Hello, friends, and
welcome to 3ABN Worship Hour.
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This is where we dive
deep into the Word of God.
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And we take on
some of the topics,
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some of the content,
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some of the Bible
passages and information
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that we need in these last days
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to help us be drawn
closer to Jesus Christ.
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And as you know,
this is a worship hour.
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And when we are worshiping Him,
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the Bible says
we must worship Him
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in spirit and in truth.
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And I just want to
formally welcome you,
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and thank you for
joining us during this time.
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We are certainly
going to uplift Jesus today.
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We're going to
dive deep into His Word
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as we're going to pray in
a moment for the Holy Spirit
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to lead us to rightly
divide His Word of truth.
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Because today we have
a very special message.
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It's kind of an acronym,
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as you can see on
the screen in the back
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in just a moment, BVDG.
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It stands for Blind
Visionaries and Dumb Geniuses,
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and I have there in parentheses,
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deaf listeners,
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and it's quite an
interesting topic.
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But I come up
with interesting topics
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because I want it
to grab your attention.
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And I promise you
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this Blind
Visionaries Dumb Geniuses,
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there's a purpose to this title
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because it talks a little bit
or testifies to the fact that
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what we're going to
be talking about today
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that is found in Scripture.
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And so before we go any further,
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let's go to the Lord
in prayer and ask Him
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to lead and guide us
through this time together.
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Our Father in
heaven, Lord, as always,
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we are privileged
and honored to be alive
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during these times,
to be here, where we are
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where You have
brought us at this moment.
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And, Lord, it's such an honor
to be able to stand here today
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and worship You, Lord,
because You are worthy.
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You are good to us.
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You love us, and
You take care of us
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when we don't deserve it.
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And so, Father,
we're asking today,
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that as we open Your
Word, give us the Spirit,
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the Holy Spirit, Lord,
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to lead and
guide us in this study,
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that every scripture,
every passage that we read,
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may it not just
be text on a page,
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but may it speak to our heart
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and draw us closer to
our Savior, Jesus Christ.
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Lord, this is a time
in which we need revival.
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And this is a message
calling us to revival.
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And so, Lord, wake us up,
impart in us and give us, Lord,
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Your love, so that we can see
as You see, hear as You hear,
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understand as You understand,
Lord, and love as You love.
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We praise You and we thank You.
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And we ask this
in Jesus' holy name.
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Amen. Amen.
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Blind visionaries
and dumb geniuses.
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It was many years ago that
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I find myself
making a transition
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from one church
denomination to another
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or from one faithful aspect
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and ideology of
living to another.
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You see, I haven't always been
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a Seventh-day
Adventist Christian.
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I was primarily for
the majority of my life,
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born and raised
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into the Oneness
Apostolic Pentecostal Church,
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it is the most conservative.
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In fact, you can even say,
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the most ultraconservative
form of Pentecostalism,
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charismatic
Pentecostalism that there is.
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And I was raised in this
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for more than 20
years of my life.
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But it's very interesting
that at one point in my life,
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I was absolutely
100% convinced that
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the faith that I was in,
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the path that I was taking,
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the information
that I had been taught,
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the doctrines and
the principles of faith
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and the different
tenets, theological tenets
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that I had been
that I had received,
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and it had been bestowed
upon me as a youth growing up,
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I believed that all of
those were 100% accurate
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and that there was no
other truth to be known.
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Until one day that
the Lord opened my eyes,
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because there
came a point in my life
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where I simply
became honest with myself.
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And I simply said, "Lord,
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if there's
something that I'm missing,
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if there's
something that I can't see,
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Lord, open my
eyes that I can see,
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give me the spiritual ear,"
because all through the Bible,
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especially through
the Book of Revelation,
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we hear the
message echoed so loudly,
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those who have ears,
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let this listen and
let us listen to the spirit
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because the spirit is
telling you something, right?
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The spirit is speaking to us.
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And so very clearly I'm saying,
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Lord, give me
the spiritual hearing
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that I can hear what
the spirit indeed says to me
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and to the church.
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And also I find myself saying,
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Lord, give me
the mind of Christ,
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so that I can examine
myself and that You can show me
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what it is that may
not need to be there
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or that may
need to be in my life
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that I have not adopted
or that I have not accepted.
