WEBVTT 00:00:05.759 --> 00:00:13.359 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:13.599 --> 00:00:18.399 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.399 Father, what makes this night that we're singing about? 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:29.199 This night where you kind of crashed into the cosmos. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:36.799 What makes it divine is that you introduce some realities into our lives that we can never escape, uh, we can never deny. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:43.119 We live in a world that kind of tries to keep it at arm's length, but it doesn't change the veracity, the truthfulness of it. 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:52.159 And it was a divine night because in the incarnation, God took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood and said, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.719 As a matter of fact, I'm here so that you could come to me and be different. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:00.719 You could come to me and experience something you're not gonna find anywhere else. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:01.920 And that's not religion. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:03.920 The world does not need more religion. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:09.359 What we need is to realize we were created to have a relationship with our Creator God. 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:14.480 And so, Lord, we're gonna immerse our minds, not just kind of look at with our eyes. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:19.200 We're going to immerse our minds in what the Bible says today, and we'll be the better for it. 00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:26.799 So before I finish this prayer, I want you to just to take about 15 seconds and just say, I know it's a lot going on this time of year. 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:36.719 I know there's a lot of things and travel and family and all that kind of stuff, but just for the next 15 seconds, just ask God to say something this morning that has your name on it. 00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:43.359 Just ask God to just interrupt you and involve you in what he's doing in the world. 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:58.799 Lord, our prayerful desire today is that you would involve us by interrupting us. 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:07.840 Rescue us from a life that can be explained, that makes sense, and deliver us into a life that cannot be explained and yet makes a difference. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:12.560 This is a reflection of the life of Jesus, and it's what we were created for. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:13.520 It's what we desire. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:19.039 So we ask for it now as your sons and daughters, and we ask for it in Jesus' name, and everyone said, Amen. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:19.759 You can have a seat. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.719 If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take an open 1 John chapter 3. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:24.639 If you don't have a Bible, it's running your row on. 00:02:24.800 --> 00:02:26.879 I'm on page 1,022. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:28.319 1022. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:30.960 I want to talk to you this morning about the Advent of Love. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.280 If you're our guest today, let me just tell you what you're looking at. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:39.199 This is an Advent wreath, and each Sunday we light a different candle because there's a each candle represents something. 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:41.280 We started off on the first uh Sunday. 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:42.400 We talked about hope. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:44.159 And Advent is a time of hope. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:54.400 And though it gets dark and it feels like it's just a dog-eat dog world out there, and we're tempted to just kind of get real transactional and just think every man for himself, the hope of the gospel. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:03:02.479 God punched a hole in the night with the incarnation, with sending his son into the world, and so we have this hope as the anchor for our soul. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:04.319 The next Sunday we talked about peace. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:06.719 Uh, last Sunday we talked about the advent of joy. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:12.479 When Jesus was born, a standard of joy was established that we can never deny. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:13.919 And today we'll talk about love. 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.400 The fourth Sunday of Advent is about love. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:18.240 And I want to talk to you about the Advent of Love. 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:21.520 I mean, the Advent is a word that means arrival or coming. 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:23.360 So we talk about the Advent of Low. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:37.039 We're saying that a way of being loved was established by God in the incarnation, in the fact that God entered into the cosmos and was born in the womb of a virgin, that God established a standard. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:38.800 And let me just give you a picture for what I mean. 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:47.039 When you understand that, and what I'm gonna try to do briefly this morning is kind of just kind of point to some things in the Bible and say, hey, here's how unique this is. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:57.520 But once you understand the way God loves you and the implications of being loved by God in that way, because it'll start off and he'll say, see what kind of love the Father has given to us. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:02.639 And when he says see, that word in the Greek doesn't mean look with your eyes, it means perceive with your mind. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:10.240 And once you perceive with your mind the way God has loved you, it will inform the way you allow other people to relate to you and call it love. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:24.959 For example, about six years ago, uh I have Marcy and I have a friend that went through a brutal divorce uh years earlier, and then she met somebody and she said, I mean, we really love each other, we're really excited, but I want you to meet him because your opinion means a lot to me, Neil. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:27.519 So I want you to meet my new love. 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:36.480 And I said, Okay, some all come excited, they come by, they come and sit down in my office, we're talking, and and and I'm listening, and I'm kind of like, so tell me how what you do. 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:42.160 And and he said, Well, I I've worked my whole life, but since I I met her, now her family has resources. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:43.600 Can I say it that way? 00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:50.560 Her family has money, they're like loaded, uh, and they're very successful, and so I'm very protective of her. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:57.600 And and and and and the guy says, Well, I've worked my whole life, but since I met her, I've decided to take a year just to find myself. 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:06.560 And because I know what it's like to love and be loved, my kind of radar kind of went up, like, I may have to hit you when this is over. 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:12.240 Uh, but I just kind of said, and and and she was all giddy out, and he was just kind of like, Yeah, I mean, this is awesome. 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:15.439 I mean, I said, So basically, you work uh full-time. 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:16.560 She goes, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:17.199 I just keep working. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:17.839 I love my job. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:19.040 I don't work as I need to buy. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:20.959 I I love helping people. 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:22.879 And you're taking a year to find yourself. 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:26.000 And he said, You act like you got a problem with that. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.399 Oh, we're gonna go prison rules, huh? 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:36.560 You're gonna come sit in my office and drink my coffee and get all mouthy with me when you're mooching off this woman? 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:37.519 I didn't say all that. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:38.800 He said, You're gonna get a problem. 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:40.560 I mean, look on your face says you're uncomfortable. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.800 I said, You said you're taking a year to find yourself. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:44.480 I've been talking to you about nine minutes. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:45.839 I think I've already found you. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.240 And he said, What does that mean? 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.560 I said, What that means is I don't think this is love, I think this is abuse. 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:58.240 And my friend went, Uh-oh. 00:05:59.279 --> 00:06:00.079 That's okay. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:01.920 Let he and I talk. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:03.839 Because here's the thing, man. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:09.920 If you're taking advantage of a woman, you're not loving her, you're abusing her. 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:11.360 Okay, okay. 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:12.720 You say, How do I know? 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:15.439 Because what I said to them, I said, I just go to the Bible. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:20.959 Song of Solomon, chapter one, this woman Shulamuth, she's hanging out with Solomon, and she's like, hey, don't look at me. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:24.480 Chapter one, don't look at me because I'm swarthy, I'm sunburned, I don't like my body. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.879 I've worked outside, but I've not really taken care of myself. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:30.800 Please, I'm uncomfortable that a man would find me interesting. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:34.079 And then time elapses, and chapter two opens up. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:40.000 And this same woman says of herself, I'm the rose of Sharon, I'm the lily of the valley. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:44.959 I just, my fear is if my friend gets with you, that's gonna be reversed. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:47.279 She's the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley. 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:49.839 And if she gets with you, she's gonna end up hating herself. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.720 So pardon me, but I'm not excited about this. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:58.240 And for whatever reason, the conversation was over shortly after that. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:01.839 And I walked them out, and they just kind of did this. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:05.680 And I said, So, uh, anyway, hey, it was good visiting, and no one said anything. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:07.120 They just walked out. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:12.000 And a week later, I got an email from my friend, and it says, Hey, thanks for your words. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:13.839 I did not appreciate it in the moment. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:15.279 Imagine that. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:21.360 But my family agrees with you, and I have ended the relationship. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:24.959 And I said, I'm I think it's a good idea. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:34.800 And not that I don't like that guy, it's just that I know what it's like for you to be loved because I've been loved by God in a way that makes me different and better. 00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:36.399 And I don't think you're gonna get better. 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:39.040 I think you're gonna get diminished in that relationship. 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:40.319 No, why is that? 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:41.920 Because what the Bible says. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:45.759 See, when when love comes to town, it changes everything. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:52.319 And when Jesus was born in a manger, God introduced this way for you to be loved by God. 00:07:53.839 --> 00:07:55.120 That is never going to change. 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:57.040 Matter of fact, it's gonna change everything. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:00.639 The Bible says it like this: 1 John chapter 3, verse 1. 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:05.680 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:06.879 And so we are. 00:08:07.120 --> 00:08:11.120 The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:26.319 Beloved, we're God's children now, and what we will be has yet to appear, has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:30.480 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:32.399 Sin is lawlessness. 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:37.120 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.600 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:43.440 No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:46.240 Little children, let no one deceive you. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:50.080 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:52.639 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.879 For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:58.960 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:03.360 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:06.399 And he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:11.360 By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:17.279 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:35.679 See, with the advent of love, John says some things got introduced to us and imposed upon us, which is why he says, see, which is uh I said a minute ago, it's not seeing with the eyes as much as it is perceiving with your mind to take it in and to immerse yourself in this is not an experience, it's an understanding. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:38.639 And then he says these two words, what kind of love? 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:45.919 And literal translation from the Greek is see, not instead of what kind, what country, what does this kind of love come from? 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.639 It doesn't come from a country, it comes from a kingdom. 00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:53.519 And so when you uh immerse your mind in the text this morning, what you'll see is three things. 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.159 Number one is that this love is transforming. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:57.679 This love is transforming. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:01.440 This love, it's not transformative, it's this ongoing reality. 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:10.720 It's not a transformative event where you agree with some things about yourself and Jesus when you're nine at vacation Bible school, and that's all well and sentimental and good and everything. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:16.799 Uh, nobody is transformed simply by what we agree with, but you're transformed by what you experience. 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:18.320 Let me say that again. 00:10:18.639 --> 00:10:23.200 Nobody is transformed simply by the fact that you agree with some things. 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:25.840 You're transformed by what you experience. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:35.679 For example, in the next 90 days, Americans will spend over 400 million dollars on diets and dieting accessories. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:38.480 They all agree that's a good thing. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:44.240 88% of them will experience no benefit from that. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.399 You're not changed by what you agree with. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:51.279 You're changed, you're transformed by what you experience. 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:53.440 Now, this word is not a good word in our culture. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:58.960 We're not comfortable with the word transformation because it seems to suggest that who I am as I am is not okay. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:03.519 And the Bible is unapologetic in that when it says, yes, everybody needs to change. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:11.200 And everyone who is changed by God, they're they're they're they're converted, they're saved, they're transformed, they move from darkness to light. 00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:12.960 That's just not a one-time event. 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.240 Then it's a life of being perpetually transformed. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:17.679 He doesn't leave you alone. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:22.159 That's why we say this love, when he says, see what kind of love that the Father has for us. 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:27.919 The kind of love that God has for us is that he changes us and he continues to change us. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:33.279 Now, our culture kind of says, hey, you should just tolerate me as I am and celebrate me as I am. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:36.240 If you really loved me, you would just accept me as I am. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:39.759 God is not a God of tolerance, God is a God of transformation. 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.320 And there's a big difference in those two. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:49.519 Our lives cannot be what they are right now forever, because eventually the Bible says we will be like him. 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:57.679 And so what the the end goal that God is working towards is God is working in us to make us more and more and more like him. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:02.960 Think of it like this: as a Christian, you're like the model home in a new subdivision. 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:07.759 I don't know if you've ever gone to a new subdivision, but my father-in-law was a home builder in Florida. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.759 He's retired, been retired for years. 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:14.399 But every time he and my mother-in-law would come, they would say, Are there any new subdivisions going up around Sugarland? 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:15.519 I'm like, Are you kidding me? 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:16.480 It's everywhere. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.399 I mean, if it's a blank field today, tomorrow, they're bulldozing everything. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:22.960 And they would say, Well, let's go look at the model homes. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:25.840 And I was like, in my mind, why do you want to do that? 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:30.159 But we would go and we walked in, and and and and I like my house, okay? 00:12:30.320 --> 00:12:31.039 I love my house. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:32.320 I think my house is great. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.519 I'm content until I go look at a model home. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.399 And then I hate everything about my house. 00:12:38.639 --> 00:12:43.360 And so, I mean, it's great when they're like, oh, we'll go driving out on 59 and going all that. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:48.159 But then they come years ago, they come and they go, hey, there's a big subdivision going right there by the church. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:49.679 Let's go look at those model homes. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.440 They got model homes right down here. 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:56.639 When you walk in and you're just like, my mother-in-law goes, Oh, look at this, because we start on the end. 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:57.440 That's where you park. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.639 And when you walk down, and it just slowly moves up the food chain. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:07.519 Finally, we got to one, it had two walk-in master closets, his and hers walk-in closet. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.360 I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:18.000 The man's closet was so big, it had a like a bookshelf on the back wall and a leather-like club chair in front of it, about 10 feet away. 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:21.039 And it was about five feet of room that way, five feet of room that way. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:24.720 I just thought, I could come in here and close the door and just sit in the dark. 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:27.360 This would be heaven. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:29.759 And he'd go out and there's the bathroom and all this stuff. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:33.039 We went to one and walked in, and I was like, man, this is really beautiful. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:39.360 And then the lady opened the back door and she said, Would you like to see the upgrade package for the our outdoor package for this model? 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:41.120 And I said, What's the outdoor package? 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:48.639 It comes with a swimming pool and a spa and an outdoor kitchen and a seating area with a fireplace and a flat screen TV. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.360 It was basically my house in someone's backyard. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:54.720 And so I'm not encouraged by this. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.559 Matter of fact, I'm thinking, I'm going back to the to the hood where I live. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:00.639 I'm looking around, and it's not just me. 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:02.559 My kids are coming like, mm-mm. 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:05.919 Like, hey, dad, get a real job. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:07.360 We can have a house like this. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:10.720 I went upstairs and my kids are in the bedrooms running around. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:13.519 Oh my gosh, this is what a bedroom's like. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:14.720 These people are just showing off, baby. 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:16.559 Don't get don't get attached to this. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:21.279 So I drive home and my father-in-law's like, Well, tell you what that thing, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:22.159 I was just like, sh. 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:25.759 Now, why do I tell you that? 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:26.320 Here's why. 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:26.879 Look at me. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:29.360 Because we live in a culture that says tolerance. 00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:32.879 And you worship a God that says, no, no, no, transformation. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:33.919 Ongoing. 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:36.720 You are to be the reminder to everybody that meets you. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:38.080 You're like the model home. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:44.799 People should walk into you and get a taste of what's possible, what's available, and what's coming. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:48.639 And it should ignite in them a desire to kind of go, you know what? 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.000 Maybe there's more than what I'm just experiencing in this life. 00:14:52.240 --> 00:15:01.120 And so if we're created and God loves us in a way that's transforming, to just settle, to demonstrate tolerance, it's really a hate crime. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:08.080 Dorothy Sayers is a writer and thinker, she helps us understand what I'm trying to get at. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:12.240 She says this in this world, in the world, it's called tolerance. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:14.879 But in hell, it is called despair. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:30.799 The sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there's nothing for which it will die. 00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:38.639 And the Bible says in a lot of part of verse 1 there, the reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:42.480 Beloved, you cannot walk intimately with Jesus. 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:46.559 You can't have this transforming love of Jesus being manifested. 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:52.879 You can't be the model home that people walk into and they hate where they're living right now and how they're living. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:54.639 You can't do that and be accepted. 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.120 And the world's not going to get us because it didn't get him. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:03.840 And one of the reasons, it's one thing for the culture to cry of tolerance, but the church kind of says, hey, I'm loving my friends and by being tolerant. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:05.600 No, no, we're not loving them. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:09.039 We're loving ourselves too much and letting ourselves off the hook. 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:12.320 I want you to see this progression that happens in here. 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:16.480 These three little phrases that I just kind of meditated on, starting in verse 2. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.200 He said, Beloved, we are God's children now. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:21.919 We are God's children now. 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:24.399 Does that still move your heart? 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:26.480 We are God's children now. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:27.519 You say, What do you mean? 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:33.360 There's stuff under the tree at my house, not because my kids deserve it, but because I'm their dad. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:39.679 And when they open it up, I expect them to look at me and go, Oh my gosh, dad, we didn't deserve this. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:41.679 I go, you're right, you didn't. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:44.960 I got it for you because I'm awesome. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:48.799 And I will say that on Christmas morning. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.480 And my wife will look at me like, Really? 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:51.840 Why do you have to say those kind of things? 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:53.519 Because it's true. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:56.000 You think our kids deserve this? 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:59.440 I don't get Christmas so I can get my kids some more stuff. 