100:00:00,000 –> 00:00:09,600Assurance has several ingredients and all of them need to be in the mix and John is200:00:09,600 –> 00:00:17,920giving us a kind of checklist of what these ingredients are. If you want to grow in assurance300:00:17,920 –> 00:00:25,500here is what you must pursue. Welcome to Open The Bible With Pastor Colin Smith. I am David400:00:25,540 –> 00:00:30,980Pick and Colin, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s dying to know what these ingredients500:00:30,980 –> 00:00:35,860are. Well it’s a very simple mix. There are three things that John keeps coming back to600:00:35,860 –> 00:00:42,700in this letter. He keeps referring to obeying God’s commands and to loving God’s people700:00:42,700 –> 00:00:48,180and to believing in God’s son. And these really are the three things to pursue if you want800:00:48,180 –> 00:00:54,160to grow in in assurance. The whole letter’s written so that believers will know that they900:00:54,160 –> 00:01:00,060really know God. And what a wonderful thing that is, not just to have a faith but to have1000:01:00,060 –> 00:01:05,639a confidence that you really are in a right relationship with God. John’s laying out1100:01:05,639 –> 00:01:11,239the path as to how to pursue that and we’re on to the second of these ingredients. We’ve1200:01:11,239 –> 00:01:16,019looked a little bit in past programmes at obeying God’s commands. Today we’re beginning1300:01:16,019 –> 00:01:21,480to look at what he says about loving God’s people and it’s such an important theme and1400:01:21,680 –> 00:01:27,480that we really need in our lives and in the Church today. So, join us if you can in 11500:01:27,480 –> 00:01:33,879John chapter 2 verses 7 to 11 today as we begin a message called Assurance Grows As1600:01:33,879 –> 00:01:40,879You Love God’s People. Here’s Colin. We’re asking the question, how can I be sure? How1700:01:42,139 –> 00:01:49,139can I know with confidence that I’m in Christ? How can I know that the Holy Spirit lives1800:01:49,459 –> 00:01:56,459within me, and that one day I will be in the Father’s house in heaven? How can I be sure?1900:01:56,839 –> 00:02:02,580And this first letter of John was specifically written to answer that question. Chapter 52000:02:02,580 –> 00:02:07,660and verse 13, I write these things, John says to you who believe in the name of the Son2100:02:07,660 –> 00:02:14,660of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. So, this letter is John telling us how2200:02:14,740 –> 00:02:24,740we can grow in assurance, that is, how you can know that you know God, how you can know2300:02:24,960 –> 00:02:32,220that you are in Christ. And we saw last week that assurance grows as you obey God’s commands.2400:02:33,740 –> 00:02:40,740Chapter 2 and verse 3, by this we know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands,2500:02:40,740 –> 00:02:47,720we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Or chapter 2 and verse 5, by this we may know2600:02:48,259 –> 00:02:55,259that we are in him, that is, in Christ. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the2700:02:55,619 –> 00:03:02,619same way in which he, that is Jesus, walked. Now we saw that no Christian obeys God’s2800:03:03,320 –> 00:03:10,320commands perfectly but all Christians have a beginning of oblivious. And assurance grows2900:03:10,800 –> 00:03:17,800as we obey God’s commands, so pursue obedience. But there’s more. If you think about what3000:03:19,339 –> 00:03:24,940it takes to grow physically, there are several factors. Obviously you need food, you’re going3100:03:24,940 –> 00:03:30,360to need nutrition, but food alone will not make you strong. You need to have exercise3200:03:30,360 –> 00:03:37,360as well. There is more than one factor involved. Now growing in assurance is the same. It involves3300:03:38,259 –> 00:03:45,259more than one factor, and each factor needs to be pursued at the same time. Or let me3400:03:46,399 –> 00:03:52,960give another analogy. Think about baking a cake. So you have several ingredients that3500:03:52,960 –> 00:03:59,259are going to go into the