Your Heart Is Under Attack | 1 John 2:15-17 | 9-20-26 | Sunday AM

Pastor Andrew Montoro (0:00)

1 John 2 this morning, as we are going to jump back into our series, full fellowship brings full joy, full fellowship with the Savior. He satisfies, that he is, through his blood, we're now saved, that he is the well of water, ever springing, everything we need in the Lord is there. And there is fellowship with him. And here, John is writing to believers, and he's trying to help them understand, here's how you can continue to have fellowship with the Savior. He's dealt with the character of God. He's dealt with, if we're going to have fellowship with the Savior, we got to know how to deal with sin. We got to know how to love, obey his commandments. The application he gives there is to love your brother. But now, in the next section, through the rest of chapter 2 here, he's going to deal with this, threats to our fellowship. Okay? God wants us to have fellowship with him, and through fellowship, there is joy. The only place there is abiding joy is when Christians are abiding in Christ, and he is producing his fruit through our lives. That's where joy comes from. That's where fellowship. But we have to understand this. There are threats. There are enemies that want to attack that fellowship that believers can have with Christ, and that is the context. That's what he's dealing with. As we get into verse number 15, he says this, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. And John is, and we're going to try to emphasize this, John is not writing because he's angry at these believers. He's writing a warning. He's saying, because I love you, because God loves you, because God wants you to have fellowship, you need to be aware of threats that would attack your fellowship with the Savior. And so our title this morning is this, your heart is under attack. Never forget the threat this world has to your fellowship with God, but we need to learn that our greatest protection from the dangers of this world is to know and to love God. Our protection from this world is not avoiding this, not doing this, not doing this, but to turn and make sure that we're loving God. But he's warning us there's a threat in this world to our fellowship with God. So let's pray and ask the Lord's help. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I come before you this morning. Lord, I know the truth of your word. Lord, I need it applied in my own life. In each one of us, Lord, I know you want to have fellowship with us. And Lord, that is where we find our joy. That is where we find our purpose is in fellowship with you, in serving you. And Lord, there is danger in our world. And I pray that you would help us, Lord, to draw closer to you and to be under your protecting hand, to be aware of the dangers that are there. Lord, I pray that you'd bless the preaching. Help me to only say what needs to be said, but to say all of it. Give clarity, give boldness. I pray for your Holy Spirit to empower the preaching this morning. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

This month marked 25 years since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and on the Pentagon as we marked 25 years since the terrorist attack of September 11 And while there was knowledge back in 2001, while there was knowledge that there was threats against our country, there was no idea that people could be so evil to use passenger planes as weapons of war on innocent people. That idea just had not occurred to those who were tasked with protecting our country. That idea that someone could do something so evil hadn't even occurred to anyone. And since that terrible day, the cry of our country, especially the cry of New York has been what? Never forget, right? Never forget. And we can thank God that there has not been a successful 9-11 style attack in our country in the past 25 years. While there have been many who have maybe desire to do that, there, because of the protections that have and the watchfulness, the vigilance of our government and our agencies, there has not been a successful style 9-11 attack, though there's been smaller terror attacks in our country.