The Living Proof: Walking in Truth and Love

• The Theme of 1 John 00:06:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor identifies the theme of 1 John as the 'living proof of God's providential plan' to bring salvation, affirm Christ's incarnation, promote fellowship, and urge believers to pursue truth and love.
• The Manifestation of Eternal Life 00:07:16 ▶️ 📄
  > He explains that the 'word of life' is manifested in 1 John 1:1-4, connecting the eternal life seen by the apostles to the believer's current joy and relationship with Jesus.
• The Necessity of Confession and Forgiveness 00:09:51 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites 1 John 1:9 to explain that while all have sinned, confessing sin leads to God's faithfulness in forgiving and cleansing believers from unrighteousness.
• Christ as Advocate and Propitiation 00:10:03 ▶️ 📄
  > He describes Jesus as the advocate who stands before the Father to provide justice and pardon, and as the propitiation who satisfies God's righteous demand for punishment against sin.
• God's Love and the Cross 00:12:50 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that God's love is demonstrated by giving His Son as propitiation for sins, allowing believers to call Him Father and have eternal life.
• The Promise of Future Glory 00:14:27 ▶️ 📄
  > He clarifies that the hope of being like Christ is a promise, not just a wish, based on the believer's identity as a child of God and the work of Jesus on the cross.
• God's Providential Love 00:13:05 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor discusses how God's love is demonstrated through the cross and grants believers the identity of children of God.
• Identity as Children of God 00:14:12 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that believers are currently children of God with the hope of becoming like Him.
• Sanctification and Christ-likeness 00:15:03 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that God's purpose is to produce Christ-likeness in believers through sanctification.
• God's Providential Power 00:16:26 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes how the Holy Spirit guides believers into righteousness and helps them overcome sin.
• Peace and Fellowship with God 00:21:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that peace is lost when wandering from God but restored through confession and repentance.
• Love as Evidence of Salvation 00:23:31 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects the command to love one another with being born again and the New Covenant.
• Eternal Life and Assurance 00:26:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines eternal life as forever life with God, secured through Jesus Christ.
• Assurance of Eternal Life 00:26:32 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines eternal life as 'Forever life' and 'Never-ending life' with God, asserting that this life is in His Son and serves as the purpose of 1 John Chapter 5.
• Source of Love 00:27:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that the love required to love others (including enemies) does not come from human effort but is given by God through the Holy Spirit, modeled by Jesus laying down His life.
• Nature of True Love 00:28:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that loving God requires demonstrating love back to Him as He demonstrated it to us, involving the whole heart, mind, body, and soul, rather than just mental affirmation.
• Identity of the Church 00:30:17 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor defines the universal church as the body of believers who know Jesus as Savior, emphasizing that God's providence preserves truth and love through this community.
• Continuity of Truth 00:33:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that the message preached today is the same 'old message' passed down through generations, emphasizing that there is no new message outside the Bible.
• Christ as Truth and Life 00:36:58 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor identifies Jesus as 'the way, the truth, and the life,' explaining that His life expands truth and provides the eternal life believers are called to live.
• Responsibility to Guard Truth 00:39:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor charges the congregation with the responsibility to guard God's Word against falsehood by knowing the Bible and teaching others, citing the woman at the well as an example.
• Guarding the Truth 00:39:54 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes the responsibility to guard God's Word and pass it on, citing David's example of seeking God's teaching.
• Evangelism and Witness 00:41:07 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor encourages believers to share their salvation story and invite others to church, using the woman at the well as a model.
• Walking in Truth 00:45:16 ▶️ 📄
  > Using 3 John, the pastor explains that walking in truth involves loving one another, caring for burdens, and being an encourager within the church.
• Personal Nature of God's Providence 00:48:19 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that God's plan is not just for the collective but for each individual, urging personal reflection on one's walk with God.
• Humility vs. Self-Exaltation 00:49:34 ▶️ 📄
  > Contrasting Diotrephes (who sought preeminence) with Demetrius, the pastor warns that self-exaltation hinders God's providence and calls for humility.
• Contending for the Faith 00:53:41 ▶️ 📄
  > Transitioning to Jude, the pastor defines the Christian's role as fighting the devil using the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) rather than fighting people.
• Humility and Exaltation 00:53:16 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to humble themselves in due season, noting that God will exalt them, not themselves.
• Spiritual Warfare Strategy 00:54:13 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that believers fight the devil by taking up the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), living it, and presenting it, rather than arguing with people.
• Faith and Hearing 00:54:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects faith to hearing the Word of God, encouraging the congregation to use their opportunity to hear the Bible to develop faith that conquers enemies.
• Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility 00:55:45 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that while God has a plan to finish what He started, it is up to the church to continue on until Christ's return.
• Personal Readiness for Christ's Return 00:56:28 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor expresses a desire for Christ to find him battling for truth, faithful to God's word, and loving to enemies.
• Reliance on the Holy Spirit 00:56:53 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor admits personal inability to muster the gumption to serve faithfully without the Holy Spirit, citing Paul's confidence that God performs the good work He begins.
• Application of Jude's Commands 00:57:15 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor outlines specific applications from Jude: keeping oneself in God's love, contending for the faith, building up in holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, and rescuing the perishing.
• Scripture vs. Emotion 00:58:09 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor warns against operating on emotion or tradition, insisting that Christians must stand on Scripture and not run on feelings, even regarding music or style.
• Expectation of Apostasy 00:59:13 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that apostasy and mocking are part of God's plan and fulfillment, not failure, and that people leave because their hearts are far from the Spirit of God.
• God's Sufficiency and Preparation 01:00:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor assures the congregation that God will never ask them to do something they are not prepared for, encouraging them to respond to God's nudges with confidence in Christ's strength.
• Rescuing the Perishing 01:01:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor calls the congregation to action, asking if they are actively pulling people out of the fire (spiritual danger) today.
• God's Ability to Keep Believers 01:01:42 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor cites Jude 24-25 to affirm that God is able to keep believers from falling and present them faultless before His glory.
• The Church's Role in Providence 01:02:06 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor concludes that the church continues God's providential plan by walking and living according to how God has set forth His plan.

• Sermon Illustration 00:03:57 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his friend Gary Saunders, who was invited to take over the pastorate of a church in Michigan's Upper Peninsula started by Pastor Bob's former pastor, Brother Kinnaman Crawford.
• Sermon Illustration 00:13:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts a story about Billy Kelly, a man who claimed he could 'swing over hell on a corn stalk and not worry about falling in' because he knew Jesus as his personal Savior.
• Sermon Illustration 00:13:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the story of Billy Kelly, a man who claimed he could swing over hell on a cornstalk without falling in because he knew Jesus as his personal Savior.
• Sermon Illustration 00:38:28 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his dating life, where his parents required him to take dates to church. He recalls pointing at the preacher and telling himself he would 'never be what he is,' only for God to laugh and make him a pastor.
• Sermon Illustration 00:33:42 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references his own history at the church, noting he grew up there starting in 1963 under Brother Crawford, and lists the succession of pastors (Crawford, Graham, Frazier, Story, White) to illustrate the continuity of the preached message.
• Sermon Illustration 00:42:07 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares a story about a Catholic man whose father passed away; the pastor preached the gospel at the funeral, leading the son to seek salvation, get baptized, and become a regular attendee.
• Sermon Illustration 00:44:24 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the analogy of an apple ready to fall from a tree to describe the spiritual readiness of the man he visited after the funeral.
• Sermon Illustration 00:53:26 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references Demetrius as an example of someone who had a good report from all men and the truth itself.
• Sermon Illustration 00:59:51 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses a rhetorical dialogue to illustrate why people leave the church, concluding that their problem is with the Spirit of God, not the preacher's harshness or truthfulness.

• Pastoral Charge 00:15:56 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to actively pursue Christ-likeness and spiritual maturity.
• Pastoral Charge 00:22:18 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor commands the congregation to confess their sins to restore their fellowship with God.
• Pastoral Charge 00:25:00 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor calls the congregation to surrender themselves completely to God's use.
