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We didn't get too far in first John chapter 2 This morning. I suppose chapter 2 and verse seven. Would that be about right?
First John chapter 2 and verse seven. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which he had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which he have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true light now shining. He does say it. He is in the light, and Hateth his brother is in darkness even until now.
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brothers in darkness walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. I read unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him, that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because you haven't known the Father.
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're strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in hand.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Little children, it is the last time, and as you have heard, that Antichrist shall come. Even now are there many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time they went out from us, but they were not of us.
For if they had been of us, they would no doubt continue with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things.
I have not written unto you, because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no law is of the truth, who is a liar. But he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ, He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, that he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning, and that which He have heard from the beginning shall remain in you. He also shall continue in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that He had promised us, even in eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
But the anointing which you have received of Him abideth in you, and you need not but any man teach you. But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is true, it is no lie. And even as it have taught you, you shall abide in Him. And now little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear, we may have confidence not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If He knows that He is righteous, he know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born in penance.
Though there had been the commandment by the Lord Jesus, which as it says here in verse seven, they had from the beginning the word which he had heard from the beginning, and I believe here the context is.
A concerned, loving one another.
But now it is a new commandment. Why? Because the believer with new life in Christ has a capacity for love that does not exist.
That did not exist before.
Love is of God, we read in chapter 4 of this epistle. Love is of God. And so the capacity for divine love can only be from a new life that we have in Christ and of course, lived out and energized by the power of the Holy Spirit. So this is a new commandment and as Brother Stan brought out this morning.
In him and in you, what they saw exhibited. What you and I see in the life of the Lord Jesus down here is the pattern of divine love that is to be seen in our lives. And how beautiful it is to see the way the Lord Jesus acted under very difficult circumstances.
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We read, for example, that when things were so busy and the crowds were so large.
That it says they had no leisure so much as to eat. They take a boat and go across to the other side of the lake, the Sea of Galilee. The Lord says, Come ye apart into a desert place, and rest a while.
But the people very typically figure out what's going on, and they run around the shore of the lake, and when the Lord Jesus and his disciples get there, there are the people waiting for them.
I say to my own heart, I hesitate to say what I would have done under those certain stances. Did they ever get the rest that they were looking for? Not as far as we know. People wanted blessing. They wanted to hear the Lord. Jesus graciously accommodates them because he says they're just like sheep with no shepherd and so the love of God.
Manifested in the heart of the Lord Jesus is the same love that we can manifest his life, and it's a new commandment because now we have a new light which is able to carry it out in a new way.
Christianity always goes way beyond what they had in the law, and I think it's Luke's gospel chapter 10 you have.
The Lord speaking to that rich man, that young man.
Luke chapter 10 and.
Well, the lawyer.
He says verse 27. Well, let's read verse 25.
Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, really provoked him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in law? I'll read this, though the answering says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy strength, with all thy mind, with all, and thy neighbor as thyself.
Thy neighbor as thyself. So under the law they were to love their neighbor as themselves. But what does the Christian do? I think it's John's Gospel chapter 15. We have there. We go way beyond this, it says.
In the verse.
9 Let's read verse 9 John 15 Verse 9 As the Father hath left me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your love, your joy, might be full. This is my commandment, that He loved one another as I have loved you. So we're going to love as Christ as love, not just to love our neighbor as.
We would like him to love us, but we're to love US1 Another as Christ.
Love them. And so in that sense, isn't it a new commandment? But it was an old commandment as well, because the Lord himself had given it years before. I don't know how many years, but perhaps maybe 60 or 70 years. The Lord had given that commandment, and it still stood. And in all of its perfection. The Lord desired that his people would go on in that character, be characterized by loving one another.
As Christ had loved them.
I was wondering if in first John if we look at chapter 3 and verse 23.
Perhaps it it would remind us of the Lord's commandment, if you will.
Says this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment.
Then in chapter 4, this is maybe more like the new commandment in verse 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in US and His love is perfected in US. And verse 19 we love because He first loved that.
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And he who is in the light is characterized by love.
Verse 9 Ye that set is in the light and made of his brother is in darkness even until now.
What does it say in verse 8?
The darkness is past, or it could read more accurately is passing. The darkness is passing, and the true light now shining. And so the Lord had come into the world as that light. Now those who followed Him were carrying it on, and gradually, gradually, that light was having more and more influence in the world.
It took a while, but the light that you and I are enjoying today is the fruit of what the Word of God has done in this world. And in lands where there is not that light and where the Word of God is not truly circulated, you do not find.
Love, even in, if I could say it bluntly, society at large, you do not find people particularly caring for one another.
People particularly concerned about those that are in difficult circumstances or.
