I John 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

John was directed to write this short letter to remind us what true saints are like. There is only one way to be made a saint. That way is through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinner must turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. When a person is born again by the Spirit of God, he/she becomes a new creature. That person cannot live in sin. John has repeated that so many times in this short letter.
In spite of the clarity that God gives us in His Word, New Evangelicalism has defied the true and living God since 1948 and has developed a massive following by preaching a lie. Men like Billy Graham were raised up and groomed by that philosophy. I know that it will be offensive to some to hear anything negative about Billy Graham. They will reason that anyone who would dare to speak against him must be filled with jealousy and must be a very proud person.
The Bible is very clear as to the nature and work of the devil. John was directed to use the word “liar” 5x in this short letter. It is interesting that the Greek word translated as “liar” these 5x in I John, is only found 10x in the New Testament. Five of those times it is found here in this short letter. God hates lying.
John was directed to remind us in the second chapter of this book, that there are many antichrists. John also tells us that the antichrists are those who do not believe:

I John 2:22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

John has gone into great detail regarding the importance of believing that Jesus is the Christ. He was directed by God to write this letter. There are too many people who ignore the plain teaching of God’s Word and they choose to accept the deceptive talk of men over the truth of God’s Word.
In the news, there have been reports of late of massive revivals breaking out in different cities in North America. Some of you may have seen these reports. The man who is leading these events is a man named Sean Feucht. If you have seen his picture, you should keep in mind that a picture is worth a thousand words. There is much information on this man on the internet. Here is a short snippet from one site:

“Sean Feucht is a missionary, musician, activist, author, and speaker. He married his high school sweetheart Kate, and together with their four children Keturah, Malachi, Ezra, and Zion, Sean travels the world sharing the life-changing power of the Gospel.
Sean founded multiple global movements and was one of the earliest and most vocal critics of government attempts to shutter churches and silence worship in 2020. Sean’s heart is to witness a generation of bold, burning hearts with sacrificial pursuit after the Presence of God arise across the nations of the world.”

Notice the descriptive words used to impress the reader. When you read this short blurb about this man, what is not to like about him? One of the things this man is known for is speaking up against the 2020 lockdowns. There are several other men who spoke out during that time. Several of them ended up in jail, treated worse than murderers. Every one that I have researched is a false teacher, but they found notoriety.
The men that I have researched have all been able to draw people to their cause. Mr. Feucht is able to draw large crowds to his events. He has the music that the devil loves. He has the looks that the devil loves. He has the atmosphere that the devil loves. Yes, people are being taken in with the emotional aura of the events.
The question I have for each reader is, ‘is God’s Word still true?’ John the Baptist was sitting in prison, having stood before king Herod and reminding him that it was not lawful for him to have his brother’s wife. Herod hated John, but he feared God enough that he did not want to lay his hands on this man. He did not believe in his message but he was impressed by the Holy Spirit that this man was not to be hindered.
King Herod was a fool and he made a foolish choice. The devil loves fools. He is one himself. Herod had a birthday and as is common amongst the ungodly, liquor was served at his birthday celebration. Along with that came the sensual dancing of his adulterous wife’s daughter. His adulterous wife hated John as much as Herod did, but she did not allow the fear of God to interfere with her hatred of John. She told her gullible daughter what to expect during her dancing before the king. She knew the power of an immodest and seductive woman, upon an unguarded man. True to the facts, king Herod offered this daughter whatever she wanted, up to half the kingdom. Here was her chance to please her mother. She asked for John the Baptist’s head in a charger. King Herod was trapped. He could have humbled himself and admitted he had made a grave error, but that would have exposed him in many ways. Thus, his pride demanded that he deliver John’s head in a charger to the damsel, who then took it to her mother. Think of the hard-heartedness of these two women.
Back to our first sentence in this illustration. John sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if he had been mistaken in trusting in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Jesus was not offended by John’s question. He understood what John was facing. He was facing certain death. Jesus knew when it would come, but John did not. Jesus knew John had done nothing wrong. He understood the reason for his imprisonment. He loved John. He gave John’s disciples the right answer. John could rest in what he believed. Jesus Christ was and is THE MESSIAH. John had not made a mistake. He had honoured God and God would honour him, even though he would face a cruel death. John is resting in heaven now, while Herod and those two women are in torment in hell, along with many others.
John, the apostle, was directed to speak with great clarity regarding the problem facing humanity. He was told to warn true saints of the deceptive nature of the devil. John had been imprisoned and beaten for preaching the name of Jesus. He did not get a great following for doing so. He suffered persecution. He would face greater persecution yet and he would write the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ while exiled to the isle of Patmos. He was a faithful servant of God. His service was not appreciated by many people, but God was pleased with what John did. John gave people the opportunity to know the truth in a time when there were many antichrists. The antichrists were just as subtle as those alive today. Sean Feucht is one of them. Can you see that? Please don’t get caught up in the media hype that surrounds false teachers. Think about it, when is the last time you have heard the mainstream media promote something good? Do you actually believe they have discernment to be able to tell what is actually good? There should be red flags and red flashing lights, (no I am not talking of strobe lights at a rock concert), when the media is excited about something. God can and does use the media for His glory. He uses them to expose false teachers. He does also direct them to report good news in spite of themselves. Those who are truly born again will be able to discern what is the good news and what is the hype.
In our opening verses, which we have not spent much time on today, John was directed to remind us that the truth has been written down for those who truly believe on the name of the Son of God. These words are important for all people, but those who are truly saved have a special relationship with the God of the Word, and thus with the Word of God.
Those who are saved take the attitude of the Bereans of Acts 17. We gladly receive the Word of the preachers of truth. In Acts 17, those were the apostles. Today we read their words in the New Testament. True preachers will exalt God in their preaching. They will not stick their finger to the wind and see which way the doctrines are blowing that day. They will demonstrate a true love for the brethren. They will also show a true love for the lost. That is what God has done and is doing. That is what His Son Jesus Christ is doing and that is what the apostles did. They got in trouble for the truth. Jesus warned that we will still be hated for speaking the truth. We do not have to seek to be hated. We just need to be faithful to God and that is our goal and our focus. When that is our goal and our focus, we can expect the same treatment that Jesus received. The apostles were beaten for their faith. We have not faced that yet. We can thank God that we have been spared that for now. We are not guaranteed we will not face that, but for now we still have great liberty. We need to seek to help the multitude of deceived people who are lost and desperate for something different.
The Holy Spirit is drawing people to Christ, but the devil is also blinding the minds of those that do not believe. I am reminded of how often we are asked how many are attending our church. That is a major concern to most people we talk to. That is what impresses the flesh. God gave us His Word. We, those who are saved, should be impressed with the power of His Word. However, too often we fail to see the power and importance of His Word. If one sinner repents, there is rejoicing in heaven. We, those who are saved, should also be rejoicing over one sinner that repents, more than over the 99 just persons that did not need to repent. I do not know where those ninety nine are today, but the Gospel is for those who need to repent. We need the truth and we need to rejoice in the truth. If we do that, we will not get caught up in the hype of men like Sean Feucht and others of that ilk. It would be great to see drug addicts and others saved. If they get saved they will not follow long-haired, rock and rollers. They will follow the truth.
Pastor Bartel