I John 5:9-12 "The Bourne Testimony"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace.

Join us.

So we're going to take a break from Luke for today, and we're going to dive into the world

of junior high life a little bit, what we're doing on Wednesday nights across the street.

We are doing 1 John, and we're systematically going through it.

So we're going to go through a few verses here, a few key verses at the end of 1 John,

1 John 5:9–12

chapter 5, verses 9 through 12.

And essentially what this is, is if you're familiar with surgical procedures, do you know

what a surgical timeout is?

A surgical timeout is right before the procedure starts, the surgeon stops, and the essential

people in the operating room all sit there and confirm, what are we doing?

Why are we doing this?

Are we sure we're not amputating the wrong leg?

Are you sure that this is the proper patient?

I'm not joking about that.

Are we sure that, of all of these things, right?

And then they go in and they do the procedure.

Yes?

Okay.

Ray says it was yes.

And so what John is doing is, this book is rife with stuff.

He's loving people well.

He's trying to give them advice how to live, but he wants to land them in a good spot.

And he's doing a surgical timeout here, almost at the end of the book, to remind them of who

they are and of who God is.

So read along with me on the screen or in your Bibles if you have them, as I read 1 John

1 John 5:9–12

5, verses 9 through 12.

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony

of God that he is born concerning his son.

Whoever believes in the son of God has the testimony in himself.

Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he's not believed in the testimony

that God has born concerning his son.

And this is the testimony that God gave us.

God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his son.

Whoever has the son has life, and whoever does not have the son does not have life.

Join me in prayer, please.

Father, we come today with many things on our hearts and minds.

We're busy people.

We can't breathe sometimes.

We're overwhelmed.

We're overwhelmed with suffering.

We're overwhelmed with providing well-being and care for other people, older than us,

younger than us, parents, children, friends.

We come into a place like this, and we hope to meet you here.

We pray that your Holy Spirit is active and among us.

Pray that you would fill our hearts with a desire to see you working in life.

And to steward the good gifts that you've given us and the life that you've given us,

and that we would live and operate out of love and affection that's given to us by you,

not out of fear or any other reasons.

So be with us today.

Pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts would be pleasing unto you.

In the name of your great son, Jesus Christ, we pray.

Amen.

Last Sunday evening, after High Life, I was standing in a doorway in the great room,

and I was speaking with a young lady, and she was telling me about these things going on in her life,

some problems at school, which led to problems with some friends,

and then that led to arguments with her parents,

and just kind of a desperate place she was in as a 16-year-old,

where she didn't feel welcome at home, she didn't feel welcome at school,

there was no real place for her to be.

And as conversations go,

she got to the point where she looked at me kind of with tears in her eyes,

and she said,

I don't even know if I'm saved.

I don't even know if Jesus is real in my heart or not.

And just then, as though it had been foreordained before the foundation of the earth,

I was smacked in the side of a face with a wet tortilla,

by a junior in high school sprinting off behind me,

and as I turned to look and find him,

I was smacked on this side of my face with another wet tortilla,

as that guy jumped and ran the other way.

And if you ever wonder,

is there a moment in time that can encapsulate youth ministry?

It was the tearful,

heartfelt conversation with this girl,

mixed with being smacked in the face by processed flour.

Christine and Ty and I have this opportunity multiple times a week with these students

to find places where the gospel can intersect with their lives.

And I have a unique opportunity to walk not only alongside of those students,

but walk alongside parents and other families as they go through short problems with their students,

but also discussions about marriage,

discussions about life and finances and things like that,

where it's just a great, great job and a great thing that I get to do.

But the thing that I've found now,

I've always thought this,

but I believe it now I think more than I ever have,

is that whether you're dealing with a 12-year-old or a 16-year-old,

a 36-year-old, a 56-year-old,

there's something about all of us

that we're all pretty much the same.

We're all pretty much the same.

We all want to be loved.

We all want community.

We all want to be understood.

We all struggle and we sin.

And we all need reminders of gospel basics.

