Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 142
TRANSCRIPT
1 John 2:4 says “The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Those are either pretty harsh words or they are the words of a loving Father who only wants the best for His children. In this podcast I am going to look at 1 John chapter two and see how it speaks to where we are today as a church, and as a nation.
I’m Lee Whitman with Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. Before jumping into 1 John 2 I want to talk about something that concerns me. I grew up in a church that stressed the importance of knowing and reading the Word of God. I remember as a kid that our pastor would have bible verse pop-up quizzes during Sunday night church where he would say, “Who can quote Romans 8:14?” The first person to stand would get to quote the verse. When I was in junior high I had a very good memory. At times I think I used up my memory during those early years because now I can’t remember why I walked from one room to the next. That is meant to be a joke and not a word curse. Back to my story. I would often be the first person to stand so I would get called on to quote the verse. It was really good for my ego and I ended up knowing a lot of bible verses. Here is my concern. I didn’t really know the person of Jesus. I could quote many bible verses about Jesus. I also spent time on a daily basis reading my bible because I was taught that would make me a good Christian. Yet I didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus. You may have read a biography about some famous person and knew a lot about them, but you didn’t actually know the person. My concern is that we can easily do that with Jesus. Yes, reading God’s Word is an important element to help us grow in our relationship with Christ, but it does not replace actually spending time with Him.
I love riding my motorcycle. The sense of freedom is wonderful when I ramble down some of our wonderful Tennessee back roads. It is also a great time to have some one-on-one with Jesus. He likes riding my motorcycle with me. We have some incredible conversations while riding. “But I don’t ride a motorcycle”, you say. That’s ok. Maybe you are more comfortable talking to Jesus while sitting in your favorite chair with a cup of hot tea. Many of us were taught that prayer is talking to Jesus about all of our hurts, pains, struggles, and needs. That is only part of prayer. Let me put this into a different context. Let’s say that the only time you talk to your spouse or a close friend is when you are telling them about all of your hurts, pains, and struggles. You are not really developing a relationship with them when all you have is a one way conversation. Conversations are two-way. That is what Jesus wants with us. He wants us to tell Him all of our hurts and pains and struggles, along with our want’s, needs and desires. Then He would like us to listen to Him as He tells us what He thinks about each of those things. Prayer is a give and take. We talk and then we listen.
But you say, I don’t hear God speak to me. I would encourage you that if you are a child of God, you do hear God’s voice, you just might not be aware that you hear Him. John 10:27 says “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” If you are having a difficult time hearing the voice of God I would encourage you to go to Mark Virkler’s website www.cwgministries.org (Communion with God Ministries). He has very good books and teachings on how to hear the voice of God.
In 1 John 2 the Apostle John talks about three stages of spiritual maturity. It is found in 1 John 2:12-14 and I quote out of The Passion Translation, “I remind you, dear children, your sins have been permanently removed because of the power of His name. I remind you, fathers and mothers, you have a relationship with the One who existed from the beginning. And I remind you, young people; you have defeated the Evil One. I write these things to you, dear children, because you truly have a relationship with the Father. I write these things, fathers and mothers, because you have a true relationship with Him who is from the beginning. And I write these things, young people, because you are strong, the Word of God is treasured in your hearts, and you have defeated the Evil One.” John describes three levels of maturity. He addresses “the children” first which is not necessarily children by chronological age, but rather he is addressing those that are young in their faith. John, who is older when he is writing this letter, talks a bit like a grandfather. He reminds the new believers that their sins have been permanently removed because of the power of Jesus’ name. I love the comfort he is speaking to these new believers. As we all know we have an enemy who is somehow able to put thoughts into our minds that are designed to get us to doubt the work of God in our lives. I was a Christian counselor for 18 years before getting into RTF. During those years I can not even count the number of people who came for help because they were having thoughts that caused them to doubt their salvation. Remember that the first temptation by the slimy snake in the grass in the Garden of Eden was a question. “Did God really say….?” He didn’t have to come right out and make a statement, all he had to do was get Adam and Eve to doubt what God said. The slimy snake is still using that same tactic on us today. Why does he still use an age-old trick like getting us to question God or His Word? Because it still works! That is why it is so important for new believers to be in a place where they can be taught a steady diet of God’s Word. Notice I said fed God’s Word, not hit over the head with the bible.
