263: Jim Styles – That Which Was From The Beginning

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Welcome to good Chris Selfian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
And I’m Chris.

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And I’m Brian.
Thank you for joining us this

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week on this podcast.
We select one talk a week to

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help us get the Bible in our
Daily News feed.

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We post a new episode at the
start of each week.

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With the short intro beforehand
to kind of set the stage for the

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talk you’re about to listen to.
And now, let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk
to the Good Chris Adelphian

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Talks Podcast.
This is Brother Brian.

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This week’s talk is the first
class in a series.

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That was given by Brother Jim
Styles last year when he focused

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on breaking down the first
Epistle of John, and the theme

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for the whole series is living
God’s Eternal Life.

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Now this first class, which is
essentially an introduction and

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covering chapter one, I would
informally title that which was

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from the beginning.
It’s a very good class from a

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very good series by a very good
speaker on a very good topic.

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So a perfect candidate for this
podcast.

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We would like to thank everyone
who makes the time to send in

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their recommendations.
It is a tremendous help for

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finding these great gems, so
please keep them coming as

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always.
We hope this strengthens your

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faith and brightens your day.
Brother Jim Stiles, that which

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was from the beginning.
All right.

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So the plan is to start having a
look at first John.

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That’s one of these books that I
guess I I read first John for a

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lot of years thinking someday
I’ll get into it.

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And what happened was I started
reading through it.

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And what I found was that it
seemed like it just sort of

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rambled on the same thing over
and over and over.

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Again, somewhat like reading
Psalms sometimes I found some of

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the psalms were like that.
To me it’s just like the same

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thing over and over again.
I was listening to some classes

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during the week that Steven
Mansfield gave and he said that

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he can remember a time when her
brother was reading reading out

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of First John at memorial
service and.

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The brother was one of these
dramatic readers who like, tries

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to make it a dramatic reading
and looks up at the audience all

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the time.
And when he looked up one time

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and glanced down, he had no idea
where he was because.

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He couldn’t find.
I mean, if you’re looking at the

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love of God or something like
that, it’s all over the place.

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And 1st John.
And so it wasn’t easy to figure

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out where it was.
In fact, even the presider, I

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guess, was lost to that night.
So that happens sometimes when

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you’re reading through first
John.

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So one of my goals in this
series of classes is going to be

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to hopefully present to you and
you can talk it out and see what

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you think, a strategy about why
John puts his letter together

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the way he does.
This is something that was

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missing to me.
Reading through John over these

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years, I I never could figure
out the strategy.

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And anyways, this time around I
decided to have a look at, well,

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why does it cover these things
in this order?

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What was John actually hoping to
accomplish?

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And I find it it helps me
remember what’s in the letter

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and where it is, if you can
figure out the strategy.

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So that’s one of the things I’d
like you all to work on over the

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next few weeks.
See if you can figure out.

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What each section is about and
why is it in there?

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That’s one thing we can look at.
So hopefully Nathan got us ready

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for this a few weeks ago.
I don’t know who that was.

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Maybe two months ago Nathan gave
some classes on 1st John and

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anyway hopefully he got us
rolling.

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So one of the things you’ll
notice right away is that first

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John, he uses the term the
father.

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The father over.
And over again, the Father.

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Now who else did that?
Jesus.

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Right.
And you see it in the Gospels,

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not just John’s gospel,
especially in John’s Gospel, but

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you’ll see that Jesus constantly
referred to God as the Father.

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The Father.
Now you wonder, like, why?

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What?
What does that do for us?

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Well, right away that gets into
the fact that, well, if he’s the

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Father, he’s, he’s our Father.
He wants a relationship with us

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where his children.
And I really think that’s one of

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the things that John is trying
to do, is make an appeal that

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our God is not way out there
somewhere.

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He’s not a God who’s way beyond
us and doesn’t understand us.

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He is the father.
He’s the father of all of us and

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he loves us.
As you’re going to see as we go

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through this letter, and he
wants us to be part of him.

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You’ll see three things coming
up over and over.

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Again, in this book about God is
life.

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Life.
God’s way of life.

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He calls it eternal life.
And for Christadelphians, of

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course, and we read the phrase
eternal life, everybody thinks

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about immortality, but that’s
not the way John uses it.

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He’s not talking about
immortality as such.

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He’s talking about a way of
life, a way of life that is

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eternal.
It spans the ages to where if

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you get this way of life, God
will give you immortality.

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That’s what he’s really after
here.

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Then he’ll point out, well, God
is light.

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He’s He’s the only source of
light.

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He’s the only one who can
provide the truth about this

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eternal life.
You won’t get anywhere else.

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It’s you’re not going to get it
from any humans.

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You’re not going to get it from
just meditating and some

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spiritual enlightenment or
something like that.

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God is the source.
He’s the one that you got to go

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to if you want to know about
this eternal life.

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And then he also covers God is
love.

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Because this is what motivates
his character and his desire to

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save us.
And he mentions this over and

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over again that we have to
develop this love of God and the

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love that God has for us.
You’ll also notice 3 themes that

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keep being wound through the
whole book.

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He keeps it like coming around
to them all the time, over and

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over and over again.
One of them is righteousness.

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There is a righteous way of
life.

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And that we have to come to know
this righteousness and practice

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it.
John uses this phrase that, at

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least in English and our
translations now, the modern

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versions talk about practicing
righteousness.

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He talks about love, the love of
God, that God showed to us and

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that we must love one another
and he also.

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Mentions truth because all of
this has to be based on truth.

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Our faith and our way of life,
It isn’t just something that,

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well, what do you think it is
and what do you think it is?

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And what do I think it is?
It’s what God says it is.

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That’s the truth that we want to
come to know.

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And he keeps winding around
these issues and coming back to

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them and back to them.
Many people have looked at it

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and some of the readings I did,
the people compared.

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It’s like the idea of like waves
coming up on the beach.

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And you see the waves and one
wave comes in, sort of knocks

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you over, and then a couple of
seconds later another wave comes

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in and and that they sort of
looked at John’s letter like

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that he’s coming at us in waves.
And another person described it

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as like a spiral.
Staircase that there are these

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core.
Themes that he’s going around

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and around and around as you’re
going up and up.

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To higher and higher concepts.
But he keeps coming back to the

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same core ideas of righteousness
and love and truth.

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You’ll also notice what John
does is he presents these things

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totally in black and white.
There’s no Gray to John, no Gray

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that you’re either in this or
you’re over there that there’s

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one or the other.
There is no Gray area the way he

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presents it.
And he comes at it with

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authority and he says, look it
if you you might say that you

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might say, And it’s so you could
say, you say, well, I love God,

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right?
Well, he says, if if you claim

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to love God and you don’t love
your brothers and sisters,

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you’re a liar, that there’s no
Gray.

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Area there to John, it’s either
you’re on this pathway or you’re

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on that pathway, you have to
make a choice.

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And you can see that John was
trying to get people to like

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stay on the pathway of truth and
help them realize you can’t get

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off this.
One of the things that comes up

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in the study of first John is
there’s quite a few references

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by expositors looking at this
whole idea of maybe why John

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wrote this letter.
And what was happening in the

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eclisions at the time is that
there were people who who came

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along.
And they were probably academic

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people or people that were in
the lake, sort of like Far

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Eastern mysticism.
And they got into this idea that

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we now call today Gnosticism.
It’s about they had the

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knowledge.
They say, well, I’ve got the

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knowledge, I know how this works
and I’ve got the knowledge about

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how to get to higher levels.
And if you can, you can get to

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these higher levels than the the
actual body that you’re in

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doesn’t really matter.
What really matters is whether

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you get your mind up to these
higher levels.

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So they present God.
There’s there’s different views

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of narcissism out there, but the
general idea is that they

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present God as being pure
spirit.

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He’s entirely separated from the
material world.

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That’s the way God is, and the
goal is to get like that.

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That’s our goal if you’re a
Gnostic.

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So they say Jesus was born a
human and there’s also a divine

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Christ.
And what happened was the divine

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Christ came into that body at
his baptism, and then it left

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right before he was.
Crucified because they can’t

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really have him in that body at
the crucifixion.

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And so they sort of separate
Jesus out into these two

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different forms.
One of them is a human body and

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the other one was this divine
side and they would believe that

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he wasn’t really the body, the
body.

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Was just there for, for this
human, for this spiritual mind

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of Christ that came into and and
walked around and talked to

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people.
But he wasn’t really that body,

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because that body would have had
sinful propensities.

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And so they couldn’t connect
Jesus with that because to them

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he was divine already, so he
only seemed to have a body.

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But really he didn’t, and he
lived in the Spirit.

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So if you’re following the
Gnostic teachers, what they

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would try to tell you is your
goal every day is to try to

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raise your mind up to where you
can be.

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Like that you can be living in
the spirit.

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And then you’re not really
involved with what your body

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does.
And they went to the extreme of

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thinking, well, it doesn’t
really matter what your body

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does, your body can sin all at
once.

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And that isn’t really you.
That’s just your your body, your

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physical body doing those
things.

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And your mind is way beyond that
because they’re really like 2

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separate things.
And eventually they got to the

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point where nothing the body
does really is a sin.

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So the battle of Romans 7 and
eight, of the mind of the Spirit

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versus the mind of the flesh,
they would resolve that by

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simply saying that you elevate
your mind to this spiritual

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level, so where the sins of the
flesh, they really don’t affect

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your spiritual mind.
My body’s doing this, but it

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it’s not really me.
It’s almost like an extreme case

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of the apostle Paul who says
it’s not really I who do it, but

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sin that dwells in me.
They took that to like it’s far

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extreme, and then got to the
point where I’m not responsible

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anymore for what my body does.
And it was a way out for them, I

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don’t know, so that your body
could continue to do all these

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things you want to, and they
could claim that their spiritual

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mind was way up there.
So what John is going to do in

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this letter is constantly come
back to the fact and emphasize

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over and over and over again
that we are responsible for our

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actions and that our actions
really indicate where our

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spiritual mind is.
That’s what he’s going to do.

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And it’s a great approach as far
as like.

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I’m trying to help us understand
what I like about.

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John’s letter is it gives you
like a barometer of tests where

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it’s very easy to say, well, I I
think I’m right here and I think

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I’m up here and I think I’m
there.

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And John says, well, how are you
doing on this?

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And what about this and this?
They’re very similar to what

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00:12:15,770 –> 00:12:18,290
James would do.
You know, as far as his letter.

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James does the same kind of
things.

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He says you think you have
faith.

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00:12:21,770 –> 00:12:24,530
You claim you believe.
Well, how you doing on

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controlling your tongue?
Are you doing on not showing

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prejudice to people?
Yeah.

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00:12:30,050 –> 00:12:31,570
How are you doing on all these
things?

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And he would put out real simple
tests that we could measure how

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we’re really doing.
And you’ll see John does that as

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00:12:37,610 –> 00:12:40,250
well.
So this is the apostle John who

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00:12:40,250 –> 00:12:42,810
writes this letter.
He would be probably the first

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00:12:42,810 –> 00:12:45,570
cousin of Jesus.
So if you’ve ever looked at some

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00:12:45,570 –> 00:12:48,170
of the connections in the
families of the apostles, I

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remember being really surprised
by this when I was growing up.

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00:12:51,460 –> 00:12:54,300
I think Don Stiles was the first
person that ever gave a class

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00:12:54,300 –> 00:12:57,700
that went through like the
apostles and tried to show how

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00:12:57,700 –> 00:13:00,740
they were all linked with with
family ties.

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00:13:01,140 –> 00:13:03,860
That this wasn’t Jesus going
around just like picking people

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00:13:03,860 –> 00:13:05,820
and I’ll take you and you and
you and you.

