That you may know

So this morning Assurance in God

It’s often said, “It’s not what you know but who you know that matters in life.” While there is some truth to this, most people would not relate it to knowing Jesus, the One about whom John said, if you have him, you have life—if you don’t have him, you don’t have life. In this matter, Who you know is of first importance—what you know follows. John has just assured his audience that they may know they have eternal life in Jesus—it’s the reason he wrote this letter. From this assurance flows confidence in the believer’s relationship with Jesus and in what they know. John uses the word know six times in verses 14 through 20. So what is it that those who are in Christ know? If we are in Christ, we know God hears us. Prayer is the way believers communicate with God. It’s conversation with the heavenly Father that helps submit one’s own will to his will. If we ask according to God’s will, he hears us and he hears our requests. This includes prayer for other people—especially a fellow believer in sin. If we are in Christ, we know we have protection from sin. This protection comes from our new nature that we receive when we are born of God. It keeps us from a life that is predominantly characterized by sin and keeps Satan at a distance. If we are in Christ, we belong to God. Although in his sovereignty God has allowed the evil one power over the world for a time, believers know they ultimately belong to God. If we are in Christ, we know Jesus gives us understanding to know who is true, not just what is true. There are a lot of people setting themselves up against Jesus. There are a lot of competing truths out there, and John has already warned us in chapters 2 and 4 of the “antichrist.” He closes with the solemn charge, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

S o lets read

As we start i want to take a moment to honour Terry Shelton.

On Thursday morning a man, a good man, a Godly man, a prayerful man went home to be with Jesus.

Iv’e known Terry for just over 7 years & had the honour of being his pastor for the last 4 years, but i’m sure at times there was a switching of roles, when he would bring a timely word from God into my life that would confirm something that God had been saying to me for me or the Church & i know that he spoke from Gods word into the lives of others in this church & from a wider demographic, to see some of the tributes that have been put on the church whatsapp group people held him as a Spiritul Father & Spiritual Grandfather, he was a Spiritual Father to many.

We will all miss him & you know that’s ok to miss him, to miss those words of knowledge he brought, it’s ok to mourn our loss, but we can also have joy.

I thought it very apt that this is the scripture for today about assurance as we finish 1 John because Terry lived his life the way he did because he had an assurance of who Jesus is & because he knew who Jesus is, he knew who he was, plain & simple & so we can be joyful because we know, because we have read in this scripture that those who believe in the name of the son of God, (That’s Jesus) that you may know that you have eternal life, so we can rejoice because we know where Terry is now, no pain, no sickness but with Jesus.

Now apthough we cannot be together at this time to celebrate Terry’s life we will have a proper service, celebration when we can & we can have testimonies of how this Godly man impacted our lives because Jesus impacted his, i don’t want to do this alone, i think it is important that we do this together as a community to do it properly.

So this morning Assurance in God

It’s often said, “It’s not what you know but who you know that matters in life.” While there is some truth to this, most people would not relate it to knowing Jesus, the One about whom John said, if you have him, you have life—if you don’t have him, you don’t have life. In this matter, Who you know is of first importance—what you know follows. John has just assured his audience that they may know they have eternal life in Jesus.

John draws the letter to a close, he has given the readers of the letter including us many assurances that our faith is well founded & that they & us are free to live as the loved & loving children of God & that we have the hope & assurance of eternal life. eternal life means not just an end of this physical life but that we enter fully into life & love & Glory of God now.

1 John 5:13 ESV

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.

has the same language as:

John 20:31 ESV

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

john

It’s about the purpose of Jesus coming here in the first place, to bring us a purpose, to bring us hope of an eternal life with God not an eternity without Him.

An assurance throughout this letter that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the Son of God, that we need belief in the name of the Son of God, belief that God came in the flesh as a man, Jesus.

If we understand this, that we are grounded in Faith, then we have the confidence of a child of God going before our father like a little one going before there Daddy to ask, to make requests of our Father, being confident that He hears us.

john encourages us to approach the throne of God confidently, we are Children with easy access to our Father.

it’s the reason he wrote this letter. From this assurance flows confidence in the believer’s relationship with Jesus and in what they know. John uses the word know six times in verses 14 through 20. So what is it that those who are in Christ know? If we are in Christ, we know God hears us.

john encourages us to approach the throne of God confidently, we are Children with easy access to our Father.

