Would you take up your Bible and turn to the book of First John. First John. Chapter two. First John. Chapter two. We're going to be reading verses 18 through twenty eight would you hear together with me the word of God. Little children it is the last hour and as you have heard that antichrist is coming even now many antichrist have come by which we know that it is 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 they might be manifest that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth but because you know it and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. He is Antichrist who denies the father. and the son. Whoever denies the son does not have the father either. He who acknowledges the son has the father also. Therefore, let that abide in you which you had heard from the beginning. If what you have heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the son and in the father. And this is the promise that he promised us eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you. But as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things and is true and is not a lie, just as it is taught you, you will abide in him. And now, little children, Abide in him that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. And thus far is the reading of sacred scripture. One of the most popular books published in the 1970s was how Lindsay's book The Late Great Planet Earth. To date it sold 35 million copies and the subsequent Left Behind series has sold around 80 million copies. It would not be an overstatement to say that some of the most popular Christian literature or Christian books are on the topic of eschatology, that is the study of the end times or the last things. There seems to be something about this genre of literature that's so attractive to so many people. I'm sure that many of you sitting here are familiar with this topic of the end times appeals to such a broad base of people from diverse backgrounds and not even just people in the church but people outside the church secular TV stations and radio outlets will sometimes discuss the end of the world. and the various predictions that men have made of the end of the world. Behind all this is a spirit that is speculative and curious. It drives us to want to know the things that God has not revealed. We want to know who is the final Antichrist. Is it Henry Kissinger? As many thought in the 80s. or whose name coincides with 666. I don't know if you've had this experience, but when I was a child, I was greatly frightened that I might be the Antichrist, because my first six letters of my name were six, and the last six letters of my name were six, and I thought the middle letters of my name added to six. And then thankfully, whew, I remembered that it was seven. So 676, OK, whew. But it's this spirit of speculation, this spirit of curiosity to know things not revealed. When is the date of Jesus is coming? When will he return? Never ceases to amaze me. And I'm sure you many of you feel the same. Never ceases to amaze you with wonder that men seek to set dates for when Jesus returns, even though Jesus tells us himself that you won't know the day or the hour of the son of man. But you see, John did not give us these things, and scripture does not give us these things, so that we might be led down a path of endless speculation. But John raises this topic of the end times, not so that we would be carried into thinking about the things that God has not revealed, but rather that we might be led to comfort. that we might he uses the teaching of the end times to lead us to comfort his people and to exhort his people. We have to remember that first John's was written first John's first epistle was written to encourage the things to build up their assurance he tells them this towards the end of the book. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God. What is he writing to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you might know that you have eternal life and that you might continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. And so when John brings up these matters of the end times when he tells us that we're on the cusp of the conclusion of this age or that we're living in the last hour or that there Antichrist is coming and it's evident because so many Antichrist are now present or that Jesus is soon to return. He does this so that we might more firmly take hold of Christ and so that we would live well unto him in the remaining time that we have the presence of Antichrist in the world ought to lead us to an earnest seeking to remain in the teaching of Jesus Christ to remain in the truth of God and likewise the second coming of Christ ought to move us to seek assurance assurance that we might have confidence in the day of his appearing in these verses. John does these three main things. First he reminds us of the present danger of false teachers. Secondly, he encourages us with the ministry of the Holy Spirit within our life. He wants to tell us about how the spirit is active and at work in our lives to keep us to the end. And third and lastly, he exhorts us to persevere so that our assurance might yield the fruit of confidence on the last day. So we're going to examine these verses under three headings or under three words, a caution, consolation and command. He gives a caution that is a warning, a consolation that is word of comfort, and he gives them a command that is an exhortation. And so we will begin with this word of caution. Notice in verse 26, he says, These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you