Marks of a True Christian | 2 Timothy 3 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

It is always a joy to sing to the Lord with you always and it

is always an honor and a privilege to open God's word

with you. And so meet me in the book is

second Timothy as we have been in the past few weeks, in

chapter 3, in your Bibles and as pleasing as a sound of worship

in song is, can I tell you another sound that I love the

rustling of the leaves of the scriptures.

I'm thankful for technology but I'm a book guy and I'm sure you

understand what I'm saying by that.

Second Timothy chapter 3, And let's pray.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

One more time, shall we? Heavenly Father, we thank you

for Gathering us as your people. We thank you that we have

freedom still. We thank you that we have access

to the full revelation of your counsel and your mind and your

will We asked, oh, Lord. That as we expound these verses,

that they would not come through a vessel that thinks he is

strong and himself. Lord, we are weak.

I am weak and we ask for your help apart from the help of the

holy spirit. This meeting will be futile,

it'll be void of your power and the transforming Grace that is

necessary to build our faith. Lord help us, demolish every

distraction anything that would hinder the reception of your

word Lord. Pray that you would cancel the

assignments of Satan and the Lord instead, we would know your

presence and your power in your house.

We ask these things in the precious name of the master in

Jesus name we pray. Amen.

So we can spend the next few weeks dissecting expounding upon

each of the characteristics that Paul lists here, when he speaks

about the marks of mankind. And the last days today we're

going to be concluding our time in this portion of scripture and

prayerfully. We're going to move forward in

this Pastoral Epistles. Nonetheless, before we do that,

we're going to be looking at the final warning at the holy spirit

of God provides Us in the section.

And this final point is extremely crucial for the

Believers understanding. And dare, I say this afternoon,

that it might even be the means by which some would be truly

saved. Truly saved.

And I say truly saved because what Paul is about to disclose

is one of the most damning deceptions known to mankind.

The Apostle is going to conclude this index of godlessness not by

pointing to another component of those who are described by being

alienated from Christendom. What?

I mean by that Paul is not about to speak about something that

deals necessarily with those who Are separated from Christian

households, separated from faith-based schools,

disconnected from even churches. When you look at something like

in verse 4, where he speaks about lovers of pleasure, rather

than lovers of God, that's obvious.

We know that this is speaking about those who want nothing to

do with Christ, who want nothing to do with God.

God is not in their plans, he's not in their trust, he's not

under thoughts, he's not in their conversation, he's not and

their affections, why? Because they are slaves to their

pleasures, and they are self-declared masters of Their

Own. Fate.

Instead, we'll Paul is about to write to us, is not the obvious

Corruption of Outsiders, but a frame of mind that is actually

found within the walls of Christendom.

It's in verse 5. we read having the appearance of godliness, but

denying its power avoid such people having an appearance of

godliness, but denying its power.

Paul writes in this context that as we approach the final days,

as we come to the combination of the age, there will be an

increase. There will be a growth of those

who aware the costume of piety, who wear the appearance of

godliness, but will be void of the true power.

We might think that the appearance of godliness is a

good thing. But God here tells us that it is

to be listed among it is a custom.

That should be named with the most despicable.

And deplorable practices that are condemned by his Holiness.

And by the God-fearing What does he mean here by having the

appearance of godliness, the idea of appearance speaks of an

outline, it speaks of a form of something or someone that is

attempting to present itself as something or someone.

It's an attempt to convince that it's substance is true.

When in fact, it lacks the very qualities that would make it

legitimate. The appearance that Paul reports

is so tricky, that it can even falsely.

Convince those who are undiscerning and careless with

their examination. It's a cloak is something that

can be put on and put off, but it's something that can also be

so realistic that it can deceive, it can deceive others,

and it can even deceive, the one who is trying to display

something. My brother recently brought

bought a Furniture piece in his living room and it was an olive

tree. And the thing looks so real.

I remember when he brought into the living room that at first, I

didn't know anybody talked about buying it, but I saw it.

I thought there was an exotic plant in this place and it's has

olives the way that the the leaves are colored and the

branches, the way the texture set out.

It can actually convince somebody a passerby that there

is this beautiful plant in this house.

But upon closer examination when you know what a real Leaf feels

like and you have an awareness of what authentic animation is

the lifelessness of the object becomes apparent.

And what Paul is trying to say is that there will be a growing

breed of professing Christians, who will Adorn themselves with

the Sight and Sounds of religiosity.

But upon examination, they lack the life-giving power that truly

makes someone Godly. And that's why he says here that

they will deny its power denial. He is not speaking about a

verbal verbal rejection of God. This is speaking about a way of

life that testifies, that that individual has never truly met

him in the first place. This denial of the power of God

does not dismiss the fact that those who have the appearance of

godliness can recite Doctrine. That they know biblical stories

or that they even come into sacred settings, such as this,

and come to events that have a spiritual Focus.

This denial of power speaks of someone who does not have the

evidence of communion with God and is Barren of the conviction,

for the things of God, that can only be inspired in the Soul by

God himself. And this, this mention of such

people, again, might have references in their mind in the

Bible. They might know some ideas

concerning Jesus and his work. Tell you straight forward, they

don't nothing of true worship. There is no sense of delight in

God. In fact, their Delight is

directed towards everything but God The measure of their love

for the world and the love for the things of the world is no

different than one who blasphemes God.

