This passage that we're gonna look at, you know, since I've been saved, the Lord saved me when I was eight years old. And I'm not discounting your testimony one bit, brother. Please don't take it that way. But I thank God that He saved me when I was young, Brother Drew. I thank God that He got a hold of my heart as an eight-year-old boy, sitting on a church pew and my dad preaching hell hot. God got a hold of my heart as an eight-year-old boy and told me I was a sinner. He showed me that I needed Christ. You wouldn't think an eight-year-old boy would know to run, but I ran from the call of salvation as an eight-year-old boy. Mama was in the kitchen, we was home that Sunday afternoon. Tried to escape, just as an eight year old boy, tried to get away from the hand of God. I ran out of that kitchen, I couldn't take it no longer. I said, Mama, I've got to be saved. And she took me into the living room, our little home. And there I knelt between my daddy's legs. I knelt between his legs that day, but I climbed up into the lap of God. I tell you what, God has been faithful to me. I've been saved since I was eight. I'm 31 now and God has not failed me yet. Those dear sisters were singing that song. He's always been faithful to me. I'm telling you, he's been faithful, brother. He was talking about owning a plumbing company, brother. I had a contractor's company for a little while there. And I'm telling you, it's feast or famine. And there was a time I've got five little babies. I've got a wife. And I was at the end of it. I had nothing in the bank. We didn't have no jobs coming up. COVID had wiped us out. I had guys depending on me for a paycheck. I was driving home. I said, I'm done. I can't go on. I can't even feed my family. God, I need your help. You talk about mental warfare. I'm driving three hours to jump from a job that I didn't get paid for. Spending gas money to drive a truck that I couldn't afford to put gas in. I said, God, I don't know what we're gonna do. I said, I don't know what I'm gonna do to feed my family. If you've ever done any kind of contracting work, don't take insurance work. We took a job earlier in that year putting cabinets in that had been destroyed by a flood. We just wrote it off. We didn't think we was ever going to get paid. It was a $12,000 job. Didn't think I was ever going to see any of that. I was driving home. I'd already told my business partner, I said, we're going to have to hang it up. We're going to have to stop. And I got about an hour away from the house, and I said, I've got to call my wife. And I've got to tell her something. I said, I don't know what I'm going to tell her. Then I got a ping from Zell. My business partner called me. He said, you remember that job we did back in February? He said it finally paid out. And he said, I took my share and I gave you the rest. And I said, thank you, Lord. I stopped my little car over on the side of the road. And I got up and ran around for a minute and shouted. I'm telling you, a God so faithful that would take care of me, that would take care of you. You've been in it, many of you, much longer than I have. We testify of God's faithfulness. I was sitting there thinking of that song. I'll never forget that day when I heard the dear Savior say, I'll take all your fears away, your troubles and doubts. My feet were in sinking sand, and I knew that I could not stand. Then I felt His precious hand. As he lifted me out, he lifted me out of the deep miry clay. He planted my feet in the heavenly way. Hey, I'm gonna tell it where I go, cause I want the whole world to know I'm so glad that he loved me. ♪ So that he lifted me out ♪ Hey, listen to this. ♪ I traveled on sin's broad road ♪ Far away from that blessed abode ♪ And beneath my heavy load, but now I can shine ♪ For Jesus the Savior came ♪ ♪ When I called on his precious name ♪ ♪ He took all my sin and shame and he lifted me out ♪ I'm glad there's hope for the sinner. Verse three, if you are away from God in the pathway of sin, you will be saved. ♪ Let him be your staff and rod and turn you about ♪ From sin he will set you free ♪ And the pathway of life you will see ♪ Then just like he did for me he will lift you right up He lifted me out of the deep mirey clay. He planted my feet in the heavenly way. I'll tell it where I go for I want the whole world to know I'm so glad that he loved me so that he lifted me out. I'm glad he loved me. Lifted me. and pray for me, now I've got to preach. 1 John 2, we've talked about His goodness, His faithfulness, His gracious salvation. When I look at this verse, these verses here, you know the scariest verses in the Bible for me, I'm saved, they're not about hell. I'm about to read you one of the scariest passages that I, when I read the Bible, this is what I fear. This is where I'm scared. First John chapter two, begin reading in verse 21. I'm just gonna read, my text is gonna be verse 28, but just for a little bit more context, we'll read verse 21. John says, I've not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it. and that know lies of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that, therefore, abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduced you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you. And ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things. It is truth and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. Now verse 28, and now little children abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Brother Chris, would you pray for me this evening? Lord, help me. Oh, I'm helpless and hopeless without you. Lord, help me not leave this pulpit, Lord, with anything left. How many of you remember hearing the words, as a kid, you ought to be ashamed of yourself? Your mama would say it, you'd do something wrong, and she'd say, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. That's one thing coming from a parent, coming from a mom. But when we sing about how good God's been, we talk about how faithful God's been, this is the scariest verse for me in the Bible. I don't want to be ashamed before my Lord when He comes for me. I don't want to stand before