1 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:13,560 You know, we rarely think about it in our modern 21st century 2 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:19,360 context, but the reality is, is that we live most of our lives 3 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,400 as human beings. Most of us live most of our 4 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:25,400 lives indoors. I'm not saying that's a bad 5 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:27,120 thing or a good thing. I'm just saying it's a thing. 6 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,000 Most people, not everybody, but most people these days in our 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,080 context live most of their lives indoors, right? 8 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:38,280 I'm assuming most of y'all slept indoors last night, right? 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,480 I mean, obviously you can be in a situation where you don't have 10 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:44,400 a roof over your head. That's that is not good, right? 11 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,480 And obviously we want to be helpful towards anybody in that 12 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,000 situation. But you probably slept indoors 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:51,040 last night. If you ate some breakfast, I'm 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,440 assuming you probably ate your breakfast indoors this morning. 15 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,320 I'm assuming you probably got dressed indoors this morning. 16 00:00:57,360 --> 00:00:58,800 I can tell most of y'all looked in the mirror. 17 00:00:58,800 --> 00:00:59,960 Praise God. Amen. 18 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:01,920 Right. Did pretty good. 19 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,560 Yeah, we we we even commuted to church this morning indoors. 20 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:10,360 Anybody ride a motorcycle? All right, we got one that came 21 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:11,400 outdoors. Praise God. 22 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:13,400 Right. Most of us. 23 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,120 And then if you go really long distance, about 40,000 feet in 24 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,880 the air, you're still what? Indoors. 25 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,320 Hallelujah for that, right? We live most of our lives. 26 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,400 We go to school indoors, most of us work indoors even though some 27 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,160 work outdoors. But we live most of our lives 28 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,960 indoors. And when you live indoors, you 29 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:37,160 can do life in indoor ways. OK, but what if you happen to 30 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,440 like the outdoors? And maybe not just the 31 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,760 activities that have you outdoors for like an hour or 32 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,720 two, 3 or 4, but what about if you like outdoor activities that 33 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,640 cause you to be out of doors for like days at a time? 34 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,360 If you've ever experienced even just overnight outdoors, you 35 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:57,200 realize you can't live outdoors in indoor ways. 36 00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:59,240 At least it ain't going to last very long. 37 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:03,280 You got to figure out a whole different way of living. 38 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:05,680 I brought a few items, just a little show and tell this 39 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,360 morning to demonstrate what I'm talking about when it comes to 40 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,000 living outdoors. If you're going to be outdoors 41 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,920 for any length of time, you got to embrace a totally different 42 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:16,000 way of living. And let's just talk about 43 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,160 sleeping, for instance, right? You're not hauling the king size 44 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,040 bed or queen size mattress on your back. 45 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,560 Now, if you haul a big camper, that's one thing. 46 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:23,880 That's glamping. That's not what I'm talking 47 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,240 about, all right. I'm talking about when you 48 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,960 outdoors and it's everything on you and your person, all right, 49 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:31,680 So sleeping is going to look like maybe on something that 50 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,120 quite like this and this is as uncomfortable as it looks, all 51 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,720 right, So that might be a sleeping mat. 52 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:39,000 There you go. So you'd sleep a little 53 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,240 different. By the way, I didn't even bring 54 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:41,960 the tent. It just took up too much room. 55 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,760 But sleeping is different. You know, hygiene outside is 56 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:47,200 different. Now this is going above and 57 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,760 beyond. Most people just embrace the non 58 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,360 hygiene, but I'm telling you something like this, this is a 59 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:57,040 shower and this is a game changer in the outdoors. 60 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,800 All right, So what you do is you fill this little thing with 61 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:02,880 water here, screw the cap on, turn the black side to the sun. 62 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,960 It's even got a thermostat on it so you know the degree of the 63 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,920 temperature of the water you're about to experience. 64 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:10,480 All right, by the way, it says summer shower right there in the 65 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:11,720 winter. This is pretty tough, but 66 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,680 anyway, it's worth. All right, you got your little 67 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:15,280 vanity right here. Here's your mirror. 68 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:17,360 All right, see what's between your teeth. 69 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,120 Know that nothing cares out there outside what you look 70 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:21,800 like. And you just turn the nozzle. 71 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,520 You hang this on a tree by this little strap and you take you a 72 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,040 shower outside and hope nobody's looking. 73 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,440 By the way, so hygiene is different out there, right? 74 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,560 If you want something to drink, you got to do it different, all 75 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:34,640 right? You're not going to turn on a 76 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,000 faucet. There's no spigot. 77 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,440 There's no refrigerator. There's no, you know, what's 78 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:41,720 that thing in the hallway out there? 79 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,800 Well, that. But then the thing you pay can. 80 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,160 Yeah, vending machine. That's what I'm going for. 81 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,400 There's no vending machine. All right, you can. 82 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:54,960 What you do is you stick this in a stream right here, and because 83 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,640 all the microorganisms out there in water you're not used to 84 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,880 drinking would just, it'll change your life. 85 00:03:59,880 --> 00:04:03,440 You don't want to do that. You feel this little thing up, 86 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,880 right? This is a filter and you screw 87 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,080 that thing on. All the sudden you just pop the 88 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:09,680 top. All right, you can roll or 89 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,440 squeeze this and you got clean drinking water. 90 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,480 You got to you got to drink different in the outdoors. 