September 8, 2025 • 34 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hi guys, my name is Ariella Andrews and I go to
Benicia Middle School.
I'm an eighth grader.
Today I'll be reading you 1John 3, 1 through 10.
See what great love the Fatherhas lavished on us, that we
should be called children of God, and that is what we are.
The reason the world does notknow us is that it did not know
(00:26):
him.
Dear friends, now we arechildren of God and what we will
be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when Christappears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
All who have this hope in himpurify themselves just as he is
pure.
Everyone who sins breaks the law.
(00:48):
In fact, sin is lawlessness.
But you know that he appearedso that he might take away our
sins, and in him is no sin.
No one who lives in him keepson sinning.
No one who continues to sin haseither seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not letanyone lead you astray.
(01:10):
The one who does what is rightis righteous, just as he is
righteous.
The one who does what is sinfulis of the devil, because the
devil has been sinning from thebeginning.
The reason the Son of Godappeared was to destroy the
devil's work.
No one who is born of God willcontinue to sin because God's
(01:33):
seed remains in them.
They cannot go on sinningbecause they have been born of
God.
This is how we know who thechildren of God are and who the
children of the devil are.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's
child.
Thanks be to God.
Great job, thank you, it's goodto be with you.
We're on first, second andthird John.
If you guys go to the back ofyour Bible, you guys will find
these three letters that werewritten by the guy who wrote the
gospel of John.
But we're going through verseby verse.
We teach the Bible.
It's called expository teaching.
Today we're going to be infirst John, we're going to be in
(02:15):
chapter three and we're goingto do 10 verses today.
So we're going to unpack awhole lot of stuff.
I don't know stuff I don't know.
Maybe have you ever noticed howmuch energy you spend trying to
figure out who you are, likedeep down, that's literally the
question that so many of us haveabout what choices we make.
Like what major do I pick?
(02:37):
Really means who do I want tobe, or should I post this
picture?
What that really means is howdo I want people to see me, or
am I in the right group?
Literally means, where do Ibelong?
And we live in this world wherewe have this identity.
(02:58):
That feels like it's somethingthat you actually have to hustle
for, like if you can just getthe right amount of likes, if
you can get in the right friendgroup, if you can get in the
right internship, if you havethe right body type, then you're
going to actually feel likeyou're somebody.
And here's the problem.
That kind of identity actuallybegins to feel fragile.
We're just like one bad grade,one awkward breakup, one slow
(03:21):
night on Instagram, and suddenlythe whole thing crashes and
it's exhausting.
And it's not just you.
Every generation has theirhustle.
This one just has Wi-Fi, andthat's why so many of you end up
scrolling yourselves to sleepat night, because you're just
searching for someone to tellyou that you matter and identity
(03:41):
is fragile.
And then what happens is all ittakes is one little crack to
literally undo you.
It's no wonder why so many ofus feel exhausted.
And today, into that identityand exhaustion, john writes us
something that almost sounds toogood to be true.
This is what he says right hereSee what great love another
(04:06):
translation has.
Behold what great love theFather has lavished on us that
we should be called children ofGod, and that is what we are Now
.
Have you ever met someone whosays one things but, like their
actions totally scream somethingdifferent?
Like when your kid says like,yeah, I clean the kitchen, but
(04:27):
like the sink looks like agraveyard of dishes and food
scraps.
Or when someone really insistslike I'm totally fine, but
they're texting you and they'reusing all periods, right?
Those of you who are older arelike, wait, we can't use periods
.
Look, I'm telling you right now, the younger folk you know, you
know periods are stressful.
Don't be period in somebody,okay.
(04:47):
But here's the deal.
Like, words are right, but thetone doesn't really match what's
going on.
And John's tone in this messageis actually the opposite.
He's given it.
It's not stiff, it's not cold.
What he's doing here is he'sliterally writing to us like a
spiritual father.
This passionate, urgent,authentic.
He's practically like grabbingus by the shoulders, shaking us,
(05:09):
saying like guys, you got tostop and look at this.
This isn't just like a theologytweet, this is worship.
This is right here for us, anidentity earthquake.
And John is saying the deepestquestion of like who am I right
here?
Doesn't get answered by whatyou hustle for.
It gets answered by what youwere actually given.
Identity isn't something youachieve.
(05:30):
It's something that you and Iactually receive, and here's the
identity that matters the mostYou're a child of God, john is
like bursting out.
It's so hard to explain this.
He's bursting out saying likecan you even believe this?
And he wants us to feel thistoo.
This is one of these momentswhere the writer himself you can
feel.
He's almost so stunned by God'slove that he can't even hold
(05:54):
back his own amazement in thismoment.
And then he's inviting us toactually participate and stand
in amazement right along withhim.
He starts with this, like MikeDrock moment.
He says see, and like I said,or behold, what great love the
(06:14):
father has.
This see and behold.
This is a Greek word, translatedright here, great love that we
have underlined.
It's the word patpos, notplatypus, but patpos.
Right, it literally means fromwhat country is this?
In other words, that this loveis foreign, like it's not your
ordinary, it's out of this world, it's a love that it's not this
(06:35):
love, that's just like ifyou're useful to me, then that's
a good kind of love, or thisconditional kind of love.
This is God's love.
And then it's not just trickledout, it's lavished.
And here's then the resultYou're not just then a follower,
you're not just a fan, butyou're actually a child.
(06:56):
And God doesn't just swiperight on you because you looked
good.
One day he then adopts you intohis family and he looks at you
and says mine.
And then the wild thing when youthink about it, like how most
of us grew up defining ourselves.
So if you think, for some ofyou, way back to like middle
school and high school, like youwere like the smart one, or
(07:19):
some of you you were theathletes, or some of you you
were the funny one, some of youyou were the awkward one, and
then in college maybe you becamethe stressed one or the
partying one, or the one thatsays I'm always the broke one,
right, and we've carried labelslike our whole lives all of us
has.
But John says here's the labelthat sticks is this child of God
(07:41):
?
And it hits differently whenyou think about it.
In our generation, especiallywith this obsession with
identity, we're living in thisfull-blown identity crisis.
Just take a couple examplesSocial media, for example.
Our mood literally can rise andfall or crash depending on how
many likes we get.
We measure our value on doubletaps.
(08:03):
We feel like when the likesroll in, we feel worthy, and if
they don't, I feel invisible.
Many of you have maybe postedsomething and checked it an hour
later and you're like, filledwith disappointment because
you're like only 12 likes, likenobody cares what I was doing or
what I had to say, or like whatI was eating right.
But God doesn't measure you byyour clicks.
(08:24):
His love isn't an algorithm,it's adoption.
Then there's self-branding Likethis is a huge one.
