. Turn with me back to 1 John 4. 1 John 4. Look at verse 17. 1 John 4, verse 17. The Lord willing, this will serve as our text this morning. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, Because for this reason, as he is, so are we in this world. Boldness. Boldness in the day of judgment. For the believer, the day of judgment is not a day to be dreaded. feared. For in Christ, the believer has already stood trial and been acquitted. Our representative has bore the penalty of our sin. Boldness. That's strong, isn't it? Boldness in the day of judgment. Our chastisement, our punishment has been passed. The Lord Jesus Christ bore it. That's what God's word declares. It says in Isaiah 53, he was numbered with the transgressors and he bear the sin of many. And he made intercession for the transgressors. Romans 8.1 says this, there is therefore now, right now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Those who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. No condemnation. in Christ. Not only did He bear the penalty of sin, He bore the condemnation of sin, He bore the judgment of sin. For all our sins, past sins, present sins, future sins, boldness in the day of judgment. Paul, writing to the Hebrews, he said this, he said, therefore, brethren, here's this word again, boldness. Boldness to enter in to the holiest. Boldness to enter into the presence of God himself by the blood. of Jesus Christ. No condemnation, no curse. There can be none. The Lord Jesus Christ was made a curse for us. Now by nature, By nature, we dread the presence of God, and rightly so. Our sins would hold us guilty. Condemnation and hell must come to our mind when we think of God, and the natural man has every reason to fear the presence of God. but not the believer. No reason. No reason to fear. On the contrary, listen, the believer can approach God, can approach judgment confidently. In fact, cheerfully. because of his love to his people in Christ. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Hold your place there in 1 John, but turn to Romans chapter 8. Look at verse 29. Romans 8, 29, four, whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. God has predestinated in his eternal purpose. that all that he is pleased to save will be made just like his son, just like the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, conformed, conformed to the image of his son, that he, that Christ might be the firstborn among many brethren, the firstborn among many brethren. You know, under the Old Testament law, if you go back to the Old Testament, that firstborn was the Lord's choice. The firstborn had authority over all the other sons. And he acted as the Lord's priest. The Lord Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the Father. The firstborn of the Father regarding all His creatures. all those chosen in Him. He's the firstborn from the dead, risen to die no more. His is the chief glory, and all His people, all His people are in Him, and they're gonna be made like Him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we might have boldness in the day of judgment because as He is, as He is, so are we in this world. Boldness. Confidence in the day of judgment. And four reasons, four reasons here for this boldness, for this confidence found in this statement. I've been thinking about this all last night. This statement, I'd like to just scrape the surface of it. just to get a glimpse of it. As He is, so are we in this world. First, consider this. As He is, He's the Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. As Christ is the Son of God in nature, so are His people. by God's adoption. God the Father, he gave his son a people out of every tribe, kindred, and nation. And by the spirit of God, by the preaching of the gospel, declaring his son through faith, The child of God receives Christ. Receives Christ lovingly, thankfully, willingly. Receives Him as God's gift. That's what we do with a gift, isn't it? A gift is given and a gift is received. Scripture says this, to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. As Christ is the son of God, his people are the sons of God. And all, all of His people are going to come to Him. And they're going to believe on Him. And believe on His glorious name, on His glorious name. As He is revealed through His word. As the Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, so are we. So are we. Christ is the Son of God by nature. He's eternally begotten of the Father. The only, the only begotten Son of God. But so are his people by adoption, by grace. He's the firstborn. The Lord Jesus Christ is the firstborn among many brethren. We're brethren. We're sons of God. Scripture says, beloved, now are we the sons of God. And this is an amazing thought, too. He's not ashamed. He's not ashamed to call us his brethren. Boy, that's true love, isn't it? He's not ashamed to call us, and we give him many reasons to be ashamed, don't we? But he's not ashamed. be called their brethren, because we are truly the sons of God." Sons. Because as He is, so are we in this world. Do you remember that account when David, he sent his servant down to Lodabar to fetch Mephibosheth, to bring him back? And he did what his father commanded, didn't he? He did what his master commanded him. He went down and he fetched him and he brought him back. David said, I'm going to show him mercy for the sake of another. I'm going to show him mercy for Jonathan's sake. And at the end of that story, the king said this, he said, Mephibosheth, As for Mephibosheth, he's going to eat at my table. Not just as a servant, not just as a guest, not just as somebody who stopped by. He's going to eat at my table as a son. As a son. We're his sons, we're God's children by election, by adoption. We have the nature of his son by regeneration, by the spirit of God, begotten of God by new birth. Turn to Galatians 4. Galatians chapter 4. Look back at verse, we'll start with verse 4. When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Verse six, and because ye are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father, Wherefore, thou art no more a servant. What are you? What's scripture say? But a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. John Gill wrote this. He said, this is a privilege that exceeds all others. It's better to be a son than a saint. Angels are sons, but they're not saints. Adoption is something even more glorious than redemption and pardon and justification. It's a great act to redeem one from slavery, to pardon a criminal, or to justify the ungodly. But it's far greater, higher, and more glorious act of grace to make the redeemed slave. the pardoned felon, or the justified sinner, one's own son.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God. As Christ is the son of God, so are we. So are we. Second, as He is, as the Son of God is loved by the Father with an unchanging and everlasting love, so are we. So are we, loved by Him with that same love, even while we're in this world.