91 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:17,399 I got a lot of things here, you know, you got to cook different 92 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:19,279 in the outdoors. Praise God, my wife loves to 93 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:21,680 cook and I'm a man. That's an incredible blessing 94 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,240 and she does an incredible job. But when you go outdoors, you 95 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,200 got to do something different. One of the ways you can do that. 96 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,960 This is kind of cheating at it a little bit, but you can take pre 97 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,800 prepared meals like this. All right, This is dehydrated 98 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,960 food. It says homestyle chicken and 99 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,960 rice. It doesn't taste near as good as 100 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:40,360 it sounds. It's not homestyle, I promise 101 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,960 you, all right, but all you do is heat up your water, add that 102 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:46,800 and close it up for about 10 minutes, and then you got a hot 103 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:48,600 meal ready to go. How would you heat it up? 104 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,720 Well, that's where you got to cook different. 105 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,680 All right, So what that looks like, this is your gas stove top 106 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:57,800 right here. All right, you got the gas in 107 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,600 the little container here. This screws onto the top. 108 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:02,520 You turn that knob, light the fire. 109 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:03,920 I'm not going to do that this morning. 110 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,360 Put your little pot on top boil your water make your coffee. 111 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:10,520 You got to do cooking different in the outdoors. 112 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,280 I I, I could go on all right, I mean you got to be able to do 113 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:14,640 things like communicate differently. 114 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,560 See what else I got your cell phone. 115 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:18,520 Oh, this is this is one of the neatest things I have right 116 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,360 here. This is fork, knife and spoon 117 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,880 all in one. All right, So I'm not sure what 118 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:27,640 you call this thing, but it's a do it all. 119 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:31,240 So if I can pop this off, there's the fork right here, all 120 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,440 right, there's the spoon. And then if you turn this, 121 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:38,120 there's the knife. All right, So you got to do 122 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:42,120 things different if you if you're going to live outdoors 123 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,080 because you're not living in a way that you normally live. 124 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:49,120 My whole point is that today's text is not how to live 125 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:53,040 outdoors, but it is how to live different because we're living 126 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:58,240 the Bible says in the last days. And John's writing to us in 127 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:00,760 first John about how to know. All right, we've already looked 128 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:02,560 at how do you know Christianity is true? 129 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,680 And we've looked at how do you know you're a true Christian? 130 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,920 And then we looked at how do you know what's dangerous to you as 131 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,360 a Christian in this world? But now John's going to answer 132 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:18,640 this question, How do you live in this world in the last days? 133 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,040 Because you're living at a different time, at a different 134 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,400 hour than anybody else has in the New covenant in the New 135 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:25,960 Testament as believers in the church. 136 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:27,960 So the question is, how do we live? 137 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,960 How do we live in the last days? I want you to listen to the Word 138 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,720 of God as I read beginning in chapter 2, picking up in verse 139 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,000 18. We'll go through verse 27 and 140 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,800 pick up our final 2 verses toward the end. 141 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:44,160 You ready, children? It is the last hour. 142 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:49,080 And as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now 143 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:53,440 many Antichrist have come. Therefore we know that it is the 144 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,280 last hour. They went out from us, but they 145 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:00,480 were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have 146 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:05,000 continued with us. But they went out, that it might 147 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,040 become plain that they all are not of us. 148 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:14,120 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have 149 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:16,640 knowledge. I write to you, not because you 150 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,320 do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because 151 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:25,160 no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who 152 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:30,240 denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist who 153 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,520 denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has 154 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:35,880 the Father. Don't miss that verse. 155 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,600 No one who denies the Son has the Father. 156 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:42,040 Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 157 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,360 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. 158 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,800 And if what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then 159 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,760 you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 160 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,640 And this is the promise that He made to us, eternal life. 161 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,160 I write these things to you about those who trying to 162 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,280 deceive you. But the anointing that you 163 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,360 received from him abides in you. And you have no need that anyone 164 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,040 should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you 165 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:10,680 about everything and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught 166 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,040 you, abide in him. Now, if I could read your mind, 167 00:08:14,040 --> 00:08:15,800 you're thinking, Kyle, that's a lot right there, all right. 168 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,200 And it is we're about to walk through this. 169 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:20,240 I want you to lean in a little extra close to me. 170 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,080 All right, because John says a lot in these verses. 