Salvation happens in a moment, but growth in intimacy happens over time.

Dr Tony Evans says salvation is just the beginning.

When you're growing in intimacy through obedience, when you're growing in love for the brethren, then God is going to increase

your joy and let you know his presence is at a whole different level.

This is the alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship

in Dallas, Texas and president of the Urban Alternative. Stocks move up or down and value, partially dependent upon who's running the company in question.

When it comes to the church, Dr Evans reminds us,

Jesus is at the helm, and has the credentials that should allow us to put our complete reminds us

to put our complete confidence in where things are headed.

Let's join him now as he talks about the assurance of fellowship.

All through First John, he's assumed that the audience that he is writing has been converted.

He calls them little children.

They're his beloved. He tells them that they have believed.

So they have become married to the Lord.

But he wants to know do you know him.

That is a word that deals with intimacy, connectivity, and fellowship. In fact he opens up his book by saying that I'm writing to you so

that you might have fellowship with him and with us. So the concern of 1st John, the first

five and a half chapters we've gone through, is growing your intimacy if you are already a believer.

Then you have begun a process of growing in intimacy.

Salvation happens in a moment,

but growth in intimacy happens over time.

But just because you've been married a long time doesn't mean

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