[0:00] Take out your Bibles with me, please, and turn to first letter of John, first John, first epistle of John, one John, I don't know how you refer to it.
[0:13] Chapter two, you'll find first John at the very end of your Bible. Well, you'll find, at the end of the Bible, you'll probably find concordance. And then you go to the left, you find Revelation, you go to your left, you find Jude, and then third John, second John, first John, I think.
[0:28] Close, close enough. Second John, excuse me, first John, chapter two. That's the second part of first John. I think I'm going to make things confusing today.
[0:45] See, my wife's gone again, so, you know, what am I going to do? For those visiting, gone, like, to see her mom. She'll be back.
[0:58] She'll be back. Yeah, she will be back. She will appear again. Speaking of which, we're going to look at first John chapter two, verse 28 through chapter three, verse three, because that's where the text goes.
[1:12] And so that's what we'll look at. It's actually part of a bigger section that goes from second, first, first John two, 28 through three, 10.
[1:26] But that's way too much to cover for us today. In fact, probably what I'm doing is still too much to cover, but that's what we're going to try to do. So if you're able, please stand as I read from John two, verse 28 through three, three.
[1:43] And now little children abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming.
[1:56] If you know that he's righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. See what kind of love the father has given to us that we should be called children of God.
[2:17] And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now.
[2:30] And what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know. We know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is.
[2:46] And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
[3:02] So it reads, let us pray. Father, give us your clarity. We pray that you would speak through your word, through your spirit. Lord, give us light, illumine, give light, give us clarity to this word.
[3:17] There are some phrases here, Lord, that are different. John writes differently. And so help us to connect us and to see with understanding, Lord, what John wants us to understand so that we might have the assurance, the encouragement, the hope, the confidence that He's speaking to us about.
[3:45] We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. John talks about a day when we will be like Him.
[3:59] We will be like Him. Do you want to be like God? Do you want to share His likeness?
[4:14] Well, remember at the beginning when God created the world, and then on the sixth day He took some mud and made mud guy Adam, and then took from His side and made Eve.
[4:29] And He said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness.
[4:40] So that was the original plan. We're made in the likeness of God. And things were going great for a while, right? And you come to chapter 3 of Genesis, and the dragon shows up, right?
[4:55] And talks to the woman about the fruit and what God has said. And He causes her to doubt what God says.
[5:09] Well, He doesn't cause. He deceives her. But He uses the same phrase about being like God.
[5:26] He says, you're not going to die if you eat the fruit. God doesn't want you to know that you'll be like Him if you eat the fruit, knowing good and evil, like God.
[5:42] So we have original creation to be in God's likeness, and then the temptation had something to do with being like God. So then we have the humanity made in the image of God.
[5:55] Now that image of God is not gone, but tainted. Now it's corrected. We're still in the image of God. That's what gives us value. That's what gives life value. That's why people are...
[6:12] So is there a remedy for that? How do we restore the likeness of God's image? How do we cleanse the marring and the impurity of that image that our forefathers started and we have picked up on, right?
[6:30] So Ephesians tells us that we have been recreated. We have been created in the image and the likeness of God when we're saved, when we're changed, when we're born again.
[6:46] There is a recreation. We are now a new creation, right? And now there's a process of the old passing away and the new coming. But it's not all at once. There's a process.
[6:58] And so Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 talks about this process of being transformed into the image of God. Right? So we're redoing that image.
[7:09] Romans 8 talks about God's grand purpose in our lives. Why God arranges our lives the way they are. His purpose is to conform us to the image of His Son.
[7:28] That's what He's doing. That's why we go through hard things. That's why we go through everything. His purpose is to continually conform us to His image. So He's restoring the image that we had marred.
[7:46] So now John talks about it too. He talks about that future day when we will be like Him. We're becoming more like Him, but there will be a day when we will be like Him.
[8:04] Job done. Right? He's doing a work in us. And one day He will finish that work. And we will be like Him.
[8:16] And He calls that day when He appears. What day is that? Can I put that in my calendar? No. Because that day can happen anytime.
[8:27] There's nothing we're waiting for. There's nothing we're waiting for. Jesus said it'll be like lightning. It'll be like light.
[8:38] It's just going to come. Be like the days of Noah. Right? Be sudden. Unexpected. A surprise. That's what it will be.
[8:49] Every Christian generation has believed they're in the last day. And they're right. We see the signs of the end. We learned in the book of Revelation.
[9:01] Okay. Those are cycles. We keep going through those. History keeps going through those things. So every generation gets to live in the last days. Temptation is to think, oh, it's never coming.
[9:14] No, it's coming. That's why it'll be so unexpected. Okay. So John talks about this hope of that future day will be like Him. That when He appears, we shall be like Him.
[9:27] Because we'll see Him as He is. And then he talks about this appearance. Not only motivating us, but purifying us. He says there's a hope.
[9:38] A hoping in that future day will purify ourselves. I find that fascinating. Expect John to talk about God purifying us.
[9:52] But in verse 3.3, he says the one who has this hope in Him purifies himself. We purify ourselves by a certain kind of hope.
[10:03] It's like, how does that work? I thought only God can purify. Well, it's a hope in Him. So we're not doing it ourselves, but we are participating in it.
[10:16] Let's get to that. Okay. Context. So we've been looking at the tests of John, right? John's whole purpose of the book is so that you might know that you have eternal life.
