Address—B. Prost
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Could we sing together #166?
166 Lord, thou hast drawn us after thee.
Now let us run and never tire. And then reading from the third verse.
Unchangeable Thy gracious love, our earthly path hath ceaseless viewed 166.
If I may make a request, this is intended as a happy hymn. Pardon a personal note, but this hymn was sung at our wedding as my beloved wife walked up the aisle almost 30 years ago now. Could we sing it together? But could we please not drag it?
Thank you.
Lord, thou has strong.
Nevertheless.
Our gold desires.
What is my love? All I will pray, Lord.
Are my God and our Son, but they are strangling our hearts are in part we're proud of our lives to tear our brother to the grudges to stay.
Ourselves.
First John, chapter 2.
I think there are at least a few here who had the privilege of being with us at the recent Montreal meetings. If so, you will remember that we had this chapter before us in the readings and the latter part of this chapter, which we did not discuss to any great detail.
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Impressed itself upon me at the time. Not that it hadn't impressed me before, but it impressed itself specially upon me.
And I'd like to read together, if we may, from verse 12 of First John 2.
First John two and verse 12.
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His namesake. I write unto you, fathers, because you have known Him, that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him, that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young man, because ye are 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 him.
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 have continued 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 ye know all things.
I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie 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 of the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Let that therefore abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
But the anointing which ye have received of him, and abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, it shall ye shall abide in him.
And now little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him.
This chapter addresses three different groups of people, as we can see clearly.
And I thought of how, as we are gathered here this afternoon, what is said to each one of these three groups has a voice for all of us.
No doubt there are those in this room, and I'm thankful for them. Who would be in the category of fathers.
And I'm thankful for those that are here who are young men or young women. And I'm thankful for those who are here who are little children.
And we might say at the outset that on the one hand, I think that everything that is said here, whether to fathers or to young men or to little children, as a voice for each one of us.
But we might also say that these so-called categories that are delineated here are not particularly graded out according to our chronological age, at least not necessarily.
Because I believe it refers to spiritual maturity, and so one could perhaps have a father's heart and yet not be as old as another who might, as far as spiritual things are concerned, be considered a little child.
And so I believe all of these things are here to be taken to heart by each one of us.
And so I'd like to look at these three things that John occupies our hearts with, but bearing several things in mind.
First of all, that when John speaks to us, he is not giving us, if we could use the expression, the truth of the church. Not that, of course, dear John did not have an appreciation of it, but that was not his ministry. In fact, if I am right, I believe I am. I don't believe that the church is even mentioned in John's ministry. Perhaps a local assembly, yes, but the church as such in its.
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A broad sense, including every believer. We don't get it mentioned in John's ministry. Rather, it's the ministry to the family.
And so John's ministry has a peculiar character, and it's important to remember that.
And I trust what I have this afternoon is laid on my heart from the Lord.
In some ways, it's going to parallel what our brother Dawn brought before us yesterday.
But I assure you that we did not collaborate.
But it kind of strengthened what I had on my heart when I listened to what was said yesterday.
Because what is brought out here speaks both to our hearts and to our consciences.
And notice that first verse that we read in verse 12, by the way, the expression there probably is more accurately children, not little children. Little children is accurate, as we'll find out in verse 13, for example, and it's also accurate as we get further down in verse 18. But the expression in verse 12 is simply children.
And also in verse 28, children, that is, it's addressing the whole family of God. And so it seems here that the apostle John addresses the whole family of God in verse 12, then he breaks the family down into different categories of maturity and speaks to them in that way. And then in the last two verses, once again he resumes his.
Speaking to them as the whole family of God. And that's important because what He brings before us here in verse 12 is the fact that as it says here, your sins are forgiven you for his namesake.
Why does he bring that in? I don't pretend to be able to explain this chapter in the way that it should be, but what has impressed my own heart and will notice this again when we get to the last two verses in a little while. What has impressed my own soul is that the Apostle John, before he brings before them those things which had to do with their walk and their responsibilities down here, He takes them first of all back to what happened at Calvary's cross.
