Shalom, everyone. Please open your Bibles. We are studying from the book of 1 John, from the letter that Yohanan, this apostle, the Hebrew apostle, wrote to the Mishpacha, to the family of God. And we are today in the second half of 1 John. Please turn to 1 John chapter 3, and we are reading from verse 11 to the end of the chapter. 1 John 3, verse 11 to 24. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of that wicked one that slew his brother, and wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brothers righteous. Marvel not my brethren.

If the world hates you, we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whosoever hath this world's good and seeth his brother have need and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

And hereby 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 heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confident towards God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son, Yeshua the Messiah, and love one another as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandment dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us.

I don't know about you, but over the study of the book of 1 John, of this letter that Yohanan wrote to the Mishpacha, to the family of God. There are many, many lessons that I personally can see in my life, and I'm sure when you study this as well, you feel that there are many lessons that we can learn from this letter that John Yohanan had written. I always give some introduction in study of any message and look back a little bit to the previous verses and have some background so we can move on in our study. In chapter 1 and chapter 2 of this epistle, the emphasis was on the fact that we ought to have fellowship and communion with Yeshua the Messiah in order for us to be able to live the life of the believer here in this world.

Now in chapter 3, 4, and 5, the emphasis that Yohanan places is the importance to understand that we belong to the family of God. We are now part of a mishpacha, a family, a redeemed people. We have been born from above, born again. As Yeshua said to Nakdimon some 2,000 years ago, he says, you must be born again except a man be born from above. He cannot enter or cannot see the kingdom of God. And every believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, we have been born of the Holy Spirit of God into this body of Messiah. And we have these two natures now, not only that we have the Adamic nature, We also have the divine nature, and there is a struggle in the life of the believer.

But because we belong to a family, to a mishpacha, it is so beautiful to see when the family conducts themselves in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, and in a sense to enjoy love and care for each other. In the previous message that we have had, 1 John 3, verses 1 to 10, the beginning, if you remember, that John says, Behold what many of love the Father had bestowed upon us, that we, as sinners, Jewish sinners, Gentile sinners, we should be called sons and daughters of the Father, the sons and daughters of God. He's saying you really need to think about this in your own mind to imagine that God would call us, us who have been sinful and coming from the Adamic descendants of Adam, now God is calling us the sons and the daughters of the father there is never such a love as this John Yohanan is saying when he wrote to these brothers and sisters and that's why if you remember in our previous message together we have this encouragement reasons to live a godly life and to live a righteous life because the love of the father for us verses one to three the price that the Messiah paid for us, verses 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in every believer in Yeshua the Messiah, verses 9 and 10.

That's what we had in our previous ministry together. Well, now, as he moves along in writing this letter to the Mishpacha, to the family, he continues, and now he's really emphasizing the importance of love among the people of God. In Hebrew we call the word love, the word Ahava or Le'ehov. It is a beautiful word. It's something that is not only to say, to speak, to say it in words, but it is practice, something that one will practice in his or her life as believers in the body of Christ, in the body of Messiah. There are three Greek words that are usually being used for the word love.

Basically two of those words we find in Scripture. One of them is the Greek word phileo, which is more or less like a family love or a friendship love. And the second one, which is a divine love, and most of us know that word, the word agapeo or agapeo in the Greek, is a word that really speaks about love that is unconditional. Love that does not depend upon the performance of another. It is an unconditional love. And so when we read in John chapter 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, we know very well it is an unconditional love that God set upon every human being that is born into this world.

Unconditional. And therefore he sent the Messiah, Yeshua, to die to pay the price on the tree that whosoever among the human race in this world that only will trust in him and accept Yeshua the Messiah, he or she will have eternal life and everlasting love because accepting the work that Yeshua the Messiah have done for us. But now he's leading on to a love that ought to be practiced among the Mishpacha, the family of God. And oftentimes, brothers and sisters, We know that in the body of Messiah, many times why we are so divided and the sheep are scattered is because love in practice is not being evident among the people of God.

I wouldn't say not at all, but in many ways, in many times in the history of the church, it was not evident. And when it is evident, it is beautiful to see that those who belong to Yeshua, those who are disciples of Yeshua, by practicing love toward another, they really are showing that they are truly disciples of Yeshua, the Messiah. So let's look on together to these verses, verses 11 to verse 24 in this passage that is before us. Bible teachers have suggested that there are four levels in which people live here in this world. And you and I have to ask ourselves, and which level do I fit in?

