1 JOHN 2:18-29 ANTI OR ABIDE2010 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 John 2:18-29 Anti Or Abide

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2010.

Here in the book of 1 John, we've been reading about contrasts or different ends of spectrums that John is dealing with and showing really how there's quite a contrast between God and everything else and between the children of God and everyone else.

We looked at light versus darkness there in the beginning of the book of 1 John and how light and darkness don't coexist. They cancel out one another. You can't be in the light and also be in the darkness at the same time.

John explained that we cannot walk or claim to walk in the light and walk in darkness. If we walk in darkness, it proves that we are not in the light. And if we are in the light, then we will be in the light as He is in the light. If we are in darkness, then it proves that we are not in the light.

And he's been showing with this contrast the difference between light and the darkness and the contrast between children of God and those who are not children of God. Just as there's a big difference between light and darkness, there is a big difference between those who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and those who do not.

Another contrast we saw was truth versus lie. And those who lie are not of the truth and those who are of the truth speak the truth and don't lie.

We also saw the contrast of love and hate. How there's this fellowship that exists between us and one another and us and God. And if we love God, then we also will love one another. But we can't claim to love God if we hate others because that doesn't work. It's two separate things. If you hate others, you don't love God. If you love God, you love others. And

And there's this contrast between love and hate, between those who follow God and love God and those who do not. Last week we saw as John was kind of pointing out and showing that if you love the world, then the love of God is not in you. If you love God, you don't love the world. You can't love God and love the world at the same time.

In the same way as you came in today and you sat on one side of the sanctuary or you sat on the other side of the sanctuary. But nobody is sitting on both sides of the sanctuary. There's a contrast. There's a separation and a distinction between those who are the children of God

and those who are not. Those who are in the light and those who are in the darkness. Those who are in the truth and those who are in a lie. Those who love God and those who hate God. Those who love God and those who love the world.

He'll continue that type of contrast this morning, looking at those who are anti-Christ and those who abide in Christ. It's one or the other for you. And you get to choose which it is, but John points it out so that there's no confusion about which one we are. Are you against Christ? Or have you substituted something else for Christ? Or are you abiding in Christ?

There's no middle ground. You can't be neutral when it comes to the person of Jesus Christ. You're either anti-Christ or abiding in Christ. In Matthew 12, verse 30, Jesus said that you are either with him or you're against him.

You're either with Him, you're part of His team, you're on His side, you worship Him, you serve Him, or you're against Him. That's the only two options. We so love the gray area. But when it comes to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ,

There is no gray area. And so John continues to point that out by looking at antichrist versus abiding in Christ. There's five different points I want to share with you this morning in our portion. The first one is that many antichrists have come. Look at verse 18 with me. It says, Little children, it is the last hour.

Here is John continues writing his letter. He says, Hey guys, I want you to know that it's the last hour.

We often refer to the reality that we're living in the last days. I hope you know that. What we mean by that is that, well, the end of all things is at hand. We're right on the edge of eternity. And John says it's the last hour. Jesus Christ could come back at any time, at any moment. But it's interesting because, you know, John wrote this last week. And so it's the last hour. No, when did he write this?

about 1900 years ago. It's been the last hour for 1900 years and sometimes that causes confusion. So I wanted to kind of give you an illustration. I'm going to scoot back here a little bit so I can give it to you. Because I heard this from F.F. Bruce who pictured it this way and I just thought it was a really great illustration. If you think about the things that happened prophetically up to the coming of Jesus Christ,

You can see those events happening and time is progressing as the plan of God is being fulfilled. And up to the time of Christ, things were progressing kind of what we think in a normal fashion where we were walking towards the end, walking towards eternity, progressing in time towards eternity.

Well, if you would picture with me that the edge of this stage is eternity. Before Jesus Christ came, the prophetic events brought us closer and closer to eternity so that we're right at the edge with the coming of Jesus Christ. The writers of the New Testament all stated and all said we're living in the last days. They were understanding that we're right on the edge of eternity.

