1John 3:18-4:6 - "Voices"

1John 3:18-4:6

¹⁸Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.  ¹⁹We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him ²⁰in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 

²¹Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; ²²and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.  ²³This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.  ²⁴The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

¹Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  ²By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; ³and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. ⁴You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  ⁵They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. ⁶We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

(Don't miss the Trinity sighting in vv 23-24!

Question: What are you listening to?  Who?  To whom?

So many voices… Parents.  Hollywood.  Friends.  Coaches and mentors.  The news media.  Social media.  Artists and musicians.  God and His Word.  Pastors and Bible teachers.  My heart is always speaking.  So many voices.  Some are pushing truth.  Some are not.  What are we listening to?  John mentions several in this section:

• We are speaking
• Our words and our deeds, all the time, they are speaking
• To the world, to our neighbors and to our family
• They are speaking to our heart, assuring our heart that we are of the truth, that we are IN Christ
• Our heart is speaking
• Speaking to us (condemning or assuring)
• Speaking to God (asking)
• We are making our voice heard on high (or are we?)
• God is speaking
• God the Father is speaking (v23)
• This is my Son.  He is the Savior of the world.  Believe in His Name.
• God the Son (Jesus) is speaking (v23)
• (New Command) - Love one another
• God the Spirit is speaking (to our hearts) (v24)
• Creation is also speaking - if you have ears to hear it (Ps 19.1-2)
• Other spirits are speaking
• The world (v1)
• (false prophets)
• Antichrist (v2)

To that end, John groups all these voices into two broad categories.  He says, don’t believe every spirit.  Don’t believe everything you hear.  Don’t be persuaded by just anyone.  Because there are two sources, two channels, basically.  There is the spirit of truth, and there is the spirit of error.  Those which are FROM God, and those which are not.  And there is a very simple test to determine which channel that voice is channeling…

• Voice test (v2)
• Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ (God’s promised Messiah)
• He has come into the world - in the flesh

If the voice you are hearing doesn’t affirm this, don’t believe it.  Don’t be persuaded by it.  Don’t even pay attention to it.

But so many voices.  Coming at us from so many directions.  TV.  Internet.  Our phones.  Our earbuds.  Billboards.  Signs, signs - everywhere there are signs.  Clogging up the scenery… Do this, don’t do that.  Competing voices.  One advertising firm estimates we are each exposed to some 5000 solicitations each day!  That is up from some 500 in the 1970’s.  So many voices.  But those which are not from God, John says, they are from the world.  And what do they say?  What are they saying?

The world says, doubt God.  Question His authority.  Question His character.  Doubt His goodness.  Question His plan.  Doubt His grace.  Grace is too easy, too cheap.  (well it wasn’t for Jesus).  Question God’s existence.  Doubt Him as Creator - no thinking person believes that anymore.  Doubt His Word.  Did God really say that?  Does He really mean this for good?  If you can cast seemingly reasonable doubt on God as Creator and on His Word, then suddenly you can convince yourself that you are no longer accountable to Him.  No chains on me.  I can do whatever the heck I want.  I am free to do whatever and love whoever I want.  There is no god, the world insists, or if there is, he is more like us.  We remake God in our own image.  A god of our own choosing, of our own design.  One which is tolerant.  Progressive.  Not so restrictive.  The long war against God and His Truth is as old as the garden - if not older.  The spirit of error.  Lies and deceptions and doubts and remade gods have persisted ever since.  The world listens to them.

The world says, this is all there is.  Living in the moment, the here and now.  Live like there’s no tomorrow, no such thing as eternity.  We live, we die, that’s all there is, they say.  They discount the empty tomb.  Living for the present.  The world says, trust what you can see.  The five senses.  The tyranny of the material.  A material bias.  Giving credence only to what you can see and touch (and taste and hear and smell).  A material world for material girls and boys. 

The world says, trust your feelings.  If it feels good, do it.  And if it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it.  The world says, love means letting someone do whatever they want, whatever feels good to them.  The world says, if you disagree with me, if you don’t support me in what I want to do, then you hate me.  Trust your instincts.  Go with your gut.  Listen to your heart.  My heart - that’s the root of so many of these voices.

Here’s what I find in the pages of Scripture:

Jeremiah. 17:9

The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?

Who can trust it?  In other words, you can’t trust it.  Left to its own devices, what you get is the spirit of error.

