Auburn SDA Church
Knowing the True
  • I've Found a Friend

      • 1 John 5:18-19ESV

      • 1 John 5:20-21ESV

  • In 1937, a brilliant but deeply resentful Dutch artist named Han van Meegeren decided to seek revenge on the art world. Critics had dismissed his original work as unoriginal, so he set out to prove he could beat them at their own game. He spent years in secret, engineering the perfect forgery of a Johannes Vermeer—the legendary 17th-century master.
    Van Meegeren didn’t just paint a copy; he engineered an illusion. He bought authentic 300-year-old canvases. He hand-ground raw lapis lazuli and white lead to recreate period-accurate paints. Crucially, he mixed his pigments with a primitive form of plastic called Bakelite, then literally baked the canvas in an oven to harden the paint and create the deep, webbed cracks that only centuries of time can produce.
    He then took his creation, titled Christ at Emmaus, to Dr. Abraham Bredius, the world's leading authority on Vermeer.
    Bredius was a man who had spent his entire life studying the genuine master. Yet, when he looked at this painting, his analytical mind and his deepest desires betrayed him. He was so desperate to discover a lost masterpiece that he bypassed his own instincts. Bredius stared right at a fraud and declared it to the world as "the masterpiece of Johannes Vermeer."
    The counterfeit was so convincing that it fooled the top museums, chemical analysts, and eventually Nazi high-command official Hermann Göring, who traded 137 real, stolen masterworks just to possess one of van Meegeren’s fakes.
    The world was entirely blinded. The deception only ended after World War II when van Meegeren was arrested for treason for selling Dutch national treasures to the Nazis. Facing the death penalty, he finally confessed the shocking truth to a courtroom that refused to believe him:
    "The painting is not a Vermeer. I painted it myself."
    To prove it, he had to paint another masterpiece right in front of guards while in his prison cell.
    The Seduction of Surface Accuracy:
    Van Meegeren’s fakes
    succeeded because they
    checked all the external boxes.
    They had the
    right age,
    right canvas,
    right chemicals.
    In the same way,
    the world offers us counterfeits
    of peace and happiness
    material success,
    shallow validation,
    temporary comfort.
    They look exactly right
    on the surface,
    and they pass
    the superficial tests
    of our culture.
    The Danger of Desperation:
    Dr. Bredius was fooled
    because he
    wanted to be fooled.
    His desire for
    a grand discovery
    blinded his judgment.
    When our souls are
    desperate for peace,
    we will eagerly embrace
    a false security
    just because it promises
    a quick fix.
    We mistake the
    emotional highs
    of this world
    for the genuine
    presence of God.
    The Ultimate Awakening:
    The art world spent
    millions on a lie,
    only to find out
    it was worthless plastic
    baked in an oven.
    When we build our lives
    on counterfeit peace
    or worldly security,
    we will eventually face
    a moment of awakening.
    Only the genuine hand
    of the True Master,
    Jesus Christ,
    offers a beauty and a peace
    that can withstand
    the test of eternity.
    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

    Born of God

    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God...
    It is common
    among some Christians to ask
    have you been born again?
    What does it mean?
    For John
    the evidence that
    we have been born again
    is connected with our lifestyle.
    1 John 2:29 ESV
    If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
    1 John 3:4 ESV
    Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
    1 John 3:6 ESV
    No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
    1 John 4:7 ESV
    Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
    1 John 5:1 ESV
    Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
    1 John 5:4 ESV
    For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
    What does it mean
    to be born again?
    These are people
    who found the genuine
    source of joy and truth.
    Practice Righteousness
    Not Practice Sin
    Not Keep On Sinning
    Love One Another
    Loves Other Christians
    Overcomes the World
    To be born again,
    means all this and more.
    To be born again
    does not just mean
    you heard of God
    and are thankful
    for Christ’s sacrifice.
    Being born again,
    means that you
    take some action
    through His power
    to live a life
    Like Jesus.
    Our keep passage
    is clear.
    If we are born again
    we don’t:

