Assured Because of Your Love of the Father, Part 2

Jamie Greer, in my opinion, we cannot think about this talk about this review. This too much as idolatry is the sin behind every sin what it means to be a rebel against God is that you want idolatry you ever actually repented of your idolatry.

Not did you pray a prayer for Jesus court points did you repent of your idolatry template or jungle somewhere with little golden statues and something looking like from Indiana Jones fact now that I mention it, I bet you're humming a song right now, but today on Summit life pastor JD Greer explained that idolatry much broader concept and much more common than you might think.

Pastor JD is continuing our teaching series called assured and if you missed any of the previous messages can catch up online by visiting JD Greer.com now here's pastor JD with the message he title assured because of your love of the father lays and that is a genuine relationship with God that begins with repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ. So I wanted to do this series to help you understand exactly what those things are, and to know for sure if you've done you can express repentance and faith in a prayer that is true, but do not equate a sinner's prayer with repentance and faith because it is possible for you to pray the prayer without actually repenting and believing it's also possible for you to repent and believe about pray the formal prayer.

So that's one reason that I wanted to do this. The other reason is because I know that until you find assurance your spiritual life is never going to take off. I knew that from experience you will never be able to go to Great Lakes for God, you are assured of where you stand with God assurance is the fuel for everything else in the Christian life. Your heavenly father who is crazy about you and is always watching over you sees everything that you go through and the last thing that he would ever want is for you to doubt where you stand with him. So 100,000 times yes God wants you to know because it is the knowledge of your assurance that gives you the capacity to actually go places with him to first John what he does is he gives you a series of ways of knowing that you are safe tests if you will that will prove that your experience with God is genuine and today were to become the one that is so fundamental, so foundational that this test is not true of you will pass this test and there is something seriously wrong down in your heart and it might indicate that though you have been in church for a long time, and though you have considered yourself a very religious person.

Maybe you don't know God at all. Maybe your experience with God is not been genuine, because even if you're very religious. If this has not occurred in your heart. If this test. This is so foundational you will pass this test. It indicates that that something in you may have never actually encountered and that God, here it is.

First John chapter 2 verse 50 do not love the world or the things in the world. I want this. Here's your statement of diagnosis is never ever in the Bible. Computers diagnosis with prescription diagnosis. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. That's a description. If anyone loves the world that shows the love of the father is not really in him for all that is in the world the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the father but is from the world. Now, first let me note for you and discuss the confusing nature at least of the first part of this verse. What is it mean to do not love the world is what he means, he means the world as it is arrayed in rebellion against God. That's what he needs do not love the world as it is arrayed in its rebellion against God. He defines his own meeting in the next verse to look at verse 16 for all that is in the world. That is, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father. It is of the world. So that's what he meets epithelia and what it means is a craving or a desire that is taken on too much weight in your life is a craving that is taken on so much weight that it begins to dominate your emotions and begins to dictate your behavior by that's what it epithelia is applied to a lot more than sex and diagnosis go through that list. He gave it out to help you hopefully see little bit but what it means the lust of the flesh. That's when some good thing God has created for the flesh become so important to you that you either feel like you could not be happy without it, or it takes on such an important role in your life that you were willing to disobey the laws of God to get it. There is there is an obsession with sex that is morally the way our culture teaches girls to dress so that it highlights their sexuality and flaunts their sexuality is worldly do not love the world will love the lust of the flesh. Don't celebrate them as ultimate faith is like defining things where the world does because if you do the love the father is missing from your life. Here's a side when the lust of the eyes, the lust of the eye. That's when you see something good in the world become so important that you thought there's no way that your life to be happy without that thing you dream about the lust of the eyes when you can't sacrifice something God tells you to sacrifice you save so much money because you're worried about a rainy day that you don't give God a gift to him generously the pride of life years that the third day he identified. That's when your welder accomplishments in life become something that you take pride in the wrong with your accomplishments. Nothing all your wealth is when you take pride in those things which could take a couple of different forms. One, you think that what you probably make you better than everybody else. That's how you felt like you got, you raise your head up up up right is because I've made this much money I've accomplished this in this talent or the other way that you and surprising life with as it relates to this is it's it's one of those things about you or your compass was the gives you confidence for the future when you look into the future and you think what's going to make me okay in the future.

