1 John

It's going to be on page 1227 of the bibles coming round, 1 John 4. 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. 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, 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.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them. Because the 1 who is in you is greater than the 1 who is in the world. They are from the world, and therefore, speak from the viewpoints of the world and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us but whoever is not from god does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

Dear friends let us love 1 another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God, whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us, He sent his 1 and only son into the world that we might live through him. This is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love 1 another. No 1 has ever seen God but if we love 1 another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us. He has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and testify that the father has sent his son to be the savior of the world.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love that God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. 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. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The 1 who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God and yet hates a brother or sister is a liar.

For whoever does not love their brother and sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. Well, good morning. My name is Pete Woodcock, and I'm 1 of the pastors of the church, and we've been working our way section by section through this remarkable little book written by The Apostle John, 1 of the disciples of Jesus, just writing this to the churches, and therefore, writing it to us, and we're seeing how relevant it is.

Let me introduce you to 3 3 car drivers, 3 car drivers. The first driver has up to date mot, up to date tax, up to date insurance, he's checked his tires, and they're they're good. They got good tread on them. He he drives with respect for other people, because he's considerate. He drives within the the laws, in the bounds of the law.

He doesn't speed. He's not drink driving and all of that sort of stuff. He's not a perfect driver. Because who is, he makes mistakes. Obviously, sometimes misjudges things, but he's prepared to say, sorry.

Driver number 1. Driver number 2. He definitely has no emotion. He has no tax. He has no insurance.

He's been meaning to do it. It ran out yesterday. His tires are bald, but he thinks they're probably safe enough to be driving. He has had a few drinks. He knows he's slightly over the limit, but he thinks he can control the car.

He needs to be at a at a very, very important meet meeting, and that's why he's speeding. That's driver number 2. Driver number 3. Driver number 3 is just unsure about all those things. Probably got an MOD, thinks thinks he has but he's not fully sure about it, hasn't checked it recently.

Thinks that he's got tax, but there used to be a time where you had a sort of sticker, a little round thing on your window screens to tell you whether your tax was today or not. But we've got rid of that, so maybe he missed the email. I'm not sure whether he's got the tax or not. Again, not sure if he's got insurance. At least for this car.

Tires, they're fairly new, so I guess they're probably hopefully alright. And I've really no idea this driver doesn't seem to know what the speed limit is because he doesn't really know his highway code, and so 40 will do, I guess. Now, all 3 drivers got them. I don't know which 1 you are. Hopefully, you're not the second, but all 3 drivers, here's very, very easy questions.

Which driver would be more in fear of the law? Which driver? Which driver is more anxious when they're driving around getting caught. If a blue flashing light pulled up behind all 3 drivers, which 1 would have more confidence? Which 1 would be unpersuaded that the conversation with the policeman is gonna go well?

Which drivers? The first driver can be confident. He's up to date on everything. The second driver is in fear, when he sees the blue flashing light, my goodness, me. The third driver again is very unsure and therefore sees the light and is just crossing his fingers and hoping that he's up to date on those things.

Now, why this illustration? Because we're in this passage where John, the apostle, is writing the words of the Lord Jesus for for his churches. It's a passage to encourage genuine Christians that they can be confident, that they can be sure. John is saying that genuine Christians can have a confidence which would be the equivalent of driving around with your MOD and insurance and tax and so forth all up to date. You can know, he's saying.

You can know. And all of those things are gifts from God, God in this kind generosity has given those gifts. So there is no need to fear. Look at verse 18, it's a complicated verse but you can see It's got fear in it several times. He actually says perfect love drives out fear.

So John is talking about driving out fear. Now, the fear he's talking about is not the fear of heights or clowns or spiders or the dark or even policemen. It's not it's not the fear of that. He's talking about the fear of the day of judgment. Look at verse 17.

