Children of God

Here Bibles with you tonight ask you turn with me if you would first John chapter 2. Look at verse 29 going down to chapter 3, verse one.

If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him see what kind of love the father is given to us that we should be called children of God. And so we are reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him pray heavily father what glorious verses of Scripture we are dealing with tonight. We thank you Lord for inspiring the apostle John to write these down that 2000 years later, we might understand that you would desire for us to be filled with joy and Lord that that joy would be impossible without experiencing the full assurance of our salvation only father we pray that you just got us direct us through this passage tonight, that we might be blessed by that. It would help us in our walk with Christ.

It would help us in our understanding of who we are in Christ, Lord, it would change our lives in such a way that we would bring more honor and glory your precious name. Love you, not Lord. Thank you and praise you for your love and goodness to us. We asked this prayer in Jesus precious name. Amen. You may be seated on September 11, 2001 passenger plane was flying over Western Pennsylvania and it was several terrorist and that plane and they stood up at the exact appointed time and they made an announcement to the to the pilot to the crew and to the passengers that they were taking over the plane had a plan and that plan was to use the plane as a bomb that they were going to fly that plane into the White House and in doing so, hopefully, kill the president.

The symbol of the highest office in our land and doing that show America just how vulnerable we are and how unprepared we are and it was the purpose of that to strike fear into the heart of every American.

Their plan was fold because there was Simeon were led by a Christian man. His name was Todd Beamer who said we are not going to die without a fight and he said we may have to die in this, but in the process. We may be able to save countless lives and they stormed the cockpit and in doing so, they were able to fall over the planter to fly that plane into the White House. But in doing so, they were not able to save their own lives.

The plane went down and there were no survivors. Nobody but the terrorists got on that plane that morning with the thought that that day would be the last day of their life. All the passengers on that plane thought this was just another day is a just another time in our life and life is good to go on as usual.

That did not happen in a period of less than 15 minutes. They experienced a hijacking they experienced an attempted rescue, a plane crash and then eternity. We think was on their minds and those last few minutes is that plane was hurtling down toward the earth what you think they were thinking of when I came to the realization that they're going to die and it's going to happen soon, and there's nothing in the world that can change it. What you think they were thinking about when they said to themselves. We're getting ready to enter into eternity.

I want you to put yourself in the shoes of those passengers tonight and I want you to think about what question would you like to be answered at that particular point in time if you had no other question that could be asked that one question could be answered.

I think this is the question that I would want to know am I saved MI truly saved was that point when that plane hits the ground and I breathe my last breath here on earth. What could happen to me will just be burned up and ceased to exist.

Lobby just like a piece of grass that is no more. I wouldn't existing before I was born and will be like that again.

Will it be just total nonexistent you the that they may have thought to themselves will this may be just this eternity thing made may just be the of the hopes of false hopes of mankind, but maybe it's not reality. Or maybe they're saying to them sales on that end up in hail I'm in end up in a place of darkness and and solitude.

I'm in end up in a place of anguish and torment. I'm in end up in a place that Jesus said the fire is never quenched in the worm.not maybe they were saying to them sales. I'm going to heaven. I'm going to be like what the apostle Paul said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I can understand now that death for me will truly be game.

The epistle of first John is written for this purpose that you might know the answer to the question MI truly saved. John wrote this letter so that your joy might be full. He says and how can our joy be full unless we know deep down in our no work that we belong to the Lord that would currently salvation and our assurance of salvation is solid and we know it and it's not going to change. Looking at two verses tonight. The last verse of chapter 2 the first verse of chapter 1. I don't like the chapter division. I don't think it should be there.

You know the chapter divisions that we have in Scripture were not inspired they came along later and and I think a lot of the chapter divisions are our dad breaking points. I think that's the case for this one. I think these two verses should should go together. This is one of those places where the where I think they and really made a mistake. Let's look at the text in verse 29. We have an important phrase, that phrase is born of him. What is that all about the question that John is asking in then answering is this who are the children of God and the answer is, those who have been born of him and John gospel chapter 1 verses 12 and 13. And remember this. John is the one who wrote not only for second and third John in Revelation, but also the gospel of John in John chapter 1 verses 12 and 13.

He says this, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the children of God, even to those who believe on his name who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.

Who are the children of God. Those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and their Savior and they done that by faith. But John wants us to understand that I receiving Christ. It is not just a decision and it's not just a commitment that is much more than that, for he goes on to tell us that those who receive Christ are those who have been born of God.

Those who have been born of God because deeper.

He says it's not of blood. In other words, you're not automatically saved because your daddy's Seder because your granddaddy is say is that this does not come through your DNA. He said neither is it because of the will of the flesh. In other words, you're not born again because of some unemotional experience that you have where your emotions are worked up and and as a result of those emotions you have come to Christ. It's not of that. Nor is it of the will of man.