If we need an illustration for this and look no further than

Judas, the Apostle who committed suicide just after he denied

Christ. This is an example of one who

had the appearance of godliness who Blended in so well.

So well that he camouflage himself that even in a setting

when a woman came with an alabaster flask and broke it at

the feet of the Christ and begin to Worship the Lord from head to

toe this Judas criticize this woman publicly and he gave the

impression to those in that same room that he was righteously

indignant. Because such a thing could have

been sold and we could have given to the needy And nobody

questioned him. But John tells us by the spirit

that this man did not care about the needy.

He was upset that a opportunity was wasted where he could have,

he could have taken more money from the Ministries Treasury.

So camouflage was Judas that even in the night in which Jesus

declared that one of them would betray him.

Nobody suspected Judas. Nobody said, we knew it.

This guy has been off these past three years.

He's so worldly. Nothing of the sort.

Nothing of the sort. But this man was Dan to hell.

Judas is a testament that one can be closely associated with

Jesus. And even busy himself with

ministerial, work and still be a son of Destruction.

How do we make sense of this? We'll figure out in a moment but

I find it quite fascinating that by the spirit.

We are told that there will be forms of godliness as we

approach the return of Christ as we approach.

The Great Tribulation, they'll be manifestations of

spirituality. Or you thought that as we come

near to Christ's return that anything spiritual would be

extinct. No, in fact, it will increase it

will actually multiply, you will have different people who have

some expression of spirituality, some formality.

And they will have forms of godliness, and that's not so

hard to believe, we're already seeing it now.

All you have to do is peek over into persecuted countries like

China, who are persecuting Christians this Sunday and other

faiths, And their governments didn't liquidate their lands

from religious buildings and religious tax.

No no they have churches there. They have religious and sacred

texts there. But what they have is State

compliant churches they have people who have a form of

godliness that will obey with a cruel government and Antichrist

government was say and they will submit not to God but to Caesar

Forms of godliness will not disappear as Christ, appears,

no, they will increase, but they will be void of the true saving

power of the Gospel. And I believe it's worth

exploring, a couple of things. One of them is this, how is this

possible? How is it that it will be, that

people will arrive to this appearance of godliness while

being emptied of this power. How will they arrive there?

How would this thing be discipled?

How does this thing even occur? Let me ask it for now.

How is it that there are people today?

Who claim to profess Christ? But when you look at their lives

closely, you realize that they haven't really met him.

They haven't really been saved by him.

I believe there are a couple of considerations and I want to

present them to you today because the goal of this

message, if you haven't realized it already is to make sure that

everybody in here, does not just have an appearance of godliness,

but as truly met God, One of the ways I believe according to the

scriptures that some arrived to this appearance of godliness.

But denying the power, the true saving power, the holy spirit's

power and a man or woman's heart is found an example found in the

book of Acts chapter 19, And verse 11, I would like to read

Acts 19 · chapter mention

this as an illustration to you to drive a point home.

Of how this appearance, how phony false Christians are in

existence today and will be in the days to come. in Acts 19 11

to 13, we read Acts 19 11 to 13. And God was doing extraordinary

Miracles by the hands of Paul. So that even a handkerchiefs or

aprons that he touched that it touched.

His skin were carried away to the sick and their diseases left

them in the evil, spirits came out of them.

Then some of the itinerant, Jewish exorcists undertook to

invoke the name of the Lord Jesus, over those, who had evil

spirits, saying I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.

I love this text while Paul was in Ephesus.

You've heard me say this before but I'll say it again.

Wherever this man went there is either Revival or riots.

And here in this case there was a Revival God had release an

unusual source of power upon him and through him.

And so great, was this power that even the materials that

touched his skin was used to bring deliverance from disease

and demons? And news spread fast and the

news of this man. And the success of his ministry,

reached the ears of certain Exorcist Jewish Exorcist.

Who apparently had some kind of profession and providing

spiritual services to those who are bound.

And I don't know how they did it.

We can have strong confidence that I was superstitious and

that their Solutions were not concrete.

Because we read here something more interesting than the fact

that there is some Jews, who believe they can cast out

demons. And it is this, they believe

that they can borrow the name of Jesus.

They undertook upon themselves to declare the name of our Lord.

And so they saw recipe. They saw a formula that they

thought that they can just replicate easily and copy.

They saw that Jesus proclaimed. This name.

This name had power, he had a certain method and they said,

well, if it worked for him, surely you can work for us.

And this is so sad because they indirectly even admit while

trying to perform a Deliverance that this Jesus, they did not

know, but it was a guy that Paul knew that Paul proclaimed.

And these preachers got beat up by the demon. and they run off

naked because those demons said something that I wish a demon

would say of you Jesus, I know and Paul we know Who are you?

Demons are so busy that they don't even consider people that

are not threats to them. But Paul was a threat.

This man was so filled with the Holy Spirit he made demons

nervous when he woke up. and in this case, I read something that

teaches me. Something about what we're

trying to understand here. These sons of sceva proved that

there are those who can adopt biblical vocabulary, and even

engage and Christian activity, but don't know the Lord.