In poor health or would have been injured or something like that.
It's an interesting story, but I remember reading about a woman who had spent much of her life in a foreign land, and every time she heard the siren of an ambulance when she came back to North America, it filled her eyes with tears. She said, see how much they care.
For people. And when a siren was going on in North America, here in an ambulance was coming along, she couldn't help but be impressed with how traffic pulled over to both sides and made plenty of way for it or for a fire engine or whatever it might be to get through. Oh, she said. See how much they really care for someone that really needs help. Why did it impress her so much? Because it wasn't like that where she had been living.
And so that has had its effect on society in general, and we can be thankful for it. But with you and me, how beautiful that that love can be perfected in our lives wherever we are living, and be manifested as that which speaks of Christ.
How does this connect with Hebrews 6 verse one? Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection. What is the meaning there?
As compared with our verses here that we have in first John.
Well, I would suggest that in writing to the Hebrew then, while we don't know for sure whether it was Paul, but bears his footprint, that we could say that the author by the Spirit of God in Hebrews is seeking to bring those Jewish believers.
Out of the, shall I say, the simple belief in Christ for salvation that some of them had enjoyed and to bring them into the full blessing of Christianity. They were being held back by the trappings of Judaism, being held back from the full enjoyment of all those blessings that we have in Christ, because they were clinging to all of the rituals and to much of the.
Carryovers from Judaism that were harming them and so Paul says.
Let's not lay again just the simple foundation of salvation, repentance from dead works, and so on, so that in that sense it doesn't mean that they weren't to love one another or anything like that, but they were to go on under perfection and to enjoy the full liberty and blessing of Christian positions.
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I think that's right, brother, because they really, God intends that the believer not only enjoys the fact that his sins are forgiven, that he's no longer guilty before God judicially, but enter into the blessings of sonship and the inheritance that is ours, all the blessings. And so it's just really to enter into the door and to shut the door behind you to be safe because you're saved and to enjoy that position.
Safety is just the beginning. So that's really what he's beginning the first principles really of Christianity and Hebrews chapter 6. But really here he's Speaking of the contrast between darkness and light. And so there was only a partial revelation of God in the Old Testament. They didn't know a full revelation. And so even Solomon, I was thinking of the first kings chapter 8 verse 12. It says then spake Solomon the Lord said.
That he would dwell in the thick darkness. They didn't have a full revelation of God.
And so the high priest can only enter in once every year, not without blood.
Into the very presence of the Lord inside, the holiest of all. And so it was. The Godhead was not fully revealed. They didn't know the Father, they didn't know the Son. They weren't indwelled with the Spirit of God. The Spirit came upon them and so on. And so really he's Speaking of from a position now they walked from a position of darkness. They didn't have very much light at all In Judaism. They had more than the heathen did. But now we are.
Characterized by light. Our position is a position of light, and we have come into the light of Christianity, and it's because we're brought into relationship with the Lord Jesus. He that saith he is in the light, that's his position of light, and hateth his brother.
Is in darkness even until now. So it's a false profession. There's that expression again. He that say it. He says I walk in the light. He says I am in the light.
And really he's not in the light at all. He has hatred in his heart. So, you know, we all know that the Christianity ought to be characterized by love. And as you say, in the Western Christian world, it's very common when there's a a catastrophe, a hurricane or something, all kinds of aid pours in. It doesn't matter whether it's in the.
Europe or whether it's in the Muslim world or something like that. It just seems to be the heart of those that God has allowed Christianity and influence that they see the need and and love for mankind. If we could use that term. They supply resources now.
They come into their profession of Christianity, but here there's reality. We want to have reality. God's always testing to see if they're reality. So if you and I say we walk in the light, we are in the light means I'm a believer.
Characterized by darkness.
I don't know where it is but.
It says if one hates his brother, he's a murderer. That's very strong, strong language.
Let's write in the next chapter. Is in verse 15 of chapter 3 what you're thinking of?
Verse 15315 Yes, whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, he knows know that no murder has eternal life or body, even a near sentence the first time. Thank you.
I think this has a very practical application to us too, because in the assembly we get to know each other very, very well and our and our differences and.
It's very easy to get into a situation where we can't get along with our brethren. I remember a brother years ago saying that the measure of love operating in the soul can be measured.
By the response to the most contentious brother in the sphere of our acquaintance. And I think the Lord often put someone in the assembly that sort of irritates us to give us the opportunity to show divine love to our brethren. And so I think it has a very practical application to us in the assembly. Would you say yes, just as the Lord sometimes gives us that in a marriage partner, which.
