A. Knowing God (1 John 4:7-8; Philippians 3:8-11; Titus 1:16)
B. Christ gives us life (1 John 4:9; John 14:6; 1:4; 11:25; 5:24)
C. Christ is the propitiation of our sins (1 John 4:10)
D. We have no excuse to not love the brethren (1 John 4:11)
II. Confessing God’s love
A. The good confession (1 Jn. 4:15; Acts 8:37-38; 1 Tim. 6:12)
B. More than mere lip service (Matthew 15:8; 7:21)
III. Abiding in God’s love
A. Mutual indwelling and reciprocal abiding – the closest fellowship and communion possible (1 John 4:12-16)
B. We can be bold by conforming our lives to His (1 John 4:17; 1 Timothy 6:11; Ephesians 5:1-2)
C. There is no fear in love (1 John 4:18; Psalm 111:10)
IV. Practicing God’s love
A. Selflessly seeking the very best for another (1 John 4:19)
B. Love for the brethren flows from a love for God (1 Jn. 4:20)
C. You cannot love God if you do not love your Christian family (1 John 4:21)
A. The context: the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes (15:1-2); Jesus responds with parables
B. The parables: the lost sheep (15:4-7), the lost silver (15:8-10), the lost sons (15:11-32)
II. Looking
A. Light the lamp (John 1:9; Psalm 119:105)
B. Sweep your house (James 4:8)
C. Search carefully (Luke 19:10)
III. Love
A. When found—upon repentance—there is rejoicing
B. What is our attitude at the repentance of another?
A. Upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:19-20a; Acts 2:42)
B. Jesus is “the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20b-21; Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 28:16)
C. Built together in unity for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22; 3:17; Colossians 3:16)
II. Things necessary in order to build
A. Some things must be torn down (Judges 6:25-26; 2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Galatians 2:18)
B. Plans for growth (Ephesians 2:21; 4:11-16)
C. The proper foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11; Matthew 7:24-27; Psalm 89:14)
D. Wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 24:3-6; James 3:13-18)
E. Workers (Matthew 9:35-38; 2 Timothy 2:15)
A. Not natural fear (hurricanes, thunderstorms, etc.)
B. Not sinful fear (Genesis 3:1-5; Matthew 25:24-25; 2 Kings 17:29-33; John 3:19-21)
C. Godly fear (1 Samuel 12:24; Jeremiah 33:8-9; Hosea 3:5; Romans 8:15)
II. Godly fear works together with…
A. Godly love (Deuteronomy 6:1-5; Psalm 145:19-20)
B. Trembling before God (Exodus 20:18-20; Psalm 2:11; Philippians 2:12)
C. Delighting in God (Nehemiah 1:11;Matthew 28:8; Exodus 15:11)
III. Godly fear leads to obedience
A. It is man’s all (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
B. His commands are delightful (Psalm 112:1), not burdensome (1 John 5:3)
C. Godly fear sustains us (Jeremiah 32:40)
D. His goodness motivates obedience (Romans 2:4; 11:22)
A. The purpose: forgiveness
B. Prophesied (Isaiah 53:12)
C. Perpetual intercession (Romans 8:34)
II. A prayer of lamentation (Matthew 27:46)
A. The pain of separation from God (Psalm 22:1; Hebrews 2:9; Romans 3:25; Isaiah 53:6)
B. “Why?” is not a question expressing doubt or unbelief, but faith seeking understanding
III. A prayer of submission (Luke 23:46)
A. A willing surrender (Psalm 31:5)
B. Jesus gave His life; it was not taken from Him (John 10:17-18; 19:10-11; Matthew 26:53)
C. An act of love (John 3:16), grace (Hebrews 2:9), and mercy (Hebrews 8:12)
A. Stop believing every spirit
B. Test the spirits (Acts 17:11)
C. Many false prophets (Galatians 1:6-9)
II. The context: a specific false doctrine (1 John 4:2-3)
A. Gnosticism stated the divine Christ did not actually inhabit a fleshly body
B. The spirit of antichrist
1. Disobedient (1 John 2:19)
2. Deniers (1 John 2:22)
3. Deceivers (1 John 2:26)
C. If a teaching does not originate with God, it must be rejected by the faithful
III. The contrast: truth vs. error (1 John 4:4-6)
A. His readers had overcome (Jude 3; Romans 10:17)
B. The false prophets are of the world (2 Timothy 4:2-4; Matthew 7:13-14)
C. The apostles are of God (Acts 2:42; 2 John 9-11)
A. “Loses one” (Luke 15:4)…”one of them goes astray” (Matthew 18:12)
B. The very real danger of leaving one’s salvation or falling from grace (Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 6:4-6; 12:15; James 5:19-;20; 2 Peter 2:20-22)
II. The affection for the lost
A. Deep concern for those outside (Romans 9:1-3; Psalm 119:136, Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law.)