John also reminds them that their sins have been permanently removed by the power of Jesus’ Name. First of all Jesus’ name means “God Saves” or from the Hebrew “Yahweh is salvation.” Jesus is the only name by which we can be saved. His name carries much more than just salvation. Jesus’ name provides access to Father God. The name of Jesus carries power and authority capable of casting out demons, healing the sick, and bringing about spiritual transformation. In the old Testament times the name of God was so revered and holy that it could not even be said out loud by the people. Today we are encouraged to speak the name of Jesus everywhere.
There is a wonderful worship song out right now by Charity Gayle called “I Speak Jesus.”
Listen to these lyrics,
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
‘Cause I know there is peace within Your presence
I speak Jesus
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
‘Til every dark addiction starts to break
Declaring there is hope and there is freedom
I speak Jesus
‘Cause Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
Over fear and all anxiety
To every soul held captive by depression
I speak Jesus
‘Cause Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire
Shout Jesus from the mountains
Jesus in the streets
Jesus in the darkness, over every enemy
Jesus for my family
I speak the holy name
Jesus, oh (oh)
Shout Jesus from the mountains
And Jesus in the streets (oh)
Jesus in the darkness, over every enemy
Jesus for my family
I speak the holy name
Jesus (Jesus)
‘Cause Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire
Your name is power (Your name is power)
Your name is healing (Your name is healing)
Your name is life (You are my life)
Break every stronghold (break every stronghold)
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
‘Cause I know there is peace within Your presence
I speak Jesus
The second group of people John talks to in this letter are the Fathers and the Mothers. These are the older ones in the faith who are leading others who are coming up behind them. You have to have lived a while and had experiences with God to fall in this title. Notice how he describes them: “you have a relationship with the One who existed from the beginning.” He doesn’t describe their exploits or their position in the community. He describes them because they know the One. Cindi and I were in a small group recently of mostly younger married couples and we were the father and mother in the room. It was exciting to have lived long enough that we know The One. We are now able to share like fathers and mothers with those coming up behind us from some of the lessons we have learned, and yes from some of the mistakes and hurts we have experienced. John goes on in this passage and tells these fathers and mothers “you have a true relationship with Him who was from the beginning.” It is not uncommon for older people (I almost have tears running down my face because I am now one of those older ones) to feel like their usefulness is over. “No one wants to hear what I have to say anymore”. We had Robert Henderson, the author of a book called The Courts of Heaven, speak at our RTF International Conference a few years ago. He said that people’s best years of influence are in their 60’s and 70’s, and depending on health into their 80’s. That excited me because I have 20 good years of being able to influence the next generations. More importantly I have known Jesus long enough that I have gone through each stage of maturity that John is describing and I like being at a place where I truly know Jesus and Father God.
The third level of maturity that John describes are those he calls young people. Notice how he describes this group of people. Two times he says that they have defeated the Evil One. It is not that the children or the fathers and mothers don’t have to defeat the evil one, but it is that during this phase of life they are going to have many opportunities to be in this battle. Battle is part of maturing.
Exodus 23:29-30 describes the Israelites going into the promised land. This was land that God said He had promised to them. Yet God did not remove all of the enemies before giving them the keys to this new land. Why would He not remove the enemies before letting them go into this new land? I think it was because fighting for their property is good for them. It is still true today that people do not generally take good care of things that cost them nothing. When Cindi and I do RTF ministry we have to charge for the time we spend in ministry as part of how we make a living. The reason we charge for ministry might be the topic of another podcast. We always try to get the ministry receivers to at least pay something for their ministry. If they have no skin in the game they are less likely to work as hard as those who do invest in their healing. I believe the same principle applies here. God left the enemies in the land so that the Israelites had to fight for their new land. It is the same with our lives. God does not remove all of the demonic enemies from our life the moment we get saved because the fight against the evil one is very good for us. It is part of the growing and maturing process.
We need these three levels of maturity in the body of Christ. We need those fathers and mothers who are ahead of us to help pull us along. We also need those young people who are thick in the battle with the Evil One. We also need the children, those new to the faith, that we can walk with and encourage in their relationship with Jesus. Notice the wonderful picture. The fathers and mothers reach back to the young people and pull them along. The young people reach up to gain strength and knowledge from the fathers and mothers. They also reach back to pull the children along toward maturity. I love this picture because no matter if you are one of the children, one of the young people, or one of the fathers and mothers, you have purpose in the body of Christ.
PRAYER
Father God I thank you that no matter what age or stage we are in life, you have a purpose for us. We are placed into a body because each part of the body needs the other parts of the body. We are not created to live this life alone, but in community.
Thank you for joining us on this Hope Healing and Freedom Podcast. We look forward to being with you again next week.
