Review and Regathering of Guideposts 4

Sitekeepers Note: This week our review of Guideposts for the End-time Believer continues. The theme of our review is of extreme importance, it speaks about Gods position towards this present world. And what your position as an end-time believer ought to be toward the world also.

We pray the Lord would awaken our spirits and cause us to wake up to live for and represent Him in this end time in Jesus Name. Amen.

God bless you.

Livingseed Sitekeeper.

And now to the message . .

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Love Not The World !

Prayer: Our Father and our God, we thank You for granting us another chance to look into Your word and be guided on our path to heaven.

Lord we want to pray that as many as are hearing us now, let Your Word mix with faith within them. Let them be particularly guided that the sins that seek to strangulate your servants and your children in this present world and in this end time might not prevail over their lives.

Thank You Father for hearing us for we have prayed in Jesus Name. Amen.

I would like to thank God for bringing you our way again and for giving us the privilege of studying the Word of God as Guideposts for the believer in this end-time. By the grace of God our basic text for study has been the First Epistle of John unto the general Christians.

By last week, we had studied up to chapter 2 and verse 14. Today, we are going to spend a little time looking at verses 15, 16 and 17. We may not be able to go beyond those 3 verses and so we will read and trust God to give us insight in Jesus Name.

If you have your Bibles, could you please turn to 1st John chapter 2 and let us read verses 15, 16 and 17 together.

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

May we stop here. May God bless His word into our hearts in Jesus Name. Amen.

While looking at the Guideposts for the end-time believer as we study intensely this Epistle that God granted Elder John the Beloved to send across to believers all over the world, we have discovered several issues.

Today we are seeing a sharp instruction, a sharp counsel and a very definite Guidepost that we need to watch if our fellowship with the Father will remain intact and if our love for the Father will remain genuine.

Lets look at it very closely.

Apart from talking about loving the brethren, and not hating a brother so as not to forfeit our stand in Gods presence, we now see another issue that no believer who wants to really, really be at peace with God will take for granted. And that is what the Holy Spirit is bringing forth in verses 15, 16 and 17 of our passage today. That Scripture begins by saying - Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, if ANY MAN love the world, the love of the Father is not in Him.

First and foremost, we want to explain that what the Bible terms - the world - in verse 15 is speaking of the world system: the system of this world, the standard of this world. So it is very important for the believer to come to realise that the world is a system governed, controlled, sensitised and arranged by a prince - whom the Bible calls the prince of this world or the god of this world. EVERYTHING that is in the world system as it is presently organised is incensed against the purpose of God and against the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Actually the world system is that system that was arranged and organised, sponsored by the devil after he fell (and together with man ...when man fell) as an alternative unto the authority of God, unto the government of God over the life of man.

And so today we want to quickly look at how does God view the world system before we come to look at that Scripture in detail and see the instruction that the Holy Spirit is bringing to us here.

If you look at James, lets quickly look at the book of James; I suppose if you can check chapter 4 then you see another verdict of God about the world system. Lets read verse 4 of James chapter 4

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Now! That is very interesting. The world system does not agree with Gods purpose! The world system in which we live is what makes the end-time believer to be in a very tight corner that will not make it easy to seek the purpose of God for His life: you are living in a world system that is directly opposed unto the purpose of God! The Bible says - know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? If you are ever going to be friendly with the world system, you cannot at the same time be friendly with God.

And the Scripture continues and says - whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Thats very clear!

When you look at Jesus Christ in the gospels, in the book of John chapter 16 you see Jesus Christ laying some certain issues that we need to keep knowing and if you observe as He came to chapter 17 He didnt hide the facts of the position of the world system on the believer. Now if you would look at verse 16 of John , Jesus Christ was talking about what the world would do to the believer. That the world system is going to attack us simply because they hated Him! Jesus said the world will hate you because it is Me they hated. And towards the end of John 16 (in verse 33), He says

Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

That shows that there is a conflict between the Principle of Jesus - the Principle of Christ life - and the Principle that governs the world system. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will open your eye to understand that the world system has its own standard and its own standard is directly opposed to the will of God and to the purpose of God for your life. So once you choose to be at peace with God, you are ready to be out of step with the world. AND anytime you want to keep in step with the world system, you are going to be out of step with God! This is because these 2 systems dont go together.

Now! Paul was speaking in his writing to the Romans and in chapter 12 he says - do not conform yourself to the standard of this world What does that mean? All the Elders that have gone ahead of us - the Lord Jesus, all the Apostles, all that took over after them, all the Teachers and Preachers of the word of God - have always known that the world system is never friendly and will never become a friend. Every time the church is actually growing, the world system must put it under persecution. And when-so-ever the world system begin to accommodate the church, begin to participate in the church, you can be sure that that particular church is already backsliding and is already out of step with the will of God.

Dear brother, dear sister I want you to know one thing before I leave that - anytime the world system is at peace with you, anytime the world system approves your life: if they approve your way of dressing, if they approve your way of doing things, if they applaud you, IF the world system no longer becomes hostile unto you and unto your way of life, unto your way of preaching, let me tell you frankly ...this is a Guidepost you MUST note… once the world is becoming more friendly with you, once your message no longer affects the world system right from its root, you can be sure that you are no longer in step with the Lord Jesus Christ!

When the world system of music is compatible and palatable with what you practise in your life or in your church congregation, without mincing words, you are out of step with the Lord Jesus. Look at what John says in verse 15

1Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

You might think you love God and you love Jesus and yet the world system is at peace with you, the world system suggests the way you are living; when this is so it means then that the love of the Father is NOT in you! You are not ready to die for your commitment with the Lord Jesus Christ that is why you seek one leg out with the world system and try to put one hand with God. God knows that you are not part of Him.

