Three Attitudes Towards Sin that Give You Assurance with God

Life with Jamie Greer you know that you know God. How do you know that what you think about your experience of God is genuine in light of what God says about eternity. Every other decision that you make as important as they are not nearly as important as whether or not you know that you know God whether not what you think you know about God is right, the Bible teaching ministry pastor, author and religion. Jamie and Molly that bench you're joining us today in a series called the short learning how we can know with certainty whether or not restate if you missed any of the previous messages you can hear them@jdgreer.com today. Pastor JD is talking about a somewhat uncomfortable subject sin and wise and uncomfortable because none of us are immune to its power and destruction in our lives. However, he explains that the way we think about our own sinfulness can actually help prove that we are saved. Pastor JD titled this thought-provoking message. Three. Attitudes toward sin give you assurance with God.

The Bible figured out now and opened it to the book of first John, first John, which is toward the last part of your New Testament book of first John we are in our third week here of this so serious about halfway through and we are answering this question I how do you know that you know God, you know that you know God. How do you know that what you think about your experience of God is genuine. How do you know that you not deceive. How do you know that he loves you.

How do you know you are at peace with them. How do you know that you will spend eternity with him. How do you know you got swept up in some kind of movement where you're just going along with the crowd, but your personal truth of God is not real. That is the question that the book of first John was written the answer and I would submit to you that there is no more important question that you will ever consider in your entire life. That question is more important than where you go to college is more important than the kind of job you get how much money you make. It's more important than who you marry that it's more important than how happy are marriages or even how happy you are in life because if you get that question wrong matter. If you get every other question right you lost everything in light of what God says about eternity.

Every other decision that you make as important as they are is not nearly as important as whether not you know that you know God whether not what you think you know about God is right, that's the question of the book of first John is written to answer what John does is he identifies three signs in the last half of first John 13 signs of somebody that doesn't know God, even though they think they do this through. Maybe all three of them of that right here at once and then you will break about one of the time like 1, you don't know God. John says if one you continue to sin means willfully eventually will get to that number two you don't know God. If you say you have no sin, number three, you don't know God. If you have no confidence before God, because of your said rational God. If you said you got a piece so you have a send you the God of the other confidence report because of your said this one is time for someone five. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, but God is light and in him is no darkness at all… John's way of saying I'm not a Buddhist I got is not getting in yen, with a little bit of darkness and light, all mixed in together. God is all why there is no evil. There is no wickedness. Nothing comes from him but pure goodness and holiness.

If we say, therefore, verse six, we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and we do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin.

Number one, you don't know God is you continue to sin, by the way, I don't mean by that that you ever said because all of us.

Sin for you say that you don't continue to struggle with sin would be its old problem of hillbilly than a minute what he means. If you willfully defiantly pursue sin know his use of the imagery of light here, God is light and in him is no darkness at all. Darkness here of course referring to moral darkness, injustice, hatred, violence, unfaithfulness, impurity, you cannot.

John says say that you love God, the light if you continue to seek after darkness because if you really been saved, you have a new spirit in you that craves the light that shows that you have been given the spirit of God's light because you begin to desire the light God when he saves us does not put guards around sin in the form of threats and punishments that will do it. He's going to punish us the changes or nature, so we will desire it in one of the mark that God's spirit is come inside of you as you begin to progress your desires begin to change so that you love the light.

King David said in Psalm 19. This way the commands of the Lord are radiance to me to give light to my eyes below the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing my heart to fear the Lord is clean and jewelry. Forever the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

Is that how you feel about God's laws are you the kind of person who chafes against God's laws and is trying to ask what is the minimum that I've got to do in order for God to say happy with me because if that is the spirit that is in you, you got to ask you actually know God, you maybe want to a ritual, but you had you actually been born again because one of the side to be born again by the being of ultimate light as you begin a craven desire the life you start to feel about God's law. The way that David felt about God's laws cannot tell you a few things I often hear or see in church people that that shows that there's no darkness.

If you are thinking that you can believe without repenting. That's one girl tell me not to long ago. She said you know I received Jesus as my Savior. But I have not yet accepted him as my Lord as if you could bifurcate Jesus into multiple different parts, and like order a certain package of Jesus and an upgrade later to the higher package.

Jesus does not come in parts you can't believe without repenting.

You can accept the Savior about taking it was Lord that was the first word of first commander Jesus gave the first time he preached the gospel. Mark 150 repent and believe the gospel.

