In the sermon titled 'Six Things the Lord Loves to Do,' Scott Brown explores the transformative power of the gospel and the effects of regeneration as outlined in 1 John 2:12-14. Brown discusses six key things that the Lord does among His people: forgiving sins, knowing the Father, being strong, having the Word of God abide in them, overcoming the wicked one, and experiencing the power of the cross. He emphasizes the importance of forgiveness, noting that it is a gift from God for His name's sake, and highlights the diverse nature of the church as a family composed of people at different stages of life and spiritual maturity. Brown describes the strength of young men in the church, urging them to be a danger to the kingdom of darkness. The sermon further explores the concept of victory over sin, explaining that this victory is possible through the power of regeneration and the abiding Word of God. The sermon concludes by affirming the marvelous things God accomplishes in the church and encourages listeners to reflect on their own spiritual state.

1 John 2, verse 12-14, I write to you little children, because your sins are forgiving you for his namesake. I write to you fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you little children, because you have known the Father. Let us pray.

I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." Let us pray. Our most gracious Heavenly Father, we bow before you today, knowing that you have the bread of life. And we ask that you would break thou the bread of life today. That you would send your Spirit, open the eyes of our understanding, that we may seek Christ. To him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we may ask or think, we say amen.

Here we are back in 1st John after taking a brief four week excursion into 1st Corinthians 13 as the Apostle John has been defining the whole doctrine of regeneration. That regeneration has its effect in your life. And now we enter back into 1 John, beginning where we left off in chapter 2, verse 12. Now you've heard of the six things that the Lord hates, right? Well, here are the six things that the Lord hates, right?

Well, here are the six things that the Lord does among His people. And so it's a look into the power of the gospel. It's a look into the fruit of regeneration. It's a look into what happens when God awakens a people and He calls people out of the world and He saves them, and these are the things that He does. And it's always a good thing to look at what the power of God accomplishes in people's lives, and that's what these verses will help us to do.

John is talking about what happens when people are awakened to the knowledge of God and what it means to have fellowship with God. Of course, that's the whole theme of 1 John anyway. What does it look like when you have fellowship with God? Because he says our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And he spends this entire letter explaining what that looks like to help us understand whether we have fellowship with God or not, because fellowship with God has its manifestations.

And what he's speaking of here, I think, as Mike said earlier, It's really a declaration of the gospel, but it's really the sweet aroma of the gathered church. What has happened to these people who are in the church of Jesus Christ? And these verses make it very clear that when you have fellowship with God, then these six things that are listed here are experienced. Your sins are forgiven. You know the Father.

You are strong. The Word of God abides in you, and you've overcome the wicked one. This is the power of the cross of Jesus Christ. Now John is using some language here to help us understand what he's trying to accomplish. He says, I have written these things or I wrote these things.

He's explaining why he wrote this and so he's speaking of the particular reasons why he has brought these words to the church. Now remember that John is an old man. He's speaking as a grandfather to his children and you can see the love of a father or grandfather toward his children or his grandchildren in the language that he uses here. He speaks very tenderly, speaking to them as his children over and over again. And he is speaking to a church with different kinds of people in it.

The young, the old, and the in-between that are there. But he calls them his children, and he speaks to those who are at the beginning of the race. He speaks to those who are at the middle of the race, the youth, and he speaks to those who are at the end of the race, you fathers. He's really making it very clear that the church is a family. And this old man looking into the hearts of those he's writing to is recognizing that the church is a very diverse group.

It's composed of all kinds of different people, the old, the young, and those in the middle as well. And so he's instructing them. Now, some people say he's speaking to particular age groups. Others say that he is speaking of different levels of maturity. And I think you can make a case for both.

I don't think it matters, really. You could take it, you could take the applications the very same way, whether he's speaking to very specific age groups, specific little children, or specific young people in the church, or specific old fathers in the church, or whether he's just speaking generally to what happens to his children because the word children is sometimes used generically in the letter, but here it's possible that he's not just speaking generically, he's actually speaking to the young ones who are in the church. Now, one more thing I want to say about this text is that John seems to be bringing us to kind of a parenthesis in this instruction toward men and young men, your children, young men and fathers. And he's been speaking about what regeneration looks like. And what it looks like is that you walk in the light, that you keep his commandments, and that you don't hate your brother.

