Prayerful Assurance

kids, rooted folks, you are dismissed.

If you would open up your Bibles to 1 John chapter 5,

1 John 5 · chapter mention

we're going to be looking at verses 13 through 19.

This, we're almost home in 1 John.

We've got one more sermon after this next week,

and it is a really peculiar voice verse,

but that's for next week.

Hear God's word.

This is 1 John chapter 5, verses 13 through 19.

1 John 5:13–19

May God bless the reading and the hearing of his word.

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.

And this is the confidence that we have toward him,

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask,

we know that we have the request that we have asked of him.

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.

All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

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.

We know that we are from God,

and the whole world is in the power of the evil one.

May God bless the reading and hearing of his word.

Imagine, you go to Stein's Garden Center because you've got a green thumb.

You walk out with a little baby hosta.

Hostas are kind of broad-leafed ground cover for gardens and yards.

You bring that hosta back.

You plant it right where you want it,

but unbeknownst to you,

that soil which you planted your little baby hosta in is toxic.

And it's not just a lack of nutrients and a lack of water.

Someone spilled 50 gallons of formaldehyde on it

three years before you didn't know about it.

Nothing grows there.

So over the course of a couple days,

you're looking out on your little hosta that you've just planted,

and you watch its leaves turn a pale, sickly yellow.

They shrivel and wilt.

You watch your hosta languish

because it's been planted in toxic soil.

There are Christians born of God,

genuine, languishing,

because they've planted themselves in the toxic soil of the world.

Thinking that the world gives life,

they languish.

Do you have a line of sight

on a brother or sister in Christ

who is languishing in sin?

Maybe their obedience to Jesus,

their belief in Jesus,

is turning a pale yellow.

Their obedience to God's commandments are shriveling.

Their love for other Christians

is wilting.

Maybe you're hearing this,

and you're thinking,

I'm languishing.

That's me.

Well, this morning,

the claim of this passage,

four words,

pray boldly,

pray lovingly.

Pray boldly,

pray lovingly.

John's closing out his letter here,

urging Christians to pray boldly and lovingly

for languishing brothers and sisters in the Lord.

And he does so by urging us

with four truths that embolden your prayer life.

And so,

that is the outline.

I know there's a lot of blanks on your outline.

It might be overwhelming.

Some of you love to fill out blanks.

I'm glad for that.

But let's look at this first,

first truth to embolden your prayer life.

One,

be assured

of eternal life.

We see that in verse 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.

When John writes,

I write these things,

you know what he's talking about?

He's talking about

the first four and a half chapters

of 1 John.

All of that he's written.

I've written you all of these things

to you who believe in the name of the Son of God

that you may know,

be confident of,

assured of

your eternal life.

And all throughout 1 John,

he's been rolling through these three tests.

Remember?

The doctrine test.

The belief test.

Do you believe that Jesus is totally God,

totally man,

who came in love

to die for your sins

so that you could live for him?

That's the belief test.

And then there's the obedience test.

Trusting and obeying

all of God's commands

because they're not burdensome.

They're joy.

And then there's the final love test.

Are you laying down your life

for other blood-bought

brothers and sisters in Christ,

regardless of whether they're like you

or unlike you?

These are the things

that John has been telling,

writing about.

This little kind of purpose clause

that you may know

that you have eternal life,

that sentence could summarize

the entire book of 1 John.

It's all here

to assure those born of God

that they have eternal life.

And remember,

this belief, obedience, love,

it is a package deal

when you're born of God

and you're granted eternal life

all by God's grace.

It's not like you have belief

without obedience and love.

It's all together.

It's the fruit of eternal life.

Come home.

And I just want to remind you

of one other thing.

When John is writing about

eternal life,

he's writing about something

that Christians have now.

It's not just a promise

that we're looking forward to.

It's a reality

that we are to experience now.

And so for a Christian,

eternal life doesn't begin

when you breathe your last breath.

Eternal life begins

when you breathe out

your first Jesus is my Lord.

The moment of your regeneration

and conversion.

This is life in the sun.

I have an older brother,

friend,

a Christian brother,

who chronically struggles

with his assurance.

