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Sermon Notes 08-21-11am
1 John 2:25
Intro: Booker T. Washington, in his book Up from Slavery, described Meeting an ex-slave from Virginia.
- Contract, promised to buy himself from his owner at a yearly rate, working wherever he desired…Ohio
- Two years later, Emancipation Proclamation, Slaves Free!
- Still he honored the Contract, … he walked to Virginia and put the last dollar in his former owner’s hands.
- I know I did not have to pay, but I gave my word; and my word has never been broken!
t/s – The Power of a Promise. Especially from a Person of Character.
Our Text today deals with Promise, a Promise Made!
1 John 2:25 (walking through 1 John… build faith on Word)
Read
Note: “Promise” repeated… Noun and verb….Promise He Promised.
The One making the promise is emphatic…He Himself (Jesus)
I find a tendency to misunderstand — maybe under-understand — this Promise as a promise that one day when we die we will go to heaven.
Eternal Life is Much More than Life that Lasts Forever.
Understanding how John uses Eternal Life is a key to understanding the Good News of Jesus and all the Promises of God!
Eternal Life is New Life from God. New life that changes me through the power of Jesus!
This New Life Lasts forever!
Mistake = Salvation is living this same old rotten (empty, weak & alienated) life with a Ticket for heaven tucked away in my pocket.
Truth = Salvation is New Life (quality and quantity)
Marks of the New Life (Eternal Life) from 1 John 1-2
a) We Embrace the Truth about Jesus and myself (Doctrinal)
b) We Live Right, Like Jesus (Moral)
c) We Love People (Social)
New Beliefs, New Behavior, New Relationships!… Power Within!
This New Life Last Forever!
Point: We need more than Life that Last Forever!
t/s – Thoughtful people have always understood this…
ILL – Greek Myth of Tithonos (Tennyson wrote a Poem)
- Request made for Immortality (Life Forever)
- Zeus granted the request quickly…wry grin
- Forgot to request eternal youth… Tithonos aged forever without Dying!
- Last we hear…. Shut away, unable to move, speak, think…
We need more than life that lasts forever. We Need New Life!
Romans 6:23 – Matters of Life and Death
Death = Physical and spiritual…. Alienation and degradation
Life = Reconciliation and Regeneration…. New Birth!
“Eternal Life” most famously used in John 3:16…Story that is Context
Ill – Nicodemus Story…. Born Again!
Not Information, Not Reformation, Transformation!
Eternal Life!
App – Will I Go to Heaven When I Die? (wrong question)
Do I Have New Life from Jesus? (Testimony?)
1 John 2:25 (Read Together)
Can you count on His Promise?
- He Is Willing (Cross)
- He Is Able (Resurrection)
