Sunday, January 12, 2020 - 2 John - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd

Sunday, January 12, 2020 - 2 John - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd, Battle Ground, Washington, US

Sunday Service Time: 10 AM
Sunday Service Location: 1919 SW 25th Ave, Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: (360) 975-9356
Email: info@freedomcommunity.church
Prayer Request: wepray@freedomcommunity.church
Mailing Address: 1400 NE 136th Ave. Ste 201, Vancouver, WA 98684

Sermon Notes:

2 John

This is a short but powerful letter which I believe is very timely for us as we live in a time of unprecedented deception. Deception is being inserted and practiced in every sector of life, and that most certainly includes spiritual deception.
• But there is something which God has given us that we should never fall prey to spiritual deception, and that is truth (Col. 2:4). These are the topics John is going to tackle in 2 John.
• And I specifically say we should not fall prey to spiritual deception, because honestly there are so many other types of lies and cons running out there, it’s almost inconceivable that we won’t be duped a few more times in this life.
o And those simply provide us a place to practice forgiveness and repentance 😊
• This little letter of 13 verses can be broken up like this; 1) verses 1-6 speak of truth and its inseparable partner love, while 2) verses 7-11 address deceivers and the cost to those who receive and believe them, and 3) verses 12-13 then closes the letter out with a good little reminder.

As we begin this letter, we should know one more thing. John was about 90 years old and the last of the apostles alive, so in the very beginning, as John calls himself the Elder, it speaks two truths
1The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth…

In regard to who this elect lady and her children are, there is some debate. Some think this an actual lady and her children while others believe this to be a pastor and congregation. If it were a house church it could be both
• And because parts of the letter are specifically written in the singular while others in the plural, the debate goes on.
• So why didn’t John help us all out and just give us some more details? We might get an answer looking at the situation today in areas where the church is persecuted. If you want to work in those regions of the world, you have to labor diligently not to out a church member who might be killed if their identity were to be made known (encrypted messaging, blocked out facial features, disguised voices…).
• What we do know is these are real people who really loved Jesus. And whether this is an actual lady and her children or a pastor and a church congregation, the same points are 100% relevant for both, because the enemy tries to undermine and destroy the family and the church assemblies with deception.
o Because he knows if he can destabilize these two institutions by getting them to believe lies, then he can do the maximum damage. How are we doing at resisting him on these fronts? Because we are either being vigilant or losing ground. To think neutrality or coasting is a strategy, is a level of ignorance we cannot afford.

The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, 2 because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

Now there are different levels of understanding we can have as followers of Jesus, because we have different levels of access to instruction, ability to read the bible, maturity and so forth. But there are some foundational truths that are essential to the Christian faith.
• The reality that Jesus is God who came in the flesh, died on the cross, and was raised to life on the third day in the flesh, are key truths which are nonnegotiable, and will be focal in this letter.
• And although I do have love for those who are lost, I can also testify I have a different kind of love for those who have found salvation in the truth of Gods grace, made possible for us through Jesus.
• It’s a supernatural love that’s a gift given to us by God and not an emotion we conjure up.

But, do see the primary focus here is on truth. And I believe this is so important to discuss because we are highly aware that God loved us while we were yet sinners, and if that is having its correct impact on us, it should cause us to exude grace for others.
• And I say this because many become confused or even torn between being overly acceptant and overly closed off, in regard to the level of acceptance we should have for those who claim Jesus.
• As a matter of fact, as we deal with this letter that is instructing us not to accept deceivers, the very next letter John writes is in regard to not turning away evangelist and teacher who are true followers of Jesus. So, there is a place of balance between these two.
• But how are we to know which of the two are appropriate in each situation? By knowing the truth! The never changing truth which is in the word and will be in and with us forever.

And for those who will receive the truth, he is able to say;
3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

What a great promise. He does not say, “I hope by chance that grace, mercy and peace will someday come your way, since you have the love and truth of God”. No, he says they will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
• This speaks of our reconciliation (or peace) with God because the Son of the Father was given for us
• And out of gratitude to Him and love for the lost, we can never surrender the true gospel in order to create a pseudo-peace that really contains no peace at all; most importantly, eternal peace with God
• And by the time we get to verses 10-11, we will see its also detrimental for us to do so!

4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.

It’s not just enough to know the truth, we also need to walk in it. And here he notes that’s what her children (which very likely could be a congregation) are doing just that.
• And this isn’t restricted to your mission trip to the Congo, it’s actually most powerful when 1) we’re forgiving someone who deeply injured us, or 2) coming to the point of trusting Gods plan in relationships, or 3) finding victory in removing filthy language from our vocabulary, or 4) learning the joy of giving over receiving, or 5) coming into victory over worry… because these are all truths of God for us.
• And I can tell you as a pastor, when I get to watch these victories occur in our lives, as we continue to be bathed in the truth (John 17:17), I understand why John says he rejoiced greatly.
o The reality is, these victories are the encouragement that keeps the ministry workers going.
And by the way, even though not stated here, the converse is also apparent, and that is when anyone who loves the Lord watches another believer choose to disregard the truth, we can also grieve greatly. And because John had certainly seen this too, he continues into verse 5

5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Have you ever begged someone to stop going the wrong direction in their walk with Jesus because they were operating under falsehood rather than truth? Well, here John is preemptively pleading with this lady (pastor) to stay obedient to the call of the Lord to love one another in truth.
• And I say it’s a plea for them (us) to stay obedient because in the last 3 verses we have heard the word “commandment” four times. Because genuine love for God is displayed through obedience
• So, what is this commandment? Well Jesus tells us directly in John 15:12-17, saying This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. (here is where we get truth) 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another.
• Here’s some simple spiritual truth math; when we receive the truth from God, and then display love for God by the way we walk out those truths in our lives, then we are going to love one another. And loving one another is so foundational to the Christian life that it’s a key to discerning who is of the faith (John 13:35).