He became a Christian early on

and then he spent a couple years

replanting himself in the world

and he languished there.

God revitalized him

by his spirit.

There was repentance.

He turned from that again

and turned back to Jesus.

But ever since,

he has these long shadows

cast from that time period

that make him question

whether he belongs to Jesus or not.

So do you know what I regularly do

with our brother?

I say,

brother,

do you believe that Jesus

is totally God

and totally man

who came in the flesh

in love for you

to die for you

so that you can live for him?

Do you believe that?

Yeah,

I believe it.

I waver,

but I believe it.

Brother,

are you seeking to

obey,

actively obey

all that God has commanded you?

I'm trying.

I fail,

but I'm trying.

Brother,

are you seeking to love

your brothers and sisters

as Jesus loved you,

as he laid down his life for you?

I'm trying,

but I regularly fail.

When we can move one another

onto what Christ has done for us,

that's where assurance is,

his finished work.

These tests

of belief

and obedience

and love,

they're the definitive evidence,

they're the fruit

of eternal life

having really

taken root

in you.

Now,

you may be thinking right now,

Mike,

it sounds like this is a sermon

on assurance.

I thought you were talking about prayer.

This is about prayer.

And here's why.

In order to pray with boldness,

brothers and sisters,

you must first

be assured

of God's love for you.

In order for you to pray boldly,

you must be assured

of eternal life.

So how's your prayer life?

Well,

if your prayer life

is more like a prayer desert

than a prayer jungle,

maybe it's because

you've been languishing

under fear

instead of flourishing

in the rich soil

of God's love.

God's love

makes for nutrient-rich soil

for a vibrant prayer life.

So to pray boldly,

to pray lovingly,

you first need to be assured

of eternal life.

Second,

the second truth

to embolden your prayer life.

Be bold

in asking your Father.

Be bold

in asking your Father.

This is in verses 14 and 15.

And this is the confidence.

You see that word confidence

in the ESV?

Great word.

Freedom from fear.

No fear.

Freedom

from fear

towards Him,

your great God.

No fear.

fear.

You move towards Him

without any reservation

at all.

God's love.

And John has a particular

kind of confidence in mind.

It's a prayerful confidence,

a prayerful assurance.

This is the confidence

we have towards Him

that if we ask anything,

He hears us.

This is a prayerful confidence.

Remember,

in Luke 11,

Jesus is teaching on prayer.

It's what I quoted from.

Steve's going to close

the service on it.

It's a section in prayer.

And Jesus says at one point,

ask

and you will receive.

Our assurance

of God's love

leads to

boldness

in our asking.

I've got to show you

the qualification though.

You've got to be sure

you're seeing it

because it's not like

God is saying,

ask whatever your sinful

heart wants

and I'll sign a check for it.

Look what He says

in verse 14

that if we ask anything

according to His will,

He hears us.

The other place

that John talks about

God's will

in 1 John

is 1 John 2

1 John 2:15–17

verses 15-17

specifically

in verse 17

but this is the section

where God says

very clearly

do not love the world

or the things in the world.

You've been called out

of the world,

don't blend back

into the world.

Don't love it like that.

It's not my will.

And then He goes on to say,

starts talking about

some of the things

in the world,

the desires of the flesh,

unchecked sexual cravings.

He talks about

the desires of the eyes,

unreserved covetousness.

And He talks about

the pride of life,

this sense of

it's all about me.

the desires of the flesh,

not God's will.

The desires of the eyes,

not God's will.

The pride of life,

not God's will.

And if you've planted

yourself in those,

do you know what's going

to happen to you,

brother, sister in Christ?

You will languish.

Your faith

will turn a pale yellow.

You will languish.

What is God's will?

Well, John has been telling us

over and over again.

It's growing

in a vibrant belief

in who Jesus is.

Totally God,

totally man.

It's obeying

all that God commands.

That's God's will for us.

It's God's will for us

to love one another

with a sacrificial

lay your life down love.

That's God's will for us.

That's His will.

That's what He wants.

That's eternal life

flourishing in a Christian.

