That You May Know Conclusion

Good morning and welcome to CCC. I pray you have been safe and warm during this cold snap. If you need anything please let us know how we can help you

God loves you and those around you. He wants to work in and through you......are you seeking Him and seeking how he wants to work in and through you

With technology today we can minster to people all around the globe. God has been laying on my heart to share the gospel on tiktok and I have off and on and recently he laid it on my heart to do it daily.

I have been doing that starting this last week and within a day or two I have had comments and even an opportunity to pray with a young lady in Uganda.

How awesome is our God....I say that not to bring me praise but God praise and to remind you that as God’s children we are to be using everything at our disposal to spread the gospel and love our neighbors as Jesus loves us!

Let’s pray

START OBS

This morning we will conclude our That You May Know sermon series in I John. Next week we will start a new series in James.

I John has been challenging and a huge growth opportunity for me personally and I hope you as well.

Turn to

1 John 5:13–21

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King James Version Chapter 5

13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

There is a lot going on here as John concludes this letter to his church and to us today

I want to look at 6 major takeaways here together this morning

1. You Know You Are Saved vs 13

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How many times just in I John do we hear that you may know

John also speaks to knowing you are saved on multiple occasions

You don’t have to guess here this morning as to if you are saved or not.....you can know

Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you belong to God

Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are blood bought

Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are redeemed

Know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are a child of God.

I spent a lot of time here last week, if you missed that you can catch it on our RightNow Media page or our youtube page but I felt lead to spend a little time here again this morning.

I want to go to

John 20:30–31

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“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”

I read this because it is important

Jesus was known by His signs

He taught with an authority never before seen or heard

Why

Because He is the Word

He healed completely because he defeated sin and death

He loved radically because God is love!

His signs…not just miracles but who He was

No one who truly met Jesus left unchanged

everyone left their encounter with Jesus different than they were before the encounter

John says here in the gospel John “but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God”

That ye may know

Before you can know you are saved you must know Jesus!

God wrote the Bible so that you could know!

I hear a lot.....I try to read my Bible but it is hard to understand

Yes it is

satan has and will continue to fight hard against the Bible because it is God’s Word and absolute truth

he can’t defeat it so he tries to destroy it and outlaw it

You will never truly be able to understand the Bible until you are saved

How are you saved?

Romans 10:9

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“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

In fact the only way you can understand it is through the Holy Spirit which is why you must know Jesus

Confess Jesus with your mouth......make Him your personal Lord and Savior

and

Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead

That is salvation

that opens the door for you to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit and He teaches you scripture

He opens your mind to be able to understand the Bible

Once you are saved then the Holy Spirit is inside of you and guiding you and producing fruit in and through you

Praise God for that!

Another way to know

Matthew 7:7–8

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“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Ask…truly ask…not from a place of doubt

Doubt that God will answer you.....seek and ye shall find

knock and it shall be opened

every one that asketh receiveth

but ask God am I truly saved

He will answer you

Most of the time we know the answer when we ask we just struggle with our faith or with our doubt

Ask and you will receive

If you struggle with faith ask God to strengthen your faith

To show you what is keeping your faith from growing

Ask and you will receive

2. Because You Are Saved God Hears Your Prayers vs 14-15

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So many look at this section of scripture like a blank check

Whatever I ask I will get

Lord I need a new car

Lord make me healthy

Lord I have to pass this test

Lord let me win

Lord strike them down

Now if you truly need a car.....pray

I am not saying that God doesn’t provide physical wants and needs because He does but when that’s what we focus on we miss

James 4:1–3

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“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

Why you ask is just as important as what you ask

Motive

Ask to consume on your lust and you will not receive it

Because you are saved…God gives you the Holy Spirit and you begin to change

Your heart begins to change

You are being sanctified....grown…matured in Christ

You change to match the Word

Your prayers then change too

This process is described in

John 15:5–8

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“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.”

Abide in Christ

What does abide in Christ mean

it means Jesus matters to you more than you matter to you

Others matter to you more than you matter to you

What Jesus says goes

Your emotions don’t matter

Your circumstances don’t matter

What you see and experience don’t matter

Jesus and His Word matters

You abide in Him

You live in Him

Everything you do and say comes from Him and is for Him

You realize you are nothing without Jesus

Apart from Him you can do nothing

You start to live that out

You abide in Christ

You draw strength and life from Jesus alone!