And so what John is doing as he comes to the end of this letter

is he's slowing down with his readers

and he's reminding them and he's encouraging them with gospel reality.

And this morning I want to slow down with you

and I want to remind you and I want to encourage you

with the gospel reality.

If you're anything like me,

you don't have time to take a breath in life, right?

There's always something new popping up at work that needs attention.

My house finds new ways to break almost every single day.

I can't find my friends,

mostly because they don't exist,

but the ones who do exist are just as busy as I am

and we're all moving in different directions

and so connecting is very, very difficult with them.

If you're married,

there seems to be no time to get together

and have any real or vital conversation.

We live parallel lives a lot of the time

and we pass.

I don't have time

and I wish that was it.

I don't have the inclination

to have substantial communication with my wife

when I have the opportunity to.

Our kids have more activities

than we could have ever imagined

when we were kids.

For some of us,

self-medicating is the only way

that we can get to sleep

and then tomorrow,

we get to look forward to more of the same.

You wake up and boom.

Whether you get up at 4.30, 5 o'clock,

sometime between 4.30 and 7, right, Hosea?

Whenever we get up,

life starts and you go the next day.

Everything around us seems so out of control

that we white-knuckle onto anything

that seems manageable and controllable to us.

And for some of us,

we seek control so much

that we burden ourselves

with actually being responsible for everything,

for banking,

for baseball,

for football,

for dance,

for soccer, right,

for vehicle maintenance,

for basketball,

for hockey,

for robotics,

for tennis.

If something goes wrong,

I messed up.

It was my fault.

I should have seen it coming.

I had my day planned out.

I should have known

what was going to happen, right?

And others of you are sitting there going,

yeah, man, I was there.

I know I knuckled for a while,

but let me tell you,

I got it all handled now.

You're welcome for me being here, preacher man.

I'm glad to hear what you have to say to me today.

And that's fair.

So we walk in here on Sundays

for this one day a week

where some of us drag in,

some of us come in happily, joyfully,

some of us pour out of our minivans,

and we stumble in here

with the hope of being renewed

and equipped for the week ahead.

And those of us

who want to be here,

we're desperately seeking

some assurance from our Heavenly Father

that He still loves us

and that He's still in control.

Those of us who don't want to be here,

I'm glad you're here.

I hope you stay

and I hope you listen.

God is still faithful today.

I needed to hear that this morning

as much as anybody else.

I desperately needed to hear that.

So I have great news

for those who have limped into the service

to worship their Heavenly Father,

knowing that there's no other way for you.

I have a great reminder

to those who grab and clutch at control

whenever you get the chance,

knowing that you need a heart change.

And I have great news for you

if you came here

either out of antagonism

or apathy

or whatever else might drive you here.

Our God is in control.

Through Jesus,

He's shown more comprehension

of your life

than we could ever fathom.

Through Jesus,

He's met you in your sufferings

and the sufferings of your loved ones

yet again.

Through Jesus,

He's made a way for you

to turn from yourself

and to run back to Him.

And through Jesus,

He has made a way

to humble proud hearts

and to melt hearts of stone.

Our God is in control.

If you look on your bulletin,

I did a really detailed outline for you

so it'd be easy to follow along today.

Story is one way

that we can show

that God is in control.

Story is this kind of kitschy thing

that a lot of people are into.

Know your story.

Tell me your story.

Counselors and psychologists

will tell you

that the most important way

to understand the things around you

is to know

and to understand your story.

Oprah and other pop psychologists

and counselors

will tell you

that knowing these things

is the way

to really see your divine light

and be open to see

the divine light in others.

Let's just see how John

describes the story.

Start there in 1 John 5 9.

If we receive the testimony of men,

the testimony of God is greater.

For this is the testimony of God

that He is born concerning His Son.

A lot of the conversations I have

with the youth center around

who is really in control,

they may or may not know that,

but that's what the conversation is about.

I love to have open forums

and open discussions

about what do you think of God

and who He is

in times of suffering,

in times of wants,

in times that are ugly and dark,

because sometimes you need

to hear yourself say things out loud

to really know

what you're thinking.

