That genuine love for God is demonstrated through practical action and truth, not just words. It highlights that loving one another is a core commandment of God, serving as evidence of salvation and a condition for answered prayer. The sermon draws from 1 John 3-4, explaining that God's love, exemplified by Christ's sacrifice, should be reflected in believers' lives, leading to confidence before God and victory over the world. Ultimately, it calls for a sincere, active love for God and fellow believers as the true measure of faith and a pathway to experiencing God's presence and answered prayer.
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May the Lord's blessing and fellowship rejoice in this opportunity. Will you turn to First John? First John chapters three and four. Do you think? First John chapters three and four. We've turned to chapter three last night from a negative point of view, and tonight I want to turn to it from a positive point of view. The issue is so important, so far-reaching. It's led to return. for this subject that is. Let's begin reading with verse eighteen. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. If we love it, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. In whatever we ask, we receive of him Because we keep this commandment to do those things that are needed in Christ. This is this commandment. We should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ. Love one another as he gave us. Amen. That is true. Precious Father, that is why it is tonight. Pairing again to the word of God. And to hear what doubt it has to say, begin it for our hearts.
This needy, needy hour that we live. Give us the truth from thy word, and it shall prepare us the more to reach this generation in the gospel. Lord, teach us the truth. Jesus. Jesus. This morning we were studying together one of the great conditions of prayer, and that's praying in the name of Jesus. You notice in our text tonight another very fundamental condition for prayer. Position which is actually twofold, but notice that it is singular in verse twenty-three.
This is his commandment, not commandment, plural, that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another. He gave us commandment. This is his commandment. we love. Now we know from the word of God in various places that there is one condition for salvation that is saved in our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Philippian jailer cried out and said, Sir, what must I do to be saved? The answer came back daily from the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
All of us who are believers tonight know that when we did that one day, when we truly called upon the name of the Lord to be saved, brought his faith, and he brought forgiveness and to life in Christ. Why then does John here say this is his commandment, singular, that we should believe and love one another as he gave his commandment? It is because one who genuinely believes expresses that faith by loving one another. Faith is the condition of salvation. Loving one another is the evidence of salvation. We hear evidence that one does pass from death unto us. But our concern tonight again is prayer.
And did you notice, as we emphasized last night together, that John is pleading for reality. Loving, verse eighteen, not in words, neither in tongues, but in deeds, and in truth for reality. He has yet said, verse seventeen, Whosoever hath this world's bloodest day and his brother have need, and shut it up his compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him. There is a reality there when one is superficial in that exercise of love one or another. Now, if our hearts condemn us about a lack of love, we do not have confidence in our prayer life.
But if our hearts condemn us not, Then have we confidence toward God, and whatever we ask, we receive, because we keep it. And through those things, through the peace, I want us to be concerned tonight with this condition of answer prayer, of keeping his commandment. Sometimes we take prayer as a very light matter. We can get on our knees at any time and pray unto God and expect God immediately and forthrightly to answer, even though we have not kept his commandment.
And God says it doesn't work that way. God's way. That's prayer. Conditional. Conditional in our technique. Jesus Christ is as loving one another as we can. Now to illustrate this in greater detail, we turn to chapter four, beginning with verse seven, on through chapter five and verse five. And I want us to see John develop this fundamental truth of love one for another. And I must say as we begin our study of this tonight, The longer I study the Word, the longer I live among the people of God, the longer I share in the ministry of the Word of God, the more I appreciate First Corinthians, Thirteen, Thirteen, and now a might of faith, hope, love, be free, the greatest of each one.
Beloved, first John, fourth, Let us go on loving one another. You can take all of Christian experience. Wrap it up in these words. You can take every responsibility I have in my relationship with God as a believer. Wrap it up right here. Let us love one another. For love is of God. Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not gone for God. is love. See, it's meant for now that the context of verse John and the purpose of verse John is the assurance of salvation.
