Text: 1 John 5:11-21
Title: The positive repercussions of Easter
Introduction
Everyone loves positive news. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12
Maybe you are at a place in your life where you are longing for some positive news –If so then you have come to the right place today! Because today we are going to look at the positive repercussions of Easter.
Illustration: I have even come up with an easy way to help us to remember these positive repercussions of Easter.Take a piece of paper and write the letters of the word EASTER down the side of the page.
E ternal life now
A nswers to prayer
S in defeated
T ruth transforms
E vil is resistable
R isen with Christ
After you have written the letters of the word Easter down the side of the page next turn in your Bible to 1 John 5:11-21
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.
If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life, 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. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true – even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Dear Children, keep yourselves from idols.
We are going to look at 6 positive repercussions of Easter.
Each positive repercussion of Easter will begin with a letter from the word Easter
1.The first positive repercussion of Easter and the one that begins with the first letter
E is E –ternal life now
For John writes (v11-15)
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
-You and I can know for certain if we have eternal life or not.
-He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
-If Jesus did not rise from the dead then no one could have eternal life- because this eternal life is in God’s Son.
-But because Jesus did rise from the dead -eternal life is now available to everyone who believes in the name of God’s Son.
-I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)
It’s a mistake to believe that nobody can know for sure if they have eternal life.
If you have Jesus- you have eternal life.
It’s also a mistake to believe that eternal life is something we receive only after we die.
Our passage clearly says it 3 different times that we have eternal life now.
Firstly it says that God has given us eternal life…secondly it says He who has the Son has life.. and thirdly it says I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
In other words you have eternal life the very same moment you believe in the name of Jesus. They go together. You believe and you also receive…
The second positive repercussion of Easter is one that begins with the letter A
A stands for Answers to prayer
Easter is further proof that God answers prayer
For John writes in verse s 14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him.
Knowing God raised Jesus from the dead – gives us the confident that God can easily answer the hardest of prayers.
Is nothing to hard for God? The same God who raised Jesus from the dead. No there is nothing to hard for God!
Easter is proof that God can answer all prayers but we know he doesn’t.
Why not?
John tells us the answer
First God only answers those prayers that are according to his will
Jesus taught us to pray…thy will be down
And secondly think about this for a moment
He only answers those prayers that are according to his will -that he hears
We have not because we ask not..
We don’t have because God does not hear us asking ..
Ask and you shall receive… Don’t ask and you don’t receive
God wants to give us lots of Easter-like experiences but he can’t because he doesn’t hear us asking.
The third positive repercussions of Easter begins with the letter S
S=Sin is defeated
For John says (v16-19)
If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life, 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. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
When we say that sin is defeated we need to clarify what we mean by that.
By saying sin is defeated we don’t mean that the presence of sin is gone.
We see the presence of sin all around us…
We see it all around us in the world because John tells us “The whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
We also see it in the church- because John says if anyone sees his brother commit a sin..
So what do we mean by Sin is defeated?
1.The penalty for sin is broken for those who belong to Christ
We see this brought out in the phrase “there is a sin that does not lead to death.”
That was not always the case.
There was a time when every sin led to death.
The wages of sin is death
God said to Adam “If you eat of the fruit you will surely die
What happened to change this?
Jesus died in our place so that we would not have to die. Jesus took the penalty of death for our sins.
Sin is defeated because Jesus took the penalty for our sins.
2. By sin is defeated we mean that the power of sin is also broken.
As believers in Christ we don’t have to continue to sin.
We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.
The world is under the control of the evil one but the child of God is under the control of God.
When the devil temps us or tries to harm us God can keep us safe.
Easter is meant to offer us convincing proof that Sin is defeated
The fourth positive repercussion of Easter begins with the letter T
T ruth transforms us
John says in verse 20
“We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true- even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.
We know the truth about Easter and that Truth is meant to transform us
Our scripture passage contains 11 verses and in those 11 verses we have the phrase “you know” mentioned 7 times.
You are transformed only because you know …
You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free…
The truth transforms us from eternal death into eternal life
The truth transforms us from being under the control of the evil one to instead being under the control of God.
Truth only transform when applied to our live
Truth in itself does not transform. Its only truth that is applied that transforms
Our passage refers to applied truth as truth that is in us.
Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life…
The fifth positive repercussion of Easter begins with the second letter E
E stands for evil is now resistible
V21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols
John ends the book of 1John with a practical application
Dear children, keep your selves from idols.
Evil is now resistible because you are now children of God.
Before you were a child of God evil was irresistible
The things I want to do I don’t do and the things I don’t want to do I do.
But now greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
The sixth and final positive repercussion of Easter is one that begins with the letter R
R is Risen with Christ.
Not only is Christ risen - but those who believe and belong to Christ are risen with him also.
V20 And we are in him who is true – even in his Son Jesus Christ
Where Christ is we are also.
Christ is in us here on earth – we are in Christ up in heaven.
We don’t just celebrate the resurrection of Jesus we also celebrate our own resurrection
Our present resurrection and our future resurrection.
Prayer
Father we thank you for what Easter means to you. Let it mean the same to us also.
It means eternal life now
It means you answer prayer
It means sin is defeated
It means truth transforms
It means evil is resistible
It means risen with Christ
