Sermon Tone Analysis

God’s heart

Look at John starts verse 18

Children look at the heart of God for His people.

The term children, John is not talking down to the church, no he is showing us a heart of compassion.

Is is about to give us instructions.

He is about to give us biblical truth from the Father that God with a heart of love and compassion desperately wants us to follow.

God wants the best for you no matter what your circumstances are.

We see what God ultimately wants for all His children in verse 25

God is giving this church instructions, why?

Verse 26

God is having John write to this church because people are trying to deceive them.

John is showing them love and affection like a father.

I can speak from a father’s heart that I want my children to listen and obey The Word of God because I know the stakes are high.

What is the reward for following Jesus.... eternal life.

Do you think this is still relevant for the church today?

Are people still trying to deceive the church?

More on that later.

Let’s talk about....

The Last Hour

What does John mean it is the last hour?

The short answer is we have entered the last stage of history.

John is not being literal here.

This does not mean the Bible has an error.

I want to share Ken Ham’s view on history from our Sunday School Class:

Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation.

The 7 C’s of History are a memorable way of showing that the Bible is a history book and its events connect with real history.

This framework helps us understand fossils, rock layers, people groups, and more.

So we are waiting on the final C of history.

After the final C this Earth will pass away and God will what?

Are you looking forward to this day?

When this earth will pass away and God will create a new heaven and a new earth.

What else has God promised at the Confirmation?

I know I quote it a-lot, I hope no one here is getting tired of hearing it, but with this life of pain and suffering this is what I want my heart focused on...

How do you know that it is the last hour?

The antichrist is coming and many antichrists have come.

As I read the passage, it looks like the church John is writing too, has heard that the antichrist is coming.

That is the the antichrist that will appear at the end times.

Listen to Paul discribe the antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:3

and in verses 8 -10 of 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10

Do you see the struggle we have been talking about all through out 1 John and really through out all of scripture and we still see it in our world today.

The battle between truth and lies; good and evil; Go and Satan; right?

Ever since the garden of eden, where Adam and Eve began by only knowing truth and the serpent was able to deceive Eve into disobeying God how?

By getting her to believe lies.

And ever since that day in the garden there has been an eternal struggle between truth and lies.

The hardest part about being a pastor or even just being a believer, is seeing people who are blinded by the ruler of this world destroying the lives believing the lies of Satan.

Do you know someone like that?

We all probably know a lot of people blinded by the evil one destroying their lives.

Are we susceptible to the enemy’s lies?

Listen to what Jesus says about antichrists in general.

This passage is scary, it warns the believe to be on guard and not be lead a stray.

That is why it is so important to be in the Word and in prayer.

So let’s look a little closer at this concept of antichrist.

My Bible dictionary defines antichrist like this:

ANTICHRIST (ἀντίχριστος, antichristos).

A figure empowered by Satan who functions as an enemy of Jesus Christ and the Church.

In the context of apocalyptic literature, this figure performs false miracles, deceives many in order to discourage people from worshiping the true God, and persecutes God’s people.

The term “antichrist” could mean either “against Christ” or “in place of Christ.”

While the actual term “antichrist,” which originates in the New Testament, appears infrequently in Scripture, the concept of the antichrist appears numerous times in the New Testament.

Because the broader concept appears more often than the specific term, multiple perspectives have been presented on “antichrist,” leading to the understanding that the better phrase used to discuss the issue may be “eschatological antagonist.”

So in scripture we have passages that speak of a specific antichrist that will appear during the end times.

But the term is also used more generally.

Look at verse 22 of our passage.

Let’s look at how Jesus puts it,

So the truth is pretty simple, either you are on the side of truth or you are against it.

You can’t be in the middle.

You can’t believe what you believe and I believe what I believe and it doesn’t matter.

Either you are for the truth or you are against it.

It is that plain and simple.

Look at verse 21

How high are the stakes in the battle for truth?

The stakes are very high arn’t they?

Listen to Jesus in Matthew 13

The stakes do not get any higher do they.

This is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Heaven or hell.

Listen to Jesus in Matthew 22:11-14

I have often wondered how the heart of God handles so many of His children refusing to embrace the truth and setting their course for eternal damnation.

There are times I look around at all the people who are on a course for destruction and I feel overwhelmed, There are so many people who have no time for God or the things of God.

I have begged people to believe the truth.

But they continue stumbling in the darkness completely unaware of the end that is in store.

I don’t know if they are in complete denial or if deep down they know the truth and just choose to ignore it.

Believing the lie that they have plenty of time to get their lives right later.

I believe that lie in college.

I knew the life I was living was wrong, and I remember telling myself that I have plenty of time to turn things around later.

What a lie!

I had a friend in college that was drinking and died in his sleep and he very well could be in hell, I don’t know but that could have been me.

There are a lot of people that believe the lie they have lots of time to get right with God later, or the other lie people believe is that I have sinned too much and God could never forgive me.

And if you were unable to make it Friday night you can borrow the churches DVD of Sabina.

What a powerful picture of the love of Christ and His forgiveness.

I won’t ruin the movie, if you don’t know what I am talking bout watch the movie!

Another example is the apostle Paul also know as Saul.

Is any one beyond the grace of God? Look at Saul, also known as Paul, He killed Christians and persecuted the early church.

Why?

Because Paul didn’t believe in Jesus.

Now Paul thought that he knew the Father so the entire time he though that he was serving God but remember what Jesus said

He who does not have the Son does not have the Father.

You can’t believe in the Father without believing in Jesus right?

Jesus said, I am way the truth and the life know one comes to the Father except by me.”

John 14 verse 6.

So is anyone to far gone as a sinner to receive the grace of God.