WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.599 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many 00:00:08.599 --> 00:00:16.899 ! Antichrists have come, therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were 00:00:16.899 --> 00:00:24.140 not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might 00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:33.480 become plain that they are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you will have, 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:39.520 and you have all knowledge. I write to you not because you do not know the truth, but because 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:49.320 you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:58.640 Antichrist? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:07.099 has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning 00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:13.960 abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:22.919 and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us eternal life. Let's pray. 00:01:27.399 --> 00:01:38.500 Heavenly Father, for us this morning, prayer is foundational to our faith. 00:01:38.500 --> 00:01:48.859 It was prayer that led us by your grace, brokenhearted at the reality and understanding of our sinful 00:01:48.859 --> 00:02:00.039 state and eternal destiny to plead with you to save us. It has been prayer that has carried us from day 00:02:00.039 --> 00:02:06.939 to day through the challenges and the questions of our life. And it is prayer that causes us this morning 00:02:06.939 --> 00:02:14.039 to come with glad expectation to your word and depend upon the Holy Spirit to allow it to have 00:02:14.039 --> 00:02:22.240 an effect upon our thinking and our hearts. Our prayer this morning is this, is that you would enable me 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:28.360 to preach in such a fashion that your people would say that is the working of the Holy Spirit. 00:02:30.599 --> 00:02:35.360 We also pray, Lord, that your word would have free course and that those that are here, 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:42.280 that believers would have their faith strengthened, their hearts encouraged, their love for the brethren 00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:50.600 framed and formed and deepened, their concern and interest in lost mankind and neighbors that don't 00:02:50.600 --> 00:02:58.400 know the Lord Jesus enriched and intensified. It is our prayer that those that are here today that do not 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:06.159 know the Lord Jesus Christ, some who have been deceived by the enemy to think that just because they have had a 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:13.800 past experience of some sort, yet have never come to faith, that today your spirit would bring to them 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:24.259 convicting power and that they would be drawn to faith in the Lord Jesus. We ask today that we who are your people 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:34.560 would delight in the sweetness of your word and the blessing of your grace. In Jesus' name, amen. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:43.819 It would be helpful as we take this passage in hand to actually get our bearings in the book of 1 John again. 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:52.500 And we recognize that here is John towards the very end of his life writing a concluding book. It is not the 00:03:52.500 --> 00:03:58.680 concluding book that he wrote, but it is one of those that towards the very end he's writing to people 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:05.099 that he loves and he communicates with an affection and an interest in their well-being that I think we should 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:11.799 not put aside. We should recognize and respect it. He cared deeply for the church that he was writing to and by 00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:18.000 extension, as he was communicating under the enabling of the Holy Spirit, that affection and interest 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:25.139 radiates out to us and reminds us that God cares for us and that what he has here is valuable to us 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:32.420 and it is important. Remember that the early church that John was writing to was under attack. 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:38.980 It was being challenged theologically. It was being challenged physically. 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:46.520 And at every turn that the faith of those early believers was being pressed by people that hated 00:04:46.520 --> 00:04:52.120 the testimony of Christ and were ultimately interested in their failure, their fall, and their 00:04:52.120 --> 00:04:58.960 discouragement and brokenness. False teachers had actually worked their way into the church 00:04:58.960 --> 00:05:05.319 and had begun to undermine the sweetness of the hope that people had in the Lord Jesus and the gospel. 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:12.920 And their communication strategy was to kind of communicate the idea that, well, if you really 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:17.899 knew the truth, it would bring you to this deeper level and you'd understand blah, blah, blah. 00:05:19.579 --> 00:05:26.579 It's not new that we have the same thing going on today. Gnosticism, the idea that, well, you've got to, 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:33.319 you know all this deep knowledge and not everybody knows, but those who do, they're the spiritual giants 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:42.759 and they're on top of things. I think it was this week that I'm still in that senior pastor towards 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:51.980 retirement stage and Connie threw a thick little stack of things that had come from the Church of 00:05:51.980 --> 00:05:57.100 Scientology. Has anybody ever heard of them? Church of Scientology. And I thought, well, really, 00:05:57.180 --> 00:06:02.100 Pastor Andrew, he should get this, but I thought I'd open it just to be sure. And so I read through the 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:09.939 Church of Scientology was, they invited me to have free training and they were going to give me an 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:16.180 opportunity to learn more. And any of you who know anything about the Church of Scientology, the idea 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:22.120 behind it is basically, we'll teach you the deep things and we'll get you started on an introductory 00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:28.540 offer. It is all about money. The more you spend, the more you know, right? That's their line. 