There is a lowest level of life in which people live today. We can see it in the first few verses. And at the end, there is what you might say, a higher level of living that a believer, Christian, a Messiah follower ought to live in. We will see this at the end of this chapter. Look at the beginning in verses 11 and verse 12. We have the lowest way of living, which is a life that is being influenced by Satan himself. Look, he began by saying here in verse 11, he says, and this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

But then he adds in verse 12, Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why did he slew his brother? Wherefore did he slew him, because his own works were evil, and his brother were righteous. Now, Yohanan begins by saying in verse 11, that there is a message that was given by Yeshua, the Messiah, to all those who belong to him. And that message, we're reading in verse 11, this is the message that he heard from the beginning. That we should love one another. Now, every time you hear that word from the beginning in the epistle of John, in the letter that Yohanan wrote, that epistle make a reference always to the incarnation of the Messiah.

When God became a man, when God the Son entered humanity in the city of Bethlehem when he was born to the Virgin Miriam and he began he entered into this world and he became a man when we read in first John that expression you heard from the beginning that is the beginning of the incarnation of the Messiah when God took union humanity and in the person of the son he became a man through the virgin Miriam in the city of Bethlehem and you remember when he became a man and he lived here among his own people Israel our own nation Israel for 33 years just before he went to the cross to the altar to pay for the sin of this world he said to these Jewish disciples in the upper room in John chapter 13, verse 34 and 35.

He says those words to them. And I'm reading those words. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another, and by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one towards another. You see, in the upper room, Yeshua was anticipating to go to the tree. He was going to pay for the price of the sin of this world. He was going to become the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of this world. And just before He went to this cross, to the Roman cross, to the altar, He was talking to His twelve disciples there in that upper room, and he's saying to them listen by this shall everyone will know that you really belong to me if you have love one towards another so this is the message that they have heard from the beginning that beginning is the incarnation the time that he entered into this world and he now is speaking in view of the building of the body of Christ the church and he's saying listen all men will know that you belong to me by the way that you conduct yourself in loving one another and that's why he continue here now and John is saying now in verse 12 listen he since you have heard this from the beginning that you are to love one another let me show how you ought not to conduct yourself towards your own brethren your own achim your brothers and sisters in Yeshua the Messiah.

Don't be like and he takes us all the way back to the book of Bereshit the book of Genesis and he's saying to them in verse 12 this is John Yohanan is writing and he said don't you have that kind of love towards one another as Cain who was of that wicked one and he slew his own brother and why did he slay his brother? Why did he murdered and killed his own brother? Because his own works were evil and his brother's works were righteous. Now you know very well, brothers and sisters, that the first person that was born into this world through a physical relationship of her husband and wife, namely Adam and Eve, Adam and Chava, was kind.

He was the first person that was born into this world, of course, after him, Hevel, or Abel, you'll say it in English, we call it Hevel in Hebrew, then his brother were born. They were the two children, the first children upon the face of this earth. Here is Adam and Eve and their own son, Cain, and his own brother, Abel. You would think there would be such a harmony among this little family. They began this new world, and even though Adam and Eve had been chastened out of the Garden of Eden, they began this new world as a family, only four souls upon the face of this earth.

But you can see how sinful sin is. Because, by the way, Cain, in Hebrew we call him Cain, not Cain, but Cain. Cain was fought by his mother, Chava, that he actually will be the promised Messiah. In Genesis chapter 4 where we read this earlier we read in Genesis chapter 4 and Adam knew his wife and she conceived and bare kind and she said listen what she said i have gotten a man from the Lord if you knew the Hebrew text she actually said i have gotten a man even Jehovah kaniti ish et Yehovah in Hebrew in other words she was saying i have gotten this promise Messiah because in chapter 3 and verse 15 there was a promise of the coming of the Messiah the seed of the woman and so when chava gave birth to kain she was assuming that he will be that promised Messiah but of course beloved brothers and sisters we know very well that when she conceived and bear this man by the name of Cain, it was not the seed of the woman, but it was of the seed of Adam.

And it was because of his disobedience, Adam had plunged the whole human race into sin, what we find out that the descendants of Adam, including you and I, all have inherited a sinful nature. And therefore this man by the name of Cain was not the Messiah, he was a man that was born a sinner. And what we really learn here from verse 12, that you, brothers and sisters, Achim ve'achayot, you are to love one another because you heard it from the beginning, from the very lips of Yeshua the Messiah and those that preached the word, like the apostles, he said, you ought not to love one another in a way that Cain conducted himself towards his very own brother.

How did he do? He says here in verse 12, Cain, who was of that wicked one. And what happened? That wicked one is a reference to Satan himself. In Scripture we find many times this expression, that wicked one, he is that wicked one, this evil one, the murderer that murdered from the beginning. And so he's saying, don't love one another the way Cain did towards his brother. Because what happened, he ended up slaying his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil and his brother was righteous. In other words, let me just say that, that exists oftentimes in my heart and in yours, is the thought of envy and jealousy.

