David Henneke's Podcast

Over the past several weeks we have looked at several foundational truths that we can believe & confess with great confidence: The 1st TRUTH is, WE KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD; the 2nd TRUTH is, THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE; the 3rd TRUTH is, GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS! John illustrates “praying according to God’s will” with a very specific example found in 1 John 5:16-19 which leads us to the 4th TRUTH, WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER.

This morning we gather to look at the 3rd Truth that we can BELIEVE & CONFESS with great confidence. The 1st TRUTH is, WE KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD; the 2nd TRUTH is THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE and today’s TRUTH is GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS! Not only can a believer HAVE the assurance of their salvation, they also HAVE the assurance that God will HEAR their prayers and will ANSWER them. It is Because of the GIFT of eternal life that we, as children of God, can come directly before His Throne of Grace with boldness and with confidence. 

Last week we looked at the 1st of five truths that we can believe and confess with great confidence - WE KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD. This week we will discover that - THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. This we can proclaim with confidence because this is something that we know. How do we know this to be true? In addition to having the witness of the Spirit within; we have the witness of the Word of God. “These things have I written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life” 

It was in 1789 that Benjamin Franklin wrote the words: “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Of course, we KNOW that there are many more certainties, other than just death and taxes. As Believers, we are not afraid to say (with confidence), “We Know! ” In fact, the word “know” occurs 39 times in this letter, 8 times in the closing chapter. In these closing verses of John’s letter, we find five Christian certainties on which we can build our lives with confidence. The first (and foundational) certainty is: Jesus IS the Son of God. 

The keyword in this section is perfect. God wants to perfect in us His love for us AND our love for Him. In this section, John gives us four evidences that God’s love is being perfected in us: (1) Confidence, (2) Honesty, (3) Joyful Obedience and (4) Victory. 

For the third time, we are considering the subject of love! He first mentioned it in 2:7–11, where it is given as an INDICATOR of one who is walking in the light. The second time comes in the middle of ch. 3 and is mentioned as EVIDENCE that one is a child of God. In our text this morning we get down to the very foundation of the matter. Today we’ll discover WHY love is such an important part of the life of a believer. If we are united to God THRU faith in Christ, then we share His nature and since His nature IS LOVE, then LOVE is the test of the reality of our spiritual life.

When it comes to the truth: What YOU believe…What is think…What you feel…is all absolutely irrelevant unless God believes, thinks and feels the same way. Therefore, we must be alert and vigilant about WHAT we believe. In this section, John’s warning is CLEAR: behind every statement is a SPIRIT but NOT every spirit is the Spirit of God. You are responsible under God to test what you hear against what the Bible teaches.

1 John 3:11 serves as the thesis statement for this next section. John’s audience already knows that they have been commanded to “love one another”. Here, John seeks to encourage others as to how that command is to be understood and practiced in our everyday lives.  Verses 12-15 explain the contrast between love, hate and murder. Verses 16-28 provides a positive example of love (the cross) and explains what such love looks like in everyday terms. John wraps it up in verses 19-24 by discussing how we can have confidence despite our failures. 

1 John 2:28-29 helps to serve as an introduction to the concerns of 1 John 3. Christianity begins by believing and trusting in Jesus….then what? Once you repent of your sin & turn to faith in Christ, then you are to continue (or abide) in Him.

John knew that he was involved in a battle for truth. If false teachers successfully infiltrate the Church then the church would become indistinguishable from the world around her. That is precisely the tragedy we see happening in many churches today.  John has already warned us about the conflict between light and darkness (1 John 1:1–2:6) and between love and hatred (1 John 2:7–17). Now He warns about a third conflict: the conflict between truth and error. Once again we see why it is so important for us to know the word of God. Last week we learned that God’s will is revealed to us in His word….KNOWING His Word will reveal His will and KNOWING His Word will expose false teachers.

Once again belief and behavior are linked together, here John makes it clear that one cannot simultaneously love the word and love God. Again, we are encouraged to “walk like Jesus”. How did Jesus “walk”? In relentless pursuit of the will of God! Are you fully committed to pursuing the will of God for your life or are you still trying to love this world?

The person who truly follows God has the love of God in Him. The love that we show to each other demonstrates to the world that the light of Jesus continues to shine in the darkness. Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. 

Have you ever struggled in your relationship with God? Have you ever wondered if what you have is the real thing? Has doubt ever flooded your mind, leaving you frustrated and confused as to whether or not you were a genuine child of God? If so, this message is for you because in this text we will see how John launched into an explanation of HOW we can KNOW that we truly KNOW Jesus. After all, KNOWING JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING!

CORRECTION:Please understand that sometimes my words get ahead of my mind :-)At the 51:52 mark I said "Although His sin is sufficient for all of it" when what I meant to say was "Although His DEATH is sufficient for all of it". Please forgive me!Instead of pretending or hiding your sins, we need to acknowledge them before God, confess them and seek His forgiveness, and God’s forgiving grace will remove every barrier between You and Him.Other Text:John 1:4-5John 1:7-9John 3:19-21John 8:12John 9:5John 12:35-36John 12:46Revelation 21:22-24John 1:5John 3:19John 12:35 [twice]1 John 1:5, 6 1 John 2:8, 9 1 John 2:11 [twice]Galatians 5:19-21:1 Corinthians 6:9–111 Peter 2:21-24James 1:22Ephesians 1:7

What do we do when good things happen to us? We immediately find a way to share that news with other people. Something about good news practically demands that we share it. How much more the wonderful and marvelous truth that God sent His Son into the world to die for our sins, to absorb the punishment that we deserve so that thru Him we might enter into a right relationship with the Father?

1 Corinthians 15:1-20The Christian faith is not based primarily on the teachings of Jesus. It is not based on the miracles of Jesus. It is not based upon the compassion of Jesus. It is not even based on the death of Jesus. The Christian faith IS based on all of those things culminating in His resurrection. The theological issue of the resurrection of Christ is no minor issue! Either JESUS is alive or Christianity is a lie!  WHICH ONE IS IT?

While God loves us with a never-dying love, He also hates sin with a never-dying hatred. When someone persists in being identified with sin, even though God has provided a way to be separated from the enslavement of sin, then that person will inevitably suffer the fate of receiving the full weight of the wrath of God.  This was true of Israel then and it is true of individuals today. Take comfort…our God is a God of mercy. The nations would be sifted, the sinners would be punished, but not one of His true worshipers would be lost.

God often used common objects to teach important spiritual truths, and in this text, He uses a basket of summer (ripe) fruit. Just as this fruit was ripe for eating, the nation of Israel was ripe for judgment. There comes a time when God’s long-suffering runs out & His judgment comes. Can a person become so enslaved by sin that they would never seek to repent? Can a person become so hardened toward God that no matter what happened they would never turn away from their sin and trust the Lord? Is this really possible? This text tells us that the answer to all of this is a frightening YES!

God’s Law is His plumb line, and He measures His people to see how true they are to the pattern in His Word. How does your conduct and character measure up to HIS WORD…not against other people, not against the crowd, not against the polls…against HIS WORD?

Israel had not taken God seriously, they IGNORED the many warnings given by the prophets. Their pride in what they considered to be their own achievements, their refusal to practice righteousness and justice and their growing apostasy ALL led to their downfall. Proverbs 14:34 declares that “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people.” This is still true today. Humble dependence on God is the only guarantee of His help and blessing.