10.16.22 1 John 5:13–15
13 I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence that we have before him: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we also know that we receive the things we have asked from him.
Lord, Increase Our Faith, to Pray
When you write a text to someone it might be different than an email. When you have a full keyboard you can perhaps afford to be a little bit more wordy. But when you’re dealing with a little screen you tend to get to the point as quickly as you can, sometimes by even using abbreviations for words. You have a singular approach to the text, and that’s it.
Throughout John’s letter you can see the one main purpose he had in writing this epistle and the one main audience. The audience was for those who believed in Jesus. The purpose was so that they would KNOW that they had eternal life in Jesus. He wanted them to have CONFIDENCE in their salvation, which would then overflow to confidence in their PRAYER life.
John says, I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Why doesn’t He just say “Jesus?” Why “the NAME of the Son of God?” He seems to be putting an emphasis on the divine connection of Jesus when he calls him the “Son of God” and His reputation as that Son” You see, there was a group of people by the name of Gnostics who said something to the effect that God had entered Jesus during his baptism and then left Jesus during his crucifixion. This simply wasn’t true. God took on flesh from conception and continues to have flesh as the resurrected Christ. So with this confusion about who the Son of God actually was and what He did as God, it led to a confusion in faith as well. If Jesus only died as a man, then He didn’t die as our God and as a substitute for mankind. Some people didn’t know exactly WHAT to believe about Jesus and who He was. Without confidence in what the truth really is, that leads to a lack of faith. So John wrote to combat these lies with the truth.
The devil is the king of confusion. How did he lead Eve into sin? He questioned the Word of God. Did God REALLY say? Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?” The conversation continues today, “Who can really say what is right and wrong? Who can truly define what a man or a woman is or what marriage is either?” Well, God says. “But that’s centuries old, written by a bunch of old white male bigots. What makes YOUR truth any better than MY truth?” So there is no authority in the American mind. There is no truth. I can define who God is by what I THINK God would do or wouldn’t do. There can’t be hell. There can’t be judgment. There can only be tolerance and acceptance. I can be my own god and master my own destiny. These are the devil’s lies to our society. Why believe in anything but yourself? It leaves no room for repentance and no room for faith in a Savior from sin.
Throughout John’s letter you can note how CONFIDENCE in Jesus is a key theme. He speaks in terms of truth and lies, something that our society doesn’t believe in. Listen, for instance, to 1 John 1:9–2:2 -
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his Word is not in us. 1 My children, I write these things to you so that you will not sin. If anyone does sin, we have an Advocate before the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the whole world.
Notice also how John speaks of Jesus atoning sacrifice on the cross. He didn’t just die for BELIEVERS. He died for the ENTIRE WORLD, for all people of all time. What a comfort! I think of some of these people who have been exposed to embarrassing sins on video. That video will be public for the rest of their lives and bring shame. Yet if they go to the cross, they have forgiveness. They can find mercy, because Jesus died for them too. Even if they can’t forget it, and even if the world will never forget it, God promises that Jesus paid for it and it is done for those who believe in Jesus. That’s the CONFIDENCE that God wants sinners to have - that they can go to Jesus with ANY sin - because He really already paid for ALL of them.
It’s this death of Christ on behalf of all sinners that John wants to bring about a CONFIDENT faith in you. You don’t have to constantly call yourself a loser or no good. You don’t have to fear a sudden death because you’re not sure that God really would accept you into heaven. Listen to what John writes to his fellow believers in the following verses - and note the CONFIDENCE they have in chapter 2 -
12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven because of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the Evil One. 14 I have written to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the Evil One.
There’s no doubt in these words. Notice how they are spoken in the past and present tense. This is how it is - it is their status as confident and forgiven believers. Where did the confidence come from? From the Word of God, and from the forgiveness of sins in Jesus. It reminds me of the cheer you hear at a high school football game. “I believe that we will win.” They usually don’t cheer that at the beginning of the game. They do it when the game is basically done. The score is out of reach. That is how it is for us, because Jesus already conquered death. He already conquered Satan. “I believe that we will win - in Jesus.”
Such faith isn’t generated through will power. Faith isn’t just telling yourself, “I am strong. I am powerful. I can do anything.” Faith comes from knowing who Jesus is. He is the atoning sacrifice for your sins. He is the Ruler of the world. He sends His angels to protect you. He has the hairs of your head numbered. He works all things out for your good. Notice the subject of those confidence builders - it is Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who is the author of our faith and the one who brings it to its goal. In view of the joy set before him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne.” If you find yourself seeming to be weak and timid at your faith, put your eyes on Jesus. Stop focusing on your weakness, and start focusing on Jesus. Remember who HE is. Remember what HE has promised you.
