Living in the Last Hour
1 John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome & Opening Prayer
Welcome & Opening Prayer
Turn to 1 John CH. 2 V. 18
Thank Youth Rally volunteers & Kevin—heading up
—Open in Prayer—
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I. Introduction: The Gospel in a Pluralistic Culture
I. Introduction: The Gospel in a Pluralistic Culture
Opening, The Challenge:
ONE of the GREAT CHALLENGES for CHRISTIANS in the MODERN ERA— is the CONTROVERSIAL NATURE of EXCLUSIVE TRUTH-CLAIMS
IF CHRISTIANITY is TRUE—EVERY OTHER RELIGION is FALSE.
AMERICAN CULTURE—VALUES TOLERANCE— CHIEF VIRTUE.
EVERYONE CAN HAVE THEIR OWN TRUTH
**UNTIL YOUR TRUTH DOESN’T TOLERATE THEIRS’
✨Focus: CHRISTIAN FAITH— JESUS is THE WAY, TRUTH, LIFE…
COEXIST STICKERS DON’T FIX THIS.
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CHRISTIANS SEEN as INTOLERANT…BIGOTS…ETC.
Exhort: CONTROVERSIAL NATURE of CHRISTIANITY ISN’T NEW.
Background: ROMAN SYNCRETISM
ADDED CONQUERED PEOPLES (gods) to THEIR ECHELON
CHRISTIANS WEREN’T WILLING to FIT in ALONGSIDE the REST...
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Transition: TODAY’S TEXT— APOSTLE JOHN: ENCOURAGE US ALONG THESE LINES
PRAY it STRENGTHENS YOU in RESOLVE to STAND FIRM for CHRIST
READ PASSAGE:
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II. Passage Reading
II. Passage Reading
1 John 2:18–27 (ESV)
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
Declaration: This is God’s Word for us this morning...
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III. Context Recap: Right-Directed Love
III. Context Recap: Right-Directed Love
JOHN WRITES: RIGHT BELIEF & RIGHT LIVING
Recent Weeks:
John’s Focus: RIGHT LIVING
LIGHT & DARK
LOVE BROTHER
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Last Wk:
ENCOURAGED CHURCH—ASSURANCE
DIFFERENT STAGES of SPIRITUAL MATURITY (CHILDREN, YOUNG MEN, FATHERS)
Message: LOVE GOD— NOT the WORLD
((MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE))
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Transition:: AFTER ADDRESSING RIGHT LIVING— JOHN WILL TURN NOW to RIGHT BELIEF
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 18...
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IV. Passage Exposition: 1 Jn. 2:18-27
IV. Passage Exposition: 1 Jn. 2:18-27
A. Setting: The Last Hour & Coming of Antichrists (v18-19)
A. Setting: The Last Hour & Coming of Antichrists (v18-19)
A.1 The Last Hour (v18)
A.1 The Last Hour (v18)
1 John 2:18 (ESV)
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
ENDEARING ADDRESS: “CHILDREN”
✨Focus: IT’S the LAST HOUR
Language Background: ESCHATOLOGY— STUDY of “LAST THINGS”...
ESCHATOS (GK) UNDERLYING “LAST” HERE
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(Pondering) ARE WE LIVING in the END TIMES?🤔
YUP—HAVE BEEN SINCE CHRIST’S ASCENSION in the 1ST CENTURY
Reason: ANTICHRIST is COMING & MANY ANTICHRISTS HAVE COME.
