Focus On the Truth

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning, the 16th of July, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  A recording should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, our culture here in the US is very focused on things – the possession of things.  The more things, the better.  And quantity isn’t all that counts, but quality as well.  Only the very best things are to be desired.  We can’t possibly be happy if we don’t drive this model of car, or wear those designer clothes, or have that brand of refrigerator in our kitchens.

All these man-made items have become modern-day idols for the masses, reflected in the advertisements plastered across our TV screens, in our magazines, and all our internet browsing.  These things are what the world holds out before us, enticing us to seek more and more, luring us into a deepening trap of want and desire.

Now, this is not really a new phenomenon.  Sure, all the advertising and putting all these things right in our faces is a relatively recent trend.  But desperately seeking after worldly goods and pleasures rather than spiritual rewards is as old as mankind itself.  The early Christians faced these temptations just as we do today.

The fact is that the world does not love God and will do anything it can to pull our love away from Him.  Because the world has been given to Satan, to give him free reign to try to break our faith in God and shatter our belief in Jesus.  Just like he did with Job.  This is our test of faith.  Job passed.  Will we?  Do we really love God, or do we care more about the things the world has to offer?

The Apostle John had a message for those early Christians, new to the faith.  And it is a message still valid for us today, just  as important for us as it was for them.  Please listen and follow along as I continue reading chapter 2 of the Apostle John’s 1st letter to the early church, verses 15 through 29, and I’ll be reading this from The Living Bible translation of our Holy Bible…

15 Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things you show that you do not really love God; 16 for all these worldly things, these evil desires — the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance — these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. 17 And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever.

18 Dear children, this world’s last hour has come. You have heard about the Antichrist who is coming — the one who is against Christ — and already many such persons have appeared. This makes us all the more certain that the end of the world is near. 19 These “against-Christ” people used to be members of our churches, but they never really belonged with us or else they would have stayed. When they left us it proved that they were not of us at all.

20 But you are not like that, for the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you know the truth. 21 So I am not writing to you as to those who need to know the truth, but I warn you as those who can discern the difference between true and false.

22 And who is the greatest liar? The one who says that Jesus is not Christ. Such a person is antichrist, for he does not believe in God the Father and in His Son. 23 For a person who doesn’t believe in Christ, God’s Son, can’t have God the Father either. But he who has Christ, God’s Son, has God the Father also.

24 So keep on believing what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will always be in close fellowship with both God the Father and His Son. 25 And He Himself has promised us this: eternal life.

26 These remarks of mine about the Antichrist are pointed at those who would dearly love to blindfold you and lead you astray. 27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, in your hearts, so that you don’t need anyone to teach you what is right. For He teaches you all things, and He is the Truth, and no liar; and so, just as He has said, you must live in Christ, never to depart from Him.

28 And now, my little children, stay in happy fellowship with the Lord so that when He comes you will be sure that all is well and will not have to be ashamed and shrink back from meeting Him. 29 Since we know that God is always good and does only right, we may rightly assume that all those who do right are His children.

--1 John 2:15-29 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Almighty God, Thank You for the warnings saved for us in our Bible.  Through these we can see the activities and behaviors we must avoid.  We can understand how even our thoughts can harm us in Your eyes.  And we can watch out for those who are actively working against Your Christ.  Thank You, Father, for showing us what these “anti-Christs” look like as we await the final Antichrist that will come at the end.  Sadly, though, Father, sometimes we are fooled by those who only teach and preach what the people want to hear.  Sometimes we allow their false promises to lead us astray.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us see through the lies.  Help us be better workers for our Lord Jesus.  Reminding us that we are His, chosen by Him, we belong to Him.  And please protect us, Father.  Shield us from those who serve Satan and carry out his evil deeds.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe in the days ahead.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Please help us remain faithful and true.  Help us focus on the truth and not on what the world would have us believe.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State in President Woodrow Wilson's Cabinet, was interviewing a man who was seeking a diplomatic post in China.  Bryan warned the applicant that it was necessary to qualify as a linguist.  "Can you speak the Chinese language?" he asked.

The man was equal to the occasion.  Looking Bryan squarely in the eye, he replied, "Try me.  Ask me something in Chinese."

We don’t know the outcome of that interview, but I’d say it’s a safe bet that Bryan did not ask a question in Chinese.  The man, of course, was taking a chance that Bryan didn’t know the language well enough to speak it.

The problem we face, though, is that our adversary is well versed in the language of truth: our Bible’s scripture.  He knows what the truth is, he just doesn't want us to believe it, or follow it.  So he lies and paints pretty pictures and offers empty promises, all the while speaking the language we know.  He is the great deceiver, the greatest liar.  And while he does indeed know God, and he knows that Jesus is God’s Son, he works against Them and tries to keep the truth from mankind.  Only by God’s grace, Jesus’ sacrifice, and our belief and faith can we be spared eternal death.