And so the disciples and the elders of those days knew - and one of the parameters by which they knew that they loved God was how much they hated the world: how much the world was willing to persecute them. This is not just peculiar to one generation - ALL generations of Christians who have stood the test of their time and who have defended the ministry of the Word of God and the Cross have always found themselves at loggerhead with the world system.

Look at that Scripture again, I will read it from other versions. Phillips Modern Version says

1Jn 2:15 Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A man cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time.

1Jn 2:15 For the whole world-system, based as it is on mens primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself.

1Jn 2:15 The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the man who is following Gods will is part of the permanent and cannot die.

Alleluia!

Now I want you to note some key issues that is beginning to come out as we study that Scripture.

i.) Once the world holds an attraction for your heart, dear pilgrim, you are beginning to die out! Once the desire of the world is beginning to lay hold of your heart either secretly, consciously or unconsciously it also means a reduction of your loyalty and of your love unto the Master.

What is in the world system that we are talking about?

When you look at that same Scripture from the New International Version, it says

1Jn 2:16 For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

It looks like the 3 things, the tripod, on which the world system is based are these: a.) The lust of the flesh. b.) The lust of the eyes and c.) The pride of life. These are the 3 things that the world system is built all around: almost everything that you see in the world is centred around these 3 things! All the principles of the world system can be broken down into these 3 basic issues.

The lust of the flesh, the craving of the natural flesh. What the flesh wants. The indulgence of the flesh, it begins with what the flesh wants - appetite for food etc. And so you find that in the world today, much emphasis is given to food! To what you can consume.

If you go into the supermarket you see all kinds of things that the world system is putting together with flashy covering and flashy packages just to satisfy the craving of the flesh. Do you know that if not for the world system, the simple things that you need to sustain your body GOD HAS PROVIDED IT? And every man that God has created has enough share in Gods provision for his own life. But, you see, the world system has made the simple issue of food sophisticated because of the lust of the flesh.

When you see people running after alcoholic beverages you keep wondering what exactly is the benefit of alcohol to the human body. The nutritional value of drinking alcohol is zero: it is ALL a craving of the flesh! You find young men and when it is time for them to smoke or to take hard drug or to smoke Indian hemp (marijuana) or to smoke cocaine, you wonder what is the issue! It is nothing other than the flesh saying - You need it! You need it!! You need to be tough. You need to be strong. And this craving drives them.

Apart from the lust of the flesh and what to eat, you will find that the flesh is also constantly desirous of sexual immorality. So you see in the whole world the majority of the things you see around are all sexually driven. Look at all the advertisements: if the world wants to advertise ordinary soap, they will not just present the soap and say - This soap is good for your bath, rather they will present a naked woman. That is the world system! Seat before your telly and consider the volume of display of the world system - the desire of the flesh for sex, the desire of the flesh for power, for pre-eminence! These are the things you see on your TV screen all over the world. Now! That is the system of the world.

Lets see how the Living Bible expresses that Scripture

1Jn 2:15 Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God;

1Jn 2:15 For all these worldly things, these evil desires – the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance – these are not from God.

Now let me stop here briefly.

I have dealt with the lust of the flesh. What of the lust of the eyes? The craze, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you and everything that your eye sees. And so you see one of the things of the world system is the lust of the eyes - that which appeals to the eyes! Consider the worlds buildings for instance - IF all we are looking for in a building is functionality, you will find that buildings wont cost much. But because the world system looks for the lust of the eyes building costs are not normal! Go and ask an Architect what he spends on aesthetics: you will find that aesthetics alone usually costs about 60% of the total cost of a building! What you need for functionality in a building usually is not more than 40% of what the world system is making you to spend. And so because of the desire to get everything, to buy everything that appeals to you, we see you changing clothing, changing fashion and changing the way you look every time!

Look at all the cars that are being produced in the world system today, the desire of the world is not durability! The desire is for flash. Those of you that are older, you know those older cars that you have used for forty years they are still on the road! Nothing is wrong with them. Now, the new cars that you are buying today, the only thing that the world system is putting into it is flash - that which eyes of man can catch, that which appeals to the human eye! NOT that which will serve you.

Thats the world system for you!

The craze, the desire to buy everything that appeals to you! Look at some of you, you say you are a Christian, see how your house is full of junks! See all kinds of things that you are putting all around yourself! The world system is beginning to squeeze you, you are beginning to forget that you are a pilgrim and that you are a stranger in this world; and that your home is NOT here. That you have no continuing city in this place.

Will you now let us consider the matter of the pride of life? Lets look at how the Bible puts it

I Jn 2: 16 …The pride that comes from wealth and importance...

Even you see in church: you see Pastors, you see the way you dress and the kind of things you are emphasising; when you want to put up a church building, you are competing with the world! We want to follow the best architectural design of the world system. And its beginning to eat deep into your heart. I sincerely know you are saying: Yes! I want to present something good to God. I want to tell you - that has never been Gods interest! The Bible says that which the man of this world appreciates and applauds is an abomination unto God!

If you are going to serve the Lord, listen to the elder. He says: LOVE NOT THE WORLD! In fact the Living Bible says: Stop loving this evil world. Stop appreciating this evil world. Now lets read from the Amplified Bible

1Jn 2:15 Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world...

We are talking of cherishing, appreciating, quietly idolising the things that are in the world as if when you dont have it, something is wrong. No!

That Scripture continues and says

1Jn 2:15 …if anyone loves the world, the love for the Father is not in him

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in ones own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

What is Gods verdict on the world system? The Bible says - And the world passes away and all its lust, all its desires, but the man that does the will of God is the one that lives for ever! The world and everything in it that men desire is passing away.

