1 John 3:19-24

“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

After focusing on God’s character John now calls us to follow God’s Commands. First we must:

• Lean on Him.

Verse 23 says: “And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ…” To believe means to trust in, to lean on. If there is one thing I have learned in this life it is that we all will lean, the question isn’t are you going to lean its on what or who will you lean. We are commanded to believe in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, this means to trust solely in Him. I think for those of us growing up in the west and especially the American church this is one of the most crucial commands, for it is a call to lean fully on The Lord. We love our independent attitudes, where we are free to skim the seas and sail on the currents of a culture riddled with self reliance. John reminds us of this command because belief effects behavior. If we really believe in His Son then we must learn to lean on The Lord, to relationally rely on Him. How often as leaders in His church, if we are honest, do we live in vocational violation to His Word when it comes to leaning on The Lord? We live in a culture that champions independence but this is a command to believe. To trust and lean on The Lord means a clear call away from the culture. Have we so bought into the lie of the independent life that we no longer lean on The Lord? Somehow we have spiritualized self reliance to make it seem sane and acceptable, but I think its time to call this trend of trusting self instead of the Savior what it really is, SIN. Self reliance is not the spiritual life its a SINatra life, where the only life song sung is “I did it my way.” What John is calling us to here is a life of Faith, a life that goes against the flow of familiar culture as it leans on the life of Christ. Am I totally trusting Jesus to the point that I am confident to jump into the free fall of faith?  How often have we ignored the command to believe, to trust and lean on Jesus, and instead been caught up in the cultural cruise control instead of the command of Christ? Often its only the difficulties and dilemmas of this life, that cause me to see my sin of chasing culture instead of Christ. As they come crashing in, dissolving the pillars I love and lean on, like castles of sand swallowed up by the surging sea. In this life, you have to have faith or you will fall, there is no way to survive without the Savior. Embrace the hurt and the heart ace, the trials and temptations, the difficulty and the loss for you will never fully know that Jesus is all you need until He is all you have. Even in the times of loss we can lean on our faith in the Lord, when everything else falls and friends fail He will be there, a sure and steady guide. In 1887 Anthony J. Showalter received some sad news from friends about loved ones who had died, and in his letter of reply he included the verse, Deuteronomy 33: 27.  “The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms” As he pondered this verse he began to write the words to the great hymn “Leaning on the everlasting arms” Listen to some of the words:

What a fellowship, what a joy divine

Leaning on the everlasting arms

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine

Leaning on the everlasting arms

Leaning, leaning

Safe and secure from all alarms

Leaning, leaning

Leaning on the everlasting arms

Today who or what are you leaning on? Second we must:

•  Love others.

The last part of verse 23 says: “… And to love one another as He commanded us.” People are not always the most lovable, I know I’m one of them, but this is a command to love others not a casual suggestion. It is a command to love like Christ, a selfless love, not a self serving one, but a faith based, forgiving love, free from the confines of control and the manipulation of me. God in His wisdom is calling us to come into the heart of community, and to light the dark, damp caves of our culture with love. If there is one thing our consumer culture desperately wants, and is searching and screaming for today it is authentic love. Again just like leaning on something other than self, loving, other than self, is not our natural bent. We need this command to love because just like our independence, we can easily justify our lack of love in our judging minds. The monsters in my mind are quick to remind me that “they don’t deserve it, or they haven’t earned it, or they need to love me first. But the greatest gift I can give is God’s unconditional love. How will my life be characterized, will it be an uncaring life or an unconditionally loving life? Let’s lean on Him, let’s love like He does and third:

•  Live in Him.

