SHORTCUT TO WEEK 3: DAY 1 - DAY 2 - DAY 3 - DAY 4
WEEK 3 - DAY 3
WHAT IF MY FEELINGS BETRAY ME DAY TO DAY…AM I A CHRISTIAN?
Have you ever woke up one day and feel like Jesus is so close you could hear, feel, and almost see him? But the next day wake up and feel like you couldn’t pick Jesus out of a line up? One day you wake up and serving Jesus is as easy as breathing? But the next day you wake up and it feels like walking with Jesus is a marathon you’ve been running for days with no finish line?
Today, 1st John is just for you! Today we look at the very important topic, “What role do emotions play in my faith?” Or to say it another way, “Can I trust my emotions everyday to tell me what is true?”
Emotions are extremely important in the Christian’s life. In fact, they are so important God gives us commands that our emotions must follow. In the New Testament we are commanded to be grateful. We are commanded to hope. We are commanded to rejoice. We are commanded to be sorrowful and weep. We have a list of 14 emotions from the New Testament which God commands. So to say emotions are not important is simply wrong. Emotions are important to God. But at the same time, many times our emotions are out of our control and many times we will believe things that are untrue simply because we “feel” a certain way. At times like this, we are tempted to believe our feelings/emotions over the promises of God.
So what do we do? What part do emotions play in our faith? How can we truly know how we stand before God, regardless of how we “feel?” John helps us answer that questions.
Below you will see 3 ways every person in the world stands before God. 1) As a Non-Christian, 2) As a Christian who has a heart that condemns them, or as a 3) Confident and Secure Christian.
How do you stand before God?
3 Ways We All Stand Before God
1) WE CAN STAND BEFORE GOD…As A Non-Christian or Christian.
READ 1st John 3:19.
This verse start with “by this, we know we are in the truth and reassure our hearts before him” that we are Christians. The question we should ask is…“By what?” Let’s look back at the context of 1st John and see what “by what” is referring to.
According to the context in 1st John, what are evidences that we are truly Christians? Look up the verses below and write your answers for each passage.
1st John 2:29
1st John 3:6
1st John 3:14-15
1st John 3:16-17
Questions:
How can someone be sure they are a Christian?
Is it possible to stand before God with assurance that you are or are not a Christian? Why or why not?
2) WE CAN STAND BEFORE GOD…As a Christian with a Condemned Heart
READ 1st John 3:20
Have you ever had this happen to you? You know you are a Christian. You have faith in Jesus. You live in obedience, although not perfect. You have a deep love for brothers and sisters in Christ. But for some reason you feel condemned before him. You do know you’re a Christian, but you feel shame or guilt or condemnation before him?
Remember, John has gone through three whole chapters to show you how to weigh the evidence of if you are a Christian. It is after three full chapters of laying out this evidence that he moves on to this topic: Standing before God as a Christian, but with a condemned heart.
John writes this section for the person who knows they are a Christian but deals with lingering guilt or shame when they think about God, attempt to serve God, seek God, or pray to God. This is not uncommon. But the question remains, “What do I do in those times?”
Let’s read v. 20 again, “for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.”
Two truth battle the condemned heart of a Christian: 1) God is greater than our heart (emotions), and 2) God knows everything. Let’s see how these two truths combat our condemned heart.
1) God is greater than our hearts.
3. Why do people usually feel condemned before the Lord, even if they are a Christian?
4. Read the following passages, and write why these truths show God to be greater than the feelings we bring into his presence. In short, how can these verse combat any reason we have to feel condemned before him?
Romans 8:1
1st John 1:9
Romans 5:1-8
2) God knows everything.
5. Read the following verses and then proceed to the next questions:
Hebrews 4:13
Matthew 10:29-31
6. What does it mean that “God knows everything?”
7. Do you think God knows the thing you are most embarrassed of or the thing that has caused you the deepest pain right now?
8. At times your heart will condemn you and tell you are not accepted or loved by God. How do these two truths above, when put together, make God more powerful than your heart (emotions).
3) WE CAN STAND BEFORE GOD…Radically confident and bold.
READ 1st John 3:21-22
There is nothing sweeter than knowing you can not only stand before God accepted, but that he actually desires for you to be with him. God loves you so much he sent his Son to die for you so you can have access to him. He doesn’t not want you to waste his Son’s death and the power of it by half heartedly accepting what it accomplished. Jesus’ death means complete forgiveness, complete justification, and complete acceptance of us. God desires YOU!
9. What does the word “Justification” mean?
10. Why is awesome that God has justified you?
11. What does the word “adoption” mean?
12. Why is it awesome that God has adopted you as a son or daughter by faith?
13. In your own words, explain the awesome realities found in the following verses:
1st John 3:21
1st John 3:22
13. What is the command God has given us to follow in the following verses:
1st John 3:23
Is this a hard command? Why or why not?
What do you think verse 24 means?
Emotions are an important part of being a Christian. But they always need to follow truth. Just like a steam engine locomotive. A steam locomotive will pull anything as long as it has the coal car behind it feeding it coal. In the Christian life, the locomotive is like God’s truth and the coal car our faith. As we apply faith to the engine, our emotions will follow properly, much like a caboose. But if we wait on our emotions to be the engine, we will sit still in total frustration.
I LOVE emotions! I love to be excited in worship. I love joy with brothers and sisters. Emotions will always arise and never lead you astray, when they are rooted and check by truth.
Press on church in all things! I love you!
CLOSING EXPERIENMENT:
Using one of the three points mentioned above, How do you personally stand before God?
Explain your answer.
What was your major takeaway today?