TRUTH SERIES—Part 2 October 2007

~Giving Ourselves to Truth~

Overcoming Anti-Christ’s Deception

LAYING HOLD on the love of the Truth brings us into a relationship with the Lord and His Kingdom. When this love dwells in us, it gives the Holy Spirit a handle on which to hold us as we face the enemy in our hour of trial and desperation.

 

Day 1—Being Truthful about Sin

I John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. (If we continue saying that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word (logos, the seed of His Kingdom) is not in us.)

DEAR LORD, I renounce all that has to do with the one who brought falsehood into the world. Let my soul be filled with a love for Your Truth, no matter how much it sometimes may hurt.

Jesus entered the world as the true Light.—John 1:1-9

Day 2—Let’s get down to business in dealing with sin.

I John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (a *paraclete) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (My beloved little children, I am writing these things to you in order that you refrain from sin. But, if anyone should commit some sin, we always have One Who pleads our case (a*paraclete) before the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous One.EC)

FATHER, I do want to live a life free from sin. But, You know I still stumble and do things I am ashamed of. Because of my weakness, I praise You for receiving the Lord Jesus Who intercedes on my behalf. Please give me the enabling power to overcome these things that keep rising up in me!

The Holy Spirit is also our Advocate (*paraclete).—John 14:16,26; John 15:26; John 16:17

*paraclete—He pleads our case. He lives in us and helps us in our living. He empowers us to become an overcomer.

Day 3—Jesus the Propitiation for Our Sins

I John 2:2 And He is the *propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (And He is the sinless One Who took on our sin, thus satisfying the wrath of God against our sin, and He did this not for us only, but also on behalf of everyone in the world who will repent and believe.EC)

LORD JESUS, how grateful I am to You for taking the full punishment for my sin! And, LORD, what a wondrous joy it is to see anyone, anywhere in the world, and know You paid the penalty for their sin too! Please make me a witness to this.

One other passage in the Bible tells of Jesus as the propitiation for our sins.—I John 4:9-11

*propitiation—from the Greek hilas’mos, derived from hilasteer’ion, the mercy seat covering the Ark of the Covenant where the blood of atonement was placed by the High Priest once a year, on the Day of Atonement. This satisfied the wrath of God against the sin of His people.

 

Day 4—Here is a way whereby we may know that we know Him.

I John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. (And in this way we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep a watchful guard over the way He has prescribed for us. 4 Whoever goes about saying, I have come to know Him and does not keep guard over His ways is a liar and the Truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps a watch over His Word (His logos), truly in this one the Love of God has been brought to its perfection.EC)

JESUS, I acknowledge You as the King of my life. I also acknowledge that You have placed some prohibitions over me, and You have given certain orders that I am to follow. Please give me the grace to be obedient in all Your ways.

 Day 5—A Regulation comes upon those who say they dwell in Him.

I John 2:6 He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. (The one who says he is dwelling in Him is bound by duty to regulate his life even as He regulated His.EC)

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (Jesus spoke to them again saying, “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of the Life.EC)

LORD, what a glorious honor to know You and to know that You know me! I look to you to keep me ever in the Light of Your presence. Like a magnet, draw me onward wherever You would have me be. Truly, I am expecting that Your Life will find an expression through me wherever we are.

As we walk with Him, we show forth His praises.—I Peter 2:9-12

Day 6—An Old Way of Walking in a New Light

I John 2: 7 Brothers, I am not writing a new kind of injunction to you, but the same old charge which you had from the beginning. 8 Again, I am writing a new kind of injunction to you which is an expression of Truth in Him, that is, in Christ, and in you together. (When you and Christ walk together, a new light begins shining.) It is because the darkness is departing and the true Light is now shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the Light and continues hating his brother is still in the darkness. 10 On the other hand, whoever makes its his practice to love his brother is living in the Light, and there is nothing in him that will cause anyone to stumble. 11 But whoever goes on hating his brother is in the darkness, and is walking in the darkness, and has no idea where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.EC

FATHER, I know that You have called us unto a new way of responding to others. But, we are undergoing some tests right now that make this difficult. We really do need a new movement of You Spirit in our midst. Please cause Him to come with conviction on all of us. Change us from the inside out, so others can see Your light in  us again.

