From Fear to Faith: Finding Your Eternal Security in Christ

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
and more.

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Good morning, everyone.
[00:04:18] Good to see you all here today as I'm still catching my breath from rushing on over, so just forgive me for that.
[00:04:24] But why don't we get our worship started today with our call to worship from Psalm 145.
[00:04:29] I will exalt you, O God, my sovereign, and bless your name forever and ever.
[00:04:44] Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.
[00:04:47] There is no end to your greatness.
[00:04:50] And please join me now in our prayer of invocation.
[00:04:54] Merciful Lord, you are faithful in all your promises and just in all your ways.
[00:05:02] Govern us, for we are weak.
[00:05:05] Strengthen us, for we are failing.
[00:05:07] Refresh us for we are famished.
[00:05:10] Abundantly bestow your gifts upon us.
[00:05:14] Defend us from evil, that we be not tempted from your way, but may praise your name forever.
[00:05:22] Amen.
[00:05:23] Please stand as we sing our first hymn.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Reconciliation Resurrection
[00:06:33] Reconciliation, Reconciliation, Predestination, Covenant, Tabernacle, Synagogue Reconciliation, Reconciliation, Predestination, Covenant, Tabernacle, Synagogue
[00:07:17] Let's pray.

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
And now let us affirm our faith together using the Apostles' Creed.
[00:08:34] And I would ask you, O Christian, what is it that you believe?
[00:08:38] I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried.
[00:08:57] He descended into hell.
[00:08:59] The third day he rose again from the dead.
[00:09:02] He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
[00:09:08] From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
[00:09:11] I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
[00:09:24] Amen.
[00:09:24] You may be seated.

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me?
[00:10:07] Things so undeserved yet you gave to prove your love for me.
[00:10:18] The voices of a million angels could not express
[00:10:26] All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee.
[00:10:42] To God be the glory.
[00:10:48] To God be the glory.
[00:10:57] God be the glory for the things he hath done.
[00:11:06] With his blood he has saved me.
[00:11:12] With his power he has raised me.
[00:11:21] Let us be the glory for the things He hath done.
[00:11:34] Let it be pleasing, Lord, to thee, and if I gain any praise, let it go to Calvary.
[00:11:54] With His blood He has saved me With His power He has raised me To God be the glory For the things He hath done

[00:12:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Amen.
[00:12:33] Just a couple of announcements for us.
[00:12:35] I just want to re-emphasize that Wednesday nights we'll be starting up again in a couple of weeks on September 10th.
[00:12:42] Highly encourage you to come for a great time of fellowship, of dinner, and Bible studies and classes.
[00:12:48] You can see the details there on your bulletin.
[00:12:51] Just two extra additions to bring to your attention.
[00:12:55] Judy Daniels, Being Prepared, Life and Financial Issues as We Age.
[00:12:59] Again, if you are dealing with end-of-life topics and circumstances, whether it's finances, wills, testaments, or parents that are nearing end-of-life or...
[00:13:09] How do we care for our elderly members?
[00:13:12] All these things this group will cover in their classes.
[00:13:16] Great conversations, great experts on these different topics.
[00:13:20] So highly encourage those if it is relevant and maybe helpful for you.
[00:13:24] As well, what we call our Ish Young Adults and Family group, which is like our 30-ish, 40-ish age people and young families or couples.
[00:13:32] Highly encourage you to join that small group as we'll just discuss life.
[00:13:35] What is life like as believers, but also as new parents and families?
[00:13:39] and highly encourage you to check that group out as well.
[00:13:43] And lastly, for the Bethel Bible series for the New Testament, for Reverend Fred Coates, if you're interested in joining up again for this semester, please reach out to Pastor Fred so that he can get you all the resources and material you would need for this semester.
[00:13:58] and as for the children's ministry if you feel so led to serve just one week if you serve and volunteer for our five-year-olds and younger that is a tremendous load and burden off the many other volunteers that have been serving consistently and consecutively and if you just serve one week it sets up so many other
[00:14:18] and more details there in the bulletin with that being said please join me now in prayer
[00:14:48] To you, Lord God, be all the glory.
[00:14:53] To you, Heavenly Father, the Son, Jesus, and our Holy Spirit, be all the glory and honor and majesty.
[00:15:02] For you alone, Lord, are worthy of it all.
[00:15:05] You alone, Lord, have done great things in our lives.
[00:15:10] And I take this moment, God, to glorify you and to worship you.
[00:15:14] Because you are good.
[00:15:16] You are holy and you are faithful.
[00:15:22] Please receive our worship today.
[00:15:25] Receive our hearts and our attention as we slow and quiet our hearts and our minds and our souls to present ourselves before you, Lord God.
[00:15:38] Church, let us now take this moment to silently confess our sins before God.
[00:16:03] Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
[00:16:10] Forgive us, Lord, when we did the things that we should not have done.
[00:16:14] And forgive us, Lord, for not doing the things we should have done.
[00:16:21] Forgive us, Lord, when we chose to follow our own path and methods and the desires of our heart instead of following your path
[00:16:32] Your instruction and the desires of Your will and heart.
[00:16:38] Have mercy on us, Lord God.
[00:16:41] We endure every day the curse of sin and the fight with our flesh that wants to do whatever it wants.
[00:16:52] Help us and give us the strength, Holy Spirit, to overcome as You have overcome.
[00:16:58] That we would continually rise again and follow after you, Lord God.
