"For God so loved the world
that He gave His only
begotten Son, that
whoever believes
in Him shall not perish
but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
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Good morning, ladies...let's seek the Lord:
"Father God, as we look into Your word this morning and study what it means to have this gift of eternal life which You promised, may our eyes be opened to Your precepts and may You be blessed. I pray that You will reveal to us new and exciting things about the promises that are "yes" in Christ Jesus!
I pray and ask the forgiveness of my sins. I pray that You will search me and cleanse me of all my iniquities this day. I pray that You will restore me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
I pray that You will be with each lady reading this study today, Lord. That You will search her heart and change her through the reading of Your word. May You encourage her to face all the tasks set out before her. Lift her up and set her on the straight and narrow path that leads to life.
In Jesus' name.....amen."
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Promises, promises...
Today we hear so many promises being thrown at us especially from the Presidential candidates who promise us they can end all wars and bring us peace and change...change that will make our lives better.
But we would be wise to heed the Word of God at a time like this where He has made promises and has delivered on those promises time and time again.
As we begin this lesson today, we will be looking at what it means to abide in the Word of God and what the promise of eternal life means to us.
1 John 2:24-25:
"Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us- eternal life."
The most significant and damaging way that Satan has turned many away from Christ is through the story of "the beginning" of all creation. He has successfully made people doubt the Bible's account of how all came into being. And he has cleverly designed a way to influence people that his very existence is a fable and myth.
"Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning....."
Please read:
Ps 119:33-40
Prov 2:6
We have heard from the beginning that it was God who created the heavens and the earth...and that this earth is passing away. To abide in the precepts of the Lord is the path to wisdom and He gives us that wisdom liberally.
Ps 49:1-9
Contrast what the Lord has promised with what man promises....riches, materialism, a long life.
Empty promises that cannot lead to wisdom and eternal life. The riches of this world cannot redeem anyone. The materials of this world cannot save anyone's soul.
Remember what it means to "abide". It means to dwell, stay, continue, be present, remain, endure, stand.
John reminds us that if what we heard from the beginning abides in us, we will abide in the Son and in the Father.
My family has been tempted to leave our very small church and go elsewhere so that Nathan will have a youth group to participate in as he enters high school soon. We also fear that our little church will not last long since we have financial issues. But we also know that not many churches out there teach the Word of God expositionally, especially to their youth. We have seen other families leave our church and take their high school aged children with them only to see those same children fall away from the Lord because they are no longer being taught His precepts.
Now those parents are dealing with rebellious children becoming rebellious adults.
As long as we stay at our church, we know that our son is hearing the Word of God being taught and honored. So, we will stay and pray for our church to repent and be healed so that the Lord can use us and we can grow. It takes patience and it takes time....but honoring God's Word will be rewarded.
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"And this is the promise that He has promised us-eternal life."
The promises of God are nothing to smirk at. He does not promise us better stock options or lower gas prices. He does not promise to bring peace to us all.
His promises are far greater than just this world:
John 3:14-16
John 6:40
John 17:2-3
Jesus is saying here that to know God and Jesus Christ is eternal life. Remember, God did not create in order to fulfill a need in Himself...He is eternal, there is no need in an eternal being....no, He created to be known.
To be is to do.
He knows that to know Him and all His attributes is to know eternal life.
Jer 9:23-24
Let us not respond to the promises of God as Abraham and Sarah did:
Gen 18:1-15
Let us not laugh nor think that God is not glorious enough to grant us eternal life. Let us remember who He is.
Ps 20:7-9
Ps 44:7-8
Is 41:16
It can be tempting to consider our God too small or too weak to fulfill all the promises He has made simply because we are so accustomed to men breaking their promises day and night. We tend to see the Infinite in light of the finite.
Ps 84:5
Ps 37:1-5
But our God is so great. He has sworn on His own deity that He will keep His promises just as He said.
This is what John wants us toremember: that which we have heard from the beginning.
Jesus Christ came to set us free from death. In Him is eternal life.
Abide in that promise....abide in Him and He will abide in you.
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Life Application
As Christians, it can be so frustrating to live in this world and yet try and be separated from this world at the same time.
We see and hear about evil people prospering all around us and yet we read or hear of Christians who are persecuted for their faith.
Ps 37:7-11
But God wants us to remember that the evil person will soon face their end. And the meek, the humble, shall inherit the earth and have the abundance of peace.
How long do we have to wait, Lord?? This is what Habakkuk asked God too...
Habakkuk 1:1-4
But the Lord responded to him in this way:
Habakkuk 1:5
He will respond to the evil and violence in this world. Habakkuk knew this:
1:12-17
2:12-19
And he reminds us of the truth:
2:20
There should be no fear from us about the future. No matter what happens in the coming months, the Lord is still in His holy temple on His throne.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
"..Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
Let that be our hymn of faith today. Let us meditate on the promises of God: that He is our salvation forever and ever. Amen.
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Until next time.....
"We ought to read the Scriptures daily to inform our minds and nourish our souls so that when temptations come, whether moral or theological, our hearts will be taken up with Christ and His truth and we will say, 'How can I believe or do what is against Christ? How can I sin against God who has loved me, who gave His Son for me, and who is preparing a home in heaven for me?'"
-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, p. 100)
Blessings,
Ruth
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