And those little sound bites

are usually the way

that I can dive in with them

into life

and into their stories

and into understanding

where they are.

Because some of us see story

as this thing

that they don't really need

to get into,

but guess what?

We're all formed.

We all came from somewhere.

We are some kind of a product

of our parents

or our grandparents

or our adopted parents

and our environment

and our siblings

and all of those kind of things

and sin patterns

and the ways we lean into life

all come from somewhere.

But most of us

have spent so much

of our lives

trying to hide those things

because we don't really

want to be known

by other people.

We've been hurt

in a lot of ways

and if you put yourself

on the line

and you've not been accepted,

you start to figure out,

okay,

what is kind of a way

I can lay low

and not have to be accepted?

Right?

And we tell these stories

about ourselves

as though we're islands

and we're kind of floating around

and no one else

really knows where we are

and what we're getting at.

And in those stories,

we kind of lose track

of who God is.

Covenant children,

people who deal

with a lot of unchurched kids

and kids who are nominal Christians,

it's in the air

and in the water

here in Huntsville.

And there's not a lot

of embracing

of the reality

of God being God.

And John very plainly

says right here

that God's story

is of supreme importance.

When he says,

if we receive

the testimony of men,

he'd be talking about

a few things there,

but most likely

he's talking about

prophets and apostles

and people who have gone out

in the name of God

talking about this God

who is faithful

and who loves

and who pursues people.

And they're willing

to receive that testimony.

And John's saying,

I got something

a little bit more powerful

than that.

You're willing to receive that,

but you're not willing

to receive God's testimony

from himself?

That's what's most important.

And why is God's testimony

the most important?

Because he's offering you

his son.

He's offering you Jesus.

I took some time

with this junior crew

that's juniors

that help out

with junior high life

the other day

to let them know

we have all these conversations

and sometimes

I don't remind them

of a simple presupposition

of mine.

A presupposition being

something that I

go through life

in the back of my mind

that everything

is filtered through.