The world says, I don’t need help.  I don’t need a crutch.  Just try harder. 

What does the world say about Jesus?  Didn’t exist.  Or, a religious leader.  A good person perhaps.  A good example.  A good teacher.  I love how C.S. Lewis puts it:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

It’s the old “trilemma” - a dilemma with an extra scoop of lemma, so to speak.  Three scoops of lemma.  You want fries with that?  (Sorry…)  Lord, Liar, Lunatic.  The lunatic would be, what Jesus said is not true, and He didn’t realize it.  He was a madman, in other words.  Deluded.  Genuinely sincere perhaps, but genuinely deluded.  Lunatic.  The liar would be, what He said was NOT true, but He KNEW that it wasn’t true.  Which would make Him a great deceiver - on par with the devil in hisself.  Or, the third lemma, what Jesus was saying about Himself IS true - in which case He is Lord.  All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.  And you may choose NOT to surrender to Him as such, but you simply cannot listen to any voice which says He was only a good teacher.  The spirit of error.

But you know what - it doesn’t matter, John says.  What he is saying here, is that what matters is what God says about Jesus.  This is My Son.  He is Savior.  In Him I am well-pleased.  Listen to Him!  The spirit of truth.

God is greater (2X)!  John sandwiches this passage with two layers of awesome sauce, hold the lemma.  God is greater.

• Greater than our heart
• Greater than he who is in the world

The bulk of the error which we hear comes from these two sources - our own heart, and from the world, from he who is in the world.  And John shuts 'em both down here.  Get that stuff outta here, he says.  God is greater.  He is greater than my heart.  And He is greater than he who is in the world.  So listen to Him.  Listen to what He says.  Listen to His truth.  Copious amounts of His truth.  A steady diet of gorging myself on His truth.  Because His truth is one thing which there can never be too much of.  You can’t ever get too much of it.  So many things which you can overdo.  Too much of even a good thing, right?  

Like oreos, for example.  The first one - awesome.  The second one - which always follows the first, cuz you can never eat just one - just as awesome.  Now, are you going to eat a third?  At some point, if you keep going, you go from pure bliss to either discomfort or regret.  Or both.  Not so with the spirit of truth.  Not so with the Word of God.  Not so with Jesus.

In fact, what is the best way to learn to spot the spirit of error?  How do they train bank tellers to spot counterfeit bills?  Show them the real ones.  Exposure to truth.

But I think our posture in a world full of opposing voices, where antichrist - those who oppose Christ - has already gone out into the world - I think our posture tends to be rather more defensive.  All these voices are in fact quite intent on putting God’s people more on the defensive.  They would be entirely pleased if they could render us silent.  Shut us up.  Just don’t talk about Jesus.  Don’t focus on Him.  Just don’t go too far.  Don’t go to any extremes or anything.  Don’t be a zealot.  Which means heated.  Kept at a boiling point.  We know what Jesus says about that, don’t we?  I would that you were hot - or cold.  Cold or hot.  But not lukewarm… 

But all these opposing voices, these competing voices - ultimately they do little or nothing to heat up our faith.  They are generally trying to cool us down.  Cool us off.  Pull us away from white-hot devotion to Jesus.  And put us on the defensive.  We can tend to want to circle the wagons, hoping we can just survive.  That we can ride out the onslaught and just make it to Sunday once a week and eventually limp our way to the pearly gates.  If we can only hang on.  It's defensive.  Rather more passive even.  Our heart are wont to adopt this more passive, defensive posture.  But we don’t see that in the pages of Scripture, at least not in the hearts of those who were completely His.

2Chronicles 16:9 

“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

We see Caleb - Joshua 14.6-14.  Give me the hill country!  He is 85 years old, and he says, give me the toughest assignment you have.  White-hot.  Full-on, full-out devotion to the Lord.  Confidence.  Boldness.  Assurance.  Look at his assurance - “I have followed the Lord fully…”

In Exodus 32, when Moses came down off the mountain - the people had persuaded Aaron to build them a golden calf - "make us a god who will lead us" they said, and Aaron said, "give me your gold jewelry", and as he says it - “I threw the gold into the fire, and out came this calf!”  And we read that Moses saw that the people were out of control, running wild - so much so that they had become a joke to their enemies, and we read that Moses stood at the entrance to the camp, and he said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me.”  Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me.

