The Mailbox Club is indebted to The Navigators for the outline on this lesson.

 

Series 1
Lesson 10: Four Things God wants me to Know

Dear Friend,

The moment I trusted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I became a child of God. All my sins were forgiven. I received the gift of everlasting life. The Bible says,

"He who believes on the Son has everlasting life…" (John 3:36).

This is wonderful, but I must remember that I have a great enemy—Satan (the devil). I have taken a step that has made him very angry. I have left him and joined those who belong to the Lord Jesus. And anyone who tries to live for Jesus will be attacked by Satan.

Satan can never take me out of God's family, but he will do all he can to discourage me. He will try to make me doubt my salvation. He will tell me that I cannot overcome temptations. He will even try to get me to doubt God's love for me.

God has begun a good work in me, and I can be sure that He will continue that good work. The Bible says,

"Being confident [sure] of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ [the day when Jesus returns]."
(Philippians 1:6)

In this lesson we are going to learn four things that God wants us to know. We will have verses for each of these things. Be sure to memorize these verses, so you can use them when Satan tries to discourage you.

God wants me to know that I am saved.

"This is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life." (1 John 5:11, 12)

One of the first things Satan will do after I am saved is try to make me doubt my salvation. He may put thoughts like these into my mind:

"You don't really think that you are saved just by believing on Jesus, do you? That's too easy. Besides, you are still the same person you were before. And how can anybody know for sure that he is saved?"

When Satan puts thoughts like these into my mind, what will my answer be? I might think, "I know that I am saved because I have such a good feeling." But I may not have a good feeling tomorrow. The way I know for sure that I am saved is by the Word of God, and not by my feelings. My feelings may change, but God's Word is always the same.

What does God say in His Word? He says, "He that has the Son has life." If I have Jesus, I have everlasting life. I know because God says so in His Word. God wants us to know that we have eternal life. God's Word says,

"These thing have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may KNOW that you have eternal life…." (1 John 5:13)

The Lord Jesus not only saves us, but He keeps us forever. He calls us His "sheep" and He says we will never be lost. Jesus said,

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish [be lost]…." (John 10:27, 28)

Jesus tells us that we are in the hands of His Father. No one can ever take us out of the mighty hands of God. Jesus said, "No man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand" (John 10:29b).

God loves all people, even those who do not believe in Him. But He has a special love for His own children. The reason God loves us so much is that we belong to Christ. When God looks at us, He sees us in Christ. God loves us because we love the Lord Jesus. Jesus said, "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me."

God wants me to know that I can overcome temptation.

"There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able [to bear]; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Here is another way the devil may attack me. He may put thoughts like these into my mind:

"All right, so you're a child of God, but you have certain sins in your life
which you will never be able to overcome. You have tried before and failed,
and you will keep on failing."

Here again, our weapon to defeat Satan is the Word of God. Let us look at our verse carefully and see what it says. It is a long verse, so we will think about it in four parts:

1. "There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man…"

This means other people are tempted with the same things that tempt me.

2. "God is faithful…"

This means that God always does what he says He will do. I can count on the fact that God is faithful.

3. "Who will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able…"

This means that God promises that He will never let me be tempted more than what I can handle.

4. "But will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may
     be able to bear it."

This means that God will always make a way for me to escape out of temptation, so that I do not have to sin.

Be sure to memorize this verse. It is a long verse, and it may take you some time to memorize it, but work at it until you know it by heart. Then use it when you are tempted to do wrong things.

Sometimes Satan will try to make me think that I have sinned just because I have had a bad thought or I have been tempted to do some very bad thing. But temptation is not sin. The Lord Jesus was tempted many times but He never sinned. I sin only when I give in to temptation.

As long as I am in this world, I will be tempted. But I do not have to sin. And I do not have to be afraid of Satan because Christ is living in me and He is greater and stronger than Satan. The Bible says,

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: Because greater is He [Christ] that is in you, than he [Satan] that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

 

God wants me to know that He will forgive me
when I sin.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

It is true that I do not have to sin. It is also true that there will be times when I will sin.

What happens when I sin? Does this mean that God will put me out of His family? No, God will never do this! Once I am in God's family, I will always be in His family. But Satan may come along and try to make me think that God will not forgive me.

I know that my sins are displeasing to God, but He still loves me. And He has promised to forgive me if I confess my sins to Him.

What should I do when I sin? I should go to God at once and tell Him that I am sorry for what I did. When I confess my sins to God, He forgives me and makes me clean again because Jesus died for my sins.

God wants me to know that He hears
and answers my prayers.

Jesus said, "Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it [to] you." (John 16:23)

The Lord Jesus said that we will have many troubles and many problems in this world. When I have problems, what does Satan try to do? He tries to discourage me. He may put thoughts like these into my mind:

But what does the Bible say? The Bible says that God is our heavenly Father, and He hears and answers the prayers of His children. What am I to do with my problems? The Lord tells us to pass them on to Him. "Casting all your cares upon Him; for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

In His Word, the Lord tells us exactly what we are to do with our daily cares and problems. He says,

"Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4:6)

What is God telling me here? He is telling me that I should not be worried or anxious about anything, but in everything I should come to Him in prayer. In "every thing"—little things as well as big things—I am to go to my heavenly Father and tell Him about it. I tell Him what I need and ask for His help. And I tell Him over and over how much I love Him and thank Him for all that He has done for me.

Does God promise that He will give me everything that I ask for? No, He has not promised this, but He has promised to give me "the peace of God." The Bible says,

"And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

I go to my heavenly Father and I tell Him my problems. I pour out my heart to Him. After I have prayed, has the situation changed? No, but something has happened to me.

I have been to my Father about my problems and I am changed. Before I talked to Him, I was worried and upset, but not now. I have been to my Father, and I know He will do what is best for me. A wonderful change has taken place in me. I have "the peace of God."

Remember Four Things:

We have learned four wonderful things in this lesson. Let us go over them:

God wants me to know that I am saved. (1 John 5:11, 12)

 

God wants me to know that I can overcome temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

 

God wants me to know that He will forgive me when I sin. (1 John 1:9)

 

God wants me to know that He hears and answers prayer. (John 16:24)

 

No matter what happens, I know that I am saved; I know that I can overcome temptation; I know that God will forgive me when I sin; and I know that God hears and answers my prayers.

I also know that God has begun a good work in me and that He will continue that good work in me until the day when I go to be with the Lord Jesus.