They don't know Christ. He's a name that they sing.

He's a name that they might even tell others about, but he's not

the name that they adore and love.

This is one of the ways that false Christians breed.

The same way that the sons of skiba were able to mirror Paul

is the same way that many sons and daughters of Christian

parents evolved, overtime pay attention.

If you grew up in a Christian household by way of observation

and exposure to Christian culture, they substitute a true

connection with the Lord by being able to mimic behavior and

lingo. That holds no true life.

It's something that becomes second nature.

It's all that they've known and the fact that they remain in it

and part deals with comfort more than conversion, It's their

familiarity. It's part of their Heritage.

It's something that they just know when they really don't know

him. There is never true conversion.

There is never a moment of declaring that Jesus Christ was

Lord, there is no evidence of private Devotion.

To God, there is no hunger for Holiness.

There's no longing to explore him and to declare him.

They're just they're parroting things.

And they're, they're familiar with things and the best that

they really have. Is a worldly life perfumed with

christianese. And a long history of being

involved with in the church. And in a Christian home, that

gives them a false sense of salvation.

Charles Spurgeon said. Not generation, but regeneration

that makes someone a Christian and it is true.

There are many things in creation.

That fascinate me many things, I'm sure you as well.

One of the things that blows my mind is those birds that can

talk. It's incredible to me.

But upon looking into it, I realized that these parrots

don't actually understand what they're saying.

Maybe you knew that already maybe you didn't.

I disappointed you. They don't understand what

they're saying all they're doing is because of their amazing

ability was understand. The sounds and then maneuver

their vocal boxes to take those words and make him sound like an

actual human. It's incredible.

And when their owners were her certain phrases over, Them.

They're not, they're not learning how to speak their,

just able to put things together and then respond and they can be

so trained that certain context trigger certain ways of

communication and so an owner can walk in and in that one cage

you here. Hello.

Hello? Because they've been trained

over time that in certain settings, you say certain

things. and I say all that to say that many Christians operate

in the same way, Professing Christians at least their

knowledge of God is as deep as a parrot's understanding of the

English language. It's impersonated.

And if it's well-trained enough, they know what to say.

And who to say to, and when to say it and when not to say it,

Would anybody be crazy enough? This afternoon to say that a

parrot could be a human because from time to time they sound

like one, then why is it that we are so easy to say that those

who have an appearance of godliness actually are Godly.

And so it's inherited. It's a behavior that is learned.

Christianity is not a matter of Faith.

It's a matter of culture. And you have heathens now who

are proving that, because they wear a cross around their neck

though. They live like Devils every day.

a symbol that declares not only our salvation, but a lifestyle

of dying to self and they can put those things around their

neck and on their ears as they live for their father, the devil

It's a culture and that's not just traditionalist.

By the way, I'm not talking about those denominations that

are extremely rigid. In their church services, I'm

even talking about those in the Evangelical Church.

Appearance of godliness and they just Coast through life.

Thinking because they have the language down, they have some

stories, they understand. And because they come to a place

like this, while their life, contradicts everything that this

Christ tells us what a true father looks like that.

They're safe you're in for the shock of your life.

But number two, this appearance of godliness is also the fruit

of false teaching and not just false teaching, but Unfaithful

teaching. So this idea of those who have

this appearance this facade of following Christ even though

even though their feet of travel through Christian homes and

faithful Christian Ministries. It's not just limited to that.

There are those who will be discipled into this appearance

of godliness because they sit under ungodly teaching.

And the false teaching is an obvious truth.

Jesus himself condemn, the whole group of people who are known

for their appearance of God, godliness known as the

Pharisees, he caused trouble for these guys.

In fact, one of the most scorching sermons from Jesus was

against these religious folk all the way he spoke to prostitutes.

And the way he spoke to tax collectors, could not even come

close to the Heat and to the sharpness.

When he, when he faced Pharisees, Just read Matthew 23,

when you have the time, and I want you to see something from

The Book of Matthew chapter 23, you don't have to turn there

Matthew 23 · chapter mention

because by the end of this message, is going to be a lot of

verses that I would love for you to know.

But in Matthew 23:15, in this series of woes against the

Matthew 23:15

Pharisees, he says, at one point something that's actually kind

of startling in verse 15, he says woe to you, scribes and

Pharisees hypocrites. For you travel across sea, and

land to make a single proselyte. And when he becomes a proselyte,

you make him twice as much a child of headed, hell is

yourselves. You know what he's saying?

They were already dead and and then once you apparently

converted them there, now twice. Damned Now, this is in the

context of condemnation, but there's something commendable

about the Pharisees here at these group of men.

I mean, you might have had the impression that they're just

this separated, stoic men, that just looked at everybody else's.

As you'll never come here. No, no, they were evangelist.

There are missionaries. They were spent days and weeks

to travel across, just to see one person introduced to their

belief system. That's convicting.

But they were false, they were bringing people into a

legalistic understanding of the Jewish faith, that would damn

them as they were Damned. You know what?