Jesus is the Light of the world; we are the light of the world.—John 8:12; John 9:5; Matt 5:14

Day 7—Children—Forgiveness; Fathers—Knowledge; Young men—Warfare

I John 2:12 I am writing to you, little children, because it is on account of His Name you have been set free from the guilt of sin. 13 I am writing to you fathers, because You have known the One Who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the *wicked one.  I am writing to you, little children, because you have known the Father. 14 I have written to you fathers, because you have known the One Who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word (ho logos) of God is living in you, and you have overcome the *wicked one.EC 

DEAR FATHER, I praise You for Your loving concern for everyone in the body of believers. I thank You that everyone in our fellowship has  value in Your Kingdom. Please work in the lives of these I name before Your Throne.

*the wicked one—This is from the Greek ho poneros’; the evil one who brings toil, undue labor and stress, sickness and pain, especially aimed at wearing out the believer. He’s the one from whom Jesus taught us to pray that we would find our deliverance. John makes mention of him eight times in his Epistles—I Jn 2:13,14; 3:12; 6:18,19; II Jn 1:11; III Jn 1:10

 

Day 8—Believers and the World

2:15 Do not allow affection for the world to keep its hold on you, neither the things in the world. If anyone turns his affection toward the world, there will be no room in his heart for the Father. 16 This is because everything that is in the world—the strong desires of the flesh, the strong desires of the eyes, and the boastful pride of the flesh—does not originate with God. It originates in the world. 17 And the world with its secular order is passing away, along with its strong desires. But whoever is doing what God desires is already living in eternity.EC

DEAR LORD, the strong desire of my heart is toward You and what You want. The pull of the world is losing its strength in me. But, Oh, DEAR LORD, please help me love the world like You love it! Then I can be a source for Your love to reach those who are lost in the world.

Remembering How God Loved—John 3:16; Rom 5:8

Overcoming  the Anti-Christ’s Determination to Deceive Us

Day 9—A Word for the Last Hour

2:18 Little children, this hour is at the extreme end of all things. And just as you heard that the anti-Christ is coming, even now many anti-Christs have come and are on the scene. By this that we know that the end of time is upon us.EC

LOVING LORD, please help us live now, more than ever, with eternity’s values in view. Cause these I hold before You to know how late the hour is. May the things the anti-Christ is pushing upon us crowd us to You.

Staying Aware of What the Anti-Christ Plans to Do in Us, and What We Shall Do to Him—Dan 7:25-27

Day 10—Where anti-Christ Begins

2:19 And they went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they were of us, they would have remained with us. But (they went out) in order that it might be exposed that they were not all of us.EC (This seems to have reference to those who come under the influence of anti-Christ spirits. The fact that some will leave communion with us bears witness with what Paul said in I Tim 4:1 when the time of the end comes on. No doubt this is  a work of the anti-Christ.)

HEAVENLY FATHER, move in the hearts,  minds and emotions of these for whom we pray. Give them such strong stability as believers that no influence from anti-Christ can draw them away from You. Let our communion with one another be so strong that no force from hell can destroy it.

How the Peril of the Last Days Will Effect Weak Believers—II Tim 3:1-7

Day 11—The Unction from the Holy Spirit that Brings Us Back

2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you instinctively know all those (who will turn from the communion of the saints). 21 I have not written to you because you don’t know what is true, but because you do know it, and that everything false is not out of what is true. (What is true and what is false will come into greater separation as the last hour approaches. But, the ability to discern what is true and what is false will become increasingly difficult. Because of this we need the anointing that the Holy Spirit brings upon us.)

HEAVENLY FATHER, send Your Spirit to do a powerful and new work in our midst. Deliver us from religion that does not have the life of Your Spirit in it. Bring upon us the anointing that will keep us moving onward in what is true. Let us continue hearing what the Spirit is saying to the Church in this hour.

Let him who has ability to hear spiritually hear what God’s Spirit is saying to the Church.—Rev 3:18-29

Day 12—What is the chief mark of the anti-Christ?

 2:22 Who is the liar except the one saying that Jesus is not the Christ (the One Anointed by God to reign over the nations - Ps 2:7-9)? this one is the anti-Christ, who is denying both the Father and the Son.  23 All who are denying the Son do not have the Father. But whoever is confessing the Son has the Father also. (Take note of Adam Clarke here: “He who denies Jesus to be the Son of God, and consequently the Christ or Messiah, he hath not the Father. He can have no birth from above, he cannot be enrolled among the children of God, because none can be a child of God but by faith in Christ Jesus.”