• Pastoral Charge 00:28:34 ▶️ 📄
  > Love God with total commitment of heart, mind, body, and spirit.
• Pastoral Charge 00:31:27 ▶️ 📄
  > Actively welcome new visitors to the church.
• Pastoral Charge 00:40:03 ▶️ 📄
  > Defend the integrity of Scripture against false teachings.
• Pastoral Charge 00:40:13 ▶️ 📄
  > Pray for divine instruction upon waking up.
• Pastoral Charge 00:41:43 ▶️ 📄
  > Attend church services to hear the gospel.
• Pastoral Charge 00:47:12 ▶️ 📄
  > Know the burdens of fellow church members and pray for them by name.
• Pastoral Charge 00:48:02 ▶️ 📄
  > Pray with guests who have come to the altar.
• Pastoral Charge 00:53:00 ▶️ 📄
  > Serve others humbly and submit to God's timing for exaltation.
• Pastoral Charge 00:53:54 ▶️ 📄
  > Fight spiritual battles using the Word of God.
• Pastoral Charge 00:58:33 ▶️ 📄
  > To hold fast to the Word of God and contend for the faith.
• Pastoral Charge 01:00:32 ▶️ 📄
  > To surrender oneself to the Lord and express willingness to be sent.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Praise the Lord!
[00:00:00] So glad you're all here this evening.
[00:00:02] Today is a special day for many reasons, but most of all, this is the day the Lord has made.
[00:00:09] We shall rejoice and be glad in it.
[00:00:11] Tonight we have Pastor Bob White and his wife Becky from Michigan.
[00:00:18] We're so glad you're here.
[00:00:20] I've been really, really selling you, okay?
[00:00:25] So...
[00:00:28] There are great and high expectations, Brother Bob.
[00:00:32] So, Brother Bob's preaching tonight, our 30th night in the Bible in 31 days.
[00:00:37] He's going to be preaching 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and the book of Jude.
[00:00:41] And then also, you know, he's going to be preaching a special three-part series beginning Saturday night at 7 p.m.
[00:00:48] After our fall festival, he'll be preaching, Lord willing, Sunday morning in our service at 1045 and then finishing off 7 p.m. Sunday evening.
[00:00:57] So I hope you'll all be able to come for that.
[00:00:59] And before I turn it over to Brother Bob, I just want to...
[00:01:03] Yes, Elder Allen?
[00:01:07] I'd like to wish you a happy birthday.
[00:01:09] Thank you, Elder.
[00:01:09] Crazy.
[00:01:12] Thank you all.
[00:01:13] Thank you for your well wishes and gifts and kindness and God has seen fit to allow me to tread this earth for 51 years and I'm not sure why but we'll make the most of whatever he gives me for his glory, honor, and praise and I love you all and thank God for you.
[00:01:31] I want to say this.
[00:01:33] The donation box on the back, that's just been if anyone felt led, but with Brother Bob, anything given tonight will go to Brother Bob and to his wife, and then the Saturday night and Sunday night as well.
[00:01:48] Anyone who gives in that box, in those services, that will go as a blessing to Brother Bob as he comes and blesses us.
[00:01:58] Let me have a brief prayer, then I'm going to give it to Brother Bob.
[00:02:01] He's going to take the service from there.
[00:02:03] Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for allowing Brother Bob to come and be with us.
[00:02:09] He and I were in Belleville together as I was a missionary, and now, Lord, our friendship continues and grows in the Gospel, and we pray, Lord, that you would anoint him this night in a special way.
[00:02:22] Give us ears to hear, hearts ready to receive, and Lord, bless mightily
[00:02:27] In and through him and in us that you might receive the glory, honor, and praise in Jesus' name.
[00:02:34] Amen.
[00:02:35] Brother Bob, come on up and you may want to mention Gary and Nancy.
[00:02:40] All right, I will.
[00:02:40] Thank you, Brother Bob.
[00:02:42] You don't need one, do you?

[00:02:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
No.
[00:02:47] Well, if you'd take your Bibles tonight and turn to Nehemiah.
[00:02:56] Nehemiah!
[00:02:57] 1 John Well, it's good to have you here tonight.
[00:03:03] It's good to be back with you.
[00:03:04] It's a blessing to be with Brother Joseph and the church.
[00:03:08] And it's good to see that all of you are doing well.
[00:03:10] The church is doing well.
[00:03:12] And Joseph has survived the uniting of two churches coming together.
[00:03:17] And he's done a wonderful job.
[00:03:18] Him and Andy are just co-workers together for Christ.
[00:03:22] And it's so glad to see that.
[00:03:24] But it's good to have you here tonight.
[00:03:26] Lord bless you.
[00:03:27] Tonight we have our good friends Gary and Nancy Saunders.
[00:03:31] Brother Gary is a pastor at Union Baptist Church, Baptist Church, over in Lincolnton, North Carolina.
[00:03:46] He was in the Upper Peninsula for a number of years.
[00:03:49] We had the opportunity to drag him up there and he did a work of my former pastor,
[00:03:57] Brother Kinnaman Crawford began that church when I was a little guy.
[00:04:01] And it was our camp and so forth.
[00:04:04] And Brother Crawford wrote to me one day and he said, Brother Bob, we need a preacher to come up here and take my place.
[00:04:10] And I came down to North Carolina and read the letter.
[00:04:15] And Gary came to me and said, I think I'm interested.
[00:04:18] And as soon as he put his foot on the ground, he knew that was the place for him to be.
[00:04:23] So it's good to have them with us.
[00:04:25] They're dear friends, dear friends.
[00:04:27] Children of God.
[00:04:29] And we appreciate that.
[00:04:31] Well, as the song goes, we have a long way to go and a short time to get there.
[00:04:36] So let's begin tonight.
[00:04:38] And I just thank the Lord for allowing me to be asked to do this.
[00:04:44] Brother Joseph was kind to ask me to take 1st, 2nd, 3rd John and Jude.
[00:04:50] And it's been a wonderful study and I've appreciated it much and I hope that
[00:04:56] What the Lord has given to me will be a blessing to you.
[00:04:59] One thing about these books is the fact that they're as current as your newspaper this morning.
[00:05:08] As we go through it, you'll find that the Lord is talking to us today.
[00:05:13] There is nothing new.
[00:05:14] It's all from the old.
[00:05:17] It's been continued.
[00:05:18] Persevered and as a result the presence of the Lord is in our midst tonight because we're going to talk about him and all that he has done for us and the blessing that he has given to us in our great salvation.
[00:05:34] When Jesus came he said I have come that they may have life and that they may have it what?
[00:05:41] More abundantly.
[00:05:43] Paul writes, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
[00:05:51] In the life I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
[00:05:59] And then 1 Peter chapter 1 says, Believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
[00:06:09] So tonight we're going to praise the Lord for the salvation that he has given to us.
[00:06:14] In 1 John, the theme is the living proof of God's providential plan.
[00:06:20] This is the plan from the beginning of time as he brings salvation here upon this earth.
[00:06:27] So what we find is in 1 John, it articulates God's potential provincial plan.
[00:06:34] A plan for affirming the incarnation of Christ, promoting the fellowship of both God and fellow believers, and urging individuals.
[00:06:45] That's you and I.
[00:06:47] He's going to urge us to pursue lives that are characterized by truth and love.
[00:06:56] John ties together the redemption thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation.
[00:07:02] And as we see God's purpose to dwell in his people, to restore what was broken, to bring about a new creation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:07:16] And we find that it is manifested in 1 John 1 verses 1 through 4.
[00:07:22] The word of life is manifested, that which was in the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and show unto you eternal life,
[00:07:32] And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full.
[00:07:39] Are you joyful in the Lord tonight?
[00:07:41] And I don't mean that you're in church and you're sitting here and you know it's right for us to say yes.
[00:07:48] I mean you know it in your heart.
[00:07:50] You know the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
[00:07:55] You know the joy, the fact that Jesus gave his life for each and every one of us.
[00:08:01] And when he was on the cross, he may have been dying for the world, but I know this for a fact tonight, when he was on the cross dying, he was dying for me.
