He was a young man on the edge.   He knew in his heart, his mind, his will he needed to take the next step.  A step either glorious or tragic.  Yet he was unable to move, paralyzed with fear.  Absolutely frozen in place.  His whole body shaking.   Tears streaming down his face.  Turmoil raging within him.   It was a rite of passage.  Others had done it.  He must do it.   But no rationale, no counting to 3, no sibling rivalry or encouragement loosed the grip of fear.   The gravity of fear was an irresistible force.  The heights were dizzying and the depths unfathomable.    

And nothing below would hold him up once he had jumped.  Nothing would keep him from sinking into the abyss.  Nothing that is except the grasp of his father.   His father’s presence, strength, and assurance was the only thing that made sense.  And ultimately the thing to which he leapt. “‘You can do it.  I am here.  I will catch you.  I will not let you sink.  Look at me.  Jump to me.”  

Every Christian struggles with confidence, with assurance. We are all tempted to doubt.  And often given to fear and uncertainty.  There is a lack of confident assurance that the truths of our faith are true, that the promises of our faith will be kept, that the God of our faith is who he says he is, and that our faith is sufficient.  Can we take the leap of faith?  Is our Heavenly Father there to catch us.

First John has been a study in assurance.  From the truths of our faith to the tests of our faith, we are called to have confidence that our God will catch us and save us from all the things we fear.  In the final passage of the John’s letter John calls us to confidently know that we have eternal life, that God hears and answers prayer, that Jesus has come to have fellowship with us and protect us from the evil one, to show us the Father and give us eternal life.  All things grounded in the person and work of Jesus. None of which are based on any personal work or feelings of our own. 

Heretics and anti-Christs scoff at the Word of God and boast in their own knowledge and experience.  But nothing they offer can save us.  Only our Faithful God can catch us and save us.  He alone is the one in whom we have confidence and who offers assurance.  John ends his call to confidence with five things about God that we know and a final warning not to trust in any god but the living and true God.

Join us as we examine 1 John 5:13-21 and consider God’s call to confidence in what we are to know about him, his promises and his mighty acts. We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join our livestream on YouTube.