Pistle is John chapter three, where we have been meditating the past few Wednesday nights. I would only like to go in chapter three toward the end of the chapter, beginning to read it by May at verse eighteen. As we introduce the reading of this portion, let us not forget what we've already emphasized. The Holy Epistle is written to the family of God. It is a wonderful thing to be a child of God. The moment we trust the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we become the children of God. And we can say what John writes, even in the opening of chapter three, Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons or the children of God. And what a joy it is to welcome each other on the gracious Truth, when we are saved, having trust of the Lord Jesus, we are his children. And John writes the Holy Epistle to the family. And may I again emphasize, as the portion before us last week, and what may be before us tonight, it emphasizes the relationship of ourselves to God as our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and particularly in relation to one another. Last week we found the introduction, preceding our portion we shall read tonight, that we ought to indeed love. Not only righteousness in right living should be our testimony, but love. And may I point out one particular fact we have not emphasized this yet? When John writes the word love, he uses the word in the Greek text which illustrates, which describes, not human love, the love of God. And what a joy to recognize. It is, let me quote, Acts chapter five, thirty-two, where Peter said, the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart. by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. And may I emphasize, please, you and I may not realize it at the time that the moment we receive the Lord Jesus, the love of God is poured into our heart. In other words, then we can begin to love as God loves. And His love is perfect. Now as we go to the scripture tonight, And we go to verse eighteen and read on through the chapter. And we find that love is emphasized to be manifested. My little children or my dear children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Now let's just emphasize that very particularity. Here is the beloved apostle. And again, may I repeat, Tis written to the children of God. My dear children, John writes in the family of God, Let us not love in word. My beloved, how we can take to our hearts and to our consciences this blessed exhortation, not to do it by word of mouth nor lip of tongue, but by actions. And, according to truth, the truth of God, what an emphasis. Oh, beloved, may I say, may God deliver us from just having an empty tongue, or a tongue that only says, I love you, but that which proves by the deeds and actions our love for one another. Now, may I say very frankly, My beloved fellow believer, we're exalted to love one another. Remember what the Lord Jesus said. Love one another. How? Even as I have loved you. And you remember in this first epistle of John chapter four in verse nineteen, let me quote it. We love, and I'm quoting it from the Greek translations. We love. Now in your authorized version it's got another word added, which was not in the original. We love Him because He loved us. But John is referring to the outpouring of love to anyone. The outpouring of God. We love what? Because He first loved us. Now look, I'm going to make the applications of my own art. I should love you. Why? Because Jesus loved us. and he loved me. You love to sing, Jesus loved me, this I know, from the Bible stuff. But look, there's the character of our love for one another, and the reason for our love. And to do it, not in words or by the tongue only, but in actual action to prove it, and according to God's truth. Now we read on, and you can see why. For it brings us into a close fellowship. A communion with God which we need in our prayers. Freedom. Hereby we know that we are of the truth. And shall assure our hearts before him. Now may I emphasize before going further. This is not the assurance of salvation. This is the assurance. We thank him tonight, the precious one. nearer, still nearer, close to thine heart. Now, may I just raise a question for my own self as well as for you? How near are you to the Lord? I mean, in fellowship. There is a difference between communion with him and union to him. The moment you were saved, and I was saved, we were united to God forever. But the communion, the fellowship, the enjoyment of God and of Christ, that's communion. And what the apostle is inferring, to have the assurance you're close to God. Now read on why. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, I know us often. Now let me raise the question. Humbly, I say, can I boast that I'm as near to God as I should be? I wouldn't do it, but I do pray the prayer that we find. Nearest till nearer, closer thine heart, draw me, my Savior, so precious our heart. And there are times, though you and I may be Christians, we may not be very near to God in fellowship and communion. But even then, how lovely to read these words in verse twenty, even though our heart may condemn us for having failed at times and not being as near to him as we ought. God is greater than our heart and no at all. Let me give you this, though. I am glad God's greater than my own heart. He's got a better heart than I am. He's got a bigger heart than I am. He's got a heart that never fails in his love. Even though I may fail, he never fails. He's greater than my heart. Grace goes to that. And he says, he knows all things. Now you get the application in verse twenty-one down through verse twenty-three. Beloved, if our heart condemns not, Then have we confidence toward God. Let me put the application very plain. My confidence with God when I pray. Will he answer my prayers if my heart doesn't condemn me? Meaning, if there's nothing in my life of the presence of disobedience and sin that I'm not confessing, and restored to fellowship with him. In other words, if there's nothing in my heart that might condemn me before God in fellowship and communion, now you read what he says, then have we confidence toward God and not the result whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments. and do those things which are pleasing in his Son. May I emphasize, re-emphasize, the reality of our love, true love, to one another, as well as God would, but toward one another too. He's also commanded to be in obedience to God and the Word of God. My beloved, let me say this, lovingly. I'm not to be in obedience to your commandments, and you're not to be obedient to my commandments. Every one of us, each child of God, is responsible to love as he wants you to love, and to be