Grosey's Messages

It is the last hour

The Imminent Second Coming

"waiting for his Son from heaven" (1Cor1:7)

"we look for the Saviour"  (Phil 3:20, Heb 9:28)

 "Looking for that…glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13

The Antichrist Attacks Christ (2:18)

Antichrist is a Particular Person

2 Thessalonians 2 "the man of sin."

Revelation 13 "the beast."

Matt 24  'abomination of desolation'

18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour

Have you ever heard about the Antichrist? A particular individual who will be the leader of the final rebellion against God. This person is referred to by different names in the Bible. In Daniel's prophecy, he is the little horn, and the prince who is to come. In 2 Thessalonians Paul calls him "the man of sin." In Revelation 13, he's called "the beast." He will be a one-world ruler who will control a global monetary system.

 The Antichrist will revive the Roman Empire of old – rebuild Babylon to its former greatness and literally deceive untold nations and millions of people into believing that he is the incarnation of God on earth . . . and he will attempt to wipe out Israel, thus nullifying the potential fulfilment of a literal kingdom on earth with Christ on David's throne.  The Antichrist will fail and Christ will succeed.

We're given a few clues as to this coming world dictator – he will survive a moral wound to his head; he will rise to great political power, his acceptance by world religions, including both Muslims and Jews will be something short of miraculous; even the clue that the numerical equivalents to the letters in his name add up to 666.

Hundreds of books and tens of thousands of sermons and essays have been written about the Antichrist.

Throughout history, many individuals have been identified as the Antichrist - Martin Luther, John Wesley, identified the Pope in Rome as the Antichrist. They believed this because the pope had called himself the vicar of Christ.  A substitute Christ. Christ here on earth!  Anti –doesn't just mean against and opposed to, it can also mean substitute for.  And this was the concern of the reformed churches at the time of the reformation, that the Roman Catholic church had moved so far away from the Bible and the gospel, that it was presenting the Pope as the substitute for Christ.  And so he was opposing Christ.  If the there is salvation in the Pope, you don't need salvation in Jesus!

Antichrist has a Particular Period

By the way, almost every American President has at one time been called the antichrist. Other identifications of the Antichrist have been Nero, Napoleon,  Hitler, Stalin, Mikhail Gorbachov (Some people said he had the mark of the beast on his head – doctor's call it a vascular birthmark), Idi Amin, Ayatollah Khomeini, Yasser Arafat, and even Papa Smurf, and Barney the Dinosaur. It can't be Barney because Revelation 12 speaks of a great red dragon and Barney is a Magenta dinosaur, – actually, none of those were the Antichrist.

I believe, along with most evangelical scholars, that the final Antichrist won't show up to lead a One World Government until AFTER the church has been caught up to be with Jesus. Next Sunday, week we will be saying more about the second coming of Jesus. So with all this interest in the Antichrist. HOW MANY TIMES DOES THE WORD ANTICHRIST APPEAR IN THE BIBLE? It is only found a total of 5 times. And three times were in the passage we are going to read, again in 1 John 4, and once in 2 John.

John makes an important distinction between many antichrists who are already here and the Antichrist who is coming at the end of the age. This counterfeit Christ will come on the scene of world history and, amazingly, the whole earth will marvel and follow him. Satan will indwell him and give him "his power, his throne, and great authority" (Rev 13:2-3). The Bible teaches that the nations will even worship him as God (Rev 13:4).

Now you may ask, "When is he coming? Could he be alive right now?" Whether he is alive or not, I cannot, will not, and should not speculate, and neither should you. That is God's business. What I do know is he will come, and the spirit of antichrist is alive and well. So, be on the lookout for those who attack the biblical teachings about Christ. They will do you no good.  They substitute themselves for Christ.  One group approached me this week wanting to infiltrate our growth group studies. The New Heavens New Earth group believe that their pastor is the Lord Jesus come back to earth to select his 144000 from their church alone to go to heaven.  They believe their pastor is God the Son, the Christ!  He is just a substitute for the real Christ.

 

The Antichrist Attacks Christ

Antichrist is people and a principle

"many antichrists have come"

Matt 24:23,24  "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

They deny the faith .

