1st John – Part 8 Lawson and Aaron Perdue

  Praise the Lord, friends, and welcome to the broadcast. I’m so glad that you’ve tuned in. We’re gonna talk a little bit in this broadcast about getting a revelation of the love of God. If you get a revelation of the grace of God, of the love of God, it is going to revolutionize your life. And you’re no longer gonna make major decisions out of fear. You’re going to live by faith. Stay tuned. Friends, it’s so good to have you with us today. We’ve been sharing from 1 John, talking about our relationship with God. And what’s amazing about this book, John the beloved, writes this about 90 AD. So he has been walking with Jesus for over 50 years at this point in time. So we could also title it, Lessons We Learn as We Walk with God. So open your heart, receive the word of God. Today, we’re gonna be in 1 John chapter four. And John has some great revelation here. He says, greater as He that’s in us than he that’s in the world. He talks about, you know, love is really not about the fact that we loved God, but the fact that he loves us. So Aaron, if you wanna jump in, why don’t you read 1 John chapter four, verse one through verse four.

 

  So it says, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world by this, you know, the spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the fleshes of God and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. You are of God little children and have overcome them because he who is in you is greater than He who is in the world. I love it. There is a antichrist spirit. There is something in the world that is just against Jesus, that is against people who have the spirit of Christ in them. But we don’t have to be afraid of that. You know, a lot of people are afraid and just wanna live in a cave, but as believers, we should shine our light boldly. And we should let people know that we’re believers, that we stand for the truth, that we believe that Jesus is Lord, we should shine that light with boldness and have confidence because God’s gonna help us. He’s gonna back it up. And we don’t need to be afraid of that antichrist spirit that’s in the world today.

 

  Amen. We don’t have to live in fear. You know, recently we had an election in our local school district and every conservative won. But then after the election, some of these woke liberal crazy people sued a member of our church who was elected to the board over, you know, standing. Really, they’re mad because the truth is coming out and they’re standing against some of this LGBTQ literature and it’s just really horrible stuff that they’re trying to infiltrate in the schools. But after they sued this member of our church, three other members of that board who were supposed to be Christians, who were supposed to be conservative Christians, didn’t want to stand up against some of this, you know, crazy liberal gay and lesbian literature telling people how to have gay sex, all this crazy stuff. And really I think it’s because they’re operating in fear. But the thing is that Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. And you know what? The spirit of antichrist has been on the earth since the days, you know, really of Jesus. And it’s in these last days, I believe it’s just kind of out of control. But I love this verse greater is he that’s in us than he that’s in the world. And we don’t have to let that spirit of antichrist, that spirit of fear control us because we have a spirit of power. We have a spirit of love, and we have a mind that is instructed and corrected in the word of God. Amen? We have a good sound washed mind.

 

  I like something that you have taught about just the purpose of the church, of the overall church body, the the body of believers, but also local churches. You know, the purpose of the church is number one to exalt Jesus. It’s a relationship with Jesus to just worship Jesus, exalt him, make him known. That’s the first purpose. The second purpose is to equip the believers. That’s what we’re doing here through this broadcast, is we’re trying to disciple people, equip people with the fullness of the gospel. The gospel is full of power. Amen? It’s not a weak thing, it’s not a just a set of ideas. It is full of the power of God. So we’re to exalt Jesus, equip believers and thirdly to evangelize the world. So it starts with our relationship with Jesus, our relationship with other believers, and then trying to evangelize the world. A lot of believers get that thing out of order. They try to court the world first. They’re more concerned about what the world thinks about them, that’s why they kind of don’t speak out on important issues that we’re facing today. And here in our community, there’s an issue, like, again, a lot of woke LGBTQ organizations are trying to push these pornographic books into public school libraries. And a gentleman from our church took a stand against it. He won a seat on the school board and wanted to remove those books. And he’s been sued, I think three times, just right off the bat, right off the get go. And other people on the board who initially took a stance against that are shying away.

 

  Because they’re afraid, I believe. And, you know, this is kind of the left’s new way of being, but from–

 

  Trying to manipulate people through fear.

 

  Right. And from the president of the United States clear down to local school boards, they just attack. And you know, this member of our church, he’s gonna win on every side. You know what, these are complete lies. It’s evident, you know, that they’re lies. It’s just really crazy almost what they’re doing. And I believe that, you know, there is a conservative grassroots movement in the United States of America, and people are gonna rise up and really stand for a lot of things that our nation was founded on. And we see even a lot of our higher educational systems that were founded, you know, on good principles have went to the left because they haven’t stayed true to what they were founded on. But we can stay true.

