1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,100 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:07,100 –> 00:00:15,180 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website OpentheBible.org. 3 00:00:15,180 –> 00:00:19,639 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Colin. 4 00:00:19,639 –> 00:00:28,040 I hope you’ll open your Bibles first John and chapter 3, we’re continuing our series 5 00:00:28,139 –> 00:00:36,860 on regeneration in which we’re learning how Jesus Christ changes a persons soul and we’ve 6 00:00:36,860 –> 00:00:44,639 been learning that behind all believing there is a miracle of God’s grace in which He takes 7 00:00:44,639 –> 00:00:51,080 people like us, sinners who by nature love darkness rather than light and we love ourselves 8 00:00:51,080 –> 00:00:55,840 and want to please ourselves rather than God and he gives us new life and he makes us new 9 00:00:55,840 –> 00:01:02,160 creations and he gives us new birth and this is the great promise of the bible. God says 10 00:01:02,160 –> 00:01:09,519 I will take away from you a heart of stone and I will give you a heart of flesh. God 11 00:01:09,519 –> 00:01:17,879 says I will put my spirit in you and I will move you to keep my laws and my decrees and 12 00:01:17,879 –> 00:01:22,559 so this is what we’re learning about from the bible, we’re seeing that regeneration, 13 00:01:23,320 –> 00:01:28,480 word that we’re learning together is the work of God by which he changes your soul so with 14 00:01:28,480 –> 00:01:34,279 a new mind and a new heart, you love him and trust him and follow him freely. And if you 15 00:01:34,279 –> 00:01:41,279 are in Christ today, this is what God has done for you. We’re learning together to rejoice 16 00:01:43,120 –> 00:01:49,800 in it. Now that’s our series, today’s mothers day, do you see a connection by the way? What 17 00:01:49,919 –> 00:01:56,919 marvelous subject, the new birth, being born again on this wonderful day that we celebrate. 18 00:01:59,120 –> 00:02:06,120 Think for a moment about the birth of a child. Like any father, the birth of my two boys, 19 00:02:08,479 –> 00:02:15,479 our two boys is printed on my mind forever. When Andrew was born our oldest and his tiny 20 00:02:16,419 –> 00:02:23,419 little scrap of life comes out, and he seemed to be half asleep, you know, and the midwife 21 00:02:27,360 –> 00:02:33,860 knew what she was doing. Smacked him hard, you know. Welcome to the world, my little 22 00:02:33,860 –> 00:02:40,860 friend. Going to be tough. Of course, that got him crying. As he bawled, that got him 23 00:02:41,419 –> 00:02:48,419 breathing, and great gulps of air coming into these tiny tiny little lungs, and then, you 24 00:02:53,020 –> 00:02:58,500 know, she checks all his parts, and then gives him back to his mother for some comfort and 25 00:02:58,500 –> 00:03:05,500 love, and some food. Well, thank God for the cry. Thank God for the cry. The little fella 26 00:03:06,160 –> 00:03:13,160 is alive, and since then he has never looked back. The vital signs of life. Crying, breathing, 27 00:03:17,779 –> 00:03:24,779 feeding, the first signs of life, the sure evidence that the little scrap is alive. 28 00:03:26,880 –> 00:03:33,880 Well, in this series we’re talking about the new birth. And today we’re going to talk about 29 00:03:34,679 –> 00:03:41,119 signs of spiritual life. How do you know that a person is alive spiritually? How, in other 30 00:03:41,119 –> 00:03:47,100 words, can you know that you have been born again? We’re talking about this regeneration. 31 00:03:47,100 –> 00:03:52,619 How can you know if it’s happened in you? What’s the evidence of it? What are the vital 32 00:03:52,619 –> 00:03:59,619 signs of spiritual life? We’re turning to 1 John because in this letter in which it 33 00:04:00,539 –> 00:04:05,580 addresses, this subject perhaps more than any other in the New Testament, John give 34 00:04:05,580 –> 00:04:12,580 us 6 distinguishing marks of a genuine Christian. In other words, he lays out for us the vital 35 00:04:13,380 –> 00:04:18,920 signs of spiritual life, the evidence that a person has been regenerated or to put it 36 00:04:18,920 –> 00:04:24,779 another way, born again. What he is doing here is really laying out something that our 37 00:04:24,779 –> 00:04:29,420 Lord Jesus taught very clearly. You remember in the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, 38 00:04:29,500 –> 00:04:35,980 by their fruits, you will recognize them”. In other words, you will know who is a real 39 00:04:35,980 –> 00:04:42,980 Christian by the life that follows from that new birth. Just as a living tree, to use the 40 00:04:42,980 –> 00:04:49,980 analogy our Lord shows, just as a living tree has leaves and buds and fruit, just as a living 41 00:04:51,420 –> 00:04:58,420 child breaths and cries, and sucks, what does a living Christian do? That’s the question. 42 00:05:00,140 –> 00:05:07,140 What are the vital signs that a person is spiritually alive? Well, John in his first 43 00:05:07,859 –> 00:05:13,100 letter gives us six distinguishing marks and they’re worth knowing very clearly. I’d originally 44 00:05:13,100 –> 00:05:17,279 planned and it must have been very bad planning to attempt all six. We’re not going to attempt 45 00:05:17,279 –> 00:05:22,079 that today or we’d never get for a Mother’s Day lunch. So we’re going to attempt the first 46 00:05:22,079 –> 00:05:26,420 three, which is why we read from John 3 and the next time God willing, we’ll come back 47 00:05:26,459 –> 00:05:32,980 to 1 John chapter 5 and complete the remaining themes. So will you open your Bible then at 48 00:05:32,980 –> 00:05:40,019 first John as we look at these signs of spiritual life, and we’ll begin in first John, chapter 49 00:05:40,019 –> 00:05:46,179 2 in verse 29, where you have the first clear statement about the evidence of new birth 50 00:05:46,179 –> 00:05:53,179 that it is seen in a person pursuing righteousness. Notice what John says. 1 John 2, 29. If you 51 00:05:53,519 –> 00:06:00,519 know that He is righteous, that is that God is righteous, you know that everyone who does 52 00:06:02,399 –> 00:06:08,899 what is right has been born of God. And you see that in the verse, he’s talking about 53 00:06:08,899 –> 00:06:14,359 the evidence, how you know that a person has been born of God, and what’s the first evidence? 