Knowing that you know begins with knowing Who you know.

It's one of the most dangerous assumptions a person can make — especially where church attendance is normal and Christian language is native. John writes his letter to people whose confidence has been shaken by teachers who left, and he doesn't answer their doubt by telling them to look harder at themselves. He points them to what he heard, saw, looked upon, and touched. This first message in Knowing That You Know asks the question underneath every other question about assurance: what is your confidence actually resting on? Because the answer determines whether it holds.

Assurance Beyond Simplistic Faith — 0:00

Avoid Assumption, Pursue True Assurance — 7:16

Why 1 John Matters for the Church — 11:15

Trust the Biblical Christ Alone — 26:03

Faith Produces Fellowship — 38:11

Full Joy Through Christ and Community — 45:03

So first John's where we're gonna be.

2

If you want to get your Bibles

already ready for that, that would

3

be a good place for you to turn.

4

It's a short book, but there's a lot

inside of it, and we're gonna have to.

5

Give a lot of time and attention

to make this valuable for you.

6

It's deceptively simple and

endlessly deep, and I wanna

7

show you some of those things.

8

But before we do that, uh, I wanna start

by encouraging you with a quote that I

9

came across a while back, but found and

still find incredibly helpful sermon's.

10

Title is called The Foundation

of Our Assurance is Jesus.

11

And we'll come back to that in a second.

12

But let me, uh, encourage

you with this here.

13

Oliver Wendell Holmes is noted as saying

this, I would not give a fig for the

14

simplicity, this side of complexity, but

I would give my life for the simplicity

15

on the other side of complexity.

16

Sit with that a second.

17

See if you can track

what he's saying there.

18

There's a kind of approach

to difficult topics.

19

Where on the near side of complex

subjects like our faith, like theology,

20

like the action of our faith and how

it works together with our faith.

21

There is a, a tendency when you're early

in this stage to oversimplify something

22

to the point that it's simplistic and it's

not accurate to what you're being taught.

23

That is one error that can

happen with complicated

24

subjects or difficult subjects.

25

Complexity.

26

As he says here, he says, I

would give my life however.

27

For the simplicity on the other

side of complexity on the near

28

side of complexity is simplistic.

29

On the far side of complexity is simple.

30

You're gonna find that to be true

in your study of the gospel of John,

31

rather the letter of John first

John, which is closely tied to and

32

connected to the Gospel of John.

33

One tendency to read this letter

is to read it simplistically.

34

And to see that it's circular nature

and it's circular and repeated words are

35

simple to the point of being simplistic.

36

And you might say to yourself,

this seems pretty obvious.

37

Why would John spend so much time

saying these things over and over again?

38

But as you study this book, and what I'm

gonna promise to you as you hang with me

39

these next eight or nine months, is that

the more you study this, the more you put

40

your mind into the, the, the letter of

First John, the more you'll find it to be.

41

Incredibly rich, and yet the circular

nature of the book, its repetition is not

42

meant to be understood simplistically, but

it is simple simplicity on the far side

43

of complexity after studying it, after

thinking about it, after discerning it.

44

So I don't want you to make the mistake

of seeing John as a simple book.

45

I want you to see it simply

without oversimplifying it.

46

This is gonna be important because

one of the subjects that we're gonna

47

tackle with this particular letter is

the tap, this topic of your salvation

48

and your assurance, uh, which is this

topic of saying, how do I know that?

49

I know I'm right with God?

50

How can I be assured that my

relationship with God is built to last?

51

Uh, as Jesus says that my

relationship with God is built on

52

the rock and not built on the sand.

53

How do I know that?

54

How do I know that?

55

I know to quote the series title.

56

And John's intention in writing is

to help you know that you know, in

57

fact, that's one of the things he's

gonna say near the end of the book.

58

Let me just take you there really quickly.

59

First, John chapter five,

starting at verse 13.

60

This is one of John's stated reasons

for writing this little letter.

61

He says, one John five 13, I write these

things to you who believe, and he is

62

talking to an audience of believers who

believe in the name of the son of God.

63

That you may know that

you have eternal life.

64

I want you to know that you

know, is what John is saying.

65

And so even though there's lots

of things that we're going to read

66

and study together that might cause

you pause and say, I'm not sure if

67

I have what John is talking about.

68

John doesn't give you a line to say

if you're this tall, you can get on

69

the rollercoaster of Christianity.

70

He doesn't give you clear measurements

to say, well, if you've sinned

71

this many times today or this week,

you're clearly not a Christian.

72

He gives you something much more practical

and more realistic, and yet also at the

73

very same time, much more challenging.

74

He gives you these broad and beautiful

brush strokes of what the Christian life

75

is meant to look like, and his intention

is to encourage you who believe and to

76

give you the assurance that your walk

with God is solid on the solid ground.

77

It's making progress.

78

So we're gonna read a lot about what

John has to say about your salvation,

79

your faith, ultimately your assurance.

80

And this is critical for us because

we live in the land called the Bible

81

Belt, and some have called Texas

the belt buckle of the Bible Belt.

82

You know that there's a church,

you throw a rock at any corner.

83

You're gonna hit a church, you'll

hit something with a, a, a beautiful

84

campus and usually really great.

85

Uh, a really great landscaping,

sometimes large parking lots.

86

There's churches everywhere.

87

We're meeting in a church

and not all of them are bad.

88

That's a great thing, by and large.

89

But one of the challenges in our

particular area is that faith has

90

become something that is easy.

91

It's expected.

92

And it's part of the cultural ethos.

93

Even though things are changing in Texas

and the demographics are shifting into

94

something entirely other than what Texas

used to be known for, there's still a

95

reminiscent sense of Christian faith here.

96

It's expected.

97

It's normal.

98

You talk to your server or

your barista and you say, Hey,

99

where do you go to church?

100

Or as Pastor PJ said recently in

a sermon, do you have a faith?

101

No one's offended by that.

102

At least not initially.

103

I mean, we're not in Austin, so it's

a little more practical up here.

104

People expect you to say, well, yeah,

I go to, I go to Prestonwood, or I

105

go to Lighthouse, or I go to Compass.

106

Faith is an expected thing around here,

and that's wonderful in one sense,

107

but also terrifying in another because

then you can easily do something

108

that Jesus s warns us against.

109

And Matthew chapter seven, you can grow

presumptive or assuming that you have a

110

relationship with God because you're near

people who have a relationship with God.

111

Jesus says in one of the scariest

passages in the Bible, not everyone

112

who says to me, Lord, Lord will

enter the kingdom of heaven.

113

No one who says that.

114

That is, just because you confess

with your mouth as Romans 10 says,

115

doesn't mean that your heart is right,

just because you're saying Lord.

116

Lord, you call it Jesus, king

and Lord, and master doesn't

117

mean that you are right.

