The Next Awakening Part 5
The Next Awakening • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Today we continue our series from 1 John titled The Next Awakening. Last week we have the privilege of celebrating the baptism of 9 individuals. Baptism is an outward expression of our inward commitment to Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Each of the Spiritual awakenings that have been recorded all speak of external signs of what is ultimately an internal change. God changes our heart and from that flow external signs. Matthew 12 says this:
33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
What kind of fruit are we producing? What kind of tree are we? Can other recognize us as such? One of the primary ways the condition of our heart can be measured is by what comes out of our mouth.
During the first great awakening, all kinds of crazy things were happening. People were collapsing, moaning, groaning, yelling out and that’s all while the preacher preached. Some looked at these signs and had concerns about whether this was a move of God or something else.
Jonathan Edwards struggled with these outward acts and sought to grasp whether what he was seeing was God or something else. He concluded that if these 5 things were present that there indeed was a true move of God, Revival was happening:
When esteem for the true Jesus is raised
When Satan’s kingdom is attacked (sin and worldly lusts)
When people come to love Scripture more
When men are led away from falsehood to truth (sound doctrine)
When there is an increase of love to God and man
As we are reading through 1 John, we are seeing where God’s Word encourages us in each of these 5 areas. In our passage from 1 John 2 this week, we are going to read about how important truth is. Before we read our passage for this week, I’m going to go back a few verses as a recap of our last message from this book:
12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.
16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
We ended this passage 2 weeks ago with the definition of the will of God from Romans 12:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We find the will of God by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Once we’ve been transformed, we can then test and know what God’s good and pleasing and perfect will is for us. This will become important in our passage for today…we’ll read it through once and then go back through it...
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.
21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
When Jonathan Edwards wrote about the signs of true revival, he was writing from the same perspective of the apostle John who wrote this letter. The church at large was grappling with a group within that sought to divide the church. There was confusion and division and the sincere followers of Christ needed some advice on how to discern and follow God as He designed. Let’s go back to verse 18:
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
The antichrist is coming, but there are many antichrists out there…even now. Jesus predicted this in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 when he warned his followers to not let anyone deceive them. That there would be many claiming to be the Messiah. Not just one, but many.
Many indeed have come and they go on to lead what we would call a cult. Here are some characteristics of cults:
The group uses manipulative psychological “mind control” to recruit and control members.
The group claims to be a Christian group but teaches something that is not primarily a Christian belief.
They do not accept the Bible as the only Word of God. Instead, they add writings from their founder to the Bible.
They deny that Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God.
John is warning about the same thing that Jesus warned about. Jonathan Edwards was concerned about this during the first great awakening as well. It is something to on guard about. This is why we need to test, as Romans 12 tells us, the Spirit to see what God’s will is. We need our minds transformed by the word.
Let’s keep reading
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.
Here their defense as believers - they have an anointing from Jesus and they all know the truth. John is writing to members of the church who have a good foundation in their faith. They know Jesus, they’ve had an encounter with Him and have received an anointing. If that describes you, then John is talking to you as well. John letter is not to tell them the truth, it is to encourage and warn them about lies that may be told. He wants them to be on guard. John continues
22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
This is pretty plain and direct here. Anyone who claims to be a believer and denies Jesus as the Messiah is a liar. John labels them an antichrist. You can’t deny the Son - Jesus - and have the Father. That is what was happening. That is what is happening now. There are dozens of people who claim to be the messiah. There are many other organizations that look like their Christian, but they have very un-Christian motives and beliefs. These people and organizations have followers all over and these followers are being deceived. This is John’s concern here. He not writing to convince the world of Jesus, he is writing to warn the Christians about those who would come to deceive.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.
Here is John’s admonition: Make sure you keep the truth in you. Keep guard from being deceived. Remain in the Son and therefore in the Father.
26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.
Don’t be fooled. There are those trying to lead God’s people astray. I think it happens way more often than we’d like to admit. John is warning us. Jesus warned us.
My heart breaks every time I see another pastor renouncing his faith or another prominent worship leader says they don’t believe. Make no mistake, it can happen to any one of us if we are not aware of what comes against us. Here is John’s final admonition in this portion of his letter to the church:
27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
This anointing from God is in each one of us who belongs to Jesus. As long as we have that anointing in us, we don’t need a man or woman to teach us. I want to be careful here. This is not saying don’t be taught by a person, instead, our teaching should first come from the Holy Spirit who is our anointing. Even as I speak to you this morning, I’ve prayed that Holy Spirit would speak through me to you. And that the Holy Spirit in you would quicken something that is said to your spirit. While physically I speak, and physically you hear, it is the Holy Spirit within me and you that reveals the truth.
If we don’t include, acknowledge and specifically invite the Holy Spirit into these teaching moments, we run the risk of being taught by man. And since all men are fallible, we run the risk of being lied to if we trust man for our teaching.
The truth should teach us to remain in him - Jesus. How we make decisions should be influenced by Jesus. How we relate to one another should be influenced by Jesus. How we view the world and the events in the world should be influenced by Jesus.
This is the only way we will not be deceived. If we remain in Him.