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👀 Aside: JOHN DOESN’T WRITE ABOUT “THE ANTICHRIST”
Scriptural Support: End-Time Antagonist DOES EXIST
LITTLE HORN—KING of FIERCE COUNTENANCE— in DANIEL’S VISION (CH. 7)
FALSE CHRISTS— JESUS WARNED
PAUL DESCRIBES: “MAN of SIN/LAWLESSNESS (2 THESS. 2)
REVELATION FORESEES BEAST COMING (REV. 13)
Fascinating: JOHN NEVER SHARES “THE ANTICHRIST”
Focus: JOHN’S CONCERN = SPIRIT THAT REJECTS JESUS—EVEN in PRESENT…
GK Lexical Support:
ADVERSARY of MESSIAH (bdag)
ONE OPPOSED to CHRIST (Louw-Nida)
Quote, LBD: “For John, those who had receive the truth yet teach false doctrine concerning Jesus are antichrists”
Exhort: DON’T HAVE to SCOUR HEADLINES—
THE END HAS BEEN DRAWING NEAR for THOUSANDS of YEARS—
— PRESENCE of ANTICHRISTS HAS BEEN HERE
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Transition: JOHN WILL SHOW US WHO HE’S TALKING ABOUT
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 19...
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A.2 Departure of the Antichrists (v19)
A.2 Departure of the Antichrists (v19)
1 John 2:19 (ESV)
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Background: John = WRITING to ADDRESS FALSE TEACHERS
**NOW COMES INTO FOCUS**
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JOHN’S CHURCH COMMUNITY SPLIT—SOME LEFT— THEY WERE TEACHING ERRANT THINGS to JOHN’S PEOPLE.
The Reason: THEY LEFT—BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T ACTUALLY “OF US”
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Sobering Reality: HARSH REMINDER— COMING to CHURCH ISN’T the SAME as COMING to CHRIST… 😬
**Disclaimer** YOU SHOULD COME to CHURCH
Self-Examination:
BUT STARTING to GO to CHURCH DOESN’T SAVE YOU.
BEING RAISED in CHURCH DOESN’T SAVE YOU.
BEING “IN CHRIST” SAVES YOU.💥
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Gospel Invitation: IN CHURCH or IN CHRIST?
Gospel Invitation: IN CHURCH or IN CHRIST?
JOHN POINTS OUT—THEY LEFT & THEY ULTIMATELY NEVER BELONGED…
Scriptural Support: Parable of the Tares/Weeds (Matt. Ch. 13: 24-30) 📜
MAN SOWED GOOD SEED in FIELD
ENEMY SOWED TARES/WEEDS SIMILAR to WHEAT
WHEAT & WEEDS BOTH GREW UP
SERVANTS ASKED—SHOULD WE UPROOT WEEDS?
Answer: NO—YOU MIGHT UPROOT WHEAT TOO...
Man Concludes:
Matthew 13:30 (ESV)
30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
WORLD—CHURCH—EVERYWHERE MIGHT BE SOME WHO LOOK LIKE WHEAT...
BUT WE’RE EITHER WHEAT or WEEDS
IN CHRIST… OR IN ADAM
CHILDREN of GOD— CHILDREN of EVIL ONE
WE’RE EITHER FOR CHRIST … OR WE’RE AGAINST HIM...
💥NO MIDDLE GROUND—GRAY AREAS—OR FENCES...
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Invitation: WHAT ABOUT YOU FRIEND?
HAVE YOU COME to CHRIST?
PUT YOUR TRUST in Him?
BEEN BORN-AGAIN?
I’M GLAD YOU’RE in CHURCH—BUT YOU NEED to BE IN CHRIST.
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JOHN CONCLUDED—THEY LEFT BECAUSE THEY NEVER BELONGED
THEY DIDN’T “LOSE THEIR SALVATION” THEY WERE NEVER TRULY a PART.
THEY REJECTED JESUS—THEY WERE ANTICHRIST...
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Transition: HARSH CLAIM—NOW JOHN OFFERS REASSURANCE to HIS READERS…
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 20-21
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B. Defining & Qualifying Antichrist (v20-23)
B. Defining & Qualifying Antichrist (v20-23)
B.1 Possessing the Anointing (v20-21)
B.1 Possessing the Anointing (v20-21)
1 John 2:20–21 (ESV)
20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
SOME LEAVING COMMUNITY MIGHT SHAKE FAITH of THOSE REMAINING...
