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Thinking About Backsliding
Psalms 119:169-176
March 27, 2020

Tonight we come to the final stanza of this magnificent 119th Psalm.
The Psalm that pays such a tremendous tribute
To the perfection and power of the Word of God.

But when we read this Psalm, I think if we’re honest,
It doesn’t end like most of us would expect.

We started back with a man who almost appeared lost.
• Back in that first stanza he was lamenting his disobedience as he noticed that it
was the obedient who were truly blessed.
• He almost immediately committed himself to obey God’s word.
• He became a real role model for the church.
• No matter the affliction or oppression he seemed to cling to God’s word.
• He wrote beautiful tributes regarding how much he loved God’s word.

As the Psalm comes to a close it really seems like it should conclude
Almost with A EULOGY of how living his life in obedience
Had gained him that blessed life he sought way back in the first stanza.

Something like:
“You word has proven true and every act of obedience has brought blessing upon blessing.”

I don’t know, something sort of uplifting and bold and inspirational.
That’s really what we expect.

But I can tell you what we didn’t expect.
WE DIDN’T EXPECT THE ENDING WE GOT.

(176) “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments.”

None of us saw that one coming.
• After all his strength and endurance through so much oppression
• We never thought we’d see the Psalmist make a statement like “I have gone astray like a lost sheep”

Perhaps we gain some insight there.
In some respect it’s actually EASIER TO BE COMMITTED to God’s word during affliction and oppression.

• Many of you can give testimony about how during the darkest times in your life that you were actually more committed to the Word of God.

• However, as you also know, those times of ease and comfort can actually be a time when our commitment to God’s word can falter.

Oh, we don’t intentionally walk away from God’s word.
We don’t throw up our hands and say, “I’m done.”

It’s just that when life is rolling along and things are clicking
We often times fail to see our need and our commitment can regress.

Satan actually loves to attack us in times like these.
He loves to use our comfort and our pride
And to tempt us to back away from God’s word.

For Satan knows that if he can pull us out of the Bible
He can help our evil heart lead us into all kinds of danger.

And perhaps that is what happened to our Psalmist.
• Perhaps the affliction ended…
• Perhaps the oppression is over…
• Perhaps a period of ease and comfort set in…

And the next thing you know the Psalmist is confessing to God that
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep”

“gone astray” there is a Hebrew word that simply means “to wander”

It’s not necessarily defiant, it may just be CLUELESS.

I had a basset hound that used to put his nose down and follow it and then a few hours later he didn’t have a clue where he was. His nose got him in trouble.

Sheep are the same way.
One of the best pastoral books I’ve read is called: “The Shepherd Leader” by Timothy Witmer.

He looks at pastoring from the perspective of actually shepherding sheep.
One of the things he notes is that when caring for sheep,
Perhaps the most important tool you can have is a fence.

Sheep are curious, and they aren’t all that discerning of danger.
They’ll eat what they shouldn’t eat, drink what they shouldn’t drink,
And go where they shouldn’t go.

In short, they wander.
And by following their own curiosity
They often times end up lost and in trouble.

That is the admission of our Psalmist.
He got caught ignoring God’s word and following his own logic.

Certainly it brings to mind the Admonition of Solomon.

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

Solomon specifically warned us not to
lean on [our] own understanding”.

It’s the great human temptation.
How often we are caught trying to follow our own logic and wisdom
As opposed to what God says to do.

But that is always a recipe for disaster.
We don’t know what God knows.

Isaiah 55:6-9 “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

We are always better off when we obey God
And deny our own wisdom and logic.

And Scripture continually reminds us of this.

Proverbs 9:1-6 “Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table; She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the tops of the heights of the city: “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks understanding she says, “Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. “Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.”

• We are again told to forsake our folly that we might live.
• We always should ignore our own ways of thinking that we might obey the voice of the Lord.

When Paul wrote to Timothy, he said:
1 Timothy 4:13-16 “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

It’s a great statement.
• Just read it Timothy!
• Just preach it Timothy!
• Just explain it Timothy!

God’s word has power to “ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

What a great testimony to the effect of God’s word.

And when Timothy was struggling, Paul told him again:
2 Timothy 3:14-15 “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

As Timothy struggled, Paul DIDN’T offer him some sort of psychology or counseling he again told him to get in the word.

Those “sacred writings…are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation”

What a promise!

When Peter wrote to a scattered church, he reminded them:
1 Peter 2:1-3 “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”

• Peter told that scattered flock that they needed to crave the word.
• It was the agent by which they would grow.

And when he addressed them again he said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

• There is only one guide through darkness.
• There is only one guide through difficult times.
• Pay attention to it!

We’re studying 1 John and we’re learning about apostates who fall away from the church, but John reminds that it is God’s word which helps to hold us fast.

1 John 2:24 “As for you, 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.”

• Do you want to stay, then stay in the word.
• It will keep you from straying; it will keep you from wandering away.

IT’S ALL THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE.

And IT’S NOT LIKE the Psalmist didn’t know this.
He’s already referenced this several time.

Psalms 119:9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.”

Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

The Psalmist knows this and yet here we are.

What is more, I’m sure we all understand where he is coming from.

Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”

We even sing:
“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love…”

It reminds us that even the strongest among us
Must resist the temptation to follow our own logic.
We cannot grow lax here.
• We must read it and study it and stay glued to it.
• It is our protection, it is our guide, it keeps us from straying.

And yet still we find our Psalmist in the predicament.

And here we look at this final stanza.
• It is filled with regret and humility
• And a heartfelt desire to be delivered
• That he might take hold of the correct path.

He has now realized that he is “a sheep in trouble”.
• He has wandered.
• And now, from some deep thicket, the Psalmist is crying out
• In hope that his Shepherd will hear him and come rescue him.
• As he waits, he reassesses his failure and makes a new commitment.

You can almost hear him saying, “I wish this had been my commitment all along and then I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

SO TONIGHT let’s listen to the final stanza as our Psalmist has backslidden and let’s listen to his prayer as he seeks to be revived.

If you find yourself in that condition, this stanza is a great place to start.

3 things here tonight.
#1 HIS HELPLESS CRY
Psalms 119:169-170

As you read these two verses just see that lamb, caught in the thicket.
• It’s getting dark…
• It’s getting cold…
• The wolves are howling…

This man followed his own logic and wandered away from the Shepherd
And now he’s in quite a dilemma.

And all he can do is cry for help and hope his Shepherd hears him.

(169) “Let my cry come before You, O LORD; Give me understanding according to Your word.”

• I realize I have ignored Your word of late.
• I realize reading Your word has not been my priority.
• But I sure would like to hear Your voice right now!

What I wouldn’t give to hear my Shepherd
Give me a bonified directive right about now.

I’d sure like to know what to do.
I’d sure like to know which way to go.

(170) “Let my supplication come before You; Deliver me according to Your word.”

It’s the same cry again.
Please hear me and please tell me what to do!

His pride is gone.
• At this point he’s not interested in arguing with God at all.
• If God says, “Go right” you’d better believe he’s going right.
• He’s learned that following his own logic and neglecting the Divine Word is a massive mistake.
• He never thought it would end up here.

AND TAKE FROM THIS TWO GREAT POINTS.

1) This is where you will inevitably end up if you neglect God’s word. So don’t do it.

2) If you have neglected God’s word and have ended up here, then this is a great prayer.

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Isaiah 40:10-11 “Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

The simple fact is that our God is a God who answers the helpless cry.
• SO if you’ve made the mistake of neglecting God’s word to follow your own logic.
• If you have gotten in trouble because you have leaned on your own understanding.

Then follow the cry of the Psalmist here.

His Helpless Cry
#2 HIS HUMBLE CONFESSION
Psalms 119:171-172

You understand this.

If you’ve ever been a bad predicament,
Sometimes there is relief in thinking about how good it’s going to be
When you get out of it.

“How great will it feel when this is over!”

Well that’s what our Psalmist is doing here.

“Let my lips utter praise, For You teach me Your statutes.”

Once you answer and tell me which way to go, I already know the song I’m going to sing!
• I’m going to sing about how You instruct me
• I’m going to sing about how Your words are good.

(172) “Let my tongue sing of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness.”