118

Two Corinthians 13.

119

Paul says, test yourself to see

whether you're in the faith or do you

120

not realize this about yourselves,

that Jesus Christ is in you unless

121

indeed you fail to meet the test.

122

He says, we find that scripture

gives us some clear warnings not

123

to assume and presume upon the Lord

when it comes to our relationship.

124

And so on the one hand we have John

who's saying, I write these things to

125

give you an assurance about your faith.

126

And on the other hand, scripture tells

us in a few places, Hey, be careful that

127

you're not just making assumptions about

your walk with God just because you're

128

near people who have a walk with God.

129

There should be clear evidence

or scripture calls fruit.

130

Galatians chapter 5 22 23.

131

There should be fruit or evidence

of your relationship with God.

132

And so we wanna look at this letter

because we don't want to assume.

133

I wanna avoid assumption.

134

So the first reason we need to look at

this is we wanna avoid the assumption.

135

The second reason we wanna look at this

is I want you to enjoy assurance, to avoid

136

assumption, and to enjoy assu assurance.

137

First, John is necessary for us

because John in, as a pastor in,

138

he's very pastoral in this letter.

139

One thing I've learned after

reading this thing over and over

140

again is that John writes like a

man who cares about his people.

141

He's not throwing swords with

his mouth and saying, you guys

142

ought to be better by now.

143

What's wrong with you?

144

Shape up or ship out, you

know, stop acting like this.

145

You ought to grow up.

146

He's, he's a pastor, he's a father.

147

He's a man who cares about his people.

148

And consequently, because your pastors

at this church care about you, we want

149

you to enjoy the assurance that comes

with knowing the God that has saved you.

150

And to do that well, we have to know

what genuine assurance looks like because

151

we don't want to fall prey to Matthew

seven having a false assurance note.

152

Again, not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, he says, many will say

153

to me on the day, Lord, didn't we?

154

And then they're gonna fill in the

blank with all of the good works

155

that they've done for the Lord.

156

These men possessed assurance

even to their dying breath,

157

and they face the Lord.

158

And he says, the scariest

words depart from me.

159

I never knew you.

160

And so we gotta be clear that

we can have an assurance that

161

is misleading, a foe assurance.

162

I want you to have genuine assurance,

which means we need to know from one John

163

what that genuine assurance looks like.

164

Most important question

you can ask yourself.

165

Is going to be what is the foundation

or the basis of my assurance?

166

What gives me confidence

that I am right with God?

167

How do I know that?

168

I know how you answer that question

is critical to your experience

169

of the blessing of assurance.

170

To answer it wrongly, and all

of us are tempted to do this.

171

To answer it wrongly will

leave you shaky and unsure.

172

You'll come to a crisis of faith where

you're saying, am I even a Christian?

173

Am I even a man after God's own heart?

174

I wanna be a Christian.

175

I can't because I can't do these

things that you're measuring yourself

176

against a standard that maybe

God doesn't want you to measure.

177

And so we're, we're trying to write

attention here in this letter.

178

On the one hand, I want you to

love and revel and cherish the

179

grace of God in Christ Jesus.

180

I want you to so savor the fact

that you are saved by grace.

181

That it is a doctrine that you

clinging to for life and for

182

health for the rest of your life.

183

On the other hand, I don't want

you to take grace and say, well,

184

consequently I could do whatever I want.

185

As Paul says in Romans six, shall

we continue to sin that Grace

186

May have bound by no means how?

187

How can we who died to

sin still live in it?

188

He says, and therefore, I

want you to avoid license.

189

Don't want you to see grace as a

ticket to sin, but I want you to see

190

grace as freedom to do righteous.

191

To live righteously in God's sight first.

192

John is going to help us

with all of these things.

193

I love this letter for you guys.

194

I'm so excited for the next nine months.

195

God willing, we will get through

all of this, but of course, we're

196

only doing a sermon a month, so

this is gonna go pretty quickly.

197

Here's how you can get

the most out of John.

198

All I want you to do before you

show up to this meeting every

199

month is to just read first.

200

John, before you get here, I would love

for you to read through the letter.

201

If you're a slower reader, it

might take you 25, 30 minutes.

202

Um, and because John is so deceptively

simple and endlessly deep, uh, you

203

might be tempted to slow down during

certain sections, and I'm, I'm just gonna

204

encourage you, just read through it.

205

Just read through all five chapters

before you get here, even if you

206

woke up 30 minutes early to do that

before you arrive to the sermon.

207

That would really help you get

a sense of where John is going.

208

And again, I don't want you to feel

anything less than John's pastoral

209

heart as we go through this letter.

210

Well, speaking of John, let me just

give you a couple introductory markers

211

before we dive deeper into this.

212

Here.

213

I keep on referring to John.

214

Well, what John are we talking about?

215

Uh, you'll notice that the letter doesn't

begin with a a from John to these people.

216

It's really and technically an anonymous

letter, and yet it's anonymity is not to

217

be, is is not something that should throw

you off because based on the language.

218

We're pretty confident that

this is from the Apostle John.

219

This is the same John who wrote

the Gospel of John, which Pastor PJ

220

preached through a couple years ago.

221

In fact, if you wanted to pair Pastor PJ's

preaching, you could go back through our

222

catalog, download the sermons, and listen

to them in light of our series here.

223

So this is gonna be John, a son of Zedi.

224

Uh, we don't have evidence in the

text itself besides the fact that

225

it matches so closely to the gospel

of Johns stylistically, and even in

226

vocabulary and even in the simplicity.

227

When you learn Greek, uh, for the first

time when you go to elementary Greek,

228

one of the letters that, uh, a Greek

professor will make you read through

229

is gonna be First John or the Gospel

of John, because John's language is

230

so simple, but he is not simplistic.

231

Uh, John is far from that.

232

He is simple.

233

He's not simplistic, and so the

language is easy, at least on

234

its face, superficially, but

challenging reading to be sure.

235

The audience, who's John writing to?

236

Well, again, notice he doesn't address

it to any particular group of people.

237

He's not saying to the the Athenians, he

is not saying to the church at Ephesus.

238

He just jumps into his,

what I think is his sermon.

239

And so it seems likely that who

John is referring to is likely

240

the church in or around Ephesus.

241

John spends his final ministry days

in this region, and consequently

242

he becomes a father to all

of these people in this area.

243

At least that's how we understand it.

244

This makes the most sense of John's.

245

Timeline and his ministry.

246

So if Ephesus is the most

likely candidate, the church at

247

Ephesus, they've gotten a lot of

inks spilled on the scriptures.

248

You might know this.

249

They get a lot of attention.

250

And so John is there, he is

their pastor, at least one of

251

their pastors at this time.

252

But maybe this letter, uh, yeah, this

letter is meant to be a circular letter.