    1Jn 2:22-23  Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

You can't have God the Father without God the Son? Look at verse 23. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

In other words, you can't belong to God the Father if you reject God the Son as the anointed, sovereign Messiah, prophet, priest and king. To these heretics, and that is what they were, Jesus was important but not preeminent. He was significant but not the Saviour. However, the New Testament scholar I. H. Marshall is right on target when he says, "to deny that Jesus is the Christ is to deny that He is the Son of God" (1 John, p. 158). He further notes, "to reduce Jesus to the status of a mere man, or to allow no more than a temporary indwelling of some divine power in Him is to strike at the root of Christianity. Modern thinkers may have more refined ways of stating similar denials of the  reality of the incarnation. It may be doubted whether they are any more immune to John's perception that they take the heart out of Christianity" (p. 159)

To reduce Jesus to the status of a mere man, or to allow no more than a temporary indwelling of some divine power in Him is to strike at the root of Christianity. Modern thinkers may have more refined ways of stating similar denials of the reality of the incarnation. It may be doubted whether they are any more immune to John's perception that they take the heart out of Christianity. (The Epistles of John, 159)

The issue is denying the Person and the Work of Christ.

Some deny Christ by diminishing His work on the cross.  Another group rang me this week demanding the use of our buildings for their church. They have rung many times, and sometimes very abusively. They add seventh day Saturday observance as necessary for salvation.  Faith alone in Christ alone by Grace alone is all that is necessary for salvation according to the Scriptures. This time I made a police report.  Abusing and harassing Linda verbally is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

A Gnostic false teacher named Cerinthus was teaching during the days of John that Jesus was an ordinary man upon whom the Christ – this spirit of anointing – descended at His baptism. And the Christ spirit empowered Jesus until Jesus was crucified, upon which time the Christ spirit left him.

 

Antichrists Assault the Christian Church

  19 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 they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

-Members of the church

-Abandon the church

 

Antichrists Can't Stop the True Church

True disciples love God's church.

True disciples learn from God's Word.

21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie is of the truth

 

True disciples listen to God's Spirit.

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things….. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true,

True disciples Lean on God's Son.

24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.25 And this is the promise that He has promised us --- eternal life."

The Gospel was God inspired, God designed, and God carried through, and there is sometimes a danger for men to move away from the simplicity of that. John urges them to let the Gospel remain in them, that Gospel which they heard from the beginning "hold fast to that" he says. It was the Holy Spirit who led you to see your need of Christ and Christ as the answer to the need - hold on to it. Don't let it go. And so he envisages the counteracting influence of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Christian holding steadfastly to the Gospel.

 The antichrists of our world are passionate to deny Christ.   Are we passionate to obey Christ?

 The antichrists are committed in ignoring the church;       Are we as eager to worship together as a church?

 The antichrists are determined to dishonour the character of Christ;   Are we as passionate to honour Christ as our Lord and Saviour?

 The antichrists are committed to undermining the belief that Christ will one day return;   Are we equally as committed to believing and communicating the message that just as He departed from His disciples, He will one day come back for them.

Herman Bavinck was a Dutch churchman and theologian in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He also was an insightful teacher concerning the person and work of Christ. Concerning the centrality of Christ to the Christian gospel, he simply and concisely said,"Christ is Christianity itself; He stands not outside of it but in its centre; without His name, person and work, there is no Christianity left. In a word, Christ does not point out the way to salvation; He is the Way itself" (quoted in Warfield, The Person and Work of Christ, 319). This is what the apostles taught. This is what the Word says. This is what the Spirit affirms. This is what we believe. This is where we abide. This is what we confess. Eternal life is what we are promised!

Call To Worship Mark 4:26-29

Growing.. fathers children, young men!  Now John begins to write to Christians in differing stages of spiritual maturity.  Mark 4:26 And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Law and Grace Reading Psalm 86

1John 2:12-17  The Source Of Your Significance

Benediction

Romans 16: 25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith ---27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

 

 

 

 

Questions for Growth groups and Family Devotions

Steve spoke about self-identity today.  Why is this important for each of us?

1. Know what you are in Christ and cannot lose 2:12-14

1) You are forgiven 2:12    How does this feel in your experience?

2) You know the Father 2:13, 14   How is this foundational to your self-identity?

3) You are victors in the faith 2:13,14   How do you maintain a right self-image?

2. Know what the world offers but cannot give 2:15-17

1) The world cannot give you what you need 2:15   Why are these three aspects of life sinful and also unfulfilling?

2) The world cannot give you what it promises 2:16  How does the world make these promises of fulfilment?

3) The world cannot give you what will last 2:17

Why is this important for you to remember?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage (and eventually a martyr), wrote to his friend Donatus: "This is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the shadows of my vines.  But If I were to ascend some high mountain and look over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see: brigands on the highways, pirates on the sea, armies fighting, cities burning; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds; selfishness and cruelty and misery and despair under all roofs.  It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. 

When bad things happen around us and to us, it affects how we think about ourselves and our world.