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He he was picking people that
were all connected within the

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family.
And it’s amazing.

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00:13:11,620 –> 00:13:14,380
Some of these things are harder
to actually show than others.

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00:13:14,660 –> 00:13:17,820
But when you look at John up.
There you can see he’s the son

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00:13:17,820 –> 00:13:22,390
of Zebedee and Saloni.
Who actually came from Heli and

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00:13:22,390 –> 00:13:25,910
he was the father of Mary, who
was the mother of Jesus.

250
00:13:25,990 –> 00:13:28,790
So that John and Jesus would
have been first cousins.

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00:13:29,190 –> 00:13:31,670
But what’s really interesting is
all the other ones on the other

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00:13:31,670 –> 00:13:33,710
side over there.
When you start to realize how

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00:13:33,790 –> 00:13:37,470
interconnected these apostles
really were, they a lot of them

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00:13:37,470 –> 00:13:41,150
had family ties, which I guess
is pretty common amongst the

255
00:13:41,150 –> 00:13:42,750
Jews.
Anyways, I found it was that way

256
00:13:42,750 –> 00:13:44,910
amongst the Muslims too.
They all have family ties with

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00:13:44,910 –> 00:13:47,550
each other and they’re all
interconnected as well because

258
00:13:47,550 –> 00:13:48,950
they they do a lot of
intermearing.

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00:13:49,520 –> 00:13:52,360
So he’s full of passion and
enthusiasm for Jesus.

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00:13:52,440 –> 00:13:54,800
Remember that story where James
and John, they wanted to bring

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00:13:54,800 –> 00:13:57,320
fire down from heaven?
I mean, that’s the way he was as

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a young person is like, yes.
We’re going to make a difference

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00:13:59,920 –> 00:14:01,280
here.
We’re going to bring down the

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00:14:01,280 –> 00:14:02,920
fire of.
God from heaven and consume

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00:14:02,920 –> 00:14:05,680
those people just like Elijah.
Did right And their life, you

266
00:14:05,880 –> 00:14:08,760
know, earlier on.
And that’s what he wanted to do.

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00:14:09,120 –> 00:14:12,120
James and John, his his brother,
were known as the Sons of

268
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Thunder.
He really did care about sitting

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00:14:15,520 –> 00:14:17,360
next to Jesus and and the
Kingdom.

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Remember when his mother came
and the two boys and they they

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00:14:19,990 –> 00:14:23,990
they wanted to ask Jesus if you
would grant them that privilege

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00:14:23,990 –> 00:14:25,670
of sitting next to him in the
Kingdom.

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00:14:26,030 –> 00:14:31,190
They really were enthusiastic
and full of of really gung ho

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Thunder.
They did stay.

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You know John stayed with Jesus
at his trial and his

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00:14:35,870 –> 00:14:38,110
crucifixion.
He stuck with them all the way

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00:14:38,150 –> 00:14:41,070
to the end really.
And that probably is because he

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00:14:41,070 –> 00:14:42,670
had some connection to the high
priest.

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00:14:42,670 –> 00:14:45,510
You find out in John 18 at verse
16 he got Peter into the

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00:14:45,510 –> 00:14:47,920
courtyard.
There was something about John

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00:14:47,920 –> 00:14:51,640
and his situation of what had
happened in his life that he was

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00:14:51,640 –> 00:14:54,320
somehow connected in with the
family of the high priest and

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00:14:54,320 –> 00:14:57,480
had privileges.
And now he’s probably old.

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00:14:57,720 –> 00:14:59,680
You know, we’re looking at this
letter may have been written,

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00:14:59,680 –> 00:15:01,960
you know, in each at least
eighty 70s.

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00:15:02,280 –> 00:15:04,520
And a lot of people think it
would have been eighty 90s.

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00:15:04,840 –> 00:15:07,760
And he may have been the only
apostle left at this time.

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00:15:07,760 –> 00:15:11,260
He might be the only one, and
you’ll see him reference quite

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00:15:11,260 –> 00:15:14,140
often in this letter, my little
children or little children.

290
00:15:14,140 –> 00:15:15,540
And that’s how he refers to
them.

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00:15:15,780 –> 00:15:17,300
You’ll see that over and over
again.

292
00:15:17,860 –> 00:15:21,900
But over his lifetime, John
learned to put down all those

293
00:15:21,900 –> 00:15:25,860
enthusiastic passions that he
have of the Thunder and instead

294
00:15:25,860 –> 00:15:30,020
focus in on saving people.
That’s what his goal was over

295
00:15:30,020 –> 00:15:34,300
time, and he learned to walk in
the lights and to manifest God’s

296
00:15:34,420 –> 00:15:36,980
eternal life.
And now what he wants to do is

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00:15:36,980 –> 00:15:40,840
write to us to tell us about how
we can do the same.

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00:15:41,040 –> 00:15:43,760
We really can do it.
It’s fun to look at the

299
00:15:43,760 –> 00:15:47,560
difference between John’s Gospel
and his letters, because in

300
00:15:47,560 –> 00:15:50,040
John’s Gospel you see a lot of
similar ideas.

301
00:15:50,040 –> 00:15:52,240
These themes that are in his
letter, they come up in John’s

302
00:15:52,240 –> 00:15:56,000
gospel as well, but from a
different perspective, with a

303
00:15:56,000 –> 00:15:59,860
different goal in mind.
In the gospel, we know that what

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00:15:59,860 –> 00:16:04,220
he did is he set out to show how
Jesus was the Messiah, the Son

305
00:16:04,220 –> 00:16:08,060
of God, and that he manifested
the life of God, the Father’s

306
00:16:08,060 –> 00:16:09,820
life.
He actually tells you that at

307
00:16:09,820 –> 00:16:12,140
the end in John 20.
And he did that so that people

308
00:16:12,140 –> 00:16:14,980
would believe he was trying to
explain how he really was the

309
00:16:14,980 –> 00:16:17,380
Messiah.
That’s that’s why you’ll see in

310
00:16:17,380 –> 00:16:20,260
John’s gospel that what’s
starting in chapter, what is it?

311
00:16:20,940 –> 00:16:22,380
12?
I think it’s like when you get

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00:16:22,380 –> 00:16:25,500
to John 12, you know John 11 was
the resurrection of Lazarus.

313
00:16:25,500 –> 00:16:28,490
John 12 is when.
That whole section there from

314
00:16:28,490 –> 00:16:32,490
12/13/14, fifteen, 16/17/18 was
all happening in one day.

315
00:16:33,010 –> 00:16:37,330
One day that was all about his
last day, and a huge chunk of

316
00:16:37,330 –> 00:16:41,890
his gospel is about the last
day, explaining to us that this

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00:16:41,930 –> 00:16:45,410
is where this man had come to in
developing the eternal life of

318
00:16:45,410 –> 00:16:47,810
God.
He cared so much about those.

319
00:16:47,810 –> 00:16:50,770
People he came to save, he was
willing to get down and wash

320
00:16:50,770 –> 00:16:53,010
their feet.
He was willing to hold his

321
00:16:53,010 –> 00:16:55,810
tongue when it came to all those
things that they they claimed

322
00:16:55,810 –> 00:16:58,090
about him and all the
blaspheming they did about him.

323
00:16:58,330 –> 00:17:01,890
He didn’t lash out at people.
He didn’t do all those things

324
00:17:01,890 –> 00:17:05,130
because he really had learned to
manifest his father.

325
00:17:05,730 –> 00:17:07,450
So you’ll see in the gospel that
you know.

326
00:17:07,450 –> 00:17:10,010
You’ll get phrases like first
John four and in John.

327
00:17:10,010 –> 00:17:12,970
Four and one, John, one and
four, That in him was life, and

328
00:17:12,970 –> 00:17:17,710
the life was the light of men.
And John 10 I and my Father are

329
00:17:17,710 –> 00:17:21,829
one John 14 He who has seen me
has seen the Father.

330
00:17:22,069 –> 00:17:25,150
That’s what John was trying to
explain to people about the

331
00:17:25,150 –> 00:17:28,069
Messiah.
Or in John 14 believe me that I

332
00:17:28,069 –> 00:17:31,630
am in the Father and the Father
in me, or in John 20 At the very

333
00:17:31,630 –> 00:17:34,750
end he said, I wrote you these
things, that you may believe

334
00:17:34,750 –> 00:17:38,790
that Jesus is the Christ, the
Messiah, the Son of God, and

335
00:17:39,150 –> 00:17:44,030
that believing you may have life
in his name you.

336
00:17:44,030 –> 00:17:46,970
May have life.
So that was part of the goal.

337
00:17:47,170 –> 00:17:50,210
He was trying to present Jesus
as the Messiah so that people

338
00:17:50,210 –> 00:17:55,010
would grab onto this, get a hold
of his life and put that life

339
00:17:55,050 –> 00:17:58,770
into their own, make it their
own, the eternal life of God.

340
00:17:59,250 –> 00:18:02,570
So John’s gospel is really all
about how Jesus lived, spoke

341
00:18:02,570 –> 00:18:04,970
like his father, he really was
the Son of God.

342
00:18:05,450 –> 00:18:09,370
But when you get to his letters
now, he doesn’t have to explain

343
00:18:09,370 –> 00:18:12,820
that in the letters, Jesus was
already resurrected from the

344
00:18:12,820 –> 00:18:14,540
dead.
He’s already been elevated to

345
00:18:14,540 –> 00:18:16,540
heaven.
And these people that he’s

346
00:18:16,540 –> 00:18:20,540
writing to already believed that
Jesus was the Son of God.

347
00:18:20,740 –> 00:18:24,580
What he had to do was get them
to realize that this life that

348
00:18:24,580 –> 00:18:28,020
he lived was was something you
got to grab a hold of.

349
00:18:28,140 –> 00:18:31,620
You got to try to live it too.
God will help you, but you can’t

350
00:18:31,620 –> 00:18:34,180
just separate yourself
spiritually from your fleshly

351
00:18:34,180 –> 00:18:37,910
body and just say, well, it’s
not my fault you have control

352
00:18:37,910 –> 00:18:40,110
over this and you have got to
try.

353
00:18:40,350 –> 00:18:43,030
To put these things into
practice in your own life.

354
00:18:43,350 –> 00:18:46,670
So he wants to show us how we
have to manifest the life of

355
00:18:46,670 –> 00:18:50,990
Jesus in our lives now by how we
live and we have to practice

356
00:18:50,990 –> 00:18:54,470
righteousness, which is a phrase
he’ll keep using over and over

357
00:18:54,470 –> 00:18:57,190
again.
So in first John, one at verses

358
00:18:57,190 –> 00:19:00,550
six to seven, he’ll say things
like if we say that we have

359
00:19:00,550 –> 00:19:05,040
fellowship with him and walk in
darkness, we lie and do not

360
00:19:05,040 –> 00:19:09,760
practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light as

361
00:19:09,760 –> 00:19:14,200
he is in the light, this is the
light of God’s life that he’s

362
00:19:14,200 –> 00:19:15,800
talking about, this eternal
life.

363
00:19:16,080 –> 00:19:18,960
We have fellowship with one
another and the blood of Jesus

364
00:19:18,960 –> 00:19:22,080
Christ his Son cleanses us from
all sin.

365
00:19:22,480 –> 00:19:27,240
What a privilege to have that if
we walk in the light or in

366
00:19:27,240 –> 00:19:28,800
first.
John Two at 29.

367
00:19:28,800 –> 00:19:31,750
If you know that he is
righteous, you know that

368
00:19:31,830 –> 00:19:35,830
everyone who practices
righteousness is born of him.

369
00:19:36,390 –> 00:19:38,430
This is what it means to be born
of God.