 

  And you need to man just have this just mindset just ingrained in you that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

 

  Amen. John goes on and he says this in 1 John chapter four verse five, and we’ll read on down through verse 10, they are of the world, therefore, they speak of the world and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us. He who’s not of God does not hear. You know what, sometimes people are challenged with things that we’re saying because they’re spiritually blind, they’re not born of God. And so he goes on and says this, hereby we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Now, if you love your brother, you’re gonna have to tell the truth. You know, Ephesians chapter four talks about speaking the truth and love. Some people think that love just lays down and plays dead and accepts anything. Like Aaron, you were talking about the Unitarian Church. They just accept everything. But that’s not what true love is. True love will tell you the truth. He says he who does not love, does not know God. For God is love. In this, the love of God was made known, manifest and revealed to us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world. That we might live through him here in his love. This is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation. That word propitiation means the covering, the atoning sacrifice for our sin. So love gave us life. And it’s not that we love God, but that God loved us. Christianity’s not about all the things that we do, but Christianity’s really about responding to the love of God for us in the person of Jesus.

 

  I love verse six, he talks about how we can know the spirit of truth versus the spirit of error. And notice that there’s a spiritual thing behind what’s true and what’s not true. Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. That was a very bold statement. That was a very the truth kind of statement, not your truth. It’s not a subjective thing. You know that that’s a spirit of error that says everyone can believe what they wants to believe and it’s just their truth. And it’s all good, just coexist. That’s a spirit of error. That’s a spirit of antichrist because it goes against the truth, which is Jesus, that he is the only begotten son of a living God and that he is the only way to the Father. There is a spirit of truth, there is a spirit of error. And if you’re of Jesus, you need to be in tune with the spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit will teach you in truth. The word of God is full of truth. It is a living word. It is the living truth.

 

  Amen. You know, in 1 John two, he talks about one of the reasons that we overcome is because we have a spirit of truth. We have a spirit of life. We have a spirit of love. And the anointing of truth, the anointing of life, the anointing of love, help us to overcome the darkness that’s in the world. And again, I love what you’re saying, that it’s not our truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. And Jesus prayed for us, who believed on him through the word of the disciples in John 17, verse 15, and said, sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. And what he was saying is, the way that we’re set apart from the world is through the truth of the Word of God. The way that God keeps us from the evil that’s in this world is through the truth of the Word of God. Aaron, when you boys were growing up, you and your brothers, I never tried to tell you all the lies that were in the world. I never tried to explain all the darkness of the world. I taught you the basic truth of the scripture. Because truth is always stronger than a lie. Because light is always stronger than darkness.

 

  And it’s so important. One thing you actually did for us as kids, we were required to read a chapter of the Bible every day. There’s a lot of believers who barely even open up the Bible. Even you know, young people, even older people, we should spend time in the word of God. At least read a chapter a day, you know, hopefully more. But every believer should spend time in the word of God and have a relationship with the word of God where you believe it, you, you know, if the word says it, that that’s true, that settles it. There is no debate.

 

  Aaron, when I got baptized in the Holy Spirit when I was just 14 years old, there’s times that I would read the New Testament nearly through in two days. I just devoured the word of God. And you know what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would take the things that he said and make them real to us. The Holy Spirit takes the word of God and makes the word of God real to you. And you know what? When you really are in love with Jesus, you’re gonna love his word. When you really have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you, did you know what? You’re gonna desire the truth of the Word of God more than any lie in this world. And we’re gonna take a short break in a minute. But before we do that, if you need to call in during the break, just give us a call. We have trained prayer ministers that are here, that are waiting to receive your calls. Aaron, do you wanna share something real quick?

 

  Yeah, I’ll just say, if you feel like you need minister to you, I’d really encourage you to call right now. We have just a lot of incredible people who will take your call, who will minister to you, pray with you, just agree with you concerning God’s promises. And God’s word is true. If you have an issue that you need prayer for, just give us a call right now. We’d love to minister to you.

 

  Friends, we’ve been sharing from my Bible school class, 1st John Our Relationship with God. And these truths have revolutionized my life. We are making the teachings of this available live from church and you can receive them downloadable free in audio form and my syllabus free online, blessings.

 

  You know what? When God tells you to do something, you need to do it. And you don’t need to worry about every Tom, Dick and Harry over here and what, what they’re gonna say, or how they’re gonna try to manipulate you or treat you. You just keep on plugging on and you keep doing what God told you to do. And he will work them out. You have to let God be God and you have to do what he tells you to do.