A friend wrote of how a crisis sent him into a tail spin  Brian Rosner writes:

It was a typical early afternoon for a northeastern Scotland winter's day in 1998. The sun was setting, the wind was howling, black ice was forming on the roads, and condensation had fogged up my car both inside and outside. Sitting there waiting for the engine to warm up sufficiently to demist the windscreen, I reached up to adjust the rearview mirror and stared for a few moments at someone I didn't recognize. Seeing I was alone, it was a tad unnerving. After a few moments of confusion, and upon further reflection, the stranger I had seen turned out to be me!

It wasn't that I was losing my mind. A psychologist might describe such an event in terms of a dissociative disorder, the state of being disconnected from your sense of identity. My experience, however, was more symptomatic of an emotional state than a mental illness. Certain events had changed my life dramatically. I'm sure I'm not the first person to have my marriage end unexpectedly. But for my wife of thirteen years to disown me and renounce our life together left me shattered. Cherished memories seemed like they belonged to someone else. Half of the photos in my mind's album went missing, and the rest were spoiled with coffee stains. My hopes and aspirations evaporated. Looking forward became a luxury I couldn't afford. With damaged memories, an uncertain destiny, and a troubled present, I had lost my sense of self and was forced to revisit the question that you're supposed to settle for good in your childhood and adolescence. That most personal question of all: Who am I?

How do your circumstances affect your sense of self? What role do your relationships play in knowing who you are? How about your possessions, your job, how do these affect your personal identity.  Over the years I've had countless conversations with people of all ages in a myriad of circumstances who are wondering who they really are: people who've lost their job; people whose parents have died; people who feel deflated by their goals for life not coming to fruition; people who feel at sea in our rapidly changing world.

There is one piece of advice that you hear everywhere today in all sorts of contexts. It's a big mantra for the self-help book and seminar industry. It turns up in everything from school captains' speeches, celebrity interviews, and children's books to high-brow literature and philosophical discussions of ethical dilemmas. To disagree with it is almost unthinkable. And most people think it's about the best advice you can give. It is this: "Be true to yourself."

"We live in an age of self-obsession. Everywhere we look, we encounter a preoccupation with self-interest, self-development, self-image, self-satisfaction, self-love, self-expression, self-confidence, self-help, self-acceptance . . . the list goes on." Michael Allen Fox In 2013 the Oxford English Dictionary chose "selfie" as its "Word of the Year".

The advice to be true to yourself probably goes back to Shakespeare. In Act I, scene iii of Hamlet, the character of Polonius prepares his son Laertes for travel abroad with a speech (ll.55–81) in which he directs the youth to commit a "few precepts to memory." At the top of the list is the dictum: "This above all: to thine own self be true."

However, Shakespeare probably meant something different from what we mean. Whereas we think in terms of self-fulfillment and "keeping it real," Polonius's advice was concerned with avoiding self-indulgent pursuits that might be harmful to his son's image, such as borrowing money, lending money, and carousing with women of dubious character. For Shakespeare, "to thine own self be true" means to keep your reputation intact.

In the past an individual's identity was more established and predictable than it is today. Many of the big questions in life were basically settled before you were born: where you'd live, what you'd do, the type of person you'd marry, your basic beliefs, and so on. It's not that there was no choice. Rather, the shape of your life was molded by constraints that limited your choices. Today we are literally spoilt for choice, which can be both a source of joy and anxiety.

According to Peter Leithart, our world destabilizes the self by uprooting people from the traditional fixity of class and place, custom and community. Today our sense of belonging and identity is not supported by continual contact with the same set of friends, the same family members, or the same coworkers. Leithart paints a picture of a society marked by fragmentation and fluidity, where relationships are temporary and loose. In this context, self-fashioning is the order of the day, and self-knowledge is superficial at best.⁸ This is often brought into sharper focus when a crisis hits.

Verses 12-14 are beautifully structured, rhythmic and poetic. 6 times John says, "I am writing" (vs. 12-13) or "I write" (vs. 13-14).  3 different terms are used to identify his audience: 1) children, 2) fathers, and 3) young men. And, each group is addressed twice for emphasis. Now, why does John address his readers in their fashion? Perhaps he has in mind all believers, new believers, older believers and maturing believers.   

John is going to tell you here two things: 1. Who you are in very simple and clear terms.  And 2. How the world around you and its temptations towards idolatries pushes you from the one thing that can stabilise you in a confusing harmful world.

1. WHO ARE YOU?

a) You are forgiven 2:12  John begins with one of the most simple and basic truths of Christianity: we have been forgiven for all of our sins because of "his name's sake." This speaks to both the person and work of Christ, especially His perfect atoning work (2:2). Matthew 1:21 reminds us, "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1:7) and unrighteousness (1:9). He is faithful to forgive all the sins of those who trust in Him. Having run to Jesus as our advocate and atonement (2:1-2), we have been welcomed by God as His children. What a wonderful truth that, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous man runs into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:12).

a. Your sins have been forgiven!  12. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven . . .

We are children of God not because we earned our way into the family – not by merit in the sinner, but because of the infinite merit of the Saviour. No matter how old you are in the faith, one of the most disheartening things the enemy of your soul attempts is to try and bury you in the depths of your depravity.  And one of the most encouraging things you can do, evidently, is not to argue with him, but readily agree with him – and then remind him, and yourself, of the cross of Jesus Christ.  

Martin Luther spent a difficult night with the devil, and I think each of us has as well. The devil rattled off all his sins and wrote them on the wall of his room in his mind.   HOW CAN GOD FORGIVE ALL THAT? He seemed to yell! 

Martin Luther responded: "Yes it is all true I am all of thise things, but write over them all "The blood of Jesus God's Son cleanses us from all sin!"

The risen Lord blinds Paul on the road to Damascus, redeems him and then commissions him to take the gospel to his world and with that gospel, open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light . . . so that they may receive forgiveness of sins (Acts 26:18).

For just over 15 years, from 1991 to 2007, one evangelical seminary conducted a survey among nearly 1,000 Muslims who had converted to Christianity during those same 15 plus years.  Those converted Muslims surveyed represented 50 ethnic groups from 30 different countries – so they weren't surveying the same neighborhood.  These believers were asked, "What was it about Christianity that made you risk your life and your relationships and place your faith in Jesus Christ?"  One of the most often repeated answers from all of them was the simple fact that they could not be certain of the forgiveness of their sins . . . and the Christians they knew were absolutely convinced they had been forgiven. You want a refreshing fact?  Every sin you've committed and every sin you will commit is already known – and already paid for – by Jesus Christ, the living, resurrected, Son of God.

b. Your eternal safety is guaranteed by God's signature.   12  your sins have been forgiven you for His name's sake.

Isaiah 43 25  " I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. Your eternal relationship with God through Christ doesn't become ratified by the credibility of your signature; it is ratified by the credibility of His.    I picked up a guy who obviously was an alcoholic who lived for alcohol.  It was pouring rain so hard we couldn't go any further on the road. Then I thought.. well he isn't getting out in the rain again, so I willshare with him the good news. Where will you spend eternity? In heaven! Why? I signed the card. I asked what card, he showed me how thirty years before he had signed a decision card in a Baptist church at Lakemba under famous evangelist John Ridley.  He was strongly assured that because he had signed the card he was ok!  But its not you or I that has to sign a card.  It's God who signs off on us.    For His name's sake! Your forgiveness and security isn't permanent because God is concerned about you keeping your word; He happens to be concerned about keeping His word.   That's why it says  for His name's sake.

Your sins have been forgiven and your security as a believer is guaranteed by God's signature.

c) You know the Father 2: 13,14

When we receive Jesus as our Saviour we also get God as our Father (cf. 2:23). John says to the fathers in the faith that "you have come to know Him who is from the beginning" (v.13). The reference "Him" may be to the Father or even to Christ. Possibly both! Of course both are true. We now know in an abiding permanent relationship the One who has existed from all Creation and the One who we have come to know in the Gospel. There is a deep and abiding knowledge that has grown throughout their Christian experience. The longer they have lived the deeper and better do they know Him.  Your satisfaction is now in a personal relationship.

John has been telling us what to do and what not to do . . . he knows that we might get the impression that satisfaction in the Christian life is by following the rules.  So he effectively begins by reminding the most vulnerable among us that the issue is not the rules you keep, but a relationship you can enjoy.

I write to you, fathers,  Because you have known Him who is from the beginning…..

I write to you, little children,  Because you have known the Father.

14 I have written to you, fathers,  Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.

Children can become focused on so many things – and so many things might do nothing but distract them.

John says here, "Children, isn't it wonderful that you're getting to know your Father . . . focus on your Father."

No matter how old you grow in the faith, you've discovered early that satisfaction never comes from keeping a list of rules, but developing a loving relationship with your Heavenly Father.  Children begin discovering God is their Father.

Romans 8: 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17 and if children, then heirs --- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Older believers grow to know God is their Father!  He who is from the beginning!   Created all things.  Ordained all things from before the creation of the world. Ordained you to know Him from the foundation of the world. Orders all things in your life, from before the foundation of the world!

d) You are victors in the faith 2:13-14

I write to you, young men,  Because you have overcome the wicked one.

I have written to you, young men,  Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,  And you have overcome the wicked one.

