God Is...LIFE

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this, we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. -1 John 4:4–6 (NKJV)

John makes it abundantly clear in this passage of Scripture that there are two types of spirits at work on Earth, a spirit of truth and a spirit of error. In this short epistle, 1 John, he also reveals some essential things that God is...

Over the next three weeks are going to discuss three of John’s revelations of God. The first, God is life. John loved to talk about life, eternal life, life in and through Jesus. So he recorded for us in his Gospel, Jesus’ famous quote, “The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus comes to give life and life more abundantly (Ref. John 10:10).

John also teaches us three things about the reality that God is LIFE:

1. The LIFE was Manifested. (1 John 1:2)

Jesus, the Son of God, was manifested, made present on Earth as the life of God.

2. The LIFE is to be Experienced. (1 John 1:2)

We have the opportunity to experience Him, and it is a life that is above and beyond anything you could ever expect or imagine.

3. The LIFE should be Shared. (1 John 1:3)

We are to be in fellowship with others and with God.

God is life, and he manifested this life through the work of His Son, Jesus. As an original disciple of Jesus, John experienced His Master in the physical, and we are invited to experience the life of Jesus in the spiritual. Then, share it with others! We are called to fellowship, experiencing worship and word in community. God did not design us to do life alone!

In the context of 1 John, John brings about such encouragements as God is Life because he recognizes something is happening with new Christians. When he is writing his letter, he observes the arrival of second and third generations of Christians within the Church. Noticing the young Christians are compromising their faith and falling prey to the ideology of the world, he is extremely troubled. After all, John had been with Jesus personally. He was a member of Jesus’s inner circle. He had seen Jesus in ways no one else could testify to, and he had faced significant persecution for his life’s mission to spread the Good News of Jesus.

A question lies underneath everything John seems to have to save within these five chapters:

Are you a Child of God or a Counterfeit Christian?

On one occasion, the statement is direct:

In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest…-1 John 3:10 NKJV

1 John 4:4–6 told us there's a spirit of truth, and there’s a spirit of error. People of the spirit of truth are children of God, but people of the spirit of error are the devil’s children. Children of the devil may pose as children of God, but they are not. They are not truly saved, and therefore they are counterfeit Christians. This truth is one of the reasons that Jesus called Pharisees by this term, “children of the devil” in John 8:44.

You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. - John 8:44

It didn’t matter that the Pharisees prayed eloquent prayers, dressed in their Sunday-best, or were regarded as highly religious authorities… Jesus said they were counterfeit. You can go through a form of godliness and deny the power thereof. You can pose as something on Sunday but be exposed on Monday for who you really are. Jesus and John both pointed out in their ministries that God is not a fan of hypocrisy. He is looking for His true children.

How do you know if you are a true child of God?

John addressed this question as well; in the Gospel of John, he says, “Marvel not that you must be born again.” We must all have a born-again experience. Call on the name of Jesus by and through accessibility He has made available through the outpouring of His blood. Then go public with the reality of your birth through water baptism by letting everyone know that you are made new, that you have been born again! You are a Jesus-follower! (If you have recently dedicated your life to service of Jesus and would like to take your next steps in God, contact us: info@3trees.com)

Speaking of being Born Again, John lists some marks for a Child of God with a born-again experience. John states that you will experience these attributes in your life:

1. You believe Jesus is ‘The One’ -1 John 5:1

2. You love each other -1 John 4:7

3. You do what’s right -1 John 2:29

4. You avoid sinful habits -1 John 3:9

5. You might be hated by the world -1 John 3:13

6. You overcome the world -1 John 5:4

What an incredible promise, we will overcome the world! This news is excellent because John also informed us:

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. 20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. -1 John 5:19-20 (NKJV)

The reason:

…And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. -1 John 4:3 NKJV

As a result, John warned:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit but test the spirits, whether they are of God... -1 John 4:1

We must heed one of the main reasons that John wrote this book:

13These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. -1 John 5:13, 12 (NKJV)

Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God -1 John 4:15 KJV

Confess His name!

Sometimes all you need to do is say the name, Jesus.

Jesus… every knee shall bow.

Jesus...every tongue shall confess.

Jesus...every demon must flee.

Jesus...the code word for The Way, The Truth, and THE LIFE!