So John is using love here as the evidence. One of the evidences for one knowing that he has passed with them through life. John says, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. If you love, you've born of God, and you know God, but if you don't love, you've not been born of God, and you don't know God, for God is love. You can't have God inside you without some love ringing out somewhere. You just can't do it. You can't have God who is love within you. without manifesting, without knowing it, without demonstrating it is God. For if it isn't there, you don't have Him. Because God is love.
The word love here is the Greek word agape, which speaks of the preciousness of the object. When we read in John, verse sixteen, that God so loved the world. God is saying that the world, the individual members of this world, are precious to me. So precious that I gave my God. Here he says, God sent me back. Let me illustrate this. John, let me amplify this concept of love in verse nine says. In this was manifest with the love of God toward us. That God sent his only begotten son into the world we might live.
He did. This is the kind of love I'm talking about. For God resented such. His only such is it aware. This wicked world. A world that would have no room for him in the end. A world that would try to murder all the infants two years old and young under. A world that would not receive him. Religious Judaism. Orthodox Judaism of its day. God would have to write of him if he came unto his own and his own received him. He so loved the world.
And he said it to me, dead and trespassed as he did, we without hope and without God in this world might live through him. And I'm glad I'm alive tonight, aren't you? I'm glad to be saved. I thank God for eternal life. John, verse three, sixteen is one of the grandest, most glorious texts. In all the words of God, I know I'm not afraid of it, that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have what?
Everlasting God. I'm glad to be alive in Jesus' life. Positively, John said, think of it. Here's the kind of love. Here's the kind of love we're talking about. Because God in heaven, he sent his son. He might live. He answered, said in this, Hearing his love, not that we love God, but that he loved us. He sent his son to be the propitiation. God says, Don't talk about how much you love the Lord, says John. Don't talk about how much you love him. Here is love, not the reason.
He loved us and his son. He gave the propitiations, the satisfaction for our. Here, John takes us to the house. God shows us Jesus Christ, God's Son, nailed on that cross, there to satisfy the justice of God, and His love, and His mercy, and His love. God shows us that there on that cross he was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquities. The detachment of our peace was upon him with his right ear.
All we like Jesus gone astray, and he turned every one to his own grave. The Lord has laid on his gift, and he has moved the group. God, put Jesus Christ to death on the cross. The Lord said. They are true, you know, as the group of Jesus Christ to death. Some people say the Jews say, The Jews did put Jesus Christ to death. They cried crucify him, crucify him. The Roman Catholic Church was in error when they exonerated the Jews for the death of Christ. For they did cry out, further ahead, he asked what Jesus did.
The Gentiles also put Jesus Christ in them. Pontius Pilate was sentenced to death. He released him to be crucified. that Roman governor. So he said he wanted his hands washed of the whole thing. He nevertheless added his power to humanity. But it is Jesus Christ that he did it. So did you know that you put Jesus Christ to death? I put Jesus Christ to death. It was our sin that put him on the cross. For he was the Lamb of God who took us away from the sin of the earth. Ah, but the answer is not finally in any of these excerpts.
In the final analysis, it is God. God made his soul an offering for sin. Yes, the hatred was there in the presence of the Jews of that day. Money and filet didn't release him. Your sins and mine put him on that tree. When he colonel, counseled with God, he was the land that lay before the founders. God made his way. That's all he did. There's a lot of this that says, and without that. He satisfies God for all.
How he is. Here he is, Lord. Not that he loved us. He loved him. Set his socks. This is God's love. This is God's love. Do you look now in the verses that follow, if God's love in us? Beloved, if God's soul loved us, and underscore the word so, be off. Also. Love.
Love. If that love would cause the eternal God to send His Son, you and I that can love one another. If that love would cause Jesus Christ to be nailed to a cross, then we ought to love one another. If that love would cause the God of heaven to voluntarily lay down His life for us, then we ought to love one another. God can do it. God dwells within us. God dwells within us. God doesn't have you. Now, verse twelve. No man has seen God at any time. Why does he bring that subject up in this context? He tells us, if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and if love is protected in us, think of it, beloved, the moment we were saved, the God of heaven, that God will do us well with it.
