Our Community | What Do You Know?

My four year old daughter, Hannah, asks 288 questions per day… on an average day. Some days she asks way more. Four year old girls ask more questions per day than any other human being in any stage of life. My three year old, son, Levi asks on average about 150. On average, then, our children ask my wife and me, namely my wife, more than 400 questions per day!

400!

Here’s a transcript of a conversation that happened between my daughter and me this past week. Here’s the scenario: she told me she needed to go to potty, so I took her into a men’s restroom:

Daddy, why we are we going into a boy’s bathroom?

Am I allowed into the boy’s bathroom?

What if we see a boy?

Are daddy’s allowed in the girl’s bathroom?

What is that toilet on the wall?

Are there any boys in the boy’s bathroom?

Do they have girl potties in here?

Why does it smell so good in here?

Can I eat the air?

Can you eat air, daddy?

Why does the toilet paper come out like that?

Why are there no stools in the bathroom?

Is there hand sanitizer?

How does air dry my hands, daddy?

And then as we are walking out, she exclaims: I want to eat their air!

3 minutes.

400!

Her mind is on fire! My son’s mind is on fire!

She wants to know!

And when I am in my right mind as a father and not overwhelmed by their persistent question asking, I want to blow on that fire and fan the flame of their curiosity into a raging inferno of knowledge.

Yet, at some point in our lives, the questions begin to slow down, don’t they? Our curiosity begins to wane, and our thirst for knowledge drifts.

I think this period happens at different stages in our lives, though probably sometime in our teenage years.

The questions slow way down, and our curiosity fades.

At different times in my life, I have even found myself settling into beliefs without even questioning why I believe them.

Ever experience that?

Perhaps some of you have been following Jesus for so long that you have lost your sense of awe and wonder about Jesus, “who isable, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Eph 3:20).

Friend, is your mind on fire? Is your heart on fire?

Are you asking God 288 questions a day?

Are you asking God any questions a day?

Are you seeking to know anything about this God who created you and called you good!?

The difference between your growth and stagnation… between your satisfaction and despair… between your belief and your doubt… and, truly, between your life and death… is knowing who this God is in Jesus Christ and what this God has done for you.

To know this places every other part of life into perspective: knowing who this God is in Jesus Christ and what this God has done for you.

John opened his final concluding remarks of his letter saying, “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13)

Question: Who is John writing this letter to?

Answer: believers.

This isn’t an evangelistic letter. John is writing to strengthen and encourage the faith of those who already belong to the church.

John’s Gospel, on the other hand, was written for an entirely different purpose. Toward the end of his Gospel, John wrote: “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)

John’s Gospel is evangelistic. John’s letter was written to strengthen believers.

Question: what is the purpose of his writing to believers?

Answer: So that they may know that they have eternal life, verse 13.

This brief, but declarative statement from John’s concluding remarks, is absolutely essential to understanding the big ‘why’ behind his entire letter, and the big why is this - don’t miss this: you can have a proper confidence in the eternal life that you received in Jesus Christ.

That’s the big why behind this entire letter!

Why did John go through such great lengths to present multiple in-depth arguments to a group of believers about what seems so readily apparent, right?

Well… no, it’s not. It’s not apparent. Yes, while it is true that placing our trust in Jesus provides us with eternal life, what is all true is that we forget and still choose to go our own way, don’t we?

Of course, we do. And how do I know?

Because even as a Pastor, I forget how sweet my life is with Jesus. From time to time, I forget about this God who has redeemed me from my sin and is restoring my brokenness by the power of his Holy Spirit living in me.

I forget that.

John’s church in Ephesus forgot that.

All of us in this room from time to time have forgotten this.

Have you ever wondered how you could possibly forget such good news? It would be as though you had won the mega millions jackpot and then a few days later you forget that you’re now a newly minted billionaire.

How could we forget something like that? How do we forget so easily?

I think because our hearts are prone to wander.

I think because sin distorts, disintegrates, and disguises all of the good in our lives.

I think because we would much rather worship ourselves or something we can see and touch right now today than an invisible God.

I think because following Jesus is just plain hard sometimes, especially in our city.

At times, our emotions get the worst of us; our families friends, and colleagues get the worst of us; our desire to feel something, even if it’s not real, gets the worst of us.

Our hearts want to align with something. In fact, our hearts need to align and connect with something other than ourselves.

That desire is good. We need to connect with something bigger than ourselves… That’s why we keep rooting for the Dolphins!