cake, flour and sugar and eggs and butter. And to make the cake3600:03:59,259 –> 00:04:04,880you need all of the ingredients, not just some of them. And it’s the same with assurance.3700:04:04,880 –> 00:04:11,839Assurance has several ingredients and all of them needs to be in the mix. And John is3800:04:11,839 –> 00:04:20,320giving as a kind of checklist of what these ingredients are. If you want to grow in assurance3900:04:20,320 –> 00:04:30,380here is what you must pursue. Now, assurance has three primary ingredients that John lays4000:04:31,260 –> 00:04:37,700out for us. Number one obeying God’s commands that we looked at last week. Number two, loving4100:04:37,700 –> 00:04:44,019God’s people that we’re looking at this week. And number three, believing in God’s son that4200:04:44,019 –> 00:04:50,279God willing, we will look at next week. And if you read the whole letter, what you will4300:04:50,279 –> 00:04:57,100find is that John keeps circling around these three themes. In fact, commentators talk about4400:04:57,100 –> 00:05:05,579three cycles in this first letter of John as John lays out the path to assurance and4500:05:05,579 –> 00:05:11,820then just presses it into our minds and into our hearts. I think of this first letter of4600:05:11,820 –> 00:05:19,779John as being rather like a spiral staircase. So John goes round his themes once obeying4700:05:19,779 –> 00:05:25,619God’s commands, loving God’s people, believing in God’s son. And then when he’s gone round4800:05:25,959 –> 00:05:32,220he goes round again obeying, loving, believing and then when he’s done that he does it a4900:05:32,220 –> 00:05:39,220third time. And so we will pick up today not only what John says about loving God’s people5000:05:40,000 –> 00:05:45,660in chapter two, but we’ll also pick up what he says in the second and third cycles as5100:05:45,660 –> 00:05:52,660it were in chapter three and in chapter four. Now I want to offer today seven observations5200:05:56,019 –> 00:06:03,019from these verses and from this great theme of growing in love for God’s people. The first5300:06:03,399 –> 00:06:10,399is that hatred is evidence of darkness and death. Hatered is evidence of darkness and5400:06:13,880 –> 00:06:20,880death, chapter two and verse eleven, whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks5500:06:20,880 –> 00:06:27,880in the darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded5600:06:31,320 –> 00:06:38,320his eyes. So imagine for a moment a person who is sitting in a dark basement. There isn’t5700:06:39,420 –> 00:06:44,920any light. And he sits there for a while in the darkness and then he thinks, well this5800:06:44,920 –> 00:06:49,239is no good, I can’t just be sitting around in the darkness, I want to make this basement5900:06:49,239 –> 00:06:56,239a better place. So he gets up and he feels his way around, but the problem of course6000:06:56,640 –> 00:07:01,600is that he is walking in darkness and John says he doesn’t know where he is going because6100:07:01,600 –> 00:07:08,600the darkness has blinded his eyes. And so he simply stumbles around in his efforts to6200:07:09,160 –> 00:07:15,839make this dark basement a better place. Now you see that is precisely the position of6300:07:15,880 –> 00:07:22,880the person who hates. A person who hates stumbles around he cannot see the truth, and he cannot6400:07:26,720 –> 00:07:33,720find the path of wisdom. Now this speaks so obviously and directly to the world in which6500:07:34,559 –> 00:07:39,820we are living today. You don’t need me to tell you that our world is increasingly filled6600:07:39,920 –> 00:07:46,559with a great deal of hatred. One group wants to see another group of people completely6700:07:46,559 –> 00:07:53,559and utterly destroyed. And that the great tragedy of our time is that anger has taken6800:07:54,059 –> 00:08:01,059root, it has festered, and it is producing and increasing measure the bitter fruit of6900:08:02,600 –> 00:08:09,600hatred that we see more and more around us. And by the way, lest we think that we are7000:08:10,000 –> 00:08:16,619thinking that hatred is