A CLASSIC CHRISTMAS
IT REALLY IS A WONDERFUL LIFE
1 John 5:11-13
INTRODUCTION:
A. The older I get the more amazed I am about how the mind works
1. First of all, I am amazed by the important things that I forget
2. Secondly, I am amazed by the trivial things that I seem to remember.
ILL> Skunk Joke
a. This story does have some spiritual significance
b. "Are you in or are you out?"
ILL> The former baseball great, Yogi Berra, is a prime example of the mind not always working the way you want it to. Many times what he thinks and what he says are 2 different things. Some of his "yogiisms" have become quite popular.
"You should always go to other people’s funerals; otherwise, they won’t come to yours."
"A nickel ain’t worth a dime any more."
"Nobody goes there anymore; it’s too crowded."
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it!"
And there’s the time that a lady said to him, "Good afternoon, Mr. Berra. My, you look mighty cool today." "Thank you, ma’am," Yogi replied. "You don’t look so hot yourself."
"You got to be careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there."
(Bits & Pieces, February 4, 1993, p. 14)
3. When it comes to God’s kingdom are you in or are you out?
a. If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there
4. So, where are you going? Are you part of God’s eternal kingdom?
a. Do you know for sure that when you die that God will be waiting to welcome you into His heaven?
B. In this letter written by John the Apostle, he says that we can know without a doubt that we will spend eternity in heaven
1. John is writing this book to Christians and wants to remind them of the wonderful life that they have with Christ–not just today, but for all eternity
a. A life with Jesus really is a wonderful life!
b. READ: 1 John 5:11-13
I>IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE--IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD (Verse 11a)
A. Christmas and giving go hand in hand
1. Of course, it’s hard NOT to think about the receiving side, especially when you are young (and I’m still young!)
2. We celebrate giving of Christmas--the gift of God’s Son
a. As children many of us memorized that verse which epitomizes this gift of God’s Son to the world
b. John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
c. This one verse is a sermon in and of itself
First, God gave us His love
This led God to give us His Son
Through His Son we have the gift of eternal life
B. As I look at our culture today I see two extreme views
1. The one view says that "I should have it because I earned it."
a. A lot of things that we have in life we have earned it
b. We expect to get a paycheck because we have shown up for work and earned our wages
c. If you want to have a great marriage then you need to be a great spouse
d. If you want good grades in school, then you have to study and do the necessary assignments to earn a good grade
2. There is an alternate view which says, ""I should have it because you owe it to me."
a. Some of the most miserable people in the world are those who think everybody owes them
The government owes them
their neighbors owes them
the church owes them
the school system owes them
even God owes them even though they may have never lifted a finger for God
C. God’s gift doesn’t fit in with either of these philosophies
1. The Bible says that we cannot earn our salvation
a. Titus 3:5-6
he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,
b. God does commands us to do certain things in order to accept His gift–such as believe, repent, be baptized–but that in no way means that we have done anything to deserve His gift
ILL> A very rich man’s brother died and he called the local preacher to conduct the funeral. "Here’s the deal. My brother was the most wicked man alive, but if you lie and say he was a saint I"ll give you $100,000."
Now preachers don’t do funerals to earn money, but for $100,000 they would be willing to make an exception. But this all put him in an ethical dilemma. He really wanted to earn that money, but he didn’t want to lie to get it.
So, he came up with a plan that showed the brilliance of most preachers. He said this at the start of the funeral. "This man we remember today was the most wicked man you’ll ever meet. He was a thief, drunkard, womanizer, you name it–he did it. But compared to his brother he was a saint."
c. You may not be the worst person that ever lived, but you still have don nothing to earn God’s grace
2. Neither does God owe us anything
a. He simply wants more than anything for all people to choose His Son and accept His forgiveness
b. 2 Peter 3:9
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
3. God’s grace, salvation, and eternal life are precious
a. They are gifts offered to all, but not everyone accepts these gifts
II> IT IS A WONDERFUL LIFE--IT IS A LIFE IN THE SON (Verse 11b)
A. Life in the Son
1. I hope you said your goodbye’s to the sun this week, because chances are we won’t be seeing it around here for awhile.