B. Rejoicing at repentance (Luke 14:5-6) – more than for the faithful! (Luke 14:7; Matthew 18:13)
III. The action toward the lost
A. “Go after” (Luke 15:4)…“go to the mountains to seek” (Matthew 15:12)
B. What do the lost need from us? They need us to:
1. Pray for them (James 5:16)
2. Take action (Galatians 6:1)
3. Tell them their faults (Matthew 18:15-20)
4. Tell them they are needed and missed (Romans 12:4-5)
5. Tell them to repent and return to their first love (Revelation 2:4)
6. Show them the depth of our love through discipline (1 Corinthians 5:4-5)
7. When repentance comes, reaffirm our love for them (2 Corinthians 2:6-8)
Adapted from a lesson delivered by David Smith at PTP Brandon 2025
A. You can’t solve a problem without first admitting there is a problem (Isaiah 59:1-2)
B. The problem: the influence of the world (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
II. Mourn and weep (9:3)
A. Are we broken-hearted over our sin? (Psalm 51)
B. Godly sorrow (Matthew 5:4; 2 Corinthians 7:9-11)
III. Fear of God should bring us closer to Him (9:4)
A. Do we have a proper view of God? (Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8; 1 Peter 1:16)
B. Even Moses trembled! (Hebrews 12:18-21)
IV. Pray (9:5-15)
A. Humility (Luke 18:13)
B. Reverence (Matthew 6:9)
C. Sorrow (James 4:9)
D. Honesty (James 4:10)
E. Gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
V. Commitment to change (10:1-4)
A. Despite sin, there is hope (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
B. Get out of the sin (Acts 17:30-31)
C. “Be of good courage, and do it” (James 1:22)
A. “By this we know love” (1 John 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:9)
B. No greater expression of love ever demonstrated (Luke 9:18-22; John 10:11, 15, 17-18; 19:10-11)
II. The ultimate motive of love
A. We are indebted to each other (1 John 3:16; Romans 1:14)
B. Love in action (1 John 3:17; Acts 4:32-37; 2 Corinthians 8:1-4)
C. Actions speak louder than words (1 John 3:18; James 2:14-17; Matthew 25:31-46)
III. The ultimate results of love
A. Gives us assurance (1 John 3:19-20; 1:9)
B. Gives us confidence in prayer (1 John 3:21-22)
C. Ensures that we abide in Christ (1 John 3:23-24)
A. Following, but not really following?
B. True discipleship is farsighted, grounded in reason
C. Utmost love for Christ!
D. “His own life also” (Stephen, Acts 7:51-60)
E. The meaning of “bear your cross”
II. Count the cost (14:28-30)
A. The parable of the tower builder
B. What are the demands of discipleship?
C. What happens if you fail to finish?
III. Pay the price (14:31-33)
A. The parable of the king at war
B. The priority MUST be God
C. Nothing is more valuable than your soul (Matt. 16:26)
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
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