In Hebrew we call it kin'ah. Kin'ah lekanot. When someone is envious over one another. This is jealousy and envy. So really, what happened? If you remember, both of them were approaching God. Both of them, you might say, were religious people. The one came to God on the basis of the offering of the sacrifice and the blood was shed. The other one came to God on his own merit. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, Cain was not an atheist. He believed that there is a God existing. He was a religious man, but he was coming to God on his own terms and not on God's terms.

And we read this in Genesis chapter 4 just earlier, that both of them approached God because they were instructed by their parent. The one came to God on the basis of the instruction that God gave to Adam and Eve. The other one came to God on his own merit. And when God accepted Hevel and rejected the offering of Cain, Cain was mad. Cain was angry. And Cain actually was envious and jealous over the fact that his brother was accepted and he was rejected. If you look in a dictionary, the word for envy or jealousy is really the same in the Hebrew. It would simply mean kin'ah.

What is a kin'ah? What is jealousy? What is envy? Envy is a feeling of discontentment and covetousness over another advantage and success. When we see somebody who is being successful, and we are not, and someone else an advantage that we don't have and we begin to desire that and seek for that by all means it leads oftentimes to a terrible thing to be done in the case of Cain it's led to a murder the only thing that he could have done beloved brothers and sisters when God said to him Cain why are you angry and Cain's face was fallen he was angry with God because God had accepted heaven and rejected him because he didn't bring a blood sacrifice so he was angry with God so he couldn't take his anger upon God because God is greater than him so he took his anger upon his brother and he ended up killing his brother murdering his brother and when God asked him Cain, where is your brother?

You know, he lied. And he said, I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper? And God had to tell Cain. In chapter 4, he said to him, Why you are angry, Cain? Why is your countenance fallen? Verse 6 of Genesis chapter 4. If you do well, shall thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well, sin laying at the door and unto thee shall be his desire and you shall rule over him and Cain talked with Abel his brother and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and he slew him and the Lord said unto Cain Cain where is your brother and he said I know not am I my brother's keeper and he said what has thou done the voice of thy brother's blood cries out from the ground and now thou art cursed from this earth which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thine hand and ultimately God judged Cain and you know beloved brothers and sisters we read in Genesis chapter 4 and verse 16 Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and then the Bible never ever showed that Cain ever returned to the presence of the Lord he turned his back on God so now John is writing to the family and he's saying to the brothers and.

Sisters to the family to the children of God and he's saying listen brothers and sisters you ought to love one another because you have heard this from the beginning from Yeshua the Messiah and don't live this kind of lifestyle to end up hating your own brothers and sisters and that's why he's saying in this verse, don't be like Cain. You see, he's writing it to believers. And it is possible for a believer who is not judging himself or herself to come to the extent that when we allow the flesh to take its course, that hatred, envy, and jealousy coming against believers that produce divisions and friction among the people of God.

And this is the lowest level of living here in this world. It's really a murderous type of living, hating everyone on every hand. And that's why Yohanan is saying, listen, this kind of lifestyle ought not to be found in you. Don't be like this man by the name of Cain. You know, I want to read another verse in Proverbs chapter 27. In verse 4 King Solomon said about envy he says wrath is cruel anger is outrageous but who is able to stand before envy who is able to stand before envy this is the lowest way of living here in this world is really an influence of Satan in first John chapter 3 in verse 12 he's saying that the one that is living like this is influenced by Satan himself and i read again this verse 12 not as cain who was of that wicked one namely Satan himself so that's the lowest way in which a person can live here in this world hateful resentful dissatisfied constantly fighting and hating others and so on this is a terrible condition to be in believers in Yeshua the Messiah who are part of the family of God are to never arrive to such a state here now let's move on then in verse 13 14 and 15 here's another you might say lower level of living here in this world.

Which is a bit higher than the lowest one but it's still a sad condition to find a person living in such a way this is verse 13 14 and 15 it's not so much one that had been needing physically to kill someone like Cain have done so but here is another who are doing that but he does it in his or her heart they might have not done it physically but have done it in our hearts this is a danger that we are finding ourselves as well look at this verse 13 14 and 15 it says in verse 13 do not marvel, brethren, when the world hate you. Don't marvel when the world hate you.