[00:08:09] Was he dying for you?
[00:08:11] Do you know that?
[00:08:13] Do you have a joy that he gave his life for you?
[00:08:16] And that life has given us life eternal.
[00:08:19] That truth is anchored in Genesis.
[00:08:23] In Genesis 1-1, it begins with, In the beginning, God.
[00:08:28] Here in chapter 1, verse 1, it says, That which from the beginning.
[00:08:32] From the beginning, God desired a relationship with mankind.
[00:08:36] Sin...
[00:08:38] Fractured that, but in the garden God promised a Savior.
[00:08:43] You all remember that.
[00:08:45] Genesis 3, 5, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between the seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
[00:08:58] This is the first prophecy in regards to the Messiah.
[00:09:04] Martin Luther made mention of this, of this passage.
[00:09:08] This text embraces and comprehends within itself everything glorious that is to be found anywhere in the Scripture.
[00:09:19] The greatest that we can read from the Scriptures today is that Jesus, the Messiah, is going to come to restore a relationship that had been broken by sin
[00:09:32] Pardoned by the Lord Jesus Christ, that we might walk in a renewed spirit, a new creation, that we might know God as our Heavenly Father.
[00:09:44] We all know in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
[00:09:51] Here in 1 John 1-9, if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.
[00:09:56] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
[00:09:58] What does that lead to?
[00:09:59] Well, look at chapter 2, verses 1 and 2.
[00:10:03] If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father and with Jesus the righteous.
[00:10:08] So what we're going to find in chapter 2 is that Christ is the advocate
[00:10:14] and the propitiation to bring us to this life that he manifested, this life that he is going to give to us, this life that we enjoy, we are going to find that the Lord is the one who continually enables us to enjoy it, to be able to experience it, and to understand the power behind it.
[00:10:35] Here we find that in the Old Testament law, sin required an atonement.
[00:10:41] And what was that atonement in the Old Testament?
[00:10:44] What did they use?
[00:10:46] They used the Lamb.
[00:10:47] Remember what John said?
[00:10:49] John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.
[00:10:57] So as Jesus comes to be our advocate, He stands before the Father.
[00:11:01] he's the one that hears our confession he's the one that goes to the father and tells him my blood has been applied the bible tells us in romans that there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in christ jesus praise god the bible tells us that we all sin and come short of the glory of god but we can continue on to live this life of christ because he enables us as our advocate as our lawyer to stand before the father
[00:11:30] and to provide the justice and the pardon that we need as the blood has been applied to our hearts and lives.
[00:11:41] Also in Christ we find that he is the once for all sacrifice.
[00:11:46] Look at verse number 2, Jesus is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
[00:11:54] Here we find that Jesus has come to satisfy the righteous demand of God in relationship to human sin and punishment.
[00:12:05] Now that's important.
[00:12:06] As we go through this book, we have to realize that God loves us.
[00:12:13] That God wants that relationship with us.
[00:12:16] But he has told us that the wages of sin is death.
[00:12:21] How can God be just and give us life when we are sinners and we deserve hell?
[00:12:30] The answer is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:12:34] John 3.16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth him should not perish.
[00:12:42] We're not going to face that justice, but we'll have everlasting life.
[00:12:47] And that's the love that God has given to us.
[00:12:50] God so loved us that he gave his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
[00:12:56] And then as he continues on in chapter 3, he says, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us.
[00:13:04] Have you ever stopped to wonder?
[00:13:05] Have you ever just sat outside and just wondered, how much does God love me?
[00:13:14] And all you have to do is look to the cross.
[00:13:18] What manner of love He has loved me.
[00:13:23] And isn't that a wonderful thing that we know today that we have come to the cross, we have received Him as our personal Savior, we have been washed in the blood, and He has given us eternal life, and now we can call Him Father.
[00:13:38] I don't have to worry about going to hell.
[00:13:41] I don't know how many of you knew Billy Kelly.
[00:13:43] Billy Kelly was a big man.
[00:13:46] Big man, played the fiddle, enjoyed life.
[00:13:50] But Billy Kelly said, I can swing over hell on a corn stalk and not worry about falling in.
[00:13:57] Because I know the Lord Jesus Christ, my personal savior.
[00:14:02] But notice that when he loved us, God's providential love allows us to be called his children.
[00:14:12] It's our identity.
[00:14:14] Right now, you are a child of God.
[00:14:18] Right now.
[00:14:20] And we can call Him our Father, who art in heaven.
[00:14:24] Praise God.
[00:14:26] But notice the hope.
[00:14:27] We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him
[00:14:30] That word hope means it's a promise.
[00:14:34] I don't hope to go to heaven.
[00:14:36] I don't hope that someday I'll be like him.
[00:14:39] It's a promise.
[00:14:40] One day I'm going to heaven because Jesus died for my sins.
[00:14:46] One day I'm going to heaven and I'm going to be just like him because that's what God's providential plan has for each and every one of us.
[00:14:54] But notice the purpose.
[00:14:56] The purpose is for us today in the fact that we must purify ourselves.
[00:15:03] God's providence is not only seen in what he provides, but what he is producing in each one of us.
[00:15:13] And what is he producing?
[00:15:16] Christ-likeness.
[00:15:18] Now how many of you can say, thank God I'm not what I used to be?
[00:15:22] How many of us can see what God has done in our lives where we are today?
[00:15:27] And how many of us can see in the future?
[00:15:31] We can see the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:15:32] We can see that we are going to be like Him one day.
[00:15:35] But I'm not there yet.
[00:15:37] And what does Paul say?
[00:15:38] I press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus.
[00:15:41] Do you find yourself pressing towards that?
[00:15:44] Do you see that as the finish line as far as your Christian life is concerned?
[00:15:49] Now we know that we won't get there as far as this life is concerned, but I want to get as close as I possibly can, won't you?
[00:15:56] And why should I do that?
[00:15:59] Because the Bible says to live worthy of the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:16:05] If Jesus could come and die and give his life for me, then I need to be worthy of that.
[00:16:14] And my worthiness is to become like him.
[00:16:19] And as we become like him, we're fulfilling the plan that God has for each and every one of us.
[00:16:26] But not only do we see the providential love, but notice God's providential power.
[00:16:33] How do we become more like Him?
[00:16:35] He's called us to righteousness.
[00:16:37] And what is that righteousness?
[00:16:39] Sanctification.
[00:16:41] Look at verse number nine.
[00:16:42] Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin.
[00:16:46] Now how many of you have committed sin today?
[00:16:48] And you know what?
[00:16:49] Nobody will raise their hand.
[00:16:53] Nobody will raise their hand.
[00:16:55] No, not me.
[00:16:56] Brother Bob, I've been praying all day for this service.
[00:17:01] Brother Bob, it's been good to be in the house of God for 30 days straight.
[00:17:05] Praise God!
[00:17:09] But the Bible says we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
[00:17:13] Haven't we?
[00:17:15] But at the same time, we find that that sin bothers us.
[00:17:20] And it's the Holy Spirit of God in us that touches our hearts and tells us, you're not walking as I want you to walk today.
[00:17:30] You're not walking in that worthiness.
[00:17:34] And so folks, when we get up in the morning, the first thing on our minds is to present our bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is our what?
[00:17:43] Reasonable service.
[00:17:45] That we might be able to prove what is that good, acceptable, and what?
[00:17:49] Perfect will of God.
[00:17:51] How many of us thought of that today?
[00:17:53] How many have walked according to that rule today?
[00:17:56] That's what God wants in our hearts.
[00:17:58] And by the way, as we have the Holy Spirit, He's going to guide us into righteousness.
[00:18:05] The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
[00:18:07] He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.
[00:18:14] I'm standing before you a Christian.
[00:18:18] Yeah, I'm a pastor.
[00:18:21] You expect the pastor to be a Christian.
[00:18:25] But in that word, Christian, you expect the pastor to live a life that's pleasing to the Lord.