Prayer is the way believers communicate with God. We can of course ask for anything but John reminds us that God answer prayers which agree with His will, Christian prayer centres on what God wants, It’s conversation with the heavenly Father that helps submit one’s own will to his will. If we ask according to God’s will, he hears us and he hears our requests.

john encourages us to approach the throne of God confidently, we are Children with easy access to our Father.

Matthew 6:10 ESV

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6

In this we see the purpose of prayer & the secret of power in prayer, it is to ask, to ask anything. To ask anything according to His will & once having asked, having that assurance that He hears us.

This includes prayer for other people—especially a fellow believer in sin. If we are in Christ, we know we have protection from sin. This protection comes from our new nature that we receive when we are born of God. It keeps us from a life that is predominantly characterized by sin and keeps Satan at a distance. If we are in Christ, we belong to God. Although in his sovereignty God has allowed the evil one power over the world for a time, believers know they ultimately belong to God. If we are in Christ, we know Jesus gives us understanding to know who is true, not just what is true. There are a lot of people setting themselves up against Jesus. There are a lot of competing truths out there, and John has already warned us in chapters 2 and 4 of the “antichrist.” He closes with the solemn charge, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Asking anything in prayer isn’t saying whatever we ask for will be granted, but anything means that we can & should pray about everything. God cares about our whole life & nothing is to small or to big to pray about, Paul writes in

Philippians 4:6 ESV

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

This includes prayer for other people—especially a fellow believer in sin. If we are in Christ, we know we have protection from sin. This protection comes from our new nature that we receive when we are born of God. It keeps us from a life that is predominantly characterized by sin and keeps Satan at a distance. If we are in Christ, we belong to God. Although in his sovereignty God has allowed the evil one power over the world for a time, believers know they ultimately belong to God. If we are in Christ, we know Jesus gives us understanding to know who is true, not just what is true. There are a lot of people setting themselves up against Jesus. There are a lot of competing truths out there, and John has already warned us in chapters 2 and 4 of the “antichrist.” He closes with the solemn charge, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

This includes prayer for other people—especially a fellow believer in sin. If we are in Christ, we know we have protection from sin. This protection comes from our new nature that we receive when we are born of God. It keeps us from a life that is predominantly characterized by sin and keeps Satan at a distance. If we are in Christ, we belong to God.

Although in his sovereignty God has allowed the evil one power over the world for a time, believers know they ultimately belong to God. If we are in Christ, we know Jesus gives us understanding to know who is true, not just what is true.

But God wants us to see & discern His will through His word & to pray His word into action.

John 15:17 ESV

These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

When we abide in Jesus, living in Him every day then our will becomes more & more aligned with His will & we can ask what you desire & more & more we will be asking according to His will.

In these days we find ourselves in, maybe you have fear for yourself or your family, fear of what the future may look like, maybe you don’t have a belief in Jesus, hes not on your radar, maybe you have fear in letting Him have control over your life because you have a plan, hows it going.

Loving Jesus, giving the control of your life to Him doesn’t mean life is going to be all rosy, pain still comes, viruses still ravage the world & people die.

But we have an assurance of peace when we put our trust in Him, we have an assurance of an eternity of life with Him instead of an eternity of death in Hell because there isn’t a 3rd place, there’s no bronze medal in the race of life.

My assurance comes from the word of God, he is over my life, He is over my family, over this virus, fear doesn’t control me. A virus doesn’t dictate my view of Jesus, He dictates my view of the virus.

Of all things you should be sure of, it is your eternal destiny.

To say i hope i’m going to Heaven & i know some think that way, “i hope i have been good enough to go” is like standing at the door of a plane at 25000 feet in the air & when asked “have you got your parachute on” you answer “i hope so”.

You want to know, that you can say yes with confidence. if you say yes to Jesus today you can have an assurance that the answer you can give is a clear yes. Place your faith in Jesus this morning & he will give you eternal life & you can know that your eternity is secure.