1 John 4:13-16

0:54Well, we're back to John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4, and John is going to make much about this truth, just articulated to you. The expression we kind of come to a high point in John's Gospel here, speaking specifically about what Christ has done, what God has done for us on our behalf. I'm going to go ahead and read verses 13 through 16. 1 John chapter 4, verse 13. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. We have seen and testified that the Father has Has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. Just to get you oriented back to where we are. 1 John 4 is a chapter that's all about testing the spirits. John is very emphatic that we need to be testing the spirits. There are many false prophets, false teachers that have gone out into the world. In fact, you can see this at the beginning of chapter in verse 1. Beloved, 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.

2:24You can know the spirits. You can know those articulating what they proclaim to be truth. You can know what kind of spirit they emerge from by what they are saying. What they are saying. By this, verse 2, you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard, that is coming, and now it is already in the world. So you can know what the spirits are, what these teachers are. Are who they are by what is coming out of their mouths. You can also understand them by what they hear, by what they are listening to. In verses 4 through 6, John basically boils it all down. Let me tell you who the spirit of the Antichrist, or those who are walking in step with the Antichrist, they are the ones who are not listening to us. And in verse 6, we are from God. He who knows God listens to us. He who is not from God does not listen to us. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So those who are listening to the Christ that the apostles proclaimed, these are the ones who belong to him, who are of the spirit of God. So you can tell the spirits by what they are saying, what's coming out of their mouth, who they are listening to, and in verses 7 through 12, by the way they love, by the way they love. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. And so we understand love by what God has done. That is the divine model of love. This is what love is. Love is sacrificial for those who are completely undeserving. That is what love is. When you give because you can get something from somebody, that's not love at all. Love is about sacrificing for the well-being of somebody else independently. Of their worthiness, or specifically because they are not worthy of it. But you can tell the spirit by their love or their lack of love.

4:44So that's how you can tell the spirits. But then, what John does in verses 13 through 16, our text this morning, he gets more personal. He wants us to test our own spirits. There's those in the pulpit, so to speak, philosophies test those spirits, but now you test your own spirit. Who do you listen to? What is shaping your thinking about God? Who are you listening to? What is coming out of your mouth? What is your life testifying to? Does it confess to the same thing that God's spirit confesses to?

5:33How do you love? Is there any kind of relationship between God's kind of love that we see in the scripture and what we certainly see manifested upon the cross? Is there any evidences of that kind of love in you toward other people? John wants us to be testing our own spirit because ultimately what this book is about is he wants us to be assured of our salvation. You can only Be assured of your salvation and right standing with God if these evidences are you, if you are confessing with your mouth the right truths, if you are listening to the right source of authority, and if this is showing up in the way you love one another.

6:16Spirits manifest themselves. And we entertain spirits all the time. And it's not hard to see. We are, our physical bodies are mouthpieces, our manifestation points for spirits. We are spiritual beings, and the spirits we entertain show up. It's not hard to see a spirit of anger, is it? It's not hard to be in a room and know when someone's mad at you, right? It shows up. Jealousy, same thing. Jealousy shows up, right? Indeed greed, it's not difficult. And the spirit of greed comes upon, you can see it. A spirit of worry, a spirit of anxiety, apprehension, depression. All of these manifest themselves.

7:05We are articulating, we are giving expressions to the spirits that we entertain or we let come upon us. Likewise, when the Spirit of God is upon a person, is in a person, it's easy to tell. And that's what John's saying. It's not hard to tell. Test your own spirit. He brings us down from pulpit ministry to your own personal ministry. What are you saying? What are you listening to? How are you loving? This is a very important scripture about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There's a lot of thoughts out there about God's Spirit and how He dwells and what the manifestations are. John gives us a very clear picture, two very specific manifestations that you cannot miss, where that God will be present. Where God is present, these things will show up. He doesn't want you uninformed about this.

8:14You remember in Exodus 40, when Moses had completed the tabernacle, and just before they were to set off and walk with God, the glory came upon the tabernacle, right? Filled it. God's presence, you could see the tabernacle. You knew God was there because of the presence of the cloud by day and the fire by night. You knew he was there. There was a physical manifestation of God's presence, so there is in us. And Paul makes it very clear in his sermon on Mars Hill, Acts chapter 17, verse 24: The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made. Made with hands. He dwells in temples made with flesh and blood. That is where he dwells.

