Episode Transcript
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Last week we finished second John and
I'd like to turn to third John Now.
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I'm going to be focusing on the
first four versus this morning, but,
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as with second John, I'll go
ahead and read the entire letter and
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I'd like to encourage you to make
it your goal to become very familiar with
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the words here as we as I
preached through this probably three or four sermons,
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something like that. Make it your
goal that you know the men a
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month from now, that you know
the words here a little better, perhaps
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memorized even in some ways. So
let's attend to God's word now. Third
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John The elder to the beloved Guius, whom I love in truth. Beloved,
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I pray that all may go well
with you and that you may be
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in good health, as it goes
well with your soul, for I rejoiced
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greatly when the brothers came and testified
to your truth, as indeed you are
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walking in the truth. I have
no greater joy than to hear that my
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children are walking in the truth.
Beloved, it is a faithful thing you
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do and all your efforts for these
brothers, strangers as they are, who
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testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them
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on their journey in a manner worthy
of God, for they have gone out
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for the sake of the name,
accepting nothing from the gentiles. Therefore,
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we ought to support people like these
that we may be fellow workers for the
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truth. I have written something to
the church. I have written something to
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the church, but Diotrephus, who
likes to put himself first, does not
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acknowledge our authority. So if I
come, I will bring up what he
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is doing, talking wicked nonsense against
us, and not content with that,
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he refuses to welcome the brothers and
also stops those who want and also stops
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those who want to and puts them
out of the church. Loved, do
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not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God,
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whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from
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everyone and from the truth itself.
We also add our testimony, and you
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know that our testimony is true.
I had much to write you. I
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had much to write you, but
I would rather not write with pen and
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Eing. I hope to see you
soon and we will talk face to face.
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Peace be to you. The friends
greet you. Greet the friends each
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by name. God bless his word
to us. So here we have a
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letter from John. One of the
reasons we believe it's from him is the
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many, even though it's a short
letter, the many, many similarities that
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we have between this letter and the
last letter, exact language, similar themes,
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and also the letter of First John
and the book of John is well,
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he writes to the beloved guy us. We have a few mentions of
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a Guius, or maybe a couple
guiases, and I didn't mean that as
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a joke. Sorry, a couple
men with this name Guius in the New
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Testament. It's hard to tell exactly
whether there are as one or more than
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one. I'm not a lot of
details are given about this person, in
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particular their background, their history.
But what we do have of this Guias
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is a assessment of him by the
elder, by the Presbyter by the apostle,
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even John, and it's a very
high assessment. Right. When I
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read about guy us here, I
think I want to be like Guius.
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This is a good man. He
Calls Him Beloved, I believe, four
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different times in this very short letter. He is a dear friend, he
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is affectionate toward this man and he
says. Why? For one, it
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goes well with his soul. He's
doing well. Um, it says in
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verse three that brothers had come and
testified to your truth, or perhaps the
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truth of you or the truth about
you, and that truth is that he
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is walking in the truth, and
that makes John Really happy. Says,
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I have no greater joy than to
hear my children are walking in the truth.
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So here you have this man who
is walking in the truth. He's
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walking, as we will consider in
a moment, in the Lord and he
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is not walking in just and in
an intellectual way, knowing a lot of
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doctrine, thinking a lot of good
and important things, confessing good and important
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things, but he is also loving
people. And, as we saw in
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the last letter and is will consider
again in this letter, those two things,
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truth and love, they go together. They cannot be pulled apart,
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not in the one who truly abides
in God. And so we see this
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with Guius. Beloved. It's a
faithful thing you do in all your efforts
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for these brothers, strangers as they
are. The situation seems to be that
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there are Christians coming into guiuses circle
and they need help. They do not
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have a lot of means they are
on a journey and he receives them and
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he sends them off in a manner
worthy of God. The next time you
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have people over to your home or
the next time you you get the opportunity
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to go to someone else's home,
think about receiving and being received in a
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manner worthy of God. An amazing
statement. What does that look like?
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What does that look like in your
home, in your actions and you are
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attitudes and the ways that you receive, in the ways that you welcome and
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all of those different things? What
does it look like for you to receive
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people, even strangers, people you're
not yet familiar with? You, people
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you don't yet know, newcomers in
our church, in a manner worthy of
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God? Guius was doing very well
and and John commends it for commends him
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for it, and then he says
in Verse Eight, he lays down a
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principle. We ought to support people
like these. This is a good thing
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you're doing these that we may be
fellow workers for the truth. If these
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are as, I'm inclined to think, ministers who are traveling and preaching,
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people that are moving around spreading the
Gospel, and Guius is supporting these he
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becomes a fellow worker. In for
the truth, Guius may not be the
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one preaching the Gospel, but he
is supporting the Gospel and in that he
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becomes a fellow worker, a coworker, one who's laboring alongside of them,
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and in this John commends him.