253

So that would mean it would also

go to a lot of the churches in,

254

in and around Asia Minor, perhaps.

255

And that's why we think there's so

little here in terms of specificity

256

to a certain group of people.

257

Uh, he calls them his little children.

258

In fact, this is one of the

things I love most about John.

259

He's likely an age of John.

260

He, you might know, he lives the

longest we suspect of all the apostles.

261

Uh, he is probably in his

later years at this point.

262

If we think that the gospel of John

was written around 90 ad we think First

263

John was written between 90 and 95

ad, give or take, and on top of that,

264

some have even suggested that second

John might have been a cover letter.

265

Four.

266

Uh, for First John as a way to

introduce the letter because Second

267

John, very similar in language, very

similar in content, and yet in this

268

one he actually says the elder to

the unelected lady and her children.

269

There's an address there.

270

That one actually functions like a

letter where First John doesn't have

271

the same elements of the letter.

272

In fact, first John,

again, it's anonymous.

273

It doesn't say who it's from, doesn't say

who it's to, and it, it gives us the sense

274

that this is more sermonic in tone, which

would account for a lot of the repetition.

275

I think it's a compelling idea to

think that First John was meant to

276

be a sermon read out loud by the

church that he was writing it to,

277

which would be one of the reasons

you see so much repetition, so much

278

circularity in John, in John's thinking.

279

He's trying to do what all good teachers

do, which is to repeat themselves.

280

Why does John write then?

281

Well, first John is written,

we think based on the internal

282

evidence, primarily because of

division taking place in the church.

283

There's a large group of people

in this church at this time who

284

leave the church because of a, a,

a doctrinal, a doctrinal fight.

285

You're gonna read about this in

chapter two, where he says, therefore,

286

uh, he says, they went out from us

that said this, this large group

287

of secessionists, these, these, uh,

antagonizes, they went out from us.

288

But they were not of us.

289

John is trying to console them

for, if they had been of us, they

290

would have continued with us.

291

So John is trying to help them

wrestle through this difficult

292

season of a church split.

293

People that they knew and loved and

perhaps were doing ministry with

294

suddenly up and leave the church,

and John's trying to reach them

295

and say, guys, don't sweat this.

296

Let's think this through.

297

Let me give you the assurance that

you need to know that your faith

298

is not in jeopardy just because

you've suffered this traumatic loss.

299

In fact, let me encourage you

with this whole letter about what

300

genuine faith, genuine doctrine,

and genuine love looks like.

301

One of John's reasons I already

noted here is that he wants

302

to assure you as his reader.

303

You're gonna see three themes

repeat over and over again

304

in the first letter of John.

305

Uh, John is writing to help clarify

true obedience, true doctrine,

306

and true love, true obedience,

true doctrine, and true love.

307

You're gonna see this over and over

again, and I'll highlight them to you and

308

point them out as we come across them.

309

It's true obedience, true

doctrine, and true love.

310

That's really the flavor that John

gives us as we're trying to ask and

311

answer the question, how do I know

that my faith is legitimate, is real?

312

Well, the fruits he's gonna

point to is true obedience,

313

true doctrine, and true love.

314

Okay?

315

All of that is just a starting place

for getting us into the gospel of John.

316

I mentioned to you John's language and

his Greek is quite simple, but as we

317

enter into these first four verses,

you're gonna find that the simple Greek.

318

Is deceptively simple and endlessly deep.

319

Let me read along with you as we read

through these first four verses, and

320

then I'm gonna slowly take us through

this section to give you a sense of

321

what I think John is trying to do.

322

Here's what it says.

323

Read along with me in your Bibles, please.

324

That which was from the beginning,

which we have heard, which we have

325

seen with our eyes, which we looked

upon and have touched with our hands.

326

Concerning the word of life, the life

was made manifest, and we have seen

327

it and testified to it and proclaim to

you the eternal life, which was with

328

the Father and was made manifest to us.

329

That which we have seen and heard,

we proclaim also to you so that you

330

too may have fellowship with us.

331

And indeed our fellowship is with the

Father and with his son, Jesus Christ.

332

And we are writing these things

so that our joy may be complete.

333

Okay.

334

Jam packed.

335

I wonder if when you read those

first few verses you're saying,

336

what is John trying to say here?

337

It's so tangled and twisted.

338

These are some of the most challenging

verses in the New Testament.

339

Let me try to diagram for

you what I think he's doing.

340

Are you able to see, gentlemen,

can you see B behind me?

341

Let me back up then.

342

It is gonna be important for you to see.

343

Is that better?

344

Great.

345

Okay.

346

John begins with four relative clauses.

347

It is, they're describing something

without giving you the verb.

348

So he begins by saying, he's starting

this whole thing, saying that, which was

349

from the beginning, which we have heard.

350

Which we have seen, which we've

looked upon in touch with our

351

hands concerning the word of life.

352

So he's saying a preamble.

353

He's ramping up to his main

idea, but he doesn't get to his

354

main idea until verse three.

355

Let me show you that, which

was from the beginning.

356

By the way, he's talking about Jesus

here, and yet he's not using a masculine

357

pronoun to refer to him that is neutral.

358

That which was from the beginning.

359

Which we have heard, which we have seen

with our eyes, which we looked upon and

360

have touched with our hands, is clear.

361

He is talking about more

than just a subject.

362

He's talking about the

subject that is Jesus Christ.

363

He says, concerning the word of life,

commentators are divided about what

364

he's exactly doing here, but it's

clear to me, at least however much

365

you take my word for it, that he's

intending to communicate not only the

366

message about Jesus, but Jesus himself.

367

John loves to do these things

where he gives you simple language

368

that has depth of meaning.

369

That is, he's intending to say

more than one thing, even as

370

he says the one thing itself.

371

So he's saying the that which

was from the beginning, which

372

sounds a lot like John one.

373

One, right?

374

In the beginning was the word.

375

The word is with God.

376

The word was God.

377

He's doing something similar here

and that he's given you simple

378

ideas that have depths of meaning.

379

So when he says that, he's talking

about the message, but he's also

380

talking about the messenger.

381

Jesus himself, who was from the beginning.

382

That is the agent of creation.

383

The one who's pre-existent, the one

who came and was born as a baby.

384

He was from the beginning,

and we have heard him.

385

We've heard him, we've heard his message.

386

We've looked upon him and have

touched him with our hands

387

concerning the word of life.

388

Let me continue.

389

Verse two is a parenthetical statement.

390

You'll notice that there's two big

dashes on the front end and the back

391

of M dashes is what those are called,

but they're, it, it's meant to signify

392

that this is a parenthetical statement.

393

There's not m dashes in the Greek text.

394

You should know this.

