INTRO.- It’s the last hour. I don’t like the sound of these words: THE LAST HOUR!
ILL.- Three buddies die in a car crash, they go to heaven to an orientation. They are all asked, “When you are in your casket and friends and family are mourning upon you, what would you like to hear them say about you?”
The first guy says, “I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my time and a great family man.”
The second guy says, “I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher which made a huge difference in our children of tomorrow.”
The last guy replies, “I would like to hear them say, ’Look, he’s moving!” Most people are like that last guy.
Most people fear the last hour of life and there is only sure cure for that fear. It’s a growing relationship with Christ!
Hebrews 2:14-15 "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
Isn’t this great? Through Christ’s death we are free from the fear of death. How so? We know that He conquered the grave and He promised the same to us! PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM!
I John 4:18 "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
The more we grow in our love for the Lord, the less we’ll fear Him, death and the judgment. Love is better than fear!
ILL.- On his deathbed, British preacher Charles Simeon smiled brightly and asked the people gathered in his room, "What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time?"
When they all remained silent, he exclaimed, "The creation! I ask myself, ’Did God create the world or did I?’ He did! Now if He made the world and all the stars of the universe, He certainly can take care of me. Into Jesus’ hands I can safely commit my spirit!" WHAT FAITH HE HAD AND WHAT FAITH WE NEED!
The last hour of this text is not death, however. It’s the last dispensation of time (Christian dispensation) and John said that certain things would happen. Of course, some people might say, "Well, John wrote nearly 2000 years ago. If this is still the ‘last hour’ what’s the big deal?” This may well be what some people think. SO WHAT?!
ILL.- This may be like those two pilots who were supposedly playing on their laptop computers when they flew past their destination in Minneapolis, MN, by 150 miles, in October. They claimed to lose concentration while flying. Well, if this is true, they were really dumb and/or stupid. I CAN’T IMAGINE DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHILE PILOTING A PLANE!
However, sometimes we do the same spiritually. We lose concentration as to what we’re supposed to be doing and then end up getting into trouble or else have a bad spiritual crash. And it can happen to anybody, to any Christian who isn’t keeping his or her spiritual eyes open and seeking the Lord’s will every day.
Brothers and sisters, it’s the last hour! We all need to be awake!
Romans 13:11-12 “And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
PROP.- Because it’s the last hour leading up to eternity, what must we do? John gives us the lowdown in plain language.
It’s the last hour - recognize, remember, remain.
1- It’s the last hour - recognize the enemy
2- It’s the last hour - remember you’re united
3- It’s the last hour - remain in Christ
I. IT’S THE LAST HOUR - RECOGNIZE THE ENEMY
18Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
ILL.- A reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday. "What are you most proud of?" he asked. "Well, " said the man, "I don’t have an enemy in the world." "What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!" said the reporter. "Yep," added the centenarian, "outlived every last one of them." I DOUBT IT!
DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR ENEMY IS? It’s probably some man of the cloth, some false man of the cloth, meaning a false prophet.
John said the antichrist is coming and there are many. Antichrist simply means “opposed to Christ.” And there are many in our world today: in politics, in Hollywood, and even in some pulpits!
They may not claim to be prophets, but they are opposed to Christ. You can tell by what they say and do!
Philippians 3:17-18 “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.”
But here’s the real enemy behind the antichrist!
ILL.- One night Thomas Carlyle took Ralph Waldo Emerson through the dark streets of one of London’s worst sections and commented, “Do you believe in the devil now?”
We could say the same if we were travel through some of the worst sections of cities in the US like New York City, Detroit, MI, etc.
When we look at what is happening around the world and even in the US, how can we not exclaim, “Do you believe in the devil now?” There is rampant evil in our world and Satan is our enemy!
ILL.- Marshall Ferdinand Foch (Fosh - French General) spoke these words at one of the most critical moments of WWI: “My right has been beaten back. My left is in peril. My center is wavering. The situation is ideal. I attack.”
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
I Peter 5:8-9 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith...” Satan is real and is out to eat you alive!
Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Because it is the last hour we must recognize the enemy, resist him and fight him by standing firm in the faith. We must attack the evil one but only with the Lord’s strength!
II. IT’S THE LAST HOUR - REMEMBER YOU’RE UNITED
20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
You know the truth. Of course, that truth is Jesus Christ. You have an anointing from the Holy One. We have been anointed by the Holy Spirit when we surrendered to Christ. What this amounts to is that we are united with Christ.
