Go ahead and open your Bibles, please, to 1 John 2.
1 John 2 is where we're at today.
Do you know the feeling that when you set out to accomplish something
and then you find yourself in way over your head?
This frequently happens to me,
especially when I'm doing some kind of house project.
But fortunately, I have a very helpful neighbor.
My neighbor, Bill, is a retired engineer,
and not only does he have every tool known to man in his garage,
and not only does he know the best way to use those tools,
but he also has lots of spare time to help his very helpless neighbor
whenever I am in need.
Usually I'm outside working on a project.
I find myself, I've bitten off more than I can chew,
and without fail, Bill shows up with the right tool and the right technique,
and he helps me do the job properly, and he stays to help me out.
He likes to come and just help me.
So I'm very thankful for my very helpful neighbor.
I think when the State Farm Insurance people made their little lingo
of like a good neighbor, they were thinking of my neighbor, Bill.
If you've been a Christian for any period of time,
I'm guessing you have found yourself feeling in over your head
when it comes to following Jesus.
It is difficult to shake certain sins.
It is difficult to love other people.
Sometimes it seems impossible,
since sometimes you find yourself surrounded by competing voices,
both outside you and inside you,
that play on your hopes and your confidence.
And when hardship and troubles come,
that gets even more shaken.
Your determination to follow Jesus gets deflated or muddled,
and you find yourself in over your head.
You find yourself in need of help.
Maybe you find yourself there right now.
That's certainly where the Christians in the Roman province of Asia
found themselves at the end of the first century.
And that's why the Apostle John sat down to write this letter of 1 John.
These Christians were struggling.
They found themselves in over their heads,
knowing just who Jesus was,
who they were as Christians,
and how they were to go forward.
Our text for this morning is in 1 John 2,
verses 26 and 27,
just two verses this morning,
but it's a close follow-up to what Caleb preached
several weeks ago before Advent.
And I'd like to go back and read,
starting with verse 18 of 1 John 2.
1 John 2, starting with verse 18.
Children, it is the last hour.
And as you have heard that Antichrist is coming,
so now many Antichrists have come.
Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
They went out from us, but they were not of us,
for if they had been of us,
they would have continued with us.
But they went out,
that it might become plain that they are all not of us.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One.
Keep that word anointed in the back of your mind.
And you all have knowledge.
I write to you,
not because you do not know the truth,
but because you know it,
and because no lie is of the truth.
Who is the liar but he who denies
that Jesus is the Christ?
This is the Antichrist,
he who denies the Father and the Son.
No one who denies the Son has the Father.
Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you.
If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,
then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that he made to us,
eternal life.
I write these things to you
about those who are trying to deceive you.
But the anointing that you receive from him
abides in you,
and you have no need that anyone should teach you.
But as his anointing teaches you about everything
and is true and is no lie,
just as it has taught you,
abide in him.
Several weeks ago,
Caleb preached on these verses
and helped us see that these ancient Christians
were being assaulted,
as the Apostle put it,
by antichrists.
Plural.
These antichrists,
as John called them,
were trying to derail the faith
of those believers
in these churches in Asia
that John was writing to
by shifting their focus
away from the clear,
true,
good news of Jesus.
And although they were feeling
in over their head,
the Apostle John knew
they had a sufficient helper
to help them stand firm
and hold fast to Jesus.
And that helper's name,
although he goes by the name of anointing
in this passage,
is the Holy Spirit.
We'll unpack why he's called that
in a little later,
but that's the big idea
of this passage
here in verses 26 and 27.
God was and is telling his people
to hold fast to Jesus
with the Spirit's sufficient help.
That's our big idea,
hold fast to Jesus
with the Spirit's sufficient help.
Help.
Let me unpack that big idea
with three C's
we find in this passage.
Three C's.
The first is this,
the Apostle John's command
to hold fast to Jesus.
The command is to hold fast to Jesus.
Let me reread verses 26 and 27.
And as I do,
I want you to feel
a building momentum
to the last three words.
Listen.
I write these things to you
about those who are trying
to deceive you.
But the anointing
that you receive from him
abides in you.
And you have no need
that anyone should teach you.
But as his anointing
teaches you about everything
and is true and is no lie,
just as it has taught you,
abide in him.
Abide in him.
That's the command.
That's the thrust
of this passage.
We could also say it this way.
Hold fast.
I believe Caleb summarized it
a few weeks ago
as to stick with Jesus.
We must remain steadfastly
connected to Jesus.
