Our sermon is from 1 John 2, 24 to 28. The title of the sermon is Remain in Christ, Relying on His Word and Spirit Until He Appears. And it's about us living out our union with Christ. As we return to the book of 1 John, let's remember why the apostle is writing to churches in the area known today as Western Turkey. They've been going through troublesome times because of the deceptions and departures of false teachers. Divine doctrine about Christ, once held firmly, is not so clear all of a sudden. The clear consciences of church members on matters of sin and righteousness are weakening. The warmth of brotherly love among members is cooling. But God now sends his spirit-breathed word by the pen and ink of the apostle John to fan into flame the flickering lampstands of these churches. Let's continue to see how John ministers to this storm-tossed collection of churches, reading from verse 17 to 28 in chapter two. The Word of the Lord. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it's the last hour, and as you've heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come, therefore we know that it's the last hour. 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. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 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. Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 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. And this is the promise that he made to us, eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you've received from him abides in you and you do not need anyone to 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. And now, little children, abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. Let's pray once more before the sermon. Let's pray together. Father, we pray that you would bless the hearing and the preaching of the word of God that you gave through your Apostle John so many years ago, but that is just as fresh and relevant and powerful today. and grant us faithfulness to apply it and obey it. Please attend us with your spirit, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. A recent study says that about 70% of high school students who enter college as professing Christians will graduate with little to no faith. The study predicts that by the time church-raised young people are 29, 80% of them will be disconnected from the church. The sample size was about 1,500 people in California in 2018. As for us, here at Grace Baptist, summer is approaching. And many of our children are planning to be in new grades next year, or new schools, or starting college, or starting new jobs, or becoming newlyweds, or becoming new parents. Or perhaps you're not facing anything new this summer, but you're grappling with the relentless pressure of struggles and trials that never seem to let up. Whether you're facing new situations or old troubles, one thing is sure, what you believe and how deeply you rely on what you believe will be tested. Perhaps your heart will be besieged by distractions or the pain of unforeseen trouble or troubling questions. Perhaps you'll become confused about truths that were once clear to you. Or perhaps you'll witness those you once called Christian brother or sister become strangers to God and friends of the world. In this passage, John the Apostle strikes a note of urgency with his first readers and with us. He declares that we are living in the last hour and a dark hour. where many deceivers have gone out into the world. John exhorts us that of all the things we might do in this time, we must not depart from God's word. Rather, we must stick closely to Christ. We'll consider three reasons for this message, which is remain in Christ. First, you have every reason rightfully to remain in Christ. Second, you have every resource needful to remain in Christ. And third, you have every responsibility urgently to remain in Christ. First, you have every reason rightfully to remain in Christ. In this passage, John is helping us a deal with moments you will face as you step out into the world when people challenge the truth you've believed. People might ask you things like, how do you know that Christianity is the only way? Or they might say, aren't there many ways to God? When you hear such questions and statements, you already know if you've observed anything, that there's nothing more offensive to those who love the world than the truth that Jesus is the only way to God. So the person's boxing gloves are already on when they ask you this question. You can almost feel the room fill with tension as if sparks were flying near a barrel of gunpowder. And often in these moments, our reflex is to want to craft an answer that will keep things smooth with the other person. We scratch our heads trying to remember some great quote or logically impressive statement. But this is often our first mistake in situations like this. Namely, when we allow the pressure of the situation to shape our response and set the tone of our hearts. So, in moments where the truth is being challenged, what is more important than giving a quick and good response to people? There is absolutely a right place for defending the faith, but in moments like these, there is something more important than managing the situation or responding. First, you must prepare your mind to accept that Jesus will be offensive to the lovers of the world. And then, you must set your heart on worshiping God for the living, loving, and lasting union you have with God. Now, does that sound strange that in these tense situations, I'm telling you to put your heart in a mode of worship instead of worrying about the other person and responding? That there's something more important