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Helps us to deal with our own fault. So he also puts people in the local assembly to enable us to show divine love and it's an exercise.
To be more like Christ. Because if there were nothing that rubbed us the wrong way, loving would be very easy. And then that's just natural love. We naturally gravitate to those who get along well with us and with whom we can interact in an easy and relaxing way.
But it's another story when someone doesn't actually appeal to us.
Now, right here, we're getting to very crux of the matter in what we call ecclesiastical evil.
That's why I want to stop right here if you have a choice as to who you're going to meet with.
Then you can just erase Christianity.
There's no need for long-suffering and bearing, for bearing with one another in love all the things in the basic teachings of Christ.
You can just dispense with them if you can meet with whoever you want.
So there is a relationship between John's ministry and Paul's ministry at this moment with this where we are right here.
Because.
Not only is God glorified in our loving one another, but loving one another is like nothing else deals with self.
It deals with self and.
Scripture speaks of us that the Lord died for us. We ought to give up our lives to the present. That is a very practical.
Has very practical affections and I am going to tell you that you can trade out I would.
But can I say absolutely, Obviously. But I believe you betrayed every division that has ever occurred.
To some brother or brother, it couldn't get along.
They just grew impatient.
Irritated with one another and just could not bear and they make some excuse of darkened excuse or excuse about practice or this or that. But if the crux of division, it always seems to be this issue of brothers just don't want to go on yet.
We look back even in the New Testament, where the troubles first began.
I believe the first mention of any issue of trouble was that our widows of being neglected. You know, where there's this idea that there's some evil intent here on widows, they're not getting as much as their widows or whatever. And then when you see the first split, actual split and get all environments.
It seems like they were really tight, right?
They get broken up over what? Over an issue with family? Family relationship?
So it isn't just that it's wrong, you know, that that there are systems and there are divisions and all these things that album say is that, you know, the elder testimony has been ruined. But where did it all come from?
And why aren't we together?
And divisions among brethren, why did they occur? And so this is this is of the moment when we see this that loving one another, we can talk about it, but it's not just having warm fuzzy feelings.
That's the world's love. It's warm, fuzzy feelings. That's all the word needs. But you can love whether you feel like it or not. The word says to, and it has to do with you taking the cross against yourself, being willing to be done with self for the sake of your brother and for the Lord's sake and what he desires to see among his people.
It is shown out in obedience. Isn't it love?
In John's Gospel, chapter 17, the Lord's Prayer there.
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The Lord said in verse 26.
And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it.
The Lord and His obedience perfectly displayed, didn't He, if he was the express image of the Father?
To perfectly in love here as a man. He perfectly displayed that character of God to us.
And then goes on to say.
That the love we're in, wherewith Thou has loved me, maybe in them, and I in them.
And so he would have us to display God's character here in this earth. And God is working to the warmest more to the image of his beloved Son every day.
But so that our light, we're talking about light that the light that we have made shine out to others and others might see in the believer something different.
From what they know and they may desire that difference and they they give one an opportunity to speak to someone about the Lord of the hope that is within us. And so we do. That would be love. I think the definition of love for us is to display before the world the character of God. That's what the Lord Jesus did when he was here as a man and we know that let him to the cross.
Where God's love was perfectly displayed to us there.
And so He would have us do the same here. It's more that we have what's necessary to display it. We have the divine nature here. Speaking of, it doesn't mention anything of the Spirit of God indwelling us, but we have that too. We have every provision that God could possibly give to us to equip us in this day in which we live to display to the world.
His character.
It's because of the flesh, isn't it, that that's not being done. We all have it. We allow it to have its way. It's going to, it's going to take away that testimony. It's going to rob, rob the Lord Jesus of what he deserves from us. And so love is really obedience. That's really doing what God asked us to do.
He's and I think if John's Gospel says if you do these things.
Happy are ye if ye do these things? Happy doesn't. Happiness doesn't come by disobeying, it comes through obedience.
There's a consequence to not walking in light. It says in verse 11 That walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness has blinded his eyes. And so look, we are in the light.
We're real believers. We our position is a position of light. We are in the light. We can't get out of the light. But if we harbor ill feelings.
And here hatred. I guess that's another one of John's terms. It's he doesn't say you have a slight dislike for this brother.
You either love him or you hate him, and so there's nothing in between. But it has a blinding effect if we allow that kind of thing in our souls. And so positionally we can never get out of the lake. But it's an awful thing to be characterized by.
Darkness and allowing darkness to have some foothold, you might say it doesn't change our position. We're still we can still address God as Father and we still have all of these blessings that are ours. We still are children, but it hasn't blinding effect.
So self will entering into the family relationship we might say will just cause discord.
