Assured Because of Your Love of the Father

Today on Summit life Judy Greer talks about an important test of our faith God will review your experience with God is not been genuine, because even if you're very religious and this has not occurred in your heart.

If this test is so foundational you'll pass this test that indicates that something in you may have never actually encountered and that God life. Chapter 7 Jesus takes it clear that it's possible to call yourself a Christian believe all the right things and do the right stuff without ever truly being Satan.

Jesus says that it's possible to prophesy and cast out demons and do mighty works in his name without truly recognizing so we know where we stand. What's the difference between knowing about Jesus and truly knowing him. Pastor JD answers that question for us today with the message title short because of your love of the father of assured knowing for sure that you are saved and how first John speaks to that my purpose in this series has been to help you find the assurance of salvation for at least a couple of reasons.

The first is that I am concerned about a lot of people, even people here at our church to tell me that they are assured of their salvation on the basis of a prayer that they prayed that somebody told them if they would pray this prayer or go to this ritual that would punch their ticket for heaven and guarantee them that they would go to heaven when they die so that you know they they asked Jesus to come into the harder they got bow ties in with the confirmation. Whatever it was in your tradition, but listen, the Bible, not one time ever says that because your prayer prayer you're guaranteed heaven once. If there's one thing that lays hold of salvation, and that is a genuine relationship with God that begins with repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ, and so I have wanted to do this series to help you understand exactly what those things are and know for sure if you 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 prayed a 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 to take off. I knew that from experience you will never be able to go to great lengths for God, you are assured of where you stand with God assurance is the fuel for everything else in the Christian life. I mean think about it how you ever give away your self for the kingdom of God until you know that you possess a God who is worth more than anything else you would give up right you give everything away for Jesus, and you know that the Jesus you give it away for is actually worth, and that he belongs to you. The established church of Martin Luther, the reformers day believed that the future if you gave people the assurance of their salvation, then that would take away their motivation for obedience.

But because because what God did as he dangled heaven on front of us like a carrot is you want to go here and avoid hell better. I tried, and if you remove that character you move the threat of helping people get lazy spiritually.

Martin Luther labeled this correctly, the damnable doctrine of doubt, the damnable doctrine of doubt. He said it is true that if you coerce someone's behavior by threats of punishment, you can coerce their behavior, but you will never captivate their art and God does not want people who simply obey him because they're afraid of what you will do to them. You want people who will obey him because they love him in the way that you produce a love for God and somebody is not by threatening them with punishment. What you produce that is by showing them God's great love for them love for God grows in the assurance of the love of God know by the way we settle that he's according first John we love him because because why first John says why we love him because he threatens us with health. We don't because he promises to withhold blessing if we don't do it know we love him because he first loved us. And so I want you to have the assurance of where you stand with God because I know that your spiritual lives will never take off until you are assured of where you stand with God you never to give everything away so you know that you possess the greatest treasure of the universe. God loves you. You understand that you love somebody you want them to know where you stand with them. You know throughout this book of first John, you might've noticed this. John always refers to the believers as little children, you see it again today and attach to look at little children children the first week that a good father doesn't want his children to be unsure of where they stand with them. The only way that love for me will grow my children is when they are assured of where they stand with me when there are assured of their love for me. You have a heavenly father who feels about you 10,000 times more than I feel about my children. I'd never want my children to feel lonely, I never want them to feel like orphans when they are hurt when they are broken.

I want them to know that they can count on me and depend on me and that I'm close to them you a 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 saved tests if you will that will prove that your experience with God is genuine and today were going to come the one that is so fundamental, so foundational that if this test is not true of you. You'll 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'll pass this test. It indicates that that something in you may have never actually encountered and that God here is first John chapter 2 verse 15 do not love the world or the things in the world.

I want this.

Here's your statement of diagnosis never ever in the Bible confuse 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 do not love the world. If you been around here for any length of time you may have noticed that the mission statement of the seven churches love God, love each other. Love the work will think you're like did you forget first John 215. He said that or how about John 316 for God so loved the world, was God confused.