Like you know how exhausting itis to keep the perfect
Instagram grid, the curatedSpotify list or, for some of you
, the LinkedIn hustle postswhere we actually are just
running a business.
Nowadays that feels like meincand it literally becomes
(08:46):
exhausting.
And I'm telling you, god is notinterested in your brand.
He doesn't adopt the filtered,photoshopped version of you.
What he does is he adopts themessy, real you, the one that's
got no edits, no resume, padding, just grace, thanks.
Be to God or think aboutpolitics.
(09:06):
This is a hot one.
Our generation is told to pick atribe and you live or die by it
right, red or blue, right orleft, and if you don't toe the
line, cancel.
Culture is waiting for you andthat is so fragile.
It's literally one conversation, one statement, one post away
from exile.
But John reminds us beforeyou're red or blue, friends,
(09:29):
before you're anything else, youare his and family, his can't
be canceled, it can't be votedout and it cannot be unfollowed.
And then there's the good oldbody image, one right, where
every ad screams like you're notenough and you're not fit
enough and you're not prettyenough and you're not shredded
(09:49):
enough, right and comparisonjust becomes this identity that
we're constantly battling with.
And John cuts through the noiseand says your worth is not in
the mirror, it's not in yourfeed, it's in your heavenly
father that you've already beenchosen, that you are already
loved.
Think of the difference betweena fan and a child, right, like
(10:13):
if you've been to a concert oryou're somewhere else.
You know fans scream, they wantan autograph and they can't get
near.
The two are blessed.
They can't get really near them.
But who gets near them?
The children, right?
A child doesn't need a ticket,they belong.
And that's literally us withGod.
It's in a culture right nowthat's obsessed with finding
yourself.
John says whoa, whoa, whoa.
(10:38):
This is the best part.
You don't have to do that.
God's already found you.
And God's love is different.
It's not based on clicks andtribes and filters and resumes.
It's lavished, it's foreign,it's out of this world.
It doesn't just tolerate you.
What it does is it adopts youand welcomes you in, and you
don't have to manufacture thisidentity when you've been given
one that's eternal child of God.
(11:00):
So now, in verse two, he saysDear friends, now we are
children of God, and what wewill be has not yet been made
known, but we know that whenChrist appears, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as heis.
So we're already his kids, butthe glow up's not finished yet.
We've already been adopted, butit's not been perfected.
(11:22):
We've already been loved, butwe're not yet fully transformed.
It's like an engagement I seeyou, justice.
It's like an engagement, right.
Like you're excited about thisstuff.
You got the ring.
Like you're committed, butyou're not really married yet.
Joy is here.
Like excitement's here, but thewedding feast is still coming
(11:43):
in the future.
That's our life in Christ.
Like we're committed now butyet not fulfilled.
Like that comes later.
And then there's this nextpromise.
That's totally insane, thatwe're actually going to be like
him.
Like our one glimpse of Jesusin his glory is literally going
to burn away every ounce ofshame and sin and brokenness.
There's no more faking it,there's no more struggling.
(12:04):
Like we finally are going toreflect his image perfectly.
You know how kids imitateparents those of you who maybe
seen a kid or you're a parentthey do this all the time.
Sometimes it's really cute andsometimes it's totally like a
cringe moment where you're likeugh, right, like you know, you
can catch a kid like copyingdad's walk and trying to do
their footsteps or the mom'sphrases and their sayings.
(12:26):
But you know, have you likeever seen a kid cussing?
Right Like you think it's funny.
You're like, and then you think, whoops, my bad, right.
And John says one day what'sgoing to happen is we're
actually going to see Jesus inour.
This imitation like of him isgoing to be finally fully
(12:47):
complete, not cringy, but justglory.
And then John says in versethree all of them who had this
hope in him purify themselves,just as hope is pure.
And hope here, when he'stalking about it, isn't this
passive hope, it's not passivewaiting, it's actually active
prep.
And he's been talking aboutthis a lot.
It's like knowing thatcompany's going to come over to
(13:08):
your house and suddenly what areyou doing?
You're like scrubbing thebathroom, like your promotion
depends on it.
Right, you got to make a goodimpression.
You start seeing things you'venever seen before.
And you don't just hope thatthe place cleans itself.
What do you do?
You move In the same way.
That's what he's asking us.
If you know that Jesus is comingback, hope pushes us to
literally live differently.
Right now.
It's like training for amarathon.
(13:30):
I did a half marathon once I'mnot lying to you, by the way.
Once was enough.
That's all I needed to do.
I had the medal to prove it.
I got the little number things.
Yeah, that was it.
And here's the deal.
When you're training like anathlete right, you don't just
hope you're going to finish.
What do you do?
You adjust to like your wholelifestyle, like your diet
(13:52):
changes, your sleep changes.
You run when you don't feellike running.
Why?
Because there's a race comingand you want to be able to
finish it.
And John says the same thing.
You know what's coming, and soit should change how you're
living right now.
And hope in Christ should makeus more like him.
If our future is supposed to belike Jesus, then our present
(14:12):
friends should start to reflecthim right now.
Okay, so now really listen tothese next two verses.
This is verses four through six.
It says everyone who sinsbreaks the law.
In fact he says sin islawlessness.
But you know that he appearedso that you might take away our
sins and in him there is no sin.
No one who lives in him keepson sinning.
(14:35):
No one who continues to sin haseither seen him or know him.
So John's saying here, righthere, like hey, sin isn't just
slip-ups, like it's rebellion,like this cosmic anarchy.
But Jesus came to take away sinand because of him, what he's
saying is like sin no longerfits us.
It's like not what we wearanymore.
(14:56):
And here's the deal.
Like we may stumble and youknow this, we might like mess up
here and there and like haveour moments, but we don't stay
there.
He's saying you don't wallow.
It's like a college student thatliterally is thriving on gossip
.
Like sharing the latest tea ofwhat makes, and it's like makes
them feel important.
Like sharing the latest tea ofwhat makes, and it's like makes
(15:17):
them feel important, like betterthan someone else.
But over time what happens?
Friendships burn, trust erodes.
They realize they've builttheir entire identity on tearing
other people down.
That's sin.
It promises this connection,but literally it delivers
isolation.
And then what happens is Christintervenes.
They hear James' words, thetongue is like a fire.
(15:39):
They repent and slowly whathappens is this gossiping turns
into encouraging and they're notknown anymore as the gossiper
but the one who builds people up.
That's what it looks like whenChrist starts destroying sin.
Or a man hides his addiction inthe dark In the corner of his
(15:59):
room, laptop glowing at 2 am.
He thinks it's private, it'svictimless, but inside it's
destroying his relationships,his confidence, his sense of
self, and shame becomes hissecond skin.