[10:30] How do I know I have eternal life? How do I have assurance that I'm truly saved? That I have a faith that is a saving faith.
[10:40] That I have truly been born again. How do I know this? So John's giving us tests or marks of authentic Christianity. So we've just finished last week the first series of those marks.
[10:52] There's three of them, right? We saw in chapter 1, 5 through 2, 6, the first mark is walking in the light as He is in the light. God is light. So if we're related to God, then we reflect that.
[11:05] You cannot say, I have fellowship with God, but walk in darkness. If God is light and you walk in darkness, you don't know God. Right? So He's just saying, here's a simple, walk in light versus walk in darkness.
[11:16] Where are you? Right? And it's not walking in light like, because I'm perfect. He goes on to describe the walk in the light that shows our sin. It's cleansing light.
[11:29] If I walk in the dark, that's why I hide in the darkness, because I don't want my sins revealed. But if I walk in the light, it reveals my sin. And then God cleanses me. Not work the way we would think it works, right?
[11:42] That's how it works. And then He talks about the second mark is loving your brothers in chapter 2, 7 to 17. That's the love test. Do you love your brothers or hate your brothers? And that's how John puts it.
[11:53] It's always a contrast. Walk in light or walk in darkness? Love your brother or hate your brother? That's the love test. So about relationships. So one walking in the light, one loving your brothers.
[12:07] And then the third test we saw last week, 2, 18 to 27, is the confession test or the belief test. Do you confess Jesus or deny Jesus? Do you confess that Jesus Himself, the man Jesus who came to earth, who walked as a man, do you confess and agree that He is the Messiah, which also means He's the Son of God?
[12:37] Do you confess that or deny that? A real authentic Christian confesses that. So a real authentic Christian isn't just somebody walks in the light. So you could be a moral person.
[12:48] You can walk in the light. You can look like a good Christian. You can walk in the light. That's not enough to show that you're an authentic Christian. Second, you could love your brothers. Well, I could be an immoral person who also is a loving person.
[13:00] Then, oh, then you're a Christian, right? Well, there's a third test. And all three go together. Not only do you walk in the light morally, not only do you love your brothers, but you also believe something that's absolutely critical.
[13:18] Because if you don't believe this, you're not a follower of Christ by definition. And that is who He is.
[13:30] And we talked about last week why that's so important. The confessions and the statements of faith from the very beginning of the church were tied to who Jesus is.
[13:41] And John begins his whole letter that way. So we've been through the first round of those. So now we begin a second round. So John's going to come at this, those same three things, from a different perspective this time.
[13:55] So the first time it was in relation to God's nature. So God is light, right? He says right from God is light. Here's the message. God is light. So how does that impact us?
[14:06] Well, do I walk in that light? Do I love in that light? Do I confess the light? Right? So now he's going to come at a different perspective. Now he's going to talk about righteousness or that walk in view of Christ's return.
[14:18] So it's going to be a totally different perspective. And that first before God's character. Now in reference to the end. Because notice, when he appears, appears twice in our text.
[14:33] Verse 28 to 28. When he appears, we may have confidence. Then go down to chapter 3, verse 2. We are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.
[14:45] But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him. So that phrase is kind of bracketing this section. When he appears affects whether we will be confident or not when he appears.
[14:57] And when he appears also relates to our hope. So we're going to look at it in two ways. Because the future of Christ, the future return of Christ, impacts true believers in two powerful ways.
[15:14] It impacts us. It makes a difference. It's not just some future unrelated thing. It makes a difference now. One, it gives us an assurance for confidence when he returns.
[15:29] Confidence. John is going to talk about when he appears, I will either have confidence or I will have shame. Okay?
[15:40] When he appears, will I have confidence or will I have shame? And then secondly, in chapter 3, 1 to 3, now he's going to talk about it as hope. That changes us now.
[15:51] Hope that purifies. When he appears, that's our hope. Hope. And that hope has a powerful effect on us. It actually purifies us.
[16:04] Which I think is a fascinating thought. So let's dig into this. So two assurances. First of all, assurance about the ground of our confidence.
[16:16] Those who are born of God. Here it is. To summarize the first assurance. Those born of God will have bold confidence at Jesus' return.
[16:30] Those who are born of God will have bold confidence at Jesus' return. Okay? Let's unpack what that looks like.
[16:42] So we see his return, first of all, what he mentions in verse 28. When he appears. So the Bible talks a lot about the Lord coming. The Old Testament called it the day of the Lord.
[16:55] It was a fearful day. Right? Malachi says, who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand? Jesus himself said it would be a day that happens suddenly.
[17:15] Like lightning. Pa-ching. Like the days of Noah. When they're eating and drinking, everything seems normal and he comes.
[17:26] No warning. Sudden. Imminent. Happening at any moment. And the sign of those days, Jesus has told us in Matthew 24, is all these things we've recognized.
[17:40] Tribulations and distresses and false teachers and etc. Everything we got going on today. Revelation adds another twist, right?
[17:50] It's the beast. The false prophet. Yeah, they're active today. If we didn't see that before, just pay attention to what's going on. Working through governments.
[18:03] Including our perfect government, right? Sarcasm. Sorry. So how do you feel when he appears? How will you feel?
[18:14] I mean, it's hard to imagine that. When he appears. There's that song, right? I forget who does that song. Will I dance for you, Jesus?
[18:24] Or to my knees will I bow? I mean, yeah. Probably bow first, right? Because, you know, and then he touches me and I get up and dance, right? So, I mean, we can only imagine.
[18:36] Oh, that's what it's called. We can only imagine. That's a good name for a song. So he's thinking about that. So when that day happens, will I have confidence?
[18:53] Or as it's translated, will I shrink in shame? Well, it all depends. And the question here is, is he talking about both of those possibilities for a believer?
[19:10] Is he talking about a believer that will just have confidence when he returns? Because I long to hear those words, right? Well done, good and faithful servant.
[19:21] Oh, that's going to be a confident, right? Or will I hear those dreaded words? I never knew you. But Lord, we did this and we did that and we did this and we did that.
[19:36] I never knew you. You did a lot of stuff, but not in my, not, not. You did, I, I, I remember, I don't remember ever talking to you. Whatever, right?
[19:49] Those are dreadful words. We're busy doing Christian things, but do I really know my Lord? Do I have a relationship with him? Do I know him? Do I talk with him? Do I, do I depend on him? Right?
[20:01] Do I know his heart? So what does that mean? I don't, I don't know. John is always contrasting, right? So he talks about walking in light, walking in darkness, loving my brother, hating my brother, confessing or denying Christ.
[20:15] So in this test, is he talking about having confidence or being put to shame? Is he talking about believers who will have confidence? True, true, authentic believers will have confidence and those who, who, who won't because they're not authentic.
[20:35] How do we know we can have confidence? So Peter talks about it in a different way. In 1 Peter 1, 6 and 7, he, he, he talks about why life is so hard.
[20:46] He says, you now have been grieved by various trials. I like Peter so honest. You're not rejoicing in these great, these trials. You've been grieved. He, he, he's being true.
[20:57] Yeah, you've been, they're grieving. You've been grieved by various trials. Why? So that the tested genuineness of your faith, see the trials prove authentic faith.
[21:12] So that the tested genuineness of your faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
[21:25] What you're going through now is proving that your faith is real. And the glory for that, the, the confidence for that, the reward for that later when he is revealed, so will the authenticity, authenticity of your faith.
[21:45] That's why you're grieved by various trials. So rejoice. Right? That's what Paul James says. He says, rejoice in it.
[21:58] Okay, that, I have to think, I've worked through that one. So what are we confident in? So, so how do I have confidence? What's the authentic Christian have?
[22:11] Well, how do I have confidence? Well, look again at verse 28. Now, little children, do what? Here's the action I want you to do. Here's the, here's what I want you to feel.
[22:22] Abide in him. So that when he appears, you'll have confidence. Right? So the abiding leads to the confidence. I have confidence because I abide where?
[22:35] In him. Not in me. Not in my works. Not in my loyalty. In him. There's my security. There's my confidence.
[22:48] I abide in him. Right? It's not confidence in my good works. It's not confidence in my loyalty.
[22:59] Like Peter was so confident, right? I will never deny you. I will never leave you. He was so loyal. So committed. He needed to break that, right?
[23:10] Not confidence in me. Because I need to be distrustful of myself. Because I know me.
[23:22] I know I can mean well and then fall. I'm just as bold as Peter. And yet, right? That moment, I'll tap on the shoulder by a little slave girl.
[23:34] I'm toast. Right? It's not in...
[23:45] My confidence isn't in my own righteousness and my own decency. That's not what gives me confidence. What will I trust in? Will I abide in him?
[23:55] I abide in him. What does abiding in him mean? Okay, Sherry, right? Go back to the... The best picture of it, I will repeat it over and over again. John 15.
[24:07] Vine and the branches. Abide in me like the branch abides in the vine. The picture is a connection. Because if the branch leaves the vine, I have no power.
[24:19] I have no strength. If the branch is connected to the vine, Jesus being the vine, then I draw from him my power. I draw from him my strength.
[24:30] I draw from him the nourishment that I need. I'm not... If I'm a branch apart from him, what did Jesus say? Apart from me, you can do... Stuff. No, nothing.
[24:43] Nothing. What are you talking about? I can do stuff on my own. Yeah, but it doesn't matter. I don't know you. Right? That's me producing fruit.
[24:56] Jesus says, I bear fruit. Big difference. Am I the branch that bears fruit because I'm connected to the vine?
[25:08] I'm abiding. And so the love, joy, peace, patience, kind of that all isn't fruit of Bill. It's fruit of the Spirit. Because I'm drawing on him for that.
[25:20] That's not in my strength. That's not in my confidence. It's when I'm messy and when I'm weak and when I'm tired and I lean on him. And somehow he comes through me.
[25:33] Right? That's abiding. Abiding is that trusting actively. Drawing my ability and relying on him. So how does that show?
[25:45] Well, notice the link to verse 29. These things are connected. Abiding in him connects to verse 29 where he says, If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of God.
[26:00] Now that sounds like that's out of the blue, doesn't it? He's talking about abiding. Abiding. Okay, good. Abiding. Now all of a sudden practice righteousness. Where did that come from? Where's that terminology?
[26:14] He's talking about walking like Christ while walking in the light, loving your brother. All of a sudden he's getting into this righteousness stuff. What's that? That sounds legalistic, doesn't it? In fact, this next section in chapter 3 is a tough section for some folks.