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:36.780 And I passed it off to Pastor and I think he put it in the trash, forthwith. The idea of Gnosticism was, 00:06:37.020 --> 00:06:41.780 we're going to teach you the deep things and you can really understand these things and then you'll 00:06:41.780 --> 00:06:47.160 be really spiritual. How many of you have ever walked away from a sermon and thought to yourself, 00:06:47.500 --> 00:06:50.939 well, that guy's incredibly intelligent, but I really don't know what he said. 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:58.139 The Gnosticism was this idea of that, well, we're smarter than the rest of you and we'll kind of 00:06:58.139 --> 00:07:03.560 let you in on some of the clues, but you know, you really got to dig deep to get there. Well, John 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:11.439 writes to make things simple and to help us understand the sweetness of our salvation resting 00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:19.360 in the finished work of Christ. And so I think it's important for us as we look at this book and kind 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:25.100 of remind ourselves again and again that here is John, the apostle, writing to help struggling believers 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:32.759 and give them tools for affirming and holding on to the faith that they had received. As a result of 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:38.379 that, there are several passages that I want you to kind of use as compass points in your life when you 00:07:38.379 --> 00:07:42.540 are kind of thinking your way through the book of 1 John. Let me give these to you and you hold on to 00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:51.260 them. One is 1 John chapter 1 verse 4. Take a look at it. 1 John chapter 1 verse 4. I'll press it 00:07:51.260 --> 00:07:58.060 together and put it this way. I wrote this book, this is John speaking, so that your joy may be full. 00:08:00.280 --> 00:08:09.620 Why'd you write the book, John? I wrote the book so people can be joyful. It goes without saying that 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:18.019 people that know the Lord Jesus Christ have every reason to be joyful in a world that is absolutely 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:25.860 traumatized by the miserable state of sin. Am I right? I mean, we as Christians have every reason to be 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:33.179 joyful. And here is John saying, I wrote this book so you can be joyful. Secondly, in 1 John chapter 5 verse 13, 00:08:33.299 --> 00:08:38.539 turn your pages real quickly and get over there. It says, I wrote this book so that you might know you have 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:45.679 eternal life. That you might know you have eternal life. And I love to be able to say to people that 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:52.519 our faith is not a hope so faith. Ours is a no so faith. I've bumped into a lot of people and on 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:57.319 occasion when I say to them, so why would God let you into heaven? Many people will say, well, I'm not 00:08:57.319 --> 00:09:04.679 real sure. I'm trying my best. I'm hoping I'm going to get there. You know what? Tim Knoyer is not hoping 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:09.899 that he's going there. I know I'm going there. And it has nothing to do with Tim Knoyer being the most 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:16.379 wonderful person in the room. It has to do with the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And John 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:25.739 wrote, so that you and so that I may have absolute confidence in the certainty of our final destiny. 00:09:26.739 --> 00:09:34.659 Third, we find in 1 John chapter 5 verse 19, I wrote the book so that you can know that you are 00:09:34.679 --> 00:09:40.639 of God. In other words, that you can know that you are his. And so as you sit here this morning, 00:09:40.739 --> 00:09:46.919 kind of thinking about 1 John, I want you to understand that this book is written so you who 00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:52.879 are sitting here and know the Lord Jesus Christ can have great confidence in the certainty of your 00:09:52.879 --> 00:10:01.359 relationship with him. As a result of that goal, you can understand that John would give us a series 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:07.879 of challenging questions that we can use to figure out, are we indeed who we think we are? 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:16.360 I was listening and thinking at the same time as we were singing this morning. And we were singing, 00:10:16.800 --> 00:10:25.120 how many of you realize that sometimes we lie when we sing? How many of you realize that sometimes we 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:33.220 lie when we sing? How many of you admit, I have lied when I've been singing? I mean, we sing some of the 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:41.120 sweetest, nicest, most wonderful things about the love of Christ and the love for each other. And then we 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:51.000 get in the car and what do we do? We are just downright surly and unkind and inconsiderate. And we just 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:58.080 sang about the grace of God and how wonderful it is that we're part of his family and how because he 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:04.200 loves us, we love each other. And then we what? I mean, it's about, I think it's about 600 feet from 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:13.519 back to front. And by the time we hit Trebu, we've been unsanctified. And so, you know, here is John 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:18.299 saying, I'm going to give you some tests so you can kind of check out how you're doing, whether you 00:11:18.299 --> 00:11:25.079 really are who you say you are. Now, I do want you to understand that John's book is a little more 00:11:25.079 --> 00:11:33.379 mystical and abstract than Paul's writings. You have to admit that Romans and Ephesians, for example, 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:41.479 are fairly logical and relatively easy to follow through. I can still give you the five major 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:49.899 portions of Romans. Stuck in my mind. Practical. John is a little more, I hate to use the word, 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:55.740 but it has to fit, esoteric and abstract. It's like, ah, well, you know, it's like, really? 