Speaker 1: 0:35

Hi, I'm Mercy, I'm in 10th grade and I go to American Canyon High School, and the verses I'm reading today are 1 John, 2, 18 to 29. 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. 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. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 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.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Who is a liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is Christ. Such a person is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever acknowledges the Son has the father also. 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, and this is what he promised us eternal life. I'm writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you receive 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. Remain in him and now, dear children, continue in him so that, when he appears, we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. This is the word of the Lord.

Speaker 2: 2:33

Thanks be to God. Thanks, mercy, that was great. Are you guys filming over here? I'm ready. No, now they're all looking at what they filmed. It's all good. Hey, we thankful for air conditioning. It's good. Yeah, I love it. Hey, I'm glad you're here.

Speaker 2: 2:50

We are in the middle of doing some letters at the very end of the New Testament. It's called First, second and Third John. John wrote a gospel. You find that in the first four books, which is the good news. Then he writes these letters, and so we've been going verse by verse. Today we're actually going to finish a whole handful of verses, as you heard some exciting ones in chapter two. John, happy birthday, I see you. Yeah, welcome.

Speaker 2: 3:12

So, john, if you've ever traveled in an airport, you know, like how busy it can be and how crazy it is. It can feel literally like you're in a full contact sport, like you go there and there's announcements blaring, the screens are flashing about different updates and people are rushing around. It's like, why did you come this late? Like they're auditioning for a track meet and everyone's freaking out. And if that's not enough, you walk through and it's like every store is yelling at you about things you didn't know you needed. Like over here best coffee, two for one, sandwiches, duty-free perfume, and you're like I didn't know I needed perfume and then like you need this for your cousin's cousin that you're traveling to, and it's just chaos, right. So this might like bother some of you like give you a lot of anxiety, but I'm one of those guys that after I go through TSA, if I can just not stop walking until I actually get onto the plane and into my seat, it was a successful trip, right. Like if I don't have to stop moving and if I have to wait like 10 minutes, it's annoying. Now, some of you guys that causes so much anxiety, like I'm never traveling with you, but what do we do if we have to wait? Well, what we all do and I do this too we throw on our headphones right to drown out all of the noise that's going on.

Speaker 2: 4:21

Well, that actually bit me one time when I was in Nashville. It was an airport I was unfamiliar with and I got my headphones on and, without even realizing it, they had announced a gate change and my phone didn't tell me, and so I was just in my own little world. So when I'm going to board onto this plane and scan the thing like bloop, bloop, bloop and it's not working right. And suddenly you realize you're headed to a layover in Denver, but you're supposed to be in Dallas. It's not a good day, right. Good thing I'm an athlete and a sprinter.

Speaker 2: 4:51

But if you're not paying attention, you could very easily end up at the wrong gate, boarding the wrong plane and headed to the wrong destination. Now, friends, doesn't that sound a little bit like the spiritual climate we're living in right now, like our world is crowded with voices, everyone has a message, everyone has a claim to truth, and you can scroll through you know TikTok for five minutes and encounter a dozen self-proclaimed prophets, philosophers, life coaches, spiritual guides, and each one is promising peace and fulfillment and enlightenment, and maybe just like better abs, I don't know. You know whatever's coming up, but the danger here is that every voice isn't trustworthy. Some voices actually promise freedom but deliver bondage. Some sound compassionate but distort the gospel. Some use the name of Jesus, but they're hollow of him and his meaning, and if you're not paying attention, you might actually find yourself boarding the wrong flight, spiritually headed to the wrong destination that you never actually wanted to go.

Speaker 2: 5:58

And, as we have seen John in his first letter he was writing to believers facing this exact same reality. They were shaken, actually because people who had once been a part of them in their faith community is now distant from their fellowship. They've just gone chasing new teachings, these versions of Jesus, and this community that was left then behind is confused. These questions are raising up in their hearts, like how do we know it's true? How do we keep from being deceived, how do we stay faithful in a world with so many competing voices? And John's answer is actually really clear. He says abide in Christ. He says stay with him, don't move. He talks a lot about relying on the spirit who actually lives in you, but don't be carried away by any counterfeits. He even starts with this section today with a little holy urgency.