[00:17:04] Help us to live lives of repentance.
[00:17:07] Help us, Lord, to be holy as you are holy.
[00:17:12] But I lean on your word, Heavenly Father, from Psalm 36, that your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens.
[00:17:20] Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
[00:17:23] How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
[00:17:27] All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.
[00:17:33] Your word promises that when we come to you, you receive us.
[00:17:38] Your unfailing love
[00:17:41] has no limit and your compassion has no end.
[00:17:46] In the name of Jesus, as we believe and trust ourselves to the holy name of Christ, according to the promises of your word, we are forgiven.
[00:17:59] This day, Lord, I lift up this congregation to you.
[00:18:03] I think of every man, woman, and child in this building today.
[00:18:08] That have their own stories, their lives, the good and the bad and the ugly.
[00:18:16] And I remember, Lord, that you are the God who sees.
[00:18:20] You see all things, you know all things, and you love deeply.
[00:18:26] So Father, from that love I pray that you would minister to each human life here.
[00:18:34] And those that are watching online, Lord, that you would minister to them your comfort, your peace, your strength, your anointing.
[00:18:43] That those that are hungry would be satisfied.
[00:18:46] That those that are mourning would be comforted.
[00:18:48] That those that are sick would be healed in the mighty name of Jesus.
[00:18:53] That those who are in need this day would see your provision from your hand, from the hands of your people.
[00:19:00] And that those that have doubts,
[00:19:02] Those quiet questions, the stirring of the heart and the mind of not knowing what to do or where to go, that Holy Father, You would show up in their lives.
[00:19:14] Give them the answers and the assurance that they need to know that You are with them and walking beside them.
[00:19:22] I thank You, Lord God, that You are the Good Shepherd.
[00:19:25] and that all those who trust in you and place their faith in you can have assurance of the faith that nothing in this life could ever snatch them out of your hand and you will never cast out anyone who comes to you.
[00:19:41] Continue, Lord, to demonstrate to us your love and hope and mercy.
[00:19:46] Continue to assure our hearts of your grace and your unfailing love.
[00:19:52] that we the church would be a beacon of hope and restoration and new life and that all those who enter this place would be refreshed by your spirit by your word by your presence open our eyes and our minds and our hearts to receive all that you have for us today and these days Lord that you would continually be a fountain of life for us every single day of our lives
[00:20:20] We pray over Pastor Dave as he brings for us the word.
[00:20:24] Holy Spirit, would you speak through him those things that you would have us say no and do.
[00:20:30] May we be refreshed and convicted and challenged and encouraged for the glory of the name of Jesus Christ.
[00:20:39] We pray all these things in that most holy name.
[00:20:42] And church, let us now together pray that prayer he taught us to pray.
[00:20:46] Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen and amen
[00:21:15] Please stand as we sing our next hymn.

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
I hope we have.

[00:25:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Please be seated.
[00:25:22] So since I've last seen you, my family drove 30
[00:25:27] hours a little more than 30 hours to drop our baby off in college as a freshman in Pennsylvania and our other child off in Chicago and I wanted to express gratitude is where it is a milestone when your youngest graduates from high school and and we can say it not in a proud way but in a spirit of gratitude that all six of our daughters are walking with the Lord and I I think of this church
[00:25:53] From Sunday School and the Children's Ministry and Logos and Youth Group, PYF, and all those different things you've had.
[00:26:02] My children, you know, primarily faith comes from home, but you have to have a great support system, and we've been blessed by that.
[00:26:09] So thank you.
[00:26:11] It wasn't easy, but it was good.
[00:26:13] And so I wanted to give you that update.
[00:26:16] And keep us in prayer as we do those first few weeks.
[00:26:20] Now our youngest, Carly, keeps reminding us.
[00:26:22] I hear people ask, you know, how are your parents going to do with the empty nest?
[00:26:25] She's like, well, they're not empty nesters because Kaylee's living with them this year, you know.
[00:26:30] And so Kaylee's here working on her nursing degree.
[00:26:33] But again, express deep gratitude.
[00:26:36] I just wanted to convey that to you.
[00:26:38] Our passage this morning is 1 John chapter 5, verses 13 through 21.
[00:26:46] I want to open by sharing two childhood fears that I possessed.
[00:26:52] And I can remember them almost like yesterday.
[00:26:54] My first fear was sleeping with my face towards my bedroom window.
[00:27:01] I wouldn't do that.
[00:27:02] And there's logic behind this.
[00:27:04] So at age five, somebody stole my bicycle.
[00:27:09] And I used to park the bicycle on the side of the yard in the bushes just under my bedroom window.
[00:27:17] So I woke up the next day to go look for my bike and it was gone.
[00:27:20] And when I realized someone had stolen it, a child's imagination, what goes on in those woods or in that thicket, you know, and if they can come within 10 feet of my window or not even closer than that, if they're right beneath my window without me knowing it, what else is in those bushes?
[00:27:38] And so I would sleep for at least a decade every night with my face towards the wall.
[00:27:44] I don't know if you can identify with any of those childhood type.
[00:27:47] My other fear, I remember this very vividly, was the fear that I might, of going to sleep with unconfessed sin.
[00:28:00] Now I had logic, really good logic for that as well.
[00:28:03] My Sunday school teacher, a great teacher, had taught the beauty of the gospel that Jesus, through faith in Jesus, God forgives sins.
[00:28:13] And had been taught we confess our sins, he's faithful to forgive us and cleanse us of all wrongdoing.