54 00:06:14,359 –> 00:06:21,359 You know that everyone who does what is right has been born of Him, born of God. So he says 55 00:06:23,220 –> 00:06:27,160 here’s the first evidence of spiritual birth and life. 56 00:06:27,160 –> 00:06:33,720 Now the point here is really a very simple one. The likeness of a father and mother is 57 00:06:33,720 –> 00:06:39,179 invariably seen in some way in the life of a child. Sometimes that’s a great blessing 58 00:06:39,179 –> 00:06:46,179 and sometimes it causes difficulties and frustration, but it is always true. The apple does not 59 00:06:46,700 –> 00:06:52,739 fall far from the tree. Okay. By the way, that would be a good strapline for the orchard, 60 00:06:52,899 –> 00:06:59,480 wouldn’t it? The orchard, Evangelical free church, the apple does not fall far from the 61 00:06:59,480 –> 00:07:06,480 tree. No, I don’t think we’ll go with that. The son or the daughter bears the image of 62 00:07:07,399 –> 00:07:14,399 the father or the mother. So question, what then would it be like to be born of God? That’s 63 00:07:16,359 –> 00:07:22,220 the question. And John says in this verse, if you know that God is righteous, it will 64 00:07:22,500 –> 00:07:27,500 be immediately obvious to you that someone who is then born of God will bear this mark 65 00:07:27,500 –> 00:07:34,119 of doing what is right. Look at his words, everyone who does what is right has been born 66 00:07:34,119 –> 00:07:41,119 of God. By the way, if there are aspects of your heritage, things that are in your father 67 00:07:41,440 –> 00:07:48,440 and your mother that you fear being in you, and that is a struggle for you, remember this, 68 00:07:48,959 –> 00:07:55,959 that to be born of God is far more important in defining you than anything you have inherited 69 00:07:58,880 –> 00:08:05,480 by nature. To be born of parents is one thing, to be born of God is a far, far, far, far, 70 00:08:05,480 –> 00:08:11,260 far bigger thing. Grace is bigger than nature, that’s a wonderful encouragement. 71 00:08:11,260 –> 00:08:15,760 And here’s the mark of someone who is born of God, or at least the first mark, everyone 72 00:08:16,279 –> 00:08:22,720 who does what is right has been born of God. Now, John is not saying that Christians are 73 00:08:22,720 –> 00:08:29,260 always right or that everything that a Christian does is right. Clearly, he’s not saying that 74 00:08:29,260 –> 00:08:35,400 because if you turn back just one page in this letter to 1 John 1.8, you’ll see there 75 00:08:35,400 –> 00:08:42,400 that speaking to Christians, he says, if we claim to be without sin, 1 John 1.8, we are 76 00:08:46,400 –> 00:08:50,760 deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. So, if any Christian thinks that he is 77 00:08:50,760 –> 00:08:55,559 without sin or thinks that she is without sin, then he says, you are just deceived if 78 00:08:55,559 –> 00:09:00,099 you think that because sin remains in some degree in all of us. Which is why the Bible 79 00:09:00,099 –> 00:09:05,859 says in Romans, there is no one righteous, not even one. Christians fail in many ways, 80 00:09:05,859 –> 00:09:12,859 get it wrong in many ways, we all do, that is why we Christians always need the cleansing 81 00:09:13,859 –> 00:09:20,859 of the blood of Jesus. So John is not saying here that Christians are always right, always 82 00:09:20,859 –> 00:09:26,859 get it right or that everything we do is right. What he is saying is that a real Christian 83 00:09:26,859 –> 00:09:32,859 will pursue what is right. A real Christian, a person who is born again, 84 00:09:32,859 –> 00:09:37,859 pursues righteousness, hungers and thirsts after righteousness, is the way Jesus put 85 00:09:37,859 –> 00:09:44,859 it and by the grace of God we make progress in going after righteousness. 86 00:09:44,859 –> 00:09:49,859 That is the first mark. Now, how do you know what is right? 87 00:09:49,859 –> 00:09:55,859 That is a great issue that is discussed today. How do you know what is right? Is right 88 00:09:55,859 –> 00:10:01,859 as opposed to wrong self-defined? Is that we cobble together a system of values 89 00:10:01,859 –> 00:10:05,859 and we go through life saying this is right for me. It might not be right for everyone 90 00:10:05,859 –> 00:10:12,859 else, but this is what I think is right. How do you know what is right? 91 00:10:12,859 –> 00:10:19,859 If you know that HE is righteous, that God is righteous. In other words, he is reminding 92 00:10:19,859 –> 00:10:25,859 us that righteousness does not begin with a personal system of values. Righteousness 93 00:10:25,859 –> 00:10:32,859 begins with God. God is righteous, and if you know that you will allow Him to 94 00:10:32,859 –> 00:10:40,859 tell you what is right. And how does that happen? How does God tell you what is right? 