370
00:19:38,670 –> 00:19:41,510
Which is something that comes
out of the teachings of Jesus in

371
00:19:41,510 –> 00:19:44,310
John’s gospel.
So John’s letter is going to be

372
00:19:44,350 –> 00:19:47,470
all about our way of life.
How are we doing in our way of

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00:19:47,470 –> 00:19:50,670
life and all the privileges that
it brings?

374
00:19:50,670 –> 00:19:54,150
It when you are walking in the
light that the blood of Jesus

375
00:19:54,150 –> 00:19:58,950
cleanses you from all sin and
that God will save you, you can

376
00:19:58,950 –> 00:20:02,560
have confidence He’ll say.
In the day when Christ returns,

377
00:20:02,760 –> 00:20:06,600
you can have confidence because
you can develop now a perfect

378
00:20:06,600 –> 00:20:09,400
love that will cast out fear of
the judgment seat.

379
00:20:09,640 –> 00:20:13,440
It can be done.
It can be done with God’s help.

380
00:20:13,760 –> 00:20:16,400
And this is what we really
should be aiming for in our

381
00:20:16,400 –> 00:20:18,840
life.
So what you’ll see happening in

382
00:20:18,840 –> 00:20:22,720
John’s gospel, it was all about
how God’s eternal life radiated

383
00:20:22,720 –> 00:20:26,720
out into the life of Jesus and
he perfectly manifested the

384
00:20:26,720 –> 00:20:29,740
character of God.
But then when you get to John’s

385
00:20:29,740 –> 00:20:33,820
letter, what he wants to do is
show how that manifestation of

386
00:20:33,820 –> 00:20:38,940
God, his eternal life, can now
shine into all of the believers

387
00:20:39,260 –> 00:20:42,900
and you can become
manifestations of the Father now

388
00:20:42,980 –> 00:20:44,860
in this life, not something
future.

389
00:20:45,140 –> 00:20:46,780
He’s not talking about the
future.

390
00:20:46,780 –> 00:20:50,260
When Christ returns, John will
be talking about now.

391
00:20:50,300 –> 00:20:54,420
This is something we practice
now, revealing to other people

392
00:20:54,420 –> 00:20:56,620
God’s eternal life by the way
that we live.

393
00:20:57,180 –> 00:21:00,630
Go ahead, James.
I just, I just see it.

394
00:21:00,630 –> 00:21:01,990
Was that a picture of the
region?

395
00:21:01,990 –> 00:21:06,070
Well, yeah, that’s that’s
actually in the backyard here.

396
00:21:06,070 –> 00:21:08,550
So James was asking about one of
the pictures on the screen and

397
00:21:08,550 –> 00:21:12,430
yes, that was taken in maybe
2018 something like that.

398
00:21:12,430 –> 00:21:14,510
It was probably the last time we
all got together.

399
00:21:14,750 –> 00:21:18,790
It was out in the back there on
the I I cropped it a little bit,

400
00:21:18,790 –> 00:21:20,790
but that’s all the people that
showed up that day.

401
00:21:21,280 –> 00:21:22,840
So, yeah, you’re probably up
there somewhere.

402
00:21:22,840 –> 00:21:25,120
I see Gary Patterson way up at
the top, right up there.

403
00:21:25,440 –> 00:21:29,040
You can see him standing out.
So yeah, that was all our gang.

404
00:21:29,040 –> 00:21:30,840
And I think Renee probably took
that.

405
00:21:31,000 –> 00:21:32,440
Is that right?
Probably, Renee.

406
00:21:32,520 –> 00:21:34,480
Yeah.
So that that’s the goal.

407
00:21:34,600 –> 00:21:38,040
The goal is that John wants to
encourage us that yes, this can

408
00:21:38,040 –> 00:21:42,480
be done not perfectly right now,
but we can get on a pathway that

409
00:21:42,480 –> 00:21:45,680
this is what we want, this is
what we’re trying to be, and it

410
00:21:45,680 –> 00:21:47,480
can make a difference in your
life now.

411
00:21:47,560 –> 00:21:51,080
That’s what he’s actually after.
Some people have noticed that

412
00:21:51,400 –> 00:21:54,720
when you when you look through
John’s Gospel, it appears as

413
00:21:54,720 –> 00:22:00,880
though this event in John 13
really played a huge part in

414
00:22:00,880 –> 00:22:05,800
changing John’s life.
John 13 was when Judas betrayed

415
00:22:05,800 –> 00:22:10,960
Jesus, and it seems like this
event was a touchstone for John

416
00:22:10,960 –> 00:22:12,920
to like.
It really changed him in the

417
00:22:12,920 –> 00:22:14,600
sense that he couldn’t believe
it.

418
00:22:14,920 –> 00:22:18,720
Somebody actually one of our
group betrayed Jesus Christ.

419
00:22:19,070 –> 00:22:22,710
They portrayed him over to be
crucified and you’ll see a

420
00:22:22,710 –> 00:22:28,590
number of the concepts that come
out of John 1314151617 from that

421
00:22:28,590 –> 00:22:31,590
event forward are.
On things that John keeps

422
00:22:31,710 –> 00:22:34,710
whining into his gospel, he
writes them right into there.

423
00:22:34,950 –> 00:22:36,910
Things like the difference
between darkness.

424
00:22:36,910 –> 00:22:39,910
Because, you know, on John 13 it
was all about how they he went

425
00:22:39,910 –> 00:22:43,370
out in the darkness at Judas
when he, when he left Jesus and

426
00:22:43,410 –> 00:22:46,370
Jesus tried to save him from
going out there and he tried to

427
00:22:46,370 –> 00:22:49,970
hold them on and Judas decided
and John and his gospel says,

428
00:22:49,970 –> 00:22:51,850
and Judas went out and it was
darkness.

429
00:22:52,330 –> 00:22:54,610
And then you have the betrayal
and all the things that

430
00:22:54,610 –> 00:22:57,770
happened, those whose works are
of darkness and all the things

431
00:22:57,770 –> 00:23:02,330
that Jesus said as a result of
that, and John 12 and 13 and 14

432
00:23:02,330 –> 00:23:05,890
and 15 about about the
importance of service and loving

433
00:23:05,890 –> 00:23:08,050
one another.
These are all things that John

434
00:23:08,050 –> 00:23:12,050
builds into his letter, hoping
that if we can put these things

435
00:23:12,050 –> 00:23:16,450
into practice, we won’t be like
Judas and go out because he’s

436
00:23:16,450 –> 00:23:19,530
going to warn us that there are
a group of people, what he calls

437
00:23:19,530 –> 00:23:24,490
the Antichrist, the Antichrist,
He says they went out from us,

438
00:23:24,810 –> 00:23:28,450
uses like that same phrase of
Judas when he left that night.

439
00:23:28,730 –> 00:23:31,890
And these people have left.
They were members, they were

440
00:23:31,890 –> 00:23:34,050
believers.
They were part of the community.

441
00:23:34,390 –> 00:23:37,350
And now they have gone off on
this idea of, you know, whatever

442
00:23:37,350 –> 00:23:41,030
it is, Nazism or whatever they
got into and they have gone off

443
00:23:41,030 –> 00:23:44,310
now and they went out from us
and they’re not part of the

444
00:23:44,310 –> 00:23:46,870
group anymore.
So you’ll see that pops up as

445
00:23:46,870 –> 00:23:49,110
well.
So in John’s letter, you’ll

446
00:23:49,110 –> 00:23:51,230
notice it’s different than most
of the letters in the New

447
00:23:51,230 –> 00:23:53,190
Testament.
There’s no salutation at the

448
00:23:53,190 –> 00:23:55,470
beginning or the end, not either
one.

449
00:23:55,910 –> 00:23:58,430
And it’s possible it’s because
he wanted it for all times.

450
00:23:58,430 –> 00:24:01,430
He wanted this letter to be
eternal for everybody who would

451
00:24:01,430 –> 00:24:04,310
read it right through the times
of the humanity.

452
00:24:04,950 –> 00:24:09,670
You’ll see We know that phrase.
We know 25 times.

453
00:24:09,670 –> 00:24:13,030
It comes up in First John
because he’s reminding these

454
00:24:13,030 –> 00:24:16,430
believers that we know these
things are true.

455
00:24:16,430 –> 00:24:20,190
You were baptized in this.
You believe this at one time.

456
00:24:20,190 –> 00:24:22,790
You know, these things are right
man.

457
00:24:22,790 –> 00:24:25,710
Plus they also had spirit gifts
at that time and all the, what

458
00:24:25,710 –> 00:24:28,630
he calls the anointing, Later on
he’ll talk about the the work of

459
00:24:28,630 –> 00:24:30,470
the Spirit in them.
You know, these things are

460
00:24:30,470 –> 00:24:32,430
right.
And so they had built up some

461
00:24:32,430 –> 00:24:35,230
confidence in the teachings
because they had experienced it

462
00:24:35,230 –> 00:24:38,510
over years.
And it’s all about God’s eternal

463
00:24:38,510 –> 00:24:40,870
life.
This letter, the whole letter is

464
00:24:40,870 –> 00:24:43,630
all about God’s eternal way of
life.

465
00:24:43,670 –> 00:24:47,030
It’s a way of life that he’s
trying to explain that God’s

466
00:24:47,030 –> 00:24:50,750
always had it and then God
revealed it through Jesus

467
00:24:50,750 –> 00:24:54,150
Christ, and now what he’s trying
to do is reveal it through all

468
00:24:54,150 –> 00:24:56,270
of us.
That’s what God would like to

469
00:24:56,270 –> 00:24:58,710
do.
And this is designed to impact

470
00:24:58,710 –> 00:25:01,350
the life of the reader.
Then I want to make sure they’re

471
00:25:01,350 –> 00:25:04,070
going through this, that as we
read through John’s letter and

472
00:25:04,070 –> 00:25:08,270
we talk about it, it’s not about
judging other people like, oh,

473
00:25:08,270 –> 00:25:11,310
you failed on that one or you’re
not living up to John’s idea on

474
00:25:11,310 –> 00:25:13,430
that one and point the finger at
everybody else.

475
00:25:13,800 –> 00:25:18,080
He wrote this so that we would
take it ourselves individually

476
00:25:18,400 –> 00:25:22,040
and examine where we’re at and
and go away with joy when we’re

477
00:25:22,040 –> 00:25:25,640
walking on the pathway that you
can be excited about what God is

478
00:25:25,640 –> 00:25:28,720
doing in your life and where
it’s going to lead, where it’s

479
00:25:28,720 –> 00:25:31,600
going to take you when you have
God’s eternal life.

480
00:25:32,160 –> 00:25:35,800
So what John will clearly bring
out as we go through this, is

481
00:25:35,800 –> 00:25:40,040
that our way of life?
What did you do today?

482
00:25:40,480 –> 00:25:43,360
What are you doing tomorrow?
How do you treat people?

483
00:25:43,850 –> 00:25:46,210
What are your goals in life?
What are you really worried

484
00:25:46,210 –> 00:25:48,250
about having in the future?
Are you worried about all the

485
00:25:48,250 –> 00:25:50,770
toys of this world?
You worry about your career and

486
00:25:50,770 –> 00:25:53,850
all those kind of things, all
those things about your way of

487
00:25:53,850 –> 00:25:56,570
life.
They reveal where you’re really

488
00:25:56,570 –> 00:26:00,890
at, what you really want.
Do you really want God’s eternal

489
00:26:00,890 –> 00:26:03,170
way of life?
Because if you do, you’ll

490
00:26:03,210 –> 00:26:06,410
you’ll, you’ll read about it,
you’ll listen to it, you’ll come

491
00:26:06,410 –> 00:26:08,010
to know it and want to practice
it.