[00:28:18] Well, my childlike brain, which took everything very literally, thought, well, how can he forgive something I haven't confessed?
[00:28:27] So the thought is, what if I, you know, go to sleep at night and I don't wake up in the morning and there was some unconfessed sin, am I still going to go to heaven?
[00:28:34] Because, you know, Jesus forgives sins so that you can get to heaven, and so that was a fear.
[00:28:40] Every night, I'd say for a decade, I'd say a prayer before going to sleep and I'd think of anything I might have done wrong that day.
[00:28:47] Anything.
[00:28:48] And then I'd say, Lord, I've probably forgotten something, there are probably some things that I may not even know this is sin, please forgive me for that too.
[00:28:56] and then I'd go to sleep.
[00:28:59] I don't know that I'm alone.
[00:29:00] I think adults sometimes live with that fear of unconfessed sin or not being right with God.
[00:29:13] Historically I'm in good company and if any of you resonate with that story, you're in good company too.
[00:29:18] Martin Luther, do you realize at one stage in his life he felt that if you died unconfessed, you're in trouble?
[00:29:27] Think of the spirit of culture in Europe right around the time of the Protestant Reformation.
[00:29:34] There was a lot of, within that culture, a lot of fear when it came to faith, grace, and forgiveness.
[00:29:42] There are only two assurances of forgiveness at that time according to the Catholic Church.
[00:29:48] One was the Pope had the power to sign off on indulgences.
[00:29:54] You could purchase a
[00:29:56] Certificate of Indulgence back then and the church at some some portion some regions were really abusing that were in a sense you were you were paying uh for these certificates to pay off the the punishment of sin and now the pope had the power they believed to remove all sins and to guarantee eternal life
[00:30:20] Now if that was your approach to finding peace, your average person didn't really have access to the Pope, yes?
[00:30:28] So what would you do if you had no access to the Pope?
[00:30:32] Well there were also local priests.
[00:30:35] And the priests could pronounce absolution.
[00:30:37] They could declare sins forgiven.
[00:30:39] It involved public confession of sins and often some sort of penance.
[00:30:45] And the things people would do.
[00:30:48] You know, maybe go on a spiritual journey.
[00:30:51] Sometimes do things, hardships on your body that you're paying off, you know, this penance you're doing to earn in some way.
[00:31:01] You know, this forgiveness or at least punishment that goes along with sin.
[00:31:06] And people were praying for the dead and within that climate, John Calvin
[00:31:15] Not John Calvin, but Martin Luther made a discovery.
[00:31:20] And Luther declared, and he proclaimed this to anyone that would listen, this concept, biblical concept, justification by grace through faith.
[00:31:34] And the whole concept through faith in Jesus, you're justified, you're made perfect.
[00:31:39] You can stand before the throne, not because of what you've done, but what he's done in your behalf.
[00:31:45] And guess what?
[00:31:45] This forgiveness of sins, it's retroactive.
[00:31:50] You're forgiven past, present, future.
[00:31:54] It's a good exercise to confess sins, we do it every Sunday, but you don't have to lay in bed every night in fear thinking, oh gosh, what if I didn't think of one thing that would have offended God or someone else.
[00:32:06] Through faith in Jesus, your eternal destiny is secure.
[00:32:13] And that's what John, we've been working our way through this letter, 1 John, he's wanting to convey to the believer.
[00:32:21] As he writes this letter, he's wanting to convey, he wants them to be confident in their faith.
[00:32:28] And he's hitting them from every angle in this letter.
[00:32:31] Yes, he's warning of false teaching, but ultimately, he wants them to feel secure, to know, be confident in their eternal destiny.
[00:32:41] You don't have to live, yes, this world, there are a lot of uncertainties, but one thing you can be certain about
[00:32:48] Through faith in Jesus, what your eternal destiny is.
[00:32:52] So this morning as we're getting to the last section of 1 John, we're going to complete this letter and I have two take-homes from the passage.
[00:33:02] The first take-home is just simply focus on verse 13.
[00:33:07] It's the summary.
[00:33:09] The take-home is for a believer to be more confident in their eternal destiny.
[00:33:13] John wants that.
[00:33:15] Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he wants you to be more confident of your eternal destiny.
[00:33:19] And then the second take-home, with that confidence, he wants for a believer to understand the implications of eternal assurance.
[00:33:31] If you are more confident in your faith, this is how you live.
[00:33:35] This is how you approach life.
[00:33:37] So we're going to take a look at that.
[00:33:38] I'm going to say a prayer first.
[00:33:39] We'll read the passage.
[00:33:42] Heavenly Father, I do thank you for the gift of your word.
[00:33:46] And here this morning as we open your word, we ask that you speak to our hearts, that you speak to our minds, that through the guidance of your Holy Spirit, through Him illuminating this passage, that we can gain a deeper understanding, that we can grasp the concept of what's being taught.
[00:34:06] And Lord, also we ask with that deeper understanding that we may draw closer to you.
[00:34:13] Give us an inner desire to live by your word, to live out your word, not to score brownie points or please you, but to express our gratitude for what you've done in our behalf.
[00:34:27] We give this time to you now and we pray these things in Jesus' name.
[00:34:30] Amen.
[00:34:31] 1 John 5, beginning with verse 13.
[00:34:37] I write these things to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
[00:34:45] And this is the boldness we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
[00:34:52] And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of Him.