00:11:56.980 --> 00:12:03.480 And it takes a little more work, but it's there for us. It's there for us. And it helps to remind 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:09.580 ourselves that in the early portion of John, one of the things that he did, 1 John, is that he challenged 00:12:09.580 --> 00:12:16.379 us to consider the authenticity of our relationship with God despite the ongoing struggle we have with 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:24.720 sin. If any man says he has not sinned, he's what? He's a liar. The fact of the matter is we do deal 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:31.480 with sin. And so we understand that despite that ongoing struggle with sin, we who have a relationship 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:38.980 with God can see that relationship play out by confession and forsaking it. Another thing that 00:12:38.980 --> 00:12:45.440 John helps us understand is that another way we can verify the authenticity of our faith is our 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:53.320 relationship with one another. It's pretty easy to say, I love God. But the reality of it is to say 00:12:53.320 --> 00:13:02.840 that you love God and not be committed to loving the brethren is actually to be a liar. And John is going 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:10.360 to make that clear over and over again in a very practical way. And one of the things that is part 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:17.540 and parcel with being a family of believers is that because we are family, we have an opportunity to 00:13:17.540 --> 00:13:23.080 get to know the bumps and warts in the family. Am I right? And we get to actually practice love in real 00:13:23.080 --> 00:13:29.620 time. And over and over again in the book of John, we're going to see this issue of, okay, you love God? 00:13:29.620 --> 00:13:35.220 Really? Okay, we're going to work at loving each other. Now that brings us to the practical part that 00:13:35.220 --> 00:13:39.899 we're going to be looking at here. We have the issue of how we deal with sin early on. We have the issue 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:49.080 of how we relate to one another following that. And now we come to a very clear theological test of our 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:57.440 faith. What do we think about Jesus? Now there in verse 18, pick up the passage. It says, 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:05.080 Children, it is the last hour. And so you have to ask yourself the question, what is being said here? 00:14:05.120 --> 00:14:11.320 Let me explain it this way. At the outset, as we deal with the text, one of the purposes of preaching, 00:14:11.460 --> 00:14:19.500 and let me make this clear, is to take what God has said and make it clear and practical through the 00:14:19.500 --> 00:14:27.120 enabling of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of preaching is to take what God has said and make it clear and 00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:32.639 practical through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. Does that make sense? So when you walk away, you say, 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:40.159 did I understand that? Was the Holy Spirit helping me to get my hands and heart around the Word of God 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:48.539 so that I can live it out in real time? Is it the last hour? You look here in chapter 2, verse 18, 00:14:48.539 --> 00:15:00.579 and John begins by saying, children, children. Now, children is a term that communicates what? 00:15:01.500 --> 00:15:07.539 How many of you had teachers, and it's nice to have all these college graduates up here. I'm just 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:13.879 curious. Molly, did any of your teachers walk into nursing class and say, children? No, it didn't. 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:26.240 Josiah, any of your professors come in and say, children? Samantha? No? Okay. The word children 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:35.200 communicates affection and a level of tenderness. Wouldn't you agree with that? And I touched on 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:41.100 this several weeks ago, but I want to come back because we find that John uses this term over and 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:47.899 over again, a term of endurement and affection for the bride of Christ that I think is important for 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:54.399 us to recognize. So when you read it here, you understand that what John is communicating is a 00:15:54.399 --> 00:16:00.100 level of attention and affection for the people that he cares for. In relationship to that, I think it's 00:16:00.100 --> 00:16:06.019 appropriate for us to recognize that all those who serve as faithful messengers of the Lord of hosts 00:16:06.019 --> 00:16:14.179 and speak his words to people should be known for their affection for the bride. Given the truth's 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:22.879 significance that those who represent Christ and teach the word of God are to be known for their 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:30.240 affection for the people they're teaching, it is understandable to us as believers that in the 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:35.759 family of God, those who teach the word of God should be known for what? For their love. Now, 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:42.120 do all people communicate their love the same way? And the answer is not in your life. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.299 I hate to bring Pastor Saul up now that he's retired, but I remember, 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:55.960 I remember years ago when we called him to be our pastor here and Pastor Saul began teaching a class and 00:16:55.960 --> 00:17:01.279 we used to meet quite regularly. And one day he said to me, you know, I've been praying every day for 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:09.299 this class that I'm teaching. And as I began to listen to Pastor Saul, I began to pick up that despite 00:17:09.299 --> 00:17:16.160 this engineering veneer, do you know what I mean by veneer? Underneath there was this tender affection 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:23.759 for the people that he was ministering to. And so I start out by having you understand that those who 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:32.440 minister in Christ's stead in the body of Christ have a responsibility to love those who they serve 00:17:32.440 --> 00:17:39.539 and minister and teach. Let's come to another piece here. It says, this, it is the last hour. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:46.539 So when you hear the word, the last hour, what goes through your mind? How many of you have heard, 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:53.240 because I am in Home Depot often, and I'm hoping that this is the last time this happens, 00:17:53.799 --> 00:18:01.839 that I'm in Home Depot often. I have been in there when they say, we will be closing in, okay? 00:18:02.399 --> 00:18:07.980 And that means that I really have to scurry around and get what I need because the cashiers are 00:18:07.980 --> 00:18:11.879 shutting down and it's all over. And so when you hear the last hour, you're thinking, okay, 00:18:11.880 --> 00:18:18.180 what's all that about it? What's going on? Last hour of the sale, last hour of the day, last hour 00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:24.320 to finish an assignment. And that kind of communicates to us the idea that we're getting towards the end 00:18:24.320 --> 00:18:30.780 of something. And here is John telling the believers that he's writing to, it's the last hour. 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:40.140 What's this about? In broad terms, the phrase was used in the New Testament to refer to the time 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:45.560 between Christ's first coming and Christ's second coming. You remember when he ascended into heaven, 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:52.140 he said, hey, I'm coming back. And one of the things that characterized the hearts of the early 00:18:52.140 --> 00:18:57.520 New Testament believers and actually should characterize our heart is that we are looking 00:18:57.520 --> 00:19:02.840 forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus. And not because we're tired of where we are, 00:19:03.020 --> 00:19:09.940 but because we're just absolutely enthralled with the prospect of seeing him. It's the last hour. 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:16.060 It's the last hour. And in relationship to that, one of the things that you're going to see as we 00:19:16.060 --> 00:19:20.220 work our way through the passage is that in the last hour, things are going to be hard. 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:27.180 I do want you to understand that it wasn't just John that made this issue clear. Jesus made it clear 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:33.120 that the last times would be difficult for believers. Over and over again, as you're working your way 00:19:33.120 --> 00:19:38.960 through the gospels and various parts of the gospel where Jesus speaks about how things are going to be, 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:43.200 he made it clear that it would be trying. I want you to think with me just for a moment of a passage 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:47.940 over in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. Let me just kind of recite it to you. It says this, 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:57.500 but understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. In the last days, 00:19:57.880 --> 00:20:07.500 there will come times of difficulty. And so when we look around today at the world that is growing 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:14.859 ever more hostile towards believers and towards our faith, as we see things getting more and more 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:21.180 difficult for those who profess their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we shouldn't be surprised at all. 00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:27.759 What it should do is, as we think about the last hour, it should kind of prompt our hearts to live 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:34.180 with an interest and an expectation that he's coming back soon, and we want to be prepared. 00:20:34.180 --> 00:20:42.480 We want to be ready. We want to have our lives in the place where when he comes, there is no shame 00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:48.680 at the fact that we're unprepared for his arrival. And so I want you to think this morning, as you look 00:20:48.680 --> 00:20:55.320 at this passage, and John says it is the last hour, that you're thinking, hey, am I ready for his return, 00:20:55.319 --> 00:21:04.939 and does my life reflect that state? As you look at the passage, he identifies the issue of the last 00:21:04.939 --> 00:21:12.200 hour with a particular individual and a mindset. We find there, it says, as you have heard that 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:20.879 Antichrist is coming. In the last hour, the Antichrist is coming. So now, many Antichrists have come. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:27.800 Let me help you understand that the word Antichrist refers, in simple terms, to someone who is opposing 00:21:27.800 --> 00:21:35.920 Christ, anti-against, against Christ. And if you were to work your way through the Scriptures in 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:42.320 relationship to the Antichrist that is going to be present during the Great Tribulation, there is a 00:21:42.320 --> 00:21:50.760 fact that there is going to be a supremely powerful individual that will oppose the Lord Jesus and oppose 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:58.379 the testimony of Christ. The fact of the matter is, is that while the Antichrist has not yet been 00:21:58.379 --> 00:22:05.720 revealed, there are Antichrists that are functioning and are actively engaged in undermining the work and 00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:10.960 testimony of Christ. And John wants the church to realize that that is going on. That's what's 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:17.500 happening. He says, therefore, we know it's the last hour. I want you to think with me for a moment 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:25.539 about what he is saying here in regards to their role in the churches. If you were to think back with me just for a 00:22:25.539 --> 00:22:33.259 second, back to Matthew chapter 13, Jesus was talking about the fact that a master would sow a field. He'd put 00:22:33.259 --> 00:22:39.019 wheat into the field. And then his enemy would come. And what he would do behind that is he would throw tares in. 00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:45.460 And as a result, the wheat and the tares would grow up together. And the enemy of our souls has done that 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:52.559 very same thing, that he has sown in among the church of the living God individuals who actually 00:22:52.559 --> 00:23:00.259 are opposed to Christ, but they show up and are in the church. They're present. They're active. They're 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:09.019 engaged in going about doing churchy things. But in time, their heart and their attitudes are revealed. 