395

Uh, so what we're doing here, what

we're seeing is that an editor is

396

trying to help us see, we think verse

two is a parenthetical statement,

397

and I would be inclined to agree.

398

So notice here John ends with

concerning the word of life.

399

All of this is about the word of life,

which again, I'm gonna argue is both

400

about the subject and the subject.

401

Capital S Jesus.

402

So we're talking about the message

and the messenger, and then John in a

403

parenthetical statement says, here's what.

404

Here's what happened.

405

That life was made manifest.

406

It was revealed to us, and we've

seen it and testified to it and

407

proclaimed to you the eternal life.

408

He's talking about Jesus, but

he is also talking about your

409

eternal life in and with Jesus.

410

Which was with the father

and was made manifest to us.

411

So you again, you begin to see

some of the, the parallels here.

412

Jesus fits this description, so does

the message about Jesus, and I think

413

that that dual meaning is intended.

414

You'll also notice in the language

that John uses here, that it sounds

415

a lot like a courtroom deposition.

416

We testify, we proclaim.

417

We, we've seen, I saw this with my hands.

418

I looked on him, I touched him.

419

I, I, I, I saw the, the risen Christ.

420

I saw the preen, uh,

not the pre in Christ.

421

I saw Christ.

422

I engaged with him and it's real.

423

And I promise you, I swear.

424

And it's like you can imagine John

holding his hand on the Bible.

425

If there was one saying, I

testified to you, this is true.

426

I am not lying.

427

You'll also notice curiously.

428

That when John is giving this

preamble into his subject matter,

429

he uses a lot of plural pronouns

that which we have heard, right?

430

We testify, uh, the life was made

manifest and we have seen it.

431

So the question of course in

your mind is, well, who's the we?

432

Is this a plural?

433

We is this a we of majesty?

434

You know, John, with the Royal, we saying,

well, we have determined these things.

435

It's likely that John is intending

to communicate the witnesses, not

436

only of himself as being an an

actual eyewitness, but those who.

437

In the community of John, as well as

the apostles could say, this is true.

438

We have seen this, we have heard this.

439

There's more that could be said about

that, but I think that's a really

440

good, uh, hook to leave your mind on.

441

John is not talking about we plural,

we as in majesty, but the, we as in

442

the apostolic community and those who

have received the testimony, there's

443

a lot of, uh, in the, in this first

letter of John, there's a lot of

444

arguments that John puts forth to say,

who's the authority that you rely on?

445

For, for the word.

446

Now, who do you rely on for

trusted information about God?

447

And of course he's establishing his own.

448

He's reminding his community.

449

Look guys, I'm not just a a

a, a hypo, a hypothetical.

450

I ideator about the gospel.

451

I saw Jesus, I witnessed him, I

understood him, and he was made manifest.

452

He was revealed to us.

453

We've seen it.

454

We testified to it.

455

We proclaim.

456

We're telling you we're

we're declaring to you.

457

And he was with the father and

he was made manifest to us.

458

John picks up again in verse three.

459

So remember verse two is a parenthetical.

460

Verse three is John now picking

up his train of thought, which

461

is why he goes back a few.

462

He goes back a a few steps and

says that which we have seen and

463

heard, we proclaim also to you.

464

So he's saying, okay, I, I,

I lost my train of thought.

465

Or rather he inserted a different

thought and then goes back to it.

466

We have seen and heard and proclaim

also to you the word proclaim.

467

Is the primary verb that governs

the last two, the last two verses.

468

So everything leading up to this leads

to verse three saying, I'm telling you

469

all this so I can proclaim it to you.

470

I'm testifying, I'm witnessing to it.

471

Verse three, I say these things and

I've I've, I've seen these things,

472

I've heard it, and I'm proclaiming

to you, I'm telling you them.

473

I want you to know these things.

474

Imperative that you understand this John

is saying, and then he tells us why.

475

So that you may have fellowship

with us, which is mind blowing

476

if you stop and think about that.

477

I write all these things.

478

I want you to know this so you

can have fellowship with us.

479

And again, who's the us?

480

I think he's talking about all

of those who have bended and and

481

bowed the need of Christ, those

who have received and accepted

482

the apostolic authoritative truth.

483

I want you to have authority,

uh, fellowship with me and

484

those who profess this faith.

485

And I want you to have fellowship with all

of those who call on the name of Christ.

486

I think that's intended.

487

And then notice.

488

John drops a bombshell.

489

I want you to have fellowship with us.

490

And by the way, our fellowship is

not just hunky dory Fellowship.

491

Our fellowship is with the father

and with his son, Jesus Christ.

492

This is John dropping credentials

again to say, look, these, this

493

is the authoritative community

that God is establishing.

494

We're gonna find out later on in

the letter that the secessionists,

495

the defectors, also claim

to have fellowship with God.

496

And so John is beginning to sow

seeds of who are you gonna trust,

497

who are you gonna listen to?

498

You're gonna have fellowship with

us if you believe these things.

499

And our fellowship is with the father

and with his son, Jesus Christ.

500

So one of the reasons he's writing is that

he cares about your fellowship, that you

501

are fellowshipping with the right group.

502

But finally in verse four, he

says, we're writing these things.

503

So that our joy may be complete.

504

And so John, again, pastorally,

he's concerned not only about their

505

stability and their faithfulness, but

about their spiritual temperament.

506

He wants 'em to have joy.

507

How much joy?

508

Well, complete joy.

509

Partial joy.

510

No full joy.

511

You remember Jesus saying a lot

about this, and so there's the,

512

there's the gist of the opening.

513

John is sowing seeds that

he's gonna revisit later.

514

And so we'll try to do the same here.

515

I just want you to see what John is doing.

516

John is giving us a preamble into this.

517

Extraordinary letter, and it begins

with the simple and yet profound

518

declaration of who Jesus is.

519

These verses, verses one and

two, are meant to point us to

520

the foundation of everything else

that we're about to discuss, and

521

so let's just start it that way.

522

Let me just tell you point number one,

then you ought to trust in the biblical

523

Christ alone for your salvation.

524

That's what John is doing.

525

He's pointing your attention

and his first century.

526

Audience's attention, not to their works.

527

He doesn't talk about anything yet except

to, let's talk about the biblical Christ.

528

Let's talk about the Christ who came in

real life, who lived in real history,

529

who had real flesh and real blood, and

real bones, and that Christ is the one

530

that I'm testifying to when it comes

to your assurance in Christ, to your

531

knowledge of whether or not you are

saved, whether you know that, you know.

532

John wants you to say, let's

look first toward Jesus.

533

In fact, a.

534

A great saying to the faith said,

for every look you give to yourself.

535

Do you know this one?

536

Take 10 looks at Christ.

537

You're gonna have to look at yourself.

538

When you start examining your faith,

you're gonna have to look at yourself.