492
00:26:08,610 –> 00:26:11,490
And if your goals and objectives
are really all the stuff of this

493
00:26:11,490 –> 00:26:15,490
world, if that’s what you really
want, that’s what you will get.

494
00:26:16,010 –> 00:26:18,050
And you won’t get the eternal
life.

495
00:26:18,050 –> 00:26:22,450
There’s two basic pathways you
can go down in life and it’s not

496
00:26:22,450 –> 00:26:23,970
these.
John never says you got to be

497
00:26:23,970 –> 00:26:26,970
perfect on that pathway.
What he says is you got to

498
00:26:26,970 –> 00:26:30,410
practice that one.
Which one are you practicing?

499
00:26:30,650 –> 00:26:34,210
Are you practicing to be part of
God’s family and his eternal way

500
00:26:34,210 –> 00:26:36,490
of life?
Are you just practicing to be

501
00:26:36,490 –> 00:26:39,050
part of this world?
What are you practicing tomorrow

502
00:26:39,610 –> 00:26:41,850
and Saturday and the next day
and the next day?

503
00:26:41,850 –> 00:26:44,490
What are really you?
What do you really want in this

504
00:26:44,490 –> 00:26:46,850
life?
Because what John wants you to

505
00:26:46,890 –> 00:26:51,130
have is the confidence and the
joy that comes from knowing that

506
00:26:51,130 –> 00:26:54,450
when you’re on that pathway to
God’s eternal way of life and

507
00:26:54,450 –> 00:26:57,810
you want that life and you are
practicing that life, that even

508
00:26:57,810 –> 00:27:01,210
though you fail, even though you
make mistakes, God said that’s

509
00:27:01,210 –> 00:27:03,650
okay.
He’ll provide a way to forgive

510
00:27:03,650 –> 00:27:05,410
you.
He’ll take care of that.

511
00:27:05,850 –> 00:27:09,010
He just wants to know if that’s
what you really want.

512
00:27:09,580 –> 00:27:14,020
And if you do, he promises that
he’ll carry you to the end and

513
00:27:14,020 –> 00:27:17,260
let you join his family forever.
That’s how John’s going to

514
00:27:17,260 –> 00:27:19,980
present this.
So he throws out these

515
00:27:19,980 –> 00:27:23,780
challenges about how we see
ourselves and our life, and

516
00:27:23,780 –> 00:27:26,220
these are all phrases you’re
going to see come up over and

517
00:27:26,220 –> 00:27:29,740
over again in John’s letter.
So he says, look, you, you can

518
00:27:29,740 –> 00:27:34,260
claim to say I know him, I know
God, I know Jesus, I have a

519
00:27:34,260 –> 00:27:38,020
relationship with them.
We can easily claim to to that,

520
00:27:38,460 –> 00:27:40,500
but John’s going to throw in
after that.

521
00:27:40,500 –> 00:27:44,340
Well, you do this.
What are you really doing?

522
00:27:45,100 –> 00:27:48,980
Does he does what you’re doing
support the idea that you really

523
00:27:48,980 –> 00:27:51,420
know God?
Or what about abiding in him?

524
00:27:51,420 –> 00:27:53,740
Oh, I abide in God.
I abide in Christ.

525
00:27:53,740 –> 00:27:56,220
I’m in him, I’m in him.
Right.

526
00:27:56,220 –> 00:27:57,900
Is that that’s a claim we can
make?

527
00:27:57,900 –> 00:28:00,660
Those are easy words.
And John’s going to throw in

528
00:28:00,660 –> 00:28:03,620
there and say, well, if you
claim to abide in him, then this

529
00:28:03,620 –> 00:28:07,020
is how you live.
He doesn’t let you just weasel

530
00:28:07,020 –> 00:28:09,430
out of it and just say the
words.

531
00:28:09,790 –> 00:28:11,470
Or what about I walk in the
light?

532
00:28:11,670 –> 00:28:14,310
I I walk in the light.
And John will throw in after

533
00:28:14,310 –> 00:28:15,950
that?
Well, if you walk in the light,

534
00:28:16,270 –> 00:28:18,750
this is how you have to live.
You can’t be doing this and

535
00:28:18,750 –> 00:28:20,550
claim you walk in the light.
That’s a lie.

536
00:28:20,830 –> 00:28:24,110
Or you make God a liar.
And this is the way he writes

537
00:28:24,110 –> 00:28:26,270
this letter.
What about I am born of God?

538
00:28:26,270 –> 00:28:28,390
These are all phrases that
people like to use.

539
00:28:28,390 –> 00:28:30,750
I’ve been born again.
I’m born of God.

540
00:28:31,070 –> 00:28:34,310
Well, if you’re born of God, you
will love your brethren and

541
00:28:34,310 –> 00:28:35,470
sisters.
You’ll love them.

542
00:28:36,150 –> 00:28:39,860
There’s no choice in this.
You will love your brothers and

543
00:28:39,860 –> 00:28:43,540
sisters, or I’m a child of God,
or I love God.

544
00:28:43,540 –> 00:28:45,900
You can.
So the words are so easy to come

545
00:28:45,900 –> 00:28:48,580
out of our mouth.
But John’s going to put after

546
00:28:48,580 –> 00:28:50,740
that.
He’s going to put a qualifier in

547
00:28:50,740 –> 00:28:54,220
there and say, well, if you
claim that, then you better be

548
00:28:54,220 –> 00:28:57,780
doing this.
It’s all about the kind of life

549
00:28:57,780 –> 00:28:59,980
that you leave or I keep his
commandments.

550
00:29:00,340 –> 00:29:03,820
Or the final one is when you get
to Chapter 5, I believe right

551
00:29:03,820 –> 00:29:06,340
then I believe, he said.
You can say you believe and that

552
00:29:06,340 –> 00:29:09,080
word believe is have faith.
It’s easy to say, oh, I have

553
00:29:09,080 –> 00:29:11,840
faith, I have faith and John’s
going to throw in there.

554
00:29:11,840 –> 00:29:15,320
Well, if you claim to have
faith, how are you really doing

555
00:29:15,400 –> 00:29:17,680
on on this area and what are you
doing here?

556
00:29:17,960 –> 00:29:21,440
And John’s going to put in some
great qualifiers to to help us

557
00:29:21,440 –> 00:29:25,000
find out and run these tests
about what are we really doing

558
00:29:25,000 –> 00:29:28,120
in life.
So he provides these specific

559
00:29:28,200 –> 00:29:32,320
items for us to evaluate our
lives, to indicate whether or

560
00:29:32,320 –> 00:29:36,120
not the way we see ourselves is
supported by our actions.

561
00:29:36,540 –> 00:29:39,900
And it’s great that he does that
because for some of us, we don’t

562
00:29:39,900 –> 00:29:42,620
want somebody else to tell us,
well, you said this, but you’re

563
00:29:42,620 –> 00:29:45,060
not really doing it.
We don’t want to hear that from

564
00:29:45,060 –> 00:29:47,540
other people.
So he’s written this letter so

565
00:29:47,540 –> 00:29:51,540
that you can read it yourself
and you can run these tests by

566
00:29:51,540 –> 00:29:55,940
yourself and find out how am I
doing, how am I really doing, on

567
00:29:55,940 –> 00:30:00,460
loving God, on abiding in Him,
of being found in Him and

568
00:30:00,460 –> 00:30:03,660
knowing Him and all these
relationship concepts with God.

569
00:30:04,100 –> 00:30:06,300
But it’s up to us to personally
do that.

570
00:30:06,730 –> 00:30:09,410
So make sure as we’re going
through this, we’re not going to

571
00:30:09,410 –> 00:30:12,650
do it to judge other people.
And we’re going through this to

572
00:30:12,730 –> 00:30:15,770
really look at ourselves to find
out how are we doing.

573
00:30:16,810 –> 00:30:19,970
So any anything else, all the
beginning stuff, anything else

574
00:30:19,970 –> 00:30:23,730
anybody wants to throw in there
of ideas on background for

575
00:30:23,730 –> 00:30:24,690
first, John.
All right.

576
00:30:24,690 –> 00:30:29,330
So this is Richard.
I just noticed in almost your

577
00:30:29,330 –> 00:30:32,530
first slide where you have those
3 themes about God, they

578
00:30:32,530 –> 00:30:35,010
perfectly matched those 3 three
themes about us.

579
00:30:36,120 –> 00:30:38,320
You didn’t mention that.
I thought, oh, I just let us

580
00:30:38,320 –> 00:30:40,800
know, you know, God is light and
then truth.

581
00:30:40,800 –> 00:30:44,280
God is love, love, and then God
is or eternal life.

582
00:30:44,280 –> 00:30:49,000
And that will be righteousness.
So thank you very much because

583
00:30:49,000 –> 00:30:51,840
that is his goal of saying, hey,
what God is.

584
00:30:51,880 –> 00:30:54,080
And Christ revealed it can be
us.

585
00:30:55,160 –> 00:30:57,360
Okay.
So thanks for pointing that out.

586
00:30:57,840 –> 00:31:00,320
All right, here’s the way this
letter starts.

587
00:31:00,520 –> 00:31:02,920
This is the most unusual way to
start a letter.

588
00:31:03,200 –> 00:31:05,080
So we’ll see if you guys can
figure this out.

589
00:31:05,430 –> 00:31:07,470
You’ve got to read this and see
if you can figure it out.

590
00:31:07,590 –> 00:31:10,830
Starts really different than
most of these letters that which

591
00:31:10,830 –> 00:31:13,910
was from the beginning, What in
the world is that?

592
00:31:15,110 –> 00:31:17,790
That.
I mean, we should at least

593
00:31:17,790 –> 00:31:20,510
figure that out because that’s
his whole premise that that

594
00:31:20,510 –> 00:31:23,550
which was from the beginning.
What is that now?

595
00:31:23,600 –> 00:31:25,800
Now if you read.
One of those translations Jason

596
00:31:25,800 –> 00:31:28,800
was talking to us about Before
that they put in ideas and try

597
00:31:28,800 –> 00:31:31,040
to tell you what it is.
Some of these modern

598
00:31:31,040 –> 00:31:34,040
translations, they put Jesus
Christ was from the beginning

599
00:31:34,440 –> 00:31:37,760
and they actually put a who in
there instead of a what because

600
00:31:37,760 –> 00:31:41,600
John doesn’t use that.
He actually says that that what

601
00:31:41,600 –> 00:31:44,000
is it that which was from the
beginning.

602
00:31:44,480 –> 00:31:48,400
Now look at what he says about
it, which we have heard, which

603
00:31:48,400 –> 00:31:52,970
we have seen with our eyes,
which we’ve looked upon our

604
00:31:52,970 –> 00:31:56,210
hands, have handled.
Those are all things the

605
00:31:56,210 –> 00:31:59,370
Gnostics wouldn’t have liked,
you know, because they were all

606
00:31:59,370 –> 00:32:02,010
things about the physical world
itself.

607
00:32:02,330 –> 00:32:06,490
And this is what he’s going to
talk about concerning the Word

608
00:32:06,730 –> 00:32:10,050
of Life.
That sounds like John’s Gospel,

609
00:32:10,050 –> 00:32:12,330
doesn’t it?
The Word of life, that in the

610
00:32:12,330 –> 00:32:15,570
beginning was the word.
And then the life was

611
00:32:15,570 –> 00:32:18,450
manifested.
So verse two, look at it.

612
00:32:18,650 –> 00:32:23,500
The life was manifested and
we’ve seen and bear witness and

613
00:32:23,500 –> 00:32:30,140
declare to you that eternal life
which was with the Father and

614
00:32:30,180 –> 00:32:34,900
was manifested to us.
Now, did you figure out what the

615
00:32:34,900 –> 00:32:41,500
that was?
It’s it’s it’s the eternal life.