[00:18:31] But listen, folks, we are the children of God, and it's our responsibility for each and every one of us to live that life, that we can be a blessing to God, we can be used of God, that we've been called according to a purpose, and that is to do the perfect will of God as we live day by day.
[00:18:51] And as you live today and as you have opportunity, the Lord is going to direct you into that path.
[00:18:56] He's going to use you for a purpose.
[00:18:58] You are His workmanship.
[00:19:00] You're His voice.
[00:19:01] You're His hands.
[00:19:02] You're His eyes.
[00:19:03] And as we go out into this world, we can do the things that God would have us to do.
[00:19:07] But we have to be sanctified.
[00:19:09] We have to be set apart in order to be used of God.
[00:19:14] And how do we become sanctified?
[00:19:16] 1 John 4 verse 4 says, Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
[00:19:22] We can overcome all the temptations.
[00:19:24] We can overcome the sins of the world because greater is he that is in me.
[00:19:29] Praise God.
[00:19:32] So whatever's troubling you today, all you have to do is turn it over to the Lord.
[00:19:36] Greater is he.
[00:19:39] Doesn't the Bible promise us that we are overcomers of this world?
[00:19:46] Notice the next one here, God's providential purpose.
[00:19:49] We are called to love in deed and in truth.
[00:19:53] God's providence was revealed most fully by His love.
[00:19:56] Look at verse 16.
[00:19:58] Hereby perceive we the love of God, because Christ laid down His life for us.
[00:20:04] Again, we go back to John 3.16, God so loved the world that He gave His Son to lay His life down, to die for us.
[00:20:14] That same love now becomes a measure of our faith.
[00:20:19] Love that acts, that gives, that sacrifices.
[00:20:22] Why are you here tonight?
[00:20:24] Because I love God.
[00:20:26] Why are you listening tonight?
[00:20:27] Because I want to hear more of the one that I love.
[00:20:31] Why did you do the things you did today?
[00:20:33] Because I love Him.
[00:20:34] I want to serve Him.
[00:20:36] I want to be a blessing to Him.
[00:20:38] I can't thank Him enough.
[00:20:40] There's nothing that I can do but to give my life to Him.
[00:20:48] And as we give that life, we find that there is sanctification, there is a purpose, there is the power of God.
[00:20:54] But notice also in verses 19 through 24, and in particular verse 24, we see the peace.
[00:21:00] We are assured by His presence.
[00:21:03] The peace of God that passes all understanding is the fact that you walk with the Lord each and every day.
[00:21:10] Listen, folks, if you start to wander away from Him, you lose that peace.
[00:21:15] You all know that you can grieve the Holy Spirit.
[00:21:19] You can quench the power of the Holy Spirit just by taking that one step.
[00:21:25] But as the Holy Spirit nudges you, as He pulls on you, He wants you to come back into that perfect peace.
[00:21:33] And as we have that perfect peace, He that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in Him.
[00:21:41] The Lord is not going to walk in sin.
[00:21:44] Let's all understand that.
[00:21:47] So as Christians today, as those who have loved God, those who are to walk worthy of God, God's going to help you to do that.
[00:21:59] Have you ever missed the peace of God?
[00:22:04] Have you ever been in a position where you just didn't feel God at all?
[00:22:09] Well, God didn't leave you.
[00:22:11] You left Him.
[00:22:12] And as a result, He can't come and fellowship with you.
[00:22:15] He can't commune in that sweet spirit.
[00:22:18] You don't feel the fullness of the Holy Spirit of God.
[00:22:21] And it's up to us to come back to confess that sin, that we can be forgiven, that we can be renewed, that we can be cleansed, that we can come back into that relationship with Him.
[00:22:31] Isn't our God wonderful realizing that he created a salvation that nobody was able to really fulfill other than the Lord Jesus Christ using his blood, giving his blood, that through that blood we can ask for forgiveness of sin and he'll bring us back and just cleanse us and use us once again.
[00:22:52] He knows our feeble ways.
[00:22:55] I'll be preaching on Psalm 139.
[00:22:59] And in that, David's crying out to the Lord, Search me!
[00:23:03] Try me!
[00:23:04] And if there's anything unclean, take it away.
[00:23:08] David's looking for that intimate relationship that comes as a result of being close to him by feeling his presence, by feeling the purpose for which he has called us.
[00:23:19] God's providence secures the believer's heart.
[00:23:22] We rest in his faithfulness.
[00:23:27] Notice in chapter 4, verse number 7, the command of love.
[00:23:31] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
[00:23:39] In Deuteronomy, God calls his people to love him.
[00:23:42] So we're going all the way back into the Old Testament.
[00:23:45] We're going back at the beginning.
[00:23:47] Going all the way back to Deuteronomy.
[00:23:49] And we find that this thread has come all the way through up till today.
[00:23:53] Notice what he says back in...
[00:23:56] Chapter 6 and verse 5 of Deuteronomy, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
[00:24:08] Doesn't that sound like it'd be preaching today?
[00:24:11] Can't we just say that's us today?
[00:24:15] As we come, we are to love Him, that we love Him with all our hearts, with all our soul, with all our might, and as a result, there's no room for anything else.
[00:24:25] It's all God.
[00:24:27] And that's the thing that our flesh has to get over.
[00:24:31] And that's why Paul says, I'm crucified with Christ that I might live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
[00:24:37] And as Christ lives in me, He's taken over everything, that everything can be presented to the Lord Jesus Christ for Him to use, that I might glorify Him through His presence, through His power, through His sanctification.
[00:24:53] It's all of God.
[00:24:55] But folks, you've got to be willing to give yourself and allow yourself to be used of Him.
[00:25:00] That's your purpose.
[00:25:01] That you might prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
[00:25:10] The call to love one another is tied to being born again.
[00:25:13] Part of the New Covenant where love is the evidence of being in a relationship with Him.
[00:25:22] Notice verse 11, Beloved, if God so loved us, so we ought to love one another.
[00:25:31] Do you love each other?
[00:25:35] Now we can look around and say, yeah, I love everybody here.
[00:25:41] We're friends.
[00:25:44] We're part of a good church.
[00:25:46] We're part of a good congregation.
[00:25:48] We all come together and have a good time.
[00:25:51] The question is, are you willing to be a sacrifice?
[00:25:56] Are you willing to lay down your life for another?
[00:26:05] Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for the brethren.
[00:26:12] I'll stand up for you.
[00:26:17] I wouldn't Joseph, but I would you folks.
[00:26:23] Chapter 5 Now we come to the testimony and the assurance of eternal life.
[00:26:32] And this is the record that God has given us eternal life.
[00:26:36] He's given us eternal life.
[00:26:38] Do you realize what eternal life is?
[00:26:40] Forever life.
[00:26:42] Never-ending life.
[00:26:43] Life with Him.
[00:26:44] And this life is in His Son.
[00:26:48] The assurance of our salvation is the purpose of Chapter 5.
[00:26:51] John insists that the true test of knowing God is love.
[00:26:55] In verses 1 through 5, it tells us why.
[00:26:58] In verse number 6, because God is love.
[00:27:02] And through Jesus, God has poured out his love into our hearts.
[00:27:08] So we go back to Romans chapter 5 because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by whom?
[00:27:14] The Holy Ghost which is given to us.
[00:27:17] So when I'm talking about that we're to love one another.
[00:27:20] We're to lay down our lives for one another.
[00:27:23] Where does that love come from?
[00:27:24] It doesn't come from me.
[00:27:25] No, no, no.
[00:27:31] It comes from God.
[00:27:33] The love that God has in sending His Son.
[00:27:37] The love that Jesus had in laying down His life to die for us.
[00:27:42] That's where that love comes from.
[00:27:45] So if you're to love one another, if you're to love the brethren, if you're to love the enemy, isn't that what the Bible says?
[00:27:51] Love your enemy?
[00:27:53] How do we do that?
[00:27:54] We do that with a love that is given to us in our hearts by the Holy Spirit of God.
[00:27:59] It's an unusual love.
[00:28:01] And once we begin to love that way, then we'll begin to understand how God loved us.
[00:28:07] By the way, the Bible says we love Him because?
