The Power of Prayer

Prayer does not come naturally, it is hard work, it requires alertness of mind and readiness to the Spirit. Our natural tendency will always be to try to figure it out ourselves first. Often unsaid it goes like this, I will make this happen, but when it gets difficult and I can’t see my way through then I will call on God for help, rely on His Holy Spirit. However, we can no longer afford to operate in this default mode. We need the Lord to speak into our lives every step of the way. We cannot let the opposite grow true or we will simply die as a life giving place of real change in the economy of God!

The problem is that from day one we have learned the rules of self reliance…”If I don’t do it, it won’t get done….or if I don’t do it, it won’t get done right!” Prayer flies in the face of self sufficiency and it is alien to our proud nature

The absence of prayer lessens all the life forces of the soul, cripples faith, sets aside holy living, shuts out heaven. E. M. Bounds

At the same time prayer has to be a joy filled and guilt alleviating exercise. It is meant to bring the transcendent peace of God over all circumstances in our lives. Philippians 4:6,7

God wants us to know that He is enough, enough to handle whatever we are going through, even though you doubt it, He is enough!

Our heart reveals the awareness of prayer, our spiritual history is the best book on prayer. Our character is made by prayer and our lives are perfected through prayer. The disciples struggled a lot with the call to prayer in Jesus’ ministry. They couldn’t stay awake while He had his most intense struggle of prayer in Gethsemane. The richest of revelations are not made but revealed by God through prayer.

1 Corinthians 2:9-11

However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"— 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

He who learns well the trade of praying masters the secret of the Christian art and becomes a skilled workman in God’s workshop. E. M. Bounds

God’s power flows through people who PRAY!!

It has been said that when we work, we work…I get that, but when we pray, God works. I’m tired of trying to make it happen. It is high time to get serious about the power of prayer! Some people say oh it is just coincidence when prayers are answered….but you have to admit it is pretty amazing how many coincidences happen when you begin to pray! Most people call it luck; God’s people call it divine providence.

Mark 4:35-41 may not strike you as a passage on prayer, but it is so rich in what it has been teaching me.

1. Leave The Crowd Behind

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. v35,36

Jesus gives you permission to stop. I don’t know what you are doing right now that is so important. There was some great teaching taking place and Jesus was relating the kingdom of God to the parable of the sower, the lamp, the growing seed, the mustard seed. Finally Jesus says ‘time’s up’. There are more important things that keeping busy, more important things than more ministry, filling up your calendar with dates, checking your email etc…Can you get to the place in the day where you say enough…enough of doing stuff to feel like you have to accomplish one more thing. If you are an A type personality this will be difficult for you. It will be difficult to stop, to keep yourself from doing, but that is what God is asking from you.

If you are the type of person who just thrives in the crowd and you just can’t get enough of being with people, being where the action is. The message for you is the same…’Leave the crowd behind’. Stop trying to get all your worth and affirmation from all those around you. God is saying get alone with me.

2. Expect The Unexpected

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. v37

As we pray we become more aware of the storms around us. God will prompt you to respond to the very real situations that people are facing all around you. The battle for the souls of men and women becomes more acute and we know that something has to be done.

All too often we go into prayer with little to no expectations and that has to stop. We need to see the invisible. A great example of this is the story in 2 Kings 6

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

We our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms….and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

3. Pray Like You Mean IT!

The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” v38

It was a desperate request and from all appearances it felt like Jesus was not engaged in the situation. They also knew that at this point He was the only one who could do anything about it and why wasn’t He?

There are many things that we will never be able to reconcile in our hearts and minds about the ways of God. “His ways are higher and so our thoughts”. Sometimes we get a glimpse into His eternal purposes and then sometimes we are left guessing; however, thankfully this life is not the final chapter. He is in the business of reconciling all of creation to Himself.

As I have been reading through the book of Job and hopefully some of you are still with me on this 52 week journey and reading along in the Foundations journal that you were given…but as I read, I appreciate the honesty of his prayers. There is something that you need to realize sooner than later in your prayer life…get real with God!

Ephesians 6:18b-19 With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

4. Submit Yourself To His Control

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid?

Do you still have no faith?” v39,40

The disciples really had no choice but to trust that Jesus would ‘show up!’ Their very lives depended on Jesus showing up. Some of us unfortunately wait till we get into the squall to call upon Him and He wants you to ultimately rest in Him at every point of your life.