Why? Because the world hated Yeshua, the Messiah. That word for world is cosmos. And in this context, it has to do with the evil system in this world. It says, brothers and sisters, don't be surprised when the world, this evil system here in this world, hate the believers. They have hated the Messiah. They. Will hate those who follow the Messiah this is verse 13 but then he's saying in verse 14 we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren i'm reading verse 14 and we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren he that loveth not his brother abideth in death now if i would have write this verse i would write we know that we pass from death unto life because we have done many good works, or we have achieved a lot as believers, or maybe because I'm a good preacher, or I'm a good Bible teacher, or I'm a good Sunday school teacher, or Shabbat school teacher.

I pass from death unto life because I go to church meeting. I pass from death unto life because I've attended a meeting, a congregation. I sing to the he doesn't say those things he says the evident that we pass from death unto life is because we love the brethren see how do we test how do we show that we have really passed from death unto. Life because we now become children of God the proof of it according to this text is not what we have achieved not how many times we go to a church or congregational meeting not how many time we read our Bible not how many verses we know from the word of God and not how i sing or how i play or how i preach but the evident that we passed from death unto life is because we love the the brothers and the sisters in Yeshua the Messiah this is how John looks at this when the believers love one another sacrificially it's an evident that a change happened here that they have accepted Yeshua the Messiah they have been born from above there's a new life in them and then he said he that loveth not his brother abideth in death so here we see when believers do not practice love one towards another they really abide or remain in the way they used to be before they became believers in Yeshua the Messiah remaining in death this is not that they are not born again.

But that means that they allow the old nature to take his or its course, instead of allowing the new man, the new life in the Messiah, the Holy Spirit of God, to lead them. Brothers and sisters, passing from death unto life, the evident of this is when we love the brothers and sisters, the one that does not love a brother or sister, he is really remaining in death. And then verse 15, he says, whosoever hates his brother is a murderer. Now this is such a strong word John is telling these family of God he's saying really if you don't love your brothers and your sisters it's very similar to what cain have done to heaven even though cain have done it physically but here he's speaking mentally emotionally spiritually if if your heart the thoughts the desires of your heart is is animosity towards our brothers and it's like murdering someone you may have not done it actually but you have done it in your own heart you have done it in your own heart look how Yeshua pointed to this in Matthew chapter 5 in verse 21 look what Yeshua said in chapter 5 of the gospel of Matthew this is the sermon on the mount Yeshua said in verse 21 ye have heard that it was said by them of all time Thou shalt not kill And whosoever shall kill or murder Shall be in danger of the judgment Now verse 22 But I say unto you That whosoever is angry with his brother Without a cause Shall be in danger of judgment.

And whosoever shall say to his brother Reikah or Reik in Hebrew Shall be in danger of the counsel but whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there you remember that thy brother has something against you leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way first be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer thy gift you see Yeshua now took this the law that God had given to our people of old Israel thou shall not murder and he went and he took it another step forward it's not only that one ought not to murder literally murdering someone but hateful and hatefulness that come from the heart against another is actually according to these verses say sin against the Lord and it is dishonoring to the Lord even calling someone reika one is in danger of the council that word reika means empty to say to someone you're empty you have you're good for nothing there's no value in you as far as Jesus.

Concerned this is really thinking negative to such an extent about someone that is endangering one of judgment and so back to first John chapter 3 verse 15 a believer that hate his brother is actually a murderer a murderer can be saved as Paul remember he was accused of murder of Stephen and he got saved later on but a believer now up not to live this kind of a lifestyle a saved person cannot continue on in this type of lifestyle of hate and cause of friction among the people of God we might do so at times and confess our sins before the Lord and repent and change our way but if a person carry on with this kind of lifestyle all the time, repetition, ongoing kind of hateful attitude in his life or her life, this is only a proof that this person may really never ever came to know Yeshua the Messiah in the first place.

A believer should love the brothers and sisters and change his or her way, not to continue in the old way of life, but in the new way of. Living, following Yeshua the Messiah. Paul said this to Titus in chapter 3 and verse 3, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceiving or deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasure, living in malice, and listen, and envy, and hateful, and hating one another that's the way that we were Paul said to Titus in chapter 3 and verse 3 but after the kindness and the love of God our Savior towards men appeared not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy yet save us by the washing of regeneration and renewing all the Holy Spirit and now he's saying change have happened in our lives we are no longer living the way we used to live before we became believers in Yeshua and the Messiah well verses 11 and 12 of first John chapter 3 is the lowest type of living the lowest way of life here in this world which lead to murder then verses 13 14 and 15 is also a way a low way of living here in this world which.