That God will do us well. God says, and if we love one another, deliver us, God will do not, and his love once perfected in us, and continues to be perfected in us. The strongest way that we find it here can speak of continuity to the results in the text of it here. It goes on and on and on that way. Prince Paul, you know. John, James, Andrew, John in heaven, to his love. And the God who manifests that love in sending his son, the God who put his son on the cross, he may might live and be like this.
Furthermore, verse thirteen. By this, know ye that we dwell in him and ye in us. Because he has given us of his spirit. Another evidence that this God who is love is within us is that his spirit is there. Paul tells his enrollment, remembering, relations that his spirit share a witness of our spirit that we're children of God. My friend, an evidence that God is in you tonight is that witness of the Holy Spirit that says you're a child of the living God. Furthermore we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God. God dwelleth in him, said he in God.
Have you confessed Jesus Christ to the Son of God? Have you said, yes, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Yes, I believe that he came into the world to say sinners. Yes, I confess him. as my personal Savior. Have you ever done this sin bloodless monster? God is love and love. Then he asked for sixty, and we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love. He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. Do you know that love in your life today?
Are you abiding in that love today? Does that love flow up in your heart today for the Lord and for one another and for precious souls for whom Christ died? Do you know that precious love? If you experience it, you know the thrill of it in your own life, God desires irreverence and says, God is love. So John gives us in these four verses. We're saying that that love is love. not only Lord us in Calvary, but in us. Because of God. Because this is so, verse seventeen. Herein, noted for Martin, herein is love made perfect with us.
We may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because if he is, so are we in this world. You see, in this theme of assurance of salvation, John says we're boldness in the day of judgment. All of us know about the day of judgment. Our dean of women, Mrs. Terry, who's a long saying for us tonight beautifully, she said on the way down, as I asked her about my own courses, you know, these deans learn a lot, and they hear what the students think. And so I talked to her very frankly about my course, and she said the seniors care the freshmen about my course in John and in spiritual life, and later on in doctrine, and they just train them to be cared about my examination.
And that's tragic. We know I'm not that hard. We still can't say that we're bad. Lord, all that's going to go on now. We'll get along fine the rest of the weekend. Now, students are afraid of the day of judgment. We're afraid of the day when the boss is coming to town, when the manager of the class will arrive and make an inspection, when the chairman of the board is going to be there, these days of reckoning. when we have to go in and make our annual report or whatever it might be. Fear of the day of death. How does God, when God is in your life, when the God who is loved is in your life, there's no fear of that day of judgment when we shall stand before God.
There's no fear in love, verse eighteen. The perfect love cannot be without fear because fear is torment. It appears it's not made perfect in love. What do you say? Why, he is saying that child of God himself by the Lord himself. He did not hear that news yet. Or, verse seventeen, as Christ is. So are we? He is literal. What have you gotten about? Yes. Fear in the day of judgment. Fear of standing before God someday. And in this context he says that Christ is. So are we. As Christ is in respect to judgment, so are we in this world.
Did Jesus Christ ever be judged for sin? Thank God, no. Could Jesus Christ ever be condemned for our sins? For his own sin? Never, never, never. Ah, his righteous, holy son of God, is all miserable, as he is. So are we. Right here and now, in this world. What a gospel! What a salvation! So that our salvation is so perfect, so complete, that our standing before God is the very standing of God's Son. For he has made him to be sin for us who will know sin, that we might be made what?
The righteousness of God. I hear not the judgment. I look forward to the evangelism of this resurrection. I rejoice in the expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ah, there will be the judgment of Jesus Christ. For I work for you, God. Ah, when our sins were dealt with in the house, once and for all. And I hear you. Now, John's argument here is that because God is a child, Because God's love then is inside us.
And that love is real. Real. So here. The salvation is inside. Shield in it. Thank you. Thank you. John had one more consideration here. He speaks not only of God's love for us. Help us. God's love. in us as believers. Now, beginning with verse nineteen of chapter four, on verse five of verse five, it means that God loves you. We love it. We love.
The word him is not in the best way to say it. We simply love. Love the law. We love his people. We love the law for whom Christ died. We love this God. He won't tell you that. We love. And God loves you, or does he love you? God loves you. He says we love. Why? Because we love you. How can we love you? Now, in theory, when a man says, I love God, he will claim it, and he will make this old profession, he will his brother at the same time. God says, you are. For he that love is not his brother whom he has to be.