Our mind, heart, soul, and spirit need to align with something. Isolation is impossible for us, human beings. In fact, that yearning for connection is responsible for our very survival.\

How powerful!

And yet, the question we must answer every time our heart makes a connection - and the question to which John is calling the church to answer both then and now whenever our heart make a connection - is:

Will this satisfy?

Will the Dolphins satisfy me? Will my relationship satisfy me? Will my spouse satisfy me? Will my job satisfy me? Will my salary satisfy me? Will my family satisfy me? Will my dreams satisfy me? Will my body satisfy me? Will sex satisfy me? Will pot, alcohol, and drugs satisfy me?

Each one of those things may bring a kind of happiness or temporal easement for a time - and some are certainly healthier than others. I certainly hope that you find satisfaction in your marriage, work, and family, and so does this witness of the authors who wrote the Bible, but if you are seeking to find satisfaction inherently within each one of those areas of your life - or others - then as John stated in the very beginning of his letter:

‘We are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.’ 1 John 1:8

Don’t fool yourself, John says, and I agree. Not even the best and healthiest life circumstances will fully and completely satisfy you.

This is what led the author of Ecclesiastes to call everything meaningless. Every young adult needs to read Ecclesiastes. Even the best things of this world will ultimately leave you unsatisfied.

:-) I hope all of you feel glad that you came to church today. :-)

What John really wants you to know and know fully and completely, in fact, especially for those of you who are Jesus followers, is that nothing else will bring you satisfaction and continue your life into forever other than the God and Father of Jesus Christ who calls you his beloved and sought to ransom your heart back from all who have tried to take it!

John wants you to know this to the fullest measure possible in your life. I want you to know this to the fullest measure possible in your life.

Beginning in my middle school years, I grew up listening to a Christian rock band that I still very much love today called Audio Adrenaline.

Any adrenaline junkies out there?

Along with DC Talk and Jars of Clay, they changed the way we listen to Christian music. Even know, their songs are still legit. They’re timeless.

They wrote a song called ‘God-shaped hole.’ I didn’t quite get that metaphor as a blonde, bushy-haired middle school boy, but I absolutely get it now.

You may have tried to fill that hole inside.

With an empty hand, you reached in vain.

Substitutes don't work, bandages only hurt.

The only thing that heals is the hand of God.

Nobody's meant to be left all alone.

Our lives are much too short

to have an empty soul.

When we try to fill our hearts with anything other than God, even good and right and healthy things, the longing of our hearts still leak, and we are still left feeling dissatisfied, yearning for a hope and fulfillment beyond ourselves.

Does this resonate with anyone?

This is the underlying theme of what John has declared in both his Gospel and letter.

Thus, in his concluding remarks, John offered 7 ‘knowings’ to feel assured who God is and who you are… so that when your longings cry out for fulfillment, then you will know that truly, those longings are the very echoes of your heart, mind, and soul longing for connection with your Creator!

In John’s writings, he intentionally constructed these 7’ knowings’ in 7 statements order to convey a deeper overarching meaning about God.

The number 7 symbolizes perfection, wholeness, and completeness.

The overarching meaning that John wants you to know about God is that God has made himself known to you perfectly through his incarnate son Jesus Christ.

You can know this God and know where you stand with God because this God has made himself fully known to you. There are no secrets with God.

Though we live in a finite world where we cannot know all of God or even know everything about ourselves, we can know and experience the wholeness of God’s character through three witnesses in particular that we heard Pastor Bill talk about a few weeks ago:

- The witness of God’s Son

- The witness of God’s Spirit.

- The witness of God’s Word.

These three witnesses each reveal and agree upon who God is and have made a pathway for us to know God.

As we place our confident trust in God , then we can take a proper confidence in these 7 assurances:

1. We know we have eternal life. 1 John 5:13

This life isn’t the last word, or at the very least, it doesn’t have to be. Whatever you may be enduring right now both good or bad, your circumstances don’t have to define you, and they certainly won’t satisfy you, so keep your downrange upon the one who gives all source of life. In your good work… and good relationships… give thanks to God because they are good gifts, but even the greatest of these things can’t satisfy you. Only your Father in heaven who calls you his son or daughter by name and implanted his image upon you can define your identity, and only that definition truly satisfies… only that definition can lead you into eternal life.

2. We know he hears us when we make our requests. 1 John 5:15.

God empathizes with us. God knows us so fully as our creator, our fellow brother and sister in Christ, and our sustainer in the Spirit.