When you don't think you can get through it, whatever that is infront of you that is destroying you, remember you have overcome already!  v. 13 and 14.  3truths about your war with the devil: 1) You are strong, 2) the Word of God abides in you and 3) you have overcome the evil one. There is no doubt in my mind that our strength and our ability to defeat the evil one has a 2-fold source. One is the work of Christ (see 3:8) and the other is the Word of God abiding in us. Satan will accuse us and distress us. Remember the work of Christ, remember the Word of God.

 Satan accuses me of sin I trust the work of Christ   Satan tempts me to sin I turn to the Word of God

2. HOW THE WORLD HARMS YOU

Your self image, your self-identity, can only be undermined in your own mind.  It is in you that the world finds something that can affect your self-identity and can shake you.  And the devil uses the desires in our own heats to confuse and distract us and tempt us. James 1: 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires (LUSTS) and enticed.15 Then, when desire (LUST) has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

"I've got something that the world can't give and the world can't take it away.

I've got Jesus and He's given me life and it keeps me night and day.

I've got something worth talking about It makes me sing and it makes me shout.

I've got something that the world can't give and the world can't take it away!"

People today generally build their lives around

1. Your race, ethnicity, and nationality;            2. Your culture;                        3. Your gender and sexuality;

4. Your physical and mental capacity;               5. Your family of origin;          6. Your age;

7. Your relationships;                                          8. Your occupation;                   9. Your possessions;

10. Your religion;                                                 11. Your personality and character.

But the world cannot give you what you need 2:15. These things though good, can actually undo your soul if you focus on them as your chief good.  It is the nature of idolatry to allow something secondary become primary, before God. So  John commands us, "Do not love (present imperative with a negative), stop loving the world or the things in it." Why? To love the world is to not love Father God which is what you really need, what you were created for and what gi es you a stable self-identity. John says Choose God the Father not the worldly enticements of the father of lies (John 8:44).  Recognize that turning even good things into god things becomes a bad thing. It is to give your love to a "lesser lover" and one who can never satisfy, who can never give you what you truly need.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.¹⁶ For all that is in the world --- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life --- is not of the Father but is of the world.¹⁷ And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

These same 3 weapons slew Adam and Eve in the Garden. Genesis 3:6, "The woman saw that the tree:

1. was good for food – lust of the flesh            2. was pleasant to the eyes – lust of the eyes

3. was desirable to make one wise – the pride of life

"lusts" means cravings, strong desires, lust, passion. The word is neutral. The trouble comes from within us!

 Matthew 15:18  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

Matthew 5:27-29, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'you shall not commit adultery,' but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more  profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."

Pride in possessions appeals to our ambitions.       Pride is vain glory, boasting, arrogance. It refers to the braggart who exaggerates what he has in order to impress others. It is the "I, me, my" person. It is about the external things, not the main thing, our relationship with God.  What gives meaning and value to your life? What is the Source of Your Significance?  Is it possessions? Is it your place at work? Pride, power, possessions, prestige, and position? Is it your relationships and family? What if all these things are taken away?  What have you got left?

"Pride of possessions" or "pride of life" speaks of the person who glorifies himself rather than God. He or she makes an idol of their stuff, their career, their achievements, their social standing. This person fails to see that the Lord Jesus, the King of Glory, turned the value system of this world and all this stuff on its head.

A.W. Tozer draws our attention to the blinding deception of the "pride in possessions":  "There is within the human heart a tough, fibrous root of fallen life whose nature is to possess, always to possess. It covets things with a deep and fierce passion. The pronouns my and mine look innocent enough in print, but their constant and universal use is significant. They express the real nature of the old Adamic man better than a thousand volumes of theology could do. They are verbal symptoms of our deep disease. The roots of our hearts have grown down into thing, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God's gifts now take the place of God, and the whole course of nature if upset by the monstrous substitution." (The Pursuit of God, 22).

 

In Greek mythology there were dangerous sea creatures called Sirens. These were half-women half-birds who would play or sing such enticing music that sailors would steer toward them and die as their ship crashed upon the jagged rocks. These sirens appear in two myths, Homer's Odyssey and the story of Jason and the Argonauts. If you're not really into Greek mythology, maybe you saw the cartoon movie, Ice Age Continental Drift. Manny the Wooly Mammoth (whose voice is Ray Romano) had to steer their iceberg past some creatures disguised as beautiful females – they borrowed this idea from Greek mythology. But back to Greek Mythology - when Odysseus sailed by the sirens, he filled all his sailors' ears with beeswax so they couldn't hear the music. He had his crew tie him to the mast as they sailed past the sirens. He was so tormented by the music of the sirens that he tried his best to break free and swim to shore. He was almost driven mad by their enticing songs.

But in the story of Jason and the Argonauts, Jason used a different strategy to avoid the call of the sirens. They had a talented musician onboard named Orpheus. While they sailed past the sirens, Orpheus played music on his lyre that was louder and more beautiful, so that the sailors paid no attention to the music of the sirens.

