Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
And as you remember, we can't sing right now.
So we are going to read Psalm 23.
Probably the most famous Psalm that we're aware of, Psalm 23.
And let's try this again like we did on Thursday if we can try to read it together.
Okay, so Psalm 23, I'll give you a moment to turn there.
Psalm 23.
And let's read it together.
Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
For thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies.
Thou anointest my head with oil.
My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Amen, let's pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord, we want to thank you for the opportunity to be in your house once again this morning, Lord,
even though we have the restrictions still in place.
Lord, I pray that your presence will be here.
Lord, I pray your Holy Spirit will work in our hearts and in our lives.
Lord, we're so excited to be together, Lord.
As one body, we can fellowship and spend time together.
Lord, but there's still many that are listening online, so I pray you'd also bless them and be with them.
And Lord, I pray that everything that we say and do will be honourable to you.
Lord, we just want you to be, we want Jesus Christ to have the preeminence in the church.
We want you to be praised and for you to be glad by our service that we have this morning.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, brethren, please take your Bibles once again and turn to 1 John 3.
We're up to 1 John 3 in our series through 1 John.
1 John 3.
And I need a reader.
Is someone willing to volunteer?
I would ask Matthew. He's got a tie on, but he did it on Thursday.
He did it on Thursday.
Is there anyone else that would like to volunteer?
Otherwise, I guess it will be Matthew.
Yeah, Brother Tim. All right, thank you, brother.
1 John 3.
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be.
But we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not, whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither know him.
Little children, let no man deceive you.
He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil.
Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother, and wherefore slew he him.
Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.
He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God.
And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him.
And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, thank you for this portion of scripture.
Lord, please be with Pastor Kevin as he comes up this afternoon to preach from your Word.
Fill him with your Holy Ghost, Lord. Give him utterance to teach and to preach.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Okay, so as you know, we've been going through the book of 1 John.
And if you have a look at 1 John 3, look at verse number 9.
It says, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
The title for the sermon this afternoon is, Born of God. Born of God.
Now if you can quickly look at the end of chapter 2, 1 John 2, verse number 29.
I didn't expound on this last week, because I said we're going to cover this today.
But it says, If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him.
Okay, so born of him. And as I said, the title for this morning, or this afternoon is, Born of God.
Now look, when it comes to 1 John 3, this is one of the most difficult chapters of the New Testament.
Believe it or not, it's one of the most difficult. What do you mean it's most difficult?
Do you not understand it, Pastor Kevin? I have a good grasp on this chapter, obviously.
But when it comes to false teaching, false beliefs, false prophets, just constantly over and over again,
people that believe that salvation is by works, or that sinless perfection,
or you've got to repent of your sins and clean up your life in order to be saved,
they'll often turn to 1 John 3. Just over and over again.
You'll find a lot of just false prophets come into this passage, because it is easy to take some of these verses
and really teach some horrendous things. Okay?
And I understand where it comes from. I understand that it is challenging.
There are some passages of the Bible that are not as challenging as others.
But don't forget 1 John was written to believers.
When you look at the book of John, you may recall, it's written that we may believe on the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
That was the whole purpose, that we would place our faith on Jesus, be established in our faith on Jesus.
1 John is written to believers, people that are growing, that are maturing,
that have a greater understanding, greater knowledge of the biblical truths.
And as we've been going chapter by chapter, how many times have we gone back to the book of John
to understand things that have been taught in 1 John?
And so this is something you need to understand.
For you to have a good grasp of 1 John, you must first have grasped the book of John.
And the book of John is probably the easiest book of the New Testament.
It's strange, eh? It's like the book of John, the easiest one to just establish yourself grounded.
This is why many times people that have recently believed on Jesus, we would recommend them,
hey, start with the book of John, because it is basic, it's straightforward, it's for that purpose, for a new believer.
So it's funny how it's got one of the easiest books, and then 1 John, especially chapter 3, is one of the hardest ones.
So obviously the expectation is that we grow in knowledge and we understand 1 John in light of the book of John.
Alright, now let's do that. Keep your finger there in 1 John, and let's turn to John chapter 3.
John chapter 3. I'm going to give you the answer to the challenges in chapter 3 before we read chapter 3.
So when we do read chapter 3, it will make full sense to you.
So let's go to John chapter 3 and verse number 1.
John chapter 3 and verse number 1.
And this is a very famous story of Nicodemus.
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
So this guy, he's a Pharisee, he's a religious leader.
Currently he does not believe on Jesus Christ.
And you're going to find that he has a hard time understanding what Jesus is teaching.
And yet, John chapter 3 is so important for 1 John chapter 3.
So if you don't get John chapter 3, you're not going to get 1 John chapter 3.
Even Nicodemus is having a hard time with this.
I'll show you what this is. Verse number 2.
He doesn't want to be seen by his other rabbis, the other Pharisees, whatever, right?
He comes to Jesus by night.
What was the title for the sermon this morning?
Born of God.
What is Jesus saying that you have to do in order to see the kingdom of God?
You must be born again.
Now how does Nicodemus react to this?
Verse number 4.
He's completely messed up there.
I don't know if he's being sarcastic.
I don't know if he's kind of mocking what Christ said there.
But he's not getting it.
He said, how can I go back into my mother's womb and be born again?
Well, Jesus then explains it. Verse number 5.
So if we want to enter into the kingdom of God, we want to be saved and go to heaven,
you must be born of what?
Water and of the Spirit.
What is it to be born again?
Born again.
That means you've been born before and now you need to be born again.
Well, Jesus Christ tells us the two births.
There's the water birth, which is your first birth,
and then there's the born again, which is born of the Spirit.
What is the water birth?
Well, that is basically, of course, when your mother has given birth,
don't we often say that the waters have broke?
And you're floating in, what's a quarter again, honey?
The amniotic fluid.
That's the waters. That's the waters of birth.
We've all gone through the water birth.
If you're alive today, you've gone through that.
That's your first birth.
But being born again is to be born of the Spirit.
Now some, again, some false prophets really mix this up, really mess it up,
and they think being born of the water means being baptised.
No, that's not being baptised. That's not it, right?
It's being born from the mother.
Because then he says in verse number 6, look,
that which is born of the flesh is flesh.
That's the first birth.
You know, your mother's flesh, she gave birth to you, your flesh.
That's the first flesh.
That's explaining what it means to be born of the water.
And that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
So this is something that must take place after you've been born again.
Sorry, after you've been born.
Verse number 7, marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof,
but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth,
so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
So once again, to be born again is to be born of the Spirit.
If you're saved today, if you know you're in the kingdom,
you've entered the kingdom, you know if you're to die today,
you'll be in heaven.
You know that because you've placed your faith on Jesus.
This proves that you've been born again.
You've been born of the Spirit.
You've had the two births, as it were, okay?
So this is what it means to be born of God,
because being born of the Spirit is what?
Being born of the Holy Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is God.
You know, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit,
or God the Holy Ghost.
These three are one.
To be born of the Spirit is to be born of God.
Now again, let's think about this.
That which is born of flesh is flesh.
This flesh, your flesh, that I can see right now,
that has not been born of God, okay?
That's from Mum.