95 00:10:40,859 –> 00:10:45,859 Is that by a set of feelings you have when you come to church? No. No, how does 96 00:10:45,859 –> 00:10:52,859 God tell us what is right? He has given us His Word, He has spoken, the righteous 97 00:10:52,859 –> 00:10:59,859 One has spoken, so that we may know what is right. So that we may pursue it, which 98 00:10:59,859 –> 00:11:06,859 is the direction and the purpose of a Christian’s life. God’s Word, 2 Timothy 99 00:11:06,859 –> 00:11:13,859 chapter 3 and verse 16, His Word teaches us, it rebukes us, it corrects us, it 100 00:11:13,859 –> 00:11:19,859 shows us where we’re wrong, it brings us back to what is right, it trains us in 101 00:11:19,859 –> 00:11:24,859 righteousness. So, here’s the first thing that John is saying. If you are really 102 00:11:24,859 –> 00:11:30,979 born of God who is righteous, then surely the evidence of that will be that you 103 00:11:30,979 –> 00:11:37,059 pursue what is right. The new heart within you says I face many choices and 104 00:11:37,059 –> 00:11:42,760 because I am born of God I must choose in ways that are pleasing to him as he 105 00:11:42,760 –> 00:11:48,119 has made his way known to me in his Word. So, for a Christian then this is the 106 00:11:48,119 –> 00:11:52,479 path of our life. We want intentionally to place ourselves under the authority 107 00:11:53,000 –> 00:11:57,320 of the word of God, so that we may pursue what is right because we have 108 00:11:57,320 –> 00:12:04,880 been born of the one who is righteous. That’s the first mark. Now, here’s the 109 00:12:04,880 –> 00:12:10,599 second and it’s really the flip side of the same coin. Pursuing what is righteous 110 00:12:10,599 –> 00:12:15,739 means turning from sin or turning from what is wrong. And if you look at 1 John 111 00:12:15,859 –> 00:12:23,059 chapter 3 and verse 9, you’ll see that that is the second mark of a person who 112 00:12:23,059 –> 00:12:33,340 is spiritually alive, born again, born of God. 1 John 3, 9. No one who is born of 113 00:12:33,340 –> 00:12:45,700 God will continue to sin. Now the reason, because God’s seed remains in Him. 114 00:12:46,679 –> 00:12:56,799 He cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. So, here’s the second, 115 00:12:56,799 –> 00:13:01,760 of six great statements in this letter, about the evidence of spiritual life. 116 00:13:01,760 –> 00:13:08,520 Here’s what to look for, to discern if indeed you have been born again. When a 117 00:13:08,520 –> 00:13:12,599 person is born again, the evidence of their new life will be 118 00:13:12,599 –> 00:13:17,159 seen in this, John says, in a turning from sin. That will be the new pattern of 119 00:13:17,159 –> 00:13:24,799 your life, pursuing righteousness turning from sin. We can put it this way. If sin 120 00:13:24,799 –> 00:13:35,200 is your friend, God is your enemy. If God is your friend, sin is your enemy. I take 121 00:13:35,200 –> 00:13:39,780 that from James chapter 4 and verse 4 where James says anyone who chooses to 122 00:13:39,780 –> 00:13:46,020 be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Think about that. You choose 123 00:13:46,020 –> 00:13:49,780 to be a friend of the world, you become an enemy of God. So if sin is your friend, 124 00:13:49,780 –> 00:13:53,979 God is your enemy. That’s what the Bible is saying. And if God is your friend, it 125 00:13:53,979 –> 00:13:59,739 follows that sin is your enemy. Sin can no longer be your friend when God is. 126 00:13:59,739 –> 00:14:07,679 That’s what John is telling us. Bishop Ryle puts this, I think, very 127 00:14:07,780 –> 00:14:12,559 wonderfully in a sermon that he preached on this great subject, and he 128 00:14:12,559 –> 00:14:16,359 describes the difference that regeneration makes in a man’s life. And 129 00:14:16,359 –> 00:14:24,840 he says before a man or a woman is born again, there is no quarrel between the 130 00:14:24,840 –> 00:14:33,039 man and his sin, no quarrel between the woman and her sin. They’re friends. But 131 00:14:33,760 –> 00:14:41,520 a person is born again, the quarrel with sin begins. Sin that once was your 132 00:14:41,520 –> 00:14:46,179 friend, sin that once was comfortable in your life, no longer has that position 133 00:14:46,179 –> 00:14:51,419 because God is now your friend. So Riles says- let me quote him- 134 00:14:51,419 –> 00:14:57,380 he says there was no quarrel between the man and his sin, they were friends. But now 135 00:14:57,760 –> 00:15:05,440 he hates his sin. Now, he flees from it. Now he fights against it. Now, he counts 136 00:15:05,440 –> 00:15:10,659 it his greatest plague. Now, he groans under the burden of its presence, mourns 137 00:15:10,659 –> 00:15:15,659 when he falls under its influence and longs to be delivered from it 138 00:15:15,659 –> 00:15:20,380 altogether. So what he’s saying is that the new birth- and here’s the evidence of 139 00:15:20,380 –> 00:15:26,559 new life- that you start engaging with a struggle against sin, that it’s no longer 140 00:15:26,580 –> 00:15:30,919 your friend. God is now your friend. Sin is now your enemy. And what used to be 141 00:15:30,919 –> 00:15:35,599 comfortable for you, you’re now fighting against. It’s a burden to you. You’re 142 00:15:35,599 –> 00:15:40,200 longing to be free from it altogether. Now, notice what John says in this verse. 143 00:15:40,200 –> 00:15:48,940 The person born of God will not continue- notice that word, to sin- The person who 144 00:15:48,940 –> 00:15:58,200 is born of God cannot go on sinning. John Stott puts it this way, the believer may 145 00:15:58,200 –> 00:16:05,559 fall into sin, but he will not walk in it. You can’t continue. The impulse 146 00:16:05,559 –> 00:16:11,780 of the Holy Spirit living within you makes it impossible for you to remain- 147 00:16:11,780 –> 00:16:17,400 continue in friendship with that which you know to be wrong. You actually just 148 00:16:17,900 –> 00:16:23,700 can’t do it. That’s what John is saying. The Christian is never free from 149 00:16:23,700 –> 00:16:27,719 sin in this life. Remember 1 John 1 8, anyone who thinks he’s without sin 150 00:16:27,719 –> 00:16:31,359 he’s deceived himself. But, nonetheless the person who’s born of God cannot 151 00:16:31,359 –> 00:16:35,580 continue in sin. It’s no longer his friend, there’s a quarrel now. He hates 152 00:16:35,580 –> 00:16:39,960 sin, flees from it, Ryles says, fights against it, counts it his greatest plague, 153 00:16:39,960 –> 00:16:44,000 groans under the burden of his presence, mourns when he falls under 154 00:16:44,159 –> 00:16:48,140 influence and longs to be delivered from it altogether. That’s the mark of 155 00:16:48,140 –> 00:16:55,299 spiritual life and that’s true of you if you have been born