 

  Friends, I’m so glad that you stayed with us. We’ve been teaching and sharing today from 1 John chapter four, and we talked about some powerful things. Number one in 1 John 4:4, John says, greater is he that’s in you than he that’s in the world. Do you know what? The world is not gonna love God. The world sometimes is not gonna love you, but God loves you and Jesus loves you. And did you know what? You can get your sense of acceptance, not from the world, but from God. Praise God.

 

  When you know you’re accepted by God too, that gives you a victor mentality. A lot of people are stuck with a victim mentality. Where just they constantly feel defeated, constantly feel lacking, constantly feel like you’re alone, but God, that’s not where we’re supposed to be stuck. We’re not supposed to be victims. We’re created to be victors, greater is he who is in you than he that’s in the world. God has placed everything that you need to live the victorious life inside of you. You know, the greatest champion of the universe, Jesus Christ himself, lives on the inside of you. The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in you. If you’re a believer that is inside of you, man, that is powerful. You’re not a victim. You are a victor. You are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ who loves you. And again, it’s his love for you that gives you the victory. Yeah, we’re gonna love God back. We’re gonna do things in our response, you know, our faith response to his grace towards us. But it’s his grace. It’s his love. That’s really powerful. That changes us. And just from that revelation, then we’re gonna live it out. We’re gonna live for God. We’re gonna do what he asks us to do. We’re gonna be generous, we’re gonna serve, we’re gonna live for him. We’re gonna live to make a difference. But it starts with his love for us.

 

  Amen. He goes on and actually talks about this in 1 John chapter four, verse nine and 10. He says in this, the love of God was manifested to us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world. That we might live through him. You know what, love gave us life. And it’s not that we love God, but that he loved us. That’s what he says in 1 John chapter four, verse 10. This is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son Jesus to be the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice, the covering for our sins. He goes on in verse 11 and says this, beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us. And his love is perfected in us. Hereby we know that we dwell in hiim and he and us because he’s given us of his spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. So when you have the love of God and understand God’s love for you, that love will be reflected in your life. And when you really get a revelation of love, it says, we have seen and testify that God sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. He goes on then in verse 15, it says, whoever shall confess that Jesus is the son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. You know, when you get a revelation that God made Jesus Lord and Jesus is the son of God, you can’t help but confess that Jesus is the son of God.

 

  Your whole life is gonna be a testimony to, you know, you’re gonna confess it with your mouth. You’re gonna believe it with your heart. But really your entire life is gonna testify. You’re gonna preach the gospel, not just with your words, but with your entire life. You know, I’ve come across people too. I didn’t necessarily preach the gospel to them and explain it to ’em, but they just knew. They knew I was a believer and they wanted to be like me. I remember years ago, I was living in Houston, going to grad school for music. And I had a student, I taught six years. And in our lessons, I never did like an altar call with my student and his family there. But they, you know, I usually taught him Sunday afternoons and they’d always see my church brochure, you know, and my Bible, like sitting on the desk ’cause I just come from church and I got home and taught my student. But I found out, you know, shortly after I taught ’em six years, that they’re actually going to the exact same church as me.

 

  Amen. You know, when our family, when I was a young child, I was raised in a traditional church and I received Christ when I was only eight years old. But then when I was 14, I got baptized in the Holy Spirit in a Bible study in Lamar, Colorado that Andrew Wommack held. And it completely changed our life. And you know, this never happened before. We got on fire for God and got filled with the Holy Spirit. But shortly after I got filled with the Holy Spirit and our family really had a real major change spiritually, our neighbors around us began to ask, where do you guys go to church? And people at school would ask me, where do you go to church? Because I lived it out. Today, I don’t go tell everybody I’m a pastor, I don’t tell everybody, you know different things. But I know, like in my gym, I go to the gym really early in the morning, there’s a lot of different guys. I think everybody knows that I’m a believer, not because that they know that I’m a pastor, but because they see my lifestyle and my life demonstrates that there is a God. Now, John goes on and says some powerful things here. And he says in verse 16, we have known and believe the love that God has to us. God is love. And he who dwells in God dwells in him. Herein is our love made perfect or mature that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. You know, not only do we need to get a revelation of the love of God, and you know, I received Christ when I was eight years old. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and called to preach when I was 14 years old. But I was 30 years old, I’d actually been pastoring for six years before I got a revelation of the love of God. But once you get a revelation of love of God, notice what he says. We have known and believed you need to continue to believe in the love of God. You know, in Romans chapter five, Paul says, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And he says in verse two, we have access by faith into grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. As believers, we access the good things of grace by faith. And we look for good things to happen. But he stops and says, and not only so, but what do we do in tribulation? And he says, tribulation works patience. Patience works hope, hope works experience and experience he says, does not, you know, disappoint us because the love of God is shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Ghost that sent us. And what he says, if we don’t receive good things, you know, patience works experience, experience works hope because we’ve experienced the grace of God. The hope is this. We know that God loves us. We know that God is a good God and we know because he did it once. He’s gonna do it again. Praise God. We have known and experienced the love of God. And so not only are we by faith, standing in grace and looking for the promises of God, the glory of God, the good things to happen in our life, even if that doesn’t happen because we have experienced the grace of God and the love of God. When you get a revelation of the love of God, it says the love of God shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Ghost, by the Holy Ghost. You know that God is a good God and he wants to do good things for you.