But time has continued to progress. But what has changed is the direction of time has changed. And so instead of walking closer to the edge, directly towards it, now we're walking right alongside of it. And so for the past 2,000 years, we've been right on the edge. And I could walk back and forth and back and forth, and I'm still right on the edge. That's how it is for us as Christians. We're right on the edge of eternity. At any moment...

We can drop off or actually be caught up. At any moment, we enter into that time that God has declared for us is coming when He will catch us up into the air to be with Him forevermore. And so John says, Hey guys, it's the last hour. We're right on the edge of eternity. We're right on the border. We're right on the cusp of being caught up to be with Him in the clouds. And so he says...

You've heard that the Antichrist is coming. You know, as we enter into these last days, as we're in this last hour, you know there's coming on this scene the Antichrist. The Antichrist is, of course, an interesting figure, an interesting character. We're not going to spend a great deal of time talking about him today, but we're heading into the book of Revelation very soon, and there we'll be dealing with him much more in depth today.

But as we look at this idea of the Antichrist, he's known by different names throughout the scriptures.

Daniel refers to him as the prince that shall come in Daniel chapter 9 verse 26. Paul refers to him as the son of perdition, the man of sin, and the lawless one in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. We know him as the beast in Revelation chapter 13. Many different names describe this one person, this one character who will come on the scene in the last days during the tribulation period.

What starts the tribulation is the Antichrist signing a covenant or a treaty with Israel. And he is the leader that rises up, that the world kind of unites around, or at least much of the world unites around. He is going to be an agent of Satan though.

He's going to look glamorous. He's going to seem wonderful. He's going to have the appearance and win the hearts of much of the world. But the reality is he's inspired by Satan. He's demonic. And his intentions, well, are very wicked. The word anti, that precedes antichrist, is

The word anti, it means against, and that's kind of how we normally think of it, like opposite to or against. But it also means in place of. And the Antichrist, when he comes on the scene, he's going to unite the world and present himself as a replacement for Jesus Christ. Revelation chapter 13 declares this for us and calls it out that the world is going to worship him.

There's going to be a false prophet that comes alongside of him that causes the world to worship him and to bow to him. It's going to be presented as a replacement for Jesus Christ. Not only is he against Jesus, but he seeks to replace Jesus Christ. And that's the one who is to come, this Antichrist who is yet to come in the tribulation period.

We're living in the last hour. He is going to come. John says, but enough with that guy for now. The real point is, many antichrists have already come. He says, even now, many antichrists have come. Even now, there are those who are against or opposed to Jesus Christ, but also those who replace Jesus Christ or substitute other things in place of Jesus Christ.

John is saying, look, there are many who offer replacements for the person of Christ. There's other religions. There's all kinds of philosophies. There's all kinds of ideas that people try to put in place instead of Jesus Christ as the opportunity for salvation or the opportunity of heaven or the one who is to be worshipped and served with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.

In John's day, it was specifically Gnostics that he was dealing with. Those who claimed to have a higher understanding or a superior revelation. And they had all kinds of weird doctrine that resulted. But the main point and the main dispute was the person of Jesus Christ. Because their higher learning, so-called, their supposed revelation, twisted Jesus Christ's

from who the Bible describes him to be. And we'll deal with that a little bit more. Verse 19. He says, So John says,

Many antichrists have come. There is the antichrist that is coming, but many who have already come, and they come, or they came from amongst us, John says. From within the church, from within those who call themselves Christians, there arose those who

Well, they came to a point where they sought to replace Christ or substitute something else in place of Christ. He says, they went out from us, but they were not of us. There was some serious Gnostic heresy going on. And the teachers that were teaching these false doctrines started out in the church.