Speak his name...Jesus!

Sometimes you don’t know how or what to pray. You can’t figure out what the next step should be. But when you start to confess the name of Jesus over your life the gates of Hell will not prevail against you!

You are of God…and have overcome them because He who is in you is GREATER than he who is in the world. - 1 John 4:4

May we each choose to be children of the spirit of truth so that we may be children of God, not counterfeit Christians. May we live THE LIFE God intended us to live as we overflow with the attributes of born-again Christians!

I invite you to view this message, God Is...LIFE, in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/pTHSoFD_D40

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

Stay Awhile

I believe God speaks to us through dreams and visions. The Bible actually promises this blessing in Joel chapter 2. This is excellent news because Proverbs 29:18 tells us how bad we need it, “where there is no vision the people perish.” We must have a vision for our lives, or else we will wander aimlessly until death with no direction or purpose. Thankfully, God gives us direction because He has a plan for each one of us. He has a blueprint for our lives!

As a pastor during this present season, I believe an appropriate vision strategy for our church is to refine the remnant, who will recover the wounded, and then reach the lost. God has a remnant that He would like to refine, shaping and molding us so that we can be used to go out and recover the wounded and ultimately reach the lost.

The word remnant is used in the Bible over 300 times and means a small remaining quantity of something. This significant usage of the word in Scripture reminds me of Jesus’ words:

Remain in me, and I in you. -John 15:4 (CSB)

Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. He wants you to dwell in Him. But Jesus also lets people walk away. Two places in Scripture lay this out, Luke Chapter 9 and Luke Chapter 18. This approach by Jesus may seem shocking, but it’s true, God allows people to walk away because He desires us to go all-in with Him. God gave His only Son so that He can have a relationship with you. But you can still decide to say “I’m not going to follow Jesus.”

In Luke 15, we see the following unfold. First, if, like the lost lamb, you are wounded, hurt, or broken down, Jesus will come after you, just like He did the one lamb out of 99. Second, like the lost coin, if you are in the house of the Lord, but never received salvation, Jesus will take the lamp of His Word and place a preacher in the pulpit to seek you out. But, through the parable of the lost son, Jesus also shows us that if you are going to be rebellious towards the ways of the Father, then you may have to “come to your senses” before there can be complete reconciliation and restoration. Jesus does NOT come after the rebellious.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. -John 15:7 (CSB)

Think about the depth of this promise. You can ask whatever you want in alignment with God's Word, and it will be done as long as you remain in proper standing with God. He rewards those who stay. Yet many people lack the commitment to stay or remain in anything these days; jobs, marriages, friendship, the list goes on. Everyone wants what they want and they want it right now. As one great preacher said, “We live in a microwave generation but serve a crockpot God.” So, rarely do we remain in anything that makes us uncomfortable or that becomes too challenging. We claim failure, but truthfully we just quit before God’s timing is evident.

Some heartbreaking statistics are coming out of last year, 2020. For example, one in three people walked away from practicing their Faith in Jesus Christ, and most churches in the United States of America have lost 30% - 40% of their attendance. Some of America’s largest churches have lost 50% or more. People are choosing not to remain. They are deciding not to follow Jesus, and He is letting them go.

But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. - Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

I want you to feel encouraged by this truth: when you remain, God will renew your strength! Don’t quit. Wait. God will break every yoke the enemy tries to place on you when you remain. A remnant is that which remains. Choose to be a part of what God has left. God is looking for those who stayed, who still love Jesus with all their hearts, minds, and souls. God is examining who He has left to use.

What we are experiencing in the world of the church today is the ideology of man colliding with the theology of God. Too often, in modern Christianity, we only touch the surface of Scripture, wanting a motivational sermon with a sprinkle of God on top. Because the Word of God isn't being taught thoroughly, there isn't a proper understanding of the Word. Lacking a firm foundation and only having very shallow roots, yoked with confusion, difficulty, and attacks from the enemy, many people decided to quit their faith. They didn’t remain in Jesus. The Word of God gives you the strength to stay! NOW is the time to become firmly planted in the house of the Lord and deeply rooted in the Word of God. If you do, Psalms says you will flourish!