Speaker 2: 6:52

Today's passage opens up with words that are often misunderstood. I'm sure you caught it right off the bat, but he says dear children, this is the last hour. The Antichrist is coming. Some of you heard that and you're like we're in for one today. Let's go Now. Most assume that this means right here. This means end times prophecy. But, john, he's actually writing about something very different, something that's happening in his day and actually in our day as well. Now, I don't know about you, but when I read something like this about the last hour and I hear that, I automatically think, like wait a minute. Like you wrote this 2000 years ago, how can it still be the last hour? But see, john isn't talking about like giving us this countdown clock. He's saying that ever since Jesus actually ascended into heaven, we've actually been living in. What is this final chapter of God's story?

Speaker 2: 7:41

A great way to think about it is think of eras. There's these different eras throughout the scripture, and this is the last era, and the last days aren't just a week before Jesus comes. The last days are this whole period of time from his resurrection to his return. Using sports, for those of you who do that, think about like the fourth quarter or the third period in a hockey game, but it's not necessarily the two-minute warning, but it could be, but it could not be. Which ultimately means, though, that every moment is urgent. Every moment's actually leading towards eternity, and John says here's the evidence that we're in the last hour, that many antichrists have already come. He says, 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 Now.

Speaker 2: 8:34

When we hear the word antichrist here, a lot of you, your minds just go to like the big capital, a one right, like the end times villain with the movie soundtrack behind him. And yes, john is actually acknowledging this here that there's a final Antichrist coming. But he says even now there are many Antichrists, little Antichrist people, movements, teachers who oppose Christ or who replace Christ with a substitute. And that's really important to understand, because here the word anti doesn't just mean against, it also means instead of. And that's exactly what's happening around us all today. It's not just like people shouting, you know, angrily against Christianity. More often it's actually the nice professional TED Talk style substitute versions of Jesus.

Speaker 2: 9:24

Maybe you've heard some of these ideas, you know. Here's a Jesus who won't ask anything of you. Here's a gospel that won't confront your sin. Here's a truth that is nicely just packaged to whatever lifestyle that you choose. And John says don't be fooled, just because someone uses the name of Jesus doesn't mean they're preaching the Jesus of scripture. He even tells this the church. He says they went out from us, but they didn't really belong to us, because if they belonged to us they would have remained with us, but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. In other words, some of these peeps sat in the same pews you all did. They sat in these same chairs. They once carried the label of Christian or Christ follower, but their departure, their distortion, revealed their true allegiance.

Speaker 2: 10:20

Let me put it this way have any of you gotten one of those like scam emails before? Ever gotten a scam email? None of you guys, right, you know that kind where you're like hello, I'm the Nigerian prince, I need to transfer $10 million to your bank account. Help me and you will receive the great reward. And you're like heck, yeah, sweet. You're like hey, babe, the Nigerian prince loves us. Like let's go Right. But we laugh at those things Usually. We see it because we're just like it's an obvious fake. I don't know the prince, right, but when you realize scammers actually got smarter, right? Have you seen those ones Like they look like legitimate emails, like from your bank, from your boss, from Amazon, and the same font, the same logo, like everything looks real and it like gets you right on the edge where you're thinking like maybe I'm actually supposed to click that link.

Speaker 2: 11:05

I had an admin years ago that I found out later had like 10 back and forth conversations with one of these people. That's how good it was. It was on one of our days off and she didn't even bother me. It was one of those where I had said, I guess, like I'm going into an emergency meeting, please get me a thousand dollars in Amazon cards and send me the pin. And so I got a text from her and she's like hey, can I just text you the pin or do you really want it in an email? And I'm like what are you phone call? She's like freaked out because she had gotten up, went and got these with her own money to get reimbursed with and was getting ready to give this over right.

Speaker 2: 11:40

But here's the thing If you know what to look for, you know the truth. Right, that it's fake, and that's what John's actually warning us about. Not the obvious counterfeits that we all laugh at, it's the subtle ones that look close enough to the real thing to be really dangerous. So when that's happening to us, like how do we stay firm in a world like this? Well, john tells us well, you have an anointing from the Holy One, and so, because of that, all of you guys know the truth.