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:15.440 And what we find here is that John is saying you ought not to be surprised with the fact that these 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:21.339 anti-Christ attitudes and anti-Christ are appearing in the church because it is the last hour. 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:30.059 I am reminded also of the passage in Acts chapter 20. What a passage of the affection of the apostle for 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:35.339 the church there in Ephesus. And he says, after I leave, grievous wolves are going to rise. And where 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:42.940 are they going to come from? Where are wolves going to show up from? Inside. Inside. And he says, they're 00:23:42.940 --> 00:23:51.200 going to cause great heartache. And so as we look here at verse 18, John is letting us know that there 00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:57.059 is an anti-Christ who is coming and he's not been revealed yet. How many of you, by the way, just are old 00:23:57.059 --> 00:24:02.379 enough to have remembered when I wasn't around, but I remember hearing that Hitler was the anti-Christ. 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:08.559 Anybody remember hearing that? Or that Mousy Tung was the anti-Christ. Or that, you know, Gorbachev. 00:24:09.639 --> 00:24:15.259 We've had a lot of people saying so-and-so is the anti-Christ. I don't know who he is. And I'm not up 00:24:15.259 --> 00:24:22.019 here proposing that because of A, B, C, D, and blah, blah, blah, that I know who it is. The anti-Christ 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:28.099 will be revealed someday and he is going to be an adversary of all things that pertain to Christ. 00:24:28.619 --> 00:24:35.799 At the same time, anti-Christ will be active in the church trying to undermine the work of Christ 00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:43.859 in the church. Will their play in the church go on indefinitely? Look at verse 19. 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:51.099 They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have 00:24:51.099 --> 00:24:57.539 continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they are not of us. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:02.679 Now, I want to make a couple things clear and hold on to these as you're thinking your way through this 00:25:02.679 --> 00:25:11.000 statement. Number one, John is not talking about people that leave and go to another Christ-exalting 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:17.519 church. You get that? They went out from us because they were not of us. 00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:30.539 People can change their understanding on secondary issues of faith. What do I mean by that? I remember 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:36.819 friends who were absolutely persuaded that baptism was three times forward. 00:25:37.940 --> 00:25:42.319 And I remember friends who were persuaded that baptism was one times backward. 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:49.279 And ended up actually having people move from point A to point B because of this difference over 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:59.139 baptism. Friends who have differences over church polity. Friends who have differences over issues 00:25:59.139 --> 00:26:05.179 that are not primary to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we talk about 00:26:05.179 --> 00:26:09.879 they went out from us, we're not talking about people who know Christ as their Savior and move from 00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:17.100 point A to point B. What John is talking about is those who abandon the faith, who end up eventually 00:26:17.100 --> 00:26:23.360 denying the Lord Jesus as their Savior. I want you to understand that over the years of being a pastor, 00:26:23.760 --> 00:26:33.300 I can think of several individuals who I baptized more than once. How does that happen? That Tim 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:40.319 Knoyer baptizes a person twice. Well, here's what happens. A person says to me, I know Jesus and they 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:44.019 give their testimony. By the way, when a person's baptized here in Maranatha, they give their testimony 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:50.639 publicly, right? You get to hear it too. I know Jesus is my Savior. I believe He saved me from sin. I've 00:26:50.639 --> 00:26:56.680 trusted in Him. Dunk. Okay. Years later, the person says, I really wasn't saved. I just said the words. 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:03.400 Okay. Well, we'll do it again. And I know of individuals that I have baptized twice and have 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:11.060 walked away from the faith and clearly denied the Lord Jesus Christ, not necessarily by what they say 00:27:11.060 --> 00:27:19.320 publicly, but by everything they do and the conduct of their life. And here is John saying, they went out 00:27:19.319 --> 00:27:26.439 from us. They went out from us. And the reason they went out from us is because they weren't of us. 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:31.980 One of the realities of this is that salvation brings change in a person's life. Do you realize 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:40.019 that? I love what we read over in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 where it says, and such were some of you. 