And the consequent position they had before God. And then at the end of the chapter he points them on to the glory.
You know, you and I can so easily get taken up with what is going on around us in this world, and it's right to some extent that we should.
Of course we should.
And there is a tendency, and I admit it in my own heart at least, to look back sometimes and think of when perhaps things were different.
Some of us were talking a little bit about it last night.
Some of us were reminiscing a little bit about what it was like to go to a conference like this back in the 50s and how things were and what happened and so on. And there may be a tendency in our heart to look on ahead and think, well, if only this or if only that, then things will be better. But you know, someone has said, and I think it's so beautiful, He said, if you're going to look back, look all the way.
To Calvary's cross, and if you're going to look ahead, look all the way.
To the glory. Many years ago, so I'm told, there was a brother where apparently there were some very serious difficulties amongst the people of God. And the difficulties were looming up so seriously that it almost looked as if things were going to crumble and fall apart. And the brother said to another brother, oh, he said, whatever is going to become of us? Have you ever thought like that? I admit that I have and I appreciate it very much. Reading what the older brother said, at least I assume he was older. He made a remark something like this. He said, well.
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Brother, he said the Scripture knows no future for the believer, but glory isn't that. Isn't that beautiful? The Scripture knows no future for the believer but glory. We aren't promised any future down here. We aren't promised any future even in a spiritual sense. And so the apostle John here would first of all, take those dear ones all the way back to Calvary's cross and say your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
I don't want to dwell too long on that, but it's beautiful the way that's presented. It doesn't say, as in the first chapter, the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. Although true, that is the ground on which God could wash away your sins and might.
But here it's rather, if we could say it this way, bringing into the picture the person who did the work it occupies us with the one who did it all for his name's sake.
Well then we have the various ones addressed here and justice. So we see the picture we find.
In verse 11, or rather verse 13, that the three categories in the family are addressed.
And then in verse 14, the apostle John takes them up in detail.
He takes up fathers again.
He takes up young men from the middle of verse 14 down to the end of verse 17, and then he takes up little children from the beginning of verse 18 down to the end of verse 27.
And we like to talk about those.
For a little bit.
And the first one that God mentions in his wisdom is Father's.
Rather interesting that he does not start with little children and then go up to those who were the most mature. He starts with the fathers.
That's a wonderful thing to have fathers. It's a wonderful thing to have a natural father who.
Acts in the Capacity of a father in the right way. I'm sure every father here, including myself, has to look back on the way that he brought up his children and find that there was failure there. I certainly know I do. But it's a wonderful thing to have a natural father who acts in the Capacity of a father in the right way. But all if we could say it, isn't it perhaps even more wonderful?
To have spiritual fathers.
Oh, we need spiritual fathers today more than ever before.
It's always struck me that in First Corinthians when the Apostle Paul is writing to them there.
He says in the 4th chapter though ye have 10,000 instructors in Christ.
Yet have ye not many fathers?
The Corinthians were an intelligent assembly to a large degree.
They knew quite a bit. They had a lot of gift.
But what did they lack?
Fathers. Fathers.
When the Apostle Paul could write to the Philippians, he could say of Timothy, who was a relatively young man as we know, he could say I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state and I love the Darby translation of that. I have no man who will care with genuine feelings.
How ye get on?
Or if I can say it, today is a day when there's a great deal of learning, and you, beloved young people especially, have many opportunities to learn that some of the rest of us didn't have.
I never had, when I was a young person, a forum on the e-mail to be able to exchange thoughts rapidly with other young people and with older brothers who were a help.
I don't know that we necessarily suffered greatly from it and the lack of it, but nevertheless we didn't have things like that. Most of us couldn't travel nearly as much as you can today. Most of us didn't in that way know quite as much as you do.
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But what does it say about the fathers here?
Isn't it very, very instructive to see that the apostle when he speaks of fathers?
Has only one thing to say about them and when he, you might say, summarizes what he's going to say in verse 13.
He says one thing, but then when he talks about fathers again when he's as it were going to expand a little on things.
