folks streaming in to last minute. It's a pretty day today, isn't it? Happy birthday this week
to Alita and Steven, both. Happy birthday this week. How
old you gonna be, Steve? You made 30 yet? How much? That don't even seem
right. But I had some folks that need to
remember your prayers. I remember Sharon, she's been
going back and forth to Hickory for rain. He lost his toe. He lost a leg
from diabetes and now he's lost a toe on the other foot. And
she's just wore out. She called this morning sound
like she's got a head cold. And she said sugar is acting
up. So remember sharing in your prayer. Also, a good friend of
ours up in up in Asia, Kentucky, Stan Terry is my age is going
to have a colon resection. He's having a family, some colon
cancer, and they're going to have to resect his colon. So
remember him your prayers. And also Kathy Robinson's when
we operate on tomorrow, they're going to take portion of her
liver. So remember her in your prayers. Also, seek the Lord's
help for those folks. Remember the others. Stephanie
Shepard, not a great deal of improvement in her situation.
She's about the same. Gary and Sheila. taken care of and they've
got water sales out too. It's tough when you get old. When you become a caretaker at
an old age, it's hard on young people, but it's hard on the
caretaker too. So remember those folks in your prayers. We begin
our worship service this morning with your handout, Here of Sovereign
Graces, sung to the tune of the Doxology. With thanks we gather in this
place to hear O may I God this very hour Send
forth His grace in mighty power. Tis true we are but worms of
play, Yet for God's presence we will play. And we will praise Him for His
grace Which sent Christ down to take our place Now listen
as these men proclaim The glories of the Savior's name Oh, worship
him, the sinner's friend, And let his praises now ascend. And when the time shall come
to part, Let us be of kindred heart, And wheresoever be our
place, still love and heed of sovereign grace. Now after scripture reading and
prayer, we'll sing hymn number 185 in your hymnal. Grab your
Bibles, turn to 1 John chapter 4. reverses four three nine john writing to the believers
we are of god and have overcome them because greater is he that
is in you and he is in the world they are of the world therefore
speak day of the world in the world here We are of God. He that knoweth God, heareth
us. He that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and
knoweth God. He that knoweth not God, he that
loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. Let us pray. Our
Father in heaven, We bless you and thank you for great mercy.
The ruined and wretched sinners who have no hope in helping this
world apart from you. We thank you for the perfect
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who came into this world and died
in the womb instead of his people, secured their salvation and redemption,
and will one day return to gather them together and wind up this
whole thing called time. And they will live blissfully
and joyfully in his presence forever, where there'll be no tears and
no sorrow, no pain and no sickness, but only joy, unspeakable and
full of glory. And Christ is the light thereof, What a day. What a day that will be. Father, we pray for those who
are sick and going through trials, especially Kathy Robinson, she's
going to be operating on tomorrow. Brother Stan Terry, ask Lord your help for him. For
Stephanie Shepard, for Gary and Sheila as they minister to her.
For Sharon, watch over her and give her strength. For ourselves,
as we gather here this day, we ask, Lord, that you would meet
with us in the presence of your Holy Spirit. We know that according
to your word, where the truth is preached, the Holy Spirit
is there. Enable me to preach the truth. Help us, Lord, now
to worship you in spirit and in truth. We pray in Christ's
name. Amen. Hymn number 185. Glorious things of the gospel. City of our God, whose word cannot
be broken. Formed before his own abode,
owner of the angels What can shake thy sure repose? With salvation's walls surrounded,
Thou mayst smile at all thy foes. ? Living waters springing from
eternal love ? ? Well supply thy sons and daughters ? ? And
all fear of walls remove ? ? Who can fade by such a river? ? Never flows the thirst to swage. Grace which like the Lord, the
giver, never fails from age to age. a glory and a covering showing
that the Lord is here. Let us pray. Father, again we come in the
name of Jesus Christ. that magnificent, glorious name
that is above every name, the only name under heaven and given
among men, whereby we must be saved. We thank you, Father,
that you have freely given him to your people. We know that
all good and perfect gifts come from above, from the Father of
lights, in whom there is no variable, there's no shadow of turning.
We ask now as we return these gifts unto thee, we do so with
joy and an understanding that our hearts ought to be full
of praise and thanksgiving that you would indeed give your children
the privilege to support the gospel here and in other places.