616
00:32:41,500 –> 00:32:43,380
That’s what this is going to be
all about.

617
00:32:43,660 –> 00:32:46,900
It’s about this life that God
had with him all along.

618
00:32:47,360 –> 00:32:50,280
And what he did is he now has a
son.

619
00:32:50,560 –> 00:32:54,480
And the Word became flesh
because his eternal life was in

620
00:32:54,480 –> 00:32:57,080
this boy and he was living like
God.

621
00:32:57,080 –> 00:32:59,440
He had God’s way of life
entirely.

622
00:32:59,880 –> 00:33:04,840
And God’s goal all along was to
use that man to save all those

623
00:33:04,840 –> 00:33:07,720
people that want this eternal
life.

624
00:33:08,000 –> 00:33:09,880
They want it.
They want to have the kind of

625
00:33:09,880 –> 00:33:12,360
life that God has.
That’s what they’re really

626
00:33:12,360 –> 00:33:15,240
after.
It’s not just immortality,

627
00:33:15,890 –> 00:33:17,410
brothers and sisters and young
people.

628
00:33:17,410 –> 00:33:21,370
It’s not just living forever.
It’s the kind of life that you

629
00:33:21,370 –> 00:33:25,330
have when you live forever.
God’s way of life is eternal.

630
00:33:25,530 –> 00:33:29,570
If you adopt his way of life,
you will live forever because

631
00:33:29,570 –> 00:33:32,010
that’s what it is.
It’s eternal life.

632
00:33:32,370 –> 00:33:34,290
It’s that it’s got that kind of
quality to it.

633
00:33:34,610 –> 00:33:38,570
So he says, I’ll declare to you
that eternal life, which was

634
00:33:38,570 –> 00:33:42,210
with the Father and was
manifested to us.

635
00:33:42,840 –> 00:33:45,120
Now you look at that and say,
all right, when was it

636
00:33:45,120 –> 00:33:47,520
manifested?
When did they actually see it

637
00:33:47,520 –> 00:33:49,880
with their eyes and look?
Upon it and their hands, it

638
00:33:50,000 –> 00:33:53,280
handled it and so on.
That’s when it was revealed

639
00:33:53,280 –> 00:33:56,640
through Jesus Christ.
So he’s in there all right, but

640
00:33:56,640 –> 00:34:01,880
he isn’t really the subject.
The subject is the eternal life

641
00:34:01,880 –> 00:34:05,720
that was with God from the
beginning and was revealed and

642
00:34:05,720 –> 00:34:10,520
manifested in the life of Jesus
Christ, that which we have seen

643
00:34:10,520 –> 00:34:14,880
and heard, He says.
We declare to you that you also

644
00:34:14,880 –> 00:34:19,360
may have fellowship with us, and
truly our fellowship is with the

645
00:34:19,360 –> 00:34:22,120
Father and with His Son, Jesus
Christ.

646
00:34:22,719 –> 00:34:27,440
And these things we write to you
that your joy may be full.

647
00:34:28,040 –> 00:34:30,880
So these are phrases that like,
come right out of John’s gospel

648
00:34:30,880 –> 00:34:33,800
and things that Jesus had said.
These are this is what Jesus was

649
00:34:33,800 –> 00:34:35,560
after when he preached the
gospel.

650
00:34:35,800 –> 00:34:38,000
He wanted people’s joy to be
full.

651
00:34:38,120 –> 00:34:41,080
He wanted them to understand
this life that he had and that

652
00:34:41,080 –> 00:34:44,000
they would abide in him and that
they would be born of God.

653
00:34:44,239 –> 00:34:48,120
All these different concepts
came up, but sometimes we miss

654
00:34:48,120 –> 00:34:51,080
what they really were.
And what John points out to us

655
00:34:51,080 –> 00:34:54,960
is what it was really all about
was that God had a way of life

656
00:34:55,000 –> 00:34:58,190
all along, what he calls eternal
life.

657
00:34:58,630 –> 00:35:02,390
It would it’s a life that goes
forever, and that he revealed it

658
00:35:02,390 –> 00:35:06,190
in Jesus Christ, and he can also
reveal it in us.

659
00:35:06,590 –> 00:35:10,950
And if you are in God’s eternal
life, if you’re walking in that

660
00:35:10,950 –> 00:35:14,350
light and you’re you’re
practicing that righteousness of

661
00:35:14,350 –> 00:35:19,590
God’s eternal life, you are then
in fellowship with God and with

662
00:35:19,670 –> 00:35:23,070
Jesus Christ and with one
another because you’re all

663
00:35:23,150 –> 00:35:26,590
practicing the same thing,
You’re sharing the same kind of

664
00:35:26,590 –> 00:35:28,470
life.
That’s what fellowship really is

665
00:35:28,470 –> 00:35:31,150
all about.
So when we adopt that, it brings

666
00:35:31,150 –> 00:35:34,270
us into fellowship with God and
Jesus and one another.

667
00:35:34,510 –> 00:35:36,790
So certainly some of these
things may have been

668
00:35:36,790 –> 00:35:38,910
specifically mentioned for the
Gnostics.

669
00:35:39,110 –> 00:35:41,750
But I think it also helps to
point out to the fact that these

670
00:35:41,750 –> 00:35:44,830
are things that are involving
physical it’s it’s about our way

671
00:35:44,830 –> 00:35:48,110
of life, how we act, things that
people can actually see and they

672
00:35:48,110 –> 00:35:51,430
can touch and they can watch and
they can hear what we say.

673
00:35:51,710 –> 00:35:54,970
That’s what John is trying to
get us to understand, that all

674
00:35:54,970 –> 00:35:58,650
this stuff is about our physical
bodies and things that we do.

675
00:35:58,730 –> 00:36:01,930
And so it could be that he
tackled mysticism right from the

676
00:36:01,930 –> 00:36:03,690
beginning and went after those
Gnostics.

677
00:36:04,090 –> 00:36:06,170
It could be.
So did you notice the

678
00:36:06,170 –> 00:36:09,570
similarities between the way he
starts this and John won?

679
00:36:10,550 –> 00:36:12,950
Look at how John one starts in
the beginning.

680
00:36:12,950 –> 00:36:16,430
So just like that, which was
from the beginning actually

681
00:36:16,430 –> 00:36:18,870
going through first.
John has really helped me to go

682
00:36:18,870 –> 00:36:23,030
back and look at John’s gospel
now and help me like really

683
00:36:23,030 –> 00:36:26,390
crystallize things I had missed
reading in John’s gospel.

684
00:36:26,750 –> 00:36:30,470
I was so focused on the Word.
The Word was with God and the

685
00:36:30,470 –> 00:36:33,990
Word was God and trying to prove
the trinitarians, that this was

686
00:36:33,990 –> 00:36:36,110
not some Trinitarian idea right
here.

687
00:36:36,350 –> 00:36:39,270
I think I never really caught on
to what John was actually

688
00:36:39,270 –> 00:36:43,420
saying, but it was a lot easier
to see it when you actually

689
00:36:43,420 –> 00:36:47,140
understand first John 1.
So in the beginning was the

690
00:36:47,140 –> 00:36:49,140
Word.
This is the plan, the message

691
00:36:49,140 –> 00:36:51,580
that God had, and the Word was
with God.

692
00:36:51,900 –> 00:36:55,180
And Vine says that because the
definite article is missing in

693
00:36:55,180 –> 00:36:58,380
the Greek, the stress isn’t on
the fact that the Word was God,

694
00:36:58,380 –> 00:37:01,540
but if the Word was godly, it
was divine.

695
00:37:01,740 –> 00:37:05,220
It’s the characteristics, not
the actual feeling about God

696
00:37:05,220 –> 00:37:07,350
himself.
He was in the beginning with

697
00:37:07,350 –> 00:37:09,670
God, and all things were made
through him, and without him

698
00:37:09,670 –> 00:37:11,350
nothing was made that was made.
It.

699
00:37:11,350 –> 00:37:15,550
In him was life, and the life
was the light of men.

700
00:37:15,550 –> 00:37:17,550
See, that’s going to come up in
John’s Gospel.

701
00:37:17,750 –> 00:37:21,270
It’s all about this plan, this
message that God had from the

702
00:37:21,270 –> 00:37:23,590
beginning.
Everything was made with this in

703
00:37:23,590 –> 00:37:28,070
mind, with the intent that the
life of God, that the light of

704
00:37:28,070 –> 00:37:31,750
men would shine and the light
would shine in the darkness,

705
00:37:31,790 –> 00:37:34,070
even though the darkness would
not comprehend it.

706
00:37:34,600 –> 00:37:37,120
There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John, and this

707
00:37:37,120 –> 00:37:40,200
man came for a witness to bear
witness of the light.

708
00:37:40,680 –> 00:37:44,880
So the light that he’s talking
about is the light that shines,

709
00:37:45,160 –> 00:37:49,920
that reveals God’s way of life,
that it tells us about God.

710
00:37:50,200 –> 00:37:52,400
That’s the knowledge that we’re
going to try to get from this

711
00:37:52,400 –> 00:37:54,760
light.
That’s what the light is all

712
00:37:54,760 –> 00:37:56,760
about.
And it shines in the darkness

713
00:37:56,800 –> 00:37:59,640
and it tells us about a
different way to live.

714
00:37:59,960 –> 00:38:02,240
There’s a whole different way.
You don’t have to just live by

715
00:38:02,240 –> 00:38:04,280
what your nature wants or what
people tell us.

716
00:38:04,580 –> 00:38:08,260
You can find out about God’s way
of life and live that and that

717
00:38:08,260 –> 00:38:11,620
was John’s goal was to bear
witness to that light and the

718
00:38:11,620 –> 00:38:14,660
light was the true light which
gives light to every man coming

719
00:38:14,660 –> 00:38:17,820
into the world.
That was the plan all along and

720
00:38:17,820 –> 00:38:21,660
right from the beginning.
So in first John one then you

721
00:38:21,660 –> 00:38:24,540
can see look at the similarities
then as to how he starts out.

722
00:38:24,540 –> 00:38:27,740
In first John one, that which
was from the beginning which

723
00:38:27,740 –> 00:38:30,740
we’ve heard, we’ve seen with
their eyes, we’ve looked upon

724
00:38:30,740 –> 00:38:34,760
our hands of handle concerning
the word of life, The life was

725
00:38:34,760 –> 00:38:37,760
manifested and we’ve seen and
bear witness and declare to you

726
00:38:37,760 –> 00:38:42,720
that eternal life which was with
the Father and manifested to us.

727
00:38:43,200 –> 00:38:45,680
So this is the life he’s talking
about.

728
00:38:45,680 –> 00:38:48,160
It was with God all the way from
the beginning.

729
00:38:48,640 –> 00:38:51,120
See I used to argue about this
idea of the beginning and wonder

730
00:38:51,120 –> 00:38:53,640
in my mind we do these readings
is the beginning was at the

731
00:38:53,640 –> 00:38:56,280
beginning of the gospel was that
when Jesus was born was at the

732
00:38:56,280 –> 00:38:57,840
beginning and the Genesis
creation.

733
00:38:58,120 –> 00:39:00,960
But this, this is the beginning.
This is what God has had all

734
00:39:00,960 –> 00:39:03,000
along.
This is going back to like, this

735
00:39:03,000 –> 00:39:05,720
is God.
He’s had a way of life right

736
00:39:05,720 –> 00:39:10,080
from the beginning and his goal
was to manifest it in people and

737
00:39:10,080 –> 00:39:13,200
he did it in his son and he can
do it in us.