Dear friend, dear brother, dear sister; I want you to seat back again today. Let me ask you - Arent you beginning to love the world? Arent you beginning to appreciate, to cherish the things of the world?

Look at the life that elders live, the Bible says for them the world was not worthy. For them the world was not w-o-r-t-h-y! In fact the world system knew them. If you know what they said about Paul and Silas; they said - these men have come who have turned the world upside down. That was their reputation! Their reputation was that wherever they went, they were at loggerhead with the world system. They never approved the system of the world!

And I want to say again to you that if you are seeking a Christianity that the world system would appreciate, if you are seeking a Christian life that is not antagonistic with the prince of this world, I know you are already a compromiser.And the truth is that the love of the Father is not in you.

Now , I can see several technological advancements in the world, they are very good: they appear to be very useful. But dont forget that the brain behind the world is the prince of this world, the devil. He knows what he is aiming at! It is to squeeze you into its mould. It is to strangulate you on your journey!

What does the Bible say? It says here we have no continuing city. I want you to know that everything that is in the world will pass away. Everything that is in the world will soon melt. What manner of men ought we to be? What did Paul say; he said - even those of us that have worldly goods, we can use the world but we must not abuse it! Even when you must use the things of the world, you must not get addicted to the things of the world. You must not allow the principles of the world to stick to your personality otherwise your journey to heaven may become difficult! Your journey to eternity with God may become demobilized!

The world system has swallowed many! The world system has brought many down! The world system has quenched the fire of many and has quenched the anointing of many, powerful preachers. Dear brother, dear sister, I again put this guidepost before you - Love not the world!

If you want to make it in this end time one thing you must watch is the world system! The world system is becoming softer, everything the world system is producing is with soft touch: you can see the power of the remote control technology everywhere.

Today I want to say again to you: love not the world nor the things that are in the world! They are very attractive I know; I know they are very exciting, very comfortable, very pleasurable. But I know they are only arranging a trap for your soul. Beware! Beware!!

Watch this Guidepost as you pass through this dangerous world.

May God help you as we pray with you in Jesus Name.

Prayer: Our Father we are coming to You again and we ask that as many as are being squeezed and killed by the world, even if they had not known, today we ask that You touch them! Open their eyes. And let them flee from the squeeze of this world and be saved and be delivered by You. In Jesus Name we ask it. Amen.

To listen and download please follow the links under the AUDIO MESSAGE OF THE WEEK icon. To do these, we would recommend using only the Internet Explorer (IE) browser, other web browsers that require plug-ins and other enhancement tools may not be able to download the message for now.

Sitekeepers Note: This week, a serious issue awaits our consideration as we continue the review of the revelations of God unto us in the past months when He came to us in the series: Guideposts for the End-Time Believer.

The theme of the issue is – Walking As Jesus Did.

Oh! how we pray today in Jesus Name that the God of heaven will do something to us as His Words come to us again, that all of our life and nature will be transformed to become an offering continually that will bring glory to Him in all that we are, all that we do and in all that we will become. Till He comes. Amen.

A little issue comes with the original audio recording – unwanted noise is mixed with the proper audio data and tried as we could, we could not take the noise out without jeopardising the audio signal itself. After the 26th minute of play, the audio becomes quite bad – I have tagged the beginning of that poor section in the transcripts below so that you can take advantage of the transcribed text to fill up what you might not hear in the poor section of the audio data.

Thank you for your patience with us.

God bless you.

Livingseed Sitekeeper.

And now to the message . .

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Walking As Jesus Did.

Prayer: Our Father and our God we honour your Name for granting us another opportunity to listen to You as we listen to the oracles of the Living God.

Lord we want to pray together with our listeners, our friends our brothers and sisters out there listening to this web broadcast, we ask that You will minister to our lives; and every need in the life of any one of us, please arise and meet it today.

Thank You Lord for hearing this prayer for we have prayed together in Jesus Name. Amen.

Once more I would like to thank God for granting us continuous opportunity and privilege to look into the Word of Life together. We have been looking at Guideposts for the End-Time Believer - things that we need to take note of in guiding our lives even in these end-times so that we dont get ourselves muddled up in the situation that our generation has plunged herself.

We have been using the book of First John as our basic text for study and as at our last edition of this program we had gone as far as First John chapter 2 and verse 2. In order for us to have a link, I would like for us to pick our Scriptures this week to read I John chapter 2 and you will follow me as I read from verse 1 today very quickly to verse 14

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

1Jn 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

1Jn 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

1Jn 2:9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

1Jn 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

1Jn 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1Jn 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his names sake.

1Jn 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

1Jn 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Lets stop there. May God bless His Word into our hearts even today in Jesus Name. Amen.

Now while we were looking at verses 6 to 10 of chapter 1, we saw that walking with God and having a deep fellowship with Him demands that there must be a continuous desire in your heart to want to be in the light, there must be a continuous cry in your heart to want to present your life and ALL that you are doing in the light of Christs own life. If you are ever going to progress in depth of fellowship and unbroken communion with the Lord, you need to be eager to let His life beam His light upon your life to sift you and to check how correct your life is and what other shadow remains in your character that is yet to be conformed to His image.

And then we saw that IF we keep doing that, the blood of Jesus cleanses us continually from every sin and everything that is not congruent with the will of God in our lives as we bring it under His light, as we are willing to confess it, as we are willing to open it up. Here the word - confess, means to bring it out, no longer to hide it! Confess is the direct opposite of conceal. When a man is willing to confess, to bring out his life and say - Look Lord, THIS is how I am - the Bible says that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When this happens, our fellowship with Him can continue because as His light reveals that which can be rebuked, we submit our life for the cleansing of the blood of Jesus and we never go back on that issue anymore. THIS is the way God has designed for our lives to grow and to make progress in His sight.