9:10The question becomes to us today: what is the character of your spirit? Holy or earthly? Does the spirit of God dwell in you? Very basic question. Even a more basic question, which is related to this: are you a Christian? If you are a Christian, God's Spirit dwells in you. You are like the vine connected. I mean, you're like the branches connected to the vine and the vine connected to you, God in you, you in God. That's the essence of what being a Christian is about. And so, a very basic question that we all need to be able to answer is: does the Spirit of God dwell in me?

10:00How do you know that? Well, there's some subjective truths, but then there are some very objective truths. And John takes us through those this morning. And so, as we walk through this key text about the indwelling spirit, I want you to see three inseparable truths about God's indwelling spirit so that you will know whether or not God is dwelling in you and you in God. First truth: God dwells in us by his spirit. Look at verse 13.

10:38By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit. God is spirit. And John is saying, you can know. Look back at what he says, verse 13. Two observations. There's something we can know. What is it that we can know? By this, we know that we abide in him and he in us. We can know that he is the vine, we are the branches. We can know that we are in him and he is in us. We can know this. It's something certain. It's not something you need to be confused about. It's not something you need to be indifferent to. It's not or just uncertain about. You can be certain about your relationship with God. And this is really what the book is about. Remember, John 5:13, these things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. It's one thing to have eternal life. It's another thing to know it, right? That assurance. And here he is saying, We can know. We can know that we are in him and he is in us. And then he says why we can know it. Look back. By this, we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us his spirit. He has. He's done in the past with an ongoing effect. He has, once for all, he has given, given. Not that he's giving something that he would be taking away. No, it's a perfect, he is given it. He has given it, and the effects of it continue.

12:19He has given us of his spirit. God is spirit. We don't see God. John has just said, no one ever sees, no one at any time has ever seen him, right? Verse 12, no one has seen God at any time. But though we don't see him, we see the effects of him, right? You can know, you can see the unseen God through those he dwells in. The means of God's presence are his spirit. And just as there are the evidences of other spirits that we entertain, there are certainly evidences of God's abiding presence. And John is going to go on to give us two of those evidences.

13:16Two evidences are going to follow. First, inseparable truth: God dwells in us by His Spirit. He is Spirit. There is no other means. He dwells in us by His Spirit and by giving to us of His Spirit. That life-giving source of the vine, the branch. But his presence is evident in our confession. If you're connected to God and his presence is in you, it's going to show up in what comes out of your mouth or what you say with your life. It's going to come out in your confession. Just like if you test the spirits by what's being spoken, every spirit that confesses Christ is of God. Every spirit that doesn't is of the antichrist. Two categories. His presence will be evident in our confession. What are you saying with your life? What are you saying with what specifically as it regards to the person of Jesus Christ? Look at verse 14. We have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

14:24You know, earlier, as I just mentioned, John said that those who know God are listening to the testimony of the apostles, right? The apostolic community. Those who know him are listening. And here, he gives us two details of that testimony. So if you're who you are listening to says a lot about your spiritual origins, your spiritual nature. Are you of God or are you of the earth? If you are of God, if you're of Christ, you are listening to the Christ that revealed himself.

15:00To the apostles, and now to us through the apostles' words and the prophets that have recorded them. Those who know God are listening, and there's two details. Now he takes us into two specific details about their testimony. Look back. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son. Number one, the Father has sent the Son, has sent. Again, a perfect, it speaks of a historical event. God has sent His Son in His unique time and His unique place. He has sent His unique individual, and He had a purpose. He sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. So, to be the Savior of the world, guess what? You have to save. He sends His purpose is to save the world. That was His unique purpose. God sent His Son to save.

16:02But also implied in these words is that there is no one else that's going to come to fill this purpose. God has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. There's no one else coming. No one else coming. If you come to Christ. You will not perish with this world. The world is already passing away. The darkness is already passing away. And you, if you are not in Christ, you are passing away. Get on the ark.