[26:34] If you're born of God, you practice righteousness and you don't sin. Right? It's like, ooh. But I thought he said back in chapter 1 that everyone sins.
[26:48] It's okay. It can't mean perfection. So what is this? What is this righteousness? And by the way, in the original text, it's not just that everyone practices righteousness.
[27:04] Technically, it is practices the righteousness. It's a particular kind of righteousness. It's not just any kind of righteousness. It's not self-righteousness.
[27:16] It's a particular kind of righteousness. The righteousness like him. Right? So what is that? What is this? What kind of righteousness? And what he does say, here's his statement.
[27:28] Remember, he's talking about, how do I know if I'm really saved? How do I know if I have eternal life? Well, you can be sure that if you are practicing righteousness, you have been born of God.
[27:39] That's what he's saying. How do I know if I've been born again? Well, do you practice righteousness? I don't know. I don't know. Well, okay. If you don't know, then I don't know if you're born again.
[27:51] John's saying this is a sign. This is a mark. If you're born again, it's going to show. Because you've got a new nature. You're more like that. You're a child of God that's been born again, right?
[28:05] You practice righteousness. So think about that. Practice. What does practice imply? What's it? When you practice something, what are you doing?
[28:17] Getting better at it. You're working at it. Right? I'm still, you know, doctors are practicing, right? We always joke about, yeah, they're just still practicing, right? They're just trying to learn it.
[28:27] They don't know what they're doing yet. Teasing, teasing to any doctors. Although, so, yeah, never mind. Practice. So, so I, why do I practice?
[28:42] It's intentional. Who said that? Oh, Jimmy. Did you copy that? I know. He's getting answers earlier. By the way, we're not going over the sermon.
[28:55] We're going over the text. It's not the same thing. Don't worry about it, brother. You're fine. Practice.
[29:06] Yeah, it's intentional. If I want to get better at something, I practice it, right? I got to work on it. I'm learning.
[29:18] So it's intentional. Practicing righteousness is intentional. And it's a trained, becomes a trained habit. Here's the thing.
[29:32] Practicing righteousness is not natural. Because we're not righteous. Bible makes it clear. None are righteous. Not even one. Not by the standard.
[29:45] The standard, right? We're not. Compared to somebody else, I might be righteouser than that one. And a lot less righteouser than that one. You know, whatever. If I'm comparative.
[29:56] But the only comparison is God's standard. So how do I do that? So what kind of righteousness?
[30:08] It's not external righteousness. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their righteousness. Because it was all outside. It was just like a tomb.
[30:18] You're all pretty on the outside. Do all the right things. Say all the right things. You do. You tithe. And you know, you don't walk on the Sabbath. And whatever, whatever, whatever. Jesus said.
[30:30] So yeah, you're like a beautiful tomb. You're all pretty on the outside. But on the inside. Ooh, it's not pretty. Full of dead man's bones and wickedness. So talking about an internal right.
[30:42] So where's that come from? So he uses this phrase again. Chapter 3, verse 9. No one born of God. So talking about this born again person. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning.
[30:54] For God's seed abides in him. See, if I'm born again, then I have God's seed. I've been born by God. God's now my father. And he cannot keep on sinning because he's been born of God.
[31:07] He's got a new nature. Verse 10. By this it's evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. There's the contrast. It's how you tell. The children of the devil.
[31:22] Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. Remember, there's two of the tests again. Not practicing righteousness.
[31:34] Not walking as Christ walked and not loving his brother. So in other words, this kind of righteousness means if I'm not sinning, it means I'm fighting sin.
[31:45] It means I'm overcoming sin. I'm not making a practice of it. He's not saying you never sin. Because chapter 1, he made it clear we all still sin. We will continue to sin in this body.
[31:57] That's why we go and walk in the light so we can be cleansed. Right? So, Buddy's saying I don't make a practice of it. I don't intend to keep going at it. I don't make it my goal.
[32:09] I'm really working on my sin nature. Yeah, I really don't have to work on that. I've got to work on what's not natural. Right?
[32:20] That's new to me. And I can do it because now I have a new nature. Now I have a new heart. I have new desires. I have new values. When he changed me, when he caused me to be born again, now I wanted to do different things.
[32:34] I still have desires to sin, but now I have desires to not sin. So now I've got this thing going on. I don't want to do everything the devil tempts me to do.
[32:48] Well, part of me wants to. Don't, doesn't it? But there's another part of me. That I want to practice more.
[33:03] It doesn't. I want to please him. I want to hear that well done, good and faithful servant. I want to hear that. I don't want to be all that I can be.
[33:18] Because all that I can be can be pretty messy. I want to be all that he can do in me. Okay.
[33:28] So in Romans, Paul defines righteousness this way. The righteous live by what? Faith. Paul's dealing with the law.
[33:39] He said, how do I get righteous? God reveals his righteousness. I'm nowhere close to that. That brought Luther to depression. And then Luther finally read the text.
[33:56] Oh, wait a minute. Righteous live by faith. Wait, it's connected to faith? Not works? Righteous live by faith. They abide by faith.
[34:07] They're animated by faith. Thank you. They bear fruit, not produce fruit. If I live by faith, then I'm depending on him to do the loving and the love.