[00:34:59] If you see a brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one, to those whose sin is not mortal.
[00:35:09] There is a sin that is mortal.
[00:35:10] I do not say that you should pray about that.
[00:35:13] All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that is not mortal.
[00:35:17] We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who is born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.
[00:35:26] We know that we are God's children and the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.
[00:35:31] And we know that the Son of God has come and given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true and we are in Him who is true.
[00:35:40] In His Son, Jesus Christ.
[00:35:43] He is the true God and eternal life.
[00:35:47] Little children, keep yourself from idols.
[00:35:52] This is the word of the Lord.
[00:35:56] So first I want to focus on verse 13.
[00:36:00] It's a summary statement of the entire letter.
[00:36:04] This letter was written, that's the point I want to make here, this letter was written to strengthen spiritual competence.
[00:36:13] It was written specifically to believers.
[00:36:17] Not only believers back then, but if you are a professing believer, this is for you.
[00:36:22] It's written specifically to believers.
[00:36:26] And this is the summary statement.
[00:36:28] Quote, verse 13, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
[00:36:38] So he's writing to believers.
[00:36:39] He's writing to those who've received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
[00:36:46] They've been baptized, an outward symbol of an inward change, baptized in their faith, public profession.
[00:36:54] They've become part of the church that was known in the early church, and he's writing to them.
[00:37:00] And it was written specifically to believers to assure, it was written to assure your destiny.
[00:37:10] If you've surrendered your life to Jesus as Lord and Savior, John wants you to feel assured as to your destiny.
[00:37:18] He says, I write these things to you.
[00:37:20] It's a summary of the entire letter.
[00:37:23] Now, I write these things to you for those who believe in the Son of God.
[00:37:27] Now, what are these things?
[00:37:29] I want to just rest on that for a second.
[00:37:32] I write these things to you believers.
[00:37:35] What are these things?
[00:37:38] I write these things to you.
[00:37:41] If he's summarizing everything, we've been looking at this for the last two months, he's been hitting from every angle, I'm gonna raise just three themes, he's been hitting from every angle one, belief in regards to Jesus Christ.
[00:37:54] The deity of Jesus.
[00:37:56] Jesus is the Son of God.
[00:37:59] Not a son of God.
[00:38:00] He is the Son of God.
[00:38:02] And he has hit that from every angle.
[00:38:03] He said, beware of the false teachers.
[00:38:05] He calls them antichrists.
[00:38:07] He's sticking to original gospel.
[00:38:09] He, John, was an eyewitness of Jesus.
[00:38:13] His life, his death, his resurrection.
[00:38:16] And he's been hitting from, I write these things.
[00:38:19] One thing is belief in Jesus Christ.
[00:38:21] Jesus is central to us finding eternal security.
[00:38:27] He is essential.
[00:38:29] He's central.
[00:38:30] Our faith begins and ends with Him.
[00:38:33] What we believe about Jesus matters.
[00:38:37] He's very clear throughout the letter.
[00:38:39] I write these things.
[00:38:40] He's wanting to build into our confidence.
[00:38:42] He not only speaks in regards to Jesus Christ, part of these things is also the love for God.
[00:38:50] Our love for God.
[00:38:52] He says earlier in the letter, God is love, right?
[00:38:55] Remember that?
[00:38:56] God is the very definition of love.
[00:38:59] Unconditional love.
[00:39:00] And we're told through faith in Jesus, we receive the gift of faith.
[00:39:07] We once were separate from God, living in darkness.
[00:39:10] That was our realm.
[00:39:11] That was our living.
[00:39:12] Apart from God, we're living in darkness.
[00:39:16] But as we respond to the call through Jesus in Christ, we now walk in the light.
[00:39:22] We're children of God.
[00:39:25] We're a new creation.
[00:39:26] So God is love, but as God resides through his spirit in your heart, you become partakers in that love.
[00:39:35] Gives us the ability not only, we're told we love because he first loved us.
[00:39:41] And so that love is now part, those who have received Jesus, part of your DNA.
[00:39:46] So he's hit that from every angle.
[00:39:47] Our belief in regards to Jesus Christ, our belief when it comes to the love of God,
[00:39:53] and then how we relate to the law, God's word.
[00:39:58] What's the most important aspect?
[00:39:59] God's law is rooted in love.
[00:40:04] God's love should not be a burden.
[00:40:07] Some people view the law as a way to score brownie points with God and it feels like a burden and an obligation.
[00:40:14] No, no, no, no, no.
[00:40:16] God's law is rooted in love.
[00:40:20] What's the most important part of the law?
[00:40:22] Loving God, the Lord our God, with all of our heart, soul, and mind, and the second most important, loving neighbor as self.
[00:40:30] As we grow in our understanding, as we relate, as we learn to trust and lean in to God's Word, we can become more certain in regards to our eternal destiny.
[00:40:43] Why does he write these things?
[00:40:45] John specifically says, I write these things so that you know that you have eternal life.
[00:40:54] The deeper you understand who Jesus is, the deeper you understand the love of God, the more deeply you understand how we relate to God's law, we obey his law to express our gratitude, not to earn his love.
[00:41:09] Those who can grasp, those who can trust, those who can believe,
[00:41:12] The truth of the gospel, revealed to us by God, rooted in His love, given by grace, received by faith, we may know that we have eternal life.
[00:41:23] It's not based on emotion or special knowledge.
[00:41:25] Now for some, and there might be a person in this room say, I just, I wish I had that certainty.