This is how love is made complete among us, so that we will have confidence, and not fear, confidence on the day of judgment. And then again, if you look at verse 18, he has that phrase fear has to do with punishment. So put all this together and this is what you've got. On the day of judgment, when all will be revealed about you and me, on the day when we stand before our created God, the God of light in whom there is no darkness. He's already shown us that in his letter.

When we stand before that God on the day of judgment, you, he says, Christian, can be confident. On the day that the driver is pulled over by the policeman, and there's a blue flashing light behind him, The first driver can be confident. They can be confident. They've got all the stuff to make them confident. The second driver, you wanna you wanna fear.

You should not be confident because it's the day of judgment of the flashing light. And the third driver you're gonna be really unsure. And so check before you go out. And that's what John is doing here. He's showing us what we need to have confidence before the all seeing God of light who will judge or mankind.

If you have the things that he's he says, and we'll see them in a minute, then you should have confidence like the first driver. If you don't, you should be fearful like the second driver. And if you're unsure, don't stay there. Don't stay there somewhere I'm unsure. Find out.

Don't stay there and say, oh, I don't know whether the tires have a look. Here's the flow of the passage. Let me give you the flow of the passage. So open that passage between you, what so you can see, We're actually looking at verses 12 to the end of the chapter. Verse 12 to 21.

Here's the flow of the passage, a big overview, and then we get into it. And each of the elements that will help you not to fear and have confidence Each of the elements are wrapped up in love. They're all to do with love. They're all related to love as we'll see as we go through. So here it goes.

Verse 12. If you love, you're like God because God is love, verse 12. If you love, you have the spirit of God in you. Verse 13, we live in him and he in us. If the spirit of God lives in you, you will believe and acknowledge that the father sent the son to be the savior of the world, verse 14.

If you acknowledge and know that, you will rely on the love of God verse 16. If you rely on the love of God, then you, yourself, will love. So verse 19, we love because we're first loved. And if we love, because we're first loved, verse 20, we will love brothers and sisters in the church. Therefore, in the middle of that verse 17, God is completing, he's perfecting, his work in us, and he's making us like Jesus, who himself is a demonstration of love.

You got it? And that will give you confidence. That's his that's his thinking. We're gonna go through those points. That's his thinking.

But of course, there are many genuine Christians that are caught up living in fear. Do I really have the right to drive to drive the car? Have I got the MOT? Have I have I got the insurance, the tax and so forth? And so so there are Christians that are utterly paralyzed and demoralized by a lack of confidence, a lack of assurance, Now, John's dealt with this subject before, and I've dealt with it before, and you can listen online to to that, because it's a very important thing.

But there are people that are paralyzed, and they'll never get in the car, they'll never drive anywhere, they'll never get on with their Christian life because they lack confidence and they have massive fear. They're plagued with doubts and their relationship with God. And because they're plagued with doubts, they become joyless. And the Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So they're joyless and they become no strength.

Because there's this lurking gloom and guilt over them. Have I got my m o 2? Have I got my sex? I don't know. So John is saying, look, you can know.

Let's make sure you know. So here's a series of questions then. To help us know, to help us know which driver we are as well. Here's the first 1, my first point. Have you received the Holy Spirit of God?

You see that in verse 13? Have you received the Holy Spirit? Is God dwelling in you by His Holy Spirit. Verse 13, this is how we know we live in Him and he in us, he has given us his spirit. In verse 12, there's a problem.

The problem is that God is unseen. So how do I know he's by my side? How do I know he's with me? And my wife is seen. I can see the top of her head now.

Now she's looking at me and smiling. That's cheered me up. But she's with me. I know her, because I can see her. I know Anne is by my side.

But what about God? How do I know he's with me? Well, in verse 12, he says, you know God is with you because you are loving like God and you couldn't do that without the Holy Spirit. Verse 13. This is how we know we live in Him.

How? Because you're loving like God loves. And he in us. He's given us the Holy Spirit. It.