Really speaks of hatefulness that comes out of the heart and a believer up not to live this kind of lifestyle and he's leading on now to the next verses where he's moving on to the way that a believer ought to live like now verse 16 and verse 17 Yohanan is pointing to the danger of living a life of indifference without concern for one another and he says in verse 16 1st John chapter 3 and verse 16 he's saying now those words hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren you notice that it says here hereby perceive we the love of God really the word of God is in italic and it really shouldn't be there someone places this to help us to understand what Yohanan is saying but it really should say like this hereby perceive we love how do we perceive love because verse 16b because he.

This is Yeshua the Messiah laid down his life for each and every one of us and if he laid down his life for each and every one of us we also had to lay down our life for the brethren and look at the standard. Now, none of us can say that we are able or willing to lay down our life for another brother, for another sister. In the history of the church age, perhaps there were few that were willing to lay down their life, but it's not natural for us. Paul said to the Lord in prayer, he actually was writing this to the Romans, and he said to the brethren, he said, I'm willing to be cut off from the Lord for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.

He was willing to give his life over just that the brethren, the Jewish people, the people of Israel will come to faith in a Messiah. Moshe, Moses said those words in the book of Exodus. He said to the Lord in Exodus. Chapter 32, 33, 34, those three chapters there, he said to the God of Israel, blot up my name from the book which you are writing. Just do not blot out the names of the people of Israel out of this world. In other words, I am willing to lay down my life for my people, the people of Israel. And where do you think they have learned this from?

These two towering personalities. Both of them are Hebrew, speaking about the Hebrew people, the people of Israel. One of them before the coming of the Messiah, the other one after the coming of the Messiah, they have learned it from Yeshua, from the Son of God who laid down his life for us. He was judged that we will not be judged. He was punished that you and I will never need to be punished. And that's why he says, how do we know love the only way that we know love in its full sense of its meaning is when the Messiah laid down. His life for us no religion produced such a thing no group of people in the world can offer such a thing no humanity can offer such a thing here in this world only God can provide such a love because God is love God is light but also God is love there is no darkness in him but God is love and he was willing to send his son to this world in order that the world will be redeemed and saved through his son.

He laid down his life for us. Now imagine if he laid down his life for us, are we as believers to treat each other in such a way as we just read in the previous verses, hatred that come from the heart, coming to the extent that we hate so much. As the apostle John said, the one who hates another, it's like a murder, similar to what Cain has done to his own brother he says that's not the way at all brethren he says how do we know love we know it. When we look at Yeshua and we see what you have done for us if you have done this for us can one harbor hatred in his own heart or her own how to the extent that they are willing all sort of evil to happen to their own brothers and sisters who have wronged them perhaps you see he says no if we learn what love is all about from Yeshua the Messiah who laid down his life for us we also have to look at this example and be willing to offer ourselves in some method we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren and then he says in verse 17 the proof that we have love one towards another is by meeting the needs of each other that's why he's very practical you Notice when he used the word brethren in plural in verse 16, he is narrowing it down to a brother singular or a sister singular.

And he says in verse 17, Whosoever has this world's good and seeth his brother or his sister have a need and shut up his bowels of compassion from him or from her, how dwells the love of God in him? Here is the proof that we really learn some lessons from the love of our Lord Jesus, of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, is by how we treat our brothers and sisters. And this is very important. This is very practical. You see, it's not theory. It's not merely word of mouth, like we often like to say things. But this is very practical. The time that we fail the Lord, practically acting upon what He expects from His own people to do.

I have a couple of verses I want to link with this passage. Turn back to the book of Yaakov, to the book of James, James chapter 2, verse 14, James, Yaakov saying this, What does a prophet, my brethren, though a man say that he has faith and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily goods or daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed, and filled, nevertheless, or notwithstanding, ye give them not those things which are needful to the body. What does it profit? You see what he's saying? He's saying, you say that you have faith.

John's speaking about love. James's speaking about faith. You say that you believe in God. How is it manifest in a practical way in the life of the believer? While in James, in Yaakov, Yaakov wrote in connection with faith, Yohanan is connecting it with love. If you say that you really love the Lord and you love the people of God, well, how is it evident in the life of the believer? And so if someone, if a brother have a need and then you shut your bowels of compassion from him, how the love of God dwells in you, dwell in me, dwell in us. You know how many times we had opportunities to meet a need, and we failed the Lord, and we failed our brothers and sisters by not acting upon it.

And you see how John is very practical. There is a danger of living without concern or indifferent, callousness. You know, I don't care. I'm a child of God. I belong to the body of Messiah. I'm going to heaven. I'm saved. But not to practically be a blessing to each other. How do you say that the love of God is dwelling in you? John is saying in 1 John chapter 3 and verse 17. This is so practical. John is emphasizing this today. Look at another verse in Hebrews again in chapter 13 this time. Just before Yaakov, we have to go James. Hebrews chapter 13 and verses 1, 2, and 3. The writer who wrote to Hebrew believers says, Let brotherly love continue.