Speaker 2: 12:09

He said that anointing right there is actually pointing to something we've talked about before, which is the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, prophets and priests and kings were anointed with oil. It was the sign of them being set apart by God. It was this visible, fragrant, undeniable thing they're saying now. Every believer is anointed not with the thing on the outside, but with the Spirit on the inside, and so, therefore, that means you're not defenseless in this, you're not left alone in a world of deception, that you actually have the spirit of God dwelling within you, teaching you, reminding you of truth, protecting you from lies Jumping ahead real quick. John actually says in verse 27 for today, as for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you and you don't need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all of the things, and as anointing is real, not counterfeit, just as he has taught you remain in him. Now, it's important not to misunderstand this right here, because he's not saying Jesus followers don't need teachers or pastors, otherwise this letter he was writing would have been pointless. What he's saying is you don't need new secret knowledge, you don't need to chase after the latest guru with the latest revelation, that you already have what you need the gospel that you have heard from the beginning as he talks about, confirmed by the spirit who lives in you. And that's the key, because every counterfeit eventually distorts or denies Jesus.

Speaker 2: 13:44

John says in verse 22, who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the anti-Christ, denying the Father and the Son. And no one who denies the Son has the Father, and whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. That's at the root, that if you deny the Son, you lose the Father, but if you confess the Son, you have the father also. And so then John actually urges us in verse 24. He says as for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning abides in you. If it does, you also will remain in the son and in the father. He says let what you heard from the very beginning, let that stuff abide in you. Don't trade the old rugged cross for some new shiny thing. Don't move beyond the gospel. He's saying, don't let go of Jesus. Now let me just pause. I actually just want to bring this right into our current world context right now, because John says that many antichrists have gone out, and so he might as well, I think, be describing our newsfeed.

Speaker 2: 14:55

Because we live in the day and age of new spiritualities and progressive truths Like, where they look enlightened, they sound compassionate, they feel empowering, but they're really counterfeit and they replace Jesus with something else. Take manifestation and the law of attraction Like you've seen it, you know TikTok influencers lighting candles and playing dreamy music, saying like just speak it into the universe, right, claim it, visualize it, and then the universe will deliver. And it looks spiritual. But what it does is it makes you the God, it puts you in charge of the universe. And the Bible says ask the Father in Jesus's name. And manifestation says ask the universe in your own name. And it's not just silly, it's antichrist in spirit. Let's be honest, how many have you have tried a little bargain prayer that sounds suspiciously like manifestation, like Lord. If you just give me this promotion, I promise I'll be extra nice to my mother-in-law. Right, it's not prayer, it's negotiation. Right, it's treating God like a vending machine. And the spirit reminds us that prayer is not bending God to our will, it's actually aligning our will with his will.

Speaker 2: 16:17

Or what about this one? Think about progressive Christianity. I really believe that there are faithful churches who engage culture thoughtfully and biblically, and I think that that's fantastic. But there's actually a movement that strips away the supernatural, where they say that there's no virgin birth, there's no bodily resurrection, there's no atonement for sin, and essentially then Jesus is just reduced to a wise moral teacher or a social activist. And we need wise teachers, we need compassion and we need justice. But if Jesus is just another activist, then we're still in our own sins, and a Christ who doesn't save sinners isn't the Christ of scripture. Well then we have the spiritual but not religious trend. You've heard this one. Surveys actually say this is one of the fastest growing identities in America.

Speaker 2: 17:08

People say you know, I don't do organized religion, right, but I'm spiritual. And then they dabble in crystals and astrology, energy work, mindfulness, breath work. They might even borrow a verse or two from the Bible. But you can be spiritual without being saved. You can be into vibes without knowing the living God. It's kind of like buying a treadmill and putting it in your living room and then just hanging laundry on it. Right, this is my friend's Peloton. It's going great. This is my other friend. They have two Pelotons and it's like a fort for their kids, right? And here's the deal. You can say I'm into fitness, but then like nothing in your life has changed, right? And when I think about it, I'm like I'm into fitness, fitting this whole burrito in my mouth, right, that's what you guys are thinking, I guess, how we do it. Right, it's about lunchtime, right? Here's the deal.

Speaker 2: 18:05

Being into spirituality without Jesus, it might look impressive, but it actually won't get you anywhere. It might look impressive, but it actually won't get you anywhere. Or maybe you've heard of this one how about self-help spirituality? The mantra of our age is you're enough. The answer is within you. Believe in yourself. And it sounds great, right, like, it sounds like most of you can just like slap on a coffee mug and sell it at Target. You can have that one. But the Bible says the problem is actually within you and the answer is outside of you. It's in Jesus Christ and he actually desires to live in you. And here's the deal. If you could save yourself, the cross was pointless.