 

  You know, and faith is really a polar opposite of fear. And faith works by love. When you know how much God loves you, when you know that you are the one whom Jesus loves, and you’re just really firm and solid in your relationship with Jesus, fear, and when people try to manipulate through fear, when the world tries to manipulate and coerce you, control you with fear, it’s gonna, it’s going to, it’s gonna have a bad taste in your mouth and you’re not gonna fall for those tactics. You’re not gonna fall for that deception of fear. You’re not gonna let fear control your life. Whenever me and my wife, whenever we’re making a big decision, we ask ourselves, are we making this decision out of fear or are we making it out of faith? Are we being led by God? Are we being led by fear? Fear is a terrible motivator. It will not take you to where God wants to take you.

 

  A lot of Christians, Aaron, are making primary, foundational, major decisions out of fear. And like with when we raised you boys, mom and I, you and your two brothers, we never made decisions based on fear. We made decisions based on our relationship with God and our relationship with one another. And what was best, not only for us, but what was best for you. And we did not make major decisions out of fear. And I’m telling you, fear controls a lot of believers, just like you’re saying. And this scripture says that perfect love casts out all fear. The Bible also says this in Galatians chapter five in verse six, that faith works by love. You know, Jesus said this. He said, take no thought saying, don’t worry, saying don’t have fear. Fear is manifested through our words. And then the spirit of faith is also manifested through words. And Jesus said this in, or the scripture said this, Paul said this, 2 Corinthians four, verse 13. He says, we then having received the same spirit of faith, that means we have the exact same spirit of faith as who as Jesus according as it is written, I believed. And therefore have I spoken, and he’s quoting David, but I believe David’s quoting God in the beginning, right? We also believe and speak. So perfect love casts out all fear, right? And then faith works by love, polar opposites. And the way that your fear is released is through words. And the way that your faith is released is through words. So when you really understand the gospel and you’re really believing God, you can’t help but say some things. But he says again, if we go back to this, he says in verse 16, we have known and believe the love of God. We need to continue to know and believe. We need to continue to believe in the love of God. Then he says this in verse 17, herein is our love mature that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as he are, as he is, how is Jesus? He is righteous, he is sanctified, he is holy. So are we in this world? You know what? It could be raining fire and brimstone. And I’m gonna say I didn’t do it because I know that I’m in right relationship with God and I can have boldness in the day of judgment. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear because fear has torment. We don’t live out of torment, we live out of faith. Aaron, really quickly read verse 19 and verse 21.

 

  Yeah, verse 19 says, we love him because he first loved us. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him that he who loves God must love his brother also.

 

  Amen. When you love God, you can’t help but love your brother. Amen? So we get a revelation of the love of God and you know what’s gonna happen. We’re gonna begin to live in a different way in this world. And also we’re gonna begin to demonstrate the love that we’ve received from God to other people. I wanna say a great big thank you to all of you who’ve been watching today. I trust the word is encouraging you and strengthening you. And if you need prayer today, I want to encourage you right now to give us a call. We have trained prayer ministers that are waiting to receive your calls. God bless you and thank you.

 

  When you know Jesus and experience his incredible love for you, you will know who you truly are. You’ll understand the anointing that’s in you, and you’ll realize that you’re part of God’s great family. You can come home to him today through the person of Jesus. We’d like to bless you with a digital copy of 1st John, A Relationship with God, a $21 value free of charge. Download your copy today at charischristiancenter.com.

 

  Hey everybody, I wanna welcome you to our Charis Camp Meeting where we’re gonna have great teaching for adults. We’re gonna have special youth meetings, special children’s ministry, and special worship. It is gonna be a great time celebrating Jesus and the truth of God’s word. If you can’t come personally, we would love to have you join us online. Thanks so much and blessings. Friend, I don’t wanna leave this broadcast without giving you the opportunity to pray with me and surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Pray right now. Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus Christ is your son. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and you raised him from the dead and made him Lord on the third day. And right now, I surrender my life to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

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