again. And, of course 156 00:16:55,299 –> 00:16:59,299 the reason for this if you look back into just the previous verse chapter 3 157 00:16:59,299 –> 00:17:04,800 and verse 8 John says, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, your Savior, why 158 00:17:04,800 –> 00:17:09,439 did he come into the world? He came into the world 1 John 3 8 to 159 00:17:09,579 –> 00:17:15,099 destroy the devil’s work. That’s why he came. Now if you have been born of God 160 00:17:15,099 –> 00:17:19,599 and he came to destroy the devil’s work, how can you continue in it? It’s 161 00:17:19,599 –> 00:17:26,479 impossible. So the reason why the Christian will not and cannot continue 162 00:17:26,479 –> 00:17:31,439 in sin is because he is born of God and God’s seed remains in him. In other words 163 00:17:31,439 –> 00:17:35,900 John is saying, let’s just hear what he says, the new birth makes continuing in 164 00:17:36,000 –> 00:17:43,380 sin impossible. Cannot, that’s his word. Now I’ve been meditating on that scripture 165 00:17:43,380 –> 00:17:50,739 and trying to get my mind around it, trying to get hold of it, as I’m sure 166 00:17:50,739 –> 00:18:00,819 you are right now, and an illustration from the birth of a child just came to 167 00:18:00,819 –> 00:18:04,819 my mind, and I hope that you might find this helpful but it does seem to me 168 00:18:04,939 –> 00:18:12,540 that because God, the creator and the redeemer, plants His design both in 169 00:18:12,540 –> 00:18:16,500 creation and in redemption, that there are often parallels between these two, 170 00:18:16,500 –> 00:18:27,020 and I want you to think about this one. When a child is in the womb, the life of 171 00:18:27,239 –> 00:18:40,280 a child is in water, surrounded by water. The child, think about this, lives in 172 00:18:40,280 –> 00:18:47,420 water. But as soon as the child is born and the first breath of the child is 173 00:18:47,420 –> 00:18:55,739 taken, the nature of that child’s life is changed. From that moment the child can 174 00:18:56,000 –> 00:19:03,339 no longer live in water. The child has a new life that, in its nature, is lived in 175 00:19:03,339 –> 00:19:14,239 air. After we are born we can go in water, we can swim through water, we can 176 00:19:14,239 –> 00:19:18,300 even go underwater. The kids here, you know, I expect all of us have done this 177 00:19:18,300 –> 00:19:22,219 thing about, how long can I hold my breath underwater? I can do 30 seconds, I 178 00:19:22,219 –> 00:19:27,339 can do a minute. Hey, you can stay underwater for a little while, you cannot 179 00:19:27,339 –> 00:19:32,640 continue underwater, you cannot. It is impossible to your nature, which is 180 00:19:32,640 –> 00:19:35,719 remarkable when you think about the fact that at the very beginning of your life 181 00:19:35,719 –> 00:19:40,939 it’s what you wear. You lived in water, you can’t do it now. Amazing. 182 00:19:40,939 –> 00:19:49,020 Why? Because you’ve been born. What once was your life is no longer possible for 183 00:19:49,479 –> 00:19:53,699 on a continuing basis, you cannot go back to it. Being born has changed the nature 184 00:19:53,699 –> 00:19:59,599 of your life. What was natural for you once is now not just difficult, it’s 185 00:19:59,599 –> 00:20:07,459 impossible. Now think about that in relation to the new birth. The sinner by 186 00:20:07,459 –> 00:20:12,619 nature is comfortable with sin, it doesn’t bother him. Comfortable living 187 00:20:12,619 –> 00:20:18,900 for himself or for herself, but when you are born again your conscience 188 00:20:19,000 –> 00:20:23,660 is activated. That’s one of the evidences of being born again. It’s one of the 189 00:20:23,660 –> 00:20:29,839 things God does, brings your conscience to life. And when that has happened, you 190 00:20:29,839 –> 00:20:35,160 know from your experiences, as I know from mine, you can’t settle with something 191 00:20:35,160 –> 00:20:41,500 that you know to be wrong. It bothers you, you hate it, you may do it but as 192 00:20:41,500 –> 00:20:47,180 soon as you do it, you hate it after you’ve done it. You say why did I do that? 193 00:20:47,800 –> 00:20:58,599 Holding on to sin for a Christian is like holding your breath underwater. If 194 00:20:58,599 –> 00:21:03,380 you make a big enough effort, you can do it for a little while. But if you’re born 195 00:21:03,380 –> 00:21:13,760 of God, you will not and cannot do it for long. And it may well be that there is 196 00:21:13,760 –> 00:21:16,540 someone here this morning you say, you know that’s exactly me, that’s what I’m 197 00:21:16,560 –> 00:21:20,180 doing, I’m holding my breath underwater, I’m making a great effort to hold on to 198 00:21:20,180 –> 00:21:25,119 this sin and I can do it no longer, I’ve got to come up for air. And never go back 199 00:21:25,119 –> 00:21:39,380 down again. If you can continue in sin and it does not bother you, you are not 200 00:21:39,380 –> 00:21:46,219 born again. That’s what John is telling us. Because the very nature of the life 201 00:21:46,219 –> 00:21:49,099 of God within you, the life of the one who came to destroy the works of the 202 00:21:49,099 –> 00:21:57,140 devil, means that sin is no longer your friend, it’s your enemy and you hate it 203 00:21:57,140 –> 00:22:02,939 and you long to be free from it. So if you’re feeling the intensity of the 204 00:22:02,939 –> 00:22:06,380 struggle with sin, I just want to say to you thank God for that. It’s the evidence 205 00:22:06,380 –> 00:22:10,819 you’re alive. The struggle may be hard but at least thank God for the struggle. 