And then he hears the gospelagain and shame becomes his
second skin.
And then he hears the gospelagain.
(16:19):
If anyone in Christ, they are anew creation.
He confesses, joins a group,maybe celebrate recovery, opens
up and chains begin to break andinstead of shame, freedom,
instead of secrecy,accountability.
That's Christ breakinglawlessness.
He continues in verse seven andeight Dear children, and again,
(16:41):
I love the language.
She's beloved is another onethat uses here.
Don't let anyone lead youastray.
The one who does what is rightis righteous, just as he is
righteous.
The one who does what is sinfulis of the devil, because the
devil has been sinning from thebeginning.
The reason the son of Godappeared was to destroy the
(17:03):
devil's work.
So right here, this is intenselanguage.
John is not mincing words.
He draws this clear line in thesand that we are a part of
either two families God's familyor the devil's.
That's it.
There's no neutral, there's nolike vibe in between the two,
like you can't have two kings.
We've had this conversation ahandful of times now and
spiritually, what he's saying isyou're showing a resemblance to
(17:26):
one father or the other.
And think about familyresemblances.
This is what this looks like.
You know.
Some people say like oh, youmust be related to them.
Like you've got the same smileright.
Or like, oh, I can tell by theway you laugh.
You're totally siblings.
The resemblance literally givesit away.
And spiritually, friends, thesame thing happens.
If you belong to God, it shows.
(17:46):
If you don't, it shows too.
And saying that you followJesus and living this
unrepentant sin is literallylike wearing a vegan for life
hoodie and then like smashingsome baby back ribs at the
barbecue.
People are going to be likethat doesn't like connect, it
doesn't make sense.
Right, and don't miss this.
(18:07):
John says Jesus came not just toforgive, but he says destroy.
This is strong language.
Destroy the devil's work.
This is literally demolitionlanguage.
Jesus, this isn't like patchingcracks here and there.
He's literally knocking downthe whole structure of evil.
Picture a condemned building,like the walls are cracked, the
(18:28):
foundation's rotten, the thing'sgot to come down and a wrecking
ball swings and smashing it tothe ground.
That's literally what he'strying to describe here, that
Christ is doing with sin inSatan's strongholds, that every
addiction is broken, every lieis exposed, every chain is
shattered.
That's the demolition day forthe kingdom of darkness.
That every decision, then, thatyou and I make then either
(18:52):
joins Jesus in his demolitionwork or helps the enemy patch
his walls.
There's no middle ground Inyour life.
This is so important.
Your life and my life is alwayspartnering with one kingdom or
another.
So it begs me to ask thisquestion what if Jesus is
actively swinging the wreckingball at the things you hold
(19:13):
captive?
We're just gonna sit on thatone for a second.
What if today, right now, jesusis actively swinging the
wrecking ball at the things youhold captive?
And the Father's love is Hisgreat love should instruct us
(19:39):
about our relationships with oneanother.
It's why the Apostle Paul'sthought in the book of Ephesians
he says this.
He says follow the example,therefore, as what Children
loved children and then dosomething actively, walk in the
way of love, just as Christloved us and gave himself up for
us as a fragrant offering andsacrifice to God.
(20:02):
He's saying imitate God bywalking in love.
And for some of us we'd be like, well, like, ah, like what does
that look like?
Well, maybe you've heard thisexhortation from the Apostle
Paul before.
A lot of you maybe you've heardthis like at weddings it's not
just for weddings.
(20:23):
It says this love is patient,love is kind and is not jealous,
love does not brag and it isnot arrogant.
Love does not act unbecomingly.
It does not seek its own, isnot provoked, does not take into
account a wrong suffered, doesnot rejoice in unrighteousness,
(20:43):
but rejoices with the truth,bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things,endures all things.
Love never fails.
So just for a second, let'sactually make this uber personal
.
Let me say it again, but with apractical twist.
Just replace a word here with aname.
Josh is patient.
(21:04):
Melissa is kind and not jealous.
Rob does not brag and is notarrogant.
Robin does not act unbecomingly.
Vicky does not seek its own.
John is not provoked.
Evelyn does not take intoaccount wrong suffering.
(21:25):
All stopped, everyone's likewho's next right?
Put your name there.
Justice rejoices in the truth.
Bears all things, believes allthings.
Mark hopes all things.
Jfk endures all things.
Mark hopes all things.
Jfk endures all things.
Raquel never fails right.
(21:49):
Those qualities, your qualities,should increasingly actually
describe the relationships youhave with others, and, honestly,
friends.
It should begin with the peoplein this room, the people in
your sphere, the people you havewith others and, honestly,
friends.
It should begin with the peoplein this room, the people in
your sphere, the people you livewith.
And we're all prone, though, toexcuse our lack of love by
blaming those we're supposed tolove for why we can't love them.
(22:11):
That's why John says this is abattle.
This is a battle.
Now let me just circle backaround to verse eight real quick
.
He says the one who does whatis sinful is of the devil, and
like right, here again I cameback because this is just so
intense Because the devil hasbeen sinning from the beginning,
(22:33):
and the reason the son of Godcame and appeared was to destroy
the devil's work.
This language here feels soextreme, and I sat on it all
week, and I think, actually, asI sat in this, I thought like we
need to actually feel the stingof this because it's such
strong language.
I even had something in myspirit this week that literally
was like begging or feeling bad,of like I'm gonna say this and
(22:55):
people are gonna be like, oh mygosh, it's so intense.
So I even thought like how canI soften this up a little bit?
It's like really rough andreally intense.
But ultimately I think weshould feel it, even if you're
like, wow.
So you're saying I'm of thedevil, right?
First off, let me just say I'mnot.
(23:15):
John might be, but I'm not right, it's right, it's that guy
right.
And then it begs the questionlike well then, why should we
feel this?
Because this is a real battleand because it's bigger than all
of us and because, moreimportantly, it has real
consequences on the line andcould be really beautiful, good
ones, but also ones that kill,steal and destroy.
(23:37):
Think about it like this If Iwas to soften this up, or if
John was to soften this up justa little bit, it's like telling
your kids after you just cookedwith this pan don't touch the
pan, sweetheart.
It might be a little warm, likethe pan might just stay away
from, it's just a little hot.
Okay, honey, right, we do oneof those Now.
You can still see the heatrising off of it.
(23:59):
But you don't want to be overthe top, you just want to be
really gentle and soft with it.
Like the pan might be warm,don't do that, right.
But then what happens?
They reach over, they try tomove it, they drop it, it breaks
something.
They have a new emblem in theirhand that's scarred in this
process.
And then they why didn't youtell me it was burning hot like
(24:21):
fire?