They were the first word out of Peter's mouth after he preached the gospel. Acts 238 for the first time I'm refit. Paul said, repentance is what God commanded all men everywhere to do now that Jesus had been raised from the dead, so you cannot believe without repenting.

You cannot take crisis Savior not take him as Lord. You can't be saved by the light. If you still hate the light right. Imagine you guys about about ready to marry a girl in my before they get married. Jesus had to tell you I'm really not that into you and I can actually actually I'm going to these other girls and I hope that your clear that when we get married. I might do it on the religions of these other girls any girl to go along with that. What will of the federal don't worry number one number one always grosses me like I don't remember what I would be the only one not to be the only one I'm not going to be one at all to. There's no possible way for you to be saved by the light. If you still give yourself the seeking after darkness.

And here's another way believers are so-called believers were casual about or even openly embracing of said casual about or even openly embracing us if you got something in your life that you know was wrong which iCloud is the what I later or maybe maybe it's as a Christian, for example, that cheat on their taxes regularly. There's not a doubt in mind, and it was wrong that is doing a college guy who sleeps with his girlfriend gets drunk the weekend still wants God to be a part of his life to become such a hero, not on the weekend or maybe there's some part of the Bible's morality. You just by defensive cedars choose to opt out of that moral teaching as of the Bible were a salad bar where you could take the parts you find tastefully the parts that you don't. That is a sign that you don't actually know God because you cannot know crisis, Savior and Lord, and not have forsaken what he is forbidden. You cannot love Jesus and embrace the things that Jesus died to put into you cannot enter into the light can still pursue darkness. Whoever says. John says in the next chapter verse onto for I know him, but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, one that says I know God but is doing things willfully, intentionally, that they know not according to God's will is a liar. If you know Jesus lesson you don't, you don't get to know Jesus as a life coach or advisor who gives tips doesn't come that way you know him as Lord Jesus. Luke 646, a look of a group of people who said to him, hey we want you as our Savior. We want you as the miracle worker, but were not too excited at the lower part yet just about you call me Lord, Lord, not do the things I say if you're the kind of person that has to agree with Jesus before you'll submit to him. I don't think you get the concept of Lordship right so casually embracing city.

Here's one more point a sinner's prayer with no accompanying light change. Bring the sinners prayer as it is like a ritual you go through the are you Savior.

Ali prayed to receive Jesus. My grandmother when I was eight years older. I did at your church at your service upgrade where I thought wonderful cards. I got baptized. Listen what you hear this, God never says a prayer will save you. It is not going to a ritual that saves you. It's not repeating some words it's not a prayer that saves his repentance and belief in the gospel delays total salvation and the prayer can express the repentance and belief, but the prayer does not replace the repentance of belief right having example I use for you was in the example of a chair.

The chair that you're sitting on.

You can really only be in one of two relationship with the chair you're standing beside the chair or you transfer your weight off your feet onto the chair matter what you say to the chair you say all chair you are so beautiful and strong and big and I just really I want I want to receive you as my personal chair and like my personal chair in comfort and just make a speech for you never sit down right and it's kind of ridiculous, but the chair for that. Here's my be moved by your prayer. But the point is not the what you say to chair the points' to chair the point is not the prayer you say to Jesus. The point is a boxer you take toward Jesus. I think I'm talking to a culture lives filled a lot of people that don't really seem to get that.

So number one you don't know God.

If you send your positive version of that if you take it out. You do know God, if you're in a posture of surrender and a posture served by the way Michael Matson was perfection either if you won't God explain the minute you fall a lot. I certainly do. But the point is, every time you fall you get back up and you resume your posture of repentance toward God. It means that you have every decided surrender to Jesus Christ and that you stumble from it.

You always get back up and resume the position that he's the boss because he's the Lord that's what I'm talking about here is number two verse eight we say we understand, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Verse 10 get on there. If we say we have not simply make him a liar and his word is not in us.

Number two, you don't know God.

If you have Merced to this is an error on the opposite side. John says that what's this being unaware of the sinfulness in your heart is a sign that you don't actually know God because one of the first evidences of the light of God coming into your life is, you begin to have eyes to see the sin that is in your heart you imagine it like this.