He goes on, though, to give
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a warning. He gives this warning
about dial trefus and says this is a
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bad man, do not receive him, do not welcome him, and you
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may remember, this parallels things that
we considered in Second Chon. John is
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strong about this. John Speaks in
very strong ways. He says, if
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I come, we're going to have
a talk. If I come, I
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am not going to be shy and
I'm not going to hesitate about setting clear
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boundaries, about setting this person outside
of those boundaries. And he gives reasons.
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He talked wicked nonsense against us and, not being content with that,
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he refuses to welcome the brothers,
he stops those who want to and puts
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them out of the church. This
man, dial Trefis, is setting up
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his own boundaries, his own way, his own truth, his own community,
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has nothing to do with the Gospel, has nothing to do with that
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which John has taught by the authority
of the Lord and he is not to
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be received. He says to guys, you're a loving man, you're a
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hospitable man, you're a good man
and you're doing well, and in that
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spirit, do not receive dial trefus. Set a boundary, be firm,
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be strong. Well with that and
we'll explore more of that and think through
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some of those details as we go
on. Today. I want to think
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with you again about the unity between
love and truth. Why again? You
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really want me to answer, don't
you? Why? I get, of
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course again. First of all,
John Brings it up again. Second when
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do we ever perfectly focus and perfectly
unite these things so closely that we don't
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need to hear of the anymore?
How many of you, since the last
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time I preach of this, have
perfectly bound truth and lover love together and
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every action in every way, with
no need of reminder of these things?
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Of course none of us have.
John Brings it up over and over again.
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Jesus brings it up over and over
again. It's worth meditating on a
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lot. We see those truths here, the ways the truth and love go
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together in the Christian life. We
love within the bounds of truth. We
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know within the bounds of love.
When we love within the bounds of truth,
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we walk together towards a common goal. We walk with purpose, we
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know we were going. We understand
the reality as it is. Imagine two
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people walking a together. Maybe one's
tall and one's short, maybe one's gait
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is fast and one is slow.
Right, they're different. There's going to
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be challenges of marching or walking closely
together. Right, well, get to
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love in a moment, but what
about truth? They're going to have no
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hope of walking together if they don't
have an intended purpose of where they're going.
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Right, even if they were able
to match up perfectly step for step,
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but then head in different directions,
it's not walking together. That's the
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truth part. To Walk Together,
to live together, to belong in a
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healthy way in the body of Christ, it requires the truth, knowing who
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we are, knowing what Christ has
done for us, knowing where we're going.
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Without those boundaries, whatever loving actions
we might take toward one another are
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meaningless and often fruitless. Again,
imagine that pair of a tall person in
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a short person walking together, matching
up their steps, but then heading different
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directions. It's not together even though
they may have sinked up their walk.
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And so it's important to know the
things that John has testified to, the
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things that John Brings to us by
the spirit of God and from Jesus,
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our Savior, things like John Fourteen
six, where Jesus says I am the
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way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the father
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except through me. This is the
gate, this is the path, this
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is the way. You may walk
really well, but if you don't walk
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on that path, you aren't walking
early well. It may have an outward
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form of godliness, but not the
power of it. It may look like
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spirituality, but it isn't actually spirituality, it's not of the spirit. To
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know, to live together in the
body of Christ requires this walking in the
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truth. And that's exactly what guy
is is doing. That's why John Says
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I have no greater joy than to
hear my children are walking in the truth.
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And of course, the opposite,
or rather the flip side of this
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coin, the parallel is also true. We know things if we, let
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me say it this way, if
we, if we love within the bounds
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of truth, we also know the
truth, learn, understand, grow within
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the bounds of love. Often times
we find ourselves knowing things because of relationships.