John cautions us and warns us and this warning is rooted in the teaching he received from the Lord Jesus Christ himself the Lord Jesus had warned his disciples that this would be the case he said in Matthew twenty four eleven that many false prophets will arise and work their deception among many. Such are the warnings that we find throughout Holy Scripture. The Apostle Peter himself in his second epistle warns. But there were also false prophets among the people even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresy. These deceivers who Jesus and his apostles warn us about do not work independently. They are animated and empowered by the spirit of lawlessness. John identifies Satan as the father of lies in the Gospel of John chapter eight verse forty four. He is the originator of lies and falsehoods. He also is called a deceiver in Revelation 12, 9, the one who deceives the whole world. Satan is behind all the deception and the falsehood. He's behind the lies of these teachers. And Satan does this work with one main intention, one driving, motivating purpose, and that is to see the destruction of men's souls. He desires the destruction of men's souls and he has not mercy and he does not know remorse. He is a creature full of evil full of hatred full of malice. One way he seeks to accomplish these ends is by propagating false teaching. He enters in among the people of God and propagates false teaching. And in this context, he propagates false teaching concerning Christ. For if he can keep men from Christ, then he'll keep men from the way of salvation. He'll keep men from the way of believing the gospel, to keep them from eternal life. And so he teaches another gospel. And he teaches another Christ. As Satan's desire to keep men from salvation is expressed by the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 4 verses 3 through 4. But even if our gospel is veiled to those who are perishing whose minds the God of this age has blinded who do not believe less the light of the gospel of the glory of God who is the image of God should shine upon them. The God of this world has blinded their eyes. And isn't this so evident as you read throughout the scriptures, even in the Old Testament, in Israel's history, they know the word of God. They have the promises of almighty God. And yet they're blinded, blinded to the truth of the gospel, blinded to the promises of God. Satan's desire is to blind men from seeing the glory and beauty of Christ. so that he might lead them down to the chambers of death. And Satan's work is never finished. He is always active. He is always plotting, always scheming, always planning. This is illustrated in Peter's language that the devil is like a prowling lion. He is like a prowling lion seeking one to devour. He's a creature who stalks his prey, waiting for the opportune time to strike, always active. And then we see that these deceivers were not finished with their attempts. They didn't just try once and it didn't work. They are continuing to try. The threat is very present. It's a very present reality for the people of God then, and it's a present reality for the people of God today. We read this when John uses this word try it's a present verb which could be better translated he is trying to deceive you. Since Satan is always active false teachers will always be present with us in one way or another in every age. There will be a battle for the truth in every age there will be a battle for the gospel. You think about the churches that the apostles planted themselves. The time in which the apostles lived themselves. Wouldn't that be the pure age where there aren't any deceivers. We read throughout the New Testament that John and Peter and Paul are constantly correcting matters on justification matters on sanctification giving a proper understanding of the resurrection. And even here in this first epistle correcting false notions of who Jesus is. And what does he come to do. And since these false teachers are always present with us I think it would be somewhat helpful to consider a few common marks of a false teacher a few common marks of a false teacher we see these from the letter of John first. false teachers are often marked by a denial of the soul infallible authority of sacred scripture. This is a denial of the Reformation principle of sola scriptura the scriptures alone are the infallible guide for man to teach us the way of God salvation and how we ought to live there are our soul infallible source of authority and many will say that they believe in the authority of the scriptures. But they will add to the authority of Scripture a pope, mission, prophet, or someone who's had some other kind of new revelation. But John encourages these saints to remain in what was written. He says, these things I have written to you. As Paul says, all of Scripture is given by the inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. He goes on to say that we might be complete and equipped for every good work. They're sufficient. They're all that we need. And so we as the people of God have a duty to be on guard to test what we hear and what we read by the sacred scriptures to be as those who are faithful in Berea who are diligent to study the word of God so that Satan would not be able to deceive us through these false teachers. Secondly false teachers are often marked by a denial of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This is surely what was at work in the days of John. These false teachers we read in the first chapter even denied that they