THE POWER OF A PROMISE
1 John 2:25-29
(25) And this is the promise that He Himself made to us; eternal life.
(26) I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
(27) The anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things, and is t rue and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain(abide) in Him.
(28) So now, little children, remain in Him, so that, you know this as well; everyone who does what is right has been born of when He appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
(29) If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
A tourist was driving through West Texas and stopped at a gas station. He observed a small piece of rope hanging from the porch under which was a sign reading ’weather forecaster’. ‘How does this work’, he asked.
‘When it swings it is windy. When it is wet it means rain.
When it is frozen stiff it means snow. When it is gone…tornado!
Some signs are pretty obvious. Doesn’t take a PHD to recognize the signs of the times in our generation.
• In verses 18-29 John is emphasizing how important it is that we live our lives in intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ. The time is short and the deceptions of this world are strong. It is so important that we hang on to those things which really matter.
LAST SUNDAY:
1) John warned us about the times we live in ’it is the last hour’. This period between the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. An age of grace in which we are to reach out to a lost world.
a) Sense of urgency b) Signs to intensify
(1) Sign of foolish lifestyles
(2) Sign of false teachings
2) John also warned us about the deceivers who will come.
a) The Antichrist - satanic superman of end times
b) But also the antichrists of every age - those of every generation which will grow in number as the end draws near.
(1) Come out from inside the church(2:19)
(2) Deny the truth about Jesus Christ(2:22)
3) John encouraged us to rely on our defense against false teachers
a) The anointing from the Holy One - False teachers claim to have superior knowledge or new revelations but John reminds the church that it is only those who are truly born again that have the Spirit of Truth.
Jer 23:31-32 - Behold, I am against the prophets who use their tongues and declare, ’Thus saith the Lord’. Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit’, declares the Lord.
PS 25:14 - The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.
AMOS 3:7 - Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.
(Are these ’servants of God’ - self-serving or God serving.)
4) John also warned us of the dangers of false teachings
a) They cannot save the lost whoever denies the Son does not have the Father…
b) They can prove the saved as for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. Prove their salvation by their rejection of error
• This morning: We are going to look at this wonderful promise that we have because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The real truth that our anointing leads us to understand. New Life in Christ.
THE PROMISE - (25) And this is the promise that He Himself made to us; eternal life.
because of the advances in medical science the average life-span is getting a little longer. Currently, in this Country, the average life expectancy is around 72 years. The maximum life-span, however, is around 120 years. And speculation that medical science could increase this to between 160 and 180 years is fueling the debate.
Would you like to live to be 180 years old? It is an interesting question. few people would like to live to be 160 or 180 years old if the quality of their life was poor. If after a certain age you were still plagued with sickness, degenerative disease, and pain, living to be very old would be a burden not a blessing. If, on the other hand, one could live longer without feeling the effects of aging, then that would be another story.
INNER MAN BEING RENEWED DAY BY DAY(OUTER MAN DECAYING) 2 Cor
1. We have received a wonderful promise from Jesus, the promise of eternal life. Two Important facts about eternal life.
a. Eternal life speaks more of quality of life than quanity. It is not just a promise of the accumulation of time then but of the uniqueness of life now!
1) A life different from what the world has available to them. A divine life, abundant life, fullness of life lived out right now in your and my circumstances of life!
2) It is a life made of experiencing God’s solutions to every problem of life.
b. Eternal life is based upon Jesus and not us. It is His gift given to us. He did not give us 10 yr life, 40 yr life…no one can take us out of the Father’s hand and eternal life is based upon my faith in what He has done and not what I will do.
A WONDERFUL PROMISE: Our in Him and as good as His Word is true.
THREE THINGS
#1 The Foes of the Promise #2 The Friend of the Promise
#3 The Future of the Promise
THE FOES OF THE PROMISE - (26) I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
1. John writes because there is an everpresent danger that we must deal with in our spiritual life. There are those who are actively trying to ’seduce’ us in our walk with Christ. Distort the promise He has made.
If the devil can’t keep us lost he desires to keep us wandering in our faith.
a. Idea of word, ’deceive, seduce’ is to be taken by the hand and led astray, away from the truth. Suggests building a trust in the one deceived
What can satan offer you in life to which you will extend out your
hand and take his offer?
b. Target of deceivers are believers: deceive you
One of my best friends has lived during the past years in a small town north of Tulsa.
Their pastor has led their church into becoming involved with other churches in the community. His wife shared with Lynne some time back how excited she was about things they were learning. She wanted to know if Lynne had ever heard of ’gold dust and gold fillings’.
I watched a man on TV one night for 10 minutes or so. He was preaching although the Bible was almost non-existent in his message.
He seemed to only be concerned with exciting a more than willing crowd with weirdness. I told Lynne that I really believed this guy is mentally imbalanced.
The average nut case could make in the pulpit of most of these churches you see on Television.
2. An antichristian message is simply a message that removes Jesus. He is no longer the central thrust of the message. Paul said that ’if Christ is not crucified then our message is in vain’. (empty, of non-effect)
THE FRIEND OF THE PROMISE - (27) The Anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie; just as it has taught you, remain in Him.
1. This anointing is our defense against the power of false teachings and their false messages.
2. THREE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THIS ANOINTING:
a. It doesn’t go away remains in you(2:19 they leave us)
1) In the Old Testament the Spirit of God came upon the people of God for a season of service.
