kids, rooted folks, you are dismissed.
If you would open up your Bibles to 1 John chapter 5,
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.
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
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 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
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
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
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