your exams. If you're finishing college, are you confident that you're going to get a job?
Are you sure? What about if you're single? How confident are you of finding the right
person to get married to? How confident are you of staying healthy and living a long life?
Are you sure you will be okay? What about this question? How confident are you of eternal
life? Are you sure you have eternal life? You see, this is something wonderful because
God has promised us this life. Have a look at verse 11. It's just a couple of verses before
the reading. This is what it says, and this is the testimony. God has given us eternal life.
And look where that life is to be found. Eternal life, this life is in his Son. We don't find life
in ourselves or in other things or in other people. We find life in the person of Jesus.
That doesn't mean to say that we kind of get a little model or a little life, a little model
or a statue of Jesus and put him in our pocket and go, oh, I have Jesus. No, it means to trust
him with your life, to place all your confidence in him. So look at verse 12. He who has the Son
has life. He who does not have the Son of God does not have life. So he has promised us life
and that life is in his Son Jesus. But here's another question. What happens when we sin and turn away
from Jesus? When I sin, do I still have eternal life? When I mess up and fail, will God still accept me?
Now, I know that I've chosen to sin this week. In fact, there are some things that I have said
and done that I am far too embarrassed and ashamed to tell anybody here in this room.
I have done things that are very wrong this week. And I'm sure I'm not alone in that.
So can we still be confident of eternal life, even when we mess up and fail and go off the rails?
Well, look what the writer tells us in verse 13. He says this,
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know,
so that you have confidence that you have eternal life. Isn't that wonderful? We can have absolute
confidence and total assurance that we have eternal life. Now, look who that confidence is for. Look at
verse 13 again. He writes these things to who? To you who believe in the name of the Son of God.
The confidence we have is not based on who I am or how good I am or my ability or my performance.
My confidence is based on who Jesus is. You see, if our confidence is in Jesus,
then that means whatever my sin, whatever my failures, whatever my struggles in life,
I can be confident, 100% assured that I have eternal life.
Now, I think that's incredible. Absolutely sure. No doubts that I have confidence of eternal life.
So let's look at the confidence that we have if our trust is in Jesus. Four things we're going to notice.
If our trust is in Jesus, we have four confidences. Don't know if that's a word, is it? We'll make it up. It is now. That's right.
So, four confidences that we have if we trust in Jesus.
First, we have confidence that God hears us. Look at verse 14.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
What an amazing privilege that we can approach God.
We actually have access to God.
We've been accepted by him.
The access to God is not because of us, but because of his love for us.
Let's have a flick back to chapter 3, verse 1.
Just turn the page, perhaps, to chapter 3, verse 1.
Here it reminds us why we have access to God.
Some great verses.
Chapter 3, verse 1.
How great is the love the Father, that is, the Father God,
has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.
And that is what we are.
We have become children of God because of God's love,
and therefore we have access to God.
We are accepted by God.
Now, baby Emma, who we had introduced to us just a moment ago,
has a unique relationship with Connor and Sarah.
Because she is their child, she can call out to her parents,
knowing that they will listen and they will answer,
whatever the time of day or night.
Another child may be crying in the corner,
but they don't necessarily respond.
Emma has that unique privilege,
and she can continue to call out to her parents
because she is their child.
Now, because of God's love to us,
because God has removed the barrier of sin,
he has made us children of God
so that we too have a unique relationship with him.
And we can talk to our Father in heaven
anytime, anywhere, about anything.
We have been accepted by him through our faith.
Have a look at verse 15.
And if we know that he hears us,
whatever we ask,
we know we have what we asked of him.
Do you see what it says there?
We can ask God for anything,
and we have confidence that he will give it to us.
Ask him for anything,
and we have confidence that he will give it to us.
If, underline,
if it's according to his will.
Look at the end of verse 14 again.
We need to read it carefully.
That it says,
if we ask anything according to his will,
he hears us.
Our children ask us for all kinds of things.
New phones, new clothes.
Can I stay up late?
They even have the cheek of asking us for lunch and dinner.
Now, we don't give them everything they ask for.
We do feed them, by the way,
just in case you're not sure.
But we only give to them what we think is best and right.
What's going to benefit their life.
The same as Emma.
She asks her mum and dad,
they will only give to her
what is going to be good for her life.
In the same way,
God doesn't give us everything we ask for,
but only what is according to his will.
In other words,
what is best and right for the children of God.