Today we start with the last bit of issues God raised with us when He said - My little children these things write I unto you that ye sin not, And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Now! Do not misunderstand these writing as if we are giving you a license or a liberty to keep sinning; as if you tell yourself – Well, everyday, I have a cover to keep sinning. NO! What we are dealing with here is the fact of progressive sanctification, progressive cleansing and progressive conformity unto the image and character of the Lord Jesus Christ as we walk with Him in the Light! We are not talking of repetitive sinning! We are NOT talking about going back to do again and again the things that God has shown you was wrong in your life the last time you came under His light! We are talking about you BEING DECISIVE to progress in YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD! That which is light reveals that which is wrong in your life and thereafter what you do is decide to drop it in the blood of Jesus which cleanses you a-n-d keeps you cleansed as far as that matter is concerned!

God is NOT particularly interested in you persisting in disobedience while at the same time thinking you are relating with Him!

Now He said - My little children, these things I write to you that you will not sin. The will of God for you is that you will not sin. THE PURPOSE OF GOD for you is that YOU WILL NOT WALK IN ANY FORM OF DARKNESS. Actually sin is darkness! Sin is anything that conceals the true nature of God from coming into your life properly.

He continues and says: IF any man sin - now mark this verse 1 very well. The word - IF - means occasional. IF means in case it happens - it is not to be expected. That is why He did NOT say – WHEN any man sin! If it was when, it meant that it is expected that you should sin and you should keep sinning! The word IF means in case it happens, in case you were careless and you fell into sin, THAT will not be your end. The Bible says here that in the unlikely event that sin occurs in your life, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the one that still advocates on your behalf!The Scripture continues and it says

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

That means that when(?!) you go back into sin, you are bringing yourself into the same class as men of the world, those who are in continuous darkness and whom Jesus is willing to have compassion on IF they are willing to repent. You see, one of the things I want you to note here is that every time you go out of Gods presence to go and commit sin, you bring yourself down to square 1, you line up along with the world system waiting for our Propitiation to have mercy on them! It is like you slash ALL the cumulative development that God is bringing to your life and you go into rebuilding again - an opportunity you have only as long as you have not YET died!!

My dear brother and my dear sister - I want to say to you that sin wrecks! Sin cuts a man away from Gods presence. The Scripture says here - I write this thing to you that you sin not. Purpose in your heart and determine that - by Gods grace, I will not sin, I will not persist in sin! Remember what Paul said in Romans chapter 6 when he said - Shall we persist in, shall we continue in sin, so that the grace of God will abound? GOD FORBID - by no means may we persist in sin!! The grace of God that has appeared to us is not the one that permits and gives you license to keep sinning. The Bible says in Titus 2: 11-12.

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

If you ever come into experiencing the grace of God, that grace should help you to say NO! to sin. That grace should help you to refuse ungodliness, that grace should give you a way out of all the temptation that would have wrecked your relationship with the Lord!

Lets now go to IJohn 2:3 and see another Guidepost that the elders noted which was their own watchword - it was the way by which they measured, assessed and knew their own relationship with God. Now look at this, it says

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Now! I wish the Lord would grant you a deep insight quickly into these verses as we study together now. My cry to God is that the Lord will change your taste and change your perception.

Look! several of us used to think, used to value and evaluate our faith, our knowledge of God, by the amount of miracles we think we have got from Him. You meet a brother and ask him - how are you sure that you are a child of God, and he replies and says - I am sure, I praise God that I am His child because the other day the Pastor prayed for me and they cast out my demons! Some will say - Yes! because, you know, the Lord just gave me a new contract thats how I know that I know God. Others are rejoicing and saying - you know, I am preaching the Word of God and many people are coming and big offerings are coming into our church and thats how I know that I know Him!

But can we see the parameters that the elders, the men that have walked with God and have been admitted into Gods eternal presence used to know that they know Him? Can we look at what these men used as the yardstick of measuring, of evaluating their own relationship with God? Can we review this matter very closely? The Bible says here

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him...

This is the way that WE KNOW that we know Him! Are you understanding? This is how we may discern DAILY by experience that we are coming to know Him, to perceive, to recognise, to understand and to become better acquainted with Him. How? IF we keep, if we bear in mind, if we practise, if we observe His teachings, His precepts and His commandments!

The Bible says

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

The men of old did NOT brag that they spoke in tongues, even though they spoke in tongues – and maybe they spoke in tongues regularly, daily, privately more than all of us put together! They did not brag or regard themselves as great believers because miracles were performed by their hands! You will remember that Peter and John when they raised the crippled-man at the Beautiful Gate and people were looking at them: Peter said in Acts chapter 3 verse 12 - why are you looking at us as if by our power or by our holiness does this man work? They recognised that miracles, signs, powerful manifestations of the power of the Holy Spirit is NOT necessarily a measure of their own personal power or their personal holiness. They never even congratulated themselves or assured themselves because of those things that happened.

They didnt say - Look! hereby we know that we know Him because He meets our need on a daily basis! They knew that God is so good that He would provide and rain His rain upon the wicked and at the same time upon the righteous. They know that God would still be providing even though you are living in disobedience! They know that.

You see, the children of Israel already disobeyed in the wilderness when they decided that they were not going again and they were setting up another captain to take them back to Egypt: the Bible says forty years He was wrought with them! But do you know that in those forty years God never ceased to provide them daily manna? God never ceased to fight their battles! God never ceased to keep them in their wilderness! Even though they had fallen out of favour with God, the cloud of Gods presence was still going with them.