There is a reason why you vow to be faithful to coming to worship here and listening to the Word of God here and why we don’t join in worship with other denominations. If you substitute popular preachers in our society, you are going to hear false doctrine, and it is going to lead to doubt. There is a reason why preachers become popular in this society, and it is almost always because they tell people what they WANT to hear - how good you are and how tolerant God is - as if there wasn’t any sin or need for grace. This is what John was warning against. 1 John 4:3–4 Every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is already in the world. 4 You are from God, dear children, and you have overcome the false prophets, because the one in you is greater than the one in the world. Notice, even in the middle of this warning, John still speaks with confidence that the Holy Spirit who lived in them through their baptism and through faith could conquer these doubts and lies. Only in the Word of God do you find CONFIDENCE in what to truly believe. John writes in the closing verses of this letter in 1 John 5:20, We know 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, in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
When you get in the Word and really get to know Jesus, it will then give you confidence in your PRAYER life as well. Jesus spoke to His disciples in such comforting terms. He wanted them to feel comfortable to come to Him at any time and in any place for anything they needed. Think of how He speaks in Matthew 11:28–29,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Think also of this wonderful promise in Matthew 7:7–11, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Here we do not hear the words of a stingy God, but a generous and giving God who wants to give us His gifts. Paul writes that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.” (Ephesians 3) Think also of Hebrews 4, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Think of Jacob wrestling with God. Who could win a wrestling match with God? But Jacob had a promise that God would protect him and take him back to the Promised Land. Jacob had a promise that the Messiah would come through him and save the world. So Jacob was confident that He could HOLD God to His promise, and he wouldn’t let go until God blessed him. God joyfully let Jacob keep on holding on and gave Jacob what he wanted, even though God was far more powerful than Jacob. Why? Because of Jacob’s confident faith. That’s the kind of confidence God wants us to have, especially when we have His Word and promise.
One word of caution, you still have to be careful to take God’s promises in CONTEXT. Satan tried to convince Jesus to jump from a temple just because God promised the protection of the angels. That wasn’t the purpose of that promise, so that we’d go jumping from buildings. So there’s that little four word rider on this prayer thing that we need to be aware of, “if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” There’s a reason why we pray “THY will be done” and not “MY will be done” in the Lord’s prayer. Thank God that He doesn’t always give us what we WANT, because sometimes what we want will lead to our own harm. James and John asked if they should call fire down from heaven to roast some people who had rebuffed Jesus. Jonah wanted God to condemn the people of Nineveh. Our prayers aren’t always in line with God’s will. When you don’t get what you want, it doesn’t mean you didn’t have enough faith.
It might mean that it wasn’t the right time, or it wasn’t the right thing, or it was contrary to the nature of how God works. You might, for instance, pray for the conversion of someone. But if they don’t want it, if they continue to reject Jesus and refuse to listen to what God has to say, God will not perform a divine headlock on them to force them into the faith apart from the Word of Christ. It might take time. It might take suffering. It might take blessings. God knows what’s best. Trust Him in that. But what if you’re not sure? What if God’s Word isn’t clear on the matter? Go ahead and pray for it. Leave it in God’s hands.
John has two final simple things to give us confidence in prayer. First of all, He hears it! Prayer isn’t like speaking to your deaf grandpa who refuses to get hearing aids. He’s not like talking to a mom on her cell phone. This is a God who HEARS you and is ATTENTIVE to you. He’s attentively listening to you and eagerly waiting for you to speak.
The second thing? And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we also know that we receive the things we have asked from him. John promises that He doesn’t only HEAR, but He also ACTS. He doesn’t say HOW He’ll do it. But somehow He will get it done.
Think of how He had Gideon win a victory in battle with only 300 men, some trumpets, glass jars, and torches - these weren’t typical weapons of war. Yet God worked through them. Sometimes when I’m praying for people of our congregation, I realize that maybe God wants ME to help be the answer to their prayer. So I try to call or text, and see if I can help. You have to understand that God would rather answer the prayer THROUGH you and with you, rather than without you. Then you get to experience the answer to His prayer as well. If you’re going to pray for something when you could be the answer to the prayer, then maybe you could be the reason your prayer is not getting answered. Think of the feeding of the 5,000. The people needed to be fed. Jesus said, “YOU give them something.” They couldn’t do it! But then He still had them handle the bread and distribute the bread, and as they handled it God worked His miracle, through their own actions. Don’t use prayer as a reason not to do anything. God would rather work through you than without you by divine fiat. But even without you, God can get it done and He will get it done when it is according to His will. That’s His promise.
I remember years ago when Star Trek had these communicators through which they could speak with each other, they look like modern day flip phones. Nobody at the time probably thought that such a device would ever work. How wrong they were with modern inventions!
Prayer is not a modern invention. It’s been around since the Creation of humanity. Many people don’t think there’s anyone at the other end. They even say, “We don’t want your prayers.” We pray for them anyway, for we believe that at the end of this tool He puts Himself. He is the One who answers the phone. He’s on call 24/7. He has the power to answer. He has the desire to answer. He gives you the command to USE the tool.
John wants to increase our faith so that we will pray. So first of all, He reminds us of who Jesus is. He’s your powerful God and Savior. Then he reminds us what prayer is. It’s a way to communicate with God, wherever you are, for whatever you need. Lord, increase our faith in Jesus, to PRAY. Amen.