We must hold fast to him,
stick with him,
follow him,
abide with him.
And that,
this is what 1 John is all about.
That command.
The Apostle wants
these struggling Christians
to be firmly connected
to Jesus
for the rest of their days.
And he wants to help them
see that they're doing it
and he wants them
to keep on doing it.
He wants them to have
and maintain
a dynamic,
experiential,
growing relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And John talks about
this dynamic relationship
all through the letter.
He uses different language
to describe it sometimes.
Sometimes he uses
the language of abiding here.
In chapter 1,
he talks about
having fellowship with God
or being born of God
as Pastor Mike's
going to preach next week.
The famous image
for this relationship
Jesus uses in John 15.
He says,
I am the vine
and you are the branches.
Whoever abides in me
and I in him,
he it is that bears much fruit.
For apart from me,
you can do nothing.
So this relationship
is this organic connection.
It's something that
is already in place
for every Christian
and yet it also
at the same time
must be maintained.
It's this fruitful,
life-giving,
mutual connection
between the vine of Jesus
and the branches
of Christians
in which we depend
on Jesus
in every aspect
of our life.
And here in this letter,
John describes
different ways
that we can maintain
and nurture
this abiding relationship.
First,
we must believe
the truth
of who he is
and what he has done
to save you.
There's this truth
dimension to it.
And second is
we must obey
his commands.
And the third
is we must love
our fellow Christians.
And John uses
these three dimensions,
the truth,
the obedience,
and the love
to kind of,
he constantly cycles
back and forth
with these
throughout the whole letter.
And if any one
of these isn't functioning,
then you're not
abiding in Christ.
Something's off.
The relationship
isn't right.
For example,
if you believe
all the right things
about Jesus,
but,
and maybe you're
really moral,
you keep his commands,
but you're not very loving,
then something's off.
The abiding connection
is not there.
Or you might be
a very nice,
loving,
accepting,
tolerant person,
but if your Jesus
is not the Jesus
of the Bible
and you're living
your life without
regard with
what God tells you
to do,
then you're not
really abiding
in Jesus either.
All three have
to be in place.
And in this particular
part of the letter,
here in John 2,
John's very concerned
about the truth
dimension
of abiding in Jesus.
Look at verse 24.
Let what you heard
from the beginning
abide in you.
That's the teaching
of the truth
of the gospel.
Let what you heard
from the beginning
abides in you,
then you too
will abide
in the Son
and in the Father.
And what was it
that these Christians
heard in the beginning?
It was the truth
of the gospel,
that Jesus is the Christ,
verse 22,
the Messiah.
It's what the Antichrists
were denying.
And so,
according to
verse 24,
the Christians
who are convinced
of this truth
in their hearts
and they hold fast
to it,
they have an abiding
relationship
with God himself.
We must have
this truth
of the gospel
abiding
and functioning
in us
from his word
in order for us
to abide in Christ.
It's essential.
And that's what
John's commanding
in verse 27
at the very end.
Abide in him
through the resting
and the treasuring
of the truth
of the gospel.
And do you see
what's at stake?
Look at verse 25.
This is the promise
he made to us,
eternal life.
When we have
the truth
of the gospel
abiding in us,
we are enjoying
fellowship
with the living God.
And do you know
what that is?
That's eternal life.
What Jesus says
in John 17,
3,
backs this up.
And this is
eternal life,
that they may know
you,
the only true God,
and Jesus Christ
whom you have sent.
So this abiding
relationship is crucial.
We must have it
as Christians
if we're going to have
eternal life.
And one of the ways
we have it
is through a treasuring
and believing
and trusting
in the truth
of the gospel.
So,
dear brother and sister,
is this important to you?
Is this a priority for you?
Do you come to church?
Do you go to life group
with the thought,
I need God's word
abiding in me
so that I can abide
in Jesus?
and have eternal life.
Is this on your mind
as you think about
your own personal habits
of Bible reading
and meditating
on God's word?
I need God's word
abiding in me
so I can abide
in Jesus
and have eternal life.
This is vital
because
there is something
lurking
all around us
that would steer us
away
from this essential command
to abide in Jesus.
And that brings us
to our second C,
John's concern.
The concern is
the danger
of deception.
The danger
of deception.
Take a look
at verse 26.
I write these things
to you
about those
who are trying
to deceive you.
The reason the apostle
is writing to these Christians
is because
they are still
holding fast
to Jesus
but they are being
assaulted
by deceivers.
