1 John 2:12-14

Is that how we should do coffee and devotions? No. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to coffee and devotions. We don't have coffee because it's like 11 o'clock at night, but we're going to do some devotions, so we're not behind in the schedule. So, we're going to hang out as a family a little bit. So, we thought we'd jump on here tonight to make sure we are kind of ahead of schedule. So, we are at 1 John chapter 2, just two verses, verses 12-4. 1 John chapter 2, we're going to do 12-4. and he's got something to say to a young man like you. Oh, let's find out what it is. You want to have some invisible coffee? No. No. You want to pray? Sure, you can do that. Okay. God, thank you for Yeah. Good day. God, please help us to understand and meditate on what we are going to read from Paul. And please help this to affect our lives in a positive manner. And God, thank you for giving us your word to study Jesus name. Amen. Amen. But it's not from Paul. We're in first John. If if Paul wrote John, that'd be weird. Okay. First John chapter 2 12-4. Quite a poetic section. Go ahead. I write to you little children because your sins are forgiven. You forgiven you for his name's sake. I write to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you little children because you have known the father. I've written to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning. I've written to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked one. Okay. So, we need to ask ourselves A, what is this about? B, what is the first verse to sum it? The first verse, you're tired. The best verse to summarize. And C, what are we called to do? Called to do. So, what what do you think this passage is about that John is writing? Um, I want to see. I know, but I was like, why don't Oh, look, there's a little subtitle here. The spiritual state. That's what he's saying. Who's spiritual state? Their spiritual state. The people he's writing to. And who are those people he's writing to? He has three groups of people in mind. Children, father, young men, right? Children, right? Tekkna, uh, fathers and nonoski, young men, right? What's he got to say about about those kids? Um because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. Yeah. Right. So he's writing to the kids and he's got the thing he wants to tell them about first is what? Uh sin. Yeah. There's sin. What it's still sticking with them, right? It's like, "Oh, you kids, you're just still so sinful. I can't do it. You can't get rid of your sins." Um no. That's your sin to forgive. Yeah. By the way, Isa, not Tat Techno, it's it's BIA. Right. So, so like even little kids, right? Um so, hey you little kids, right? Your sin like Isaiah. Yeah. Right. Your sins are forgiven you. Uh right. Because because you have known the father, right? Their sins are forgiven them because they know someone and they who is it that they know? God. God. Do you think it's just that they have an intellectual knowledge of him? I think this is spiritual. Yeah. Right. Like this. This is that they they grasp him. They know him. He's their he's their father. Good. Uh and then uh right I'm writing to you fathers. Because why? Because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you. Well, who who's the one who's from the beginning? There's God in the beginning. is there was Adam in the beginning. So it's probably talking to Adam or God. That's talking specifically about God. That's right. Yeah. So interesting thing is here up aris right is from from the beginning but it's it's can also be like from the chief right ary is beginning or chief or head something like that. Well yeah sometimes head but point being right is you know the one who is before everything else and who is in front of everything else. So, um, and then he writes to the Naniski, right? The young men. What's he got to say about those young men? I write uh because you have because you have overcome the wicked one. Oh, no, no, no. Verse four. Verse 14. Still verse 14. Correct. Verse 14. 14. I write to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you. But we weren't at verse 14. We were at verse 13. Oh, you're right. We were at verse 13. What am I talking? I'm so silly. I was looking at verse 14 when we were talking there. Oh man, it was technia at first. I write to you technia. Oh man, I'm all over the place. We should better probably just go to bed. Sometimes it's late and you're trying to do devotions. And when you're trying to do devotions in Greek while you're in English and I get all messed up. Anyways, all right. So, there's kids, right? And the kids have their sins forgiven. Um, right. Through his name. The fathers, they've known him from who? The beginning. Yeah. And he writes to Yeah. And he writes to the young men, uh, because they have overcome. What's your translation say? The Because you have overcome the big one. The evil one. Yeah. Uh, right. Are you a slave to sin? No. Who's stronger? Satan, are you? Be careful. Um, Satan, you think so? I think this So, you have no hope. He's just going to beat you all the time and I'm going to fight. Oh, you could fight, but it So, it's just a losing battle. No, because you can't do it on your own. But with God's help, yes, you can. Boom. Shakalaka. Who's in you? That's right. You've known him from who's from the beginning, right, young man? You are not a slave to sin. This world's going to try to tell you all over the place that you you just can't fight it. you just have these you're you're just you're just innate with these uh these just passions and desires and you're just you're never going to overcome them. And especially you are predetermined in this life to have certain advantages and dispositions and you're just going to be an oppressive person. Hogwash. He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Don't let Satan convince you that somehow he's stronger than Christ who's in you. All right, good. D's going to write to the little kids. Verse 14. Badia because they've known the father. He's going to write to the fathers because they've known him from the beginning. I thought he was a Techna. Well, now it's Bia 14. 