That's from Dad.
That's all the way from Adam and Eve, okay?
This flesh is the product of Adam and Eve.
But the born-again spirit of man that's within us,
that is which is born of God, okay?
This is so important to understand.
It's actually not complicated.
People get it,
but then they forget to apply it to the rest of the Bible.
And so when you get to 1 John 3,
you must remember that you have a dual nature if you're saved.
You've been born of the flesh,
and you've been born of the Spirit.
The majority of people that do not believe in Jesus,
that are in the world,
they have the single birth.
They've been born of the flesh,
but they've not been born again, okay?
They're spiritually dead,
and they're not in touch with the Spirit of God, okay?
In order for them to be saved,
they must be born again, be born of the Spirit.
All right, that's basic.
We have that two sides of us, right?
And I should also say that your flesh,
because it's not of God,
it's born with a sinful nature,
it's selfish.
It wants to do what it wants to do.
It's sinful.
It doesn't like the laws of God, okay?
If there's a part of you today that said,
I don't want to be in church today,
you know what part of that was you?
That was the flesh.
There's another part of you that says,
you know what, I want to be in the church today.
Even if it takes great effort,
you know what that was?
The Spirit, okay?
So we're constantly, all of us,
we have this battle within us.
The flesh and the Spirit.
The flesh wants to do that which is wrong,
wants to please itself,
wants to follow its own self-will,
and then we have the Spirit which is born of God,
and that Spirit wants to do everything
that God wants us to do.
So there's this constant battle in us, okay?
We're not always going to do right,
and we're not always going to do something wrong.
We're going to do both right and wrong.
When we do that which is right,
it's the Spirit.
When we do that which is wrong,
it's the flesh.
All right, let's go back to 1 John 3,
1 John 3 and verse number 1.
Now that we know that,
we need to apply that principle
to this chapter, okay?
1 John 3, verse number 1.
It says,
Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God.
Therefore the world knoweth us not,
because it knew Him not.
So what wonderful love
that our Heavenly Father
has bestowed upon us
that has called us the sons of God.
Now once again,
what part of you is the Son of God?
Is it this flesh?
No, okay?
It's the Spirit,
that which is born of God.
That's the Son of God, okay?
When you die, you know what?
That body, this flesh,
will be in the grave, okay?
It's just going to fertilize the grass.
Yes, when you talk to atheists,
atheists will often say,
Yeah, when I die,
my body will just fertilize the grass.
That's true.
But then there's a part of you
that's the Spirit.
And if you're born again,
that Spirit of God
returns to be back with the Lord
in heaven, okay?
And so that's what we need to remember
that the part of you
that is the Son of God
is not this wicked flesh,
it's the new man.
It's the Spirit within you, okay?
Therefore the world knoweth us not,
because if we live by the Spirit of God,
we're going to do the things
that God wants us to do, okay?
We're going to be in church.
We're going to read the Bible.
We're going to pray, okay?
You're going to even give your finances
to the local church.
You know, people think you're nuts.
People think you're nuts
that you're spending this Sunday
in this place,
in a small place like this,
listening to this preacher carry on, okay?
They don't know it.
They don't understand it
because it says they don't know Him.
They don't know the Father, okay?
And this is what's wonderful
you know God the Father,
you can only know Him
by being born again,
by being born of the Spirit.
The Bible also says in John 1-12,
but as many as received Him,
to them gave you power
to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name.
And then it keeps going,
verse number 13,
which were born not of blood,
nor the will of the flesh,
nor the will of man,
but of God.
So how are you born again?
You believe on Jesus Christ.
You accept His sacrifice.
You understand that Christ came
and took your sins,
your wrongdoing,
all the things that you've done
that's contrary to God's will.
Jesus Christ put that upon Himself.
God's judgment,
God's wrath was put on Jesus,
and you can go free.
And all God wants you to do
is accept Jesus Christ as your Savior,
to believe on Him,
His death, burial, and resurrection,
that all of that was done for you.
So you can be born again.
You can become a child of God.
You can be sinless as it were,
not in the flesh,
but sinless in the Spirit.
And so when you die,
you can go to be at home
with God in heaven.
Okay?
That's the great promise
that God has given us
through His Son.
And it's simply by believing on Him.
If you believed on Jesus Christ,
you're born again,
you're a son of God.
Okay?
Verse number two,
in 1 John chapter three,
verse number two.
Beloved,
now are we the sons of God.
Okay?
Are these people already saved?
Yes.
Now we are the sons of God.
Okay?
Because we believe in Him.
And then it says this,
and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be,
but we know that
when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is.
So this is speaking about
Christ's second coming.
Okay?
You're a son of God now.
You're already saved now.
You're a son of God.
You don't become a son of God
sometime in the future.
You don't become a son of God
when you pass away.
We're sons of God.
We're daughters of God now.
Okay?
But hey,
there's gonna be a change in us.
We're going to be like Christ
when He comes back.
This flesh,
we know about the teaching
on the rapture.
We know about the resurrection.
This flesh is going to die,
and God is going to give us
a new resurrected body.
This body will be changed
in a moment,
in a twinkling of the eye,
and then we're going to be
like our Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay?
But right now we haven't got
that resurrected body.
We still have this flesh,
and this flesh has
a sinful nature.
Verse number three.
And every man that have
this hope in him
purifies himself
even as he is pure.
What is this teaching?
So we know that Christ
is coming back one day.
We know He's going to give us
a new resurrected body, okay?
But because we have
that hope in Him,
we ought to be purifying
ourselves even now.
Like we shouldn't say,
oh, well, I've got
the sinful flesh.
I'm going to sin
for the rest of my life.
So be it.
I'm not going to try
to purify myself.
I'm not going to try
to live a holy life.
No, that's wrong, okay?
In the hope that one day
you are going to be in Heaven,
you are a child of God,
we should be desirous today
to clean up our lives,
to overcome sin,
to live sanctified and holy lives,
to be separated from the world.
That should be the driving part
of the hope that we have
of the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse number four.
It says,
And this is probably one
of the most clearest
definitions of sin
that you're going to get
in the Bible, okay?
What is sin?
Sin is the transgression
of the law, okay?
When we think about the law,
we generally think about
the first five books
of the Bible, okay?
The books of Moses.
But really,
we have all of God's laws,
all of God's commandments,
you know, all scriptures
given to us, right?
For the purpose of
purifying this man
to live that holy life, okay?
But remember,
even though we're striving
to live that life,
it's not the holy living
that actually saves us.
What saves us
is being born again,
being born of the Spirit,
believing on the
Lord Jesus Christ.
And so verse number four
is basically what often
is termed as
the sin of commission.
The sin of commission.
So if we transgress the law,
we have committed a crime
against God's law.
For example,
the Bible says,
thou shalt not covet.
That's not,
you shouldn't desire things
that do not belong to you.
If you were to covet
after those things,
you would have
transgressed the law, okay?
You've committed a sin.
These are sins of commission.
Let's keep going.
Verse number five.
And ye know that
he was manifested
to take away our sins,
and in him is no sin.
That's wonderful.
So in Christ Jesus,
there is no sin.
And yet Christ was
manifest in the flesh
to take away our sins.
You know,
I often hear false preachers
that preach you have to
repent of your sins
to be saved.
They'll say,
the problem with man
and God is sin.
Amen.
I agree with that.
We have to do something
about our sins.
Amen.
I agree with that.
Okay, and they say,
so you've got to turn
from your sins
and turn to the Savior.
Wrong.
Okay?
That's not how we get saved.
We get saved because
Jesus took our sins
upon him.
Okay?
He was manifested,
he took away our sins.
Right?
He was manifested
to take away our sins.
We don't take away our own sins.
That's not salvation.
That's works.
That's you trying to keep
a clean life
in order to be saved.
No, that's wrong.
Jesus Christ was manifested
to take away our sins
and in him is no sin.
Can you please turn to
Romans chapter 8.
Turn to Romans chapter 8
and verse number 3.
Turn to Romans chapter 8
and verse number 3.
So in Christ there is no sin.
Okay?
Romans chapter 8
and verse number 3.
The Bible reads,
So did Christ have sinful flesh?
No.
He was born without a sin nature.
Okay?
But he came in the likeness.
Okay?
He was fully man
as far as everything else
is concerned.
Okay?
And then it says,
So Christ's body,
which is sinless,
his body, his flesh,
condemned sin, our sin,
upon himself.
It's amazing what God
has done for us.
He's taken all our sins
and put it in the perfect body
of Jesus Christ.
Okay?
I'm going to read to you
another passage,
2 Corinthians 5.21.
It says,
In him.
In Jesus.
This is the most amazing
aspect of salvation.
When you understand,
okay, Jesus Christ came.
He died on the cross.
If I believe on him,
he takes away my sin.
I have forgiveness on God.
Yes.
Okay?
But don't forget this simple,
this amazing truth
that all your sins was put on
the perfect body of Christ.
He suffered for all of us.
Every man.
All your sins.
All the consequences of your sins.
All the pain.
All the illnesses.
All of it was put on Jesus Christ
and all of mankind's sins
was put on Christ.
And because Christ had no sin
of himself,
he was 100% righteous,
he gives us that righteousness.
We can stand before God
in the righteousness of God.
But again, it's not this flesh.
This flesh is going to sin
to the day it dies.
I'm sorry to say that.
If that lets you down as a pastor,
I'm going to still make mistakes.
Okay?
You're going to still make mistakes.
We're going to continue to sin.
But what part of us
has that righteousness of Christ?
What part of us
has the sinless perfection
of Jesus Christ?
The new man.
The spirit.
Okay?
Don't forget this important teaching,
the difference between
the spirit and the flesh.
Back to 1 John 3, verse number 6.
1 John 3, verse number 6.
It reads,
Whosoever abideth in him,
sinneth not.
Whosoever sinneth have not seen him,
neither known him.
How do we understand this one?
Whosoever abideth in him,
sinneth not.
You say, I still sin.
I mean, I don't abide in the Lord.
Well, don't forget
what we covered in chapter 1
and chapter 2.
Don't forget that
the whole point of this book
is that we can have
a close fellowship,
a close walk with God.
And we know
when we're walking with God,
we're abiding in Christ.
And when we're not walking with God,
when we're walking in darkness,
when we're committing
all kinds of sin,
we're not walking with God,
we're not abiding in Christ,
but we're still saved.
Okay?
We're still saved
because Christ has already
taken our punishment
upon himself.
All right?
So whosoever abideth him,
sinneth not.
That's true.
Okay?
When you sin,
you've broken fellowship
with our Lord.
But if you abide in him,
you're not going to sin.
The greatest way for you
to overcome temptations
and to overcome the sin
in your life
is just to constantly
abide in the Lord.
But you're not going
to abide with him
perfectly all the time.
That's when you make mistakes,
when you sin.
When you do that,
which is wrong.
You have stopped
abiding in Christ.
You haven't lost your salvation.
There's nothing you can do
to lose your salvation.
Okay?
But you no longer have
and then it says,
whosoever sinneth
have not seen him,
neither known him.
So when you sin,
when you sin,
where is that sin
contained in this flesh?
This flesh has a sinful nature.
Okay?
So it says,
whosoever sinneth
have not seen him,
that's speaking about the flesh.
This flesh will never
see the Lord.
Okay?
This flesh is going to perish.
The Bible says in
1 Corinthians 15, 50,
Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood
cannot inherit
the kingdom of God.
Neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption.
This flesh is never
going to see God.
We're never going to see God
with these eyes.
Okay?
Because this flesh is corrupted.
Okay?
In order for us to enter
incorruption,
we need those new
resurrected bodies
which are incorrupt.
Okay?
So this flesh will never
see God.
And when you abide in the Lord,
guess what?
That's the new man.
That's the new man
that knows the Lord.
Verse number 7.
So our Lord God is righteous.
Okay?
Who does righteousness?
The righteous.
So, and what part of you
is righteous?
The flesh.
Not the flesh.
The spirit.
Okay?
So the only way
we can do righteous acts,
number one,
you must be saved.
Number two,
you must be in the new man.
You must be in the spirit.
The Bible constantly tells us
to take off the old man,
put on the new man.
The Bible tells us to
crucify this flesh daily.
You know, this old man,
this old desires,
the desires to sin,
it's always there.
We might crucify it
for a period of time.
We might get rid of it
and say,
no, God, I'm going to do
your will, not my own will.
And we seek the Lord.
We do righteous works for him.
And then before you know it,
the old man's back.
The old man's back
wanting to do its own things
and we've got to go
and crucify that old man
again and continue
to walk in the spirit.
But you notice that
the only people that can
actually do righteous acts
are the righteous,
even as he is righteous,
because we're born of God.
That spirit is born of God.
So when we do righteous acts,
even though it might be done
in his physical body,
it's actually the spirit,
the new man,
that does it, okay?
And his body is in
subjection to that new man.
When we commit sin,
it's done in his flesh, okay?
It taints the flesh,
but it doesn't taint
the new man.
The new man remains sinless.
This is why we can be sure
of going to heaven.
Because when you go to heaven,
you're going to be sinless.
It's not this flesh
you take with you.
It's your soul,
it's your spirit
that goes to heaven.
Now, let's have a look
at verse number eight.
This is where it gets
quite deep and quite complicated, okay?
Because now it compares
the righteous, the new man,
which does righteous acts
in comparison to those
like the devil
or the people that belong
to the devil.
Verse number eight,
it says,
Here that commit of sin
is of the devil.
For the devil sinned
from the beginning,
for this purpose
the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy
the works of the devil.
All right.
So, who is of the devil?
Well, it says here,
Here that commit of sin
is of the devil.
So, this is the challenge, right?
So, if you're saved,
are you born of God?
Absolutely.
Are you a child of God?
You belong to the Lord?
Yeah.
Do you still sin, though?
Yeah, we do.
We do still sin, okay?
So, Here that commit of sin
is of the devil.
Does that mean
you're of the devil?
Does that mean
I'm of the devil
because we continue to sin
even to this day?
Do you see the challenges,
the deepness
that's in this book?
It's quite challenging,
all right?
Some people believe
this must be unbelievers,
and yes, it is to an extent
unbelievers, okay?