Later on, it came to a point where they separated. They removed themselves. They took the people that they had gathered to themselves and moved off and separated themselves. They pretended for a while to be part of the body of Christ, but at some point, they separated themselves. And so John says, look, they left and their leaving shows that they were never actually part of us. They were never actually part of the body of Christ. Now,

Now, I think it's important just to point out, not everybody who leaves the church is Antichrist, okay? If you leave this church and go to another church, we will not accuse you of being Antichrist. If you leave this church and go start another religion, we might accuse you of that, but

He's not talking about, you know, going from one place to another place as far as worshiping God, but he's talking about the body of Christ. They separated themselves from the body of Christ because they were never actually part of the body of Christ. So not everyone who leaves church is an antichrist, but all who are antichrist, John says, will eventually leave the church. They went out showing and demonstrating that they were never actually part of the body of Christ.

And so John starts out by saying there's many antichrists. There's many who would seek to substitute or replace or oppose the person in the doctrine of Jesus Christ.

Number two this morning, we find that the Antichrist deny the Father and the Son. Verse 20, he says, Verse 21, Verse 22,

and that no lies of the truth. Verse 22, who is a liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Those who are opposed to Christ, against Christ, those who seek to replace Christ, deny that Jesus is the Christ. John says they deny the Father and the Son.

Now, in contrast to those who have gone out, he says, but you, there in verse 20, have an anointing from the Holy One. So, many have come up within the body of Christ. Many antichrists have raised themselves up in the body of Christ and separated themselves. But in contrast to them, he says, but you, to his readers, to all of us by extension, he says, you have an anointing from the Holy Spirit and you know all things.

You have an anointing from the Holy One, John says. Now, the anointing that he's referring to is the Holy Spirit, and we'll see that more clearly in a couple of verses. And he says the result of this anointing or the Holy Spirit in your life is that you know all things. Now, often when we look at the word know in Scripture, it's the idea of knowing by experience. It's knowing because we've experienced it, because we've done it, we've tasted it.

But this word to know is to, it's really speaking of like perception or intuition. It's as opposed to knowing by experience, it's knowing intuitively. And what John is saying here is, look, you have an anointing one and you know the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. The Spirit within you

It's giving you uneasiness in regards to this false doctrine. You don't have to, you know, have this declared to you or explained to you that this false doctrine. You know all things. You know because the Spirit's within you telling you and letting you know this is false doctrine.

Even if you haven't quite put your finger on exactly what's wrong. Have you ever had that happen where there's just an uneasiness? You know something's not right and you can't quite figure it out. You don't know exactly what it is that's wrong with something that you're listening to or hearing. But you know it's not right. And it's not because you've studied it or figured out all of the errors. It's because the Holy Spirit is speaking to you.

And he gives you that uneasiness, that check to know that something is off, even if you don't know exactly what. You know, if you listen to pastor's perspective on K-Wave on weekdays at three o'clock, they have pastor's perspective and people call in with questions and things that they encounter and they get to hear, you know, what the pastor's perspective on that question or that issue would be.

But so many of the calls that come in start out with, "You know, I heard someone the other day saying this," or "Someone told me this," or "Someone else was sharing this with me, and it didn't sound quite right. I couldn't figure out. I didn't know what to say or how to reply."

they're giving that evidence. There's the Spirit within giving them a check. There's something false going on. They don't know exactly what it is. They can't quite put their finger on it. And so they're calling in to see what the Bible has to say about the matter. And that's what John's saying is you have an anointing from the Holy One. You know all things. The Spirit is speaking to you and giving you the understanding that something is not quite right in what is going on.

There in verse 21, he says, look, I haven't written these things to you because you don't know the truth, but because you do know the truth.

I think this is important. I kind of visualize in my head the upper room. You remember the upper room where Jesus was celebrating the Last Supper with his disciples? It was the Passover feast. It was just a few hours before he was going to be crucified. Of course, the disciples didn't know that, but Jesus knew it. And he's spending that time with them. He washes their feet. He's having a meal. He institutes communion, which we'll partake of in a few moments. And he's having a meal.

And he also announces to them that one of them is going to betray them. You remember that? And then when he announces that, they all kind of get freaked out. And they go, one of us? And they begin to go around the table. Is it me? Is it me?

