26th January 2024

26th January 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read - (1 John 3:21-24 focus v23-24)


Message (Alan Burke)


There are at times it seems to me at least a disconnect between what people say and do, what they profess and how they live. Here we are told that we must believe and we must live accordingly which isn’t rocket science it is a fairly basic idea. Like if you know today it’s going to lash outside and you’ve got to go do a message you’re going to wear a coat, take an umbrella or see if you can put it off and just not go outside. What we believe when it comes to the weather impacts how we live and it should be the same in the children of God. 


We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to believe as we are told  in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ. Not simply a belief in God for as we are told in James “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (2:19), no we are to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in a way that substantially chances our lives. For to believe in the name is to believe also in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe in Jesus means that you hear the claims that he made, the truths that he taught and you live accordingly, like loving your enemies (Mt 5:43-47), that he Jesus is the only way to God (Jn 14:6), those are only two, going through the gospels and his teaching that is passed on to us by the apostles there is much much more for us than simply believing in the concept of God and his Son Jesus Christ.  


Believing in the name of Jesus Christ means that we confess him to be our Lord, we live as if he is our Lord, we live accordingly, we witness to who he is in our lives as the rightful ruler of our lives and the kings of the earth (Rev 1:5). If we believe in his Son then were are to love one another, when we are rightly orientated in our lives believing in his son then we know what love is, look back to verse 16; This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. (1 Jn 3:16). Just as our saviour Jesus Christ showed a self giving, sacrificial love we to are to show that love in our lives, it is a love that transforms us, from death to life, from hatred to love a love that means we give up our self will, our self interest, the times when it is costly, the countless little opportunities that we have. And we love one another as he commanded. John has been primarily dealing with the church here in this section and the challenge that came to us a couple of weeks ago is the command to love our brothers, the implication is that we love those who are in Christ Jesus, our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Are we loving as we have been loved? 


Then in v24 John focuses again on assurance, how we as believers have assurance in our lives and that comes from obedience, obedience to the commands of our Lord. For those who are the children of God they live in a certain way, they live lives that are distinguished from the children of the devil, we remain faithful to the word of God before us. Now of course that doesn’t mean that from time to time we wont get in wrong, we wont fall into sin but we are desiring to obey the word of God before us. But it is more than that we also have the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit within us, the Spirit that he gives to his children who live by faith. It is the Spirit within us that gives us assurance when the devil accuses us, our conscience condemn us. The testimony of the Spirit within us is separate from the outward testimony, our personal holiness, it is the indwelling Spirit that gives our hearts as we believe and as we live for our Lord. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q52 What are the reasons annexed to the second commandment?
The reasons annexed to the second commandment are, God’ s sovereignty over us, (Ps. 95:2–3) his propriety in us, (Ps. 45:11) and the zeal he hath to his own worship. (Exod. 34:13–14)
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