S - Epistle of John Pt. 3 (1 John 2: 12-17)

1 John 2:12–14 NIV

12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 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. 14 I write to you, dear 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 lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

What can this world give you?

The world can give you a lot. A place to live, a place to work, your favorite toys and devices. The world has a lot to offer. I want to follow it up with another question:

What can the devil offer you?

He can offer you a whole lot too. The devil offers all sorts of nonsense, but in order to accept the things he has to offer, you have to reject Jesus. So, if I want what the devil has, but it means I have to put Jesus away, is it worth it?

Man, I became a christian when I turned 11 years old and was baptized at 12. But can I be honest with you for just a second,

I didn’t begin to live like a christian until 10th grade. I was 16 years old when I decided I was actually going to start living like Jesus. After I became a christian, I lived my life however I wanted for 4 years. It took me a while to realize that being a christian was way more than just pretending I was a good kid around my parents and around adults.

It was actually trying to be like Jesus. So, when I came into 10th grade I decided that the first thing I was going to do was stop cussing. If you cuss a lot, it is really hard to stop. I’m not asking anyone to put their hand up if they cuss, I know how every single one of you in here talks. The mouth God gave me, he gave me so that I could praise Him, and speak the gospel into the lives of others. and I was using it to swear.

look at it this way. Who loves milk? Like who loves to drink it, not put it in cereal, who likes to actually drink milk? Imagine I gave you some milk, and when you took a sip of it you found out it was old nasty milk. Would drink from that same cup again?

Not until I got some new milk you wouldn’t. I want to see some change before I go back to that. It works the same way with us, if you cuss at people or mistreat people do you think they will accept anything good that comes from you?

Well, I felt God was telling me I needed to share the gospel with people, but I couldn’t do it unless I stopped cussing first. So I stopped. Did I make a mistake here and there, yeah I did. But i stopped. And before I new it, I wasn’t cussing at all.

I didn’t really feel like I was having an effect on people, I truly didn’t. But one day, 3 years later it was my last semester in highschool someone shouted a bad word in class at someone else. So the teacher asked:

Who said that? And someone else said: Luis did it. And everyone in class laughed. The teacher said why are ya’ll laughing. Luis is in trouble now. And one person in class, his name was Zach said, we’re laughing because that’s not true. Luis would never say anything like that.

man, the devil was offering me a deal. he said: if you cuss and talk like everyone else, you will look cool and people will accept you, and you don’t have to worry about people picking on you or making you feel bad. But that wasn’t true.

You know what I’ve learned about the offers that come from satan:

his offers are cheap.

It’s crazy to think about because the bible teaches us that the world belong to satan but one day God will be back for His people. But before we keep chatting about satan’s offers: let’s read from today’s bible verses and we’ll pray:

1 John 2:12–13 NIV

12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 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 love this so so much. Some people believe John is talking to actual children, and actual parents and actual adults. But if ya’ll remember what I said Wednesday, I love defining terms. See when John says

Children: Young Christians.

Fathers: Old Christians.

Young Men: Adult Christians.

You know what’s cool about these verses right here? John is actually talking to all Christians. He says: Are you a christian? Then here is what you ALREADY HAVE:

1. Know Jesus

2. Forgiveness of sins

3. You Beat the Devil

If you are a Christian, God has already given these things to you. You’ve got it with you everywhere you go. There is no offer necessary anymore, because I have accepted His offer and this is what I have.

Then John says something similar again:

1 John 2:14 NIV

14 I write to you, dear 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 lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you because you know Jesus, Because you know God too, and because (this is my favorite part):

YOU HAVE OVER COME THE EVIL ONE

I don’t know about you but if I hop into a boxing ring with one of you guys I might win. I might not be able to beat Mr. Dan or Mr. Keith and especially not Mr. Erik but I can take some of y'all. What do you think?

But you know who else I can’t take in a one on one boxing match? The devil. IF I’m being honest, he’s strong. very strong. But the bible says that if I’m a Christian I have beaten the devil.

How is it possible for us to take on the devil and win? Let me clue you in on a little secret. It is not possible for you to take on the devil and win. But, if Jesus takes on the devil for you, you will every single time. But when God wins, He gives us the victory. He takes on death and the devil and He wins, but then God uses language like:

You have overcome the evil one, and you will be raised back to life someday. God talks to us like we are the ones that did all the work an we are the ones that beat satan. do you know why? Because God loves sharing with you all of His victories. He does. And He never wants you to forget what you have, if you are in Jesus.

That my friends, is so encouraging. But the truth is we need reminding of what God has given us because it so easy to forget those things. John keeps writing and says:

1 John 2:15–17 NIV

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

What in the world does it mean to love the world? Does it mean I can’t love nature and the things God has created? Does it mean that I can’t love other people? Absolutely not! God loves His creation and He wants His creation to love Him and to love the things He has created for us.

Out friends, our family, our church, our schools, our jobs. Those things God has given you, you should love. Why? Because they come from Him.

Verse 16 shows what the differences are:

1 John 2:16 NIV

16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

What comes from the world does not come from God. Therefore, we should love God more than the world. What comes from the world?

Verse 16 says:

The things we want, that do not come from God, the things we see and hear that do not come from God, and the things we are proud of that do not come from God are things we should NOT love.

I’ve said this before, but sometimes we have a tendency to celebrate sin. Sometimes we celebrate my own sin. We are proud of our sin and friends that does not come from God. The devil promises you that if you chase after your sin, you will feel good about it. I mean look at what happened to Adam and Eve. He promised them that they would be like God and instead, their relationship with God was ruined and the only thing they got out of the deal was a good looking and tasting fruit and an eternity away from God.

I can promise you, that any other sin will be the same. It will feel good in a moment, but it will separate you from God forever.

Friends, that’s not a good deal.

I know want things i’m not supposed to have. Some of us come home from school and work with things in our pockets that we know we are NOT supposed to have.

I’m not here to offend anyone, I’m here to read God’s Word to you. And I promise you, God is not the one telling any of you to bring phones and devices you’re not supposed to have back from school. He’s not it’s someone else and I know you don’t want to hear me say his name. So don’t be surprised later down the road when the consequences of your actions catch up to you.

But our kids aren’t the only ones guys. What about us, the adults. How many things do you bring home from work that you shouldn’t? Negativity? harmful thoughts? Frustrated emotions and behaviors that have a way of damaging our witness to nonbelievers?

How many times have we sat at our computers and phones and scrolled on things that hurt our eyes and damage our soul? how many times have we seen what God offers and what the devil offers and we’ve taken the wrong deal?

The devil can offer a lot, but the devil has a budget. his budget is this world. And you may think it’s a lot but I’m gonna be honest with you, this world is dying. So when you take satans deal you are taking a dying deal. A deal that’s not worth taking. The devil claims that if you follow your wants and desires that you will feel better, and in the long run that’s a lie.

He claims that if you do what YOU want instead of what God wants you will find your identity and that’s not true.

satan claims that if you bow down and worship him, he will give you the world and if that’s all he can give, why would I do that when Jesus gives me eternity in heaven.

I want us to watch a quick video.

We talked about what the devil offers and what gives you if you are a christian, but what if you aren’t a christian. Well God offers you the same thing:

1. Know Jesus

2. Forgiveness of sins

3. You Beat the Devil