In other words, it's not just your volition is not just that you come to the point where you've made a strong choice. It's not of that. He said it's this that you been born of God, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The born again experience as a miracle of God is a resurrection that that God has given you a new heart. He's taken out of you.

The heart of stone replaced it with a heart of flesh. You can't work that up. You think will that out. You can't make that happen. This is something that God does chapter 3 of the gospel of John, Jesus was talking to a very well-known very renowned man of God that lived in and in Jerusalem at that time his name was Nicodemus and he was a rabbi. He was a teacher and and he began to complement Jesus and and just to say some good things to him. It and Jesus just cannot put that to rest and said let's get to the real issue. Jesus said this, verily, verily, I say into you unless you been born again. You shall not see the kingdom of God. The word see they are and in the Greek means to perceive or to understand not just to see with your eyes but to perceive and understand with your heart. Jesus is telling us how a person gets saved.

God takes the initiative. God opens the spiritual eyes. God opens the spiritual ears.

God does that work, he shows you that you are lost. He shows you that you are in desperate need of a Savior.

He shows you that you will never be good enough to please God on your own shows you that you are desperately lost and there's a desperate need in your life work want to save you in and change your heart and change your life and only God can do that. He shows you the need of having your sins washed away Nicodemus is confused. He didn't know what to make of that. He didn't know what I do understand it he still thinking in the natural realm and he sent what you say in Jesus. Are you saying that a man can enter into his mother's womb a second time and and be born again a second time and Jesus responded in verses six through eight and Jesus.

Jesus says the us that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you. You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear a sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit.

What Jesus was saying is this God's ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts and it was saying you're not gonna manipulate God that the creature is not going to dictate to the creator, that's not gonna happen uses the illustration of the wind and he says to Nicodemus that they said you can't control the wind can. You can't stand out in the middle of a hurricane is a win do this or windy that they said you can you can't say to a hurricane.

I want you to gust in this city.

But don't just overhear.

He said that's not gonna happen because the wind is stronger than you are and God controls the way but God controls the win. God is is sovereign over nature and Jesus said, except you be born again. You shall not see the kingdom of God. So maybe you're sitting there this evening you're saying to yourself, what's Doug saying is Doug saying that we should just give up hope because God is the initiator of our salvation and he is the finisher of our salvation. So what that means. This is not really up to me and so I don't really have to do anything I can sit back and be apathetic and be lazy and live in sin and do what I want to.

If God is going to save me. He's going to do work in my heart that's all up to him.

I don't need to worry about it. I can just come to live out my life like I want to know that's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying such a thing.

I'm simply saying sharing this with you that there is no hope.

Outside of Christ, and if you haven't bound your heart to Christ in repentance and submission that tonight. I want you to consider your eternity. What if you had been on that plane would if you had gone down would if you had known that in just second your life was going to be ended in eternity would stop ethic, no matter how long we we may live no matter how old we are a James that this life is like a vapor little puff esteem is here before you realize it is gone and that's true. James also said, but is not myself up tomorrow. For thou knowest not. What a day will bring forth no you can't birth yourself into the kingdom of God anymore that I can birth myself into the physical world. We can't do that. We know the power to do that.

But God tells us that he works the means that that he that that if he works as a preaching of his word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. If you're here this evening you're not sure about your eternity. I want you know, you are hereby the Providence of God, he has you here for a reason and that reason is to consider eternity when read a concluding paragraph of a sermon that JC Ryle preached 135 years ago and listen to this.

This carefully named conclusion tell me not you mean to wait lazily and idly if the Lord gives you the blessed change well and if not, you can't cannot help it. God does not deal with you as if you were machines or stones. He deals with you as those who can read and hear and pray this is the way in which he would have you wait up in him, never was doctrine so surrounded with promises and encouragements and invitations. Is this hear what Jeremiah says I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people.

Again, they shall be my people and I will be there God and I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me for ever for the good of them and their children after them, then what Ezekiel says a new heart also will I give you a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, then lastly with the Lord Jesus says ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find everyone that ask is received with your heavenly father shall give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him and this is what we want you to do.

Do you pray for yourself and Ernest. We know that there will be little good done if any prayerless man shall say in the day of judgment. I could not come to Christ. The answer will be. You did not try and quench not the Spirit grieve not the spirit, resist not the Spirit's grace has been purchased for you. Strive in labor and pray that you may indeed receive it and then God is covenanted and engage that he will come down like rain on the dry ground like water to wash away your souls defilement like fire to burn away the dross and fields of sin and the hardest part among you shall become solved and willing as a weaned child. Do you want to be saved you want to glorify Christ you want to know that you know that you know that you know that you belong to him and he belongs to you. Then come to Christ. Jesus said he comes to me I will in no wise cast out. Listen, you will have to figure out how God operates. You don't have to to understand how the wind work. You see it.