Difficult circumstances perfect us as they did in this situation, but can we get to the place that our rest in Him can be so strong that even the craziest storms can’t unsettle us? I don’t know, but He knows.

He wants to show up in your life now, not tomorrow, not when the storm starts, He wants to be with you in the calm before the storm.

My prayer every week is that God will show up. It is my prayer that His presence would be so unmistakeable that you will know that you have met with the living God. That is why I’m here and I hope it is the same for you….If He doesn’t show up then we are just going through the motions.

5. See Him Act Firsthand and be AMAZED!

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” v41

Praying makes the eternal more and more real. Jesus led the way through His prayer life and created a greater incentive to pray. The glory of His transfiguration was preceded by prayer. It is as we continue to pray that we will see lives transformed. It is in the same way that we all with unveiled faces continue to reflect the glory of God….it comes through prayer. It changed Moses appearance and it will change yours!! 2 Corinthians 3:17,18

It is such a powerful thing to put your finger on times in your life when you have known and seen God’s hand at work. He has changed your heart, He has changed your appetite for spiritual things. He has brought your friend or family member to the Lord. You asked for something very specific and real and He has answered. Why are we surprised then.

The Takeaway:

Prayer is as real and as powerful as we expect Him to be!

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:

1. What difference does prayer make in your life?
2. How can prayer sometimes impose on our individuality?
3. How do you respond to this statement, “The most intimate communion with God only comes through prayer.”
4. What draws you into praying?
5. What causes you to resist praying?

Truth

It was Senator Anne Cools that spoke to our team in Ottawa and said the moment you question authority, the moment you challenge the status quo or separate yourself from the pack, a target is placed on your back! Just know that if what you stand for does not jive with the majority of opinion, you are seen as a threat. Thankfully there have been those who stepped up and the truth has been revealed. Take for example:

Aristotle who boldly proclaimed the truth that the earth was the center of the universe and this view was held from the mid 300s AD until 1530 AD. Bloodletting was considered a standard remedy for certain health conditions including fevers, inflammation and believe it or not, hemorrhaging. It did finally get nixed, but it held even as late as 1923 as being recommended by Sir William Osler. Then there is evolution which is taught as truth in schools. It is still a theory and many lies have been exposed here and continue to be exposed by Creation Research Institute - http://www.icr.org

Also, check out the movie - http://www.expelledthemovie.com/

“What is truth?” asked Pontius Pilate of Jesus in John 18:38 and maybe you are wondering too! There are so many ‘versions of the truth’ out there even among believers so how can we know for sure.

Well, we start by first asking what is the aim of truth and what is the end result of that search.

Psalm 86:11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your Truth.

Jesus Himself takes truth very seriously as He prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” To sanctify means change and it is God’s transforming process in the life of every child of God. The words ‘in the truth’ is the fuel and power for change. This morning we are going to look at what it means to build our families on truth. In order for our families to walk in truth, it requires diligence, correction and relationship. Dial in and get focused as we get ready to go head first in to bootcamp for truth!

We have focused on a family that can pass the tests of life, we have talked about children who rise up and call their parents blessed. A lot of people spend time and energy in building families but if the foundation is wrong then it will only be a matter of time until a storm unravels everything you have your hard work into.

Matthew 7:24 refers to the story of a wise man who built his house on the rock in comparison to the foolish man who built on the sand. The word ‘rock’ here means ‘truth’. Jesus proclaims v25-27

There are two kinds of families…maybe it seems oversimplified but it is not. A family either builds on rock solid truth or you pick the option for sand – lies, neglect, apathy – they all fall in the category of sand. Now sand castles are pretty impressive and they can free up time for a lot of other pursuits that seem more personally gratifying. Building your family on the sand is fast and easy and looks good if we are going for appearances sake.

Unfortunately building your home on truth requires intentionality and focus. It often doesn’t come naturally…it takes spiritual inertia to overcome the human lethargy of the soul. It takes time to drill deep and build carefully. Quite honesty building your home on truth may seem not worth the effort…that is until the storm hits.

So this story in Matthew tells us of two families who built on very different foundations but encountered the very same experiences. You name the storms that hit a family…what are they?

• Tragic loss of a family member
• Sudden financial reversal
• Rebellion of a son or daughter

Don’t miss this….there are two very different outcomes. The house built on sand has a great fall and complete and total devastation. The house built on the rock stood strong.