As Caleb pointed out
a few weeks ago
these deceivers
were called
the antichrist
because they were
denying the truth
of the gospel
and trying to influence
these faithful Christians
to do the same.
And the particular
deception
that was being
kind of put
forward
in these churches
was a heresy
called Gnosticism
or an early form
of that heresy.
Gnosticism
was kind of
a loosey goosey
spiritualism
that said
that all material
things are bad
and all spiritual
things are good
and the way
that you become good
is by kind of
getting this special
spiritual knowledge.
It kind of looked
like Christianity
on the outside
but once you lifted
the hood
it flatly denied
the teaching
of the Bible
especially the central
truth of who
Jesus is
as the God-man
or Redeemer.
Thankfully
these faithful people
that John's writing to
seem to not have
been influenced
by these deceivers
because by the time
John wrote
these deceivers
had been kicked
out of the church
but at the same time
they were obviously
in need of encouragement
and exhortation
to hold fast.
Church we should share
John's concern.
We should not think
that we are so firm
in our stance
that we become proud
and we fall.
In America
we face grave deceptions.
There are untruths
abounding all around us
and some of them
masquerade
in Christian dress.
Ultimately
deceptive doctrines
kind of boil down
to two basic
kinds of errors.
The first
are the kinds
that take away
from the truth
of the gospel.
That's kind of
what Gnosticism
was doing.
It denies
certain aspects
of the good news message.
They either deny
the problem
that the good news
message addresses
or the solution
to that problem.
They either deny
that sin
is a real issue
and our guilt
before God
is a real issue
and that Jesus
came as a man
and the God-man
to die
in the place
of sinners
to solve that problem.
And so
that's one
of the kinds
of errors
that we face
those that take away
the truth
of the gospel.
For example
Oprah
Disney
other kinds
of pop
American
self-help-ness
is
basically says
our biggest problem
is not
our guilt
before a holy God
but our lack
of individual
fulfillment.
And the biggest
the solution
to that problem
is ourselves.
If we look
deep enough
if we look
inside hard enough
we get to know
our true selves
then we can
truly find
what makes us
fulfilled
and happy.
Or here's one
that's maybe
a little more
closer to home.
This is what
I call
kind of a
good old boy
American theology.
theology.
It's a doctrine
that is kind
of a pop doctrine
that kind
of surrounds us.
We kind
of hear about
it all the time.
This doctrine
says yeah
God exists.
He's a nice
guy.
He's good.
He takes care
of my problems
whenever I need
him.
He wants me
to be happy
and since
I'm basically
not a jerk
I'll go to
heaven when I
die.
It's got some
Christian flavor
to it
but it's missing
the core
of the gospel.
It's not
what the Bible
teaches.
God did not
become a man
and die
on the cross
for basically
good people
who only need
him every once
in a while.
We must be
on our guard
against deceptive
doctrines that
take away
elements of
the truth
of the gospel.
The second
kind of error
is that which
not takes away
but adds
to the gospel.
The truth
of God's word
says that Jesus
alone saves us
from our
greatest problem
but Christians
in particular
can be tempted
to embrace
a kind of
self-righteous
legalism
that kind of
smuggles in
certain things
that says
it's our
trust in Jesus
plus these things
that makes us
truly good Christians.
So for example
those who
say well
it's a certain
kind of lifestyle
that you need
to have
or
a certain
set of doctrines
you must believe
that are outside
the necessary
gospel of Christ
or a certain
political affiliation.
This is what got
the Galatians
in trouble
when we had
our series
in Galatians
a while ago.
That's why Paul
was so adamant
about the need
to keep the good
news of the gospel
squarely in view.
There's been
something I've been
hearing among
Christians from
both sides
lately
that kind of
smacks of this
add to the gospel
flavor.
I've heard Christians
on both the right
and the left
say that
whoever they voted
for, whoever you
voted for in the
presidential election
is a sign of
whether you are
a true or a
false Christian.
That the only
true Christians
voted for Trump
or only true
Christians voted
for Biden.
I've heard it
on both sides.
But if we're
putting it that
way, that's an
important decision
of who to vote
for, but if we're
putting it that
way, then we're
adding to the
gospel.
We're saying it's
Jesus plus a vote
for someone.
But that's, we're
deceiving ourselves
and we're deceiving
others.
That's not what the
gospel says.
What determines
whether we truly
have a relationship
with the living
God is whether we
trust in the good
news of Jesus.