Our reading this morning opens with John admonishing us to stop loving this world, this life, and all the hollow things it can offer.  If we love the world, we can’t let go of it, and it will drag us to our ruin.  Our lusts and desires for worldly things – the mad craze for sex, the thirst for wealth and importance that drives our ambition to buy anything and everything that appeals to us, even to the point of going deep in debt, and the pride that comes from all this -  these are not from God, but are temptations laid out before us from Satan, the evil one.

God doesn’t tempt us, but He does make promises to us - promises of life eternal in paradise, promises of forgiveness of our sin and salvation through our belief in His Son Jesus, promises of our reunion with all our loved ones who went home before us.  If we stop and think of what God has promised and what awaits us in heaven, for all eternity, then any love we hold for this life, this temporary existence on earth, should vanish into thin air.

This world won’t last, nor any of the things in it.  It is slowly fading away.  We can see it all around us, as society falls apart and our resources are depleted.  So we must resist the devil’s temptations.  We must see through his lies.

Thank God, though, that we have help to do so.  We have God’s very own Holy Spirit living within us, counseling us, showing us the way to walk without falling into the devil’s traps.  But we have to listen to Him.  And we have to stay in fellowship with our Lord Jesus.  For He is coming back some day, and He will set everything right.

John talks about those people who are against our Christ a good bit in this passage, pointing out that they are the ones who dearly love to lead us astray and keep us from seeing the truth.  But who are these folk that are so dead-set in their thinking and actions, so anti Jesus?

I find it interesting that John says that many of these “against-Christ” people used to be members of our churches.  But then he adds that they never really belonged with us, or else they would have stayed.  Family, this is a pretty good description of those folks who call themselves Christians, but who aren’t.  They don’t really follow Jesus or obey His commands.  They’re not out there working for Him.

The Apostle Matthew recorded what Jesus had to say about these folk, in verse 30 of the 12th chapter of his Gospel account.  The New King James Version of our Bible has Jesus saying…

30 “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

--Matthew 12:30 (NKJV)

The Living Bible version is more to the point…

30 “Anyone who isn’t helping Me is harming Me.”

--Matthew 12:30 (TLB)

If we’re not helping Jesus, if we’re not out there working the fields for Him, then we’re harming Him, we’re driving nails into His hands all over again.  If we’re not part of the solution, we’re part of the problem.  And all those people not helping Him are anti-Christ, in His own words.

Now I know that there comes a time when we just aren’t physically able to go into the world making disciples, when we can’t see to the needs of the homeless or the sick or the institutionalized.  Our bodies, even our minds, eventually fail us and our service capabilities diminish.  But there are still things we can do to “help” Jesus.  We can continue to pray – pray for the lost and the needy.  We can keep Jesus in our hearts, abiding in His love.  We can let go of our lusts and desires, ignore what the devil offers, loosen our grip on this worldly life.  We can walk with our eyes wide open, and keep believing what we've been taught.  

And we can stay focused on the path Jesus laid for us, a path only a few will follow.  Again please hear the words that Jesus spoke and Matthew recorded in the 7th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 13 and 14…

13 “Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The way that leads to destruction is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. 14 But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.”

--Matthew 7:13-14 (TLB)

Family, John has told us how to abide in Jesus.  We just need to turn from the ways of the world, cast off earthly desires, and focus on the narrow road beneath our feet.  In this way we will remain in happy fellowship with our Lord so that when He returns, we will not have to be ashamed or afraid to meet Him face to face.

Focus solely on the truth, and our salvation is secure.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for offering us salvation and the forgiveness of our sins through the precious blood of Your Son Jesus, shed to wash us clean.  And thank You for the gift of faith that allows us to believe in Jesus as Your Christ, to follow Him as our Lord, to worship Him as we worship You.   Forgive us those times, please Father, when we let the world hold us back from fully loving You.  Forgive us when we just can’t release our grip on our worldly possessions, our worldly desires, our worldly sins.  Please help us give ourselves completely to You.  Help us resist the devil’s temptations and listen only to Your still, small voice within us.  Please, Father, shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith and tries to pull us away from You.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You said it quite clearly and quite plainly – if we’re not working for You, we’re working against You.  If we’re not helping You, we’re causing You harm.  Thank You for letting us know exactly where we stand in this regard.  Please forgive us when we harm You, when we drive more nails through Your hands.  We pray, dear Lord, that You please help us be more obedient to Your commands, more diligent in our striving to follow You.  Help us rid ourselves of worldly wants and desires.  Help us focus only on the truth of God’s word and God’s love.  And help us endure any persecution that may befall us.  Shield our minds and our hearts from the world’s lies and empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations.

And Jesus, please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.