539

But instead of having some kind

of spiritual naval, navel gazing,

540

where you're stuck looking at

yourself in the spiritual mirror.

541

It's good to say, let me take my first

look and even my first 10 looks at Christ.

542

Who is he?

543

What has he done for me?

544

How have I related to him?

545

How have I responded to his gospel?

546

John starts there.

547

He was from the beginning.

548

We've heard him.

549

We've seen him.

550

We've looked upon him.

551

We've touched him.

552

This word of life, he is the eternal life.

553

He's the place that my assurance

is based upon, and I can't

554

do anything better than that.

555

What does this mean then,

practically speaking.

556

Several years ago, I got interested

in Jehovah's Witnesses, not because

557

I was interested in joining their

faith, but because I was interested

558

at learning and understanding

so I can dismantle their faith.

559

And so I did something very foolish.

560

I started attending their gatherings.

561

I know.

562

Thank you.

563

Their services are as dry

as bones, spiritually.

564

Uh, man, it is, it is very different

than what you'd expect in a gathering

565

like this or any church gathering

with a, a church that is actually

566

following the Biblical Christ.

567

Uh, but I made friends with an

older lady who invited me over for

568

a study, and I said, absolutely.

569

I, I have my, I'm thinking, great.

570

The Lord has given you to me.

571

I'm gonna win you to the faith.

572

You're gonna, you're gonna

understand that this is, you've

573

been wrong this whole time.

574

She's been a Jehovahs

Witness for all her life.

575

At that point, I went to her home

and she opened up a little book with

576

me, I think the book was called,

reasoning from the Scriptures,

577

and she began to walk me through.

578

Why the Jehovah's Witnesses

are right about Jesus.

579

I'm a young man at this point, and I

realized at that point I was outgunned.

580

This lady knew her Bible better than me.

581

She showed me in her own literature how

all these pieces make sense and they fit.

582

And while I was in the lion

stand, I came to this realization.

583

This is incredibly

foolish of me, number one.

584

And number two, if I'm ever going to

do this again, I better master my Bible

585

because I have so much confusion sewn

into my heart right now because of this,

586

this woman, this faithful Jehovah's

Witness, I'm, I'm a little nervous.

587

How do I deal with these

texts that she gave me?

588

The problem for me in part was that I, I,

I knew my Bible at least reasonably well.

589

But I really wrestled to defend what I

knew to be true because I was outgunned.

590

I was outmaneuvered functionally,

I was biblically illiterate.

591

Here's why that's important.

592

If you're gonna trust in the

Biblical Christ stands the reason

593

you gotta know his word, you gotta

know who he is from his word.

594

You gotta master the word.

595

You gotta have a sense of

who the Christ is that you're

596

trusting by knowing his word.

597

I mean, this is why John calls him

the word of life in the first verse.

598

I can't trust the Christ

that I don't know.

599

I can't put my faith in him

if I don't know who he is.

600

It is critical that I

know the word of life.

601

Jesus must reveal himself to us

through His word so we can trust him.

602

You can't trust in someone you don't

know, and which is why I think when

603

it comes to your faith and your

assurance, you have to make sure

604

that you are in the word frequently.

605

One of the, uh, ex-members of DC talk

deconstructed, and one of the things

606

that he said in an article was this,

I don't think that God rather, I don't

607

think that God that I believe in is

going to just all of a sudden ignore

608

me because I don't believe every single

thing that's written down somewhere.

609

Did you catch what he said?

610

I don't think that the,

God, lemme try that again.

611

I don't think the God that I believe in

is just going to all of a sudden ignore

612

me because I don't believe every single

thing that's written down somewhere.

613

Uh, okay, okay.

614

Maybe.

615

But you notice what he did there.

616

He undermined the very foundation

of his trust in the Lord.

617

What God does he have in mind?

618

If it's not informed by the scriptures?

619

How can you trust in the

God that you do not know?

620

This is one reason men, we are, we are

almost fanatical about making sure that

621

you're in the word because we care so

deeply that you are informed and shaped

622

by the word more than you are even shaped

by my preaching, pastor PJ's preaching,

623

pastor Mark's preaching, et cetera.

624

We wanted to be men of the word.

625

You're gonna trust in the Biblical Christ.

626

It has to start by trusting his word.

627

Secondly, what we want you to

trust in the Biblical Christ,

628

instead of second rate Messiahs.

629

This is related to what we were

talking about with Jehovah's.

630

Witnesses mean you could talk

about the Mormons, but even then

631

take, take them outta the equation.

632

Lots of people have a second rate

Messiah, they just don't know it.

633

But Jesus that many people carry

around in their minds is not one

634

shaped and informed by scripture.

635

It's shaped by sentimentalism.

636

It's shaped by some Hallmark

cards, perhaps maybe a few blogs

637

that they read online somewhere.

638

Maybe an influencer that tells 'em about

Jesus on the, on the web somewhere.

639

Uh, people have an idea, uh, of

their messiah, of Jesus that's shaped

640

by something other than scripture.

641

This is why John begins with,

we've seen him, we've touched

642

him, we've looked upon him.

643

This is the real deal.

644

There are many false Messiahs out

there, and we could talk about all the

645

different cult groups and the different

opportunities to, to be misled, but

646

I'm, I'm less concerned with that.

647

They're, they're a threat for sure,

but I'm more concerned with the Jesus

648

that you have in your own imagination.

649

All of us have deficiencies

when it comes to Jesus.

650

Our job is to discern where there's

deficiencies are by again, measuring

651

ourselves and measuring our understanding

of him according to his word.

652

You'd be able to define the

biblical Jesus, which is why

653

I put that in our point here.

654

It's the Biblical Jesus, not

the one that we've invented.

655

The biblical Jesus is meek and mild.

656

To be sure he is full of grace and truth.

657

He is wonderful and glorious,

and he's also the judge.

658

He also loves us enough to

discipline us for our disobedience.

659

It's important that we have a full

orbed image of Christ instead of

660

trusting in a second rate Messiah.

661

John later on in his, in his

little letter here, is gonna

662

say something to this church.

663

He's gonna say, beloved, do not believe

every spirit, just because the spirit

664

comes to you in a polished, uh, a

polished looking display, or it's a

665

great looking video, highly produced.

666

Don't believe every spirit, but test the

spirits to see whether they are from God.

667

For many false prophets have

gone out into the world.

668

Your vision, your image, your

understanding of Jesus will be shaped by

669

somebody and something is it Scripture.

670

And those whom you trust to

open up scripture with you.

671

Third, we trust in the biblical

Christ instead of our performance.

672

And notice that John says, we

proclaim to you the eternal life.

673

John anchors your faith in

Jesus, and he never wants you to

674

look at yourself as the primary

arbitrator of your faith in Christ.