You're seeing here. The modern Jehovah's Witness,

the modern Mormon, you've seen them, and maybe you've been

convicted by them, as they've knocked on your door, they spent

a Saturday afternoon. To go and declare people.

The false gospel? And they travel.

And they spent two years and one will spend two years, dedicate

two years of his life to be a missionary, he will allow two

years of his life, he will put a hold on his dreams on his plans

as a young adult and go to some foreign country and preach a

false Christ. And damn those, who would

believe it. But the appearance, it's an

appearance of godliness, there's devotion, there's seriousness.

And if people are not careful, that will be the very reason why

they would be attracted to false teaching.

I remember, when I first got saved, I had a conversation with

a couple on a missions trip and this couple were sharing their

testimony in. The wife had had shared some of

that just stuck with me and it still sticks with me then when

she was in college and she had some vague Catholic background.

She was hungry to know. Truth.

She was hungry to know, God, and she was moved.

She was impressed. She was magnetized towards

Muslims. Because she saw their fasting

lifestyle and their willingness to pray in public, and she

compared it to the slothfulness of professing Christians.

She was so close. Believing a false god.

And this appearance of godliness, it's going to

convince people, there's going to be a false sense of Liberty,

a false sense of piety that will be attractive.

We're seeing it with a New Age movement where people feel and

they're expressing spiritual experiences.

This is only going to become more evident and prevalent, but

notice I said not just false teaching that will produce

appearances of godliness. I also said, Unfaithful teaching

What do I mean by that? I mean that appearances of

godliness will also become true because there will be those who

declare and profess and claim to be Ministers of the true gospel

in ministries that apparently preach the Full Gospel.

When in fact, they are not giving the complete gospel.

And because of this, this is what's going to happen.

It's already happening. It's going to continue to

happen. We're going to see half

converted semi saved moralistic mannequins.

Infecting the angelical World. Why?

For one reason? Among many, because the teaching

because the proclamation of the Gospel is not complete.

I'm more angry at such men than Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.

And Jeremiah spoke of such men and I want to show you I want to

show you from this is where I'm going to encourage you to turn

when God speaks about the prophets who were supposed to

represent the truth and what they did and what it resulted to

its Heroes. Jeremiah 23.

We looked at Matthew 23, scroll in your sacred scripture.

Did Jeremiah 23. Verse 14 liquid.

God says Jeremiah 23 14, but in the profits of Jerusalem, I've

seen a horrible thing. That alone is just sobering, not

among the Heathen, not among the apostate among the prophets of

Jerusalem, I've seen a horrible thing, they commit adultery and

walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of

evildoers so that no one turns from his evil.

Imagine that That is as a result of the ministry of these

prophets, they didn't call people out of sin.

They convince them to remain in it.

Their life in their preaching, didn't admonish them to let go

of their fleshly desires. But to have a stronger grip on

them, it's a false security. Remember in Jeremiah these false

prophets were saying, peace, peace.

When there is no peace. There is no conviction, there is

no rebuke. There is no call to repentance

and because there is no authority, never mind their

message, the message isn't even mentioned here.

He's talking about their lifestyle.

Because it doesn't matter even if you preach the truth of the

life contradicts that cancels the power of the message.

And that's why God is highlighting this.

There is no Authority because there's no authenticity.

Why are they profits that for the same reason?

Why preachers some preachers are preachers today?

There's something attractive about that kind of authority.

You get respect. t', when you are Pastor or an evangelist or a

podcast preacher, Your source of information that people can come

to people rely on voices, that declare truth or perhaps some

are attracted to it because because they want that authority

to control people. And they want to manipulate

people and they want to take advantage of the vulnerable and

the naive. And there are even some who see

this as a job. It's a job.

And sometimes it's not just a paycheck to paycheck thing, they

will even twist their message to have greater gain from people

who have simple faith. Regardless of the fact, these

men here are told by the god that they apparently represent.

This is horrible. This is absolutely atrocious but

it's later in the same chapter that you see God, not just

judging their practice. But it's condemning their

Proclamation. And it's in verse 21 of the same

chapter. Would you like to know how these

prophets who can claim to be messengers of God came to be?

Would you like to know how is it that it happens?

How is it that you have? Those who are apparently

supposed to give the truth but don't give the truth.

Why this? Why are you even in that

position? Why would you even dare to to

walk in such a call? Jeremiah 23, 21.

Look what God says about the same profits.

I did not send the prophets. Yet they ran, I did not speak to

them, yet they prophesied. Number one, they were never

called by God to begin with. I didn't send them their

self-appointed Ministries and ministers.

They didn't have a call, they have a conviction and whatever

desire. There wasn't a pure desire was

an Unholy desire. Could have been again that they

saw something of personal gain by being a prophet.

They saw the praise that they could receive.

If they just sued the religious consciousness of men among other

things. Nevertheless God says, I never

sent them. If you're entertaining Ministry,

but you don't have the pure desire for Ministry according to

the Bible and you don't sense. God calling you to Ministry.

Can I say this in love? Stay away from Ministry, just

stay away. Go go, join the Mormons.

Go join the Jehovah's Witnesses or go do something else.

But do not come into this. If your desires are not in line

with the word of God, and if you do not have the conviction that

the Lord himself has called you to this ministry.