The world is still playing its siren music trying to attract us toward what it claims is the pleasures of sin. But it is a dangerous song because sin always leads to death. And most of us can think of Christians who have ended up with their faith shipwreck on the jagged rocks of sin. But our response to the siren call of the world should not be that Odysseus who tied himself to the mast. He was tormented. Instead Jason and his sailors were listening to another song – a song so beautiful that they didn't even hear the song of the wicked sirens. As followers of Jesus, we're listening to a new song, and it's so beautiful and captivating that the song of the world no longer appeals to us.

Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage (and eventually a martyr), wrote to his friend Donatus: "This is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the shadows of my vines.  But If I were to ascend some high mountain and look over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see: brigands on the highways, pirates on the sea, armies fighting, cities burning; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds; selfishness and cruelty and misery and despair under all roofs.  It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world.  But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret.  They are despised and persecuted, but they care not.  They are masters of their souls.  They have overcome the world.  These people, Donatus, are the Christians — and I am one of them." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 JOHN 2:3-11.      Matthew 22:34-40  Luke 13:22-35

Walking in the Light.

1John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Psalm 80 ESV 2 stir up your might and come to save us! 3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved! 7 Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

18 Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

NASB  ³  O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.

NKJV  ¹⁹ Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

Restore us.   1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sns and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Maybe you have heard of the name "Ivan the Terrible." You may be thinking, "Yeah, I kept that kid last week in Sunday School." Ivan the Terrible was crowned the first Czar of all of Russia in 1547. The term Czar means "Caesar." He was cruel and ruthless. He gouged out the eyes of the architects who built the beautiful St. Basil's Cathedral so they would never be able to build anything more beautiful. He had seven wives and abused them all. He even killed his own son in a fit of anger. There were many other reasons why later generations gave him the title "terrible." When he died in 1584, the leaders of the church followed his strange instructions. They shaved his head, and dressed him in a Monk's robe. Ivan knew he was such a wicked man that he was hoping God would mistake him for a monk and let him into heaven. I call him "Ivan the Stupid." My friend, you can't get into heaven by disguising yourself as someone and hoping God will mistake you for him or her. There is only one door and that door is Jesus.

Mark Twain once wrote: "Having spent a considerable amount of time with religious people, I can understand why Jesus liked to be with tax collectors and sinners."

Calvin "John here reminds us that the knowledge of God derived from the Gospel is not ineffectual, but that obedience flows from it."

And by this we know that we have come to know him,

WHOEVER says 4, 6, 9    4 Whoever says "I know him" but …. 6 Whoever says he abides in Him, (but…)   9 Whoever says he is in the light and …

Has the light of God's face been eclipsed in your life by sin getting between you and your Lord?

And when you come to know Jesus, He remakes you from the inside out. You get to know Him, and knowing Him changes you from within. "know" can mean "believe," or "approve," or even "love":"I am the good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine" (John 10:14). But its commonest meaning is to be sure or assured, as in "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25).  Knowing God is moving from being in the dark into being in the light. Remember 1John 1:5 God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

"The knowledge of Christ has become expressive of a personal and saving interest in His work and grace. There is great propriety in this use of the term. Knowledge is the result of observation and experience. It implies certainty. If we say we know a man, it supposes we have had fellowship with him, and have proved what sort he is. If we know a country we must have been there and seen it and become versant with its inhabitants, soil, and products. If we know a medicine, we must have used or analyzed it, and so become acquainted with its constituents and properties. Now this is precisely the force of the term when we speak of the knowledge of Christ. Hence it is the characteristic of believers in our text: 'we know Him.' We know His power, for we have proved it; we know His wisdom, for we have been guided by it; we know His love, for we have enjoyed it; and we know His truth, for we have ever found Him faithful. How thankful we should be that this is the nature of true religion. It is not a speculation about which there is uncertainty. It is not a doubtful opinion. It is knowledge. It is a reality of which we may know ourselves. They who attained it may say 'we know him'" (J. Morgan).

When a person becomes a Christian there is a lot of changes: It is like moving to another country.

There is a new residency.         There are new responsibilities.   There are new relations.

Augustine… chased by a prostitute, a former friend.. "Augustine, it is I!"  Augustine running calls back: "Yes but is no longer I!"

Pink:  The truth of Christ being  our redeeming sacrifice and our advocate, His atoning sacrifice will not induce a careless walk or encourage a spirit of lawlessness. Where Christ is truly known as Lord and Savior, His authority is gladly owned; if He is loved, there will be no question about obedience. A spiritual apprehension of what Christ has done and is now doing for us is the most effective means and motive unto a God-honoring life.  In fact, John is encouraging you to have assurance of your salvation. Assurance..comes from the cross.      Evidences: assist that assurance by letting us know there has been a great change in us because we have recognised what Jesus has done for us.