The place that you go is the money you have in the bank or the talent you possess for the job you have your little diagnostic question when you think about the future. What tells you that the future is going to be okay when you look to for assurance of the future to be okay.

Your talent your prospect, your current job amount of money you have in the bank because if so, then you were consumed by the pride of life and there is something that has displaced God, you are not depending on God and his leadership and his strength in his grace. You're depending on your self to take care of your future. And so you have the pride of life. John says do not be concerned with these things because if your life is consumed with those things. It shows that the love of the father is not in your life.

God has been displaced.

It's not that these are bad things in themselves, always. It shows that they have simply taken on too much weight God has ceased to be God and something else become God epic to me.

I means only a desire that is taken on too much weight and that is the world's way, but I told you before, the word for glory in the Hebrew language is the word Carbone abode literally means what weight is when you give something glorious when you give it weight when something has glory in your life you given it so much weight that it dominate your behavior and it controls you. That's what he's referring to can approve you that I think I've interpreted this right okay I will go to the last verse in the book of first Johnof the really odd about first on the road puzzles people even commentators get tripped up by this little bit first on 521. It's an odd little verse very last verse is benediction. Is this little children to yourself from idols. Now some of you will read this computers are like what he just threw that in it he doesn't mention the word idols at any other point in the book of first John, so it's like he gives this light farewell that has nothing to do with what he was talking about is okay. Hope you enjoy my letter goodbye back about electives of model by any series. If I ended this message with no hills. Here's like that's great but that's not what you were talking about for the message. So it is there something random that you forgot about PS there's another way that you could interpret that and that is that that last phrase summarizes everything that he has been saying up until man, which I think is the correct interpretation, the essence of conversion, plus what John is talking about the essence of conversion is that God comes God to you again. You cease putting ultimate weight on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and God's glory begins to take on the most weight in your heart again you see the essence of sin. Listen, the essence of sin is not lying or drugs or illicit sex. The essence of sin is false worship.

All those things flow out of false worship to the essence of conversion, the essence of repentance is repenting of your false worship and returning to the true worship of God. Here's my question for you is that actually happened to you.

I know you prayed a prayer. I know that you went to a ritual. Were you invited Jesus in your heart but I'm telling you some of you treated them like a fire escape.

What you prayed a magic prayer and this is your get out a hell free card but you never actually repented of your idolatry and come home to the love of the father make sure you understand idolatry, but in my opinion, we cannot think about this or talk about this review. This too much because idolatry is the sin behind every sin what it means to be a rebel against God is that you are an idolater. Have you ever actually repented of your idolatry. Not did you pray a prayer and get your Jesus card parts did you repent of your idolatry. Your definition we use here of idolatry. Idolatry is whenever you love something more than God you depend on something more than God or you obey something more than God. That's what an idol is where here's another way we set an idol is usually not a bad thing. An idol is when a good thing becomes a God think, and then turns into a bad thing. So what about you what you love most in life. It's probably not a bad thing whatever you love most.

But has it taken on such weight in your life that you love it more than you love God, that you seek it more than you see God and they point to the fact that God is not God in your heart something else is God's. Let me summarize three things that John is trying to teach you in these verses gives a number one idolatrous love of the world shows that God is missing from your life. Idolatrous love in the world shows you that God is missing from your life. Because if you crave the things of the world that shows that God is not filling the inner parts of your heart, your heart, you see is created.

Listen to this with a capacity for God and if God is not fair. You begin to crave other things in his place because your heart is like a vacuum that is looking for something to worship. The question is not listen. The question is not if you worship the question is what you worship you by your very makeup or a worshiper. You will find something or salami me or me make this point from a surprising other place I saw statement recently by Madonna in Vogue magazine.