206 00:22:10,819 –> 00:22:13,780 Thank God that sin is not your friend today, God is your friend, 207 00:22:13,880 –> 00:22:19,699 and what that means by definition is that sin is your enemy and this 208 00:22:19,699 –> 00:22:23,400 repentance is a lifelong process it’s not done in a day or a month or a year. 209 00:22:23,400 –> 00:22:26,920 Remember we learned before that repentance it’s turning with as much as 210 00:22:26,939 –> 00:22:29,939 you know of your from as much as you know of sin with as much as you know of 211 00:22:29,939 –> 00:22:34,979 yourself to as much as you know of God. It’s a lifetime pursuit. We long to be 212 00:22:34,979 –> 00:22:39,060 free from it and one day we’ll be in heaven, but that pursuit begins with the 213 00:22:39,060 –> 00:22:42,500 new birth and the evidence of the new birth is that that pursuit is in your 214 00:22:42,560 –> 00:22:46,800 life. Pursuing righteousness turning from sin that’s the evidence that a person is 215 00:22:46,800 –> 00:22:51,420 spiritually alive. That there’s something that could only have come from God that 216 00:22:51,420 –> 00:22:56,319 is going on in your life and thank God for it. If you want today to be more holy 217 00:22:56,319 –> 00:23:01,359 than you are, if you hate your sins and want to be free from them thank God for 218 00:23:01,359 –> 00:23:07,040 that. It is the sure sign that His grace is at work in your life and that God’s 219 00:23:07,319 –> 00:23:11,160 life is in you. Thank God for it .Here’s the third. 220 00:23:11,160 –> 00:23:18,319 1 John chapter 4 and verse 7. 1 John 4 and verse 7. The third evidence of 221 00:23:18,319 –> 00:23:26,760 being born again is that you love God and that you love other people. The 222 00:23:26,760 –> 00:23:34,839 evidence of new life, love. Dear friends. 1 John 4 7. Let us love one 223 00:23:35,040 –> 00:23:45,260 another. For love comes from God. Everyone who loves, here it comes. 224 00:23:45,260 –> 00:23:55,400 Everyone who loves has been what? Born of God. And knows God. So here’s John’s 225 00:23:55,400 –> 00:24:01,959 third great statement. The third of sixth. And this critical defining 226 00:24:01,959 –> 00:24:09,739 mark of being spiritually alive, everyone who loves has been born of God. 227 00:24:09,739 –> 00:24:15,660 So please understand, when we talk about regeneration from the bible, this is not 228 00:24:15,660 –> 00:24:19,280 some private, sort of esoteric experience that tickles your emotions 229 00:24:19,280 –> 00:24:23,540 and then, you know, vanishes away. No, regeneration, the new birth, makes a 230 00:24:23,540 –> 00:24:31,660 lasting difference to a person’s life. It births love within a person in a whole 231 00:24:31,660 –> 00:24:38,260 new way. It gives you the life that God calls you to pursue. The life that Jesus 232 00:24:38,260 –> 00:24:42,459 described, which is what? To love God with all your heart and soul and mind and 233 00:24:42,459 –> 00:24:50,319 strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. And John is saying this love is 234 00:24:50,319 –> 00:24:54,239 the sign that you have been born again, because God is love. 235 00:24:54,239 –> 00:25:01,099 And if you are born of the God who is love, what would you expect? 236 00:25:01,640 –> 00:25:09,540 That some manifestation of His love will be known and seen and evident in you. 237 00:25:09,540 –> 00:25:14,599 So I wonder, have you ever wished that you could love more deeply? 238 00:25:14,599 –> 00:25:24,000 Have you ever longed that the patience and kindness that are facets of love 239 00:25:24,000 –> 00:25:30,959 should be more deeply rooted within you? Have you ever wished that you could love 240 00:25:30,979 –> 00:25:37,300 more? Love God more – and love other people more, and love people you find difficult more? 241 00:25:37,300 –> 00:25:40,859 Have you ever wished that? Well, John is telling us where this love 242 00:25:40,859 –> 00:25:47,859 comes from. Look at it, verse 7, love comes from God! 243 00:25:47,859 –> 00:25:54,859 That is where it comes from. This is where your Dry Soul will receive love. 244 00:25:55,660 –> 00:26:00,619 This is where you gain the capacity to give love as it has been drained out of you. 245 00:26:00,979 –> 00:26:03,459 Now where are you going to receive it? 246 00:26:03,459 –> 00:26:09,459 What a marvelous theme for today. Love comes from God! 247 00:26:09,459 –> 00:26:13,780 Therefore if his life is being poured into you, and refreshed within you, if 248 00:26:13,780 –> 00:26:18,500 his spirit lives within you, this is how you are going to grow in love and 249 00:26:18,500 –> 00:26:24,319 patience and all that you need to live the life that God calls us to live in 250 00:26:24,319 –> 00:26:29,540 this world. And you say well, tell me more about this love of God, just read on 251 00:26:29,619 –> 00:26:37,119 and what John says verse 8, God is love and this is how verse 9 God showed his 252 00:26:37,119 –> 00:26:43,579 love among us. Here’s love, he sent his one and only son into the world that we 253 00:26:43,579 –> 00:26:49,540 might live through him. That’s love! God so loved you that he sent his Son into 254 00:26:49,540 –> 00:26:54,420 the world, that you may live through Him. And then John says this is love, he’s 255 00:26:54,420 –> 00:26:58,300 going on to tell us even more, not that we loved God because our love for God is 256 00:26:58,300 –> 00:27:02,699 often a fairly weak thing, but but here’s what love really is, he loved us 257 00:27:02,699 –> 00:27:11,239 and he sent his Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This is the love 258 00:27:11,239 –> 00:27:16,739 that went to the cross for you as the Lord Jesus laid down his life so that 259 00:27:16,739 –> 00:27:22,660 your sins could be forgiven and so that you should have life through Him, verse 260 00:27:22,660 –> 00:27:28,660 nine. Now this love comes from God, the love of the Father sending the Son, the 261 00:27:28,660 –> 00:27:33,060 love of the Son becoming an atoning sacrifice on the cross. And what John is 262 00:27:33,060 –> 00:27:39,560 speaking about is that if you are born of God, this love of God is birthed 263 00:27:39,560 –> 00:27:44,579 within you and if the life of this love is birthed within you that life will 264 00:27:44,619 –> 00:27:50,959 grow! That’s what it is to be a Christian. Wonderful. 