How can you love God? That's whom you have not seen. And this commandment that we from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother, should he remind ourselves that he is hungry for God when we keep his commandment, we do those things that we do. Now in theory, says John, oh, how in the world can we Love one another when we don't even love the Lord. How can we say we love the Lord when we don't love one another? If we don't love the people we ask him. How in the world can we say we love him? John now puts it as you-letter.
In practice, in verses one to five, it says, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, he is born of God. And every one that loveth him that begot, that the Father, loving him also that is begotten again. Great that if I really love God the Father, God says, I will really love the children. Therefore he reasons, if I don't love his children, I don't love Don't worry about that in these passages.
I'm a freak all night. Go relax. All right. Oh, don't miss the principle now. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ born of God, and everyone that loveth him that began loveth him also that is the Son. Now, he's saying, By this we know that we love the children of God, Under love God. As he is none. It sounds as if John's going in circles. He is. He has a complete circle. I tell the Lord I love him when I love his children. I love the Lord's children when I love him.
And I love him when I love the Lord's children. And I love the Lord's children when I love him. And around he goes. For this is the love of God. You and I couldn't define love this way. Verse three. This is the love of God that we want. keep his commandment. What is his commandment? We should believe in the name of the Son Jesus Christ in love one another as he gave his commandment. And his commandments are not burdensome that is located there. Not you. I didn't care. You did not know my brother. That's what I told you. His commandments are not there.
Come unto me. All ye that labor and labor. I meet you lowly in heart. You shall find rest on your soul. For my yoke is what? Anything. My burden is what? Right? Isn't that really so? Isn't it really tough to be a Christian? That says it isn't. He says in commandments are not birds. Oh, look, there's been lots of times you and I have lost me. What do you Christians do anyway? Did you have anybody add to that? Hmm? Well, you don't have any fun at all.
You don't go out and live it up at night. You don't get drunk. What do you do? You just go to church and sing and pray. Hmm? How boring can life get? Nothing will often get nervous. My family will say, well, I'll be going to night. My son will speak up and say, do your audience have as much fun as you need? He asked that on the telephone line. How are they enjoying, Mark of the box? Are the folks enjoying as much as that is? No bargain with me, a Christian, my friend. What a joy it is to serve Jesus Christ. Well, what art from this commandment? Study to show thyself truth unto God.
For work from the needeth not to be a chain, rightly dividing the word of truth, and commandment. to study, to get diligence in the word of God. This is the love of God. Pray without anything. Cannot always to pray and not to make. This is the command of God. Walk in the spirit. Be filled with the spirit. This is the commandment of God. And the first day of the week that each one lay aside has got its mark for him. Commandment of God. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. His commandments are not meaningless. No, ye make disciples of all nations, and of Christ, in them the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I command them to do.
And oh, I know you always. Even the end of the ages. Amen. Amen. Why at this point, shall we say? For whatever is born of God, overcomeeth the world. And this is a victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. He hasn't talked about worldiness in chapter two. Here, Pharaoh, in chapter five, he brings up this subject in this one. What do you say? This world system that tells us that it's an animal. It's the children of the devil that come along and tell us.
Oh, it's rough, I tell you to be a Christian. It's tough to have to go on and obey God. have to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in your life. Oh, it's too burdensome, too grievous to make wrongs right, and to spend your time loving one another, instead of living for yourself in all you can and become in this world. Isn't that a good reason? The devil is a good one, are you? I don't know. I'm going too far, and the Bible has to do that. Going too far, if you have to live a holy life, ever I'll tell you that a little bit of money. The devil whispers, it's going too far, you know, when you can't have your own way. After all, your soul's your own, isn't it?
Can't you live as you please? It's going too far when you have to bow to me to the Lord Jesus. Haven't you grieved me? You mean I've got to give up home, I've got to give up loved ones, I've got to give up wealth, I've got to give up the material blessings of life, can't go and bury myself in the meeting field somewhere. That's too much to ask, the devil says. You command this agreement? This is the victory that overcomes the world. Even our pain. When I claim the grace of God, when I have gone to shed more His love in my life, is the man. You know, we call him love.