AGAIN—JOHN OFFERS REASSURANCE
READERS HAVE ANOINTING & ALL KNOWLEDGE
Anointing Background:
OT REALITY W/ OIL
SPECIAL CONSECRATION for SERVICE—SAMUEL ANOINTED KINGS of ISRAEL
✨New Testament: BELIEVER = ANOINTED/SET APART W/ HOLY SPIRIT— ANOINTED BY “HOLY ONE (SPIRIT)” (V20)
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HOLY SPIRIT = BLESSING of NEW COVENANT
👉 Exhort: ALL BELIEVERS HAVE HOLY SPIRIT
Scriptural Support:
Romans 8:9 (ESV)
9b Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
HOLY SPIRIT = DOWN-PAYMENT, GUARANTEE of BELIEVER’S FUTURE INHERITANCE (EPH. 1:14; 2 COR. 1:22)...
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Last Wk: REASSURANCE to CHILDREN, YOUNG MEN, FATHERS
THIS Wk: YOU KNOW the TRUTH— YOU HAVE HOLY SPIRIT—
AGAIN: JOHN BELIEVES in ASSURANCE of SALVATION
1 John 5:13 (ESV)
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
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Transition: NO LIE = of the TRUTH
LIES DO EXIST...
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 22-23
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B.2 Liar = Christ Denier (v22-23)
B.2 Liar = Christ Denier (v22-23)
1 John 2:22–23 (ESV)
22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
Liar Defined: REJECTING JESUS as CHRIST.
????
Pondering: ISN’T CHRIST JUST JESUS’ LAST NAME? 🤔
ORIGINALLY—NO.
***SEE P.P. SLIDE***
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Definition: CHRIST = MESSIAH, ANOINTED ONE—
LONG-AWAITED DELIVERER/SAVIOR of GOD’S PEOPLE.
MESSIAH = TRANSLITERATION of HB. MASHIYAK
CHRIST = TRANSLITERATION of GK. CHRISTOS
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Translation = SAME MEANING... DIFFERENT SOUND
Transliteration = SAME MEANING… SAME SOUND.
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Conclusion:
ENGLISH MESSIAH/CHRIST has SAME MEANING💡
JESUS CHRIST = JESUS the MESSIAH
—LONG-AWAITED DELIVERER/SAVIOR “the ANOINTED ONE”
📜 New Testament Opens:
Luke 2:11 (ESV)
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Meaning: THE MESSIAH is HERE!!🙌
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✨Back to John: LIAR = THOSE WHO DENY JESUS is the CHRIST!
DENYING CHRIST = DENYING the FATHER
🤯 NEW TESTAMENT: MESSIAH ISN’T JUST SENT on GOD’S BEHALF—BUT GOD-INCARNATE!🤯
CAN’T HAVE GOD WITHOUT JESUS CHRIST.
Connection: POPULAR IDEA,.... ALL RELIGIONS LEAD to GOD = FRANKLY FALSE.
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John 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Illustration: TRAVELING 🚗
EVER TRAVEL… G.P.S. TAKING YOU DIFFERENT WAYS??
Testimony: GETTING to LBC—NO IDEA— DIFFERENT EVERY TIME.
CHARLES FREY ACADEMIC CENTER… “CFAC” = ON BLUE-GRASS ROAD.... NO OTHER WAY.
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PEOPLE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT TESTIMONIES:
RAISED in CHURCH
RAISED OUT of CHURCH—PRACTICED OTHER RELIGIONS
MET JESUS as KID
MET JESUS as ADULT
Conclusion: PEOPLES’ JOURNEY/PATHWAY to FAITH MIGHT BE UNIQUE...
— BUT the FINAL DESTINATION MUST BE THROUGH JESUS.
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Exhort: HE is the WAY…
NO ONE-COMES to the FATHER APART from HIM.
HE’S EITHER “THE TRUTH” or “A LIAR”
HE’S EITHER “THE WAY” or HE’S LEADING ASTRAY
Believe in God & Not Jesus?? NOT RIGHT god....