In other words, it began, let it continue on. And then he said, be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware. And then he says, remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being yourself also in the body. In other words, don't be indifferent. Don't be, as it says here in our text, don't have this kind of attitude that is without concern for others and how we can be like that how we are always in danger of being like that not concerned about the needs of others not meeting the need of the brothers and sisters and though we love the Lord and yet there's this danger of having a lack of care for the people of God this is practical christianity practical walk with the Lord so we have the lowest way of living this is lead men to murder we have done that which is you might say a bit higher and that's lead men to just have an internal hatred rather than love but this hatred among the people of God then we have the danger of being so careless so we are not the worst of the worst and we are not worse but we are careless but then the last verses brothers and sisters of this chapter, John is leading these brothers and sisters to the highest form of love.

In which we ought to live. And this is something we all need help with. And this is the believer's true way of living here in this world. This is what you call practical walk with the Lord in relationship to our brothers and sisters. And here it is, verses 18 to 24. In verse 18, first of all, Notice that he called them, my little children. You see, he used the word little children before, but now he added something that he also said before, my little children. You notice this expression, my? They were not only that they were children of God, they were believers, they were part of the family of God, but he felt this sense of responsibility, of ownership.

And that's why he's saying to them in verse 18, my little children. He used this expression already in chapter 2 and verse 1 where he says, My little children. Now he uses this expression again because John felt an ownership over the people to whom he wrote to. What does that mean? He felt that perhaps he was used by the Lord, by the Spirit of God to lead many of those to the Messiah. He had been sharing the gospel, teaching the Word of God. And so he had, as a father, had concern for them. And that's why he's adding the word, not only little children, but he says, you are my little children.

I love you. You know, Paul used this very same expression also in Galatians, Galatians 4 and verse 19. Paul also used this expression, my little children. He was laboring and laboring and laboring and ministering the word, sharing the gospel. And then the believers there became like his own born ones. One that became born from above, but he had ownership over them in a sense that he loved them, that he wanted well for them. John does the same thing. He has care and concern for the people to whom he wrote. And so in verse 18, he's saying, my little children, and he says to them, he says, let us not love in word, first of all, and then neither in tongue, but then he adds, but in deed and in truth.

Brothers and sisters, he's saying to the one he wrote in the mishpacha, in the family, he says, my little children let's not merely love one another in tongue and in word but let's love one another in deed and in truth in other words he's really saying to them let's have a sacrificial love one towards another you know it's so beautiful to see that many years ago when we were reading Bible stories to our children when they were young i still remember that really moved my heart when there's one of those books you probably have those books that you read the story the Bible story and there's a story about the little boy that went to school and he won a prize and he was going to get number one with a big prize just for himself and in the story he chose like a cloud and in the cloud he was seeing his little brother playing at home with the toys and when he was supposed to get this number one prize he said to the teachers i do not want this number.

One price for myself give me number two or number three because there were two two toys smaller toys, not as valuable, but he was thinking about his brother. And really that's moved me. And I'm sure it will move your heart too when you think about how wonderful it is to see where the brethren have concern one towards another. It doesn't mean we have to agree with each other on everything. It doesn't mean that we have to love the way we behave. Sometimes we are not lovable people. We know that. But to love the brethren just to wish them well, just to seek to see them being blessed rather than to seek them evil, ill, wrong.

It's so beautiful, it's so attractive because it reminds us of the love of Yeshua the Messiah who was willing to lay down his life for enemies such as us. Romans 5, we read that while we were enemies, while we were without strength, while we were weak, the Messiah, the Mashiach died for us. This is so beautiful. But somehow at times, unfortunately, we allow Satan to control us and we allow the flesh to take its way its course and we end up instead of caring for each other we end up careless about our brothers and sisters and have no desire you might say to practically assist them practically aid them and that's why he's saying here in verse 18 he says brethren he says my little children i should say let us not love in word just don't say only i love you now We need to hear that.