[34:23] What is it? Love, joy, peace, right? The fruit. If I live by me, then I'm going to love you. Yeah.
[34:34] Yeah. I'm going to be happy. I'm at peace. Really? Well, I got to kind of suppress. I got to push some stuff down that I can have peace.
[34:46] That's the kind of peace you want? Yeah. I just avoid it. That ain't peace. Okay. So how is one born of God?
[34:59] How can I be born again? Is this something I can do? Is this something I do? Do I just ask and I'm born again? Some people will tell you. Just ask. Okay?
[35:10] I did that for years. I did it for years. From the time I was five years old, because I grew up in church and my mama, Miss Story, told me stories about Jesus.
[35:24] One day I realized that was our last name. I just thought she was Miss Story because she told a story. And I labored to believe. I was under deep conviction for years and years and years and years.
[35:37] I walked many years. I walked many aisles. I prayed many prayers. I filled up many cards. I threw a bunch of sticks in the fire. All in an attempt to be changed, to be born again, because my preacher said, my pastor, bless his heart, said, if I did this, I will be born again.
[35:52] And I was not. So I must be really bad. And then one day in my 20s, something changed.
[36:08] I believe it was a time when I was praying desperately because I was frightened by some demonic activity that happened. But something changed.
[36:21] And from that point on, I knew what salvation was. I knew it was, see, because God's commands were burdensome to me. I didn't want to do his commands. And I read that verse in 1 John 5, 3, right?
[36:34] His commands are no longer burdensome. Why? Because I've been changed. Now I want it to. I've got a new heart.
[36:45] I've got new desires. That's how I know. That's what John's talking about. We're practicing righteousness. Not because we have to, because I want to. That's what a born, I'm a child of God now.
[36:59] You're a child of God and that, he's put that in you to be like him. Unfortunately, he hasn't eradicated all my flesh.
[37:12] And he doesn't seem to want to because I've asked many, many times. Please take this. I got a feeling that was like the Paul, you know, that's your thorn, baby.
[37:27] That's to keep you dependent on me. That's to keep you humble. Because if you knock that one out, you're going to think you're something. That's how I'm taking it.
[37:42] I don't know. He'll correct me later. Here. Why? So how are we born again? Is it something I do? Well, listen to how John says it in his gospel. Jesus, the word that became flesh, he came to his own and his own people did not receive him.
[37:56] He was rejected. But to all who did receive him, to all who did believe him, he gave the right to become the children of God. There you go.
[38:06] That's what you have to believe and receive. You become the child of God, right? John's not done. Watch what he says. The right to become the children of God.
[38:16] Who were born of? Who were born? Sorry. Who were born? Not of blood.
[38:30] Nor the will of the flesh. Nor the will of man. But born of God. Okay, what does that mean?
[38:43] Being born of God is not something I can choose to do. I can want it. But it's not something I can create because I decide. I make a decision.
[38:57] I was in a church once where they counted decisions. And our church always failed because I wouldn't put down, I didn't do that. Decision doesn't mean anything.
[39:08] Well, it means somebody wants something. Because they equate a decision with a conversion. So I have anybody know that that don't happen.
[39:20] Just because they decide to pray a prayer doesn't make them converted. God has to be in this. You have to be born of God. Not of blood. Not because I, you know, my family's Christian, so I'm a Christian.
[39:33] Not will of the flesh. Because I decide to be born again. That happens. I can testify. It doesn't happen. Nor the will of man, but of God. It's an act of God.
[39:46] Paul says in Ephesians 2, We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We're enslaved to our sin. But while we were still dead, God made us alive.
[40:03] How does a dead person make himself alive? Well, he's got to want to. I don't think you understand dead. It's a miracle.
[40:14] That's how I see it. Jesus described it. Remember Nick at night? John 3? Nick at night. Nicodemus comes to Jesus. At night. Nick at night.
[40:25] They're talking about being born again. No, you haven't heard that before? That's an old... You've heard it? Yes, thank you. You've been here, you know, after 16 years.
[40:37] I've probably said it a few times. So they're talking about being born again, right?
[40:48] So Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born again, He cannot see the kingdom of God. So why is being born again so important?
[41:01] Because if you're not born again, You can't see the kingdom of God. You can't grasp it. You don't get it. It's another world kind of kingdom. Right? That's why the Pharisees couldn't understand Jesus.
[41:12] So Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? He's taking it totally literally.
[41:23] Right? Which, that's what Jews did. They took words literally. Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of God.
[41:42] Not only can you not see the kingdom of God, You can't get into the kingdom of God Unless you're born of the Spirit. That which is born of flesh is flesh. Not talking about natural birth.
[41:53] That which is born of Spirit is spirit. Talking about spiritual things. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. Watch this clarification. He gives an illustration.
[42:04] The wind. The wind. The pneuma. You know, guys, pneumatic tools, right? Pneuma, wind related. Pneuma.
[42:16] The wind blows where it will. You hear its sound. But you don't know where it comes from. Or where it goes.
[42:28] Sorry, meteorologists. You really don't know where it's going to go. You can predict there's going to be rain or snow in three days. But in three days, We know.
[42:42] We live in Colorado, right? We know this. The wind can change. By the way, I'm sitting in my gazebo doing the sermon yesterday. Yesterday. And all of a sudden, it was like 300 miles an hour wind came through the...