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:47.039 Over the years, I have known individuals that were drug dealers. I've known individuals that have 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:52.720 made professions that were murderers, prostitutes, pedophiles, and every conceivable sort of sinner 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:58.819 has at one time or another, I've heard them say, I have believed in Jesus as my Savior. And I, 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:05.799 always enthused by hearing that statement, nevertheless have made it clear, you know, 00:28:05.940 --> 00:28:16.599 the authenticity of your faith will be proved over time. Those who are genuinely saved will continue 00:28:16.599 --> 00:28:23.339 growing in grace. And you will see the evidence of their progress and the transformation of their 00:28:23.339 --> 00:28:28.519 life. Now, would we wish that it was exactly like this? How many of you would like that? 00:28:29.179 --> 00:28:33.439 Any like that? I have to tell you, as I've watched in my own life and the life of others, 00:28:33.659 --> 00:28:38.339 I have seen some of these. How many of you have seen those? You know, it's a bit of a rise and a 00:28:38.339 --> 00:28:42.559 little bit of a dip and it's like, but it's all right. I want to know, is that person gaining altitude 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:47.899 and is the altitude the work of the work of God in their life rather than just kind of learning a new 00:28:47.899 --> 00:28:53.659 vocabulary or a couple lifestyle habits that they've changed? So let's get this clear in our 00:28:53.659 --> 00:29:01.460 minds as we look at verse 19. The genuine believer stays true and grows in the faith. Get that anchored 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:08.960 in your life. The genuine believer stays true and grows in the faith. And you can sit here this 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:15.400 morning and ask yourself the question, am I a believer? I mean, John is interested. The Holy 00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:22.759 Spirit is interested in you figuring out where you are. Am I a believer? Do I see the evidence of 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:33.079 progressive sanctification of God working in my life to change me? I am reading a book, besides the Bible, 00:29:33.079 --> 00:29:41.399 Bible, by Christopher Ashe. It's about getting old in a godly fashion. And I'm working at it. 00:29:43.099 --> 00:29:48.179 I was convicted this morning about the fact that I was reading it after I'd finished my 00:29:48.179 --> 00:29:53.980 scriptures and I was convicted of the fact, you know, the older I get, the sweeter I want to become. 00:29:54.359 --> 00:29:59.919 And I'm practicing with my wife. Does that make sense? It's like, she asked me to move something. 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:18.460 And, uh, there was a time in my married life that I decided it would help me. Actually, 00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:23.660 I was not thinking that way. I was thinking to help her. If I wrote the, uh, the last moved on date on 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:31.120 the bottom of couches, I found out that it didn't do the least bit for my progressive sanctification. 00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:35.600 In fact, you know, when you see the date, it was only three months ago. I was like, I'd really 00:30:35.600 --> 00:30:40.440 struggle. And so I thought, there's no reason to, to put salt in the wound. Just move it. 00:30:44.120 --> 00:30:51.500 Let me come back so you understand the point. Listen, those who are saved grow in grace. 00:30:51.500 --> 00:30:58.819 Those who are saved grow in grace. Those who aren't, eventually they tire of the process 00:30:58.819 --> 00:31:07.720 and they hit the exit. So let's come to the next thing there in verse 20. But you 00:31:07.720 --> 00:31:15.579 have an anointing by the Holy Spirit and you have all knowledge. Now the second piece of our study we 00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:21.559 find here in verse 20, uh, makes a pretty stunning statement. You have been anointed by the Holy One 00:31:21.559 --> 00:31:25.740 and you have all knowledge. So let me start out by pointing out what this does not mean. 00:31:27.179 --> 00:31:34.559 It doesn't mean that the anointed believer knows the exact time that Jesus is coming back for one. 00:31:35.319 --> 00:31:40.519 I've, I've lived long enough that I've seen one person after another get a little bit of press 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:45.660 about the fact that he's coming back on the 24th of whatever. And, uh, no, I made a miscalculation. 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:50.379 He's actually coming back on the 27th and blah, blah, blah. That's not what it's talking about. It's 00:31:50.379 --> 00:31:54.599 not talking about the fact that the believer knows what the stock market is going to do next week. 00:31:55.359 --> 00:32:00.779 Uh, it's not saying that the believer knows all the secret things of God. In fact, in, in, uh, 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:05.039 Deuteronomy, it tells us there are some things he's given to us and there are some things we don't know. 00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:13.119 Nor does it mean that the believer shouldn't study for their final exams. I mean, that'd be a nice 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:20.559 thing to have happen, but it's not what it's saying. So what is being said? The anointing that John is 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:28.039 speaking about here is the anointing that every believer receives at salvation. Let me get that 00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:36.619 clear in your hearts. Every believer that is saved receives the Holy Spirit at conversion. When you 00:32:36.619 --> 00:32:45.859 come to Christ, you are gifted with the indwelling Holy Spirit that is there to be your helper and your 00:32:45.859 --> 00:32:54.299 ally and your encourager and your admonisher. Passages such as Romans chapter eight, verse nine 00:32:54.299 --> 00:33:02.799 and 14 through 16, coupled with what Jesus said over in John chapter 16, verse seven through 15, make it clear 00:33:02.799 --> 00:33:09.759 that one of the many blessings of our salvation is the indwelling Spirit. So if you're sitting here today 00:33:09.759 --> 00:33:17.839 and you're a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit abiding in you and he is in you there to help you. 00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:27.699 He is there to help you. So let me direct your thoughts so you can understand what is being said in verse 20 more 00:33:27.699 --> 00:33:35.579 clearly back to another passage where Paul addresses the issue of the ministry of the indwelling Spirit. Go to 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:47.000 1 Corinthians chapter two. 1 Corinthians chapter two, verse 12 through 16. By the way, while you're turning there, 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:54.960 how many of you can identify with the fact that you have perhaps a brother or a sister or a mom or a dad 00:33:54.960 --> 00:34:03.980 or a friend who grew up exposed to the same level of blessing in the sweetness of the gospel and you are, 00:34:04.119 --> 00:34:10.960 you're kind of flummoxed. Why don't they get it? Why can't they see it? Why don't they understand 00:34:10.960 --> 00:34:19.340 the need of their soul and the offer of salvation in the Lord? What's wrong? Here is Paul. 