265 00:27:53,619 –> 00:28:00,140 The evidence John says that this love has reached you, the evidence that you 266 00:28:00,140 –> 00:28:04,219 have received this love of the Father who sent the Son and the Son who died 267 00:28:04,219 –> 00:28:08,819 as an atoning sacrifice for your sins, the evidence that this love has reached 268 00:28:09,180 –> 00:28:19,219 you is that we love one another. So these are remarkable signs of life, aren’t 269 00:28:19,219 –> 00:28:28,719 they? That if you are born again, when God’s life comes to a person, it is 270 00:28:28,719 –> 00:28:32,859 evidenced in pursuing righteousness, turning from sin and loving God, and 271 00:28:32,859 –> 00:28:39,699 loving other people. I’d like just to make a couple of observations in the 272 00:28:39,699 –> 00:28:47,260 time that remains here. Number one, please remember that these signs of life, they 273 00:28:47,260 –> 00:28:53,979 grow and they develop over time. We’ve been emphasizing that regeneration is 274 00:28:53,979 –> 00:28:58,619 God’s completed work. It’s like being born. It’s either happened completely or 275 00:28:59,020 –> 00:29:04,520 has not happened at all. But the life that begins in the new birth grows. It 276 00:29:04,520 –> 00:29:11,380 develops over time. It gains strength. And I say this to encourage you. You know, I 277 00:29:11,380 –> 00:29:18,560 described Andrew’s birth 23 years ago or at least some of it, you know. When he was 278 00:29:18,560 –> 00:29:25,199 taking these little breaths, a little scrap gets him going you know. I see him 279 00:29:25,380 –> 00:29:29,900 running. He’s a long distance runner and a physical education teacher now. You see 280 00:29:29,900 –> 00:29:33,859 him running round the track and great gulps of air. 281 00:29:33,859 –> 00:29:44,219 See, his breathing has developed. So has his feeding by the way. He used to be 282 00:29:44,219 –> 00:29:50,140 content with a small amount of milk. He’ll come for lunch today, I know what he’ll 283 00:29:50,140 –> 00:29:55,140 do. He’ll finish off a steak and he’ll say, is there some more? 284 00:29:55,140 –> 00:30:00,680 That’s a development of feeding, I would say. Now, think of this, you see, the vital 285 00:30:00,680 –> 00:30:05,400 signs of life develop. Now, they don’t change. They’re the same signs, but they 286 00:30:05,400 –> 00:30:09,900 intensify. They grow. They develop. Their capacity increases. Listen. 287 00:30:09,900 –> 00:30:17,520 As you grow as a Christian, you will deepen in your love for Christ, you will grow in 288 00:30:17,619 –> 00:30:23,880 your victory over sin. You will make progress in pursuing righteousness. Why? Because living 289 00:30:23,880 –> 00:30:29,400 things grow. That’s the wonderful truth here. Living things grow. And if the life of God 290 00:30:29,400 –> 00:30:34,000 is in you, that life’s gonna grow. So if you’re saying, well, I think the signs 291 00:30:34,000 –> 00:30:40,619 are kind of faint within me, be encouraged. When God gives you spiritual life, that spiritual 292 00:30:40,619 –> 00:30:45,560 life within you will grow, so be encouraged. This is what, the wonderful thing that it 293 00:30:45,719 –> 00:30:52,719 to be a Christian. Let me say this also about spiritual signs of life growing. Sometimes 294 00:30:56,020 –> 00:31:03,020 the signs of spiritual life can grow very faint, indeed. Now, many in the congregation 295 00:31:07,000 –> 00:31:11,199 will have, perhaps, shared an experience or been close to someone with an experience 296 00:31:11,199 –> 00:31:18,199 like this. But my sister-in-law Kathy gave birth some years ago now to a little baby, 297 00:31:21,880 –> 00:31:28,680 Megan, very prematurely and when she was born, Megan was on a ventilator for over a month. 298 00:31:28,680 –> 00:31:35,680 She had opened-heart surgery when she was just a month old. Some of you have been very 299 00:31:36,619 –> 00:31:42,920 close to this, you know what this is. The parents, the grandparents, you are over this 300 00:31:42,920 –> 00:31:47,599 little life of a child and you are thinking, is this life going to make it. And the breathing 301 00:31:47,599 –> 00:31:54,599 is almost imperceptible and hardly sustained. I think of Wayne and Kathy, Megan’s parents 302 00:31:57,660 –> 00:32:03,300 just praying over her in that intensive care unit as some of you have done with a child. 303 00:32:03,619 –> 00:32:09,140 And now by the grace of God, she breathes well. But, I want you to take that picture. 304 00:32:09,140 –> 00:32:16,140 And I want to say this, it’s not just at the beginning off the Christian life that it can 305 00:32:16,979 –> 00:32:23,300 be like that. You know, you could face traumas in your Christian life, some have been there, 306 00:32:23,300 –> 00:32:29,900 some maybe they’re right now, and things hit you and, well, it’s rather like someone being 307 00:32:29,900 –> 00:32:34,380 in a terrible car accident. Have you had a friend who’s been in a terrible accident, 308 00:32:34,380 –> 00:32:40,540 and there they are in the intensive care unit and despite being a mature adult, all their 309 00:32:40,540 –> 00:32:45,579 vital signs are very, very faint, and you’re watching and you’re praying that they’re 310 00:32:45,640 –> 00:32:52,380 going to pull through. You know, it can be like that in the spiritual life. Suddenly, 311 00:32:52,420 –> 00:32:59,140 a whole bunch of things have hit you in life and you say, I begin to wonder if I’m even 312 00:32:59,140 –> 00:33:05,699 a Christian at all. The vital signs are very faint. Why? Because the whole of your life 313 00:33:05,699 –> 00:33:12,699 is laid low, everything’s faint. You’re hanging on it feels like by a thread. Now, when that 314 00:33:14,500 –> 00:33:18,500 happens to you, and especially for those who feel that they’re there right now, you’re 315 00:33:18,979 –> 00:33:24,619 going to say, boy, the vital signs seem so, so low within me right now. 316 00:33:24,619 –> 00:33:31,619 Let me give you this promise of Jesus. Jesus said, my sheep listen