Was God schizophrenic was he like you I love you that I hate you in any discomfort which really loved the world what is going on with by the way that's written by the same author Jack John 316 and first John 250 is John schizophrenic. He wrote both of them the love the world got to love the world, but so let's first talk about what that statement does not mean right when he says do not love the world, he is not saying that Christians should not love. First of all, the created order as it is in Christians hate earthly pleasures and the only love spiritual bags that are not a lot of Christians who thought best thing you think about heaven is sitting on a cloud somewhere in your diaper strumming alarm and the closer you get to God the less you care about things in the world is turning to us and ascetic who doesn't enjoy material blessings like plain food you don't like fashion. You don't like vacations you would just rather sit around in a library and read a checkbooks but God created the world and when God created the world. He looked at his creation. He know what he said what he say this is a huge distraction know he said this is God created the world to be enjoyed when Jesus was here. Did you know they call Jesus a glutton and McCormick drunk now. Those were slurps because he was neither of those but it didn't point to the fact that he enjoyed a good meal if you read the book of Luke, you will find that in Luke, Jesus is always either going to a meal or coming from a meal seriously, but the guy law could meal so it shows you that that's not what he's talking about. It glorifies God. When you enjoy great music you enjoy a nice vacation glorifies God when you enjoyed Angus barn steak. That's why you created a man they met him did not aggressively, but to love not the world. Secondly, does not mean that you hate the economic or social structures of our society is in. If you're a Christian, you just hate all government all big business great music industry you Hollywood just as a matter of principle. I know a lot of Christians who thought that it got. We were taught that because God hated the world like that we should go into Christian versions of those things will go into business or politics, but don't Christian version of that Christian music industry Christian arts Christian businesses because God hates all the succulents that's not what he's talking about. But here's the third thing.

Love not the world does not mean that you hate culture, but you hate culture. When I grew up this verse was often interpreted to mean that you should listen to rock music because rock music was worldly, even if you put Christian words to it. It was still the devil's music because the devil owns a drum set that is instrument anybody you resonate with this. Anybody else for this vinegar up. That's the payee I would.

I was told that Christian rock music was was like serving a T-bone steak on a plate of manure is what it was like nobody was over. That was only me right, I was told I was told there ought to be a difference in the world's music in the church's music, but that's the devil's music Jesus like southern gospel. That's what he likes. Sometimes you do bluegrass but he really like southern gospel. We were 2+ we play rock music extra flower to flower girls away from it in class visit grows toward your darling even girl I got it we had to avoid worldly dress styles never listen Christian guys, we should look different reward ties we we we do have short hair, no beards never ever ever would. We should we get tattooed or pierced, as were dispersed to look completely different.

Different anybody. Come on out about this resonate more with you and I grimace out under many of you did a song for kid you not. If your hair is too long there sin in your hearts anybody you cannot make that stuff out. You cannot make that up, get it cut today make a brand-new start mean we had a songs girl. Believe it or not have even more so we did had to wear those denim jumpers and culottes which are basically like a bell bottom pants that stopped right below the knees, a friend of mine got expelled from our school because her bathing suit had a hole in the knee.

I that's a joke, but for the little truth in Christians are supposed to look different. Just look at us as we can have the world styles this not what it means here.

It doesn't mean that you hate the people of the world.

Sadly, I've known a lot of Christians who felt that they were being godly women express their hatred or their disguised toward non-Christians. But that's not what he means because John 316 God so loved the world that he gave his son. You don't give your most precious thing for something that you hate you John 317, God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world through him might be saved. When you're walking with God you don't have hatred and disgust toward the world around you. You have such an intense love for you would be willing to offer your most precious thing to see it say what God did that what it not means. What does it mean what does 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 meaning 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 now the word that recurs several times in a little phraseology is the word last word. Lust is one that you really need to know because it occurs several times in the New Testament and it is core to understand the what sin actually is.

When you see the word last you automatically think sex and it certainly can apply to sex, but it means much more than that. Lust is the Greek word for through media 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 and applies to a lot more than sex and diagnosis go through that list. He gave it out and help you hopefully see a 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 to the state. For example, the example sex. Sex is a good creation of God, and ought to be greatly enjoyed in the way that God designed it to be enjoyed but when you say I am going to have it or I want to have it regardless of whether or not I do it according to God's designs. I want to do it in my way.

I want to have it when I once it's that is worldly when you treat sex like it is an ultimate thing that it is something that defines the good life and you have to have it at all costs. At that point it has become what he is talking about the lust of the flesh.

Our culture has an obsession with sex.

Can we agree on that.

You see you and him and how it advertises everything I for the life of me cannot figure out what sex has to do with the Go Daddy website that I told you before, it seems like every magazine in the supermarket rack is trying to sell itself are promising be some way that I can have great sex I buy this magazine are 10 ways make your man holler. 30 ways to shake your bed across the floors on the on the front of a 90 think of told you that think of nothing to do with relationships of notices.

No field extreme how to get your woman in the blind in order so I got you and I don't even know what you're talking about you when you say that I was in Walmart today and stand in line and a look over on the corner my eye and I see one of these magazines and there is a slight you know five ways to make your man's grave or something and I just might my seven-year-old who was one of the most observant people about things that I didn't want her to observe and not observant about things that I do want her to observe and she stated and also in her eyes get really big, and she's looking a direction is to have a look at what that says. And I was I don't look just don't look she's going to ignored and so get distracted by something we can just move on.