And Peter goes, is it me? And then John goes, is it me? They're all asking each other. They're asking themselves, is it me? Am I the one who's going to betray you? And I think John threw this in there because of that experience. He says, look, there's many antichrists that have come. They've come from among you. But I'm not writing this because you're an antichrist. So you don't have to stand there and look at the person next to you.

Is it me? Am I an antichrist? No, he says, look, I'm writing because you know the truth. I'm not writing to make you doubt your salvation or make you think you're an antichrist, but I'm writing to you so that you can see the distinction, so that you can have clarity on the difference between being antichrist and abiding in Christ. And so he gives us this clarity in verse 22. He says, who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

Those who deny that Jesus is the Christ are liars, he says. Those are anti-Christ. Anti-Christ deny that Jesus is the Messiah.

You know, the scriptures have foretold the coming of the Messiah from the very beginning. And we have in the word of God a very accurate description and characteristics of the coming Messiah that God had promised. Jesus came on the scene fulfilling all of those characteristics, fulfilling the prophecies that were given regarding the one who is going to come. But those...

who deny that Jesus is that promised Messiah are liars. They are anti-Christ. A lot of religions, a lot of philosophies, a lot of false teaching will say that Jesus is the Christ. But by Christ, we could maybe put it in quotes, they mean something entirely different than what the Bible describes as the anointed one, the Messiah, the Savior who was to come.

And so they use the same terminology, they use the same words, but they have an entirely different dictionary. And that becomes a problem and confusing to some. And so he says, who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

Now we don't look up that, you know, Christ and what that means in some new dictionary that's written or some new, you know, teaching about what Christ is. No, we look at the Word of God, the Christ who is to come. And we see Jesus' life matched up to that Messiah. Now there's some important characteristics. The Messiah that was promised, the Savior that would come, would be God.

Those who deny that Jesus Christ is God deny that Jesus is the Christ.

Those who make him something else, they deny that Jesus is the Christ. They offer an instead of, a replacement to. Instead of the Jesus Christ is God, or the Messiah that is God that the Bible foretells, they present instead a Jesus who is an archangel, or a Jesus who is a great prophet, or a Jesus who is a good teacher. They offer all kinds of substitutes, anything else rather than the Jesus Christ of the Bible who is God. Amen.

The Messiah who would come, who would be God. Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Savior that the Bible has promised is Antichrist. They are lying. Whether they offer a different Savior or they add on to the message that Jesus gave. So there would be those, in fact the Judaizers who were around in John's day as well.

They were famous for this. They say, oh, you believe in Jesus Christ. That's great. Now, all you got to do is become circumcised and keep the law and become a good Jew and then you'll be saved. And so they added on to believing in Jesus Christ, the works of the law and salvation was Jesus plus keeping the law. That's antichrist. That's denying that Jesus is the Christ, the one who the Bible promised would come.

Jesus is the Savior. He is the Messiah. Jesus said in John chapter 14 verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. There's no other way. Anybody who says there's an alternate route to the Father, they're anti-Christ. They're denying that Jesus is the Christ. And they might say, no, I believe Jesus is the Christ. But you can also go this way. Or you have to go this way. Or you have to add on to this. Or you have to include this.

to deviate from what the scripture says. The Bible is made very clear. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me, is to be a liar and to be antichrist. Peter said in Acts 4.12, there is salvation in no other name. There's no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. It's in the name of Jesus Christ.

So Antichrist denied that Jesus is the Messiah. Antichrist also denied the deity of Jesus Christ. He says he is Antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. The one who denies the Father and the Son, that person is Antichrist. They deny the relationship of equality between the Father and the Son. Jesus Christ is equal with God because he is God.

He is the Son of God. Now, sometimes people get confused by the term Son of God and think it makes him lesser than God. But think of it this way. If you have a dog and that dog produces offspring, and so you have a male offspring of a dog, what kind of nature does that male offspring have? What kind of creature is it? It's a dog, right? It's a puppy, but it's a dog. It has the same nature as its parents.