only a problem at a distance, we should remember that there7100:08:16,619 –> 00:08:23,619is no hatred quite like religious hatred. Religious hatred led to Jesus being nailed7200:08:26,540 –> 00:08:33,539to the cross. And we all know that over the centuries great atrocities and great evils7300:08:34,099 –> 00:08:41,099have been done in the name of religion. And many of you will have been in a conversation7400:08:42,280 –> 00:08:48,159with someone who doesn’t believe and that person wants to present their case for unbelief7500:08:48,159 –> 00:08:53,080and they will say to you at some point in the conversation, well, look at all the evils7600:08:53,080 –> 00:09:00,080that have been done in the name of religion. Now, how are you going to answer that? Well,7700:09:00,919 –> 00:09:07,919well, one way might be for you to quote 1 John chapter 2 and verse 9. Look at what he7800:09:09,859 –> 00:09:16,859says. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. There7900:09:22,799 –> 00:09:29,799have always been people who have laid claim to being in the light, but John could not8000:09:29,799 –> 00:09:36,799be clearer. If someone hates his brother they are still in the darkness. Hatred is evidence8100:09:40,599 –> 00:09:47,599of darkness and as if that were not bad enough, he then tells us in chapter 3 and verse 148200:09:49,299 –> 00:09:56,299that hatred is evidence of death. Whoever does not love abides in death. What a phrase8300:09:57,200 –> 00:10:04,200that is. To abide, continues, stay in death. So you see this is describing a person who8400:10:05,719 –> 00:10:12,719is actually trapped. This person is in a state of spiritual death and by definition he or8500:10:12,880 –> 00:10:19,880she cannot get out of it. And you see, that is why when you see hatred, your first response8600:10:20,799 –> 00:10:27,799response should always be compassion. You should say, this man, this woman has hatred8700:10:28,799 –> 00:10:35,799in his or her heart, and that is a sign of spiritual death. It is a sign of spiritual8800:10:37,640 –> 00:10:44,539death. He is like a man stumbling around in a dark basement without any light. Hatred8900:10:44,679 –> 00:10:50,760has gripped his heart, he cannot overcome it. He walks in darkness and he abides in9000:10:50,760 –> 00:10:57,000death. So let’s take in this first observation. Hatred9100:10:57,000 –> 00:11:04,000is evidence of darkness and of death, have nothing to do with it. That is what John is9200:11:05,599 –> 00:11:12,599saying to Christian believers, have nothing to do with it. Guard your heart against it.9300:11:12,739 –> 00:11:19,739Seek to cleanse your soul of any encroachment from it.9400:11:21,039 –> 00:11:24,979You are listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called Assurance9500:11:24,979 –> 00:11:29,280Grows as You Love God’s People. We’ve got to pause here briefly but we will be back9600:11:29,280 –> 00:11:35,080with the message very shortly. The message is part of a series called How Can I Be Sure,9700:11:35,080 –> 00:11:40,080all about how to have assurance of salvation. If you’ve missed any of the series, you can9800:11:40,080 –> 00:11:46,900always catch up or go back and listen again online at our website openthebible.org.uk9900:11:46,900 –> 00:11:53,179or you can use your favorite podcast site and search for OpenTheBibleUK on the podcast10000:11:53,179 –> 00:11:57,960site or follow the link from our website.As on the website, you will find all of the messages10100:11:57,960 –> 00:12:03,619which have already gone out on air. Back to the message now. We are in 1 john chapter10200:13:04,020 –> 00:13:09,460one.that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness. He has brought us into the kingdom10300:13:09,460 –> 00:13:16,840of his dear son and you see John is saying here, now that’s what’s happened to you. You10400:13:16,840 –> 00:13:22,219have been delivered from the domain of darkness, you have been brought into God’s marvelous10500:13:22,219 –> 00:13:27,659light and the proof that God has delivered you out of darkness and brought you into his10600:13:27,780 –> 00:13:36,780light is that you love your brothers. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light.’ And10700:13:36,780 –> 00:13:45,539then John circles back to this again in chapter 3 and he makes clear that not only is love10800:13:45,539 –> 00:13:54,260an evidence of light but it is also an evidence of life. Chapter 3 in verse 14. We know that10900:13:54,260 –> 00:14:01,460we have passed out of death into life. How do we know that we’ve passed into life? Well11000:14:01,460 –> 00:14:09,859because we love the brothers. Now notice by the way that he is talking here very clearly11100:14:09,859 –> 00:14:16,580about assurance. We know, he says, that we have passed from death to life. How do we11200:14:16,900 –> 00:14:25,380know? Well here’s how you know, we love the brothers. Assurance grows as you love11300:14:25,380 –> 00:14:33,140God’s people. And then John comes back to it yet again in chapter 4 and verse 7.11400:14:33,140 –> 00:14:39,700Beloved, let us love one another for love is from God and whoever loves has been born11500:14:39,700 –> 00:14:48,559of God and knows God. Some of us may ask this question, how do I really know that I’ve11600:14:48,559 –> 00:14:54,840been born again? How do I know that I really do know God? How do I know that I’m not11700:14:54,840 –> 00:15:00,960simply deceiving myself? Here’s how you know, John says, whoever loves has been born11800:15:00,960 –> 00:15:07,840of God and knows God – that’s how you know. This is the evidence of it. Love is11900:15:07,840 –> 00:15:14,320the evidence of light and of life.12000:15:14,320 –> 00:15:23,960So now to the third observation. Some people are really very difficult to love. Some people12100:15:23,960 –> 00:15:35,359are hard to love. And I think it’s significant that John speaks repeatedly here about your12200:15:35,559 –> 00:15:43,599your brother. Look at chapter two and verse 10. Whoever loves his brother abides in the12300:15:43,599 –> 00:15:49,159light and in him there is no cause for stumbling. Or chapter three in verse 14. We know that12400:15:49,159 –> 00:15:55,260we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Chapter three in verse12500:15:55,260 –> 00:16:01,67916, by this we know love that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our12600:16:01,679 –> 00:16:13,460lives for the brothers. Now, when the Beatles sang, all you need is love, and I do know12700:16:13,460 –> 00:16:22,280that this was a very, very long time ago indeed, but the Beatles did sing all you need is love,12800:16:22,280 –> 00:16:27,020and that makes it sound very, very easy.12900:16:27,020 –> 00:16:33,179And I wonder if you’ve noticed that that is always how the world speaks. We just need13000:16:33,179 –> 00:16:38,760to love each other, that’s all we need to do you see. Always make it sound very, very13100:16:38,760 –> 00:16:46,659easy. And it does sound easy so long as you are only speaking about loving people in general.13200:16:46,659 –> 00:16:51,979But when you put some names and some faces on it, then it gets difficult. See? Love your13300:16:52,500 –> 00:16:57,799neighbour. Oh him? Wow that’s another story you see. Love your enemy Jesus says? Love13400:16:57,799 –> 00:17:08,000your brother! Remember the first brothers in human history, Cain and Abel. And John13500:17:08,000 –> 00:17:15,800actually in chapter 3, specifically reminds us of their story. Cain hated his brother13600:17:16,160 –> 00:17:23,160Abel because Cain’s deeds were evil and Abels deeds were righteous John tells us. And the13700:17:23,439 –> 00:17:30,439result of that was that Cain actually murdered his brother Abel. Now you see it isn’t easy13800:17:30,739 –> 00:17:41,339to love a brother like Cain. A brother who hates you that’s not easy. And we all have13900:17:41,439 –> 00:17:50,520people in our lives and sometimes in our families who are hard to love and I wonder if you’ve14000:17:50,520 –> 00:17:57,599ever thought about this that the Lord Jesus knows what that is like because Jesus had14100:17:57,599 –> 00:18:07,000four brothers and Mark records that when Jesus was ministering in his home