Because unbelievers sin,
but then we sin, okay?
So, this is interesting.
Is every unbeliever
of the devil,
you know,
is everyone just of the devil
until you get saved
and now you're of the Lord?
No, that's not what it's teaching
because once again,
we still sin.
Does that mean
we're both of the Lord
and of the devil?
It cannot be so, okay?
What is this about?
And this is basically,
for those that are aware,
this is the doctrine
of reprobates, okay?
Those that are reprobate,
those that have rejected God
and God has rejected them
and I'll prove that to you
in a moment, okay?
But let's go to
verse number nine,
verse number nine.
It says,
Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin
and people struggle with this.
They say,
I've been born again
and I still sin.
This passage says
that I will not commit sin
if I'm born of God
and then people struggle,
am I saved?
I don't know if I'm saved.
I still sin.
You're going to sin
for the rest of your life.
Does that mean
you've not been born of God?
Again,
what has been born of God?
The spirits.
This flesh is not born of God.
This flesh continues to sin, okay?
So whosoever is born of God,
the new man,
doth not commit sin.
Your new man never sins,
brethren.
Even when his body
does sinful acts,
it's contained in the flesh,
it does not taint the new man.
It does not taint
the born-again spirits, okay?
Verse number nine again.
Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin
for his seed,
that's God's seed,
remaineth in him
and he cannot sin
because he's born of God.
But can you see
how people can struggle with this?
And this is why
I've met people,
not so much in Australia,
but people in America.
I've spoken to them
about the gospel
and they're like,
yeah, I'm saved.
I know I'm going to heaven.
Well, what do you have to do
when you have to stop sinning?
Have you stopped sinning?
And most people say,
well, I'm trying my best.
But there are people in America
who basically say,
yeah, I've stopped sinning.
I never sin anymore.
I'm done.
I've never sinned
since I believed on Jesus.
I mean, they're sinning right now,
lying to me.
They're sinning in my face.
They're lying to me.
They're not telling me the truth.
Because they read this passage
and say, well, hold on.
I know this part of me
they're saved cannot sin,
but they've missed the point
of John chapter three.
They don't understand
the dual nature,
the flesh versus the spirit.
The spirit does not sin.
The spirit is born of God,
not this flesh.
This flesh was born
of Adam and Eve, you know?
Now what I want you to do
is go to, keep your finger there,
and go to Romans chapter seven,
Romans chapter seven
and verse number 14.
Romans chapter seven
and verse number 14.
I just want to prove to you
that every Christian's
going to continue sinning
until they die, okay?
This is just a part of our lives.
You know, we shouldn't get
comfortable with it,
but we should understand it
and accept it.
We should accept
that we're going to sin,
but we shouldn't become
comfortable with it
because we want to try
to overcome those sins.
We want to try to live our life
that is holy and pleasing
to the Lord.
But Romans chapter seven
and verse number 14.
And brethren, this was written
by the best Christian
of his day, Paul, okay?
How many epistles did Paul
write in the Bible?
Many, okay?
What does Paul say
in Romans 7, 14?
For we know that the law
is spiritual.
He goes,
I am carnal, sowed under sin.
What is it?
He's carnal.
What's carnal?
Basically the flesh,
the body, okay?
He says, look,
there's a part of me
that is carnal.
It's not spiritual.
Verse number 15.
For that which I do,
I allow not.
For what I would,
that do I not.
But what I hate,
that do I.
What?
So there are things
that he hates,
but he doesn't.
There are things
that do it.
What's this about?
Verse number 16.
If then I do that
which I would not,
I consent unto the law
that it is good.
Now then,
it is no more,
look at this,
it is no more I
that do it,
but sin that dwelleth in me.
So he's come to realize,
once again,
this dual nature of man,
a part of me
does not want to sin,
the new man,
but then the flesh sins,
alright?
There's a part of him
that wants to do that
which is good,
the new man,
but the flesh says,
no, okay?
He's constantly in this battle.
He's the best Christian
we know about,
and he says,
I'm carnal,
and I struggle with this,
he says.
I've got this constant
battle in my body,
but I want you to remember
how verse number 17 ended.
Now then,
it is no more I that do it.
So is he doing it?
Is he sinning?
Yes,
but he says,
but it's not really me, okay?
He says,
but sin that dwelleth in me.
So he says,
that which does that
which is wrong,
that is sinful,
is that flesh,
the real me is the new man
that's been born of God.
So that born of God nature
remains sinless, okay?
Now he's not making an excuse.
It's not like,
alright,
every time you sin,
it wasn't me guys.
I didn't really do that.
But he's recognizing
that true part of his being,
and that struggle that he has
between the flesh and the spirit.
Now let's go back to
1 John 3 verse number 10.
I hope you can see this,
and I hope you can see
how people can get really mixed up
with these passages
and think you've got to turn
from your sins to be saved
or live a sinless,
perfected life to be saved.
It's impossible, you know?
Otherwise we'd say
Paul is not saved then,
okay,
because he struggled.
Okay, verse number 10.
Look at this.
In this,
the children of God are manifest.
Are you children of God?
Absolutely, okay?
This is how you manifest.
Look at this.
And the children of the devil.
What does it mean
to manifest something?
To reveal it,
to make it known.
This is why this cannot be,
children of the devil cannot be
everyone in the world
because they're already manifest.
Okay?
But there comes a time
when the children of God
are manifested, they're revealed.
There comes a time
when the children of the devil
are manifested.
Okay, they're revealed.
Okay?
So what are we seeing here?
Let's keep going.
Whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God,
neither he that loveth not his brother.
All right.
I want you to just keep
your finger there
and go to Romans chapter 1.
Go to Romans chapter 1
and verse number 28.
Romans chapter 1
and verse number 28.
Brethren, if you love your brother,
if you can look at this church
and you see your brothers
and sisters in the Lord
and you can say,
I love them.
Okay?
And you actually want to help
and be a blessing to people.
This manifests.
This reveals
that you're a child of God.
That you're a son of God.
Okay?
But there are people
that hate these Christians.
There are people
that hate the children of God.
Okay?
And look at Romans chapter 1
and verse number 28.
Romans chapter 1
and verse number 28.
Look, these people
that hate the people of God,
they are children of the devil.
Okay?
This isn't everyone.
Does everyone in the world
just hate Christians?
No.
But there's a select group of people
that hate Christians.
There's a select group of people
that actually hate God.
Generally speaking,
most people,
they just go about life.
They just think,
okay, church is good
for these people,
good for them.
You know, maybe these people,
you know, being a Muslim
is good for them.
Maybe being a Buddhist
is good for these people.
But for me,
it's no big deal.
Whatever, right?
They don't hate God.
But there are certain people
that actually hate God
and hate God's children.
Okay?
And these are reprobates.
Look at Romans chapter 1
and verse number 28.
Romans chapter 1
and verse number 28.
It says here,
and even as they did not like
to retain God in their knowledge.
So did they hear about God?
Yeah.
But they don't want
to retain God in their knowledge.
They don't want to think about God, right?
It says God gave them over
to a reprobate mind
to do those things
which are not convenient.
The word reprobate means rejected.