[00:28:11] But listen, you have to love Him as He loved you.
[00:28:15] So as He demonstrated His love towards you, that's the same love you have to show back to Him.
[00:28:21] You just can't say in your mind, I love God.
[00:28:24] God said, no, that ain't good enough.
[00:28:29] God said, I've given you a love.
[00:28:31] And I want that love to come from your heart.
[00:28:34] And I want you to love me with all your heart, mind, body, and soul.
[00:28:38] And so when I say, Lord, I love you, I tremble because it's everything within me that's coming to show him that I love him, that I thank him.
[00:28:52] And Lord, I'm not worthy
[00:28:56] But I will do my best to live a life that others might see that love in me.
[00:29:03] That's the most important thing today in this lost and dying world, that people see a genuine love, a genuine Christian reaching out.
[00:29:13] And we'll see that in just a moment.
[00:29:15] Look at verse number 20.
[00:29:17] And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us understanding that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true
[00:29:26] Even in His Son, Jesus Christ, this is a true God and eternal life.
[00:29:33] Do you know that tonight?
[00:29:35] Do you know that with all your heart, all your mind?
[00:29:39] There's no room for any doubt whatsoever.
[00:29:42] Do you know that?
[00:29:44] Do you have that blessed assurance, Jesus is mine?
[00:29:49] Let's go to 2 John.
[00:29:51] 2 John deals with the providence and protection.
[00:29:55] It's the eternal plan of truth and love.
[00:29:58] The preservation of truth and love continuing through the development of the church.
[00:30:03] Now tonight we're going to talk about the church.
[00:30:06] And I'm not talking about cornerstone.
[00:30:08] I'm not talking about grace.
[00:30:09] I'm not talking about union.
[00:30:11] What I'm talking about is the church.
[00:30:17] The universal church, the body of believers, all who have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
[00:30:25] We find that the providence God in the Old Testament is the foundation of love and truth.
[00:30:33] Here in 2 John chapter 1, notice he says, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth, for the truth's sakes which dwell in us and shall be with us forever.
[00:30:51] Brother Gary's here tonight.
[00:30:53] Brother Gary's a pastor.
[00:30:54] Brother Gary's been a Christian for a long time.
[00:30:57] Immediately as you meet him, your spirit ought to bear witness with his spirit that he's a child of God.
[00:31:04] Immediately we ought to fall in love with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
[00:31:09] Immediately because we are walking together.
[00:31:13] We need that love.
[00:31:14] We need that encouragement.
[00:31:16] We need that companionship.
[00:31:18] And this church does an excellent job in welcoming others into the church.
[00:31:24] As you've had opportunity this past 30 days
[00:31:27] Welcome people that have come for the first time.
[00:31:30] They ought to go here not just saying, boy, that's a friendly church.
[00:31:33] They ought to leave here saying, that's a loving church.
[00:31:36] Those people love people.
[00:31:38] And that's our responsibility.
[00:31:41] We have become the spokesmen for Christ.
[00:31:45] We are the Christs of this time.
[00:31:48] We're going about doing the will of the Father.
[00:31:51] And the will of the Father is to rescue the perishing and care for the dying.
[00:31:59] Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 12 we find that truth is identified in the commandments and love is seen in the covenant listen to this and now Israel let me change that word just for a moment I'm gonna take Israel out I'm gonna put another word in and you all listen carefully and now cornerstone
[00:32:22] What does the Lord thy God require of thee but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?
[00:32:37] That's today.
[00:32:39] That's us.
[00:32:42] If I was a Presbyterian, that's us.
[00:32:50] Well, let me say it this way, being a child of God, that's us!
[00:32:58] Verse number two, for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever.
[00:33:03] John reminds the church that the ancient truth and the covenant love has not changed and the Lord is still preserving them through his people.
[00:33:13] We are taking that of old.
[00:33:15] You have gone all the way back 31 days and you take that which was in the beginning, you take that which was first started to be preached on in this series and has followed all the way through and has come to us tonight.
[00:33:28] That love, that truth is still continuing on and it will continue to continue on.
[00:33:34] But we're responsible today.
[00:33:36] I had the privilege of growing up in the church that I'm pastoring now.
[00:33:42] Started there in 1963.
[00:33:44] By the way, I'm older than Joseph.
[00:33:46] I'm an old man.
[00:33:50] But I was under Brother Crawford.
[00:33:51] When Brother Crawford resigned, he gave it to Brother Graham.
[00:33:54] When Brother Graham resigned, he gave it to Brother Frazier.
[00:33:57] When Brother Frazier resigned, he gave it to Brother Story.
[00:33:59] When Brother Story resigned, he gave it to Pastor White.
[00:34:02] Now Pastor White's preaching the same old message that has been preached there for year after year after year.
[00:34:08] You know why?
[00:34:08] Because it's current.
[00:34:11] It's the message that needs to be heard today.
[00:34:13] There is no new message.
[00:34:16] We need to preach the truth, and we need to preach it in love.
[00:34:20] That's what the world's looking for.
[00:34:22] That's what God has enabled the heart to receive.
[00:34:27] We don't need to go outside the parameters of the Bible to find a new way, to find a new message, because there isn't one.
[00:34:35] God speaks to the heart.
[00:34:38] And only the Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, is able to divide asunder.
[00:34:45] Wish I had my sword up here tonight.
[00:34:52] We see the providence of God in the Old Testament.
[00:34:54] We see the providence of God in the Gospels.
[00:34:57] Truth and love incarnate.
[00:35:00] The Gospels are about Christ.
[00:35:02] Look at verse 3.
[00:35:03] Grace be with you, mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father in truth and love.
[00:35:13] He's carrying it all the way through.
[00:35:15] The reason that we can be merciful towards us, God can be merciful towards us because of the finished work on the cross of Calvary.
[00:35:23] When you look again, you look at the cross, you see justice, but you also see the truth.
[00:35:30] And that truth is that Jesus was given to be the propitiation for our sins.
[00:35:36] When you look at the cross, you see the love of God.
[00:35:38] That's the mercy of God.
[00:35:41] And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
[00:35:46] Can you imagine?
[00:35:46] You didn't have to clean yourself up.
[00:35:49] You didn't have to change your ways in order to be saved.
[00:35:53] God took an old wretched sinner.
[00:35:58] God reached down into miry clay.
[00:36:00] And he picked me up and he put me on a firm foundation.
[00:36:06] He put me on a cornerstone that'll never crumble.
[00:36:11] Did I deserve that?
[00:36:12] No.
[00:36:15] But because of the love of God, being able to fulfill the truth of God, here I am today, a child of God.
[00:36:25] Can you imagine?
[00:36:27] The providence of God in the church, preserving the legacy.
[00:36:31] Now he's talking about the epistles.
[00:36:34] John anchors the church identity in Jesus himself.
[00:36:37] Look at verse number four.
[00:36:38] I rejoice greatly that I found thy children walking in truth.
[00:36:46] Now look at that word truth very carefully.
[00:36:49] I want to bring something out here.
[00:36:51] When we look at the truth, we're looking at the whole aspect of truth.
[00:36:56] And what did Jesus say?
[00:36:58] Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
[00:37:03] So Jesus is showing us the way.
[00:37:06] It's the old paths.
[00:37:08] How do you find the old path?
[00:37:10] I use the word of God as a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
[00:37:15] There's the way.
[00:37:17] I am the way, the truth.
[00:37:19] He's the truth.
[00:37:20] He's the Word of God.
[00:37:22] He has come.
[00:37:23] What does the Bible say?
[00:37:24] When Jesus came, He was filled with grace and truth.
[00:37:29] Everything that He said, everything that He did was truth.
[00:37:33] You can look at the life of Christ and it's truth that expands itself.
[00:37:39] And then it's the life.
[00:37:42] And that's the life that we have the privilege of living today.
[00:37:45] That everlasting life, that eternal life, that unending life, that life that we'll appreciate in heaven one day.
[00:37:54] If we apply the word to our experience daily, God gives us a divine life that we might mold us into the image of Christ.
