When you follow Jesus, your path will take you directly against the flow of culture and the pull of your flesh. While you are redeemed in the sight of God, Satan loves to steal your joy and freedom and he will do his best to draw you out of God’s will and into selfishness. As Pastor Danny explains in today’s message, if you find yourself just living in the flesh and not struggling against it, that likely is a sign that Christ is not in you and you need to call on Him to free you from that destructive path.

Satan knows Scripture better than any of us. He is a great liar, but that doesn’t mean he never tells the truth. As Pastor Danny continues our study of 1st John in today’s message, he points out the way that Satan twists the truth of God’s Word to try to tempt Jesus. You can guarantee he’ll use the same method against you. Jesus was not going to fall, but you are much more vulnerable. It’s vital that you seek a Holy Spirit inspired understanding of Scripture so you can be ready when Satan uses this tactic.

Jesus didn’t water down the truth – especially when He dealt with the religious leaders and Pharisees. We often like to think of Him as being soft-spoken and never confrontational, but as Pastor Danny points out in today’s message, when Jesus dealt with these men who thought they were the cream of the crop, He had some extremely harsh things to say. He seemed to prefer the company of those who were humble enough to admit they needed help – who knew they couldn’t earn God’s favor on their own.

If you’ve spent any amount of time in this world, you know that love is hard. There are a lot of people, believers or not, who are hard to love. They may have completely different politics. They may be a part of another religion or die-hard atheists. They may even be your enemy – bent on your destruction. Yet, as Pastor Danny challenges us in today’s message, if you’re following Christ – you are called to love each and every one of those people, otherwise you’re following someone else altogether.

The religious leaders and Pharisees were really “good” people. They were experts on the Law. They could sit down and talk about Scripture for hours and hours – it was their life. They knew it like the back of their hand. But, as Pastor Danny continues our study of 1st John, we are reminded that these men were missing the most important element of serving God: love. They were full of pride and loved their rules and rituals more than the God who made them or the people He designed them for.