[42:55] I didn't measure it. It was like things were going sideways for about 10 seconds. I'm like, I think I might need to tighten this gazebo down a little bit.
[43:08] I was like, where'd that come from? Who predicted the wind blows where it will? And then he says, so it is with everyone born of the Spirit.
[43:19] What's he talking about? The pneuma blows where it will. And so is everyone born of the pneuma. Pneuma. Same word.
[43:30] Wind, spirit, breath. Same word. In the Greek, same word in the Hebrew. Ruach. Ruach. Wind, spirit, breath.
[43:42] God breathed into him the Ruach. The Spirit is like the wind. The wind is an illustration of the Spirit.
[43:53] You can't see it. You can't predict it. You can't manipulate it. You can't... Well, if you sail, I guess you can kind of catch it. You can't really manipulate it. You just kind of catch it. But that's a good illustration of the work of the Spirit.
[44:06] First time I ever sailed. Did I tell you this story before? This is great. We're up at Clear Lake in California, which is not a clear lake, by the way. And we're in this little sailboat.
[44:17] I've never sailed before. This is going to be great. It's going to be so much fun. I'm going to show you. So we get in this thing. We push out from the dock and we're sitting there. Okay, now what? Well, we've got to wait for the wind.
[44:30] How long do we have to wait? Don't know. This is really fun. That's what salvation's like. I'm waiting for the wind.
[44:43] I can know I need it. I can be convicted of it. I can ask for it. I still have to wait for the wind. I have to wait for the Spirit. Some people don't have to wait very long.
[44:58] Some people do. I did. So that's what he's talking about.
[45:09] He compares the Spirit to the will. You can't predict. You can't make it blow. The Spirit determines when, how. And without the Spirit, I cannot understand or enter the kingdom until the Spirit awakens me.
[45:26] So how, what's my part in it? Can't I at least ask? Absolutely ask. Please ask. Just because I have to wait for them doesn't mean I can't.
[45:39] Please send the Spirit, Lord. Please. And please be encouraged. If I'm convicted of that need, God is working on you.
[45:53] Okay? I was convicted every Sunday sitting under the Word. Whether it was preached powerfully or weakly, I was convicted.
[46:04] I was convicted. That's why I walked the aisle so many times. I wanted it. Okay? Part two.
[46:20] So that was assurance number, the first assurance John gives is that those who are born of God, those who truly have been born again, will have confidence in the day of Christ because they're going to be people who are abiding in Christ and practicing that righteousness that they've got a new sense of.
[46:38] Second thing in chapter 3, 3, 1 to 3, he's going to talk about now hope, that his appearance is also our hope and our hope can purify our heart.
[46:52] So it's this way. The hope, summarize it this way, the hope of seeing and being like Christ purifies right now, purifies our impure hearts and souls and minds.
[47:08] That hope, the hope, particular hope of seeing Jesus and being finally in his likeness will actually purify me now.
[47:22] So he talks about verse 1, our present identity. He says, look at this, see this, behold what manner of love the Father has given to us that we should be called the children of God.
[47:37] I still know that song in the King James. See what kind of love, the particular kind of love the Father has given to us. God loves the whole world so he sends his son.
[47:48] God has a kind of love for his children that he's going to call them his children. That's amazing.
[47:59] We get kind of used to that, but that's, he says, I want you to, do you see it? Are you grasping how much he loves you to actually call you his children? If you have a child, I'm not speaking to any of my children here, who doesn't reflect you well, are you proud to call them your children?
[48:24] He ain't my child. Right? I mean, people do that, right? God doesn't do that. I'm his child. What if I'm his prodigal child?
[48:34] I'm still his child. What if I'm his, his messing up child? I'm still his child. I will never stop being his child because he's called me his child.
[48:46] Done. Now, he, he's going to discipline me, right? Because he loves me, he's going to discipline me, which Hebrew says, not joyful.
[49:03] Not, not, not joyful. but good. Because it trains me. It's conforming. There it is. Got to make you match Jesus.
[49:16] So, got to cut off a little bit over here. That's our present identity. He said, that he calls us the children of God.
[49:29] And so we are. That's who we are. That's our identity. That's who we are now. I'm not, I'm not pastor. I'm not Bill's story.
[49:39] I'm a child of God. I'm not this person that has this degree or has accomplished these deeds. My identity is, I'm God's child.
[49:52] That's the highest identity I can have. So, that means I've been adopted.
[50:04] Right? We're adopted. But it's more than that because when I get adopted by God, I also get his nature. See, we adopted Zach, but he doesn't have my nature.
[50:17] He might copy some things, but usually it has to be his idea. So, so, so, so there's things that Zach does that I would never do. He didn't learn from me. I won't talk about that.
[50:31] That doesn't mean I love him any less. It doesn't mean that we adopt because we really wanted him, right? But here's the thing with God's adoption. He not only adopts us, but he puts his nature into us so that we start to be like him.
[50:45] I can't do that today. I can't make Zach be like me. He probably doesn't want to be like him. Because he's got his own quirk. I mean, it's just how God made him.
[50:56] That's how it is. And one day, I'll figure that out. So, that's our identity.
[51:08] But that's going to be different in the future. So, verse two, he says, he says, if I can find verse two, beloved, we are God's children now. That's who we are. What we will be has not yet appeared.