When we obey Jesus

more and more,

love Jesus,

own more and more,

and believe Jesus

again and again

with deeper resolve.

So eternal life

is a flourishing.

And we ask our Father

for boldness,

boldly ask Him

for things

that will cause us

to flourish.

Makes us bold.

That's why John says,

we see these two

we knows in verse 15,

and if we know

that He hears us

in whatever we ask,

we know that we have

the request

that we have asked of Him.

If you're asking God

for greater faith,

that pleases your Father.

You'll bring it to pass.

You'll increase your faith.

If you're praying,

asking for greater obedience

to more of God's commands

that delights your Father,

He's like,

I love you,

I'm loaded,

I'll give it to you.

If you want to grow in love,

that's right up God's alley.

Ask for these things.

And when you ask,

you can be assured

He's going to give it.

When our God,

when it comes to asking

requests of our Father,

He is no miser.

When I was a young dad,

we'd bring our kids

to Chuck E. Cheese

because I was

a high-end ruler.

We'd get in there,

you have different packages

you can buy.

We had to do

the 30 token package.

This is before Mary

was with us,

we had three kids.

Which meant,

each of my kids

get ten tokens each.

Which means,

they get two and a half

arcade games.

That's it.

And then,

Steve Salvati,

my dad,

takes all of us

to Funway Amusement Center

in Batavia, Illinois.

With this huge,

huge arcade setup.

He says to my children,

go have fun.

Here's some tokens.

And then one of my children

was like,

well, what happens

when we run out?

My dad reaches

into his pockets,

pulls out

like hundreds of tokens,

and he says,

I'm loaded.

His will was made clear.

Go enjoy.

I've got all the tokens

you need.

Our Heavenly Father

has made his will clear.

He wants us to flourish.

He wants our eternal lives

to flourish.

flourish.

So we,

he says,

ask me,

and I will give you

what you need

to flourish.

He's no miser.

He gives the Holy Spirit

to those who ask.

He gives the Holy Spirit

so we flourish

in our faith in Jesus.

He gives the Holy Spirit

so we flourish

in our obedience

to Jesus.

and he gives us

the Holy Spirit

so that we flourish

in our love

for one another

because it gets challenged.

Our Heavenly Father

is no miser.

He gives in superabundance.

He's a life giver.

He gives according

to his will.

So knowing that

your Heavenly Father

loves you like that

and he is loaded,

loaded with life,

what's keeping you

from asking him?

What's keeping you

from boldly going to him?

That night,

my kids went back

to my dad

again and again

with boldness.

Can I have more tokens?

They knew he got it.

He knew he was loaded

and he loved them.

We go to our Heavenly Father

with confidence,

boldness.

He's not going to say,

maybe a little bit

for, you know,

obedience.

He's going to,

I'm going to lavish you

with the life you need.

He's going to,

so two questions

for you.

Are you being bold

in your asking

your loving

and loaded

Heavenly Father

for what

he alone can give?

Are you boldly

asking for it?

Are you,

second,

are you asking

your Heavenly Father

according to his will,

your will be done,

hallowed be your name?

Are you not getting

the things you're asking for?

Are you asking

for the right things?

Are you asking

according to his will?

Be bold

in asking your Father

for the life

that he alone

can give.

Be bold.

He's loaded.

Be bold,

be loving.

Third point.

The third truth

to embolden

your prayer life,

be loving

when praying

for your siblings.

In verses 14 and 15,

what we were just

looking at,

this,

this,

this encouragement

to pray

and be bold,

it's kind of general

and then in verses

16 and 17,

it's specifically

applied.

Let me read

16 and 17.

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.

All wrongdoing is sin,

but there is sin

that does not lead

to death.

And I'm guessing

that there are several

of you in this room

right now

or watching online

and when you hear

about the sin

that leads to death,

you're like,

whoa,

what's that?

Because what you

really want to know

is not what it is,

you really want to know,

am I doing that?

Remember,

1 John 4, 19,

perfect love

casts out fear.

And don't forget,

this is about praying.

So what is meant

by death here?