I have heard about and witnessed the total collapse of family units in every church that I have been in. I have also watched families in all the same churches be dealt the most difficult hand and not only survive but thrive so what gives, what makes the difference? They both attended the same church, listened to the same message, brought their children to church faithfully…

Building Your Family on Truth requires:

1. Diligence

Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:14,15 NASB

Diligence is absolutely necessary to keep you focused. It is a driven determination to see this life, this home, this family all the way through.

· Avoid the foolish issues

Don’t wrangle about words –wrangle could easily be translated ‘a war of words’ This encompasses all the nonsense arguments that we have that really are unnecessary. This kind of quarreling usually comes with an edge of sarcasm and a tone that undervalues. Unfortunately it is many nonsensical issues that are tearing homes apart. The enemy likes to get our focus off the most important life changing conversations and get wrapped up in the trivial….Paul is saying that kind of convo is USELESS…get that .

We only get so many words in our families and the older are children get, the fewer our words become….It may sound like this, “Clean up your room,” “why haven’t you taken the garbage out?” “How many cookies have you had already?” “Get to bed already” We need to speak into their lives so much more? They need to have words that are going to have an impact. If we are too exhausting fighting the smaller issues, we are going to miss those big teachable moments.

If we keep up the nagging about all the unimportant stuff, it will lead to ruin especially with the absence of meaningful convos, it will be to their ruin and our's.

Swallow your pride and change now, tell your children, your wife…whoever and tell them you are sorry and admit that you have been pressing them about the insignificant stuff. It takes humility.

· Prioritize the word of Truth

A family that certainly does this is the Lazarski's and once again that was brought home by Jordan's video message to Luke and Rebekah at their wedding. It was chalk full of Scripture to challenge them!

To accurately handle the Word of Truth means to cut it straight. You say how do I cut it straight?

For example when you son or daughter wants to date a non- Christian, you take them to 2 Corinthians 6:14…take a stand.

When they want to go to a party where you know there will be alcohol present…

Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

⁾Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God I speak this to your shame 1 Corinthians 15:32-34

When they want to watch an inappropriate movie, take a stand, make the call, protect their thought life.

Philippians 4:8 Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely…dwell on these things.

You tell me, hey man, my marriage is not working out like I thought it would. I’m not sure I’m going to make it…now after I pray with you, I’m going to cut it straight…

Matthew 19:6 What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.

You tell me it has been a hard time of year, I don’t think I can give to the church, to the relief effort in Myanmar….

Matthew 6:33 Seek FIRST the kingdom of God

They don’t want to do homework

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31

They feel useless, they are being bullied.

this is what the LORD Almighty says: —for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye Zechariah 2:8

There are some families known on my street as ‘party central’ where the drinking goes into the wee hours of the morning…

People on my street know that my home is kid central… how about prayer central…

What is your home known for???

Building Your Family on Truth requires

2. Correction

the Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,

with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 2 Timothy 2:24,25 NASB

Know this right now that when you decide that your home will be built on the truth who ultimately is Jesus, you will encounter opposition.

There are different kinds of opposition

· Misunderstandings – You may be accused of being too harsh or going off the deep end with the whole Bible thing and your character may be attacked

· Tiredness – sometimes we can become so tired with children especially when they are younger and just ‘let things slide’ like reading with them, praying with them, correcting bad behaviour –do what is right and follow up. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to hear parents threaten to discipline their children and not follow through. Take for example this one...’we will never come back here again!' they say in a middle of a restaurant.... really?? You are never going to this fast food restaurant with them again… hallelujah...but seriously follow through and make the punishment fit the crime. When you say, 'Next time you do this, I will take that away – take it away then…be ready to correct and follow through on your discipline so make it make sense.

· Emotional distance – as they get older, this can rip you apart, but don’t back down, don’t compromise and draw the line…if they really love God, they will thank you someday.

When you give in and leak in compromise, it will soon become a flood. Stand your ground and stand together…back each other up as husband and wife.

Building Your Family on Truth requires

3. Relationship

You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;

so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2Timothy 3:14-17

He doesn’t say knowing what you have learned…He states – knowing from whom you have learned them…

There it is. The foundation is secure because there is an example to follow. There is someone who just doesn’t breath hot air – they are actually living out what they are challenging you to go for as well.

The other thing to notice here is that he tells him, ‘you have learned these things from childhood.

2 Timothy 1:5 gives us a window into Timothy’s childhood. Timothy’s father was Greek and apparently did not worship the God of Israel. Acts 16:1,3 Tim had a faithful mother and grandmother, Lois, who poured into his life.