Now! These elders knew that the parameters with which many of us assure ourselves are faulty - many churches there are and many Pastors and Preachers that assure themselves that they must be doing well and they must know God because they are gathering a crowd! John the beloved never used that! Peter never used that - and yet larger crowds came to their meetings. They saw larger crowds than many of us! They baptised more people than many of us! They have experienced the grace and the power of God MORE than many of us.

So how do they know and how do they measure their spiritual lives? Lets look at the Bible. The Scripture says,

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

Take note of this! They know that the only way they would say that they know Jesus is IF they keep His commandments. Look at them - they are not waiting for an external commendation, they are not waiting for somebody to come and say - Wow! Brother, you are a great man of God!! In their own hearts, they can measure, they can know. The parameter and the way they know is by asking themselves - how much do we keep His commandments? Let me paraphrase that again, it says: THIS is how we may discern daily by experience - not once in a month, not once in a year! They know daily by experience how to measure their lives and how well they are doing in their communion with God!

Dear brother, dear sister I want to say to you - if you are only waiting for end of the year assessment for you to measure how you stand before God you may be living in danger of hell! If you are only depending on what others come to say - they clap for you, they sing for you, they shout for you - and it is only that you use to assure yourself that Yes you are walking well with God, you might enter into a calamity that you did not plan for!

The Bible says that these elders that have entered the Fathers bossom in heaven knew how to discern their knowledge of God daily by experience. They knew that they were coming to know Him and that they were progressively growing in knowledge of Him, that they were beginning to perceive, to recognise, to understand and to become better acquainted with Him. How? If we keep His teachings, if we bear in mind His teachings, if we observe His commandments and if we practise His precepts! That was how they knew they were walking with God, they didnt need anybody to drum and to sing how well they knew God. They could gauge the matter within their own lives, in their own secret hearts!

Now! Dear brother can I ask you? How do you know that you are walking with God and it is not by measuring your level of obedience to His Word, by the level of your conformity to His teaching and His precepts? Do you not flagrantly violate several things that the Lord Jesus Christ did and some of the instructions that Jesus opened His mouth to say? You boast as if that was the way Jesus lived! I see several of us going for all kinds of ideas, and grabbing several titles even in Gods work! Jesus said it shall not be so among you and yet you do these things and you even claim that it is the current dispensation! I wonder whether you are measuring how much you are getting to know Him.

This is what the elders with whom we are coming unto this general fellowship measured their lives with! I wonder what you are using, what yardstick you are beginning to use to measure your own Christian experience.

Consider the elders! They said

1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Dear brother, dear sister can you see? This is a very plain and a very clear Scripture - he that says, I know him, and keeps not his commandments... IF you say you know Him and you do NOT keep His commandments and live according to His Word, you are a liar! The truth is NOT in you.

Could you say you know Him and you are divorcing your wife? Could you say you know Him and you are telling lies? Could you say you know Him and you are fornicating with someone? Could you say you know him and you are sleeping with another girl somewhere outside your marriage? Could you say you know Him and you are embezzling church fund and embezzling money in your office? Is that what Jesus taught us? Is Jesus the Author and Producer of sins?! Did He teach us to become more and more of transgressors?

IF any man says - I know God - and he doesnt keep His commandments, He is a liar, the truth is not in Him!

1Jn 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected...

There is no way you can say - I love you Lord - and go on waving your hand and clap and dance to the tambourine as if that wholly confirms your love for Him! The issue before us here today is how much of His Word dwells in you? How much of His Word do you practice? How much of His Word has fashioned your life? How much of the light of His Word had corrected your dark corners and your dark areas?

The Bible says

1Jn 2:5 ...hereby know we that we are in him.

Dear brothers, I found that men of old did not use the parameter that some of us are using today! Sometimes when we want to advertise our lives, advertise our programs, you hear us saying - Oh! This is a man of God, this is a powerful man, he is a key man, he is this, he is that, when he prays demons run away. No! That was not how they introduced themselves. That was not their issue because they knew that those things happened because of the Name of Jesus Christ. It had nothing to do with their own personal quality of relationship.

They said - Look! hereby we know that we are in Him when His word dwells in us and when His love is perfected in our hearts.

1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Now it is very clear that we might just stop in this verse 6 and then we will pray together today trusting that we would come back and pick the next issues that they used as a Guidepost for their own lives.

He says - he that says that he abides in Him i.e. if you claim that you abide in Christ Jesus, if you say that you are a child of God and you are a Christian, the Bible said that you ought also (your v-e-r-y self also ought) to walk e-v-e-n as He walked! This is the only measure by which we know who is a child of God and who is abiding in Christ - your life ought to manifest the way He walked! Please take note of this. The way He walked - WALK! I am not talking about the activities He did, I am not talking of works He did! I am talking about the way He walked, the way He lived, the way He conducted Himself!

The parameter of who is in Christ and who is abiding in Him and knows Christ and is in fellowship with Him is first and foremost - are you living according to His commandments? Are you observing His precepts? Are you walking and partnering your life according to His teachings? Thats Number 1.

Number 2. Does His Word abide in you? Is His love perfected in your heart? Do you tremble at His word and practise it?

Number 3, IF you say you are abiding in Christ, do you walk as He walked? Do you conduct yourself like Him?