If you notice

in verse 16 and 17,

that word death

shows up four times

whenever you see a word

that's repeated like that,

it's carrying some emphasis.

So we've got to ask

the question,

well,

what does John mean

by death?

Is he talking about

physical death?

Is he talking about

eternal death?

So that's where we step out

and say,

well,

what is the context

all about?

What can we learn

about this word

from the context

of 1 John?

And the word death

doesn't show up

super frequently,

but you know what

the word does?

The opposite of death,

which is life.

And what kind of life

shows up very frequently

in 1 John?

Eternal life.

Last week,

I gave you a tour de life

in 1 John.

I showed you

that Jesus

in 1 John 1-2,

he is the life manifest.

He is the eternal life

carnate.

He is life

that John

and the apostles,

they heard

and they touched

and they saw.

We learned in

chapter 2,

verse 25,

that in Jesus

is the promise

of eternal life.

We learned in 3.14

that we know

that we have passed

out of death

into life

because we love

the brothers.

In 4.9,

in this,

the love of God

was made manifest

among us,

that God sent

his only son

into the world

so that we might

live through him.

What kind of life?

Well, let's look

at 1 John 5.

Last week,

verse 11 and 12,

and this is the testimony

that God gave us

eternal life

and this life

is in his son.

Whoever has the son

has the life,

eternal life.

And whoever does not

have the son of God

does not have life,

which is a way

of negative,

you make the life negative

and what you're actually

talking about

is death.

And so what's implied

in verse 12

is made explicit

in verse 16 and 17.

it's got to be

eternal death.

Which I'm thinking now,

you're really wondering,

well, what is the sin

that leads to

eternal death

and am I committing it?

The stakes are high,

aren't they?

The key,

thank you Bob Yarborough,

Colin Cruz

for your help this week.

The key

to understanding this

is one word

in verse 16.

It's the word

brother.

If anyone sees,

if any Christian

sees his Christian

brother or sister

committing

a sin,

literally

sinning 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.

The best way

to understand it,

it's not

what is the sin,

it's who's doing

the sinning.

John is referencing

in verse 16

a Christian

who is sinning.

One born of God.

We already know

that's very possible

not just from

our experiences

but from the fact

that if we confess

our sins,

he's faithful and just

to forgive our sins

and cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

We know it from the fact

in 1 John chapter 2

1 John 2:1

verses 1 and 2

my little children

I'm writing these things

to you so that

you may not sin

but if anyone does sin

and we sin,

we have an advocate

with the Father,

Jesus Christ the righteous,

our protector.

He is the propitiation

for our sins

and not for ours only

but also for the sins

of the whole world.

So here's how

to understand this.

Verse 16,

the sin that

does not lead to death,

it's who's doing

the sin.

It's one born of God.

Of course it's not

going to lead to death

because that sin

has been propitiated

by Jesus.

So what then

is the sin

that leads to death?

If the logic follows,

it's who

is doing that sinning.

Anyone not born of God.

those who are

card-carrying members

of the world.

And if you're a Christian,

you used to be

in that club.

So what does

John mean then

at the end

of verse 16

when he says,

there is sin

that leads to death.

I do not say

that one should pray

for that.

We hear that

and we're like,

oh,

is the apostle John

telling me

I cannot pray

for my non-Christian child.

Is that what he's saying?

Well, we know

that's not what he's saying

because the apostle Paul

in Romans 10,

1,

says in terms of

his unbelieving

Jewish friends,

it's his heart,

desire,

and prayer

that they would

be saved.

So what is he getting at?

What is this advice

that he's giving?

Well, again,

a little historical context

is helpful.

If you flip back

to 1 John 2, 19,

we learn,

we're reminded of this.

There was a group.

They went out from us,

but they were not of us,

for if they had been of us,

they would have continued

with us,

but they went out

that it might be complained

that they all

are not of us.

There was a group of people

in first century Ephesus

that rejected Jesus

as totally God,

totally man,

that they didn't think

obedience was necessary,

that they didn't think

that they had loved

one another sacrificially,

and they left the church.

So they had professed Jesus

at one point

and then walked away.

