Sermon Reflections from God's Love and Worldly Love | Alex Hardt | October 22, 2023

Pastor Alex began his message with examples of statements that are untrue but are commonly accepted as truth or possible truth.  Now we have Google and can check things almost instantly when one is in doubt.  The Apostle John was concerned about believers being led astray and deceived by conflicting messages.  He wanted the believers then and now to be able to discern truth from falsehood in regard to God.  

He tells us in verse 1 to test the messages and messengers, “Dear friends, 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. “   He wanted believers informed and not swayed by false messages and messengers.  He had a fool proof method of detection. 
Verses 2-3  “ This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” 

Putting it in today’s language one needs to ask, Does the message or messenger acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior?  Is their message all about Jesus and his work on the cross or something else?  Do they say Jesus rose from the dead?  Do they say Jesus redeemed us through his blood and restored our relationship with God or is something else involved we have to work for?  If their answers do not center of Jesus and his work on the cross and resurrection from the dead, they are not from or of God.  We have to know the source of our truth.  We need to know about God and his plan of salvation through Jesus.  Our faith needs to be placed in Jesus and his redemptive work on the cross and resurrection from the dead alone. 

Knowing that God is our source of love and truth, will lead us. We can speak from God’s perspective when we focus on Him and trust unswervingly in His omniscience.  God knows all and has it covered. 

Verse 4 should help us solidify our godly perspective “ You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”   We don’t need to worry about the world’s opinions.  Our focus and listening ear should be towards God knowing for certain He hears, loves and cares for us!  Listening to God, we will be able to hear His truth and know what is right.    Someone may ask, how do you know?  I love Romans 8:16 “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”  As a believer, when I say that I believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit dwelling within me affirms that it is truth.  If I tried to say that as an unbeliever, there would be no confirmation within my soul as it would be a lie.

Knowing we belong to Jesus, leads us to love others.  Without Jesus, we would not have that desire. 1 John 4:7-8 “ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  Knowing God lead us to love others- to demonstrate His love to the world.  What kind of love is this?  John tells us of the sacrificial love of God in verses 9-10 “9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  In verse 11, God calls us to a higher level of love for each other, “ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”   Where is God calling you to love sacrificially?  Who is He asking you to love even though you don’t really want to?  I can’t imagine God wanted to send Jesus to his death for our sins, but He did it because he loved us so much.

John 3:16 states this perfectly, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   God wants us to be with him eternally!  God wants us filled with His love and loving others!

John adds in an additional caveat for loving God. In verse 16b-18 “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”   If we have God’s love within us and act in love towards others, we can live in confidence and eternal hope.  We do not need to fear the future or be anxious about our sins and punishment.  In God’s love there is no fear as He has washed our sins away and covered us with His love.  We will be held accountable for our actions and words but there is no death penalty as faith in Jesus had rendered us ‘not guilty’.  Take these verses to heart. 

Romans 10:9-10 “ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” 

And Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—“  

Ephesians 1:7 “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” 

Colossians 1:13-14“ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”  

The Bible is filled with the truth of God’s love towards us and the forgiveness, restoration and redemption for all eternity.  Read it and claim it for yourself. 

Have a blessed week walking in His love.

Linda

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Alex Hardt   October 30, 2022   Why? God…Do You Let Bad Things Happen

Pastor Alex approached this heady question by looking to the books of Wisdom in the Bible.  He took us to Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job.  Each book had a different perspective on this question.  All agreed that God is Wise, Sovereign and Just and we can rely upon His character. 

Proverbs leads us to see that God is Wise and His wisdom can be relied upon in all situations.  God’s wisdom is given by God and can augment what we learn in and through life.  His wisdom shows us how to apply it to our lives.  I love James 1:5 as it assures me that God’s wisdom is accessible.  “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”  How can God’s wisdom help me when I am questioning why things are happening?  God’s wisdom will point you to Him and His character.  God is good, trustworthy, compassionate and faithful.  He will do as he says and will take care of you, no matter the circumstances. He has your back! 

Through Ecclesiastes Alex pointed us to the fact Solomon discovered, that all life is meaningless without God.  In God we can find joy and peace, hope and direction.  The book concludes with verses 12:13-14 
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.    

Solomon concluded that God is in control of all things so we need to focus on following Him for our good and His glory.  All will be revealed in time so leave the worry to God and focus on living for Him.   I love Philippians 4:6-7  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul councils us to stop worrying- God has this!  Pray and receive His peace for living.