If you as a human being have male offspring, what type of nature does it have? It has your nature. You produced it. You're a human being. You produced another human being. Jesus Christ with the title Son of God doesn't mean he has a different nature. It means he has the same nature as God because he is God. And so Jesus as the Son of God is a statement of his deity. He in fact is God.

He says, those who deny the Father and the Son, that relationship that they have. Now, we can't get into all of the details of the triune nature of God because it's beyond our comprehension, but it's not beyond our belief because the Scripture teaches it. We can believe it even though we don't fully understand it. God is three in one. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Not three separate persons, not three separate gods. One God, one God.

And three distinct persons or personalities. Well, not even personalities because that makes it seem like he's a split personality. But you get the point. Jesus Christ is God. Those who deny that Jesus Christ is God are antichrist. Jesus said in John chapter 10 verse 30, I and my Father are one.

We're one, Jesus said. John goes on in verse 23, whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. You see how it fits? Jesus says, me and God, or me and the Father, we're one. If you deny the Son, if you deny Jesus, you don't have the Father. But if you have the Son, if you acknowledge the Son, if you receive Jesus Christ, you have the Father also. Because they're one. Because Jesus Christ is God.

Remember when the disciples were there in John chapter 14 and they say, show us the Father. Jesus says, I've been with you guys for a long time. Don't you know if you've seen me, you've seen the Father? Jesus was the exact representation of the Father. Paul tells us in Colossians, the fullness of the God had dwelt in him bodily. Jesus Christ being God, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To receive Jesus Christ...

is to acknowledge that He indeed is God. And to say anything else is anti-Christ. It's a lie. It's not the truth. It's offering a replacement, a substitute, or another figure under the name of Christ for sure, but an entirely different meaning altogether.

And so John says, look, many antichrists have come. Those who proclaim and say Jesus is not God, those who say that he's not the only way, those who say that he's something less than the Son of God, equal to God, there is many antichrists. But in contrast to them, remember there's two sides to this, right? You're either anti or you're abiding in Christ.

Anti or abide. Which camp do you fit into? Look at verse 24. He says, therefore, 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. And so he says, therefore, let that abide in you.

which you heard from the beginning. Since there are many antichrists, since there are many who would rise up and proclaim a different gospel, proclaim a different message, to preach another Jesus than the one that we received, he says, make sure that you abide in that which you heard from the beginning. He's telling us here, the point number three, is to abide in the Son and in the Father. Now, what did you hear in the beginning?

You heard the gospel message. That's what began your relationship with God. That's where the beginning is. That's where you were born again. The gospel message. John's saying, abide in the gospel message. Let that gospel message abide in you. If that gospel message abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. Jesus Christ, being God, became man.

To die on the cross for sin. That you and I, by believing in Him, might have life in His name. We should not perish, but have everlasting life. That's the gospel message. He says, let that message abide in you. Hold on to that message. Hold fast to that message. Don't stray from that message. Don't swap out words. It's not a recipe and you're not cooking. You can't offer substitutions or exchange one thing or...

No, hold fast to the gospel message. Don't replace words. Don't replace meanings. Hold fast to what the Bible teaches and presents to us as the gospel message. Now, many people start there at the gospel message, but then they move on into other things. And they begin to substitute and replace and add on to what the Bible says or what Jesus taught.

Many of those who are now part of the group called Jehovah's Witnesses used to be attending and part of evangelical churches. They started out with the gospel. They heard the gospel. They responded. But then they began to substitute and replace and swap out things for this and that and add on to and distort the gospel message.

Many of those who belong to the Mormon faith started out in evangelical churches and then later converted over to Mormonism. John says, "No, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning." Those guys, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, in addition to many others, have a different gospel message. It's not the same Christ. They deny Christ. They're anti-Christ. John says, "Let that abide in you. Don't sway. Don't change."

Paul tells us in Colossians 2, verse 6 and 7, he says, As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. He says, As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. How did you receive? Paul told us in Ephesians, we're saved by grace through faith.