Not only is he going to lift his voice in praise to God, but he’s going to sing in testimony for the world to hear.
• He’s going to sing to others about how great God’s word is.
• He’s going to sing to others about how straight God’s path is.
• He’s going to sing to others about how “all Your commandments are righteousness.”

I can’t wait to tell the world about what a blunder I made ignoring God’s word and how great His word is to deliver.

And in that we see WHAT HE HAS LEARNED.

“all Your commandments are righteousness.”

Perhaps he had come to place in his life where reading or studying God’s word HAD BECOME BURDENSOME.
• Perhaps he had grown bored studying.
• Perhaps God’s word was too binding or outdated.
• Perhaps he seemed to have a better way.

Whatever it was, he had clearly seen fit to
Devalue his commitment to God’s word and had set it aside.

But after a little affliction, my how his tune has changed.

“all Your commandments are righteousness.”

He wouldn’t dare say that about his own logic or wisdom.
It was his logic that ended him up here.

Now he has a new confession.
Now he has praise only for God’s way of thinking, not his own.

I’ve heard many of you parents talk about the day when your child is grown and they are out on their own and they come back home and say, “I just want to apologize. I didn’t think you had any idea what you were talking about, but now I can see that you were right and I was stupid.”

The Psalmist is giving that speech to God.
It is HIS HUMBLE CONFESSION.

And again I remind you that if you have neglected God’s word
And have landed in peril, this is your prayer.

It’s time to voice your confession to Him.
Hosea 14:1-2 “Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity And receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips.”

I always like that mandate from Hosea.
When you return to God, “Take words with you and return to the LORD”

Don’t just try to sweep your blunder under the rug.
Go to Him and confess your sin and tell him what a mistake you made.

And again we know the promise.
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Well that is where our Psalmist is.

His Helpless Cry, His Humble Confession
#3 HIS HOPEFUL COMMITMENT
Psalms 119:173-176

This is the longest segment of the stanza and rightfully so,
For this stanza outlines his commitment.

It details how he’s going to do things differently.
Repentance isn’t repentance if it doesn’t change your behavior.

And so we see this commitment.
(173b) “I have chosen Your precepts.”
• You know, I’ve been thinking it over and I think from here on out I’m going to go ahead and do things Your way.
• I have put my words behind my back and chosen Yours.

(174b) “Your law is my delight.”
• Gone are the days of disdaining having to read his bible, he wants to read his bible now!

Our family listened to Corie Ten Boom’s “The Hiding Place” on our Spring Break trip.

While in prison all she really wants is one thing and that’s a Bible.
And how delighted she is when a lady is able to smuggle her the 4 gospels.
And then her sister-in-law gets her a full Bible which she smuggles everywhere she goes.

It is the most prized possession.
Now she is hearing from God.

You get the idea that our Psalmist has learned his lesson.

(175b) “let Your ordinances help me.”
• It’s as much a commitment as it is a request.
• No longer let my words be my guide.
• No longer let my thoughts be my help.
• I’m coming to You.

In that same Corrie Ten Boom book she tells the story of how while she was in prison she got word that her father had died.

She is heartbroken and in solitary confinement and desperately wants to share it with another human to receive some comfort so she cries out to the guard and tells her. Of course she receives nothing from the guard.

And she makes the statement that I messed up seeking comfort from men when I had God here through His word to comfort me all along.

There you have the Psalmist.
I’m not going anywhere else for my help any more.

From here on out, no matter the dilemma,
“let Your ordinances help me.”

(176b) “For I do not forget Your commandments.”
• Perhaps for a while I did, but I don’t anymore.
• I play them over and over in my mind.
• I know exactly where I deviated from the path.

God, You have my attention.
I am listening.

It’s HIS COMMITMENT.
And it’s a good commitment to make to the Lord.

And it is based upon this commitment that
Our Psalmist is hopeful that His Shepherd
Will seek him, find him, and help him.

• (173) “Let Your hand be ready to help me”
• (174) “I long for Your salvation”
• (175) “Let my soul live that it may praise You”
• (176) “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,”

Our Psalmist has blown it
• He neglected God’s word to follow his own logic.
• He wandered like a sheep.

And now from his misfortune
• He has humbled himself
• And cried out to God in repentance and commitment.

And once again we rejoice because
We know that our God responds to such commitment.

Our Psalmist prayed that God would “seek Your servant.”

And how much of the Bible is devoted to this topic!

In the prophet Ezekiel we read of Israel’s wicked shepherds who did not care for the sheep and as a result they were scattered.
Ezekiel 34:6 “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”’”

And yet God promised to deliver them Himself.
Ezekiel 34:11-16 “For thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. “As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. “I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. “I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord GOD. “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.”

When Jesus arrived He fulfilled this work.
He is the Good Shepherd of John 10 that lays down His life for the sheep.

And we hear Him throughout His ministry.
Matthew 10:6 “but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Matthew 15:24 “But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Matthew 18:12-13 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?”

Luke 15:4-7 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? “When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. “And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

That is who He is.

And thus we come to THE CONCLUSION of this Psalm
Which highlights for us the importance of the word of God.

Read it, meditate on it, obey it, persevere in it.
It is life, it is freedom, it is blessing, it is light.

There is nothing but heartache and pain
When a man follows his own logic and neglects the words of God.

All things must be done His way.

And yet, though we know this, like the Psalmist, at times we stray.

The good news is that
• When we humble ourselves
• And confess our sin
• And cry out to Him,
• We have a Shepherd who comes seeking us.

• He hears our cry.
• He responds to our cry.
• He rescues us.

And the expectation is that we will learn our lesson
And move forward with a newfound commitment to God’s word.

This Psalm didn’t exactly end the way we expected,
BUT PERHAPS IT ENDS THE WAY WE NEED IT TO.

It is a reminder that we should never stray from God’s Word.
But it is also a reminder of how to come back when we do.

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Living In The Last Hour – Part 2
1 John 2:18-29 (20-23)
March 27, 2022

It was a couple of weeks ago when we were last in 1 John
And this morning we want to pick back up with that study.

I don’t want to completely rehash all that we said, but after two weeks
It is important to bring the issues that we covered back to mind.

John is dealing with what seemed to be a confusing issue in the church.

Namely that people were departing from the church.
• Most likely it was the gnostic heresies that were deceiving people and causing
them to abandon Christ.
• But whatever the reason, people who had once seemed to walk with Christ
were now departing from Him.

We used that famous day recorded in John 6 when Jesus said He came from heaven and would head back there again and the Bible says that “many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore”

IT WAS A GREAT DEFECTION.

The church in John’s day was now seeing the same thing
And it is apparent that it had confused them.

JOHN IS EXPLAINING TO THE CHURCH WHAT IS GOING ON.

And so we started out by looking at our first point:
#1 SATAN’S SINISTER AGENDA
1 John 2:18-29

John quickly and concisely gave us the explanation
As to why people were leaving.

“Children, it is the last hour”

You will remember that “the last hour” refers to
The time period between Christ’s first and second coming.

It is the final chapter in God’s redemptive story.

And part of the reality that accompanies “the last hour”
Is also a great falling away.

Jesus said it:
Matthew 24:10-11 “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

So when John sees people abandoning the church, he’s not surprised.
“Children, it is the last hour”

Satan knows his time is short.
• He knows that at any moment Christ could return to crush his head.
• He’s running his “hurry up offense”
• He’s working to deceive and distort as frantically as he can.

This shouldn’t be surprising.

And coupled with that, John enlightened us to ANOTHER TRUTH
That perhaps the church had no realized.

He acknowledged that we know about “antichrist”.
He said, “you heard that antichrist is coming”

• And indeed we have heard about this “foolish shepherd” from Zechariah 11
• We have heard of this “man of lawlessness” and “son of destruction” from
2 Thessalonians 2
• We have heard of this boasting and blaspheming horn from Daniel 7
• We know about how Satan will bring him to power by some sort of supposed
death and resurrection and how he will deceive the world.
• We’ve heard about him.

Well John says, “even now many antichrists have appeared”

Satan isn’t just waiting for one guy,
He’s planting antichrists everywhere.

Some day, God will remove the restraint that Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2 and one of these “many antichrists” will ascend to become the “antichrist”.