738
00:39:13,200 –> 00:39:16,400
That’s his goal.
He wants to manifest this life

739
00:39:16,400 –> 00:39:19,160
in all of us.
So that was the message then in

740
00:39:19,160 –> 00:39:22,080
verse five that we’ve heard from
him and declare to you that God

741
00:39:22,080 –> 00:39:26,640
is light.
He’s light morally in in in

742
00:39:26,640 –> 00:39:30,240
every way that he’s got.
The He is the source of this

743
00:39:30,240 –> 00:39:32,460
eternal life.
You can’t go somewhere else and

744
00:39:32,460 –> 00:39:34,420
find out about it.
You’re not going to get it by

745
00:39:34,420 –> 00:39:37,420
meditating and reading books and
humanism and all this kind of

746
00:39:37,420 –> 00:39:38,940
stuff.
The only way you’re going to

747
00:39:38,940 –> 00:39:42,540
find it is looking in the Bible
and finding out about God.

748
00:39:42,900 –> 00:39:45,820
Study God.
Find out how he operates, how he

749
00:39:45,860 –> 00:39:50,140
acts, what he does, what he says
and how he loves people.

750
00:39:50,420 –> 00:39:54,550
And then you can take on his
life because in verse 7 if we

751
00:39:54,550 –> 00:39:58,190
walk in the light as he is in
the light, then we have

752
00:39:58,190 –> 00:40:01,670
fellowship with one another and
the blood of Jesus Christ his

753
00:40:01,670 –> 00:40:06,270
Son cleanses us from all sin.
What a great way to start out

754
00:40:06,270 –> 00:40:09,030
the letter that he shows you
that look at this is what it’s

755
00:40:09,030 –> 00:40:11,830
all about.
You get this life and you walk

756
00:40:11,830 –> 00:40:16,750
in this light and God will
provide a way to to change you.

757
00:40:17,280 –> 00:40:20,200
He’s going to change you.
The blood of Jesus will cleanse

758
00:40:20,200 –> 00:40:23,960
you from all unrighteousness and
he will forgive our sins.

759
00:40:24,520 –> 00:40:27,280
So that is the eternal life he’s
talking about.

760
00:40:27,280 –> 00:40:29,040
It was with from God from the
beginning.

761
00:40:29,440 –> 00:40:33,160
It’s not immortality, but is a
basis for immortality.

762
00:40:33,160 –> 00:40:37,440
It’s a way of life, God’s way of
life, and it is the basis of our

763
00:40:37,440 –> 00:40:40,000
fellowship with God and Jesus
and each other.

764
00:40:40,490 –> 00:40:43,010
See, a lot of times we get all
hung up on fellowship, and we

765
00:40:43,010 –> 00:40:46,810
think that fellowship is all
based on the BASF or something

766
00:40:46,810 –> 00:40:49,210
like that, a list of doctrinal
teachings.

767
00:40:49,690 –> 00:40:52,810
And John’s going to try to point
out that fellowship is a

768
00:40:52,810 –> 00:40:56,850
sharing, it’s a participation.
That’s what those words mean in

769
00:40:56,850 –> 00:41:00,090
the Greek It’s when you sit down
with people and you talk to

770
00:41:00,090 –> 00:41:04,450
people and you come together and
you share God’s eternal life,

771
00:41:04,450 –> 00:41:06,970
his way of life, and you all
have bought into it.

772
00:41:07,500 –> 00:41:11,300
And that’s what really brings
fellowship with one another and

773
00:41:11,300 –> 00:41:14,580
with Jesus Christ and with God
our Father as well.

774
00:41:14,660 –> 00:41:17,380
That’s what fellowship is really
all about.

775
00:41:17,780 –> 00:41:21,060
It’s not taking a piece of bread
and drinking a little bit of

776
00:41:21,060 –> 00:41:24,300
wine on a Sunday morning and
thinking that that’s fellowship.

777
00:41:24,740 –> 00:41:29,260
Oh, no, Fellowship is about.
Sharing God’s eternal life.

778
00:41:29,620 –> 00:41:32,970
And to do that, as John’s going
to point out, you’ve got to be

779
00:41:32,970 –> 00:41:34,970
involved with people.
You got to be showing that you

780
00:41:34,970 –> 00:41:37,050
love one another.
You got to be involved in

781
00:41:37,050 –> 00:41:40,090
ecclesia life and out there
trying to share the gospel with

782
00:41:40,090 –> 00:41:43,490
other people and talk about it.
This is what God’s eternal life

783
00:41:43,490 –> 00:41:46,970
is all about.
So it really does demand in the

784
00:41:46,970 –> 00:41:49,930
end that we strive for truth and
we reject error, which you’re

785
00:41:49,930 –> 00:41:53,410
going to see with Antichrist
teachings, and that we practice

786
00:41:53,410 –> 00:41:56,110
righteousness.
Now, it’s fun to watch the fact

787
00:41:56,110 –> 00:41:59,270
that this is the way John starts
the letter, all about that which

788
00:41:59,270 –> 00:42:01,070
was from the beginning, this
eternal life.

789
00:42:01,470 –> 00:42:03,630
But you may not have noticed
when you’re doing the readings

790
00:42:03,630 –> 00:42:05,710
one chapter a day, you get to
John Five.

791
00:42:05,790 –> 00:42:07,710
That’s the way he ends.
The letter too.

792
00:42:08,150 –> 00:42:11,670
John 5 is going to come back to
this again and say, this is the

793
00:42:11,670 –> 00:42:15,510
testimony that God has given us
eternal life.

794
00:42:15,750 –> 00:42:19,430
You’ve got it now, you have
access to it now.

795
00:42:19,630 –> 00:42:25,130
And this life is in his Son and
he who has the Son has life and

796
00:42:25,130 –> 00:42:28,610
he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life.

797
00:42:28,970 –> 00:42:31,450
And he’ll come right back to
this at the end of the letter

798
00:42:31,450 –> 00:42:34,970
and say don’t forget this is
really what it’s all about.

799
00:42:35,890 –> 00:42:39,250
Look in John 17 when when Jesus
was talking, and that this

800
00:42:39,250 –> 00:42:42,330
section with after Judas had
gone out, and he talks to his

801
00:42:42,330 –> 00:42:45,570
disciples, and he has some time
with them in the evening and

802
00:42:45,570 –> 00:42:47,770
when they had the that that last
meal together.

803
00:42:48,590 –> 00:42:52,590
But in John 17 Jesus spoke these
words, lifted up his eyes to

804
00:42:52,590 –> 00:42:56,190
heaven and said, Father, the
hour has come, glorify your Son,

805
00:42:56,190 –> 00:42:59,350
that the Son also may glorify
you, and as you have given him

806
00:42:59,350 –> 00:43:03,870
authority over all flesh, that
he should give eternal life to

807
00:43:03,870 –> 00:43:09,270
as many as you have given him.
And this is eternal life, that

808
00:43:09,270 –> 00:43:12,550
they may know you the only true
God and Jesus.

809
00:43:12,550 –> 00:43:16,600
Christ, whom you have sent so
eternal life, is about a

810
00:43:16,600 –> 00:43:20,200
relationship with God.
It’s about getting to know God

811
00:43:20,200 –> 00:43:24,840
as our Father and trusting Him
and realizing what He’s doing

812
00:43:24,840 –> 00:43:27,480
for us in our lives today.
And that the willingness he has

813
00:43:27,480 –> 00:43:31,640
to to raise us and train us and
change us into his children,

814
00:43:31,920 –> 00:43:35,920
That’s really what eternal life
is, that we might know Him, the

815
00:43:35,920 –> 00:43:40,390
only true God and Jesus Christ.
Whom he has sent, or just so you

816
00:43:40,390 –> 00:43:41,990
don’t think it’s only in John’s
gospel.

817
00:43:41,990 –> 00:43:45,670
Look at how Peter says in Second
Peter, chapter one at verse

818
00:43:45,670 –> 00:43:49,550
three, That as his divine power
has given us all things that

819
00:43:49,550 –> 00:43:52,630
pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him who

820
00:43:52,630 –> 00:43:56,150
called us by glory and virtue.
By which you have been given to

821
00:43:56,150 –> 00:43:58,950
us, by which have been given to
us, succeeding great and

822
00:43:58,950 –> 00:44:03,750
precious promises, that through
these you may be partakers of

823
00:44:03,750 –> 00:44:08,610
the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is

824
00:44:08,610 –> 00:44:12,290
in the world through lust.
See, that’s something that’s

825
00:44:12,290 –> 00:44:15,450
happening now.
In our lives, we’re escaping the

826
00:44:15,450 –> 00:44:18,570
corruption that is in the world
through lust, and we are

827
00:44:18,570 –> 00:44:22,250
gradually being changed and
partaking of the divine nature

828
00:44:22,450 –> 00:44:25,210
because we’re taking on God’s
eternal life.

829
00:44:25,250 –> 00:44:28,410
It’s a transformation that has
to be happening in this life

830
00:44:28,410 –> 00:44:30,180
now.
It’s not something that’s just

831
00:44:30,180 –> 00:44:32,780
going to happen when when Christ
returns and the Kingdom comes

832
00:44:32,780 –> 00:44:35,140
and he’s going to hand out
immortality and what do you

833
00:44:35,140 –> 00:44:37,180
think he’s going to change us
into somebody else that we

834
00:44:37,180 –> 00:44:39,580
really aren’t.
He’s not going to take us if

835
00:44:39,580 –> 00:44:41,580
we’re on that wrong pathway and
just say automatic.

836
00:44:41,580 –> 00:44:43,100
Well, I’ll put you back on the
right one.

837
00:44:43,500 –> 00:44:47,860
These are decisions, choices we
have to make now about which

838
00:44:47,860 –> 00:44:50,540
pathway we want to be on, where
are we headed?

839
00:44:50,900 –> 00:44:53,780
And this transformation takes
place in our characters.

840
00:44:53,780 –> 00:44:57,420
Now we got to learn not to live
like Jesus because he’s not

841
00:44:57,420 –> 00:45:00,820
going to change hearts and minds
at the judgment seat, and it’s

842
00:45:00,900 –> 00:45:03,180
really at the judgment seat of
Christ when it actually comes

843
00:45:03,180 –> 00:45:04,420
up.
What will end up happening is

844
00:45:04,420 –> 00:45:05,740
he’ll give us what we really
want.

845
00:45:06,180 –> 00:45:08,460
And he’ll look at us and say,
well, look what you did in your

846
00:45:08,460 –> 00:45:10,020
life.
What did you really want?

847
00:45:10,340 –> 00:45:12,460
And that’s what you get, you
know.

848
00:45:12,460 –> 00:45:16,620
And if you really wanted eternal
life with God, that’s what you

849
00:45:16,620 –> 00:45:19,500
will get.
Your joy will be full because

850
00:45:19,500 –> 00:45:22,340
where your treasure is there
your heart will be also.

851
00:45:22,700 –> 00:45:24,980
And it pretty well gives us
away, all of us.

852
00:45:25,540 –> 00:45:28,580
It’s challenge to everybody here
about what we do all through the

853
00:45:28,580 –> 00:45:31,140
day.
So what John is going to do then

854
00:45:31,140 –> 00:45:34,060
is he’s going to take this idea
of this eternal life that can

855
00:45:34,060 –> 00:45:37,580
bring you into fellowship with
God and what he wants to then do

856
00:45:37,620 –> 00:45:39,940
at the end of chapter one, He’s
going to move into this now,

857
00:45:39,940 –> 00:45:42,820
this area, and say that look at
this eternal life.

858
00:45:42,860 –> 00:45:46,180
The only way you can get this is
from God.

859
00:45:46,630 –> 00:45:48,470
You’re not going to get it from
somebody else.

860
00:45:48,470 –> 00:45:50,110
There’s no other religious
teachers.