Him and wish I would have done, as Brother Deet said, what I would have done if I was standing before Him, what I wish I would have done. I love how Brother Johnny, he handles the church with kid gloves. He teaches them and in love. He saw some little children. He doesn't deal with them harshly. He warns them in love. Really, this verse, the letter of 1 John, the first two chapters, they have to do with the theme of fellowship, of abiding in Him. And the last three chapters have to do with our relationship. But I want to look at just these three words here. That brother preached here just a little bit ago about anxiety. You know, the cause of a lot of our issues is because we just don't abide. The first word I want to look at is abide. John, he calls the little children. That gives us insight into who he's talking to. It's not talking to the lost worldly crowd. It's not talking to sinners. It's talking to God's people. It's talking to the church. He says, well, the part of this phrase, he says abide, but he says abide in who? In him. And the New Testament, it's filled with admonition for us to abide in Christ, to live in Christ. And that's not hard to do when you think about it because as a Christian, your entire life is wrapped up in Christ. He is everything. Our faith is in Christ. Galatians 2.20 says, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The saved, we're in Christ today. Romans 12 verse five says, so we being many are one body in Christ. Our wisdom's in Christ. If we look for wisdom anywhere else, that's why the church is in the mess it's in today. Looked after so many other people. Followed the wisdom of so many in this world. But our wisdom's in Christ. 1 Corinthians 4 10 tells us we are fools for Christ's sake. But ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong. You're honorable, but we are despised. Our lives are so wrapped up in Christ that even when we die, the dead in Christ, called the asleep in Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 18, then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ. Amen. Our hope's in Christ. Our victory's in Christ. There's no judgment or condemnation in Christ. The Spirit of life is in Christ. Romans 8, 2, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. I want to stop right here for just a second, take a time out. You want to know why so many young folks are ditching the old ways? because there's no spirit of life in the church. I'm not saying that's true everywhere, but I'm saying by and large, why is over 90% of our young people leaving, turning to this new mess, this contemporary Christian garbage, I'm telling you, if it's out of Bethel, out of Hillsong, what's wrong with years I spent in vanity and pride, caring not my Lord was crucified, knowing not it was for me, he died on Calvary. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with love lifted me? You know, that's singing about the goodness of God. That's praising the Lord. You get back where the songs honor God and don't lift up yourself for all that you can do. Put some life back into your worship. Put some life back into your prayer. Put some life back into your preaching. Get Jesus in there. The very love of God is in Christ. In Romans 8, verse 37 through 39, it says, Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And a dear brother preached about it Wednesday, you said, about that being a new creature. You know, we're a new creation in Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. But we're reconciled to God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5, 17. You forgive me, I'm just trying to build a foundation, if you would. It says, And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us unto Himself, by whom? By Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. There's another part of that phrase, those abiding in him. Jesus, he used that same terminology in John chapter 15. He talked about he was the true vine and every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. In verse four of John 15, he said, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me ye can do nothing. So we've seen so much of our life, just our day-to-day life, everything about the Christian life is wrapped up in Christ. That's who we're living for. That's who we're trying to be like. That's who we're trying to please. That's who we're going to see. So how does a child of God abide in Christ? Well, Galatians 5 tells us, stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Now, I don't want to offend anybody here, but if the word of God offends you, that's a good thing. We stand in the liberty, but that's not a license to sin. Now, I could tell you a pity story. I'm not gonna tell you, I just wanna simply tell you that of the folks, of the young people that I grew up with, of the young people I grew, not counting my brothers who, thank Lord, are still serving the Lord. But I have one friend, one peer that hadn't walked away, and he almost did. Lord saved him. He was lost, going to church 20-some years of his life. God saved him. Now, I want to ask the church something. I've been raised in church all my life. Yes, I've had entanglements with the world. I've had struggles with the world. But I was never out in the world. The entanglements that came to me came from backslidden Christians. First country song I ever heard was not because I was in a bar. First country song I ever heard was because of a Christian playing it in their car. I never knew who Hank Williams was, but a Christian showed him to me. My dad never smoked a cigarette, but isn't this right? You grabbed him around the church parking lot and ran around the side. I'm not saying that to shame him or not, I'm just saying I was raised in church. I know what church life is about. I know what serving God's about. And you can't serve God if you're gonna be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Peter, oh my goodness what Peter said. In 2 Peter he said, in chapter 2 verse 20 he said, For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they had known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has happened unto them, according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomiting head, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." That's the church. That's God's people. Oh, that cross, it sure looks beautiful today, don't it? Oh, it's so nice. That is the cost of our freedom, by the way. I thank God for our military. 