Full title: Don't Be Surprised If The World Hates You (1 John 3:11-15)

People will hate you for no good reason, as people hated Jesus for no good reason. Jesus, the picture perfect example of love, service, and sacrifice acknowledged this and warned people who follow him, "if they persecuted me, they'll persecute you (John 15:20)." The root cause of this is found deep within the heart. As John notes, some people have the heart of Cain (speaking of the real-life Cain as recorded in the historical book of Genesis), where the sight of love, faithfulness, and devotion acted on by his brother Abel moved Cain to murder him. This revealed a reaction to an even deeper truth in that true love is SHOWN (like Abel demonstrated), not just SAID (like Cain demonstrated). What is in your heart will be revealed in how you treat people, and your attitude towards people. If you're doing what God commands, and you are patient, reasonable, and help people, others will take issue with that, as Pastor Troy lays out in this message, and why.

In his letter to the churches, John makes a very provocative statement. He says, "No one who is born of God will continue to sin..." Does that mean that Christians are supposed to be perfect and sinless if they truly trust Christ? No, they are not. So then what does such a loaded statement like this mean? Pastor Troy Billow breaks down the meaning of this controversial passage that has generated countless debates, arguments, and taken in the wrong context, crippled people's faith. Taken in its proper context (and looking at sin through the lens of ongoing routine and habit), matters will start to make sense, resonate, and strengthen your faith, giving the Holy Spirit room to show you where work in your heart may be needed.

Full title: The Son Of God Appeared To Destroy The Devil's Work (1 John 3:4-8)

This message centers around the Devil's work and us as human beings. After all, the Devil has been a sinner and a murderer since the beginning, and he wants us to be self centered, apply his lies, experience gratification or power in that, and as a result, become agents of our own destruction Jesus came to free us from the power of Satan, claim us as His, and be in a relationship with us. Pastor Troy explains this compelling dynamic and what that means for us.

If believers were truly motivated by Christ, things would be different. Church would be different, the culture would be different, and people would be different. Today those differences exist in pockets, but are not widespread. The truth of the return of Christ, at His appearing, is driven home once again to motivate us to think, live, and behave right. All of the apostles knew the difficulty of this at times in their own personal struggles, but they were motivated and empowered to prioritize this factor, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to be that distinct example of hope, empowerment, and model for people to emulate that continues to do a powerful work today. Of course applying this is most effective when you abide in Christ and take Paul's advice documented in Titus 2:11-14.

When Jesus returns, many believers will be found ashamed, shrunken in confidence, self-defeated, and deflated. In other words, they let the world get to them and when you live your life gravitating towards the world, separate from abiding in Christ, and staying connected with believers, then the "wolves" come out, and come after you. Christ did everything He could for you to inherit the Kingdom of God, including walking with you as you live in this life. But if you take your eyes off of that, and invest everything in this world, in the here and now, and lose connection, regret will be the only thing that can be felt when He does appear and its too late to go back. If you keep abiding in Christ, you will actually look forward to His appearing, be ready, and be motivated. This message challenges you to examine which side you fall under. When He appears, will you be ashamed and angry, or will you be relieved and motivated? The sand in the hour glass is running out, and the gravity of this dynamic will play out sooner than you think. The question is; where are you at in light of this dynamic?

John is hitting hard against the false teachers and false doctrine that was permeating the church, making new believers in Christ confused, deceived, deflated, discouraged, and depressed. And so the same continues today. John (who knew Jesus and later experienced the power of the Holy Spirit) sets the record straight by driving home the point that your life, as a believer in Jesus Christ is about becoming new, not staying "old". You have an anointing. Don't deny Him. Remain in truth. Stay engaged with Him, abide with Him, because when you do, He will equip you, enable you, and encourage you to not only keep going, but to keep going STRONG. Obedience is key. Sure, our flesh nature will get in the way, but keeping strong is made possible by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Pastor Troy Billow explains and expounds on this dynamic and more.

In this passage, John explains to the church that this is the Last Hour. What exactly does that mean? For 2000 years, this phrase has got people looking for Christ's return and asking "where is he?" In this message, Pastor Troy Billow explains what this means in the context of God's timetable, and what that means for us today. Jesus always kept the news of His return imminent with a series of signs to show how close He is to return. At this point in time, there is not much left to look for other than what is playing out in front of our very eyes today (the season). Watch as we go into the details of this very important dynamic, and what it means in the grand scheme of things.

Everyone who penned the 66 books of the book we know today as "the Bible" knew God in a particularly unique way. That said, the inward experience that they had in their time, culture, and place transcended anything and everything that was once dominant in the world (power, culture, politics, rulers, etc.) As people came and went, God's Word remained true and still does to this day. That's one of the reasons why we read and learn from the scriptures today. In this passage, John talks about the world passing away. It was in his day, and it is even more so today. So what is John, a man who knew Jesus (walked with Him, traveled with Him, remained faithful to Him), telling the people of His day and today? Don't love the world. Readjust your priorities. Loving the world takes away time, love, focus, and so forth away from God, and God is the one who wants you to get closer to Him so that you can live a life of joy, meaning, and purpose that changes you and changes things around you. As Matthew once stated, "...seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33 NIV). God will take care of you, but you have to care about what truly matters and not get entangled in the things of this world that pull you (and your focus on God) down.

In this passage, building on the experiences of Jesus, Paul, Peter, as well as himself, John reminds believers regarding the enemy they faced, and we face to this very day. Jesus overcame the evil one, and Paul, Peter, John, etc. had to learn to do this similarly in their own way, with Christ opening the way to do so. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow explains what is required for a believer to keep their focus, and follow through in action on this because spiritual warfare is a very real thing, and its intensity is most felt among those who are most engaged in the battle.

Paul's final work was his second letter to Timothy, his young protege that he was working to mold into an effective minister. Here in this letter, Paul links ministry in with being a soldier with a critical mission; to work for the Commanding Officer, Jesus Christ. Jesus calls people who are perplexing and unpredictable in their time, but rise to an unprecedented potential that is powerful and effective later on. Paul exhorts Timothy to join him in suffering like a good soldier for Christ, not to get entangled with the affairs of this life (like his former protege Demas did (2 Timothy 4:10), obey your commanding officer, and find reliable men who will join you in the greater effort, by doing the hard work. As Paul called Timothy to this important work, Pastor Troy Billow uses Father's Day to enable and embolden the men of the church to keep this very dynamic at the forefront.