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:26.099 Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God. Now, by the way, 00:34:26.179 --> 00:34:31.539 just so you realize, Paul is writing to the Corinthian believers. How many of you recognize 00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:37.500 that the Corinthian believers were a salty group of people? Am I right? Huh? They didn't have it all 00:34:37.500 --> 00:34:42.380 together in spiritual issues. They were kind of crusty a little bit. And here's Paul saying, 00:34:42.380 --> 00:34:48.659 you have the Spirit of God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God. 00:34:49.099 --> 00:34:55.079 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting 00:34:55.079 --> 00:35:04.840 spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. Now, in verse 14, the natural man does not accept the 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:11.019 things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because 00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:21.760 they are spiritually discerned. That brings us to recognize that part of what Paul is teaching us 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:31.320 is that an aspect of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is helping me understand spiritual truths. 00:35:31.320 --> 00:35:39.840 Now, does that mean that because I'm a believer, every time I open the book, it automatically becomes 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:50.800 completely clear and understandable first time out? And the answer is, no. I wish, but no. 00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:59.400 And do not think that just because you're a believer, you can kind of sit like some vegetable, 00:35:59.400 --> 00:36:05.800 and just by virtue of your state of faith, understand everything. It's going to happen 00:36:05.800 --> 00:36:13.220 by humility and dependence and prayer and pleading for the Holy Spirit to help you understand. 00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:19.920 And the way he most of the time will help you, I should say all the time, is by helping you make 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:25.579 comparison between one scripture and another and giving you understanding and insight from that study. 00:36:25.579 --> 00:36:34.559 I am struck by what we find about Jesus over in Isaiah chapter 50 verse 4 in relationship to this. 00:36:35.319 --> 00:36:44.480 One of the stunning thoughts, as you so hold on to, is what must it have been like to be Jesus as a little boy 00:36:44.480 --> 00:36:52.400 reading through the Old Testament and discover that the passages he was reading were actually about him? 00:36:52.400 --> 00:37:05.539 That's what Isaiah chapter 50 verse 4 tells us. Jesus, as he was studying, whoa, this is for me. This is about me. This is for the sake of other people. 00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:15.519 So, when we look at this passage here and we understand that it is the Holy Spirit that helps us have this knowledge, 00:37:15.519 --> 00:37:22.300 in relationship to this, I would plead with you that because you have the Holy Spirit indwelling, 00:37:23.059 --> 00:37:33.139 it would be entirely appropriate for you on a regular basis to ask the Holy Spirit to help you learn and appropriate the scriptures. 00:37:33.619 --> 00:37:34.199 Make sense? 00:37:35.519 --> 00:37:44.920 In relationship to that, when you have your personal devotions and you take up the Word of God and you begin reading it, 00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:54.780 it would be a good idea to start out by saying, Holy Spirit, I am thankful that you are in me, that Jesus gave you to me, 00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:58.840 and I need your help this morning to understand the scriptures. 00:38:00.460 --> 00:38:07.119 When you come to him in prayer, it would be appropriate to say, I need your help praying this morning. 00:38:07.500 --> 00:38:11.900 I am very inclined to have my mind wander. 00:38:11.900 --> 00:38:15.539 How many of you notice that when you're trying to pray or when you're trying to read the scriptures, 00:38:16.019 --> 00:38:20.740 every reasonable thought about things you need to do today comes to your mind? 00:38:21.940 --> 00:38:23.340 It's like, help me, Lord. 00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:33.420 It's like people who go into a restaurant to have a good time with their wife and then get on their cell phone and don't pay attention. 00:38:33.940 --> 00:38:34.500 You follow me? 00:38:34.500 --> 00:38:39.360 You ever notice conversations going on between two people that both have their cell phones in their hands? 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:41.960 They're not communicating. 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:48.440 And so if we're going to come into God's presence, we're going to take his Word and we're going to engage in prayer, 00:38:48.719 --> 00:38:54.380 then we ought to say to the Holy Spirit, would you please help me focus and put away the distracting things? 00:38:54.420 --> 00:39:01.619 I have to put my cell phone across the couch because I've had to get up physically and get over there and drag it up to see what the weather is. 00:39:01.619 --> 00:39:05.460 And I've got to tell you, my devotions in the weather don't have anything to do with each other. 00:39:08.159 --> 00:39:14.099 Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to understand the things of God. 00:39:14.199 --> 00:39:15.819 He is there for that reason. 00:39:16.279 --> 00:39:21.460 Now that brings us around to the issue of what the true believer understands. 00:39:22.799 --> 00:39:29.579 And I'm going to press together what we find here in verse 21 through 25. 00:39:29.579 --> 00:39:35.860 The true believer understands who Christ is and he confesses Christ. 00:39:36.940 --> 00:39:38.159 I'll admit it. 00:39:39.480 --> 00:39:49.279 John's way of communicating in 1 John is not as easy to track as the crisp sequential logic of Paul. 00:39:50.679 --> 00:39:57.539 John used figures of speech in a way that the ancient world was more familiar with. 00:39:57.539 --> 00:40:08.920 And what he says there beginning in verse 21 is making it clear that his concern isn't that the believer is confused. 00:40:09.199 --> 00:40:09.920 Look at verse 21. 00:40:10.079 --> 00:40:12.679 I write to you not because you don't know the truth. 