[51:19] We don't see it yet. It hasn't appeared. It's not visible yet. I don't know what I'm going to look like. I don't know totally how I'm going to be. What we will be has not yet appeared.
[51:30] But we know something. Here's what we do know. It's limited what we know about our future. We don't know everything about the new body. We know some things about the new body. We know some things about heaven.
[51:40] We don't have a lot of clarity on that, right? Because we read Revelation. It gives us pictures. It's going to be absolutely fantastic, absolutely beautiful. The colors, right, for artists, the colors are going to be beyond comparison.
[51:55] Right? The walls and all that, it's just going to be incredible. But is it really streets of gold? I don't know. Or is it just, that's what, it's so bright.
[52:08] I don't know. It's going to be, we can't define it all. It's too spectacular. It's, it's something we haven't experienced yet. So how does John put it in words we get?
[52:19] So, so that's what he's saying. I don't know. It's not all clear. But what I do know is we'll be like him. That's the thing I know. We'll be like him.
[52:32] I've been wanting to be like him all my life. Right? Just a little bit more like him anyway. And of course that's what God's doing.
[52:43] He's doing stuff to me to make me a little bit more like him. Am I totally like him? Long way to go, buddy. But you're further than you were.
[52:58] Cut off some of those rough edges. Right? You're not as rough. Your head's sure gotten smaller. In a pride sense.
[53:11] He's deflated a lot in me. Broken a lot in me. But one day I'll actually be like him.
[53:25] What he has begun he will finish. And when he appears that's the finished day. or when I go if I go early before he comes.
[53:40] We've been thinking of Cheryl lately our dear sister the last few weeks right? She's already there right? She's already with him.
[53:54] All that suffering all that if you knew Cheryl you knew that she was grieved by many trials you know that she suffered a lot of grief and pain.
[54:06] And her faith was proved to be genuine. And when he appears she's going to have so much confidence.
[54:20] Wow. That's what we're talking about. So we will be like him because we'll see him as he is now. How is he now by the way? In the gospel he was this humble man had no appearance of majesty wasn't very good looking according to the scriptures.
[54:38] He had a beard apparently but they pulled it out. Right? So beards are spiritual. No. What was it? He was pretty remarkable but a lot of people didn't take him very seriously.
[54:52] A lot of people thought he was a wacko. That's what he was and yet he still attracted people. So what is he now?
[55:06] We will be like him as he not as he was we will be like him as he is. So remember Revelation 1 when John saw Jesus for the first time since the resurrection?
[55:19] Remember Revelation chapter 1? He describes I saw one like a son of man. Blazing eyes of fire right? Thighs of burnished everything shining and bright and scary.
[55:36] and John says I fell at his feet dead man. He thought it was he thought it was over. And then Jesus who is still Jesus touched him on the shoulder right?
[55:54] It's me. You know alpha and omega beginning and the end right? That one. I was dead now I'm alive forever more.
[56:05] Oh yeah that one. Didn't recognize you. Because now he's something more. He always was that son of God on earth but now it's the veils off.
[56:22] All the glory is there. All the eyes particularly and the remember the disciples got little glimpses of that while Jesus was on earth the storm on the lake remember the storm on the lake and Jesus is sleeping while during the middle of the storm and get him up and he calms the storm with a word just says hush be still and the wind and the waves stop.
[56:46] Remember what the disciples said? Who is this? It was a big moment to see this is not just an extraordinary human being.
[57:04] He commands the wind and the waves. Nobody does that. Okay so that like him you'll see him as he is now risen glorified new body finished process sin no longer struggle.
[57:28] We're saved from the penalty of sin and the cross we're saved from the from the one day we'll be one day we'll be saved from the presence of oh we're saved from the penalty of sin right now we're being saved from the power of sin as we're learning to overcome it one day we'll be saved from sin altogether the presence of sin it'll be gone there will be no more no more struggle right I can't I can't I think I'm looking forward to that more than a new body but my body probably needs to fall apart a little bit more I'm not I'm not asking for that so how do we how do we become more like Christ now what's the process now that's the finish what's what's now well Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 3 he says now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there's freedom and we all with unveiled faces are beholding the glory of the
[58:32] Lord are being transformed into the same image there's that picture as we behold the glory of the Lord as we behold him as he is now by very by the very fact of doing that I am being transformed I'm not being transformed because I'm trying to be more like Jesus I'm being transformed simply because I'm beholding him I'm just looking I'm I'm grasping more of him that power transformed me and we who want to do it ourselves don't get that no I got to do something no well yeah look at him look at him more closely study him more closely fall in love with him some more want to be more like him but to be more like him what do I need I need to know who he is from one degree to another so in other words it's a process as I behold him
[59:38] I'm being transformed but today this month this year whatever it is whatever the process is here's one image I'm a closer image to him and then there will be another image till the final day when it's full blown picture 3D all the colors now let's look at verse 3 this is the fascinating thought to me our heart's purity he says whoever has this hope everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself as he is pure I have some involvement in my own purification everyone who has this hope what hope is that see what is the hope the hope is what he just talked about verse 2 to be like him the hope to be like him the hope to see him that hope whoever has that hope just like 2nd