171 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,880 But it really becomes very practical for us as those who 172 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,400 are living in the last days, as we're going to see. 173 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,720 Father, I pray that you would open our eyes and our ears to 174 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:33,240 hear your word, to hear it clearly and to show us how to 175 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:35,799 live it out. I pray in Jesus name, Amen. 176 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,400 If you follow along in your notes there in the worship God, 177 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:41,400 the very first thing John says you need to know in order to 178 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:46,000 live in the last days is that the fact is you're living in the 179 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,840 last days, right? That's the first one thing he 180 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,680 says right here we are living verse 18 and 19 in the last 181 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:53,880 days. John literally calls it the last 182 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,840 hour. He means the last age, that is 183 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,640 the period of time before Christ returns. 184 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,960 And John's not the only one in the New Testament naming this 185 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,080 particular time. In fact, Acts chapter 2, verse 186 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:10,560 16 and 17 puts it like this. But this is what was uttered 187 00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:12,600 through the prophet Joel. Now this was predicted. 188 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,600 God told us about this in the prophets, and it says in the 189 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,280 last days it shall be. God declares that I'll pour out 190 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:23,520 my spirit on all flesh. Hebrews chapter one verse 1 and 191 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,320 2 long ago. Think about this in many times 192 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,560 and in many ways as described in the Old Testament, God spoke to 193 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:35,240 our fathers by the prophets. But in these what last days, he 194 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,160 has spoken to us by his Son, That's Jesus, whom he has 195 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,760 appointed the heir of all things, through whom He also, by 196 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:45,440 the way, created the world. The last days, or the period of 197 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:49,040 time between Jesus's first coming and Jesus's second 198 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:50,320 coming, I want you to think about it like this. 199 00:09:50,320 --> 00:09:55,640 The next great event and God's plan of salvation, the next big 200 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:59,920 thing, the next great event is the return of Jesus Christ. 201 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,120 Don't you think about that? These are the days we're living 202 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,320 in where the next big thing that God's going to do and his plan 203 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:12,200 of salvation is send his son for the second time to claim his own 204 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,120 and to rule and to reign. These are the last days, y'all? 205 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:17,400 We're not living in the first quarter. 206 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:19,040 We're not living in the second quarter. 207 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:20,680 We're not living in the third quarter. 208 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,480 We are in the and the guy out there in the lobby said Kyle, I 209 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:25,880 believe we're in the last two minutes. 210 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:27,160 And I don't think he's probably wrong. 211 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:30,240 I think he's closer to being right. 212 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,160 We don't know the day. God has not given us a countdown 213 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,680 clock. In fact neither the angels nor 214 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:40,440 even the Son knows the exact day the Father does. 215 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,280 But we know the next great thing is when the Father says Son it's 216 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:49,000 time and Jesus returns. John gives us y'all early here. 217 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,200 2 very simple realities we need to be aware of. 218 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,080 We're going to see more, but these are two about the last 219 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:56,640 days we need to know in order to live in them. 220 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:01,040 And the first one is this Antichrist is coming. 221 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:06,920 We need to know the Bible says Antichrist is coming. 222 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,240 John says you've heard that Antichrist is coming. 223 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,520 Who in the world is he talking about? 224 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:15,920 He's talking about the individual that the Bible 225 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:19,680 describes who will rise in the end times, that is, in the last 226 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:23,480 days as a world ruler according to the Book of Revelation. 227 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,880 You can read Revelation 13 more descriptively of the Antichrist. 228 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,840 The person will be energized. This person will be energized by 229 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:37,480 and in service to Satan himself. He will exalt himself against 230 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:41,040 Christ in his coming Kingdom. He'll have such power, charisma, 231 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,840 and deceptive ability. The world will follow after him 232 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,440 and be deceived by him. The world will worship him. 233 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:51,120 This is the Antichrist John says is coming in the last days. 234 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,040 But then he says this. But already many Antichrist, 235 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,840 plural, have already come. What does he mean? 236 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,400 He's not saying that the Antichrist has come yet, but he 237 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,040 is saying that forerunners of the Antichrist, who are they? 238 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,680 They for those that also deny Jesus is the Christ, many have 239 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:10,720 come and they're like Trail Blazers, if you will, for the 240 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:14,680 ultimate Antichrist to come, who will deny that Jesus is the 241 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:18,040 Christ. In the intensity of this 242 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,760 opposition against Christ, and it's increasing intensity. 243 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,440 It's a sure sign, John says, of the last days and the last hour 244 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:30,800 in which we live. You know, the essence of this 245 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,600 one, who will be the Antichrist and the forerunners of the 246 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:35,840 Antichrist. And the essence or the principle 247 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,880 of Antichrist is simply the lie. The essence of it all is the lie 248 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,680 that Jesus is not the Christ. What do I mean when I say that? 249 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,160 You may be in the room and really I don't know what Jesus 250 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:49,360 is. The Christ means. 251 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:54,200 That's the truth, that Jesus is the one and only Savior of the 252 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,520 world. What do I mean by Savior? 253 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:59,680 I mean, He's the one and only one and it stepped into this 254 00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:04,560 world by the way he made it. He made you, and he loves you. 255 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,080 The problem is we've sinned against him, the Bible says, and 256 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:13,000 that sin separates us from him. But Jesus came and took on human 257 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,800 flesh to live a sinless life, to die for our sin on the cross. 258 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:20,760 And going to the cross, he was laid in the grave tasting death, 259 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,960 the result of our sin. And on the third day, Jesus 260 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,280 walked out of the grave alive. Why? 261 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,840 Because he had the power alone to defeat death and offer us 262 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:32,840 forgiveness of sin and eternal life. 263 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:35,800 The word Christ means Messiah or anointed one. 264 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:40,520 Jesus is the only anointed one who can save you from your sin. 265 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,440 Have you trusted him as your Lord and as your Savior? 