Anything in there in chapter?
In chapter 4.
And mention some things in chapter, sorry chapter 31 I mentioned some things that are undesirable in our Christian pathway, but it says in verse 32.
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Of Ephesians 4 and be kind one to another, hinder hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ sake have forgiven you. That brings across it of you, doesn't it? That's where where God's forgiveness was.
Shown out there for us. So we think of that in view of someone else that we may not be happy with too much. Some brother may annoy us or or something. We just need to remember how much we've been forgiven ourselves.
We need, we need to go back to Calvary's cross. We need to have our minds go back there in our thoughts and to realize what Christ has done for us there.
You see that there? Are you finished?
Go ahead, John.
The Lord chose disciples that were not all the most attractive characters.
There needed to be.
Forbearance among the disciples and.
That had brought everything for bearing one another in love. I can remember times without number.
In the Ottawa meeting, because I was brought up under the ministry of.
Gordon Hales, Father.
A gifted teacher and very decisive in the way he mentioned things and repeated that he says I'll never know.
How close you walk to the Lord until someone steps on your toes?
And I see how you react. Well, it's rather mundane, but.
There's there's truth in that, There's truth in that and everyone is unable. It's not difficult to learn, but we have to.
As we used to say also, there should be two bears in your marriage, fair and forebear, and I think we all find that to be the truth.
So this is John's way of Speaking of brotherly forgiveness, isn't it? And so, and we were just reading in Ephesians chapter 4. And so we forgive, we're tender hearted forgiving one another that brotherly forgiveness, because we have been judicially forgiven. We're all $50 billion debtors we could never pay back. And so if someone offends, why we ought to be able to forgive.
Our brothers, such a small trespass, whatever it might be. But it's interesting that word tenderhearted in that verse. It's the only time of youth in the New Testament, and there's a few once in the Old Testament as well. And it's really the opposite of being hard and hearted. And so the Lord looked at you and I and you so tender hearted towards us. You couldn't be any more tender hearted towards you and I. And His desire is that we would with affection treat one another with tenderness. Apartments.
The affections engaged for one another.
And it's an awful thing to see darkness blinding someone's eyes, isn't it? It can happen to any one of us. And that comes from allowing these thoughts in our hearts that blind us to the light. And how many times I agree 100% with your remarks, Ted, about divisions and so on, because that is often the case that a dislike and the word of God uses a strong word, hatred, because it carries it to its logical conclusion.
The Word of God uses that strong word and it blinds our eyes to be able to see straight and to be able to deal with issues. Yes, there may be and there always is a path for faith in the midst of it. And there may be those that, if we could say it technically are wrong. But at the same time.
The attitude and spirit ought to be that of divine love, seeking every possible means of dealing with the matter according to the light that God has given us, but according to divine love as well. Not only does discord funk brethren in pop relationships.
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Christian, but it also impacts our ability to worship the Lord, create our fellowship with him, and there's a principle and after we fought.
Matthew 5 and verse 23 It says, Therefore, if they'll bring my gift to the altar, and they remember us, that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer their gift. There seems to be a recognition that.
Our offering of a gift to the Lord or praise can be hindered by the fact that we hold some time resentment or hurtful with the brothers. So first he reconciled, so that fellowship of the board can be from a pure conscience and unhindered by strike irritation among Saints.
That's very, very true because anything in my heart can hinder the liberty of the Spirit of God in the whole assembly Canada and.
There are times, of course, and it's sad when it happens when a reconciliation can't be affected because the other party doesn't want it and refuses any advances in that direction.
That's a different thing, but.
Sometimes we have to do our best and then leave it there, but in the vast majority of cases it seems that it could be it could be affected the other were approached in the right way.
In that connection, I believe that's why, or at least one of the reasons why our next verse occurs where it does verse 12 I write unto you, and it should read sent with children, which means all believers.
Because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake.
That makes us, as Robert has said, to realize that we're 500 pence debtors, aren't we? We are debtors beyond the reach of anything. And now we have been forgiven all that.
That doesn't mean, of course, that we can overlook everything. That's why it says in Peter that love covers. It should read not a multitude, but the multitude of sins in the Old Testament. We won't take time to look it up, but there's a verse that says.
Thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy brother. And there is sometimes a need to go to someone and to lay before them something in his or her life that is a real dishonor to the Lord and a real hindrance perhaps to fellowship with them. There is a need not to suffer that sin, and so we cannot just gloss over everything in the name of love and pretend that it doesn't matter. Sometimes the honor and glory of the Lord is at stake.
But his tent is brought out all too often. It's my honor and Lord, it's at stake, not the Lord's.