to my voice, I know 317 00:33:31,800 –> 00:33:38,800 them and they follow me. And then he said this, I give them eternal life and they will 318 00:33:39,800 –> 00:33:46,800 never perish. When God gives you life, that life is forever. He will sustain that life 319 00:33:49,000 –> 00:33:56,000 of His Spirit within you through its lowest ebb in your experience, God never loses His 320 00:33:56,560 –> 00:34:03,560 Sheep, not one of them, that’s what Jesus says. Christ died to save you, and He lives 321 00:34:04,040 –> 00:34:11,040 to save you, and He lives to keep you and I want you to hear His promise, I give them 322 00:34:17,100 –> 00:34:24,100 eternal life and they will never perish. Our physical life for all of us at some point 323 00:34:24,139 –> 00:34:29,800 ends, but the life that comes from above will never, 324 00:34:29,820 –> 00:34:34,899 never end. He will hold you, and he will keep you, and when you feel you’re holding 325 00:34:34,899 –> 00:34:40,419 on by a thread, remember that His hand that holds you is strength. You’re not 326 00:34:40,419 –> 00:34:46,379 holding by a thread, you’re in the hand of Christ. So the signs of life they grow 327 00:34:47,239 –> 00:34:49,439 So, the signs of life they grow, 328 00:34:49,439 –> 00:34:53,199 and they develop, and they are the work of God within the human soul. Here’s the 329 00:34:53,199 –> 00:34:58,120 second observation I just want to give you. The signs of life are gifts, and they 330 00:34:58,120 –> 00:35:06,560 are not demands. The signs of life are gifts. They are not demands. Now, remember- 331 00:35:06,560 –> 00:35:13,939 imagine for just a moment what it would be like if these signs of life that we 332 00:35:14,000 –> 00:35:18,020 spoke about today were demands. 333 00:35:18,139 –> 00:35:23,840 Imagine that you came to church today on Mother’s Day. Imagine if the message of 334 00:35:23,840 –> 00:35:30,320 the Bible to you today was something like this. God says, I will give you new 335 00:35:30,320 –> 00:35:39,179 life, but you have to earn it. And here’s how you earn it. Do what is right. Stop 336 00:35:39,179 –> 00:35:42,979 sinning. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love other 337 00:35:42,979 –> 00:35:47,979 people like yourself. Now, if that was the message today what would your life be 338 00:35:47,979 –> 00:35:56,860 like this week? See, the Christian life for you then would be one massive effort. 339 00:35:56,860 –> 00:36:04,280 The whole thing would be riddled with anxiety. If the Christian life would 340 00:36:04,280 –> 00:36:09,939 demand, the whole thing would be impossible. Try it. 341 00:36:10,000 –> 00:36:15,320 St. Augustine, living hundreds of years ago, understood this well from his own 342 00:36:15,320 –> 00:36:18,620 experience. If you’ve never read the story of Augustine it’s a fascinating 343 00:36:18,620 –> 00:36:25,280 and wonderful story to read. This man in his early years had lived an immoral 344 00:36:25,280 –> 00:36:31,000 life, he had been driven by his own passions and he discovered early in life 345 00:36:31,000 –> 00:36:35,979 what anyone who allows themselves to be driven by their own passions discovers, 346 00:36:36,379 –> 00:36:40,860 that his sins came to have power over him and when he wanted to change he 347 00:36:40,860 –> 00:36:47,120 found that he could not. He looked in the Bible at one point at the life that God 348 00:36:47,120 –> 0:36:51,419 was calling him to lead and he knew that it was beyond him. He realised very 349 00:36:51,419 –> 00:36:57,159 quickly, I can’t do this and so he came to God with this prayer that has become 350 00:36:57,159 –> 00:37:01,439 a very famous prayer that’s been handed down through the history of the church. 351 00:37:01,439 –> 00:37:10,719 Augustine prayed this. He said, God command what you will but 352 00:37:10,719 –> 00:37:17,080 give what you command. Do you know what he was saying? Lord you can ask anything you want of 353 00:37:17,080 –> 00:37:23,840 me you’re God but I’m not capable of doing anything that you ask so you ask 354 00:37:23,840 –> 00:37:28,659 whatever you want but here’s what I’m asking of you. Will you please give me 355 00:37:28,719 –> 00:37:35,020 what you’re asking me for because I can’t give it to you. Command what you will but 356 00:37:35,020 –> 00:37:42,639 give what you command. Lord I need you to give me this life that you’re calling me 357 00:37:42,639 –> 00:37:48,500 to live. Now if you’re understanding the series you’ll immediately say ah yes 358 00:37:48,500 –> 00:37:57,239 that is what God does in regeneration. He gives what he commands. The signs of 359 00:37:57,919 –> 00:38:01,300 spiritual life are the gifts of God that are planted in the soul in 360 00:38:01,300 –> 00:38:05,260 regeneration. It is God who gives you a hunger and thirst for righteousness. It 361 00:38:05,260 –> 00:38:09,120 is God who makes you his friend and therefore makes sin your enemy. It is God 362 00:38:09,120 –> 00:38:13,899 who gives you new love for Christ and burst that within your soul so that this 363 00:38:13,899 –> 00:38:19,179 life may be able to grow within you. Thank God that the signs of spiritual 364 00:38:19,340 –> 00:38:29,600 gifts! Not his demands. So to the Christian Believer, I want to say this 365 00:38:29,600 –> 00:38:35,219 morning, if these things then are true of you, if the life of God is indeed within 366 00:38:35,219 –> 00:38:41,620 you and you’re thanking him for it then in pursue these things this week. Here’s 367 00:38:41,620 –> 00:38:46,800 what’s true of you, you know that God is righteous and you have been born of him 368 00:38:46,820 –> 00:38:51,100 so do what is right this week you’re going to be faced with some choices 369 00:38:51,100 –> 00:38:54,800 where there is a way that is pleasing to God and a way that is displeasing to God 370 00:38:54,800 –> 00:39:00,080 do what is right and do it whatever the cost do it because you’ve been born of 371 00:39:00,080 –> 00:39:06,080 