But as it is, that spirit of defection and apostasy is alive and well.

This world is antichrist.
This world hates Christ.
And Satan is working overtime to use them to attack the church.

And John says, “from this we know that it is the last hour.”

This shouldn’t be shocking.
It is simply the work of Satan to deceive me and to even use these men to attack God’s church.
• He plants them among us like tares among the wheat
• And uses them to deceive and distort
• And even to confuse when they defect from among us.

You need to know about Satan’s agenda to attack the church.
It is a real battle plan.

Now, last time we even started talking about some of the characteristics of these antichrists.

We looked at the first characteristic which was: DEFECTION

(19) “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

It answers a very important question for us
Even regarding security of the believer.

We’ve often heard people who claim that one can lose their salvation indicate that they have witnessed people who were saved and then walked away from the Lord.

John clarifies that reality here.
If someone who you think is a Christian denies Christ and walks away from the church, what does that tell you?

THEY WERE NEVER REALLY SAVED.
(They merely deceived you into thinking they were.
It could be that they were even deceived themselves.)

And God has appointed that at least some of those apostates be exposed “so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

The church needs to know that.
• You need to know that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is actually saved.

• They are spies among us.
• They are phony brethren.
• Some are there intentionally and maliciously to do Satan’s work of destruction.
• Some are there sort of unwittingly.
• They are being used of Satan but may be deceived themselves in regard to the
fact that they are lost because they never examine themselves.

But regardless of their motive the reality is that
There are antichrists in the church and God proves that
By appointing that at least some of them are now departing.

One day they will all depart, but some do it now
So you will realize what John is trying to tell you.

ONE CHARACTERISTIC OF ANTICHRISTS IS THEIR DEFECTION.

Well, let’s move on this morning and look at a couple more characteristics of an antichrist.

2) DENIAL (22-23)

(22-23) “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

When we are talking about an antichrist
We are talking more than just a brother or sister
Who has grown lazy in fellowshipping with the saints.

Look, you should know that church attendance or fellowshipping with the saints is a command of Scripture.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

The point is obvious. (It’s why I’m a little torn about offering livestream)
• You can listen to Christian music in your car…
• You can watch sermons online…
• You can read Christian books in your home…

There is a lot in the way of private worship and devotion
That you can do in absolute solitude.

But you cannot “stimulate one another to love and good deeds”
If you forsake the assembling.

Church attendance is a command.

But even the writer of Hebrews noted that some believers had gotten into the habit of forsaking the assembly.

I point that out because it is an important distinction.
• To be certain failing to participate in corporate worship is a sin,
• But just because someone has gotten out of the habit of regular attendance does not necessarily make them an antichrist.

Failing to attend regularly is not the same thing as defection.
The type of defection John refers to is accompanied by DENIAL.

DENIAL OF WHAT?
Denial of the gospel; namely the person and work of Jesus Christ.

That is what John points about these antichrists.
“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?”

What is that?
It is a denial of the person of Jesus.
• They say He is not the Messiah.
• They say He is not the Savior.
• They say He is not the King.
• They say He is not Lord.

John says, “This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”

And someone may say, “Wait, they aren’t denying the Father, they are just saying that Jesus isn’t the Messiah.”

To which John clarifies:
(23) “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

If you deny the Son you are denying the Father.
John 5:22-23 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

The point is that we aren’t just talking here about a lazy Christian.
We are talking about a person who denies the person and work of Jesus.

They aren’t just sinful, they are antichrist.

And might I add to this, that it may also be a DENIAL OF OMISSION.

You say, what do you mean?

Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

To be certain, there are some who boldly and verbally deny Jesus.
They are obvious.

But Jesus said that a simple failure to confess is also a denial.

• Some are sort of secret deniers.
• They just refuse to confess Jesus as Lord.
• They just refuse to deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Him.

Silence can be denial too.

Luke 11:23 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.”

I told you last time, but there are only 2 categories of people.
There are disciples of Christ and there are antichrists.
There is “NO UNDECIDED” category.

And antichrists are exposed by their denial of Christ,
Whether verbally or even silently.

They may be associated with the church,
But sooner or later they defect from the church
Because in their heart they have denied the person and work of Jesus.

That is how you know an antichrist.
Defection, Denial
3) DECEPTION (26)

(26) “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.”

And this is a third characteristic of those who are antichrists.
They “are trying to deceive you.”

And might I add that this is TRUE OF EVERY SINGLE ONE of them.

You might think that there is such a thing as sort of an innocent antichrist,
But there is not.

They are in the church and being used by Satan for one purpose: DECEPTION

Now, they may not realize they are being used of Satan to deceive,
But they are.

We typically here think of that loud and boisterous false prophet.
• That one who openly distorts the gospel and preaches what is false.
• Clearly they are antichrist and clearly they are deceiving.
• You really ought to spot them.

But they aren’t the only ones.

Every single antichrist in the church is here for the purpose of deception.

How?

Well, for one thing, they’re deceiving you with THEIR FALSE TESTIMONY.

• By being in the church, they are testifying that they have been redeemed.
• They are testifying that they have been set free from sin and enslaved to Christ.
• They are testifying that they have been born again.

In effect they are saying, “You can look at my life as an example of what salvation should look like.”

That in and of itself is deceptive.

This is why ultimately that “so-called brother” who lives in sin,
If they will not repent, must be removed from the church.

Remember Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 as he spoke about that man who was sleeping with his father’s wife?

1 Corinthians 5:5-7 “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.”

• That’s what Paul meant when he said, “Do you not know that a little leave leavens the whole lump of dough?”
• He was saying that this “so-called brother” is living in sin and he is thus deceiving the flock by giving a faulty testimony of salvation.
• He will inevitably influence others.

Every single antichrist is deceiving the church in this way.
They are claiming a salvation that they do not have.

But there is even more than that.
They also deceive you with THEIR WORLDLY LOGIC.

THINK ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE between
One who has been redeemed and one is not.

When we are saved, we are given the Holy Spirit, and the mind of Christ.
• And we are granted understanding.
• Our mind is being renewed by God’s word.
• Our will is being conformed to Christ’s.

But an unbeliever does not have that.
What governs the thought process of an unbeliever?
ONLY THEIR UNREGENERATE MIND.

• They are those who follow their own fallen logic.
• They are those who follow the pattern of the world.
• They are those who give worldly advice.

They may not all do it maliciously, but they all do it,
Because that’s all they know.

You understand that so many of the commands of Christ
Run absolutely contrary to thought processes of the culture.

But how dangerous it is in the church when there are those
Who disregard the commands of Christ
In order to follow their own worldly logic
Or even worse to follow the pattern of the world.

• You see this in the way churches are influenced to handle money.
• You see this often times in the way churches select leaders.
• You see this often times in the way churches pursue numerical growth.

In areas like that we see churches all over the place
Who follow worldly patterns and strategies for things like that
Instead of Biblical ones.

ARE WE TO ASSUME that those churches just decided that they didn’t care what God thinks?

I suppose it is possible, but certainly not in every case.

What we actually have in those situations
Are churches that have been deceived and influenced
In part by the antichrists in their midst.

• They had men and women in their midst who were actually antichrist,
• But who were able to gain enough respect and influence in the body
• That they were able to steer the congregation after worldly logic instead of the Biblical command.

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.
It happens especially easy when a church values
Secular Education and Worldly Success and Charismatic Personality
Over the genuine fruits of redemption.

But the point is every antichrist in some form or fashion
Is here for one purpose and that is deception.

They are here to lead the saints away from the will of God.

It is Satan’s Sinister Agenda.
He has planted them here.

Now, the church was actually CONFUSED and CONCERNED
Because they saw people defecting or departing from the church.

And John says:
• FIRST OF ALL, that’s not surprising since it is the last hour.
• SECONDLY, them leaving is actually a good thing since it now proves to you
that not everyone in your midst is really saved.

Now, because of their defection, you should realize that there are tares among the wheat.
• There are those in your midst who are deceiving you.
• They are not disciples of Christ they are antichrists.
• They deny Christ and some day they will ultimately depart from Him.

But at the very least you should then understand that Satan is at work here in this final hour to infiltrate and deceive the church.

THAT IS SATAN’S SINISTER AGENDA.

Everyone aware of that now?

