Podcast Summary: Fresh Life Church with Pastor Levi Lusko

Episode: It’s Not the Thought That Counts
Date: September 29, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Pastor Levi Lusko leads Fresh Life Church through the final segment of First John, chapter five. The sermon unpacks why mere intention or “good thoughts” are not enough in the kingdom of God—what truly matters is action, demonstrated faith, and the living out of Jesus’s teachings. Through humor, personal stories, and theological depth, Levi explores assurance of salvation, the importance of right belief, prayer, love, the reality of spiritual protection, and the need to keep the main thing—Jesus Himself—at the center of life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. “It’s Not the Thought That Counts” in God’s Kingdom

• Opening with a personal story about buying his wife a washing machine ("she asked for it!") and how society sometimes values intention over outcome.
• Main point: In Christianity, intention alone is not sufficient. Faith that saves is evidenced by life-change: true belief brings visible fruit.
  • Quote: “In the kingdom of God, our intention really doesn't matter. It's what we do that matters.” (01:43)

2. Faith and Works: The Reformation Maxim

• Key phrase:
  - “It’s faith that saves alone. But the faith that saves is never alone.” (02:10)
• Emphasizes that we are saved by faith—not by works—but real faith always produces visible action.

3. God’s Love Shown by Action, Not Just Thoughts

• God didn’t just have “nice thoughts toward us”; He gave—most notably, the life of His Son.
• Quote: “Love always gives. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving.” (04:05)

4. Addressing False Teaching and ‘Phantom Jesus’ Heresy

• Brief background on John’s letter: combating early Gnosticism, which claimed Jesus only appeared to be human.
• John’s insistence on the reality of Jesus’s incarnation (“He touched grass… you could eat with him.”)
  • “Jesus touched grass, right? You could touch him, you could eat with him.” (09:12)
• Fun aside: Levi’s silly etymology on “heresy / hair I see” with an airport bins anecdote for levity.

5. Victory and Overcoming: True Triumph is in Christ

• John’s use of “Nike” (victory) language resonates in the ancient context and illustrates that true victory is belief in Jesus as God’s son—not in worldly achievements or possessions.

6. Scripture Reliability: Strikethrough Text and Footnotes

• Levi explains why some Bible verses (e.g., portions of 1 John 5:7–8) are bracketed or footnoted due to manuscript variances.
  • “The system worked… It tripped all the appropriate flags… There’s more historical evidence for the New Testament than just about anything in antiquity.” (18:55)
• Reassures listeners of scripture’s reliability and that textual variants don’t undermine key doctrines.

7. Life in the Son: No Other Path to Eternal Life

• Key verse: “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (24:15)
• Salvation is exclusive to Jesus Christ—no alternative paths.

8. Assurance of Salvation & Purpose of 1 John

• Central verse: “These things I have written… that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe…” (v.13) (26:56)
• John’s aim: Not just that readers believe, but that they know and continue in saving faith.

9. Prayer: The Confidence of God’s Children

• True prayer is rooted in God’s promises (“Dad, you promised” analogy).
• Prayers aligned with God’s will are heard and answered.
• Challenges listeners: If God answered every prayer you prayed this week, would anyone be changed except you? (38:14)

10. Praying for Others & Love for Others

• The fruit of faith is not just confidence but intercession—praying for brothers and sisters, not just oneself.

11. Sin and Its Consequences: 'Sin Leading to Death' Explained

• John’s hard verses on sin, prayer, and death addressed:
  • All death ultimately derives from sin.
  • Some spiritual conditions—especially “the unpardonable sin” (unbelief in Jesus)—cannot be remedied by prayer.
  • Caution regarding communion: partaking unworthily (1 Corinthians 11) can be serious.
• Quote: “Sin is not to be trifled with.” (55:11)
• Encourages earnest reflection before casually engaging in spiritual observances.

12. Assurance Against Spiritual Attack: God’s Protection

• The God-begotten are God-protected; “the evil one cannot touch them.” (01:07:15)
• Eugene Peterson: “The God begotten become the God protected.”
• Any suffering or testing is permitted only with God’s allowance, as illustrated by Job and Peter.

13. The Danger of Idols and Keeping Focus

• John ends with “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (01:12:13)
• Levi uses an illustration of flooding: adversity may not come how you expect (sometimes from within).
• The fight of the Christian life is to keep Jesus at the center, resisting constant temptation to shift our focus.

14. The Four Fruits of True Faith according to 1 John

• 1. What you believe: Right doctrine matters—Jesus is the Christ, not a “knockoff.”
• 2. How you live: True faith changes one’s lifestyle and relationship to sin.
• 3. How you love: Love for others as evidence of God’s love in you.

• 4. What confidence you have: Assurance as God’s child.

     • Illustration: “Show me your hands…” (huckleberry picking anecdote) – evidence of salvation will show in your life (00:51:14).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On faith and works:
  • “It’s faith that saves alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” (02:10)
• On prayer:
  • “Prayer can be boiled down to this: Dad, you promised. Every kid knows how to say those words.” (30:54)
• On salvation’s assurance:
  • “I wrote the Gospel of John so you could believe. I wrote [First John] so that you could know you did.” (40:54)
• On scripture reliability:
  • “It tells me the system worked… There's more evidence, historically speaking, for the historicity of the New Testament than there is from just about anything in all of antiquity.” (18:55)
• On false doctrine:
  • “Who is Jesus? CS Lewis said there's only three possibilities. Write them down. He's a liar, he's a lunatic, or he's Lord.” (59:43)
• On Christian life evidence:
  • “Show me your hands … I'll tell you whether you're truly following Jesus. It's going to impact your life to let Jesus be the Lord of your life.” (51:14)
• On spiritual protection:
  • “The God begotten, are the God protected… The devil can't lay his hand on you unless the Father says so. Nothing can happen to you outside of God's word.” (01:07:15)
• On idolatry:
  • “You have to fight to keep the main thing, the main thing.” (01:12:13)

Important Timestamps

• 01:43 – The title and main point: Why “it’s not the thought that counts” in Christianity.
• 04:05 – God’s model of love: action over intention.
• 09:12 – Refuting the “phantom Jesus” heresy.
• 18:55 – Explaining disputed Bible verses and scripture reliability.
• 24:15 – Salvation exclusively through Jesus.
• 26:56 – Assurance of salvation—purpose of 1 John.
• 30:54 – Prayer as “Dad, you promised.”
• 38:14 – Who are you praying for? The challenge to intercede for others.
• 40:54 – The difference between John’s gospel and letter: believe vs. know.
• 51:14 – Huckleberry anecdote: evidence of salvation.
• 55:11 – Gravity of sin and its consequences.
• 59:43 – CS Lewis’s “liar, lunatic, or Lord” argument.
• 01:07:15 – Assurance of spiritual protection.
• 01:12:13 – Final warning: keep yourselves from idols.

Recap: Takeaway Truths

1. What you believe shapes how you behave.
2. True love for God results in love for others.
3. Sin is dangerous and must be taken seriously.
4. Believers are under God’s protection—fear not.
5. Vigilance is needed to keep Jesus as the center, rejecting idols.

Tone & Style

Levi’s humor, pop culture and personal illustrations, accessible theology, and passionate exhortation invite listeners to both understand deeply and respond actively. The episode is a stirring call to action, assurance, and maintaining faith as a living reality—much more than "just a thought."

For more, listen to the full episode or connect at freshlife.church.