Okay?
They've rejected God.
God has rejected them.
I know it's unpopular.
I know everyone wants people
to preach about a Santa Claus God
that gives everybody
unlimited chances.
No.
There are some people
where God says it's over.
I'm done.
He's given you over
to a reprobate mind.
Okay?
What happens to these people?
Verse number 29.
Being filled with all unrighteousness.
Okay?
Now we saw that the righteous
can do righteousness.
These people are filled
with unrighteousness.
Right?
The new man of us
can only do righteousness.
The new man can only do righteousness.
These people can only do unrighteousness.
They are filled with unrighteousness.
Fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness,
full of envy, murder,
debate, deceit, malignity,
whisperers, backbiters.
Look at this.
Haters of God.
They hate God.
Okay?
They hate God.
Despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things,
disobedient to parents,
without understanding,
covenant breakers,
without natural affection.
How can they love the brethren?
They're without natural affection.
These people can't even love
their own family members.
You know, the modern terminology
for these people are psychopaths.
Psychopaths, they don't have
the emotional love that
general people have.
Psychopaths are reprobates, okay?
Without natural affection,
implacable, unmerciful,
who know in the judgment of God
that they which commit such things
are worthy of death,
not only do the same,
but have pleasure in them
that do them.
Now, I haven't got time to expand
this passage too much today,
but if you know this passage,
you know this also refers to
homosexuals,
the sodomites, okay?
The Bible says sodomites
are reprobates, okay?
And I'm telling you,
these people are children
of the devil.
They've been given over
to a reprobate mind.
It's too late for them.
They've rejected God.
God's given them chance
of the chance of the chance.
They've rejected God
over and over and over.
Not only have they rejected God,
they hate God.
They don't want to retain
God anymore.
They want to think about God.
They hate God that much, okay?
These people become
children of the devil.
And if you can please turn
to Judges 19.
Turn to Judges 19.
As I said, they don't like
to retain God in the knowledge.
You turn to Judges 19
and verse number 22.
Judges 19 and verse number 22.
I know what I'm preaching
is not politically correct.
I understand that.
But this is the Bible.
We're preaching the Bible.
You come to church
to hear the Bible, okay?
While you're turning to Judges 19,
I'm going to read to you
from 1 Samuel 2, verse 12.
They can be reprobates.
They can be children of the devil
in our church.
They can even be
the pastor's children.
I would hope not.
I would hope not, okay?
But it can be that case
because even in 1 Samuel 2, 12,
it says,
Now the sons of Eli,
who was Eli?
He was the high priest, okay?
Now the sons of Eli,
look at this,
were sons of Belial.
They knew not the Lord.
It says,
They knew not the Lord.
Belial is another name
for the devil, okay?
Belial, Belisabab, Belial, okay?
Or Belial.
These are sons of Belial.
These are sons of the devil.
They're children of the devil,
as it were.
And look,
their father is the high priest.
Did they know about God?
Of course they did.
They're probably even helping
that in the temple.
They were helping that
in the temple, right?
But the Bible says
they knew not the Lord.
What does the Bible say
about the reprobate?
They did not like to retain
God in their knowledge.
So it's not like they just
didn't know about anything
about God.
They definitely knew about God.
But they rejected God.
They wanted nothing
to do with God.
God gave these children over
to a reprobate mind.
They became children
of the devil.
Look at Judges 19,
verse number 22.
You're there.
Judges 19,
verse number 22.
These men that we're about
to read about,
they're homosexuals.
Homosexuals in the Old Testament, okay?
Romans chapter 1
that we already read,
you have a look,
the context of that
was homosexuals as well, okay?
Sodomites.
Judges 19, 22.
And as they were making
their hearts merry,
behold, the men of the city,
the men of these cities,
by the way,
these are homosexuals, okay?
Certain sons of Belial,
there it is,
sons of the devil,
children of the devil,
beset the house roundabouts
and beat at the door
and speak to the master
of the house,
the old man,
saying,
look at this,
bring forth the man
that came into thine house
that we may know him.
Look,
they're not just trying to
meet him and say,
hello, how are ya?
They're trying to beat down
this door.
They want to know him.
This is basically,
you know,
they want to have,
you know,
sexual acts with this man,
okay?
So these men of the city
are asking this guy,
bring out the man.
We want to defile this man.
We want to commit sodomy
on this man,
okay?
The Bible calls them
sons of Belial,
okay?
Children of the devil,
okay?
All they can do
is unrighteousness,
okay?
We know them today.
The scientific term
is psychopaths,
okay,
psychopaths.
And what I'm trying
to show you here,
brethren,
is that 1 John
is a very deep book,
especially chapter 3.
We're not just talking
about the average human being
that's a child of the devil.
That's not the case.
These people
have basically
given themselves
over to the devil.
Just like we are
children of God,
sons of God,
in the same way,
spiritually speaking,
they are now children
of the devil.
Back to 1 John 3, please.
1 John 3.
Now,
I want you to understand this.
We believe in
once saved, always saved.
You believed on Jesus.
You become a son of God.
And look,
I've got my daughter here.
I've got my son over there.
They were born
of mum and dad,
okay?
Can they ever
not become my children?
Like,
what if,
what if Nicholas back there
says,
Dad,
I hate your guts,
right?
How old are you now,
Nicholas?
14, right?
He's getting that
to the age, right?
Where you start
to have your own mindset,
right?
He starts growing up
and being that old.
What if he becomes
that old?
I've been in his family
and he leaves the house.
You know,
I hope that never happens.
He leaves the house
and let's say,
I never see him
for the rest of my life.
I never see him anymore.
But he's out there somewhere,
right?
Living whatever his life is.
Has he stopped being my son?
No.
But our fellowship,
is there fellowship?
There's no fellowship.
We're not walking
together, are we?
The moment you've
believed on Jesus,
you've been born again.
You become a child of God.
You can be far from God.
You can be,
not have any fellowship.
You might say,
thank you,
I'm saved,
I believe in Jesus,
but you know what?
Jesus,
I'm going to live my life.
You know,
and you just,
and you live your life
and you live a sinful life.
You know what?
Nothing happened,
like all the effect will be
that you have no fellowship.
You're not going to abide
with Christ.
You're not going to live
a joyful Christian life.
But you're still saved.
You're still a son of God.
What I'm saying is,
once you've been born
into a family,
you can never be unborn
out of that family.
Okay?
You can never be unborn.
Okay?
No matter what our relationship
I hope it's a good one.
I hope it's a fruitful one.
I hope they love mum and dad.
You know,
I hope we can be there
all their lives.
But even if they leave the house
and they want nothing to do
with us,
they're still my children.
They're still my sons.
Okay?
And just like you,
if you decide,
God,
I want nothing to do with you,
thank you for salvation,
but you know what?
I just want to live for myself.
I really don't want you
in the picture right now,
Lord.
I just want to live for myself.
You know what?
You won't be happy.
You won't be rewarded
by God in heaven,
but you still make it there.
Not by your good works,
not by your good merits.
How does someone become
a child of the devil?
If someone that is born
into a family cannot be unborn,
think about these people now.
People that are born of the devil.
Okay?