Because such men strengthen the hands of evildoers and no one

turns from his evil, but that's not the only thing.

Look at verse 22, Jeremiah 23 22, but if they had stood in my

counsel, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people

and they would have turned them from their evil way and from the

evil of their deeds, So number one, they won't even send, but

even if they did start from a right place, there was a failure

along the way, and the failure along the way, if it wasn't from

the beginning, was this, they did not know me and spend time

in my presence. That's what he means here.

If they had stood in my counsel, if they were in that inner

circle of intimacy, with me, if they sat at my feet and sought

to me, if they came to my word and allowed it to burn in their

hearts, if they had come to me. Then they would have spoken my

words. Because you cannot fellowship

with the Holy One and not have that impress you to see the evil

in the world and remain silent about it.

There is no way that you can actually come in contact with

this God, on a daily basis and not be moved to be faithful to

his message. I can tell you something boldly,

that many of these people, that will not declare a message of

repentance unto salvation or call to Holiness for those who

are saved. By faith.

They don't know God. I don't care how smart they are,

I don't care how impressive they are.

I don't care how philosophical they are.

If they do not preach the complete truth, they don't

fellowship with the person who is truth because God said it.

If they would stood in my counsel, then they would have

Proclaim my word. They don't commune with me, they

don't know me. They don't hear from me.

But if you stand in the counsel of God, you will never bend your

knee before, man. No matter what kind of faces,

they might show you while you preach and would you know?

It preachers are encouraged. Not to look at the faces of

people, not in some Seminary text in the Book of Ezekiel do.

Not look at their faces. You preach the truth and Let My

Words reach their hearts. And look at the result, they

would have turned from their evil way.

They would have, they would have been a chance for repentance.

There was a chance for True, Conformity to my Holiness, to my

will, but because you didn't preach it, you raise a

generation that had the appearance of godlessness This

is what we're seeing today on a vast level.

This is what we will continue to say c as well, and I can go on

about different reasons why people will clothe themselves

with a false false sense of relationship with God.

A false sense of Faith but I want to end this message on a

different note. I want to conclude with

something that will directly deal with all of us.

I want to offer to you a series of marks in the past few weeks

and we could have done it with every single one of these things

in the past few weeks, you've been hearing about the marks of

the of the men, and women who will be plagued by their own sin

in the last days. But I want to conclude this

section on this. On this exclamation point that

Paul gives us in verse 5, with a series of marks of somebody who

is truly born again. Now, this part is going to do

two things. At least two things.

As you hear these different marks of what it means to truly

be saved, the spirit of God will bear witness in your spirit that

you are a child of God, and you will be able to say confidently.

Amen, amen, amen. That is true of me.

And two others. It may cause you to say, if you

are honest with yourself and if you love your soul, to think I

hear these things, but I, I do not know if I can say that.

This is true of me. I've grown up in the church,

I've done the ordinances. I even have been involved in in

some Ministries. But these marks I'm afraid are

not evident in my life. And I'm also going to give this

disclaimer that I am aware of people who are truly born again,

then when they hear such things, all it does is cause more doubt,

though they have no reason to doubt.

Because they are just prone to introspection and one of their

weaknesses is that they struggle with understanding the love of

God and the Salvation that he offers freely.

I'm not I'm not trying to cause more doubt to you.

I'm trying to make sure But every person here though,

imperfect and those striving on to maturity and Jesus would fall

along the way they could say, on a foundational level in my being

and the Holy Spirit who is in me though, I may grieve him.

Sometimes I can sense the testimony that I have truly been

brought from Death To Life. But how can we do this?

Are we just going to pull some verses here and there we can but

I want to tell you something, there's an entire book in the

Bible that has the ambition, the main goal of its writings for

this very purpose. And whenever I've had

conversations with people, whether they doubt their

salvation or whether I think they should question their

salvation is go to the book of First John and read it through

and through. And as you see, what John says

about those who are truly born again, if you can say amen.

Amen, amen. Then you are safe.

But if you cannot testify in your heart, that these things

speak of you, then fall on your face, and called to him was

ready to save you and so I want to prove this to you in first,

John 5 verse 13, Now, look for those in here.

John 5:13

We're like yes I'm a I even know where you're going preacher,

maybe you don't know where this is going, equip yourselves with

these verses so that you can help another.

So you can pass this along to somebody else so that you can

use this. When you might be facing

somebody that you're trying to evangelize who is church.

And I used but not truly Born Again.

Look what John says. In first John 5:13, I write

1 John 5:13

these things to you who believe in the Name of the son of God,

that you may know that you have eternal life.

What's amazing is this is the same John who wrote the Gospel

account in the Gospel of John and you know what he says near

the end of that book, right? And John 20:31.

John 20:31

He says, but these are written so that you may believe that

Jesus is the Christ. So that it's an Evangelistic

text. Look at the deity of this man.

He's the God man. Jesus Christ.

But then he comes to First John, and he speaking to Christians,

primarily, and he's not saying I'm writing these things to you

so that you may believe I'm writing to you who do believe

for what purpose that you may know that you have eternal life

that you may have the assurance that you make be concrete.