True Christians are not just people that go to church and try and be nicer than other people, This is a supernatural spiritual faith. True Christians are born again of the Holy Spirit. The first sermon that was preached at the beginning of the church by the apostle Peter In on the day of Pentecost, when Jesus had died on the cross, risen again, ascended to heaven, and had sent his holy spirit. The first sermon Peter preaches in Jerusalem goes like this. Repent and be baptized.

Every 1 of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the promise is for you, and for all those who will believe. So here's the gift of the spirit. When you when you've turned to Jesus, And that by the way, that's why baptism is a really important thing, because you can look back to that day and say that was the day I declared Jesus publicly. You receive the Holy Spirit when you believe, when you repent and are baptized.

Paul said, if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he doesn't belong to Christ. The greatest gift that the ascended Lord Jesus Christ has given the church is the Holy Spirit, and from him comes all these other gifts so that we can live consistently as children of God in this world. And a fruit of the Holy Spirit is what? Love. Love.

So if you're beginning You haven't completed it yet, but if you're beginning to love other brothers and sisters, then that is part of the evidence that the spirit of God, the holy spirit is in you. That's your mot if you like. Although, don't get too I'm not trying to get too clever with that. Bungion could do it, but I can't. But that's that's 1 of the evidences.

So here's the question, have you received the Holy Spirit? Here's the second. Have you received the apostolic testimony, apostolic simply means those who witnessed Jesus firsthand and were called by Jesus to pass it on. Look at verses 13 and 14 again. Have you received the apostolic testimony?

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us, he has given us his spirit. And we have seen and testify that God the Father has sent his son to be the savior of the world. So linked with the witness of the Holy Spirit is the witness of Aposecles, the first century apostles. The we that John writes in verse 14 is clearly the apostles. Because we we've just seen in verse 12, we haven't seen God.

And here he's saying, we apostles, have seen God in Christ. Do you see that? So they had the privilege of of he says in chapter 1 of of seeing and touching and tasting and walking and experiencing. The word made flesh. We've seen him, and our job is to pass that on to you.

Jesus taught his disciples this, in in in John chapter 15. Listen to what he says, he says, when the counselor comes, that's the Holy Spirit, When the counselor comes whom I will send to you from the father, the spirit of truth, who goes out from the father, He would testify about me, but you also must testify for you have been with me from the beginning. So Jesus is linking up the testimony of the apostles and the Holy Spirit. So we can have assurance that this is a true document, if you like. This is true record of God breaking into this world.

It's not just made up by a few preachers. It's not a nice story that some group of people made into Christianity like the story. It's actually I witnessed testimonies that the word became flesh and that gives us an assurance. This is true. This is real.

This isn't made up. Peter, another of the apostles says this in 1 of his letters to the churches. We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you. About the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eye witnesses to his majesty.

We saw this glorious 1 who was altogether different from other humans, what he did, what he said, how he spoke, how he reacted, how he showed us who God is. So part of the work of the spirit in us is that we will begin to love but also that we see that the testimony of the apostles that are inscripturated, they're written down in the bible. Are just that. The word of the living God, about the father who has sent his son to be my savior. That's a Christian anchor.

That's a Christian rock to build your life upon, not fairy tales, not fancies. It's interesting that at the end of John's gospel, his gospel, not his letter, You get Thomas, who was an unbeliever. He didn't believe that Jesus had risen again. He didn't believe the other apostrophe He said, I'm not gonna believe. And there's that scene at the end of the gospel where Jesus comes and says, what were you saying, Thomas?

Thomas had said, unless I can put my finger in the hole of his side and the the hole in his hand where the where the where the where the spike had been on the cross, I'm not gonna believe. And then Thomas sees that he does put his finger in and he does believe, He says, my Lord and my God. But Jesus says this to Thomas. He says, you believe because you've seen, and then he says this. Bless to those who have not seen.

Yet believe. Bless. And it's a very full word. There's a particular blessing that comes through the apostolic testimony. We haven't actually seen Jesus the risen 1.

