Blessed Assurance
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John’s Conclusion
John’s Conclusion
Assurance:
1. A statement or indication that inspires confidence;
2. a guarantee or pledge.Freedom from doubt; certainty about something.
3. Self-confidence.noun
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
As we look at John’s conclusion this morning, the major theme is assurance. John is going to give us assurance of 5 things this morning.
The first one is in verse 13
13 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.
Blessed assurance,
The second assurance is in verses 14 & 15
14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
I believe this promise is for all of us this morning that if we ask anything in prayer according to His will we can have confidence that He will answer us.
The hard part is knowing the will of God, for example healing. We have prayed and miracles happen that leave doctors baffled because they can’t explain medically what happened and there are times We pray for years for someone with cancer and God doesn’t heal them does that mean we didn’t have enough faith?
I can’t answer why God heals some and not others, but one thing is sure. We can be sure when we pray for the promises of God He will answer.
What do I mean by that? Let me give you an example. Josiah being born.
I didn’t know if God would save her, but He absolutely gave me peace.
If you look at verses 16-17 John makes a sub point about prayer
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
I wrestled with the passage a lot. In my mind I kept going back to blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Lets. Look at Matthew 12.
31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Remember the pharisees where claiming that Jesus was driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub?
My commentary was pointing back to the rest of the letter and saying that John was summarizing his argument.
“Sin that leads to death is deliberate refusal to believe in Jesus Christ, to follow God’s commands. and to love one’s brother.”
The third assurance you can cling to is in verse 18
18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
Our third assurance is spiritual protection.
Why do you need spiritual protection?
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The fourth assurance is found in verse 19
19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
This is where you identity and value should be. Everyone wants to be noticed and valued. What greater value can you find than to be called a child of God?
“Do you ever get lost in the wonder of it all and start to laugh with joy at how marvellous it is to be a child of God? Harry Monroe, the 2nd superintendent of Chicago’s famous Pacific Garden Mission, did not start out his career in Christian service. He first came to Chicago from Detroit, where he had been released from jail on a counterfeiting charge. Harry attended one of the services at the mission and afterward the founder, Colonel Clark, spoke with him and led him to Christ. Monroe went on to spend the rest of his life serving the Lord, and he never got over the enjoyment of being a child of God. His friends nicknamed him ‘Hallelujah Harry’. Have you gotten over the wonder of redemption? When’s the last time you sat down and began to thank the Lord for all he is to you in Christ? If you begin to list his mercies, it won’t be long before joy fills your heart. Are you a Hallelujah Harry, Rejoicing Roger, Song-filled Sarah, or Melody-making Mary?” A spoken witness is important because people should not only be able to see the work of God in our lives, they should also be able to hear about it from our mouths. Yes, we need to let our light shine, but we also need to let our lips speak.”
Our final assurance is found in verse 20
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Our final assurance is the Truth of Jesus. This is the source of all truth. It has the answers to all life’s questions.
The final verse at first reading seems misplaced to me. It seemed like it was off topic
“Some Christians are sadly prone to look on the dark side of everything, and to dwell more upon what they have gone through than upon what God has done for them. Ask for their impression of the Christian life, and they will describe their continual conflicts, their deep afflictions, their sad adversities, and the sinfulness of their hearts, but with scarcely any reference to the mercy and help that God has provided them. But a Christian whose soul is in a healthy state will come forward joyously and say, “I will not speak about myself, but to the honor of my God. He has brought me up out of a horrible pit and out of the miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings; and He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. The Lord has done great things for me-I am glad.” This summary of experience is the very best that any child of God can present. It is true that we have our corruptions, and sadly we acknowledge this, but it is just as true that we have an all-sufficient Savior who overcomes these corruptions and delivers us from their dominion. In looking back, it would be wrong toe deny that we have been in the Sough of Despond and have crept along the Valley of Humiliation, but it would be equally wicked to forget that we have been through them safely and profitably; we have not remained in them, thanks to our Almighty Helper and Leader, who has “brought us out to a place of abundance.” The deeper our troubles, the louder our thanks to God, who has led us through them all and preserved us until today. Our griefs cannot spoil the melody of our praise; we consider them to be the “bass line” of our life’s song. “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.” Spurgeon