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And I remember
praying that prayer,
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even though at one
time I was 100%, convinced
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I was right, I was
in the right faith,
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I was following
God with all my heart,
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mind and soul.
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Jesus brought me out of
one way of thinking to another
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because He opened my eyes.
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You see, I once I was deceived,
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and I was unaware
of that I was deceived,
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until I had
genuinely approached God
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and said, "Lord,
show me, awaken me.
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Dial in my spiritual vision."
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And so, I can tell you
with absolute certainty,
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that the Lord did that.
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And I saw the
error of what I was in.
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And God basically completely
transformed my understanding,
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and my thinking, my
approach to living for Him,
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my understanding
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of what it
means to be a disciple
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and a follower of Jesus.
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He took me from being blinded,
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and He opened my
eyes and gave me sight.
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I was once in a deaf,
a spiritually deaf state.
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And He opened my
ears that I could hear
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what the spirit
was saying to me.
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And, of course,
He opened my mind
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so that I can
perceive and discern
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His spiritual path for my life.
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Today, I want to
just preach to you today,
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I want to teach to you today,
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I want to appeal to
you today, my friends,
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that we are living
in a time like no other,
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where deception
is the central theme,
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although it seems.
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All through the
Bible, Old and New Testament,
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we find very clearly,
many, many different warnings,
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signs and messages,
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where God is simply
trying to wake us up,
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and trying to warn us
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that we should not be deceived
to take heed what we hear,
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to watch what it is
that we set before our eyes,
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and to make sure that
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we have the
spiritual mind of Christ
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that we may not be deceived,
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and turned away from the truth.
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I want to share a few
scriptures with you now.
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We're going to
kind of do rapid fire
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for the next few minutes.
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But I want to read
you, I want to show you
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how
overwhelmingly clear this is.
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And again, this is not
even all the text in the Bible
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that has to deal with deception.
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But I want to start in
the Book of Jeremiah 29:8-9.
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Let's go there.
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Jeremiah 29:8-9.
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The Bible says,
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"For thus says
the Lord of hosts,
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the God of Israel:
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Do not let your
prophets and your diviners
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who are in your
midst deceive you,
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nor listen to your dreams
which you cause to be dreamed.
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For they prophesy
falsely to you in My name,
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I have not sent
them, says the Lord."
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That scripture is powerful,
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because what
basically God is saying is that
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there are people out there
that's going to come to you
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and try to speak
to you on My behalf.
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They're going to
try to tell you that
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I'm giving you a message
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or that I've sent
them to deliver a message,
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or perhaps maybe a
dream that you might have had
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or someone else has had
or a vision of some kind,
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that they're
saying, it's from the Lord.
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What does He say here?
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He says, "Do not
believe them, for they are,
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they prophesy
falsely to you in My name,
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I have not sent
them, says the Lord."
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My friends,
deception is a key issue
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throughout the
Old and New Testament.
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But I can say this with
again, absolute certainty,
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that if you if you study
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the New Testament
responsibly and properly,
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you'll find that this
issue of deception amplifies
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and picks up as you continue in
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to read the new text
or the New Testament text.
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In fact, let's go
to Matthew Chapter 24
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because this is
within the context
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of the great Olivet Discourse
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that Jesus
delivers to the disciples
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atop the Mount of Olives.
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And the very first
words out of His mouth
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as He's about to
deliver this famous,
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powerful prophetic message.
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It is basically
His farewell address
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to the disciples telling
them about the end times,
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and what is to come
and what they can expect
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and what we can expect
before the coming of Jesus.
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The very first
words out of His mouth,
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Matthew 24:4-5.
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Notice what it says,
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"Jesus answered
and said to them:
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'Take heed that
no one deceives you.
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For many will come in My
name, saying, 'I am the Christ,'
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and will
deceive," notice, not a few,
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"but will deceive many.'"
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Again, you hear Jesus
say this often throughout
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His time in His ministry.
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In fact, in that
same Olivet Discourse,
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right there in Matthew 24,
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if you skip down
to verses 24 and 25.
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Notice again what He
says, He brings it back up.
00:09:51.85\00:09:54.32
He says, "For false christs
and false prophets will rise
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and show great
signs and wonders to,"
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there it is again, "to deceive,
00:10:00.83\00:10:03.30
if possible, even the elect."