But when we believe we're blessed, in a way that will bring an assurance to us, a completion of our belief. Peter says, again, in his letter, you haven't seen Christ, but you love him. You love him. 1 of the reasons why the devil attacks scripture so much is to take away our assurance. Constantly attacking Scripture.

Constantly is the church. Don't believe this in the Scriptures. DENy this. Play that 1 down a little bit. But it's these very scriptures, the bible, that gives you assurance that you are loved by Christ.

And that's taken away if you're not in that scripture regularly. So we have our mot, we have tax all paid for. Here's the third thing. Have you personally acknowledged Jesus? Look at verse 15.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the son of God, God lives in them, and they in God. There's a personal acknowledgement. We've seen that word before and again, I've done a preach on it and you can listen to that. Because John is going over the same things to rub it in so we really get this. The personal acknowledging of Jesus, It's not just believing the apostolic historic testimony, the Scriptures, it is that, but it's actually alive.

It's not it's not a dead book. There's a living savior in it, that we acknowledge that we We put our trust in that we we say, take my life. Paul puts it this way in Romans's 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.

Do you believe that in your heart? Because if you do, you're saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified. That's made right in the courtroom of God. And it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

As the scripture says, anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame. You don't have to be put to shame. You can have a confidence you're saved. If you've personally said, Lord, Jesus, be my Lord a Savior. Have you said that?

It's living and active. So there's your insurance, There's a fourth thing there. Are you experiencing God's love now? Are you experiencing God's love now? You get this in verses 16 to 19.

It's the fourth way we find confidence, assurance, that God is alive and active in us. Look at verse 16. It's an amazing little sentence. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love.

Whoever lives, whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. Fear, the original fear comes through adam and eve, in the Garden of Eden, not listening to God, but listening to Satan. It's interesting, isn't it? The history of fear comes from there. They didn't listen to God, they disobeyed, and then they run and hid in the jungle hiding from God in fear.

This is what Adam says. I heard your voice, that's the voice of God. I heard your voice, That's the voice of love and creation and beauty and splendor and relationship, but It's supposed to be, there's the voice of God and we should run out like a child to a father. Dad. I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, so I hid.

That's where fear comes from. We're hiding I haven't got the clothing that God wanted me to clothe, I was naked so ahead. I haven't got the MOD and the taxi. The blue lights come, and I'm in fear I'm gonna hide. John says, though, in verse 18, perfect love drives out fear.

Paul writes, in another letter in the Bible, God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Spirit of God brings a love and a power and a sound mindliness. If you're a true Christian says, John, you don't have to be afraid of God. The word afraid that John uses there is the word phobia. You know, everybody's got a phobia nowadays, something.

Sort of that's how people identify themselves, isn't it? I've got a phobia, so that's what I am. It's a weird thing. Or are you something phobic? You know?

It actually means fear. And in this case, It's fear of running away from it's not the it's not that we it's not the fear that we have as a creature and God is the creator, and he's awesome and we're not. It's a phobia fear. It's like, I've got to run away. It's what Adam and Eve were doing.

Oh, no. I heard his voice, phobia. Let's run away. We got a God phobia. Let's run away.

John's saying, if you are a a Christian, you don't have to have that fear. It's a fear of punishment. You don't have to have a fear of punishment. There is no condemnation says the Bible. For those who are in Christ Jesus.

You don't have to fear, punishment. Why? Because of the love of God. And what's the love of God do? It sends the Lord Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice.

It sends Jesus to deal with the very thing that we are fearful about, our sin. He's the 1 that covers us up. He's the 1 that covers us up with his love. So I don't need to fear. So John is saying, are you experiencing?

Are you really understanding? Relying on this love of God? Think about how much he loved you. Think about his demonstration of his love for you. Think about how God, while you were a sinner, sent the Lord Jesus Christ in love to rescue you.