The Truth Test      -Gospel         The Moral Test      -Righteousness       The Social Test       -Love

Here John is saying to us that there is a new desire from within to keep God's commandments, particularly the commandment to love. The Old and New Testaments fit together to say that there is an inward change that occurs in the person who really believes. They move from just keeping the commandments to loving God and loving people. Just like the Lord Jesus said in Matthew.. you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and you shall love your neighbour as yourself.

Tis A Thing I Long To Know, Do I Love The Lord Or No?

Here are some tests to let you know that you have truly believed in Jesus and been saved.

1. DO YOU HAVE A LOYAL LOVE FOR THE LORD?  The Loyalty Factor

A loyalty to our Lord     if we keep His commandments."

The word commandment refers to injunctions or orders – this is not the word nomos as a reference to the Mosaic Law. He's specifically thinking of the commandments of Christ for the New Testament believer.  This is the great commission of Christ to His apostles – to make disciples, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you.  The New Testament letters are filled with commands of Christ.  And the believer is to keep them, John writes here.  The word translated "keep" has the idea of observant, watchful obedience. While the Christian will not perfectly or at times even consistently obey the Lord – which is why John began his letter by giving us the means and methods of confession – the believer wants to obey.  The believer is grieved by his disobedience.

The idea here of "keeping his commandments" has to do with determination and desire.  The believer wants to match his walk to his talk.

 "The believer cannot keep Christ's commandments perfectly, but he can keep them purposefully. The believer can rise each day with longing in our heart to do what God would desire.

Obedience is more than just "keeping the commandments." There is a love there. Remember.. love the Lord your God!        Commanding love is very difficult.  Responding to love is very easy.

I would not work my soul to save, that work my Lord has done.

But I will work like any slave for love of God's dear Son.

Our obedience to Christ is regarded by John as evidence of our experience of Christ . That initial step of knowing Him experimentally was a step of faith and faith, if it is true faith, is a blend of dependence and obedience. Dependence upon Christ's work on the Cross and His word to us in scripture, but obedience to His will . The old obediences that marked our lives before our conversion have been replaced with a new obedience. We no longer walk "according to the course of this world' i .e. doing what others do; nor do we walk any longer "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and-of the mind" i.e. doing what we want. But now the supreme question that dominates our conduct is the question Saul of Tarsus asked in the first moments of his conversion experience "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" To claim an experimental knowledge of Christ as Saviour and to pay no regard at all to His commandments is to be branded a liar v.4. The reason for this is surely that part of the experience of the new life within which is mediated to us through the Holy Spirit is a new awareness of the claims' of Jesus Christ.  If the Holy Spirit is there dwelling in us then we shall become conscious of this new obedience, this new loyalty that must dominate our conduct.

2. DO YOU HAVE A MATURING LOVE FOR THE LORD

Look at 5: Whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.

The word translated perfected means "accomplished". In other words, John is encouraging us that when we keep His word, the love of God is accomplishing its purpose in our lives.  One author put it this way; the more we treasure the word of God, the more we open the door for his love to accomplish his purpose in our lives. I love this verb – to keep – His word. It opens up the meaning of what John is intending to convey here.  The word was used in John's day of a sentry, on duty, walking his post.

Joel Beeke, The Epistles of John (Evangelical Press, 2006), p. 63  

It was used for guarding carefully as if a person were guarding a treasure "the love of God" Some scholars say it means God's love for us; others say it means our love for God, but surely i t means just exactly what it says "the love of God" - that new love which is now present in us. A new love that has been received with the new life. Compare Romans 5:5 where Paul states "the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." But the love which comes to us as a gift must then be allowed to grow and develop into what John cal l s later on in chapter A:18 "a perfect love that casts out fear " a love which is marked by a complete and utter confidence in the one loved. This maturing, this growing of love into a deepening confidence will come only out of a constant and growing obedience. As we obey more and more the will of God in our lives s|o God will unveil, more and more of His mind and will to those He has learned Ho can trust. This is what our Lord said in John 14:21 "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him."

And out of that deepening insight will come a deepening love and a growing confidence in the one loved, a growing recognition of His utter worth and of His utter trustworthiness. So our assurance experimentally and practically will rest upon these two things; this will be something for ourselves and something for others see in any genuine Christian life a loyalty in the love. We will to the Lord and a maturity in The thought of the claim stated in v.5 "hereby we know that we are in him" seems to lead John on into v.6 where w4 read "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to wall even as he walked."