He says the very thing, the very same thing over again.
What does it say because ye have known him, that is from?
The beginning.
Or I want to impress that on each one of our souls. And I don't, as I say, want the children or the young people here to say, well, I guess this is speaking to the older brethren and the mature ones in the assembly know. No, I believe this is put here for each one of us. Because what characterizes a father is that he has known him, that is from the beginning. Notice that it doesn't talk about what the father does, although surely a father acting in the Capacity of such.
Would certainly do things. It doesn't talk about the amount of truth that the Father knows, although a father who had really known him that is from the beginning would surely have an understanding and a knowledge of the truth connected with that Blessed One. But it gets right down to the most important thing without which there cannot be a father. You have known him that is from the beginning.
The beginning here, I believe, would bring before us the beginning of the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, and it would bring before us all that is in Christ in manhood and all that is in a risen Christ in glory.
Ye have known him, that is, from the beginning. And again, this thought, this phrase needs rather to be felt than expressed in words, and so I'm not going to say too much more about it.
Except to say that no matter how much we may know, no matter how much intelligence we may have in the scriptures, no matter how well we may be versed in.
What is called in Scripture the truth and that is mentioned in this chapter?
Very important, no matter how much of our good ministry we may have read, no matter how well we may know principles, no matter how well we may be able to explain the truth of gathering.
What is going to count?
Is whether we have known him, that is from the beginning. And I say again, there's a tremendous need of fathers today. There's a tremendous need of those who forgetful. Well, let me let me rephrase that. Those who have overcome in their own souls the difficulties and problems in their own life and who have the Capacity to act as fathers.
Fathers to individuals, fathers to the assembly, fathers in the largest sense of the word, to the whole Church of God. Let us never, never limit our thoughts merely to those who have the inestimable privilege of being gathered to the Lords name.
But let us remember that if God would have you and me to know him, that is from the beginning.
It's a wonderful privilege, but the fatherhood exercised from that knowledge, I believe God would use it for the benefit and blessing of the whole family of God.
And so there's nothing beyond that. And I say that because perhaps today.
Gets to be the thought of doing things, the thought of knowing.
Things. And there's nothing wrong with that. Oh, nothing wrong with that. Most important.
But it all has to start right here. And if we have known him, that is, from the beginning, will there be the sitting down and doing nothing? Oh, of course not. Will there be such a thing as a father who sits in the armchair, if I could use the expression, and does nothing? Oh my, no, Oh no, I'm sure that isn't the thought at all. But what will characterize him above and beyond it all, will be that he has known him.
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That is from the beginning, and there's a tremendous need today for those who can simply bring Christ before souls where they are, who can simply bring before them that Blessed One in all His beauty.
Because what will attract a Christian that is away from the Lord?
Is the presentation of that Blessed One in all that He is all the grace, all the glory connected with that Blessed One. That is what will attract those who have gotten away. That is what will be more of an antidote than anything else to what we find going on further down in the chapter will be those who have the capacity to present Him. That is from the beginning.
Well, let's go on.
Verse 13 I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one.
May we direct our comments mainly to the young people here.
Again, realizing that we all need it, I stand corrected on this, But most of the times in the New Testament, when overcoming is talked about, it's talked about by the apostle John, whether it's in his epistles, whether it's in the Book of Revelation, whether it's in the Gospel of John. Overcoming is a word that the apostle John uses.
Beloved young men, young sisters, God wants her to be overcomers.
He wants you to be an overcomer. And you notice here that he starts out by saying, not I write unto you, young men, because ye should overcome the wicked one, or that ye ought to no.
Ye have. Why does he say that? Oh, because beloved young people, the victory has been won. The victory has been won. It's not a question of you nor of myself going out there and having to win the victory. Overcome. Yes, we are told to do that, but the victory has been won through that blessed one, the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan is already a defeated foe. We have been reminded of that in these meetings.
And so God never tells us to do something that we can't do. He never sends you and me out there to overcome. And then we find out, perhaps, that the battle is too strong and we just can't somehow manage to do it.