This is found in verse 24: “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in Him, and He in them.”  The word that is translated as “live” here is the word “abide” which we see many times in 1 John, it means to dwell and is a reminder that God lives in His children. As we come to fully comprehended this truth it means a change in the the way we live. As 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” To live in Him means to let Him be in control, and let Him take the wheel of our will. It also means, to stay put, when problems try to paralyze and situations try to sway, we need to stay put in Jesus. No matter how big the hail don’t bail. In the problems and the pain questions will cascade into your life like a waterfall, but cling to Christ anyway. The reality of living in The Lord means to obey His commands, and the fruit of following the Father and relying on Jesus results in verse 22: “and receive from Him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases Him.” To keep or obey means, to attend carefully, to take care of, to observe. This is not name it and claim it, rather when my will lines up with His will, I begin doing things His way and this pleases the Father. Only then are we able and willing to receive what He wants to give us because the wants of our lives line up with His wonderful Will. Our will and God’s coincide as we obey and do it God’s way and as 1 Samuel 2:30 reminds us: “The Lord honors those who honor Him.” John 7:17 highlights the importance of obedience: “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” When we choose to obey, God will reveal His truth, far too often we wait to obey until we understand. Instead we need to obey first for when we reverse this order we hold God hostage to our demands of being blessed before we obey. In 1887, at an evangelistic meeting held by Dwight L. Moody, a young man stood to share his story. As he was speaking, it became clear to many that he knew little about the Bible or acceptable Christian doctrine, yet his closing lines spoke volumes to seasoned and new believers alike: “I’m not quite sure, but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” Daniel Towner the song leader for that meeting was so struck by the power of those simple words that he quickly jotted them down, and later delivered them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics to the great hymn Trust and Obey. Today take the time to let these words wash over you afresh:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Confident rest comes as we focus first on God’s character, He is great, He is glorious and He is a giver. Then as we choose to rely fully on Him, following His commands, to lean on Him, to love others, and to live in Him, it is here that we receive the rest that comes from releasing all of our life over to The Lord.

‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭19-24‬

“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

Live, laugh, love has become a popular saying and a sign people hang in their homes or stencils on their walls, because its what we all wish for in life. Yet the reality is that life can be hard even harsh, tragedy can stride in and strikes us down and turmoil can toss us around like drowning men in a ship wrecked sea. When life leaves us struggling to survive, with our head barley above water, when it takes all our energy just to take the next breath. When getting out of bed becomes our greatest achievement and putting one foot in front of the other seems futile. When instead of the steady streams of laughter and love we experience what seems like the endless lashing of pain. When we long for love but just like the laughter it seems lost in the crushing weight of our circumstances. When those who pass by ask how are you doing, to which we quietly lie, “I’m fine how are you, while our soul lies shipwrecked on the rocks of our reality. No matter the heartache we have a God who knew well in advance of our pain that this passage in 1 John was what we needed to hear. This section of Scripture is comprised of some loosely connected statements, a lot like how disconnected grief and sorrow comes in waves, as it crescendos with difficult to answer questions, that rock and reverberate in our hearts and minds. Today you may find yourself angry or just simply stunned and in shock over your situation. May be your dismayed and discouraged, teetering on the edge of doubt, struggling to believe in a God who would allow this suffering. While Satan the enemy of your soul has launched or is lying in wait, longing to attacks and accuses, Revelation 12:10: “For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night.” Some of us are our own worst enemy, we do a pretty good job of accusing ourselves, living guilt-ridden and shame-centered lives. No longer living life, but resigned to just surviving, a shallow empty shell stuck in the pain of the past, and shrouded in shame. Yet no matter what we are facing their are only two choices, go through it with God or without. It is with Him that verse 19 gives us two great assurances, first how we can know that we belong to the truth. John again repeats this when he says in verse 24 “we know” because this is not about feeling but knowing. The second assurance deals with how our hearts can be at rest. The word “rest” here means to calm, to pacify, to soothe, it can be traced back to the idea of, “to tranquilize”. While the word “presence” literally means, to be in front of. It is an amazing thought that we can come into God’s presence, a retch in the presence of the Redeemer. That we can stand in the presence of holiness and our hearts can be at rest in His presence. For the one who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, Romans 8:1 says that there is “no condemnation.” Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to: “approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Yet what do we do tend to do when doubt creeps in? How do we handle the condemning thoughts that seep through the cracks in our faith and threaten to conquer and condemn? Some of us were raised in a church tradition built on a foundation of guilt and shame instead of forgiveness, where our hearts were continually hammered into trying to measure up. Well the first part of verse 20 says: “Whenever our hearts condemn us…” Notice that it says, “Whenever,” not “if” or “might.” This condemning is something that we all will and must deal with in this life. The idea here behind a condemning heart is to find fault with or to know and have something against someone. It not only means to be looked down upon but to be put down. So what do we do when all we’re hearing is the continual soundtrack of self, society and Satan, with their condemning comments and monotonous never ending loop of lies? John reminds us to rest in God’s character not our choices. John’s strategy for facing moments of profound insecurity is to anchor our assurance in God, and God alone. He urges us to allow God to be the final arbiter of our personal spiritual well-being. Even when the grief is so deep that all you feel is the paralyzing numbness, when the only emotions you gravitate between are anger and sadness. When you feel condemned by Satan, self, and your sins, focus on God’s character. Only God can bring us peace when we are falling to pieces. John shares with us three attributes of the Almighty that we need to focus on especially when our faith fluctuates and falters.