16:46Get on the ark, just as in Noah's day. The world, as you know it, is going to be passing away in a torrent of wrath. And unless you are saved, unless this one, unless God has sent his son to save, and you are in him, unless you are in him, you will perish with the world. We see decay all around us, right? I see it every time I look in the mirror. Nancy and I, we celebrated our 27th anniversary, and we decay. Not her, of course. She doesn't. It's pretty as ever, right?

17:26But boy, we see it. We see the decay all around us in our bodies, in our society. We see a decay. We see things that are moving in a direction of decay. Kingdoms come, kingdoms go. It's not hard to see it. It's not hard to see that we need a Savior, right? So the Father, first testimony about Jesus is that the Father has sent the Son. Second, To be the Savior of the world. In fact, the words to be aren't even there in the original. You can really say it like this: verse 14. We have seen and testified that the Father has sent the Son, the Savior of the world.

18:15The Son is the Savior of the world. It's interesting if you look back at verse 10 that Jesus is in this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. There He is the Savior, verse 9. You know, He saved us, He sent His Son, verse 9, He sent His Son. He sent His Son as the propitiation. What is that word? The sin offering. So, there, in verses nine and ten, God sent His Son to be the sacrifice for sin. Now, here He is described: God has sent His Son to be the Savior. It is by means of His atoning sacrifice that He is the Savior. It is only because of His sacrifice for the world that He can be the Savior of the world.

19:14And listen, if Christ has come to save us from our sins, it stands to reason that we must renounce the sins that He came to save us from. Beware of any doctrine, any teaching from any pulpit, anywhere that. Would make you comfortable in your sin. He calls you out of that. Think about this. You go, kids, think about this. All of you think about this. So suppose you go to a zoo and you see a nice tiger in the cage. He looks so cute, stripes are so pretty, and one of you just happens to slip through the bars and get in there to go pet the little tiger. And he hadn't eaten for a couple of days, by the way. What do you think is going to happen to you? You're going to get devoured, right?

20:09Now, suppose a zookeeper sees this happening, pulls out his tranquilizer gun, and he shoots the tiger, the only tranquilizer he has. The tiger goes to sleep. The zookeeper says, come on out, come on out. Suppose you start walking out, and then you look back and you go, what about that target? He's asleep and so pretty. Now I can go pet him. And you go back over there. What's good do you think is going to happen to you when that tiger wakes up?

20:39You're goner, right? Think about sin as the tiger, the very thing you need to be rescued from. Think about the zookeeper as the savior in some limited capacity. I know everything breaks down, but think about the That he has provided a way out. If you remain in your sins, either you are not saved from your sins, or Jesus is an incompetent Savior. The Father sent him to save the world, and in his competency, he does so. And if you remain in your sins, you have not been saved.

21:36That doesn't mean sinless perfection, but it does mean a renouncing, a changing of heart to what you once found comfortable. He came to save you from your sins. So he calls you out of those. He provides the penalty, he removes God's wrath, and then he brings you out. Genesis 4:7, God tells Cain, sin is crouching at the door like a tiger. It's ready to devour you. Sin is killing you. And God is calling you out of that.

22:19He calls you out by virtue of what he did on the cross. He calls you out by laying down his life to remove the Wrath and to change your disposition. Sin is killing you. Sin is a killer. And Jesus' saving capacity is comprehensive. He knows how to save. That's why the Father sent him to save. The world needed saving, and he sent a competent Savior. He sent himself, God of God sent himself. We need to be saved from the wrath of God. We need to be saved from that anger of God. Christ's atonement provides for that. His propitiation, the sin offering, he satisfies.

23:24But his salvation doesn't end there. He cleanses us. He delivers us. He renews us. Oh, step in and taste the sweet salvation. He continues to hold all things together. We need someone to hold all things together for us. He provides. He advocates on our behalf. He is preparing a place for our eternal habitation, comprehensive salvation. And the cross is the ultimate expression of it, but it's not the sum total of it. In fact, it's going to take all eternity to impact all this. But it's all there at the cross.