a. For the next 3 or 4 months we get to look forward to colder weather, gray skies, scraping ice, shoveling snow, shorter days, longer nights–(I’m just here to cheer you up!)
b. We talk about having the winter blahs, the winter blues, or cabin fever
c. This can even lead to depression–people oftentimes become restless, lethargic, cranky, moody, down in the dumps
d. Psychologist even have a name for this feeling--Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD
e. In most cases there is a simple cure–being in the light, especially being in the sun
QUOTE> National Mental Health Association (on SAD)
One study found that an hour’s walk in winter sunlight was as effective as two and a half hours under bright artificial light.
ILL> It does work! I did something last spring that I thought that I would never do–I went to a tanning bed. I didn’t want to get burnt to a crisp while on vacation, so I decided to get a fake tan.
One thing that I found was that I really felt better after sitting in the bright light for about 20 minutes.
2. There really are some tremendous benefits of being in the sun–as long as you put on your psf45 sun blocker
B. John says something similar–there is a tremendous benefit of being in the SON, Jesus Christ
1. You see, a life in Christ really is a wonderful life
2. In the movie Clarence the angel wanted George to have a wonderful life–but there is one thing that Clarence left out
a. If he really wanted George to have a wonderful life he would have told him about Jesus
3. There is no greater life than a life in the Son–and I’m not talking about moving to Arizona
a. John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
b. John 10:10
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
c. As Jody shared this morning, a life in Christ is so much better than a life without Him
III> IT IS A WONDERFUL LIFE–IT’S ETERNAL (Verse 13)
A. Now, this is one of the points that John is trying to stress–God has given us the assurance of a wonderful eternity through His Son Jesus Christ
1. And it makes sense if you take a moment and think about it
a. The most wonderful life possible is a life that never ends
2. John calls it eternal
a. That word eternal comes from the same word where we get our word "Aeon" which is a length of time so long that it cannot be measured
b. John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; [26] and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
3. This is the same thing that John says in same chapter we looked at this morning
a. VS 1 & 3a
b. Remember, he is writing to Christians
B. Assurance, security
1. I know that those words scare some of you because there are some people in the world today that believe once you accept Christ that you can never fall away from the grace of God no matter what kind of a life a person lives
ILL> As part of his job, Bruce Snow is required at times to climb a telephone pole. He is suppose to wear a belt when climbing that gives him the security that he won’t suddenly hit the ground.
If his foot slips, he has the security of the belt.
If something tragic should happen, he will be held in place by the security of the belt.
Bruce can choose not to wear the belt or he could even choose to unhook it once he is at the top of the pole.
2. It’s the same with God.
a. If we slip or fall short in our walk with God, we have the security of God’s grace
b. However, we can choose to turn our back on God.
C. Assurance - so that you may know that you have eternal life
1. This is what was missing from my faith when I was growing up–assurance
a. You see, I always believed that I had not done enough
2. After all, what had I done to deserve this wonderful gift that God wanted to give me?
a. I was scared to death to witness and share my faith
b. I was a good kid, but I knew I wasn’t perfect
ILL> Story about Bill Hybels talking with lady.
c. I wasn’t doing a lot of bad things, but I really wasn’t exerting myself to do a lot of good things either
d. I knew I didn’t measure up, wasn’t doing enough
3. Maybe one of the most freeing things I can share with you is this simple fact about your relationship with Jesus Christ
a. You don’t measure up!
b. You never will.
c. And that is what makes this eternal gift so great–because we are getting more than we could possibly ever hope for, earn, or deserve
d. And God wants us to have this precious gift–He wants us to spend eternity with Him
IV> CONCLUSION:
A. VS 12 - John makes it plain and simple
1. Mark 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