266 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:49,000 If you haven't, you can today. The Antichrist is the one who 267 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:53,240 propagates the lie that Jesus is not the Christ. 268 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:59,040 Reality #2 besides the fact that Antichrist is coming reality #2 269 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,760 in the last days is that false converts are leaving. 270 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,400 False converts are leaving. John is recognizing in verse 19 271 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,280 that people have left the church, and he's not talking 272 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,480 about one or two. There's obviously a bunch of 273 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,720 them. There's obviously a group that's 274 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,440 upset the church. They denied the faith. 275 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,240 They've walked away from Christ. They denied the fact that He's 276 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,920 the Savior of the world, and they've left the church, right? 277 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,120 So here's the deal. Every church, every church deals 278 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,880 with this issue John speaks of. But John calls this what it is. 279 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:33,320 He immediately responds to this as an unveiling of false 280 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,840 converts. People that have left, John 281 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:39,080 says, never were true believers in the 1st place, for if they 282 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,600 had been genuine Christians, they would have continued 283 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,040 faithfully with the church following Christ. 284 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,200 The deal is every single church deals with false Christians. 285 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,560 That's a reality that every church will face until Jesus 286 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:58,760 returns, but they are almost always eventually revealed by 287 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,480 their failure to remain faithful. 288 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,040 A man that you probably never heard of by the name of BH 289 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:10,480 Carroll was a man who fought in the Civil War. 290 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,760 He was a lost man. In fact, he was an atheist. 291 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,400 He experienced a lot of hardship in life, in a failed marriage 292 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,800 and after the war. He almost was at a point of 293 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:26,280 wanting to take his own life. When God did what God does, he 294 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,760 rescues and he saves and he changes and transforms. 295 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:34,480 BH Carroll got saved. And BH Carroll didn't just get 296 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:36,000 saved. He got called to preach and 297 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,120 called to preach. He became a pastor, eventually 298 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,000 established the religion department at Baylor University, 299 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:45,480 now in Waco, TX, and eventually went on in 19 O 8 to start a 300 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:49,120 seminary for training ministers on the Texas Prairie. 301 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:53,160 At the time, 6 miles South of downtown Fort Worth, where I did 302 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,960 my ministry training. BH Carroll made this statement. 303 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:04,480 He says when you see a star fall, you can be sure it's not a 304 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:09,000 star because stars don't fall, they shine. 305 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:12,240 When you see a star fall, you can be sure it's not what is he 306 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,800 saying? What he's saying is right. 307 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:15,240 We, we know what he's talking about. 308 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,800 You watch the night sky and you say, oh, there's a shooting 309 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:21,080 star, a falling star, but that's not actually what that is. 310 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,880 That's astronomically incorrect. That's not how stars die. 311 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:28,160 Stars shine. What he means is when you see a 312 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:33,520 quote Christian turn his or her back on Jesus and sound doctrine 313 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:40,240 and follow false doctrine in the vast majority of cases he's 314 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:43,560 saying you can be sure that person never was a genuine 315 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,360 believer in the 1st place. A way that's been said that goes 316 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:53,120 like this is that faith that fizzles before the finish was 317 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:58,280 faulty from the first. Faith that fizzles before the 318 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:01,640 finish was faulty from the first. 319 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:04,480 Brothers and sisters, we're living in the last days. 320 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,440 Let me just tell you two things you're going to I'm going to 321 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,480 experience in the last days. People are going to attack the 322 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,400 truth of Jesus Christ. People are going to say there's 323 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,240 lots of other ways. He's not really who he said he 324 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:19,160 was. They will attack the truth of 325 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:20,680 Jesus Christ. You've got to be ready for that. 326 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:23,640 Number two, people are going to leave the church. 327 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:26,880 People are going to abandon them, especially when life gets 328 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,240 a little harder to walk by faith and trust Jesus Christ. 329 00:17:29,360 --> 00:17:32,160 You're going to see people walk away from the church. 330 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:34,960 What John says about that is if those who walk away, you can 331 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,160 almost always be sure they never were genuine believers in the 332 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:39,640 1st place. Every church will deal with it 333 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,000 increasingly so in the last days. 334 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:43,600 You're going to see people abandoned the church. 335 00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,120 You're going to see people attack Christ. 336 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,520 You need to know these things if you're going to live faithfully 337 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:49,880 in the last days. But then the second thing we 338 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,240 need to know is this. We have genuine believers have 339 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,320 the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 340 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,120 This is verses 20 and 21 and some others following. 341 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:00,240 We have the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 342 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:03,360 What's going on here? One of the situations John is 343 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:06,080 writing to address in the original situation, as there's 344 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,280 some false teachers teaching some false doctrine and one of 345 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:12,240 the things they were teaching was, hey, y'all, there's some 346 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,400 higher knowledge and a special anointing that can be had for 347 00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:20,280 those that are willing and able to receive it. 348 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:24,080 John is saying there's some something beyond the Word of 349 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:25,360 God. There's something beyond the 350 00:18:25,360 --> 00:18:28,560 Holy Spirit that can be had. There's more to be had beyond 351 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:30,760 what's written to you in the Word that you've heard from the 352 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,040 beginning. So they're teaching this false 353 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,360 doctrine. But watch what John says in 354 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:37,400 verse 20. But you have been anointed. 