He is a generous father
who gives good gifts to his children
so that we can live in a good relationship
and right relationship with him.
So first, if our trust is in Jesus,
we have confidence that God hears us.
Here's the second one.
If our trust is in Jesus,
we have confidence that God forgives us.
Look at verse 16.
Here we are given an example
of what to ask God for when we should pray.
It's a hard one.
What should I pray for?
Well, he goes on to tell us in verse 16.
If anyone sees his brother or sister
commit a sin that does not lead to death,
he should pray
and God will give him life.
So, through prayer,
we should ask God for forgiveness.
But, not everyone can experience forgiveness.
Read on in verse 16.
I refer to those whose sin
does not lead to death.
There is a sin that leads to death.
I am not saying that he should pray about that.
Are you confused there with that statement?
Because I was for a long time
as I was reading it.
What's all this about this
leads to death
and something that does not lead to death?
Well, I think there's two things here.
There's the prayer of the believer.
First, we have the sin
that does not lead to death.
Verse 16.
Again, let's read it.
If anyone sees his brother commit a sin
that does not lead to death,
he should pray
and God will give him life.
So, there's a promise there
that for the believer,
the person who trusts in Jesus,
when we pray in repentance
with each other
and for each other,
he will forgive us.
We are assured
of eternal life.
We are assured of forgiveness.
Keep your finger there
and just flick back
to chapter 1 of 1 John.
Look at this wonderful promise
that we have
in chapter 1, verse 9.
Maybe you're thinking,
maybe there are sins
that God cannot forgive
or that God will not forgive.
Well, look at this
in chapter 1, verse 9.
If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just
and will forgive us
and purify us
from all unrighteousness.
And the reason he will forgive us,
if we look at chapter 2, verse 2,
a couple of lines down,
he, that's Jesus,
is the atoning sacrifice
for our sins,
not only for ours,
but also for the sins
of the whole world.
Jesus died on the cross
taking the blame
for all the things
that we have done wrong
so that we can be forgiven.
So, let's put this
into practice.
If I commit a sin,
if you see me
drunk one night,
or if you hear me
speaking unkindly
to someone,
rather than look down
on me and go,
isn't that terrible,
and start gossiping,
you should get alongside me
as it says,
if you see your brother
commit a sin,
you should pray for him.
Pray with him
that we would receive
God's forgiveness.
So, we have confidence
that God forgives us.
We can pray
and he will forgive.
But that was just
one side of the prayer.
Have a look back
at 1 John chapter 5,
verse 16.
So, we've looked at the sin
that does not lead to death,
whereby we receive forgiveness,
assurance of life,
but then we have the sin
that does lead to death.
Do you see it there
at the end of verse 16?
He said,
there is a sin
that leads to death.
I am not saying
that you should pray about that.
You see,
for the person
who does not believe,
there is no promise
of forgiveness
because they have rejected
the very one
who makes forgiveness possible.
If Jesus is the person
who is the one
who deals with our sin,
but if I reject him
and turn against him
and say,
I want nothing to do
with Jesus,
then how could I possibly
be forgiven?
If I reject Jesus,
I cannot be forgiven.
All we face
is death.
That's what it means,
the sin that leads to death.
To refuse Jesus
means an eternal separation
from God.
It is the fearful reality
of hell itself.
There is no assurance
of life
for those
who turn against Jesus.
But for the believer,
even when we do sin,
even when we mess up
and fail,
we can be confident
that our sins
are forgiven.
Every single one
of them can be forgiven
because of our trust
in Jesus.
So if you see
another believer
who has fallen,
don't gossip about them,
don't look down at them
and criticise them,
get alongside them,
pray with them
and for them
in repentance
and confession
that we might be
forgiven.
So we have confidence
that God hears us
and that God forgives us.
Here's the third one,
we have confidence
because God
keeps us.
If our trust
is in Jesus,
we have confidence
that God will keep us.
You see,
the promise
of eternal life
isn't just a gift
from God
saying,
here you are,
but you better
hold on to it.
No,
it is something
that God holds on to
for us.
Remember the illustration
at the beginning?
Whether you're tickled
or punched,
life will be held on to
by God.
Look at verse 18.
We know that anyone
born of God
does not continue
to sin.
You know,
when Emma was born,
she received two things
from her parents.
She received natural,
physical life
and she received
something of the nature
of her parents.
Now,
I'll let you decide
if that's a good thing
or a bad thing.