By the way, we need to say to each other once in a while, you know, brother and sister, I love you. I love you in the Lord. It's a good thing to say. But don't leave it there when there is a need to arrive. Brothers, don't love one another. My little children, don't love one another in word and in tongue only. Just words. But love one another in deed. The Hebrew word, po'al. Pa'ula. Do something about it. And truth. And emet. Truth in sincere practical love to the believers it is so essential brothers and sisters this is the higher or the highest standard of living here in this world not verses 11 and 12 which led to a murder not verses 13 14 and 15 which hatred come out of the heart not verses even 16 and 17 which she's careless or without concern for the believers but here he's taking us he's leading us to a higher way of living the life of the child of God let us he says in verse 18 my little children let us not love in word neither in tongue but let us love in deed and in truth it's so precious because it reminds us of the one who loved us and gave himself for us of Yeshua the Messiah of whom we read through the prophet Isaiah he was wounded for our transgression he was bruised for our iniquity the chastisement of our peace fell upon him and with his stripe we were healed Yeshua the Messiah died for our sins.

And pay the price, how precious it is when we learn from him, the one that paid the price in order to redeem us. This is a practical love towards mankind, and we ought to show this in some small measure towards one another. And now he's leading to the end here. He's reminding those believers in verses 19 to 24 of three things here in conclusion first of all in verses 19 and 20 we ought to know that God is greater than our heart and when we fail the Lord and get disappointed with ourselves don't forget for a moment that God is greater than your heart and don't if you fail the Lord if i fail the Lord we need to repent and to confess our sins and not to come to a point that we are so hard upon ourselves to realize that God is greater than our heart listen to these beautiful verses 19 and 20 and hereby 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 heart.

And he knows all things now pause with me here for a moment you know sometimes we fail the Lord as believers we are not always loving our brothers and sisters as we ought to we are not always speaking kind to each other helping each other practically at times we behave so terrible we are disappointed in ourselves and others are looking at us and saying look you say that you are a believer in Yeshua and I say look what you have done what is the believer to do when he failed or she failed the Lord well we had to turn first John 1 9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and we had to turn around and turn back to him and get up dust ourselves and continue on to seek to leave for the Lord in this world and you see a time beloved brothers and sisters what happened when we failed the Lord as we learn.

From here a time we are so hard upon ourselves and we feel so disappointed you remember what Peter who said to Yeshua the Mashiach oh everyone will deny you i'm gonna stand for you and when the test came he denied his Messiah for three times i know not that man and you know what happened by the third time that he denied Yeshua the Messiah the crew remember that and then Peter wept. And the Lord looked at him. You're the one that promised me that you're going to follow me and will never deny me. He looked at him and Peter turned around and he went out weeping.

He really felt so bad. And you know, don't you feel sometime when we fail the Lord, we should have been wiser and we were fools. We should have behaved better and we didn't. We should have made a better choice and we made a foolish choice and we failed the Lord and we sinned. What do we do? Our conscience bothers us. There's no liberty. See, he says here in verse 19, Hereby we know that we are in the truth and shall assure our hearts before Him. You see, we are sometimes so disappointed in the wrong that we have done and in ourselves that we have no liberty to pray, no liberty to rejoice in the Lord because we failed Him.

But if we truly repent of it and return to the Lord and confess it before him and turn away, then fellowship is being restored. And that's why it is such an important verse to know in verse 20, If our hearts condemn us, and how many times our hearts condemn us because we were wrong before the Lord. Thank God for what he adds here. He says, God, He is greater than our heart. And that He knows all things. What do you think, we caught God by surprise? He knows our hearts. He knew our hearts before we became believers. He knows our hearts once we were believers. He knew our hearts at all times.

Let me read you the prophet Jeremiah, Yirmiah, the Hebrew prophet, what he said in chapter 17. Jeremiah said in chapter 17 in verse 9, The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And then he added, who can know it? I want to tell you, who can know it? God knows our heart. He knows when we fail Him. He knows everything about us. And when we are children of God, He delighted to see a confession before Him and repentant and turning to Him. And then we read, notice how beautiful, and I'm back to 1 John 3, verse 20. God is greater than our heart, and He knows all things. And that's why verse 20 is an important verse to understand, because God is in a business of restoring His own people.

He delighted to see a brother or sister is being restored by himself, and then continue on to live here in this world for him, The higher way of living rather than that lower one that we have been speaking about in the previous verses. Wonderful to see this here in this chapter of 1 John chapter 3. There are many verses that can come to mind. You remember when Peter denied the Lord three times, the Lord restored him. In chapter 21 of the Gospel of John, we find the Lord calling Peter and says, Peter, love us, thou me? Later on, after Peter, Shimon Petrus had denied the Mashiach. Denied the Messiah then he restored him how come he restored him because Peter repented he knew he was wrong he failed the Lord but he repented and he turned back to God so beautiful to see this beloved brothers and sisters in Psalm 139 David, Melech Yisrael David says search me O Lord and know my heart know my thought try me and know my thought and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in a way everlasting search me oh Lord and know my heart David wanted the Lord to search him because we don't even know our own heart God knows our heart better than we know our own hearts and that's why God is greater than our heart even when you have no liberty at time even when you feel like you disappointed Yeshua the Messiah well of course we need to feel that we have disappointed the Lord but it should lead us to repentance to confession restoration which will ultimately will lead us into fellowship with the father fellowship with the son fellowship with.