It’s March Madness.  Many of us, about to take up sides.  Gonna root for our team.  Gonna cheer for our team.  I think it’s a great time of year to be reminded that there is something greater.  Someone greater.  Someone greater to cheer for here.  Someone greater to listen to.

In considering all these other voices, and the One greater Voice, John has us considering our own voice.  And he says it is all about confidence.  Confidence.  And Assurance.  And there are two sides to that.

Assurance before (from) Him.  Confidence, before Him.

We’re told that our heart is desperately sick.  Deceitful above all else.  And it is extremely fickle.  Here today, gone tomorrow - many people rooting for God on Sunday morning, but maybe not as much on Monday morning?  But confidence before Him.  Assurance from Him.  Some of this stems from the voices we’re listening to.  And some of it stems from the evidence of what God is (or isn’t) doing in my life.

I think our desperate heart tends to go one of two ways - either denial, or guilt.  Denial says, I don’t need help.  I don’t need to abide.  I'm in fact NOT desperate.  Eternity isn’t quite so urgent or binding.  Or denial says, I don’t have a problem.  I’m ok.  I didn’t do anything wrong.  That wasn’t sin.  I’m not a sinner.  Remember what we looked at in chapter 1?  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  Denial.  The spirit of error.

Guilt says, I’m guilty - and it stays there.  Focused on self and filled with shame.  Five fingers pointed at me.  And the accuser loves to dig the knife in deeper.  You did that - you’re such a bad Christian.  God doesn’t love you.  God can’t forgive you for that.  You can’t approach Him today.  Crummy Christian, crummy Christian, crummy Christian.  The spirit of error.  Guilt pushes you away, makes you want to slink away and hide.  Tail between your legs.  Guilt aims at alienation instead of reconciliation.  Pushes you away from God, away from His forgiveness and cleansing.  Remember, with God there is this total cleansing and forgiveness.  Sins washed whiter than - by the blood of Christ.  Sins removed farther than.  Totally gone.  But guilt looks like this…

[picture of a guilty dog]

If we confess our sins, John said in ch 1, if we agree with God about our sins, He is faithful AND just to forgive us, AND to cleanse us.  Clean hands, clean heart - and so we can thus approach the Lord on His lofty throne with assurance and confidence!  Assurance FROM Him, and confidence BEFORE Him.  We come to God and confess, God, You are greater, and I need You.  I need Jesus.  Desperately.

[picture of a happy dog]

The word for confidence in this passage is actually the word, boldness.  Boldness.  Let’s think about that - why does it matter that we would have boldness?  Boldness in Scripture is always for speaking.  It means to utter beside.  And in this case it is for asking.  Verse 21 - we have confidence from God, AND whatever we ask we receive from Him.  It means we can sidle right up next to our heavenly Father and ask Him for whatever - just like any child would do with their dad.  And why is this important?  As it pertains to our God Who is greater, and your voice - let me ask, what are you asking for?  What are we asking Him for?  Remember, asking is the rule of the kingdom…  "Whatever you ask…"  It’s not about always getting yes answers.  It’s about boldness.

James 4:2b 

…you do not have because you do not ask.

2Chronicles 7:14 

“…[if] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

John 14:12-14 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. AND whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it."

Think about your praying - how does it fit into this idea of bold?  And with bold asking for whatever, there is also the need for listening… Our God puts a huge premium on listening to His voice.

Exodus 5:2 

But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD…”

Numbers 14:22 

“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice…”

Hosea 9:15    

All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there!  Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house!  I will love them no more; all their princes are rebels.

What happened at Gilgal?  Where was that?  Joshua 9.3-15.  The people of Israel did not listen to the mouth of the Lord.  They did not take the time to inquire of Him, to listen to Him.

Deuteronomy 4:30 

“When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.”

Why wait until the latter days?  Why wait until we’re at the end of our rope?  Why not take time to listen to Him every day?  Tune in to His channel.  He is greater.  He is better.  And, He is waiting.  He is the loving Father, the party waiting to happen, waiting for both the prodigal and the dutiful to come to Him with all their heart and learn to simply enjoy Him.  He is the friend Who sticks closer than any brother, Who is always faithful, Who will never leave us or forsake us and Who loves us just the way we are.  He’s the One Who designed us in the first place.  Tune in to His channel.  Listen to His voice...

1John 3:11-18 - "My Brother's Keeper"

1John 3:11-18 ¶ 

"For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.  

"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.  He who does not love abides in death.  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth."