And your response was like,well, I did right.
Like I said it might be warmand they're like, yeah, you said
that, but not on fire.
It's the same thing.
We need this extreme metaphorand understand that it is both
metaphoric and literal.
Verse nine no one.
Then he says who was born ofGod will continue to sin.
Oof, because God's seed remainsin them.
(24:42):
They cannot go on sinningbecause they have been born of
God.
So right here, just John's justdoubling down on this.
He's saying if you're born ofGod, then you can't make peace
with sin.
Why?
Because God's seed is in you.
What is that?
It's his spirit and it's in you.
And that seed then grows, andwhen it grows it changes things.
(25:02):
Have you ever seen like a weedbreak through a crack in the
concrete right.
One little crack and beforelong the whole sidewalk is
filled with it's just splittingapart.
That's God's spirit in you.
It's supposed to be like thatquiet and unstoppable that is
pushing against the hardness ofsin.
That then literally begins tobring new life in your life.
Think about it.
(25:24):
Who is a student's GPA right?
Your identity for some of youmight actually be wrapped up in
your.
You guys are like freaking out.
Why are you talking to me?
Your identity might be wrappedup in your GPA Straight A's.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
He's like this guy right here Straight A's right
Makes you feel valuable.
Then one semester, what happens?
Suddenly you bomb a class andyour world caves in.
And then what happens?
Anxiety and depression crashlike a wave.
But then you have an encounterwith Christ and you begin to
(25:57):
realize your worth.
I see middle schoolers backthere.
Your worth isn't in a gradebook, it's an adoption.
And slowly what happens ispeace replaces pressure and then
joy replaces despair andinstead of living for identity,
you're living from identity.
That's the Spirit's seedgrowing in you.
(26:21):
Verse 10 he says this is how weknow who the children of God are
and who the children of thedevil are.
Anyone who does not do what isright is not God's child, nor
anyone who does not love theirbrother or their sister.
So John says the distinguishingmarks, they're clear it's
(26:42):
righteousness and love.
That if there is no pursuit ofrighteousness here or there is
no love for people here, thenyou're not showing the family
resemblance.
And yeah, I know it's blunt,but literally John's saying like
I don't want anyone to beliving in this false assurance.
Ultimately, what he's saying isGod's kids look like God's kids
.
You're going to say you're akid, you're going to need to
(27:04):
look a little bit like a kid.
Being a disciple isn't aboutsaying the right word Sunday and
then living however you wantMonday through Saturday.
It's literally abouttransformation, and that
transformation then shows upthrough love.
Let me end today by backing upjust for a moment, a little bit
from last week.
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This is from chapter two, howwe ended last week.
It says now, dear children,continue in him so that when he
appears we may be confident.
There's an important word andunashamed before him at his
coming.
Now, I know this is from theend of chapter two, but in
reality it's important for us tounderstand this as we're going
through verse by verse by verse.
This is how the sectionactually started.
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Today we have it broken up inchapters in our translations and
our Bibles.
It has some different headings,but this was originally written
in flow, building on itself asone clear message, and so we
need to remember today how Johnstarted this conversation, with
confidence versus shame.
So let's just land that planereal quickly.
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Confidence comes from knowingyou're his.
Shame comes from hiding in sin.
Think about it the kid or ifyou've been the kid that like
barges into a house withoutknocking why?
Because they belong there.
They're confident.
It's my house, like I belong,versus the contrast with the kid
who's like sneaking candybefore dinner and hiding
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wrappers under the bed.
These aren't true stories,right?
Shame.
Shame makes you hide, right?
Confidence though, what does itdo?
It makes you run towards yourfather, like this passage that
we covered today in this letteras a whole is literally packed
with exhortations.
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Somebody like what's that?
Let me tell you An exhortation.
This is what this is all fullof.
It's an address orcommunication.
Emphatically, this is whatJohn's doing this whole time.
He's emphatically urgingsomeone to do something.
This is why it's so extremehere.
So let me just summarize today'sverses with some exhortations.
Number one remain in Christ,don't drift, don't detach when
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it gets hard.
Stay rooted.
Remember we talked about thislast week A branch cut off from
the vine.
It looks fine for a while, butit with sin.
Differently, he's exhorting usDeal with sin.
Don't excuse it, don't flirtwith it.
Kill it before it kills you.
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Out here we got all this grass.
Every year it's turned intothat and a spark out on that
hill, like if you ignore it, thewhole thing goes up in flames
fast.
It's the same thing with sin.
Deal with it while it's small.
Number three, it says anchoryour identity.
Don't let culture define you byfollowers, politics, body image
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.
Let the Father define you.
Sheep, start to know theshepherd's voice.
That's just a reminder to turnoff the noise and listen for his
because, friends, this is soimportant.
You are his, you're his.
That's John's message to us.
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It's this simple butworld-shaking message you are
his.
That's your identity, not yourfollower account, not your GPA,
not your relationship status,not your job title, not your
title of mother or father orhusband or wife or sister or
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brother or friend.
You are his.
So stop hustling for likes andlive from love.
Stop curating a brand, becauseGod has always chosen the
unfiltered.
You Stop letting tribes ortrends or comparisons define you
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.
You are his and friends some ofyou.
You need to stop excusing sin.
Jesus came to destroy it, notto let you cuddle it.
When I ran my half marathon, Ihit the wall they call it around
mile 11, literally, whereeverything in your body and your
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brain screams quit.
Like you can't do this.
You weren't made for this.
What a horrible idea.
Who invented running?
All the things right, andtowards the end I even stopped
at one of these.
Like biofreeze stations theyhave like biofreeze spray and
you can stop and get that.
And they were like, where doyou want it?
And I was like everywhere,right, I literally was.
And they're like, no, you don't.
And I was like I'm not kidding,hit my face, I don't care, like
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I need some sort of distraction.
But ultimately, what do you do?
You push through and then youfind a second.
Spiritually, some of you feellike you have hit a wall, like
where faith feels heavy.
Temptation is constant.
Don't quit, the Spirit willcarry you because you're His.
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This is your pep talk Get offthe bench, stop scrolling
through life like it's TikTokand step onto the field.
Live bold, live holy and livelove.
That's what John's telling us.
And walk out there knowing thatyour jersey says child of God
and you don't need to chaseidentity because you have
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already been stamped withidentity.
And so this week you get towalk into your classroom, you
get to walk into your job, youget to walk into your family
with that jersey on, literallyrepresenting Jesus to a world,
friends, that is starving forhope.
Would you pray with me today,father?
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Thank you that we don't have tohustle for identity.
Thank you that you call us yourchildren, and would you give us
strength to remain in Christ,strength to kill sin, and joy to
love others boldly.