We thank you for such a thing. In Christ's name, amen. You. The fourth chapter, 1 John, is
all about the love of God for His people. And the natural result of that
love for His people and in His people is that they love one
another. This is made clear throughout this fourth chapter. In these
verses that I've just read, John is continuing in the thought
concerning those who would come into the church and preach false
teaching. This he covers in verses 1 through
3. He says, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try or
prove the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false
prophets, and that is what the spirits are, they are false prophets,
are going out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God. every spirit that confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit
that confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is not of God, and this is the spirit of Antichrist, whereof
ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is
in the world. And he says of these people,
they are not of God. And he says to the believer,
we are of God. By contrast, those who are of
God are said to overcome the world. They are said to hear
God's word. And they are said to love the
brethren, while those who are not of God are discovered and
manifested by their interests, which mainly is in the things
of the earth. It says of these that they are
of the world and they speak not of the things of God. They therefore
do not love the brethren, do not hear the word. They do not
desire to overcome the world in which they are firmly ensconced
and quite happy. Since they are of the world,
they mind their own voice rather than the voice of God. John begins
this passage, as I said, in a distinction between the believer and those
who are described in the previous verse, verse 3. They are Antichrists. We hear a lot about that today.
Everybody is looking for the Antichrist. But the Antichrist
is, there will possibly be one leader in those days who will
wear that title. John makes it clear that this
world is full of antichrists at the time he wrote this book.
Those who are against Christ, that's what it means. But the believer is not an antichrist. He's a pro-Christ and he's of
God. And these believers are referred
to in this passage as little children. Little children. A term of endearment that John
often employs in this epistle. and one that is learned, that
he learned from the master. You remember in Matthew 18 when
the Lord said, suffer the little ones that have come unto thee,
for such is the kingdom of heaven. And he took a child to him and
told him to sit here and he pointed to them. And it was that he used
that analogy or that child to show and teach the disciples
that the true disciple comes when he's called and he sits
where he's told. because the disciples said, where are we
going to sit in heaven? Who's going to sit next to you?
Who's going to be the big boss up there? And so he took this
child, but he spoke often of the little children. John referred
to every believer as a little baby, as a child. It's a term of endearment as
opposed to arrogance and entitlement. Believers are described in a
glorious and simple way. of God. The first thing that
John applies to the estate of these blessed little children
is that they have overcome the Antichrists. They've overcome
the Antichrists, the false prophets that deny Christ has come in
the flesh, thereby denying his sacrificial death. Now no doubt
that John at this time was dealing with the Gnostics the Gnostics
believe that all matter is evil and only thing good is the spirit
world. This is Greek philosophy basically. Plato believed this, so did Socrates
and men like that who wrote those great mythical books. Gnostics believe that since all
the flesh was all matter was evil that Jesus Christ could
not have come into flesh because he would have been matter and
therefore evil but they didn't realize that by saying that they
were denying the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for a spirit
cannot die only a person can die a person who is made up of
organic matter Lord Jesus Christ. They were denying the sacrificial
death of the Lord Jesus Christ by saying He did not come in
the flesh when the Word of God clearly declares that He did.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. The
Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld
His glory as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and
truth. Let this mind be in you which
is also in Christ Jesus who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, but took on the form of flesh, even if found in the fashion
of a man. He endured the cross, despising
the shame. The children of God overcome
the world. That's what it says in chapter
five and verse four, for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
world. And this is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith, even our faith. They overcome
the world for one reason. They have been overcome by God.
Only the overcome are overcomers. This faith is their gift from
God. So their power to overcome is
of God also, for we know that by grace you are saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. And they overcome this world
because the one who's in them is greater than the world altogether.
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. The Spirit of God in them is
greater than all the spirits of false teaching. All the antichrists
that are going out into the world, and there's plenty of them. This
is a simple statement of fact. Believers will overcome because
Christ has overcome. he has overcome the world and
his spirit resides in them he says that in chapter three twice
they operate in the realm of the spirit in the realm of the
spirit in Romans chapter eight verse five it says this for they
that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh and they
that are after the spirit do mind the things of the spirit
they mind the things of the spirit Verse 5 describes those who are
of the world. It says, They are of the world,
therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. The
world is listening to those who are of the world. It's not listening
to the truth, though I believe firmly that these preachers who
are so against the truth and so against the sovereign grace
of God, they are against it because they do understand what we're
saying. Because I've had them say to
me, to my face, after hearing me preach, or hearing me in a
conversation, they say, well you're saying we're not saved.