24:14Humanity needs a slave. It's a bad word for us today. And that's the very place that God's Word wants to take us all. Doulas. Freedom is being enslaved to the good God. Mark 10:44. Jesus said to the disciples who were talking about greatness, he's like, Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. Guess who the slave of all is? Christ Himself, holding all things together, who is purposed to be our good shepherd, who has committed himself to our well-being 24/7 throughout eternity. We need a slave.

25:13We need a Savior. My servant, Isaiah 53, will justify the many. Yeah, we need someone. Who will commit himself to our well-being? Not a slave in the sense to do our bidding. No, Christ is not that. Praise God. He comes to work for our well-being by calling us out of our own little, incarcerated, sinful, small world to the freedom of children of God. Vast is the expanse. Romans 8:38, as Paul is thinking through these same thoughts, he says, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all? How will he not also with him freely give us all things? Look, the cross is just, it says everything. It's the highest, it's the deepest, the most expansive expression of God's love for us.

26:31But coming after that is everything else. So the apostolic testimony about Jesus is that the Father has sent the Son, and the Son is the Savior of the world. That's the confession of the apostles. Now, let's look at the confession of those who receive their testimony, receive the apostolic testimony. Look back at verse 10. 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him and He in God. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him and He in God. Who is it that are listening to the apostles? Remember, as He said, those who are listening to us know God. Those who don't listen to Him do not know God. So, who are listening to this apostolic testimony? The message of the Apostles, those who walked with Him, who's listening to those? Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. That's who.

27:46God abides in Him, and He is, and He in God. The way a person welcomes God's presence into their life is by receiving the apostolic testimony. What are they saying? Jesus is Son of God, Savior of the world, and the sin offering. How do you welcome God's presence? You agree with God about his Son. What does the word confession mean? Admit something, to agree. It even carries the idea of publicly acknowledging, confession. Whoever is admitting, agreeing, publicly acknowledging, confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. There is the presence.

28:50You can see it through what is being said, through their mouth, and through their lives. A confession. And to confess is more than just recognizing the historical fact that a guy named Jesus walked along this earth. It's that. And it's more than just a theological statement. I don't care how developed that theological statement is about his deity and authority. He is God of God. He is King of kings. He is Lord of lords. There is His authority. He is God Himself. He is in the flesh. All that is necessary.

29:33But that takes more than the confession. It's not just the recognizing the historical fact or a high theological statement. To confess Jesus involves obedient trust in him as such. It's soul movement away from self to him. Whoever comes to him, that's the idea. It's soul movement away from. Your own self to him as the son of God. And all that implies with his authority, and all that that does to transforming the way you think and see the world around you. Listen, this world doesn't make any sense except from the perspective of eternity. All this is quickly going by.

30:27You can even look at Solomon in his whole book, and he's like, he tried it all and said, this world is absolutely vain, doesn't make any kind of sense at all whatsoever, until you look at it from the perspective of eternity. Your life isn't going to make sense if you're just looking at it from this perspective. God has put you in your place, in your time, for a unique reason. He has called you to Himself, and you're only going to make sense of all this stuff through the lens of eternity, which we see only but a part now.

31:03But confessing Jesus is obedient trust in Jesus. Why is this confession important? Well, the confession. The confession is the means of saving our soul. Remember, we are caught in a cage with the sin that wants to destroy us. And confessing Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior of the world, we come out of that prison. It is the confession, is the means of saving our souls. I mean, the work, the cause is Christ. The cause is His Spirit coming and illuminating our minds, but it doesn't happen without faith. Our responsibility, faith.

31:58God's sovereignty, His regenerating work. And where one has happened, the other is there. Where faith is, regeneration has happened. Where regeneration has happened, faith is. The confessing is that means. You see, we need to be saved from God's wrath. Yes. We need to be saved from slavery to do what we should not do. The salvation goes beyond. We need to be saved to the fear of not being loved. I think deep down we struggle with that far more than we ever care to admit. Does God really love me?

32:44There's a fear, a fear of maybe even being insignificant. Well, does my life even matter? You start looking at the world. I mean, I got to do something. I got to do something significant, right? And you really, you look at yourself and you realize how insignificant. How fleeting we are, how weak, and how even our greatest works are far short of anything glorious. And so we start looking for ways to attach significance to ourselves, and we need to be saved from that. Then we start looking around, we can get anxious about many things, worried about many things. But it's this confession that the highest in heaven came down and gave his life for us.