She said listen this.

My drive in life has come from a fear of being mediocre.

That's what's always pushed me so I push past one spell a bit and discover myself as a special human being, but then later will again feel mediocre and uninteresting. Unless I do something else because even though I become somebody I still have to prove that I am somebody, my struggle is never ended and I guess it never will now know what you think about Madonna, but that's a very insightful statement.

She just might know herself a little better than you and I know ourselves to chances are you something that drives you to become something so that you can obtain the pride of life or some other thing the ESOPs is how you dress aggressive in different ways as you want people to love and praise you for some of you it's the job that you seek right you are an idolater. We want someone to tell us well done. We want to find some form of ultimate satisfaction. If we don't choose the love of the father watch. We will by default. Always choose the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life, you will choose one the other in the choice of one will exclude the other. The way St. Augustine said at 1500 years ago, our hearts are restless until they find the rest in you.

Could it be that all of your stress all of your straining all of your dissatisfaction all of your worry all of your envy all of your jealousy is pointing you toward the fact that you never repented of your idolatry and you never come home to the love of God.

Could that be. What's actually been happening throughout your life. Could it be, would you be willing to consider that all your stress in life and all of your jealousy and all these personal problems zero back into the fact that you never actually repented about your idolatry and come home to the love of the father number two the way to overcome the world is by embracing the love of the father Boyd overcome the world by embracing the love of the father. If idolatrous love. The world shows of the love of the father is missing from your life. Think about the way to free yourself from the love of the world is by embracing the love of the father, you say well here's a friend so you can hear this to be yourself about how to love the father or not, that's my problem. I love the father will depend a lot about you miss the whole point, the love of the father, something that is given freely in Christ love of the father was given that because you earned it, because Jesus purchased it for you and you embrace the love of the father. That's a free gift. And when you embrace the free love of the father that gives you the ability to overcome the world.

That's a very important point because most of us think of salvation is given as a reward for us having overcome the world. But in fact, salvation is the power by which you overcome the world. God's love. God's love is a gift that is given prior is given, because Jesus died on the cross for your sin and uttered the words that changed history.

It is finished what he said it is finish he didn't mean it almost finished and then let you rest on it. He said it is finished with when it's gone just embrace it and the love of the father will give you the power to turn off the lust of the world never confuse diagnosis and prescription diagnosis visual of the father enough Scriptures not love the father more prescription is embrace. Love the father for you first IABC this is awesome versus in personam's political sermon on the present by four for everyone is born of God overcomes the world.

Watch what this is the victory that is overcome the world with the victory.

What was it it it it is our self-discipline is in our radical generosity is in our awesome Bible knowledge know what overcomes the world. Our faith in Jesus, who is overcome the world and my faith in his finished work is what enables me to overcome the world. Salvation is not a reward for having overcome the world. Salvation is me believing that he overcame the world and I just embrace it and then I overcome the world. First John 419 we love we love.

Why we love because he first loved. We love because we have we we we have wills of iron because we are morally superior to everybody know we love because we understand he first loved us in his knowledge of the love of God for you that produces love for God in you last verse of first John five verse right before the idolatry verse loaded for John 520.

We know that the son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is toward church.

True, true, and we are in him who is everybody true in his son Jesus Christ. He is the everybody true everybody means it is me like eight people who are paying attention. I look for that lesson.

It's again he is not everybody true God and eternal life. He because he is the true God, and because he is the real eternal life. I don't need the false gods of the fake eternal life, which is known as the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life fall security false pleasure finding Jesus means finding something better than what the world offers. Here's a list of share with you before Jesus is better than money is better than money because Jesus is an impotent and loving supplier of our needs and Jesus never crashes or dips below 10,000.

Jesus is better than human love, earthly marriage was just a shadow of the heavenly love our souls craved the tenderness in the affection the security to be long for Masada marriage actually found in his arms.