I've never said that. But they're hearing what I'm
saying. And they know what I believe. And they know what the Word of
God says. So the rebellion is against the truth. People aren't
ignorant of these things. They know exactly what they're
saying. They that are of the flesh do
mind the things of the flesh. It is the realm in which they
exist. That's all they can do. They can't operate outside that
realm. Over in Ephesians chapter 2 when it talks about our former
estate and the estate of every child of God and every person
upon the face of the earth. It says wherein in times past
ye walked according to the course of this world. What does that
mean? Wherever the world went you went.
Beware. Beware! Pay attention to what's
going on around you. One of the things spoken of the
prophets of God, those men of God of old, was they understood
their times. Pay attention! Pay attention! The easiest thing in the world
is just to follow the course. Just to follow the course. The
world has a course. And it's against God and away
from God. Where in times past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, Satan was in your heart and in your
mind, and he is the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience, among whom we also were all there. Not talking a
bunch of bad people, we're talking about all people, of which we
were part, of which we were part. the world speaks what it knows
knows everything about the world they exist operating that they
speak of spiritual things or they cannot speak of spiritual
things because they do not operate or abide in that realm natural
man man who's not received the gospel of jesus christ a man
who's not been redeemed by the blood of christ a man who's not
been taught by god to come to the lord jesus christ that man
does not and cannot ever Now he can get, theologically, he
can get all his ducks in a row. He can do that. He can do that. But he can't understand the meaning
of this book. This is a spiritual book. The
natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit. They're
foolishness to him, neither can he know them nor discern them,
because they're spiritually discerned. That's just the truth. They speak
of their own. That's what our Lord said. That
is what our Lord said in John chapter 44 when He was talking
to the Pharisees. He says, Ye are of your father
the devil in verse 44 of chapter 8. and the lust of your father
you will do." He was a murderer from the beginning and bowed
not in the truth because there was no truth in him. When he
speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and
a father of it. He speaketh of his own. So what
he doing? He's speaking of his own. Why does the world hear
the world? Why do the false people, false
teachers hear the world? Because they're part of the group.
They're part of that. In John chapter 15 and verse
19, Christ said if you were of the world, if you were of the
world, the world would love you. Makes sense. But because you're
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hates you. Why does the world hate you?
Because God has elected you into salvation. How do they know that? How do they know you're licked?
Because you tell them. That's the only way they know.
And I'm going to get it written in the stars. If they read the
Bible, they'll skip that part, I guarantee you. I skipped it
for a long time. About every preacher I knew up until my twenties,
and I was in church since I was a baby, skipped that part. How does the world know you're
elected? There's only one way. You tell them the truth. Tell them
the gospel. Tell them the gospel. If the world hates you, it's
because I chose you. If the world loves you, it's
because you're of the world. That's what he says. Makes it
pretty simple, doesn't he? He talks about these false teachers.
They cannot know the truth. They cannot know the truth. They're
incapable of it. Their understanding is restricted
to the natural realm in which they operate. Because they speak
the language of the world, the world hears them. This is the
primary reason for the proliferation of religion in the world, is
the religion of the world, and the world knows its own. The
world's not an irreligious place. Boy, just look at the news, what's
going on today. All kinds of religion raising
cain in this world right now. All kinds of religion. Christianity,
so-called, is involved also in that mess. is the religion of
the world. The world loves its own, and
the spirit of man understanding, because the spirit of man understands
the spirit of man, we know what people want. We know what the
spirit of man is, what he likes, and so we appeal to that in religion. Religion does. That's what our
Lord said over in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, when he was talking
about what would be revealed to the children of God. and why
it would be revealed to them because they were spiritual beings. First Corinthians chapter 2 and
verse 11 says, For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit
of man which is in him? Even so, the
things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. But man
understands me. Ever wonder why all this, why
advertising is so effective? We understand men. We understand
each other. And we can operate in that realm
in religion, we can convince people that everything's okay
in religion without Jesus Christ. And if we do, we're antichrists.
We're antichrists. Back in our text, in verse 6,
John reiterates the truth that believers are of God, and he
asserts another distinctive. He says, We are of God. He that
knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth
not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of
truth and the Spirit of error. That's a powerful statement.