Two progenies, out of two different and opposing progenitors.  Opposites which don’t attract.  Children of the devil, who live in sin and lawlessness - missing the mark, living unsurrendered.  And children of God, (re)born of Him.

Children of the devil.  Abiding in sin.  The Unsurrendered.  They are unsurrendered.  Knees and necks unbowed.  Hearts closed.  Eyes darkened and minds blinded.  Abiding in death, held captive there by the devil, in fact.  Their spirits are dead, dead to the life of God.  This is the world.  They don’t know us.  Our thoughts and ways are alien to them.  They don’t understand us.  And how do most people instinctively relate to something or someone different?  Hate.  Strong dislike or aversion.  Avoidance.  

[let’s talk about hate]

John already told us that those who hate their brothers are in darkness.  But interpersonal hate can be often accompanied by hostility.  That’s what Cain did.  John holds up Cain here as the example of what NOT to do.  The anti-type.  Our antagonist for today.  He hated his brother so much he killed him.  His own bro was an alien.  Let’s take a closer look…

Observations from Genesis 4.2-9…

• Cain wasn’t supposed to be the anti-type.  He was the prototype.  The first brother.  The big brother.  Obviously he was born into brokenness, but he could have been the ultimate and bestest big brother.  But by all accounts he failed miserably.
• Both Cain and his brother Abel grew up and found an occupation, if you will.  Cain interestingly was employed in an area which had been explicitly cursed by God.  And in the course of working both brothers brought their first fruits to the Lord.  Both men technically were doing the right thing.  They brought an offering to the Lord.  We’re what, at least 10-20 years into their relationship at this point?
• The Hebrew says that God wouldn’t even look at Cain’s offering.  And why was that?  Scripture teaches over and over that it is all about the heart.  Cain’s heart got in the way.

It’s about the heart:

1Samuel 16:7 

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Isaiah 29:13    

Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

Jeremiah 4:3-4    

For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

Deuteronomy. 10:16 

“So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.”

Deuteronomy 30:6   

“Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”

Deuteronomy 15:7   

“If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your ¹towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother…”

Psalm 69:30-33 

I will praise the name of God with song 

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

And it will please the LORD better than an ox 

Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

The humble have seen it and are glad; 

You who seek God, let your heart revive.

For the LORD hears the needy 

And does not despise His who are prisoners.

Jeremiah 12:3  

But You know me, O LORD; You see me; 

And You examine my heart’s attitude toward You. 

Jeremiah 24:7 

‘I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 

‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 32:39-41 

…and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

Joel 2:12-13  

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, 

“Return to Me with all your heart, 

And with fasting, weeping and mourning;

  And rend your heart and not your garments.” 

Now return to the LORD your God, 

For He is gracious and compassionate, 

Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness 

And relenting of evil.

Mark 12:33 

AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

All the external stuff is meaningless - apart from the internals.  The stuff of the heart.  God looks at the heart.  Cain had a hard heart - and a stiff neck.  His heart was fallow ground - it was hard.  Look at how he responds.  Anger.  Not humility.  Not contrition.  He stiffened his neck.  He didn’t examine himself - he was not the problem.  Nope.  In his mind, the problem was external to him.  Unwillingness to accept responsibility.  Hard heart.  Unsurrendered.  And it manifested itself not in giving but in taking.  Taking life.  He took his brother’s life.  Murder.  His brother was part of the problem, so he chose to get rid of his brother.  He murdered him in cold blood.  And it definitely was Cain’s blood which ran cold - a cold heart.

It's instructive to see his response when the Lord calls him out afterwards.  “Am I my brother’s keeper?”, he asks?  Um, yes, yes you are, actually.  Love your brother, John is saying to his readers.  Love one another, Jesus is saying to His followers.  Love your neighbor, God is saying to His people.  You ARE your brothers’ keepers.  That Hebrew word means exercising great care over, a diligent, careful, watchful eye.  Almost like a shepherd.  And we know what about good shepherds?

Children of God.  Walking in love.  Laying down lives for one another.  Jesus of course is our Prime Example here.  Instead of the anti-type we get in Cain, Jesus is our Archetype.  Laying down His life - That's how Jesus lived - and died.  What did He Himself say?

Matthew 20:28 

“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

John holds up Jesus as the example for us to follow, in life AND in death. That's how He rolled.