were culpable of sin. Now if they're not culpable of sin they don't need no they don't need a savior. And if they're not culpable of sin they don't need faith in Christ. They don't need the grace of God. And so you see there are still those who are present today who would say that they're Christians and it would say that the gospel is that you get grace and you have to cooperate with grace in order that you might be saved. That is the work of Christ is is good. You need that but you also need to add to it your good works your obedience. It's not grace alone but John says if anyone sins we have an advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous and he himself is our propitiation for our sins. It is alone by the grace of God that we're saved and it is alone through faith in Christ that we're saved. It's through Christ alone because it's his righteousness alone. that will give us the confidence to stand on the last day and we receive this gift by faith alone to the glory of God alone. And so any other doctrine is the influence of Antichrist and it is a deception of the evil one. Lastly and thirdly the doctrine of false teachers does not produce true godliness. So they do not believe that the scriptures are the alone infallible rule of faith in life. They do not believe that Christ is alone the way of salvation and that it is by grace alone through faith alone. But there is also this third element that their teaching does not produce true godliness. This is why John provides throughout the book so many ethical tests. So many ethical tests that one might distinguish true saving faith and the fruit of true saving faith in contrast to these false teachers. John shows us that a true biblical gospel produces love for God. It produces love for the brethren. This saving and evangelical doctrine issues forth in humble confession and repentance. and obedience to the commands of God a repudiation of the world. While the false teachers and their teaching produce all manner of licentiousness and immorality their corrupt doctrine yields the rotten fruits of worldliness and hatred towards others. And even if there is some kind of shallow veneer an appearance of morality. You know, morality is not godliness. You can be moral and not godly. But it's a holiness that issues forth from a love of Christ, from true faith in Christ. And so you see, Satan is here through these false teachers, employing every weapon that he has to persuade you from the way of Christ. But do not let Satan Rob you of the Lord Jesus Christ and his benefits. Do not allow the evil one to lead you away from the pathway of truth. But heed the warning of scripture and be watchful of these dangers. And even though John warns us here he warns us to be alert and to be cautious. He does not want us to think that we fight alone or that we stand alone. And so he comforts these saints with the presence of the ministry of the Holy Spirit within them. This leads us to our our second point a consolation consolation. Although these deceivers are present and the threat of danger is real so we must be watchful and alert. Yet he says to us the anointing which you have received from him abides in you. This is a repetition of verse 20 when he says but you have an anointing from the Holy One. That is to say Christ has imparted to you his Holy Spirit. We who are in Christ have received the spirit of Christ and that Holy Spirit abides in you. He remains in us. He does not come upon us for a time. Sometimes you'll see that in scripture that the spirit of the Lord comes upon a person to fulfill a particular task or duty. That's not what we're talking about here. This is not the abiding of the Holy Spirit but rather to those who share in Christ who are partakers of the covenant of grace. We have the Holy Spirit as the pledge and guarantee of salvation. This is the way that Paul speaks in Ephesians chapter one. He says you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. The Holy Spirit takes up a personal and permanent residence within us. And this personal and permanent residence within us secures for us eternal life. Jesus said to the woman at the well, whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life. Later on, Jesus said these words in the same gospel. If anyone first let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scriptures have said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke concerning the spirit. But this he spoke concerning the spirit. The spirit will be given to you and it will become a fountain welling to eternal life. The Spirit abides in the saints, leading them to eternal life, keeping them in the way. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is our greatest defense against these antichrists and false teachers, because he himself is our teacher. The Holy Spirit himself is our teacher. And this is why he says, and you do not need that anyone teach you. but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things." Now we have to be careful that we don't take these words out of context or in an absolute sense as if they didn't need teaching whatsoever. How do I know that? That that's not what he meant? Why was John writing them a letter of instruction if they didn't need any instruction? Okay, so that's not the way in which we should understand it, but rather in the context, what he's saying to them is you don't need someone to come to you and teach you the gospel as if you don't know it. You've been taught. You've been taught by the Spirit. And this is in fulfillment of the prophecy of the New Covenant