And now he turns the corner to deal directly with deceivers who might come to them!
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Lets first deal with the word antichrist because some believe it simply means “those who are against Christ”, but it also can mean “another Christ”. And it’s this John is dealing with.

There were many traveling teachers of one sort or another during this time, who would stop into various villages just as Paul had. But these were not typically planting churches, but rather going to already established ones. Which is often (but not always) what those who present another Jesus (which is not Jesus at all) do.
• And although some of these traveling teachers were undoubtedly men of great integrity in the scripture and had a calling from the Lord (see 3 John), there were many deceivers also.
• And the only thing that has changed is that it’s gotten and is getting worse. As a matter of fact, Paul tells us that in 2 Tim. 3:13, saying; “…evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (1 Tim. 4:1)

In that time the primary problem was known as Docetism (where Gnosticism comes from). It was the belief that Jesus didn’t come in a real body, meaning He wasn’t both fully God and fully man.
• So, in our day we are all aware that Mormonism teaches Jesus as the spirit brother of Lucifer and that both came through physical union of God (one of many) who was banished but then earned his deity back. While Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus is the Archangel Michel (also not deity) and have even created their own translation of the bible (the New World Translation), which is absolutely twisted to back their doctrinal views.
• But there are many others who are also out their deceiving in the name of Jesus, who many in the faith have validated. I was reading of an individual who held a “revival” outreach in Florida where 10’s of thousands of Christians attended, and during that conference here is what a pastor described seeing (which was televised BTW) 1) “He kicked a lady in the face, choked a man, and hit a man so hard that he knocked out a tooth!”. And 2) instead of preaching from the bible, he spoke about is encounters with angels, even describing one as a female by the name Emma. 3) He also conferenced called to sisters who received and anointing the night before, because they both woke up the next morning with gold teeth in their mouths. And 4) this individual says that God told him specifically to not speak about Jesus because everybody believes in Jesus, but instead to focus on the supernatural.
• So, doctrine and biblical truth is thrown right out the window or twisted to the point it is now their truth and not the truth and not THE truth. And I want you to know he is not alone, for the leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation prophesied that he was one of Gods new apostles to the church. And 10’s of thousands of believers went night after night to hear him.
o I could go on and on about this insanity, because just as Paul said in 1 Tim. 4:1-2, “…the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy…”

Folks, we must be on guard and discerning, because there is a lot of deception out there mascaraing itself as Christian truth. So, we must know THE truth and be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who searched things out to see if they lined up with the word, before adopting or approving of them.

8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.

Do you realize God called other saints to take part in our coming to Jesus? And when they got invested in praying for us, sharing the gospel, sowing into our lives, there’s no way for them not to love us in Jesus and delight in seeing us receive new life.
• And so, John is urging them to contend for, and cling to the true Jesus they received, so that no one’s heart is broken, and they all might receive the full reward in both receiving and serving Jesus.
• To be clear, no one who has labored for Jesus will lose any reward from Him based on another’s decision, but we can certainly loose the joy we received in watching you pursue God, if you begin to adopt any of the deceptions running around out there.

9 Whoever transgresses (literally “not to continue in the bounds of”) and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

There are too many who have heard the gospel and agree with parts of it but for one reason or another have never excepted it is 100% truth. They have played around with it, some even attending church regularly, but even after years never really commit to Jesus being who He says He is, adopting the bible as truth.
• In 1 John 2:19 he spoke of this group saying They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
• We saw this very thing when Jesus approached Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and they cried “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13), as He filled a host of prophecies pertaining to Messiah. But shortly after they would shout “crucify Him” (Luke 23:21).
• And anyone who does not believe the truth of who Jesus and the word says He is, and then receive Him as such, does not have doctrine that saves.
o So, if you’re comfortable in going out of bounds in your walk, I think that should scare you.

And John then jumps right to what we are to do with such a one who is bringing a false understanding of who Jesus is, while claiming to be a fellow follower of Jesus.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
Folks, I have listened to Francis Chan and other pastors and teachers share their experiences with the door-to-door cult members and some of them are simply great. They are not mocking these individuals, because that would yield nothing. But they already know what these groups are peddling, and they just keep bringing them back to what the bible says. And they are thoroughly equipped to do that.
• But I will tell you its most often unfruitful, because those individuals are not there to listen to you, but to find ways to make you question what you know to be true.
• What this is saying is don’t acknowledge their understanding as partly true, to bless them or buy one of their magazines to be nice, don’t give them any validation that they can use to deceive others, don’t do anything that encourages them to keep propagating another Jesus!
o For if you do, you share in their evil deeds.
• In Johns time these teachers would ask people to let them stay with them while they were in town doing their work. We don’t have that happening so much, but I can tell you that if you find someone who is in doctrinal error regarding Jesus, politely say something to the effect of “I go to a bible believing church and I am fully aware we believe in a different Jesus. You’re not going to change my mind and you have no intention of me changing yours. I wish I could for your salvation, but that’s going to take prayer, not this conversation”, and then politely shut the door or just keep walk.
Folks, truth (which we find in doctrine) matters to Jesus. And although we are to love everyone, we cannot love and acknowledge everyone as a fellow follower of Jesus when foundational truths are replaced or missing, and deception is practiced in its place. There is a balance that must be weighed by the word of God, because spiritual deception is the forecast, and it will remain that way until we are called home.

And now he closes out this letter:
12 Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. 13 The children of your elect sister greet you. Amen.

Even back before there were tweets, texts, emails, on line services and so forth, while John was forced to use snail mail, he understood there’s nothing as wonderful as a face to face encounter with other followers of Jesus
• That’s always a great reminder for us.