Jesus is better than earthly pleasures at their very best earthly pleasures are supposed to function like rays of the sun shine in your face and warm your face and you will back up along the right to the source in his presence is the fullness of joy in his presence is where the real pleasure is and I can know that I have him even when cloud even if it obstructs me from the Renaissance.

I got the source of pleasure. He's better than open pleasures.

Jesus is better than earthly power.

Think about it. He holds and sustains every molecule the universe every electron and neurotic neutron neuron new a moron like me and end up in and got an proton you hold them all and he commandeers all of them for his good purposes and a lot that's power that I can control all the atoms in the that's power. That's better than earthly power.

Jesus is better than popularity. Who cares about a bunch of no account earthlings if you got the loving the light of the approval of the creator God. I'm tell you whatever god you compare God to God wins every time, every time faith in this faith in God's perfect love given you in Jesus. That's what overcomes the world.

And when you have found him the true God. When you have tasted the real eternal life. The perfect love of the father, you will give yourself to the lust of the flesh, and you will be able to keep yourselves from idols.

One report I want to share with you. It's really been burning on my heart. Number three is quickly only by not lusting for the world, will you ever be able to love the world, only by not lusting for the world.

Will you be ever be able to love the world listen, there's a lot of things own experience what I have right now the love of the father which is fine.

What I have is the promise of eternity. When you get this perspective, you'll be able to give yourself away in your life and characterize my love the gifts of love serves.

Humans could happen like this missions for you and sacrifice and generosity become joint until you get this missions sacrifice becomes drudgery that the litmus test whether or not you get this principle is giving and sacrifice omissions as a drudgery to viewers in the light. Jesus, for God so loved the world that he freely gave Hebrews 12 to 12 to for the joy that was set before him.

He endured the cross, Jesus was dominated by joy because he wasn't enslaved in the things of the world, beloved father and he loved us. If you would love the father love us and not be enslaved.

A lot of the world you can love the world doesn't work out for you what dominate your life now is the love of the father is it the love of the world you had a personal experience with God. If not, you can receive it right now embrace and work up to it, don't beat yourself up for not loving the father just embrace his love for you and love for him grow in you is the gospel is that Eric. She defeats every competitor ever put in it to when you have truly found him found the love of the father for you sacrificing the things of this world won't seem so bad so dominate your life convicting teaching today on Senate life with pastor and author JD Greer for more resources on this topic or to hear today's message again. Visit us@jdgreer.com and let it what were learning here in the program were excited to offer you a copy of Pastor JD's new 10 day devotional title short. This study gives a thorough biblical answer to the question of assurance.

How can we know for sure where we stand with God and Senate life is the only place to get this exclusive resource for honest we probably all admit that there are moments when we care more about what's on TV tonight and we do about spreading the kingdom of God in the world. I definitely found that category moments where we have to following that same old temptation for the thousandth time limits when God feels distant, almost like a stranger when we don't jump out of bed in the morning, hungry for his word or when her mind wanders all over the place during prayer that is when you can actually bring yourself to pricking times like these are familiar to all of this, they maybe don't happen all the time, but certainly more often than we care to admit. So what do you do in these moments, the answer is keep believing in the gospel. No matter how we feel at any moment how discouraged or encourage we feel about our spiritual process, how hot or cold our love for Jesus feels the answer is always the same exerciser in the gospel to get deeper into these topics of assurance and salvation. We'd like to get you a copy of our new devotional from Pastor Jamie called sure reflecting on your security in God's family. You want to request a copy when you donate today. Suggested level of $25 or more. Your gift helps us bring you these daily messages. You can type deeper into the gospel right along with donate right now and be sure to ask for your copy, 866-335-5228 665-5224 Downey and request a copy online JD Greer.com mail your donation are addressed in JD Greer ministry, PO Box 12293, Carolina 77. I'm sure you noticed that our culture tends to use the word pretty loosely so I'm not loving your neighbor really mean my leaving events, inviting you to join us again on Wednesday will answer that question on Senate life.

Katie