So he's already been dissecting the whole doctrine of regeneration for its effect. And so he has just laid down these critical facts regarding regeneration. You know, if you say you love God and you hate your brother, you're a liar. He's saying you're not regenerate. And so he's made some very strong statements.

And In this parenthesis, I think John is doing something a little bit different. Perhaps he's continuing on the same logic, but it seems to me he's changing gears beginning in verse 12. And I want to give you four things I think John is doing, and I hope they do it to you today. First of all, John is rejoicing. Now, how can he not rejoice?

How can he not rejoice in the fact that someone has been forgiven of their sins and the power of sin has been broken? He's Identifying this life-giving condition that exists in the church You know the Apostle Paul said I'm not ashamed of the gospel because it's the power of God to salvation so John is rejoicing in the forgiveness and the power over sin in the fact of knowing Christ being adopted by a father. These are the elements of the power of the gospel. And he's recognizing that his readers have experienced these things. So he's rejoicing.

Second thing he's doing, he's comforting. He has just been speaking of pretty disturbing matters. If you say you love God and hate your brother, you should put everybody on edge because it causes us to inspect any lamentable and existing hatred in our hearts. And it's easy to say, how can anyone be saved? I don't walk perfectly in the light.

I don't keep his commandments perfectly. I've never loved my brothers perfectly and I have slipped into hatred from time to time. And I expect that what John is doing is that he is comforting his people. And the people who might say, I must be condemned because I remember how I hated my brother. I must be condemned because I broke the law of God.

I must be condemned because there were times this last week that I wasn't walking in the light. I think John is comforting them. And then thirdly, I think John is affirming them. He's expressing his gratitude for the way that God has been working in them. How could he not have gratitude to be with such a people who have been forgiven and who know God?

John is telling them that they are forgiven, that they know God, that they are strong and have overcome the evil one. He's not saying be forgiven. He's not commanding them to be strong. He's not commanding them to overcome the wicked one. He's saying look at what God has done.

And he's affirming what God has done in their lives. And he's not correcting the church, he's simply saying what is true about them. Now he's not flattering the church either. He's not saying, you know, you guys are just all so beautiful. That's not what he's saying.

He's already acknowledged that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. He's acknowledging that we have sin. So he's not flattering them saying, oh, everything is just so perfect here. But he's affirming this church. He's speaking what is true about them as a result of the power of the gospel.

So he's not really affirming how great they are. He's affirming how great God is at work in them. That's not flattery at all. And the Bible is full of this same kind of affirmation. You know, in Genesis 7, 1, the Lord affirms that Noah is righteous in his generation.

In Proverbs 31, 30, a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Well, it's because of the Lord that she shall be praised, not because necessarily of her. It's an affirmation of the power of God in a person's life. In the same way that Jesus Christ, when he meets his children, when they die, he will say to them, well done, good and faithful servant. Not, you are just so great, You were so perfect on this earth.

No, that's not what Jesus is going to say to you. He's going to recognize that he sacrificed his blood for your sins. So This is not flattery, but it is affirmation. And then the fourth thing that I think he perhaps is doing is he's showing them that they really are without excuse. I was reading Lloyd-Jones on this passage and he says that he's also taking away excuses for their failures.

He's encouraging them in the fact that they have enormous resources of strength to help them on their heavenly journey, that there's real forgiveness, there's real victory, there's real abiding in the Word of God. And he's saying the Christian life is actually possible. And he's taking away their excuse to say, well, I'm just a sinner, I just can't help myself. He's saying no, there really is the power of God that is available for those who have been saved. Now I want you to recognize one last thing in this long introduction to this text.

There are no commands in these verses. These aren't things that you strive for. These are things that happen to you when you have fellowship with God. They are the overflow of a fountain of grace that enters the heart of a Christian. Okay, so Let's get into the text.

You can see in your outline here that I've outlined it according to the different kinds of people he addresses, children first, then fathers, then young men. But you could outline it another way. You could outline it by these six things that he says characterize these people. But let's begin with children here in verses 12 and 13. I write to you children because your sins are forgiven you for his name sake.

Now, he's using the term that has to do with being born, the born ones, and that's why some of the commentators say that John is speaking just generally. The church is composed of people who are forgiven. He could be actually speaking to children who are young, but he could also be speaking to the larger body of people. But I'm not so sure it matters that much because we know that Christians, all Christians, are forgiven. And he is referring to this condition, this spiritual condition.