in Jeremiah. I'm going to put my law in their minds and write it upon their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and everyone saying, Know the Lord. For they all will know me. They'll know God. They won't have to be taught to know God. And that's what John's saying. You don't need anybody to come and teach you some new doctrine as if you don't know God, that they might lead you to God. No, you know God. How do you know that you know God? Because the Spirit of God abides in you and has led you to Him. These saints truly know God. They have fellowship with the Father and with the Spirit through the Son. But John here also recognizes that although he preached to them, and although he taught them, and although he had written to them, the Holy Spirit alone can teach the inner man. The Holy Spirit alone can teach the inner man. He alone brings the truth to life. It is only by the ministry of the spirit that men come to know the truth not merely in an intellectual sense but in an experiential sense. They embrace the truth and receive it as such because of the powerful working of the Holy Spirit who testifies and bears witness to our hearts and minds. And so John says in first John 5 6 It is the spirit who bears witness because the spirit is true. The spirit confirms and verifies the truth because he is the spirit of truth. And so John says of the ministry of the spirit and it is true and is not a lie. You know the Holy Spirit has never led any man into the least error. The Holy Spirit has never led any man into the least error. The Holy Spirit teaches us to trust in and believe the Word of Almighty God. And further, he teaches us to abide in Christ. And so he says, and just as the Holy Spirit has taught you, you will abide in Christ. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, to cause you to abide in Christ, to abide in the Son. It was the Holy Spirit who drew you, It was the Holy Spirit who brought you to the sun. And it is he who unites us to Christ in this indissoluble bond as the head is to a body. So is our union with Christ. And so is our union like a faithful husband to his bride. So is our union with Jesus Christ. It is the spirit who regenerates us and gives us a new disposition. a new nature, granting us light and power to believe and to do. He leads us to Christ. He directs us and grants us faith that we might call upon his name for grace. What did Paul say elsewhere in scripture but that no man can say that Jesus is Lord apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit? is the spirit who gives us life. It is the spirit who directs us to Christ and it is the spirit who perpetually supplies us with daily grace for sanctification. He is the spirit of holiness. He is the spirit that leads us into holiness. And so Paul says for God did not call us to uncleanness but to holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man but God who has given to us his Holy Spirit. And because of the permanent abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in his children you know that you will abide in your savior. Because of the abiding ministry of the spirit you know that you will abide in Christ no matter what deception the devil might bring your way. or no matter what allurements the world might carry to you, or no matter what suggestions even your flesh may present. He who is at work in you is greater and more powerful than he who is in the world. Because the Spirit always buoys us up and supports us in our pilgrimage and walk. He brings to our remembrance the promises of Christ. Jesus said in the Gospel of John I will pray and and he will give you a helper that he might abide with you forever the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know. For he dwells with you and will be in you and then he went on to say I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. And Christ, by His Spirit, does so powerfully come to us and comfort us through His words of promise. And in times when we're weighed down and need to be buoyed up, in the times that we need to be upheld because we're so weak, the Spirit does His ministry in us, driving us to Christ. Oh, how greatly we need the ministry of the Holy Spirit if we will abide in Christ, if we will persevere to the end. We need the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He's our great defender and teacher. He's the one who always directs our eyes to our Savior. He strengthens and nourishes our faith, no matter how averse the circumstances may be. And because he permanently and personally resides within us and abides in us, we have confidence, confidence That we will remain in Christ to the end. That we will we will remain and persevere to the very end, it is with this gospel indicative then as the basis. And foundation. That John now transitions to an exhortation. To be active in abiding in Christ, and so we come to the last point of the sermon this morning, the command. He says in verse 28, And now, little children, abide in Him. To abide in Christ is to believe in Him. It is to rest in the work of Christ, in His life and in His death. It's to trust solely in the blood of Christ, to trust only in His righteousness by which He clothes us and cleanses us. This faith is not just something that we exercise once and this is the language of abiding but it's this continual and constant faith exercise in Christ as a living branch into the living vine receiving sap and life. And so if we are to abide in Christ through faith then we need to be seeking to increase in faith. And therefore, it's necessary that