And then I can always translate that into spiritual terms and bring a scripture out that shows why I ought to be acting the way I am. I can still remember my late father-in-law saying once that, and he said, Thomas, in the same way. He said most of the time when difficulties arise in an assembly, it's not because one brother is more spiritual than the other. It's so because they don't like each other. And.
That all too often is the case.
But again, we have to .3 fingers back here before I .1 finger at anybody else because I am capable of it too. But if we remember what we have been forgiven, it tempers everything that we have been talking about.
That verse is that Leviticus 19 and Leviticus 19 and 17. Thou shalt not take thy brother in thy heart.
What thou felt in any way through you find it and not suffer sin suffered sin apartments for whatever balance.
True love would not overlook.
Something in my brother's life that is dishonouring to the Lord.
And some might say, well, you need to pass over those things.
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But as Bill is mentioned, the glory of the Lord is at stake.
Rebuke is is in order.
Well, that's just what we were saying, that there is sometimes a need for that. Once again, it's a matter of discernment as to whether it's necessary or not, or whether it's, it's, it's always a real test as to whether it is the Lord's glory, which is at stake, or my honor and Lord. And all too often it's mine.
Give that next verse in Leviticus. So thou should not avenge himself.
Well, these things were written to believers.
And necessary to believers, I write unto you children, real children of God, real believers, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. And so it's something of a revelation to those that belong to Christ in the day that we live in, in the day of grace, you and I don't hope to have our sins forgiven.
We know that they're forgiven and we can say very categorically, without a doubt that our sins are forgiven judicially, all of our sins are being dealt with. They are forgiven. We're no longer guilty before him. And so the he's Speaking of children here. All of the children of God are in that same category. And then he writes to those fathers that have more light, they have more teaching, they have more responsibility because you have known him that is from the beginning.
And so he speaks to different groups here, the fathers, the young men, and then the little children. I think that's dominion in that part of it. So those that don't have much light, those that are young in the faith, we might say, because you have no other father. So they don't know very much. Those that are more mature have more responsibility. And so I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome.
A wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. And so there is responsibility and there is instruction for each one. And we have different levels of growth spiritually. We're not expected to have all of the same amount of maturity spiritually as soon as we're saved. And so it's necessary to grow in the things of God.
Yes, and its interesting that he takes up Father's first and says the least about it.
He says more about young people and our late brother Eric Smith used to put used to remind us that the term young men there and he was a Greek scholar really included both sexes so that it was not merely to be taken up by young men but also young women. And there is more said about young men or young women, but then when he comes to children.
He says more than joy, either one of the other two.
But when it comes to fathers, he can say no more except that he had known him, that is, from the beginning. And so that is simply repeated in the 14th verse, because that encompasses everything.
I may know the Word of God very well, and there's a place for that. And that's why it says to the young men, the Word of God abideth in you. And it's the Word of God that enables us, as it says there, to overcome the wicked wood. But when it comes to fathers, what do they know? Do they know the Word of God? I'm sure they do, but they know more than that. They know if that is from the beginning. And just to make it clear, I don't believe the beginning. Here is the beginning that's mentioned in John's Gospel chapter one.
Because we couldn't possibly in that same way, have known the Lord Jesus in a past eternity.
We know now that he was there in the past eternity, but we could not know him until he became a man and came into this world in parliament. And so when John talks about the Lord Jesus and knowing him from the beginning, it's the Lord Jesus as he was.
When He revealed Himself and revealed, or I should say revealed, the Father revealed God to this world. And John says we have known that which is from the beginning. Our hands have handled it. We knew Him personally and the Father knows Him. That is from the beginning. Now none of us of course, have had the experience of knowing the Lord in bodily form down here, but we know Him in an even greater way because of the coming down of the Spirit of God.
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And so knowing the Lord Jesus is really what characterizes a father being able to walk with him, being able to enjoy his company, and that encompasses everything else. Will a father neglect principles? Oh no. How could he do that for the Lord's honor and glory? Will he be casual about where he goes to meet on a given day, whether Lord's Day or any other day? No, because he will not dishonor.
That blessed name will he want to learn more of the word of God Indeed, because they testify of Christ and so knowing.
Him that is from the beginning is to have it all.
Really. From the beginning of Christianity as well.
I was just going to mention that at home we were reading in the book of Philippians and.
I thought there was an interesting connection perhaps to our little passage here, 12 to 14, those verses and something that we noticed in Philippians. But first of all.
A verse in Romans chapter 5 verse one well known says being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I'd like to pair that up with the those that are younger in the faith.
It says here, with respect to them, you have known the Father. You know it's a wonderful thing to be saved.