2,000 years ago, the cross didn't look so beautiful. 2,000 years ago, there wasn't a flag hanging on that cross. 2,000 years ago, there wasn't two chairs on either side of the cross. It was a man who was looking for the truth and a man who was denying the truth both on their way out of this world. That man on that cross on the right side never went to church, never tithed, never went soul winning, but yet we preach him to win people to Christ. Do we not use his testimony, the thief on the cross that came to Christ? You've got so much more that we're able to do. And so often we're entangled. So often we fall back. Oh, I'm telling you, that's my fear this evening. Talk about being a good soldier. My fear is to fall back. My fear is to call retreat. My fear is to face my commander and say, I couldn't win it. I couldn't make it. I didn't have enough. Oh, I had plenty. I had the word of God. I had prayer. I had everything I needed to win the battle. But I got entangled. Again, with the yoke of bondage. I ask you this afternoon, church, what's holding you back? What's keeping you from where God wants you to be? I can tell you what it is. It's that right there, flesh. You know, my greatest battle is not with my church people. My greatest battle's not with lost sinners. My greatest battle's not even all the trials that come my way. My greatest battle is knowing that I'm weak. My greatest battle is knowing that I'm prone to wander. Knowing that if I don't get up and sacrifice this flesh, put it down. If I don't wake up every morning and get into God's word, if I don't get up every morning and talk to Him, Why wouldn't you want to talk to Him? My goodness, if it was your mom or daddy that paid that price for you, you'd call them every day. You'd thank them every day. We've got a heavenly Father that sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for our sin on the cross with His own blood. And yet, shame on me if I don't talk to Him every day. Shame on me if I don't lift a hand toward heaven and wave a hanky and say, God, thank you for saving a wretch like me. I'm glad for grace, but Romans tells what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Then you jump down to verse 12, he says, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lust thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Have you been made free in Christ? Are you saved this afternoon? Do you know you're saved? that don't abuse the grace of God. Don't abuse the forgiveness of God. Don't trample the precious blood of Christ underfoot. I wish I could preach a shouter-outer. The whole reason we're supposed to abide in Christ so we can walk in the Spirit. Why do we walk in the Spirit? So we don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. If we're going to live in the Spirit, the Bible says, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another and envying one another. Does that not sum up the majority of pastors, preachers of this day? I think of the Lord and he was dealing with the apostle Peter after he found him on the sea of Tiberias. He was naked, he jumped out of the boat, stole a fisherman's coat, put it on, jumped out the boat. Jesus so graciously, he called out to him. Have you called anything? They didn't catch nothing. He had fish and bread. They come up on the shore with him. Jesus had a little fire going. And then Jesus starts to unfold some things to Peter. Talking, here's this man unworthy. Peter, unworthy Peter. would become the leader of the apostles, though. The apostle of hope. Paul, the apostle of faith. John, the apostle of love. Peter. Now, we chew each other up and spit each other out, but Peter denied the Lord three times, let me remind you. We'll chew each other up over so much less. Envy in one another. Desirous of vainglory. Live in the Spirit. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. How do we abide in the Spirit? It's simple. It hasn't changed. It's been preached on left, right, up and down every which way you can preach it. It's been preached. Don't neglect the secret place of prayer. Don't neglect God. Psalm 91.1 says, He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. That's a good place to be. How do you do that? By prayer. How are you going to stay under the shadow of someone that can take care of all your problems? Why you got anxiety this morning when you've got a God? God hasn't changed. He's still God, is He not? Is He not still just as much God as He was yesterday, today, and forever, like the Bible says? And yet, we deny His power, deny Him, not be under the shadow of His wing, then meditating on God's Word. Psalms one said, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And if you do that, and verse three says, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. He goes on to talk about the ungodly, says, they are not so. They're like the chaff which the wind driveth away, and therefore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous. But the way of the ungodly shall perish. The Lord knows the way you take. He knows more than I know. Yet on this journey of life so many times I think I know better. You know why? Because I wasn't meditating on His Word. Then abide in His love. John 15 verse 9 says, As the Father hath loved me, as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. And we'll keep getting bogged down, I've got to move on. Fourthly, how are you gonna abide? You gotta abide in the church. Paul told Timothy that the church was the pillar and the ground of the truth. If you want the truth, come to church. Say, preacher, I can hear from God anywhere. Yeah, you can, but God will tell your man of God stuff he won't tell you. God will deal with his heart in a way he's not going to deal with yours. He did that with the prophets in the Old Testament. He did that with the apostles in the New Testament. Why