[60:44] Corinthians 3 beholding his glory the very the hope of seeing him the hope of being like him finally has a purifying effect on me it's not something I do well it's not something I do outwardly it's something I do inwardly it's my thinking my faith my hope my eager expectation it purifies our heart you remember what our heart is when the bible talks about our heart our heart isn't our feelings our heart is our thoughts and affections in the bible the heart is where my thoughts and affections are not affections thoughts and intentions thank you thoughts and intentions my will right and my heart can be very impure it needs purifying my thoughts can be impure my intentions can be impure they need to be cleansed they need to be purified so james says purify your hearts you double minded right not double feeling double minded your hearts about your thoughts and your intention and then peter talks about purifying your soul soul that's where the affections are that's where my that's me that's where my natural things come from right i follow my feeling i'm feeling my falling my soul that needs purifying and it's purified by hope hope a confident expectation to become like him are you confident are you hopeful to be like him and this word hope means a confident expectation in other words do you believe the promise that you will be like him do you believe it or is just kind of a kind of a vague hope the more your hope is countered the more you are assured that his promise is true the more effect that will have on purifying you so how does that work let's look at this because it's like okay that's great that's great i don't know how that works let's look at how it works romans 5 how does it look how does it work how does hope have that kind of power so listen to this romans 5 therefore we have been justified by faith since we've been justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ so he's talking about our salvation through him through jesus we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand that's why we can go to god boldly and we rejoice in hope we're rejoicing in hope of the glory of god so we're looking forward we have this past that's been taken care of we have this present of who we are we're walking in grace now we have this hope we're rejoicing in the hope of the glory of god sounds like you gotta stop there right got it paul no paul's not done more than that how do you have more than rejoicing in the glory of god more than that we rejoice in our what sufferings now paul's gotta be messed up we're hoping in glory i get that how do we how do we rejoice in our suffering why do i rejoice in my sufferings because i know something i know that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces what hope hope comes through suffering and endurance and the building of character say my
[64:45] hope's not very strong how's your endurance not very good work on your endurance how do i work on my endurance accept those sufferings as god's way of bringing endurance into your life and that endurance will produce a character in you and the character will produce hope hope and what does he say about hope and hope does not put us to shame that sounds familiar abide in him so that when he appears you might have confidence and not be put to shame why because i have hope hope does not put us to shame why because god's love back to god's love again god's love has been poured into our hearts how do i know god's love's poured into my heart because it's poured into my heart through the holy spirit who has been given to me i feel it i experience it god not only loves me but changes me and indwells me and creates this in me hoping in the glory of jesus is what purifies our heart if you think about the future much but thinking about that day has a powerful purifying effect because in this context this hope purifies my heart to do what to endure that suffering why do i need my heart to be purified in reference to suffering because my heart doesn't want to suffer right normal people don't want to suffer right we take meds and stuff for that right i don't want to suffer hope purifies my heart to suffer because there's a greater purpose to the suffering hope gives me that perspective that's what it's about this is where i learned that that's my best life this is not my best life this is grieving this is suffering this is hard but it's so worth it because then i get that day it makes sense hope keeping my eyes on the hope purifies my present thinking see to endure suffering to endure pain to endure scorn to endure loss i remember sitting with cheryl and she's just saying yeah look at this body by the way she pulled her sock off let me see her foot because cheryl she wanted me to know how much pain she was in and she said you know what i get a new body i'm getting a new one that's just that's how she thought her hope see her focus was not on all the pain now the suffering the loss she lost a lot physically she's just looking to the day and it purified her instead of being what huh bitter yeah because what are we naturally if we lose stuff and our bodies aren't we get bitter we get angry we get depressed we get whatever we naturally become cheryl wasn't that because she's looking forward and it was purifying her thoughts her fears see and hope is
[68:48] knowing we will not be put to shame why because we've already experienced the love of god i already know he loves me so is this how you purify your impure self it's not the normal way it's to be honest i try to pure i try to do things right to fix that and the bible is saying no the way to purity is is actually looking seeing something seeing something future that you can't see seeing by faith right that hope that that's what will purify you is that strange john says john's an old man he knows right he's telling his children this is what i've learned over the 90 whatever years he's old his he is is this how you purify your impure self not by looking within not by looking without but by looking to paradise by looking to christ to looking to that future grace is this how you overcome impure thoughts and impure intentions and impure affections do you try to bridle those or do you purify them by looking out by looking beyond it's like really is that work have you tried it to deny myself okay that's one of the most unnatural things jesus says to follow him i deny myself take up my cross follow him right so deny myself i i i love doing that don't you i mean it's the most natural thing in the world to deny myself no so i need to purify myself to deny myself right so i deny myself or feed myself so what are you hoping what do you actually hope in do you hope in a better life now you hope in security now which is getting more tenuous isn't it do you hope that your bank account holds do you hope that your ira holds because they ain't holding and doesn't look very promising right i mean where's your security really what are you hoping in you hoping in a comfortable retirement or to keep retired without working somewhere do you hope for a better job do you hope that people will like you and respect you i don't know what you're driven by what do you hope what drives you today what moves you today or is your hope to become like jesus and if that's your hope then that's why the world doesn't know you that's why the world doesn't get you because it didn't get him either let's pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for john's perspective that is quite there's a lot to take in as he gives us new thoughts practicing righteousness being born of god hope that purifies these are thoughts lord to be honest i haven't dwelt on deeply before this week so so teach us lord help us help us to go to look at you and be transformed to the next image help us go to the
[72:48] next image this we pray in christ's name amenNING