than giving a quick answer to someone who's challenging your faith? Yes. Look at what John says in verses 23 and 24. In those verses, John is pulling back the curtain and showing you a spiritual reality that you must live in awareness of. What is that reality? It's the reality of your position in God, and it's the priority of heart that should flow from your position in God. Look at what verse 23 says about your position in God. It says, No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Notice the reality that John is unveiling about your position in God. You have God, verse 23 says. The person challenging you, challenging the truth you believe, does not have God or know God. There's a difference in position. So don't let people throw you off. A dog you hear barking in an alley cannot harm you when you're safe at home in bed. Beware. Be aware of the reality that you enjoy in God in these moments. Also verse 24, look at what verse 24 says then about the priority that should flow from your heart given this position. It says, verse 24, let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, here it is, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. So John's pulling back the curtain and revealing the reality that the Father is holding you in his hands in moments when the truth is challenged. So the council in verse 24, is abide in him, take hold of the one who's holding you as you're in a world hostile to Jesus. Don't stammer or squirm because of the situation or circumstance. When you hear people challenging the truth, don't first set your lips to answering, but set your heart to worshiping and abiding. Set your heart to rest in the amazing reality that God has given himself to you and has taken you to be his. Is it surprising to hear that in tense times when the truth is challenged, you should be setting your heart to worship? Well, Peter makes the same point in 1 Peter 3.15. But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy. Always being ready to give a response to those who ask you for a reason for the hope that is in you. He says, how do you ready your hearts? Worship. Honor Christ the Lord in your hearts as holy. So, believing, brother or sister, Christian brother or sister, the first matter to address is not how you're answering about Christ, in a hostile world, but how you're abiding in Christ. Set your heart in calm, collected reliance on the reality that God has taken your guilt, your dirt, your stains, and has given you his son, his righteousness, and his family name in adoption. Make sure you're relying on God before you start replying about God. Let the reality of your position in Christ set your heart priority of remaining in Christ, as verse 24 says. So what does remain in Christ mean? And why is it so important? Well, we see in verse 24 here, what is arguably John's most important concern in the whole letter surfacing now. He's concerned, verse 24 says, that you too will abide or remain in the Son and in the Father. What does remaining in Jesus mean? It means living actively in the fellowship you have with him. As verse 23 says, you have union with God. You are in the Father and in the Son, verse 23. And your union with God is permanent and unchanging. Where do changes happen? Changes happen in our spiritual health. As we go through the triumphs and the trials of life, we are changing. So a believer's communion with God might go through highs and lows and ebbs and flows. So John's counsel to us is that we remain in Jesus faithfully, taking hold of him even as he holds us. Do you remember the picture Jesus gives in John 15 of the union we have with God? Jesus says, I am the vine, and you are the branches. Do you remember that? He's talking about our living, loving, lasting union with God. But Jesus goes on to explain that the Father is the gardener who constantly works on us to keep us in spiritual health, just as a gardener cleans and prunes and cultivates the branches of a vine. to keep it healthy and fruitful. So why is it important to remain in Jesus? Because he is your health. Plain and simple. Jesus is your health. There are certain plants and trees that can only grow in one place in the world. If you take them somewhere else, they will die and wither immediately. Likewise, if the Father has brought you into his Son, then only in Jesus can you thrive spiritually. If you are a Christian who neglects regular, sincere, honest communion with Christ, reading his word with the intent to practice it, confessing your sin to him, honest dealings with him in prayer, then you should not wonder why you feel weak spiritually. You can only remain spiritually healthy and bear fruit by sticking close to Christ. So what does bearing fruit even look like? It's following Jesus in community, in a life fueled by his worship, a life focused on his words, and a life pursuing his works. And one way that God keeps us fruitful is by sending his apostles to write letters to churches and then having people read it and preach it, and to keep each other accountable to practice it, which is what we're doing right now. So, believing brothers and sisters, you have every reason rightfully to remain in Christ. Why? First, because he is your health. He is your health, but also because he's your home. He's where you belong. You might know of companies like, well I'm not going to name the name of the company, but DNA testing companies out there who will happily take $99 from you so that you can spit in a test tube and mail it in and they'll show you a map of the world in every country that your ancestry is from. How do these companies stay in business? They're capitalizing on people's longing today for a sense of