town and the people14200:18:07,739 –> 00:18:16,280around him and gathering to seek him that the people in his home town said, Is not this14300:18:16,280 –> 00:18:24,900the carpenter the son of Mary the brother of James and Jose, and Judas and Simon and14400:18:24,900 –> 00:18:32,219R not his sisters here with us? We’re not given the names of the sisters, but clearly14500:18:32,219 –> 00:18:41,739Jesus had sisters and we are given the names of four brothers of Jesus. Now how did these14600:18:41,739 –> 00:18:48,280brothers of Jesus regard him? Well, Mark tells us that when the crowds were gathering14700:18:48,280 –> 00:18:54,180around the Lord Jesus and pressing in on him, this is mark three twenty one. His family14800:18:54,180 –> 00:19:07,739went out to seize him for they were saying, he is out of his mind. Now, it is not easy14900:19:07,739 –> 00:19:16,439to love a brother who thinks that you are out of your mind. The point here, of course,15000:19:16,439 –> 00:19:24,719is that we choose our friends but we don’t choose our brothers or our sisters. They are15100:19:24,719 –> 00:19:33,599given to us. And, of course, what is true in the family is also true in the Church.15200:19:33,599 –> 00:19:41,560The Church is the family of God. Our brothers and sisters are not simply a self-selected15300:19:41,800 –> 00:19:50,920of friends, they are the ones that God has given to us. Now this is very important. We15400:19:50,920 –> 00:19:58,079are living at a time when there are evidently growing numbers of people who say, well, my15500:19:58,079 –> 00:20:04,760definition of the Church is that a few of us gather in our kitchen on a Sunday morning15600:20:04,760 –> 00:20:10,420and we eat together and we talk about meaningful things and open the Bible and so forth and15700:20:11,040 –> 00:20:17,439on. And the idea has got into some people’s minds that the Church is a self-selected group15800:20:17,439 –> 00:20:27,699of friends. And that’s absolutely not the case. The Church is not a cozy group of self-selected15900:20:27,699 –> 00:20:35,800friends, the Church is the gathering of people that God has brought together, he gives you16000:20:35,900 –> 00:20:41,900your brothers and sisters, and guess what? Some of them are not always easy to love.16100:20:41,900 –> 00:20:50,020So, how can we love brothers and sisters? And especially brothers and sisters, whether16200:20:50,020 –> 00:20:54,780it be in the family, or whether it be in the Church, that are not terribly easy for us16300:20:54,780 –> 00:20:55,780to love.16400:20:55,780 –> 00:21:01,479And of course, this is the whole point! This is how we learn to love, not by pursuing simply16500:21:01,479 –> 00:21:07,199a self-selected group of friends with whom we feel very comfortable, but by learning16600:21:07,199 –> 00:21:12,920to love in the family of God that is given to us.16700:21:12,920 –> 00:21:19,719Now, how are we to do this? How are we to grow in love, whether that be in the family16800:21:19,719 –> 00:21:24,599with our own relatives, or whether that be within the family of God — that clearly16900:21:24,599 –> 00:21:30,859is the primary reference that John is making here.17000:21:31,300 –> 00:21:40,180And that leads to the fourth point, that love comes from God. Love comes from God.17100:21:40,180 –> 00:21:45,319We’ve got to pause here, but we’ll pick up that fourth point in our next broadcast.17200:21:45,319 –> 00:21:49,099You’ve been listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith, and a message called17300:21:49,099 –> 00:21:55,099Assurance Grows as You Love God’s People. It’s part of our series How Can I Be Sure17400:21:55,099 –> 00:21:59,760all about how to receive the assurance of salvation, and it’s based on the first17500:22:00,599 –> 00:22:03,760Don’t forget, if you ever missed one of our broadcasts17600:22:03,760 –> 00:22:08,160or if you want to go back and listen again, that’s easy to do by coming online to our17700:22:08,160 –> 00:22:13,579website openingbible.org.uk, and there you’ll find all the messages that have already17800:22:13,599 –> 00:22:18,280gone out on-air. And