See God is not satisfied with you.

My precious brother who might waiver in your trust in the

gospel. God does not want you to live in

doubt of his love. He wants you to know that you

have eternal life. He wants you to not just believe

theologically that you are secure.

He wants you to be able to Rejoice because, you know, that

you're secure. And so he writes these things

that you may know that you have eternal life and if you hear

these things and you don't know, then why would you play around

with your soul? Because you don't want to

disappoint some people that thought you were a Christian.

That's not going to matter if you go to hell.

And so, let's look at five marks in the book of First, John Put

your seatbelts on. And some of you will rejoice and

some of you, it may hurt, but if you respond appropriately, you

will rejoice as well. If first John 5:1, we see the

1 John 5:1

first Mark of somebody who's truly been born again.

And you'll notice something of these verses.

Every single verse will say those who have been born of God,

those who have every single verse will have that phrase, so

it's an Evidence. It's a mark of somebody who's

been born of God, which is what Paul is talking about that

power. Within being born from above, is

the power of God unto salvation. The holy spirit's work in a

heart. Not you clothing yourself in

your righteousness. Everyone who believes that Jesus

is. The Christ has been born of God.

And everyone who loves the father loves, Whoever has been

born of him. Number one, faith in the person

and work of Jesus Christ. Notice that it says, whoever

believes everyone who believes Now, I understand the conflict

with this because those who might have an appearance of

godliness, might claim belief, but their lives contradict as

tight as tells us in chapter 1, that there are those who profess

to know God, but they deny him by their works, but you have to

read it. So slowly to understand what

John is trying to say, because this Faith does something to

you. It's not intellectual assent.

It's not an odds acknowledgement of Creed's?

No, no, it does something to your affections.

It does something to your direction, it does something to

your Because right after he says, everyone who believes that

Jesus is, the Christ has been born of God and look how he

correlates it. And everyone who loves the

father, what's the connection that?

If you believe in Jesus Christ, you're going to love the person

of God. There's going to be an Awakening

to the reality of relationship with the one who saved you.

That there's going to be this newfound relationship with this

God though you cannot see him. You love him and you adore him

and you want to worship him and you want to serve him and as you

grow in the knowledge of you want to see him.

You love the father, it's a faith that actually causes you

to be in relationship with God, to commune with God, not to get

a ticket in and live how you want.

No, no. It's an understanding that this

is deeply. Relational.

That this is a Salvation work, that brings me to God himself.

And so, you understand that upon being born again?

Yes, the belief we can rehearse the truth that you come to the

knowledge that you cannot save yourself and that you cannot

work your way to heaven and that you cannot appease the wrath of

God in this life. We can talk about that.

It's important justification by faith.

Yes. but that kind of faith is not just A whisper of belief,

it's not just a slot filled in your knowledge of something.

It's a trust that causes you to rest.

It's a trust that produces an anchor in your soul that you are

ready to meet death that you are ready and confident to stand

before a holy God. And that trust that causes that

burden to roll off your back. At the same time causes you to

love the father. And I actually adore him and

cherish him and worship him. And that is why when somebody

comes from Death To Life, they're able to Now sing.

They're able now to to come in and wash themselves with truth

because they want to know God They want to know their savior.

Do you? You believe great but do you

love the father? You understand great.

You can even preach the gospel to me, probably But do you love

God? Because everyone who believes in

the same breath, John says everyone who loves the father.

Belief in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

You've surrendered your attempt to win your salvation, you've

surrender, the idea that you can actually be righteous before

God, you fall at his feet and at the same time, you want to know

him. Mark number two and first John

1 John 3:9

chapter 3 verse 9 This is where the ESV does us a service.

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 that word seed in the Greek is

the word Sperma. And what's being implied here,

is that when you're born again, the very DNA of God gets inside

of you. And you become his offspring

spiritually. And one of the ways, you know,

that you you've been born of God that the spiritual DNA has been

imparted into your soul, is that you cannot go on.

Living in habitual sin, And the King James new King James, it

would read, they do not sin. But that would, that would be

kind of hard to understand because early on, he says, if we

do sin we have an advocate. So the idea here is is something

continual habitual. And here's what I want to tell

you that, if you've really been born again, not only do you now

enter into a relationship with God, but you actually have a new

relationship with sin. you don't have the same attitude towards

the things you once enjoyed, and even may be justified, In fact,

now you have a white-hot hatred for sin, you realize that it put

the Christ on the cross. You realize that there was a

bloody payment for your salvation because of your sin,

you realize that it will fracture your fellowship with

God. You realize that it's ugly and

it's horrific and now you are understanding God's mind though.

It is still polluted because we are still in this flesh and that

is not To say that you will not never know, Temptation or that

you'll never slip as you pursue maturity and Jesus Christ.

What it does mean, though, is that you cannot be comfortable

and willing to be in sin and claim to be born of God.

Others might say it and they may not say it directly but they

remove it from their preaching. So might as well take a pair of

scissors preacher and cut it out of your Bible.

You cannot claim to be a child of God and still love your sin.

People always wonder but I'm not perfect.

And it's been a while, I still struggle and there still a

battle. And I always respond with this.

