1 John 2:1-2
Help for the sinner and the restoration of fellowship.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
a. We have an Advocate: God’s desire is that you may not sin. Yet if we do, there is provision made – an Advocate, a defense attorney on our side. Our Advocate is Jesus Christ Himself!
Jesus is our defender, even when we sin now. God is not shocked by human behavior. He has seen it all in advance. He didn’t forgive us at one time to later say, “Look what they did now! If I would have known they would go and do that, I would have never forgiven them.” His forgiveness is available to us now.
It’s as if we stand as the accused in the heavenly court, before our righteous Judge, God the Father. Our Advocate stands up to answer the charges: “He is completely guilty your honor. In fact, he has even done worse than what he is accused of, and now makes full and complete confession before You.” The gavel slams, and the Judge asks, “What should his sentence be?” Our Advocate answers, “His sentence shall be death; he deserves the full wrath of this righteous court.” All along, our accuser Satan, is having great fun at all this. We are guilty! We admit our guilt! We see our punishment! But then, our Advocate asks to approach the bench. As he draws close to the Judge, he simply says: “Dad, this one belongs to Me. I paid his price. I took the wrath and punishment from this court that he deserves.” The gavel sounds again, and the Judge cries out, “Guilty as charged! Penalty satisfied!” Our accuser starts going crazy. “Aren’t you even going to put him on probation?” “No!” the Judge shouts. “The penalty has been completely paid by My Son. There is nothing to put him on probation for.” Then the Judge turns to our Advocate, and says, “Son, you said this one belongs to You. I release him into Your care. Case closed!
A Study of the Sermon on the Mount
6:30 pm, Wednesday, May 18, at Bruce and Linda’s.
Matt. 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The Fruit of the Spirit
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” —Gal 5:22-23
The Greek word translated “fruit” refers to the natural product of a living thing. Paul used “fruit” to help us understand the product of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside every believer. The fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Spirit, not by the Christian. The Greek word is singular, showing that “fruit” is a unified whole, not independent characteristics. As we grow, all the characteristics of Christ will be manifested in our lives.
Yet, like physical fruit needs time to grow, the fruit of the Spirit will not ripen in our lives overnight. Like a successful gardener must battle against weeds to enjoy the sweet fruit they desire, we must constantly work to rid our lives of the “weeds” of our old sin natures that want to choke out the work of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit gives us the power we need to reject those old sinful desires. We can say “no” to sin and accept the “way out” God faithfully provides (1 Cor 10:13) by following the Holy Spirit’s leading. As we give the Spirit more control of our lives, He begins to do in and through us what only He can do – to shape us and grow us to look like Jesus (2 Cor 3:17-18).
Since God’s goal for all His children is for us to be like Jesus (Rom 8:29), the Holy Spirit constantly works to rid our lives of the “acts of the sinful nature” (Gal 5:19) and display His fruit instead. Therefore, the presence of the “fruit of the Spirit” is evidence that our character is becoming more like Christ’s.
Sharing Your Faith
WEEK FOUR – Who’s Driving? (June 2)
NOTE: Next meeting is June 2 at the new home of Kathy Semones.
775 Evergreen Drive, Spencer, VA 24165
Here’s the fourth video: Who’s Driving? (You can skip the ad in 5 seconds)
PREVIOUS WEEKS
WEEK THREE – Sharing (May 19)
NOTE: This week we’ll be meeting at the home of Bruce and Linda Fulcher.
632 Evergreen Drive, Spencer, VA 24165
Here’s the third video: Sharing (You can skip the ad in 5 seconds)
We really had a great time tonight and so glad to have shared Bruce’s birthday (or is that the 20th?).
WEEK TWO – Caring (May 12)
Here’s the second video: Caring (You can skip the ad in 5 seconds)
WEEK ONE – Praying (May 5)
Tonight, and for the next two sessions, we’re going to review Canon J. John‘s presentation of sharing our faith by praying, caring, and sharing.
Here’s the first video: Praying (You can skip the ad in 5 seconds)
And here’s a link to the app I mentioned. I think you’ll like it. Echo Prayer App
Going forward, let’s consider taking a deeper dive into the concept of sharing our faith by praying, caring, and sharing using a nine-week study, Loving People to Jesus: Praying-Caring-Sharing by Alvin J. Vander Griend. You can get it here.
After a year or so under the Covid cloud, we’re finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Let’s pray that 2021 will be a phenomenal year of spiritual growth for HCC and for each of us personally. Here’s an interesting article: Viral Evangelism
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