She would like a check that look like it's going as a files icon technologists are turned over a look which is that when the magazine she pointed at the thinking behind the magazine. It's the Walmart slogan that says save money. Live better. She got dad know God better and sinks her head.Thank you Jesus thank you Jesus save for another year there is there is an obsession with sex that is worldly, the way our culture teaches girls to dress so that it highlights their sexuality and flaunts their sexuality is worldly lesson. I got three daughters.

They are growing up. I know that I'm going to deal with this a lot in my life and I know what girls tell me now like I was not worldly to fashionable yeah it's in the fashionable world to follow Jesus you got to be willing to be unfashionable to the world to be popular with him so I you got to decide at some point whether or not you were going to dress in a worldly way whether you address a way to please God do not love the world will love the lust of the flesh. Don't celebrate them as ultimate faith is like defining things the way the world does because if you do the love the fathers missing from your life. Here's a side when the lust of the eyes, the lust of the eyes.

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, but I like to present the money, the lust of the eyes, you cease money or something. The money could buy you could imagine your life you happy without that level of income or that possession it's within that lead you to jealousy of those people who have that thing and you don't and resentment that leads you to listen unwise poor decisions in pursuit of that thing had to be an example you going to credit card debt lust of the eyes is usually what drives credit card debt. I really want that so I'm going to have to go into debt. Even though I know it's an unwise decision so that I can possess that think that I can imagine a person like me are a family like mine living at that level. Robinette, Carla and I got a house you get all crazy and that overworking. That's one. That's one that I really struggle with because I'm always like, hey, if I did this I can probably make a little extra me here to fight you designated as a rear of the siding God spoke to me this week in my top God. Proverbs 23 four was in my mind my reading do not overwork to acquire wealth.

Be wise enough to desist and was I to say I someone I gotta turn it off because I'm not be wise enough to know that what is driving me is the lust of the eyes is a Mike I really like to be able to afford that and is making me make unwise decisions about myself, my help, my family, my job just drives me.

Many of you are the exact same way because you're driven by the lust of the eyes. You make unwise decisions like not hiding or giving generously. If you put yourself in a financial situation where you cannot give generously, chances are you been driven by the lust of the eyes. That's how you got into that situation you I will be discounting their some of you understand that are very dire straits for there's a lot of us put ourselves in a position or about to put ourselves in a position where making decisions now that put us in places the cars we drive in the house we live in that event that that are going to take away our ability to obey God by giving away at least 10% of his work is her unwise decisions driven by the lust of the eyes when you can 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.

Jennifer's JD has been describing now with absolute certainty right now whether or not you're saying you're listening to Senate life Bible teaching ministry of pastor on their and theologian JD Greer for more resources on this topic of assurance. Be sure to check out JD Greer.com now pastor Janie Lemanski something more theological than I typically ask how often describe salvation as being quote in Christ actually mean it seems like Paul's primary way of describing her salvation what the answer comes from several biblical passages version comes my sacred is 521, where Paul says about Jesus. God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Salvation is not becoming a little bit better becoming more righteous and you finally at the standard.

It's that big Jesus is. Righteousness is given to me all at once as a gift. I'm completely made innocent and perfect and fully righteous in God's sight because Christ's righteousness goes to my account.

It means it right now. Right now Molly when I talk to God about my status I could say hey here's why. I know you accept me because I fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and resuscitate newest face. I had so much faith that I walk on water. I was so obedient I went to the cross while was on the cross.

I pray for the forgiveness of those who were tormenting me now you know that I didn't do any of this things Jesus did in his righteousness was credited to me that's what it means to be in Christ, he became your sin and you become his righteousness to trade places so the big glass will how do you how do you get to be in Christ. While that's a great news.

You simply believe what he is declared he has done for you by believing that by believing that he took your place. God says in the book of Romans, that your faith is counted as righteousness. We wrote a devotional are devotional called assured it's based on a book I wrote. Bashing Jesus in your heart that would love to give you this this devotional for free that walk you through some of these key passages that will show you how you can be assured of your salvation, how you can explain to others may view the great study for you to go through with somebody else. If you reach out to us in JD Greer.com without the put that in your hands and would love to get this conversation started is really helpful.

Thank you Jenny. You can get this particular divisional along with several others in this months featured resource. The assured attend a devotional.

This study gives a thorough biblical answer to the question of assurance how we can know for sure where we stand with infinite life is the only place to get this exclusive is a foundational 10 day devotional with reflection questions in a daily prayer guide perfect for wrestling without yourself for helping you get better at sharing the gospel with others and you copy with her.

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