That's how you received the gospel message. That's how you received Jesus Christ. Don't ever deviate from that. We come to God by grace through faith in what Jesus Christ did for us. Never by our works, never by earning it, never by adding on to what Jesus did, never by another route. We come to God by His grace, His goodness towards us and by our believing and our faith in what Jesus Christ accomplished for us.

Let that abide in you, which you heard from the beginning. That's what you heard. That's what caused you to respond and be born again. Don't change from that. Don't alter that message. Don't alter that belief.

Now, the Gnostics of John's day, like I said, they felt that they had a higher revelation. They were this elect group. And as a result, they had some very false doctrine. They taught about Christ, not the Christ of the Bible, but they taught that the Spirit of Christ descended upon this man named Jesus whenever Jesus was baptized. And the Spirit of Christ stayed with this man, Jesus, until...

The crucifixion. But just prior to the crucifixion, the Spirit of Christ left the man Jesus. So Jesus was crucified, but Christ was not crucified. That's not the gospel message. Jesus Christ crucified is the gospel message. That message, which those Gnostics taught, is still taught today by some. I believe the Islamic faith teaches that message.

The Spirit of Christ came upon this man, Jesus, but then left this man, Jesus. And so Christ did not die for us. Another teaching amongst the group was that Christ was not a physical person. So he's kind of like a phantom. Like he looked like he was there, but if you walk next to him in the beach, you know, his footprints, or he wouldn't leave footprints because he wasn't actually, it was just a spirit, like a, you know, not a hallucination, but what's that called?

hologram there you go and so he just appeared to be there and and he really was not there again that's different christ that's not the gospel that is anti-christ john says look if what you heard from the beginning abides in you if you hold fast to the gospel message you will abide in the son and in the father this is so awesome because if you stick to the gospel message you'll be fine

You don't have nothing to worry about if you stick to the gospel message, which makes it so accessible.

It doesn't require a superior intellect. It doesn't require some higher learning. This is accessible to every one of us. We have the hope of heaven and the hope of eternity with God. We abide in the Son and in the Father by holding fast, by abiding in the gospel message, approaching God by grace through faith. The word abide here, he says it several times in these verses,

It means to stay or to continue or to dwell or to endure. To live in is the idea. Live in the gospel. Let the gospel live in you. Don't deviate from it. Don't mess with it. Don't change it. Let it abide in you and you will abide. You will live. You will continue. You will stay in the Father and the Son. Don't deviate. Don't waver. Don't change. He says in verse 25, and this is the promise that he has promised us.

eternal life. Whoever holds fast to the gospel message abides, abides in the Son and in the Father and has the promise of eternal life. This is exciting because it's not complicated. It's not difficult. It's accessible. Believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord results for us in the promise of eternal life. And as long as you hold fast to that gospel message, you have that promise of eternity. Abide in Him.

Don't change. You start swapping out the gospel message, different parts, substituting a different Christ, you're in a world of hurt. But if you hold fast to what the Bible presents as Jesus Christ the Messiah, the promise is eternal life. Point number four we find in verse 26 and 27, and that is to abide in the Spirit. So we abide in the Son and the Father, but we also abide in the Spirit. Look at verse 26. Excuse me.

He says,

So we abide in Christ by abiding in the Spirit. Now, John says, look, I'm writing these things to you because there are those who try to deceive you. There are those who are trying to trick you, to fool you and to lead you astray. And so he wants us to have a clarity, have an understanding. There are those who are anti-Christ.

You mess with the gospel message, you're anti-Christ. You change it, you're anti-Christ. You're against Christ, you're replacing Christ. Have nothing to do with that. Don't be deceived. It doesn't matter how good it sounds or how convincing it is. You deviate from the gospel message, from the word of God. And that's the spirit of the anti-Christ. But he goes on to say, even though there's some who are trying to deceive you, he says the anointing

Now, I mentioned earlier that the anointing that he's referring to is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Why do I say that? Well, look at some of the characteristics here. Three things we'll look at really quickly. He says, He says,

Thirdly, he goes on there in the middle of the verse, he says, "...the same anointing teaches you concerning all things." "...the anointing teaches you all things."

