INTRO.- ILL.- On Sunday, November 15th, I saw in the Office Depot ad that they had a Windows 7 laptop computer for sale for only $319.99. I found out that the store opened at noon on Sunday so I went to the store after church. I figured that perhaps there would be several people there for that bargain.
I waited for about 15 minutes before they opened. One other person showed up to get the bargain laptop. It was a lady who was going to buy one for her son.
When they opened the door we went in and immediately to see that laptop and they said, “Oh, we didn’t get any of those laptops.” We (the lady and I) said, “Your ad says that you would have a minimum of three per store.” The lady shopper said, “That’s false advertising!” And it was.
I don’t care much for any retail store that advertises something that they don’t have and especially, when they don’t give you a raincheck for the item you wanted to buy.
Brothers and sisters, I don’t like false advertising! It’s false. It’s fake. It’s deception! It’s a lie! Be not led astray!
ILL.- I read that one time that Volvo had an ad that showed a Volvo withstanding the crushing weight of a truck driven on its roof. However, the car had been specially reinforced to survive the weight. BET THEY DON’T SHOW THAT AD ANYMORE!
Did anyone ever sell you a bill of goods? The devil has been doing that for thousands of years to all mankind. He says things like, “Go ahead and enjoy all of life. You only go around once in life. And this is all there is to life.” And we know that there is more to life than this life and we need to prepare for the next life. THIS LIFE IS A PREPARATION FOR ETERNITY.
And the devil is a big liar. He lied from the beginning and he’s been lying ever since.
PROP.- In our text, John tells us how we can be led astray in regard to important spiritual matters.
1- Be not led astray about righteousness
2- Be not led astray about the devil
3- Be not led astray about the Son of God
I. BE NOT LED ASTRAY ABOUT RIGHTEOUSNESS
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Don’t let anyone lead you astray in regard to righteous living.
ILL. - A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him.
She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him and said,”I hope I haven’t made you feel ill at ease, it’s just that you look so much like my late son.” He answered, “That’s okay.”
“I know it’s silly, but if you’d call out ‘Good bye, Mom’ as I leave the store, it would make me feel so happy.”
She then went through the checkout, and as she was on her way out of the store, the man called out, “Goodbye, Mom.” The little old lady waved, and smiled back at him.
Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone’s day, he went to pay for his groceries.
“That comes to $121.85,” said the clerk. “How come so much? I only bought 5 items!” The clerk replied, “Yeah, but your Mother said you’d be paying for her things, too.”
Brothers and sisters, there are some people (and maybe many)who would pull a trick like that. And, of course, it’s a con, it’s a lie, and it’s stealing! It’s certainly not right living! It’s not righteousness! And he or she who does what is right is righteous. That’s what John says in this text. And for the most part, it holds true.
Matthew 12:33-35 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”
Brothers and sisters, we know that some people think it’s all right to do something when we know well and good that it isn’t right.
What are we talking about? Stealing, murder, abuse, child abuse, greed, lust, etc. There are many people in our world who THINK these things are ok, but if you stack them up with the Word of God we know that they are NOT right or righteous.
ILL.- For example, this article appeared on the internet, April 09, 2010. Preacher convicted of killing wife, freezing body.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama evangelist who terrorized his family while impressing audiences at revivals was convicted Friday of murdering his wife and storing her body in a freezer for years.
People who heard Anthony Hopkins' sermons in rural towns around the South sometimes called him a psychic or even a prophet. Yet a prosecutor told jurors that Anthony Hopkins terrorized his wife and young children, isolated them and used the Bible to manipulate them.
"He was the supreme commander of his own little army," said Assistant District Attorney Jill Phillips. After deliberating for 1½ hours, the jury in Mobile also found 39-year-old Anthony Hopkins guilty of rape, sodomy, incest and sexual abuse of a child between the ages of 12 and 16.
7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
Be not led astray about righteousness. If a person is righteous within because of Jesus, they will be righteous in their living.
II. BE NOT LED ASTRAY ABOUT THE DEVIL
8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
ILL.- A minister was preaching on the doctrine of Satan. "If there is anyone here who doubts the existence of a personal devil," he said, "just come and see me after one of my board meetings!"