33:31It's in that confession that we become a Christian. And we come out of these cages of our own making. How do you become a Christian? There's only one way: you have to experience the love of God. Your soul, this is the revolutionary thought. Your soul has to take this truth in. We take it in the bread, take it in. Picture of truth going in, sacrifice, blood, take this truth in. That's the expression of the love of God.

34:16The entire gospel is encapsulated in the fact that God sent His Son to be your Savior. That's the soul's revolutionary thought. Let this sink in. Sometimes I think in our church circles we can become inoculated to these truths, pass over them very quickly, and not understand the profound depth. Why do we keep going through the elements month by month? Because we forget easy. We want to move on, and yet, in here is the truth where you will experience your liberation. It's here where the sinner personally experiences the forgiveness of sins. It's at the cross, it's here that you will experience the satisfaction, rest for your soul, and for all you vacation Bible schoolers that are coming. How does a Christian get rid of the burden off his back? That burden is very complex. It involves sin. How do you get out from under the wrath of God? Come to the cross.

35:26How do you get out of that fear of not being loved? Come to the cross. Everything you want is freely given in Him. And you start realizing that at the cross and nowhere else. Oh, yeah, the highest in heaven gave His life for me. That'll dissipate every fear of insignificance and not being loved if you really believe it. Problem is, we really don't believe it. The truth: Your Maker, John 1:1, in the beginning was the Word, created all things, has tabernacled among us, and He came here so that you will understand that your Maker loves you beyond all measure, and it is only by believing a lie that you go a different direction.

36:23And so, we proclaim to you this morning: come to Him, let these truths take root. He spared not His Son, He's going to give us all things. Any system of thought that robs God of His Godhead inevitably robs God of the glory of His love. John Stott's words: Any system of thought that robs Christ of His Godhead inevitably robs God of the glory of His love and robs us of the one belief that can generate mature love in us.

37:05Do you understand that you're loved? Do you really understand you're loved? Let me try to drive this home a little bit further because if you don't get this, you don't get the essence of the gospel, you don't get the reason for the existence of the church. Let me tell you how you're loved. You remember when Christ was born, what happened? Angels lit up the sky, didn't they? Glory to God in the highest. Heaven's joy just opened up, right? Did that happen at your birth?

37:45It really didn't, did it? Jesus was baptized, and all of a sudden, heaven couldn't be quiet. Heaven opens up. This is my beloved son. This is the one I'm excited about. This is the one I love. Hear him. Mount of Transfiguration, right? Hear him. This is my beloved son. Did that ever happen to you? Really didn't, did it? But God gave the one that he was so excited about for you. God sent his son to be the Savior of the world. He sent his only unique one, the one that he is absolutely excited about, the one he absolutely loves. He sent him for you. Where does that take, if you believe this truth, what does that say about your value to heaven? What does that say about your significance in God's eyes?

38:54It's at the same level of Christ himself. Speak to that unbelieving heart of yours and let this truth come in and have its place. This is how you're loved. Experience this love, and you become a Christian. Why in the world is there such great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents? Why? Why? It's because here that Christ gains the reward for his suffering. All heaven reckon when a sinner repents, that's the so what of the cross.

39:44That's why heaven erupts in joy. Another one has come. How do you join God? By confessing Him, by letting His testimony be your testimony, by letting God's testimony about Christ be your testimony about Christ. I wish I could explain this more. If I was Charles Spurgeon, I'd say it like this: like a mighty forest lies within the cup of a single acorn, so God's mighty salvation resides in this simple confession. One little confession. One little acorn, a whole forest. One little confession, the whole substance of heaven itself.

40:41God is love. God sent His Son to be our Savior. We need to move on, don't we? So God dwells in us by His Spirit, an inseparable truth from the ones that follow. His presence is evident in our confession, and His presence is evident in our love. His presence is evident in our love, our love to God, our love to His Word, our love for each other. God is love. Everything that He does comes out of the disposition of love. Look at verse 16. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him.