Say that you were in a your room in your it was pitch dark, but your room was filthy but pitchdark and I said to you is this room filthy is it messy you so often I don't know if you want to be known as a clean person. You might say will sure it's clean, it will cling to me I guess anything is wrong with it, but if I took a very small Matson. I lit the match by the light of that night. You could see that the dressers are returning to close all over the floor and not replace the match of the flashlight. Now you can see the beds, not made, the sheets are filthy and then I replace the the flashlight with a halogen bulb and now you can see, so such bright light, but you can see the fine dust. That's on top of all pieces of furniture and you can see the mildew that runs all the baseboards the sign that the light of God is coming into your life is like that. The first sign of God's grace is you get a sense of how wicked your heart is beside the God's grace is coming into you is not that you start to feel super awesome and super spiritual tube rolling side to God's grace is coming into you is that you like John says become aware of how simple you are. And this is one of the things that people find most impressive about the gospel and why many people turn it off.

I found most people in our culture are okay with admitting that they're not perfect and that they make mistakes but you notice they always want to justify that their mistakes are not as bad as other people's mistakes and so you're always one got your message about that bad. I'm put up so pretty could be a good person so you admit that you are simple that you make mistakes but to watch this say that you are worthy of condemnation and you are worthy if you got what you deserved you would go to hell.

That's something most people want to go down. That's about the because we want to think there were good people that we deserve good things and it's a hard thing to grasp but until you once you grasp that you are very close to the gospel and the awareness of the statement you are before God is the first evidence that God's light is coming into your heart and by the way, awareness of sin in your heart is not something that happens to you. Only when you're a non-Christian, your meters Christians that they talk like you used to be bad when I wouldn't you're save adopted not perfect but figure take me to know it answers you like what he struggle with well I just work too hard.

I just care too much.

Lastly you. I left my but it was so much money. I hardly had enough about own needs you and the like what he struggle with and I'm like well whatever you're got cut me off in traffic and I felt like Dragon.

I discard stop on his face with golf cleats right but now I don't feel I tell you that anymore Mr. perfect right she's somebody that feels that way. Watch that's not assigned or close to God that's assigned a blind the clearest sign that you're growing in grace is not that you no longer sin. The clearest sign you're going to grace is that you're more aware of how much sin actually pervades your heart to get… That might be different for some of the clearest sign you're growing in grace is not that you no longer sin. The clearest sign you're going to grace is that you become more aware of how simple your heart.

Actually, if that's really how is work with me. I recently have studied the story of John the Baptist you get into it.

Taken apart, and the Holy Spirit showed me this thing about how about John the Baptist.

Every single time.

Every time somebody directed attention toward him. He would always get Otto about Donald amenable for me love my Jesus and suddenly the minute the Holy Spirit turned out on me and said your life is been the complete opposite of this every Sunday, every weekend there's little glory war that's going on in my heart. And the question is am I more concerned about you giving glory to God are more concerned about you thinking about what kind of preacher I am to get the glory you leave thinking about it while you to be more in all of me or more in all of God and God Shabbos light on me. But you showed me that that that you all some of my best moments my most spiritual moments where I was preaching the best there was this layer of sinful things that are going on in my heart now does listen, I'm growing and changing. II see change in my heart yes but the point is, I feel more simple now than the day I was converted because God's light in my heart is brighter, and because of that I can see even more of the dust of my sin on the furniture of my life and I could see more than the cave and mildew of sin in the crevices of my life that I could bidet that I came to Christ church listen to me closeness to God rarely, but really, I mean never closest to God rarely makes you feel holier. It always makes you feel dirty you will mow more example this fruit. Isaiah chapter 6 Isaiah the prophet of God. Now in your prophet God does top of the food chain right when you're probably not get the book of the Bible main doctorate you might hear about it often takes a right so Isaiah is as good as it gets is a prophet. God gets a boat named after it has a face-to-face meeting with God, Isaiah 6 to come out of that meeting to come out like all you and believe I had a meeting with dolomite phases in a glowing holy hole get picked 2000 spent just touching. I got I got everything he is your right. Isaiah 6 when Isaiah sees God even think about how awesome he is even say what a privilege he falls in his face and said what was me. I'm ruined because I am a man of unclean lips, and I will miss of a people of unclean lips, and I did realize that dog on the light of God's holiness. The sign that you are in the presence of God is not a feeling of how awesome you are the sign that you are the presence of God is a sense of how simple you are the first side of grace is that your heart becomes aware of simple to having somebody carries themselves with an air of how good they are Xers and on about all that they have what we call theological BDO right images when you pick a shower, but a change of clothes all the time for this is they look like a great get close to me like you're not going there a lot of people very religious people of theological video because they do all of it.