861
00:45:50,110 –> 00:45:51,270
They’re going to tell you about
it.

862
00:45:51,470 –> 00:45:53,310
You’re not going to read it in
some Christian book.

863
00:45:53,550 –> 00:45:56,150
You’re not going to get it from
some book on Buddhism and

864
00:45:56,150 –> 00:45:57,710
Hinduism and all these other
things.

865
00:45:57,710 –> 00:46:00,670
God is the only source of this
light.

866
00:46:01,150 –> 00:46:03,190
That’s it.
There’s only one source of light

867
00:46:03,190 –> 00:46:06,390
in this darkness.
So he says in verse 5, this is

868
00:46:06,390 –> 00:46:09,310
the message which we heard from
him and declare to you that God

869
00:46:09,310 –> 00:46:13,430
is light and in him there is no
darkness at all.

870
00:46:14,280 –> 00:46:17,240
Now watch how he brings this up.
If we say that we have

871
00:46:17,240 –> 00:46:19,920
fellowship with him, so he’s
going to challenge us right

872
00:46:19,920 –> 00:46:21,560
away.
Because he just brought up this

873
00:46:21,560 –> 00:46:24,120
idea that if you’re walking in
the light, you have fellowship

874
00:46:24,120 –> 00:46:26,520
with God and the blood of Jesus
cleanses you from all sin.

875
00:46:26,960 –> 00:46:29,160
And we’re all sitting there
thinking, that’s me, that’s me.

876
00:46:29,800 –> 00:46:33,320
And John says, okay.
If we say that we have

877
00:46:33,320 –> 00:46:38,520
fellowship with him, but we’re
walking in darkness, we lie and

878
00:46:39,400 –> 00:46:43,570
we don’t practice the truth, he
he doesn’t put Gray areas out

879
00:46:43,570 –> 00:46:45,530
there at all.
He just says where what are you

880
00:46:45,530 –> 00:46:48,290
really doing in life?
What are your goals every day?

881
00:46:48,290 –> 00:46:50,690
When you wake up, are you all
focused on all this stuff of

882
00:46:50,690 –> 00:46:52,570
this world?
Is that all you can think about

883
00:46:52,570 –> 00:46:54,930
is your careers, your job and
all this stuff?

884
00:46:54,930 –> 00:46:57,450
And it could be the same thing
with raising children that could

885
00:46:57,450 –> 00:46:59,730
be just something that you’re
doing without even thinking

886
00:46:59,730 –> 00:47:03,130
about and raising them for God.
It’s it’s all these ideas that

887
00:47:03,130 –> 00:47:07,250
we can get into where we’re so
focused on this life, we don’t

888
00:47:07,250 –> 00:47:11,290
really see the eternal life that
God is trying to get into us.

889
00:47:11,820 –> 00:47:15,380
And so look at if we say we have
fellowship with Him, we claim to

890
00:47:15,380 –> 00:47:19,020
be in fellowship with God and
with Jesus and with one another

891
00:47:19,340 –> 00:47:23,300
about we walk in this darkness,
we lie and do not practice the

892
00:47:23,300 –> 00:47:27,340
truth.
But if we walk in the light as

893
00:47:27,340 –> 00:47:30,580
he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another.

894
00:47:30,580 –> 00:47:34,900
And the blood of Jesus Christ,
his Son, cleanses us from all

895
00:47:34,900 –> 00:47:39,020
sin, all sin.
So that’s the first thing he

896
00:47:39,020 –> 00:47:42,500
wants to tackle is this idea
that God is the only source of

897
00:47:42,500 –> 00:47:46,780
this life and you’re only going
to have fellowship if you’re

898
00:47:46,780 –> 00:47:50,260
walking in that light.
Don’t don’t deceive yourself and

899
00:47:50,260 –> 00:47:52,420
think that somehow you’re in
fellowship with God when you’re

900
00:47:52,420 –> 00:47:56,660
not walking in the light.
That’s how you participate with

901
00:47:56,660 –> 00:47:59,700
with God and with Jesus Christ.
That’s how you share his

902
00:47:59,700 –> 00:48:02,220
sufferings.
That’s how you share his way of

903
00:48:02,220 –> 00:48:06,040
life is you fellowship.
If I Polly actually uses that

904
00:48:06,040 –> 00:48:08,880
word for fellowship about the
sufferings of Jesus, you can

905
00:48:08,880 –> 00:48:12,560
fellowship his sufferings when
you are walking in his life,

906
00:48:12,800 –> 00:48:15,360
when you’re going through the
same experiences he did of

907
00:48:15,360 –> 00:48:18,720
trying to resist sin and
fighting those things and trying

908
00:48:18,720 –> 00:48:21,960
to live the life of God.
That’s how we end up in

909
00:48:21,960 –> 00:48:25,280
fellowship with God and Jesus
and one another.

910
00:48:25,720 –> 00:48:27,600
Because the God is the only
source.

911
00:48:27,880 –> 00:48:30,240
And don’t be deceived, don’t
fool yourself.

912
00:48:30,240 –> 00:48:34,040
God is the light.
He’s the only source of our

913
00:48:34,040 –> 00:48:37,200
truth and moral righteousness,
His eternal life.

914
00:48:37,200 –> 00:48:40,880
You won’t get it anywhere else.
And I say that to, you know,

915
00:48:40,880 –> 00:48:42,920
some of the younger ones that
are here to just be careful.

916
00:48:42,920 –> 00:48:45,400
You’re not going to get this out
of reading Christian books.

917
00:48:45,880 –> 00:48:48,000
You’re not going to get it out
of reading stuff from other

918
00:48:48,000 –> 00:48:50,330
religions.
You’re going to get it by

919
00:48:50,330 –> 00:48:53,810
studying and reading and looking
through the Bible and listening

920
00:48:53,810 –> 00:48:58,370
to the reading of the Word and
trying to understand why God did

921
00:48:58,370 –> 00:49:00,010
things.
What is he doing in these

922
00:49:00,010 –> 00:49:02,170
events?
Why did he record those events

923
00:49:02,170 –> 00:49:04,490
in Genesis?
For us to read through year

924
00:49:04,490 –> 00:49:08,770
after year and and try to come
to understand how he operates

925
00:49:09,130 –> 00:49:13,130
and then put that into practice
in our life, That is God’s

926
00:49:13,290 –> 00:49:16,130
eternal life.
So in first John one, we looked

927
00:49:16,130 –> 00:49:18,450
at that one about our fellowship
being based on walking in the

928
00:49:18,450 –> 00:49:20,610
light.
Look what he said in John 12.

929
00:49:20,890 –> 00:49:23,210
Jesus said to them a little
while longer.

930
00:49:23,210 –> 00:49:26,130
The light is with you.
So walk while you have the

931
00:49:26,130 –> 00:49:28,090
light.
Let’s darkness overtake you.

932
00:49:28,530 –> 00:49:31,010
You walks in darkness does not
know where he’s going.

933
00:49:31,410 –> 00:49:35,050
While you have the light,
believe in the light that you

934
00:49:35,090 –> 00:49:39,250
may become sons of light.
Like Richard said, this idea of

935
00:49:39,250 –> 00:49:43,730
God is light then becomes that
we become sons of this light.

936
00:49:43,730 –> 00:49:46,410
This is something that has to be
in us as well.

937
00:49:46,980 –> 00:49:49,740
Or as Peter says in First Peter
Two at verse nine, you’re a

938
00:49:49,740 –> 00:49:54,260
chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, his

939
00:49:54,260 –> 00:49:58,260
own special people that you may
proclaim the praises of him who

940
00:49:58,260 –> 00:50:02,300
called you out of darkness into
his marvelous light, who once

941
00:50:02,300 –> 00:50:06,260
were not a people but are now
the people of God, who had not

942
00:50:06,260 –> 00:50:09,500
obtained mercy, but now have
obtained mercy.

943
00:50:09,700 –> 00:50:11,500
This is what God has done for
us.

944
00:50:11,500 –> 00:50:14,900
He’s taken us out of the
darkness of the things of this

945
00:50:14,900 –> 00:50:18,340
world and all the things people
care about in this world, and

946
00:50:18,340 –> 00:50:21,660
he’s transferred us over into
the Kingdom of his son, where

947
00:50:21,660 –> 00:50:26,100
you can be practicing God’s
righteousness, his way of life.

948
00:50:26,460 –> 00:50:29,860
And he is the only source.
Because really anything else,

949
00:50:29,860 –> 00:50:33,140
any other stuff you read on this
stuff is just human based.

950
00:50:33,140 –> 00:50:36,860
It’s humanism at its best.
It’s all basic humanism.

951
00:50:36,940 –> 00:50:40,100
But no matter what religious
group you read, if they’re not

952
00:50:40,140 –> 00:50:43,810
using the Bible as a source,
then it’s really just humanism.

953
00:50:44,290 –> 00:50:47,370
So God’s light, when you look at
it in the scriptures, it’s

954
00:50:47,370 –> 00:50:50,530
revealed in the face of Jesus.
That’s where he did it.

955
00:50:50,530 –> 00:50:53,530
He manifested his light in
Jesus.

956
00:50:53,930 –> 00:50:57,210
So in 2nd Corinthians 4, Paul
would say, for it is God who

957
00:50:57,210 –> 00:51:00,410
commanded light to shine out of
darkness, who has shown in our

958
00:51:00,410 –> 00:51:04,570
hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in

959
00:51:04,570 –> 00:51:09,130
the face of Jesus Christ.
Or in John chapter 8, Jesus

960
00:51:09,130 –> 00:51:12,090
spoke to them saying, I am the
light of the world.

961
00:51:12,330 –> 00:51:18,050
He follows me, shall not walk in
darkness but have the light of

962
00:51:18,050 –> 00:51:21,650
life.
This is God’s life and it’s

963
00:51:21,650 –> 00:51:24,890
shining and it’s just trying to
get into our hearts and our

964
00:51:24,890 –> 00:51:27,450
minds and change us into
different people.

965
00:51:27,890 –> 00:51:31,450
But he doesn’t make it happen.
It’s a choice you have to make.

966
00:51:31,850 –> 00:51:35,050
It’s a choice, and John’s going
to try to encourage people that

967
00:51:35,050 –> 00:51:38,010
look at let’s make the good
choice you’ve already joined,

968
00:51:38,210 –> 00:51:41,650
let’s just stay there, don’t
leave it and go, don’t go seek

969
00:51:41,650 –> 00:51:44,290
another way.
So walking in the light, one

970
00:51:44,290 –> 00:51:47,250
person said, it really means
that you consider Jesus as the

971
00:51:47,250 –> 00:51:51,650
lights in this world and we walk
in that light by following His

972
00:51:51,650 –> 00:51:54,970
precepts, living in His power
and growing in His grace.

973
00:51:55,370 –> 00:51:58,330
That’s really what this is all
about, about walking in the

974
00:51:58,330 –> 00:52:00,930
lights or we don’t participate
in the works of darkness.

975
00:52:01,420 –> 00:52:03,740
We don’t get into the stuff of
this world, the lust of the

976
00:52:03,740 –> 00:52:05,860
flesh, the lust of the eyes and
the pride of life.

977
00:52:06,180 –> 00:52:08,460
But instead we walk in the
light.

978
00:52:09,060 –> 00:52:12,820
So what happens then?
For all of us, our way of life

979
00:52:12,900 –> 00:52:16,380
really reveals our choice.
There won’t be any surprises

980
00:52:16,380 –> 00:52:19,020
really at the judgment seat.
I mean, all the angels are going

981
00:52:19,020 –> 00:52:21,460
to have to do to us is go
through our lives and say, well,

982
00:52:21,460 –> 00:52:24,700
look at our choices in life.
What did you really want?