So this is not a fleshly birth.
Once again,
this is a spiritual birth,
as it were.
Okay?
They're born into the devil's family.
Now the devil is being represented
as their father.
They are children of the devil.
They've been born
into the devil's family.
Can they ever be unborn
out of that family?
Can they ever be unborn?
Okay?
They've lost their opportunities.
They've rejected God.
God has rejected them.
They are now children of the devil.
Okay?
And let me just say,
homosexuals,
sodomites,
I don't want to keep beating
this horse,
but I'm just telling you guys,
these are children of the devil.
Okay?
All they can do
is unrighteousness.
Okay?
That's all they can do.
Unrighteousness.
I know our media
talks about how wonderful
and how funny
and how great they are
with children.
Yeah, they are looking
like freaks.
Okay?
But they're children of the devil.
They've been rejected by God
because they rejected him.
Okay?
So, 1 John 3 is comparing
these that have been manifested
from the general population,
the believers,
those that have been born of God,
the sons of God,
and those that have rejected God,
the sons of the devil.
Okay?
Children of Belial.
Alright.
Let's keep going there
in 1 John 3, verse number 11.
1 John 3, verse number 11.
For this is the message
that you heard from the beginning,
that we should love one another,
not as Cain.
Look at Cain.
We know the story of Cain.
Cain killed his brother Abel.
Okay?
Not as Cain.
Look at this.
Who was of that wicked one.
So, what did we learn about Cain?
He was a child of the devil as well.
It's so sad.
Adam and Eve's first son
became a child of the devil.
He became reprobate.
Okay?
He was of the wicked one
and slew his brother
and wherefore slew him
because his own works were evil
and his brother's righteous.
Now, we haven't got time
to go through the whole story,
but let me just summarize.
You know, we know that God,
because of the sinful nature of man,
he required a sin offering.
Okay?
Abel brought the offering of his lambs,
the shed blood,
representing that which
what Christ will do for us,
shed his blood.
Abel came by the works of his hands,
bringing his, you know,
his fruits and his veggies.
Right?
The labor of his hands
and that sacrifice
was rejected by God.
Okay?
But what does God do?
Does he just like,
obviously, Cain knows
he's got to serve the Lord.
Cain knows that he's got
to, you know, consider the Lord.
He wants to do that
which is right at this point in time,
but then God rejects his sacrifice
and he becomes jealous
that God has accepted,
or envious,
that God has accepted
Abel's sacrifice.
And God even tells Cain,
hey, look, just get it right.
All right?
Just offer the right sacrifice.
You know, God reaches out to Cain.
Cain says, no.
I want nothing to do with that.
He goes and he slays his brother, Abel.
Why?
Because he rejected God.
Okay?
And at Cain's time
he rejected him.
He became a child of the wicked one.
Okay?
Reprobate.
He ends up killing his own brother.
I'm not saying that every murderer
is a child of the devil.
That's not what I'm saying.
Okay?
But, you know,
serial murderers,
okay,
people that don't just murder
out of a sudden rage of fit,
you know,
that wasn't intentional,
but people that are actually
going out and hunting
little children,
hunting ladies,
right,
or just have a satisfaction
of murder
and they just go into,
you know,
the serial killers.
These are children of the devil.
They've lost their chance.
They've got that perverted,
that reprobate mind.
They've been given over to that.
People that seek after,
that find satisfaction in murder,
yeah,
these are definite reprobates.
Child molesters, right?
Pedophiles.
These are children of the devil.
Okay?
These are sins that the average man
are disgusted by.
Right?
I mean,
there are sins that are common to men.
There are things that we all struggle with,
right?
But there are sins that you just go,
how can someone get that far
and so far from God
and just hate God
and hate the people of God?
It's because they're children of the devil.
They don't love mankind.
You know,
they're psychopaths.
They're psychopaths.
Can you please go to John chapter 8,
verse 42.
John chapter 8, verse number 42.
And again,
to understand 1 John,
you really need to understand
the book of John.
And Jesus Christ deals with this topic
of reprobates,
children of the devil,
in John chapter 8,
verse number 42.
In this passage,
Jesus Christ is speaking
to the Christ-rejecting Jews.
Okay?
The Jews that do not want to believe
on Jesus Christ.
And in John chapter 8,
verse number 42,
it says,
Jesus said unto them,
if God were your Father,
so is God their Father?
No.
If God were your Father,
ye would love me.
Okay?
So this is one great to know,
one way to know
whether you're a child of God.
You know,
do you love Jesus?
Are you thankful
for what Jesus has done for you?
Okay?
If you say,
yes, I love him.
I'm thankful.
He's sacrificed.
Then you're of the Father.
Okay?
It says here,
for I proceeded forth
and came from God,
neither came I of myself,
but he sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech
even because ye cannot hear my word?
Why can't they hear his word?
Why can't they understand
what he's saying?
Verse number 44.
Ye are of your Father,
the devil,
and the lusts of your Father,
ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning
and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he speak of a lie,
he speak of of his own,
for he is a liar
and the Father averts.
And because I tell you the truth,
ye believe me not.
So these Christ-rejecting Jews,
at least this group of people
that Jesus Christ is speaking to,
who are they?
They're reprobates.
He's speaking to reprobates.
He's saying,
look, you can't understand me
because your Father is of the devil.
And that's true.
You cannot win one of these people
to the Lord.
Once someone has been born
into the family of the devil,
a child of the devil,
you cannot show them the Scriptures.
They cannot believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ.
They might understand somewhat
of what you're saying,
but they cannot believe
on Jesus Christ.
You know, I've met these people
at the door.
I go door to door with him.
You know, the biggest,
the greatest example that I remember
was this guy, this atheist guy.
His wife was, I think,
a Roman Catholic or something.
So he had some understanding
of the Bible.
And I came and I preached
the gospel unto him.
I explained that Christ came
to die for his sins,
that salvation is simply
by believing on Jesus.
And he said to me,
man, it finally makes sense.
I'm glad you came to my door
and explained to me
how I can be saved.
You know, I get it now.
It's so basic.
It's straightforward.
I get it.
He says, I get it.
And he thought it was
wonderful news, he thought.
Okay.
And I'm like, yes,
we're going to get a salvation here.
I'm saying, hey,
okay, you're telling me
that, you know, you get it
and hey, how about you place
your faith on Jesus right now?
Why don't you accept the salvation?
I can lead you
on a word of prayer.
I can lead you to call upon
the name of the Lord
and you can tell the Lord
that you believe
this message of salvation.
He said to me,
no, even though I understand it now,
even though I think it's wonderful,
he said, he goes,
I think it's wonderful.
He goes, there is something within me.
I just cannot believe it.
It's, he goes,
what's the word that he used?
He said, I can't remember
what word he used,
but he goes,
I am incapable of believing it.
I want to believe it.
But I'm incapable of believing it.
Okay.
This is what a reprobate is.
Okay.
When you reject God,
this is one of the dangers
of an atheist
because the atheist best says,
there is no God.
Okay.
How far do you think
you can go in life
by saying there is no God,
there is no God,
just deny the existence of God,
just deny his creation.
How far do you think
you can go in life?