2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
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AGAIN—WE’RE EITHER in CHRIST… OR in ADAM
WE’RE EITHER FOR HIM—OR AGAINST HIM…
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Transition: WITH THIS in MIND— APOSTLE WILL CALL the CHURCH to FAITHFUL STEADFASTNESS…
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 24-25
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C. A Call to Steadfastness and a Sure Promise (v24-25)
C. A Call to Steadfastness and a Sure Promise (v24-25)
1 John 2:24–25 (ESV)
24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
JOHN CALLS—ABIDE in SAME TRUTH
GOSPEL DOESN’T CHANGE
JESUS DOESN’T CHANGE.
Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
NO LATEST—GREATEST—EDITION/MODEL.
Exhort: JESUS is UN-IMPROVABLE… YOU CAN’T IMPROVE PERFECTION!
A PERFECT SAVIOR DOESN’T EVER NEED an UPDATE!
ABIDING in TRUTH = ABIDING in SON & FATHER
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The Promise: ALL WHO ABIDE in HIM—HAVE PROMISED ETERNAL LIFE
CHRIST PAID for OUR SINS…
1 John 2:2 (ESV)
2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
SO WE CAN BE RECONCILED to GOD…
Romans 5:1 (ESV)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
THIS = ASSURANCE WE CAN HAVE & MUST CLING TO...
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Transition: JOHN WILL CLOSE THIS PASSAGE…
LOOK W/ ME @ VS. 26-27
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D. Conclusion: Avoiding False Teachers & Abiding in Christ (v26-27)
D. Conclusion: Avoiding False Teachers & Abiding in Christ (v26-27)
1 John 2:26–27 (ESV)
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
John’s Motivation: WRITING to ADDRESS the DECEIVERS
Combating Deception: ANOINTING/HOLY SPIRIT
NO NEED for TEACHING
Pondering: MEAN NO TEACHING… AT ALL? —
EVERY SUNDAY = WRONG??
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SEEMS JOHN’S CONCERN—THOSE GOING BEYOND the GOSPEL…
“SECRET KNOWLEDGE” PROTO—GNOSTICISM
GOING BEYOND JESUS
Scriptural Support: Teaching = Biblical
Pastor-Teachers = DESCRIBED as GIFT of CHRIST to HIS CHURCH in EPHESIANS 4....
Apostle Paul’s Parting Words to Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV)
2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
PETER DESCRIBES “SPEAKING/TEACHING” as a GIFT from GOD (1 PET.4:11
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MANY DEPTHS in GOD’S WORD to PLUMB—
— BUT IT DOESN’T GO BEYOND JESUS.
BELIEVER HAS HOLY SPIRIT— WHO BEARS WITNESS to CHRIST!
John 15:26 (ESV)
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
PART of SAME GODHEAD—MAKES SENSE!
“SPIRIT of JESUS CHRIST”
JOHN’S CALL: ABIDE in HIM— JESUS CHRIST— STAY STEADFAST.
Passage Idea:
Passage Idea:
We must remain steadfast in our allegiance to Christ no matter the opposition.
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V. Application: Christ alone—Abide in Him
V. Application: Christ alone—Abide in Him
🫡 Today’s Passage = CALL to STEADFASTNESS— NO WAY AROUND IT.
HOSTILE WORLD
SPIRITUAL ADVERSARY—god of THIS WORLD...
TRY to PULL US AWAY from PURE DEVOTION to CHRIST
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WILL WE REMAIN STEADFAST?
WORLD SAYS — GET ALONG— ALL RELIGIONS LEAD to SAME GOD
Biblical Truth: ALL OTHER RELIGIONS LEAD to HELL.
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TRUTH = WORTH DIVIDING OVER
THERE’S ONE WAY—HIS NAME is JESUS & HE DOESN’T CHANGE.
Conclusion:
Call: In a PLURALISTIC SOCIETY— EXCLUSIVITY IS UNPOPULAR—
— WILL WE REMAIN TRUE to the ONE WHO is the TRUTH?
WE MUST ABIDE in HIM....
Close in Prayer
