1 John 5:13-21

You picked a good day to join us, as together we wrap up our study of First John. So let’s say you have a friend or family member that is living in unrepentant sin! Maybe living with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Or perhaps using drugs. What do you do? We’ll get some much needed help with that today as pastor John looks at a critical conclusion to this epistle.

God is light. God is love. God is life. That’s what we’ve been learning in this study of 1 John. Join us for Dr. McGee’s powerful last message in this series as he asks important questions like: What’s taking your time and attention these days? Is there something keeping you from God and the way He wants you to live?

God will hear the prayers of His children. “And if we know that he hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” Now, that is a wonderful place to come to—to know that you and I have a heavenly Father, we’re in fellowship with Him, that we’re going to pray—not selfishly. Or if we regard sin in our lives or there could be other hindrances to prayer. But when we’re walking in fellowship with Him, we can be sure of one thing—that if we are following Him, that what we ask we can have confidence that He will hear and answer the prayer.

We need confidence in prayer, and it must be according to the will of God. And if you and I are in fellowship with Him, walking with Him, then our prayer would be along that line, of course. It would be for God’s will in our lives. George Muller put it like this. He says, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.” That is the important thing. It’s not trying to get God to do something that He’s reluctant to do, but prayer is when you and I are thinking His thoughts after Him. And that is the thing that gives us confidence when we go to God in prayer.

Do you believe God? Do you believe the record that He gave? He says if you have the Son you have life. Now do you believe that? He didn’t say if you feel like it or if you’ve joined something, but He says, “If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and if you have Him”—and He says, “That’s the reason I’ve written this epistle to you, that you might know that you have eternal life.” This is made, I think, very clear here: “These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ”—that’s who He is—“and that believing you might have life through his name.”

Let's say you have a friend or family member that is living in unrepentant sin!  Maybe living with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Or perhaps using drugs.  What do you do?  We’ll get some much needed help with that today as pastor John Randall looks at a critical conclusion to this epistle.