The only way by which they measured themselves was how much of Christ character was formed in them! In fact when you go into the Acts of the Apostles, the name Christian that we now adopt as our common name did not come arbitrarily. No! It was a nick-name that people put on their lives when they watched the way they lived, when they watched the way they conducted themselves and watched their manner of life and their relationships. When the world of that time watched them in detail, they said - OF A TRUTH THESE HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS, THESE ARE LITTLE, LITTLE CHRISTS! That was why they called them Christians.

26min27sec=Start of bad signal

Let me ask you: are you really, really a Christian in terms of is there Christs-life, Christs-character, Christs-attitude in your life?

The Bible now says

1Jn 2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Can I read that for you from other versions? Let me read that from the Amplified Bible

1Jn 2:5 But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him:

1Jn 2:6 Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

Let me now say this is the Guidepost by which they kept themselves. In this end-time I see so many Christians, so many believers, so many great preachers who do not emphasise Christs life; who do not ask themselves - so how did Jesus walk? so how did He live and how did He conduct Himself? We seem to be raising a group of people who do not resemble Jesus Christ, if there is anybody they resemble, they resemble the harlot and they resemble the arrogant people who come in to snatch things! No wonder there is a lot of competition among us.

So let me ask you brother as we pray together with you at this point - how are you walking? How do we know that you are progressing in fellowship with Him? Check your life again with the parameters of the Word of God! If your life is not in obedience to Him, if His Word does not dwell in you and if your character is not like that of Jesus Christ you may not have a place in His bossom! May God help you before it is too late.

This is the end-time, be very very careful.

God bless you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank you for speaking to us in our coming to you. As many of us as have been walking according to our own standards we ask that you will bring us back today and that you will teach us your life that we might be conformed to you from now on. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

Prayer: Father we thank you for today. As You are convicting people and bringing them from darkness unto light we ask that as they confess this sin today, give them the power to overcome and to stay cleansed by You. In Jesus Name we have prayed. Amen.

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God bless you.

16th – 22nd Aug.

Review and Regathering of Guideposts 2

Sitekeepers Note: This week, we continue our review of the central issues that God brought to us in our Audio series: Guideposts for the End-Time Believer: a review which we started last week.

We revisit the crucial issue of the nature of our walk with God as we look at the matter of walking in the light, a very important theme in our Guideposts as end-time believers.Our earnest expectation is that God by His Spirit would deepen our understanding of these timeless truths so that none of our place will be desolate in His eternal purpose for each of us. We pray in Jesus name that as we receive His word, God would bless it into the totality of our nature. That He would transform us and our lives shall be kindled to a flame which will burn and shine for Him in this evil generation, till He comes. Amen.

Livingseed Sitekeeper

Now to the message . .

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Walking In The Light (God is Light)

Prayer: Father in heaven we give You praise, we worship and adore You for bringing us back into Your very presence again even today. Thank You Lord for all our brothers and sisters and listeners that have been fellowshipping with us around this program Living Seed; we ask You Lord to bless each one of them. We pray that Your Word will come to us today with grace, that it will mix with faith in our hearts preparing us even as end-time believers for a place with you in eternity. Thank You Lord for hearing us for we have prayed together in Jesus Name. Amen.

I would like to praise the Lord for the grace and the opportunity He has given to us to meet with you again today. We thank God for how far He has led us as we continue to look at Guideposts for the End-time Believer as we continue our in-depth study into the First Epistle of John.

By the last edition of Living Seed we had looked at verses 5 to 7 of the First chapter of the book of 1John and we saw the Message that the elders heard from the beginning. This week I would like us to pick our Bibles again as we read First John chapter 1 and we will go from verse 5 quickly to verse 10 and as the Lord helps us we will go to chapter 2 and read verses 1 and 2 at the same time.

May God grant you an understanding as we go forward in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1Jn 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

I would like us to stop there. May the Lord bless His Word into our hearts in Jesus Name. Amen.

By the time we were signing off last week, I was looking at the fact that the Message that the men of old heard that kept their lives, that made them lay the foundation even for our faith is that GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL! And that Scripture continues and says - if you say you have fellowship with Him and you walk in darkness, you lie and do not the truth because in Him there is no darkness at all. And there is no way you can fellowship with Him continuously while you keep walking and keep practising any hide-and-seek way of life. The matter that came to us as we confronted this issue was the fact that because men of old knew that God is light, those of them that wanted to walk with God and fellowship with Him and move with Him and live in His presence had to get rid of every darkness in their lives. This is where we are going to put some quick emphasis even today.

Now I want you to look more closely at verses 7 and 8. the Bible says

1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another...

Now the ONLY way we can have fellowship one with another, the only way in which we can have a deep interaction with each other and a deep relationship with God is to walk into Light. I want you to first of all note what verse 7 is dealing with: there are 2 issues in that verse 7 that God must quickly open our eyes to see. IF we walk in the light, that is IF we really are living and walking in the light, as He Himself is in the Light...

1Jn 1: 7 ...the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and guilt and keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations. There are two things that I pray that God will help you to know there.

Now whereas we established in verse 6 that because there is no darkness in Him at all, no man can say He is a partaker together and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when he is approved-of, and he is walking about in, darkness: when there are things that you are trying to hide, when there are issues that your life is NOT straight-forward about! When your life is like that, you cannot claim to be in fellowship with God Who is Light and with Whom there is no variableness nor any shadow of turning, with Whom there is no darkness at all!

...But if we really are living and walking in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, what does that imply? When a man chooses to walk in the Light it means that He wants to dwell under the Light of Gods Word. One thing I know about light, anytime you put on light (and depending on the intensity of the light), there are certain shadows that may have surrounded an object BUT when you put on a light - depending on the light - if the light is strong enough it kills all shadows and it shows e-v-e-r-y detail about that object. It reveals little things including some of the ingredients that form the objects which ordinary light cannot see. Lets take fake currency for an instance: Government has realised that the light of the sun and the light of the room is not enough to reveal every detail about that currency, so they put it under a stronger light, they put it under a light that is so strong that it shows and reflects every detail and every bit of matter inside that currency.