Lastly, Alex looked to the book of Job.  Many hard things happened to Job as he was tested by Satan. Job would not give up his faith in the justice and righteousness of God. He would not give in to the pressures of his friends to curse God and die.  He clung to God in faith, but did question God personally.  I love this about Job.  Job had questions and went to God.  God answered in the storm and laid out His power and might for Job to see. Job realized the right answer and his relationship to the God of the universe, in

Job 42:1-3 Then Job replied to the Lord:                                               
2 “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.        

Job caught a glimpse of God and realized that God is beyond total understanding with our finite minds. God is incomprehensible.   We can know God but cannot totally understand all His ways.  Isaiah 55:8   “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.”     I love the assurance about God we get from 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 

We have the power of Christ within us to help us understand the things that are happening around us. Praise God for His mercy and grace to us in Christ Jesus!

I would like to add to this subject by turning our focus to our memory verses for this week.  They add a different perspective that we also need to remember when questioning why things happen. 

Ephesians 6:12-13 “ For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”  

If we lived in a world without sin, all would be in harmony and working to glorify God.  However, we do not.  Jesus calls us to cling to Him and stand for Him.  We are not to dwell on things we do not understand or doubt the circumstances of the world or rail against them, but to put on His armor so we can stand for Him in the midst of all things.  He wants us clothed in the belt of Truth, the breastplate of His Righteousness, feet fitted with the shoes of the gospel, taking in hand the shield of faith and putting on the helmet of salvation.  Along with these defensive weapons we care to take the Sword of God- His Word and Prayer which are our offensive weapons.  Dressed each day for His battle, we can rely upon His eternally good character to sustain us in all things.
 
Lots of things to meditate upon this week as we consider God’s answer to why?  Trust in me as I am wise, sovereign and just in all ways.  You may not comprehend my ways but walk in trust clothed in your battle armor so you can stand firmly for me!
 
Linda

SERMON LINK
Why? God... | Do You Let Bad Things Happen?
Click Here to View the Sermon
Sermon series, "Why? God...." Today Alex Hardt teaches from Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.
 

October 24, 2022 following Pastor Alex Hardt's sermon of October 23, 2022.

I thought Pastor Alex made a compelling argument as he sought to explain why we can believe in the miracles of science as well as the miracles of faith.  They are not exclusive from one another.  One of the key factors is to look for the goodness of God in all things.  We see God’s goodness reflected in the beauty of the world around us, the intricacy and complexity of all life forms and the vastness of the universe.  I know our ability to see the goodness of God is dimmed by sin.  Before sin entered the world, God’s creation was all good and humankind was very good.  (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31) Since sin entered the world all creation has suffered.  Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:20-21 “20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.   Man suffers along with all creation due to the effects of sin. One of those effects is doubt.  Eve doubted God’s truthfulness about the effects of eating from the tree of good and evil.  She chose to believe the serpent’s lies.  As a result we all suffer.

We can apply this to science as well.  Do you chose to believe that God created all things or in some big bang force?  Do you believe in the creation of mankind by a benevolent being or by chance or an accident of nature?  Choosing to believe in the goodness of God and His power of creation is a choice of faith.  The Bible tells us that faith is a gift from God.

Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—   

What do I do if I don’t have faith?  If you truly desire to believe in God and His Son Jesus- pray and ask God to reveal himself to you.   Open His Word and read and mediate upon it.   Open your eyes and heart to see God in the world around you.  Look at the natural beauty of creation and also the love and kindness of others.  Jesus promises if you seek him, he will be found. Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  God keeps His promises and you will find Him! Be a seeker of His truth and love!

Got Faith?  If you have faith, ask yourself do you live like you believe in God?  Are you open to His leading in your life?  Do you thirst for greater knowledge of who God is and how to serve Him?  Do you live in a way that reflects the goodness of God?  All of these are questions for serious prayer and meditation, but I would encourage you to see that goodness in our character is a result of being with God, being indwelt by His Holy Spirit and knowing Jesus as Savior.  In Christ alone we find the power to behave with goodness and reflect the quality of goodness of God in our lives. 

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  We are personally made by God, His way, to do good things and reflect His glory.   May Paul’s prayer for his fellow Roman Christians be upon our lips and in our hearts as we seek to do good and bring glory to His name.

Romans 15:5-6   “ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is good all the time!
Linda

SERMON LINK
Why? God... | Are Science and Faith Opposed?
Click Here to View the Sermon
Sermon series, "Why? God...." Today Alex Hardt teaches from Luke Genesis 1-2

​If you are local, please join us for our weekly service. Our Sunday service is held at 11:00am.
​Come visit us at 5353 Concord Blvd, on the corner of Concord Blvd and Kirker Pass.