Ye have overcome the wicked one.
But then what does he say, beginning as we get it, in verse 14?
I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abide within you.
And ye have overcome the wicked one.
Again, it says the word of God abideth in you. God has given us his word and if you are saved, you were saved through the word of God. God uses his word to save of his own will be gaddy us by the word of truth that tells us in James. And so it's important to recognize that if you are truly saved, you were born by the word of God being applied by the Spirit of God.
Except a man be born of water, that's the word of God and of the Spirit, that's the Spirit of God cannot see the Kingdom of God. And so you and I were born of that word, and we have this precious word in our hands.
But oh, there's a practical side to it.
And may I suggest that?
The way to overcome is given us right here to have the word of God continually before us. And I would encourage each one here, not only the young people we all needed. I'd like to see the children here read their own Bibles.
It's a nice thing as soon as.
Excuse me, As soon as you're able to read, to have your own Bible and be able to read for yourself the word of God, it's a nice thing. If you've got your own Bible, maybe by your bedside or somewhere, and you can read it for yourself. All you may say, I don't understand everything I read. Perhaps not I I still don't understand everything I read.
But nevertheless, there's a cleansing power of the Word of God.
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Read it as often as you can, take it if you can, everywhere you go.
You know, if I may say this, I find in the little bit of traveling I've been privileged to do in different parts of the world.
That some of our dear brethren there.
Seem to value the reading of the Word of God more than we do over in this land.
I suppose it doesn't hurt to speak of it, but I can well remember.
When I was in India the last time and we were having a Bible conference in a place and it wasn't exactly like this, things were perhaps a little more casual in the times of meetings were not as exact as they are over here, but nevertheless you could not help but feel that there was an appetite for the Word of God and in the home in which.
When we would get up in the morning and have breakfast and maybe there was time an hour, an hour and a half perhaps before the first meeting would begin, what would be the thought of those dear brethren sit around and just chit chat? Oh no, let's open the word of God.
Let's have the Word of God open before us, and let's read it and enjoy it.
They want it to be over the word.
Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I were in Romania.
And we found in some cases over there, there was a real appetite for the Word of God. When we would get together, it would be assumed that we would open the Word of God and read it together. Oh, the Word of God has a cleansing power on our hearts and on our lives. And more than that, it is the antidote to what we have in the 15th and 16th and 17th verses. Because what is going to rob you and me of overcoming?
Is the spirit of this world.
And I know that some of you will say that you have heard that so often that it's getting to be a cliche almost. I admit that. But the Word of God brings it before us here, because God recognized that Satan would use every effort.
To try and keep young men and young women from overcoming.
He knows if he can nullify your testimony, he's gained a victory because your parents and those that are older, if the Lord doesn't come, are going to pass off the scene someday and then it is going to be your privilege to carry on.
I've sometimes thought of that.
Poem that was written by Doctor McRae back in the time of the First World War.
Where he talked about.
Those who had fallen in battle.
Poem entitled In Flanders Fields.
And at the end of that poem he takes up the whole question and says, Take up our quarrel with the foe to you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high. If you break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, and so on. Well, that's a poem that was written by a man whom I never knew, of course, and I have no idea whether he was the Lords or not.
By the way, it's a rather interesting experience to walk through Flanders Fields. I had the privilege a few years ago.
And to see on many of those crosses there verses from this precious book which indicates that those who lie there knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. But nevertheless, we're getting away from our subject.
The point is, Satan is going to make a special pitch for you.
And if you have, as he says here, overcome the wicked one, if the word of God does abide in you.
Satan says, aha, I have something that is going to get them, and Satan's whole effort is to take this world in some dimension or other and use it.
To nullify your testimony and mine so that believers are characterized by weakness instead of power. Oh, he knows that he can't do anything to touch your salvation. He knows that he can't do anything as far as eternity is concerned.
But he's going to make believers an object of ridicule because of their weakness instead of their power.