12 is Techna. 14 is Pedia. Okay. U and once again he's writing to the young men. There's nothing about little children in 14. What's it say in your verse 14? Uh fathers and young men. I have written to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning. I have written to you young men. H I write to you Bia because you have known the father. There may be a text critical thing there. Let's see if there is there any uh um Oh, there's nothing about that. Hm. Well, I'd have to go back and and look because it's Yeah, it's a So, um you've known the father. Yeah. So, yeah, you have known the father. Um and I write to you fathers because you have known uh the one from the beginning. And I write to you young men because you are what? End of verse 14. Uh because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the wicked heart. Yeah. You know, it kind of almost reminds me of like a Hebrew style of writing. So if it's not Hebrew, it's Greek. Well, John is a Semitic Greek speaker. Semitic is like a class of language, but he's he's a he's a Hebraic speaker. Oh, okay. So there's there's you'll find that type of stuff. So I was like, "Wow, that's very like parallel." Yeah. Right. So there's a there's parallelism here in here, right? John loves that. He loves bringing up an idea and then bringing it up again later and then kind of massaging that idea around. Um but the point is right again fathers have known the one who's from the beginning and the young men you are strong. God has given you your strength to fight evil and to fight for what is good. Right? And so that's what he's saying, right? And but you are strong even the word of God which abides in you. How will you be strong? Forget why I guess. Well, that's a why will you be stronger? But how? How are young men made strong? What's the mark of their strength? The source of their strength. Um, look at verse 14. And the word of God abides in you. Yeah. Because the word of God abides in you. I think there's a double possible meaning here. One, right, what we're doing right now. Oh, how I love your Lord is my meditation all the day. How can a young man keep his way pure? By taking heed according to your word. Right? Meditating on God's word. that the the word but and logos the word you see here Nathan the word of God what is what else is called logos uh in logos [Music] oos it's called the what in the meaning was the word was the word was with God and the word was God was what's the word there saying the scriptures were always with God no it was it I'm pretty sure it's referring to same logo says in Christ and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the big the glory of the only begotten of God Christ in you. You get the words of God in you because you got Christ in you and that's how you become strong. That's how you fight Satan. That's how you overcome the evil one in this evil age. Right? So we try to rely on our own strength. How do I do when I try to rely on my own strength as as a a dad and as a husband, as a father? Well, dad and father, same thing. disciple as a preacher. Um, as a preacher? Yeah. I just say you you you get going and then you very quickly fall on your face. Yeah. But in my life, I'm just asking this honest thing, right? What's the difference that you notice when I'm walking by the spirit versus walking by the flesh? trying to be strong in my flesh versus being uh strong in Christ. For me, I think it's I I notic this for me too is when you just like I'm just going to muscle through this. I'll I'll just just keep doing it. Whatever. Like I don't care. I'll just do it. And then you end up becoming a mean angry jerk. Yeah. Because you just got to get it done. What? Get it done. Yeah. versus being I want to glorify God in this. So, let's lovingly do this. Yeah. Right. When you we when we try to be strong in our own strength, you're right. We often end up being I know I'm my propensity is to be a jerk. But that's that's not how that's not the tenor of the Christian man's life. The young man's life is to conquer. You ever seen on different athletic clothes there's like a lit check mark almost on it? Yeah. Do you know what company makes that? Nike. [Music] Nike. Niki. Nike is a Greek goddess of victory. Nike is from that Greek goddess of victory. And he says, "You have conquered the evil one." kind of gives a lot of hope, huh? Yep. Yeah. So, yeah, you're right. Maybe Satan's stronger than you. Not stronger than than the King of Kings. You ready to pray? Yeah. All right. God, we pray that we would put on the full armor of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth. We cling to the shield of faith. We pray that we would have our feet shaw with the gospel and our hands upon the sword of the Lord, the word, which is a double-edged sword. God, we pray that you would please help us not rely on our own strength, our own reason, our understanding, but God, we pray that you indeed would bless the children that they might know you, that you would strengthen fathers, that they would know you who is from the beginning, and that you would be with our young men, that they would indeed conquer the evil one. God, please give us strength in Christ, the word of God who dwells in us. We pray these things in Jesus's name. Amen. May God bless you. May he bless you with strength to fight with courage until the end. And we'll see you next time. Bye bye.