would it be any different today? They wrote letters to the churches for a reason, they needed to hear from God. Those apostles were the ones that God was sending the message to. God will speak to your man. Be in church. Hebrews tells us, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is. But exhorting one another, you can't do that if you're not together. And so much the more, as you see the day approaching, You owe your faithfulness, just as God's been faithful to you, to be with you every step of the way. You owe your faithfulness to him, his house. John, 1 John 2, verse 6, he that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Know what it really boils down to today? If you're gonna say you're a Christian, you gotta live like Christ. That's what it means to be Christ-like. That's just our reasonable service. To give our life for the one who gave his all for us. Why? Why do we do all this? Why do we go through the troubles? Why do we go through the struggle, Brother Chris? Brother Dietz, why do we put up with the mess that goes on? It's not so I can please You please myself so I can please the Lord. Back to our text in verse John 2, 28. Now little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him that is coming. We heard Brother Bailey earlier today preach that message about the days of Noah. We're living in that day, we are. Just because people today deny the truth, deny the Bible, and deny that Christ is coming, makes it no less true that He is coming. His appearing is going to happen in just a short while. 2 Peter told us, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, saying, where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of that by the word of God, the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. There again is even a tie to Noah. You know, I began thinking his brother Bailey was preaching. They weren't expecting that. Even though they'd been told, like you said, bro, I'm not preaching nothing new. I'm not trying to steal from you. I'm just reiterating to you. The coming of the Lord's going to happen. It's going to come just as unexpected as it did in the days of Noah. But it shouldn't be that way for us. We've known the signs, we've been told the signs, we've been told what to look for. I don't know if you preachers can back me up, but I don't know, but you know, I've noticed not a shift from preaching salvation, but more of an emphasis in messages in the last few months of preachers preaching separation and sanctification and trying to get a church prepared for a bride, a bridegroom prepared for a bride. It seems a shift of preachers has even, it's just shifted Like the Lord is coming back, and I've noticed this in preachers all over the place, that the messages they are preaching is being preached in order to make church folks live right. Make church folks get right. So we're not caught, unexpected. You know, I think of those poor people in my mind's eye, I think of those people, they've never seen a drop of rain in their life, and they look at Noah laughing at him as he put the last nail in the ark, and all of a sudden, drip. Brother, there was a man with his baby standing there. He felt drip. He said, oh no! What he's saying was true! Those were lost people. People that rejected Christ. But you know what the church is doing in the last day? We're under, oh no, God's coming back. We're not ready. Are you ready? They were willingly ignorant of how God had created things, how God was gonna do things. Oh Lord, let that not be our testimony. His appearing is a sure, sure thing. Just as sure as our eternal security. Jesus coming back for us is a sure, certain thing. It's gonna happen. There's a joyful returning for the saved and a sorrowful appearing for the lost. I ask you this morning, have you ever been saved? Have you ever known Christ? Has He ever washed your sins away? Have you ever knelt at an old-fashioned altar and called on Him? Have you seen yourself a sinner? Have you ever seen yourself for what you are, unworthy, standing in the judgment of Almighty God, a sinner, condemned? And that third word is ashamed. Looked at abiding in Him. Looked at His appearing. But you're either gonna stand before the Lord and He's gonna look on you and you'll be crowned, be decorated. Or once your works are put through the fire, you're gonna come back It was wood, hay, and stubble. What a gift to enter heaven with. Arms full of wood, arms full of hay, arms full of broken pieces, arms full of rocks, stubble. All the works that you did in vain. All the works you did in your own self without the power of God. All the works that we did The Bible tells us that we're all gonna appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. One of these days, there's coming a judgment. In 2 Corinthians, I'll end with this, brother. I hope I haven't gone too long. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 9, Wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat. There's the second part of that. If you're saved this morning, Jesus is coming back for us. He's going to take us. It's going to be a glorious day. I don't want to stand before Him ashamed. I want to hear, well done. I want to win a crown of life. I want to win souls for the Lord. I'll end with this thought. I had a preacher friend just a while back, pastor. Had a massive heart attack, was in the hospital. He said while he was in the hospital, he had great peace from the Lord. But what the Lord told him while he was laying on his back in the hospital bed, he said, what you're going to do, if you're going to do something, you need to do it quick. You better do it quick. Church time's wrapping up. If you're gonna do something, you better do it quick. If you're gonna get right, you better do it now. If you're gonna go win souls for Christ, you better do it now. If you're gonna pray for your lost family members, you better do it now. If you're gonna reach your lost coworkers, you better do it now. If you're gonna reach your community for Christ, the world for Christ, you better do it now. You better get right, so your family don't get left. so your friends don't get left.