Obedience love, and faith

Announcements:

Young Adult Retreat is coming up. Make sure to mark your calendars.()

Egg Hunt, Good Friday, Easter Sunday:

Each of these events is a great gospel opportunity

We have takeaways at the table when you walked in take as many as you would like and please give them out to anyone you know that is in the area that doesn’t know Jesus

And if you don’t know anybody, I highly recommend you find somebody go to a restaurant and get some food. Leave it for the waiter with a good tip.

Give it to anybody and everybody you can you never know whose life could be changed with a simple invite

intro:

Before we jump into our text, I wanna ask a question?

What are the three factors or components we need for life?

Food

Water

Shelter/stable environment

There’s one other thing that is vitally important for these three things to exist

I’m sure there’s many other things as well but this is one that comes to mind

Gravity

Without gravity, we wouldn’t have the proper or stable environment to sustain life

Food couldn’t grow and water would disappear

Without gravity, nothing can be held together

And tonight we’re gonna look at:

Belief

Love

And obedience

Which on their own are necessary for the Christian to have

If at some level, we don’t have those things we Can’t call ourselves, Christian

But there’s one thing that holds those things together the same way gravity holds food, water, and stable environment together

And that is Faith

Our belief is rooted in faith

Our love comes out of

And obedience comes out of faith

So tonight we’re gonna look at those three essentials to know whether we were Christian or not

But I understand those three essentials don’t exist without having faith in Jesus

And if we don’t have those three essentials, we definitely don’t have faith in Jesus

Because they have the essentials, we need to have faith

Let’s go ahead and jump into our text

Text:

1 John 5:1–5 ESV

1 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?

Prayer:

AMEN:

What are some things that stand out to you right off the Bat?

Maybe words or phrases that you see repeated?

What are some ideas you think Our text deals with?

What is the purpose of the book of 1 John?

Assurance… John is continuing to show us the limit test to have assurance that we are in Christ

That we no longer live in fear but operate in love

Because perfect love cast’s out fear

1 John 5:1–5 (ESV) 1 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.

So right off the bat, if we believe that Jesus is Jesus Christ we have been born of God…

What does it mean to believe that Jesus is the Christ?

How would you explain that to me if I didn’t grow up in church?

How would you explain that to somebody who has no idea what Christ means?

What does it mean when it says? “and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. “

So if we believe Jesus is our Savior, we are his children… And if we are his children, we will love our siblings.

What does that mean practically to love those who are born of God?

What does that mean when it comes to our local church?

And what does that mean when it comes to the church as a whole?

What does it mean to love those born of him?

In verse two, John takes another step:

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

Now John pivot and says how do we know that we love the children of God?

And I’ll ask you how do we know that we love the children of God?

When we love God and obey his commandments

Now I know when we hear obey his commandments and when we say love God, we have different ideas of what that means.

So what does it mean to love, God and obey his commandments?

If I’m not in church, what does it mean to love, God and obey his commandments?

Now I’m not gonna ask us to go through the entire book of Leviticus, To look at the law… But where do we find a summary of the law?

What does it mean to love God and obey him?

Matthew 22:37–40 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

So how do we know that we love our siblings in Christ?

First, my loving God… Seeking to obey God… And out of that love, loving others…

Not just those in the church… Not just those that we see on Sundays…But loving the waiter that forgets to get us our water

Loving the person who cuts us off on the road

Loving the family member who doesn’t deserve it

We know that we love our church family when we purposely love those around us who are not in our church family

And not just treating them the way they treat us

But treating them the way that we would want ourselves to be treated without expectation of it in return

Without expectation of it in return…

Who are our neighbor neighbors? How can we love them?

What are some practical ways to love?

What are some ways to love eternally?

How often do we allow ourselves to be inconvenienced for the gospel?

Have you ever been inconvenienced for the gospel? (Keeping it to yourself) But reflect, are you willing to be made willing?

Do you wake up every day, asking God to use you

Or do you wake up trying to use God?

Are you trying to tell him to worry about your business rather than Being grateful we get to be a part of his?

This Sunday we have an opportunity to be inconvenienced for the gospel

We have an Opportunity to reach out to new families, New adult adults and young adult adults.

We have an opportunity to build connection with people who don’t know Jesus

Will we be inconvenienced for the sake of love?

Do we have that original motive of love?

Because we love because he first loved

And how do we live in his love? By obeying his Commandments:

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

What do you think this passage means?

What does it mean that we keep his Commandments?

What does it mean that his commandments are not burdensome?

What do you think of when you hear the word Commandment???

I want to look at Psalm 119 because I think it should shift Our perspective on what commandments mean

Psalm 119:9–24 ESV

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! 13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. 14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. 17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. 18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. 19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. 21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments. 22 Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies. 23 Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. 24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

God’s Commandments are not burdensome, but they are a blessing

His commandments protect us and keep us from stumbling keep us from sin

Psalm 119:105 ESV

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

His commandments keep us from walking this life, blind, tripping, and falling at every step

His commandments are sweet as honey… They are enjoyable for those who love God

It isn’t a burden to pursue Christ, but a goal and any joy

So much so that we ask him to keep us in his Commandments

We ask him to help us understand his Commandments

We ask him to not keep his commandments from us

It’s like a dad giving you instructions on how to do something that you don’t know how to do, but you desperately want to do

It’s a kid asking why at every return trying to understand and learn

God’s commandments are important for us

Because

If we believe… We will love… And if we love… We obey

And all of this is made possible by faith

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Our faith is in the reality that Jesus has died on the cross and paid the penalty for our since

Our faith is in the reality that we apart from Christ, our sinners in need of a savior

And that Jesus 2000 years ago died on a tree, not just bearing the weight of the judgment of people

But the judgment of God Himself…

Our faith is that if we were Pat and believe that we will be saved… And that we are saved already if we have a relationship with Jesus

And this faith overcomes… Let’s look at verse four and five

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?

What do y’all see in these final passages?