Well, look, I know that’s A LITTLE CONCERNING.
And most likely it brings up some questions in your own mind.

1. How can I keep from being deceived by them?
2. How do I know that I’m not one of them?

Those are good questions.
Well, let’s move on to the next point.

Satan’s Sinister Agenda
#2 YOUR SPIRITUAL ADVANTAGE
1 John 2:20-23

What a great change of direction here by John
“But…”

IT IS TRUE THAT
• Not everyone who associates with the church is actually part of the church.
• There are antichrists in our midst.
• Some of them are falling away.

“But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.”

What are the chief distinctions here between those who are antichrist and those who are genuinely Christ’s? (there are 2)

1) Those who are saved “have an anointing from the Holy One”

2) Those who are saved “all know” (that is the truth)

These are things that distinguish and separate
The antichrists from the genuine saints of God.

FIRST of all, let’s talk about this “anointing”

“you have an anointing from the Holy One”

It’s a phrase that has been corrupted in recent years
Thanks to charismatic theology, particularly on the television.

• It is likely that most everyone here has seen some faith-healing preacher like Benny Hinn wave his coat at a crowd of people and say something like “Receive the anointing”
• And then you see the crowd sort of fall back onto each other as this supposed anointing overtakes them.
• It is often pedaled as some sort of “secondary” or “extra” shot of the Holy Spirit.
• It is referred to as some additional and perhaps even temporary filling of the Holy Spirit that normal believers don’t have or at least don’t always have.
• And so you need some “anointing vendor” to waive his coat at you or hit you on the forehead or yell “fire” at you or some strange thing like that so that you will get this special anointing that will make you fall down or dance around or laugh hysterically or something like that.

And thanks to these huckster preachers the word “anointing”
Has actually almost taken on a negative connotation.

Most believers don’t seem to know what it is,
And many, based on what they’ve seen on television,
Would say they don’t want it.

But NOTICE WHAT JOHN SAYS as he speaks to the entire church.
“you have an anointing from the Holy One”

It is something that is reality for all believers.

WHAT IS IT?
It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Remember the preaching of John the Baptist?
Matthew 3:11-12 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John said that Jesus would come and He would baptize you with one of two things.
• He would either baptize you with the Holy Spirit (salvation)
• Or He would baptize you with fire (judgment)

After Christ ascended, the proof of His coronation as King was that He then sent the Holy Spirit to all those who believed in Him.
Acts 2:32:33 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.”

And the promise continued that all who believed in Him would receive the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

This is what John is referring to as “the anointing”

So the first thing you need to understand as a believer in Christ
Is that there is no threat that you will fall away
Because you have the Holy Spirit.

Later John will say:
1 John 4:4 “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

It is true that
• Satan is working to infiltrate the church.
• Satan is deceiving and running his “hurry up offense”
• There are many antichrists who are being used by him
• One day the antichrist will actually ascend to power

But: NONE OF THEM ARE AS POWERFUL
AS WHAT GOD HAS PLACED IN YOU.

There is a war, but our great Ally is stronger than our enemy.

The Holy Spirit who was given to us is our great source of protection and victory against even the sinister agenda of Satan.

He is the One who seals us safely in God’s family.

Ephesians 1:13 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,”

Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

• We don’t fear defection.
• We don’t fear falling away.
• Those who are truly in Christ are sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit.

We “have an anointing from the Holy One”

It is the Holy Spirit who has poured into our hearts
A supernatural love for God that will not fail
Even when faced with deception and persecution.

Paul asked:
Romans 8:35-39 “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Paul’s conviction is based upon the fact that through the Holy Spirit we have been given a supernatural love for God that even persecution cannot destroy.

Thanks to our anointing of the Holy Spirit,
The truly redeemed aren’t going anywhere.

BUT EVEN MORE THAN JUST SECURITY,
What John seems to have in mind here is the enlightening that the Holy Spirit brings to us.

HE DOESN’T JUST BRING US SECURITY,
HE ALSO BRINGS US UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRUTH.

John says, “you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.”

John’s focus there is on our ability to counter deception.

John goes on:
(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.”

Because of the Holy Spirit
We are those who “know the truth”

Do you remember Paul’s statement about Christian wisdom?
1 Corinthians 2:10-16 “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Because of the Holy Spirit, we now have spiritual enlightenment.
Those who are deceived and led astray by the antichrists
Are those who are void of the Spirit and thus lack this knowledge.

IT IS OUR ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
That grants us this spiritual understanding.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

Later in this epistle John will say:
1 John 2:27 “As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

John IS NOT there nullifying the importance of teachers and preachers.
Certainly it is the Holy Spirit who gifts believers to fulfill such roles.

John is simply pointing out that as one who has the Holy Spirit,
You’re not totally dependent on someone else to give you the truth

We certainly find value in those who can teach,
But every believer already has
The greatest Teacher ever dwelling within them.

He knows the very depths and thoughts of God!

And key in John’s mind
Is the PRIMARY MESSAGE that the Holy Spirit teaches.

What is the primary message of the Holy Spirit?

John 16:13-15 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

Jesus said it.
• The Holy Spirit will “guide you into all the truth”

Truth about what?
• “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.”

THE TRUTH ABOUT JESUS!
The Holy Spirit teaches the truth about the person and work of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit discloses to all believers the truth about Christ.

SO LISTEN TO JOHN HERE.
• Church, it is true that Satan is working overtime to sow tares among the wheat.
• It is true that Satan is seeking to deceive and distort.
• It is true that Satan would love to pull believers out of the church.

We certainly need to be aware of his schemes.

BUT WE NEED NOT FEAR HIS SCHEMES.

WHY?
Because we have One more powerful than him!
We have the Holy Spirit.

• We have the One who seals us for all eternity.
• We have the One who shows us the truth.

We are not going to believe those antichrists
When they come up with all their false doctrines
Because the Holy Spirit has already shown us what is true.

For example:
(22-23) “Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”

That is obvious isn’t it?
• If someone says that Jesus is not the Savior, you know that’s a lie.
• If someone denies that Jesus is the Son of God, you know that’s a lie.

WHY DO YOU KNOW THAT’S A LIE?
• Because the Holy Spirit, who abides in you, has testified otherwise.

WE ARE NOT DECEIVED BECAUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

So while we are certainly aware of Satan’s schemes
We are not afraid of them
Because greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

NOW, WE ARE OUT OF TIME,
But there’s still more John has to teach us about living in the last hour.

THIS MORNING I would just close with the reminder of
How badly you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Apart from the Spirit you have no power to resist the evil one.
Apart from the Spirit you have no ability to discern what is true and what is false.
Apart from the Spirit there is no hope of your endurance.

And you only receive the Holy Spirit through placing your faith in Christ.
Christ gives the Spirit to those who trust in Him.

IF YOU HAVE NOT TRUSTED IN CHRIST, YOU MUST.

Acts 2:37-40 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”

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Thinking About Strength
Psalms 119:161-168
March 13, 2022

Tonight I want us to THINK ABOUT STRENGTH.

And certainly we should, the Bible has a lot to say about being strong.
• The Bible has a lot to say about standing strong.
• The Bible has a lot to say about endurance.
• The Bible has a lot to say about perseverance.

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

Very clear that we are intended to stand.
Endurance is even a necessary fruit of salvation.

Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”

And perhaps my favorites come in the letter of 2 Timothy
As Paul encourages Timothy to stay the course and be steadfast.

And of course, not only to be steadfast,
But to be steadfast in his proclamation of the word of God.
(which is what our Psalmist has done)

2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”

2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

2 Timothy 2:3 “Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 3:12-17 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

And that is just a few examples.

Perseverance, endurance, steadfastness;
Those are all valuable and necessary qualities for the man of God.
THE MAN OF GOD MUST BE STRONG

BUT WE AREN’T TALKING ABOUT WORLDLY STRENGTH.

But you know that the strength we want is not worldly strength.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

We want to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.”

It is a different kind of strength that we are after.

Well, this is the strength obviously of our Psalmist.
• We have seen him now resist all manner or persecution, affliction, and oppression.
• He has stuck with God even when no answer seemed to be found.

WE WANT THAT KIND OF STRENGTH.