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In fact, I would say that
we know everything and anything that we
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know we know because of a relationship. Which one of us has accessed God's
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knowledge or his created world apart from
him? Which one of us was born,
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apart from a relationship with God,
into this world, distinct and separate
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from creation, like a all knowing
God, unto ourselves? Of course,
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none of us. We are all
creatures embedded in this system that God has
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made. We only know him because
he has made himself known to us,
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because he created us. So from
the starting point of any kind of knowledge
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that you might imagine, we only
know God because of how he has revealed
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himself to us. And that's true
not only of any knowledge in this world,
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but also of Gospel Knowledge, the
knowledge of the truth that Jesus Christ
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has come into the world to save
sinners. How would the shepherds in the
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field had known about Jesus and less
God had revealed it to him? How
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would Mary have known the Truth About
Jesus and less God had revealed it to
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her, or Joseph or many others? We know these things. We know
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God because he has revealed himself to
us, and that has happened in a
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loving relationship even before time, the
scriptures say, in love. God chose
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us. In love. God knew
us, for new US, before we
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were even made. God had known
us in Love, God himself acting in
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this way. We are called to
love within the bounds of truth and to
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know within the bounds of love,
because that's what God does, that's who
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God is. Within God, we
don't have truth and love as these two
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distinct parts that are that are kind
of balanced carefully within his being. He
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is all truth and all of simultaneously
and acts perfectly in every moment in both
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of those ways. That's how we
know him. That's how we came to
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abide in him. Consider some other
verses. Listen. I'd like to read
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a passage from first John to impress
these things by the word on your hearts.
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First John, Chapter Four, or
verse seven through Verse Twenty One.
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As we read, consider these things, listen for these things truth, love,
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truth and love, both from God
to us and us to God,
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and also toward one another. Beloved, let us love one another, for
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love is from God, and whoever
loves has been born of God and knows
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God. Anyone who does not love, does not know God, because God
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is love. In this the love
of God was made manifest among us,
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that God sent his only son into
the world so that we might live through
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him. In this is love,
not that we have loved God, but
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that he loved US and sent his
son to be the propitiation for our sins.
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Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one
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another. No one has ever seen
God. If we love one another,
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God abides in us and his love
is perfected in us. By this we
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know that we abide in him and
he in us, because he has given
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us his spirit, and we have
seen and testify that the father has sent
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his son to be the savior of
the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is
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the son of God, God abides
in him, and he and God.
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So we have come to know and
to believe the love that God has for
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us. God is love, and
whoever abides in love abides in God,
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and God abides in him. By
this is love perfected with us so that
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we may have confidence for the Day
of judgment, because as he is,
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so also we are. We in
this world. There's no fear in love,
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but perfect love casts out fear,
for fear has to do with punishment,
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and whoever fears has not been perfected
in love. We love because he
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first loved us. If anyone says
I love God and hates his brother,
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he's a liar, for he does
not have look, for he does not
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love his brother, whom he cannot
for he who does not love his brother,
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whom he cannot see, cannot love
God. I'm so sorry, verse
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twenty. If anyone loves God,
if anyone says I love God and hates
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his brother, he is a liar, for he who does not love his
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brother, whom he has seen,
cannot love God, whom he has not
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seen. In this commandment we have
from him, whoever loves God must also
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love his brother. Well, just
bite my mixing up the words there at
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the end. Did you hear the
word? It's very clear right. There
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is no abiding in God if we
do not love one another. There is
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no abide in God unless he first
loves us. There's no knowing God unless
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we love. There is no love
in God unless we know and confess.
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These things are intertwined. These things
are all interrelated. So one of the
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reasons, one of the IRT let
me say it this way. One of
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the things that Jesus wants you to
know today is that he is pleased when
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we walk in truth and love.
He's pleased with us, he's happy.
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It brings him Joy, it brings
his apostle joy, who speaks with authority
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here and conviction. He confirms and
encourages this brother in the faith, and
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he does so by the spirit and
in the name of Jesus. Jesus is
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pleased with guy us for walking in
the in truth and in love, and
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he's pleased with us and as well, and that's because he wants to be
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with us. To Walk in truth
and love is to be in God,
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to abide in God, to know
God, and that's what God wants.
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Remember what I read from Ezekieli or
earlier. I will be your God,
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you will be my people. I
will make your heart so that you will
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not defile yourselves. We will come
together, we will have communion in truth
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and in love. That's what God
wants for his people. It's also the
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work that Jesus that out to accomplish. These aren't just moral theories out there
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that are good to follow because they're
they're a little bit good, or they
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bring about good fruit, although that's
true. Another way to look at them,
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perhaps a deeper way to look at
them, is this is the work
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that God has set out to accomplish
in us. He wants US both to
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it. He wants these two people, these imaginary people that I mentioned,
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to get earlier, to to walk
in the same goal and tords the same
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purpose, but to do that in
relationship with him ultimately, and with each
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other. That's why the one slows
down and the other speeds up and they
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listen to one another and they pay
attention to one another and they get a
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sense for what the other is doing
and if one is staying straight in the
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other's curving, they notice that and
they correct and if the other starts curving
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and the other stay straight, they
notice and they correct because they love each
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other. And then that they come
to a closer walk in the in God,
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a closer walk in the truth.
