Introduction- Have you ever been told that you are special? We need to understand that we are special, especially in God’s eyes. God does this for us in many ways. We find this truth communicated in I John.
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (I John 2:28-3:2 NKJV)
Children are special people. They are special because of their simple faith. They are special because of their trust. They are special because of their dependence. They are special because of the way they view things. A testimony in a magazine illustrated this point for me. Some time ago I read a life experience testimony in a magazine. I think it was Reader’s Digest. A lady contributed a testimony about children. She said one day she was driving down the road with her three children, on a warm summer evening. As they drove a woman in a convertible ahead of them stood up and waved. The lady was stark naked! As the lady with the children struggled with the shock of the event her five year old child illustrated the simplicity of children. From the back seat her five year old shouted “Mom! That lady isn’t wearing a seat belt!” Children see things differently.
In the text, three times John refers to believers as children. From this text you feel God putting His arms around you and telling you that you are special. What is special about children? As we study this text you will see that God’s children are special! Why?
1. God’s children are Connected. How are we connected to God?
A. We are connected by birth. In I John 2:29 John mentions the fact that God’s children are connected by birth. The emphasize in this book is not upon age but upon birth. The gospel of John mentions this same concept. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (Jn. 1:12 NKJV) You cannot enter the family of God by intelligence, education, good deeds or any other method. You enter the family of God by a new birth.
Illustration: Some animal species have a strong tendency toward imprinting. When imprinting occurs the baby animals bonds with the first moving object they see. Thus, they are connected at birth. John is saying that when you become a Christian you are connected to God by spiritual birth whenever you ask Jesus to come into your heart.
B. We are connected by means of God’s love.
“The Greek word behind the English expression “how great” is potapen; it speaks of something that has come from another country—something exotic, something beyond what has previously been experienced. The translation could read, “Behold, what exotic love the Father has poured on us.” The love of God comes from another world; it seems foreign to the human race. And this love has been lavished on us, poured out on us, as shown by the fact that God allows us to be called children of God.” (Taken from Life Application Bible Commentary; I John 3:1) Thus, we are connected to God by His great love for us.
Illustration: Over the years I have read stories of children whose father was the President of the United States. I discovered that children are children regardless of whether they are in your house, my house or the White House. Children will be children (mischief and all) even when living in the White House. We must remember, the children are there because their father is the president...not because they are the president. They are children of the president.
C. We are connected by our dependency on God. The longer I live the more I realize how totally dependent I am on God in the spiritual realm.
- I am dependent on Him for my salvation.
- I am dependent on Him for my sustenance.
- I am dependent on Him for strength.
- I am dependent on Him for growth.
We find a word used often in I John. It is the word "abide" or "remain." (See 2:24, 27,28; 3:6) The word abide could be translated to dwell, continue, remain or to stay. If we remain in God we will be safe.
Illustration: Occasionally we have bad storms pass through our area. During those times our day school workers carry the children to the basement so that the children will be in a safe place. They remain there until the storm passes. When we are connected to God we abide in a safe place.
2. God’s children have God’s Character. Have you ever noticed that children tend to reflect the character and mannerisms of their parents? That is a central teaching of I John. When God is your Father you will reflect His character.
A. God’s children display victory over sin. Notice I said victory over, not victory from sin. There is a controversial discussion that arises when believers study I John. The discussion involves John’s teaching about sin. There seems to be a contradiction in John’s teaching about sin. In chapter 1 verses 8 & 9 John says that if we deny the existence of sin we lie. However, when you come to chapter 3 verses 6 & 9 John says we will not sin, if we are a believer. What is the difference? The difference falls into the nature of sin. I John 1:8-9 refers to the sin of a weak nature. This is the occasional stumbling into sin. However, I John 3:6 refers to willful and habitual sin. The phrase “sin not” in 3:6,9 is in linear action. A true believer will not habitually and willfully sin against God.