Your children will learn about God in Adventureland but it is not their job to teach the Word of God to your kids…It is ultimately the responsibility of the parents… Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Truth must be taught in the context of relationship. Look for the opportunities….

I had one of those teachable moments not too long ago as 'Too late to apologize’ came on the radio on the drive to school with my kids and had a great conversation about forgiveness.

We need to have a relationship with the author and designer of families.

John 5:39 It is not just about head knowledge of the Scriptures.

It all comes back to knowing Jesus because He is the way, the TRUTH, the life. John 14:6

He embodies truth, He is the one who reveals truth in His very words through His Holy Spirit.

You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." John 18:37

He came for the truth to be revealed about Himself, He is God Incarnate, the Son of God, the very one who lives in us and we in Him!

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32

His truth sets us free from the lies of the enemy who wants to keep you stuck, keep you listening to his lies, keep you in bondage to fear and sin.

So we come back to the passage that we began with.

The elder,
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth - 2because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

3Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.

2 John 1-4

So, love the Truth, embrace the Truth and walk in the Truth. The Truth, Jesus is light, He is the one who through the Holy Spirit will enable us to keep walking in the truth, staying on course. Allow Him to keep speaking in to your life and breathe life into your family.

2Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John

The Takeaway

A family that builds on the truth will prevail because its foundation rests secured.

Building Strong Families

1. Take time to not just pray with your kids but read a portion of God’s Word to them and read it with GUSTO!! Get into character.

2. Take advantage of family devotionals – a link is there off of our website. Commit some regular days during the week to sit down together and share after supper.

3. Choose some family values that you will post on your fridge together and springboard this exercise after a family meal as you find them in the Word of God.

4. Have a contest with them to learn the books of the Bible

5. Take time to memorize a verse together as a family for each week. Psalm 127 or Ephesians 6 are great places to begin.

If you are not the fondest of reading, you can now get audio versions of the Bible to listen to on your mp3 player

This blog's outline with thanks to James MacDonald http://www.walkintheword.com

Life

Psalm 139 For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

WE can be certain that we have been given an incredible life and that life is in His Son Jesus Christ!

Nothing is certain but death and taxes. Benjamin Franklin penned those very words in 1789. My parents perspective was the same except they used to slip in, ‘Jack, if that is the worst thing that is going to happen to you, you are doing alright.’ They did a great job teaching me perspective goes a long way in assessing my life. They raised me with a foundation about things that I could have absolute assurance about from the love of God to the realization that my life is in His hands! This passage testifies to the truth that there are absolute certainties about life for those ‘born of God’. This chapter is all about building into the children of God the confidence that comes from knowing Jesus!

To a point, John affirms, ‘we know’ 39x in this letter and 8x in this final chapter. There is a lot to be said about a child who knows and believes it when it comes to being joyful in obedience, victorious in faith, assurance in belief, confidence in prayer and absolute in truth.

If we can raise our children with this capacity, they will be ‘tigers for the Lord’!

I can remember being interviewed for accreditation and as I laid out my beliefs, the ordaining council shared with me that it had been a long time since they had someone come through with such an affirmation and lack of doubt in regards to their beliefs. I do not tell that story to say, ‘hey, look at me’ but to say I had parents, brothers, mentors who took the time to instill it into my life. Our kids will not learn it by osmosis! We need spiritual coaches, mentors, trainers in the church for the life of the church!

Joyful In Obedience v1-3a

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome

The idea of being joyful in obedience may seem like an oxymoron to some. The first truth about life is found in learning obedience. The word ‘obey’ would seem like being in a controlled situation and frankly that may scare you, but with God, we will thrive when we are obedient to his commands.

What are his commands ultimately….to love the Lord your God and love to another….

Psalm 119:

I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD;
do not let me be put to shame.

32 I run in the path of your commands,
for you have set my heart free.

33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees;
then I will keep them to the end.

Running to me sounds like a lot of movement, a lot of freedom for expression. I think all to often we hear the word, ‘command’ or ‘be obedient’ and naturally our backs get up. Nobody likes to be told what to do, but when it is God doing the telling, the Scriptures testify, David testifies, Paul shares with confidence that when you are obedient, when you listen, when you follow through on God’s commands, it will give you life!!

What really is burdensome is the reality of life for those who do not obey his commands. It is then that life gets really hard to live.

The first step of obedience in Jesus’ life was to accept his mission and He ‘came by water’ in verse 6 referring to His baptism. When Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River it was to signify the beginning of His public ministry.

Believer’s baptism is a step of obedience. It is all about control and some of you need to take that step. Some of you might be thinking but is it really necessary. Jesus thought so or he wouldn’t put it up right beside disciple making!

Obedience to God for you might be breaking a bad habit, having a neighbor over for a bbq, or stop working so much so that you can be there for your family

Obedience to God might be actually asking Him what He wants to do with your life! That might scare you, but it shouldn’t. It’s about opening up your life to possibilities and dreams you never imagined…Ephesians 3:20

I know someone who is ready to change the course of the direction of their life in the last month and the joy is unmistakeable.

It was while actually running this week that God spoke to me about returning the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children. I literally go on the run with God and I know I have to be obedient to that voice in my life. I’m already wrestling about the implications of it, but also crazy excited about what that could give birth to!!

Victorious In Faith v4b,5

for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

I don’t know about you but I don’t like losing and the truth of the matter is that we are on the winning side

The spell has been broken with regards to the world. The fascination with what this world, everything apart from God, has lost its appeal. It just doesn’t have that gravitational pull in their life…they can throw the ads in the recycling bin because they really know that they are not missing out on the greatest deal of a lifetime!!

There are definitely times that we are overcome by grief and we read stories in the paper that can really crush you and perplex you…for Paul it was very real and very physical

8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

BUT the point is that we are not destroyed. Hope is not destroyed, faith is not lost. There is a very real sense for the believer that have learned to overcome, for someone whose faith has gone through the fire…

Assurance In Belief v6-13

13I 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.

We have already focused on Jesus coming by water, but He also came by blood which refers to His crucifixion, His death on the cross and the third testimony of Christ is the Holy Spirit of God.

Assurance of life giving belief rests in this:

• the testimony that Jesus is God’s Son in our hearts
• the testimony that in Jesus there is life and life eternal

testimony – truthfulness, sincerity, authenticity. It is a legal word that speaks to giving evidence and proof

don’t lose sight of the testimony of God in your heart….so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life!

Confidence In Prayer v14,15

14This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Prayer is not a meaningless exercise. It carries incredible weight, it brings amazing clarity and reveals His will. Prayer brings resolution in our lives!

Absolute In Truth v16-21

16If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him 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 he should pray about that. 17All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.

Truth #1 Intercession changes people. The fact is that through prayer we can watch God change the course of direction of a person’s life.

OK, so what is the sin that leads to death?

Certainly in the OT there were many sins that were punishable by death in the Levitical Law. Leviticus 20 Some might even say the sin of apostacy is the sin that leads to death – a complete and total denial of faith. There are those who would say it is the unpardonable sin, the sin of blasphemy --- the Pharisees who attributed the works of God to Satan and they are all good answers.

BUT, here is the bigger question, how can you give life to someone who is already alive? A believer is alive, A believer has life! So, both people being referred to here are not Christians, but dead, dead in their sins as Ephesians 2 would describe them. The word brother here is being used in the nominal sense of a brother, in the broader word of a brother being a neighbor.

So, while a good Bible student may get hung up on this, that is really not the point here. The point that is so powerful is that we need to pray for our neighbors because the only sin that leads to death is the SIN OF UNBELIEF!

We need to pray that God will open their eyes to the light of the glorious gospel in all its fullness. We have been given such an amazing life and this is not by random choice and natural selection!

Truth # 2 I will feel differently about sin

18We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

The reality of Christ’s presence in your life will not allow you to persist in deliberate sin.

Truth # 3 I am a child of God

As much as we affirm and hold on to the truth, it also means the opposite is true for all those who do not have Jesus…they are under the power, influence and control of the evil one.

19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

THE FINAL TRUTH or the TAKEAWAY is found in verse 20. It holds everything together

The Takeaway

20We 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—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

We have an incredible LIFE in Jesus, God’s Son, a life like no other. Pray for understanding for others as you testify to what you KNOW!

21Dear children, keep yourselves from idols – Idols always steal time and your affection away from Christ….by the way, there is no life in an idol.

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups

1. What does eternal life mean to you?
2. Who are people in your life that you can pray for their understanding? Write their names down and keep them in your Bible or somewhere to remind you.
3. Testify! Have you ever put your testimony on paper and identified what God has done in your heart? Take time to write down something fresh that God is doing in you right now and share it with your family or small group.