[00:41:33] It seems so elusive.
[00:41:34] You know, I have a family member, a spouse that's so certain in their faith, I lack that.
[00:41:41] One, I'd say, remember the prayer in Scripture?
[00:41:45] Lord, I believe.
[00:41:48] Help me in my unbelief.
[00:41:49] I'd encourage you to say that prayer.
[00:41:52] Another insight, Martin Lloyd-Jones, he had a commentary on this particular letter, this book, and he says this, quote, If you don't know any of this for certain, tell God that you are not certain.
[00:42:07] and that you desire this knowledge above all else.
[00:42:09] Express your helplessness.
[00:42:13] Ask him, believing his own promise.
[00:42:18] And then he quotes from John chapter six where Jesus declared himself to be the bread of life and he says this, quote, all those the Father gives me, Jesus says this, all those the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
[00:42:36] John wants you to be certain in your faith.
[00:42:39] He's saying if you're hesitant, trust.
[00:42:44] We can be certain.
[00:42:45] It's a certain hope, not wishful thinking.
[00:42:52] Again, Jesus promises he does not turn away.
[00:42:56] John 3.16, God so loved the world that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have life eternal.
[00:43:03] I want to shift now
[00:43:05] to verses 14 through 21.
[00:43:07] In light of this letter, in light of that conclusion, if you have security, confidence of faith, security in your eternal destination, this is how we should live.
[00:43:18] Let me give some insight.
[00:43:20] One, pray boldly.
[00:43:23] If God is your Father, if you're a child of God, if you're living in the light, if you're walking in the light,
[00:43:28] Pray boldly.
[00:43:29] And there are a couple extremes when it comes to prayer.
[00:43:31] There are some people that doubt the power of prayer.
[00:43:35] And they'll say, well, if God is sovereign and we're flawed, if God knows everything, if God has foreknowledge, what's the point?
[00:43:44] God already knows.
[00:43:46] What's the point?
[00:43:48] Well, what does Scripture say?
[00:43:51] Jesus modeled prayer.
[00:43:53] He gave parables on the importance of prayer.
[00:43:56] The book of James, the brother of Jesus, inspired by, you know, he said the prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
[00:44:05] We're told to pray persistently.
[00:44:07] We're told over and over in Scripture that our prayers matter.
[00:44:11] Look in the Old Testament.
[00:44:12] It's not just a New Testament thing.
[00:44:15] Even in the Old Testament, remember when Moses was up on the mountain and God's people had lost their focus and they were worried Moses wasn't going to come down?
[00:44:23] What did they create?
[00:44:25] It was very sinful.
[00:44:27] The golden calf.
[00:44:29] And God wanted to pour out his wrath.
[00:44:33] They're worshiping this idol.
[00:44:35] And remember what Moses does?
[00:44:39] He praises an advocate in behalf of Israel.
[00:44:44] And then he claims God's promises.
[00:44:47] He's like, Lord, you promised you'd bring us into this new land.
[00:44:51] Please, Lord.
[00:44:51] And he's pleading with him not to destroy his people.
[00:44:56] And what does Scripture say?
[00:44:57] It doesn't matter where you stand on your doctrine.
[00:44:59] It says it right in Scripture.
[00:45:01] Scripture says the Lord relented.
[00:45:05] Prayer does make a difference.
[00:45:12] Now there's another extreme.
[00:45:15] The attitude that you can just
[00:45:17] Pray anything in the sense that God's either like a genie, you know, oh Lord, you know, my wish is ten more wishes, you know, or God's like a vending machine.
[00:45:27] And sometimes if the prayer is selfish and you're not thinking through the well-being of others or if your prayer conflicts with biblical values, you know, the prayer, Lord, help me devise a plan to scam those rich people in my community.
[00:45:44] They have enough money already.
[00:45:46] Is that a prayer that God's going to honor?
[00:45:50] Or what about the prayer, you know, gosh, I really have a connection with my neighbor's spouse, and Lord, maybe if they can reciprocate that connection.
[00:46:01] No, the Lord's not going to honor that prayer.
[00:46:04] So, John says, pray boldly, but do so according to God's will.
[00:46:12] How do we know the Lord's will?
[00:46:15] It comes through nurturing your faith, spending time in His Word, falling in love with His commands and His precepts, and you begin to gain the heart of God.
[00:46:31] We're told when we pray according to His will, it says, verse 15, when we ask according to His will, God not only hears us, His ears are open to us, His heart is enlarged, He's always ready to listen, but that we've already obtained the requests made of Him.
[00:46:46] It's hard for our human mind to grasp.
[00:46:49] When you pray the will of God, Jesus modeled it.
[00:46:52] When he was in the garden of Gethsemane, his human part was like, I don't want to shed my blood, I don't want to die, but Lord, please take this cup from me, but not my will, but thy will be done.
[00:47:02] He modeled that for us, and he was trusting God.
[00:47:06] God had his best interests in mind, had the best interests of the world in mind.
[00:47:09] When we pray, as we grow in our faith and our understanding, you can pray anything.
[00:47:15] Pray the desires of your heart, but as you grow in your depth of trust, and able to say, Lord, not my will, but thy, pray your heart.
[00:47:24] You're lonely, you want a companion?
[00:47:26] Pray for a companion.
[00:47:27] You want an answer to what your future should be with retirement?
[00:47:32] Pray, Lord, give me insight, give me depth.
[00:47:36] but also according to your will.
[00:47:41] We're told he answers immediately.
[00:47:42] Sometimes we see it immediately.
[00:47:43] Sometimes years later you may look back at your journal like, oh, I didn't understand at the time but God was answering that prayer.
[00:47:49] Some prayers we won't know in this lifetime.
[00:47:51] I tell my children, you know, just someday you can ask God when you're in heaven but I think when you're in heaven, that's gonna be the last thing on your mind.
[00:48:00] You'll be so joyful that you're gonna say, oh, Lord, what about that prayer from
[00:48:04] 2012 that I offered.
[00:48:08] We're told here that the Lord hears and He responds.
[00:48:15] Hebrews 4.16 writes, Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
[00:48:25] Pray boldly, like a child, without inhibition.
[00:48:31] Lord, this is my heart.
[00:48:32] And then pray according to His will.
[00:48:35] Verse 16 and 17 shifts.
[00:48:36] We're still to pray boldly, but John tells us to pray for fellow believers who have fallen into sin.
[00:48:46] Now that may not be your first inclination.
[00:48:50] You know, a believer that has fallen into sin may have hurt you in some way or repulsed you in some way.
[00:48:56] You're saying, well, part of our Christian faith is to pray for brothers and sisters that are struggling, that have fallen into sin.
[00:49:02] It may be a family member, you're like, oh, they're back into that pattern of living.
[00:49:07] Pray for them.
[00:49:09] It may be someone in the church, you're like, I'm tired, they're part of that group that just chatters about everything, and they make my life miserable.
[00:49:14] No, pray for them.
[00:49:17] We're all sinners, we're all flawed, we all fall short.
[00:49:20] We need, iron sharpens iron, we need to look out for each other, to encourage one another, maybe sometimes even confront one another in love.
[00:49:29] Now he does mention here, there is a mortal sin, you know what that is?
[00:49:35] There's one unforgivable sin and our prayers won't, he says here in the passage, won't really make much of a difference.
[00:49:41] What's the one unforgivable, every sin in this world is forgivable, even murder is forgivable, except for one.
[00:49:51] blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that concept is the idea or the concept that you have tasted the glory of God you have received the gospel message you've understood it and then chosen to reject it and the Lord we have a free will and the Lord says those that blaspheme of the Spirit
[00:50:14] is unforgivable.
[00:50:15] It's basically saying, you know, God so loved the world, he sent his son that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life.
[00:50:20] But at the same time, if you reject that, you're not gonna have eternal security in heaven.
[00:50:28] God knows the heart, the hardened heart.
[00:50:30] I think John might have been referring to some of the false teachers, because earlier in the letter he said there were those that were among us, but they really weren't part of us, and they're now really anti-Christ.
[00:50:40] They've tasted it, and they've rejected it.
[00:50:46] But we're told here to pray boldly.
[00:50:50] Also, if you're secure in Christ, know that your identity protects you.
[00:50:56] Verse 18, and this one gets taken out of context quite a bit, but listen, verse 18, we know that those who are born of God do not sin,
[00:51:05] But the one who was born of God protects them and the evil one does not touch them.
[00:51:11] Now is this a doctrine of perfection?
[00:51:13] Is John saying that Christians are perfect and they don't sin?
[00:51:17] Is that what he's saying?
[00:51:19] That's not what he's saying at all.
[00:51:20] In fact, just two verses previously he said, pray for the brother or sister of the Christian who's fallen into sin.
[00:51:27] If you read chapter one verse eight he says,
[00:51:32] The person who says they have not sinned, they are lying.
[00:51:37] And verse 9 says, but if you confess your sins, he's faithful to forgive and cleanse.
[00:51:43] So what's he talking about here?
[00:51:46] We know that those who are born of God do not sin.
[00:51:54] Well, I think what he's referring to here is a condition rather than behavior.
[00:52:02] Think about this.
[00:52:04] Before, apart from God, we're told we live in darkness.
[00:52:08] That's the theme in 1 John.
[00:52:10] Through faith in Jesus, we've been brought into light.
[00:52:13] We were dead in our sin.
[00:52:14] A dead person can't revive themselves, but the love of God, we're drawn to him.
[00:52:18] We respond by grace.
[00:52:20] We become a child of God.
[00:52:21] We become a new creation.
[00:52:22] We're told we walk in the light.
[00:52:24] Yet we still live in a broken world, we're in this in-between world.
[00:52:28] Our condition is we can stand before the throne as perfect.
[00:52:32] Not that we are perfect, we're a work in progress, but in Christ, as a Christian, you're perfect in God's sight.
[00:52:40] That's your condition.
[00:52:43] We're still prone to fall into sin.
[00:52:46] I've often told you, I've struggled, I gave you the story earlier of
[00:52:52] In traffic, lacking patience, and I've not always been a patient person, and my wife made me take the fish symbol off the back of our Jeep because I wasn't representing our faith very well, and I'm a work in progress, just like you.
[00:53:06] We've all sinned and fallen short.
[00:53:08] But I would hope to think, I think if you would talk to my wife, she would say I'm a little more patient now than I was 10 years ago, or 20 years ago.
[00:53:15] Maybe there's someone in this room that in your former life, you dealt with rage.
[00:53:21] You would just fly off the handle.
[00:53:22] You were always angry.
[00:53:24] And you don't like that about your past self.
[00:53:27] Through faith, you've become a less angry person.
