"Nevertheless, do not rejoice
that the spirits are subject to you,
but rather rejoice because your names are
written in heaven."
Luke 10:20
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Let's begin by seeking the Lord...
"Holy Father, there is so much to be thankful for this day. Our salvation from Your wrath, our liberty from the bondage of sin, and the ability to talk with You... mighty God. Thank You, Lord, that You have written my name in heaven above.
I seek the forgiveness of my sins this day because I long to hear from You. I pray that You will search me for my sins, wash me clean with Your precious blood, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I pray that You will guard my tongue and give me wisdom when I speak.
Lord, I pray for each lady reading this study today. I pray for her walk with You. I pray that she is earnestly seeking You in all aspects of her life. I pray that she yearns to hear from You. Give her a passion and a deep desire for Your word. I pray that as she reads Your word today, she will glean much hope from it.
In Jesus' name....amen."
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In our last lesson, we looked at what it means to confess Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh and what it means to know the false teachings that are already in this world trying to lead us astray. There are so many lessons in the Book of First John, but I always find it amazing how much he stresses the importance of knowing what you believe.
Today we will look at what those in the world are saying, but also how we have overcome those who are in the world. John may begin with a harsh lesson, but he always ends with a message of HOPE.....
1 John 4:4-5
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who us in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world and the world hears them."
There is so much to glean from these two verses! So much hope is offered to believers by John.
Let's start with the first part....
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them...."
In the previous verses John mentions the Antichrists already in the world. What a stark picture to end with. But then he gives us that eternal hope: we have overcome them by being children of God.
Please read:
John 1:12-13
Gal 3:26
Because of what Jesus accomplished when He rose again, we can be called children of God. And we can overcome all those in the world who have come to destroy the gospel message...and, ultimately, Jesus.
Through Jesus we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is our Helper...
Ps 54:4
Ps 27:1
Ps 118:6
John 14:4
John 15:26
Heb 13:6
Because we now have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, because we now have that Helper with us...we have overcome the false teachers of this world.
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"They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them."
Why are we so often surprised that the world absolutely despises us? The Bible clearly tells us that we will be hated by the world.
John 15: 18-19
We have been elected...called...out of this world. Jesus chose us, set us aside, so that we may be called His own. So, if the world hated Him, it would only make logical sense that the world would also hate us. Ladies, if you find that the world does not hate you...then something is wrong with your walk with God.
Jesus promises us that we will be persecuted.
John 15:20
That is why it is so important that we do not hold onto this world too tightly. This world, as John wrote, is passing away. This world is not our home. So, why should we become so attached to it?
I love to travel even though I do not get too that often, but one thing about traveling that I enjoy is eating at restaurants in different cities. One thing about traveling that I do not enjoy is staying in hotels. I often wonder why people spend gobs of money to stay at a pricey hotel with all the fancy furniture, etc. knowing they will only use the room for sleep? When we go on vacation later this year I do not want to spend alot of money on hotel rooms because I know we will only use the room for sleeping and changing our clothes.
For me, it helps to see the world this way so that I do not become too attached to it. I see it as a temporary place to stay. A place that is nice, but nothing compared to the home that is being prepared for me by the One who loves me most! Thinking this way makes it easier to let go of this world that hates Jesus and me!
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"...and the world hears them."
As we looked at last time, we saw how Jesus opens the eyes and ears of those who belong to Him. He calls them out of the world and into His family....like when He called Saul and changed him into Paul. The others traveling with Saul heard the voice, but Jesus did not reveal Himself to the others. He only revealed Himself to Saul because He called Saul out of the world.
Let's read about others Jesus revealed Himself too:
Luke 24:13-27
The risen Jesus comes and walks with these two men, but their eyes were "restrained, so that they did not know Him." After awhile, the men tell Jesus about how the Christ was crucified and died and that there were rumors that He was risen from the dead.
How does Jesus respond to the news?
24:25-27
He tells them about what the Old Testament says about Himself. Then He broke bread with them...
24:28-31
Only then did the Lord open their eyes so that they could know Him.
The Lord has opened our ears and our eyes to Him so that we may know Him. We hear His words when they are taught. But the world only hears those in the world. They are being mislead by all the false teachings of this world. They do not hear the Word of God because He has not chosen to open their ears.
They are of the world. We must be called out from this world and not love it because it is not our home. We go to a better place. Praise God for that!
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Life Application
To tell a true servant from a false servant we must look at their fruits:
Matt 7:19-20
False teachers will focus all their teachings on things of the world...temporary things....like people, emotions, feelings, material things, etc.
Their fruits are shaped by the world. Their worldview is shaped by the world. Al Gore is definately a teacher of the world. His whole life is about "saving the planet" as if he ever could! His whole worldview is based on the events of this world.
Today's teachers preach love and kindness...nothing wrong with that, right? Only they preach a loving and kind god who does not punish wrongdoing because there is no wrong doing. They say there is no right or wrong, no good or evil. Try telling that to a mother whose child was molested by a family friend! Try telling her there is no evil in the world and I bet she'll argue with you.
Today's false teachers only preach on the needs of Man. They do not mention sin because it might lower someone's self-esteem.
True preachers will preach on sin because they know it leads people to Christ. They preach atonement, redemption, and salvation. You cannot preach any of those things without mentioning sin!
John was so right when he wrote about the hope that is in God: through Jesus Christ we have overcome them. We have been called out from this world by Christ.
Take time today to focus on the eternal things: Christ's love, His redeeming glory, His faithfulness, and the Helper that was given to us. By doing this, you have taken the focus off of yourself and put it where it belongs....on God.
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Until next time...
"The ability to distinguish truth from error and men of God from men of the world does not require a degree in theology or a great intellect. It requires the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and an open Bible. Combined, those two blessed gifts of God grant us a godly measure of discernment."
-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, p154)
Blessings,
Ruth
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