The Greatest Promise Series

Suggestions to guard against desertion:

* Be in worship services and Sunday School classes weekly

* Find a small group in church and connect there and make friends as you serve

* At-home regimen of Bible reading and Bible discussions

* Listen to Christian music

Second, denial. Denial means that we say we don’t know who Jesus is. Denial means we say we don’t believe that He is the Son of God. Denial means we do not identify as one of His followers. John tells us, “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist-- he denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father.” If you deny Jesus in your life, you do not have eternal life in any way shape or form! We might think that it is just unbelieving people who deny who Jesus Christ is. That is not so! We should not forget that in Luke 22:34 Jesus tells Peter, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." Peter denied knowing Jesus. He did so to distance himself from Jesus. We who call ourselves believers can deny Jesus.

It is possible even for us who are believers to deny Jesus and it is something we must guard against. In all times and in all situations we must confess with our mouth, that we are believers. We must act like believers. We must vote like believers. We must spend our money like believers. We must date and marry like believers. We must have Jesus as Savior and Lord in all parts of our lives and not deny Him. In Luke 12:8-9 Jesus warns us, “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.” Serious business.

Suggestions to guard against denial:

* Pray diligently that you will have reactions and words to say when faith is the topic

* Buy Christian shirts or hats and wear them when NOT at church

* Pray with people when they have issues or crisis in their lives

Third, detours. Our world is full of ideas and notions and philosophies and religions that claim to be completely true. Some philosophies teach that all paths lead to God. Some religions teach that their path is to God. Some ideas teach that we are God. Some teach that God always gives prosperity in response to prayer. Some claim to preach the truth, but change it to fit their version of God. There are so many different ideas in our world that can infiltrate our Christian faith and lead us off the narrow path which leads to eternal life. It is possible to listen to false teaching and incorporate it into our Christian worldview without even knowing it.

It is possible for us as believers to hear something and take it as truth and it end up being a false teaching. John says that when he says, “I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.” John was writing to people who had differing ideas among them and he wanted them to guard against believing something that was completely false. We must guard against following beliefs that are contrary to what God presents in His Word. Serious business.