[00:53:30] When the Lord took you out of that, you're not proud of your former life, whatever that was.
[00:53:34] Maybe it was just rage.
[00:53:36] Now that you walk in light, you don't live in that anymore, but we're still prone.
[00:53:42] So you might have a weak moment.
[00:53:43] You may be at the dinner table and your child or your grandchild spills the milk and you have this moment of rage and you may find yourself later on apologizing to your child or grandchild and saying, I'm not proud of that.
[00:53:56] That's the old me.
[00:53:58] Please forgive me.
[00:54:00] You're not living in it anymore.
[00:54:02] You don't live in the realm of darkness.
[00:54:04] You live in, you're walking in light.
[00:54:06] Does that make sense?
[00:54:09] We're told know that your identity protects you.
[00:54:13] You gotta read this in context.
[00:54:17] Second half of verse 18 indicates that those born of God are protected by Jesus.
[00:54:23] The most literal translation says he keepeth us.
[00:54:27] I love this language.
[00:54:28] He keepeth us means he watches over us, he cares for us, he keeps an eye on us attentively.
[00:54:36] What kind of image does that give you about Jesus, our protector?
[00:54:41] One who watches over, cares for, keeps an eye on, he's the good shepherd, yes?
[00:54:47] Who protects.
[00:54:48] Yes, we're prone to wander, yes, we can fall into sin, but the evil one, it says, John chapter 10, verse 28, no one can snatch us from his arms.
[00:54:58] We may be, again, prone to wander or fall into sin, but we do not stay in that condition.
[00:55:03] As children of light, we can stand before the throne
[00:55:07] As perfect, earlier in John, John said, greater is he that is in you, Jesus Christ, than he that is in the world, the evil one.
[00:55:16] He has no power to snatch you away from the shepherds, the good shepherd's arms.
[00:55:23] Know that your identity protects you.
[00:55:25] Also, verse 19, know that you belong to God in Christ.
[00:55:32] You belong to God and it's easy in a broken world
[00:55:35] Here I think worldview is being a focus here of John.
[00:55:40] He's mentioning verse 19, we know that we are God's children and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.
[00:55:48] I'd say 99 if not 100% of our culture recognizes there's something wrong with our world that needs to be fixed.
[00:55:57] Would you agree?
[00:55:58] Whether they're Christian, non-Christian, and we all have our angles on how to fix the problems of this world.
[00:56:05] Some would say through science and technology, and I thank God for science.
[00:56:09] My dad's still alive taking cancer treatments because of science, so I'm not saying science is a bad thing.
[00:56:15] I am very grateful for technology, what I can do with my phone.
[00:56:19] It used to be for me to drive to Pennsylvania and then Chicago, I would have had to pull out maps and call AAA.
[00:56:28] Hasn't it become so much more convenient with our technology and your smartphone to have a navigation system?
[00:56:35] Do you think our smartphones have made this world a better place?
[00:56:42] There's some conveniences.
[00:56:43] I also go to a restaurant.
[00:56:45] There are several times when I was on the road with my wife and you see a family of five sitting there and they're all just in a restaurant looking at their phone, not talking with one another, not fellowshipping.
[00:56:56] Again, science, technology, is that solving the world's problems?
[00:57:00] There's some conveniences.
[00:57:01] There's the economic approach.
[00:57:03] If we could just satisfy basic needs, solve world hunger, world poverty.
[00:57:08] We had a missionary come here two weeks ago, maybe it was three weeks ago, and he said, did you realize that relief work in Africa, 90% of the collection never gets to the place intended?
[00:57:22] It's the corruption in this world.
[00:57:24] When we used to, I did a visit to Uganda and we would have to send stuff through Kenya and then we were told that you needed to have someone present because 50% of the stuff there, if you're not present, we'd just bring bags because you had a 50% chance it would get to your destination.
[00:57:42] There's the intellectual approach.
[00:57:43] With enough education and knowledge, we can solve our world problems.
[00:57:47] There's the moral approach.
[00:57:49] We strive for world peace.
[00:57:50] Or the political approach.
[00:57:51] We get swept up in that, don't we?
[00:57:55] I can't tell you how many times the day after an election I watch believers and some are sincere believers acting like the world is coming to an end.
[00:58:07] We think if we have the right political system with the right leadership that somehow we're going to solve the world's problems and guess what folks?
[00:58:15] God is just in control, as much in control the day after the election as He was the day before.
[00:58:21] We're told in scripture that he raises good kings, he raises bad kings.
[00:58:25] He has his purposes behind that.
[00:58:27] That's all in his control.
[00:58:28] Think of the Apostle Paul.
[00:58:32] In prison, chained to a guard, writing out letters to the early church.
[00:58:39] And he's saying, I am not in chains for Caesar.
[00:58:42] I'm in chains for Christ.
[00:58:45] He said, I've learned to be content in all circumstances, knowing that God's in control.
[00:58:51] Yeah, I'm not discouraging you from being involved in politics to helping with the advancement of science and seeing good things about technology.
[00:59:04] John is reminding us here, he says, know that you belong to God.
[00:59:10] We know that we are God's children, that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.
[00:59:15] The biblical worldview is God's in control.
[00:59:17] He created everything.
[00:59:18] He pronounced everything good.
[00:59:20] Then sin entered the world, and that's where the problems originated.
[00:59:27] Theft and cheating and lying and murder.
[00:59:30] But he gave us a solution.
[00:59:32] He promised.
