Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Good morning, Lafayette Baptist Family.

It is a joy and a privilege to see you and worship with you all again today.

Our text today is 1st John 5:1-5, if you will all please go ahead and turn there in your bibles.

In a few moments we will read together from the screen but please go ahead and turn there in case you need to reference anything during today’s message.

Usually, during this time I share with you some story, or thought, or antidote to prime our thoughts towards the day’s message.

Today, I want to do something a little different.

That is, I want to announce that next week we will be participating in the Lord’s supper together.

This of course is something that is important for each believer to participate in (and I want to make this clear that it is for believers only), as Jesus Himself set the ordinance.

We do this, in an continual act of remembrance of Him, of what He did for us, taking the cup of wrath for our sins.

We do to keep our minds and our hearts in a continual stage and place of repentance, as a Christian is to live a life of repentance, turning from sin and glorifying God through changed hearts.

I say that also, to acknowledge that doing this, participating in the Lord’s supper is a serious matter.

It’s so serious, that many writers and theologians equate this, administering the ordinances (which is the LS and Baptism) as one of the primary functions of a church.

Also, on the matter of seriousness, Paul warns us not to participate in it if we have anything we need to repent of or if we have anything we need to work out with another believer.

Know this, there is no shame in not participating if you do not need to, all that means is that you are working on something.

So, know that we are doing this next week and make anything right with God and man if you need to.

With that being said, onto this week’s sermon which is titled, God’s presence in our lives makes us overcome the world.

Scripture

If you will all please rise for the reading of God’s word today.

As usual, the text will be on the screen, please read out loud along with us, then when we finish I will say “this is the word of the Lord” and if you will all please respond with “thanks be to God.” First though, let’s pray.

Father, refine us.

You make us new, you make us new in You and we thank You for this.

That you have saved us from the tyranny of sin.

We ask You, as this church and as individual believers that you refine us this day.

Refine us through your word, make your word a beacon to us father, let it illuminate our way.

Help us Father, help us to put anything aside today that is keeping or going to keep us from hearing your word.

Help us to focus and understand what it is you are sharing with us this day.

Sanctify us in Your Word Father, Your Word is truth.

Then, take this truth and make it cause us to go into the world and share with others the truth, that Jesus saves and nothing else matters.

Make this the cry of our hearts and our knowledge, that You would be glorified through us.

It in these things that I ask and In Jesus Christ’s Holy and Precious name that I pray, Amen. 5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

And his commandments are not burdensome.

4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Context

We continue this week in our expository journey through the letters of John.

In fact, today marks the beginning of the last chapter, chapter 5. Nearly there, nearly there.

I am looking forward to celebrating this milestone together, to go through an entire book together.

In fact, if you were wondering this is the 17thinstallment of this letter we have gone through together, and I am thankful for every one of them as God is showing me new things about Himself and about me every week.

One thing I want you to remember this week as we enter this text is that we are still largely focusing on the upward and downward relationships.

That is, in the first two chapters of this book John was focusing much on our relationships with other believers now John focuses much on our relationship with God and the things of God’s nature or who He is.

So keep these things in minds as we study this text and see how God speaks not just to first audiences, but also believers today as He tell us about Himself and ourselves.

Then take this, and apply it to your own faith lives.

In last week’s message, we began by pointing out something that we all know and need to continually head, that God’s Spirit, God the Holy Spirit testifies to the Son (Jesus Christ).

In fact, this is the primary ministry of God the Holy Spirit, that He points others to Jesus Christ.

We know, that a believer is a believer in God if He (the Holy Spirit) has been given to that person, which points to Jesus who points to Father.

In a sense, all three of the trinity are continually pointing to the glory of one another.

We then went into another point that John was reinforcing.

That is, that God is in those that love Him, just as we were saying those that confess Jesus as the Son of God, accepting His Lordship, God lives in this person and this person comes into the family of God, as children.

Sons and daughters.

God Himself, being the definition of love, loves us in this way and we are abide in love ourselves.

Then we talked about fear, specifically that God’s love keeps us from fear.

That those planted in the goodness of God’s grace, those adopted as children, those that have confessed Jesus Christ as the savior have no fear or terror of judgement.

You are safe, you are awaiting joy, not fear.

You are living in the love of the savior, love of God and love of the brethren, this love casts out fear; putting it so far away that is never seen or thought of again.

Finally, we talked more at length about God’s love.

That it is a supernatural love, a special love, one that many do not have and unfortunately will never experience.

The agape love we talked about for several weeks now, is only possible and empowered by God, it is not selfish or deceitful, it only seeks to accomplish two things.

These are, to follow those two great commandments, to love God and love the brethren.

By this, we can be assured of our own faith and observe the faith (or lack thereof) as was needed to the original audience of John’s letter here, who were of course enduring false teachers who’s words echo loudly in the world even today.

Watch out, watch for Love of God, not the love of self in all that you do.

All of this, was under the main idea that In God abides perfect love, which is as I reminded you a title that almost wrote itself, as the key words were found multiple times in the text itself.

Remember as I’ve said, if you’ve noticed a word or idea many times in your bible reading, this is author saying “keep your eyes peeled/look closely.”

With all of that in mind, let’s move deep into this week’s text.

Message

Our first main point, God born means belief.

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

Just look at the beginning of this passage.

John is sharing with us once again a familiar phrase, that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ (meaning the savior) is born of God.

Though it may not have been said in exactly, the same wording, we see the same idea come up over and over again through this letter.

That is, Jesus Christ is the savior.

It is required of any person, that if they are a true lover of God, then this person must in turn love Jesus.

Let me say that first word everyone, EVERYONE who loves God must be a lover of Jesus Christ the righteous.

You might even think of it in the way of a human mindset, though I admit this analogy falls well short.

That if you love a person you love their children as well.

If you love God the Father, You must love God the Son (Jesus) as well.

If you believe this, that Jesus is the Christ then it is in a sense your adoption papers into the family of God, you are adopted as a son or daughter.

You have been born of God, you are new.

This is what we as Christians know to be regeneration, being made new.

Paul writes on this in 2 Cor 5:16-17 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.

Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[b]

The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We become new in Christ.

We become born of God, meaning we have a believing faith in Christ as the savior, as the redeemer of our sins, which were and are so great.

We live a life of belief in the power of the cross and repentance from sins that God would glorified through us, our lives, our mission(s), and our testimony.

A second point, Gods child means obey.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

And his commandments are not burdensome.

John here again is showing us a test.

A Test that points out the haves to the have nots.

The people who have to Holy Spirit to those that have not been gifted.

The redeemed (or saved) from those of the world, you might call them the natural man/woman.

The loving children of God will obey God out of love.

Most of us in this room are already parents or aspire to be someday.

I’m sure you can all agree with me that it is much more special to you when your child does something, obeys you or your commands out of love for you rather then out of terror or even annoyance.

Sure, even though they may not understand why you are telling them or teaching them to do something, they don’t have what you have.