Here's the Apostle saying, Whoever knows God hears us. here's us. Is that truth? That's the truth
of every preacher of the gospel. Over in Matthew chapter 10, our
Lord was pretty strict on this when he'd send his disciples
out to preach the gospel to the world. In Matthew chapter 10 and verse 14, he says, and whosoever shall
receive you or whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your
words, when you depart out of the house of the city, shake
off the dust off your feet." Why? Because they haven't heard
you. In verse 40 it says, He that
receiveth you receiveth me. That's a powerful statement.
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me
receiveth him that sent me. To receive the minister of the
gospel is to receive Christ. That's a strange statement. I
wouldn't say it if it wasn't here. I wouldn't say it. And if you receive Christ, you
receive the Father, him that sent him. The preacher of the gospel in
and of himself is nothing. He's nothing. He's no one. He
don't matter. But the office and the message,
that's what matters. He that heareth you, he that
receiveth you, receiveth me, saith the scripture. Our Lord
said, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me. What voice
do they hear? Do they hear an audible voice or cry? I know
people say things like that. But when people say they hear
an audible voice, think schizophrenia. search all great how here what
is the word word gospel is preached here word as the call to come to the Lord
Jesus Christ. They hear his voice and they
come. This is how we know the difference
between the truth and the lie. There's also sweet relief. The
believer's not encumbered with the pressure of results. We're
therefore encouraged to allow, or allowed to use the results
oriented chicanery of religion. People are always, listen to
people what they ask. They're looking for results.
I saw a thing on a blurb on Facebook yesterday where it's some kind
of so-called revival. Mostly it looked like it was
just a whole lot of singing and waving your hands up in the air and
jumping up and down and being happy as hogs and bunnies. A
thousand were baptized. Oh, my soul, it's a revival in
the land. We'll see. I think it was old B.B. Caldwell
used to say, well, time and the devil will tell. Time and the devil will tell.
We'll see. I remember as a kid watching
Billy Graham Crusades. My dad liked to watch those Crusades.
Her dad did, too. All them people going down front.
I thought, man, that's something. That's amazing. Where are they
now? What effect did they have on
their cities and their lives and their families? That was all a bunch of tricks
anyway. Those whole Crusades were tricks. before they came
to a town, they contacted each church in that town that was
going to participate in that great crusade. It didn't matter
whether they was Baptist or Catholic or Methodist or Buddhist. They didn't care. If you had
a church, they wanted two people from your church to be counselors
and to attend the conference. And part of the duty of those
two people, and of course, with many churches in the town, you
had a whole lot of people at those conferences that were counselors. Part of their duty was when the
invitation was given, when they started singing Just As I Am,
those counselors came out and came down. They were the first
out of their seats, down they went. They always came down with
their heads hung and a Bible in their hand. This had a psychological
effect and that's what it said in their literature. It had a
psychological effect to get others to come down with them. They
weren't have to do it by themselves. Others came down. That's the
whole idea behind it. It's trickery. Subterfuge. We don't need the invitation
system. Don't use it. because we believe if God gets
a hold of somebody, we just better get out of the way. Best not
inhibit them with some kind of church rules and regulations
and documents and church doctrines and things like that. Best just
get out of the way, because I know this about a child of God. He'll
mind the things of God, not the things of the flesh. And he's
not of this world, he is of God. That's how he got where he was. We don't need an altar call because
there ain't no altar. The last altar was on a hill
outside Jerusalem 2,000 years ago called Golgotha. That was
the last and the best and the greatest altar there ever was
where Jesus Christ was the sacrifice offered on that tree. He fully glorified God in all
his attributes. We don't need man-invented means
of persuasion. member jack house crew remember
him years ago jack house big preacher you see give me five
minutes with the person I'll have believe in Jesus that's
powerful persuasion persuasion so when he was soldiers wise
you want so winners Jesus Christ he's so What do we do? Our little conclave
in Cherokee, North Carolina, here with 20 or so people, 25
people. What do we do? How do we get
people to come to Christ? There ain't more than one way
to do it. We speak God's word. We preach
God's words. And they that are of God, according
to this passage, will hear us, will hear us, and if they will
not hear us when we preach God's Word, it's because they're not
of God. John said, we're of God, because we heard. No other way
to know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error, you heard
the Word of God. Back in our text in verse 7,
John comes back to the theme of love for the brethren. Beloved,
let us love one another for love is of God. We're of
God. Those that hear the gospel are
of God. We love one another. We're of God because love is
of God. Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He's talking not in general terms.