355 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:42,080 He reminds him, you've been anointed by the Holy One. 356 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,440 You've been anointed by God. What is he's been, you've been 357 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,480 anointed with the Holy Spirit, right? 358 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,440 That's you. He's not just talking to the 359 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,200 pastors or the staff or the elders or the deacons. 360 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:54,840 He's not talking just to the missionaries or church, but he's 361 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,200 talking to every genuine believer in Jesus Christ. 362 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,880 You've been anointed by the Holy Spirit. 363 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,040 All right, Ephesians 113 makes it so clear. 364 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:05,840 I want you to listen closely to this verse. 365 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,520 You ready in him, that's in Jesus. 366 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,840 You also when you heard, notice when you heard the word of 367 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,040 truth, the gospel of your salvation. 368 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:16,320 The gospel is what I told you earlier. 369 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,560 Jesus came, lived a sinless life for you, died on the cross for 370 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:21,120 you, was raised from the dead for you. 371 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,360 When you heard the gospel of what Jesus did for you and 372 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:31,240 believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 373 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,320 When were you sealed with the promised Holy Spirit? 374 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:39,320 If you're a genuine believer, when you, when you were saved, 375 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,360 when you heard and when you believed, the moment you 376 00:19:42,360 --> 00:19:45,560 believed, you got all the Holy Spirit you're ever going to get 377 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:47,200 until you see Jesus face to face. 378 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,800 Mark it down. There's some out there that 379 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,120 teach, oh, that's just first. That's just first experience. 380 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,080 You got to have a second higher experience of the Holy Spirit. 381 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:57,440 There's more out there to be had. 382 00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:59,800 That's baloney, according to the Bible. 383 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,000 The Bible says when you become a believer, when you receive the 384 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,000 gospel, God gives you the Holy Spirit living inside of you as a 385 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,920 down, a down payment, a deposit, a guarantee of what's to come. 386 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,800 The problem with many Christians is not if they're genuine 387 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,320 believers, is not that they don't have all the Holy Spirit, 388 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:20,960 that the Holy Spirit doesn't have all of them. 389 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:23,800 What do I mean? Let me be clear, I don't mean 390 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:24,840 they don't have all the Holy Spirit. 391 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:26,640 They do. What I mean is they're not 392 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,880 walking in daily surrender in obedience under the leadership 393 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:31,080 of the Holy Spirit in their life. 394 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:34,280 They're saying no to the Holy Spirit instead of saying yes to 395 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,760 the Holy Spirit, they're choosing to walk in sin rather 396 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:38,840 than walking in what's obedient to God's Word. 397 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,560 And therefore the Holy Spirit is not having all of them to use 398 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:47,680 for His purposes and His glory. Now he says we all have this 399 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:49,200 anointing. John says you all have 400 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,920 knowledge, we know the truth. And now drop down to verse 26 401 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,360 and 27. What does John mean when he 402 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:58,280 says, and you have no need listen to this because this is 403 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:00,960 interesting. You have no need that anyone 404 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:04,360 should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you 405 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:08,800 about everything, that verse right there obviously can be 406 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,720 ripe for some misunderstanding and misapplication if taken out 407 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,120 of context. And let me remind you of what 408 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:17,280 the context is. It is the fact that some false 409 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:20,240 teachers have infiltrated the church and are teaching that 410 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,120 there's a special anointing. There's something extra, hey, 411 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:25,080 there's something that they could grasp it. 412 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:28,360 There's a special knowledge to be had beyond what they've heard 413 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:32,400 from the beginning in the Word, all right, from Christ and his 414 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:36,200 apostles. And so here what John doesn't 415 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:39,080 mean, all right? He doesn't mean that Christians 416 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:44,440 have no need for any type of human teacher or preacher to say 417 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,040 or explain the word of God's truth, right? 418 00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:50,000 If that's what John means, then by the way, he's breaking his 419 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,920 own rule and contradicting himself by writing to instructor 420 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:54,520 teach these Christians in this letter. 421 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,120 So that's obviously not what John means. 422 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,040 So John's not seeing, not saying there's no need for pastors or 423 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,040 teachers. He is saying this. 424 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:09,200 You don't have a need for any human teacher that claims to 425 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,840 have any new information about Christ and the Gospel and 426 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,120 eternal life other than what you have inspired by the Holy Spirit 427 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:22,680 in the Word of God. You already know the truth. 428 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:24,360 You know the truth. And guess what? 429 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,680 You have the teacher, the source. 430 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,000 You don't need a teacher to be the source of truth for you. 431 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:33,280 Like like this. If I was claiming up here to be 432 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:36,560 a source of truth for you, you need to get rid of me. 433 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,080 I need to say Amen to that. All right, All right. 