DEAR FATHER, You became my closest friend after I came to know You through Your Son. I remember those long walks we used to take together, just getting acquainted. Oh, how I praise You for always hearing what I had to say. I had never had anyone I could talk to like I could You. Thank You for never failing to understand and for remaining such a wonderful Friend. Knowing that I’m seated right by You in Jesus still makes it wonderful for me for me after all these years.

Jesus is the way to the Father.—John 14:6

What the first martyr saw when he was being stoned to death—Acts 7:55,56

Day 13—Let the Foundation of Your Faith Remain in You.

2:24 Therefore let what you heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains  (in you as a foundation for your continuing faith), you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise which He once and for all promised you, even the eternal life (which you now have as a new quality of living).

OH, DEAR FATHER, I praise You for the new quality of life You have given me through Jesus! What a wonderful expression of divine Love! Since I’ve opened my heart to receive Your Son as my Savior, I’ve never had to doubt that salvation is real. Father, here are some who seem to doubt. They don’t know whether they’re saved or not. Please draw them by Your Spirit. Bring them to the place of knowing the reality of eternal life.

I John was written that we might know we have eternal life.—I John 2:3-5; I John 3:14-24

Day 14—The Holy Spirit remains as your Teacher.

2:26 I have written these things to you because of those who are deceiving you. 27a  And you—the anointing which you received from Him remains in you and you have no need that anyone teach you (anything different from what you first received under the anointing of the Holy Spirit).EC

We must receive this verse in the context in which it was written. John wrote this Epistle to help believers overcome the deception that was spreading among early believers, and that will be prevalent in the very last days when the anti-Christ dispatches his spirits to draw believers away from their communion with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

DEAR LORD, please cause the Spirit of Truth to move among us. Bring upon these I hold before You a strong desire to know the Truth of Your Word. Bring conviction upon those in our midst who are lukewarm toward You. Especially draw these in my own family, lest they be led astray by the subtle deception I see creeping in on them.

Let no one deceive you.— Eph 4:11-16; Eph 5:6

Day 15—What the Holy Spirit teaches is truthful.

2:27b ...but as the same anointing is teaching you concerning all things, and it is truthful and no lie, and just as He has taught you, remain in Him.EC

The anti-Christ spirit that had come among early Christian believers—and will come at the time of the end—was trying to draw them away from their communion with the Lord. John was appealing to the believers not to let this happen. He appealed to them to let God’s Spirit guide them in Truth.

FATHER, it is the cry of my heart today that we be led by Your Spirit into everything You know we need for this hour. Let those who stand among us as Teachers remain under the anointing of Your Spirit. Guide them as they guide us into the understanding important for this day.

Overseers of the churches must watch for deceivers who minister for the love of money.— Tit 1:7-11

Day 16—The Strongest Reason to Abide in Christ.

2:28 ...And now, little children, remain in Him, that whenever He might become manifest, we may be possessed with bold confidence and not be put to shame by Him in His coming (in Christ’s Parousi’a).

This verse seems to strongly imply that the Parousia of the Lord Jesus could come upon us at any time. It has been the purpose of the anti-Christ’s deception to draw us away from knowing Christ with the intimacy into which the redemption has drawn us and, thus, make us  not prepared for His appearing.

FATHER, keep us from deception. Guard our fellowship from a deceiving spirit. Give all of us a love of the Truth that will enable us to be always aware of anything that is not of the Truth.

Let us review what Paul taught regarding loving the Truth.— II Thes 2:6-12

Day 17—The Instinctive Knowledge the Holy Spirit Gives Us

2:29 If you instinctively know that He (Jesus Christ) is righteous, then you know that whoever is making a practice of doing what is right has been begotten out of Him—He is begotten of God and is thus made a partaker of the Divine nature, without which no one can have a holy heart or live a holy life.

DEAR LORD, it is my strong desire that we—my family, my friends, our local church, and these of other congregations—be kept in the Truth for the hour that may be now so close upon us, when Jesus will be revealed.

Review I John 2. Let something from it remain in your mind every day that you may meditate on it at any time throughout the

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