And I'm not sure if he is speaking of little children in age or whether he's just speaking of all of the church, but he believes that they are forgiven. He is not assuming that they are lost. He is assuming that they are forgiven as members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the most freeing thing to your soul is to know that you have been forgiven, that your sins have been atoned for, that you've been set free from condemnation. What is forgiveness?

It's when God removes the guilt that has resulted from your wrongdoing. He is granting a pardon for real sins, real infractions that you have committed. And what does he do with those real sins and real infractions? He's not covering up the fact that you're a sinner at all. Forgiveness doesn't erase the reality.

But what forgiveness does do is described in many different kinds of words in the Bible. What does he do with the sins of a sinner? He blots them out. He wipes them out. He buries them.

He does away with them. I'm just using various words in the Bible that speak of forgiveness here. And the Church of Jesus Christ is a collection of people who have been forgiven. They're not perfect, but they are forgiven. I'd like to also point out that The Christian is not in quest of forgiveness.

Christians are forgiven. It is something that God does. Now you may see your sins and say, Oh Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me, save my soul. You may do that. But John is talking about something completely different.

He's talking about something that has been done for you. You didn't seek him. He sought you. He found you. You were lost.

And He came and He forgave you. It's something that God has done. And you know the church is a community of forgiven people. How about that? They're set free from their guilt.

You know the world spends billions of dollars trying to cover up at the pain that comes from its guilt and Jesus Christ freely forgives sinners And you really are forgiven. I mean like you are really forgiven. Do you really believe that? You know, if the person sitting next to you right now is a Christian, You're sitting next to somebody who's been forgiven. Isn't that remarkable?

What a blessing. A community of people who are set free from sin and Satan. Now, do you believe that you have been forgiven? Do you have assurance that you've been forgiven? That's the most important question in life.

And upon what grounds do you believe that you are forgiven? Because Christians have a reliable and objective method for knowing if they are forgiven. And it hinges entirely upon their relationship with Jesus Christ and with Him alone. And that's why John has said, if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ, the righteous, it's the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is the means of your forgiveness.

It is the ground and the basis of all forgiveness. And he is the propitiation for our sins. In other words, he pacifies the wrath of God that we deserve and lays it upon his Son. In Isaiah chapter 53 it's stated so clearly, by his stripes we are healed. You know, one of the great joys of the last several years in my whole life was to preach through Isaiah 53 last year.

By his stripes you were healed. And he took the guilt From your shoulders and he transferred it onto the shoulders of his son. This is what God has done And so there should be no uncertainty about sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. How do you know that you have been forgiven?

There should be no uncertainty about it at all. It rests entirely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ, and it is enough evidence. You can rely utterly upon the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the atonement for your sins. And so if you are sitting next to a Christian today, you're sitting next to a person whose great infractions, whose minor infractions, whose unwitting infractions have all been forgiven. And you sit in the midst of a community of the forgiven.

What a blessing that is. Now, this should have an effect upon us. Paul spoke of it in Ephesians chapter 4. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you. To be forgiven is to become forgiving.

That's the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then he speaks of why he did it. Why did he forgive? He says it right here in the text. Why did Jesus Christ forgive you?

Why is it that you're possibly sitting next to a person who's also forgiven? He did it for his name's sake. Those four words. This is why he did it. He did it for the sake of his name.

He did it in order to defend the beauty and the glory and the loving-kindness and the mercy and the long-suffering and the perfection of His name. That's why He did it. He did it to prove something about Himself. He did it to bless you, But he did it primarily to vindicate his name in the world as one who saves sinners, as one who has mercy on rebels against him. He forgave in order to demonstrate the nature of his name, to declare his attributes.

And so a person's status as forgiven rests entirely upon God's identity, upon His sovereign plan to glorify His patience and His kindness toward sinners by forgiving him. Because remember, everything that God does is summed up by one word, love. Every law of God is a law of love, and His heaven is a world of love. So Jesus Christ is proving His character by forgiving, not for the sake of anyone's own merits, not for the sake of anything, but to glorify himself. And that's why John Newton, I believe, wrote, not what my hands have done can cleanse my filthy soul.

No, it's not what we have done. It's what He has done. And He did it for His name's sake. So the first quality of the children is that they're forgiven, done. It is something that is complete.