It's they are. You come to Christ. And when you come to Christ in you, what you realizes this, God is done the work in your heart and then give him the praise and honor and the glory for what he is done. No one's gonna stand before God and the final judgment and say I'm sinister hail, because I'm not one of the elect. This I am sinister hail because I love my sin more than I love Jesus, I'm sinister hail because I spurn the spotless precious blood of Jesus and thought my rebellious nose in the face of a God who told me the truth is not that I did not have the truth, it was that I did not like the truth. First John 229 John emphasizes the new birth is his children of God are those who have been born of him of reading a book on the Puritans a while back and thought it was interesting that when the Puritans brought someone into fellowship and membership of their church. They asked two questions.

The first question was this what has God done for you and that gave the person an opportunity to to share if you really understood the gospel are not for what would they say when that question was asked what is God done for you that they would've said though the Lord has done a resurrection work in my heart. The Lord has has has has regenerated my heart and given me a new heart heart that is expressing faith in a heart that desires to repent and so I've expressed faith and because I have expressed faith that the Lord has has pardoned me of all my sins, he is imputed to me, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He is adopted me into his family to his reconciled me to a holy God is, he is ransom me and redeemed me from the slave market of sin.

My salvation is not based on what I have done for God. It is based on what God has done for me by the finished work of Christ on the cross.

That's the right answer, but the Puritans didn't stop with that one question they went on to ask a second question and that is not just what has God done for you, but what has God wrought in you is the sanctification process going on in your life. Has your life changed. Are you loving your brother are you loving the word of God.

Are you fighting sin. Are you walking in holiness before the Lord. Many people know the words rightly to answer the first question, but the second question is the proof of your salvation.

The proof of your salvation. What is God doing in you is a live in his life through you as my introduction now to post three questions to you from this passage number one. Are you practicing righteousness. Are you practicing righteousness. Look at verse 29. Again, if you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practice righteousness has been born of him when we say that Jesus is righteous will remain word righteous is a Greek word the chaos and end it means to be in proper accord with God's standards. When we say that Jesus was righteous. What we mean is that Jesus was always in every point at every moment, always in proper accord with God's Word and God's will. He was perfectly holy and perfectly sinless. So what is it mean for me to practice righteousness it means for me to live like Jesus to live like Jesus in acts 1038. The Scripture says that Jesus went about doing good. He was totally selfless. He spent his time meeting the needs of others to heal the sick. He fed the hungry, and he comforted the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. He taught the world that the word of God, he taught the word of God to hungry souls in every situation that came up in his life. He brought this question to the forefront in this question was this what is the father's will and in every situation.

He did the will of the father every single time. That's why God the father spoke from heaven, and said this is my beloved son, whom and whom I am well pleased. Here him to practice righteousness is to day by day get better at living like Jesus and doing God's will.

So me just ask you some questions. Are you getting better and not blowing up at the kids, are you getting better at not being sarcastic to your spouse. Are you getting better at turning the other cheek at when somebody treats you wrongly at work are you getting better at going the 2nd mile which means doing your best in situations and and not just getting by.

Are you getting better giving to the poor. Are you getting better at caring for friends who are hurting, are you winning battles with temptations that you were losing a few years ago are you are are you hungry or for the word of God more hungry than you were a year ago, are you more thick-skinned for the glory of God then you used to be. Are you redeeming the time for Christ's sake, better than you used to do. Practicing righteousness is the process of sanctification what is sanctification. It's me and conform to the image of Christ. I look at it this way when God made us where were like a big block of wood and inside of us is the image of Jesus and the sanctification process is God knocking off all the parts of that wood that don't look like Christ and someone were first saved.

What is he do. It's like he takes in acts any quacks off these major sins seems like idolatry. Your sins like immorality or sin like drunkenness or stealing and he just knocks those right off and then he takes is his knife a big knife and he begins to whack off other things. Things like gossip and slander and lying and outbreaks of anger. He takes a smaller knife.

He starts whacking off some other things.

Aloofness apathy towards the need of others in gratitude and prideful actions they take Sandpiper and start sanding down the other things. Things like defensiveness, lack of empathy, failure of sacrificial love and all of a sudden what starts happening you start realizing that that piece of wood is looking a whole lot like Jesus is was sanctification is is what practicing righteousness is it's becoming like Christ. What John's talking about, not just what God has done for you, but what God is doing in you question number two. Are you a benefactor of the father's love first sentence of chapter 3 is behold what manner of the love the father has given him to us that we should be called the children of God. I wish that we could all see the force that first word. I don't like the ESV's translation of it is to see I like behold better the whole get your attention a little better than see, but it's her strong strong word. It means luck. Be amazed at the us at what at the love of God that is expressed in the salvation of his people. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God. Scripture says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and and when I was saved.