Behold, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know this, when he shall appear, We will be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

In Jeremiah 31 verse 3, the Lord hath appeared unto me of old saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. An everlasting love. And that everlasting love, a result of an everlasting covenant. An everlasting covenant given his people. And listen, as a result of that, we have an everlasting consolation and a good hope through grace. That's what Paul told the Thessalonians. He said this, he said, listen, our Lord Jesus Christ and God, even our Father, which hath loved us and hath given us an everlasting consolation and a good hope through grace.

An everlasting love, an unchanging love, a result of his love for his people. How much did God love his people? He gave his son. God gave his son that whosoever believeth in him should never perish but have everlasting life.

Turn with me to John chapter 17. John chapter 17. This is part of our Lord's high priestly prayer. Look beginning with verse 20. He says, neither pray I for these alone. not just those apostles and disciples that were present at that time, but for all who will receive and believe the gospel. I pray not for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word, that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. That the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them. That they may be one even as we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. And that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and has loved them.

How much? How much does he love his people? He says this, he said, thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Let me read that again. He says to his father, you've loved me, and you've loved them as much as you love me. We can't even begin to enter into that, can we? How much God the father loves his son, and that same love he has for his son, he has for all. of his sons.

Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me. For you've loved me from before the foundation of the world. As Christ is loved by the Father, So are his people. As he is, so are we in this world.

Third, as he is, the Lord Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows. He was tempted. He was afflicted. He was tempted by Satan. So are we. So are all of God's people. The Lord Jesus Christ was described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was taken out in the desert, out into the wilderness and tempted by Satan. Men hated him. They hated the gospel that he preached. And the same is true of his people. Peter wrote this in 1 Peter 4 verse 12. He said, Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you though it is some strange thing that happened to you. But rejoice, rejoice in as much as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad with exceeding joy. We shouldn't be amazed, we shouldn't be surprised when Difficult trials and afflictions come upon God's people. Afflictions, trial, suffering are the common lot of God's people. That's no different today than it was when our Lord walked this earth. God's people are gonna endure trial and suffering. Consider how our Lord suffered hatred and reproach in these trials. These trials in the life of a believer take comfort in this, They're not by chance, but they are appointed by God. They're according to the will and purpose of Almighty God to try His people, to test His people, to teach His people. They try our faith. which becomes more precious through trial. They try our love for Christ. They try our hope of eternal life. Trial weans us from this earth. They try our profession of religion. Are we truly Following Christ? Or are we just following Him like some of those folks were for the loaves and the fishes? Am I truly trusting Him? Trials aren't unusual, they're not strange to the believer, but are common to all who will live godly in Christ Jesus. Our Lord, speaking in John, said this. He said, these things I command you that you love one another. If the world hate you, know this, it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love his own, but because you're not of this world, I've chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they've persecuted me, boy, they did, didn't they? If they've persecuted me, they will also persecute you. All these things will they do unto you for my father's sake, because they know not him that sent me. We're in this world, yet we're not of this world. The believer is, listen, different from this world in character, in attitude, in affection. If we were like this world, would love them. That's what he said. Everyone who loves those are like them. But Christ said, I've chosen you out of this world to know me, to love me, to walk in my word, to do my will. Therefore, the world will hate you just as they hated me. The Lord makes a new man with a new master, with a new motive. David said, he said this, it's good for me. It's good for me that I have been afflicted, afflicted, that I might learn his statutes. Martin Luther, he said this, he said, I never knew the true meaning of God's word until I came into affliction. He said, I've always found trials to be the best schoolmaster. As he is, a man of sorrows, afflicted, tempted, hated, tempted of Satan, so are we. And then fourth, as he is, as he is now exalted in heaven, so are we. Ephesians 2.6 says he raised us up together and he has made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's glorified Him. He is one with the Father. Turn with me to one more passage of Scripture. First John. 1 John 3. Look at the first two verses of 1 John 3. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know, we know, what do we know? That when he shall appear, we shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. As he is, as he is, so are we in this world. I read this illustration recently, and I think it goes with this message. There was a man, he told a story of a preacher sitting on an airplane beside another fellow. And that other fellow wanted to talk. And the man introduced himself to the preacher and he said, he said, I'm in business with my father. And said the preacher thought about it just for a minute. And he said, so am I. I am too. And the businessman said this, he said, our business is with fine jewels. And the preacher replied, ours too. And the businessman said, we only deal with the finest of jewels. And the preacher smiled, and he said, us too. And then the businessman said, he said, I'm on my way home to my father. And the preacher was quiet, and he said, so am I. And the businessman with a smile on his face, he said, I sure hope my father is pleased with what I've done. And with that, the preacher wiped a little tear from his eye, and he said, so do I. The servant wants nothing, nothing more than to hear his master say, well done. and we shall have that too. Imagine standing before the throne of God and hearing God and our Savior say, well done. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Boy, that's bold, isn't it? How? How can that be possible? I'm neither good nor faithful. There's none good. No, not one. Our Lord said of his disciples, remember that when that ship was tossed to and fro, and they went and woke him and said, Master, carest thou not that we perished? And he said to them, to his disciples, O ye of little faith, how could it ever be said of any of us? Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Turn back one more time to 1 John 4, 17. How's that possible? What's our text say? What does the word of God say? Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is. As he is, so are we in this world. All right. Brady, you come lead us in the closing hymn.