And know God is our father. That's a that's a beginning, isn't it? It's the beginning of joy in our hearts and so on. And might even look at verse 12 in that regard. Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. So there are a lot of Christians perhaps don't get too far beyond that, but they enjoy it nonetheless. And so.
They, they go on, they want to please the Lord and so on. What the Lord wants so is for us to grow. He wants us to mature. And so going over to Philippians now in Chapter 4.
I was thinking with respect to the young men, perhaps this is applicable. Verse six. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving.
Got your requests being made known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. What does the wicked one want to do? Discourage us, cause all kinds of anxieties, troubles and so on. And So what does this verse say? Don't be anxious for anything he said. Bring it before the Lord is there basically, and so as we.
Go along in our Christian pathway, we should grow to the point where we trust God in cases where we are tried and tested and so on. And I believe those that are younger, they know the word of God. And notice further down there in verse 14, I've written on to young men because you are strong and the word of God by within you, you have overcome the wicked one.
And so they've learned to trust the Lord, and they know what the Scripture says, and they grow in faith.
But going back now to Philippians chapter 4 again and verse eight, it speaks about those things that are true and honest, just pure, lovely, good report says if there be any virtue, there be any praise sent on these things.
Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. And the garden piece should be with you.
00:50:02
Now we know that Paul would be classified as a father, I'm sure.
He walked with God and he often said, you know, be followers of the world, as I am with Christ. And so Paul came to know God in a much fuller way.
Being completely mature as we could be, I suppose in this world a lot of us are going to be perfect. But he was mature and as a result he valued the fellowship of God.
As it says in Romans 5, we joy in God. You know, that's a wonderful statement. Do we ever just set, perhaps quietly, and think of the God that loved us, the God who who saved us?
Imagine I, I often look at all my window in the morning and we overlook a, a body of water there and so on, just to see the breeze and so on. What a marvelous thing that God has done, you know, the creation. But then I think, well, he even found me here in this unknown place and he saved me. And that is more marvelous than anything. And so we can come at times at least.
To joy in God.
So I see here when it says for the fathers you have known him as from the beginning, it's like just joining God, joining in the God of peace, in that beautiful character. He's the God of love, he's the God of hope and so on. But in that particular character, it's a peaceful feeling even in hard circumstances perhaps.
So those that are very young in the Bay, they rejoice in knowing their sins are forgiven, they know the Father, and so they have peace with God. But those that are younger, they experience the peace of God in bringing their problems, their difficulties, and so on to God. They've learned that and they know the Word of God and they believe its promises. But I believe that when it comes to fathers, that's more full maturity.
And it's just, you know, joying in the fact that there's a God who made us and made everything and and he loves us and revised for us, even in whatever our circumstances might be good or bad, whatever they might be, we can still just join him. I have to say for myself, I'm not always in that attitude of things, but.
It is nice to be able to come to that point once in a while and just enjoy.
At one time we were afraid. We wanted to hide from God. But I was just thinking too, brother, that there's no one standing still in the Christian life either. We are.
Progressing.
There's no knowledge of Christ and His Word or retrograde so.
Along that line were either a help in the assembly or were a hindrance so.
Growth is the normal process in the life of a believer. We might ask the question, why is it that there's more growth in some believers than there is in others?
Is there a reason? Is it because of their more intelligent or?
They have a higher ability. Isn't it a question of communion with the Lord? Keep yourselves in the love of God and.
Look into the Murphy of our Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal life growth. There needs to be diligence. The diligent soul should be made fast and you know scripture decries.
Lethargy.
In the things of God.
Mr. Jardin said I don't write for lazy readers. Well, thanks.
I'm afraid I'm one of those lazy readers when it comes to Mr. Garvey, but doesn't there need to be the exercise, the diligence to be found of him and peace as we have in Peter there?
00:55:23
Our second quarter chapter one.
Two Peter 3 and 14 John, I think is the verse you want. Yeah, that's the one I had in mind wherever, beloved seeing that you look for these such things. Be diligent that you may be found of him in peace without spot. And then we we had pardon we had in the open meeting or the address.
The honor roll mentioned there in Hebrew, but if you the Old Testament Saints mentioned there, but they they didn't make that honor roll because of what they do.
They made it because of their faith. They acted upon what they knew. And so it is with us. If we're, if we're going to grow, we've got to act upon what the word of God tells us to do. And.
Of course, faith is taking God of this word. So when God gave an Old Testament saying a commandment to do something, he went ahead and did it. That was faith. You may not have known what the outcome might be, but he went ahead by faith and he and he obeyed God.
There is a verse in Romans that says that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God will never know what God wants from us.