[00:38:03] God will reproduce the life of Christ in us.
[00:38:08] Did you hear me?
[00:38:10] You don't have to go out and say, well, you know, I'm not going to go to that bar anymore.
[00:38:18] If you say that, the old devil's going to work on you until you go to that old bar.
[00:38:25] I've learned never to say never.
[00:38:28] Back when Becky and I were dating, by the way, when we started dating, Mom and Dad said, you don't go on any date until she comes to church.
[00:38:37] And we sat in church about where
[00:38:40] Those two lovebirds are back there, Andy and his wife.
[00:38:44] That's a dangerous place to be.
[00:38:52] But as we sat back there, I knew, I knew as a young man, 18 years old, I knew something was going on because I pointed up at that preacher and I said, I'll never be what he is.
[00:39:06] And God laughed at me and said, oh, we'll see something about that.
[00:39:12] How many of you experienced that?
[00:39:13] I'll never do that.
[00:39:16] One honest man back there in the other room.
[00:39:18] All I saw was an arm go up.
[00:39:22] Can't see him.
[00:39:23] Praise God for that arm.
[00:39:32] Then as we look a little bit farther, we see the providence of God in the end.
[00:39:37] Truth and love fulfilled.
[00:39:41] 2 John fits perfectly into the all-encompassing story of the Bible.
[00:39:48] It reminds us that God's truth is eternal.
[00:39:51] Say Amen right there.
[00:39:54] God's love is unfailing.
[00:39:55] Say Amen right there.
[00:39:57] God's people are called to guard both.
[00:40:03] Don't you let anybody talk falsely about this Word of God.
[00:40:10] In order to do that, you need to know your Bible.
[00:40:13] In order to know your Bible, you need to get up in the morning and say, Lord, you teach me.
[00:40:18] You show me your ways.
[00:40:19] Your ways are higher than my ways.
[00:40:21] You teach me.
[00:40:22] You look back at what David said.
[00:40:24] How many times he said, Lord, just teach me thy precepts.
[00:40:27] Teach me thy ways.
[00:40:28] Why?
[00:40:28] So he could fulfill those things.
[00:40:31] So he could pass them on.
[00:40:34] So it will continue on.
[00:40:35] I'm responsible.
[00:40:37] What Brother Crawford preached and what I'm preaching today, I'm responsible for what he preached.
[00:40:42] Because he preached truth.
[00:40:45] And even though it's a long time afterwards, I'm responsible for that truth.
[00:40:50] That which I've heard, I'm preaching.
[00:40:53] And I'm preaching it because I've heard it.
[00:40:55] I've learned it.
[00:40:57] I understand it.
[00:40:58] I know it.
[00:41:00] And I'm able to tell others.
[00:41:03] But listen, that's not just for the preacher.
[00:41:06] That's for all of us.
[00:41:07] And the most important thing that you can tell them is the fact that you're saved.
[00:41:19] When the woman at the well was confronted, and Jesus talked to her, and she believed upon him, what did she do?
[00:41:30] She went around the town and said, Come hear a man that told me all things.
[00:41:36] You know what some of you need to do?
[00:41:37] I really don't know what that preacher is preaching, but listen.
[00:41:43] If you'll come and listen, God will tell you.
[00:41:48] All you need to do is just come to church.
[00:41:50] Just come one time.
[00:41:52] How many of you just came one time and didn't plan on coming back, but here you are tonight?
[00:41:58] What happened?
[00:42:00] I had a Catholic man just recently, and real quick, I gotta be real quick.
[00:42:07] A friend of mine's father passed.
[00:42:09] He was Catholic.
[00:42:10] The friend asked me, he said, Bro Bob, would you be willing to do my dad's funeral?
[00:42:14] I said, I'd be happy to.
[00:42:15] I don't care if they're Catholic, Presbyterian, whatever.
[00:42:18] But I said, I'd be happy to.
[00:42:24] And I said, well, what funeral home are you going to have it at?
[00:42:28] He said, we're not.
[00:42:30] He said, I'm going to ask you, can we have it at your church?
[00:42:32] I said, I'd be glad to have it at the church.
[00:42:35] And listen, his family's Catholic, he's Catholic, the wife is Catholic.
[00:42:40] So I'm thinking, okay, I'm going to have them a captive audience.
[00:42:48] And I found out this old boy, in our conversation before he passed, he had claimed that he had received Christ as his personal Savior.
[00:42:57] So I said, well, there's the opening.
[00:43:00] And I preached the Salvation Message.
[00:43:03] And old boy, old boy, he's probably 40, he's coming out the door and I shook his hand.
[00:43:10] He said, preacher, I want you to know while you were preaching that sermon, something was touching me in my heart.
[00:43:17] I said, well, you go home and you pray about it and you just ask the Lord to continue to touch your heart.
[00:43:23] Next Sunday morning, that Sunday morning, the next day, he's there.
[00:43:27] I said, man, it's good to have you here.
[00:43:29] He said, man, I wanted to hear you preach again.
[00:43:31] I said, well, I appreciate you coming.
[00:43:33] He's walking out.
[00:43:34] He said, preacher, I felt that again.
[00:43:38] I said, well, you go home and you pray this week and you come back next Sunday and I'll tell you all about it.
[00:43:45] He came back the next Sunday.
[00:43:46] He said, I couldn't wait for church time to get here.
[00:43:50] So I was talking to him and I knew that Sunday's a bad time to sit down
[00:43:56] It was before the service, the whole bit, things were going through my mind, and I said, listen, can I come over to your house tomorrow night?
[00:44:01] Yeah.
[00:44:03] He said, my wife will be there too.
[00:44:04] And I said, great.
[00:44:06] We went over there, Becky and I went over there, and we started talking to him, and he was like a puppy dog.
[00:44:11] He couldn't sit still in the chair.
[00:44:14] He was up, he was down.
[00:44:15] He said, I want to know about this salvation.
[00:44:17] What is this all about?
[00:44:19] I said, well, if you'll sit down and be kind, I'll tell you.
[00:44:24] But I mean, you talk about an apple that was ready to fall off that tree.
[00:44:27] He was it.
[00:44:29] And he got saved that night.
[00:44:32] And the next Sunday he was baptized.
[00:44:34] And he's been there for every service.
[00:44:36] Man, I wish I had a thousand like him.
[00:44:40] But it's there.
[00:44:41] It's there.
[00:44:42] And that truth of love and of God meeting our needs and saving us, that needs to be guarded.
[00:44:49] That needs to be kept.
[00:44:52] We need to live that truth in love.
[00:44:55] There are so many people out there.
[00:44:56] You just show a little love to them.
[00:44:58] Show a little kindness.
[00:45:00] You're going to win them.
[00:45:02] And when you continue to show them, you're going to win them for Christ.
[00:45:09] Let's go to 3 John.
[00:45:14] Careful you don't turn over too far.
[00:45:16] Now 3 John deals with our walk today.
[00:45:20] Walking in the truth.
[00:45:22] of Providence.
[00:45:23] And 3 John is a testimony of how God's grand plan touches real lives in small but eternal ways.
[00:45:35] And folks, this is for you.
[00:45:39] He uses the well-beloved Gaius.
[00:45:44] And the local church is the prominent object in 3 John.
[00:45:53] Verse number 3.
[00:45:56] For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in truth.
[00:46:08] In Genesis, God created humanity to walk with him in truth and love.
[00:46:14] In Psalm 1, the righteous man delights in the law and walks in truth.
[00:46:20] Now here in 3 John, we see Gaius
[00:46:22] The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to reveal the Son of God and then enables us to obey the will of God and walk in truth.
[00:46:31] So he's bragging on Gaius.
[00:46:33] He's looking at him and he says, I'm so happy to see that you're walking according to truth.
[00:46:40] Now let me ask you something.
[00:46:42] When others look at you, do they see you walking in truth?
[00:46:49] Now be careful.
[00:46:51] You know, all I have to do is say something just a little off center and you lose your testimony.
[00:46:58] But if we're walking in truth, we're showing that we love one another.
[00:47:03] We care about each other.