I think that's who

John is talking about.

Those,

there is sin

that does lead to death.

I do not say

that one should pray

for that,

and by the way,

he's not forbidding it either.

But what you need to see

is that three times,

he says,

talks about,

there is sin

that does not lead to death.

Brothers and sisters

in Christ,

your sin

does not lead to death

because Jesus

has propitiated it.

He's delivered you from it.

He paid it all.

He bore the wrath

intended for you.

In verse 17,

John comes back

and says,

all wrongdoing is sin.

We all know

that the wages of sin

is death,

Romans 3.23.

And then he says,

but there is sin

that does not lead to death

for those

who have

received eternal life.

So what does John

say about this?

Because this,

this is a passage

that's actually

informing us

to pray for something.

What is he saying?

Well, in verse 16,

he says,

for your brothers,

your languishing siblings

who planted themselves

in the world,

who are feeding

who are feeding

the desires

of the flesh,

who are feeding

the desires

of the eyes,

who are feeding

the pride of life,

here's what you do.

You ask

for them.

You pray

for them.

When you see

them,

not when you're

on some kind of

suspicious stakeout

of your brother,

not when you hear

something through

the gossip mill,

but when you see it.

When you're very aware

that your brother

or your sister

is languishing

in sin,

when you see that,

you love them

by praying for them.

And we know

what you're praying for

in light of what

God promises to give.

He promises to give life

to that brother

or sister.

And just to clarify

here,

God is not saying,

okay,

when your brother

or sister

languishing in sin,

they've lost

their salvation,

so now,

ask God

and he will

re-save them.

That's not what's

being said,

because he refers

to them as brothers.

These are believers.

This is you and me.

God says,

ask for them.

Call on me,

the giver of the Holy Spirit,

the life giver.

He's loaded.

He loves us.

And he promises

to give them life.

I believe this is

a revitalizing life.

This is a stirring up

of one eternal life

by the Holy Spirit

that leads to repentance

and faith.

it results in replanting

of oneself

in gospel-rich soils

of God's love.

This kind of praying

for one another

is not pharisaical.

Catch him,

God.

It's loving.

Oh, God.

Help him.

Help her.

If you're seeing

a brother and sister

in Christ,

their belief

turning a pale,

sickly yellow,

if you're seeing

a brother and sister

in Christ

whose obedience

is shriveling

because they think

God's commandments

are a burden now,

if you see

a brother and sister

whose love

is withering

due to some kind

of selfishness,

you pray for them.

God, give them

Holy Spirit life.

Revive them,

restore them,

help them.

Do you have a line

of sight

on a brother or sister

who is languishing

in their sin?

Love them

by praying for them.

Are you languishing

in your sins?

Call out to the life giver.

Give me life.

Tell brothers and sisters

you're languishing.

Exercise humility

so that they

in love

pray for you.

Live.

Call on God.

It brings me

to the fourth truth.

To stir up

your prayer life

and to be honest

with you,

it should just

assure you again

of your salvation.

When we're talking

about praying

for brothers and sisters

who are languishing,

do we have any

assurances

that God will actually

answer our prayers?

Well, there is

exactly that

in verses 18 and 19.

We know that

everyone who's 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.

Can't touch this.

We know that

we are from God

and the whole world

lies in the power

of the evil one.

Our assurance

in God's

turning brothers

and sisters

from their sin

is not in our praying.

It's not in a

brothers or sisters

ability to repent.

It's in Jesus

the keeper

of his own.

Be assured

of his

keeping.

Verse 18

Everyone born of God

will not

keep on sinning.

Why not?

He

who was born

of God

protects him.

Who is that?

Well, that's a very

unique way

to talk about Jesus.

Totally God.

Totally man.

The Christ

come in the flesh.

Born of a virgin

miraculously by God

who came

in love

to die

so that we would live

risen

from the dead

reigning

on high

advocating

for his own

our protector

our good shepherd

that's who

we're talking about.

He keeps us

listen to this.

Let this

tune

your ear

to this.

This is your

savior.

This is your

keeper.

My sheep

hear my voice

and I know

them

and they follow

me.