00:40:13.659 --> 00:40:14.920 Why are you writing to me, John? 00:40:15.659 --> 00:40:18.300 Well, I'm not writing to you because you don't get it. 00:40:18.940 --> 00:40:19.279 No. 00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:30.320 He says here, I'm writing to you to help you understand that those who really are believers really know who Jesus is. 00:40:32.480 --> 00:40:37.780 So let's kind of come down to what it says there in verse 23. 00:40:37.780 --> 00:40:52.400 Let me put it this way and then work our way through it. 00:40:52.460 --> 00:40:56.400 Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. 00:40:56.400 --> 00:41:03.039 Anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ is a liar. 00:41:04.019 --> 00:41:08.079 It doesn't make any difference how big the crowd is that comes to hear him. 00:41:08.780 --> 00:41:16.780 It doesn't make any difference if they say that Jesus is a really nice person and he lived a wonderful life. 00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:30.300 I have friends that are Muslims and they would have no hesitation telling me that Jesus was a wonderful person and he was the second most important prophet in all of history. 00:41:30.720 --> 00:41:36.960 And yet the fact of the matter is they do not believe what Jesus has said about himself. 00:41:37.820 --> 00:41:38.820 And that's a lie. 00:41:39.620 --> 00:41:40.280 It's a lie. 00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:52.500 As we read the text, it's pretty important for us to understand that God does not hesitate to make a distinction between what is true and what is not. 00:41:53.200 --> 00:42:00.780 We live in a day and age where it's very, very popular to kind of, well, I don't really want to say, you know. 00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:07.540 I mean, we kind of avoid the reality of life and death issues and who the Lord Jesus Christ actually is. 00:42:07.539 --> 00:42:11.019 And here's John putting it on the table for us. 00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:14.579 He says, no one who denies the Son has the Father. 00:42:15.119 --> 00:42:18.719 Whosoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 00:42:19.519 --> 00:42:20.900 So think with me just for a moment. 00:42:21.320 --> 00:42:28.279 What does it mean to confess that Jesus is the Christ and to have the Father? 00:42:29.519 --> 00:42:34.599 In practical terms, what the word confession means is to say the same thing. 00:42:34.599 --> 00:42:38.139 To confess means to say the same thing. 00:42:38.239 --> 00:42:39.400 Say the same thing as who? 00:42:40.199 --> 00:42:44.719 Say the same thing as some person who's saying that, well, Jesus is a pretty nice person. 00:42:44.799 --> 00:42:46.420 He did some pretty nice things. 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:55.400 And no, it is to agree with what the Scriptures say about who the Lord Jesus Christ is and to agree with the Father as to who his Son is. 00:42:55.400 --> 00:43:02.780 It's to agree with what the apostles had to say when they said, and there is salvation through no other. 00:43:05.500 --> 00:43:15.639 By the way, confessing that the Lord Jesus Christ is who he says he is is not just what we say with our lips. 00:43:16.760 --> 00:43:18.579 I think that's important for us to understand. 00:43:18.579 --> 00:43:26.019 If you would think with me just for a moment to a passage over in Luke in chapter 6, verse 48, here's what Jesus said. 00:43:26.380 --> 00:43:27.319 Why do you call me? 00:43:27.380 --> 00:43:27.639 What? 00:43:27.779 --> 00:43:28.279 Fill it out. 00:43:28.739 --> 00:43:35.159 Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things that I say? 00:43:36.759 --> 00:43:41.599 It's all easy to sit in church and say, yeah, Jesus is my Savior. 00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:47.360 But then the way in which you act actually denies the reality of your testimony. 00:43:49.079 --> 00:43:52.039 Christ-honoring confession includes the way we live. 00:43:52.119 --> 00:43:54.059 I want you to look at a passage as we close. 00:43:54.159 --> 00:43:56.159 Turn over to Titus 1, verse 16. 00:43:57.179 --> 00:43:59.339 Titus 1, verse 16. 00:43:59.340 --> 00:44:29.320 Titus 1, verse 16. 00:44:29.340 --> 00:44:30.760 Titus 1, verse 16. 00:44:30.760 --> 00:44:32.880 Titus 1, verse 16. 00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:33.680 Titus 1, verse 16. 00:44:33.680 --> 00:44:48.200 Would the people that you work with, would they be able to say, I know you believe in Jesus because of the way you live and act? 00:44:52.820 --> 00:44:58.760 Would the people who watch your marriage through the window, how many of you know that your neighbors know what your marriage looks like? 00:44:59.340 --> 00:45:00.019 How many of you know that? 00:45:02.019 --> 00:45:03.440 People know how you're getting along. 00:45:03.640 --> 00:45:04.400 They really do. 00:45:05.760 --> 00:45:13.220 Would your neighbors say, I know you know Jesus because I've watched the way you treat your wife? 00:45:13.219 --> 00:45:35.659 Would the people that you are close to in the car driving home say, yeah, yeah, I know you know Jesus because of the way in which your life is affected by the reality of who he is? 00:45:35.659 --> 00:45:37.659 Let me read the passage. 00:45:37.659 --> 00:45:41.779 Let me read the passage and have it just kind of lock into your life. 00:45:44.659 --> 00:45:52.359 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. 00:45:52.360 --> 00:46:07.960 John wrote this gospel, this epistle, to help us do some self-evaluation, and I want you to do that this morning. 00:46:07.960 --> 00:46:10.360 Do I know Jesus? 00:46:11.800 --> 00:46:13.260 Is he my Savior? 00:46:14.579 --> 00:46:18.980 Do I confess him as my Master and my Lord? 00:46:20.460 --> 00:46:29.820 Does the way I live my life bear witness favorably, or does it deny the sufficiency and the power of the gospel? 00:46:29.820 --> 00:46:59.800 Do I know Jesus? 00:46:59.820 --> 00:47:07.140 There are some here this morning that are believers, and yet the way in which they are living contradicts the gospel power. 00:47:08.180 --> 00:47:17.500 And Lord, it is my plea that you would bring about repentance and confession, that their lives would display the power of the cross. 00:47:18.580 --> 00:47:27.700 There are those that are here today that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, and my plea would be that you would work to bring to them repentance and saving faith, 00:47:27.699 --> 00:47:33.839 that this morning they can walk out of here knowing that you are their Savior and that you have redeemed them from all evil. 00:47:35.139 --> 00:47:40.819 I pray that the word would have free course and bear fruit, and that Christ would be honored, 00:47:41.019 --> 00:47:47.719 that what we say about Jesus and the way in which we live would match to your glory. 00:47:47.719 --> 00:47:50.259 And I ask this in Jesus' name. 00:47:50.859 --> 00:47:51.159 Amen.