It's not something that you strive for. It's something that Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross the second quality of these children is that they know the father I write to you little children because you have known the Father." That's in verse 13. Now if he's speaking of little ones, then little ones can know the Father and they can experience that thing that happens to you when you know the Father that the Apostle Paul spoke about in Romans 8, and he also told the Galatian Church about it, that the Spirit within cries out, Abba, Father, that they have a Father. And so when you're sitting next to someone in the church who's saved, you're sitting next to someone who has a father. A father who knows the number of hairs on your head.

A father who knows what you're going to say before you say it. A father who knows where you're going to walk before you take a step. A father who keeps your tears in a bottle. You know when John said, our fellowship is with the Father, there was a world of meaning behind that one word. To know Him as Father, to have such a good Father, to have such a wise and kind Father, to have such a great and mighty Father who can turn everything in the direction that He pleases to have an adopting Father, to have fellowship with the Father.

Now John has already said, by this we know him if we keep his commandments. So if the person sitting next to you is a Christian, guess what? You are sitting next to someone who has a father. Marvel at that. A father in heaven.

A father that watches him 24 hours a day. A father that feeds. A father that cares. A father that teaches. A father that chastises in love.

To have a father is the most wonderful thing you can have on this earth. No one is ever alone when they turn to Jesus Christ because they have a Father, they have a Son, they have the Holy Spirit, they have the heavenly angels. These are the gifts of the Father here. So after addressing children, Let's now look at fathers verse 13. I write to you fathers because you have known him who is from the beginning.

Now remember John is writing to three kinds of people those at the beginning of the race, those in the middle of the race, and those at the end of the race. And now, perhaps he's speaking to those who are at the end of the race, and he is perhaps addressing those who've walked with Jesus Christ for many years. They know God, they have had more experience. One of the blessings of growing older is that the more years you have, the more evidence you have of the love and the power and the goodness of God, you do. I have more admiration for God than I did when I was first saved and I thought I had all I needed then Because you see you see how he does he does walk with you and he does talk with you and he does tell you that you are his own.

And you know, the situations in life, the trials, you know, the sorrows, the losses, they don't disturb you like they used to because you know something better than the way you knew it before. And so these are fathers who know the Lord Jesus Christ. Now John addresses fathers twice with the same language. In verse 13 and verse 14, he just repeats what he said. Why did he do that?

Why is he repeating? Well, first of all, every good teacher repeats. But it seems like John has launched into some poetic state here. You know, he's writing and repeating, but he's speaking of fathers who have known he who is from the beginning. Now I want to suggest he's not talking about knowing the Father, he's talking about knowing the Son, that these fathers know the Son, Jesus Christ.

And he's using the very same language that he already used in his gospel in John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. So who was in the beginning? It was Jesus Christ.

And John repeated that in 1 John already in his epistle in the first verse, that which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled. John has already spoken of Jesus Christ as the one who is from the beginning. So I believe that he's addressing these fathers as knowing Jesus Christ. Just like, you know, Paul spoke to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 1, 12, I know in whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed until that day." He's speaking of Jesus Christ. Philippians chapter 3 speaks of this very, very same thing.

Paul cries out in Philippians 3.10, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. That's the kind of knowledge that John is speaking about. In John 17 verse three, he speaks of the same thing. He says, and this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." So John has said our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son. I believe he's speaking about the Son, about what it's like to have fellowship with the Son.

If you want to read an extensive treatise on this, go to John Owen's third volume of his works on communion with God. It's the most remarkable description of what it is like to have fellowship with the Father and with the Son and with the Holy Spirit and John and Owen goes into great detail on each element of fellowship Saying that there are various aspects of fellowship that you receive from the Father Various different aspects with the from the Son and various different aspects with the Holy Spirit, that God has given you these three persons to fellowship with you. And by the way, what you learn when you read Owen is most of the fellowship comes from God to us. He does more with us than we do with him." And here John is speaking in fellowship with the Son. You know, there are many dangers of old age, cynicism and covetousness and envy.

What a sad thing it is to see a father or an old man who has not known Jesus Christ, not to know the one who is gentle and lowly in heart, not to know the one who gives rest for your soul. How would you like to live until your old age and not have rest for your soul? How would you like to live until your old age and not have rest for your soul? How would you like to live until your old age and not have that life-giving fellowship of the Father, of the Son, Jesus Christ, of being connected with the vine, of being connected with something real, something good, something that is flowing life into your soul. Jesus Christ said, I am the vine and you are the branches.