41:31The kind of love that is eternally in God and historically manifested in Christ comes to fruition everywhere He dwells. And the only way to love is by living in God and God in us. We're never going to love like God unless God is in us and we in Him. And this is that revolutionary thought. Look at what John says. We have come to know and have believed. We have come to know and believe. We have come to understand the kind of love which our Heavenly Father has for us. And we are absolutely convinced that God loves us in this manner. Are you absolutely convinced that God loves you in this manner? Do you understand what love really is? There's only one kind of love the gospel is talking about here. That's that kind of love that the Father has to give us that which was absolutely most precious to him for our well-being, sacrificially given to us, even though we absolutely did not deserve it. That's the nature of God.

42:46And that is where your soul needs to find its rest. You will not find your soul restful or satisfied anywhere else. This is the pinnacle thought of the letter. The supreme evidence of God's love for us is the sending of His Son. And the supreme source or the source for our inspiration of love for one another, same source, Holy Spirit. How do we know? God is with us by what we are confessing and how we are loving. He is the inspiration.

43:34As Christians, we live in the sphere of love. That's where we live now. We've been moved out of the sphere of darkness into the sphere of love. We are the object of God's love, and then we are that channel of love to others. You understand that love is not an option for the Christian. It is essential to being a Christian. Without love, a person is not a Christian. Because the same Spirit who brings about the confession is the same one who brings about the love. God is spirit, God is truth, God is light. That's what John is saying. Three is God is spirit, God is light, God is love. The very essence shows up here. He dwells in us by his spirit.

44:34Truth, light, confession about who Christ is, love, love for him, love for others. Question: Why? I often hear it: why are there so many professing Christians today who do not love? What's wrong with the church? All these critiques of the church, why the church doesn't do in society what it should do, and all this, why it isn't, and many of us have seen this firsthand, those who profess. Christ, and yet you seem absolutely void of love.

45:07It's crossed the board, isn't it? Many things throughout history recognize, well, that isn't Christ-like. What's wrong? Why are there so many professing Christians who do not love? Well, the answer is very simple: they're not Christians. That's the truth. That's what John is saying here. Where God shows up, love shows up. So many have rejected Christianity. They don't love. They don't know how to forgive. They don't know how to be kind. Why? They're not Christian. Listen, if the Spirit of God is in you, there will be a disposition to forgive. There will be a disposition to sacrifice for the well-being of others. There will be a disposition of putting yourself second, third, fourth, fifth, slave of all. If you have any kind of connection with the Spirit of God.

46:09Question: Have you experienced the love of God? If you look into your heart and you can say, you know, I really struggle with love on a much more profound level, you know what you need to do? You need to experience the love of God. You don't need to go out and try harder to love. You need to take a long look at the cross. Because you're carrying around some burdens that you don't realize. The reason we don't love is because we have not confessed Christ and experienced the love of God ourselves.

46:51The question is: Does God's Spirit dwell in you? Before we started this whole thing, there are three inseparable truths. Whether you can tell whether or not God's Spirit is with you, in His Spirit, His presence will be clear in what you're saying about specifically about the person and Christ and how you love God, how you love each other. That's the evidences, and I would love to spend more time with you on this. But the evidences of God's abiding presence or absence in your life centers around your confession of Jesus and your love for one another.

47:39But if you are seeing evidences of a true confession of Christ, and many of you here, I've seen that, and you are. And if you are seeing evidences of genuine love, For one another. It's because the invisible God dwells in you and you in Him. And that's going to give you great confidence, which is where John takes us next. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, for your goodness we thank you for, for the truth, we thank you for. And Father, we confess we often rush through taking the elements. We often rush through these great truths and hardly give thought to their depth. But thank you for giving us this time this morning to pause and to think deeply.

48:43You do call us out. You save us from the fear of wrath, from the fear of not being loved, from the fear of insignificance, from the fear of, I mean, to work hard for whatever. Father, we don't have to be anxious, depressed, or longing for anything because in you we find you have provided our complete rest, our complete satisfaction. So, Father, we thank you for this living water that comes as a result of your Son. Thank you, and Father, may you be exalted here as we leave as ambassadors of your presence to the world and to those in this room in Jesus' name. Okay, yeah.