Let us leave here confident notof ourselves, but in you.
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And for the ones in here whofeel unseen, remind them that
they are yours.
And for the ones fighting thesehidden battles, remind them
they are free in you, and wepray this in the powerful name
of Jesus, amen.
Would you all stand as werespond in worship.
Hi guys, my name is Ariella Andrews and I go to
Benicia Middle School.
I'm an eighth grader.
Today I'll be reading you 1John 3, 1 through 10.
See what great love the Fatherhas lavished on us, that we
should be called children of God, and that is what we are.
The reason the world does notknow us is that it did not know
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him.
Dear friends, now we arechildren of God and what we will
be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when Christappears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
All who have this hope in himpurify themselves just as he is
pure.
Everyone who sins breaks the law.
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In fact, sin is lawlessness.
But you know that he appearedso that he might take away our
sins, and in him is no sin.
No one who lives in him keepson sinning.
No one who continues to sin haseither seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not letanyone lead you astray.
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The one who does what is rightis righteous, just as he is
righteous.
The one who does what is sinfulis of the devil, because the
devil has been sinning from thebeginning.
The reason the Son of Godappeared was to destroy the
devil's work.
No one who is born of God willcontinue to sin because God's
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seed remains in them.
They cannot go on sinningbecause they have been born of
God.
This is how we know who thechildren of God are and who the
children of the devil are.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Anyone who does not do what is right is not God's
child.
Thanks be to God.
Great job, thank you, it's goodto be with you.
We're on first, second andthird John.
If you guys go to the back ofyour Bible, you guys will find
these three letters that werewritten by the guy who wrote the
gospel of John.
But we're going through verseby verse.
We teach the Bible.
It's called expository teaching.
Today we're going to be infirst John, we're going to be in
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chapter three and we're goingto do 10 verses today.
So we're going to unpack awhole lot of stuff.
I don't know stuff I don't know.
Maybe have you ever noticed howmuch energy you spend trying to
figure out who you are, likedeep down, that's literally the
question that so many of us haveabout what choices we make.
Like what major do I pick?
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Really means who do I want tobe, or should I post this
picture?
What that really means is howdo I want people to see me, or
am I in the right group?
Literally means, where do Ibelong?
And we live in this world wherewe have this identity.
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That feels like it's somethingthat you actually have to hustle
for, like if you can just getthe right amount of likes, if
you can get in the right friendgroup, if you can get in the
right internship, if you havethe right body type, then you're
going to actually feel likeyou're somebody.
And here's the problem.
That kind of identity actuallybegins to feel fragile.
We're just like one bad grade,one awkward breakup, one slow
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night on Instagram, and suddenlythe whole thing crashes and
it's exhausting.
And it's not just you.
Every generation has theirhustle.
This one just has Wi-Fi, andthat's why so many of you end up
scrolling yourselves to sleepat night, because you're just
searching for someone to tellyou that you matter and identity
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is fragile.
And then what happens is all ittakes is one little crack to
literally undo you.
It's no wonder why so many ofus feel exhausted.
And today, into that identityand exhaustion, john writes us
something that almost sounds toogood to be true.
This is what he says right hereSee what great love another
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translation has.
Behold what great love theFather has lavished on us that
we should be called children ofGod, and that is what we are Now
.
Have you ever met someone whosays one things but, like their
actions totally scream somethingdifferent?
Like when your kid says like,yeah, I clean the kitchen, but
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like the sink looks like agraveyard of dishes and food
scraps.
Or when someone really insistslike I'm totally fine, but
they're texting you and they'reusing all periods, right?
Those of you who are older arelike, wait, we can't use periods
.
Look, I'm telling you right now, the younger folk you know, you
know periods are stressful.
Don't be period in somebody,okay.
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But here's the deal.
Like, words are right, but thetone doesn't really match what's
going on.
And John's tone in this messageis actually the opposite.
He's given it.
It's not stiff, it's not cold.
What he's doing here is he'sliterally writing to us like a
spiritual father.
This passionate, urgent,authentic.
He's practically like grabbingus by the shoulders, shaking us,
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saying like guys, you got tostop and look at this.
This isn't just like a theologytweet, this is worship.
This is right here for us, anidentity earthquake.
And John is saying the deepestquestion of like who am I right
here?
Doesn't get answered by whatyou hustle for.
It gets answered by what youwere actually given.
Identity isn't something youachieve.
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It's something that you and Iactually receive, and here's the
identity that matters the mostYou're a child of God, john is
like bursting out.
It's so hard to explain this.
He's bursting out saying likecan you even believe this?
And he wants us to feel thistoo.
This is one of these momentswhere the writer himself you can
feel.
He's almost so stunned by God'slove that he can't even hold
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back his own amazement in thismoment.
And then he's inviting us toactually participate and stand
in amazement right along withhim.
He starts with this, like MikeDrock moment.
He says see, and like I said,or behold, what great love the
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father has.
This see and behold.
This is a Greek word, translatedright here, great love that we
have underlined.
It's the word patpos, notplatypus, but patpos.
Right, it literally means fromwhat country is this?
In other words, that this loveis foreign, like it's not your
ordinary, it's out of this world, it's a love that it's not this
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love, that's just like ifyou're useful to me, then that's
a good kind of love, or thisconditional kind of love.
This is God's love.
And then it's not just trickledout, it's lavished.
And here's then the resultYou're not just then a follower,
you're not just a fan, butyou're actually a child.
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And God doesn't just swiperight on you because you looked
good.
One day he then adopts you intohis family and he looks at you
and says mine.
And then the wild thing when youthink about it, like how most
of us grew up defining ourselves.
So if you think, for some ofyou, way back to like middle
school and high school, like youwere like the smart one, or
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some of you you were theathletes, or some of you you
were the funny one, some of youyou were the awkward one, and
then in college maybe you becamethe stressed one or the
partying one, or the one thatsays I'm always the broke one,
right, and we've carried labelslike our whole lives all of us
has.
But John says here's the labelthat sticks is this child of God
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?
And it hits differently whenyou think about it.
In our generation, especiallywith this obsession with
identity, we're living in thisfull-blown identity crisis.
Just take a couple examplesSocial media, for example.
Our mood literally can rise andfall or crash depending on how
many likes we get.
We measure our value on doubletaps.
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We feel like when the likesroll in, we feel worthy, and if
they don't, I feel invisible.
Many of you have maybe postedsomething and checked it an hour
later and you're like, filledwith disappointment because
you're like only 12 likes, likenobody cares what I was doing or
what I had to say, or like whatI was eating right.
But God doesn't measure you byyour clicks.
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His love isn't an algorithm,it's adoption.
Then there's self-branding Likethis is a huge one.