And that, Romans chapter one
basically starts that way.
People that do not want
to retain God in their knowledge,
they start worshiping the creation
more than the creator.
At some point, you know,
God says, all right,
what do you do with me?
I'm giving you over
to a reprobate mind.
Okay.
And these people cannot believe.
No matter how much
you show them of the Bible,
they've lost their chance.
They cannot believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ,
even if they understand
the message.
It's a scary thing.
You know.
These are children of the devil.
Let's keep going in
1 John chapter three,
verse number,
what am I up to?
Verse number 13.
Marvel not, my brethren,
the world hates you.
Okay.
So does the world hate Christians?
Yeah.
They're going to hate you.
Okay.
Now, when the world hates you,
when you find that,
hey, just coming to church,
just reading your Bible,
just believing what God says,
just trying to live
a good holy life,
when you find that people
don't like you for that,
hate you for that,
please remember that
it's not really you
that they hate.
Okay.
And if you want to go,
if you've still got a finger
in John, go to John 15,
verse 18.
John 15,
verse number 18.
John 15,
which reads,
if the world hates you,
these are words of Christ,
if the world hates you,
you know that it hated me
before it hated you.
If you were of the world,
the world would love his own,
but because you are not
of the world,
but I have chosen you
out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you.
Okay.
So when people hate you
for your Christianity,
they hate you because
you're just trying to live
a life that pleases God,
then yes, they hate you,
but really the reason
they hate you
is because they hate
Jesus Christ.
Okay.
You know,
and this is why,
you know,
for us once we're going back
outdoors,
you know,
knocking doors
and people get angry at us,
just remember,
they're not really angry at you.
Okay.
You're a messenger.
You're just a vessel of God.
All right.
Don't take it personally.
They actually really are angry
at Jesus Christ.
Okay.
Let's keep going.
Verse number 14.
1 John 3, 14.
We know that we have passed
from death unto life
because we love the brethren.
Notice that again.
The loving of the brethren,
you might not get along
with all the brethren.
I don't expect everybody here
to be just like best friends.
In fact,
I expect sometimes to be
some contentions,
some disagreements,
but I'm telling you the truth.
Every time I've had a disagreement
with my fellow brother
in the Lord,
I still love them.
Like I still want them
to do well.
Okay.
Because a new man in me
just loves the brethren.
That's our brother and sister
in Christ.
They've accepted Jesus Christ
as much as I have.
They're important to God.
They're a child of God.
I'm going to be with them
forever in heaven.
I might as well try
to get along with you
Let's just get it right now.
Okay.
Anyway, it keeps going.
Verse number 14.
So this is a very high standard.
We know that murder
obviously is a major sin.
Okay.
When Christ came to this earth,
He actually increased
that level of righteousness.
He starts to deal with things
of the heart and of the mind.
You know, it says that
even if you look upon a woman
with lust in your heart,
that you've committed adultery
in your heart.
Okay.
He lifts the standard.
It's not just what you do
with your body,
but it's what you think about
and what your heart meditates on
that can be sinful as well.
Alright.
And here's the thing.
If you hate your brother,
okay, we've got someone
in this church,
and you just hate him.
You just hate her.
Alright.
It's like you've committed murder
to her.
Okay.
As far as God's concerned,
He looks down,
He hates someone, right?
But, you know, God looks at that
and says, you know, that's wrong.
You know, that part of you is wrong.
And again,
what part of you sins?
It's the flesh.
Okay.
That part of you,
yeah, does not have eternal life.
Like, you know,
every time you sin,
it's in his flesh.
When you read these passages,
understand it's talking
about the flesh of man.
Yeah, that flesh will not
inherit eternal life.
That's why we need new
resurrected bodies
that Christ will give us, right?
Verse number 16.
Hereby perceive we,
the love of God,
because He laid down
His life for us,
who laid down
His life for us?
Who died for us?
Jesus.
But let's say here,
we know the love of God.
Who's Jesus?
Jesus is God.
Okay, Jesus is God.
Because He laid down
His life for us,
and we ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren.
I got once asked this question.
He goes, you know,
would you lay down
your life for me?
I was like,
well, what do you mean by that?
Do you mean like,
we know that when Jesus
laid down His life,
He died for us.
Are you saying,
would I die for you?
No.
There's a reason why Jesus
died for us.
Because He could save us
from our sins.
Me dying,
I'm not going to save you
from your sins.
Like me dying,
I'm not going to benefit you
by dying.
Okay.
But the point is,
obviously Christ laid down
His life,
meaning that He came
to serve us.
He came, you know,
thinking about others,
about the, you know,
the children of God
that He would come
and save a remnant
for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's how we ought to
lay down our lives for us.
Keep your finger there
and go to John chapter 10.
John chapter 10, verse 14.
John chapter 10
and verse number 14.
John chapter 10,
verse number 14.
Jesus Christ says,
I am the good shepherd
and I know my sheep
and am known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me,
even so know I the Father
and I lay down my life
for the sheep.
And other sheep I have,
which are not of this fold,
them also I must bring
and they shall hear my voice
and there shall be one fold
and one shepherd.
So why did the Lord
lay down His life?
To have one fold,
one people of God together.
No matter how much
I die for you,
I'm not going to achieve that.
I'm not going to bring
a single person
into the kingdom of God
if I were to die, okay?
But laying down our lives
for our brothers,
the way the Lord Jesus Christ
laid down His life for us
means that we should
look at one another
and say, how can we
serve each other?
Obviously, I can't
deliver you from your sins.
If you're saved,
that's been done.
It's been done within Christ.
Hey, but if a need rises
and someone needs help
and there's been situations
where there's been a need
in our church
and we've come together
and been able to help
one another, praise God.
That's what we ought to do.
That's showing our love
for our brethren.
This manifests that
you are a child of God.
This proves that
you were born again.
All right?
Let's keep going.
Verse number 17,
1 John 3.17, sorry.
1 John 3.17.
This is what we would call
the sin of omission.
So there's something
that you can do,
but you refuse not to do it.
That's sin as well.
You can do something good
and you refuse not to do
that which is good.
That is sin as well.
But you know what?
If we see that our
brethren have needs,
you know what?
We should open up
our bowels of compassion
and see, hey,
where can I help you?
Is there anything
that I can do?
You say, pastor,
I'm not in a position
to help anybody.
Okay, well, can you
get on your knees
and praise God
or can you get on your knees
and pray for them at least?
Hey, that's showing
bowels of compassion.
Can you send them a message
and say, hey, brother,
I'm thinking about you.
I hope maybe you haven't
seen them in church
for a while,
just thinking about you,
haven't seen you in church,
just letting you know
that I'm praying for you.
Let me know if there's
anything that I can do
for you, even if you can't.
At least you can
acknowledge them
and make them know
and understand that
you care about them.
Let's keep going.
Verse number 18,
My little children,
let us not love in word,
neither in tongue,
but in deed and in truth.
We can say to people,
I love you.
I can say to my wife,
I love you.
I love you, honey.
I love you.
I'm sure she'll enjoy it,
but can you imagine after a while
if I just keep saying,
honey, I love you.
I love you.
I love you,
but I do nothing
to show that love.