Was he talking about himself or a board member? I’ve seen both some preachers and board members that I wondered about!
ILL.- An Irishman was trying to learn golf and having a terrible time of it. "I'd give just about anything to get this right!" he says out loud.
Suddenly, the Devil appears and says "Anything?" "Well, short of selling my soul, yes." "How about giving up sex for the rest of your life?" "Done and done!"
He finishes the game in rare good form and rumor of his deal spreads thru the clubhouse. One of the members, a reporter, sees a story here and asks him, "Sir, is it true you made a deal with the Devil to become a great golfer?"
"True, enough."
"And you gave up sex as your part of the bargain?"
"True again!"
"And may I have your name, sir?"
"Certainly. Father Mike O'Ryan."
No, the devil is a lot smarter than this. You can’t trick the devil but he can surely trick you.
ILL.- Thomas Brooks, Puritan preacher of the 1600‘s said:
Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst;
he promises honor and pays with disgrace;
he promises pleasure and pays with pain;
he promises profit and pays with loss;
he promises life and pays with death.
8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
It appears that the devil started all this sin business in the beginning with Adam and Eve. You do know, don’t you that “The man blamed the woman, the woman blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on.”
Because of Satan’s deceptive work, we all have been infected with the disease called sin. The devil has been sinning from the beginning. What beginning? The beginning of his appearance on earth and perhaps even before when he was kicked out of heaven for his prideful arrogance.
And whether we like it or not, when we sin we are in league with him. He who does what is sinful is of the devil.
We really don’t like the idea of being related to the devil, but as a minimum we could be considered somewhat devilish when we sin.
ILL.- A young African convert to Christianity was given a position of trust with the missionary. He violated the trust, however, and stole something.
The missionary asked, “Why did you take something that didn’t belong to you?” The native replied, “It wasn’t I who stole, it was grandfather in the bones!”
That was his way of referring to his old sin nature. We all have grandfather in the bones, the evil one in our bones or the old man of sin who lurks within us.
ILL.- Someone said: The next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. That should make a difference.
Be not led astray about the devil.
III. BE NOT LED ASTRAY ABOUT THE SON OF GOD
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
ILL.- He began His ministry by being hungry, yet He is the Bread of Life.
- Jesus ended His earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet He is the Living Water.
- Jesus was weary, yet He is our rest. Jesus paid tribute, yet He is the King.
- Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet He cast out demons.
- Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.
- Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet He redeemed the world.
- Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet He is the Good Shepherd.
- Jesus died, yet by His death He destroyed the power of death.
Who is this Jesus? What did He do? Many people in our world do know Him nor do they accept Him or believe Him. The very one who gives them life, breath and everything else that is good is the one they don’t believe in.
The text reads: THE SON OF GOD APPEARED. Boy, did He ever! He appeared in human form and many people just can’t buy that. Why would the God who created everything come to earth in human form, especially, in the form of a helpless baby?
That’s the beauty of the wisdom of God! He confounds and refutes the thinking of man in every way! There is no way that man can disprove God and Christ or put them down. PAYDAY SOME DAY. Pay day, Judgment day is coming when all will see!
Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This day is coming! However, people need to acknowledge and accept Jesus now. If they wait, it will be too late!
People need to recognize Jesus for who He is! He is who He claimed to be! As Peter boldly declared, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” Amen. I believe it. I believe Him and in Him. I believe He is who He claimed to be. I believe He did what the Bible says!
Jesus can do what He was sent to do!
Why did Jesus come into this world?
- To seek and save the lost
- To serve, not to be served
- To do the Father’s will
- To destroy the works of the devil
Sometimes we think the devil is very powerful and that he is, but he is not all-powerful! God has him on a leash. He can do only so much or go only so far.
JESUS DESTROYED THE WORK AND WORKS OF THE DEVIL WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS AND SAID, “IT IS FINISHED!”
Be not led astray about the Son of God. He is who He claimed to be and He did what God wanted Him to do!
CONCLUSION------------------------
Someone said: “It is true that you may fool the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”
One thing we must never fooled about is the truth of Jesus Christ! We may get fooled into sinning occasionally, but we must believe with all our hearts that we have Jesus to save us from sin and hell! BE NOT LED ASTRAY!
