11th March 2024

11th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 John 5:14-17)


Message (Alan Burke) 


Many of you know that I am a father. My children can do something that no other children in this world can do. It’s not that they can do something weird and wonderful rather it is they can come with confidence before me because I am their father. When they act sinfully as we all do I don’t take the opportunity to renounce them, no, often I have to put my arm around them and tell them I still love them. I want my children to know that I love them, that they are loved. It doesn’t mean that I will like what they have done, it doesn’t mean there wont be consequences but as my children, they can come to me because of the unique relationship they have that sets them apart. While I normally avoid the personal illustrations it is one that is true of many who have children, we want our children to know that they are loved, it doesn’t mean we will like what they have done, it doesn’t mean there wont be consequences but they can come because of the unique relationship they have that sets them apart.


For those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can come to our God as his children all through what he has done for us, we can cry out “Abba, Father. John has repeatedly told us, time and again of the wonderful truth that we can indeed know that we are the children of God, that we can know that we are God’s through what Jesus has done for us. We were focusing on v13 last week, " 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”, that we may know. 


In scripture we are reminded again and again that it’s all about Jesus the Son of God, what he achieved for us on carvery’s tree. The problem is it is so counter intuitive, opposite to how the world works and every other relationship that we have we still make it about what we’ve done, or not done. We know that we’ve made a mess of things on more than one occasion and that confidence that should be ours all because of Jesus Christ has been undermined by our actions. Often we’re acting as the child who doesn’t want to come to their parent when we have made a mess of things. Then what often happens is that we are wary to go back, hesitant, we are filled with doubts, why would God hear my prayer, why would he listen to me, because if we were God we wouldn’t listen. 


Well we can come not because some how that we deserve it because the exact opposite is true, none of us deserve it, none of us are worthy of the love of God that has been lavished on us. Rather he wants us to understand that we come with boldness all because what God has done for us, we can approach him as his children. This week in the devotions we will look at the outworking of that, that knowledge of how if If we believe we have eternal life, all because of what Jesus has done we can have confidence before God and ask anything we want v14-15 and then the warning that comes about the seriousness of sin in v16-17. To help us we’re going to look at v14-15 and then 16-17. But for now I want you to remind you of the confidence that you have before your heavenly Father and it is because of what your elder bother Jesus Christ had done so that you can boldly approach him, knowing that you are his child, what a wonderful gospel it is.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q 90 How is the Word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?
That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, (Prov. 8:34) preparation, (1 Pet. 2:1–2) and prayer; (Ps. 119:18) receive it with faith and love, (Heb. 4:2, 2 Thess. 2:10) lay it up in our hearts, (Ps. 119:11) and practice it in our lives. (Luke 8:15, James 1:25)
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