I give them

eternal life

and they will

never perish

and no one

will snatch

them out

of my hand.

He's a keeper.

He goes on

to say

my father

who has given

them to me

is greater

than all

and no one

is able

to snatch

them out

of the father's

hand.

I and the father

are one.

Double keep

baby.

Baby

back in the

90s

MC Hammer

had the song

Can't Touch

This

in some

dynamic pants

but it's

it's as if

Jesus

speaks over

you

to the world

and the devil

can't touch

this

doesn't belong

to you

he or she

is mine.

which means

the evil one

the devil

can't lay

a finger

on you.

Have you ever

seen those

movies where

someone has to

move from a

building to a

waiting car

and there's

this mass

of like

press

or fans

that are

looking to

press in

and just

touch this

person

and then

what happens

is you

have a

bodyguard

that is

kind of

huddled

over this

person

and they

get from

the building

to the car

can't touch

this

Jesus

is

ushering

us

through

the world

can't

touch

this

can't

touch

this

one

can't

touch

this

one

blood

bought

they

belong

to me

the devil

can't

lay

a hand

on you

because

you no

longer

belong

to him

you belong

to Jesus

now

he's

given you

his life

do you

believe that

to be

true

that you

and me

our brothers

and sisters

are being

kept

by Jesus

himself

do you

believe that

it's right

here

he's keeping

you

protecting

you

we know

that we

are from

God

and that

he's

keeping

us

that

should

assure

you

and that

should

put some

boldness

in your

praying

Jesus

keep him

protect

him

don't let

the evil

one touch

him

pray

in verse

19

we have

this

division

of all

humanity

into two

groups

we know

that we

are from

God

those are

the ones

born of

God

those are

the ones

who have

eternal

life

the spirit

living in

them

and they

are

flourishing

they are

believing

obeying

and loving

on the

other side

of the

great

continental

eternal

divide

is the

world

and the

whole world

lies in the

power of

the evil

one

all of

unregenerate

humanity

in organized

disobedience

to God

languishing

under the

power

of the

evil

one

languishing

in their

sin that

leads to

death

languishing

in their

hopeless

despair

and darkness

but let me

just remind

you of

chapter 5

verses 4

and 5

it's right

there

look at

it

for

everyone

who's

been

born

of

God

overcomes

the

world

and this

is the

victory

that

overcomes

the

world

our

faith

who is

it

that

overcomes

the

world

except

the

one

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

son

of

God

and the

reason

why

we

can

overcome

the

world

is

because

our

savior

overcame

the

world

and

overcame

the

devil

himself

kicked

him

to

the

curb

is

Jesus

able

to keep

his

own

all

the

way

to

the

end

and

he

will

we

pray

for

one

another

in

full

confidence

in

Jesus

ability

to

keep

us

can't

touch

this

can't

touch

this

brothers

and

sisters

pray

boldly

pray

lovingly

in

light

of

your

assurance

of

eternal

life

in

light

of

bold

asking

of

your

father

he's

loaded

love

when

you

pray

for

your

siblings

pray

for

life

and

be

assured

that

he

Jesus

is

our

keeper

when

we

pray

along

these

lines

expect

outpourings

of the

Holy

Spirit

resulting

in

our

flourishing

in

belief

our

flourishing

in

obedience

our

flourishing

in love

for one

another

so be

assured

it's

Jesus

life

in

us

that

makes

us

resilient

let's

pray

God

thank you so much

for 1st John

thank you for

these

ongoing

reminders

years

of

eternal

life

in

us

that

started

now

that

that

shows

itself

in

belief

in

obedience

and

love

thank you

Lord

Jesus

for

calling

us

out

of

the

world

we

are

in

the

world

but

not

of

the

world

we

want

to

be

faithful

to

you

while

we're

here

God

would

you

Father

pour

out

your

Holy

Spirit

upon

us

in

greater

and

greater

measure

and

cause

us

to

live

to

flourish

to

live

the

abundant

life

Jesus

spoke

of

God

would

you

would

you

do

a

great

work

in

us

all

for

the

glory

of

your

name

amen