00:10:03.33\00:10:07.70
And then He says, "See, I
have told you beforehand."
00:10:07.74\00:10:12.17
My friends, I mean,
00:10:12.21\00:10:13.58
it can't get any
clearer than that
00:10:13.61\00:10:14.94
from the Master of
the Universe, right?
00:10:14.98\00:10:16.91
Jesus is
saying, look, the issue,
00:10:16.95\00:10:18.31
one of the major issues in
the last days is deception.
00:10:18.35\00:10:21.42
People are going to be
deceived left and right.
00:10:21.45\00:10:24.55
Paul, who wrote the
majority of the New Testament,
00:10:24.59\00:10:27.59
this is a common
theme in his writings
00:10:27.62\00:10:29.79
as he brings it up and up again.
00:10:29.82\00:10:31.66
Let's go to 1
Corinthians 6:9-10.
00:10:31.69\00:10:35.63
Again, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
00:10:35.66\00:10:37.93
Notice what He says.
00:10:37.97\00:10:39.30
He says, "Do you not know
00:10:39.33\00:10:40.80
that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God?
00:10:40.84\00:10:44.44
Do not be deceived.
00:10:44.47\00:10:47.08
Neither
fornicators, nor idolaters,
00:10:47.11\00:10:49.01
nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,
00:10:49.04\00:10:50.55
nor sodomites, nor thieves,
00:10:50.58\00:10:51.91
nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers,
00:10:51.95\00:10:54.28
nor extortioners will
inherit the kingdom of God."
00:10:54.32\00:10:58.25
So He makes it
absolutely clear here,
00:10:58.29\00:11:00.12
He says, "Do not be deceived,
00:11:00.16\00:11:01.96
because these type
of unrighteous people
00:11:01.99\00:11:03.83
will not make it
into the kingdom of God."
00:11:03.86\00:11:06.73
He basically
echoes the same message
00:11:06.76\00:11:08.73
over and over
throughout His writings.
00:11:08.76\00:11:10.33
1 Corinthians 15:33,
notice what the Bible says.
00:11:10.37\00:11:15.34
Again, Paul writes,
"Do not be deceived:
00:11:15.37\00:11:18.54
'Evil company
corrupts good habits.'"
00:11:18.57\00:11:22.24
So what we're
doing is we're trying
00:11:22.28\00:11:23.61
to establish the
validity of the fact that
00:11:23.65\00:11:25.21
one of the major themes
00:11:25.25\00:11:27.38
throughout all the New Testament
00:11:27.42\00:11:28.75
and I'm going to even
go a step further and say,
00:11:28.78\00:11:30.62
even in the great
prophetic writings
00:11:30.65\00:11:32.85
that you and I
are supposed to study
00:11:32.89\00:11:35.02
and be aware of and
know, and in reference
00:11:35.06\00:11:37.93
to how to prepare for
the soon coming of Jesus.
00:11:37.96\00:11:40.33
This is one of
the central themes
00:11:40.36\00:11:41.86
all throughout the Bible.
00:11:41.90\00:11:43.23
God is sending a
message through His messengers,
00:11:43.26\00:11:45.57
through His
prophets, to warn us that
00:11:45.60\00:11:47.54
one of the major
issues is deception,
00:11:47.57\00:11:49.94
that it's going to
plague not just the world,
00:11:49.97\00:11:52.31
but as we're going
to see in a little bit,
00:11:52.34\00:11:53.78
even the church
in the last days.
00:11:53.81\00:11:56.31
Let's read another
one here, Galatians 6:7.
00:11:56.34\00:11:59.68
Notice again what Paul writes.
00:11:59.71\00:12:01.22
He says, "Do not be
deceived, God is not mocked,
00:12:01.25\00:12:05.02
for whatever a man sows,
00:12:05.05\00:12:06.96
that he will reap also,
or that he will also reap."
00:12:06.99\00:12:11.96
Ephesians 5:6-7.
00:12:11.99\00:12:15.56
Notice what Paul writes,
00:12:15.60\00:12:16.93
"Let no one deceive
you with empty words,
00:12:16.97\00:12:19.53
for because of these
things the wrath of God
00:12:19.57\00:12:21.74
comes upon the
sons of disobedience.
