MOVING TOWARD SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT-III—1John 3:10--4:21
Attention:
‘The Pen-less Pen’-Light?
Our Franklin County school system gave one of it’s 3rd grade teachers what she supposed was a ‘pen-light.’ However, she soon discovered that the pen-light was only a light, for which she had no real need. One day in Sunday School class the teacher began rifling thru her pocketbook looking for an ink pen/She found the old ‘light’ that the School had given her, & stated that if anybody wanted it they were welcome to it. My wife said she would take it.
As the class continued, my wife began messing with her new ‘gift’ & discovered that the light had a removable sleeve which could be placed over the light on the one end, revealing an ink pen at the opposite end from the light!
The teacher had investigated the light very thoroughly on her own when she had first received it, but had never known it was actually a pen-light! She did not know what she had & was willing to give it away.
The teacher needed to be more ‘discerning!’
If you are a Christian, you are equipped to be, & are expected to be, ‘spiritually discerning’ in all your endeavors.
God’s people are always in training toward spiritual discernment. Some of us have a ‘good way to go’ in that regard, while others are miles ahead of the curve.
One of the outcomes of the Church gathering together, is for the purpose of being encouraged & strengthened in it’s Movement Toward Spiritual Discernment.
This being Mother’s Day, you mommas know that your children(as well as your whole family) will find their strength in the Lord when together they move toward spiritual discernment.
The apostle John sheds light on this need for Spiritual Discernment in the Church.
Today as in previous millennia, Spiritual Discernment is a necessity in the Church.
•How is Spiritual Discernment in the Church achieved/accomplished?
--OR--
•What must be recognized in moving ourselves & the church & toward spiritual discernment.
15 things we must recognize when moving toward spiritual discernment.
‘Recognition’ implies not only head knowledge, but heart knowledge which drives a person to performance or action.
In the past few weeks we’ve found that:
Moving(yourself & the Church) toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
1. OPPOSING SIDES(3:10)
•Children of God & Children of the Devil.
2. The FOUNDATIONAL MESSAGE(3:11)
•Love One Another.
3—Moving(yourself & the Church) toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
IMPASSIONED BELIEF(3:12-13)
Explanation/Argumentation:(3:12-13)Destructive/Removal
3:12—“not as Cain who was of the wicked one & murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil & his brother’s righteous.”
The Holy Spirit thru John now gives us a negative example of the infamy associated with NOT loving one another.
John’s example is “Cain” whose history is found in Gen. 4:1-11(:8)
Gen. 4:1-11—“Now Adam knew Eve his wife, & she conceived & bore Cain, & said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock & of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel & his offering, but He did not respect Cain & his offering. And Cain was very angry, & his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; & it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother & killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”
“And why did he murder him?”...
What was Cain’s motive in killing his own brother?...
•Ironically it was due to jealousy over Abel’s relationship with God(Gen. 4:3-5)! All of his seething churning disappointment & grudge-keeping ‘naturally’ led Cain to kill.
“Because his works were evil...”
•All of his “works”—all that Cain produced—were sourced from & borne from “evil”, which “works” Cain allowed to run amok in his heart & thereby control his thought processes & his actions. Murder is a “work”/product of “evil.”
•You can’t fool God by doing a few good things to cover up the “evil” in your heart.
Jer. 17:9-10—“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”
“...& his brother’s righteous.”
•On the other hand, Abel’s actions were sourced from & borne from “righteousness”—i.e., from God’s desire!
•Mat. 5:20—“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes & Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
•Any “evil” in a person’s heart must be completely overturned. BUT it can ONLY be overturned, thru the body & blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has secured personal obedience to the triune God.
Jer. 17:9-10—“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”
3:13—“Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.”
Given Cain’s example(:12), No child of God should ever be surprised/shocked/taken aback that the world hates them...even by some among their Church brethren! Even God’s people can easily become ‘jealous’ of what other Christians ‘have’ or ‘do’ or the favor they might have with certain other people in the church.
That’s a huge part of why John is writing what he is writing—so the Church will not drift away from God & thus toward behaving like the world(without God) within which she lives(Heb. 2:1).
Heb. 2:1—“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”
No matter how close ‘the world’ shadows your life, don’t let the world’s disdain for Christ Jesus dismay you—throw you into distress/panic/anxiety/consternation! Either your faith in Christ is real or it is not...
And if your faith in Christ is real, though it may be settled & firm, or young & untested, it will definitely/decidedly be tested!
•?Do you love Jesus more than you love this world?
Jn.15:18-21—Jesus said,—“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
Jer. 1:4-10, 14-19—“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. Then the LORD put forth His hand & touched my mouth, & the LORD said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations & over the kingdoms, To root out & to pull down, To destroy & to throw down, To build & to plant.”.....“Then the LORD said to me: “Out of the north calamity shall break forth On all the inhabitants of the land. For behold, I am calling All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the LORD; “They shall come & each one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah. I will utter My judgments Against them concerning all their wickedness, Because they have forsaken Me, Burned incense to other gods, And worshiped the works of their own hands. Therefore prepare yourself & arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. For behold, I have made you this day A fortified city & an iron pillar, And bronze walls against the whole land-- Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land. They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.””
1Tim. 4:1-5—“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits & doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, & commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe & know the truth. For every creature of God is good, & nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God & prayer.”
Illustration:
In the book, ’Hearts Of Fire’—about Christian women who were & are persecuted for their faith—The opening story is of a woman—Adel—in the Philippines, whose entire village(mostly Christian) was attacked & burned by Muslim ‘forces’ originally masquerading as being on the side of peace/Instead of peace, the people of the village—men, women, & children—were brutally tortured, burned, slaughtered, & imprisoned, & the women(including young girls) were forcibly circumcised & forced to marry Muslim men/IMPASSIONED BELIEF
Such misplaced but IMPASSIONED BELIEF toward self, is what Jesus came to free humanity from!
Application:
?Your Recognition of IMPASSIONED BELIEF move(yourself & the Church) toward greater Spiritual Discernment?
?Does what YOU ‘Recognize’ move(yourself & the Church) toward greater Spiritual Discernment?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
The ‘pen-less’ pen-light. Presence Undiscovered.
Action:
—Moving(yourself & the Church) toward spiritual discernment recognizes...
3. IMPASSIONED BELIEF(3:12-13)
•The world hates you.
1. OPPOSING SIDES(3:10)
•Children of God & Children of the Devil.
2. The FOUNDATIONAL MESSAGE(3:11)
•Love One Another.
Presented 05/10/2020am(Mother’s Day) to:
1BCCbelle
MeSerm Video presentation thru YouTube, Shared to Facebook @ ‘First Baptist Church Carrabelle’
206 SE Ave A(Storrs Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