You receive it from Him. He abides in you. And He teaches you all things. You don't have to turn there, but you can check it out later in John chapter 14. Verse 16, Jesus says, And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. He goes on to explain, it's the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive. The Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus.

we receive from Him, the Holy Spirit. And then Jesus says that He may abide with you forever. So the anointing we receive from Him, the Holy Spirit we receive from Him. The anointing abides in us, the Holy Spirit abides in us. And then down in verse 26 of John chapter 14, He says, 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 things that I've said to you.

The anointing is received from him, abides in us, and teaches us concerning all things. The Holy Spirit, received from Jesus, abides in us and teaches us all things. And so John is saying, the Holy Spirit abides in you. He's teaching you. You don't need me to tell you that this is false doctrine in order for you to know it. The Holy Spirit's speaking to you. Abide in the Spirit.

And you will abide in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit, as you abide in the Spirit, the Holy Spirit teaches you and helps you to abide in Christ. The Spirit points us to Jesus Christ. The Spirit never points us away from Christ. The Spirit never leads us astray. And so he says, the anointing that you've received abides in you. You have the Holy Spirit indwelling you if you're a believer in Jesus Christ. Every believer abides.

has the Holy Spirit indwelling within them, abiding in us. And so John says, abide in the Spirit. As this anointing teaches you, abide in Him. The Spirit teaches us to abide in Him, abide in Jesus Christ. And the purpose or the result of abiding in the Father and the Son and in the Spirit is,

is confidence at His coming. That's the fifth point, verse 28. He says, And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

And so he says, and now, little children, abide in him. Again, over and over, repeating this to us, it's necessary that we abide in Jesus Christ, that we stay in him, that we dwell in him, that we live in him, that our life revolves around him, that we fill our life with Jesus Christ. He says, abide in him, that when he appears...

We started out looking in verse 18, you know, we've heard the Antichrist is coming, but Jesus Christ is coming first. He's coming before the Antichrist to catch up the church into the clouds, to be with him forever. We're looking for the rapture of the church. When he appears, John says, abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Now, Jesus Christ is coming. Do you want to have confidence when he appears?

When he comes? Or do you want to be ashamed when he comes? You get to pick. It's up to you. It's not up to anybody else. You want to have confidence or do you want to be ashamed? I like the way Pastor Chuck puts it. He says, why would you want to live under a big question mark? Sometimes we do that. We put ourselves in a situation where it's like, I don't know if this is right or not, but this is where I'm at.

People call in, well, can I still do this? Can I live this way? Can I be in this lifestyle? Can I have this situation going on and still be a Christian? Why would you want to have that question instead of the confidence of knowing that when he comes, you will not be ashamed. If you abide in him, John says, you have confidence.

If you don't abide in him, if you're playing around with the gospel message, if you're changing out and replacing and changing definitions and moving away from what the Bible says, there's a question. But if you abide in him, there's confidence when he comes. If you're playing around in sin, living in a sinful lifestyle, there's a question mark. But if you're abiding in Jesus Christ, there's confidence. If you're moving away from what the Bible teaches, there's a question mark.

People always want to know, well, you know, I have this person and they're involved in that type of religion or that type of idea. Are they saved? Question mark. But if you come and say, hey, I'm abiding in Christ. Do you think I'm saved? Confidence, for sure. Abide in Him, John says. You have that confidence. I was remembering another crazy story of something we did back in the youth days when I think it was Pastor Tom was leading the youth group or

He was part of it. And we did a scavenger hunt. I was just an attendee of the event, so don't blame me for anything that I say after this. And

And so the scavenger hunt wasn't like, you know, you go around the church property, but it was around the city. And so there was youth leaders, each had a car, and then, you know, the kids that could fit in their car, that was a team, and all these teams were against each other, and to try to go around all over the place and get ketchup packets and sugar packets and inside phone booths and all that kind of stuff, and in order to, you know, win the scavenger hunt. And so

you know, a lot of the same places we're going to. And so there's this competition, this, you know, this battle that's going on. And I remember the car that I was in, someone, I think it was Pastor Tom, actually, he ran across the parking lot when we ended up at the same place. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and tossed them away to give them the advantage. And then he ran back to the truck that he was driving, his old pickup, his Nissan. And then he's

starts up his truck, you know, he's got the advantage now, and he guns it, he starts to take off.