Love, in a funny way,
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is a very practical way of working
out the truth. It's easy to confess
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things in a way, sort of
up here, and then not actually apply
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them in any way. What we
find when we apply them is they become
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very practical, they become very relational. Some times it takes our life away
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from us. If we confess that
Jesus is the son of God who came
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in the flesh to save sins,
we may have to die for that.
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That's very relational thing. When somebody
says I hate you so much that I'm
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willing to kill you for saying this
thing, and we say I love you
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so much that I'm willing to die
for saying this thing, it's a relational
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thing, it's a connected thing that's
grounded in the truth. This is life,
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these truths, if we really believe
them, they work themselves out in
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practice. So I want to read
one more passage of scripture from Philippians too,
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that expresses some of these things and
sets before us the work of Christ
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so clearly. Philippians to one through
eleven, and as I read this,
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keep in mind not only the themes
that we've considered so far, but this
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point that I just made, that
it's Jesus's desire for us to walk in
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truth and love. This is why
he died, this is why he came,
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and so he's pleased when he sees
his work come to fruition. Philippians,
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to Paul writes to the church.
So if there is any encouragement in
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Christ, any comfort from love,
any participation in the spirit, any affection
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and sympathy. Complete my joy by
being of the same mind, having the
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same love, being in full accord
and of one mind. Do nothing from
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selfish ambition or conceit, but in
humility, count others more significant than yourselves.
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Let each of you look not only
to his own interests, but also
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to the interests of others. Have
this mind among yourselves, which is yours,
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in Christ Jesus, who, though
he was in the form of God,
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did not account equality with God a
thing to be grasped, but emptied
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himself, taking the form of a
servant. Being born in the likeness of
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men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to
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the point of death, even death
on a cross. Therefore, God has
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highly Exalted Him and bestowed on him
the name that is above every name,
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so that at the name of Jesus, every Nie should bow in heaven and
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on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
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Lord to the glory of God,
the Father. So Paul calls us.
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He calls us to have the same
mind among yourselves. That's verse five,
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and also earlier in verse two.
Have the same mind among yourselves, which
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is yours right. It's something you
already have, and have it more,
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you might put it that way,
something you already have in Christ, Jesus
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why? Because he's the head where
the body we are, as he says
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in Ephesians, being built up in
love into that head. And WHAT IS
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THE MIND OF CHRIST? What is
it that we have in him as the
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members of his body? We have
him and his work, his loving work
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in which he humbled himself, obedient
to the father, obedient to the law
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of God, the law of Love, even to the point of death,
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death on a cross. And because
of that obedience, because of that love,
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we have been loved so that we
would proclaim, with others, together
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in a community of love and truth, based in these truths about Jesus Christ,
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to proclaim his name, confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory
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of God, the Father. Isn't
it interesting how those core doctrinal truths about
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the Gospel are the foundation for why
Paul says, let let your interests go
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to look not only to your own
interests, but also to the interests of
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others. Don't be selfish and conceded, but have humility like Christ, for
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you have Christ and he has done
this work in you. So it's because
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of these things that I say Jesus
is pleased with guy us, and he's
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pleased with us when we have his
mind, when we know the truth,
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when we confess the truth, and
when that flows out in love and when
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that love comes out in truth.
This is the way we are called to
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walk and this is the work that
Christ does in us. So, in
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conclusion, what do we do when
we fail? What do we do when
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we feel pressure in our hearts that
we've not been loving or that we've not
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been willing to say the hard things, that we've fudged on the truth in
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order to have a kind of pseudo
love, a pseudo, false communion with
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each other? What do we do
when we realize that we haven't held up
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these things, which are already ours
in Christ, we seek the one from
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whom we first received them. We
seek them in his love and in His
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grace and his truth. What is
the truth, beloved? The truth is
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that no one comes to the father
except through Christ. The truth is that
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he's the way, the truth and
the life. So if you find death
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in yourself, if you find sin
in yourself, if you find things that
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are not of God in yourself,
as we all do because of the remaining
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corruption of the flesh, we ought
to go to Christ, who calls US
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and welcomes us over and over and
again, continually and continually, and one
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day we can have hope that this
war between the flesh and the spirit,
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this war within even communions of love, communions of the truth like ours,
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one day be over. There won't
be any more pressure, any more trials,
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anymore struggles, but the Lord will
keep his promises because he's pleased to
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do so, because he's loving,
because he's true. So set your sights
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on him. He's the author and
perfector of your faith, of my faith,
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of our faith. Let's pray
