Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20041212.htm

I JOHN: DEFEATING MISLEADING SPIRITUAL ERROR TRULY TO COMMUNE WITH GOD
Part VI: Blessings The Mature "Father" Has In His Walk With God
E. The Blessing Of Confidence Before God Via Answered Prayer
(1 John 3:22-24a; 3:16-18; 5:14-15)
  1. Introduction
    1. True fellowship with God produces a tremendous, multifaceted, spiritually fulfilling lifestyle even on this earth in this mortal life, something John briefly stated in 1 John 1:3-4.
    2. So, having laid out the three basic levels of spiritual maturity, John supplied insight into the blessings that spiritual "fathers" have as a result of overcoming a dependence on others as a "little child" together with the world's lusts, and of overcoming dependence on the world's lusts as a "young man". The fifth blessing "fathers" enjoy is the blessing of confidence that their prayer requests will be answered (as follows):
  2. The Blessing Of Confidence Before God Via Answered Prayer, 1 John 3:22-24a; 3:16-18; 5:14-15.
    1. After addressing the three levels of maturity in 1 John 2:12-27, John began an extensive treatment of the blessings occurring for spiritual "fathers" as motivation for his readers to mature into spiritual fatherhood.
    2. The fifth blessing of maturity is confidence we are maturing by noting we see our prayer requests truly are getting answered by the Lord, a source of great joy and blessed confidence in our relationship with God:
      1. Based on the truths John had taught up to that point in his epistle, John concluded in 1 John 3:22 that whatever we ask of God in prayer, we receive from Him because we keep His commandments.
      2. To remind us again what these commandments were, John repeated the two he had shared to this point in his epistle: (a) if we believe on the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ and (2) then love fellow brethren, we dwell in God and He in us in pure spiritual fellowship that produces such an effective prayer life, 1 John 3:23-24; Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, p. 897-898.
      3. By reviewing 1 John 3:16-21 upon which John's teaching in 1 John 3:22-24 is built, we have the following detailed format for getting answers to prayer, a blessing that itself produces a strong confidence before God that in turns yields tremendous joy in the believer (as follows):
        1. When we as believers in Christ sacrificially give of ourselves (1 John 3:16) or of our extra material possessions to meet the needs of fellow believers (1 John 3:17), we thereby show tangible and Biblically-sanctioned evidence that we truly fellowship with God and heed His commandments of trusting in Christ and loving each other, cf. 1 John 3:16-17, 18 with 1 John 3:22.
        2. That being so, when we pray to God within His will (1 John 5:14-15), which WILL is that we trust in His Son, Jesus Christ and selflessly give of ourselves and of our extra possessions (after we meet our own immediate family's needs, cf. 1 Timothy 5:8) to meet the needs of fellow believers (1 John 3:23 with 3:16-18), and we then pray for the spread of the Gospel and for the needs of fellow believers in accord with that will of God for us, we will get those prayers answered by God!
        3. As a result of such answers to prayer, we will experience great confidence that God is clearly approving of our faith in Christ and our true love for fellow believers, 1 John 3:22.
        4. As such, we will experience abundant joy, for such answers to prayer give evidence to us that God approves of how we are living [in His power], 1 John 3:24a with 1 John 1:3-4!
Lesson: Spiritual "fathers" who have come to fellowship with Christ by relying on the Spirit's power to heed Scripture (1 John 2:14) instead of leaning on other people or their worldy lust gratification's (as a "little child" or as a "young man") see their prayers answered by God to their great confidence and joy. They EXPERIENCE this blessing because they heed God's call not only to trust in Christ but also to give of themselves sacrificially or of their extra goods to edify other believers, and they PRAY for the spread of the Gospel to the unsaved and the edification of other believers. They end up having confidence that God approves of their lives, and that supplies them great, fulfilling joy!

Application: May we GROW in Christ by leaning on the Holy Spirit to heed Scripture so as to SHIFT from leaning on others or worldly lust gratification and give of ourselves and our extra goods to help others come to Christ and be edified in Him; we will thus see our prayers to edify others be answered to our gaining confidence that God approves of our fellowship and walk, and that to our great joy!