Intensity of light usually reveals everything that an object contains.

Now, before any man could live in sin and actually be able to perpetuate in sin and hypocrisy, he has to run away from the Light, from the Personality of God!

Some of you that claim to being the light and your light never really reveals any detail about your life, I would like to say to you that THAT KIND OF LIGHT IS A DARKNESS OF A KIND! When light beams on a person it reveals everything about him: it shows the little, little marks that are on his face.

So the Bible says that IF we are living and walking in the light as Jesus Himself is in the Light, we will have true unbroken fellowship with one another. Now, listen! This does NOT mean that everything about your life is perfect, that does not mean that there are no issues that are still NOT correct in your life; but once you decide to walk in the Light, the Light brings it out every time. THAT is the beauty of fellowship with God!

The Bible now says for everyone that chooses to walk in the Light, the blood of Gods Son Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin: the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses, removes us from all sin and guilt - it keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestation. But the issue is that a man that does not want to come into the lime-light of the Word of God, a man that prefers darkness and hiding, that prefers shadows around his personality, around his character is in the first place NOT desiring to walk in the light. That is why the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse you from all unrighteousness!

This means that in order to maintain an unbroken relationship with God, an unbroken walk with the Saviour 2 things MUST happen. Number 1: you must be ready to come into light and to walk in the light so that every other aspect of your life that is yet to be made correct, that is yet to be made perfect in the light of the Word of God and in the light of the character of God comes to the lime-light. When that happens you yourself say - Oh! this thing is still in my life? So I am still like this? So my life is still like this?

The first thing that makes God draw near you is that you truly want to walk in the light! And right in Gods presence the blood of Jesus is at work every day, cleansing, removing from each one of our lives everything that appears like a spot, like a stain as yet in our character. He cleanses from every sin and all its guilt AND it keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations.

I dont know if you have followed me to this point.

The issue I am raising at this point is this - GOD IS NOT INSISTING THAT BEFORE YOU CAN COME INTO HIS PRESENCE YOU SHOULD GO SOMEWHERE AND CLEANSE YOUR LIFE BY YOURSELF AND MAKE YOURSELF VERY PERFECT BEFORE YOU CAN RELATE WITH HIM! As much as the flesh and everything in our unredeemed nature wants to take the credit for such an impressive achievement before God - THAT is not the issue!

No man can actually make himself perfect outside the light of Gods Word because in the first place, the whole world is in darkness!! Most of us dont know what is wrong in our lives until we come into the lime-light of Gods presence. Some of us really think we are great Christians and that we are great believers - that our character is the best - because we are operating under a kind of dim light. Some of us compare ourselves with other brothers or with other sisters and say - I am better than this person! BUT that is not the issue!! Until you come under the light of Gods presence - the light that His Word beams, the light that the life of Jesus Christ shows - you cannot know in what state your own life is because you see when you read John chapter 1 the Bible says - In Him was light and the light is the life of all men. He is the light that enlightens all men. It is as we come into the life of Jesus that His life gives light on our lives and He shows us the dark patches, the dark corners, the irregular aspects of our lives and character.

And God is NOT just beaming light to reveal all our wrong patches, all our bad sections, He does that because we are willing to come into the light! Then the blood of Jesus, the blood that is shed on the cross of Calvary is now there to cleanse, to remove, to deal with every stain of sin, and every wrong thing that still remains within your character! And as long as you are willing for that continuous relationship, the unbroken relationship with God continues. The only thing that breaks a mans relationship with God is if He decides to walk in darkness, that is, he desires to conceal his life and to hide, he desires to pretend, he desires to live his old life and then pretends as if there is nothing wrong! If that happens, then you cant walk with God, you cant have fellowship with God.

Several of you may be listening to me here, IF truly you want to come under the light of Gods presence I know the blood of Jesus would have cleansed you from that trouble especially when you come under the light that the life of Jesus shows! You see, the life of Jesus is a standard that reveals what is wrong in our lives, what is wrong in our own attitude, what is wrong with our own lifestyles! Now, when you desire that and come to God earnestly with your life and say - look Lord! I want to walk in that light, let everything that is wrong in my own life be exposed, I want to be transparent, If pride is still in my life, let Your life beam its light and reveal it, If there is still some crookedness in my character, If there is still some greed let your life reveal it inside the light that that Life provides!

When a man is ready to walk in the light, the Bible now says - the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. I want you to note the word - cleanses. That is to say it is a continuous action! It is a continuous action for every one of us!! None of us is made perfect the day we first met the Lord Jesus Christ! NONE of us has reached the climax of the molding of our character to become totally conformed unto the image of the Lord Jesus Christ the moment we came to know Him! But as we desire to come into His life, His light continues to reveal to us in a continuous manner any other thing that remains, every other shadow that needs to be killed in our lives and as He beams His light on it, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

Verse 8 now says

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

What this verse is saying is that IF you make an arbitrary claim that - Oh I have no problem - because you are dwelling in the light of your human sense or in the light of the general condition among the people in which you live, you deceive yourself! There are some of you listening to me today, right in your local church - you are the elder, you are the most important person, they regarded you as the most spiritual person and YET anger is in your life! You are still very violent anytime you are angry. So in that church, in the light of the lives of the members of that church, there is no problem with you - you are a spiritual man!! BUT when you come into the light of the life of Jesus Christ, or even the light of the life of some other believers who have advanced in their walk with God, you suddenly discover that you are not a spiritual person yet.