00:12:21.77\00:12:24.27
Therefore do not be
partakers with them."
00:12:24.31\00:12:29.24
Again and again and again.
00:12:29.28\00:12:31.75
We see this also in
Colossians Chapter 2.
00:12:31.78\00:12:34.35
It says, "Beware,"
this is Colossians 2:8.
00:12:34.38\00:12:38.15
Paul again says,
00:12:38.19\00:12:39.52
"Beware lest anyone
cheat you through philosophy
00:12:39.55\00:12:43.29
and empty deceit,
00:12:43.32\00:12:45.59
according to the
tradition of men,
00:12:45.63\00:12:47.90
according to
the basic principles
00:12:47.93\00:12:49.73
of the world,
00:12:49.76\00:12:51.10
and not according to Christ."
00:12:51.13\00:12:54.07
My friends, did you catch that?
00:12:54.10\00:12:55.87
Did you see that very clearly?
00:12:55.90\00:12:57.57
Right there he says,
00:12:57.61\00:12:58.94
"Beware of those who cheat you
00:12:58.97\00:13:00.38
through
philosophy and empty deceit."
00:13:00.41\00:13:02.84
My friends, there
are people in this world
00:13:02.88\00:13:05.28
that fully believe
00:13:05.31\00:13:06.98
this is where
deception comes in.
00:13:07.02\00:13:08.35
This is the very art,
00:13:08.38\00:13:09.72
the very art and the
very heart of deception
00:13:09.75\00:13:12.95
is that people are
unaware that they're deceived.
00:13:12.99\00:13:14.76
In fact, that's the
very essence of deception
00:13:14.79\00:13:16.83
is that they are
unaware that they are deceived,
00:13:16.86\00:13:18.96
and many times become a
stumbling block for others
00:13:18.99\00:13:22.10
because with
their empty deceits,
00:13:22.13\00:13:25.03
and their wrong and
twisted philosophies,
00:13:25.07\00:13:28.47
they come and they share things
with people in the name of God
00:13:28.50\00:13:31.54
or under the
banner of Christianity,
00:13:31.57\00:13:33.91
and they communicate
things and they share things
00:13:33.94\00:13:36.04
that is simply not
of the will of God,
00:13:36.08\00:13:37.95
that is simply not in
harmony with God's Word.
00:13:37.98\00:13:41.62
Of course, we get even deeper
into the subject of deceit
00:13:41.65\00:13:44.95
when we get into the prophecies
00:13:44.99\00:13:46.32
and into the prophetic writings,
00:13:46.35\00:13:48.56
as we spend a little
time in Matthew 24 earlier.
00:13:48.59\00:13:51.23
Now let's go into 2
Thessalonians Chapter 2.
00:13:51.26\00:13:53.90
And again, read in verse
3, what Paul has to say about
00:13:53.93\00:13:56.36
this leading Antichrist
figure of the last days.
00:13:56.40\00:13:59.43
Notice what he says, he says,
00:13:59.47\00:14:00.80
"Let no man
deceive you by any means:
00:14:00.84\00:14:03.41
for that day shall not come,
00:14:03.44\00:14:04.94
except there comes
a falling away first,
00:14:04.97\00:14:07.88
and that man of sin be revealed,
00:14:07.91\00:14:10.31
the son of perdition."
00:14:10.35\00:14:12.51
Again, this is the
Lord knocking on the door
00:14:12.55\00:14:14.68
of our hearts saying, "Look,
00:14:14.72\00:14:16.05
don't think
yourself too high and mighty
00:14:16.08\00:14:17.82
that you cannot be deceived."
00:14:17.85\00:14:19.19
If you're not
connected to the vine,
00:14:19.22\00:14:20.89
if you are not
abiding in Jesus Christ,
00:14:20.92\00:14:23.06
you very well could
00:14:23.09\00:14:24.43
become a part of
those who walk away
00:14:24.46\00:14:26.66
or drift away from
the truth of God's Word.
00:14:26.70\00:14:29.60
And so that's
exactly what he's warning.