Another part of our victory over sin is God’s safety net. In Chapter 2 verse 1 John mentions God’s safety net. He says “if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (I John 2:1 NKJV)
Illustration: An illustration of this truth comes from the Chicago Transit Authority. Workers with the transit authority have labeled a certain 3 x 3 platform as a “fool catcher.” These platforms are placed periodically along the train tracks. The platform is placed there for those occasions when two trains meet and transit workers are caught unexpectedly on the train tracks. At such times the workers do not have time to retreat and the tracks are too high to climb down. The platforms are a safety area. (P. 26, Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, and Writers, Craig Brian Larson)
B. The character of God’s children is displayed in victory over sin but also in reflecting God’s love. Look at I John 3:16 “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” John describes a sacrificial love. You have heard it said that there are four words for love in the Greek New Testament. The words are:
1. Eros…this word describes passionate love.
2. Storgeo…this word describes family love.
3. Phileo…this word describes the love of one friend for another.
4. Agape…this word describes God’s unconditional, sacrificial love.
John is saying that the believer is given the ability to love as God loves. Jesus loved the outcast, the immoral, the leper, the racially mixed and societies rejects.
Illustration: In Honest to God, Bill Hybels writes:
Recently my brother and I spent a lunch hour discussing the mark our dad left on our lives…
Dan and I reminisced about the times we had sailed with him on Lake Michigan. We remembered violent storms with fifty-mile-an hour winds. All the other sailors would dash for the harbor, but Dad would smile from ear to ear and say, “Let’s head out farther!”
We talked about the tough business decisions we had seen him make. We winced when we remembered his firm hand of discipline that blocked our rebellious streaks. We never doubted it. Dad was strong, tough, and thoroughly masculine.
Yet for twenty-five years he spent nearly every Sunday afternoon standing in front of a hundred mentally retarded women at the state mental hospital. Gently and patiently he lead them in a song service. Few of them could even sing, but he didn’t care. He knew it made them feel loved. Afterward he stood by the door while each of those disheveled, broken women planted kisses on his cheek. As little guys, Dan and I had the unspeakable privilege of watching our six-foot-three, two-hundred-twenty-pound, thoroughly masculine dad treat these forgotten women with a gentleness that marked us.
(p. 68, Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers, Craig Brian Larson)
3. God’s children are Confident. .
This confidence is based on the Father’s character and not the child’s strength.
Illustration: Our outside dog, Buster, acts much like a child. He has a tennis ball with which he plays. When I walk into the yard he picks up his tennis ball and brings it to me with full confidence that I will throw the ball for him. He is confident because I have trained him that way. God’s children are confident because God has trained them to be that way.
John touches on four areas in which we will have confidence.
A. We will have confidence when Jesus returns. “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” (I John 2:28 NKJV) I sometimes hear people speak as if Jesus return is going to be a horrendous day. For the believer we will be confident in that day.
B. We will have confidence in our future.”We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” I John 3:2 NKJV) The word “see” means more than to visualize. It means to perceive or to understand. Paul said “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (I Cor. 13:12 NKJV)
Illustration: There is an old gospel song that says “We will understand it better bye and bye.” The believer may not understand everything now but we will understand all of life’s mysteries when we get to Heaven.
Illustration: In Six Hours One Friday, Max Lucado wrote of a friend named Joy who taught a Sunday School class in an underprivileged area. Joy had in her class a timid, nine-year-old girl named Barbara, Max writes:
(Barbara’s) difficult home life had left her afraid and insecure. For the weeks that my friend was teaching the class, Barbara never spoke. Never. While the other children talked, she sat. While the others sang, she was silent. While the others giggled, she was quiet. Always present. Always listening. Always speechless. Until the day Joy gave a class on Heaven. Joy talked about seeing God. She talked about tearless eyes and deathless lives. Barbara was fascinated. She wouldn’t release Joy from her stare. She listened with hunger. Then she raised her hand. “Mrs. Joy?” Joy was stunned. Barbara had never asked a question. “Yes, Barbara?” “Is Heaven for girls like me?”
(P. 93, Contemporary Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers, Editor, Craig Brian Larson)
C. We will have confidence in prayer. John shares several verses that promise confidence in prayer.
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” (I John 3:22 NKJV)
“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him.” (I John 5:14-15 NKJV)
D. We will have confidence in knowing His will. Look at I John 5:14-15 again. “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” The key is determining His will and not our will.
Conclusion: Do you realize you are special? Maybe you need to accept this truth? Maybe you need to be reminded of this truth. Will you respond to it?