Like you know how exhausting itis to keep the perfect
Instagram grid, the curatedSpotify list or, for some of you
, the LinkedIn hustle postswhere we actually are just
running a business.
Nowadays that feels like meincand it literally becomes
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exhausting.
And I'm telling you, god is notinterested in your brand.
He doesn't adopt the filtered,photoshopped version of you.
What he does is he adopts themessy, real you, the one that's
got no edits, no resume, padding, just grace, thanks.
Be to God or think aboutpolitics.
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This is a hot one.
Our generation is told to pick atribe and you live or die by it
right, red or blue, right orleft, and if you don't toe the
line, cancel.
Culture is waiting for you andthat is so fragile.
It's literally one conversation, one statement, one post away
from exile.
But John reminds us beforeyou're red or blue, friends,
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before you're anything else, youare his and family, his can't
be canceled, it can't be votedout and it cannot be unfollowed.
And then there's the good oldbody image, one right, where
every ad screams like you're notenough and you're not fit
enough and you're not prettyenough and you're not shredded
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enough, right and comparisonjust becomes this identity that
we're constantly battling with.
And John cuts through the noiseand says your worth is not in
the mirror, it's not in yourfeed, it's in your heavenly
father that you've already beenchosen, that you are already
loved.
Think of the difference betweena fan and a child, right, like
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if you've been to a concert oryou're somewhere else.
You know fans scream, they wantan autograph and they can't get
near.
The two are blessed.
They can't get really near them.
But who gets near them?
The children, right?
A child doesn't need a ticket,they belong.
And that's literally us withGod.
It's in a culture right nowthat's obsessed with finding
yourself.
John says whoa, whoa, whoa.
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This is the best part.
You don't have to do that.
God's already found you.
And God's love is different.
It's not based on clicks andtribes and filters and resumes.
It's lavished, it's foreign,it's out of this world.
It doesn't just tolerate you.
What it does is it adopts youand welcomes you in, and you
don't have to manufacture thisidentity when you've been given
one that's eternal child of God.
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So now, in verse two, he saysDear friends, now we are
children of God, and what wewill be has not yet been made
known, but we know that whenChrist appears, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as heis.
So we're already his kids, butthe glow up's not finished yet.
We've already been adopted, butit's not been perfected.
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We've already been loved, butwe're not yet fully transformed.
It's like an engagement I seeyou, justice.
It's like an engagement, right.
Like you're excited about thisstuff.
You got the ring.
Like you're committed, butyou're not really married yet.
Joy is here.
Like excitement's here, but thewedding feast is still coming
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in the future.
That's our life in Christ.
Like we're committed now butyet not fulfilled.
Like that comes later.
And then there's this nextpromise.
That's totally insane, thatwe're actually going to be like
him.
Like our one glimpse of Jesusin his glory is literally going
to burn away every ounce ofshame and sin and brokenness.
There's no more faking it,there's no more struggling.
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Like we finally are going toreflect his image perfectly.
You know how kids imitateparents those of you who maybe
seen a kid or you're a parentthey do this all the time.
Sometimes it's really cute andsometimes it's totally like a
cringe moment where you're likeugh, right, like you know, you
can catch a kid like copyingdad's walk and trying to do
their footsteps or the mom'sphrases and their sayings.
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But you know, have you likeever seen a kid cussing?
Right Like you think it's funny.
You're like, and then you think, whoops, my bad, right.
And John says one day what'sgoing to happen is we're
actually going to see Jesus inour.
This imitation like of him isgoing to be finally fully
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complete, not cringy, but justglory.
And then John says in versethree all of them who had this
hope in him purify themselves,just as hope is pure.
And hope here, when he'stalking about it, isn't this
passive hope, it's not passivewaiting, it's actually active
prep.
And he's been talking aboutthis a lot.
It's like knowing thatcompany's going to come over to
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your house and suddenly what areyou doing?
You're like scrubbing thebathroom, like your promotion
depends on it.
Right, you got to make a goodimpression.
You start seeing things you'venever seen before.
And you don't just hope thatthe place cleans itself.
What do you do?
You move In the same way.
That's what he's asking us.
If you know that Jesus is comingback, hope pushes us to
literally live differently.
Right now.
It's like training for amarathon.
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I did a half marathon once I'mnot lying to you, by the way.
Once was enough.
That's all I needed to do.
I had the medal to prove it.
I got the little number things.
Yeah, that was it.
And here's the deal.
When you're training like anathlete right, you don't just
hope you're going to finish.
What do you do?
You adjust to like your wholelifestyle, like your diet
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changes, your sleep changes.
You run when you don't feellike running.
Why?
Because there's a race comingand you want to be able to
finish it.
And John says the same thing.
You know what's coming, and soit should change how you're
living right now.
And hope in Christ should makeus more like him.
If our future is supposed to belike Jesus, then our present
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friends should start to reflecthim right now.
Okay, so now really listen tothese next two verses.
This is verses four through six.
It says everyone who sinsbreaks the law.
In fact he says sin islawlessness.
But you know that he appearedso that you might take away our
sins and in him there is no sin.
No one who lives in him keepson sinning.
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No one who continues to sin haseither seen him or know him.
So John's saying here, righthere, like hey, sin isn't just
slip-ups, like it's rebellion,like this cosmic anarchy.
But Jesus came to take away sinand because of him, what he's
saying is like sin no longerfits us.
It's like not what we wearanymore.
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And here's the deal.
Like we may stumble and youknow this, we might like mess up
here and there and like haveour moments, but we don't stay
there.
He's saying you don't wallow.
It's like a college student thatliterally is thriving on gossip
.
Like sharing the latest tea ofwhat makes, and it's like makes
them feel important.
Like sharing the latest tea ofwhat makes, and it's like makes
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them feel important, like betterthan someone else.
But over time what happens?
Friendships burn, trust erodes.
They realize they've builttheir entire identity on tearing
other people down.
That's sin.
It promises this connection,but literally it delivers
isolation.
And then what happens is Christintervenes.
They hear James' words, thetongue is like a fire.
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They repent and slowly whathappens is this gossiping turns
into encouraging and they're notknown anymore as the gossiper
but the one who builds people up.
That's what it looks like whenChrist starts destroying sin.
Or a man hides his addiction inthe dark In the corner of his
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room, laptop glowing at 2 am.
He thinks it's private, it'svictimless, but inside it's
destroying his relationships,his confidence, his sense of
self, and shame becomes hissecond skin.
And then he hears the gospelagain and shame becomes his
second skin.
And then he hears the gospelagain.
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If anyone in Christ, they are anew creation.
