At
the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled
Connect. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us
in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of 1 John. During this
series, we are going to discover the components that make for true connection
and community. During this series, we are going to discover the landmines and
roadblocks that keep us from true connection and community. And as we go
through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the
power of the Holy Spirit in our heads, hearts, and hands, in a way that moves
us to the place where we can experience the connection and community with God
and one another that we were created and designed to experience.
Now this week I would
like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week.
And as we jump into the next section of this letter that has been preserved and
recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John, we
will see John reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to how we can experience the connection and community
with God and one another that we were created and designed to experience. So
let’s jump into the next section of this letter together, beginning in 1 John
3:19-20:
We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our
heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is
greater than our heart and knows all things.
Now to
fully understand what John is communicating in this statement, we first need to
understand the context in which John is making this statement. As we talked
about earlier in this series, there were some people who had left the church at
Ephesus and were trying to influence others to leave the church at Ephesus.
There
were some people who had attend the church at one time, but had left the
church, who were claiming that you could have close connection with God while
living their day to day lives in a way that is marked by moral and spiritual
darkness as a result of selfishness and rebellion against God. There were some
people who had attend the church at one time, but had left the church, who were
proclaiming that one could have close connection with God while living a life
that was in disobedience to the commands and demands of God.
Two weeks
ago, we saw John reveal for us the reality that the lifestyle we are committed to living
reveals who we are committed and connected to. John pointed out that because children tend to take on the
characteristics and character of their parents, no one who is born of God engages in a lifestyle
that is committed to selfishly
rebelling against God and others.
And because of the timeless principle that the
lifestyle we are committed to living reveals who we are committed and connected
to, last week John revealed the timeless truth that true connection and community with God produces
a life that loves as Jesus loved. John explained that those who demonstrate a lifestyle that is driven
by a warm regard and interest in others that is marked by a selflessness in
their relationship with others provide the evidence that they are living in
true connection and communion with God. By contrast, those who does not live a
lifestyle that demonstrates a warm regard and interest in others that is marked
by a selflessness in their relationship with others reveals the reality that
they still remain separated from God as a result of their rebellion against
God.
Now
with that context in mind, John begins this section of his letter by explaining
to the members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout
history, that they will know by their lifestyle that loves others as Jesus
loved that they are of the truth. John’s point is that followers of Jesus will
be able to arrive at a knowledge that they living in true community and
connection with Jesus as a result of a lifestyle that loved as Jesus loved and that was in line with
the
message and teaching of Jesus as an ongoing reality in their life.
John
then explained that such a lifestyle that loved as Jesus loved “will assure our
heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us”. But what does that mean?
When John refers to heart here, this word refers to the center and seat of our
emotions and desires. John’s point here is that there are times where a
follower of Jesus may feel a conviction in the core of their being that they
are not living in true community and connection with Jesus.
And
it is in those times that the question becomes “How do I know? How can I be at
a place of ease or rest in the core of my being that I am truly living in community
and connection with Jesus?” John here is revealing the reality is that the
answer to that question can be found in the lifestyle that one has committed to
living.
The
person whose lifestyle is
driven to love as Jesus loved and that is in line with the message and teaching
of Jesus provide the evidence that they are living in true community and connection with Jesus. And that lifestyle provides the
evidence to put one’s hearts at ease when it comes to whether or not they are
truly connected to Jesus.
John’s point is that the center and seat of a
person’s emotions and desires will move from the place of conviction and
condemnation to the place of ease and rest when confronted with the evidence of
a genuine and authentic connection with Jesus that is produced by a lifestyle
that loves like Jesus loved. We see John reinforce this reality in what he has
to say next. So let’s look at what John has to say next, in verses 21-22:
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before
God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His
commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
Once again, we see John use a term of endearment to
encourage the members of the church at Ephesus, who he cared very deeply for,
that if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. You see,
John wanted the members of the church at Ephesus to clearly understand that
when the center and seat of a person’s emotions and desires moves from the
place of conviction and condemnation to the place of ease and rest when
confronted with the evidence of a genuine and authentic relationship and connection
with Jesus that produces a lifestyle that loves like Jesus loved, the result is
confidence before God. A confidence that comes as a result of experiencing the
evidence of a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus.
And that confidence, that boldness, John explained results
in the reality that whatever we ask we receive from Him. John’s point is that
the reality of a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus
will produce a confidence and boldness to approach God in prayer, believing
that we will receive what we ask for in prayer. John then provides the reason
why followers of Jesus can have such boldness and confidence to approach God in
prayer, believing that we will receive what we ask for in prayer: because we
keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
Now to fully understand what John is saying here, we
first need to define some terms. As we discovered earlier in this series, when
John uses the word keep here, this word literally means to persist in
obedience. In addition, when John uses the word commandments, he is referring to
the commands and demands of Jesus that are contained in the message and
teaching of Jesus. Finally, when John uses the phrase do the things that are
pleasing in His sight, this phrase refers to carrying out an obligation of a
moral or social nature.
John’s point to the members of the church at Ephesus,
and followers of Jesus throughout history, is that the reason why followers of
Jesus can have boldness and confidence to approach God in prayer, believing
that we will receive what we ask for in prayer, is due to the fact that we are
living in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that is
evidenced by our obedience to the commands of Jesus. The reason why followers
of Jesus can have boldness and confidence to approach God in prayer, believing
that we will receive what we ask for in prayer is due to the fact that we are
living in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that is
evidenced by our desire to live a life that is pleasing Jesus and that makes
much of Jesus.
John here is pointing followers of Jesus throughout
history to the very message that he received firsthand from Jesus in an event
from history that is recorded for us in the account of Jesus life that he
wrote. Tomorrow we will look at that event from history together…
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