The Haves And The Have Not’s
1 John 5: 11-15
Intro: Has anyone noticed that there is an election coming up? If you have turned on a TV lately, you can’t help but know. One thing we can thank God for is that we only have nine days left until the election. I don’t know about you but I have gotten to when one of the ads comes on I change the channel.
. Some of you may be thinking that the pastor is finally going to give us a political sermon. He is going to tell us which way to vote. NOT. I never have nor will I ever try that.
. As you watch all these commercials, it seems that there is a theme in all of them. No matter which political party or candidate they are espousing. One talks about the other getting rich while in office while another talks about what the other has done to deny you and your children the opportunities for a good education and so on and so on.
. In their minds, there is a battle between the haves and the have not’s.
. God has much to say about the haves and the have not’s, but it is much different than how the world and the political parties portray it.
. Our scripture this morning addresses this very modern issue of the difference between the haves and the have not’s.
. 1 John 5: 11-15
11And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
13I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
14And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
15And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.
. There is a difference between the haves and the have nots.
. The first thing we see here is that the haves have eternal life through the Son.
. Look at verses 12&13 again.
12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
13I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
. The haves can know their destiny and destination.
. In 1990’s Northwest Airlines offered some unusual round-trip passages aboard one of their planes. Fifty-nine dollars bought a "Mystery Fare" ticket that provided a one-day trip to an unknown American city. Buyers didn't find out where they were heading until they arrived at the airport the day of the flight. Still, the airline had plenty of takers. In Indianapolis fifteen hundred people crowded the airline counter to buy the Mystery Fare tickets that were sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Not surprisingly, when buyers learned their destination, not all were thrilled. One buyer who was hoping for New Orleans but found he had a ticket for Minneapolis walked through the airport terminal yelling, "I've got one ticket to the Mall of America. I'll trade for anything."
Mystery Fare tickets may be a fun surprise for a weekend vacation, but normally the last thing you want is a ticket to a mystery destination. And one time you never want a Mystery ticket is on the day of your death. You don't want to face eternity uncertain about whether you will go to heaven or hell.
.In 1789 Benjamin Franklin wrote that “nothing is certain but death and taxes”
. I submit that there is one other certainty in this world.
. The haves know that there is one other certainty in this world.
. If you have the Son, you have eternal Life.
. In contrast, the have not’s do not have eternal life with Jesus Christ.
12Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
. If you do not have God’s Son, Jesus Christ, you do not have life.
. The world will tell you that there are many ways to get to Heaven , folks, the Bible tells us that there is only one way into Heaven, only one way to have eternal life. That is through Jesus Christ.
. In John 14 Jesus tells us this:
. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”
. The haves have eternal life, the have not’s are bound for an eternity separated from God separated from love and kindness and joy in a place the Bible calls Hell.
. That is the difference between the haves and the have not’s we should be concerned about.
.Our scripture highlights another difference between the haves and the have not’s.
. The haves are granted access to God through prayer.
.Look at verse 14 again.
14And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
. God hears the prayers of those who believe in the Son.
. The haves have access to God through Jesus Christ.
. John was and is making sure that his readers understand what a privilege this is. You are one of the haves, you have access to God.
. That was not the case before Jesus. Only the High Priest could go into the presence of God. And he could do this only once a year on the day of atonement.
. Jesus came and died so that believers could HAVE access to God.
. Scripture tells us this in Matthew 27: 50&51
. 50Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.
51At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
. As Jesus died there on that cross, his last act was to tear down the barrier that separated man from God. No longer did man go to God through a mediator, now mankind had access directly to God.
. If you have the Son, you now have direct access to God.
.The have not’s, have only limited access to God.
. God will hear their prayer of repentance but scripture tells us that He will not hear the prayers of those who have turned against God and do not have the Son.
. In Proverbs 28:9, wise King Solomon writes:
. 9God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.
. In John 9:31, we see that even the Pharisees of the day understood this principle when they said this:
. 31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.
. And James, the half brother of Jesus wrote this about praying to God.
. … be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind
.7Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
. Those who do not have faith in the Son, the have not’s “should not expect to receive anything from the Lord”
. We have taken this concept of a God who listens to our prayers and expanded it to encompass everyone in the whole world.