identity and belonging. They know people will pay. to know where on a map they're allegedly from. Don't ask me how I know so much about this. But as for you, believer in Christ, as for you, Jesus says, you belong to me. I am your household. I'm your way home and I am your home, Jesus says to you. If anyone loves me, Jesus said in John 16, My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and get this, and make our home with him. That's what Jesus says to you, believer. He's your home. Think about what Jesus said in John 14, that he's preparing a place for us in heaven. Why is he even preparing a place for us in heaven? Because he wants you to be where he is, because he's your home. This is Jesus' desire expressed in John 17 when he prayed, Father, I desire that they whom you have given me may be with me where I am. Hasn't this been God's desire throughout the ages? Consider the prophecy Ezekiel announced. God says, I will set my sanctuary in your midst forever. My dwelling place shall be with you, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Why do you have every reason rightfully to remain in Christ? Because he's your home. Jesus is where you belong. This is connected to verse 25 in our passage. It reads, And this is the promise that he made to us, eternal life. Remember, eternal life doesn't just mean being kept alive for eternity, or merely having a pulse that never stops. In 1 John and in the Gospel of John, eternal life is not just about quantity, a never-ending calendar where life just keeps going on and on. Eternal life is about quality, a fullness and a satisfaction of life. Real life, a life to be lived. Eternal life is God causing us to share in the overflowing joy and love and fellowship in the Trinity. So eternal life is knowing God as Father. Eternal life is knowing Christ as the one who lovingly took the wrath arson deserved, clothed us with his righteousness, and stands interceding with God as our priestly advocate forever. And eternal life is knowing the Spirit as our helper and our comforter. So brothers and sisters, If you're storm-tossed by inward trials and outward challenges, see to it that your heart is at rest, remaining in Christ. Ask God to fill your heart with the amazement that he has joined you to himself in a living, loving, and lasting union through faith. That's the first thing to get straight when you step out into the world, young church-raised believers. And all of us. And for those of us who are grandparents or parents to remind our young people of. Yes, it's important to give a response. But before you set your lips to answering, set your heart to abiding. Because he's your health and because he's your home. Well, secondly, Why else should we remain in Christ? Secondly, you have every resource needful to remain in him. So we're talking about the problem of church-raised young people disengaging from their churches after high school or college. The challenges of our young people indeed are daunting. We can almost picture them in the world as those swimming against the flow of a river whose current rushes against God's truth in its ideas and its beliefs and its lifestyles. We don't want our children or grandchildren to be swept along. But we must also remember that no church-raised young person who drifts from God has any excuse for doing so. Why? Because God gives his people every resource needful for remaining in Christ. We'll consider two such resources, the hearing of the apostolic word and the help of the anointing spirit. First, you have the hearing of the apostolic word, the word Jesus gave to his disciples to deliver to us. What makes us so anxious when responding to people who challenge our faith? It could be because we're afraid that people will no longer approve of us. Or it could be that we are simply becoming more at home in the world. And indeed, the powerful temptation of the world is to make you feel at home, little by little, with its ideas, with its beliefs, and with its lifestyles. Have you ever stepped into someone's house for the first time and been overwhelmed by the smell of I don't know, spices or old cooking smell or cosmetic products that the family apparently uses a lot so that it's absorbed into the house. Don't worry, I'm not talking about any of your houses. And I hope it's not true of my house. At first, the smell is so strong that you can never quite unsmell it or unnotice it. This is like what a church-raised young person first experiences when they are out in the world in new situations among those who love the world. They can't unnotice it. Whoa. This is a lot different than church culture that I grew up in. Sadly, after some time, however, in that house, you might notice the smell less and less until you don't notice it at all, until perhaps you begin smelling like the house yourself. This is like what happens when church-raised young people gradually pick up the ideas, beliefs, and lifestyles of those who love the world. What should young people do? What should we as teachers or parents or grandparents be modeling to our young people? John instructs us in verse 24. Look at it. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. In other words, keep putting the Word of God to work in your hearts. The Word of God washes the smell of the world from you. The Word keeps your spiritual sense of smell working. The Word keeps the sweet fragrance of the gospel strong in your hearts. Whatever your schooling or employments or life situations demand of you, don't let it postpone your Bible reading. Keep allowing the Word of God to do its good work in your hearts. If your heart is Christ's home, the word of God is like the Holy Spirit's cleaning crew, keeping the gospel's fragrance fresh in your life. The word of God at work by the Spirit is more than enough to keep you strong in Christ, no matter how fiercely the world challenges you. So let the word abide in you. Verse 24, why do church-raised young people come home smelling like the world without even noticing it? Why? Because they stopped allowing the Word of God to do its good work in their hearts. Don't do that. Make sure that you are allowing the Word of God to keep convicting you of sin to keep the holiness of God's character before your face, to keep you looking at Jesus, who satisfied the wrath of God by the love of God, through the gift of God. Hasn't God already been faithful to you in the teaching of the word? Verse 26 is proof. Verse 27, just as it has taught you. Doesn't God have a good track record in your life? Hasn't he taught you? Has he ever steered you wrong? He hasn't. Keep allowing the word to do its good work in your hearts, even if it means changing your class schedule, canceling appointments, or unfriending certain people. You have permission to be ruthless in this area of your life for the sake of your soul. If you stop feeding on God's word regularly, you are setting a trap for your own soul. And you will have no one to blame but yourself if you become a lover of the world. So you have everything needful to remain in him, the hearing of the apostolic word. But secondly, you also have the help of the anointing spirit. Let's return to that situation we're imagining where someone is challenging the truth. Maybe a friend is repeating something they saw on their Instagram and now they're asking you, how can you believe that Christianity is the only way to God? Or maybe you're listening to someone ramble on with confused, entangled ideas, the kind that people commonly use to shield their hostile hearts from facing the truth. We already saw what our first response should be in these situations. Don't reply until you set the tone of your heart to worship God for the amazing reality that you have God, that he has taken hold of you, that you are united to Christ by faith. Now, with your heart in its rightful mode of worship, how should you begin to respond? First, be wise to the deceptive intent of badly asked questions. Something smells in that question. You should not always think that people who are challenging your faith are like innocent bystanders asking for directions. Often people are more like pirates steering you away from your good destination and wanting to leave you empty. This is why John says in verse 26, look at that, I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. There's people out there trying to deceive you. So be wise to the deceptive intent of people who will be around you. Second, be wise that deception doesn't always come with sharp teeth and claws. Deception often comes with a friendly face and an arm around your shoulder. Deception comes often from those who gain your trust after acting as guides or teachers. Such deceivers are desperate to be your helper, your comforter, your advocate. In other words, they often seek to replace the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who is your true comforter, your true helper, and your true advocate. There's no coincidence that John speaks of people who try to deceive you, and then right away speaks of the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 27. Verse 27, but the anointing, that is the Holy Spirit, but the anointing that you receive 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. Now, when John says you don't have anyone, you don't have need of anyone to teach you, he doesn't mean that you should stop listening to your elders or pastors or teachers in healthy churches. In fact, this verse seems to argue for the necessity of pastors and teachers. Why? Because John is writing in the second person plural to you all. John is saying that the Spirit's anointing teaches you all about everything. In other words, as we all gather to hear the apostolic word preached, the Holy Spirit teaches us in community. We misread John if we think he is saying merely that you as an individual need only the Holy Spirit in private to teach you. In fact, It's false teachers who try to get you alone, to get you to disengage from the gathering of the local church and to listen only to them. In contrast, the Holy Spirit will always lead believers to be gathered in healthy local churches. Moreover, false teachers will try to manipulate you into depending on their supposed wisdom or their cult personality as you listen to their teaching in isolation. Isn't there a huge danger in our day when we can just listen to teachers by ourselves on our smartphones, thinking that that replaces church, isolated from healthy community, where otherwise a faithful brother and sister could look at your screen, overhear what you're listening to and say, hey, that's false teaching. Isn't it a huge danger that we can kind of veer to a private, super individualistic, all I need is the Spirit in my smartphone? In contrast to false teachers who feed on your dependence on their personality, the Holy Spirit will always point you to Jesus. False teachers will point you to their cult personality. As you face, young people, the world's challenges to your faith, the Spirit of God is sufficient to reinforce God's truth in your heart, to keep your conviction of sin fresh, to keep you smelling like Jesus, and to embolden you to respond to people's challenges about what you believe. By the Spirit, You can respond, you ask why Christianity is the only way to God? Because Jesus said so, case closed. John 14, six, Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Case