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:01.200 How awesome is that? 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:03.200 Now, one of my friends is like, You're just kidding. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:04.160 No, I'm not kidding. 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:05.359 And I don't shame my kids. 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:07.759 Hey, I did without, so you could have Christmas. 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:08.799 I don't need anything. 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:09.680 I'm a grown man. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:11.599 If I want something, I'm gonna go buy it. 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:14.240 I ain't waiting around to the end of the year. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:17.200 I'm gonna make a list and hope you people get this for me. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:19.519 No, I'm gonna get it myself. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:27.519 So Christmas Day, I'm gonna sit there and drink my coffee and just look and kind of go, man, it must be nice having a dad like this. 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:31.039 Yes, ask my kids. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.039 I go, yeah, my dad says that. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:37.119 And if you catch them in the same moment, they'll go, and he's right. 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:38.640 He's right. 00:17:39.119 --> 00:17:39.440 Yeah. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:40.799 Now why do I tell you that? 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:45.759 Not to make a big deal out of me, but to remind you, you have a father that's the same way. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:49.359 He says, Hey, we're God's children now. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:50.799 No, it's a progression. 00:17:50.960 --> 00:17:53.759 Then he says, What we will be has not yet appeared. 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:55.839 Right there in the Bible. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:57.039 Hey, woo-woo. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:58.720 We are God's children now. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:00.960 And what we will be has not yet appeared. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:02.160 Think about that. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:03.200 Meditate on that. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.319 What we will be is not yet. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:09.599 In other words, I I it may be good now, but it's going to be even better in the new year. 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:14.079 You ought to look at your wife before you go to bed and say, honey, hey, the best part of me is still to come. 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:15.119 Stay tuned. 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:18.400 This is getting better. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:19.519 Yes. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:20.079 Yeah. 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.279 And if your wife's even like my wife, she's like, oh boy, I can't wait. 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:26.000 There's more of this. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:27.359 Yeah. 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:29.279 There's a lot more of this to come. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:30.720 Oh, brace myself. 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:31.759 Wonderful. 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:33.119 What shall we see? 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:39.359 Here's the thing about being loved by God in such a way that doesn't just, it's not just transformative, it's transforming. 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.960 It's this ongoing life of renewal. 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:45.920 And thirdly, he says, ultimately, we shall be like him. 00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:50.319 Hey, beloved, hey, hey, we're God's children now. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:56.000 And what we will be is not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him. 00:18:57.519 --> 00:18:59.599 Are you comfortable with that reality today? 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:02.160 That's why this love is transforming. 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:05.039 It doesn't just look at you where you are and go, Oh, I love you. 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:06.079 Keep being you. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:12.000 There's no greater offense to the gospel than that kind of self-centered understanding of Christianity. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:15.279 Second thing about this love, this love destroys. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:21.279 This is why you have to see with your mind and not just your eyes, you have to immerse your brain in this. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.559 This love destroys. 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:23.519 Look at verse 4. 00:19:23.680 --> 00:19:26.960 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:28.880 Sin is lawlessness. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:33.039 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:39.920 Verse 6: no one who abides in him keeps on sinning, and no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:47.759 Let me stop right there, because when you read something like this in church, people begin to kind of go, uh, oh, wait a minute, what does this mean for me? 00:19:47.920 --> 00:19:48.640 Here's what it means. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.799 When John says you know in verse 5, you know, look at it in verse 5. 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:54.240 You know. 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:57.599 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:01.039 That is an assumption and it's an invitation. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:02.400 Let me say that again. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:03.359 It's an assumption. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:04.319 You know. 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:07.119 It's an assumption and it's an invitation. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:12.079 He's saying, he's inviting us, hey, let's keep living with what we know to be the truth. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:12.559 Okay? 00:20:12.799 --> 00:20:14.720 Let's keep living what we know to be true. 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:18.160 Otherwise, how we live limits what we're willing to believe. 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:22.240 How we our life begins to define what we can call the truth. 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:29.200 And if the further you get away from the gospel, the smaller your definition of truth has to become. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.759 Because your life determines what you can call the truth. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:36.640 And so he says, hey, for we know this is uh this is an assumption. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.000 Hey, you know this, right? 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:39.759 So let me invite you to live this. 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:48.799 Now, if you're not careful, you you how you live limits what you can believe, which is why this section of the Bible makes a lot of people uncomfortable. 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:51.200 We're just kind of like, oh, what do you mean? 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:51.920 Hear it again. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:53.759 I'll pick up in verse 6. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:56.559 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:59.279 No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:01.599 Little children, let no one deceive you. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:05.119 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.599 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil's been sinning from the beginning. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:13.920 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:22.559 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:24.720 The Bible's not putting pressure on you. 00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:26.240 Hey, get your act together. 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:30.880 The Bible's, as it always does, is magnifying the accomplishment of Jesus. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:36.079 The reason the Son of God appeared is to destroy the devil's works. 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:39.440 And he's saying, now let's come and bask in. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:43.599 Let's come and live in the light of all that's been accomplished. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:59.039 And so the Bible is saying, you no longer uh uh the longer you know God, the longer you abide in God, you you realize that you can't keep on sinning because God's seed, the ability to reproduce God's life, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:05.680 And so you To have this experience where you try to sin and you realize that it's harder than it used to be. 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:08.000 That's what the Bible's saying. 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:15.119 That the more we just kind of immerse our mind, not increase our effort, but immerse our mind in the truth. 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:19.599 We find it's a church that teaches us the Bible and says, this is what the Bible says. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:26.240 It doesn't like to read three verses and then talk about the emphasis of the day, or this is the character trait for this week. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:27.599 This is not a public school. 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:29.680 We're not trying to give you character traits. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:31.680 We're trying to give you understanding. 00:22:31.920 --> 00:22:38.640 Because when your life is a reflection of what you understand, there's no limit to how good it can be. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:45.119 So ask yourself: is it increasingly more difficult for you to sin? 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:50.400 Or is it the longer you're a Christian, the easier it is for you to justify sin? 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:53.359 Thirdly and finally, this morning, this love clarifies. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:54.559 Look at verse 10. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:23:01.200 He says, By this, by this, it is evident who are the children of God. 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:05.759 Anytime the Bible uses such exacting language, your ears ought to perk up. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:09.039 By this, this, this is how you know. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:11.359 By this it is evident who are the children of God. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:13.039 It's not a prayer I prayed years ago. 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:15.519 It's this reality that I experienced today. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:22.720 Let me just read this verse, and I want you to, as I read verse 10, I want you to listen for what word stands out to you? 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:26.400 What word, when I say it, does something leap inside of you, okay? 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:28.799 Because I'm going to ask you for some audience participation. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.000 Here, verse 10. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:34.720 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil? 00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:41.519 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:43.599 What word stood out to you? 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:44.079 Anybody? 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:45.200 Just say it out loud. 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:46.559 Evident. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:47.519 The devil. 00:23:48.480 --> 00:23:49.039 What? 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:51.440 Brothers. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:53.759 You people over here falling behind. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:54.480 Wake up. 00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:55.759 What? 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:57.519 Who said practice? 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:59.599 Yes, there's my word right there. 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:00.799 Yes, my word. 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:02.160 Brent, practice. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:02.880 Practice. 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:04.799 I got a lot of Alan Aberson this room. 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:06.079 We're talking about practice. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:07.200 What are we talking about? 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:08.720 We're talking about practice. 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:13.680 For those of you who don't have a Sports Center, there's a basketball player named Alan Aberson years ago. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:15.039 Alan loved to play. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:16.480 He didn't love to practice. 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:22.480 And so he got my like they set him down for a couple of suspended him because he didn't come to practice. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.160 And he's like, man, I need to practice. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.079 Just when the game starts, I'm gonna be there. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:27.519 And they said, No, you gotta practice. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:30.559