God because his life is within you and you’re going to be faced with situations 372 00:39:06,080 –> 00:39:10,520 where you’re tempted towards sin turn from it flee from it sin it’s not your 373 00:39:10,520 –> 00:39:13,939 friend it’s your enemy don’t give it house room give it no 374 00:39:13,939 –> 00:39:20,000 quarter flee from it resist it refuse it because the life of God is within you 375 00:39:20,000 –> 00:39:23,860 and Christ came to destroy the devil’s work how can you do it this week you 376 00:39:23,860 –> 00:39:28,580 can’t you have to change it’s impossible for you you have to live the new life 377 00:39:28,580 –> 00:39:32,379 that God has given to you if you’re a Christian believer and these things are 378 00:39:32,379 –> 00:39:37,939 true of you and if these things are true of you and you are in Christ and his 379 00:39:37,939 –> 00:39:42,739 life is in you the the very love of God has been birthed within you 380 00:39:42,879 –> 00:39:48,040 God’s spirit the spirit of the one who sent the son and the spirit of the one 381 00:39:48,040 –> 00:39:54,419 who died is an atoning sacrifice lives within you so love your brothers and 382 00:39:54,419 –> 00:40:00,139 sisters with whom you disagree and show patience towards those who are irksome 383 00:40:00,139 –> 00:40:06,600 towards you God has loved you so love others God has loved us so let us love 384 00:40:06,600 –> 00:40:10,159 one another 385 00:40:11,000 –> 00:40:18,820 these things are true if you pursue them with all that God gives you this week in 386 00:40:18,820 –> 00:40:22,879 your life the very last thing is simply this there 387 00:40:22,879 –> 00:40:26,719 will be some who are saying you’re talking to folks who have this life in 388 00:40:26,719 –> 00:40:29,479 them and I’m now becoming very aware that I 389 00:40:29,479 –> 00:40:35,419 do not have this life in me and so right now what I’m feeling is that you’re 390 00:40:35,419 –> 00:40:42,020 describing a life that’s beyond me it’s impossible for me listen the only way 391 00:40:42,020 –> 00:40:47,620 you can live this Christian life is for God to give you this life you’re not 392 00:40:47,620 –> 00:40:53,179 going to get there by making a massive attempt at self improvement beginning on 393 00:40:53,179 –> 00:41:01,879 Mother’s Day but if you were born of God you would be in an entirely different 394 00:41:02,040 –> 00:41:06,800 position and so let me give you this promise in closing for the words of the 395 00:41:06,800 –> 00:41:14,399 Lord Jesus he said this John seven thirty-eight if anyone is thirsty let 396 00:41:14,399 –> 00:41:20,399 Him come to me and drink Jesus said you’re thirsty for this life that’s 397 00:41:20,399 –> 00:41:24,620 being described you know it’s not in you you need to receive it from outside of 398 00:41:24,620 –> 00:41:29,939 yourself if anyone is thirsty let him come Jesus said to me and drink and 399 00:41:30,459 –> 00:41:36,459 whoever believes in me Jesus said streams of water will flow from within 400 00:41:36,459 –> 00:41:42,040 Him Jesus is saying if you come to me and if you believe in me come believe 401 00:41:42,040 –> 00:41:48,639 then I will put something in you that you do not have of yourself living water 402 00:41:48,639 –> 00:41:53,540 the life that the Lord Jesus Christ himself has by the Holy Spirit coming to 403 00:41:53,540 –> 00:41:59,360 you so that that life is within you and grows within you and flows within you 404 00:41:59,399 –> 00:42:05,239 living water streams of it coming out of you this is the promise of the Lord 405 00:42:05,239 –> 00:42:08,699 Jesus and he says now that’s what you need it that’s what you want you come to 406 00:42:08,699 –> 00:42:15,199 me and you believe in me that’s where this life begins for you 407 00:42:15,199 –> 00:42:20,439 The Lord Jesus has this life in Himself he laid it down on the cross he took it up 408 00:42:20,439 –> 00:42:25,679 again in the resurrection and he offers it now to you and so I invite you on 409 00:42:25,879 –> 00:42:32,639 Mother’s Day to come to Him to believe in Him to say Lord Jesus I see right now 410 00:42:32,639 –> 00:42:36,639 that what I need is a new heart I need your life in me your spirit I need you 411 00:42:36,639 –> 00:42:51,899 to give me this new birth put your trust in Him whoever believes in me streams of 412 00:42:51,899 –> 00:43:04,679 living water will flow from within Him Father we thank you for the miracle of 413 00:43:04,679 –> 00:43:13,520 new life on this Mother’s Day we bless you for it in your gifts in creation and 414 00:43:13,840 –> 00:43:23,500 we thank you for it even more in your amazing miracle of regeneration the new 415 00:43:23,500 –> 00:43:30,399 birth for those in whom the signs of life are very faint today may there be 416 00:43:30,399 –> 00:43:38,739 encouragement that the life you give grows for some who belong to you but 417 00:43:38,879 –> 00:43:44,419 our as it were holding their breath underwater in some great effort to hold 418 00:43:44,419 –> 00:43:51,300 on to a sin Lord let today be the day of realizing I cannot do this any longer 419 00:43:51,300 –> 00:43:59,699 because the Spirit of God lives within me for those who are yours father may 420 00:43:59,699 –> 00:44:04,360 there be encouragement to go and live as those who demonstrate the life from 421 00:44:04,360 –> 00:44:10,840 above in the world this week and for those who have a new thirst that has 422 00:44:10,840 –> 00:44:18,040 been birthed within them even today by believing and by drawing near even now 423 00:44:18,040 –> 00:44:25,899 may the life that is from above begin in that person soul today through Jesus 424 00:44:25,899 –> 00:44:29,080 Christ our Lord we pray 425 00:44:29,080 –> 00:44:37,860 you’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of open the Bible to 426 00:44:37,860 –> 00:44:43,739 contact us call us at one eight seven seven open three six five or visit our 427 00:44:43,739 –> 00:44:48,260 website open the bible.org