Everyday Church
A Lifelong Walk with God
(upbeat music) - Hello, friend. Welcome to today's podcast, Everyday Church, with Pastor Jason Keefer. Everyday Church is a daily podcast where believers learn together, grow together, and serve together. - Hey, my friends. What's great to be with you today on the Everyday Church podcast, and I hope that you're having a great day. I hope that you're off to a great start and certainly pray the Lord's blessings on you today. Last time that we were together, we were talking about the Old Commandment and the New Commandment and how that the Old Commandment was just a law given to man that really couldn't keep. But the New Commandment is life, and it's the life of Christ in us and through us. And so today we're gonna pick up in verse 12, first John chapter two. So if you're driving and you can't read, I would suggest maybe later, take some time and read through these verses. But if you can, stop for a minute and describe your Bible, that'd be great as well. So first John two, verse 12, he says, I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiving you for his name sake. He says, I write unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men because you have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you little children because you have known the father. I write unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning. And I write unto you young men because you're strong and the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one. It's interesting when you read these two verses, there seems to be three groups of people that he's writing to. He's writing to children. He's writing to young men and he's writing to fathers. And so this is gender neutral. So it's young ladies, you know, it's his children. What they would refer to as what that would mean to them is this is that individual that's in the instructional age. They're learning just as we would see a young child today. And spiritually speaking, right? This will be a new believer, someone who is just learning to walk in Christ. The young man would be someone who's maybe a little more mature in Christ. And in fact, he defines them as someone who is overcome the wicked one, right? And you think of young men. When you think of young men, you think of strength, right? The ability to overcome. And so there's that in the spiritual life. And then there's the father or the more mature spiritual believer, someone who has learned, who has overcome the enemy, fought some battles. And now you see this individual who is, they have wisdom. That's wisdom or position of authority would have been the way these three positions could be seen. So he says, I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven you. And I think that's the most elementary part of salvation is that our sins have been forgiven us. I think of the times in the scriptures where we're referred to, even as believers, the Bible still go back and refer to us as children. First Peter, I think, is where he says, as do your children, we should desire the sensor milk of the word that we make grow thereby. And so what do we see is he's writing to children, reminding them of the most basic part of salvation. And that is our sins have been forgiven us, right? What a great thought today is that you and I have been forgiven by the grace of God, his mercies are new every morning great is thy faithfulness. In fact, he told us in chapter one, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all righteousness. So he's saying, I've written unto you to remind you that your sins have been forgiven you. And then he says, I'm writing unto young men, you've overcome the wicked one, right? There's no need to doubt. There's no need to doubt. There's no need to question the work of God in you, right? You know he's forgiven your sins. And hey, to those that are a little more mature in Christ, you've overcome some things in your life. You, you've overcome some temptations, you've fought some battles and won by the grace of God and by his strength and by his power. And so he tells them, remember, he's writing to them to remind them and give them confidence in their walk with the Lord. And so what greater confidence than to know that look because of God's work in his grace, I've overcome some things in my life. I've been able to win some battles. We don't say that pridefully or arrogantly, but thankfully by God's grace that we have been strengthened in him so that we can come overcoming, otherwise what good are the verses that his grace is sufficient for me? Like what is the point in that verse if I never use that in adversity and learn to overcome by his grace? His strength is made perfect. I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me. You know, what good would that verse be if I can't look back and say, wow, there were some times where I was able to overcome some things. Maybe you were able to overcome a certain temptation. Maybe there was a trial or a storm in your life and you were able to overcome fear. You were able to overcome doubt. All those are things from the wicked one, he says, from the enemy that he comes into our life. And so I think of the Old Testament scripture where the enemy comes in like a flood. The Bible says the Lord will lift up a standard against him. Well, if I can't look back and see, man, there's some things where the enemy came in times where the enemy came in like a flood and by his grace, I was able to overcome. You know, there really would be no point in those verses, but we look back on those verses and we don't just look forward to those verses. I think sometimes, I guess what I'm trying to say is sometimes we see a storm coming and we look, oh, I need God's grace. God's spirit's gonna carry me through the word truth. I'm gonna depend on truth. But how often do we look back on those storms and say you know what it was in that time that God brought me through? It was in that moment where, man, I thought I could go no father. I couldn't go any anymore. And I think these verses remind us that, man, you know, I have been able to overcome the evil one by God's grace and by his strength. He's written unto us, he's written unto you fathers because you've known him that is from the beginning. You've known what it's like to walk in the spirit. You know what it's like to walk in truth. You've known what it's like to be in a relationship with God and you know, knowing God does not come. This is interesting. I actually just heard Adrian Rogers. Of course he's gone on to be with the Lord, but what a great preacher he was. And he has a famous one of the messages who was preaching on knowing God. And he talks about how that we don't know God through staying the Bible. We know God through obedience and walking with him. And one of the, a quote he says is what good is it? What good is it to know Hebrew if we don't know him? Or what good is it to know Greek if we don't know God? And how true that is that John's not speaking to, hey, you've known him from the beginning in the sense that you just know what the word of God says about him. That's to have the knowledge of God, but to know in a relationship sense, you know him. He knows you. And I think that when we understand the things in our life that come our way, that cause us to doubt, if we can learn to look back on those times. And so, hey, you know what, from the beginning, I know he's forgiven me, I sense. I know that. There's been some days where maybe I didn't necessarily even feel saved, right? Or I didn't feel necessarily right with God. But I was able to go back and look at some things in my life and say, you know what, I know he forgave me in my sense. I know there's some times that God has brought me through some really tough times and I've been able to overcome by his grace, some things that otherwise, I would have never been able to overcome. I know that I know him more than just words on a page. In fact, what I know of God in my personal life really brings to life the things that are on the page that I read about him and that I learn about and that I understand him. And so, I hope that's an encouragement to you today. Reflect on what God's done in your life. Reflect on, you know, how he's forgiven you, how he's given you mercies, how he's given you grace. Reflect on his work in your life and overcoming some things. And perhaps today, you're in the middle of a situation. Somewhere along the line, he's brought you through something. Take some time and reflect on that. Don't look ahead only to the storm or the problem and think, man, there's no way I can go through this or maybe in the middle of the storm. Sometimes look back and just remember and reflect. And Paul said that I might know him and the power of his resurrection. You know, there's nothing sweeter than knowing Christ, knowing him through walking with him. So I wanna encourage you today as you go throughout the day, just reflect on his goodness. He's awful good to us, isn't he? And he's blessed us in some great ways. And so I love you and I'm praying for you. Hey, be sure to like this and share this. If it's a blessing to you and a help, just pass it on to somebody else. And maybe it'll be a helping and blessing to them. And yeah, I look forward to being back with you tomorrow. Let's go to the Lord in prayer and just ask the Lord that he would be with us through the remainder of the day. Father, we thank you for your goodness, for your love for us. And I thank you for anyone and everyone that would watch this. I pray that it's a help to them in a blessing and an encouragement as your word is to us. We just love you and thank you. It's a more precious name we pray. Amen. - Thank you for listening to Everyday Church, a daily podcast where believers learn together, grow together and serve together. If this episode was an encouragement to you, be sure to hit like, share it, and subscribe for future content. (light music)