983
00:52:24,980 –> 00:52:28,140
What did you do day after day?
What were you really after?

984
00:52:28,140 –> 00:52:29,580
Where?
Where is your your treasure?

985
00:52:29,580 –> 00:52:30,780
Really.
Where was it?

986
00:52:31,270 –> 00:52:35,030
Then you can tell by what you
did in your life because our way

987
00:52:35,030 –> 00:52:38,990
of life reveals the choice we we
either go after God’s eternal

988
00:52:38,990 –> 00:52:42,270
way and we practice
righteousness or we go after

989
00:52:42,270 –> 00:52:45,390
this world and we’re in the
darkness because we’re striving

990
00:52:45,390 –> 00:52:47,310
after something that we’ll never
going to find.

991
00:52:47,710 –> 00:52:50,710
Reminds me a lot of Ecclesiastes
with with Solomon and looking at

992
00:52:50,710 –> 00:52:53,150
this idea that you can go
striving after that right hand

993
00:52:53,150 –> 00:52:55,230
side and think that’s going to
give you all this happiness.

994
00:52:55,550 –> 00:52:58,030
And Solomon just keeps reminding
us and say, look, I tried it.

995
00:52:58,030 –> 00:53:01,360
I tried it, I tried it.
And it doesn’t give you what you

996
00:53:01,360 –> 00:53:04,960
think you’re going to get.
And so that’s not really what’s

997
00:53:04,960 –> 00:53:07,960
going to bring you the
everlasting happiness and joy,

998
00:53:08,320 –> 00:53:12,600
But it’s walking in the light of
God, his eternal life and his

999
00:53:12,600 –> 00:53:14,840
way of life.
That’s what we’ll really do it.

1000
00:53:15,640 –> 00:53:17,680
So how do we eliminate the
darkness?

1001
00:53:17,680 –> 00:53:19,880
How do we get rid of it?
How do we make sure that we

1002
00:53:19,880 –> 00:53:23,360
don’t get into the darkness?
And that I found myself.

1003
00:53:23,360 –> 00:53:26,080
The best way is to just fill
your life with things that are

1004
00:53:26,080 –> 00:53:28,420
in the light.
I don’t think it really helps to

1005
00:53:28,420 –> 00:53:31,060
just say, well, I’m not going
to, I’m not going to, I’m not

1006
00:53:31,060 –> 00:53:32,100
going to, I don’t know about
you.

1007
00:53:32,100 –> 00:53:35,780
But if I don’t provide myself
with something positive to do,

1008
00:53:35,820 –> 00:53:39,740
then inevitably I will go into
the not gonnas and I’ll get into

1009
00:53:39,740 –> 00:53:42,700
those things.
So it really helps to first of

1010
00:53:42,700 –> 00:53:46,500
all recognize I’m the problem.
It’s not somebody else.

1011
00:53:46,940 –> 00:53:49,580
It’s not our spouse.
It’s not our kids.

1012
00:53:50,060 –> 00:53:52,300
It’s not the other brothers and
sisters at meeting.

1013
00:53:52,660 –> 00:53:55,620
The problem is me.
That’s the first step, because

1014
00:53:55,620 –> 00:53:58,540
once you recognize what the
problem really is, then you can

1015
00:53:58,540 –> 00:54:02,140
set out to try to fix it.
And the good news is, you can

1016
00:54:02,140 –> 00:54:05,220
fix yourself.
That is, you don’t have to talk

1017
00:54:05,220 –> 00:54:07,540
about other people because the
other people don’t really want

1018
00:54:07,620 –> 00:54:10,460
you to fix them.
But yourself you can work on,

1019
00:54:10,460 –> 00:54:11,580
right?
So that’s good.

1020
00:54:11,860 –> 00:54:13,660
So first recognize I’m the
problem.

1021
00:54:14,100 –> 00:54:17,420
Then you start praying for help.
I I really want to come to know

1022
00:54:17,460 –> 00:54:19,180
Jesus.
I want to find out about God.

1023
00:54:19,180 –> 00:54:20,540
What is he?
What is this?

1024
00:54:20,950 –> 00:54:22,590
What am?
What is this all about?

1025
00:54:22,910 –> 00:54:25,910
And you pray for help, that God
will open the eyes of our

1026
00:54:25,910 –> 00:54:29,950
understanding so that we can
understand who he is and how he

1027
00:54:29,950 –> 00:54:32,030
operates.
And we say, that’s the way I

1028
00:54:32,030 –> 00:54:33,710
want to be.
I want to be like him.

1029
00:54:34,150 –> 00:54:36,390
So then we read.
Or we listen to God’s word

1030
00:54:36,390 –> 00:54:37,910
daily.
You don’t have to read, you

1031
00:54:38,070 –> 00:54:40,910
don’t have to even study that
way, but you can listen.

1032
00:54:40,910 –> 00:54:44,110
These days we have so many great
things you can listen to, and

1033
00:54:44,110 –> 00:54:45,470
you can listen to them all the
time.

1034
00:54:45,470 –> 00:54:48,310
When you’re all over the place
with all the electronic gadgets

1035
00:54:48,310 –> 00:54:51,310
we have today, you can put these
things in your ear and have a

1036
00:54:51,310 –> 00:54:53,150
phone going and it’s like, it’s
great.

1037
00:54:53,510 –> 00:54:55,710
You can even walk away from and
it’s still in your ear.

1038
00:54:55,910 –> 00:54:57,550
You know, you just can’t get
away from them.

1039
00:54:57,750 –> 00:55:01,110
So there’s lots of good things
we can do about getting God’s

1040
00:55:01,110 –> 00:55:04,790
Word into our head and spending
time with God’s family.

1041
00:55:05,190 –> 00:55:08,110
To me, that’s essential.
You’ve got to be willing to come

1042
00:55:08,110 –> 00:55:11,220
out and and be with people.
Join them where wherever they

1043
00:55:11,220 –> 00:55:12,540
are.
It could be at the baseball

1044
00:55:12,540 –> 00:55:15,980
game, it could be wherever.
But spend time with people in

1045
00:55:15,980 –> 00:55:20,020
God’s family and that that way
you can get to know people and

1046
00:55:20,020 –> 00:55:23,100
you can find ways to help
people, and you can be part of

1047
00:55:23,100 –> 00:55:25,460
the fellowship of the family of
God.

1048
00:55:25,940 –> 00:55:29,300
Then practice loving one
another, which means forgiving

1049
00:55:29,300 –> 00:55:31,460
one another, showing mercy to
one another.

1050
00:55:31,660 –> 00:55:34,540
All the things you want them to
do to me, you.

1051
00:55:34,540 –> 00:55:36,860
Got to practice doing those
things with all of them.

1052
00:55:36,860 –> 00:55:41,060
You practice loving one another
and becoming a faithful witness

1053
00:55:41,060 –> 00:55:43,380
to the people that we meet.
That’s another way we can

1054
00:55:43,380 –> 00:55:45,900
eliminate the darkness.
We get involved in those things.

1055
00:55:46,380 –> 00:55:49,740
So get involved in some good
positive things in ecclesial

1056
00:55:49,740 –> 00:55:52,220
life and in in family life and
all those things.

1057
00:55:52,540 –> 00:55:56,060
I find myself it’s much better
to fill up my time with positive

1058
00:55:56,060 –> 00:55:58,940
things and and then you don’t
have to worry so much about,

1059
00:55:58,940 –> 00:56:01,940
well, I don’t want to do that.
So what other things have you

1060
00:56:01,940 –> 00:56:04,140
guys found helpful?
So we got a minute left or so.

1061
00:56:04,300 –> 00:56:06,860
What have you found helpful for
helping you eliminate the

1062
00:56:06,860 –> 00:56:09,900
darkness of this world?
So this is Janae.

1063
00:56:11,580 –> 00:56:13,900
I have to tell everybody because
they want to know they can’t see

1064
00:56:13,940 –> 00:56:16,610
you.
One thing I like to do is listen

1065
00:56:16,610 –> 00:56:19,050
to Christian music.
I mean, it’s not Chris

1066
00:56:19,050 –> 00:56:22,850
Adelphian, but it gets the
emotionality to for me

1067
00:56:22,850 –> 00:56:24,610
sometimes.
As much as I love the word,

1068
00:56:24,610 –> 00:56:27,570
sometimes I don’t feel as
emotionally connected as I do to

1069
00:56:27,570 –> 00:56:29,410
music.
So even Chris Adelphian music or

1070
00:56:29,410 –> 00:56:32,850
Christian music for me, that
really just keeps me focused.

1071
00:56:34,650 –> 00:56:37,530
So that’s a good practical
thing, listening to music like

1072
00:56:37,530 –> 00:56:39,290
that.
I got to admit I am a music

1073
00:56:39,290 –> 00:56:42,370
lover as well as soon knows
every time she starts the car

1074
00:56:42,370 –> 00:56:46,900
and.
All the songs are playing, yeah,

1075
00:56:46,900 –> 00:56:49,180
or every so often the kids tell
me to turn it down.

1076
00:56:49,220 –> 00:56:51,980
But fortunately with headphones
today, you don’t hear that much

1077
00:56:51,980 –> 00:56:54,220
anymore.
But it’s it’s a good, practical

1078
00:56:54,220 –> 00:56:55,780
way to get those songs in our
head.

1079
00:56:55,780 –> 00:56:58,700
And then I find all through the
day they keep coming back all

1080
00:56:58,700 –> 00:57:00,860
the time.
Those good things that remind us

1081
00:57:00,860 –> 00:57:03,260
about what God has done for us
and what he’s trying to do.

1082
00:57:04,460 –> 00:57:06,460
Any other things you want to
add, James?

1083
00:57:06,540 –> 00:57:07,940
What?
You get the last word.

1084
00:57:10,470 –> 00:57:13,070
But it’s not necessarily a
positive thing.

1085
00:57:13,070 –> 00:57:15,910
But sometimes we do have to
recognize some of the things

1086
00:57:15,910 –> 00:57:22,590
that we shouldn’t do, like don’t
absorb yourself with too much of

1087
00:57:22,590 –> 00:57:27,550
the medias that are available to
us and listen and you know this,

1088
00:57:27,550 –> 00:57:30,030
this is the positive.
I think you have the list there,

1089
00:57:30,390 –> 00:57:34,830
but sometimes you got to turn
off before you can turn on.

1090
00:57:35,300 –> 00:57:40,420
So turn off the KABC News Radio
and all the commentaries that

1091
00:57:40,420 –> 00:57:44,460
just get you riled up in the
wrong way and and and do the

1092
00:57:44,460 –> 00:57:45,900
other things we’ve been talking
about.

1093
00:57:46,900 –> 00:57:48,260
That’s a good way to end it
tonight.

1094
00:57:48,260 –> 00:57:49,940
There are some things we got to
turn off.

1095
00:57:49,940 –> 00:57:51,940
So yeah, maybe we can think
about tonight.

1096
00:57:51,940 –> 00:57:54,060
Some of the things you can do in
your life in the In the next

1097
00:57:54,060 –> 00:57:56,540
week or so, try turning some
things off of our life and

1098
00:57:56,540 –> 00:57:59,700
turning on some other things and
hopefully John’s letters going

1099
00:57:59,700 –> 00:58:02,180
to help us to learn all those
good practical things.

1100
00:58:15,560 –> 00:58:17,640
Thank you for listening to the
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1101
00:58:17,640 –> 00:58:20,240
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1102
00:58:20,240 –> 00:58:21,760
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1103
00:58:22,920 –> 00:58:25,000
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00:58:35,680 –> 00:58:38,360
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1119
00:59:08,660 –> 00:59:10,580
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