you’ll also find them now as a podcast. On all the main17900:22:18,280 –> 00:22:22,959podcast sites, you can search for Open the Bible UK, and there you’ll find them18000:22:22,959 –> 00:22:28,439on all the main podcast sites. Also, on our website is Open the Bible Daily, and18100:22:28,680 –> 00:22:31,680that’s a series of short, 2-3 minute daily reflections,18200:22:31,680 –> 00:22:37,780based on Passer Colin’s teaching and read in the UK by Sue McLeish.18300:22:37,780 –> 00:22:41,800At Open the Bible, we welcome contact with our listeners. If you’ve been blessed by18400:22:41,800 –> 00:22:46,479Passer Colin Smith’s teaching, and you’d like to reach out to us, you can write to18500:22:46,479 –> 00:22:53,560us at Open the Bible PO Box 1420 Cheltenham GL50 9PG.18600:22:54,560 –> 00:23:01,859Our address and telephone number and email address are available on our website openthebible.org.uk.18700:23:04,380 –> 00:23:08,280Open the Bible is supported by our listeners, and if you’re thinking about doing that18800:23:08,280 –> 00:23:13,319for the first time this month we would like to offer you something in return.18900:23:13,319 –> 00:23:18,699If you’re able to set up a new direct debit of five pounds per month or more, or a one-off19000:23:18,760 –> 00:23:23,540gift of fifty pounds or more, we’ll send you a copy of Pastor Colin Smith’s book,19100:23:23,540 –> 00:23:29,479The Ten Greatest Struggles of Your Life, Finding Freedom in God’s Commands, along with19200:23:29,479 –> 00:23:32,719five beautiful Psalm 23 note cards.19300:23:32,719 –> 00:23:37,739Colin, the book is called The Ten Greatest Struggles of your Life, so what are some of19400:23:37,739 –> 00:23:39,479the most common struggles?19500:23:39,479 –> 00:23:44,400Well I think if you went out and did interviews in the street and just asked people about19600:23:44,400 –> 00:23:50,520the struggles of their lives, they’re going to relate to relationships, problems in relationships,19700:23:50,520 –> 00:23:54,020they’re going to relate to problems with money.19800:23:54,020 –> 00:23:57,979People all the time are saying we all experience that we don’t have enough time and so forth19900:23:57,979 –> 00:23:59,119and so on.20000:23:59,119 –> 00:24:04,239And then if you think about where these issues are brought together in one place, the answer20100:24:04,239 –> 00:24:07,640is, God has brought them together in the Ten Commandments.20200:24:07,640 –> 00:24:14,079The Ten Commandments really do speak to the greatest struggles of our lives and the really20300:24:14,119 –> 00:24:19,000good news of the Gospel is that God gives what he commands.20400:24:19,800 –> 00:24:24,760He tells us the life that we are to live, but then he gives us the power and presence20500:24:24,760 –> 00:24:29,359of his Holy Spirit in order to pursue that life.20600:24:29,359 –> 00:24:34,239So the Ten Commandments not only address the greatest struggles of our lives, they actually20700:24:34,239 –> 00:24:39,219point us to the new life that is possible for us in the power of the Holy Spirit when20800:24:39,219 –> 00:24:41,119we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.20900:24:41,119 –> 00:24:42,859So that’s our gift to you.21000:24:42,859 –> 00:24:47,959This month of September, if you’re able to set up a new direct debit of £5 per month21100:24:47,959 –> 00:24:53,219or more or a one-off gift of £50 or more, to the work of Open The Bible.21200:24:53,219 –> 00:25:00,660Full terms and conditions on our website that’s at openthebible.org.uk and you can give on-line.21300:25:00,660 –> 00:25:04,939If you’d like to us to send you this gift, please don’t give anonymously and remember21400:25:04,939 –> 00:25:08,880to include your address so that we can send you your gift.21500:25:08,959 –> 00:25:17,959For Open The Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll join us again next time on Open The Bible.21600:25:20,479 –> 00:25:25,060You may be thinking about someone right now whom you find difficult to love.21700:25:25,060 –> 00:25:29,739Find out how you can get this resolved next time on Open The Bible.
