Full sermon God's Testimony is Greater based on 1 John 5:9-15

Let us pray: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Big news 30 years ago. Do you remember the big news story almost 30 years ago? Let me narrow that down a little. If you were watching your TV, then you might remember seeing a white Ford Bronco driving down a highway in southern California. Behind that white Ford Bronco a lot of police cars were following. They ended up stopping at a mansion. O. J. Simpson was the man arrested for the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. The O. J. Simpson trial was broadcast on TV for weeks and weeks. One of the more memorable parts of the trial showed O. J. Simpson trying to put on the black glove that was supposedly worn during the murders. The black glove did not fit. The verdict of the court case was “not guilty.” Last month O. J. Simpson died. Still today some people think O. J. was guilty and others think O. J. was innocent. Human testimony is not always the best testimony.

II. God’s testimony in the Holy Bible is greater. God’s testimony is greater than human testimony. God’s testimony is in the book we know as the Holy Bible. The book of Genesis is the first book of the Holy Bible. The first few chapters of the book of Genesis are very important. Genesis 1:1 tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God’s creating work is the creation of all things from nothing. God simply spoke the words and the things of creation were made. In six days God created the entire universe and He rested from His creating work on the seventh day. Some people falsely say that God’s work of creating took millions and millions of years. Genesis 1 uses the word “day” to refer to 24 hour days rather than millions of years. With God being all-powerful, He could have created everything in a few seconds if He wanted to do that.

III. Adam and Eve in garden of Eden. After God had finished His creating work in six days, then He looked at all that He had created and thought that everything was very good. The first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created on the sixth day. Adam and Eve had one command from God. They were not supposed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden of Eden. There were other trees they could eat from. Eve was tempted and she ate the forbidden fruit. Eve gave some of the forbidden fruit to Adam and he ate the fruit, too. Because of that act of disobedience, sin and suffering and death came into the world. Adam and Eve were forced out of the garden of Eden. They could never return. Their new reality was working the ground with thorns and thistles giving them trouble. Eve also had pain during the time of giving birth to her children.

IV. God’s promised deliverer according to the prophets. God’s testimony does not stop there though. The rest of the writings of the Old Testament prophets pointed to God’s solution for the problem of sin and death. God promised to send a deliverer. He promised that a Savior would be sent to deliver the people of the world from sin, the devil, and death. This special deliverer would be born of a virgin. He would be the Prince of Peace. He would be born in Bethlehem. He would be a Suffering Servant by whose wounds we are healed.

V. New Testament tells us about that promised deliverer. God’s testimony in the writings of the New Testament tell us about that promised deliverer. He was born of a virgin named Mary in the little town of Bethlehem. He was given the name Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins and wrongs. He attracted big crowds by healing people who were ill. He spoke with a special authority about the kingdom of God. He told people the gospel good news. He was betrayed by one of His 12 closest students. He was nailed to a cross and died in agony like a common criminal. Jesus did not stay in the tomb. Three days later the tomb was empty. Jesus appeared to people who knew Him as the risen One. He then ascended into heaven 40 days after He had been killed. He promised to send the Holy Spirit to His followers. He suffered and died and arose and ascended, so that we could be saved from our sins and wrongs and have eternal life in heaven. He fulfilled many promises of the Old Testament prophets.

VI. Some people do not know much about Jesus. Some people today do not know much about Jesus and His saving work. They think Jesus was a good man and a good teacher. They do not think of Jesus as much more than that. Sadly, today there are some people who do not trust in the saving name of Jesus. They seem to be more interested in the latest smartphone and technology advances. They seem to believe things that are on social media and the news rather than God’s testimony about Jesus.

VII. Blessings from mothers today. On this Mother’s Day we are reminded of mothers who made sure we went to church and Sunday School and confirmation class regularly. On this Mother’s Day we can think of mothers who worked hard to care for us as we grew up. On this Mother’s Day we can thank God for giving us mothers and especially if we were blessed with Christian mothers. God does amazing work through the amazing mothers in our world still today.

VIII. Bad news about human testimony. The bad news in our world is that human testimony is unreliable. People tell lies. People do not see things in the same way. Juries can vote to convict people who are innocent and send them to prison for crimes they did not commit.

IX. Good news about God’s testimony in 1 John 5:11-12a and 1 John 5:13-14. The good news in our world is that God’s testimony is greater than human testimony. God’s testimony tells us about the blessings that God’s Son, Jesus, has given to our world. 1 John 5:11-12a states, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life.” Human testimony can change over time. God’s testimony is unchanging. 1 John 5:13-14 gives us more good news from John about God’s Son, Jesus: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” We will not receive the exact things we pray for in life, but we will be given the exact things God knows are best for us now and into eternal life in heaven. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.