675

He doesn't want you to look at yourself

and say, oh, have I done well this week?

676

And is that evidence of my

faith in the ultimate sense?

677

You will look at your performance, you

will look at the works that you're doing.

678

You will look at your sin tendencies.

679

You will look at the, you will have

to look at them of necessity, but

680

again, I'm looking primarily at

Christ, my faith, my hope, my trust

681

is in Christ, the eternal life that

was with the Father took on flesh.

682

He lived the obedient life that we

have never and could never live.

683

He went to the cross bearing our sin.

684

And judgment that we deserved, and he

rose bodily on the third day, Jesus.

685

Amen to uh, God's Amen.

686

The Father's amen to Jesus was

demonstrated by raising him from the dead.

687

He is who we put our trust in.

688

We never graduate from

the gospel you never do.

689

Gentlemen, if you know the

gospel, praise God, you'll only

690

ever go deeper in the gospel.

691

You will never, ever move beyond it.

692

The gospel must anchor your heart.

693

In every single thing that you

do, you'll never forget like

694

the Apostle Paul that you are.

695

And once were an object of God's wrath

and apart from Christ, you possess

696

nothing of value, your values in him.

697

And consequently, we trust in

him instead of our performance.

698

But again, we're trusting

in the biblical Christ.

699

You might remember Luther in his

95 thesis, he, he wrote as thesis

700

number one, he says, when our Lord

and master Jesus Christ had repent.

701

He will, that the entire life of

believers to be one of repentance.

702

I only take one small

issue with that word.

703

Um, in that I would've loved for

him to articulate its repentance

704

and faith, it's ongoing.

705

And I, he intended that.

706

I, I'm confident I'm not, I'm not,

uh, criticizing Luther by any stretch.

707

Not in my league, but I would

say all of life is repentance,

708

but all of life is faith.

709

It's like when you become a Christian,

you realize that the doorway to

710

Christ is repentant faith in Christ.

711

But then when you open the door and you go

into the house, you realize, oh, the whole

712

house is repentance In faith, the rest

of my life is repentant faith in Christ.

713

My whole life, I, I open the door every,

the whole Christian life, the whole

714

Christian mansion is repentant faith.

715

Knowing that, you know, begins

with knowing who you know.

716

Your faith and assurance have

to be grounded in who Christ is.

717

Anything short of this.

718

And you will perpetually

struggle with knowing whether

719

or not you're right with God.

720

Knowing what you know begins

with knowing who you know.

721

Okay, uh, these next two points here,

um, we're gonna, these next two points

722

are tangential to the main point.

723

My main point here is, is as

we start this, Jesus is the

724

foundation of our assurance.

725

That is the main idea.

726

If you don't hear these next two

points, that's okay, but they're

727

related to what John is saying.

728

Lemme show you here verses three.

729

In fact, let's just

stick with verse three.

730

Remember he's picking up again

that which we have seen and heard.

731

We proclaim also to you so that

you two me have fellowship with

732

us and indeed our fellowship is

with the father and with his son.

733

This concept of fellowship is, is

front loaded in, in John's letter.

734

You're, you're gonna see this next time

we meet, but here he says it twice.

735

We're gonna see it just a little more.

736

He's trying to paint the picture here

that when you become a Christian,

737

when you become united with Christ,

that union is not merely to Christ.

738

That union is to a fellowship.

739

It's to a community.

740

As others have said, upon conversion,

we gain both a new father and a

741

new set of brothers and sisters.

742

You are saved not only to the Lord,

but you are saved to a community.

743

John is trying to highlight this.

744

We've seen him, we've heard him.

745

We proclaim to him so that you too.

746

The reason why the purpose clause so

that you too may have fellowship with us.

747

I want you to see that there is a vital

connection between faith and fellowship.

748

John moves quickly to this idea.

749

You're saved, you're made right

with Christ, but you're saved

750

for the purposes of being united

to a community of believers.

751

I like how Joseph Hellerman says that.

752

He says, indeed, the phrase

personal relationship with God

753

is found nowhere in the Bible.

754

The phrase personal relationship with

God is found nowhere in the Bible.

755

I'm just quoting here.

756

He says, according to the New Testament,

a person is saved to community.

757

And I thought he said that so

well, because that's so true.

758

You find that much of the imperatives and

the indicatives in scripture are plural.

759

They're written to a community

of believers, and that's

760

not incidental to the time.

761

I think that's intentional by

the spirit of God to say, you're

762

saved to a community of faith.

763

That's critical.

764

You're saved to a community of faith.

765

So I want you to see these

vital connections, uh, vital

766

connection number one here.

767

Uh, vi.

768

The first vital connection is

that faith produces fellowship.

769

That's the vital connection

your faith produces.

770

It, it's a, it's a tag alone.

771

You ever seen those motorcycles

with the sidekick on the,

772

on the, on the other side?

773

I'd love to do that one day who

ride the motorcycle foot, pastor

774

PJ in my sidekick and just roll

around town, show up to church.

775

It'll have the Compass Bible

Church logo on it with lights.

776

Great day if you ask me.

777

When you are saved, when you are given

the gift of faith it produces, it leads

778

to, it comes alongside with fellowship.

779

You cannot separate what

God has joined together.

780

These things are intended to go together.

781

This is why John so quickly jumps to this.

782

We want you to have fellowship with

us, and indeed our fellowship is

783

with a father and with his son.

784

You are united to a community.

785

You are saved to the family of God.

786

John calls his audience

little children, implication.

787

He's a spiritual father

among spiritual children.

788

Your relationships are no

longer merely biological.

789

If you even have that, your relationships

are spiritual and they are more enduring

790

than even your closest biological

relationship For those who are not

791

Christians, if you have a biological

relationship with another Christian,

792

you share some DNA, that's amazing.

793

You're, you're doubly close.

794

But scripture speaks about our

relationship in the deepest

795

and most intimate ways.

796

This is a privilege of

your relationship to God.

797

Whether you wanted it or not.

798

The men around you are

your brothers in the faith.

799

If they have professed saving faith

in Christ, these are the men that

800

you will live with and die with.

801

This is how God designed this to work.

802

You want assurance.

803

Assurance is gonna happen amidst the

community of God's men and women.

804

He wants you to experience that within

the community, and he, I think, rarely

805

gives it to you apart from this.

806

Because what we find out is that we need

one another, which is why there are so

807

many in the scriptures to call each other

out to help stir one another, up to love

808

and good deeds to encourage one another.

809

And all the Bos you see the day drawing

near, we need each other critical.

810

In fact, I could say it the other way,

fellowships strengthens your faith,

811

so you ought to experience this.

812

Fellowship is a gift of faith,

but it also strengthens faith.

813

Once you are saved to the community

of God, you are now empowered to serve

814

through God's strength in that community.