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I have to hang my head because I feel it in my own soul. Where did the world start? As Scripture uses the term, I don't mean the world in the sense of its physical existence, but the world in the sense in which it's used here, the system of this world that has characterized it ever since what? Ever since the family of Cain, Isn't that right? We find that when Cain.
Presented a sacrifice to God and God could not accept it because it wasn't according to his mind.
Instead of repenting, instead of doing what he was asked to do, he goes out from the presence of the Lord, builds a city, calls it after the name of his son, and then his descendants begin to surround themselves with everything in order, if possible, to make themselves happy, as happy as possible in a world that was blighted by sin, but leaving God out.
And that world that Cain started is still with us today.
And the world system today is still animated and run by what we have here, all that is in the world. Verse 16, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. That is what makes the world go.
I.
I don't want to point the finger at specific things.
But I can remember a father telling me how that his son, who was at that time a teenager, had come to him and said dad.
I'd like to go to a movie. I'd like to go to a movie.
Well, his father said son.
I don't know about that. Well, I'd like to go. I think I'd like it. So his father turned to this verse and he said, let's read this verse together. 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.
Now, he said, how would it be if you find a movie?
That doesn't have any of those things in it, and if you can find a movie that you can be reasonably assured.
Does not have any of those things in it. Then I'd be happy for you to go.
Did you know, I thought the boy's answer was very revealing, the boy said. But dad, if you take all of that out, you wouldn't have any movie left.
Father said exactly, son, and that's why I am not happy for you to go to a movie. Again, I'm not here to point the finger at specific things. That isn't the point. The point here is that there is a world system that is bent and bound on dragging you and me down in one way or another. And it's not just young people, but I think it's significant that it's directed at young people here because.
You will feel it the most, but the solemn words are here. It says in the end of verse 15, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, and so it says, love not the world.
Oh, you and I say, but we do love it. How can I help loving something Can I will to love something and will not to love it? I believe we can.
In Ephesians it says husbands love your wives. That's a command. That's a command. But here the same word tells us love, not the world. And if I find that the world is getting a hold on me in some way or shape or form.
May I suggest that the antidote is given to it here?
Through the word of God.
I can enjoy the love of the Father.
Notice it doesn't say the truth here, although that is important, but it's the love of the Father that is going to be more of an antidote than anything else. It's the Word of God having its place in my heart that is going to make me realize exactly what that world is doing to me. What do we see happening in the world today? We see people and you see it all the time, and so do I, justifying all kinds of things in their lives.
How? Why? Because it is being accepted by what is going on all around them.
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And we see people justifying things.
By making man a reference point.
And that happens to you and me too, as believers. That happens to you and me too. We start making the outside world a reference point. We start making even other Christians a reference point. And then pretty soon we find ourselves excusing things in our lives, things that are serious.
Even things that are morally wrong. Even things that are unrighteous.
Even things that if we were only half awake, to whom we belong to.
And the position we've been brought into, we would have a perfect horror of them. But we get used to them, don't we? And I do too. We see it all around us, The magazines of this world, the advertisements, the general talk and conversation, the music of this world, everything.
Is calculated.
To do what? To make you young people weaklings instead of overcomers.
And it doesn't do just to square your shoulders and say I'm not going to be bowled over by it. No, you will be bowled over by it because this world is stronger than you and stronger than I am.
But if we have the Word of God abiding in US and the love of the Father, we can be overcomers.
And I look at you, beloved young people sitting here this afternoon, and God wants everyone of you to be an overcomer.
But we can't be overcomers if we're going to allow the world to get a hold on us.
And I don't mean I don't want to spend too long on this, but I think it's important to recognize the need to see where the whole condition of this world is going.
I've said this before, but it bears repeating because more and more I feel it's true. And this word was said by a man who, as far as I know, was not a Christian.
But he was morally upright, an older man, and in Speaking of the moral condition of this world, especially the Western world, he made this remark.
I thought as to the moral condition of things. We were in the cellar.
But he said the floor of the cellar has given way to reveal a yawning pit.
And we haven't seen the bottom of it yet.