He confesses, joins a group,maybe celebrate recovery, opens
up and chains begin to break andinstead of shame, freedom,
instead of secrecy,accountability.
That's Christ breakinglawlessness.
He continues in verse seven andeight Dear children, and again,
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I love the language.
She's beloved is another onethat uses here.
Don't let anyone lead youastray.
The one who does what is rightis righteous, just as he is
righteous.
The one who does what is sinfulis of the devil, because the
devil has been sinning from thebeginning.
The reason the son of Godappeared was to destroy the
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devil's work.
So right here, this is intenselanguage.
John is not mincing words.
He draws this clear line in thesand that we are a part of
either two families God's familyor the devil's.
That's it.
There's no neutral, there's nolike vibe in between the two,
like you can't have two kings.
We've had this conversation ahandful of times now and
spiritually, what he's saying isyou're showing a resemblance to
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one father or the other.
And think about familyresemblances.
This is what this looks like.
You know.
Some people say like oh, youmust be related to them.
Like you've got the same smileright.
Or like, oh, I can tell by theway you laugh.
You're totally siblings.
The resemblance literally givesit away.
And spiritually, friends, thesame thing happens.
If you belong to God, it shows.
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If you don't, it shows too.
And saying that you followJesus and living this
unrepentant sin is literallylike wearing a vegan for life
hoodie and then like smashingsome baby back ribs at the
barbecue.
People are going to be likethat doesn't like connect, it
doesn't make sense.
Right, and don't miss this.
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John says Jesus came not just toforgive, but he says destroy.
This is strong language.
Destroy the devil's work.
This is literally demolitionlanguage.
Jesus, this isn't like patchingcracks here and there.
He's literally knocking downthe whole structure of evil.
Picture a condemned building,like the walls are cracked, the
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foundation's rotten, the thing'sgot to come down and a wrecking
ball swings and smashing it tothe ground.
That's literally what he'strying to describe here, that
Christ is doing with sin inSatan's strongholds, that every
addiction is broken, every lieis exposed, every chain is
shattered.
That's the demolition day forthe kingdom of darkness.
That every decision, then, thatyou and I make then either
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joins Jesus in his demolitionwork or helps the enemy patch
his walls.
There's no middle ground Inyour life.
This is so important.
Your life and my life is alwayspartnering with one kingdom or
another.
So it begs me to ask thisquestion what if Jesus is
actively swinging the wreckingball at the things you hold
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captive?
We're just gonna sit on thatone for a second.
What if today, right now, jesusis actively swinging the
wrecking ball at the things youhold captive?
And the Father's love is Hisgreat love should instruct us
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about our relationships with oneanother.
It's why the Apostle Paul'sthought in the book of Ephesians
he says this.
He says follow the example,therefore, as what Children
loved children and then dosomething actively, walk in the
way of love, just as Christloved us and gave himself up for
us as a fragrant offering andsacrifice to God.
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He's saying imitate God bywalking in love.
And for some of us we'd be like, well, like, ah, like what does
that look like?
Well, maybe you've heard thisexhortation from the Apostle
Paul before.
A lot of you maybe you've heardthis like at weddings it's not
just for weddings.
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It says this love is patient,love is kind and is not jealous,
love does not brag and it isnot arrogant.
Love does not act unbecomingly.
It does not seek its own, isnot provoked, does not take into
account a wrong suffered, doesnot rejoice in unrighteousness,
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but rejoices with the truth,bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things,endures all things.
Love never fails.
So just for a second, let'sactually make this uber personal
.
Let me say it again, but with apractical twist.
Just replace a word here with aname.
Josh is patient.
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Melissa is kind and not jealous.
Rob does not brag and is notarrogant.
Robin does not act unbecomingly.
Vicky does not seek its own.
John is not provoked.
Evelyn does not take intoaccount wrong suffering.
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All stopped, everyone's likewho's next right?
Put your name there.
Justice rejoices in the truth.
Bears all things, believes allthings.
Mark hopes all things.
Jfk endures all things.
Mark hopes all things.
Jfk endures all things.
Raquel never fails right.
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Those qualities, your qualities,should increasingly actually
describe the relationships youhave with others, and, honestly,
friends.
It should begin with the peoplein this room, the people in
your sphere, the people you havewith others and, honestly,
friends.
It should begin with the peoplein this room, the people in
your sphere, the people you livewith.
And we're all prone, though, toexcuse our lack of love by
blaming those we're supposed tolove for why we can't love them.
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That's why John says this is abattle.
This is a battle.
Now let me just circle backaround to verse eight real quick
.
He says the one who does whatis sinful is of the devil, and
like right, here again I cameback because this is just so
intense Because the devil hasbeen sinning from the beginning,
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and the reason the son of Godcame and appeared was to destroy
the devil's work.
This language here feels soextreme, and I sat on it all
week, and I think, actually, asI sat in this, I thought like we
need to actually feel the stingof this because it's such
strong language.
I even had something in myspirit this week that literally
was like begging or feeling bad,of like I'm gonna say this and
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people are gonna be like, oh mygosh, it's so intense.
So I even thought like how canI soften this up a little bit?
It's like really rough andreally intense.
But ultimately I think weshould feel it, even if you're
like, wow.
So you're saying I'm of thedevil, right?
First off, let me just say I'mnot.
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John might be, but I'm not right, it's right, it's that guy
right.
And then it begs the questionlike well then, why should we
feel this?
Because this is a real battleand because it's bigger than all
of us and because, moreimportantly, it has real
consequences on the line andcould be really beautiful, good
ones, but also ones that kill,steal and destroy.
(23:37):
Think about it like this If Iwas to soften this up, or if
John was to soften this up justa little bit, it's like telling
your kids after you just cookedwith this pan don't touch the
pan, sweetheart.
It might be a little warm, likethe pan might just stay away
from, it's just a little hot.
Okay, honey, right, we do oneof those Now.
You can still see the heatrising off of it.
(23:59):
But you don't want to be overthe top, you just want to be
really gentle and soft with it.
Like the pan might be warm,don't do that, right.
But then what happens?
They reach over, they try tomove it, they drop it, it breaks
something.
They have a new emblem in theirhand that's scarred in this
process.
And then they why didn't youtell me it was burning hot like
(24:21):
fire?
And your response was like,well, I did right.
Like I said it might be warmand they're like, yeah, you said
that, but not on fire.
It's the same thing.
We need this extreme metaphorand understand that it is both
metaphoric and literal.
Verse nine no one.
Then he says who was born ofGod will continue to sin.
Oof, because God's seed remainsin them.
(24:42):
They cannot go on sinningbecause they have been born of
God.
So right here, just John's justdoubling down on this.
He's saying if you're born ofGod, then you can't make peace
with sin.
Why?