My simple presupposition

is that regardless

of being raised

in a wonderful Christian home

by good Christian parents

and Christian grandparents

who love me

all of my siblings

are believers

despite being well educated

at a good academic institution

as well as theological

and heart changing institution

I don't need all of that stuff

I need Jesus

and that's an abstract

and foreign concept to us

because we love knowledge

and we love to think about things

but my presupposition

isn't that I need to know

more about Jesus

my presupposition is

the only thing I can know

and want is Jesus

and that's a passion

that has to drive me

because that's what

the Bible describes

and that's what God offers

that's why his testimony

is so important

and we see in John 5.37

a similar word there

and the father who sent me

this is Jesus talking

who sent me

has himself borne witness

about me

the word witness

and testimony

that's the same

in the Greek

his voice you have never heard

and his form you have never seen

he's talking to these people

about rejecting

Jesus himself

for who he is

and John

that same writer

is using the same word here

to tell us

that that's what's so supreme

about God's testimony

Jesus is what

is of most importance

I grew up at the beach

and for any of you

that have ever visited

the beach

there's probably not

a much more impressive scene

than a rough ocean

on a big day

say during a storm

or a hurricane's approaching

or something like that

and inside of this

impressive thing of nature

there's probably nothing

that's more frightening

than getting caught

in a riptide

has anybody ever heard

of a riptide

or understand what they are

this is a picture

of a riptide

and you see

the currents jutting out

in between the waves

and essentially what happens

is you get caught

and it tries to drag you under

and suck you out to sea

and you have two options

at that point in time

I was raised

as a pretty good swimmer

I was taught

how to swim in an ocean

but when you feel

the ocean grabbing you

and doing something with you

that you don't want

to have happen

and there's not an easy way

to get out of it

I tell you

it's much easier

to be afraid

and if you start to fear

and you start to fight

that thing

your fear will lead you

to getting dragged under

and you're gone

it's a sad thing

that happens to kids

at the beach

almost every year

that's why you see signs

when you go there

that say riptides

you know

stay out of the water

you see red flags

on the beach

depending on where you go

things like that

being a good swimmer

and growing up

at the beach

I was also blessed

with a certain amount

of gifts

that if I just stewarded

my gifts well

I could get out of it

generally

swimming parallel

to the shore

is an easy way

to get out of a riptide

not an easy way

you have to work at it

but if you do it

for a while

you'll find out

oh

if I just do this thing

and don't try

to think too much

about it

I'm going to actually

get out of this situation

don't get caught

in riptides

don't go in the ocean

when there are riptides

I'm not saying

that's a good thing

I'm saying it happened

to me a couple of times

my mom probably

doesn't appreciate

the stories

but

at any rate

that's what happened

so

when we think

of our stories

more often

than not

our stories

are

things that we're

trying to form

or things that we're

trying to change

and things that we're

trying to do

based upon

what's happening

currently

and what's happened

in the past

when what John

is saying here

is

God's story

is the one

that's supreme

and simultaneously

our stories

actually matter

because our stories

are supposed to

operate inside

of God's story

we're supposed to be

a demonstration

of his faithfulness

and of what

human obedience

is supposed to look like

we don't obey

out of fear

or out of secular

self-improvement

we obey

because we have

an ever faithful father

who loves us

and wants to care

for us

we've all been

given gifts

and constantly

life throws

riptides at us

it happens

why?

because we're sinful

people around us

are sinful

the world itself

is in a culture

of sin

and guess what?