434 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,920 I'm not claiming to be a source of truth for you. 435 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,760 I'm claiming to be a proclaimer of the source of truth that is 436 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:50,040 this inspired by the Holy Spirit that you have and I have. 437 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:53,280 You have no need for someone else to be the source of truth 438 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:56,600 for you because you've got it and the teacher, the one who 439 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,040 inspired it, lives within you. That doesn't mean we can't help 440 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,600 each other understand it and explain it and teach it, but I'm 441 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,200 not the source. God is the source. 442 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,480 The Word is the source. John is simply saying you have 443 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,360 no need for any other source other than what you've heard in 444 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:17,760 the gospel. Y'all, you have the anointing in 445 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,360 these last days of the Holy Spirit. 446 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:25,040 If you're a genuine believer #2 what you need to know #3 447 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,720 actually is that we have the authority of the Word of God. 448 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:30,960 We have the authority of the Word of God. 449 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,760 This is verses 22 through 25. If you look back up at verse 22, 450 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:39,200 it says who is the liar? But he who denies that Jesus is 451 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:43,280 the Christ, the ultimate lie, that is the source of every 452 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,080 other lie, is that Jesus is not the Christ. 453 00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,960 This is exactly what the Antichrist will claim. 454 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:52,680 John inserts a little reminder here that one's relationship 455 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:57,680 status with God is totally dependent, has everything to do 456 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,040 with what you believe about Jesus. 457 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:04,120 Did you notice verse 23? No one who denies the Son has 458 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,120 the Father. But listen to this next verse. 459 00:24:06,120 --> 00:24:10,360 Has this happened in your life? Whoever confesses the Son has 460 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:14,400 the Father also. Have you confessed Jesus is the 461 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,040 Christ? That he is the Lord, that he's 462 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:18,440 the Creator, that he's the Maker, the one and only Savior, 463 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,280 the one who lived for you, died for you, and rose again from the 464 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:23,000 dead for you. If you confessed him as your 465 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,320 Lord, you're not going to have God. 466 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:27,120 You don't have salvation. There's no forgiveness outside 467 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:29,080 of confessing that Jesus is in fact the Christ. 468 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:32,840 Can you see now why the Antichrist has one target for 469 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:36,280 his lies? That Jesus is not the the 470 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,120 Christ? Because if he can take that out, 471 00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,720 then he takes everything else out because that's the lie that 472 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:47,760 leads to death, That Jesus is not the Christ he says here. 473 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,440 So for those of us who have confessed Jesus is Lord, what 474 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:54,320 should we do? Verse 24, Let what you heard 475 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,200 from the beginning abide in you. Then you too will abide in the 476 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:01,640 Son and in the Father who has promised us eternal life. 477 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,320 What they heard from the beginning was the Word of God. 478 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,520 Y'all we resist and we can overcome the lies of the enemy 479 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,520 and of the world by abiding in the Word of God. 480 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:14,680 I want to talk very simply, very clearly about what does it mean 481 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:21,000 to abide in the Word of God #1 abiding in God's word means 482 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,720 filling your mind with the Word of God. 483 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:30,680 By the way, 11 sermon one, one day a week is not filling your 484 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,760 mind with the word of God. That's not abiding. 485 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:39,200 That's drive by. OK, it's it's helpful, but 486 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:45,360 you've got to open your Bible for yourself to abide in the 487 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:48,760 Word of God. If you don't, this is not going 488 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,320 to happen. It's got to fill your mind. 489 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,280 You've got to expose your thoughts to the word of God. 490 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,720 You got to fill your mind and then abiding in the word means 491 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:02,680 letting the word of God direct your will. 492 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:08,680 That is guide what you want. That is lead in your decision 493 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,880 making. All right, so when you read the 494 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,480 word of God, you're not just filling your mind with Bible 495 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,920 trivia or facts. That's not doing you any good. 496 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,160 You read the word of God. So then you hear the truth of 497 00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,320 God. You can say, OK, God, help me 498 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:24,280 believe that. Help me live that. 499 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,960 God help me apply that. God help me say no to what I 500 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,760 want and yes to what you want. God help me embrace that and 501 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:35,520 order my life around that truth. So it's not good. 502 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,520 I mean, it doesn't do you any good to just have biblical facts 503 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,360 up here if you're not while reading it, asking God to engage 504 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:43,680 your heart so that your desires are guided, right? 505 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:45,360 So you're going to fill your mind with God's Word. 506 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,600 You're going to let it direct your will, and then you're going 507 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,160 to let it watch this. This is the hard one. 508 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:59,920 Transform your affections, your loves, your likes, your values, 509 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:05,560 your dreams, your goals. You say, Kyle, I don't know that 510 00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:06,920 I can change. No, you can't. 511 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:08,240 But the word of God can change you. 512 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:11,440 And let me just tell you, it's the only thing that can. 513 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:17,240 If you will let it fill your mind, if you will read it with a 514 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,120 heart saying God help me believe it and live it. 515 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,880 And if you'll say God change my desires to match yours, When you 516 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,800 explain this as exposed to my life and my mind, I guarantee 517 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:31,800 you God will change you. But you can't change yourself. 518 00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,760 Your friend can't change you, no behavioral modification can 519 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,280 change you, but the word of God will change you. 520 00:27:38,840 --> 00:27:42,240 I spoke Thursday morning to Woodland Middle's FCA group. 