The world is dead and gone

Sin is dead and gone

The old you, the old nature is dead and gone

You are dead to self and alive in Christ and Christ alone

Abide

3. Sin Leading To Death vs 16-17

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This is a part of scripture that has been interpreted many different ways If I were to stand here and tell you I completely understand this scripture I would be lying to you

I fully believe it but I don’t fully understand it

I am going to bring to you what I believe based upon scripture

We have seen physical death for disobedience throughout scripture

Lot’s wife

Ananias and Sapphira are examples

That could be what John is talking about

There is for sure sin that leads to spiritual death

Mark 3:29

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“But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:”

Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Considering what John is addressing in this letter

antichrists…false prophets

those who left the faith

I believe this is what he is talking about and what this scripture is referring to

Hebrews 6:4–6

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“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

No coming back

Prayer doesn’t even help

This is why standing upon the Word of God is so important

This is why being here is so important

This is why being in a discipleship or strong bible study is important

This is why having Christians around you who will pray for you and with you and hold you accountable....bible calls that rebuking.....is so important

This is scary stuff.....no coming back from this

Now with that said pray even if you believe this may have happened to someone

Why

You don’t know hearts and minds only people and God know that so you pray anyway

We see fruits....either spiritual fruits or earthly sinful fruits but we still can never truly know their heart and mind

Pray

So many, including me at times, struggle with prayer

There is a reason for that

Prayer is like plugging your phone into the charger

It is powerful

It recharges

It renews

It encourages

It changes you and those around you

Because of that satan will stop at nothing to keep you from praying

James 5:14–15

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“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”

We should be living this out everyday

Look at the power of prayer......”The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him”

Pray

Intercede

Stand in the gap

You and I are to be praying for each other

Pray for sin in one another’s lives

Pray you deal with sin in your own life

Sin is a big deal

SO many today want to ignore sin

Many today think Jesus died on the cross so sin is forgiven why think or talk about it

Because Jesus does!

Sin leads to death......pray it is repented of…confessed....forgiven....cleansed!

4. Whosoever Are Born Of God Sinneth Not vs 18

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First and foremost you will sin

I will sin

As long as we are on earth we will sin

John is not saying once you are saved you never sin again

No sir

What John is saying is

Sin has no power over you as a Christian

satan can’t touch you spiritually.....

he can touch you physically but he cannot touch you spiritually

You and I will fall to temptation and sin

we will be drawn away and enticed by our own lusts and sin

You and I as Christians no longer are to live in sin

We fight....through the Holy Spirit....we fight sin

We do all we can to leave sin behind

It is a perspective

It is a faith thing

Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross

If you are saved so have you!

Your still sin but you no longer live in sin

You still sin but you are no longer a sinner

Your debt is paid

Sin has no more power over you

Some of you allow sin to have power over you

Stop it

Confess it

Repent of it and leave it

John 10:27–30

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“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”

As a child of God

A sheep of Jesus

You know His Voice

You hear His Voice

Do you listen?

Do you move?

If you belong to Jesus nothing can take you out of His hand

Nothing

No one

No thing

No situation

No circumstance

NOTHING

You are fully safe and secure in His arms

so because of that as soon as you realize you sin you run to Jesus

You repent

You confess

You are forgiven and cleansed of all unrighteousness

You run away from sin and to Jesus!

5. The Holy Spirit Teaches vs 20

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Luke 24:44–45

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“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,”

Jesus opened their understand to the Gospel

No one understands the gospel on their own in their humanness

You and I cannot understand the gospel without the Holy Spirit

Before being saved when you and I were sinners and the Holy Spirit would begin to awaken us at different times

Enlighten us to our sin situation and our need for Jesus

Anything learned in and from the scriptures is taught by the Holy Spirit

Here in Luke Jesus did that for his disciples and now the Holy Spirit does that for us

1 John 2:27

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“But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

It is the Holy Spirit who teaches you

This is why you are to be discerning with all that you hear taught about the Bible

There are a lot of folks preaching all kinds of things on youtube and the interweb

You must discern through the Spirit what is true and what is not true

The enemy, satan, is a master at taking the real thing and twisting it just a tiny bit. Changing one word but that one word then changes the entire meaning of the scripture or truth

