Young People's Group

“WHEN HE APPEARS”

by Pastor Mitch
January 23, 2011

Possessing Great Confidence At Christ’s Second Coming

Young people, we can have a great sense of confidence when the Lord Jesus comes. We do not need to fear His coming. John wrote about this in his first epistle.

“That when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” 
1 John 2:28

We all know for sure that the Lord Jesus will come again soon. When He comes for us, He would evaluate our lives and it is wonderful to know that we can have great confidence before Him. We do not need to feel shame at His coming. In the text of 1 John 2, John wrote of the dangers of Christians being led astray. Some could end up loving the world more than the Lord. Others could be deceived by false teachers who have the spirit of the Antichrist. Our challenge is to live our lives in such a way that we can be confident at the Lord’s coming. How can we do this?

1. Having A Sense Of Urgency In Abiding In The Lord

“And now, little children, abide in Him” 
1 John 2:28

There is a sense of urgency in John’s imperatival challenge for Christians to abide in the Lord Jesus. We must remain in Him now and always. When we say that we abide in Him, we ought to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). We are to abide in all that we have heard from the Scriptures (1 John 2:24). If we do so, we would also abide in the Son and the Father. As John was ending his argument, he was exhorting the brethren to get down to developing a close walk with the Lord Jesus. If we abide in Him, we would have lives and ministries that are fruitful and pleasing to Him (John 15). Young people, we are already into the third week of 2011. Are we still abiding in Him and in His word? Let’s be deeply challenged to remain steadfast in our walk with the Lord and in His precious truths. Let’s be found faithful to the Lord till He comes for us.

2. Practising Righteousness As Sons Of God

“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” 
1 John 2:29

Knowledge of the Lord Jesus helps us to live our lives in righteousness. The Lord Jesus is the righteous one, who died on the cross for us. And through His death on the cross, He has redeemed us from our sins. When we exercise faith in Him, He would impute His righteousness on us (Romans 4). The Lord Jesus was raised up from the dead for our justification. There is positional righteousness in the sight of God. If we are truly born of God, we would seek to practise righteousness as a way of life. We would live our lives in such a way that when Christ comes for us, we would not need to be ashamed. We would walk in the light as He is in the light. Because we are born of Him and we love Him, His commandments are not burdensome. Young people, as children of God, let’s seek to do that which is righteous in His sight.

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