Throughout the Old Testament, would you believe that God responded to every cry of the human heart? Look it up. God didn’t respond to every complaint or shout or shaking of the fist, but neither does a good parent or a good leader.

But God always heard and responded to the cries of his people.

I want you to memorize two passages. The first comes from Psalms 34, saying:

The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.

He rescues them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;

he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Psalm 34:17-18

You will come back to this passage again and again and again. I certainly have.

3. We know that he will give us what we ask for. 1 John 5:15

Really? Did John just say that?

Yes, he did. God will give us what we ask for.

How many of you just got excited? Why did you get excited? How many of you don’t believe this? Why do you not believe it?

Indeed, God does hear us, and God does respond to us, but God isn’t a magic genie. God is God, and we are not God, though we often want to make God in our own image and receive from it what we think we need and want.

Currently, at this moment, my son only wants to eat lollipops. That’s it. Lollipops for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The other day, we tried to offer him a popsicle, and he shoved it away from us because he wanted… a lollipop.

For breakfast recently, he has been shoving away his healthy home cooked meal because he wants a yah-eee-pop.

Now, would I be a good father if I simply gave my son as many little yah-eee-pops as his little heart could stand?

No, of course not!

You would ridicule me. You would gossip about me behind my back and call me a bad dad. Pastor Ryan, the bad dad! You might even intervene and say, ‘Pastor Ryan, you need to stop feeding your son lollipops.’ But I might say that it makes my heart happy to see him happy, which is true, right? Yes, I love seeing my son happy. But then you would say that my son needs healthy food in order to grow up strong and full life of health and vibrancy!

My son doesn’t always understand why I make him eat his broccoli, even through his tears, but I know that if he does, then his life will go better than just feasting on the whim of his pleasures.

Do you believe that God feels the same way for you? You are right to ask if God cares. Absolutely God cares.

We live in a broken world inside broken bodies that breakdown and make poor decisions. We live in a broken world with job loss and wars and rumors of wars.

And yet, here’s the second passage. Please memorize it:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:6-8

Paul doesn’t say, tell God what you need, and then God will give it to you. Paul simply says, ‘tell God what you need and thank God for what he has done.’

And as you do so, even during seasons when the outlook seems confusing and grim, then does God promise to give you his peace, which transcends all human understanding.

And that peace will guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus. This means God has you covered. God’s got your back. Literally, God’s holding and guardingyou through whatever life circumstance or situation is bearing down on you.

Since moving to Miami, I’ve heard many stories about how families survived Hurricane Andrew. On such story came from Lee Peters, who serves on our maintenance staff. He lived in the southern part of the county near where the eye passed over. During the most intense part of the storm, he covered his kids with his body. He described to me how he held onto them and he toilet for dear life, while guarding them from all of the debris.

He held and guarded his kids. Lee didn’t stop the storm for his kids, but he held and guarded them.

Storms rage in this world, and they will continue to do so. But God proves himself trustworthy and strong not by making the storms disappear, but by holding onto and guarding us while they rage.

4. We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. 1 John 8:18

As you place your trust in Christ and receive God’s healing Spirit of grace and mercy, then your desire to sin becomes replaced with your desire to live how God created and desired for you to life.

Yes, we will still sin.

Yes, we live in a broken world.

But once again, that reality doesn’t have to define you.

You have the freedom to choose how you fulfill your desires.

And choosing God means that in doing so, God’s son holds onto you securely from more than just behaviors that may tempt you, but the very evil one himself who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy your desires to connect to the very God who created you.

5. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. 1 John 5:19

For a time at least. In Christ, God has been redeeming and restoring his world back to rights as he redeems and restores each one of his children back to rights.

One day, the evil one will be cast away and defeated for all time and this world will once again be fully God’s.

We know how the story ends.

6. We know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding. 1 John 5:20

Of all these things.

Therefore, we can know these things, and you can endure the sways of culture, the fiery rhetoric of politics, and the competition of the job market. Christ will keep you and give you discernment in how to navigate even the most difficult challenges of life. Only Jesus defines you, so take bold courage and a proper confidence in your faith because…

7. We know the true God. 1 John 5:20

Of the 7 times that John used the word ‘know,’ this 7thword is different in the Greek than the other 6. The other 6 words use a form of knowing that is fact-related. This translation for ‘know’ is relational-based.

You can know this God intimately and fully, not just about this God factually.

And through this, John closes: “now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.”

And the best part? This true God knows you.