we read the Scriptures with careful attention to see our Savior in the pages of sacred Scripture. That we might draw near to Christ, that we might set before us the cross of Christ, that we might always abide in the love of Christ. This is what John says elsewhere. As the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. How are you going to abide in faith in Christ? But by setting forth his love before you and the display of his love in the cross. And as you abide in his love, you'll be stirred up by the spirit and strengthened in your faith to continue to rest in Christ. And yet abiding in Christ is not merely exercising faith in his person, but it's also walking in obedience to the teaching and commandments of God. You see, no one can abide in Christ if he does not abide in God's God's word in the word of Christ. And so Jesus said, If you abide in me, you are my disciples. Indeed, to abide in the word is to abide in Christ is to abide in obedience. It's to not be mere hearers of the word, but also doers. To abide in Christ, then, means that we have to submit our will to Christ. It means that we have to deny ourselves. And it means that we have to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. It means that we have to live under the Lordship of Christ, being governed by His Word, being led by His Spirit, seeking not our glory but His. This abiding activity then is something that we cannot do in and of ourselves. We need the ministry of the Spirit. And so if we're to abide in Christ, we must abide in prayer. We have to be people who pray, who frequently cry out for the grace of Christ, the strength of God, that we might continue and persevere. But furthermore, this abiding in Christ, this strengthening in this strengthening that it gives us this abiding gives us this strength and it increases our assurance and so that the apostle John says abide in him that when he appears we may have confidence. This confidence then is the fruit of assurance the assurance that we receive is strengthened through abiding in Christ. So every Christian ought to labor to that end, to maintain and to obtain and then maintain a strong assurance that we might have this confidence now for the day when we will express confidence before God. And the Lord has graciously appointed to us various means, gracious means, to strengthen our assurance. to encourage us in assurance to firm up our assurance. And there are three of them. First, he gives us his word. He gives to us his word. He gives to us his word that we might believe the promise of the gospel, that we might know that we have eternal life and that the spirit would attend the word and comfort us and confirm to us that we truly are the children of God in Christ. He's given to us his law, so that in obeying his word, we might see the fruit and the evidence of his work in our life. And so he's given us his word, but he's also given us the sacraments. God has given to us outward signs and evidences of his love to us. Probably nobody has illustrated this better than I've ever heard than Sinclair Ferguson when he helpfully illustrates this by the analogy of a husband who gives a kiss to his wife or gives a ring to his wife as an evidence and token of his love. So also does God give to us visible signs whereby he communicates his grace and the evidence of his love. And so when you look back on your baptism and you remember that you were plunged in the water, that you truly, really died with Christ as truly as you felt that water encapsulate you. And you are surely raised with Christ and live in Christ as surely and as truly as you came out of the water. And as you come to the supper, You consider the cup and the bread, these signs, the ring of Christ, the kiss of Christ, whereby he says to us, draw near to me in faith because you are mine. Come to me in faith. You are mine. And as truly as you taste this bread, so true is my love for you. And as truly as you drink this cup, so truly have I shed my blood for you. This is how I love you. And using the means of grace in this way, our assurance will be aided and helped. But also, we need prayer. God has given to us prayer so that in crying out to God, we might be strengthened, that we might have a stronger sense of assurance as we cry out to the spirit and say, Holy Spirit, comfort my soul. Use these means and use this prayer. Assure me that I am a child of God. Set my eyes on Christ and feel to my heart the knowledge that he is mine and I am his. The Lord wants us as his people to have a firm assurance. He wants us to have a firm assurance that we might have confidence for the day of Christ. For the Lord is coming again. The Lord Jesus is coming again. You see this in second Peter that the scoffers will say where is the evidence of his coming. Hasn't it been two thousand years. I haven't seen him coming. John says he is coming. He is coming and you may have confidence in that day. Notice he doesn't say if you might have confidence if he appears. He doesn't say if he says when Jesus Christ is surely coming again as surely as he came the first time so truly is he coming again. His second coming is just as true just as real as his first advent and this time the Lord Jesus is not coming in humility upon a donkey. He's coming on a horse of war and he holds within his hand a rod of iron in his eyes are as fire and he comes to dash his enemies to pieces. He is coming to execute justice. He is coming to execute the final judgment of all men on the last day and in that day John says The wicked will be ashamed. The wicked will be