By now we can see that the Psalmist is strong in the Lord.
He does not stand because he is strong in a fleshly sense.
He stands because he is strong in a spiritual sense.

When you channel through this Psalm somewhat chronologically
It is amazing the strides our Psalmist has taken.

• You will remember back in verses 1-8 he was a man who had not been obedient to God’s Word and he recognized that it resulted in a lack of blessing.

• Verses 9-16 continued with him asking how to achieve purity in his life, obviously because he wanted blessing.

• By the time we got to verses 33-40, it almost has the feel of salvation. As the Psalmist asks God to make a change in his life.

• Here were some of the requests of that stanza.
• (33) “Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes”
• (34) “Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law”
• (35) “Make me walk in the path of Your commandments”
• (36) “Incline my heart to Your testimonies”
• (37) “Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity”
• (38) “Establish Your word to Your servant”
• (40) “Revive me through Your righteousness”

Those are all requests of a man who wanted to be different,
Who wants to be obedient, who wants to be pleasing to God.
It almost resembles the cry of salvation.

But there was one other request in there too.

Psalms 119:39 “Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your ordinances are good.”

The Psalmist not only asked for a more committed heart,
But he also asked that his obedience not land him in reproach.

He wanted what many of us want.
“An obedient life that the world doesn’t hate”

Now I only remind you of that because I want you to remember
That our Psalmist didn’t like controversy any more than the next guy.
Our Psalmist was not a glutton for punishment.

If you look at his strength and pass it off
Simply because you find him to be a tough sort of man
Who doesn’t mind such things, then you are wrong.

He definitely minded such things.
He prayed that God would not let reproach find him.

And yet it did, and regardless, he continues to endure.

That is called being steadfast; THIS IS BEING STRONG.
He’s a man with no desire or love for oppression,
And yet he refuses to let it derail him.

Tonight I want to show you why he is strong.
I want to show you where his strength comes from.

I want you to see the secret to achieving it,
And how to be strong in your own life.

3 things the Psalmist did in order to be strong.
#1 SOURCE OF HIS STRENGTH: HE CHERISHED TRUTH
Psalms 119:161-165

Right off the bat we recognize A REOCCURRING THEME.

“Princes persecute me without cause,”

There have been very few stanzas in this Psalm
Where he did not mention the presence of some type of hardship.

AND THIS PERSECUTION IS NO DIFFERENT

We see the SOURCE “Princes”
• But it is no insignificant man who is persecuting him.
• THIS IS THE PRINCE, and he has the ability to inflict harm.

We see the DEGREE “persecute”
• This isn’t just the hardship of life.
• Someone has set out to harm him.

We see the CAUSE “without cause”
• it is done PURELY OUT OF HATRED,
• For the Psalmist has done nothing to deserve it.

This is no small dilemma, this is a major problem.
• It is an attack meant to shake the Psalmist to his core.
• It is an attack meant to turn the Psalmist toward a different direction.
• It is meant to wreck his faith.
• It is meant to stop his witness.

This is major pressure.
And yet, there he is once again standing strong.

“But my heart stands in awe of Your words.”

It just really doesn’t seem to matter how stiff the adversity is in his life,
His love of the word of God is too great to rattle him.

He “stands in awe” of the word of God.

Now there is a statement to ponder.
• How many times have you stood in awe in your life?
• How many times have you been focused on something so grand that everything else just seemed to fade into oblivion?

The word used here literally means “to be in dread or in awe”

Job actually used it of God.
Job 23:15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him.”

And while it does mean “dread” it is NOT necessarily a negative thing.
He just understands the magnitude of what he is reading.
It is reverential awe.

His current attitude is exactly what Jesus described.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The Psalmist just has a proper discernment and understanding.
He sees God in His rightful place and knows it is far better
To break the words of man than to break the words of God.

He is “in awe” of God’s word.

AND THEN HE SAYS WHY.
Four reasons he is in awe of God’s word.
WE CONSIDER THEM SO THAT WE MAY BE TOO.

1) THE VALUE OF GOD’S WORD (162)

Here he paints a great word picture.

Let me call your mind to an Old Testament story
TURN TO: 2 Kings 7:8-16

You may remember from our study of Kings,
• When Jehoram was king of Israel, they were oppressed by Aram, so much so
that two women got in a fight over eating their own sons. (6:26-31)

• Scripture said that “a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver,
and a fourth of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.” (6:25)

• It was then that Elisha promised God would deliver (7:1).

• In the meantime God caused the Arameans to flee and leave behind their spoil
(7:6-7). And there were some lepers who had decided to go to the
Arameans camp (not knowing they had fled) and beg for food. (7:3-5)

• When they got there they found the place deserted and full of spoil.
(READ IT) – (7:8-16)

Now here is my question.
After starving for a time, what do you think the mood of the people was?
DID THEY REJOICE?

You know they did.

Now listen to what the Psalmist said:
“I rejoice at Your word, As one who finds great spoil.”

The Psalmist is saying, “I rejoiced like those lepers”

He has learned God’s Word has great value.
• More value than bread.
• More value than clothes.
• More value than a donkey’s head or dove’s dung (obviously)

He stands in awe of God’s word because of its tremendous value.
It is worth more than great spoil.

The value of God’s word
2) THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD (163)

“I hate and despise falsehood”
• That no longer shocks us.
• This is coming from the man who loathes the wicked.
• Certainly we are familiar with his hatred for “falsehood”

And very simply put, if it isn’t true he not only disregards it, he hates it.

This man is a stickler for accuracy.

So when he endorses the word of God, we know it must be true,
For if it wasn’t, this man would hate it.

“I hate and despise falsehood, but I love Your law.”

That indicates it is true.

IN A WORLD SUCH AS OURS, THE FACT THAT SCRIPTURE IS TRUE SHOULD BE ALL THE MOTIVATION YOU NEED TO LOVE IT.

He stands in awe of it because it is valuable, it is true
3) THE PERFECTION OF GOD’S WORD (164)

“Seven times a day I praise You,”

I wonder how many can say today
That they read God’s Word seven times in one day.

Spurgeon asked, “Do we praise seven times a day, do we praise once in seven days?”

And notice why he praises
“Because of Your righteous ordinances.”

He reads seven times and every time he praises
Because he is amazed at how righteous the word of God actually is.
It is perfect. It is flawless.

God’s Word doesn’t just reveal morality
It reveals perfect righteousness.

• God’s Word has the authority to call a coward a murderer because of
the hatred in his heart.

• God’s Word has the authority to call a virgin an adulterer because of
the lust in his heart.

• God’s Word has the authority to call a poor man a glutton because of
his worry, and a rich man a thief because of his greed.

• God’s Word has the authority to call a chief priest a hypocrite and a
tax collector forgiven.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

And the Psalmist praises God’s “seven times a day”
Because His word is so righteous.

AND THAT MEANS WHATEVER GOD SAYS…IT HAPPENS
It is beyond what God says, it is what God ordains through His word.
WE THINK OF HIS SOVEREIGN DECREES

And the Psalmist said that “Seven times a day I praise You because of Your righteous ordinances.”

I thought to myself what that might look like
And wanted to at least give us a blueprint perhaps to follow.

Let me give you 7 opportunities (I’m sure there are far more)

When you wake up, immediately praise Him for LIFE
He ordained for you to still have it.

James 4:15 “Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Job 14:5 “Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”

Praise God for His sovereign ordinance that you would be alive today.

We’ll say from there you go to prayer and to read God’s word and think about the things of God, so at that moment praise Him for SALVATION
You are only saved because He sovereignly decreed for you to be.

Ephesians 1:3-6 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”

Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

After you pray and read, you walk out the door.
You are off to undertake some task; some plan.
And you praise God for THE PATH HE ORDAINED FOR YOU.

Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”

Proverbs 20:24 “Man’s steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?”

Nothing about your day is accidental or left to chance.
He has ordained your path and you praise Him for it.

As you go out into the world you begin to take in THE WORLD’S NOISE.
You get news from some source, you contemplate the circumstances of the world.
And you praise God for THE TIME AND LOCATION OF YOUR LIFE

Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

Esther 4:14b “And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

It’s not a mistake that you are alive at this moment in this place.
He ordained it and you can praise Him for it.