That's true. That's true. And it's worse in these favored lands that have known the gospel than in any foreign land, as far as I can see from my limited experience. Why? Oh, because if the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness? Oh, how wonderful I say to be an overcomer. How wonderful to have the word of God abiding in us. How wonderful to have the love of the Father.
In our hearts.
Because it's going to abide forever. He that doeth the will of God abideth forever, it says in verse 17. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
Mayo and I with reference to everything in our lives.
Ask ourselves, how is it going to look in the light of eternity? Let's go on now, verse 18, little children.
And then the apostle begins to address little children, and this is the correct translation.
Excuse me?
It is little children here.
And what is the danger for little children?
Or that they would be deceived.
You can deceive little children rather easily, can't you?
Few days ago I was in a shopping mall.
With my granddaughter, I was keeping her.
Out in the main aisle of the mall while my wife and daughter did some shopping without her getting into mischief.
And as I was sitting there, she was toddling around there in the mall.
And a man sitting on a sofa just across from me. She kind of walked up to him and looked up at him. He held out his arms. She walked right into his arms, sat on his lap for a while.
The church and Satan says I'm going to spoil the last good thing that God has in the earth if I can. I'm going to spoil the last good thing that God has in the earth if I can.
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It talks about those here who were identifying themselves as Christians.
Themselves as Christians. And then they it says they went out from us. Why? Because they weren't real.
It talks about those who weren't even saved. All we know from Matthew chapter 13 that Satan has been all too successful in sowing tares.
Amongst the wheat so that you can't tell it apart.
And he deceives.
Can he deceive any of us? Yes, indeed he can.
And this deception is still going on today.
All you say, I wouldn't be deceived. I know too much.
Oh, may I say humbly, don't be so sure.
Don't be so sure, because it's not what we know that keeps us, but whether we're walking with the Lord. It's not what we know that makes the difference, it's whether we know Him that is from the beginning. It's not what we know that is going to keep us, but whether we are walking with the Lord Himself.
And So what characterizes the children here? Notice what it says.
Back in verse 13, I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
Not a father down here in the sense of what we have earlier in the verse, but the Father.
Isn't it beautiful to know that little children can know the father?
I suppose it's all right to mention this, but in visiting in the country of Romania, beginning some years ago right after the revolution, it was rather obvious to me that many of these so-called antichrists and false systems did not particularly flourish under the communist regime. Oh, some of them were there, no question about it, but they didn't flourish. But then when there was full liberty, suddenly all of this kind of thing hit that country and other countries too, like a flood.
And it broke my heart to see how dear children of God were so ill prepared for it.
How they were carried about with every wind of doctrine, How they were deceived by every kind of thing.
What is the antidote? O ye have known the Father.
But there are two other things that are mentioned here that are very important. It brings before us in verse.
20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
Down in verse 27. But the anointing which he have received of him abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide.
In him.
Every believer, no matter how young in the faith.
Knows the Father and has the Holy Spirit in them.
And isn't it wonderful that the youngest believer can know what is true and what is error?
That does not mean that we don't need teachers in the assembly. Oh no, of course not. That doesn't mean that the youngest believer knows just as much as the Father who has walked with the Lord for 40 years or something like that. That's not the thought. No, the thought is that with the Holy Spirit indwelling you and me as believers, we have the capacity to discern what is of God and what is not of God.
And allow me, if I may, I know our time is nearly gone, but allow me to say a word on that because.
It seems to my own soul that we are then to wonder why he has no guidance from the Lord.
I read a book or read of a book recently. I haven't seen it.
A book entitled Surprised by Joy or Surprised by Truth. I should say there is a book Surprised by Joy. That's not the one I'm referring to. Surprised by Truth.
00:50:02
Apparently the so-called testimonies of a number of people, some of them possibly even true Christians.
Who having become, as they say in so many words, totally fed up with a tremendous variety of opinions on every subject within what they call evangelical Christendom, that they have gone back into the Roman Catholic Church in order to feel secure. And they say we're back where everything is, is in order. We're back where everything is right. There's no argument, no difficulty. Things are the way they are. This is the way it is. And.