521 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:43,880 They got like 200 and something kids. 522 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:48,240 Some of your kids are in that group in the gym wide open on a 523 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:50,360 Thursday morning. Jason spoke the week before me, 524 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:52,480 Amazing. I walked into public school with 525 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,400 my Bible and walk in and those kids show up 200 strong to hear 526 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,520 the word of God. I preach that at first. 527 00:27:57,520 --> 00:28:00,960 John three had a young girl. Amelia, you were there, right? 528 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:06,880 I had a word of I had a little girl walk up to me after and ask 529 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,280 me this question. I'd never seen her before. 530 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:14,480 She said, Pastor Kyle, will God still love me if I embrace and 531 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:19,840 live XYZ kind of lifestyle? I looked at this young woman and 532 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,120 I said, sweetie, God will always love you and his love will never 533 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,200 change. But the question is not will God 534 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,200 love you? The question is, will you love 535 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,480 God? Will you love him enough to say, 536 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,920 God, I believe what you want from me is better than what I 537 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,000 want for me? Will you love him enough to say, 538 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:40,920 God, what I want? I believe what you want is 539 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:43,240 better. And so God, I'm going to read 540 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:44,680 your word and I'm going to trust your word. 541 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,480 Even though I got a word for the way I want to live. 542 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,120 God, you've spoken a word for how I should live, Then I'm 543 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:51,880 going to believe it's better. And so therefore God, I'm going 544 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:53,640 to say no, what I want. God, I'm going to ask you to 545 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,840 transform my desires because I'm not God. 546 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,080 If there's a real God. And so if there's a real God, 547 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:03,120 I've got to submit to him. And if he loves me, I can trust 548 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,480 him. And I got to fill my mind with 549 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,800 the truth that transforms and let it guide my life. 550 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:10,360 The question is not does God love you? 551 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,960 The question is, do you love him and do you believe him? 552 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,280 Do you believe he has the power to change your life? 553 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,480 He will if you ask him. Y'all we resist and overcome the 554 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,080 spirit of the Antichrist in the last days by remaining in the 555 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,600 Word of God. All right, if you don't abide, 556 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:32,440 let me just tell you this. If you don't abide in the Word 557 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,960 of God, you might as well be a flag flying on the pole in the 558 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,000 wind of the ideas of the world, and they will take you down. 559 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:43,000 You'll flap this way and you'll flap that way, but you'll never 560 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,520 fly God's way if you're not abiding in the Word of God. 561 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:52,000 So 4th and finally, we must abide in Christ by the Spirit 562 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,600 and the Word. If you put it all together, you 563 00:29:53,600 --> 00:29:56,560 can say we must abide in Christ by the Spirit and the Word. 564 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:58,960 This is verse 28 and 29. Listen to the Word of God. 565 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:01,920 I hadn't read this part yet. And now little children, abide 566 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,800 in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not 567 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:07,600 shrink from Him and shame It is coming. 568 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:10,400 If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that 569 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,640 everyone who practices righteousness has been born of 570 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,640 of him. We must abide in Christ by the 571 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,480 Spirit and the Word. To remain is to abide and to 572 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,520 abide is to obey. All right. 573 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,960 Now, John has already told us how to abide or remain in 574 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,800 Christ. That was verse 24. 575 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,840 By letting the word of God abide in us, all right, But now he's 576 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:33,560 telling us why that's so important. 577 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:36,840 Notice verse 28 again, the end of it so that when he appears, 578 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,000 what is the next big thing in God's plan of salvation? 579 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:42,480 What are we waiting on in the fourth quarter? 580 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,000 If I can make a four, there we go, Christ's return. 581 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,600 And guess what? You want to be found? 582 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,560 What? When Christ returns, ready. 583 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,640 Not everyone's going to be found ready so that when He appears, 584 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:59,000 we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His 585 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,720 coming. Let me just point out the 586 00:31:00,720 --> 00:31:02,120 obvious there, what John is saying. 587 00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:06,400 There are going to be genuine believers who are ashamed to 588 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,680 stand before Christ when Jesus returns. 589 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,080 I didn't make that up. That's what the Bible says right 590 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:15,440 there. John would not have brought it 591 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,160 up if it was not a possibility. So that we will not shrink back 592 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,000 in shame. You know what happens when 593 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,160 somebody knocks on your front door and you're less than decent 594 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:26,160 to answer it? I'm not going to say what less 595 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:27,720 than decent is, but you know what I'm talking about. 596 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,200 Half dressed or I told you I was going to say anyway. 597 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,280 You know what I'm talking about. And then some of you, some of 598 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:35,760 you hide. Some, you know, I'm not saying. 599 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:36,920 Some of you, I need to include myself. 600 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:38,960 Some of us hide like nobody's there. 601 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:42,040 I don't know if I've done that or not. 602 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,840 Anyway, moving on. Some of us hide like we're not 603 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,920 there. Some of us try to like do the 604 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,000 half inch open door peek so we can't see pajamas you're wearing 605 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,720 that, whatever, you know, lack thereof anyway, say I go out 606 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,440 visiting sometimes and knock on doors. 607 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,040 This is not a normal thing. You know, we got the Ring 608 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:01,480 doorbell so we don't even have to interact. 