ashamed. These false teachers who are going about seeking to deceive these little children, these saints of God. They will be ashamed because they have believed a lie and they will stand face to face with him who is the truth, Jesus himself, and they will have to reckon with the truth. This language of ashamed alludes to the idea of being naked and bare. Similar to Adam and Eve, when the Lord came to them in judgment, what happened? They fled. They hid themselves because they were afraid because they were naked. They were ashamed. And so also the wicked, when they stand before God, will be unclothed. They will be standing behind fig leaves of self-righteousness, but every sin will be exposed. Every sinful movement of your heart will be exposed. Every sinful thought of your mind will be revealed. There will be nothing hid that is not discovered. No wrong that you've ever done that will not be repaid in full. in perfect justice, and so in sheer dread and terror, the wicked will stand condemned before God for all eternity. But those who are clothed, those who do not stand naked in shame, but stand clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ, they will stand with boldness. They will stand with confidence and you, dear Christian, can stand with boldness and confidence. Not in yourself, but as you trust and as you rest and as you lay hold of the righteousness and obedience of Christ. And our good works will be received, but not as merit. They will not be received as merit. They will not earn a standing with God, but they will be received as evidences of true abiding faith. They will be the adornments of your person, that you lived in true faith in Christ. They will be the fruits of the Spirit evident in your life. And then you, brothers and sisters, you who are trusting in Christ, You will experience full and complete vindication before the world. Full and complete vindication before the world. All the world will know that you are the children of God. And then what will happen after the final judgment, but that you will be led, as our brother read from the book of Matthew, into the eternal abode of God, into the very presence of Almighty God. Oh, what a glorious day. What a joyful day! What blessings are ours in Christ! What confidence do we have that in Christ we will stand, not naked and ashamed, but with confidence and boldness. And so John tells us, abide in Christ. But what But what have you who do not believe in Jesus Christ? What have you will? What will come of you on the day of final judgment? I'm asking in all sincerity. Are you ready? Are you ready and prepared? for the day of final judgment? Are you ready to stand before your Maker and have Him reveal to you every sinful movement of the soul? If you really believed even that, you would hide yourself. And that's what it says men will do. They'll hide themselves, calling down rocks to fall upon them to hide them. from the Holy One who, with his pierced eyes, will see through all of the lies, all of the sin. If you're not ready, if you're not ready for that day, then humble yourself before God. Oh, humble yourself, my friend, before God and look to Christ. Seek refuge in Him. Seek forgiveness in Him. Seek grace in Him. Pour out your soul to God and say, I am a sinner. I am worthy of this judgment. But I'm seeking forgiveness, Lord Jesus. Cleanse me. Purify me. Make me yours. Wed me, Lord Jesus Christ. Even though I'm such a wicked bride, would you cleanse me and take me to be yours? Would you unite me to yourself? And I say to you, friend, if you turn to Christ, he will not cast you out. He will not turn you away. And dear Christian. If you don't have this kind of unwavering assurance for the day of judgment, if you're unsure at times about your state of grace and your assurance seems at times ebb and flow. Make a diligent use of the means of grace, make a diligent use of these things, seeking Christ. Not eating bread for the sake of bread, thinking that the bread is going to get you to heaven, but seeing that in the bread, this is a token of Christ to me. This is an evidence. He says, I am yours. You're mine. Believe in me. Trust in me. Make use of the word of God. Read it diligently. Pray over it earnestly. Seek the spirit of the Lord to confirm to your heart that you are a Christian, that you might have confidence, this kind of confidence now for the day of Jesus's appearing. The Apostle John began with a caution that we might not be carried away by the lies of false teachers and succumb to the schemes of the devil. He also has given to us great gospel comfort that the abiding ministry of the Holy Spirit will cause us to abide in Christ to the very end. And lastly he gave to us a command that we who are in Christ should endeavor by the work by the ministry of the spirit to Abide in Christ to the end that we might have boldness that we might have confidence in the day of Christ appearing and in the day of final judgment. Would you bow with me in prayer. Oh Lord God we do ask that you would bless the preach word to the souls of your people strengthen our assurance oh Lord cause our eyes to look to Christ. May we live unto him and for him trusting and resting in his finished work that we might have confidence for that final day. And we also pray Lord God that if any be here who do not know you that you would save and deliver them and draw them powerfully by your spirit to the sun that they might be delivered out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of your beloved son. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.