there's some

very real factor

that we don't

always think about

Satan does not

like Christians

acting like Christians

Satan does not

like Christians

being able

to communicate

gospel truth

to their children

riptides

are very

real

and they're

thrown at us

all the time

and there's

nothing more

that Satan

likes to see

when a riptide

is thrown at you

than for a Christian

to be stricken

with fear

and to start

struggling against it

rather than

stewarding their

gifts well

and being obedient

to the God

who loves them

who said

hey when a riptide

comes

swim parallel

to the shore

I've got you

you're safe

our finances

are a way

that we do

that a lot

aren't they

I'm not

criticizing

by the way

anybody

I'm asking

for heart

checks

for all

of us

at this

point

because this

is what

I was doing

to myself

as I was

preparing

this message

savings

529's

for the kids

tithe

how much

you spend

on houses

on cars

how many

cars you

have

do you

have a lake

house

how many

lake houses

do you have

you know

all of these

things

we make

choices

about where

we spend

our money

and we

make choices

about jobs

based upon

how much

money we

get

and there

are ways

to spend

your money

that are

excellent

stewardship

of that

and there

are ways

to spend

your money

that are

absolutely

fearful

that if

you don't

handle

your money

correctly

somehow

you're not

going to be

taken care

of

because

what

life is

on top

of you

and you're

in control

of your

finances

you're in

control

of how

much

you have

you're in

control

of the

stock

market

you're in

control

of global

wars

you're in

control

of natural

disasters

and if

any of

those things

happen

and you

didn't

invest

in the

right

thing

or have

your

portfolio

diversify

quite

the right

way

money

you can

do all

of those

same

things

and be

in

excellent

stewardship

don't hear

me

criticizing

that

I'm not

criticizing

an action

I'm trying

to go

underneath

of it

and examine

our hearts

and invite

you to

examine

your heart

what do

you do

with the

money

that God's

given

to you

and why

do you

do it

have you

ever

even

considered

that

question

and our

children

discipline

why do

we discipline

our children

what's the

heart

behind

disciplining

your

children

is it

out of

fear

or are you

trying to

steward

your

children

well

your

primary

relationship

to your

child

if you

consider

yourself

a believer

your

primary

relationship

to your

child

is not

dictator

of your

home

your

primary

relationship

to your

child

is

mature

believer

attempting

to influence

and raise

immature

believers

to maturity

that is

your

primary

role

according

to God

and you've

been given

a specialized

role in

that

as a

parent

as the

chief

discipler

and the

people who

are closest

to this

person

to raise

them up

right

in the

nurture

and admonition

of the

Lord

you're the

one closest

to that

where does

discipline

come from

sports

and dancing

those around

here

man

I've had

seven

varsity

letters

in high

school

and when

I say

that

out

loud

to

people

here

and they

know

that I

went on

to play

collegiate

and professional

athletics

they go

how did

you do

that

without

playing

your

sport

12

months

a

year

18

times

a week

for

three

hours

and it's

a different

world

a lot

of your

kids are

not going

to be

major league

baseball

players

or NHL

players

or something

like that

why are

they doing

all of

these

travel

teams

what's

going

on

with

that

what is

it costing

you

what is

benefiting

you

is your

child

really

the one

I had

a chance

to teach

champions

in western

Carolina

champions

tennis

players

I'm sorry

in western

Carolina

these were

12 to 16

year old

kids

who were

excellent

excellent

excellent

and about

25 of

them came

to see

me

and I

had a

conversation

with each

of the

parents

individually

about how

their

child

was really

going

to be

the one

we're in

western

Carolina

in a

Biltmore

Forest

Country

Club

in

Asheville

that is

one

little

pocket

of one

place

in one

little

spot

of the

country

that's

not even

a tennis

haven

and they

thought

their

child

was going

to be

the one

are you

stewarding

your child's

time well

are you

stewarding

their hearts

well

what are you

showing them

in that

and then

general

idolatry

of our

children

I'm sorry

I'll go

back to

that

I also

have some

vicarious

people

I'll tell

you I'm

about to

draft our

eight-year-olds

coach pitch

team in the

next few

weeks

I'm not

drafting

kids I'm

drafting

parents

I have

no interest

in having

that guy

you know

Uncle Rico

from Napoleon

Dynamite

I don't want

that guy

sitting

you know

because that

guy won't

sit outside

of the

fence he

sits on

the field

right

I want

people who

love their

kids and

want to

see them

have a good

time and

improve at

a sport

how to get

along with

other people

right

idolatry of

our kids

that's one

that is

Gimelie and I

struggle with

that one a

lot

at what

point is

your child

an idol

at what

point are

they

are they

really another

human that

you can let

go and

let be

a human

another of

God's

creations to

grow and

to learn

and then

pleasures

in life

relationships

relationships

man

we don't

know how

to do

relationships

most of

us

and they

can easily

become things

that we

operate out

of fear

completely

rather than

stewarding

them well

we run

away from

people that

we're in

conflict

with

high school

boys and

girls

especially

boys

they love

to