We are living in a world that has lost its mind. We call good evil and evil good and sin without blushing. It’s becoming increasingly evident who remains in God and who doesn’t. We’ve fallen into “I”-dolatry, making it about me, myself, and I all the time. Instead, it needs to be about God all the time! We need clean hands and pure hearts. If we're not careful, we can consume all the inappropriate content fed to us by a culture gone wild and never develop and strengthen our staying power to remain in God.

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in the holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol… He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, Who seek Your face. Lift up your heads, O you gates!... And the King of glory shall come in. Psalm 24:3-7 (NKJV)

Psalm 24 is all about what God has left -- the remnant -- a group of people that claim they will not do anything that puts their staying power at risk. A group of people that says I’m not going to yield to anything that draws me away from remaining in God. I will wait upon the Lord with my eyes up and hands clean. I will be available to God for such a time as this!

We learn from Psalm 24, the best way to remain in the Lord is to exalt Him. Ascend into His presence. Keep putting Him first! In your family, your workplace, and your community. Lift Him up and magnify Him above everything else. When you live this out, you will remain. Your prayers will be powerful, and whatever you ask for will be given to you. Your strength will be renewed; you will not grow weary! Every yoke that binds you will be broken, and you will be a part of the remnant that impacts The Kingdom of Heaven by restoring the wounded and reaching the lost!

---

We invite you to watch this weeks message, Stay Awhile, from Pastor Eric Gilbert, because we believe that you are a part of the remnant that will impact the The Kingdom of Heaven!

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

It Is What It Is

A few weeks ago, Pastor Joe Dobbins shared a message at 3trees Church, Pray Bigger. During the message, he encouraged us to pray three life-changing prayers over our lives by inviting God to 1) Increase our vision, 2) Decrease our doubt, and 3) Do the supernatural.

Last week, I shared a message entitled, Make It Happen, and if I could give you that message in one sentence, it would be, “As a follower of JESUS, don’t ever forget what He made happen for you so that you can think the right way and make something happen for the good of yourself, your family, and others!”

This week we are following in the same vein of these previous two messages as we embrace a new message series, GREATER!

...Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. -1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

It seems like some things in life are just the way they are. For example, my wife, Mandy, will never close the cereal box lid after getting a bowl of cereal. It is what it is! And she knows that I will never completely dry my toothbrush after brushing my teeth. It will no doubt leave a puddle at the bottom of our toothbrush holder. It is what it is! Likewise, it can be tough to change the mind of a stubborn person or convince a person ingrained in one’s political party to change to another. Have you ever tried to teach an older person new technology? I’m sure you agree, it is what it is!

So, maybe you can relate to using this phrase within your own life or at least implying its context. When we use it -- or some variation of it -- we are submitting verbally to the current state or situation we are facing and embracing an attitude of indifference. That's just the way it is...it is what it is.

Can you imagine how the Bible would read if the men and women of faith throughout the Old and New Testaments would have chosen to settle for current circumstances? If they simply declared...it is what it is?

Imagine with me for a moment; you are Daniel. Your religion has just received a death sentence, and that death sentence includes you too. So you just mutter to yourself, I guess I won’t be able to pray in public any longer… it is what it is.

Now imagine you are David. You're looking at a 9-foot tall giant named Goliath. He is bigger, badder, and madder than anything you have ever seen. You look at him, then you look at yourself, and you determine that there is nothing you can do, just let him blaspheme the Lord… it is what it is.

Let’s continue our journey through the Bible; now imagine you are Esther. Imagine there is a conspiracy at work to wipe out your entire race. To attempt to do anything about it means the demise of your social standing and possible death. You decide the risk is too significant. You’ll just see what happens… it is what it is.

Imagine you are the woman with the issue of blood, and you have spent your entire life savings in the pursuit of a cure for a condition that leaves you bleeding internally, externally, and uncontrollably every day of your life. Your days are numbered. The one chance you have for miraculous healing is Jesus, but you can't get to Him due to the magnitude of the crowds surrounding Him… you decide, it is best to just give up...it is what it is.

Let’s take a few steps in Paul’s shoes...you have been shipwrecked, beaten, left for dead, and imprisoned multiple times. Evidently, God’s hand is absent from your life, or things wouldn’t be this hard. And, spreading the Gospel is just too risky at this point. You should just quit…it is what it is.