There's no difficulty.
Oh, you and I would throw up our hands in horror at that. What was the difficulty? Oh, when man's will gets into the picture, then of course all kinds of wrong ideas can be introduced.
But let us remember that the Spirit of God is still here and He indwells the very youngest believer, beloved young person, little child here, 8/10/12 years old or even younger. You can go to the Lord and ask for guidance even in a small matter in your life and get it and get it. Will the Lord give it to you? I believe He will. You can go to the Lord and ask for help and you'll get it. You can go to the Lord and ask Him to show you.
What something in this precious book means, and I believe he'll give you that needed guidance.
And you can enjoy the relationship with the father.
All the fathers are characterized by having known him, that is, from the beginning.
But with little children.
It says ye have known the father.
One comment before we close on these last two verses.
Verse 28.
And now little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear.
We may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
Oh, looks on to the glory, but there's something here that is very precious. What does it mean to be ashamed before him at his coming?
Oh, I believe it means that my heart is not right.
With his.
If we were to go on to the third chapter of this epistle, you can just look over at it. It's verse 24. If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Beloved. If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
I stand corrected on this, but I don't know that this verse primarily refers to the overt committing of sin.
To me it seems it's rather a state of soul where I recognize that the response of my heart.
Is not what it should be? Do I feel that? If that is the case, am I looking for the Lord to come? Would I love it if the Lord were to appear and take us home right now? Or would I have to say, oh, let Him give me a little time to straighten the few things out? I I I don't want Him to come and find my life in the condition in which it is right now. What I want Him to come and find. My soul thinking about what I am thinking about at this very moment, what I want Him to come and find.
The course of my life going in the direction that it is now, I believe that's what it's bringing, what what is being brought before us here.
But then this last verse, the 29th verse.
It was a bit of a puzzle to me for a long time, and maybe it still is.
Because I couldn't help but think, why does God throw in and we'll read it together? If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him.
I don't want to take away from the obvious practical application of this verse.
Brother Bob was mentioning it this morning, the importance of practical righteousness in our lives. And I would put every emphasis on that, because in the world around us, we're going to see a good deal of unrighteousness and we're going to see a good deal of things going on. Good, many things going on.
That are morally wrong.
But I wonder if this verse goes beyond that. May I make that suggestion? And I'm indebted to someone else for this thought, But I pass it on because I enjoyed it and I'm adding some things of my own to it.
00:55:04
If you go back to the beginning of this chapter, you find that it refers to our having an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And then here it seems, if I am right in this, it says, if ye know that he is righteous.
You know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him.
Oh, that speaks to my heart perhaps.
More than just the superficial application of it does.
Because how could the Lord Jesus be termed Jesus Christ the Righteous?
Because of his righteous life that he lived down here. Oh no, it was more than that. The Lord Jesus, as my advocate and your advocate with the Father, he can fill that capacity up there. Because of what he did on Calvary's cross. Because he gave up everything that was rightfully his, gave up everything that was to do with his own will. He did not do his own will.
But he.
Said not my will, but dying to be done.
And as a result, today He can be your advocate and mine up there when we sin, because He is Jesus Christ the righteous. He can point back to that finished work on Calvary's cross, and He can plead before us in the sight of God the Father.
On the basis of what he has done. But how did he do it? Oh, by saying not my will but thine be done. By giving up everything, everything.
As we had brought before us this morning, in order that God might be glorified as to sin.
And in order that you and I might be saved, may I suggest there's something of that thought here?
Everyone that doeth righteousness is born of Him. You and I have the capacity to act in the same way. Now I hasten to say that there is only One who could ever say totally and truly not my will, but thine be done and really mean it in everything. In His pathway there was only One who at the end of his life could confidently say to the Father, I have finished the work which Thou gave us me to do.
But you and I have the capacity to do righteousness. You and I have the capacity to set aside our own will and to do His will and to follow Him down here.
In a little while that he leaves us here.
Let's close in prayer.