Whether we trust in
his death and
resurrection to
rescue us from our
greatest problem of
guilt before a holy
God.
And we must guard
against taking away
or adding to
this good news
so that we can
continue abiding in
a life-giving
relationship with
Jesus.
Jesus, do you
believe, do you
personally trust in
the sufficient message
of the gospel to
save?
Do you recognize
that you have real
guilt before a real
God that only the
real God-man Jesus
Christ can take away?
That is the truth of
the gospel.
That is the truth we
must hold to and
treasure more than
anything else because
we ought to be
concerned about
deceptive doctrines
because they are
nearer than we
think and we are
not as clever as we
think and because
the stakes are really
high.
But although we
should be concerned
we also must have
great confidence
and that is our
third C.
We must have
great confidence.
John had great
confidence in
something for
these Christians
because like my
neighbor Bill we
have a helper
very close at
hand as we
seek to hold
fast to the
truth that is
in Jesus.
And that confidence
is the sufficient
anointing of the
Holy Spirit.
The sufficient
anointing of the
Holy Spirit.
Take a look at
verse 27.
But the anointing
that you receive
from him abides
in you and you
have no need that
anyone should teach
you.
But as his
anointing teaches
you about everything
and is true and
is no lie just as
it has taught you
abide in him.
So it's obvious
that although John
is writing out of
concern that there
are wolves among
his flock he's
confident that
these Christians
have what it
takes to hold
fast to Jesus.
And why is he so
confident?
It's because of
this anointing.
It's mentioned
twice in this verse
it's also mentioned
back in verse 20.
Now there's a
little bit of
debate about what
this anointing is.
Scholars debate
about whether it's
one thing or
another but the
most probable
explanation is that
it is a reference
to the Holy Spirit.
I think that will
become clearer as I
keep going.
But why wouldn't
John just say
the Holy Spirit?
Why does he say
anointing?
Well it's hard to
be sure but what
is associated most
with someone who
is anointed by God
both in the Old
and the New
Testament is that
they are specially
chosen and
sufficiently equipped
to accomplish
God's purpose.
They're specially
chosen and
sufficiently equipped
to accomplish
God's purpose.
The kings and
priests in the
Old Testament who
were anointed with
oil to signify that
they were set apart
and chosen by God
had a purpose that
God was designated
them for.
And more than
once when those
individuals were
anointed with oil
the Spirit of God
came upon them and
equipped them
sufficiently with
God's own strength
and ability to
accomplish that
purpose.
So when David was
anointed by Samuel
the Spirit of God
came upon him as a
seal of God's
special choosing of
David and the
sufficient equipping
with the ability to
accomplish the
purpose.
Interestingly enough
when Jesus came
around he was never
taken aside by John
the Baptist or a
prophet and anointed
with oil.
And yet he's called
the anointed one
the Messiah.
And yet the
gospels take special
pains to show how
the Spirit of God
visibly came upon
Jesus in full measure
at his baptism.
And that's how his
anointing is explained
in Acts 10 38.
He's described as being
anointed by God with
the Holy Spirit.
Specially chosen
sufficiently equipped
for his role as our
Messiah.
And guess what?
The moment that you
put your faith in
Christ for the
forgiveness of your
sins and you became
united with Christ
you share in his
anointing.
You are given the
gift of the Holy
Spirit who was also
on your Savior.
And this therefore
shows that you are
specially chosen and
sufficiently equipped
to do what God
asked you to do.
Which is what?
To abide in Christ.
To hold fast to him.
Even when you're
surrounded by deceitful
doctrines around us.
Even with deceitful
heart within us.
We are sufficiently
equipped and
particularly chosen
to abide in Jesus.
And we have a helper
to help us do that.
The Holy Spirit.
Look at how this
anointing is described
in verse 27.
There are four things
I want to point out.
First, this anointing
is received.
The anointing that you
received from him.
Jesus said in John 14,
15, 16, I am sending
the Spirit to you.
The Father is going
to send the Spirit
to you in my name.
And so this anointing,
this helper, is a gift
to be received.
We just unpacked
Christmas gifts
from around the tree.
We don't earn them.
We haven't kind of
done certain things
to deserve them.
They're just given.
And that's the Holy Spirit.
He is a gift to be
received with much
gratitude because of
what a gift he is
to us in Christ.
Secondly, notice that
John says this anointing
abides in you.
This very sufficient helper
is continuously available,
always present,
and always active.
A little later in his letter,
John's going to
kind of unpack more
about this Spirit
abiding in us.