Hmm?
I'm sure it's a good thing.
She's received life
from her parents
and she received
something of the nature
of her parents.
So because Emma
has simply been born
of Connor and Sarah,
as she grows up,
she will begin
to look like them.
And you'll even discover
that she will
develop behaviours
like them.
Now,
that's a sign
that Emma
is a child
of Connor and Sarah.
That's what makes her unique.
That's what makes her
different to every other child.
Now,
when we are born
of God,
not only do we receive
eternal life
from God,
but we begin
to reflect something
of God's nature
and character.
We begin to behave
like God.
And the sign
that we are born
of God,
the sign that we are
God's children
is our attitude
to sin.
Look again
at verse 18.
He says,
we know that anyone
born of God
does not continue
to sin.
Now,
that's a problem
because I know
that I continue
to sin.
Do you?
No nods.
You can nod away.
It's alright.
We do continue
to sin.
So,
does that mean
we're not meant
to sin at all?
Well,
he's just told us,
didn't he,
in verse 16
that we should pray
for forgiveness.
So,
it can't possibly mean
sinless perfection.
What it does mean,
this not continue
to sin,
is our whole
attitude towards sin.
Rather than tolerate sin,
I now hate my sin.
Instead of hiding my sin,
I now confess my sin
as a sign of the life
that God has given me.
I have been born of God.
I have been given life
and now I have a new way
to live.
And that life
is kept
by God.
Look at the rest
of verse 18.
We'll read 18 again.
We know that anyone
born of God
does not continue
to sin.
The one
who was born of God,
so it's changed there,
I want you to notice that.
So,
the first one,
we know that anyone
born of God,
that's people like us
who trust in Jesus,
do not continue
to sin.
The one
who was born of God,
that's now referring
to Jesus,
keeps him safe
and the evil one
cannot harm him.
Jesus
keeps us safe.
You see,
the only one
that can
keep us
from receiving life,
the only one
that can stop us
from enjoying
eternal life,
is the evil one
or Satan himself.
But,
verse 18 tells us,
he can do nothing
to take away
that life.
The reason is,
in chapter 3,
verse 8,
we read this,
The reason
the Son of God
appeared
was to destroy
the devil's
work.
Through his death
on the cross,
Jesus defeated
our enemy,
the devil,
Satan himself.
He rescued us
from a life of death
and he now
keeps us secure
in eternal life.
So,
not even Satan
can take away
what God
has given to us.
It is like
God writes
his name
on the palm
of his hand
and closes it.
Nothing can
ever take away
the name
from us,
from God,
if we are
trusting in him.
Verse 19 reads,
We know
or we have
this confidence
that we are
children of God
and that the
whole world
is under the
control of the
evil one.
Yes,
we live in a
world where
it is difficult
to be a Christian.
We will struggle
with our sin
every day.
We will battle
with our temptation
every day.
But just as God
has given us
the gift of
eternal life,
he will keep us
in that eternal life.
That is the promise
of God.
The fourth
and the last one.
If our trust
is in Jesus,
we have confidence
because God
is in us.
Eternal life
with God
isn't just
something in the
future to look
forward to.
It is something
that we experience
every single day
as we walk
our life with him.
Not just
an eternal
idea,
but a
today
idea.
God
lives
in us.
Look at
verse 20.
Chapter 5,
verse 20.
We know,
again it's that
word confidence
again,
we have this
confidence that
the Son of God
has come
and has
given us
understanding
so that we
may know
him
who is true.
God is the
one who opens
up our minds
to understand
who Jesus
is.
Not just
intellectually
with our
minds,
but
experientially
with our
hearts.
It tells us
there in
verse 20,
so that we
may know
him who's
true.
That know
is not just
I know
he exists,
an intellectual
knowledge,
but I know
him in a
relational,
experiential
way.
I know
him.
And the
reason why
we know
him is
because God
is in us
by his
spirit.
have a look
back at
chapter 4
verse 13.
Read this
with me
here.
Chapter 4
verse 13.
We know
we have
this life,
we have
this relationship
because,
look at
verse 13,
we know
that we
live in
him and
he lives
in us
because he
has given
us of
his spirit.
Jump down
to verse 15.
If anyone
acknowledges that
Jesus is the
son of God,
and again
that's if you
trust in
Jesus,
God lives
in him
and he
in God.
