Please take your Bible and turn with me to 1st John. I'm going to return there, pick up. I know Brother Micah has ministered out of 1st John some since we had been in China and I'm going to go back there this evening anyways. 1st John chapter 2. The focus verses will be 18 through 27, but let me read chapter 2 of 1 John. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. Whoever says, I know Him, but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him. Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing to you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, this is a new commandment that I'm writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the Word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Children, it is the last hour. As you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now might many Antichrists have come. Therefore, 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 it might become plain that they are all not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you have all 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 he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one denies 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 received 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 taught you, abide in Him. And now, little children, abide in Him so that when He appears we may have confidence not to shrink from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him. Let's pray. Father, we do come before You. We want to worship You this night. We have lifted up songs and prayers. and we've heard your word read, but now we're gonna look more closely to a passage of your scriptures. I pray that you will open up our eyes to what you are saying. Lord, thank you that you speak. Lord, thank you that you lead your people according to the truth of your word and by the Holy Spirit. And so Lord, we need your leadership even now. May we see Christ. May we see how we ought to live before Him. May we see the glorious gift of eternal life. Lord, we ask again for Your help. It's through Jesus that I ask it. Amen. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. If you consider verses 18 through 27, I would encourage you to think about this statement, don't be deceived. And then if you wanted to understand this don't be deceived statement, then you can ask yourself a question. Do you live according to the truth or do you live according to a lie? Don't be deceived, that's what you need to hear. And then you can ask yourself, Am I deceived? Well, it depends. Are you living according to the truth or are you living according to a lie? So I think that a good introduction to this passage is verse 26. Direct your attention down to 1 John 2 verse 26. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. John doesn't want any of the believers to be led astray. He doesn't want any of his readers to go in the wrong direction. When we think about deception or being led in the wrong direction, We are so thankful for those times when we are led in the right direction. Sometimes we feel a little hopeless if we're not going in the right direction. I think that Miss Connie said she had to wander around a little bit on Friday morning to find the location of the sale. John is not leading in the wrong direction, but rather the right. But he's not leading to a location. Arriving at the proper location somewhere on this earth is not the point of the passage. Rather, it is right belief that is the issue. For it is the truth. John is talking about truth and he's leading these that he's writing to into the truth. He warns the people not to live according to a lie. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. They're trying to get your thinking upon something that is a lie rather than the truth. They're leading you away from the truth and into a lie. I also, I will tell you that I'm also thinking about the church and how the Bible talks about what is a healthy church. Well, a healthy church is a gathering of people that are living according to the truth. A healthy church is not a gathering of people that are living according to a lie. And so this is of utmost importance. John cares about these people that he's writing to, these believers. He calls them children and beloved. And we are so thankful for such language, the language of love among the body of Christ. The language of love. The last thing that John wants for these readers is for them to be deceived. And so that's a good introduction. As we think about the passage, I'm glad that we know that he says, I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. He tells us this is the reason that I've written these things, because there are some that are trying to deceive you. And so again, by introduction, by way of thinking about this passage and then how it's going to apply to our lives, we ask the question, is there any pressure upon us to be led into deception, to be led into a lie? Is that happening this day? Near 2,000 years ago this was an issue. Is there any pressure today to be led away from the truth into a lie? Is there anyone trying to lead you away from the truth of the Bible? And are there people who would like for you to go in the wrong direction, away from the truth? We need to hear this warning that John's readers needed to hear. We need to hear it as well. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. I hope this will begin, the questions will begin to flow in your mind. Am I deceived? I mean, let's be serious about it. We're not wandering through life. And we see an intentionality in the Scriptures that the people that are followers of God, that are the children of God, they have a clear mind on what they believe, where they are, the type of life that they ought to live. And so we should desire desperately to live according to the truth. Have we already been deceived in some ways? For there are many, all of us are tempted certainly, to adopt a worldly way of thinking. All of us are tempted to do this. We have to be quite careful. Many so-called churches are very worldly. Very worldly. They simply live according to everyone else, the culture even, that has possibly no thought of God on their mind. And so this is helpful. Again, if you wanted to look back to that verses 15 through 17, you would say that there is a danger for loving the world to be overly influenced by the things of the world. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. It says there, all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, pride of life is not from the Father, but it's from the world. And I hope you'll come for the Sunday school hour as you hear Ecclesiastes being taught. This morning we certainly were exhorted to find satisfaction in God alone. not by things of the world. And so are we being deceived? Are we buying into a lie that the world might give us such as you need to gratify the desires of your flesh, you need to be focused upon what you can be and how you can have pride of yourself? No, our boasting is in the Lord according to the Scriptures. Don't be deceived. That's what it keeps coming back to. Don't be led astray. Don't go in the wrong direction. And so, the question that I'd like to deal with on as we look at verses 18 through 27 has two parts. The first part is, do you live according to the truth? Or do you live according to a lie? That's the way that as I see this passage, I think we can frame it up. And of course, Brother Micah dealt with verses 18 and 19. I hope you will go back and listen if you did not before where he brought those out. I'll quickly say something about it. Because I want to first look at who lives. Who lives according to a lie? And then we will look at who lives according to the truth. And then we can see what Scripture is saying. Certainly don't be deceived. But who is it that lives according to the lie? Is that us? Or do we live according to the truth? Who lives according to the lie? So verses 18 and 19. We see their children, it is the last hour, as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come, therefore 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 it might become plain that they are not of us." We know the period of time that John is writing, is the same period of time that we are living in. It's the last hour. And this began at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and it will continue until Jesus return. The last hour is the end when Christ returns. The last hour will end when Christ returns. We want to be found faithful servants of Jesus when He comes back. We want to be found living according to the truth, right? That's the exhortation from this scripture. Don't be deceived. Don't be living according to a lie. And so John wants his children to understand the times and also to live according to the truth. It is the coming Antichrist and many Antichrists that live according to a lie. He's bringing that out to our attention that the Antichrist and many Antichrists. So those that read the letter, John wants them to understand why some disruptive things have happened in the church. Why has this disruption happened? Well, it's verse 19, they went out from us because they were not of us. There have been some people leave the church, that's the point. And it's easy to become stirred up, if you will, possibly fretful if someone leaves the church. For we want the church to be built up. We want the church to grow. But that's not always the case. And so John writes to those that had gone out from them. And he's explaining. Sometimes the church gets smaller and the numbers dwindle. Is it always good for a church to have a larger number? As you think about this situation, when those have gone out from the church, is it always bad that the church would have a smaller number? And in this case, in this situation, it is actually good that the church has decreased in number. That's again against our thinking many times, but it's good that the number has gone down in this gathering, among that gathering of believers. the people who left the church uh... they were not christians so at times christians part ways we see that in scripture as well but that's not the case here these people that parted ways were were not christians these people did not assemble to worship the true god according to his revelation of himself what we would say they didn't worship god according to the bible uh... And so if they were Christians, they would have continued with the church is the implication. So these people are not believing the truth. These people left the church. They were believing a lie. They're trying to get others in the church, I'm sure, to believe this same lie. What could they possibly be believing? What is the big lie? What is John's focus here on warning these believers? Well, look to verse 22. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist. He who denies the Father and the Son. There we find the lie. It is that Jesus is not the Christ. Now this seems to be so simple, but I know that that congregation of believers needed to hear this. They need to be focused back upon Christ, the foundation of our faith. And so we need that same focus. The lie is that Jesus is not the Christ. They deny Jesus is the Christ and that means they deny the core of Christian belief. I mean, if Jesus is not the Christ, then where is our hope found? They deny that Jesus is the Anointed One of God. They deny that Jesus is the Messiah. God had promised a Savior, a Deliverer. And the faithful were always trusting in God's promise to provide a Deliverer, a Savior, an Anointed One to deliver them. They deny this, that Jesus was the Christ. They deny that Jesus has come to bring salvation. He's come to bring salvation to the world and we know particularly the people of God will certainly receive this salvation, but they deny that Jesus is the one, the anointed of God. And so they deny Jesus of Nazareth who walked the earth some 2,000 years ago as the true hope of salvation, the way that God and man can be reconciled. They deny that He is the mediator between God and men. They say Jesus is not this one. So, we find that they are described as the Antichrist. You've heard that the Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Who is that Antichrist? the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ. It's really straightforward to see who it is that lives according to the lie. Our belief must be