there's

something

about a

girl

you know

she looked

at me

oh she

must want

to be

with me

and they

just kind

of are

on top

of them

all the

time

and that

hey

how you

doing

you know

there's

a creepy

dude

that waits

outside

every class

for me

and I

don't

know

what's

going

on

with

that

but we

do it

too

we find

our need

and our

worth

in people

around us

in our

spouse

and that's

not where

God calls

that to

be

alcohol

and food

you know

these are

things that

are great

gifts

and things

that can

be

misused

well

and then

our bodies

there's

there's

certainly

this thing

of our

bodies

where we

we don't

want to

die

we're

afraid

of

dying

and

we

take

living

well

to a

certain

extent

that

is

actually

operating

out

of

fear

rather

than

stewarding

the good

gift

that God

has

given

us

right

and our

heavenly

father

doesn't

call us

to live

out of

fear

in our

world

that's

not

the call

that he

gives

us

he

doesn't

call us

to be

in control

of our

stories

so that

we can

magically

fix

things

and talk

about

how

awesome

our

children

are

as

though

they're

a

total

reflection

of

us

we're

called

to

steward

our

stories

for

our

own

sanity

and

for

the

glory

of

his

kingdom

stewarding

your

story

looks

different

than

controlling

your

story

and God's

given us

all sorts

of steps

to steward

our

story

that we'll

talk about

in a

couple

of

minutes

he

calls

us

because

his

testimony

shows

us

that

he

is

in

control

of

our

stories

and

John's

desperate

for

his

readers

to

know

the

love

of

God

that's

shown

in

Jesus

Christ

we're

going to

move

on

to

love

now

to

John

as it

should

be

to

us

the

question

is

not

whether

the

testimony

of

the

father

is

true

the

question

is

this

and

we're

going to

head

here

pretty

strong

for the

rest

of

the

time

do

you

believe

it

the

testimony

of

God

is

true

do

you

believe

it

and

if

so

how

is

that

shown

let's

read

verse

10

again

whoever

believes

in

the

son

of

God

has

the

testimony

in

himself

whoever

does

not

believe

God

has

made

him

a

liar

because

he's

not

believed

in

the

testimony

that

God

has

borne

concerning

his

son

this

truth

of

God's

sovereign

gift

of

his

testimony

mixed

with

what

is

quite

clearly

our

human

response

to

that

can

make

the

more

Presbyterian

among

us

a little

bit

uncomfortable

as we're

reading

it

John

isn't

talking

about

random

belief

he's

the one

he's

talking

about

the

one

who

believes

that

the

testimony

is

inside

of

himself

there

is

a

self

attestation

something

is

happening

inside

of

you

that

cannot

deny

the

presence

of the

testimony

in

you

and that

it is

absolutely

and forever

your life

will be

changed

because

of

that

it

wasn't

walking

to the

front

sometime

at a

conference

it

wasn't

emotionally

thinking

man

that

music

was

really

good

and I

like

the

fog

machines

and the

lights

too

so I

like

this

Jesus

thing

it's

this

incredible

feeling

and overwhelming

feeling

inside

of you

that this

is true

and that

this

is

actually

happening

it

can

happen

in

those

times

I'm

sorry

don't

hear me

not

saying

that

Jesus

is

literally

indwelling

people

always

exposing

the heart

of the

believer

and I

say this

makes

some of us

uncomfortable

because

we're

seeing

that man

is somehow

responsible

for what's

going on

I'm not

going to

make you

raise hands

about you

feeling

uncomfortable

with me

saying man

in this

verse

is somehow

responsible

for what's

going on

the objective

truth revealed

by the Holy

Spirit is

intertwined

with our

subjective

response

it's

what's

happening

here

and have

a secret

these

things

are not

at odds

these

things

are not

at odds

there's

not a

tension

about this

in the

Bible

Paul

does

not

write

Romans

9

without

quickly

following

it up

with

Romans

10

these

things

follow

each

other

and

there's

nothing

wrong

with

that

we

don't

have

to

be

afraid

of

it

we

see

here

that

you

can't

have

the

testimony

of

God

revealed

to

a

person

without

that

person

responding

I think

I just

said that

in a

little

more

Presbyterian

terms

that we

can

fathom

if

God

has

given

this

gift

to

someone

and

the

testimony

is

inside

of

them

that

person

cannot

reject

that

gift

it

cannot

happen

the

rest

of

verse

10

exposes

a

little

more

of

what

I

mean

if

you

see

there

whoever

does

not

believe

God

has

made

him

a

liar

because

he

has

not

believed

in

the

testimony

that

God

is

born

concerning

his

son

you

can

hear

this

testimony

you

can

come

here

every

single

week

and

hear

Will

and

Ron

and

Derek

and

every

once

in a

while

me

preach

good

gospel

sermons

and

not

this

testimony

has

not

penetrated

inside

of

you

you

do

not

have

Jesus

in

you

and

you

do

not

want

Jesus

in

you

that's

where

the

responsibility

factor

matters

because

God

wants

you

to be

there

and

you

turn

it

away

you

say

no

there's

no

room

between

believing

in

Jesus

and

this

testimony

of

God

wanting

Jesus

there's

no

middle

ground

that you

can

operate

on

and

call

yourself

a

Christian

they

are

together

scripture

scripture

demonstrates

that all

the way

through

and

that's

it seems

harsh

but it's

actually

not

because

the

Bible

is

full

of

stories

about

God's

people

desiring

control

that's

all we

want

is

control

we

don't

want

to

give

it

up