[00:47:05] We're praying for each other.
[00:47:06] We're carrying burdens for one another.
[00:47:08] Do people see that in you?
[00:47:10] I'm on our people all the time.
[00:47:12] Listen, we're a church.
[00:47:13] And in our church, because we're small, you ought to know everybody that's in the church.
[00:47:17] Not only should you know everybody, you ought to know everybody's burden.
[00:47:21] You ought to know what they're going through.
[00:47:22] You ought to know their trials.
[00:47:24] You ought to pray for them by name.
[00:47:26] Same thing here.
[00:47:28] It's nice to get together.
[00:47:30] It's good to have a nice fellowship and a kind fellowship, a loving fellowship.
[00:47:34] But listen, that isn't what church is.
[00:47:37] Church is knowing that I can go to church and people are going to pray for me.
[00:47:40] They're going to help me with my burdens.
[00:47:42] They're going to care for me.
[00:47:43] They're going to encourage me.
[00:47:45] Are you an encourager today?
[00:47:48] Did you encourage somebody coming through the door this evening?
[00:47:51] You know that has gone through a burden?
[00:47:53] Oh, I'm just praying for you.
[00:47:54] I hope that Brother Bob preaches something tonight that'll just be a help to you, that'll encourage you just to continue on.
[00:48:00] Don't give up on God.
[00:48:02] How many of you brought somebody down here to the altar?
[00:48:04] Pray with them.
[00:48:05] Can I pray with you tonight?
[00:48:07] I just want to show you that I love you, I care about you.
[00:48:09] Can I pray with you before the service tonight?
[00:48:13] That's what he's bragging out about.
[00:48:15] Yes.
[00:48:17] Yes, I see you walk according to truth.
[00:48:19] So God's providence is personal.
[00:48:24] What God began in the beginning, what God is doing tonight is personal.
[00:48:30] It's not for all of us, it's for each of us individually.
[00:48:35] Have you taken these messages individually?
[00:48:38] Has God spoken to your heart as to what type of Christian you are?
[00:48:42] Are you listening tonight as to the walk of the Christian life?
[00:48:47] Are you doing these things that are in the Bible?
[00:48:50] They're not suggestions.
[00:48:52] They're not my opinion.
[00:48:54] If you have your Bibles, you see what I'm reading.
[00:48:57] This is from the Bible, and God wants us to come to be the church that he can work in, that he can work through.
[00:49:06] But the church is made up of people, and so we have to present our bodies.
[00:49:11] We have to love Him with all that we are.
[00:49:14] We have to serve Him with purpose.
[00:49:16] And as we serve Him with that purpose, then we find that we can fulfill His wonderful will.
[00:49:22] And when we fulfill that will, we get to see His glory.
[00:49:25] Praise God.
[00:49:27] When was the last time you saw the glory of God in what you have done?
[00:49:34] Notice in verse number nine, there's the danger of self-exaltation in God's plan.
[00:49:41] Now listen, every church has one, maybe two, but somebody is always out of line.
[00:49:50] Somebody always wants to be over the preacher.
[00:49:54] Somebody always wants to be the boss.
[00:49:58] Somebody always wants to be the head honcho.
[00:50:03] And look at Diotrephes.
[00:50:10] Notice
[00:50:11] In verse 9, who loveth to have the preeminence amongst them received us not.
[00:50:18] Can you imagine?
[00:50:20] He didn't receive John.
[00:50:22] He didn't receive us.
[00:50:26] He was so full of himself.
[00:50:30] He thought he had the preeminence above them.
[00:50:34] Now we don't know anybody like that, do we?
[00:50:38] Anybody want to tell me who it is?
[00:50:42] But note, why?
[00:50:43] Why?
[00:50:44] Why?
[00:50:45] Why would John put this in here?
[00:50:50] Because John wants you to see that this type of behavior is a hindrance to the providence of God.
[00:51:00] Do you see that?
[00:51:01] It's a hindrance.
[00:51:03] Here's a person that doesn't love as he ought to.
[00:51:06] He doesn't care as he ought to.
[00:51:09] He doesn't care about anybody else.
[00:51:11] All he cares about is himself.
[00:51:13] And he calls himself a Christian.
[00:51:14] He's in the church.
[00:51:18] And John says, look at him.
[00:51:21] He's a hindrance.
[00:51:22] Now why would he point out the hindrance?
[00:51:26] Because he can look at Gaius and compare the two.
[00:51:33] Now if Gaius is all by himself, what type of man is he?
[00:51:38] Oh, he's a good man.
[00:51:41] But if you take Gaius and compare him to Diocletus, what type of man is Gaius?
[00:51:47] Wow, what a Christian.
[00:51:50] Now let me ask you this.
[00:51:52] What side of the spectrum are you on?
[00:51:58] How do people look at you?
[00:51:59] Are you walking according to truth?
[00:52:05] Do you greet the brethren?
[00:52:06] Do you care for the brethren?
[00:52:11] Notice in verse 11, He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
[00:52:18] Have you done any evil in the church?
[00:52:21] Mark them, folks.
[00:52:23] Mark them.
[00:52:25] Bible says, don't even fellowship with them.
[00:52:29] Stay away from them.
[00:52:31] That's strong language.
[00:52:33] But you know why that strong language is there?
[00:52:36] Because it destroys the harmony of the church.
[00:52:40] It destroys the providence of God because God has no room for it.
[00:52:47] Remember Jesus said, oh you hypocrites.
[00:52:51] You're trying to destroy what God has planned.
[00:52:56] Folks, don't ever, don't ever fall into that trap.
[00:53:00] You be humble.
[00:53:02] God's looking for a broken, contrite spirit, a broken heart.
[00:53:10] Come and serve Him humbly.
[00:53:12] Come as a servant to all, and God will elevate you.
[00:53:16] Humble yourselves in due season.
[00:53:18] He'll exalt you.
[00:53:21] You don't exalt yourself.
[00:53:23] You let God exalt you.
[00:53:26] Demetrius was held up as an example.
[00:53:29] Look at verse number 12.
[00:53:30] Demetrius has a good report of all men and of the truth itself.
[00:53:35] Let's go over to Jude.
[00:53:37] I've got seven minutes.
[00:53:41] God's provincial plan in the book of Jude is contending for the faith.
[00:53:47] And that's what we need tonight.
[00:53:54] We need to fight.
[00:53:58] We need to fight for the truth.
[00:54:01] The world is against us.
[00:54:05] But we're for all men.
[00:54:08] We don't have to fight them.
[00:54:10] We have to fight the devil.
[00:54:13] And the way that you fight the devil is you take upon yourself the sword of the Spirit.
[00:54:20] You know that Word of God.
[00:54:21] You live that Word of God.
[00:54:23] You present that Word of God.
[00:54:24] You contend for the faith.
[00:54:27] Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
[00:54:31] You've had a great opportunity for the whole month to hear the Word of God.
[00:54:34] How privileged you must be to have an understanding of the books of the Bible, to understand and to have that faith of how God has developed that in the course of history, how he has brought it through the dispensations, how he's brought it active and alive today, that we can live according to it, that we can be of faith, that just shall live by faith.
[00:55:00] And as we live by faith, it's the faith of God that goes before us and it conquers our enemies who are of the devil.
[00:55:09] You don't have to fight them.
[00:55:11] You don't have to argue with them.
[00:55:13] All you do is present them the word of God.
[00:55:16] Isn't that what Jesus said?
[00:55:21] All you do is speak the word.
[00:55:23] Well, listen, I didn't write that.
[00:55:26] God wrote that.
[00:55:26] Can I show you in the Bible?
[00:55:28] Let me show you in the Bible.
[00:55:29] See where it says this?
[00:55:30] Now, if you want to argue it, go to him.
[00:55:35] I'm just out here telling you what's in the Bible.
[00:55:40] If you want to argue it, go to him.
[00:55:45] Jude assures us that despite the rise of apostasy and ungodliness, God will finish what he started.
[00:55:54] We're coming to the end.
[00:55:57] You've studied Genesis all the way through here to Jude.
