In the Sunshine I John 5:13-17

 I John 5:13-17  " In the Sunshine"

  I remember in Science in grade school,  we were told to put a plant in the dark, and also one in the sunlight.  Which one grew?  The one in the light!  The Christian who is sure of their spiritual state is like the plant in the sunshine.  They will grow, and will have many benefits flow from their assurance in God.

1.  This was John's purpose in writing this letter.  5:13 Assurance of eternal life.  " These things I have written to you, in order that you may know that you have eternal life, you who are believing in the name of the Son of God"

He ends the letter by telling us why he wrote us at all.  That we may know.  

Definition: know- be aware, behold, consider, perceive

Usage: I know, remember, appreciate.  Biblehub.com

John wrote his Gospel 20:31 " these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."

John's letter is written to believers to assure them that they have eternal life.

What do we gain besides what we have discussed from being sure of our spiritual state?

2.  Assurance of answered prayers.. 5:14-15 " Confidence"

Definition: freedom of speech, confidence

Usage: freedom, openness, especially in speech; boldness, confidence.

2:28  We also have confidence at His coming as we abide in Him.

a.   He hears us 

Mark said something about  that as well in 11:24 " all things which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted you..."

b.  Our Daily Bread had an illustration about this :  " Sometimes God does not give us exactly what we want, nor does He always  respond immediately.  But we can be certain that even the timing of his answers is designed for our good.

 A small boy complaining to his brother said, ' Dad said he likes it when we ask him for things, but I don't think he meant what he said.  I told him a long time ago that I wanted a camera I saw in a store window.  But he didn't give it to me.  It's no use asking for anything. ' Several years passed.  Then one morning the father called his son into his study and said, ' I suppose you've forgotten all about that camera you wanted.'  ' No, I haven't replied the boy.'  ' I just figured you didn't want to spend the money on me.'  The father quickly responded. ' No, that wasn't it at all.'   Then, handing  him a camera , he said,' Here's the one I wanted you to have.  It's a much nicer model than the one you had picked out. And you are old enough now to appreciate and use the one I'm giving you.'  

Although that son had to wait, he received more than he had asked for."

John 9:31 " if any one is God fearing , and does His will, He hears him."

I Peter 3:12 " the eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer."

3. If we ask according to His will 5:14 

3:22 says that relates to our listening to God's commandments

Stott says something good about this, " Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending His will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating our will to His."

Every prayer is a variation on the theme, " Thy will be done"

Conclusion---

5:15 says " And if we know that He hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him"

I want to read this as part of the conclusion for today in an article I found, "

 To varying extents we are all the victims of a broken history; we all carry wounds that we do not deserve, whether those are from racial trauma, social modeling, or ..... Nevertheless, in Jesus we have been given the opportunity to live differently. We are not prisoners of our history. No matter what has happened to us, where we have been and what we have done, redemption and healing remain possible. That is not to suggest that we downplay generational trauma and abuse.

 Forgiveness requires repentance, which in turn requires that people take responsibility for their abusive actions. It is also not to downplay how difficult healing can be. The healing gifts of the mental health professions are crucial for all people working through generational trauma in its various and diverse forms. But the church can model the deep healing that comes with the gospel."  John Swinton and Joy Clarkson