At some point in the day you eat something and of course you praise Him for HIS PROVISION

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

• You even contemplate His command not to worry for He feeds the birds and clothes the fields.
• You contemplate that by His sovereign hand He sends rain on the just and the unjust.

And then at some point in the day something will bring frustration. It may even be a form of suffering or trial or persecution, and you praise God FOR THAT SUFFERING

Philippians 1:29 “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,”

And we remember that God causes all things to work together for good.
That He uses our suffering even for our sanctification
And to purge us that we might better reflect His glory.

And finally you return home and go to bed and you praise God for His PROVIDENCE

• That somehow through all the hectic busyness of the day.
• Somehow through all the decisions being made throughout the world.
• Somehow through all the many contingencies

God ordained His perfect plan to prevail.

Isaiah 45:12 “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.”

Ephesians 1:11 “[God] works all things after the counsel of His will,”

And you lay your head on your pillow trusting in the sovereignty of God and have then praised Him 7 times that day.

ALL OF THAT IS A RESULT OF GOD’S ORDINANCES.
HE ORDAINED IT ALL BY HIS WORD

With such contemplation it’s easy to see
Why the Psalmist stood in awe of God’s word.

It’s value – It’s truth – It’s perfection
4) THE BENEFIT OF GOD’S WORD (165)

And how important this is to our main point
Of why the Psalmist is steadfast.

“Those who love Your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble.”

We really could have made a whole sermon on that one phrase.

They have “great peace” in part because through the word of God
They are put in right relation to God.

There is great comfort in walking in obedience.

But that is not the main peace our Psalmist refers to.

Those who “love” God’s law have great peace
Because through it they FIND THEMSELVES SECURE.

“and nothing causes them to stumble.”

To “stumble” is to fall away.
It is become apostate.
It is to fall away totally and finally.

It is God’s word that keeps us from doing that.

This morning we spoke in 1 John about those antichrists that defect.
Do you want to see your protection?

1 John 2:24 “As for you, 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.”

But those who love God’s law don’t fear such a fate,
For God’s law will not let them fall away neither totally, nor finally.

We have often quoted that great 19th Psalm
About how the Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.

But listen to this statement in that same passage:
Psalms 19:11-13 “Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.”

Notice the Psalmist had a fear of unknown errors and hidden faults.
He was afraid of committing presumptuous sins, (just seemed right)
And he was afraid they would take hold of him and lead him astray.

• How do you protect yourself from unknown errors?
• How do you protect yourself from hidden faults?
• How do you protect yourself from actions that feel right?

The answer:
God’s Word.

It protects men from stumbling, by warning them of things
They would not otherwise be concerned about.

Peter said:
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

God’s word has great benefit, it protects us from our own falling away.

SO YOU SEE THE SOURCE OF HIS STRENGTH.
He had such awe for the word of God that he continually cherished it
And it was God’s word that made him strong and gave him endurance.

So the Source of our Psalmist’s strength is that He Cherished Truth
#2 PICTURE OF HIS STRENGTH: HE CHOSE OBEDIENCE
Psalms 119:166

Here is another great verse
That could easily stand alone as a singular theme.

It gives a perfect picture of the great Christian mindset
While in the midst of trying times.

We have both what we hope for and what we do in the meantime.

“I hope for Your salvation, O Lord, And do Your commandments.”

I’ve told you before about a book I love called “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer, in it he talks about a Christian in the midst of his suffering.

“If you stand at the end of a platform at York Station, you can watch a constant succession of engine and train movements which, if you are a railway enthusiast, will greatly fascinate you. But you will only be able to form a very rough and general idea of the overall plan in terms of which all these movements are being determined (the operational pattern set out in the working timetable, modified if need be on a minute-to-minute basis according to the actually running of the trains.)
If, however, you are privileged enough to be taken by one of the higher-ups into the magnificent electrical signal-box that lies athwart platforms 7 and 8, you will see on the longest wall a diagram of the entire track layout for five miles on either side of the station, with little glowing worm lights moving or stationary on the different tracks to show the signalmen at a glance exactly where every engine and train is. At once you will be able to look at the whole situation through the eyes of those who control it: you will see from the diagram why it was that this train had to be signaled to a halt, and that one diverted from its normal running line, and that one parked temporarily in a siding. The why and the wherefore of all these movements becomes plain once you can see the overall position.
Now, the mistake that is commonly made is to suppose that this is an illustration of what God does when he bestows wisdom: to suppose, in other words, that the gift of wisdom consists in a deepened insight into the providential meaning and purpose of events going on around us, an ability to see why God has done what he has done in a particular case, and what he is going to do next. People feel that if they were really walking close to God, so that he could impart wisdom to them freely, then they would, so to speak, find themselves in the signal-box; they would discern the real purpose of everything that happened to them, and it would be clear to them every moment how God was making all things work together for good. Such people spend much time poring over the book of providence, wondering why God should have allowed this or that to take place, whether they should take it as a sign to stop doing one thing and start doing another, or what they should deduce from it. If they end up baffled, they put it down to their own lack of spirituality.
Christians suffering from depression, physical, mental or spiritual (not, that these are three different things!) may drive themselves almost crazy with this kind of futile inquiry. For it is futile: make no mistake about that.”
(Packer, J.I. “Knowing God” [IVP Books, Downers Grove, IL; 1973] pg. 102-103)

From there Packer turns to Ecclesiastes and listens to the old realist preacher who warns us against trying to make sense of everything.
If you do, it all becomes “meaningless”

He mentions how the preacher tells us to be practical in life
And a realist in the way we look at circumstances.
(Take off our “rose-colored glasses” so to speak.)

And at the end of the book, he REVEALS WHAT TRUE WISDOM IS.
It is NOT understanding of your events, it IS obedience to God
Even when you don’t understand.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

A Christian may very well be in adversity, and may not understand why,
But that is no excuse to stop obeying.

• Do we hope for deliverance? Yes
• Do we hope for salvation? Yes

But we don’t wait until we have it to obey God.

That was the focus of the Psalmist.
This isn’t so much how to be strong,
But it is a great picture of what strength looks like.
THIS REPRESENTS THE GOAL

When we say that we are looking for strong Christians,
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN.

• We DON’T mean a Christian who understands everything.
• We DON’T mean a Christian who always walks around in victory.
• We mean a Christian who obeys even when he is losing.
• We mean a Christian who obeys even when he doesn’t understand.

“I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, And do Your commandments.”

THAT IS STRENGTH
And that is what the Psalmist has.

SOURCE: He Cherished Truth PICTURE: He Chose Obedience
#3 MOTIVE OF HIS STRENGTH: CHASED THE PRIZE
Psalms 119:167-168

He begins with a familiar declaration of his love for God’s Word.
“My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.”

The Psalmist just can’t stop declaring his love for God’s word.
He loves it and here he says he loves it “exceedingly”

And this love naturally culminates in obedience.
“I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies”

Love that doesn’t manifest itself in action isn’t actually love.
We know we love Christ when we keep His commandments.

The Psalmist loves so he keeps.
BUT HERE IS WHY

“For all my ways are before You.”

In other words, he knows that God is watching all that he does.
He keeps an eye on the end when all the rewards will be given.

LET’S READ IT AGAIN:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

And of course that sounds negative, but it is also a positive thing.

Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”

And the idea is that he knows if he stays the course
And continues to obey God’s word
That the prize at the end will far outweigh the present cost.

It is very similar to the advice that the writer of Hebrews
Gave to those struggling Jews.

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

He wanted people to focus on the prize.

AND THAT IS CHRISTIAN STRENGTH.
1. It comes from loving God’s word
2. It shows up in obedience regardless of understanding
3. It is motivated by the coming reward

Remember the church at Philadelphia?
Revelation 3:10-12 “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. ‘I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”

That was a strong church.

But do you want to see more about them?
Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

From a worldly look they were small and weak and insignificant.
• By they cherished God’s word
• They obeyed even amidst hardship.
• And they looked to the prize.

THAT IS HOW TO BE STRONG.
THAT IS WHAT STRENGTH LOOKS LIKE.
THAT IS THE MOTIVE FOR STRENGTH.

Download Here:

Living In The Last Hour – Part 1
1 John 2:18-29 (18-19)
March 13, 2022

This morning I actually want to begin our study of this text by first bringing to your mind an even that occurred during the ministry of Jesus.

