Preparing For Eternal Fellowship | 1 John 2:26-29 | 10-18-26 | Sunday AM

Andrew Montoro (0:01)

All right, let's find our places. 1 John chapter 2, 1 John chapter 2, with the Lord's help, we're gonna try to finish chapter 2 this morning. This is sermon number 11 We're only into two chapters, but sermon number 11 through our series, Full Fellowship Brings Full Joy. That's what John is dealing with. He's writing to believers who are struggling. They're getting pressure from all sides, and he's reminding them of how they can have fellowship, how they can have communion with God and maintain that, even in the dark times in which they lived, in which we lived, that's what we need. The key to the Christian life is having fellowship with God. Once you're been saved, the next thing is, okay, salvation doesn't change. We're gonna get through that in the sermon, but fellowship with God, you can be out of fellowship with God. You could be sitting in a church service and out of fellowship with God. You could be preaching and out of fellowship with God. We need to have that fellowship, and it's that fellowship that brings life and brings joy, brings vitality to our Christianity to be able to have something to share with a lost world. But let's find our places in 1 John chapter 2

Let's begin reading.

Let's begin reading in verse number 24, and we'll read down through the end of the chapter. This helps us get there. Or actually, let's go back to verse number 20 and read down. We just need to get the context. All of this is connected. He says, he's contrasting with the teachers, with the brethren, but ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denyeth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denyeth the Father and the Son.

Whosoever denyeth the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledges the Son hath the Father also, let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. You're going to continue in fellowship when the Word of God remains in you. And this is the promise that he hath promised us even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him. And so our title this morning is this, Preparing For Eternal Fellowship. John is teaching believers about maintaining their fellowship with God, not just so we can have a better life here on this earth. Christianity is not primarily about this earth, but it is about eternity that is coming. And so the purpose, you said, we read some of those verses, you're like, is John kind of repeating himself here? It really sounds like that. He's just kind of saying the same thing again, and then he's saying it again, and then he's saying it again. Why? Because this is important. And we've got to understand that our fellowship with God, we are preparing for eternal fellowship. Those Christians who remain in fellowship with God today will be ready to fellowship with God for all of eternity. So let's pray. Let's ask the Lord's help this morning. Dear Heavenly Father, I ask Lord, I thank you for your word and more the simplicity but the depth of it. And I pray, Lord, that you would just give clarity of thought, clarity of preaching, Lord, that I would only say your word, and yet you would give freedom to communicate exactly what your word is saying, to be able to challenge, to be able to teach us. I pray, Lord, that you would bless. I pray that you would help us this morning, each one of us, to examine our hearts. Lord, that we would be ready when you return. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

The Bible tells us about life, but the Bible also tells us about eternity that's coming. God wants every person to be prepared to meet God. And for the Christian, as we look at this world, we look at the direction of our country, we look at the way evil is winning, we look at the lies that are being promoted, where truth is called evil and evil is called good. And we can look at the twisting of this, and we can look at the lies are being promoted and being accepted by so many people. And we can begin to wonder, is there any point?