2) In the NT the Holy Spirit comes to indwell the believer and never leaves.
b. It teaches us the truth and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing teaches you about all things
1) The Holy Spirit provides guidance, strength, direction, comfort, and leads us into God’s truth.
MT 16 Jesus asked the question to His disciples about Who He was.
People were believing many things.
But who do you say that I am? You are the Christ the Son of the living God. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but My Father Who is in heaven.
2) Passage in LK 24 where when the disciples were struggling to understand the truth that ’He opened their minds to understand the Scripture
3) Possible to become confused about not needing anyone to teach you. Eph 4 shares how God has given various people to the church for instruction and 1 Cor discusses the various gifts meant for ministry in the church. All lead to a deeper relationship with Jesus. DIFFERENCE
a) False teachers love to draw people in to almost a cultic atmosphere. Their ministry, their books, their words are very controlling and followers become almost like groupies and never hold their statements up to the light of the Word of God.
b) I know that when I hear preaching and I expect that when I preach that if there is a faithfulness to the truths in the Word of God that the Holy Spirit begins teaching in the hearts of those who listen.
It may be my voice but it is His work that is being done.
True ministry makes people less and not more dependent upon the one ministering.
People grow to stand on their own two feet and are able to walk with God in a deeper way.
Q- How do I know that those who have taught me are of God? Because although I enjoy their ministries more than ever yet I am less dependent than ever upon their ministries!
(#1 It doesn’t go away - #2 It teaches us truth through many avenues)
c. It teaches an important truth just as it has taught you, remain in Him.
1) The most powerful truth of all. Remain in Him. ABIDING LIFE
a) JOHN 15
2) Paul said in 2 Cor 11:3 I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness t hat your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of DEVOTION TO CHRIST.
3) No truth is a deeper truth if it lessens my devotion to Jesus. Abide in Him, let Him be your life, let His message be what burns in your heart to share with the world.
THE FOE OF THE PROMISE(The False Teachers) THE FRIEND OF THE PROMISE(the Annointing)
THE FUTURE OF THE PROMISE - (28) So now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. (29) If you know that He is righteous, you know this as well: everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.
1. We need to walk with Him, abide with Him, be intimate with Him because it will make all the difference on one day. The day of His return.
a. John goes back to another word for ’children’ little born one which is Irrespective of maturity but emphasizes the intimacy(not maturity as other does) of our relationship with Jesus.
b. Remain is abide, continue, stay, intimately attached to Jesus Immerse/saturate yourself in Jesus…fill all the pore..filter through your life
2. WE KNOW TWO THINGS FOR SURE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HIS PROMISE.
a. He will appear one day when He appears John 14:3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
And ever since Jesus ascended into the clouds after His resurrection, we have been
looking for His return.
When I was in college there was a day when our track coach was to be out of town.
He left us instructions regarding how that days workout was to be carried out. Workout time each day was 3:30.
We just happened to get a card game started that afternoon and by the time 3:30 rolled around we were deeply immersed in the excitement of the game.
We can go at 4:00, maybe 4:15, then 4:30.
This game just happened to be in my dorm room and when I heard a knock at my door I got up to answer it.
I cannot tell you how my heart dropped when I opened the door and looked into the angry face of COACH RALPH TATE.
He told me things about myself I never knew as well as the other guys. We worked out immediately(cards left on the table) and as I remember it was about double what had originally been scheduled.
1) What kind of day would today be if Jesus returned today? A day of joy or of shame.
2) Word for appear is the word for presence. It says less about being seen and more about being among His body, the church.
1 Thes 4 For the Lord Himself will descend form heaven with a cry of command, ….and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. A day of His presence that the lost world will not notice His appearance.
b. We will stand before Him on that day we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him
2 Cor 5:10 For we must ALL appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
1) Ashamed, embarrassed because of our lives.
2) 1 Cor 3 All we lived for burns up as being of no eternal value! Feeling of Lot watching Sodom and Gomorrah burn.
What we weave in time we will wear through eternity!
Ashamed literally means ‘to shrink in shame’. The feeling of such disgrace that we wish we could just vanish away and not be seen.
Ray Stedman: What really makes me ashamed LIST;
1. Indecent Actions
2. Hurtful Attitudes
3. Neglected Opportunities
When Dr. Stephen Olford was pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in New York City he had the opportunity of leading his brother who had been an agnostic most of his life to the Lord, as he lay in the hospital desperately ill. One day Dr. Olford was called to come to the hospital quickly and visit his brother who was disturbed.
So he went into the room and said, “Richard, I want you to know, you’re saved and even though you have a terminal illness and though you are going to die, you’re saved and you’re going to Heaven when you die, and you don’t have to be afraid to die.”
Richard said, “Oh, Stephen, you don’t understand. I know I’m saved and I know I’m going to Heaven when I die. It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I’m ashamed to die.”
We ought to so abide in Jesus, we ought to be living so close to Jesus, that when He appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed at His coming
c. Who we are will prove Whose we are He is righteous…everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.
1) Those who set the right priorities, lived for the right things, were motivated for the right reasons.
Heb 11:24-26 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
A man not ashamed to see Jesus.
• Be careful not to let this world fool you by placing the wrong value on the things which surround us.
• What really matters? Knowing Jesus Christ and living each day in a way that when that day comes when this ’last hour’ is over that we will stand in His presence with joy an not shame.