The people of God wonderful to be restored that's verses 19 and 20 we ought to know that God is greater than our heart then verse 21 and 22 another thing that we ought to know as believers in Yeshua the Messiah that God is able to answer prayer you see when sometimes you don't feel like praying because you're disappointed we disappointed the Lord the important thing is to confess it and to repent it but God is also once we have repented he's able to answer our prayers again look at verse 21 and 22 we read in verse 21 beloved if our heart condemn us not then we have confidence toward God and whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandment and do those things which are pleasing in his sight you see what he's saying now when our heart does not condemn us that mean that we have been restored when we have confessed our sins and repented now our hearts are no longer condemning us now we can turn in prayer to the Lord and ask him to.

Assist us and as he says in verse 22 whatsoever we ask we receive and here's the reason why because we keep his commandment and we do the things which are pleasing in his sight you see when we have a hateful attitude towards the people of God that is not pleasing to the Lord this is disobeying his commandment by this shall all men know that ye are my disciple if you have love one towards another. Well, if we're not obeying his commandment and if we're not doing things that are pleasing in his sight, no wonder we will have no liberty to ask anything from him in prayer.

But he says in these verses, if our hearts does not condemn us anymore, therefore he says, then we have confidence toward God. We have liberty and confidence. We can say as in verse 22, whatsoever we pray we ask we receive why because we keep his commandment and because we do the things which are pleasing unto him well the father want us to do things that are giving him pleasure. And joy because that's the reason why he left us here in this world well finally brothers and sisters not only do we are to know that God is greater than our heart verses 19 and 20 of first John 3. We are also to know that God is going to answer prayer, verses 21 and 22.

Then finally, we are to know in verses 23 and 24 that God's Holy Spirit will reveal to us if we are truly abiding close to Yeshua, the Messiah. This is the final portion of 1 John chapter 3, verses 23 and 24 and we read these verses verse 23 and this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his son Yeshua the Messiah Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment this is the commandment that we should believe in a Messiah trust him as believers in Yeshua and then love the brothers and sisters because he gave us this commandment and then he concludes in verse. 24 it says and he that keepeth his commandment dwelleth in him and he in him and hereby we know that he abideth in us because the spirit which he have given unto us will show this to us by the spirit which you have given unto us now you know brothers and sisters that Ruach hakodesh the holy Spirit of God is indwelling every one of us who is a believer and the Holy Spirit of God is a divine person he convicts us he speaks to us through the word he's the one that is speaking to us constantly allowing us to understand whether we are abiding close to the Lord and when we are not and when we are not close to the Lord and we are going astray in a time we do we have this holy Spirit of God the person of God the holy Spirit really grieved quenched no liberty and we feel that we have made him sad when we quench the spirit or grieve the spirit we are we are in.

A sense hurting him and that's why there's no liberty that's why he says in the last verse and he that keepeth his commandment if we follow the Lord and and obey him then we find out that we are really dwelling in him and he dwells in us and he says at the end here and hereby we know that he abides in us by the spirit which he had given unto us God had given us the holy Spirit of God and the holy Spirit of God is the one that enlighten us he's revealing unto us whether we are in the right or in the wrong whether we are making the better decision or the wrong decision he is indwelling every believer and again remember if a person have not the Holy Spirit of God Romans 8 verse 9 he or she do not belong to God whatsoever at all but those of us that have accepted Yeshua the Messiah the Holy Spirit of God indwelling in us 1 Corinthians chapter 6 says know you not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and we belong to him the Holy Spirit of God in dwelling to us and by the Spirit of God we can know whether we are abiding in him and he abides in us or whether we are not and we know it very well because the Spirit of God does speak to us when we go wrong we know it because he convicts us he shows us listen that's not the right way and we don't feel satisfied or at ease we have no liberty and that's why it is important for us to realize and to know that God, the Holy Spirit, will reveal to you and I, will reveal to every believer who is part of the family of God, whether we are close to the Lord or whether we are far from the Lord, whether we are abiding with him and he abides with us, or whether we are outside of the will of God.

So brothers and sisters, in conclusion of 1 John. Chapter 3. May the Lord help us to live the kind of a life that will be as it is in verse 18. 1 John 3, 18. My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Let's love one another and let's seek to be a blessing to one another because by this shall all may know that you are my disciples if you have love one towards another. Can we say Amen?