Philippians 2:3-9 

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Others first. Others better.  That's how Jesus lived.  Others first, others better. Jesus didn't hold onto Me First, Me better.  He could have. He could have stayed right where He was, and done nothing to meet our needs.  He could have stayed on that comfy cloud, had the angels bring Him some chips and a drink, or feed Him some grapes, kept on watching His favorite new episodes of Angels in the Outfield or Extreme Home Makeover - whatever image works for you - and just floated on past us, past our need.  Passed by on the other side - that’s what the priest and the Levite did.  They saw the need and did nothing about it. They just kept about their own business.  But Jesus - like the Samaritan in the parable about how to love our neighbors - made like a Good Samaritan and stopped what He was doing.  He took off his heavenly garb, took off His cloak, and came on down to meet our needs.  The needs of the world.  The needs of others.

Meeting needs.  Love demonstrated in deed and truth - not just words.  What does Romans 5:8 say?

Romans 5:8 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

We are not to be known by what we say, but by what we do. We will not be known by our words, but rather by how we truly love one another.

John 15:13 

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

And so John is saying, brothers - family - we ought to be laying down our lives for one another.  The Greek is stronger than that - we are obligated.  We have a debt to discharge - not to one another, but to the One Who laid down His life for us and Who now calls us brethren - His brothers and sisters.  We are members of His family, His seed abides in us, and we need to roll like Him.

But let’s talk about where the rubber meets the road?  What does it mean to lay down my life?  That is the question?  What will it look like?  Parents have an idea.  It's not about me, is it?  It's not about getting what I want.  It's not about getting my needs met.

This is part of the challenge of transitioning from a child to an adult.  When I am a child it is all about me.  And growing up means learning that it's not all about me (hopefully).  It is learning to make it about others also.  Jen and I are not there yet with our kids - we are still raising them to launch out, launching not just into the world but also into making it about others also.  Others first, others better.  And from what I’ve been told, that season of parents relating to their adult kids can be some of the sweetest and most gratifying times in the life of a parent.  And not simply because of the empty nest.  I know, there are two sides to that - some welcome the empty nest, some dread it, and long for the good old days?  What say you, empty nesters?  But isn’t there something incredibly gratifying about seeing your child begin to care about others?

Let me suggest to all of us today that spiritually speaking, there is never such a thing as an empty nest, one where I am longer are obligated to focus on someone other than myself (and possibly my spouse).  Am I my brother’s keeper?  Yes.  Yes, I am.  Until our King returns, we are one another’s keepers.

Yeah, this whole loving one another thing is real inconvenient.  And it can get real messy.  But again, it begins with our heart - and since we are seeking His heart, and since His Seed abides in our heart, this SHOULD be a slam dunk.

John makes it real practical - meeting needs.  Meeting needs.  Not closing our hearts to those, not passing by on the other side.  We’re talking about some of my time. And energy. Some of my talent perhaps, or some of my treasure perhaps.  Probably getting at least a little bit dirty.  Helping to clean up a mess, most likely.  Definitely stopping long enough to be able to assess the situation, to get my nose out of my own business - which arguably is fraught with innumerable cares of its own - get my nose out of my smartphone or Xbox or whatever other thing is grabbing my attention - and looking into those things which concern my brother.  It’s about first getting connected.  It’s hard - and admittedly rather convenient - to live a laid-down-life - if I’m not connected to those for whom I could potentially be laying down my life.

Some of you folks are about to launch out into the great unknown, the Lord is sending you out from Longview (or wherever you've called home for this season).  This will apply just as much to you in whatever place the Lord takes you.

-Get surrendered.  Yes, Lord, I am willing to lay my life down for Your people.  Strengthen in me Your heart and power to do that.

-Get connected.  Begin to journey with folks.

-Keep your eyes and heart open…

-And keep your eyes out for the orphan, the widow, and the stranger.  Those who don’t have a family… The Lord has special mention for them through the pages of Scripture.

-Three Affirmations of a Brother:

• I am with you
• meaning I embrace you as family and I will not forsake you
• I am for you
• this means I will believe the best about you and celebrate your successes and always shoot straight with you and go to you directly.  And I will not murder you
• I am your servant
• meaning I am ready and willing to lay down my life for you and meet your needs and build you up; living into others-first others-better

Isn’t this precisely what Jesus says to each and every one of us?  Let’s make sure we’re surrendered to Him - and He specializes in taking care of the rest.