founded upon Jesus as the Christ. He is our only hope of right relationship with God Almighty. And so the world would want you to believe that Jesus is not the Christ, the world denies Jesus is the Christ and that's described as the Antichrist as well, many Antichrists for that matter. How many Antichrists are you among that deny, the definition being deny that Jesus is the Christ? We're around a multitude. but yet they need to hear the gospel once again. The world and the devil wants you to believe this lie and to live according to this lie. Some say that going off to college is a dangerous thing. Many will say that those that were raised in the church then begin to believe this lie, that they're led away from the faith. And certainly we would have to question, were they rooted and grounded in Christ when they went to the college? But this warning that John gives, he says, they're trying to deceive you. And so I'm writing to you to explain who they really are. This needs to be clear in our mind. Sometimes we get confused or nervous about discussing things of the Lord with people. This is an excellent place to start. Who do you believe Jesus to be? The Antichrist says that Jesus is not the anointed one of God, the one who provides salvation, the only hope for sinner. That Jesus, who the Bible tells us was born of a virgin, walked this earth, never sinned, and yet died on a cross like a sinner. He received punishment, you know, physically, but he received the wrath of God so much so that he would cry out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The wrath of God was put upon Jesus Christ, the Son, And now we can be reconciled to God because He took our punishment and we can be given that perfection that Jesus lived out on this earth. Really, this is the core of the Christian belief. The Christian does not believe this lie, nor does the Christian live according to this lie. For we know that belief, what we believe, and knowledge that we have, if we have true knowledge, that means that it is lived out. Do you see that the Christian faith, the relationship with God is not just a relationship of the head, it affects our heart. Knowing God means that He's changed our heart and then He changes our life. And so there is a difference between Christianity and all of the other religions of the world. And what is it? They don't confess Jesus as Christ. That's what the difference is. Simply and summarily, that would be a difference between world religions and Christianity. So religions are not what the world would want us to believe as many paths to the one God. That's not what the case is. We know this, but we need to be reminded of it. And so the difference is what is the confession of Jesus? Is he the Christ or is he denied as being the Christ, the anointed one of God? Who lives according to a lie? anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ. We can see the two categories coming up here and as we see in scripture the importance of this we will also see around us and among us there's two groups of people in this world there's one that are living according to the truth And then there's another group that's living according to a lie. The ones that live according to a lie are those who deny Jesus is the Christ. And this passage lays that out pretty plainly. And so who lives according to the truth? That's what we want to hear about because we want to be those people. Every one of you, I hope, this afternoon will say, I don't want to be deceived. I don't want to be living according to a lie. Can you imagine if at the end of your life, if you heard you have lived according to a lie, your whole life, you have lived according to something that was not true. What a, what a miserable end that would be for the end of the person that lives according to the lie spoken over here is going to be depart from me, you worker of iniquity. I never knew you. But those who live according to the truth will receive joy forevermore. They will get to worship the Lord for all eternity. We heard something of this this morning in Pastor Mark's message. He will be their God and He will be with them. This is good news. Who lives according to the truth? Well, in verses 22 and 23, we said that the one who lives according to the lie is the one who denies 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. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. So who lives according to the truth? It is the person who confesses Jesus is the Christ. Yeah, this is the other side of the coin that we've just been speaking of. The lie is denying Christ, the truth is you confess Christ. And so if a person has never confessed Jesus as the Christ, then we would have to say they are living according to a lie. They have denied Jesus by their silence even. Confessing Christ is important in salvation. We know that from Romans chapter 10. Our heart is involved in salvation, but our mouth is even involved in salvation. It says there, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, with the mouth one confesses and is saved. There's a connection between confession and belief. We normally speak about what we believe. We normally say what we think to be true. And some of us defend what we believe to be true very strongly. I think we should have convictions, strong belief. that is filling up our life. And so the person who confesses Jesus as the Christ is the one who's living according to the truth. We know that when I say confession and belief are connected, we know that people that don't have the ability to speak, of course, can be saved. That is certainly possible, so we're not focusing on that in a literal way too far, if a person doesn't have the ability to speak, but for the Christian, once they know the Lord, then they will begin, according to this passage, to confess the Son. And then they have the father. That's right. We want to be in fellowship. John is written there back in chapter one talking about fellowship. How can we can have this spiritual relationship more than the surface level relationship with the Lord? Ultimately, we're thankful for fellowship among brethren, but we're thankful for fellowship with the Lord. This is how this happens is through the