It was the fear of God that brought me to my understanding of my need for Christ. I realize that I was lost.

I realize that I was on my way to an eternal hell.

I needed to see how holy God was how unholy I was, how desperately I needed him and it was the fear of the Lord that broke me but it was the love of the Lord that drew me to him and that's what he's talking about here. Why would he send his son to the cross to be crucified to be to be hurt to be killed on on that cross for somebody is worthless is me. His holiness broke me with his love drew me to himself. Could we with ink the ocean feel and were the skies of parchment made were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade to write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll containing the whole the stretch from sky to sky and what happens to you. If you're benefactor benefactor of God's love is love changes you and the better you experience the love of God, the better you can be able love other people love for God will result in the desire to be obedient to Christ. Jesus said if you love me and keep my commandments. Warren wears be tells the following story. It was a group of young people that were out that a party one night, one of the young people said to the rest of the group said hey Lis let's go to the the bar down the street just just for a good time as a young Christian girl, there's language Jan and Jan said to the guy that she was dating. She said you know I think it's probably time for me to go home and there was another girl there that wanted to chide her little bit about it. She said why do you think you need to go home you think you father's going to hurt you, and she said no I don't think my father's going to hurt me is not what I'm worried about. She said what I'm worried about is me hurting my father and brothers and sisters. That's with the love of God, the father of the do to us in all the calls us to love him more and to love others more my third question is why doesn't the world understand those who were born of him.

The second part of verse one chapter 3. The reason why the world does not know us is that he did not know him. John 111, the Scripture says that Jesus came into his own and his own received him not all the way through the Gospels. People are befuddled by Jesus, I don't understanding they don't getting other people as well. Is this not the thus son of Joseph and Mary, how does he do these miracles. No man ever spoke like him and John is saying here. Listen Christian. The world did not understand Jesus and they're not undergoing understand you either don't be shocked when people mock you don't don't be shocked when people laugh at you and and label you crazy. You're a partaker of the divine nature, and it's the Jesus in you that confuses people. True Christians know each other has nothing to do with race, gender or nationality or social status. True Christians relate to each other because all true Christians have this in common. They have a hunger for Jesus. We may not all have the same millennial view the same baptismal mode of the same denominational understanding. But if you know Jesus if he saved you in your new creation. Then other Christians can feel it about you.

They can since it about you, and you can since it about them Martin Lloyd Jones said this way the world did not know Jesus and it won't know you this thing of which I'm speaking is only discern spiritually. It is something hidden something within in exactly the same way that God had was veiled by the flesh of Christ, hidden and revealed at the same time so it is true the Christian we have the divine nature within us. But yet, it is veiled in the world is not see-through that it's all right, John said this is a mystery, something internal you will find this truth in Revelation 217 where we are told that a secret name is given to Christians, and no one understands that hidden name, but the Christians themselves. That is the same idea exactly I can sit down on an airplane start talking to a person within a matter of minutes.

I can usually tell that person is a Christian if his spirit will witness to my spirit. That is a child of God. I'm not talking about a personal airplane who done because he was in getting drunk and is been courteous, lots of unbelievers do that I'm talking about something supernatural is a great mystery and is a sense it is one of the most glorious aspects of the Christian life. The world does not know was, but we know Christ and we know one another and that is proof of life. We are aware that something is happening to us. We are aware that God is dealt with us and is done something to us. We know that we are new creatures and listen to this statement is as we are aware that we cannot explain our sales to our sales except in terms of Christ, and we know when we see it in another. Nobody else does, but we know one another. The Lord has done something for us that we can't begin to comprehend or understand, but it is glorious and it cost Jesus's life. I can't say it better than John said it behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we might be called the children of God when he coated close with this question. Have you been born of him if you had been on that plane with Todd Beamer. Where would you be today. Would you be in glory with Christ, knowing that you will be with him forever and ever and ever. Where would you be if you're not sure, then let me encourage you to come to Christ come to Jesus. Don't put this off. Get serious.

Get serious about repentance get serious about trusting him get serious about loving the one who created you and died for sinners behold what manner of love the father is given in to us that we might be called the children of God is pray. Heavenly father, we thank you and praise you for your precious word.

We thank you Lord for the precious gospel that you have said that he comes to you. We will and you will in no wise cast out. And I pray father that if there is one here tonight that is not sure about his salvation is not sure that he would die and go to be with you with his death were to happen today that this might be the very day that you would deal with his heart in such a way that he would not be able to resist you any longer. He would trust you and you alone for salvation.

Jesus, thank you for dying for us.

Thank you. Provoked for providing for our salvation. Thank you for loving us.

It's in your holy and precious thing we pray. Amen