A Life On Fire

Title- A Life On Fire

Passage- 1 John 2:28-29

Intro/attention-

If you haven’t heard already the weather forecast is calling for snow tonight

-We knew it was coming…most of it won’t stay

As the temperatures outside drop we turn the thermostat up

So often we take for granted the comfort that fire brings

-Yes, it can bring destruction but rightly used it brings comfort

But in order for me to lay my head down with confidence that I will wake up warm I need to have three elements present in my home.

Oxygen

Fuel

A spark

Now in a modern furnace it works a bit different but at it’s essence this is what is needed

The payment of the gas bill

The presence of a pilot light

airflow coming into the house

*If I lose one of those things I lose my confidence

Just the loss of the pilot light and I have no confidence that I will wake up warm

John is writing to warm our hearts with the realty that when Jesus returns we can stand before Him in confidence and we can also live for Him in confidence

John gives to us three areas of confidence in before we can live a life of confidence

Main point-Be Confident at His Coming (2:28–29)

Transition

1. Be Confident Because of Your Position (2:28)

How do we know our position?

John refers to these as little children…these were not his offspring

As we saw a few weeks ago they were his brothers and sisters IN CHRIST

His spiritual siblings

This is the position we all need to come to

-We have gone over this quite a bit the last few weeks.

-To put it simply it is this...

-Knowing that there is a God in heaven who created all things

-That God created everything including us

-The first two human beings created were Adam and Eve

They were given specific instructions not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…they chose to eat that fruit

-Their rebellion had consequences…death

-Immediate spiritual separation from God and eventual physical death

-That rebellion, which we call sin, became a part of human humanity and has been passed on to all humans

*That includes you and I

-There is nothing that we can do to remedy our sin, we needed a sacrifice to atone for our sins

-The Bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins…there is no pardon for our sins

-Therefore Jesus, the son of god, needed to shed his blood and offer it in place of ours

-When we ask Jesus to forgive us God the Father no longer sees our sin but He sees Jesus’ righteousness

The Bible tells us in Philippians 2:12 to work out our salvation…here John is sharing truths for the sake of our confidence in our position as children of God

What is the basis of this confidence…that we can abide in Him, or remain in Him.

We can? no, but because of verse 20 and the coming of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us we can remain in Him.

This is the first aspect of the confidence that John is referring to...

Transition

The second confidence that John refers to is

2. Be Confident At His Coming (2:28)

We hit on this in previous weeks....Jesus is coming again

When Jesus comes again He will come as the judge of the earth

At His first coming He came to offer salvation to the world

Next, at His second coming He will be coming to execute judgment

And with the understanding of appearing before any judge you need to be prepared

Anyone who has not placed their faith in Jesus’ sacrifice for their forgiveness will not be able to stand before Him with confidence.

-If Jesus were to require me to stand before Him at this moment I would have confidence

-I would have a lot of emotions but when it comes down to the important question of my eternity I would have confidence

-Will there be shame at the judgment seat, I believe there will be

-But John is saying that there doesn’t HAVE to be

-If we abide in Him and live like He is returning we can live a life that is glorying to Him

Just as Peter wrote that the Bible contains all we need for life and godliness

We need to live in this book

We need to search out the character and will of God

As we seek him out He will show Himself to us and as we learn about Him and His character we will begin to understand how to glorify Him with our lives.

Think about when you have started a new job, joined a new church, or when you got married and joined a new family....there were things that were different, almost like unwritten expectations and the longer you were a part of that group the more you understood how it functioned.

Part of that understanding is learning about the leaders and decision-makers in that group...

We need to know and understand God to the best of our ability and then we will be able to live in a way that produces the confidence needed when He returns

Transition

3. Be Confident in Your Faith (2:29)

1, 2, 3 John (1) Be Confident and Ready for His Coming (2:28–3:3)

The Christian is challenged, as he awaits and anticipates the arrival of the King, to remain faithful in service. Those who are found faithful are those who will stand confidently before the King. On the other hand, those who do not abide in Christ will be ashamed and disgraced at his return.

How do we demonstrate confidence in our faith?

Through our actions

The combination of these first two elements are like the presence of gasoline and oxygen just waiting for that spark to ignite

When you are confident in your position and you are not only understanding of but applying to your life the reality of Jesus’ return and you add the spark of a life of faith you then have a life that is on fire for God

Do you want a life that is on fire…you need the three elements that John shares here

A confident position, an awareness of Jesus’ return, and a life of faith

Those who abide abide in Christlike behavior

Before we go on, does Christlike behavior get us into heaven

No, it is simply on faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus that we enter heaven

But our works declare our faith to those around us

Also our works develops confidence in our faith

As we remember the person and work of Christ…and as we step out in faith trusting in His wisdom and power…as we abide in His word understanding His character and His will

-Then we can live a life that glorifies Him

Then when He comes in judgment we can stand in confidence not only in our position in Him but in the life we lived for Him.

Conclusion

Application

Is this still applicable to us today....ABSOLUTELY

The truths of our position in Christ, His coming, and our character and behavior in light of those truths is ABSOLUTELY applicable

If I waver in any one of these areas I am no longer a confident Christian

If I waver in my position

If I waver in the reality of Jesus’ return

If I waver in my behavior

I am susceptible to wavering in any or all of my life

Again, John has been giving us the essentials

These are the essential to living a life of confidence in Jesus Christ

Verse 29…Jesus Christ is perfect righteousness

So righteousness comes from Him

If we posses righteousness it is not of ourselves, it is from Christ

If you want to argue that point read Romans chapters 1-3

Therefore if we by nature do not have righteousness and we now in our lives display righteousness where did it come from?

Jesus

And if it came from Jesus then that means you are His

Gospel

As we think back to the first point...

If your position is outside the family of God, if you never trusted Jesus as your Savior then today can be the day

Just admit your sin

Believe in Jesus

Confess, repent of your sin

Then begins the journey of knowing God

Abiding in Jesus brings your character into submission with His

But you need to accept His free gift of salvation in order to begin the journey

Closing song

391 I Am Resolved