815

John says, we write these things so

that you two may a fellowship with

816

us, and indeed our fellowship is

with the Father and with his son.

817

What you have is an upside down T.

818

Okay?

819

You have a vertical relationship, a

vertical fellowship with God that is

820

intimately connected and entwined with a

horizontal relationship with one another.

821

You remember in one Peter

chapter three, it says this.

822

He says, husbands live with your wives

in an understanding way, showing honor

823

to the woman as the weaker vessel, since

you remember this part, since they are

824

heirs with you of the grace of life.

825

But as you share a common destiny,

you are equal footing when it comes

826

to your relationship with God.

827

He says so that your

prayers may not be hindered.

828

That's true for your wife, who is

your fellow heir if she's a Christian.

829

But I think it's also true in our

relationships with one another.

830

And I could make this case more, more

succinctly if I had a little more time.

831

But I would go to first Corinthians 11

to develop this idea that God cares so

832

much about how we treat one another.

833

That he would much rather

discipline us to the point of death

834

than to let us mistreat and Ms.

835

Love the Bri, the bride of

Christ and the body of Christ.

836

So we have an upside down T.

837

These things go together.

838

Horizontal relationship, horizontal

fellowship, vertical fellowship with God.

839

They go together.

840

They are not to be separated.

841

You ever think about how

hard this is for us as men?

842

I know for a fact that there are men who

are very dissatisfied with the community.

843

God has placed in men.

844

Um, heard things like,

and I, I I don't have.

845

The kind of relationships

with these men that I want.

846

They're not saying these words, but

let me just make this make sense.

847

Superficial.

848

They're not running as hard as I am.

849

Um, they're, you know, they, they

don't, they don't show up to these

850

events and I, I wanna hang out with

them and they don't do those things.

851

And when we talk, we're only talking about

things like the rangers, I, yada, yada.

852

And I think, okay, I get that.

853

I understand you want depth,

you want, you want a greater and

854

deeper relationship with these men.

855

And, and more than just a superficial,

let's talk about the weather.

856

Let's talk about the sports things.

857

I get that.

858

But remember what Paul says.

859

In, in chapter 15 of Romans, he says,

we who are strong have a responsibility

860

to bear with the failings of the weak.

861

If you count yourself strong, one of the

challenges I would offer you when you

862

experience fellowship that is deficient in

your mind, not reaching to the level that

863

you want, is to look at your own soul for

a second and say, maybe I'm the problem.

864

Maybe, maybe my expectations are

too much and, and maybe I'm asking

865

to be served when God is putting

me in a position to serve others.

866

And maybe my attitude, even if I

just keep it to myself, bleeds out

867

and it, and it hinders the way that

people want to connect with me.

868

And maybe I just need to be okay that

this is providentially where God has me.

869

Might be true too, that

God's moving you along.

870

That's possible.

871

But I just wanna bring up in your

mind when you think about fellowship.

872

Whether it's in your community group

weekly, which I think is great, it's

873

a great way to make sure that it's

structured into your schedule, or

874

whether it's you meeting for some for

breakfast with somebody opening up a

875

couple of chapters of scripture or just

talking about how's marriage, how's life?

876

Just keep in your mind here.

877

God intends for you to use this

vehicle fellowship to strengthen

878

your relationship with him.

879

The vertical fellowship, these things are

built by God for you to grow, and when you

880

find people irritating or frustrating, or.

881

You know, they don't listen or their

breath stinks or they talk too loud,

882

or I don't like what they talk about.

883

Just know God is sanctifying you

through these very same people and

884

he charges you to care for them.

885

Charges you to Philippians

two, to consider others as more

886

significant than yourselves.

887

I think 98% of our fellowship issues

would evaporate if we approached

888

our relationships that way.

889

Our community groups, even our, our

small groups that we have outside

890

of community groups, our, uh, our.

891

Just our normal gatherings.

892

Fellowship is part of the way

that God gives you assurance.

893

When he saves you, he

saves you to a community.

894

They're hard.

895

I'm not gonna deny that, but notice how

he ends and we are writing these things

896

to you so that our joy may be complete.

897

Where the prior plurals, I think were

speaking to the apostolic community,

898

the authorized agents of orthodoxy.

899

I think our here refers to

his audience and himself.

900

I'm writing these things to you

so that our joy, my joy, as one

901

of your pastors and your joy as

one of my people may be complete.

902

I want you to see the connection between

joy and, and write doctrine about Christ.

903

Write, belief about Christ,

and write fellowship.

904

I think joy here is a

byproduct of those two things.

905

I would love for you to realize

that full joy is a byproduct.

906

It's a happy tag along to right

thinking about Christ and Real

907

Fellowship with brothers and

occasionally sisters in Christ,

908

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together,

one of my favorite books about community.

909

By the way, you should read at least

the first two chapters of that book.

910

Excellent.

911

He says God has willed that we should

seek and find God's living word in

912

the testimony of other Christians

in the mouths of human beings.

913

Therefore, Christians need other

Christians who speak God's word to them.

914

And another book, one

author says it this way,

915

oops.

916

We will skip that.

917

Actually,

918

I could show you in the gospel of John,

919

I've spoken to you that my joy may be

in you and that your joy may be full.

920

Jesus intends for the Christian to

have a full joy in following him.

921

Here's how you do this according

to what we're reading here.

922

So I, I would love for you pursue your

joy by deepening your knowledge of Christ.

923

Deepening your knowledge of Christ, you're

never gonna expand it to the point of ha

924

learning something, perhaps brand new,

uh, but deepening your knowledge of Christ

925

will help you understand him better.

926

I mean, think about the friends

that you've had for 20 or 30 years.

927

Anyone have that?

928

That's a special thing.

929

If you have friends who are 20, 30 years

in the making, you realize that that

930

friendship is special in ways that someone

that you've known for 20 days, even if

931

you're firing in all cylinders, you like

them, you talk about the same things.

932

You have similar

lifestyle, similar seasons.

933

Those are great, but those 20 years,

30 year relationships are so special.

934

There's context, there's perseverance.

935

They're seeing someone in all

kinds of, in all kinds of seasons,

936

they know you, you know them.

937

You've seen them get married, you've

seen them have kids, you've seen

938

them do all sorts of things, get

fired and go through that season.

939

You've seen them, you know,

struggle with their weights.

940

You've seen them struggle with

their wives, you've seen them

941

and they've seen you, and there's

something incredibly rich about that.

942

I dare say that your relationship with

Christ is that on steroids, and it's

943

not that he's learning more about you.

944

You are, however, seeing more and

more of him deepening the well of your

945

understanding and your love for him.

946

Seeing new shades of his character, of

his nature, exploring new territories, not

947

of brand new novel realities, but rather

the depths and the riches of Christ.