[00:56:01] Jude's saying, now all that you have heard, God has been at work and God has a plan and God's going to bring that plan to a finish.
[00:56:10] But it's up to the church to continue on.
[00:56:14] It's up to the church to see it to its end.
[00:56:16] When will it end?
[00:56:18] When Christ's return.
[00:56:19] When is Christ going to return?
[00:56:23] Any day?
[00:56:25] I believe that.
[00:56:26] He can come anytime.
[00:56:28] But as he does, I want him to find me battling for truth.
[00:56:34] I want him to find me being faithful to his word of God.
[00:56:38] I want him to find me loving not only the Christian but the enemy.
[00:56:43] I want him to find me that I'm out in the field working with the tares and the wheat.
[00:56:47] I want him to find me that I'm faithful to him.
[00:56:53] And I can't get the gumption in myself to do that.
[00:56:56] It has to be the Holy Spirit of God.
[00:57:00] Paul writes, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
[00:57:09] So Jude gives us a battle plan, and I'm going to give you all of it, so listen carefully.
[00:57:15] He says, Contending for the providence of God.
[00:57:17] It's an application.
[00:57:19] Look at verse 21.
[00:57:20] Here's the key verse.
[00:57:21] Keep yourselves in what?
[00:57:23] The love of God looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ onto eternal life.
[00:57:30] How are you going to apply it?
[00:57:32] By love and truth.
[00:57:34] Now notice, we contend for the faith.
[00:57:36] Verse 3, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and to exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints.
[00:57:52] Earnestly make it a daily opportunity to present the gospel to the lost.
[00:58:01] It's imperative that Christians fight persistently for the truth as a soldier of the cross.
[00:58:09] Stand on the scripture, not on emotion or a tradition.
[00:58:15] Well, this is what we used to do.
[00:58:16] Now, if it's not according to the word of God, we're not going to do that.
[00:58:22] Oh, now preacher, you know if we had this type of music, if we just had this type of... No, we're not going to run on emotion.
[00:58:30] We're going to operate according to the Word of God.
[00:58:33] Contend!
[00:58:34] Hold fast to the Word of God!
[00:58:37] Remember the warning.
[00:58:38] Look at verses 17 through 19.
[00:58:40] Beloved, remember ye the words which I have spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that they have told you there should be mockers in the last time, that who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
[00:58:55] Isn't that true today?
[00:58:57] These be they who separate themselves sensual, having not the spirit.
[00:59:05] Jude wants Christians to expect this kind of mocking, so it won't surprise him when it happens.
[00:59:13] Apostasy is a part of God's plan.
[00:59:16] It's not a part of failure.
[00:59:18] It's a part of fulfillment.
[00:59:20] There's going to be a falling away.
[00:59:23] It's not the church's fault.
[00:59:25] It's not your pastor's fault.
[00:59:28] People walk away from the church.
[00:59:30] People walk away from the Spirit.
[00:59:31] He says so right here.
[00:59:34] Don't jump on your preacher.
[00:59:37] Don't you look at the church and say, well, I wonder why people aren't still coming.
[00:59:43] You go and you look at their hearts and you listen to their answer and you'll find that their answer is far from the Spirit of God.
[00:59:51] Well, I just didn't like what the preacher was saying.
[00:59:53] Did the preacher say anything but truth?
[00:59:56] Well, no, but he was awful mean.
[00:59:58] He was awful harsh.
[00:59:59] Well...
[01:00:01] Well, was he preaching truth?
[01:00:03] Well, yeah.
[01:00:04] Well, what's your problem?
[01:00:07] Problem is the Spirit.
[01:00:08] Amen?
[01:00:10] Notice, build yourself up.
[01:00:12] Look at verses 20 and 21.
[01:00:14] Building up yourselves, your most highly faith, holy faith.
[01:00:20] Praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
[01:00:27] Build yourself up!
[01:00:29] Strengthen yourself!
[01:00:30] Encourage yourself!
[01:00:32] Turn yourself over to the Lord and say, Lord, here am I!
[01:00:36] Send me!
[01:00:37] And you know that the Lord will never put more on you than what you are able?
[01:00:44] God will never ask you to do something that you have not been prepared for.
[01:00:54] You have some of strong faith, you have some of little faith.
[01:00:58] You have some that have been Christian for a long time, some are babes in Christ.
[01:01:02] He'll never put on any of you more than what you're capable of handling as far as your faith is concerned.
[01:01:12] So when God comes and He nudges you and He says, I want you to do this, don't turn to Him and say, well, I don't think I can do that.
[01:01:20] You turn to Him and say, I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.
[01:01:27] Notice, we are to rescue the perishing, and of some have compassion making a difference, and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.
[01:01:36] Are you pulling people out of the fire today?
[01:01:42] Rest in God's sovereignty.
[01:01:43] Look at verse 24 and 25.
[01:01:45] Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.
[01:01:54] To the only wise God and our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.
[01:02:02] Amen.
[01:02:06] Through Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, the apostles, and now through us, the church,
[01:02:11] God's providential plan marches on.
[01:02:16] You all are part of it.
[01:02:18] I was supposed to take these four books and relate these four books to how they work in the providence of God.
[01:02:24] You know how they work?
[01:02:27] He tells us how we're to walk.
[01:02:29] He tells us how we're to live.
[01:02:31] That we can continue the providence of God as he has set forth his plan.
[01:02:41] A stamp.
[01:02:46] Brother Joseph has asked me to do the benediction.
[01:02:50] I'd like to read a verse, pray, and then we'll sing a song.
[01:02:55] But listen to this song carefully, church.
[01:03:01] And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.
[01:03:05] And I pray that God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[01:03:15] Faithful is he that called you, who will also do it.
[01:03:22] He's not set you out there to do it by yourself.
[01:03:27] He'll go with you.
[01:03:29] Lo, I'm with you always.
[01:03:35] Father, in Jesus' name, as we come before you tonight, we thank you, Lord, for a wonderful salvation.
[01:03:43] Cornerstone has had a wonderful opportunity of looking at the entirety of the Bible as these preachers have preached and they have brought out the themes and the facts and the subjects and the truth and the principles of the Word of God.
[01:03:59] These people have had the opportunity to sit here and listen to the entirety of the Word of God.
[01:04:05] What a blessing.
[01:04:07] But also what a responsibility.
[01:04:09] For that which we have heard, we are now responsible.
[01:04:14] And I pray Lord that you would help us to see in these last four books that it's not us alone, but it's you walking with us.
[01:04:23] It's you giving us the Holy Spirit of God.
[01:04:26] It's you giving to us the love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
[01:04:32] It's you, according to Ephesians, that opens our eyes to knowledge and understanding.
[01:04:38] It's you that leads us into the path of righteousness.
[01:04:42] It's you that allows us to do the work because we are your workmanship.
[01:04:48] I pray tonight, Lord, that you would just simply touch each and every individual that's here.
[01:04:53] Help us to realize it's an individual reality that we come before you.
[01:04:58] And because you have saved us, because it cost the Son his life,
[01:05:05] We come tonight asking you Lord that you would forgive us of our shortcomings and Lord that you would show us and help us to live a life that's worthy of the calling to be called Christian or Christlike.
[01:05:20] I pray Father that the Holy Spirit of God would touch our hearts and draw us closer to him that we might be able to do thy good will.
[01:05:29] Bless us tonight, Lord, in helping us to realize a great salvation that you have given to us that is from the beginning, that is on to the end, and we have a privilege to carry it during this time.
[01:05:44] Bless this congregation in the days ahead.
[01:05:47] Use them to further your kingdom here upon this earth.
[01:05:50] We ask in Jesus' name, amen.
[01:05:54] If you'll take your books and turn to number 67, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine.
[01:06:00] And as we sing this, think about these words.
[01:06:04] This is my story.
[01:06:05] Is it your story?
[01:06:07] Do you have that Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine?
[01:06:10] Let's sing out, and let's sing like we are going to sing it as a testimony unto our Lord and Savior tonight, okay?
[01:06:16] Let's sing.