Look at 1 John 3, 24.
Whoever keeps his commandments
abides in God
and God in him.
And by this we know
that he abides in us
by the Spirit
whom he has given us.
Do you hear what
John is saying here?
We're not the only ones
who abide.
If we abide in God,
if we hold fast to him
in faith,
he's doing the same
with us.
He's abiding in us.
The abiding is mutual.
A relationship with God
is not this one-way street
where he's demanding
that we come 100% to him.
He also comes 100% to us.
He abides with us
as we abide in him.
But how does that happen?
God the Father is in heaven.
Jesus his Son
is at his right side.
How can the eternal
transcendent God
who cannot be seen
with our eyes
abide with us
and even in us?
The answer is in the Spirit.
The anointing.
By this we know
that he abides in us
by the Spirit
whom he has given us.
The Holy Spirit
is God's personal agent
of God's presence
and power
in the life
of a believer.
We are able to experience
the presence of God
and his power
to live the Christian life
only through the Spirit
whom he sent to be with us
and to abide with us
forever.
Friends, the Holy Spirit
has to be one of the most
overlooked treasures
you possess.
God's very presence
is with you.
In you.
Always accessible.
Always working.
Always attending
to your greatest need.
We should be overwhelmed
with gratitude
for this incredible gift.
Third,
is that this anointing teaches.
This anointing teaches.
Look at verse 27 again.
Listen for the teach word.
You have no need
that anyone should teach you
but as his anointing
teaches you about everything
and is true
and is no lie
just as it has taught you
abide in him.
Now by saying this
John isn't denying
the need for teachers
in the local church.
If he believed that
he wouldn't be writing
to this church
instructing them
and admonishing them.
Rather,
John's emphasizing
that one of the Spirit's
main responsibilities
is to teach us
and his teaching
is effective
and it is sufficient
for us.
And the way he teaches us
is through
the faithful instruction
of God's word
in the local church.
The Spirit's teaching
is sufficient.
He teaches us about,
notice he says,
everything.
Now it doesn't mean
about physics
or chemistry.
He's talking about
everything necessary
for us to abide
in Christ.
Given the threat
of deceptive doctrines
around us,
that is a huge comfort.
That is a great
source of confidence.
The Spirit is our
ever-present guide
leading us
into all that we need
to know and believe
about Jesus
in order to hold fast
to him
for eternal life.
But how does he do that?
How does the Spirit
teach us?
Listen to what Jesus says
in John 14, 26.
But the Helper,
the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father
will send in my name,
he will teach you
all things
and bring to your
remembrance
all that I have said
to you.
Bring to our remembrance
what Jesus
has already said to us.
When we think of the Holy Spirit
as our teacher,
we don't need to think about
like some professor
doing an info dump
on ignorant students.
Rather,
we should think of
our Holy Spirit teacher
as a guide
on a long hiking trip.
He's not only knowledgeable
of the trail,
but he is with us
on the journey
right in step
with us,
helping us know
what we need to know
and how we need to know it
at the right time,
at the right moment,
because we often forget
what we already know.
Or we don't realize
how important
and how applicable
it really is.
How real,
how true
and certain
it is.
He applies
the truth of Jesus
to our hearts
at just the right time
and in just the right way
to make Jesus
real
and beautiful
and delightful
to us.
There are different
kinds of knowing.
There's lots of things
that we know
that's stored in our brains.
Lots of bits of data
and knowledge,
but there's a difference.
I think everyone
probably recognizes
the difference
between kind of a,
okay,
nod my head
and a,
oh,
yeah.
I think I see that
for the first time
even though I've known it
for a long time.
And that's the Spirit's job.
It's to bring us
from a,
uh-huh,
to a,
oh.
That's His job.
So when we are
disoriented on the path,
He teaches us
by fixing our gaze
on our true identity
as God's children
in Christ.
When we are feeling
the sting of condemnation,
He teaches us
by fixing our eyes
on Jesus' finished work
on the cross
and making it real
and beautiful
to us.
And we have,
when we wonder
on our way
from the,
from the path,
He teaches us
by convincing us
that God's way
is indeed better
and helps us
forsake our sin.
When we're apathetic,
when our faith
feels like
zero percent,
He teaches us
by blowing back
into flame
our faith
and our desire
to abide
in Christ again.
So the Holy Spirit
teaches us.
But lastly,
not only does He teach us,
but what He teaches
is true.
Did you notice that?
and His anointing
teaches you
about everything
and is true
and is no lie.
