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1 John 2:28-3:3
Stephen Caswell © 1998
Prepare To Celebrate
In 1983, Ed Woodyard decided where he wanted to spend New Year's Eve 1999.
After some discussion with a reservation agent, he booked at a hotel which hadn't yet been built - the Marriot Marquis that would overlook Times Square in New York City.
Now that's triple faith; that the day will arrive, that the hotel will be built, and that he will still be alive.
But wouldn't it seem strange if Ed planned an overseas trip from the week before that day until midnight of December 31 1998.
You would expect him to be in town, ready to move in.
It shouldn't seem strange that Christians are preparing to attend a grand event God has planned for all who belong to Him through faith in Christ.
Revelation describes it as the wedding celebration of Jesus and His bride.
But some believers live as though Christ was not coming back.
Their plans do not include being ready for the second advent.
John says that such believers will be ashamed!
Introduction
/Will you be ashamed at Christ's return and want to shrink back?/ /Or will you be confident at Christ's return?/ /Can you be confident at Christ's coming?
Or is that being presumptuous?/
John gives believers three instructions so that they can be confident at Christ's return.
1.
I.
Abide in Him
2. II.
Appreciate the Fathers Love
3. III.
Anticipate Christ's return
*/Firstly /* I.
Abide In Him
*1 John 2:28 *says this: /And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming./
/a.
The Command/ / - And now, little children, abide in Him/
John *commands* believers to abide in Him.
Why/ will abiding in Christ give us confidence at His return?
/This word is used some sixty odd times in John's writings.
The word /abide/ means /to remain, to indwell, to be in a close and settled union./
One of the greatest passages on abiding is found in John chapter 15 where Christ speaks of the vine and the branches.
This illustration highlights the individual's responsibility to have a personal relationship with Christ.
We cannot just be connected to another branch.
We must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ if we are to avail ourselves of His power.
*John 15:4-5 *says this: /Abide in Me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
/
Believers cannot live lives that please God, without abiding in Him.
It is only as God lives His life in us and through us that we can be fruitful.
We do not have the power or ability to please God on our own.
Only when we depend on the Lord can He bring forth fruit in us.
When we abide in Christ, He abides in us.
As Christ abides in us, we have access to His life, and His love.
When we obey His word we have confidence that our prayers will be answered since they are asked in accordance with His will.
Abiding in Christ is the secret to a fruitful Christian life.
It is accomplished through simple faith in Christ's promises.
It is maintained by prayerful reliance upon God for grace and confession of sin.
And it requires obedience to His word.
These simple, yet necessary steps allow us to abide in the vine.
He alone can bring forth the fruit, because the life is in the vine.
So the command is/ to abide/, not to bear fruit.
The Solar Powered Torch
In our modern day we have some marvellous inventions, computers, electric tools and many others.
They all require electricity to be able to function.
Nowadays it is possible to by solar batteries which draw their energy from the sun.
This is both clean and economical.
A useful combination is a solar torch.
This is a regular torch combined with a solar battery.
But for the torch to be able to shine at night it first must spend time in the sunlight to charge up its battery.
The longer it remains in the sun, the more charge the battery receives.
Consequently if the torch is not left in the sun it has no light to shine.
This has a parallel with Christians.
If we wish to shine for Christ we need to spend time in the Son's light to draw power from Him.
Only as the believer abides in Christ can he draw on this unlimited power supply.
/b.
The Promise/ - /That when He appears we may have confidence /
Those who abide in Christ will rejoice at His coming.
They will have a quiet assurance within that they will receive reward.
John promised those who abide in Christ that they will know that all is well.
/Do you desire to have confidence at Christ's return?/
If you do then you must abide in Him.
*1 John 4:17-18* *says this:* /Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
/
/c.
The Warning/ /- And not be ashamed before Him at His coming./
John also gives a warning in this verse.
Those who don't abide in Him will be ashamed at Christ's coming.
The New American Standard Bible says, / and will not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
/ This reveals that some will be uncomfortable at Christ's return.
Application
/ /
/Are you abiding in Christ?
Do you spend time alone with the Lord and remain close to Him? Are you relying on Him, drawing power from Him to live the Christian life?/ /Will you have confidence at Christ's coming or shrink away in shame?
*John's first command to abide in Him had both a promise of confidence at Christ's coming and warning of shame for those who don't abide.*/
/Secondly * */Appreciate the Fathers Love.
* *
*1 John 2:29-3:1* says this: /If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him./
/a.*
*The Command/ /- Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us./
A literal reading might be, */Take a good look at the out of this world kind of Love that Our heavenly Father has freely given to us./*/ /The love God has shown us is not the type of love normally seen in this world.
His love is unconditional and extravagant.
Who in this world would adopt total strangers into their family and give them the family name and inheritance.
And what is even more extravagant in this, is the fact that He has done this for His enemies who rebelled against Him.
We had rebelled against God and sold ourselves into slavery and sin.
We have all shaken our fist at God and gone our own way.
But God has given His only Son to die in our place.
Not only has God set us free from spiritual slavery, but He has given us spiritual riches in Christ, that includes an eternal inheritance.
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