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Sermon Notes 07-24-11 am
1 John 2:6
Intro: Paul was on his way to Jerusalem and trouble!
He gathered leaders of Church in Ephesus on beach in Miletus to give them
an affection goodbye and Instructions
Be on Guard! Savage wolves will come in among you… they will Arise from among your own selves…to draw away…
t/s – John, leading in Ephesus, next generation…
… False Teachers within the Church!
How Can We Know that we (or they) are Really Christians?
- Evaluating our Own Lives to find Assurance
- Evaluating our Teachers to find Protection
Note: Evaluate teachers by watching them Live!
1 John 2: 3-6 (vs. 5 – refer to Wednesday on Line)
The Christian Claim
Exp – John helps us understand what it is that we Claim.
a) To Know Jesus (see. Vs. 1-2) – Mental == Gnostics!
b) To Love Jesus – Emotional
c) To Abide with Jesus – Vital
Christians claim a mental, emotional and Vital connection with Jesus!
(Gospel of Cross and born again encounter with the Living Lord)
Ill – FBC Daytona Beach, Fl., found everyone answered “yes.” If
Asked, “Are you a Christian?”
“A life-changing Encounter with Jesus!”
App – Have you had a Life-changing Encounter with Jesus?
- Do you Know Him, Love Him, Walk with Him?
- This is biblical Christianity!
t/s – John found false teachers making this very claim!
a secret, maybe mystical Encounter with Christ….
- How can you “Test” that Claim?
ILL – Man showed up on frontier farm in Tennessee claiming to
be Jesus the Messiah…wanted to be welcomed into home.
- Farmer, lay preacher began to roll up his sleeves
- If you are Jesus, this won’t hurt. If you are not, you deserve it!
For John, Talk Is Cheap! (The One Who Says……)
t/s – How can we Evaluate or Test the Claim to “Know” Jesus?
Testing the Claim to Know Jesus
Exp – Obedience. Those who Know, Love and Abide….Obey!
Obedience is very observable.
ILL – “Obedient Children?” == Pattern, not Perfection
Notice a progression in the way John describes Obedience…
a) Keep His Commandments – Formal
b) Keep His Word – Personal
c) Walk as He Walked – Intimate
ILL – John never got over the two words Jesus used to call His disciples….
Remember in the boat “Follow Me!”
Believe? Know? Love? Abide? (all kind of fuzzy)
- Following is clear as a man’s words and deeds!
- Learning, Loving, Living…. Walking as He Walked!
- Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not Do what I say?
App - Obedience verifies Our Claim to Know Jesus!
n Ask, “Is my life marked by Obedience to Jesus?”
n Yes == Blessed Assurance!
Conclusion
ILL – Kate crawled into my lap, looked kindly into my eyes,
“Pastor Hance….. you got something in your teeth right here!”
John is too old to play games. He gets right up close and tells us the Truth, even if the Truth hurts. He loves us too much to let us live a Lie. So he confronts us with the plain, simple, unvarnished Truth:
Without Obedience, all your talk about knowing Jesus is Cheap!