obedient, not to one another, but to him. It's the family, and God's the Father, and Christ the Savior, the Son of God. And then when you read in verse twenty-two, Let me read that again. Whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. May I make a reference to one of our sisters, I won't call her by name, but she called my attention to the fact of reading The Life of George Muller, who undoubtedly was a strong man of faith. You may read of his life. But the basic reason for his life of faith was his prayer life. And whatever he asked, God came, I could give it demonstration after demonstration from his own testimony. I'll give you a very simple one. The remarkable is remarkable to me, told my dear friend of mine from England, who knew him, on one occasion George Muller was preaching to some dear ladies, sisters in the gathering, and ministering the word of God. And while so doing, a little infant, they, held by one of the mothers in the audience, began to cry. And she got up to can't go out of the meeting so the baby wouldn't interfere, make noise, and caused some distraction. And Brother Muller stopped it. Sister, don't go out. Say right here, I want you to get the word. He said, let's pray. And this is what he said. Father, put this baby to sleep. And my good friend told me, said, John, that baby went right to sleep. And then my good friend who was a preacher too, he said, you know, John, I've tried to, it never worked for me. But that's just a simple, for the many other greater examples of this, but the whole thing is this. He was in touch with God, in obedience to his word. And he knew himself, and he proved it, that unless he was, God wouldn't answer for him. And the same with anything. person, any dear child of God who proved, and no, let me read those words again, verse twenty-two, whatsoever we ask, oh no, look, if we're in fellowship with, you're not going to ask him for something you shouldn't have. You're going to ask him for something he wants you to have. His will be done. You'll want his will. And my beloved Christian is not that what everyone should want. Not my will as the Lord Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. Not my will but mine be done. And when it's not according to his will that we ask, we receive of it. Why? Now get the thought. Because we keep his commandments and do those things which are pleasing to him. I cannot but emphasize more than anything else, maybe from the Holy Epistle here. the responsibility that is yours and mine as a believer toward God and Christ. The Father himself and our Savior, the Son of God, to be thus manifesting love, but with obedience to the Word of God. And thus, your prayer life will be blessed. And you'll have the joy of asking of God, knowing that you ask according to... I remember George Muller had five statements that he once made on how to pray and get answers to prayer. And one of them, one of them, one, be sure it's according to the will of God. According to the will of God. And reading verse twenty-three, if we close with it, this is its commandment. We should believe on the name of the Son, his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandments. And he that keepeth his commandments abides us in him. And he, God, abides in him too. And hereby we know that he abides in us by the Spirit which he has given us. Here you have the Son and substance. by thus loving as he would have as love, and being obedient to his word, prayers can be asked according, and will be asked according to it will, when we thus do it. Let me please say that these are not the Ten Commandments. Don't forget that. Read John fifteen sometimes, and the epistle of John, John fifteen particularly mentions a new commandment says the Lord Jesus I give unto you that you love one another even as I have loved you and whatever the Lord Jesus has commanded in his word regarding to the family and our relationships into him and in so doing we'll not have a condemned conscience but we'll be abiding in God we used to think of him constantly abiding Jesus is mine. And now the apostle emphasizes this. What the apostle means. His commandments dwelleth in him. His word abides. You've got it in John fifteen. Let my word, said the Lord Jesus, abide in you. And you abide in me. And the best way to abide in Christ is to let his word abide in you. And he that dwelleth in him, God also dwells in him. Hereby we know that he abided in us. May God have us to realize. And we should see more. And you will find as you go further in chapter four. And at the end of this third chapter. We know it with us by his spirit which he's given us. Thank God for the spirit of God. And may I emphasize in closing the chapter in our portion tonight. Before the Lord from this epistle. It is the Spirit of God who has put us in the family, that we abide in him. I'm going to say frankly, you know, there's one thing I'm grateful. My salvation doesn't depend on how much I please to God, but how much he pleads to me. He'll never let me go. And if I keep his commandments, I'm in the joy of happy fellowship with him. And abiding in him. And he in me. And when I was saved, he gave me the Holy Spirit. He gave you the Holy Spirit. That new nature. For God has sent forth, poured out his love upon us. Whereby he has given unto us the spirit of God. We belong to God forever. But here's the responsibility. John leaves us with. And I leave it with you and me. Our love. Let me say it again lovingly. Look. Maybe you think you're most unlovely. And sometimes I think I'm most unlovely too. Maybe you won't agree with me. But anyway, look. That's not the reason for me to love you or for you to love. No. We love. Because he's first love. I put it before you, my fellow believers. Though I may not always agree with my fellow believers and may not possibly be able to agree with all that they may believe and may not believe. But if they belong to Christ, Christian love can be manifested and according to the truth. And it manifests the privilege that I can ask of and get my prayer back. Shall we bow in a word of prayer, commend ourselves to him? Oh, Blessed Father, here we are tonight, professing to be thy children. Oh, Father, please make us thy obedient children. By the Holy Spirit, whom thou hast given, enable us to manifest that divine love. Oh, Father, you would not ask us to love one another with that human love. We may do that, but that's not it, Lord. We're the children of God. In God's family, Father, you have no favorite. You love them all. So should we. How is this so doing? And then, Lord, keep thy word. so that we may have prayers that are answered, asking according to the will of God, in our Savior's name we pray, for his glory and honor. Amen.