609 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,760 But anyway, praise God for those of you that have opened the 610 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,480 door, whether you're ready or not, Jesus is going to open the 611 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:08,680 door. He's going to split the eastern 612 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:11,720 sky. And what John is saying is even 613 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:16,440 as believers, we can be found ready, bold and confident to 614 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:19,880 celebrate Christ's return. Or there's a way to live as a 615 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:25,160 Christian, to not be ready and to be ashamed, shrinking back. 616 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,400 Are you ready? Are you ready? 617 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:34,560 If Jesus came back today, would you be confident celebrating His 618 00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:37,200 return? Would you have things in your 619 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,440 life that would cause you to lack confidence to stand before 620 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:45,520 Christ and shrink back? John says we can live ready by 621 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:51,160 abiding in Christ and by walking by the Spirit so that we may not 622 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:52,560 shrink back. He says this verse 20. 623 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,120 If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that 624 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:57,600 everyone who practices righteousness has been born of 625 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,040 Him. Y'all, if you print out first 626 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,760 John, all 5 chapters front and back on some 8 1/2 by 11 paper, 627 00:33:03,760 --> 00:33:05,840 and if you're reading it, if you're abiding in the Word on a 628 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:09,760 daily basis, Amen. You're going to notice John will 629 00:33:09,760 --> 00:33:13,520 keep circling back to things he said, and this is one instance 630 00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:16,880 where he just says, hey again, you can know who's genuinely 631 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,920 following Christ and who's not. It's the one who practices 632 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:22,920 righteousness. It's the one who doesn't just 633 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,920 claim to love Jesus, but the one who puts that love into practice 634 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,840 in obedience to Jesus. That's the one you can be sure 635 00:33:28,840 --> 00:33:31,640 has been born of God. It is practicing righteousness 636 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,640 and ready for ready for Christ return. 637 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,000 Y'all, we are living in the last days. 638 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:45,200 God is calling us to live in light of the hour. 639 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:48,400 He's calling you to live like it's the fourth quarter. 640 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,680 He's calling you to live like Jesus could come back at any 641 00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:54,760 moment and whether or not you'll be found ready or not and the 642 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:58,960 number one way to be found ready is to have confessed Jesus as 643 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:00,760 the Christ. If you've never confessed him as 644 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:05,160 Lord, I plead, I plead with you today, not let today go by and 645 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:09,600 wait another day UN ready for Christ's return. 646 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:11,520 I'm going to stand right here in a moment when John and praise 647 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:14,679 team come and I'd love whether you have questions or you're 648 00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:16,120 really ready or not. We're not going to embarrass 649 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:17,800 you. I'm not going to, I'm not going 650 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:19,679 to put you in front of anybody, but I would love to sit down 651 00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:21,760 with you, have someone, one of our encouragers, just walk you 652 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:23,280 through what does it mean to confess Christ? 653 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:28,080 Let me ask you this, are you abiding in the Word? 654 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:32,360 Are you abiding or let me just try to make this as simple as I 655 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:33,679 can. The two things is you as a 656 00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:35,960 genuine believer have got to do in the last days. 657 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,440 The truth of Jesus is going to come under attack and people are 658 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,159 going to abandon the church. So what do you got to do? 659 00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:44,639 You got to abide in the Word, filling your mind, surrendering 660 00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:47,080 your heart, letting it transform your desires. 661 00:34:47,760 --> 00:34:49,880 And then the second thing to do is you walk by the Spirit. 662 00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:53,400 You've been given the Teacher. The Holy Spirit dwells in you. 663 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:55,600 Is it Kyle? What does that really mean to 664 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,000 walk by the Spirit, y'all? I don't mean to oversimplify it 665 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,600 because it's so much more than this, but listen, on a daily 666 00:35:00,600 --> 00:35:05,320 basis, you know that still small voice on the inside that reminds 667 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:11,440 you and guides you and leads you, that puts on your mind and 668 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:12,480 your heart. Oh, you know what? 669 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:14,120 This is an opportunity to do good. 670 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:16,400 This is an opportunity to give glory for Jesus. 671 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,320 This is an opportunity to share my faith. 672 00:35:18,480 --> 00:35:21,600 This is an opportunity to the to love and expect nothing in 673 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,160 return. This is a chance to go out of my 674 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:24,480 way to love my neighbor as myself. 675 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:26,600 Y'all, that's not you, that's the Holy Spirit. 676 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,720 The only one was to lead you to live your life in a way that 677 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,920 honors Jesus and he's not going to shout at you. 678 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:36,840 I've never heard his voice audibly praise God if you have, 679 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:38,720 but I know that's still small voice. 680 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:41,880 But you know what? The more you say no or ignore 681 00:35:41,880 --> 00:35:43,960 that voice, the harder it gets to hear. 682 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:50,080 And so maybe it's a day you say Holy Spirit. 683 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:54,160 I don't know that I have. I don't know that I followed 684 00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:59,720 your lead in a while. Dumb God, would you re sensitize 685 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:02,720 me to your voice? God, I want to abide in Your 686 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,520 word. Maybe you need to make an 687 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:08,960 adjustment for living in the last days, and I want to invite 688 00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:10,960 you to make that adjustment. Whether it's here, treat these 689 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:13,440 steps as an altar. You come as the Lord leads. 690 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:15,040 We're going to sing about the goodness of God. 691 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:18,440 God's arms are open wide to you. God's love for you hasn't 692 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:20,880 changed. What He wants is your love in 693 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,320 return, your life in return, because he's got a plan that's 694 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:25,920 better than your plan if you'll let him give it to you. 695 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:29,280 Heavenly Father, I pray that as we respond to you today that you 696 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:31,200 would have your way in US in Jesus name, Amen. 697 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,320 Would you stand? I'm going to stand here You come 698 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,920 as we worship you. Respond as the Lord leads this 699 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:37,240 morning.