TURN TO: JOHN 6

John 6 reveals a busy couple of days in the ministry of Jesus.

It begins with the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000
(6:9-10) “One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.”

• And of course you remember the story how Jesus took those 5 loaves and 2 fish and fed the 5,000.
• You also remember from the other gospels that 5,000 was just the men, not counting the women or the children.
• The number could have easily been 20,000 in that crowd.
• It is a massive scene.
• Of course you also remember that the people wanted to make Him king

So Jesus would cross back over the sea of Galilee to Capernaum,
And He did so by walking on the water.

But when THE CROWD who ate the bread saw that Jesus was gone,
They then DECIDED TO CROSS THE SEA as well to look for Him.

(6:24) “So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.”

• I don’t know if all 20,000 went, but you can be assured it was a significant number of them because they were all headed that direction anyway in order to go to Jerusalem for the Passover.
• Coupled with that you have the new crowd of people who would have been already in Capernaum that would have greeted Jesus.

The point is that the following of Jesus was huge at this point.

What follows however is a confrontation from Jesus
• Where He exposes that their desire for Him is purely fleshly. They just want a 24/7 bread provider.
• Jesus preaches that famous sermon that He is the bread from heaven and that man must eat His flesh and drink His blood so that they will be saved.
• He also mentioned that He came from heaven in order to save men and that He will ascend back there.

And then the part I want you to see.
(6:60-66) “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

A couple of things there.
1) These were “disciples” who “withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”
2) Jesus pointed out that the reason they actually had no life is because life only comes from the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who gives life”

So we have here a group of professing disciples
Who were in reality void of the Holy Spirit
And when they were confronted with the truth of the gospel
And the person of Jesus they withdrew.

I want you to imagine what they must have looked like
And what it must have felt like if you were on of the 12.

• Would you second guess?
• Would you wonder if you had simply been hood-winked by this Jesus
character?
• Would you start to question such outlandish claims that Jesus came from
heaven and was returning?
• Would you wonder if you should go join that departing crowd?

It was clearly an issue of consideration for notice what Jesus says next.

(6:67) “So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”

Well there it is.
• Do you want to go?
• Do you think I’m out of My mind?
• Do you think they’re on to something?

LISTEN, THAT’S A REAL ISSUE.

If you follow Christ you can bet that more than once in your life
You’re going to be confronted with the reality of someone
Who once claimed to follow Jesus
Determining that they are no longer going to follow Him.

I shared with you a couple of Sunday nights ago about a couple who several years ago were members of our church, and how recently on Facebook the wife announced that she had “Deconstructed her Christianity” and no longer believed the Christian message.

You’re going to see it.
You may even see it on a massive scale like the disciples did on this day.

And you are faced with a dilemma.
• What do you do?
• Who is right?

Well, Peter steps up and answers the question.
(6:68-69) “Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

So Peter says, “We’re sticking with You because only You have answers regarding eternal life.”

It is reminiscent of the moment in Caesarea Philippi:
Matthew 16:16-17 “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

Peter there confessed Christ as well and Jesus was clear that
This confession was NOT based on human logic or reason
But was in fact a revelation of truth that came from God.

And if you’ll notice here in John 6 that is still the case.
For after Peter again confesses Christ, Jesus says:
(6:70) “Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”

So again, the reason you know and the reason you are here
And the reason you remain is because I have chosen you.

Your faith and your understanding and your endurance
Is the result of the supernatural work of God in your life.

DO YOU SEE THAT?

AND WHEN PEOPLE DEFECT FROM CHRIST
It is because that supernatural work has not occurred.

IT CAN BE DISHEARTENING to see people who once professed Christ depart from Him, but it SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSING.

• People who stick to Christ do so because God has done a supernatural work in
their life.
• People who leave do so because that work has not occurred.

You see that in John 6 very clearly.

That is also the issue that is John is addressing now in 1 John 2:18-29

• John now is somewhere around 90 years old.
• In his lifetime he has seen it all.
• He was there that day in Capernaum when the masses left.
• And John has seen such departures many times throughout his life.
• John knows what is going on.

And here he sets out to comfort the church
By giving them understanding of why some leave
As well as giving them assurance why they never will.

It is an important chapter for the church to grasp
• Regarding both the dangerous threats of Satan
• And the perfect assurance of believers.

So THIS MORNING let’s begin looking at this wonderful passage.
We certainly won’t get through all of it,
But it needs to be studied as one complete thought.

John is going to explain the truth about those who abandon Christ.
• He’s going to show you why it’s happening.
• And he’s going to show you the threat they pose to the body.

And John is also going to show you
• How God has worked to protect you from such a mistake
• And what you should do to ensure that you
• Never become one of those who join the crowd and leave.

In fact, it may help you grasp the text better
By first looking at the culminating thought.

Look down at verses 28-29
(28-29) “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

The final command will be “abide in Him”
• You’ve seen it before in that famous John 15
• Where Jesus says that He is the vine and you are the branches
• And as the branch you must “abide” in the vine.

It is the Greek word MENO which means “to remain”.
• Stick with Jesus.
• Remain with Jesus.
• Abide in Jesus.

Despite the departure of the crowd from the faith, you stick with Jesus.

Even though the masses may deny Him…
Even though once professing disciples may abandon Him…
You stick with Jesus.

WHEN THEY LEAVE, let the answer of Peter echo in your mind:
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

THAT IS THAT POINT OF THIS TEXT.
That is the main point John is driving toward.

But let’s begin our study.
We’re going to be break these 12 verses down into 3 points.

#1 SATAN’S SINISTER AGENDA
1 John 2:18-19

To best understand where John is coming from
It is best if you first see the implied problem.

• When you read Paul, he’s always good about giving you the hypothetical question he is answer or stating the hypothetical problem he is solving.

• John is doing the same thing, he just doesn’t always state the question or the problem. He simply operates as though you know it.

But clearly the problem John is addressing
Is the departure of once professing Christians from Christianity.

John is referencing those LIKE THE CROWD IN JOHN 6
Who abandoned Christ and were not walking with Him anymore.

And what is also clear is that
Such a departure must have been disheartening and confusing to the church.

• Why were they leaving?
• Why were the departing?
• Should I be going with them?
• Do they know something I don’t?

You get the idea.

And so John immediately sets out to diffuse the situation
BY EXPLAINING WHY SO MANY ARE DEPARTING.

And John’s answer is clear and concise.
“Children, it is the last hour”

• They AREN’T leaving because Jesus isn’t true…
• They AREN’T leaving because your church failed to hold them tight enough…
• They ARE leaving because “it is the last hour”

Many debate what John actually meant by that.
What is this “last hour”?

I read one pastor who says that the last hour means it is the last hour for Judaism and Israel.
• That John was speaking of his actual day and the temple was about to be destroyed and Judaism was coming to an end.
• It was the last hour of Judaism, he says.
• This would be that Amillennial or possibly preterist mindset that says the church has replaced Israel; and all that remains now is the church. (many problems)

Another religious leader said John is clearly talking about the end, as in the return of Christ, whom John expected to return in his own lifetime.
• But John, like guessers of today, was simply wrong about the timing. (That’s obviously a horrifying assumption)

What John IS REFERRING TO when he says “last hour”
Is the time between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming.

We are in the final chapter of God’s redemptive plan.
• The next event to occur will be return of Christ which usures in the age to come.

And John IS NOT confused or wrong in his prediction.
John ISN’T making a prediction at all about when Christ will come.
He IS merely explaining why some are departing from Christ.

And HIS EXPLANATION as to why there are so many leaving is that
“it is the last hour”.

In other words, Their behavior is precisely the kind of behavior that we should expect in the time in which we live.

People departing from Christ is exactly the type of thing
That Jesus said would occur during “the last hour”

Consider Jesus’ Olivet Discourse.
Matthew 24:4-14 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Even before the end actually comes
• Jesus said that “many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.”
• Jesus said that “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.”

That’s not the end, but it is characteristic of the times just before the end.

During “the last hour” people are going to depart from Christ.

AT THIS TIME
You have Satan, the god of this world, whose doom has been settled.

It was actually always settled,
But the resurrection of Jesus from the grave certainly solidified that reality.