You see,
the spirit
of God
not only
helps us
to understand
Jesus,
but he
makes Jesus
a living
experience
in our
life so
that we
enjoy his
life in
us every
day because
he is
with us.
But it's
not just
that God
lives in
us.
Here's the
other side
of the
coin.
We
live in
God.
Look at
the rest
of chapter
5,
verse 20.
So God
lives in
us,
but we
also live
in God.
Let's
read the
end of
verse 20.
And we
are in
him
who is
true,
even
in
his
son
Jesus
Christ.
We
are in
him.
This is
the deep
personal
and intimate
joy that
we have
with God.
He is
not just
a far
out existing
God who
is away
out there
and who is
uninterested
and uncaring
with our
lives in
this world.
He not
only lives
in us,
but we
get to
live in
him.
That means
we get to
share in
and join
in the
love that
the father
and the
son have
together,
that intimate
personal
relationship.
We get
to enjoy
that with
him.
A love
that's
existed
from
eternity
past,
and a
love that
will exist
for eternity
to come.
We share
in that
deep,
intimate
relationship.
This is
where our
searching for
life ends.
This is
where we
find life
in all
its fullness.
People
are on
the search
to find
life,
and this
is where
it is
in Jesus
Christ,
the one
who lives
in us,
and we
live in
him.
Look at
the end
verse 20.
He is
the true
God
and
eternal
life.
So we
can have
confidence
that God
is in
us.
So the
message is
simply this
as we
come to
a conclusion.
Place
your
confidence
in
Jesus.
You see,
if I
ever doubt
I have
life,
if ever
I am
not sure
that I
have
eternal
life,
do you
know why
I doubt
or why
my confidence
goes?
It's because
I begin
to look
at other
things and
other people
instead of
looking at
the true
and perfect
life of
Jesus
Christ.
That's
why we
have this
final
encouragement.
The
very last
verse,
verse 21.
Dear
children,
dear
children,
keep
yourselves
from
idols.
You
know what
an idol
is?
It
doesn't
have to
be a
statue.
An
idol is
a
replacement
for
God.
It
can
be
anything
that
replaces
God.
So
instead
of
looking
to
God
and
his
son
Jesus
for
confidence,
we
begin
to
look
to
other
things.
We
take
God
out
and
we
replace
him
with
someone
else
or
something
else.
So
he
says
to
us,
keep
yourself
from
idols.
turn
from
trusting
in
your
own
life.
Stop
trusting
in
other
things.
Stop
building
your
life
on
what's
out
there.
and
place
all
your
confidence
in
the
perfect
and
completed
work
of
Jesus
Christ.
In
Jesus
we
are
secure.
Remember
our
illustration
at the
beginning.
Can
you
take
it
out
of
my
hand?
And
God
says
if you
trust
in
me,
I
have
you
in
my
hand.
Nothing
and
no
one
can
open
it.
No
one
and
nothing
can
take
away
that
life.
You
have
it
now
and
for
all
eternity.
A
life
with
the
Father
and
with
the
Son.
A
life
where
we
find
joy
in
all
its
fullness.
We
have
confidence
and
it's
because
of
Jesus
Christ.
Let's
pray
together.
Our
Father
God,
we
thank
you
so
much
for
the
wonderful
gift
of
eternal
life.
We
thank
you
that
you
have
made
that
life
known
to
us
through
your
Son
Jesus
Christ.
And
we
thank
you
too
for
that
incredible
promise
that
for
all
who
believe
in
you
and
trust
you
they
have
confidence
and
assurance
that
life
will
be
kept
forever
and
forever.
Thank
you
that
you
hear
us.
Thank
you
that
you
forgive
us.
Thank
you
that
you
keep
us.
And
thank
you
that
you
live
in
us.
Thank
you
for all
that we
have
because
of
Jesus
for
the
life
that
you
have
come
to
give.
We
praise
you.
Amen.
We're
going to
sing
together
as we
come
to an
end of
this
part
of our
gathering.
We
continue
afterwards
with
lunch
and
you're
all
very
welcome
to
stay
behind
for
that.
The
song
that
we're
going
to
sing
when
I
was
lost
you
came
and
rescued
me
reached
down
and
lifted
me
oh
Lord
such
love.
This
is
the
life
the
God
who
came
to
us
and
the
life
he
gives
the
life
he
will
keep
for
us.
Let's
stand
together
as
we
sing.
first
indebted
100%
Oh Lord.