How would you like to live without that kind of nourishment? It's such a tragedy. But John is saying, no, in this community are people, they're old people, and they have been receiving life from Jesus Christ They're connected to the vine. They have something real. They're not just putting something on life is flowing through them And John is recognizing that there are men in this church who've not squandered their years doing their own thing.

Now how sad it is to be a man or find a man who spent his life on trivialities rather than feeding his mind on God, eating the bread of life, drinking the living water, being washed. What a tragedy it is. Now if the person sitting next to you is a Christian, then you're sitting next to someone who knows Jesus, who has a life-giving spirit, who has a life-giving spirit, nourishing them, caring for them, feeding them, teaching them, correcting them. You know, this is one of the marvelous things about being in a church. You know that Jesus Christ is King and He can take care of His people.

You know, pastors often have great worries about their people. The only hope for any happiness in the life of a pastor is to know that there is a Holy Spirit and that Jesus Christ is alive and that these people have a father. And then he addresses young men, verses 13 and 14. I'll read both 13 and 14 because he says more about young men for some reason. You figure it out.

It's pure speculation. Why? Why would he say so much about young men? I write to you young men because you have overcome the wicked one. How about that?

I have written to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." Now, the terminology that John uses here, young men, is speaking of those who are between the ages of 20 and 40. And he's saying that these young men are strong and the Word of God abides in them and they've overcome the wicked one. And They are true Christians and they have a vigor and a strength and an awareness of the Bible. You know, youth is a wonderful time in life because of that. What a blessing it is to have true Christian youth in a church where these things are true.

Now, you know, remember Jesus was only 30 years old when he began his public ministry. Jeremiah was only 17 years old when he began his public ministry as a prophet. Joseph was 17 and spent till he was around 30, either as a prisoner or a slave. How about that? You spend your years either in prison or as a slave in the prime of your life.

Why? Because God desires to use youth and he will bring things into youth's lives in order to strengthen them, to prepare them for the future. So John is speaking of the power of God, and he's making it very clear that sin can be overcome and the power of sin is broken when one is born again, that you're no longer under the dominion of darkness. Now, this is an instantaneous change that takes place at regeneration. The power of sin is broken.

He says they are strong. Now John is using the word here of physical strength. And you know, the physical strength of young people is unmatched compared to those who are old. I know that very well these days. And, you know, the glory of young men is their strength.

Jesus uses the same word when he's speaking of the strength of a man who guards his house from evil men. When a strong man who is fully armed guards his house. Luke 11 21. He's speaking of this kind of strength. I he's he's speaking of Spiritual strength he's using physical strength to declare the great potential and young men for spiritual strength Somebody was telling me this week that when Marines go into a village as they're sizing up a village in time of war that they quickly look around and observe who's around And they want to know the various categories of people.

They want to know where the children are. They want to know where the women are. But mainly they want to know where the young men are because the young men are the fighters. The young men is where the strength is and that's where they need to focus their attention. They need to know where the young men are.

That's where the danger is. Because young men can be dangerous. They can be dangerous for the kingdom of God. They really can. I pray that every young person in this room is dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.

Are you? Are you a danger to the kingdom of darkness where you walk? Or is the kingdom of darkness kind of okay with darkness kind of okay with you when you show up. You know, young men ought to know that they're in a time of spiritual warfare and they need strength. I like what Thomas Manton said about this idea of strength.

He said, what is manhood strength? It's brawn, unweakened by wear and tear and abuse. Number two, it's nerve force, unshattered by strains of real life. Number three, it's mental force, untrammeled by false reasoning, depraved imaginations, disappointments, and melancholy. Number four, The operation of powers kept in balance as a piece of well-adjusted machinery Properly lubricated with what has been prepared by the mighty contriver joy vigor hope That's Thomas Manton on the power of youth I've known many young people like this, and I pray that God would raise up a mighty army of young people just like that.

Unfortunately, though, young men often have faith in their own strength. Often young men fear man, and it neutralizes their whole life in ministry. But when you have a young man who's not strong in himself but is strong in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ whose weapons of his warfare are not carnal, who are workers in a vineyard where the vine is full of life. Then you have something. You know, it's been a blessing over the last few months to see some young men be converted here in this church.

Wow. You know what? That's this right here. This has happened in our church just recently. And what a blessing it is.

You know, there's much about young people in the Bible. We could spend the whole rest of time just talking about the power of youth that's demonstrated in Scripture. Right at the beginning you have Cain and Abel, And, you know, Cain envied his brother Abel because Abel's sacrifice was acceptable to God. Cain was a fake. Abel was not.

There's Joseph sold into slavery early in his life. There's Moses, the young man who murdered an Egyptian and fled into the wilderness. There's Jonathan, there's Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel. There's Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the three Hebrew children who would not worship other gods. There is Daniel, a mighty man of God, ripped out of his homeland and castrated and taken to Babylon to serve the king of Babylon, to serve Nebuchadnezzar no less.

God used him mightily. You know, you look at the hardships and difficulties that happened to young people in the Bible and guess what? Those hardships and difficulties are the greatest leverage points for good in their lives. You have a reversal of some kind of disappointment as a young person. Guess what?

God is shaping you. When God wants to mold a man, he hurts him first, as someone said, and then he uses him. God does that to the young. That's why I think Solomon said, bear the burden in your youth, young men. But God will bless you.

Humble yourselves unto the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you in the proper time. So not only does he speak of this matter of being strong. Now if the person sitting next to you is a Christian, You're sitting next to a person who's strong. They have a strength that's not their own. Now they may quench the spirit, they may go into a time of indolence spiritually, but you cannot lose what God has implanted in the soul.

That's why God has said, you know, he will not put out a flickering wick. You know, you may have the strength of a flickering wick or you may be like a blazing fire. And if your wick is just kind of flickering, Remember that God won't put you out. He wants to fan it to flame. And so fan it to flame.

Let it become a wildfire of the glory of God. Youth is meant for that. And then he says the word of God abides. The word which is a lamp to your feet, the word which is a sword, the word which is a fire, the word of God which is a hammer abides. The Word of God living in you, speaking through you, to you, guiding you, comforting you, confronting you, motivating you, nourishing you, this is the true power of youth.

It comes from the Word of God. If you want to be a mighty young man of God, it comes from the Word of God. And stop nourishing yourselves on silly things and games and wasting your life on unprofitable passive entertainments. Fill your mind and your life with the Word of God and you'll have significance. Young men trivialize themselves by jumping from one funny YouTube clip to another, trying to get their satisfaction out of some stupid film Made by a bunch of people who really are of the Antichrist because they don't acknowledge Jesus Christ We'll hear more about that in John later, what is the Antichrist?

People so easily partake of the Antichrist today, even Christians. And then he over, you have overcome the evil one. I write to you young man because you've overcome the wicked one. Now overcome is a really interesting word. You know, you have heard this Greek word many, many times in your lifetime.

One of the most famous companies, one of the most profitable companies in the world bears this name, this Greek word for overcome. And they make a product that speeds the wearer onto victory. It's the word Nike, Nike, how, overcome, Victory. This is the kind of overcoming of the world. The company Nike was named after the winged goddess of victory.

Nike means victory, to overcome. And you have victory here as a Christian. Now in the context of this chapter, I'm pretty confident he's talking about victory over hatred and Victory over the love of the world. That's the kind of victory he's talking about here In first john 5 4 john speaks of this again He says for whatever is born of god overcomes the world victory nike Every time you see that little swoosh on somebody's hat, remember what that really means. Remember what John said it meant.

Victory over sin. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ, said the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 57. Now here's the key rationale for this. Please open your Bibles to Romans chapter 6. This is a critical verse that explains what this victory is that he's talking about.

Therefore knowing that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died has been freed from sin." That's the kind of victory. It's being raised up with Jesus Christ. It's dying to sin and being raised up with Jesus Christ because you believe. The power of sin is broken. Romans chapter 8, verse 10 and 11 speak of it as well.

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit which dwells in you. He's speaking of the power of the resurrection. The way that when you believe in Jesus Christ, the power of sin is broken.

You still struggle with sin, but the power of sin that has kept you in bondage is broken, and you're free, and you begin to progress. This is progressive sanctification. But the power of sin is broken in Young men when they believe in Jesus Christ. It's they're really there. It's their only hope and They overcome the wicked one and God God God puts a knife into the wicked one and he begins to bleed.