He's talking about those who've heard, those who are of God and
not of the world. He's talking to His people. This is a tremendous statement.
He has shown that knowing the truth, being of God is vitally
connected to loving the brethren. I know we don't do a great job
of this. Be the first to admit it. And
I know this about the children of God, that they'll overlook and forgive
so much because they love one another. We know that we love
the brethren because God has declared it to be so. So sometimes
I don't feel it. It don't matter if you do, because
God said you did. But as sinners we need to be
reminded to love them. we have admonitions in scripture
are never without cause. They're not just general things
that God's throwing out there giving something to say. He don't
use fillers. He tells us we ought to love
one another. We probably need to work on that. We probably need to consider
that. He has made it clear that we
overcome because he is in us and he's greater than the world.
Let us love one another because love is of God. We're of God. Love is of God and everyone that
loveth is born of God and knoweth God. This verse is a tight, exclusive,
restricted little area of revelation that gives all glory to God for
us loving one another. It's all of God. Later on in
this very same chapter it says we love him because he first
loved us. verse 8 is an explanation by
those who love not the brethren do not know God he that loveth
not knoweth not God for God is love this is one of the most
misused passages in all of scripture especially the last three words
God is love I heard it all my life in religion never knew what
the context was or the text was which was written But it's important
to understand. This phrase is often used to
express the false notion of a universal love of God, that He loves everybody. But that's not what it's talking
about. This phrase actually has nothing to do with universal
love of God and salvation, because there's no such thing as this.
This is about being of God. And it's a clear assertion that
if we do not love the brethren, We're not of God. That's pretty
clear, isn't it? We don't love the brethren, we're
not of God, because God is love, and He that is in you is greater
than he that is in the world. He is in us by His Spirit, and
this produces love for the brethren. Chapter 2 and verse 5, says this then is the message
that we've heard of him declaring you that God is light and in
him there is no darkness in verse five chapter two but whoso keepeth
his word in him verily the love of God is perfected keeps his
word he says of God hears us keeps his word hereby I know
that we're in him hereby we know that we're in
him chapter three in verse fourteen says this, I have written unto
you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning.
I have written unto you young men because you are strong and
the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked
one. The word of God abideth in you.
Who is the word of God? Jesus Christ is the word of God.
He is the living word expressed and revealed in the written word. Chapter 4 and verse 7 We just
read, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God,
and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. Chapter 5 and verse 1 says, Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is Christ is born of God, and everyone
that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of
him. God gave you a new birth, you love everybody, He's given
you a new birth. verse nine brings us back to the first cause of
all things and this was manifest the love of god toward us how
did god manifest his love toward us because god sent his only
son his only begotten son in the world that we might live
through him this is the expression of love in my marriage ceremony
one of the things i repeat over and over again is that love gives
It does not take. Love is not about taking. It
ain't about taking. Wish I could get that through
my head. Love is about giving. He loved us and gave himself
for us. Of course, that's what love does.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that
whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. love always gives love always gives so if you love the
brethren what does the bible say? you give your life for them
you give your life for them as God gave his life that's what
he says in chapter 3 verse 16 hereby perceive we the love of
God this is how we understand it because he laid down his life
for us. We ought to be willing to do
the same if necessary to save our brother, to lay down their
life for him. That's what he did. That's what
love does. That's why a frail woman will
run into a house fire to grab two or three children and bring
them out. Why she do that? Her life don't matter, their
lives don't. What a wonderful thing about love is you finally
realize that your life really is not the issue. The people you love, their life's
the issue. That's what life is all about.
He gave his son that we might live through him. We are to emulate
that love by loving our brethren the same manner. That means our
interest is in their life. A young man not long ago texted me and was getting ready
to get married. He asked, what should I do? He
said, what? He said, you've been married a long time. I said,
make everything about her everything. Make everything about her. I
said, you'll have a happy life. It's what we do, we love somebody,
we make it about them. Why do we love one another? Because
God is love. And we are of God. Father bless
us to understand Him, we pray in Christ's name, Amen.