    Keep on Sinning

    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning...
    If we are
    born again,
    we don’t continue
    ways of world.
    Sin is the counterfeit
    temporary
    fun
    happiness
    excitement.
    But,
    it leaves you feeling
    more empty than before.
    The problem is
    the counterfeit of sin
    is so pervasive
    it has become normal.
    I don’t know about you.
    But I have noticed
    evil tendency is
    the default setting.
    Software with Default Settings
    Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS pre-set standard web browsers, media players, and file openers.
    Web Browsers: Programs like Google Chrome or Safari set a default search engine (like Google) and a default downloads folder.
    Office Programs: Word processors set standard font styles, text sizes, and margins for new documents.
    Machines with Default Settings
    Smartphones and Tablets: iPhones and Android devices come with a default screen brightness, ringtone, and sleep timer.
    Printers and Routers: Network devices have preset factory configurations, such as a default administrator password or a standard print queue.
    Home Appliances: Microwaves, washing machines, and coffee makers have standard preset cooking times, spin cycles, or brew strengths
    We have a default setting.
    That setting is sin.
    Being a Christian
    is like swimming up stream.
    It take effort!
    Being a Christian...
    Being Born Again...
    is choosing a different
    way of life.
    choosing the genuine.
    According to John,
    if you choose this
    new default,

    God Protects Him

    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him...
    In order to be
    born of God
    and stop sinning
    we must be protected.
    By the way,
    from this passage
    it is not immediately obvious
    who is doing the protecting.
    Is God protecting me?
    Am I protecting myself?
    If the verse was saying
    that we need to
    protect ourselves
    that would be a
    reflexive verb
    but it is not...
    This verb is
    active voice.
    Passive voice means
    you are the direct object.
    Reflexive verbs
    would have to
    passive voice.
    This verb is
    active voice.
    Therefore,
    the one who does
    the protecting here
    is actually Jesus.
    This takes the pressure
    off us us to
    protect ourselves.
    Though we still
    must make
    wise choices.
    Apocryphal Story
    On a biting winter night in December 1862, a lonely Union soldier stood picket duty near a dark, silent forest. The moon was brilliant, casting long, eerie shadows across the snow and making him a perfectly illuminated target for the enemy.
    Deep in those shadows, a Confederate sniper sat crouched, his breathing shallow. He raised his rifle, pressed the cold stock against his cheek, and aligned his sights perfectly with the Union soldier's chest. In that quiet, lethal moment, the sniper thought to himself, There is no escape for him. My bullet cannot miss.
    The soldier on duty was terrified. He knew death could leap from the treeline at any second. To calm his racing heart and soothe his overwhelming loneliness, he began to sing. His voice trembled at first, but then grew steady, ringing out crystal clear into the freezing night air:"
    Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care;
    In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare..."
    In the brush, the sniper’s finger tightened on the trigger. But as the melody drifted through the trees, the words hit him like a physical blow. It was the exact hymn his own mother used to sing to him back home before the war tore his world apart.
    The Union soldier kept singing, his voice filled with a desperate, childlike trust:"
    We are Thine; do Thou befriend us, be the Guardian of our way...
    "The sniper froze. Tears welled in his eyes as memories of love, faith, and family flooded his soul. A sudden, overwhelming sense of holy awe filled the woods. Powerless to pull the trigger, the sniper slowly lowered his rifle to the ground. He realized he could not kill a man who was speaking directly to the Almighty. God had woven a melody into the night air, creating an invisible, impenetrable shield around His trusting child.
    Years later, the two men unexpectedly met at a gathering. As they shared their wartime experiences, the former sniper wept as he confessed to the old soldier, "I had you dead in my sights. But the Lord became your shield through that song."
    The good new is
    if God is protecting us.
    And if we are
    allowing Him to
    Satan:

    Does Not Touch

    us
    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
    Sometimes we may
    put too much focus on
    not doing evil.
    Here it appears
    the focus is not on
    not doing evil
    avoiding Satan
    stopping sinning.
    But Rather,
    surrendering to
    God’s protecting care.
    Let’s do an experiment:
    Don’t think about pink elephant.
    We must spend more time
    not avoiding evil
    but practicing righteousness.
    Next Verse:
    1 John 5:19 ESV
    We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
    What does it mean
    that:

    We are From God

    1 John 5:19 ESV
    We know that we are from God...
    To be from God
    (some versions “of God”)
    literally means to be
    “out of God.”
    Here are some other
    verses from this book
    that use the same phrase:
    1 John 3:10 ESV
    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
    1 John 4:1 ESV
    Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
    John’s point is clear...
    If we are
    of God
    from God
    out of God
    It should be obvious.
    We can tell
    who is from God
    and who is not.
    If we
    practice righteousness
    love our brothers
    we are from God.
    And if we are
    from God then
    we are not in:

    Power of the Evil One

    1 John 5:19 ESV
    We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
    The Whole World!
    Satan is in control
    of most of this world.
    Following Satan
    is the default setting.
    Following him is
    actually the counterfeit
    but so many do it
    it appears to be
    the correct and genuine path.
    There are few
    who refuse to follow
    a life of selfishness.
    It is no wonder
    that living for christ
    feels like swimming upstream.
    Swimming at river
    keep away from kids
    make them swim upstream.
    Next Verse:
    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
    The bible declares
    God has given us:

    Understanding

    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
    This word “UNDERSTANDING”
    is the Greek word.
    As you can see
    the word can be translated
    mind
    understanding
    thoughts.
    Frequently,
    the bible calls us to
    have a certain mindset
    or way of think.
    I like 1 Pet 1:13
    1 Peter 1:13 ESV
    Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
    Having a mindset
    is a choice.
    When I get upset
    It is hard for me
    to choose to be happy.
    Fighting with Wife.
    Get Phone Call.
    Pleasant - “Hello.”
    Call is over
    Find wife to
    finish that argument!
    Question:
    Is it easy for us
    to change our mindset?
    YES AND NO!
    Easy for phone.
    Hard for Spouse...
    Why?
    What is happening?
    I want to be liked.
    Selfishness
    I want to win fight.
    Selfishness
    If I surrender selfishness
    I don’t have to
    win the fight.
    The Bible says:
    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding...
    God has given us
    a healthy
    a selfless
    a pure
    mindset.
    We just have to
    choose to put it on.
    When we do
    we will find:

    Him Who Is True

    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true...
    We can know,
    Him Who Is True.
    If you translated it literally:
    “The True One”
    “The Genuine One.”
    Satan is not a creator.
    He is a manipulator.
    God was once approached by a scientist who said, “Listen, God, we’ve decided we don’t need you anymore. These days we can clone people, transplant organs, and do all sorts of things that used to be considered miraculous.”
    God replied, “Don’t need me huh? How about we put your theory to the test. Why don’t we have a competition to see who can make a human being.”
    The scientist agrees, so God declares they should do it as he did in the good old days when he created Adam.
    “Fine,” says the scientist as he bends down to scoop up a handful of dirt.
    “Whoa!” says God, shaking his head in disapproval. “Not so fast. You get your own dirt.”
    Satan is not
    a creator.
    But rather
    a manipulator.
    God makes truth.
    Satan twists it.
    God makes holy marriage.
    Satan make counterfeit.
    Adultery
    Fornication
    Homosexuality
    God makes holy worship.
    Satan makes counterfeit.
    False Sabbath.
    No day is holy.
    Every day is holy.
    Worship of the Beast.
    God makes joy worship.
    Satan makes counterfeit.
    Drugs
    Alcohol
    Pornography.
    Evil can only parody goodness,
    it cannot invent
    new forms of
    real beauty and joy.
    Our passage says:
    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true...
    Jesus is
    the real deal
    the genuine
    path to lasting joy!
    Let us not,
    settle for a counterfeit.
    The genuine leads to:

    Eternal Life

    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
    Jesus is eternal life.
    Eternal life is not
    something we will get
    after resurrection.
    If we have Jesus
    we have life!!!!
    In Eden,
    God created the
    Tree of Life.
    Those who continue
    to eat from it
    live forever.
    Remember,
    Tree of Life,
    is not magic!
    Yes, it is physical.
    But More...
    It is metaphorical.
    Jesus is,
    the tree of life.
    This is why,
    when Adam and Eve sinned,
    they could not eat.
    You cannot be
    in sin
    and
    in Christ.
    That is why Ellen White
    could write:
    Review and Herald January 26, 1897: The Christian Warfare

    Christ is the source of our life, the source of our immortality. He is the tree of life, and to all who come to him he gives spiritual life.

    Today,
    let us choose life!
    The Legend of the Fever Tree
    The Crisis: A native explorer, burning with malaria, was separated from his group in the Andean wilderness. Shaking violently with fever and desperate with thirst, he crawled to a small pool of stagnant water trapped at the roots of a fallen Cinchona tree to drink his final draft.
    The Bitter Drink: The water tasted terribly bitter because the roots of the tree had bled their chemicals into the pool. The man believed he had just poisoned himself, but having no other choice, he drank until his thirst was quenched and fell into a deep sleep.
    The Miracle: The next morning, the man awoke to a miracle. The fever had completely broken. The very thing he thought would taste bitter and bring death actually restored his life. He returned to his village to share the news of the "Fever Tree" (Quinine), which eventually went on to save millions of lives worldwide.
    The book of 1 John
    seems to end
    somewhat abruptly.
    1 John 5:21 ESV
    Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
    John calls his readers
    once again by
    the endearing diminutive.