So what are we saying? This is it - If ANY of us will seat in our little light, in our environmental situation comparing ourselves with one another, If we claim that - Ah well, I am already perfect, I have no sin - the Bible says you deceive yourself AND the truth is not in you! All the believers, the greatest of saints knew that when they come into the light of the life of Jesus Christ, it reveals to them exactly what they are! Desire to be in that light is what brings them into continuous fellowship with God.

Dear brother, I want to ask you a question now: Are you desiring and are you willing that no matter how terrible your life is, can you come under the life of His personality? Instead of arguing and looking left and right and saying - well, it doesnt matter, ah-ah, after all I am not the only one! Brother, can you come? Can you bring your light completely under the limelight of the life of Jesus Christ? Look at your attitude to money, bring it under the light of Jesus life. Look at your attitude to women, look at your attitude to position, look at your attitude to fame, l-o-o-k at your attitude to power! Look at your attitude to service and to authority!! And do same - sparing no effort to drag each of these areas of your life into the light of the life of Jesus Christ.

Bring your life under that lime-light that the life of Jesus Christ shines! When you do that, you will see where you stand, you will see what is going on in your life.

As a guidepost towards growing into that fellowship into which God is calling all of us, AND in advancing towards eternity you need to desire, to come every-day under the light of the personality of Christ: it will reveal matters to you! But then when you see that thing which is not yet congruent, as you place your life face-to-face with the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, instead of arguing and saying - No! I have no sin, I have no problem, I am not the only one - the Bible says the blood of Jesus cleanses us and removes from us, removes us from all sin and guilt. Not only that He cleanses, He keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations.

This means that in order to live a holy life, you MUST walk in the light! We dont need to keep defending the darkness, the shadows, the corners, the contours, the irregularities of our character! You dont need to keep saying - Well, after all I am not the only one, I am a human being ..etc! The first thing is to desire to walk in the light of His life. When the life of Jesus Christ shines the light on your life, everything that is wrong will be revealed: it will be made manifest for the blood of Jesus to cleanse you and to remove those things from your life and keep you cleansed!

It is in that line that verse 9 and verse 10 now come in

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Believers, great saints, were not people that have never sinned, they were actually sinners that have been cleansed and saved by grace as they came under the light of His Word! As they came under the light of the Truth! As they came under the light of Christ-life!

Look at the Word of God in this verse - IF we confess our sins ...Now, a man will not know He is a sinner until he comes under the light and depending on the intensity of the light that had been beamed upon your life, you might even see some apparent things that are sinful which you are running away from, but when the light is brought in more, you see much more things that are hitherto hidden under the other light in which you have assessed your life. But then the elder said - IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness!

And he continues and says

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

You see when you claim, and I wonder whether you are not being presumptuous and whether you are not quietly arguing in your heart saying - well, leave me like I am, I am alright. The Bible says, when we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in you. If His word is in you, what He says is Light, it would have revealed your situation to you! It would have shown you what is wrong in you and it would have pointed you unto the Saviour.

In order to conclude, verse 1 of chapter 2 now says

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not...

You see some people may misinterpret the passage we have read as if we are saying that you will live in sinless perfection. No! That is NOT what we are saying. We are only saying that the cleansing that conforms your life unto the light of the life of Jesus Christ is a continuous and progressive experience! At each point, whatever the light of His life reveals to you about your life you are ready to deal with it and cleanse it AND stay cleansed over that. But in your progressive relationship with God as you came under a stronger light of His personality, He shows you again and says - brother! this aspect of your life is not yet like my own Life - and you bring it again under the blood of Jesus Christ and under the authority of His Word and you are sanctified and you are brought into life. That does not talk about the fact that you have been fornicating for the past 5 years and everyday you come and say - O Lord I have gone astray, I am a miserable offender, I have done what I ought not to do and I have left undone what I ought to do! You see, that is NOT what God is talking about. IF you know you are a miserable offender, why do you keep in that darkness? Why cant you walk out of that darkness and come under the Light and let the blood of Jesus cleanse you from that unrighteousness and keep you cleansed?!

Now He said

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not...

THAT YOU SIN NOT! Now you see, the will of God for your life is that you sin NOT. As you go on studying from this passage, you will discover that THE issue and THE quarrel between God and man has been the matter of sin! You cant say you are in church and you are enjoying fellowship with God while you are still a sinner! What will take any man to hell is sin. Sinners are not just people that are labeled sinners. ANY MAN who is committing sin is actually a sinner!

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Jn 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins...

That is to say that if you sin - this is NOT the will of God - but IF you find yourself falling into sin, we have an Advocate! The Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life, He shed His blood that we might be cleansed. That blood is still advocating on your behalf today and I want to say, instead of walking in darkness - sin normally wants you to persist in darkness because sin only thrives in darkness, you need to decide and say - No! I will come into the light, I will come into my Fathers presence. The blood of Jesus will then cleanse you: the Advocate is there and He will plead your case.

My prayer is that you will not persist in darkness. Do not let sin keep you down there in the shadow.

May God help you. And as we pray with you, just bow your heart, and kneel down before God and confess to Him. Our brother will lead you in prayer in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Father we thank you for today. As You are convicting people and bringing them from darkness unto light we ask that as they confess this sin today give them the power to overcome and to stay cleansed by You. In Jesus Name we have prayed. Amen.

To listen and download please follow the links under the AUDIO MESSAGE OF THE WEEK icon. To do these, we would recommend using only the Internet Explorer (IE) browser, other web browsers that require plug-ins and other enhancement tools may not be able to download the message for now.

God bless you.