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The “The Voice Of The |
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You Were Asked To Pray For: |
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A Thought From C. H. Spurgeon: FOOD AND REST
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A Thought For The
Week: Many
Antichrists. 1st John 2:18 – 19 Beloved, we now come to a
new step in Christian maturity. As we look back at last week we saw 4 steps
of Christian growth, infants, young boys or girls, young men (age 40 and
under), and fathers. We see John began V. 18 “Little children,” this word
comes form the Greek word Paidion meaning the young
boys or girls. The question came to my mind is why this group? We have four
stages of Christian growth and John address the second step, why? As I
pondered this question it came to me, these are the most vulnerable group
because they are ready and eager to learn. We see the infants and they are
too young in the Lord to learn much they still desire the milk of the word.
We look at the young men and they are already beyond this in their learning
because they are already battling the evil one, and as we look at the fathers
they are certainly beyond the young men.
Now that we see why John
addresses the young boys or girls lets look at what John is teaching them. “it is the last time” yes even then
they thought they were in the last days as is true throughout the ages and
even today we teach we are in the last days. I believe the Lord has a reason
for making us all throughout the ages and in our future think this and I
believe that answer is in Matthew 24:44 “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the
Son of man cometh.” Yes I believe it keeps us ready for the Lords return. The
question is when will He return? When we are not ready? Maybe, so the next
step in Christian maturity is to stay ready. As we dig deeper into V. 18 we
see “and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many
antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” Please notice this is
not “The Anti-Christ” but simply antichrist, this word means an opponent
of the Messiah. Here in 1st John it means one that opposes the
teaching of Christ, which is, they teach the opposite of what Christ teaches.
A good example here is Jesus said He is the way to God, they would teach He
is the way but we still need something else. They simply oppose everything
Christ teaches in His word. John
goes on to describe where these antichrist come
from, they come out of the true churches. Lets notice V. 19a “They went out
from us,” in other words at one time they were with us in worship, maybe
teachers or Pastors, or just members of the church but they left because “but
they were not of us;” They may have been with us but they were not saved,
this is what John is saying. This is why they left, what we teach did not
satisfy them because they knew not our Saviour. John goes on to say “for if
they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us:” if
they were part of us, truly Christians, truly worshipers of our Lord, then
why would they leave? Why would you leave a place where truth is taught for a
place that teaches non-truth? John says because they are lost. John
concludes with this “but they went out, that they might be made
manifest that they were not all of us.” V. 19 the word “manifest” means to
shout a message, and here it means they made it known we are not of them
people, we oppose everything they teach. Beloved, they may have never loved
us and this is why they left us, but they never loved the Lord either. The
Lord teaches us why in 2 Timothy
4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears; (4.) And they shall turn away their ears from the
truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
By Pastor Randy Johnson, |
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Happy Birthday: Steve McCool August 31st Elaine
Woodall August 31st |
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"MY SINS ARE
EVER BEFORE ME": "My sins
are ever before me," we cry with the fathers. What is to be done about
my sins? It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take
away sins. It is evident that no man is justified by the law. The tears of
Esau would not restore his birthright. The water of baptism left Simon Magus
in the gall of bitterness. Judas' confession that he had betrayed innocent
blood only led him to suicide. The wonderful works professed in Matt. 7 were
called "works of iniquity" by Christ. "How can he be clean
that is born of a woman?" Here is the answer: "HE (the Lord of
glory) APPEARED (came to earth in flesh) TO PUT AWAY SIN (all sin--past,
present, and future) BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF." "For Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us
to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (I
Peter 3:18). Author unknown |