Do you want to be free from sin? I wish I could like that.

Do you want to be liberated from this thing?

Yes. It hurts me hurts, my family

hurts my brothers and sisters in Christ.

It hurts, my God primarily and I said, you have nothing to worry

about because it's that attitude, it's not about instant

Perfection. It's about new heart Direction.

He says here. No one born of God makes a

practice of sinning. But we come to the third mark.

And it's found in first, John 229.

If you know that he being God is righteous, you know that

everyone who practices righteousness is born of him.

So, being born again is not a matter of you stopping or

ceasing to do that, which is wrong.

But there is, there is something that happens in your heart, that

changes your Pursuits in life. Your priorities, your

affections, and there is this towering goal.

Now that cast a shadow on every other thing in this world.

Every other thing in your plans, every other thing in your

dreams, this thing is so mountainous in your heart and it

is this, I want to be like him. I want to be like the one who

saved me. You see, we are all from

different backgrounds, we have different stories and upon

salvation, we do not share the same vocation.

We do not have the same personality after we meet

Christ. We might not even be living in

the same place or going in the same direction.

But one thing that we all share is that we have a desire to be

like the savior So, no matter who you're married to, you want

to be like Jesus, as the husband that you are to the wife.

That you have no matter what kind of occupation you have.

It's not about primarily having more money, or more promotion,

or more Comfort. It's about wherever I am.

I want to be like Christ no matter what kind of temperament,

no matter how you look, no matter what kind of disease, you

might be riddled with, no matter what kind of chronic pain, no

matter what kind of built you have, there's something towering

over all of that. And it is this Lord.

How would you live? Like if you were me, And do it

through me. There is a thirst for the

commands of God, to be to be respected and to be obeyed and

there's a pain in the heart when you find yourself in

Disobedience and yes there are days where you will know great,

tides of Temptation and you will even know some Falls that would

hurt you and others and you might stay there long enough,

but let me say it again. When you come down to it, as you

battle lukewarmness, as you battle Temptations of this world

down deep inside. You know that your life means

nothing apart from living for him and like him.

That's why I first, John 5:3, he says, for those who are in this

John 5:3

category born again, that the commands of God are not

burdensome. They're a joy to you.

What you once despised and rejected and ignored, and maybe

even made fun of you now, want more than anything.

And you seek God's power and help.

When you realize that you are blind to a certain aspect of

your personality, or about your habits or your decisions.

And you say God, would you deal with that?

That's somebody who has been changed.

You want to live out in righteousness and it's not a

burden to you. It's a joy to you.

We come to the fourth, Mark, and first, John 4:7.

John 4:7

Beloved. Let us love one another.

For love is of God. And everyone who loves is born

of God and knows God. So not only are you now awakened

to loving the father because you realize the father, so loved you

that he sent his son to rescue you But there's something else

that's inspired and it's an inspiration for horizontal

sacrificial. Love and look at the language

here. He says beloved let us love one

another. In other words you who are loved

love one another which teaches us that the motivation to love.

One another comes from the stream of the knowledge of God's

love for you and God's love for me and from that place because

you were motivated by an experiential revelation of God's

love towards. You the Holy Spirit comes into

that one. Stony heart.

He takes it out. He puts in a heart of Flesh.

And that heart of Flesh. You know what he does throughout

your life as you yield to him as you submit to him.

Christ comes and he carves in that heart a love.

I love for people. And there is now this committed

compassion that you have selflessness.

Begins to evaporate though, it might be stronger on some days

and others and now there's a consideration, there's a

willingness to serve, there's a willingness to give there's a

willingness to reach out your life, becomes really

prioritizing and restructured, it's not about the funnel coming

down to me. It's about me now, funneling out

That's why you serve, right? And that's why you're here,

right? And that's why you want to know

what God is requiring of you. That's why you pray for your

co-workers. That's why you you serve your

family members, so they don't know, they don't know Christ.

But this love though, it is General.

It is specifically targeted towards the Bride of Jesus

Christ. Because back in first John 5:1,

1 John 5:1

what does he say? It's so clear.

He says that everyone who loves the father loves Whoever has

been born of him. This is amazing.

I'll tell you why. Show me your love for the church

and I'll show you your love for God. though, imperfect, she may

be They'll annoying. She may be though inconsistent.

She may be You love her. And the way you love her is that

you are not afraid to be associated with her.

And the way you loved her as that you were willing to serve

her, You're willing to. Link arms with those who are

also children of God and walk this life with them.

I'm very wary of those who claim to be lovers of God and lovers

of Doctrine and lovers of theology, but are isolated and

continually live their Christian lives.

Criticizing the church as though, you were not a part of

it. If a person doesn't take Church

seriously it's very hard for me to believe that they take god

seriously. because scripture says, let us love one another

and you know that this love is not a talk love because John

says earlier let us not love and talk, but in word and In Deed Do

you love the church or do you love sermons big difference?

You might like sermons, that doesn't mean that you love the

bride. because if you love The Bride, it will show in word and

deed. The final Mark of somebody who's

been born of God is found in 1st, John 5:4.

John 5:4

For everyone who has been born of God, overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world.

Our faith, our faith. Here's the understanding.

