"How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You."
Pslam 119:9-11
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Good morning! Let's pray.....
"Our Holy Father, this day I come to You to praise Your holy name. I thank You for giving us Your word and not leaving us here alone without a word from You. I thank You that Your word is my anchor that keeps me safe and steadies me. I praise You for being holy above all.
I ask forgiveness of my sins. Forgive me for not being in Your word nearly enough and not being attached to that anchor. I pray that You will forgive me for thinking I can go a day without being with You. Cleanse me, Lord, from my sins and help me to seek after You with my whole heart. Teach me to treasure Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.
I pray for each lady reading this study today. I pray that You will reveal more of Yourself to her so that she may know You more. I pray that she will treasure Your word in her heart and seek you with her whole heart today. I also pray that You will come alongside her and comfort her. Help her get through her day today.
In Jesus' name.....amen."
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We looked at who the antichrists are in the last lesson. To quickly review, antichrists and antichristian teachings are among us right now trying to mislead Christians astray. Jesus said they come in sheep's clothing but that they are really ravenous wolves set on devouring us.
John wrote his letters as a way to keep belivers on track. Stay in the word of truth! Abide in the word of truth! As the Psalmist wrote, we are to treasure the word of God in our hearts.....hidden in our hearts....that we might not sin against God.
The aim of false teachers is to lead us away from Christ. Christians are being enslaved around the world today simply for teaching about Christ. Islam is an extremely antichristian religion and it is spreading fast around the world. And it is coming here to America, make no doubt about that. These false teachings creep into our churches and lead Christians away from Christ.
But, as Jesus said, "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matt 10:22)
1 John 2:20-21
"But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth."
Here is the hope that John leaves us with: we have that anointing from the Christ. "Christ" means anointed so this verse shows us the unique office of Jesus: God's Savior of the world. God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit to be our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Please read:
Heb 1:1-9
We have that anointing as well, so we are given that prophetic, priestly, and kingly responsibilites (New Geneva Study Bible commentary). The Holy Spirit is that voice within us which alerts us to when false teachings are placed in front of us. To know God's word is to have that discernment to know false teachings.
Please read:
2 Cor 1:21-22
Eph 4:30
Eph 1:13-14
John reminds us that we have been given a way to protect us from these false christs: the Holy Spirit has sealed us. We have that protection that unbelievers do not have.
The Holy One is that Spirit of Truth that Jesus spoke of...
John 16:13
John 14:17
He is the Helper that Jesus spoke of....
John 15:26
But John reminds us that what he is writing is nothing that we do not already know:
"I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truh."
John knows that we know, but he felt led to remind us that no lie is of the truth. If you have the Spirit of Truth in you, then you become sensitive to everything that honors the Lord and everything that dishonors Him. When we hear God's word being misused or incorrectly preached, the Holy Spirit illuminates us and enables us to discern truth from error.
Please re-read John 14:17
The world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth because they do not see Him nor know Him.
But we know Him....and therefore we must dwell with Him. God's word needs to be our anchor.
Is 65: 16
1 Cor 3:16-17
1 Cor 6:19
2 Cor 6:16
Eph 2:19-21
God and Jesus are ONE and so is the Holy Spirit equal to God the Father. The Spirit of Truth is the authority of scripture.
2 Cor 4:6
It is the Spirit that shines in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! Praise God.
This is what John wants to remind us of in chapter two of his first epistle. Now that we have been reminded.....now that we know.....let us not forget and let us stay in the word!
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Life Application
Jesus gave us hope in John 14:26;
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
This is what John was remembering and repeating to us in 1 John 2:20-21
Obviously, the Holy Spirit brought to John's remembrance all things that Jesus said to him. And we are benefitting from this even to this day!
Are we asking the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrances the things that Jesus said?? Can we quote these things of Jesus word for word? I know I cannot....and that causes me to confess my sins to the Lord.
We remember our Social Security numbers, phone numbers, bank account numbers, addresses, etc., but when it comes to memorizing scripture.....we tend to forget!
Well, I am one of those who tend to forget. Pray for me!
Memorizing scripture is vital to the Christian walk because we do not have our Bibles with us at all times. And because antichristian sentiments are rising all around us, the day is coming when we will not be able to have Bibles any longer. Maybe not in our day, but in our children's days....and will they be able to remember the things Jesus said?
Today, take what you have learned and hide it in your heart as you treasure your children and your husband. Make God's word more important than those phone numbers and bank account numbers.
Hide it into your heart and treasure it there.....memorize those verses that cause you to discern the things of the Lord from those false teachings. First John is an excellent book to start with!
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Until next time......
"Many people pay lip service to the Word; they may admire it, but they do not feed upon it. When we neglect to read God's Word daily, we slip loose from our anchor. When we read and digest God's Word, it is imprinted on our souls and our defences are reinforced against false teaching. So we must anchor our minds and hearts in God's Word and Bible-based literature."
-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, p. 100)
Blessings,
Ruth
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