If he loved you then when you were at your worst, when you were a sinner, and he saved you and brought you into the family, will he stop loving you? We experience this love. We're meant to Remind ourself of it. Understand it's firmly fixed in history by the apostolic testimony. Understand that I won't understand this love without the Holy Spirit, but as he works in me, I begin to understand and he works it in me.

We experience the love of God. Did you did you notice verse 17? It has words like, be like Jesus and complete. Look, look, well, let me read it. Verse 17 of 1 John 4.

This is how love is made complete in us, so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment. In this world, we are like Jesus. Now you said yourself, well, Jesus has got complete love, but I haven't. But we saw last time that the word complete is is god working his love in us, completing his love in us. If you read through the scriptures, you'll see that very often Paul will pray, for instance, in the to the Church at Thessalonica, He prays that their love will increase.

When it says a complete love, it does it doesn't mean that it's finished. It's doing its job. God is completing the task of love by in you working in you so that you will be like his son whom he's bowled over with. Paul says to the Philippian Church, He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. He's gonna complete that work.

So there's no need to be afraid. He's working in you. You know, it's not a flawless love that you have, but there's love there and he's working that on and 1 day it will be complete. He's working in you. You have the Holy Spirit.

Paul says, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Be energized with the holy spirit. Ask the spirit into every area of your life to be working love. Paul says, keep in step with the Holy Spirit. Keep walking down those lines, and evidence of love will come out.

Verse 18, do you see that? The end of verse 18 is really the negative side. The 1 who fears is not made perfect in love. It goes like this, I think. We don't understand God's love for us, so we don't rely on his love, we try to rely on ourselves.

So therefore, we don't love others like we should. So we're not producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit love, so we're not becoming more like Jesus, so our confidence goes. And we fear. The answer is first 19. We love because we first He first loved us.

Experience that love. So can I ask you, are you continually experiencing? The love of God in Christ dying for you, and the spirit working in you. Which leads me to my fifth point. We're nearly there.

We've got another 18 to go. Are you practicing God's love. Are you practicing God's love? Verse 20 to 21, Have you received the Holy Spirit is the first test. Have you?

Have you received the Holy Spirit? Have you received the apostolic testimony Have you personally acknowledged Jesus? Are you experiencing the love of God by seeing what he's done for you and that's working out for you. And here's the fifth, are you practicing the love? Look at verse 20 and 21.

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom may have seen cannot love God, whom may have not seen. And he has given us this commandment. Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. In other words, If you're hating a Christian brother and sister, you're not in love.

How can you be? Therefore, you'll have fear. Or you should have, because you're breaking the law of God, which is all about love. And you're breaking the character of God, which is seen in Jesus, love. And you're going against the Holy Spirit, and his Fruit, which is to produce love.

And you're going against the whole eternal nature of God. God is love. So if you're hating a brother and sister, fear. You got bald tires there. We actually find assurance.

As we practice love. That's how you find assurance. If you truly know the Lord Jesus Christ, you will have the Holy Spirit in you, and you will love your brothers and sisters. Support them, be generous towards them, be kind and merciful to others, Now let me get this because we're back to a thing that we said earlier on. John understands it's difficult to love someone you can't see, and we can't see God.

So how do you love him? It's really difficult. So what does he say, verse 20? Whoever claims to love God yet hate a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.

God has given us people in the church so we can love God. God's given us that. What amazing thing it is. This group of people at Cornerstone are given to you and given to me to so I can love God. It's very hard to love God because I can't see him.

But God's given me someone I can see, so I can love him. Or at least I can show I love God and it can be demonstrated as I love you, and you love me. And if you can't do the easy thing, which is love me the 1 that you can see, you're not going to do the hard thing, is to love the 1 that you can't see, says John. So church is essential for Christian life. It gives you an assurance as you practice love.

Even to people that are irritating, particularly to them as you love. Because you're demonstrating that you love God, and it's giving you an assurance. You see that? John Piper writes this. Love is perfected or completed, not when it is sinlessly flawless, but when it passes from talk to walk.