If something doesn’t match scripture you must reject it

Sometimes we feel that we have heard or experienced God

What was said may match our interpretation of scripture but not scripture itself

I am not going to stand here and tell you how God communicates with each of you

He is God and I am not

His ways are so much higher than my ways

He can communicate to His children however He chooses

I can tell you this however, no matter how he communicates with you the message will never differ from scripture

If you are struggling to figure out which voice you are hearing cry out to God

Get into the Word

Remove thoughts and beliefs and statements like I know scripture says this but God communicates with me differently

God and I have a special relationship and it is different than anyone else

To a point that is true but when you are trying to justify something that doesn’t match scripture by saying God treats me differently you are listening to the wrong voice my friend

God can never change

God can never deviate from his character and his character is on full display in his Word.

You can try to justify incorrect beliefs and sin all you want but God will never speak to you and ask you to do anything that is not perfectly in line with His Word

The only way you know is through the Holy Spirit but because God gives you the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation then you will know!

6. Have No Idols vs 21

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This is so important because idols lead so many away from God

Most of us do not have idols throughout our houses or at least what we would call idols

I love each and every one of you

I want you to understand that everything I say from this pulpit is driven by God

You may be convicted and tempted to be mad at me because so many of you have idols

Every Christian will battle against idols the problem is there are idols that we really like and don’t want to get rid of

That is an issue friend

That is standing between you and God

That is keeping you on milk and keeping you from meat

Idols have so many forms it is impossible to try and stand here and tell you all the idols that are there

Obviously anything you worship other than God is an idol

That takes many different forms

Some of you have an idol of money in your life......everything you do or say or think about is related to making and keeping money

Some of us have jobs that keep us away from church from time to time

Some of you may have a job that keeps you away on Sunday mornings

Be prayerful about God changing that for you but until then if you have to stay there that is how it is

That is not what I am referring to however some of you make your job your idol

I did for years with coaching

It was between me and God

Coaching defined who I was and only God can define who I am

If there is a choice and you consistently choose your job over God you job is an idol

Ministry can be an idol......many serve the ministry instead of serving God so therefore it is an idol

Idols are about the heart

Camping for many is an idol.........I have even heard it called their church.....you can have church while you camp absolutely but camping is not church and many who say that bow at the idol of camping

You can replace camping with anything by the way

money

sex

drugs

alcohol

jobs

sports and professional sports teams

family

ministry

church

It is about your heart relationship and who or what you truly serve

The easiest way for you to see if something is an idol is do a time audit on yourself

Where do you spend your time

Why do you spend your time there

Many claim Jesus is first in their lives but He winds up last in their time audit

Jesus says you are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all you mind and all your soul

If that is the case God must be first in your time audit if he is not then

Someone is lying and it is not Jesus

Where you spend your time is where your heart is and if it is not Jesus it is an idol

Since we are at that time of year again I feel led to talk about this

There is a football team a hour and half away that is still playing football

To many, even some here today, they struggle with those games being played when church is happening

I have news for you the NFL and its players and team will not get you to heaven......they could keep you out of heaven if they are idols that you never repent of and give to Jesus

As I watched last Saturday all of those people who sat in the freezing cold watching a football game it broke my heart to think about how many of them said on Sunday morning it is too cold to go to church

This is a heart issue......you know I love football.....God through the game of football has taught me so many lessons and He still allows me to minister to players as a football coach

However I get so angry when a stupid game takes the place of Jesus in so many people’s lives

That You May Know

During this series you have heard the truth of the gospel presented many different ways

Again I do not know your heart

I do not know where you stand or why you do what you do

If you are here for show or to make someone think you are a good person or to gain some advantage

If you are here for any other reason than to love and worship Jesus, to grow in Christian maturity by hearing the Word of God taught and proclaimed and love, fellowship with and serve others

than you are just as guilty of idols and sin as anyone else that God has addressed this morning

IT IS ALL ABOUT YOUR HEART!

Today you have heard 6 things that must impact your life

Where are you at?

Do you truly know Jesus?

Have you truly made Him Lord and Savior?

If not

come

Do you have idols?

Are there things or people or ideas or beliefs that stand between you and God?

If so repent and come confess those things to God

Maybe you struggle with knowing you are saved come and cry out to God and ask Him to show you

I don’t know what God is laying on your heart that He wants you to deal with here this morning but whatever it is now is the time is now to come and deal with it

STOP OBS

Invitation

Clear the stage