The Spirit's ministry
is all about
the truth.
He is called
the Spirit of truth.
We can be utterly
confident
in our guide
because He communicates
only what He hears
from the Father
and from the Son
and declares it
effectively
to our hearts
and our minds.
When I was in college,
I took a philosophy course.
I was about 20 years old
and I had to read
some writings
of some philosophers
that were definitely
denied
vehemently
the truth
of the gospel.
And I remember
wrestling with these
for a long time
in my room
and trying to figure out
what I believed
about all this
and I decided
to take a walk.
And so I was walking
through the campus.
It was kind of a cold night
and I remember
looking up at the stars
and as I was gazing
at the stars,
kind of praying
and my mind
was fuzzy,
it's like this certainty
just dropped
into my mind
of what I know
about Christ
is true.
It has to be true.
And it wasn't
necessarily words
or logical arguments,
it was just
this certainty.
It was this conviction
and settledness
about what I knew
to be true.
Looking back on that,
I know it was
the Holy Spirit
because I've had
that kind of clarity
happen so many
different times
in different ways
before where
Jesus is all of a sudden
clear and real to me
because of the Spirit's
work in my heart.
It is the Spirit's
marvelous ministry
to make Christ
real,
certain to us.
It causes us to
not just believe
things intellectually
but a kind of joyful
resolve to trust
and obey Him
because we realize
how real and true
He is.
So this wonderful helper
is perhaps even better
than a good neighbor.
He's a source
of much confidence
for us
as we seek
to hold fast
with Jesus.
As the Spirit
has already
taught you,
church,
continue
abiding
in Jesus.
Find ways
to partner
with the Spirit
of God
to strengthen
that abiding
relationship.
That happens
through our
spiritual disciplines,
through our reading
of God's Word,
through our praying.
If we are not
intentionally partnering
with the Spirit
by abiding
in God's Word,
then He doesn't
have much
to work with.
So,
whatever you need
to do in 2021,
whatever resolution,
whatever decision,
whatever habit
you need to form,
take steps
to partner
with the Holy Spirit
to abide
in God's Word
so that you may
abide in Christ
and the Spirit
can be at work
in you,
strengthening that.
But that also
happens not just
in our spiritual
disciplines.
It happens
through a daily,
moment by moment,
acknowledgement
and understanding,
recognizing
of God's presence,
recognizing,
Brother Lawrence
called it the practicing
the presence of God,
recognizing that
in every step
throughout the day,
I am with God
and He is with me
because the Spirit's
presence is at work
and He is sufficient.
He is there
to help,
to reorient my gaze
so when I'm sitting
in my office
and I'm working
or if I'm home
or I'm driving,
there are ways
for me to abide
in Christ
even in those
small moments
throughout the day,
recognizing that
He is there.
Brothers and sisters,
do you find yourself
in need of help?
Do you find yourself
shaky or weary?
Are you letting go
of Jesus?
Do you even care
about abiding in Him?
Remember,
this passage
is calling us
to remember
the call
and the command
to abide
in Christ,
to hold fast to Him
because it is
eternal life.
There is no life
outside of Jesus.
Hear that command
to hold fast.
And the enemy
of your soul
wants nothing less
for you to be deceived
into thinking
that there is life
outside of Jesus.
that there is
a more desirable
source of rest
or peace
than Jesus Christ.
So hear the concern
for your soul
in this passage.
But also,
most of all,
remember
that your sufficient
helper,
the Holy Spirit,
is with you.
Remember the confidence
that you have
in Him
as your guide
whose consistent
purpose
is to make Christ
tangibly real
and delightful
to your soul.
He is better
than a good neighbor.
He dwells
in you,
with you,
and is constantly,
tirelessly working
for your good.
So,
church,
let's abide in Him.
Let's hold fast
to Him.
We are often
in over our heads,
but we have
a sufficient helper
who is with us.
Let's hold fast
to Him together
with the Spirit's help.
Let's pray.
Amen.
Lord,
apart from
your Holy Spirit's work,
we are in
over our heads.
We are sunk.
We are so thankful
for your Spirit
who makes
Jesus
real
and certain
and beautiful
and delightful
to us.
God,
we ask for
more and more
and more
of that
in 2021.
God,
strengthen our faith
by your Spirit.
Lord,
would you
uphold our resolve
to trust
and to obey you
more and more.
Lord,
cause us to delight
in Jesus
and to abide in Him
that we might have
eternal life.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.