221 email with pastor, 20JUL

Hi Pastor,  I just re-listened to a previous sermon about stress (which I thought might be good to rehear, LOL) but really i wanted to email you because it’s the end of the sermon where you had the drive home message that resounded with me…. the scripture from one of John’s letters is about us being a child of God and once you realize that, you will have peace…

This scripture talks about us being NOT of this world if we follow Jesus … Jesus overcame the world… and that matches a conversation that I had with the guest preacher and a friend… in a nutshell he said that if we follow Jesus then we are not of this world… therefore when we get to heaven we won’t be in the exact same position that we are in this world – and he talked about how God is pleased when we keep with fellow people who are believers like us but truly is only God who can do the changing of each person….

1 John 5 (NIV)

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of Godovercomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify:⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.⁹ We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Concluding Affirmations

¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of Godso that you may know that you have eternal life. ¹⁴ This is the confidencewe have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

¹⁶ If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. ¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin,and there is sin that does not lead to death.

¹⁸ We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. ¹⁹ We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. ²⁰ We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

²¹ Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.