. God will hear the worlds prayer of repentance and acceptance but the have not’s do not have access to God through prayer as the one who have the son do.
. The Bible tells us of many other things the Haves receive that the have not’s do not possess.
. In Ephesians 2:14 Paul declares that:
. “ Christ Is our Peace”
. And In 2:17,18 he writes:
17He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.
18Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
. I talk a lot about peace around here. You see, peace is what allows us to live this life here on planet Earth.
.The peace that comes from knowing the Son. From having the Son.
. When all the world is going to Hell around us, we can have peace in our lives because we are one of the haves.
. Paul describes this peace as he wrote to the church in Philippi.
. In Philippians 4:6,7 Paul writes:
6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
. The haves, have a peace that transcends the understanding of the have not’s.
. They have peace because they have the Son.
. The have not’s can look the world over but will never find the inner peace that having the Son will give you.
. Have you heard about Tracy Lyperd? Tracy was a beauty queen in VA a few years ago. Shortly after crowning her successor, she drove 250 miles to seek revenge on her ex-boyfriend for jilting her & marrying another. She took along a pistol, a hammer, lighter fluid & matches.
When she arrived at his house & rang the doorbell, it was answered by his new father-in-law. Tracy faked having car trouble, & asked if she could use the telephone. Once inside the house, she took out her hammer & hit the father-in-law on the head. She stunned him, but didn’t knock him out.
What she didn’t realize was that he was an ex-secret service agent. He grabbed her & as they struggled, she pulled the pistol from her purse & tried to shoot him. That’s when the mother-in-law joined the fray & the two of them wrestled her to the floor, holding her until the police arrived.
When questioned, she said that she was driven to seek revenge because she needed "inner peace."
.Isaiah writes this about peace in Isa. 57:21
. 21There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.
. Folks, the only way the have not’s will ever find inner peace is through knowing the Son.
. To sum all of this up, The haves possess the one thing that all mankind strives for .
. Hope
. In writing to the Christians in Ephesus, Paul reminds them of who they were before they had Jesus and says this in Ephesians 2:12,13
. 12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
13But now you have been united with Christ Jesus…
. Now you have hope. You are one of the Haves.
. There is hope in Christ folks.
. Can you imagine living a life with no hope, nothing to look forward to.
. I believe that is why we see so many more suicides in our world today.
. People have no hope for the future. They see no reason to continue with life.
. With the Son, we have Hope.
. I want to close with a story from Max Lucado this morning.
. “I have everything I need for joy!” Robert Reed said.
His hands are twisted and his feet are useless. He can’t bathe himself. He can’t feed himself. He can’t brush his teeth, comb his hair, or put on his underwear. Strips of Velcro hold his shirts together. His speech drags like a worn out audiocassette.
Robert has cerebral palsy.
The disease keeps him from driving a car, riding a bike, and going for a walk. But it didn’t keep him from graduating from high school or attending Abilene Christian University, from which he graduate with a degree in Latin. Having cerebral palsy didn’t keep him from teaching at St. Louis Junior College or from venturing overseas on five mission trips.
And Robert’s disease didn’t prevent him from becoming a missionary in Portugal.
He moved to Lisbon, alone, in 1972. There he rented a hotel room and began studying Portuguese. He found a restaurant owner who would feed him after the rush hour and a tutor who would instruct him in the language.
Then he stationed himself daily in a park, where he distributed brochures about Christ. Within six years he led seventy people to the Lord, one of whom became his wife, Rosa.
I heard Robert speak recently. I watched other men carry him in his wheelchair onto the platform. I watched them lay a Bible in his lap. I watched his stiff fingers force open the pages. And I watched people in the audience wipe away tears of admiration from their faces. Robert could have asked for sympathy or pity, but he did just the opposite. He held his bent hand up in the air and boasted, “I have everything I need for joy.”
His shirts are held together by Velcro, but his life is held together by his hope in Christ Jesus. His hope in the Son.
. Are you a have or a have not this morning.
. Do you have the hope that comes from knowing the Son.
.Invitation.
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources: The Holy Bible, NLT
Illustrations from sermon central