How about Mary? Can you imagine being told you are pregnant and you’re not married? An angel has decreed the baby to be the Son of God, and yet as your belly grows, your name becomes ruined. Scandal is associated with you in every corridor or your neighborhood. You tell yourself it’s okay to abort this child…it is what it is.

And, then there is Jesus to consider. Imagine the scenario. You've had a good run. You’ve opened blind eyes, restored hearing, and raised the dead back to life. But now, there is a cross ready for your execution. Instead of praying your way through it or trying to figure out how you're going to manage this situation, you call all your disciples together for one last meal. You look them in the eye with what little courage you can muster and explain to them that you’ve done enough. There is no need to endure this impending pain. Then, in the dark cover of night, you run away. Everyone else should surely understand...it is what it is.

Thankfully, the stories of these Biblical greats do not read with an underlying tone of indifference. Instead, these men and women rose above the approaches that we just imagined together and refused to settle for the ideology of it is what it is. The result is that they became heroes and heroines of faith.

Daniel always prayed to God three times every day. Three times every day, he bowed down on his knees to pray and praise God. Even though Daniel heard about the new law, he still went to his house to pray. He went up to the upper room of his house and opened the windows that faced toward Jerusalem. Then Daniel bowed down on his knees and prayed just as he always had done. - Daniel 6:10 (ERV)

Daniel continued to pray.

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. -1 Samuel 17:45 (NIV)

David defeated his giant.

“Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” -Esther 4:16 (NKJV)

Esther saved the lives of her people.

For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” - Mark 5:28 (NKJV)

The woman with the issue of blood received complete healing.

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. - 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NKJV)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? -Romans 8:31 (NKJV)

Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39 (NKJV)

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. -Phillippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)

Paul preached the Gospel, never writing letters of resignation. Instead, he wrote letters of encouragement to all of his congregations in the face of excruciating suffering and persecution!

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. -Luke 1:35 (NKJV)

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. -Luke 1:39 (NKJV)

Mary believed that if God led her into trouble, He would also lead her through the trouble! As a result, she became the mother of our Savior!

...saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” - Luke 22:42 (NKJV)

The most remarkable example of all, Jesus carried out His Father’s will and saved you and me from our sins, giving us eternal life.

So… Maybe we shouldn’t be using the phrase, “It is what it is.” at all. Instead, maybe we should be using the words, “It is what we make it!”.

...GREATER is He that is in you than he that is in the world. - 1 John 4:4 (NKJV)

If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and consecrated your life to Him as your Lord, then you are a winner! He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. Death, hell, nor the grave can hold you because Jesus Christ is within you. Therefore, you have the power to choose your outcome!

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. - Mark 11:23 (NKJV)

You have to believe that you can make it happen! Don’t allow discouragement and depression to slip into your life, because you are a winner.

Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. -Romans 1:22-32 (NJKV)

We can believe it is what it is, assuming that the culture in which we live will always spiral out of control. Or we can decide, it is what we make it. If you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if you as a just person in God will live by faith and not by sight, and if you do not suppress the truth, then culture will not invent evil instead of serving God with all their heart, mind, and soul. So don’t ever settle for it is what it is… you chose what it is. It is what you make it!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, -Romans 1:16-18 (NJKV)

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. - 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)

God set the condition that Hollywood or the government had to turn towards Him. He said, “My people…” Meaning, wherever my people are, if I can get them to turn towards me, and make something happen with faith in action, then it will happen! God will heal our land. He will forgive our sin. He will redeem our time. He will do exceedingly above and beyond anything we could ever ask for!

You don’t have to settle for... it is what it is. God is with you, and He will take what the enemy meant for evil and use it for your good. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I believe the Lord is looking for some Daniels, some Esthers, and some Mary’s. I think God is looking for some men and women who will step into their situation and refuse to settle for the complacent and indifferent ideology of “it is what it is”.

Don’t settle for anything less than the Kingdom of Heaven being manifest on Earth. Do not settle for anything less than the best! It is what you make it! It is through salvation and grace we know we can make things happen!

May His Kingdom come, His will be done, in us and through us!

---

We invite you to watch this message, It Is What It Is, from Pastor Eric Gilbert, as he encourages us never to settle for it is what it is. We can overcome whatever situation comes against us because Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.

It is what we make it!

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES