Sermon Notes 4/27 – First John

1 John
1 John 1:1-3
-John touched Jesus, saw the miracles of Jesus and declared Jesus was God

-John went through many hard times and trials – Revelation 1:9

Tribulation – means a time of complete crushing and refers to trials, times of distress, suffering, hardships and trials
—John was persecuted for his faith in Jesus – v9
—Tradition says John was boiled in oil
—John was exiled to the Island of Patmos

John made it through every hard time and trial because:
JOHN WAS AN EVEN IF BELIEVER
An EVEN IF Christ Follower is a believer who will continue to follow Jesus no matter what happens to them and not matter how hard life treats them

(1.) EVEN IF CHRIST FOLLOWERS NEVER FORGET WHO THEIR GOD IS – Revelation 1:9-18
-this means that what we are going through does not change God one bit

-everyone face hard times
-HARD TIMES ARE A WHEN AND NOT AN IF
-I will not forget who God is during hard times because no matter how hard or bad things get, My Jesus never changes…Malachi 3:6

John never forgot who Jesus is:
Revelation 1:13-16 is a description of Jesus

His hair is white as snow and His eyes are like a flame of fire – this refers to the wisdom Jesus gives us during a trial
—white refers to a white glowing light that helps us to see everything we need to know about this trial

Feet like brass – Jesus will defeat and judge all of our enemies

Voice as many waters – His voice is clear and powerful like waves crashing up against the shore

sword – is the Word of God that we can stand on

countenance – represents the presence of glory of God which rests upon us

***Beacuse John knew who His God is, he said…EVEN IF everyone forsakes Jesus, I won’t

(2.) EVEN IF CHRIST FOLLOWERS LOOK BACK AND BRING THE PAST INTO THE PRESENT AND FUTURE – John 2
-John practiced two R’s…
***THE POWER OF RECALL – John recalled all of the miracles Jesus performed personally and through him and others

***THE PROVISION OF STRENGTH – Philippians 4:13
Even if life gets harder and harder, I know the Lord will give me the strength to make it through anything and everything

-the Lord will infuse me with strength

-some of this strength comes by being in the house of the Lord – Revelation 1:10
***the Lord’s day is Sunday
***Even if we go through hard times, I’ll still be in church

What we are going through doesn’t change God one bit…