What does it mean to overcome the world?

I believe. It means many things.

But I can't help. But think when I read this verse

about the different soils that Jesus described the different

ways, people receive the Gospel, the seed of the message that

saves a soul. And one of those soils is rocky

soil and the way Jesus describes that soil is that when that seed

is implanted, when it is received by that heart, it is

met with immediate Joy. There is excitement, there's

posting about it. There's telling some people

about it as well and it says even that they endure.

For a while. but then, when persecution comes And

tribulation. And Challenge and conflict from

the world and threats. When false teaching enters in,

as John was dealing with, by the way, he was dealing with

Antichrist. As all these things, begin to

flood and reach the ankles. Of those who are professing

Christians. Jesus speaks of those with rocky

soil that they, as much as they immediately Rejoice, they will

also immediately fall away. That is not an overcomer. but an

overcomer who's been really born of God, nothing can snatch him

out of his hand. And there is a willingness

though. There might be fear at sometimes

and weakness at other times, there may be concerned for your

family. There may be concerned for

yourself, you realize that in you, is the Holy Spirit who

makes you an overcomer. And this kind of reality, this

Mark can only be observed with time.

But as time goes on, There you are.

You're still loving the Lord. They'll Christians might hurt

you. They'll professing Believers

might disappoint. You might betray.

You might try to scare you there you are, you're still serving

him. You're Still Loving Him.

You're Still Loving the church. You're an overcomer.

Because the one in you is over coming through you what about if

they don't overcome will go back to 1st John to what does it say?

If they left us? They were not of us.

They had a type of soil and time told that it was not legitimate.

Do you believe in him today? Yeah.

No. No.

Do you really believe in him today?

Does your belief cause your soul to clutch at his Mercy?

Where you say? I know, I know that I am saved

now. I know Jesus died.

I know that I'm saved. I know that I will stand before

him clothed in his righteousness.

I know it. Do you hate sin or are you

trying to justify and your grip? Your giving great energy and

strength and trying to hide something because you love

iniquity. But you also want to hold on to

your Christian culture. What's the hunger?

What's the pursuit? Come on.

Is it for righteousness? Is it for the things of God?

Is it to be conformed? Mold in a melted Into His Image?

What happens? What kind of Harpoon is thrust

into your soul when you realize that even for a moment, you

misrepresented him. Do you love the church?

Do you love sermons? Do you love the people of God

though? They are.

Sometimes foolish. This would be Tiant.

But you you filter it through this Jesus died for them.

And you also turn that filter. Realize I'm not perfect either.

And the last one. Only you will know if you're

really an overcomer. I pray that you would be but the

only way you can be an overcomer is if you have this Faith true,

Faith living inside of you. I call you today, if you are one

who has had an appearance of godliness, To repent and believe

in the gospel. Don't fool yourself anymore.

Coming to real life with Christ. No Abundant Life in Jesus.

Believer. I hope that as you heard these

verses resounding within you was.

Thank you. Jesus, you've saved my soul.

Thank you. That I know that I have eternal

life because I know that I've been born of him because I know

that those things that have been said though, they are marred by

my imperfections at times they are.

True nonetheless, Hallelujah. If you feel like this was

strong, no, this I wish somebody preach it to me when I was in

high school. I wish somebody had the boldness

to look at me before I went off to college.

Telling people, I was a Christian while I was getting

intoxicated at parties. I wasn't born again and had a

rude awakening at the age of 20. and I could tell you this, the

revelation of the destination of my eternal State mattered more

to me, More than what my parents would have.

Thought, when they found out that I was really saved that 20

even though I was baptized at 11, Let go of your pride.

Let go of it and come into Abundant Life in Jesus Christ.

Because in the days ahead, family of God, there will be

many appearances of godliness, but denying the true power and

may God by his Mercy display. True power from us as his church

Let's pray. Lord this morning, we Rejoice

that. Again it has been confirmed that

at a certain time. You have truly saved us and that

we are born of the spirit. Lord.

In this moment, we ask that you would deal with any false sense

of doubt. That you would Target it and you

would destroy and replace it with true Joy.

But at the same time, we ask that you would convict the heart

that you would cut through the costume through the mask and

that the right Hearts would be pricked.

Lord may this message not be interpreted as trying to make

people feel unnecessarily, convicted.

Because Lord, in the spirit of First John, you've given us

these truths that we may be secure and we may be able to

bless you and thank you as we examine ourselves in light of

your word that you have truly done a work in US Blessed, Be

Your Name and so Lord made this afternoon.

No, true. Joy.

A joy of confirmation in the joy of conviction that would lead to

conversion. and Lord, may you be able to look into this

congregation as you did a couple of churches in the Book of

Revelation and find nobody wanting But a group of people

who have been changed. A corporate change For Your

Glory in the days where there will be great, appearances of

godliness. Make us truly Godly.

Thank you for salvation by faith.

Thank you that we enter in by Grace.

Thank you. That we do not impress you.

You come to save us and all we do is fall at your mercy, repent

of our sin and Trust in that precious name.

Blessed, Be Your Name. As we sing to you now, in light

of our Salvation, in Jesus name, we pray, amen.