948

Ephesians chapter three, Paul's praying

for his audience and he says, look,

949

I, I'm praying that you have eyes to

see the height, the depth, and then

950

the width of the love of Christ Jesus.

951

I think that's what

John is getting at here.

952

So I'm gonna encourage you, man,

to deepen your knowledge of Christ.

953

I would argue that your capacity for

delight corresponds to your depth.

954

That knowledge paves the way deeper

knowledge paves the way for deeper joy.

955

Second, I wanna encourage you to

pursue your joy by investing in

956

fellowship with other church members.

957

Remember, John writes that

our joy may be complete.

958

This is a plural.

959

He's including his audience.

960

He's riding so that we may have

fellowship with one another.

961

I'm gonna encourage you not to lose

steam in your investing of fellowship,

962

and I applaud you 'cause you're here.

963

Praise God for that.

964

You're here, you're doing the thing.

965

I pray that you would not lose steam

in investing in fellowship because the

966

payoff is there and in just like the

market, there's gonna be ups and downs.

967

There's gonna be bull

markets and bear markets.

968

Even in your fellowship, you're

gonna have seasons where it feels

969

great, others where it doesn't, but

you have to keep on investing to

970

keep committing to these things.

971

John wants them to have fellowship

with him with one another, and he wants

972

'em to stay in that proper fellowship.

973

He's gonna fight for them to have

that two potential hindrances.

974

Number one, conflict.

975

I want you to expect conflict

with brothers that you love.

976

Please expect it.

977

Please expect conflict.

978

Please know that the

church is not perfect.

979

She's in progress, and that includes

everybody in your small group.

980

That includes your pastors.

981

Your pastors will disappoint you.

982

I can promise you that.

983

Just be around us long enough and we

will disappoint you with the decision.

984

Or a thing that we say, a, you

know, an insensitive remark from

985

the pulpit or from whatever.

986

We're gonna hurt you.

987

You're gonna hurt each other.

988

Expect that in this community, the

difference is that Jesus gives us

989

marching orders for how to deal

with that when you have conflict.

990

Jesus doesn't say, Hey, no sweat.

991

Shake it off and move along.

992

He actually says, look, if some, if

your brother has something against you.

993

You go and reconcile you, you go figure.

994

If you know your brother has something

against you, you go figure it out.

995

You go, you initiate.

996

And then same gospel, Matthew, Matthew 18.

997

He says, if, if you have something

against your brother, whose

998

responsibility is it to resolve it again?

999

You So either way, either way, whether

you are the offended or the offender,

00:50:04,964 --> 00:50:06,194

you're, you're not released from it.

00:50:06,194 --> 00:50:08,594

You have a responsibility

to resolve the conflict.

00:50:09,694 --> 00:50:12,454

There are times when your conflict

will result in a parting of ways.

00:50:12,514 --> 00:50:17,164

It happens, but that's not

the ordinary way that God

00:50:17,164 --> 00:50:18,124

designs our fellowship to work.

00:50:18,124 --> 00:50:19,234

You need to expect conflict to come.

00:50:19,234 --> 00:50:22,324

Secondly, uh, if conflict is one

issue, connection is another.

00:50:22,834 --> 00:50:24,934

00:50:24,934 --> 00:50:25,624

You can write this one down.

00:50:25,624 --> 00:50:26,224

We'll end on this.

00:50:26,584 --> 00:50:30,724

Whoever brings blessing will

be enriched and one who waters

00:50:30,724 --> 00:50:32,284

will himself be watered.

00:50:33,244 --> 00:50:36,394

If you're struggling with connection,

pour into the lives of others, serve them.

00:50:37,354 --> 00:50:39,874

Think about giving without

necessarily needing to receive.

00:50:39,874 --> 00:50:40,864

God will take care of you.

00:50:40,894 --> 00:50:41,164

He will.

00:50:41,194 --> 00:50:42,064

He will provide for you.

00:50:42,064 --> 00:50:45,394

One way or another, God will provide,

give and don't expect to receive.

00:50:46,324 --> 00:50:49,564

blessing will be enriched, the

00:50:49,564 --> 00:50:51,154

one who waters himself be watered.

00:50:52,354 --> 00:50:55,264

That's our first sermon

on the letter of John.

00:50:55,954 --> 00:50:58,744

I want you to realize that John's

point is that you trust in the Biblical

00:50:58,744 --> 00:50:59,944

Christ alone for your salvation.

00:51:00,259 --> 00:51:03,079

He points to Jesus, the real

Jesus who lived in time and

00:51:03,079 --> 00:51:05,569

space in history, who was really

crucified and really rose again.

00:51:05,929 --> 00:51:10,069

And then I want you to see that John

zeroes in on fellowship right away,

00:51:10,249 --> 00:51:14,299

your horizontal fellowship feeding

into your vertical fellowship, both

00:51:14,299 --> 00:51:16,159

of them mutually reinforcing you.

00:51:16,159 --> 00:51:16,969

You need both.

00:51:17,179 --> 00:51:20,179

Thirdly, John wants you to

see that joy is his intention.

00:51:20,179 --> 00:51:22,849

He wants you to know the joy that

comes from having a right doctrine

00:51:22,849 --> 00:51:25,669

about Christ and a real fellowship

with those who are in Christ.

00:51:26,149 --> 00:51:27,289

This is only the beginning.

00:51:27,289 --> 00:51:29,599

We have so much more territory

to cover, but let me pray for us.

00:51:29,959 --> 00:51:31,339

As you know, head to your small groups.

00:51:31,849 --> 00:51:32,149

Oh Lord.

00:51:32,149 --> 00:51:36,499

Thank you so much for the gift that we

have in Jesus Christ who lived for us.

00:51:36,739 --> 00:51:38,089

He died for our sin.

00:51:38,149 --> 00:51:43,249

He rose from the dead, defeating

sin and death and then he ascended

00:51:43,249 --> 00:51:45,739

to your right hand and we now

trust and believe that someday he

00:51:45,739 --> 00:51:47,059

will return to receive his bride.

00:51:47,809 --> 00:51:51,199

Until then, Lord help us to

remain faithful to the real Christ

00:51:51,199 --> 00:51:52,129

that is revealed in scripture.

00:51:52,414 --> 00:51:56,824

Help us to remain in, uh, intent

and investing in the relationships

00:51:56,824 --> 00:51:57,994

with those who are in Christ.

00:51:58,054 --> 00:52:01,594

And Lord, let us know the joy

that comes with harvesting these

00:52:01,594 --> 00:52:02,824

kinds of things in our lives.

00:52:03,214 --> 00:52:03,844

We love you.

00:52:03,874 --> 00:52:04,894

Help us now in our small groups.

00:52:04,894 --> 00:52:06,544

In Jesus name, amen.