Speaker 2: 18:46

Then there's this other one syncretism. This actually mixes Christianity with other beliefs. I follow Jesus and I use tarot cards, I read the Bible and my daily horoscope, but I want to say this really nicely We've talked about this. Jesus does not share his throne. You can't treat him as one option among many. There cannot be two kings left on the board of life, because otherwise it is a stalemate. It is a dead religion.

Speaker 2: 19:18

Another one of our ages cultural truths. The slogans of our time is live your truth right, love is love. Follow your heart. It sounds Disney, it sounds compassionate, but it's feelings over God's word. It makes your emotions the ultimate authority. But let me ask you has your heart ever led you into a trouble? Right, I know mine has. Like my heart has told me I need that third donut. Right, my heart tells me every year that the Denver Broncos are gonna win the championship. Like it tells me this my heart tells me to say the first thing that comes to my mind when I'm in an argument with my wife, right? So, friends, I'm just going to tell you, if I follow my heart, I can say I'm in a little bit of trouble and what we need is we need God's word to guide us, not our fickle feelings.

Speaker 2: 20:07

And then, finally, there's this one out there, this techno spirituality. Right, it sounds a little like science fiction, but there are voices actually out there saying that our hope is in AI or transhumanism, or actually uploading our consciousness to the cloud like an eternal life without Christ literally a digital tower of Babel. But listen, maybe you've experienced this. If Google Drive has ever lost one of your files, do you really want to trust them with your soul? My friends, let me just tell you these are the antichrists of our day. They're not all hostile, they don't all come with like horns and a pitchfork. Some of them actually sound very modern and compassionate and enlightened, but they all do the same thing they replace Jesus with a substitute.

Speaker 2: 20:56

And the only way to stand firm, so rooted in the real Jesus, is that you understand that the counterfeits stand out instantly, because you're so rooted in that you know how bank tellers tell, are trained how to spot a counterfeit. It's not actually because they're studying the fakes. They handle the real things so much that when a fake passes through their hands, it stands out. They can feel it right away. That's what it means to abide in Christ that you're so close to him, so saturated in his word, that when the counterfeit comes, you know that it's not him. And that's why John says in verse 28,. He says now, dear children, abide in him so that then, when he appears, we may be confident. Confident and unashamed before him at his coming, because Jesus is coming back and John says that when he does, there's going to be one of two responses One is confidence, the other is shame. He's saying confidence for those who remained, who abided, who clung onto Christ, and then there is shame for those who abandoned, who traded him for some substitute.

Speaker 2: 22:05

Let's be honest, nobody really likes the word abide. It's like this weird archaic word. It let's be honest, nobody really likes the word abide. It's like this weird archaic word. It sounds old fashioned, like something you'd read in a Victorian novel, and some of you guys are like so when are you going to say, therefore and forthwith? But John uses this word over and over again because, frankly, it's a really powerful one that we can just breeze by.

Speaker 2: 22:20

And abide simply means this to remain. It's simple, but it's beautiful. To dwell, to stay put. And it's not flashy, it's not glamorous, it's not like headline worthy, it's faithful. Abiding is like staying married, right, there are beautiful moments of joy and romance, but then there's the Tuesday night where you're eating leftovers and you're arguing about who left the lights on right.

Speaker 2: 22:48

Abiding doesn't mean perfection. It means staying. It means like choosing to actually remain. It's like when your GPS says recalculating you ever had this where you know like you make the wrong turn or you just miss your turn altogether. And then, like Siri gets that tone in her voice like at the next light make a U-turn right, and here's the deal. You can fight it voice like at the next light make a U-turn right, and here's the deal. You can fight it, you can argue with it, but the GPS is still right.

Speaker 2: 23:16

And abiding literally means like that you keep letting Jesus recalculate your route, even when you want to go and do your own thing. And John says that. And then if you do this, if you actually abide, if you remain in here, then you'll have the confidence when Jesus returns. Confidence, not shame. I mean like, think about that, when the skies split open, when the trumpets sound, when Jesus himself descends in glory, some people will rejoice with confidence and others will shrink back in shame. And what makes a difference? It's not your IQ, it's not how many followers you have on Instagram, it's not your status, it's that you abided, that you abided in Christ.