Unless we read His Word, that's how He speaks to us. They cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. If we're going to grow in faith, we can't skip our family readings. We can't skip the weeknight prayer and reading these. We can't skip all those things that would help us to grow integration, knowledge of Him.
And expect the same blessings.
Perhaps, as we see another brother may be getting, we need to be diligent to mention in the things of God. And so it's a doing. It's a doing that gets the blessing, not the knowledge.
I might just add one thing is that is that when he says verse 14, I have written unto you Father's because he has known him, that is from the beginning or really I think it could be said from the outset, it's going back to first principles, going back to the beginning really of what the apostles taught about Christ and his deeds. This person is holiness and all the things in connection with the character and the work of Christ.
And so go back to the beginning. Those fathers knew the Son, they knew his work, they knew his character. And So what was happening in John's day, even at by the end of the 1St century, is there were those that were denigrating the person of Christ and blaspheming and saying that he was just an apparition and he didn't have a physical body like a man and so on. They all kinds of imaginations. But John says no.
One who is really a father, one who has maturity in the things of God, knows those first principles, knows the character of Christ, knows His deed and values the person, the work of Christ. He adds nothing to it and he takes nothing from it. Then he goes in and he says in verse 15, he gives an exhortation. And I think we know that there are only something like very few exhortations. I think there's 8 exhortations in that first John.
So it's not.
An epistle with a lot of exhortation. But this is going to be a hindrance. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world. The lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but it is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the less thereof. But he to do with will of God, abideth forever. And so he gives this.
01:00:04
Aggravation. There is something that will hinder the believer.
Whether it's a father or a young man or a child.
And that is the love of the world system, world system of manufacturing, the world system of medicine, the world system of commerce, the world system that is designed to keep man in a state of contentment while he's alienated from God. And so he says, love not the world.
It's a system of things that is designed to oppose Christ and oppose the work of the Spirit of God in this world.
Particularly mentioned isn't a connection with those that are younger, although as you've mentioned it, it has its effect on all of us, but.
It's particularly written to young men, starting in the middle of verse 14 and going down to the end of verse 17.
And it really brings before us the answer to John's question as to why some believers grow better than others. Yes, diligence is me. No question about it. If I don't know the word of God, I can't use it. I can't use what I've never read and meditated on and walked in. But ultimately.
Some will recognize the source of this, but there was a young man who wrote to a much older brother.
And asked him, do you have any advice for a young man who was just starting out on the Christian pathway? And his advice was very shortened to the point he said learn well for words which are found in John's Gospel chapter 6. The flesh profiteth nothing. And if we can learn those four words well, then we remove the hindrances.
To the Spirit of God using the new life within us to display Christ.
And what characterizes a father, I believe in knowing him, that is from the beginning, is that he's learned the absolute ruin of the natural man and the fact that there is nothing good in the first man. Yes, there needs to be diligence, but that will come because if there is really a desire to follow Christ, He will work it in US. He will help us to do that. He'll bring circumstances into our lives.
If we could use the expression reverently to make us deal with the flesh, we will bring that which will, as we have often noticed before, break the earthen vessel. And not that the earthen vessel is necessarily the flesh, I don't mean that. But He will bring things into our lives. He will deliver us to death in order that we might let that light shine out more and more. And so.
While we all have a tendency toward the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye and the pride of light.
It's probably more of a difficulty when we're younger.
And that's the time when our decisions are made, when our course is set, when perhaps we develop good habits instead of bad ones, where we hopefully make right choices instead of wrong ones, and where we set the course for our lives. Yes, there's always space for repentance. There's always time for turning around. And thank God for that.
There have been dear believers that have wasted part of their lives to their shape and who have turned around and been used of the Lord. But I can't regain the time that I've lost. And so all of this, I believe, brings before us the fact that whose will am I doing, my will or God's will? If it's my will, it's of the flesh. If it's God's will, it abides forever.
We can't get back that which we've lost in we, but we push on towards the.
The race to push on hard, we may overtake somebody that slows down or gives up. And so there's always encouragement to just push on, to do what the Lord would have us to do. We can't, we can't take back the things that we lost, but we can certainly be diligent day by day, can't we? And.
01:05:06
So that's important to see that there's 6 words, Brother Bill, that was ahead of that 4 words you posted there. John the flesh prophet was nothing. It is a spirit that quicken it in contrast with that what, what could we do to give ourselves life, you know, and speak some quickening there goes right to the very beginning, doesn't it?
It gave us life. We were we're quickened to Ephesians to Ephesians 2 dreams, I doubt. And so the flesh prophet is nothing. What could it do? What could what could we do to to have any?