[00:59:34] Jesus Christ, the Messiah,
[00:59:37] and he the promised he was good on his promise and he came and he he he lived a good life a perfect life and he then he died and he bore the punishment of our sin that carried the weight of our sin upon his shoulders and he conquered death so that you and I can experience life life eternal he secured our eternal destiny through faith in him and then we're told we have this hope in Christ
[01:00:02] In the end, no matter what happens politically, no matter what happens with world hunger and poverty, you know, there's always been war and rumors of war in the Middle East, no matter what happens, in the end, the Lord will prevail.
[01:00:17] There'll be a day of the Lord, no more tears, no more pain, no more, yes, a day of judgment, but in Christ, you will be secure.
[01:00:28] If you've given your life to Jesus, remember that you belong to Him.
[01:00:33] Yes, there's an earthly battle of spirit and flesh, but in the end, you and I will be okay.
[01:00:40] Know that you belong to God.
[01:00:42] Also in Christ, faith is rooted in Jesus.
[01:00:46] Verse 20, Jesus has come.
[01:00:48] He in flesh gives us a picture of the character of God, the heart God has for this world.
[01:00:58] How we relate to the law.
[01:01:00] Jesus, he has come.
[01:01:02] He is the tangible source of truth and spiritual understanding.
[01:01:05] He came by grace.
[01:01:06] The ultimate revelation of God.
[01:01:08] Now, remember his exchange with Nicodemus?
[01:01:13] The Pharisee who snuck to him in the middle of the night.
[01:01:15] He wanted spiritual security.
[01:01:18] What an interesting ending.
[01:01:20] All of this.
[01:01:21] And then he says, little children, keep yourselves from idols.
[01:01:27] You see, the idols are what distract us from placing our hope and faith in Jesus Christ.
[01:01:31] There were false teachers teaching against the original gospel message.
[01:01:37] John is saying, be careful.
[01:01:39] Guard yourself from idolatry.
[01:01:42] What's an idol?
[01:01:44] We think of a golden calf, we think of a wooden statue.
[01:01:47] An idol is anything that either takes the place of God or anything that we put above God.
[01:01:57] Some are obvious.
[01:01:59] Jesus said you can't serve God and money.
[01:02:01] Money can be a good thing if God comes first.
[01:02:03] But if money's first, it will disappoint you.
[01:02:10] Some people make power.
[01:02:11] Some people make sports.
[01:02:12] Some people make technology.
[01:02:13] They're God.
[01:02:16] And it never quite delivers.
[01:02:19] Some people, you think of very good things, they place their children in front of God.
[01:02:25] You worship your children.
[01:02:26] Some things in church.
[01:02:29] You may worship the worship band.
[01:02:32] I can only worship if the band's good enough or if the choir's good enough.
[01:02:35] And then that becomes a God in itself versus we're here to worship God.
[01:02:42] Sometimes the music, some churches have a little better music and some may not.
[01:02:46] We're here to worship God, not humankind.
[01:02:48] We create our idols.
[01:02:50] And he's saying here, little children, keep yourself from idols.
[01:02:57] Keep the first thing first.
[01:03:00] Keep your hope in Jesus Christ.
[01:03:02] That will provide the security needed.
[01:03:05] Your eternal destiny in Christ is secure.
[01:03:09] Your identity, no one can snatch you away from, the evil one has no power over you, in Christ.
[01:03:17] In a world with brokenness and hurt and pain,
[01:03:23] In Christ you can be confident.
[01:03:25] You can pray with boldness.
[01:03:26] Let's close this time in prayer, trusting in him.
[01:03:32] Heavenly Father, I thank you for the gift of your word, the promises that we find, the encouragement, the challenges.
[01:03:38] Lord, I pray that the believer in this room can take you at your word, and as they grow in their faith, they can develop a stronger confidence.
[01:03:50] I also pray for someone that,
[01:03:54] They know they're a believer.
[01:03:55] They've given their life to you, but they sometimes waver, and Lord, we're prone to that, to wander or to second-guess.
[01:04:03] Lord, give them assurance.
[01:04:04] Help them to say that prayer, Lord, I believe.
[01:04:06] Help me in my unbelief.
[01:04:08] I pray for maybe one person in the room that may be on the fence that they've really wrestled with what is truth.
[01:04:15] Lord, we have a tendency to create gods in our image.
[01:04:20] Lord, you've revealed yourself clearly.
[01:04:23] In Your Word, most perfectly in Your Son.
[01:04:27] So Lord, help us to trust.
[01:04:31] Lord, I pray that there's space in this room for those that are seeking.
[01:04:35] May they be given safety to ask difficult questions and to speak out their doubts or their fears.
[01:04:44] And ultimately, Lord, You're in the business of changing hearts and lives.
[01:04:51] We turn to you for our security.
[01:04:52] We pray these things in your Son, Jesus Christ, his name.
[01:04:56] Amen.
[01:05:28] It's a privilege to worship with you on a Labor Day weekend, a pretty good turnout for a last long weekend where people can slip off for vacation and
[01:05:37] As we leave this place, I always give the invitation, don't put off till tomorrow what you can get right today, and if the Lord's spoken to you in any way, bring it to Him.
[01:05:46] And if there are doubts, pray boldly.
[01:05:49] The Lord will not push you away.
[01:05:52] As we leave this place, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, may the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each and every one of you, now and forever.
[01:06:02] Amen.

[01:06:19] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
The Gospel of John

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of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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