Hey, remember? Don't have to open up. I right and I saw that our twenty-fourth wedding anniversary on Monday of this week. She was like it. You would have wondered if it had been. I remember when I was a kid. Thing I needed words to do with all of experience to do this. And I was told, you know, I can't. Well, they said to this. So my mother learned quickly that she really wanted to see what I hate. She promised me that I had to do to this.
That solved most problems. Ah, but you know how it goes. Sometimes you forget. This young fellow forgot. He left his pajamas on the bed. He didn't hang them up. Son, never forget it. I went over, came time to do the dishes, and there was the old-fashioned dishpan in the cottage, onto the lake, one of the single lakes in New York State, and would you know it? I can see myself right now standing over that dishpan with a tear, literally dripping out of my eyes into that dishpan.
I was hoping really to have it. Her commandments were urgent, I tell you. I met a redhead. I met a redhead. And I fell in love with this radio. Of course, you ought to know her, you know why. I went to oil city, Pennsylvania to see her. Do you know what I'm talking about? I volunteer to take what we need now.
Look in that kitchen and help her with it. And the soul of the Greek. My wife hates the land. That's not what we're doing. She doesn't want to do anything. All right. Amen. What do you want? So when you love the Lord, you love His Word. When you love the Lord, you love the place of prayer. When you love the Lord, you're glad to give of yourself. When you love the Lord, you love God's people. Difficult as they may be, obnoxious as they may be, carnal as they may be at the moment, rebellious and stiff-necked as they may be, unwilling to work together and fellowship together.
You still love them with the love of Christ. And your heart goes out to the people across the world who've never heard anything of it. You find yourself praying for them. You find yourself getting concerned for missions. And you find yourself praying for your own children about their responsibility and going to the ends of the earth. You're not. You're not alone. You're not alone. You're not alone. Back to our next verse. Verse twenty-one of chapter three. Verse twenty-one. Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not in the context of love, loving in deed and in reality, then have repentance.
Whatever we ask, we receive in our belief. We keep it from that. This is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ. No, I'm loving one another. The question of the close is this. Am I meeting this condition for answer prayer? Do I meet this condition for answer prayer?
Do I love them? Indeed. Can I look into the face of my Lord tonight and sing from all my heart, my Jesus, I love thee, I know. Can you look around, God's people tonight in this room, and on these grounds, from back home from which you've come, you can say before God tonight, you do love the Lord Jesus. with their problems, with their burdens, with their carnality, with their needs, with love. And you say tonight throughout the law, you express it by praying for individuals who need to live.
You express it by a heart concerned for evangelism and redeeming the opportunity of this nation. You express it by a concern for anyone who knows. You express it by a concern for anyone who knows. You can pray for them and support each other. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Other than those who I last say, Richard, it's not my name. My heart is cold. My heart is indignant. I know what you're talking about. I want to say it. My heart wants it to come out with the love of Christ. It does not come out.
And I say immediately, This is explanation enough for why the heavens came to last. This is explanation enough for God not having ended his life. For that loss, for that hurt, for that nature. Let us confess our sins and idols with Jesus. Let us confess having lost our first love, having left our first love. But if confess our coldness and difference tonight, our neglects of those who need this behavior, this we are both. I repent on the day that she had drawn a child of nature.
As we bowed in God's face, let us let the Holy Spirit apply His truth to all of us. What has God said to me? Did I come short? Is the love not there, is it all? Are there people I do not love with a love of man? Do I really care for sinners who need a favor? Am I doing something that I love?
There's not nothing special. Let us claim this message. Now let us trust the Lord. Lord put that love into our hearts and ears. For He is there. He is lost. Let us trust Him. Claim it in Jesus' name. That love once more will be there in experience. Love the Lord. And it's sinners who sin.
Welcome, my brothers, to Mr. Travis, back in the heart of the mountain tonight with Paul Travis.