Benefit that we enjoy today with nothing that we could do and there's nothing that we deserved to get what we have. It's all grace of God that has given to us life and has places where we are and has given us the truth to enjoy and has given us the ability that we have to be able to enjoy it. Some way may have more ability than others, but you have some ability to enjoy.
What God has given to you or he wouldn't tell us to be perfect, full grown so we have the ability to grow.
We might just make another remark or two about the world, because the expression in Scripture, the world is used in different ways, isn't it? For example, in First Corinthians 5, Paul says al she must needs go out of the world, meaning the planet on which we're living, and sometimes the world means that.
And when it says for God so loved the world, that refers to the people in the world, all those that are in the world. But here the thought is the world system that goes all the way back to cave.
And the character of Cain's world has not changed even in all those thousands of years. Yes, the outward trappings are different, but it's essentially the same world. And I would suggest there were four things that characterized the world that Cain set up, first of all.
Cain sin and as far as we know, never repented of it. He complained that his punishment was too hard. He argued with the Lord. He denied knowing what happened to his brother.
There was no repentance for that sin.
Secondly, he goes out from the presence of the Lord. He didn't want to have anything to do with God. Goes out from the presence of the Lord.
Thirdly, he goes and builds a city which.
I believe was designed to make him as happy as he possibly could be, but in a world that was blighted by sin, he had to live with that. He had to live with the curse that God put on the world. He had to live with the effects of sin. But he says, well, we'll keep God out of the picture, but we'll make things as comfortable and as good as we can.
That brought home to be one time when I was witnessing to students when I was in university and they were saying it would be nice to be rich. Well, I said what good would that do you? I said, if you don't know Christ as your Savior?
You're like a man in a prison that's got a little better sell than somebody else, and he's boasting about how he's in better circumstances when the man than the man next to him, but he's paying no attention to the fact that another individual.
Is offering a way to get out of jail, and he says no, I don't want that, but I'd like to. I'd like to have a better cell than somebody else. Well, he couldn't see the point. No, he said. I think I'd be I'd be happier having more things in this world than somebody else.
But that's what Kane wanted, to make himself comfortable. And thirdly, or rather 4th, he names the city after his son. What does that say? He was occupied with self occupied with his open glory.
Occupied with everything that he was and leaves God right out of the picture. And the world in which you and I live and move today. Yes, as we said earlier, we can be very thankful for the influence of Christianity in the Western world.
Everything that we have in that sense is the result of the Word of God and is rather remarked back in the 1800s concerning all that he said.
01:10:04
Modern infidelity argues from the effects of light to deny its necessity, which is true. Man says, look what we've got. Why do we need God? Why do we need the Bible? When in fact it's the light from the word of God that has produced all the blessing and the prosperity, and we see it in lands where people have gone nothing.
Point the finger particularly, but I happen to be most familiar with India, this John is, and just about everything they have in that country was the blessing of missionaries that came there, including their national language. Before the missionaries came, it was just a spoken language, never written, never codified, never standardized. And missionaries did all that so they could translate the blindness. Now they're saying get out of here. We don't want any missionaries or anything like that.
Schools, the universities, the hospitals, the political system, the rail system, the postal system, the irrigation system, we could go on and on. What was it built by? People who wanted to bring the word of God to it. And it's not just India. And now man is saying in the West, what do we need this for?
That is the world we live in, and so we need to be on guard. We get constant warnings about it in John's Gospel and in John's epistles. And John uses the word overcoming more than any other of the New Testament writers because there is a need to overcome that in which we find ourselves. Naturally. The world is such an insidious thing. You know, there's everything.
There to appeal to the natural man. There's the immoral world out there. There's lots of that, but there's the cultivated.
Clean side of the world. We have education. There's something there for every taste of the unsafe. Don't want music? You want education? You want sports or whatever it is.
It's all there.
To be taken and it's very insidious. It gets into our hearts.
At the time, least expected, as Mr. Darby said, the world appeals. It doesn't really have anything solid, but we have a heart that answers to its appeals. Just make the the prime example, I believe is.
Is the history of law he was a man, a true childhood God whom we are going to meet in the glory there's no doubt a righteous man who.
Was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked every day. But Lots vision was never above this present horizon. Present advantage was the object of Lot and.
He really wasn't a man of faith. He followed Abraham, but as we know in his history, more and more he gravitated to the world, picked up a woman in the world that wasn't saved, ended up in as a judge in the gate of Sodom, lost his family, nearly lost his life, ended in shame. That was what the world gave to what?
Maybe we could sing?
320 Not all of it, but just a few of the verses. How does the first three and then verse 8:00 and 9:00?
320 versus 1238 and 9:00.