Speaker 2: 23:51

Now, verse 29 adds and if you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has actually been born of him. Now notice carefully here. John doesn't say we practice righteousness in order to be born again. No, he says practicing righteousness is actually the evidence. It's the evidence that we have been born of him. It's the fruit, not root. It shows that we're actually connected to the vine and Jesus gave image of that actually through John in the gospel of John, in John 15, he says abide in me and I in you, and then, apart from me, you can do nothing. It's this picture of a grapevine, a branch that has been cut from a vine, withers and dies, but a branch that actually remains and connected to the vine. It flourishes and just naturally bears fruit, like nobody has to yell at and be like produce grapes. You don't have to do a whole lot because the life of the vine that flows through it, fruit then naturally happens, and that's what righteousness actually looks like in the life of a believer Not perfection, but fruit Evidence.

Speaker 2: 25:00

So let me ask you this when the world squeezed you this last week, what came out? Or when the world squeezes you this week, what's going to come out? That's the real test what comes out of you. When life squeezes you this week. What's going to come out? That's the real test. What comes out of you when life squeezes you, when you get stuck in traffic or your kid drops the phone in the toilets, or when your boss gives you that like we need to talk, with no details, email.

Speaker 2: 25:23

John says abiding makes all the difference. Abide in Christ and when you're squeezed, then Christ comes out. What fruit is that? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and forgiveness. But drift from Christ. And when you're squeezed, what often do we see? Come out Anger, fear, bitterness, envy.

Speaker 2: 26:01

And I'm gonna tell you, abiding isn't just about Sunday mornings. Abiding is Monday morning, when the alarm goes off and you'd rather throw it across the room. It's real life. Abiding is Wednesday afternoon, when you're goes off and you'd rather throw it across the room. It's real life. Abiding is Wednesday afternoon, when you're exhausted and you're tempted to give up. Abiding is Friday night, when temptation whispers. Nobody's going to know. Abiding is Saturday, when you decide to open up your Bible before you open up social media. Abiding is daily.

Speaker 2: 26:27

So what does it look like? Well, that's one example. It looks like opening up your Bible not just to check up a list but honestly, friends, just to hear the Father's voice. It looks like prayer, not just at meals but in the car, like at your desk in the middle of chaos. It looks like worship, not just with music but with your actual choices. It looks like fellowship, because we flourish best when we are a part of the vine, together, not isolated twigs. And here's the good news your confidence that Christ's coming isn't based on your perfection, it's based on his faithfulness.

Speaker 2: 27:07

And abiding doesn't mean you never stumble. Understand that. It means that when you do stumble, you fall into his arms. Think of it like failing forward, not away. Think about a toddler. Have you ever seen a toddler learning to walk? What do they do? They wobble, they stumble and they fall. And then what do we do? Do we yell at them? That wasn't a rhetorical question. Okay, good, because if you're going to say something different, we were going to have a talk, right? No, what do we do? We like clap and we pick them up and we're like, oh, you can do it, that was so good, come on, you encourage them to try it again.

Speaker 2: 27:40

Friends, that is exactly how the father sees you when you're abiding in him. He doesn't expect perfection, he just wants you to stay with him to keep walking, to keep trusting. And God's love is the soil in which obedience grows, and if you skip that, you're just managing behavior. But if you live in it, you will then see fruit that only he can produce. So, friends, the world is loud, the antichrists are many, the substitutes are shiny, but you are not defenseless because you, friends, have the spirit. You have the gospel that you have heard from the beginning and you have a savior who is faithful.

Speaker 2: 28:23

So stay. I wanna encourage you to remain. I wanna encourage you, students, to abide. And when the noise of these like new spiritualities grows loud, abide. When the counterfeits begin to look convincing, abide when the world says that truth is just relative. Abide when Christ returns. Those who abide will not shrink in shame, but they will stand in confidence. So abide, stay when the world tells you to leave, remain when your feelings tell you to drift and trust when your doubts tell you to run and rest in him. When everything else screams for your attention, when everything else screams for your attention. And that, friends, is the promise of 1 John, 2, 18 through 29. Would you stand with me and respond in worship, amen.