Untitled Sermon (35)

What were some of your greatest fears as a child. For me it was quicksand. So many movies…I really thought it was going to be a much bigger deal. I’ve yet to ever have an encounter with this.

Today we’re going to, from 1 John 2:12-14 talk about the importance of being multi-generational but we are also going to talk about encouragement.

We can tend to impose our experiences and such onto other people. We are very prone to do this, I believe, when we are talking about different generations. We can assume that we know the things they are facing.

But lets talk about this for a second...

Generation Z 12-27 What do you think their top fear is? Their top concern...

Finances and fulfillment. Both having a job they love that makes a difference AND having enough money to live comfortably. Also they struggle with being connected to others—most connected and yet the loneliest generation.

Millennial 28-43 Genuine experience and values. Authenticity. Connections with others. Depth of teaching.

Gen X 44-59 Burnt out. Financial health. Individualistic. Non-conformist. Hardest hit by divorce. Coolest generation. Disappointment.

Boomers 60-78 Running out of money. Too late to reverse their fortunes. What is this world becoming. Most scared of getting old. Changing world. Will you keep up?

Post War 79-96 Again things like running out of money, declining health. Politics. What will become of our nation.

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Now in John’s day there weren’t this many generational breakdowns. They might have elderly, adult, young, children. They didn’t even really have teenagers.

But adding another layer to this you didn’t just have generations based upon your biological age but your spiritual age. And that is what John is talking about here…there are, I believe, just like unique challenges based upon your biological generation…unique challenges based upon your spiritual age.

John wants to encourage each “generation”.

1 John 2:12–14 ESV

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

Sermon Introduction:

You’ll notice that John mentions “little children” and then “fathers” and then “young men.” John understands that we receive encouragement differently at different stages of life and in our walk with Christ.

There is some debate here about what John means by naming these groups. Rather than diving into the weeds…I’ll tell you what I think is going on.

I think “little children” is a reference to all believers. No matter your age, no matter your gender. And I think “Fathers” is a reference to those who have been in the faith awhile…I don’t think it only means dudes and likewise “young men” is a reference to those who are fairly new in the faith.

What John is doing is giving different encouragement based upon where they are in their walk with Christ. He paints the big picture…uniting the young and old…but then gets specific. I think that is what he is doing here.

My own testimony with this...

A new believer…lots of energy…lots of passion…tons of energy towards overcoming sin…change is obvious, happens fast. Night and day. I liken it to having training wheels. You’re just super held up in those early days...

Might not experience this if you grew up in church…reality is, you’re experience will probably be closer to the “fathers”....

But you start buzzing on that little bicycle with those training wheels…and then dad gets this crazy idea that it’s time to take off the training wheels...

Why? Well…you need to be able to really ride a bike. You’re limited with training wheels…you want to really ride...

But what tends to happen is that after a little…when you start to mature…the training wheels come off…and crash...

It hurts…I can’t ride a bike…it was all fake. Not real at all. But you get back on the bike…you keep pedaling, all those things you learned with training wheels start to kick in a bit with this new stuff and you start to do it…then you’re riding your bike.

But what happens if you keep going…it’s exhilarating again for awhile…but after awhile you’re riding with no hands…truth be told you’re bored.

And that’s what sometimes happens in the life of believers. We get kinda bored. It gets stale a little. It all feels like old hat. And we kinda wish we could go back to that day when the training wheels first came off…or the day when we felt like we were conquering the world even with our training wheels...

oh, some of the silly beliefs we had back then. Oh, how mistaken we were…but it was certainly more lively.

I think what John is wanting us to see is that all of these experiences are necessary. And it’s also why we need each other—the various generations…or maybe better to say…the various times of believers…not so much age…but how long you’ve been riding the bike...

But first he puts us all on the same page. And gives this encouragement.

First,

Your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. What wonderful truth this is...

SHARE GOSPEL…with righteousness...

What is justification? Listen to this. Justification means being made right with God. It means you are accepted by God. It means you are forgiven by God. It means you have peace with God. It means God is your Father. It means you are in Christ. It means you are clean. That is what justification is, but you must know a little more about the beauty of justification.

Justification is immediate and complete upon conversion. You will never be more justified than you are right now, nor more justified you were at the moment of your conversion. 10 years ago when you trusted Christ or 3 days ago, you are just as justified as you ever will be. You cannot add to it, nor can you delete from it. It is complete. It was immediate. It is not a process and it is not gradual. You are not justified by degrees. It is complete and total at conversion.

I was recently listening to a sermon by C.J. Mahaney on this topic and one thing he said hit me hard. He had us think about a few godly saints that we admire. Edwards, Newton, Piper, McCheyne, Spurgeon…your pastor, your youth pastor, your good buddy that seems super-spiritual. Your mom. Your dad. Martin Luther. The apostle Paul. John. Moses. Noah. Matthew. Mark. Luke. You name them. No one in history is more justified than you are at present. The weakest believer and the strongest saint are alike equally justified.

Tonight you are either wholly justified or wholly condemned in the sight of God. There is no middle ground. You are ither totally covered by the blood of Jesus or you are not at all. Why? Why is all of this true? Are you justified based on your performance? Are all of those true because of what you do or even something that you have done? No! Every one of those is true because of the Cross of Jesus Christ. It is complete. It is finished. The work of Christ is done.

Notice also in the text “for his name’s sake.” It’s tied to the character of God.  “God forgives sin not because of any merit in the sinner, but because of the infinite merit of the Saviour.” That’s great news.

He doesn’t love us because we are lovely. We are lovely because He loves us. It’s not based upon us and our merit but upon His character…that means it is as secure and as unshakeable as God is.

verse 13c…Intimate knowledge of God. You know him by experience. That’s true of every believer. You are the ones who walk in the light, keep his commandments, practice love for other believers…this is your identity…this is your family name.

Now lets talk about what he says to “fathers”. It’s the same thing in both sections. You know him who is from the beginning. What does that mean?

Doctrinal sniffers

That isn’t right. Hmmm…I’m not sure about that...

Could squelch if not careful...

Tasted and seen that the Lord is good…I’m not going back. “who is from the beginning” likely a reference to Jesus.

Another note…parents…they’ve made disciples…worked through things, not only for themselves but walked it with others.

I’m not sure you get into this category just by age…you need to be disciple makers…maybe it’s your own biological children, perhaps not…but you’ve made disciples.

You know God and you make sure others know God.

HOW IS THIS ENCOURAGING...

Stay the course.

2. Young men

Overcome the evil one.

Strong passionate...

Need that passion.

But might go headlong into things that aren’t a good idea…need the “fathers”…they’ve walked that path before.

Word of God abides in you.

You’re going to make it. Be encouraged. Keep going…keep pressing on.

You’re slate is clean. You ARE forgiven. This is your status.

You know Him. That isn’t going to change. It’s only going to grow.

You have overcome and you are overcoming. Someday there will be no more sin, no more of that struggle, no more temptation, no more false doctrine, no more weakened love…all will be right.

The evil one is overcome!

Over all of these…there is victory in Christ. What wonderful truth this is that we have. How can we encourage each generation...

Find those who are at a different stage in their walk with Christ.

Find those who are biologically of a different age. Learn from them. Listen. Be encouraged.

Value in each generation.