The completing of love is when we love actively, not just in words. The perfecting of love is when I see brothers and sisters that may be a bit unlovable, but I love. It demonstrates I love God. You can't do Christianity without church, or you'll never be assured. Bothers and sisters, let me say.

1 of the main reasons why so many professing Christians have such little confidence in their salvation is that they don't see the fruit of love in themselves. Why? Because they go it alone? They've made Christianity into what it has never ever been an individualistic relationship with God on his own. Never is that.

You can never know you love God if you don't love God's people. Do I love God? Well, do I love the brothers and sisters? Same question. You can be lacking confidence in your Christian life because you think of yourself too much.

The test is, the MOT, the insurance, the taxes, do I love the brothers and sisters? Is there a brother in need? And get in your car and go and give him a lift? Okay. Last point.

Let's rub this in. What to do then? What to do? These are very, very important tests. Very important.

Have I received the Holy Spirit? Have you? Have you received the Holy Spirit? Well, then your love. Have you received the apostolic testimony that Jesus is your loving savior?

Well, then your love. Have you personally acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Well, he's the Lord of love. Are you experiencing the love understanding just how much he forgave you? Then won't you love others?

Are you practicing that love? Really genuinely practicing it? What to do then? Well, back to the drivers briefly. If you are the first driver, you know you have the qualifications, and you have confidence.

You'll work hard, because you've got confidence. Never be complacent. Your tires can go bald and flat, but you have confidence. Sometimes you might have an accident. You've got confidence, but someone smashes into you.

And then you're thinking, have I got the MOT? I said, did I have the insurance? Is it in the glove box? You know, where is it? Sometimes an accident comes, but they're good.

They feel like disasters that they're part of God's kindness to us. Something happens in your life that stops you in your tracks, but it makes you say, hold it. Hold it. Have I have I got the relevant deet? You know, If you're the second driver, then I want to say to you, if you're the second driver and you know you haven't got those things.

You don't have the Holy Spirit. You're not relying on the apostolic testimony. You're not you're not acknowledging Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You're not not experiencing God's love as you practice love. Oh, stop the car and get out.

Because 1 day a blue light will stop you, the day of judgment is coming. If you've never had the Holy Spirit, then ask God for the Holy Spirit. He promises to give you the Holy Spirit. He says, ask, If you have not acknowledged Jesus as your Savior, acknowledge him. You bankrupt You bankrupt without him.

You've had it when that's flashing light stops you when the coronavirus eventually does get you. Yeah? As it seems to be creeping up because every news item another 1 has died, Probably you next. When that blue flashing light flashes, yeah? You haven't got a savior.

You got You're there with a crappy car and no insurance and no mot and Your tires you've got no excuse before the living almighty God. Get out of the car now. Asked the Savior, asked him to send the spirit in you that he'd change your heart. John Piper has an amazing load of tests. On this passage.

Let me read some of them to see where you are. Does your heart incline you to the testimony of the apostles and the prophets. Are you persevering in the testimony of the Scriptures. Now he he goes on and says, there'll be times of dry, and it's an indifference. But are you actually more like Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus wanting to listen?

Is that where your heart is? If it is. It's a great testimony. When your heart grows cold and you drift away from the word of God somehow, Is there a guilt that God in his kindness just flashes very briefly, a blue light, and it makes you think Oh, gosh. And you run back to the scriptures.

Great. When you hear the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in his glory is your heart beating. Then great. When you hear the description of love in the bible, do you wanna love like that? Even though you fail.

Are you going to do something? For a brother and sister out of love. Good questions, aren't they? Where are you? Which car are you in?

Father God, you know every single heart here And you know how we respond to these things? And we pray, please. You would help us to take warning and encouragement. That we would be confident in the love of God for us, because we see it in the apostolic testimony of the lord Jesus Christ and his death for us. Help us, please, practice these truths in Jesus' name, amen.