Focus On The Lord's Return

1 John 2:28-3:3

A Study On God And Relationships

Fellowship With Him And One Another

Focus On Attitudes:

Attitudes We Have Reviewed In The Last Several Weeks:

Adoration: Who God Is And What God Has Done;

Confession: Agreeing With God About Our Sin;

Thanksgiving: God Wills That We Be Thankful All The Time;

Supplication: Pleading A Humble Petition To God;

Fellowship: Be Ready To Do Any Good Work In His Name;

Joy: Spiritual Maturity Produces Lasting Joy.

Walking In The Light: A Strong Desire To Know Jesus And Spend Time With Him.

A New Kind Of Love: Our Love For One Another Is Motivated By Our Love For Christ.

The Church Family: Intentional Spiritual Growth And Fellowship.

The Things Of God: Love The Father Or Love The World.

The Truth: Guard Your Heart And Mind Against Error.

Look At Another Attitude:

Another Choice For A Person To Make:

Attitude About The Lord's Return: Be Courageous Until He Returns.

1. LIVING AS CHILDREN OF GOD AWAITING HIS RETURN:

Remain In Fellowship With Christ So That When He Returns:

- We Will Be Full Of Courage and Confidence,

- We Will Not Shrink Back From Him In Shame.

We Know That Christ Is Righteous.

We Know That All Who Do What Is Right Are God’s Children.

We Know That We Shall Be Like Him Because We Shall See Him As He Is.

- See How Very Much Our Father Loves Us.

- He Calls Us His Children And That Is What We Are!

- The Evil World System Does Not Recognize That We Are God’s Children:

They Do Not Know Him;

They Do Not Recognize Him for who He Is.

We Have Been Adopted Into God’s Family; And We Are Officially His Children Now.

The Full Picture Of Our Destiny Is Not Yet Clear, But We Know This Much:

When Jesus Appears, We Will Be Like Him Because We Will See Him Just As He Is.

All Those Who Focus Their Hopes On Him And His Coming Seek To Purify Themselves Just As He Is Pure.

2. REMEMBER THE PRIVILEGES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:

John Begins By Demanding That His People Should Remember Their Privileges.

The Christian Has The Privilege Of Being Called The Child Of God.

To Bear The Name Of The Family Of God.

CALLED The Children Of God;

WE ARE The Children Of God.

A Gift Of God That A True Christian BECOMES A CHILD OF GOD.

By Nature Mankind Is Only A Creature Of God,

But It Is By Grace That One Becomes A Child Of God.

Two English Words Which Are Closely Connected But Whose Meanings Are Widely Different:

Paternity And Fatherhood:

Paternity: A Relationship In Which A Man Is Responsible For The Physical Existence Of A Child;

Fatherhood: An Intimate, Loving, Relationship.

There Are Two Pictures,

In The Old Testament There Is The Covenant Idea.

Israel Is The Covenant People Of God.

As An Integral Part Of The Covenant, God Gave To Israel His Law,

It Was Dependent On Keeping Of That Law In That Covenant Relationship.

In The New Testament There Is The Adoption Idea.

A Deliberate Act Of Adoption On The Part Of God The Christian Enters Into His Family.

Question: Why Are Christians Despised By The World?

Answer: Experiencing What Jesus Christ Has Already Experienced.

When He Came Into The World, He Was Not Recognized As The Son Of God;

The World Preferred Its Own Ideas And Rejected His;

The Same Will Happen To Any One Who Chooses To Truly Follow Him.

3. REMEMBER THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:

John Reminds His People Of The Privileges Of The Christian Life.

The Great Fact That This NEW Life Is Only A Beginning.

(a) When Christ Appears In His Glory, We Shall Be Like Him.

Mankind Was Made In The Image And In The Likeness Of God.

That Was God's Intention; And That Was Mankind's Destiny For Those That Believe in Jesus.

In Christ Mankind Will Finally Attain To The Image And The Likeness Of God.

(b) When Christ Appears, We Shall See Him And Be Like Him.

The End Of All Devotion Is To See God.

We Cannot Become Like God Unless We See Him;

And We Cannot See Him Unless We Are Pure In Heart,

For Only The Pure In Heart Shall See God.

In Order To See God, We Need The Purity Which Only He Can Give.

4. THIS IS ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST:

What It Means To “Continue In Him” And Will Identify Ways In Which They Will Purify Themselves.

If We “continue In Him” We Will Not Be Ashamed When Jesus Returns.

Actions Related To “continuing” Include:

(1) Being Different From The World,

(2) Becoming Like Him,

(3) Purifying Yourself.

Focus On The Lord’s Coming:

Let's Quickly Recap What We Have Learned:

1. Continue In Him. (1 John 2:28)

The Contrast Between Confidence And Shame Is Significant;

Believers Who Abide In Christ, Practicing Righteousness (Right Words And Deeds);

Will Stand Before Their Lord With Confidence In The Day Of Judgment;

Those Who Have Failed To Abide In Obedience Will Suffer Shame;

If You Abide In Jesus Christ Now, You Will Be Bold When He Returns;

Believers Who Do NOT Abide In Jesus Christ Now Will Experience Shame When He Returns;

Believers Who Do Abide In Jesus Christ Now Will Be Bold And Confident When He Returns.

2. Do What Is Right. (1 John 2:29)

But Don’t Expect The World To Recognize You As A Beloved Child Of God;

A. The World Recognizes And Rewards Its Own;

B. Don’t Expect The World To Recognize Or Reward Your Righteousness;

C. Yet Never Forget The Joyful Privilege Of Being God’s Beloved Child.

3. We Shall Be Like Him! (1 John 3:2)

You Are Not Now What You One Day Will Be;

A. Your Refined Character, As God’s Child, Has Not Been Fully Revealed;

B. In That Day, When You See Jesus At His Return, You Will Be Like Him.

4. Purify Yourself. (1 John 3:3)

Purify Yourself In The Hope Of One Day Seeing Jesus;

A. Purify Your Moral Obedience;

B. Purify Your Relational Love;

C. Purify Your Confession Of Jesus As The Only Savior Of The World.

Dear Lord. Please Give Us The Strength and Courage To Continue in our journey of serving you until that wonderful day when we shall see you face to face. In Jesus name. Amen.