    Little Children

    Then gives one
    final warning:

    Keep Yourselves From Idols

    1 John 5:21 ESV
    Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
    John already talked about
    getting truth
    getting genuine
    getting joy
    getting life.
    His final warning...
    Avoid all that other stuff.
    Satan knows that
    if we really get
    a taste for the
    tree of life in our mouth
    we won’t be controlled
    by the desires of this world.
    The Analogy to the Tree of Life
    Hidden in Plain Sight: Just as the cure for a fatal blood disease was bound up in the wood of a specific tree, the cure for the spiritual curse of sin and death was bound up in Jesus, who hung upon a wooden tree.
    You Must Partake: The medicine in the bark could not cure anyone from a distance. The dying man had to actually drink it and internalize it. Jesus said in John 6, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." We must personally accept and internalize Him.
    Bitter to Sweet: To the world, the message of the cross and total surrender to Jesus can seem bitter or restrictive at first. But when a dying soul actually tastes the fruit of this Tree, it brings ultimate healing, quenching our deepest spiritual thirst forever

    Appeal

    Receive truth.
    Receive joy.
    Receive life.
    Receive Jesus!

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 2:29ESV

      • 1 John 3:4ESV

      • 1 John 3:6ESV

      • 1 John 4:7ESV

      • 1 John 5:1ESV

      • 1 John 5:4ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:19ESV

      • 1 John 5:19ESV

      • 1 John 3:10ESV

      • 1 John 4:1ESV

      • 1 John 5:19ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 Peter 1:13ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:21ESV

      • 1 John 5:21ESV

  • I Would Be Like Jesus
  • Holy, Holy, Holy
  • I Vow to Thee, My Country
  • Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
  • I've Found a Friend

      • 1 John 5:18-19ESV

      • 1 John 5:20-21ESV

  • In 1937, a brilliant but deeply resentful Dutch artist named Han van Meegeren decided to seek revenge on the art world. Critics had dismissed his original work as unoriginal, so he set out to prove he could beat them at their own game. He spent years in secret, engineering the perfect forgery of a Johannes Vermeer—the legendary 17th-century master.
    Van Meegeren didn’t just paint a copy; he engineered an illusion. He bought authentic 300-year-old canvases. He hand-ground raw lapis lazuli and white lead to recreate period-accurate paints. Crucially, he mixed his pigments with a primitive form of plastic called Bakelite, then literally baked the canvas in an oven to harden the paint and create the deep, webbed cracks that only centuries of time can produce.
    He then took his creation, titled Christ at Emmaus, to Dr. Abraham Bredius, the world's leading authority on Vermeer.
    Bredius was a man who had spent his entire life studying the genuine master. Yet, when he looked at this painting, his analytical mind and his deepest desires betrayed him. He was so desperate to discover a lost masterpiece that he bypassed his own instincts. Bredius stared right at a fraud and declared it to the world as "the masterpiece of Johannes Vermeer."
    The counterfeit was so convincing that it fooled the top museums, chemical analysts, and eventually Nazi high-command official Hermann Göring, who traded 137 real, stolen masterworks just to possess one of van Meegeren’s fakes.
    The world was entirely blinded. The deception only ended after World War II when van Meegeren was arrested for treason for selling Dutch national treasures to the Nazis. Facing the death penalty, he finally confessed the shocking truth to a courtroom that refused to believe him:
    "The painting is not a Vermeer. I painted it myself."
    To prove it, he had to paint another masterpiece right in front of guards while in his prison cell.
    The Seduction of Surface Accuracy:
    Van Meegeren’s fakes
    succeeded because they
    checked all the external boxes.
    They had the
    right age,
    right canvas,
    right chemicals.
    In the same way,
    the world offers us counterfeits
    of peace and happiness
    material success,
    shallow validation,
    temporary comfort.
    They look exactly right
    on the surface,
    and they pass
    the superficial tests
    of our culture.
    The Danger of Desperation:
    Dr. Bredius was fooled
    because he
    wanted to be fooled.
    His desire for
    a grand discovery
    blinded his judgment.
    When our souls are
    desperate for peace,
    we will eagerly embrace
    a false security
    just because it promises
    a quick fix.
    We mistake the
    emotional highs
    of this world
    for the genuine
    presence of God.
    The Ultimate Awakening:
    The art world spent
    millions on a lie,
    only to find out
    it was worthless plastic
    baked in an oven.
    When we build our lives
    on counterfeit peace
    or worldly security,
    we will eventually face
    a moment of awakening.
    Only the genuine hand
    of the True Master,
    Jesus Christ,
    offers a beauty and a peace
    that can withstand
    the test of eternity.
    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