ILL.- Tonto and the Lone Ranger were riding through a canyon together when all of a sudden both sides were filled with Native American warriors on horses, dressed for battle. The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and asked, "What are we going to do?" Tonto replied, "What you mean ’we,’ Whiteman?"
This doesn’t sound like much of relationship, does it? Or perhaps not much unity of thought and action. In some ways, however, it’s no different than our relationships today and even in our relationship with Christ.
ILL.- Grady Nutt ( September 2, 1934–November 23, 1982) was a Southern Baptist minister, humorist, television personality, and author) once said: A man once bought a new radio, brought it home, placed it on the refrigerator, plugged it in, turned it to WSM in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry), and then pulled all the knobs off! He had already tuned in all he ever wanted or expected to hear.
We are not to "stand still" in our relationship to Christ! We should always be moving forward and upward, learning and growing.
Philippians 3:12-14 "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
ILL.- Pablo Casals was a Spanish cellist and later a conductor. When he reached the age of 95, a young reporter asked him: "Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?" He said, "Because I think I’m making progress."
That’s the spirit and the attitude we all need to have when it comes to living the Christian life or our relationship to Christ.
ILL.- In the course of their conversation at a dinner party, Albert Einstein’s young neighbor asked the white-haired scientist, "What are you actually by profession?" "I devote myself to the study of physics," Einstein replied. The girl looked at him in astonishment.
"You mean to say you study physics at your age?" she exclaimed. "I finished mine a year ago."
Brothers and sisters, we are never finished when it comes to the study of Christ. We must keep on, keeping on til we die. I’m learning more about Christ than I ever have my life and enjoying Him more!
II Peter 3:17-18 "Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
We all need to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We need to know more about Him and we need more of Him in our lives. WE MUST NOT STOP GROWING IN HIM!
III. IT’S THE LAST HOUR - REMAIN IN CHRIST
27As for you, the anointing you received from him REMAINS in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, REMAIN in him. 28And now, dear children, CONTINUE in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
Twice John uses the word "remain," as in we must remain in Christ. He also says, "continue in Him."
ILL.- According to a 1974 newspaper item, Leo Fortier had rung the bell of his church in Three Rivers, Quebec, every Sunday for 52 years. That’s quite a record of faithfulness. It’s called sticking with the job, doing the work, staying the course.
II Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
How many Christians can say today, “I have the good fight. I have kept the faith?”
ILL.- One man tells of Dr. A. T. Robertson (Baptist) was the greatest scholar of his time on the Greek New Testament. One man tells about Robertson. He wrote more than fifty scholarly books on the New Testament. His “Big Grammar,” as he called it (1,454 pages), was recognized worldwide as the classical work on the Greek New Testament.
His former students always will remember him as being hard on them. One day he said about his students, “They will be preaching the New Testament for the rest of their lives. And I want them to know it!”
He had a great passion for souls. While preaching during the invitation in a revival meeting, he left the pulpit and walked up and down the aisles, exhorting lost people to accept Christ as their Savior.
The man said: I sat in his senior Greek class at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on a Monday afternoon in September 1934. I was not more than fifteen feet from him, not knowing a stroke was coming on him that would take his life an hour and a half later.
On the Friday before that, he gave what was probably his greatest testimony about the New Testament. To our class he said, “Young gentlemen, I have been studying, teaching, preaching, and writing about the New Testament for more than fifty years. But I never open my Greek New Testament but that I see something I never saw before.”
After his death a student received permission to take a picture of his desk just as he left it. Papers and reference books were spread out on his desk. His pencil and the green eyeshades he wore when studying and writing were laying on the page on which he had been working. In the midst of a busy task he laid down his pencil, took off his eyeshades, picked up his class book, and taught his class—and then went home and died.
What a great picture of a man who kept the faith and remained in Christ until his death. WOULD TO GOD WE ALL WOULD DO THIS!
28And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.
CONCLUSION----------------
ILL.- One time the advertising firm of J. Walter Thompson of Chicago presented this Biblical message in unique, twentieth-century, advertising style.
For example, one ad shocked people into attention by proclaiming in large type: “You have 24 hours to live.” “Today, that is,” says the smaller type below.
Do you know what time it is? It’s the last hour and we must remain in Christ.