He begins to emaciate as a result of the power of the Holy Spirit in that person's life. Young men struggle with lust and pornography and things like that. This is their only hope is regeneration. And beyond that, God gives them tools to continue to kill the work of the devil You know what it what did John Owen say do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work?

Be killing sin or sin will be killing you We've said many times there's no hope for a young man or an old man or anyone to escape the bondage of impurity through pornography unless they begin to starve that dragon. You can starve him, you can make it, you can emaciate him, you can make him really weak, but you have to starve him. You know, I read something I read something this week by derek thomas he said starve it of oxygen until it cannot breathe again that's that's that's how That's how you find yourself no longer in bondage. You starve the flesh and you feed the spirit. That's your only hope.

Accountability partners, not that important. Here's what is important. Starve the dragon. Kill him. Deprive him.

Don't let him have any foothold in your soul. That's how it works. But that really only happens if you delight in Jesus more than you delight in garbage. That's the only way. The love of Jesus Christ is the cure for the person who is trapped in pornography.

Because you see him as so superior and so much more beautiful and so you You take him and you starve the dragon There's a wicked one prowling about There's so much to say about the Wicked One here. You know, when the apostle John was speaking or writing to the churches in Revelation, the seven churches of Asia, he says, he who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. That's what it means for someone who has overcome the wicked one. To the church of Smyrna, he says that if you overcome you won't be hurt by the second death. He says that in the final judgment those who overcome will find that the accuser of the brethren will be cast down.

The accuser of the brethren. This is the power of the overcoming work of Jesus Christ. So if the person sitting next to you is a Christian, You're sitting next to a person where the power of sin has been broken, and there's a hope in them. There's a new strength that they never had. They've overcome the evil one.

And John is not saying that they don't have sin. He's saying that something has fundamentally changed in their spirit. And now they have the ability to think things they could never think, to say things they could never say before, to do things that they never could do before, to love like they never loved before. That's what happens. The power of sin has been broken.

And You can see why John would rejoice, why he would divide the church into these various classes of people, children, fathers, and young men, and why he would have such happiness to consider what it's like to be in the Church of Jesus Christ and how the church has people in different places, children and young people and old people as well. Now where are the girls? Where are the girls in this? He doesn't mention anything about women or mothers. He didn't say anything about young women or mothers or anything like that.

Well, it's implied. It's absolutely implied in the passage. He's speaking about Christians in their various states. That's what he's speaking about. That's the heart of the matter.

Now, when You consider what John has said, these very affirming things that he has said. You always have to recognize that there's a problem that also exists in any true church of Jesus Christ. And it's the problem of people who never grow up. It's the problem of people who have made some kind of mental assent or acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord and that they got saved. But they never grow up.

They never really progress. They don't pass through the phases of life that reflects that they have fellowship with God. And so when you read about these things, these powers of the gospel, You should ask, have my sins been forgiven? Do I know Jesus Christ? Do I know the Father?

Am I strong? Does the Word abide in me? Have I overcome the wicked one? Those are the most important questions that every person ought to ask. Because when you have fellowship with God, You taste and see the goodness of the Lord through all of those things.

And you find yourself in a community, a community of people who are progressing in that direction. And that is the beauty of the Church of Jesus Christ. And it's why John, at the end of his life, can so rejoice in these marvelous things that happen in a true church And I pray that today as we're together we'll we'll we'll be able to remember as we fellowship together and and continue on celebrating the love of God that we would remember what God has done. And that if we are unsure of whether we have been forgiven, Then bring it up. Come up and talk to me.

Come and talk to Mike. There are 30 people, 40, there are 100 people here you could talk to about this. I'm confident. And they could help you understand whether you have been forgiven. Because there's nothing like being forgiven.

So these six things that the Lord does, this is the sweet aroma of the gathered church of Jesus Christ. Praise God that he saved sinners. Let's pray. Oh Lord, we thank you for the power of the gospel, for the mercy that you have extended toward us in forgiving us of our sins through the blood of your son, Jesus, how you have become a father, how you have given us a Savior, how you have caused us to know you, how you have given us power to overcome the wicked one, and how you've made us strong. And oh Lord I pray that you would manifest these, manifest your glory in your church.

Amen.