Well, what he didn't know was that there was one girl who was part of his group who wasn't quite yet in the truck yet. And in fact, she was right next to the truck about to get into the truck. And so he starts to move and she starts to run. She dives for it. She's kind of, you know, horizontal in the air reaching for it. But of course, the truck is slightly faster. And so she hit the pavement. And some people live the Christian life that way. Listen, stay in the truck. Okay.

Don't abide next to Christ. Don't abide in sight of Christ. Don't abide, you know, so that you can, as soon as things start to happen, I'm jumping in, man. No. Stay in the truck. Stay there. Don't get out. Don't remove yourself. Abide. Abide in Christ. Stay in Him.

Don't try to think, well, I'm going to see, you know, I'm going to hear the trumpet and then I'm going to pray and repent. Or I'm going to see if things get worse, you know, at this point, then someday I'm going to get right with God. Don't play that game. You might end up, you're facing the dirt. You want to have the confidence or a question mark over your head. John says, abide in Him. He says there in verse 29, if you know that He's righteous, then you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

There is no way to practice righteousness apart from being born again. There's no way to abide in Jesus Christ, in other words, apart from being born again. I think we'll look at this a little bit more next week because it fits really with what he's saying there in chapter 3.

But God is righteous and man is not. And there's no way for us to walk with God or follow God without being born again. If you know him, then you know that he's righteous. You also know that we are not righteous and we cannot walk with him. We can only practice righteousness if we are born of him.

We can only abide in Christ if we are born of Him. Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter 3, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. A few verses later, He said, you must be born again. This morning, we have the opportunity of partaking of communion together. I'm going to ask the worship team and the ushers to make ready. But as they do, I want to ask you, are you born again? Jesus is God. God is righteous. The only way for you to abide in Him is

is to be born again. You cannot enter into the kingdom of God apart from being born again, of having a new nature, being given to you by God, by coming to Him by faith in Jesus Christ. Communion is what Jesus gave us to remind us of what He did for us upon the cross. He gave us the cup to remind us of the blood that He shed.

For our forgiveness. For the remission of sins. That all of the wrong that we have done was paid for upon the cross. He took the penalty for us. He gave us the cracker as a reminder, the bread as a reminder of His body that was broken. So that we are no longer bound to sin and death. The chains have been broken. We've been set free. Or we have the opportunity to be set free.

By receiving what He did for us. By putting our trust in Him. By abiding in Him. This morning, if you've never been born again, if you've never had a time where you've said, Lord, I receive what you did for me upon the cross. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. And I receive that. Make me new. I encourage you to use this opportunity. As they pass out the bread and the cup, partake. Grab a cracker. Grab the cup.

And as you partake, let it be you telling God, Lord, I receive what you've done for me. You have that opportunity to have the confidence that when He comes, you know you will be with Him, but you must be born again. For those of you who have made that decision in the past, let this be a time where we remember what Christ did for us so that we make sure to abide in Him. Let God speak to your heart. If you're deviating in any way,

If you're playing around, if you're abiding next to Christ and thinking, I'm going to jump in the truck when the time comes, let God speak to you about that so that we can follow exactly what he said, which was deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him. We need to fill our lives completely with a wholehearted devotion and dedication to Jesus Christ. And so they're going to pass out the bread and the cup. Hold both portions together.

Let God speak to you, and then we'll partake together at the end. Let's worship the Lord as they pass it out. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.