I don't spend time with her.
We don't go out on dates
and we don't do
nothing special together.
It kind of loses its meaning.
I do love her,
but we should not just love
in word or just by tongue,
but in deed.
We have to take actions.
We have to show our love
and in truth.
So, when we say,
I love you,
make sure it's truthful.
Make sure you're not just lying.
So, yeah,
you can say nice things
out of your mouth,
but even greater than that
is making sure that we do
carry out love for the brethren
and that we do it in truth.
For example,
if someone comes to you
and they're struggling with something
and you might say with your words,
with your tongue,
Brother, don't worry.
I'll be praying for you.
Sometimes we have
our church WhatsApp group.
Someone writes a message.
Can you pray for me?
And we were, yep,
praying for you, Brother.
And then we forget to pray,
or we don't pray.
What's that?
That's not love in truth.
Okay.
I know we can forget.
I'm sure there's been plenty of times
I said, yeah, I'll be praying
for you, Brother, and I forgot.
Okay.
Now, obviously, I love the Brother,
but I just, you know,
I tend to forget,
but the point is,
and this is something
that I've actually done
in my life now.
If someone says to me,
can you pray about something?
I just stop straight away
and just pray about it right there.
Straight away.
I don't say,
I'll be praying for you, Brother,
but do it straight away.
But that's how we ought to be, right?
Let me know if you need anything,
and then you come,
and you ask,
and I can't help you.
It's just words.
It just meant nothing, right?
So we shouldn't just love in words,
but in deed and in truth.
Verse number 19.
And hereby we know that we are of the truth,
and shall assure our hearts before Him.
For if our heart condemn us,
God is greater than our heart
and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not,
then have we confidence toward God.
All right.
So this is by saying that,
you know,
if you do wrong toward your brethren,
or you don't assist your brethren
in a time of need,
it says in verse number 20
that your heart will condemn us, right?
If your heart condemn us.
So you're basically
going to feel guilty.
You know you should have done something
for your brethren.
You know you could have helped them.
You know you should have prayed for them
when you said you were going to pray for them,
but you didn't do it, okay?
Your heart will condemn you, okay?
It says God is greater than our heart
and knoweth all things.
So God can use our hearts
to bring to remembrance,
you know,
the wrong things that we've done
to the brethren, all right?
But then verse 21 says,
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not.
So if we do everything we can,
that's in our hands,
our ability to help one another,
to love one another,
it says then have we confidence
toward God.
Meaning that you're not always
going to be able to help someone
out of a difficulty,
but you do what you can do.
You have a clear conscience,
I've done what I can,
the rest of it is up to God.
You know,
you have confidence in God.
God, I've done what I can,
the rest of it has to be in your hands, right?
Because then it continues
in verse number 22,
and whatsoever we ask,
we receive of him,
because we keep his commandments
and do those things
that are pleasing in his sight.
So let's think about this once again.
A brother has a need.
You fulfil that need to some extent.
Maybe you can do a lot for him.
Maybe you can do not much.
Maybe all you can do is pray for him.
You do what you can do,
okay,
then you go to the Lord
and you ask,
and then God,
you will receive of him.
God will take care
of that brother's need.
But I want you to also notice,
because we keep his commandments,
and do those things
that are pleasing in his sight,
meaning that if you want more
of your prayers answered,
you want to be more effective
in your prayer life,
you've got to keep his commandments.
Don't you think if you're striving hard
to walk with the Lord,
to abide in Christ,
and keep the laws of God,
don't you think God's going to
maybe give you his ear a lot more
than the Christian that's far from God,
that doesn't want to live godly,
that doesn't want to live
according to his ways?
Don't you think God's
going to look upon you
in a much more closer way
when you walk with him,
you're in fellowship with him?
Of course your prayers
are going to be more effective
when you're keeping his commandments.
Verse number 23.
And this is his commandment,
that we should believe
on the name of his Son,
Jesus Christ.
You say, yep, I've done that.
Praise God, that means you're saved.
And love one another.
Can you do that?
As he gave us commandments.
We ought to love one another, brethren.
I know we're all different,
we all have different backgrounds.
I'm sure there are things,
the more you get to know me,
I'm sure you're going to find
things that annoy you.
The more I know my wife,
the more I realise the little things
that annoy me.
The more she knows me,
the little things, and this is life.
But you know what?
We're commanded to love one another.
You're not going to be best friends.
I'm telling you,
I hope you develop best friends
and close friendships in church,
but it's not always going to be the case.
But I want you to say, you know what,
even if I don't get along
with brother so-and-so,
I don't see eye-on-eye with so-and-so,
I'm still going to love him.
I'm still going to greet him,
I'm still going to say bye
when I leave for church,
I'm still going to shake his hand.
You know what?
And when I know he has a need,
I'm still going to bow my head
and pray for that individual.
I'm still going to show them love.
Hey, this is the commandment of God.
Verse number 24.
And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him,
and hereby we know that he abideth in us
by the Spirit which he hath given us.
So once again, that new man, the Spirit,
you know, God's given us his Holy Spirit.
The new man that we have
was born of the Spirit.
The Spirit of God abides in us.
God has given us the down payment
of his Holy Spirit living in us.
And what's wonderful about having
the Holy Spirit live in us,
it communes, it speaks to our spirit.
You know, this is how we learn and grow
and gain knowledge in God's Word.
This Holy Spirit's going to convict you
when you've done that which is wrong.
And you know you've done wrong.
You've sinned.
The Lord will, you know,
the Holy Spirit will work in your heart
and show you where you need to improve.
You know, if you've not loved the brethren
the way you should love them,
the Holy Spirit's going to do that job
in your life.
So brethren, just in summary,
you know, abiding with the Lord,
make sure you continue to abide in the Lord,
make sure you continue to be in fellowship,
not for salvation, not to keep your salvation.
That's a done deal in Christ.
But to stay in the Lord,
to stay in the light, walking in Him.
Keep His commandments, okay?
Keeping His commandments is going to improve
your prayer life.
You're going to be a lot more effective
in your prayers, you know?
Don't walk in sin and darkness.
When you walk in sin and darkness,
you break the fellowship,
but don't forget that sin is contained in the flesh.
The new man remains sinless.
If you're born of God,
hear that which is born of God
doth not commit sin.
And that is true.
And that's why when you die
and your soul and spirit go to heaven,
you're going to stand before God sinless
in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Okay, let's pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord,
I just want to thank you for your Word.
Thank you for 1 John 3.
It's very complex, very in-depth, Lord.
And, Lord, I thank you for helping me
just preach that today.
Lord, I pray that we continue to manifest ourselves
as the sons of God.
Lord, that we'll continue to grow
in love for the Brethren.
Lord, it is challenging, Lord,
to love the Brethren,
we're going to need the love of the Father in us.
So, Lord, I pray that you continue to renew us,
work in us, Lord.
Help us to overcome the flesh,
help us to overcome temptations.
And, Lord, you know the struggles that we all go through.
Lord, the desires to just seek your own will
and not to think about you
or walk in your paths.
Lord, I pray you'd forgive us
and help us to continue to walk in a new man
and abide in Christ.
We pray all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.