closed. You could also add, listen friend, this isn't something I made up or got from Instagram. God said it. And once I even scoffed at it, like you're scoffing at it today, but God opened my eyes and now I believe it and I'm living it because he's taken a hold of me and I know I have God and I am united to Christ. You're speaking from a position of reality. They're just repeating stuff they found on the internet. It's a different position you're in. Abide in Him in these situations. The Spirit of God in your heart, young believer, and I'm talking to parents and grandparents so that you can remind your kids, the Spirit of God working in your heart through the Word gives you that boldness and you're literally walking in fulfillment of a promise Jesus once quoted in John 6. It says, and they will all be taught by God. And that is what is happening when the spirit is working through the word in your heart. So believers, you have every reason rightfully to remain in Christ. Your health is Christ and your home is Christ. And you have every resource needful to remain in Christ. You have the hearing of the apostolic word and you have the help of the anointing spirit. You don't need to listen to anything the lovers of the world tell you. What can they teach you? They don't know anything about your experience and your position united to Christ. They don't share your position in God. And you don't need any false teacher trying to replace the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. You need to be gathered in healthy, local church community, sitting under the word and allowing the Spirit to do His good work in your heart by that word. Thirdly, and much more briefly, why should we remain in Christ? You have every reason to remain in Him. You have every resource needful to remain in Him. You have every responsibility urgently to remain in him because of verse 28. Several times already, John has pulled back the curtain to expose the spiritual reality behind the moments where our truths we believe is being challenged, those stressful moments we feel like we need to answer. John is pulling back the curtain and saying, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Your mind and your focus needs to be on abiding in Christ. not coming up with a clever answer first. We've seen our need to set our hearts on our union with Christ. We've seen the spiritual dangers the world has for many church-raised young people. And we've heard John's response urging us, remain, abide, keep letting his word do its good work in your heart. Depend on the spirit to stand firm in Jesus. But now as we come to verse 28, John relates all of these things to the day when Jesus comes to appear personally. Let's look at verse 28. It reads, and now, little children, abide in him so that when he appears, we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. So your remaining in him today is preparing for his appearing on that day. Yes, you have everything you need to remain in Christ, and by grace, on that day, you will have everything to gain from Christ. Right now, the Spirit works in your heart as you live by the word preached. On that day, the Spirit will transform your body as you look upon the word incarnate, Jesus in person. Right now, the Spirit gives you boldness to share with hostile people, The gospel word of salvation? On that day, the Spirit will give you confidence when Christ declares his final word of righteous judgment of every person living and dead. Right now, the Spirit helps you to remain in Christ in the face of the world's disapproval. On that day, the Spirit will comfort you as Christ personally declares over you God's approval. On that day, John tells us, some people, however, will shrink from him in shame at his coming. Verse 28. This is the shame of condemnation after being rejected by Christ. This is the shame of realizing I have made a whole lifetime of wrong choices. I have lived by the ideas and beliefs and the lifestyles of the world. You were afraid of what your friends thought about the Bible, so you stopped allowing the Word of God a hearing in your life. You bent to the pressure of living only for the world, so that you let the cares of life choke out all the good spiritual practices you've been taught. Prayer, commitment to a healthy church, reading the Word, and most importantly, trusting Christ personally for salvation. Here's the warning of this passage. You have everything you need to remain in Christ, but you have everything to lose if you depart from him. But may God instead cause you to come to Christ, remain in him, and meet him with confidence on that day when he appears personally in glory. You have every reason, every resource, and every responsibility to remain in him. And if there's any time, To remain in Christ, brothers and sisters, it's now. Let's bring these things to the Lord in prayer. Father, we pray that you would continue the good work of your word by your spirit in our hearts. We heard the urgency of the Apostle John. We pray that it would not fall on our hearts in an unurgent manner. We pray that you would wake us up to our need to abide in Christ, to live in faithful fellowship with him. We pray that you would protect all of our young people, all of those who are going off to college, high school, starting new grades, starting jobs, transitioning, we pray for those who are not experiencing new things, but old trials that are pressing in on their souls, discouraging them. We pray that you would lead all of us to abide in Christ, because he is our health, he is our home, and you've given us everything we need Please be with us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.