All the garments of religion, but the sign that God's bathing light is coming your heart as you have a sense of how simple your heart is so number two you don't know God. If you say you have medicine we deposit a version of that when you do know God, if you're deeply aware of your own sinfulness was from Annette light of God comes in and it's doing that for some of you have one of a few reactions to it was very important. As exact, were some of you are for some of you in the light of God because to come into your life what you do what you want to do is you want to retreat back into the darkness is darkness. If your eyes are you suitors comfortable right movie theater, and after the movie usually will like out of the elect of the hall on the back of the lobby and go out and hurt your eyes have a chance to get accustomed to the light graduate get out the little X of the bottom right next screen you got walked out, you cut a cruise along the light of day just hit you what you were doing. That moment we wanted to retreat back into the darkness because you're comfortable that that's happening to some of you right now. She started to come here and you never been in the presence of people who just said this is what the Lord God says in your heart is being exposed and I know I've been there.

You want to go back into the darkness is more comfortable but you know what happens if you stay in the light. If you walk outside and stay there.

It's painful, but you could drive him into readjusting that you could see I have to go in life while you want to go back in the darkness because of so much more that you can see in the light I'm urging you listen stay in the light. It's painful yes I know it's painful. I know that that two or three times a little message like at this point I get up and leave right and go home and type out an email to me and then you save it and then you'd never send it or some of you to send it to understand that okay.

There are some people who that's how they responded as they want to retreat some people. Their response is they get defensive and they want to start insisting on their own goodness they start thinking well yeah yeah but you I'm better than other people.

Right we do that right you know I'm not as bad as I must say yeah, but not going over there is always of a guy grade to the curve of you. I will be okay because I'm pretty confident I'm on the north side of the bell curve making excuses for well the reason I made these days, with the wrong crowd.

I had I had bad parents which he wants a bad idea for a couple reasons one called God a liar that's never a good idea for someone to use it if we don't acknowledge the sinfulness of our heart we make God a liar. The Bible says that you and I are children of wrath. The Bible says we are sons and daughters of disobedience. The Bible says that we are born in iniquity will sin because we hung out with the wrong crowd, we sin because we are the wrong crowd and that the reason we wanted to hang out with the wrong crowd is because the sin that was in their hearts resonated with the symptoms our hearts. That's what we chose to hang out with the wrong crowd because we are more comfortable with the wrong crowd is called God a liar. Do you agree with God about his statement about your heart as you were to be condemn, but here's the other reason it's it's foolish is because it shows you completely blind to the holiness of God because for you to stand before God was sent in your life is built up the piece of tissue paper touching the surface of the sun.

Grace taught my heart to fear. So when you insist on your goodness when you want to rest in the fact that you are okay just shows that you don't get the concept of who God is and who you are when you're awake in the God you become deeply aware of your sinfulness and all you say is what was me Fryman.grace teaches your heart to be afraid. There other options you come to the light, and you can confess it, which is the third thing here number three you don't know God is.

You have no confidence before God, because of your sin, you don't know God. If you continue and send you all know God, if you're unaware of your sin, you don't God if you have no confidence before God, because of your sin.

Start with an awareness of our own sin and the realization sprayed me, but thankfully doesn't leave us there when you surrender your life to his will, he washes your sins. And he makes emu and insurance. We all need your listening to Senate life Bible teaching ministry pastor Jeannie clear. If you miss any of the previous messages in this series called insured can hear them online. Jeannie clear.com they are guilt also have access to attentive different resources like the complete sermon transcript for every message pastor Jeannie's devotionals and logs. The posts cover a variety of different topics. Use the search bar to find answers to any pressing questions you might have and we subscribe to our email list today, you'll get instant access to Senate study questions for each chapter of pastor Jeannie titled Jesus into your heart faint, but he based his theories on all without having a hearing in your salvation or to get even deeper into the study. You can get your own copy of a brand-new 10 day devotional called insured when you don't need to support this ministry suggested level of $29 or more. You really getting your fellow listeners across the country for encouragement throughout their gift today and remember to ask for your copy of the new resource short call 865-5220 865-5224 you can give online Jeannie clear. I'm only benefits. So glad you are with us today and be sure to tomorrow proper response to stand Sherry that's Friday on Senate life Jeannie clear your ministry