son alone. You will live according to the truth if you're seeking fellowship with the Father through the Son. If you confess the Son, then you have the Father also. Some people like to share everything they believe and some people are quiet, folk. That's all right. But the Christian is one who confesses Jesus Christ, their only Savior, their only Lord. That would mean that the Christian understands that they're sinners and they need forgiveness. When you confess Jesus is the Christ, this is not an intellectual assent to some historical facts. We're not just saying that there was a man named Jesus that lived in Nazareth 2,000 years ago. That's not biblical belief. And that's not confession that comes from the belief. What you're saying is that I understand I'm a sinner and I need forgiveness. And you're confessing Christ, so you would confess your sin. And then you wouldn't stop there, you would say, Jesus is my only hope in light of my sin against Almighty God, so I'm confessing Jesus as the Christ. You know, we got to get past just the one line. I did say the person who lives according to the truth confesses Jesus as the Christ, but we have to get down to what does that mean? Well, that means I'm a sinner. That means I'm deserving of punishment for my sin for all eternity. That's when I confess Jesus as Christ, I'm doing that in light of this truth. And then I'm confessing Jesus as the My only hope. He is the Lamb who was slain so that the wrath of God toward me and God's wrath toward you as you confess Christ was put upon Jesus. He is the Lamb slain. He is the propitiatory sacrifice. He appeases the wrath of God. He puts away the wrath of God and our sin is covered. Now we can be cleansed by His perfect blood. He is the Christ. That's the person who lives according to the truth. And the Christian doesn't confess Christ one time. Why? When you ask a person if they're a Christian, they say, I prayed the sinner's prayer a long time ago. Why would they say that? Probably because they've been taught that that's the means of salvation. They've probably been taught, you just pray this prayer and God's going to save you. But yet there's no evidence that God has actually saved them. The Christian is the one who goes through life and continually looks unto Christ, continually confesses Christ because they will continually see their sin. God is in the process of making us more holy. He is sanctifying us. So secondly, from the passage, the people that live according to the truth are the ones who abide in the gospel. And I've really just said the same thing, but it comes up in this passage. So look in verse 24. Verse 24, 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. John tells the readers what they heard. at the beginning abide in them. Let it dwell. Don't let this truth slip away, but it must stay. And no doubt they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ in the beginning. That's what they needed to hear in order to know the Lord. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Paul summarizes to Timothy as he's writing. Of course, he said he was the chief of sinners, the foremost. So they heard something. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. Again, they heard they were sinners against God, their creator. They heard that all sinners deserve punishment in hell forever. Separation from the goodness of God. They heard that God showed love towards sinners by sending his son. Wow. They heard that God displayed love towards sinners by sending his son. This brings to mind some of the times when the Gentiles so rejoiced to hear. When Paul would first go to the synagogue and he'd present to them, convincing them from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ, and they many times would deny him. There were Jews certainly that believed in Jesus as the Christ, were converted, but they would deny him. And so then Paul would say, okay, I'm going to go and preach to the Gentiles. And the Gentiles rejoiced to hear this so many times. They were delighted to know the love of God. They were no longer outsiders. They were no longer separated from the Commonwealth of Israel. But yet the curtain had been torn. There was no division now. to separate all had access to God, and it was through Jesus. He is the Savior. You can boldly approach His throne of grace in time of need because of Jesus, the great high priest, the one who has come to reconcile people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. They heard the beloved Son of God was hung on the cross. They heard that He was indeed dying as a substitute in the place of sinners. They heard that if you repent of your sins and trust in Christ, then you would be saved. Repent, believe the gospel, Jesus says as He began His gospel ministry walking this earth. They heard that Jesus was resurrected from the grave. They heard that all who are saved by Jesus will be raised up to walk in newness of life. This is what they heard. And so, they need to abide in what they heard at the beginning. That's the person who lives according to the truth, the one who abides in this truth of Jesus Christ. Only a person who receives the gospel can have fellowship with God. They can only abide in the Son and the Father if it's through the Son, by trusting in Christ. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, it says there at the end of verse 24, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And then it goes on, this is the promise that He made to us, eternal life. What a promise, eternal life. This is not eternal death. Everyone is headed in one of two directions. You're gonna live eternally, you're gonna have eternal life, or you're gonna have eternal death. And the promise of God to His children, those that receive the Lord Jesus Christ, confess Jesus Christ, abide in the gospel, they receive eternal life. This is a promise from God. He is the one who does not lie. This is the promise. He is trustworthy. He gives his children eternal life and they will worship him forever for all eternity. The person who lives according to the truth is the person who abides in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the person who lives according to the truth is the one who confesses Jesus as the Christ. And finally, the person who lives according to the truth is this type of person, the person who is anointed by the Holy Spirit. So you see this from this passage, the person who is anointed by the Holy Spirit. Look back to verse 20. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge, you have all 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. If we've been anointed by the Holy One, the Holy Spirit, then we have all knowledge. Of course we're going to be living according to the truth. You'll be one of the most knowledgeable people in all the world if you've been taught by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives knowledge, but the question is, do we automatically have knowledge if we're anointed by the Holy Spirit? Certainly when you're first converted you have the most eternally important knowledge. You have the knowledge of Jesus Christ, Jesus as the Christ. You have that knowledge when you're converted. And that would be enough. I don't know how much more that some in this world have had before their death. They began to trust in Christ, and maybe their death was very soon. John says, I write to you, verse 21, not because you do not know the truth, because you know it, and no lie is of the truth. He says, you've been anointed by the Holy Spirit, you've been taught by the Holy Spirit, and so you know truth. Some people are uneasy or they have a... low confidence in what knowledge they possess. Oh, I must be smarter, some think. I've got to pursue more knowledge. Yes, we need to be studying. But if you know that Jesus is the Christ, if you know that bit of truth, you know enough to die and spend eternity in the presence of God. If you are trusting in Jesus Christ, These people know the truth that John's writing to, and they are not living according to a lie. What confidence! What confidence to know that you're living according to the truth. God has actually given you some eternal truth that will not waver, it will stand. Do you live according to the truth or do you live according to a lie? Don't be deceived. John's bringing this upon him. Okay, well, you're deceived if you deny that Jesus is the Christ, but you're living according to the truth if you confess Jesus is the Christ, if you abide in the gospel, if you've been anointed by the Holy Spirit. And so in verse 27, We find something more about the work of the Holy Spirit. But the anointing that you received is from Him who abides in you. 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 is taught you, abide in Him. You see, the anointing of the Holy Spirit is a very, very God is very gracious to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The person who lives according to the truth does not do that by their own power, doesn't do that by their own wisdom or their own knowledge, rather it is not the power of the flesh that enables us to live according to the truth, only the power of God upon us can enable us to live in a truthful way. Only the anointing of the Holy Spirit will lead us into the truth. So the Holy Spirit illustrates or it illuminates, lights up the truth to the believer. We don't need any other teacher if we've been taught by the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Christ. First, the Holy Spirit teaches a person about Jesus, that Jesus is their only hope. The Holy Spirit teaches us about our sin, convicts us of our sin, then we trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit teaches then, after a person's converted, the Holy Spirit teaches us, sanctifies us in living the Christian life in a way that pleases the Lord. The Holy Spirit will never teach a lie. The Holy Spirit always teaches the truth, so just as it has taught you, abide in Him. How does the Holy Spirit, what does the Holy Spirit teach us? There at the end of verse 27, abide in Him. The Holy Spirit teaches a person to abide in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will not lead you in another direction. The Holy Spirit doesn't lead you away from Jesus. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived, John says. The Spirit's gonna teach you to abide in Him. He'll never lead you away from Jesus. Abide in Him. You might ask, well, how does this work? How does the Holy Spirit teach us? I hope you want to know this. It seems to be kind of magical or mysterious, the way it's been described. You need no other teacher, is what we said there, if you've been taught by the Holy Spirit. Should we sign up for the Holy Spirit class? If you went around to churches around here, I'm sure you could sign up for the Holy Spirit class of some church around here. I'm sure there's a class. Maybe you're too busy, so you could get the online course, the Holy Spirit. Others say, get quiet, empty your mind, then the Holy Spirit will put some truth in your head. The way the Holy Spirit teaches a person is by the Word of God. Thankfully, we live in a privileged place and time. I don't know if you think about that often, I don't near enough, but we are in a very privileged place and time to have access to the Word of God. We have the sure word of God, which the Holy Spirit will use to teach the Christian. And the person who lives according to the truth is anointed by that Holy Spirit. But then we hear, you don't need and then anyone else should teach you. And then John is writing this letter. John says, you don't need anybody else to teach you. But then he writes the letter to a group of believers that are struggling with some things. How can we reconcile this? And why am I up here before you for that matter? Well, John was carried along by the Holy Spirit to write these words. So they mean something. The question is, what do they mean? I am here to only teach what the Holy Spirit taught John. I am here only to deliver the message from the Word of God. The teaching that we need is from the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit must ultimately be the teacher. I cannot teach you. Even the best Bible teacher as an expositor couldn't teach you, and I mean it this way. I cannot apply these truths to your heart. I can give you the information for your mind, but the Holy Spirit is the one who must cause it to come alive and to change you, to kindle your desires and your affections for the Lord. As we study this word, that should be what happens. Love to God should be growing, and hatred of our sin should be growing as we study the Word of God and we see what God has done, this glorious promise that He has given eternal life to those who trust in His Son. And so you don't have any need of anybody to teach you any other than what the Holy Spirit has inspired through the Word of God. You see, don't be deceived. You don't need a man that can give you wonderful things to the ear but don't come from right here. If you can't see it from the Word of God, then I would hold that teaching lightly. I would not base my life upon that teaching if you can't clearly see it from Scripture. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. And so from that passage, as I was studying the passage, certainly I want to be faithful to the text. We see that John wrote these things about those who are trying to deceive this group of believers. There is the possibility of deception. So who is it that is living according to this lie that can lead you in the wrong direction? It's those who deny that Jesus is the Christ. Okay, I don't want to be such a person, so who is it that lives according to the truth? It's those who have come to the Lord Jesus and depended upon Him as truly the Christ. They have such a knowledge of Christ that it led them to confess Christ. They're saying He is the Anointed One, He is the only Savior. The only way I can be reconciled with God. Secondly, don't just confess Jesus as the Christ, but you have to abide in this good gospel news according to this passage. You remember it said, verse 24, "...let what you heard from the beginning abide in you." They certainly had heard the gospel in the beginning. This has got to remain or dwell in you. And finally, it's those who are anointed with the Holy Spirit. So in the men's prayer time this afternoon, Brother Allen even prayed, if you know how to give good gifts to your children who are evil, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? Oh, may we have the power of the Spirit upon us so that we can live in a way that pleases God, glorifies Him above all things. If you have desire to live according to the truth, then you must be a confessor of Jesus as the Christ. if you're living according to the truth. If you want to live according to the truth, you've got to abide in the gospel. You can't look for salvation in another place. You can't be saved by Christ and His work and think that you're going to go on in salvation by your own ability. You've got to look to Christ. You say, well, the Bible says very seriously that the Christian will grow in holiness. I've got to just grow in holiness. Oh, may the power of the Spirit be upon us to continue to teach these truths so much so that we know them, not just in our head, but we know them such knowledge is transformative that we live out the truths that are taught in this Word. If you believe in Jesus as Savior, if you've submitted to Him as your only hope, then you have been anointed by the Holy Spirit, because the Bible says that you are born again, or born of the Spirit, and that even enables that confession of Christ, truly. The Holy Spirit will teach you to abide in Jesus, remain in Jesus. So if you're led away in some other direction, then that's not the Holy Spirit. What more could we need? What more do we need than this? Well, what we need is for the Holy Spirit to continue to bring all of God's truth to bear upon us. We need to continue to grow in His truth for God has given us the gospel and He has filled out the picture of the implications of the gospel. This is what a gospel life looks like. And so we need the Holy Spirit to continue to teach us the whole counsel of God. We need certainly more sanctification. We need more in a greater and greater measure to be set apart from the world and set apart for the Lord. Sanctification, set apart. We need this and the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to do this. Jesus said, sanctify them in the truth. He's praying in John 17. Sanctify them in the truth. Your Word is truth. And so that's why this church puts importance on the teaching and the preaching of the Word of God more and more. It's also beneficial for a person to pick up their Bible and simply read these words, because this truth is what the Holy Spirit will use to work in your life, to teach you. And you won't be deceived once you've been taught of the Holy Spirit. And so don't be deceived. You know what that means now, at least in context to this passage. May God bless us that we not be deceived. May we not be led in the wrong direction, away from the truth. May we not live according to a lie. Oh God, please don't let us live according to a lie. May we not deny Jesus as the Christ. That's what we're saying. May we live according to the truth. For all that confess Jesus as the Christ, all that repent of their sin, all that abide in the gospel by the enablement, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it's those who live according to the truth. May we be such people. Let's pray. Father, we know the influence upon us from the world if we turn on the television, If we look at the advertisements posted along the signs, if we see what so many other people are focused upon, it's not Jesus being Christ. It's not abiding in the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not walking by the Spirit and being taught by the Holy Spirit. Oh God, keep us, we pray. We know that You will do this. Thank You for sending Your Son. Thank You for reconciling us. You've made a way. You've displayed Your love toward us while we were yet sinners. Christ died. Father, I pray that You will bring the truth of Scripture to our minds, to our hearts, and then to our life. For we want to live according to the truth. And that would mean that we would glorify Your grace. That we would make much of You. having something to say, the reason of the hope that's in us. Lord, I pray that you would bless us to live according to the truth. Oh, let us not be deceived. And it's only through Jesus that I pray this.