3. DO YOU HAVE A DETERMINED LOVE FOR CHRIST AND OTHERS

 God uses a word that doesn't talk about falling in love; He uses a word that talks about choosing to love.  Warren Wiersbe comments on this term here by writing that biblical agape isn't about attraction, it's about determination. It's not a matter of working it up . . . it's a matter of willing it out.  And the surprising thing is that this kind of self-sacrificing love isn't just for our spouses and family members, it's for the entire body of Christ and beyond.

So it's no coincidence that as John begins telling us all that we are commanded to love each other – he opens by telling us that he loves us too – and he loves us with this kind of deep affection and fidelity and commitment – expressed in this term, beloved.

What is surprising, and I'm sure John's childhood friends thought the same thing, is that John would grow old and affectionate, rather than old and bitter and irritable.

That was John when Jesus called him as one of His disciples.

John was nicknamed early on as a son of thunder, by Jesus, because of his temper (Mark 3).

Luke chapter 9 records that John wanted to call down fire from heaven on a village that had refused to give them shelter for the night – Lord, let's torch all of 'em . . . they deserve it!

It was John's mother who came to Jesus and said, "What can we do to make sure John and his brother James get to sit next to you in the kingdom . . . they want to be at the top of the ladder."

Fiery, passionate, self-centered, judgmental . . .

But now you read this old Apostles letter and although John is still passionate and fearless and confrontational, he makes sure we all understand, underneath it all is agape . . . he loves us dearly.

With that, he begins to tell us how to make sure we avoid the darkness of hatred and walk in the light of love.

Verse 7. Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

In other words, the concept of loving one another is not new stuff.

The truth was, by the time John wrote this letter, the command to love God and one another wasn't new, but it was neglected.

The rabbis had long since started on their vast work of elaborating on the Law of Moses. They scoured the Torah – the first five Books of the Old Testament, written by Moses – and they looked for every command, every mandate, every charge, every prohibition and every rule and from them they created many of their traditions along with their long lists of do's and don'ts.

For instance, they catalogued 613 commandments from the Old Testament law – which they believed matched the 613 things that made up a human body; they also catalogued 365 negative commandments or prohibitions which they also found significant because that made one prohibition for every day of the year. They loved this stuff.  The problem was – all that stuff replaced love.

John says, effectively – you remember the great commandment – it's really old – it goes all the way back to the beginning – To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind . . . and love your neighbor as yourself (Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19) – you guys are praying this every morning and evening.  In all of your lists, have you overlooked the commandment to love?

Well unbury it . . . dust it off . . . it isn't new . . . it goes all the way back to God's original design.

But then . . . John writes in the very next verse – verse 8, On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you.

Wait a minute . . . I thought it wasn't new?!  Well, the word John uses for "new" here isn't referring to something new in time (kairos); but something new in quality (kainos).

In other words, John isn't saying, "Look, here's something brand new that's never come along until now; no, John is actually saying, "Look, there's a brand new quality – a fresh demonstration – of agape/love that is totally unique."  Notice, he goes on to tell us how – middle part of verse 8 – I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him.

In other words, Jesus Christ has shown us new, fresh quality to love. And He expects us to imitate His demonstration of love in our own demonstrations of self-sacrifice.

That's how He could say to His disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you." (John 13:34)

So, don't let your list of 613 commandments – your 365 prohibitions and your 248 affirmations – get in the way of the most important command of all.

verse 8 – On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him  – and, in you.

This isn't just for Jesus . . . it's for all of us to demonstrate too.  John is actually informing us that this a bigger deal than we might think; we're not only demonstrating the love of Christ, we're demonstrating the light of Christ.  Notice the last part of verse 8 – because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining. Notice the warning in verse 9. The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.

And John is effectively saying, Beloved, none of you belong in the shadows . . . get into the Light . . . demonstrate the Light of Christ and the love of Christ.  Get out of the shadows of hatred and un-forgiveness and bitterness and jealousy and all those things that belong in the dark.

Notice verse 11. But the one who hates his brother (get this, we're still talking about Christians) – the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Again, John's use of the present-tense participle translated "hating his brother, simply depicts a persistent, characteristic attitude. This person is known for simply being hateful.  John says, this person has chosen to live in the shadows – to turn off the light and walk a dark path.  John even adds, his eyes are blinded – a verb that records the blinding impact of hatred in this person's heart

What pitfalls are you dangerously close to falling into because you're harboring a hateful spirit toward another?

 Who is it in your world who would be greatly encouraged if they knew you cared?

 Who is it that could use your insight to help them regain their footing on the path of light?

 Who is God asking you to selflessly serve today?   What is God asking you to faithfully commit to all over again?   Who is God asking you to love today?