    Born of God

    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God...
    It is common
    among some Christians to ask
    have you been born again?
    What does it mean?
    For John
    the evidence that
    we have been born again
    is connected with our lifestyle.
    1 John 2:29 ESV
    If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
    1 John 3:4 ESV
    Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
    1 John 3:6 ESV
    No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.
    1 John 4:7 ESV
    Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
    1 John 5:1 ESV
    Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
    1 John 5:4 ESV
    For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
    What does it mean
    to be born again?
    These are people
    who found the genuine
    source of joy and truth.
    Practice Righteousness
    Not Practice Sin
    Not Keep On Sinning
    Love One Another
    Loves Other Christians
    Overcomes the World
    To be born again,
    means all this and more.
    To be born again
    does not just mean
    you heard of God
    and are thankful
    for Christ’s sacrifice.
    Being born again,
    means that you
    take some action
    through His power
    to live a life
    Like Jesus.
    Our keep passage
    is clear.
    If we are born again
    we don’t:

    Keep on Sinning

    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning...
    If we are
    born again,
    we don’t continue
    ways of world.
    Sin is the counterfeit
    temporary
    fun
    happiness
    excitement.
    But,
    it leaves you feeling
    more empty than before.
    The problem is
    the counterfeit of sin
    is so pervasive
    it has become normal.
    I don’t know about you.
    But I have noticed
    evil tendency is
    the default setting.
    Software with Default Settings
    Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS pre-set standard web browsers, media players, and file openers.
    Web Browsers: Programs like Google Chrome or Safari set a default search engine (like Google) and a default downloads folder.
    Office Programs: Word processors set standard font styles, text sizes, and margins for new documents.
    Machines with Default Settings
    Smartphones and Tablets: iPhones and Android devices come with a default screen brightness, ringtone, and sleep timer.
    Printers and Routers: Network devices have preset factory configurations, such as a default administrator password or a standard print queue.
    Home Appliances: Microwaves, washing machines, and coffee makers have standard preset cooking times, spin cycles, or brew strengths
    We have a default setting.
    That setting is sin.
    Being a Christian
    is like swimming up stream.
    It take effort!
    Being a Christian...
    Being Born Again...
    is choosing a different
    way of life.
    choosing the genuine.
    According to John,
    if you choose this
    new default,

    God Protects Him

    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him...
    In order to be
    born of God
    and stop sinning
    we must be protected.
    By the way,
    from this passage
    it is not immediately obvious
    who is doing the protecting.
    Is God protecting me?
    Am I protecting myself?
    If the verse was saying
    that we need to
    protect ourselves
    that would be a
    reflexive verb
    but it is not...
    This verb is
    active voice.
    Passive voice means
    you are the direct object.
    Reflexive verbs
    would have to
    passive voice.
    This verb is
    active voice.
    Therefore,
    the one who does
    the protecting here
    is actually Jesus.
    This takes the pressure
    off us us to
    protect ourselves.
    Though we still
    must make
    wise choices.
    Apocryphal Story
    On a biting winter night in December 1862, a lonely Union soldier stood picket duty near a dark, silent forest. The moon was brilliant, casting long, eerie shadows across the snow and making him a perfectly illuminated target for the enemy.
    Deep in those shadows, a Confederate sniper sat crouched, his breathing shallow. He raised his rifle, pressed the cold stock against his cheek, and aligned his sights perfectly with the Union soldier's chest. In that quiet, lethal moment, the sniper thought to himself, There is no escape for him. My bullet cannot miss.
    The soldier on duty was terrified. He knew death could leap from the treeline at any second. To calm his racing heart and soothe his overwhelming loneliness, he began to sing. His voice trembled at first, but then grew steady, ringing out crystal clear into the freezing night air:"
    Savior, like a shepherd lead us, much we need Thy tender care;
    In Thy pleasant pastures feed us, for our use Thy folds prepare..."
    In the brush, the sniper’s finger tightened on the trigger. But as the melody drifted through the trees, the words hit him like a physical blow. It was the exact hymn his own mother used to sing to him back home before the war tore his world apart.
    The Union soldier kept singing, his voice filled with a desperate, childlike trust:"
    We are Thine; do Thou befriend us, be the Guardian of our way...
    "The sniper froze. Tears welled in his eyes as memories of love, faith, and family flooded his soul. A sudden, overwhelming sense of holy awe filled the woods. Powerless to pull the trigger, the sniper slowly lowered his rifle to the ground. He realized he could not kill a man who was speaking directly to the Almighty. God had woven a melody into the night air, creating an invisible, impenetrable shield around His trusting child.
    Years later, the two men unexpectedly met at a gathering. As they shared their wartime experiences, the former sniper wept as he confessed to the old soldier, "I had you dead in my sights. But the Lord became your shield through that song."
    The good new is
    if God is protecting us.
    And if we are
    allowing Him to
    Satan:

    Does Not Touch

    us
    1 John 5:18 ESV
    We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
    Sometimes we may
    put too much focus on
    not doing evil.
    Here it appears
    the focus is not on
    not doing evil
    avoiding Satan
    stopping sinning.
    But Rather,
    surrendering to
    God’s protecting care.
    Let’s do an experiment:
    Don’t think about pink elephant.
    We must spend more time
    not avoiding evil
    but practicing righteousness.
    Next Verse:
    1 John 5:19 ESV
    We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
    What does it mean
    that:

    We are From God

    1 John 5:19 ESV
    We know that we are from God...
    To be from God
    (some versions “of God”)
    literally means to be
    “out of God.”
    Here are some other
    verses from this book
    that use the same phrase:
    1 John 3:10 ESV
    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
    1 John 4:1 ESV
    Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
    John’s point is clear...
    If we are
    of God
    from God
    out of God
    It should be obvious.
    We can tell
    who is from God
    and who is not.
    If we
    practice righteousness
    love our brothers
    we are from God.
    And if we are
    from God then
    we are not in:

    Power of the Evil One

    1 John 5:19 ESV
    We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
    The Whole World!
    Satan is in control
    of most of this world.
    Following Satan
    is the default setting.
    Following him is
    actually the counterfeit
    but so many do it
    it appears to be
    the correct and genuine path.
    There are few
    who refuse to follow
    a life of selfishness.
    It is no wonder
    that living for christ
    feels like swimming upstream.
    Swimming at river
    keep away from kids
    make them swim upstream.
    Next Verse:
    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
    The bible declares
    God has given us:

    Understanding

    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding,
    This word “UNDERSTANDING”
    is the Greek word.
    As you can see
    the word can be translated
    mind
    understanding
    thoughts.
    Frequently,
    the bible calls us to
    have a certain mindset
    or way of think.
    I like 1 Pet 1:13
    1 Peter 1:13 ESV
    Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
    Having a mindset
    is a choice.
    When I get upset
    It is hard for me
    to choose to be happy.
    Fighting with Wife.
    Get Phone Call.
    Pleasant - “Hello.”
    Call is over
    Find wife to
    finish that argument!
    Question:
    Is it easy for us
    to change our mindset?
    YES AND NO!
    Easy for phone.
    Hard for Spouse...
    Why?
    What is happening?
    I want to be liked.
    Selfishness
    I want to win fight.
    Selfishness
    If I surrender selfishness
    I don’t have to
    win the fight.
    The Bible says:
    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding...
    God has given us
    a healthy
    a selfless
    a pure
    mindset.
    We just have to
    choose to put it on.
    When we do
    we will find:

    Him Who Is True

    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true...
    We can know,
    Him Who Is True.
    If you translated it literally:
    “The True One”
    “The Genuine One.”
    Satan is not a creator.
    He is a manipulator.
    God was once approached by a scientist who said, “Listen, God, we’ve decided we don’t need you anymore. These days we can clone people, transplant organs, and do all sorts of things that used to be considered miraculous.”
    God replied, “Don’t need me huh? How about we put your theory to the test. Why don’t we have a competition to see who can make a human being.”
    The scientist agrees, so God declares they should do it as he did in the good old days when he created Adam.
    “Fine,” says the scientist as he bends down to scoop up a handful of dirt.
    “Whoa!” says God, shaking his head in disapproval. “Not so fast. You get your own dirt.”
    Satan is not
    a creator.
    But rather
    a manipulator.
    God makes truth.
    Satan twists it.
    God makes holy marriage.
    Satan make counterfeit.
    Adultery
    Fornication
    Homosexuality
    God makes holy worship.
    Satan makes counterfeit.
    False Sabbath.
    No day is holy.
    Every day is holy.
    Worship of the Beast.
    God makes joy worship.
    Satan makes counterfeit.
    Drugs
    Alcohol
    Pornography.
    Evil can only parody goodness,
    it cannot invent
    new forms of
    real beauty and joy.
    Our passage says:
    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true...
    Jesus is
    the real deal
    the genuine
    path to lasting joy!
    Let us not,
    settle for a counterfeit.
    The genuine leads to:

    Eternal Life

    1 John 5:20 ESV
    And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
    Jesus is eternal life.
    Eternal life is not
    something we will get
    after resurrection.
    If we have Jesus
    we have life!!!!
    In Eden,
    God created the
    Tree of Life.
    Those who continue
    to eat from it
    live forever.
    Remember,
    Tree of Life,
    is not magic!
    Yes, it is physical.
    But More...
    It is metaphorical.
    Jesus is,
    the tree of life.
    This is why,
    when Adam and Eve sinned,
    they could not eat.
    You cannot be
    in sin
    and
    in Christ.
    That is why Ellen White
    could write:
    Review and Herald January 26, 1897: The Christian Warfare

    Christ is the source of our life, the source of our immortality. He is the tree of life, and to all who come to him he gives spiritual life.

    Today,
    let us choose life!
    The Legend of the Fever Tree
    The Crisis: A native explorer, burning with malaria, was separated from his group in the Andean wilderness. Shaking violently with fever and desperate with thirst, he crawled to a small pool of stagnant water trapped at the roots of a fallen Cinchona tree to drink his final draft.
    The Bitter Drink: The water tasted terribly bitter because the roots of the tree had bled their chemicals into the pool. The man believed he had just poisoned himself, but having no other choice, he drank until his thirst was quenched and fell into a deep sleep.
    The Miracle: The next morning, the man awoke to a miracle. The fever had completely broken. The very thing he thought would taste bitter and bring death actually restored his life. He returned to his village to share the news of the "Fever Tree" (Quinine), which eventually went on to save millions of lives worldwide.
    The book of 1 John
    seems to end
    somewhat abruptly.
    1 John 5:21 ESV
    Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
    John calls his readers
    once again by
    the endearing diminutive.

    Little Children

    Then gives one
    final warning:

    Keep Yourselves From Idols

    1 John 5:21 ESV
    Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
    John already talked about
    getting truth
    getting genuine
    getting joy
    getting life.
    His final warning...
    Avoid all that other stuff.
    Satan knows that
    if we really get
    a taste for the
    tree of life in our mouth
    we won’t be controlled
    by the desires of this world.
    The Analogy to the Tree of Life
    Hidden in Plain Sight: Just as the cure for a fatal blood disease was bound up in the wood of a specific tree, the cure for the spiritual curse of sin and death was bound up in Jesus, who hung upon a wooden tree.
    You Must Partake: The medicine in the bark could not cure anyone from a distance. The dying man had to actually drink it and internalize it. Jesus said in John 6, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." We must personally accept and internalize Him.
    Bitter to Sweet: To the world, the message of the cross and total surrender to Jesus can seem bitter or restrictive at first. But when a dying soul actually tastes the fruit of this Tree, it brings ultimate healing, quenching our deepest spiritual thirst forever

    Appeal

    Receive truth.
    Receive joy.
    Receive life.
    Receive Jesus!

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 2:29ESV

      • 1 John 3:4ESV

      • 1 John 3:6ESV

      • 1 John 4:7ESV

      • 1 John 5:1ESV

      • 1 John 5:4ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:18ESV

      • 1 John 5:19ESV

      • 1 John 5:19ESV

      • 1 John 3:10ESV

      • 1 John 4:1ESV

      • 1 John 5:19ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 Peter 1:13ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:20ESV

      • 1 John 5:21ESV

      • 1 John 5:21ESV

  • I Would Be Like Jesus
Auburn SDA Church
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