Satan’s time is limited.
• Each day his destruction looms closer and closer.
• And he doesn’t know when that day will come.
• No man does, only the Father.

But Satan, like John, knows that it could come any day.

So what do you have occurring in this last hour?
• You have Satan basically running his “hurry-up offense”
• He is in urgency mode.
• He is out to deceive as quickly as he can on as large a scale as he can.

That includes
• Blinding the eyes of the unbelieving from the gospel…
• Planting tares among the wheat…
• Sending false prophets to deceive…
• Sending false brethren into the church…
• Pulling anyone out of the church that he can…

These are the things he is doing because
He is in a last-second panic before Christ comes and crushes him.

So when John sees these false brethren in the church
Depart from Christ it doesn’t surprise John at all.

He in effect says, “What else would you expect from a devil who knows his time is short?”

Paul says:
1 Timothy 4:1 “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,”

2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

Peter says:
2 Peter 2:1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

This shouldn’t be shocking.

(18) “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”

John says, “you have heard that antichrist is coming”

So let’s address that for a moment.
Most have heard the term, but it is important you understand who he is.

The antichrist is the coming false savior of the world.
He is Satan’s ultimate puppet of deception.

We are all aware of God’s trinity.
• God the Father
• God the Son (Jesus) who lays down His life as the Savior of men.
• God the Holy Spirit who testifies of Jesus and glorifies Him.

Well Satan counterfeits the trinity with his own evil trinity.
• Satan
• Antichrist – who proclaims himself savior and God and king by reason of a supposed death and resurrection.
• The false prophet (beast) – who points men to worship the beast.

Revelation 13:1-6 “And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names. And the beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”

That is Satan and his puppet antichrist who deceives the world.

Revelation 13:11-14 “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”

That is the false prophet who pushes people to worship the antichrist.

This antichrist was also greatly discussed by the prophet Daniel.
Daniel 9:26-27 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

• He is that “prince who is to come”
• He will promote himself as Israel’s savior.
• He will make a covenant with them.
• But halfway through (3 ½ years) he will break that covenant with something that Daniel refers to as “The Abomination of Desolation”

Jesus drew from that:
Matthew 24:15-22 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

This will be the defining moment when that man, whom Israel thought to be the Messiah, will enter the temple and blaspheme God and declare himself to be God.

SATAN IS DRIVING FOR THAT.
(That is his “Hail Mary” so to speak)

NOW, YOU SHOULD ALSO KNOW THAT
• The antichrist, though he is certainly evil,
• Is still under the sovereign prerogative of God
• And will be used of God to perform a specific role.

On one hand,
He is there for the chastisement of Israel meant ultimately to drive them to Jesus.

• If you read Zechariah 11 you read about the coming of Jesus and how he was
rejected by Israel and even betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

And you read how in response God will grant them a false shepherd.
Zechariah 11:15-17 “The LORD said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs. “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”

That is the antichrist.
• He will come to deceive and to seek to destroy Israel.
• God will use him to punish them and ultimately drive Israel to Christ.

But the antichrist will also be used of God
To deceive and destroy those who would not believe the gospel.

TURN TO: 2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-12

• There again it is this man who will come and blaspheme God.
And though Satan certainly wants to use him,
The reality is that this man is also under God’s sovereign control.

He can’t come until God allows.
And when he comes he will merely
Fulfill God’s purpose of judgment on an unbelieving world.

His coming has been well-documented in Scripture.

You see why John says “you have heard that antichrist is coming.”

• The church was well-aware of this coming deceiver.
• They all knew that at some point this man will arise to deceive the world.

But what John wants them to know is that
It’s NOT JUST about this one time coming of this one evil man.

“even now many antichrists have appeared”

I find this fascinating to our understanding.

There were those who were convinced that Nero was the antichrist.
• He was certainly blasphemous
• He certainly sought to slaughter God’s people
• He certainly fit the bill

Then there were those who knew that Hitler was the antichrist.
• He again certainly checked the boxes

Then there were those convinced Stalin was the antichrist.
• And again, you can see why.

And there have been way more than just those men.

HERE IS THE POINT.
There have always been and there will always be men on the earth
Who most certainly could be the antichrist.

Why do they not become the actual antichrist?
• It’s what Paul said. Currently Satan is restrained and not allowed to turn that guy loose.

• Had God lifted the restraint in the first century, Nero would have done it.
• Had God lifted the restraint back in the 40’s, Hitler would have done it.
• If God lifts the restraint today, there are any number who would do it.

One day God will lift the restraint and that man will come to power.
And he will deceive the world.

BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS MEN WHO ARE ANTI-CHRIST.

MAYBE THAT HELPS YOU UNDERSTAND:
When John says, “even now many antichrists have appeared”

• Satan is continually seeking to send deceivers into the world.
• Satan is urgently seeking to infiltrate the church and destroy the church’s mission.
• He’s running his hurry-up offense and relentlessly working.

And John again says, “from this we know that it is the last hour.”

So in a simple sense,
You should not be surprised
• That there is such an antichrist sentiment in the world.
• When unbelievers seek to infiltrate the church.
• When false professors of Christ are led astray.

That is just the work of a satan-devil
Who is frantically working because he knows
At any moment Christ could return and crush his head.

Now, John doesn’t stop there.
He actually, throughout this passage, gives us more insight regarding WHO these antichrists are and WHAT they do.

There’s actually 3 characteristics that define their work and purpose.
(sub points of Satan’s Sinister Agenda)

The first one is listed here in verse 19.
1) DEFECTION (19)

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

This is a great passage and so important to your understanding.
I’ve had used the passage many times in conversations with people regarding security of the believer.

You know that we believe the Bible teaches that if a person is genuinely redeemed, they can never lose that salvation.

Even in a moment John will say (25) “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”

• John DOESN’T SAY Jesus promised “potential life” or “temporary life” or
“unsecured life”.
• John SAYS He promised “eternal life”

Once you get it, you never lose it.
And there are plenty of texts we could go to to make that clear.

But inevitably in the conversation someone will say, “But I know so and so who was saved and walked with Jesus and then they fell away from the faith.”

Well John here explains exactly what is actually happening when that supposed brother or sister denies Christ and defects from Him.

“They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

IF THEY LEAVE, THEY WERE NEVER REAL.

WHY WERE THEY THERE?

• Well sometimes they are those who grew up in church but were in reality hard-hearted and never actually believed even though they had been there a long time.

• Sometimes they are just that Rocky Soil who had no depth and no endurance, and Satan attacks and they leave.

• Sometimes they are tares purposely sown among the wheat as a sort of spiritual terrorist.

2 Peter and Jude talk extensively about their plans.

Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”

They are antichrists whom Satan is using to attack the church.

So why do they leave?

They leave because God appoints to weed some of them out.
• Sometimes it happens through church discipline.
• Sometimes it happens through preaching of the gospel and the antichrist just can’t take it anymore.
• God has various ways in which He at times pulls some of those false brethren out.

But John says that God does that for a reason.
Why?

“so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”

In other words God is showing His church that
Not everyone who enters the church is actually redeemed.

THE CHURCH NEEDS TO KNOW THAT.

We live in “the last hour” and there are “many antichrists”
And you should know that there is this constant threat in the church.

Listen to Paul speak to the Corinthian church:
1 Corinthians 11:17-20 “But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”

He gave a similar warning to the Philippians:
Philippians 1:27-28 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.”

Sometimes there are events that arise that make it obvious
That not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is actually saved.

And to make sure you know this,
• Certainly Satan is all too happy to hear them defect from Christ.
• But God even uses their departure to teach the church a valuable lesson.

BUT THERE DEFECTION IS EVIDENCE
THAT THEY ARE IN FACT, ANTI-CHRIST.

There’s a couple more of their attributes which we’ll look at next time,

BUT THIS MORNING we simply point out that
There is a constant attack on the church.

Satan is always seeking to infiltrate and attack God’s church
Because he knows the clock is ticking.

And that is why John is going to talk to you
• About the importance of making sure that you abide in Christ.
• About the importance of making sure that you let God’s word abide in you.
• About the importance of making sure that you practice righteousness.

Don’t be surprised, but do be prepared.

We’ll talk about more of this next time.