Because God's seed is in you.
What is that?
It's his spirit and it's in you.
And that seed then grows, andwhen it grows it changes things.
(25:02):
Have you ever seen like a weedbreak through a crack in the
concrete right.
One little crack and beforelong the whole sidewalk is
filled with it's just splittingapart.
That's God's spirit in you.
It's supposed to be like thatquiet and unstoppable that is
pushing against the hardness ofsin.
That then literally begins tobring new life in your life.
Think about it.
(25:24):
Who is a student's GPA right?
Your identity for some of youmight actually be wrapped up in
your.
You guys are like freaking out.
Why are you talking to me?
Your identity might be wrappedup in your GPA Straight A's.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
He's like this guy right here Straight A's right
Makes you feel valuable.
Then one semester, what happens?
Suddenly you bomb a class andyour world caves in.
And then what happens?
Anxiety and depression crashlike a wave.
But then you have an encounterwith Christ and you begin to
(25:57):
realize your worth.
I see middle schoolers backthere.
Your worth isn't in a gradebook, it's an adoption.
And slowly what happens ispeace replaces pressure and then
joy replaces despair andinstead of living for identity,
you're living from identity.
That's the Spirit's seedgrowing in you.
(26:21):
Verse 10 he says this is how weknow who the children of God are
and who the children of thedevil are.
Anyone who does not do what isright is not God's child, nor
anyone who does not love theirbrother or their sister.
So John says the distinguishingmarks, they're clear it's
(26:42):
righteousness and love.
That if there is no pursuit ofrighteousness here or there is
no love for people here, thenyou're not showing the family
resemblance.
And yeah, I know it's blunt,but literally John's saying like
I don't want anyone to beliving in this false assurance.
Ultimately, what he's saying isGod's kids look like God's kids
.
You're going to say you're akid, you're going to need to
(27:04):
look a little bit like a kid.
Being a disciple isn't aboutsaying the right word Sunday and
then living however you wantMonday through Saturday.
It's literally abouttransformation, and that
transformation then shows upthrough love.
Let me end today by backing upjust for a moment, a little bit
from last week.
(27:25):
This is from chapter two, howwe ended last week.
It says now, dear children,continue in him so that when he
appears we may be confident.
There's an important word andunashamed before him at his
coming.
Now, I know this is from theend of chapter two, but in
reality it's important for us tounderstand this as we're going
through verse by verse by verse.
This is how the sectionactually started.
(27:46):
Today we have it broken up inchapters in our translations and
our Bibles.
It has some different headings,but this was originally written
in flow, building on itself asone clear message, and so we
need to remember today how Johnstarted this conversation, with
confidence versus shame.
So let's just land that planereal quickly.
(28:07):
Confidence comes from knowingyou're his.
Shame comes from hiding in sin.
Think about it the kid or ifyou've been the kid that like
barges into a house withoutknocking why?
Because they belong there.
They're confident.
It's my house, like I belong,versus the contrast with the kid
who's like sneaking candybefore dinner and hiding
(28:27):
wrappers under the bed.
These aren't true stories,right?
Shame.
Shame makes you hide, right?
Confidence though, what does itdo?
It makes you run towards yourfather, like this passage that
we covered today in this letteras a whole is literally packed
with exhortations.
(28:48):
Somebody like what's that?
Let me tell you An exhortation.
This is what this is all fullof.
It's an address orcommunication.
Emphatically, this is whatJohn's doing this whole time.
He's emphatically urgingsomeone to do something.
This is why it's so extremehere.
So let me just summarize today'sverses with some exhortations.
Number one remain in Christ,don't drift, don't detach when
(29:12):
it gets hard.
Stay rooted.
Remember we talked about thislast week A branch cut off from
the vine.
It looks fine for a while, butit with sin.
Differently, he's exhorting usDeal with sin.
Don't excuse it, don't flirtwith it.
Kill it before it kills you.
(29:32):
Out here we got all this grass.
Every year it's turned intothat and a spark out on that
hill, like if you ignore it, thewhole thing goes up in flames
fast.
It's the same thing with sin.
Deal with it while it's small.
Number three, it says anchoryour identity.
Don't let culture define you byfollowers, politics, body image
(29:57):
.
Let the Father define you.
Sheep, start to know theshepherd's voice.
That's just a reminder to turnoff the noise and listen for his
because, friends, this is soimportant.
You are his, you're his.
That's John's message to us.
(30:17):
It's this simple butworld-shaking message you are
his.
That's your identity, not yourfollower account, not your GPA,
not your relationship status,not your job title, not your
title of mother or father orhusband or wife or sister or
(30:41):
brother or friend.
You are his.
So stop hustling for likes andlive from love.
Stop curating a brand, becauseGod has always chosen the
unfiltered.
You Stop letting tribes ortrends or comparisons define you
(31:02):
.
You are his and friends some ofyou.
You need to stop excusing sin.
Jesus came to destroy it, notto let you cuddle it.
When I ran my half marathon, Ihit the wall they call it around
mile 11, literally, whereeverything in your body and your
(31:25):
brain screams quit.
Like you can't do this.
You weren't made for this.
What a horrible idea.
Who invented running?
All the things right, andtowards the end I even stopped
at one of these.
Like biofreeze stations theyhave like biofreeze spray and
you can stop and get that.
And they were like, where doyou want it?
And I was like everywhere,right, I literally was.
And they're like, no, you don't.
And I was like I'm not kidding,hit my face, I don't care, like
(31:47):
I need some sort of distraction.
But ultimately, what do you do?
You push through and then youfind a second.
Spiritually, some of you feellike you have hit a wall, like
where faith feels heavy.
Temptation is constant.
Don't quit, the Spirit willcarry you because you're His.
(32:14):
This is your pep talk Get offthe bench, stop scrolling
through life like it's TikTokand step onto the field.
Live bold, live holy and livelove.
That's what John's telling us.
And walk out there knowing thatyour jersey says child of God
and you don't need to chaseidentity because you have
(32:35):
already been stamped withidentity.
And so this week you get towalk into your classroom, you
get to walk into your job, youget to walk into your family
with that jersey on, literallyrepresenting Jesus to a world,
friends, that is starving forhope.
Would you pray with me today,father?
(32:56):
Thank you that we don't have tohustle for identity.
Thank you that you call us yourchildren, and would you give us
strength to remain in Christ,strength to kill sin, and joy to
love others boldly.
Let us leave here confident notof ourselves, but in you.
(33:17):
And for the ones in here whofeel unseen, remind them that
they are yours.
And for the ones fighting thesehidden battles, remind them
they are free in you, and wepray this in the powerful name
of Jesus, amen.
Would you all stand as werespond in worship.
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