● First God is Great.

In verse 20 John reminds us that “God is greater than our hearts” He is omnipotent, all-powerful. Healing starts when we can see that God is greater than our hurting and heavy hearts. Psalm 89:8 says, “O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you.” This is the truth that trumps our turmoil, God is greater, He has the strength and power to do all that He wills to do. Our Redeemer holds all the resources necessary to rescue and revive my hurting heart. We serve an Almighty God that has the ability to work His will in every circumstance in the all the universe. As A.W. Tozer said: “Our God possesses what no creature can: an incomprehensible plenitude of power, a potency that is absolute.” Holding on to the greatness of God means remembering who holds the future. In the turmoil our tendency is to forget who is on the throne. Our hurt does not trump the throne, yes it may derail me but it doesn’t dethrone my God. My life my be in the out of control free fall of chaos but God is still in control. The truth is that our hurt does not have to hold us in bondage and blame, far from the healing hand of the Father. Whether its my sin, society or the snares of Satan my God is not taken by surprise. The real issue is not my power and how strong I am, but how great is my God. Your faith does not have to be huge when you’re hurting, a mere mustard see put into the hands of a great God will suffice.
● Second God is Glorious.

The last part of verse 20 says: “and He knows everything.” God’s omniscience means that He knows all things, past, present and future, real and potential, and all at the same time. This means that He not only knows what was, and what is, He also knows what will be. Psalm 147:5 brings God’s greatness and His knowledge together in one verse: “Great is our Lord…His understanding has no limit.” Proverbs 15:3 tells us that “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere…” And Hebrews 4:13 reminds us that it makes no sense to try and hide from Him: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” His knowledge is absolute, complete, full and free. Our God is not caught unaware, He is never surprised, even when things may make no sense to us. John 2:24-25 tells us that Jesus knows “all men” and knows what is in all people; for me the most surprising aspect of this is that God knows everything about me and yet He loves me anyway!

● Third God is a Giver.

The last half of verse 24 reminds us that God is a giver: “this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.” Often in our pain we forget how good a giver our God is, especially when those we love have been taken from us. We tend to turn on God during these times of pain instead of praise Him in the midst of the mess. Job lived out an extreme example of this for us in Job 1:21: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” No matter what may be taken from us we always have the gift of God’s Spirit. Unfortunately in fundamental circles we have developed a culture that is not comfortable talking about the Holy Spirit, rarely do we take the time to contemplate the impact of the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is one of God’s greatest gifts, able to transform every aspect of our broken sin saturated and shattered lives. This is the One who is able to translate our pain as we cry out to God in prayer, Romans 8:26: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” I love what Jerry Bridges says: “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” The great news here is that for those who are born again believers, God will never take your salvation or remove His Holy Spirit from your life. Romans 8:16: “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Verse 21 reveals the results of choosing to focus on God’s character over our circumstances: “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.” We have confidence regardless of the circumstances. This word “confidence” literally means a freedom, boldness and assurance. We need to come back to the truth, what we term doctrine, even if we feel like doctrine is a dirty word, because it will help us in our times of darkness and doubt. Today do you need to focus on God’s character because He is great, He is glorious and He is giving? Today take time no matter what your circumstances and center your life on the character of God.