00:14:29.63\00:14:31.43
Notice the
church of Thessalonica,
00:14:31.47\00:14:33.23
he's saying, there's
coming a leading man of sin,
00:14:33.27\00:14:36.50
this leading Antichrist figure,
00:14:36.54\00:14:38.67
who is going to oppose
all that God stands for,
00:14:38.71\00:14:41.24
he's going to exalt himself
above the stars of God, right?
00:14:41.28\00:14:44.21
He's going to sit on the throne,
00:14:44.25\00:14:46.31
as if he is God himself
declaring that he is God.
00:14:46.35\00:14:49.82
And in this case, he says,
00:14:49.85\00:14:51.19
"Let no one
deceive you by any means."
00:14:51.22\00:14:54.16
Of course, the
beloved disciple John,
00:14:54.19\00:14:56.32
who also would go on to
write the Book of Revelation.
00:14:56.36\00:14:59.13
He writes this
in his first letter,
00:14:59.16\00:15:01.16
and found in 1 John Chapter 2.
00:15:01.20\00:15:03.30
This is verse 26.
Notice what he says.
00:15:03.33\00:15:05.83
He's speaking to
the church again,
00:15:05.87\00:15:07.20
he says, "These
things I have written to you
00:15:07.24\00:15:09.14
concerning those
who try to deceive you."
00:15:09.17\00:15:12.44
So even John is writing.
00:15:12.47\00:15:14.31
He's saying, "Look, I'm
writing these things to you,
00:15:14.34\00:15:16.48
the contents of this book
00:15:16.51\00:15:17.98
and the contents of
this particular passage,
00:15:18.01\00:15:20.12
I'm writing it
to you to warn you,
00:15:20.15\00:15:22.32
to inform you,
to make you aware,
00:15:22.35\00:15:24.62
to enlighten you of those
00:15:24.65\00:15:26.22
that the enemy has sent out
00:15:26.25\00:15:27.62
for the sole
purpose of deceiving you."
00:15:27.66\00:15:30.99
Even in the Book
of Revelation 12:9
00:15:31.03\00:15:33.50
when John was envisioned
on the Island of Patmos,
00:15:33.53\00:15:36.46
and he saw that
great vision of the woman
00:15:36.50\00:15:38.67
and the child and the dragon.
00:15:38.70\00:15:40.67
Notice, speaking
of Satan himself,
00:15:40.70\00:15:43.10
he writes in Revelation12:9.
00:15:43.14\00:15:45.67
He says, "So the
great dragon was cast out,
00:15:45.71\00:15:48.74
that old serpent
called the Devil and Satan,
00:15:48.78\00:15:51.05
who," notice,
"deceives, not just a few,
00:15:51.08\00:15:54.75
but the whole world,
he was cast to the earth,
00:15:54.78\00:15:58.59
and his angels
were cast out with him."
00:15:58.62\00:16:02.46
My friends, this is
vitally, vitally important
00:16:02.49\00:16:04.53
that we comprehend this message.
00:16:04.56\00:16:07.40
Because what we're showing here,
00:16:07.43\00:16:08.76
the opening
moments of this message,
00:16:08.80\00:16:11.30
is that we are living
in a time when deception
00:16:11.33\00:16:14.54
is greater than any
other time before us.
00:16:14.57\00:16:17.94
The devil has
amplified his works.
00:16:17.97\00:16:20.71
He has basically multiplied
00:16:20.74\00:16:24.25
his efforts to try to distract
00:16:24.28\00:16:27.42
and to try to
lure God's people away
00:16:27.45\00:16:29.95
from the truth, all
the while believing,
00:16:29.98\00:16:33.25
while they are believing
that they are in Christ.
00:16:33.29\00:16:35.66
My friends, that's deception.
00:16:35.69\00:16:37.43
Speaking of that second
beast of Revelation Chapter 13.
00:16:37.46\00:16:41.63
Again, the second beast,
00:16:41.66\00:16:43.00
which we believe
to be none other than
00:16:43.03\00:16:44.37
the United States,
00:16:44.40\00:16:45.73
playing its role
in the final events
00:16:45.77\00:16:47.50
of Bible prophecy.
00:16:47.54\00:16:48.87
Notice what it says there.
00:16:48.90\00:16:50.24
Again, because it has
been speaking as the dragon
00:16:50.27\00:16:53.34
just because
it's being empowered
00:16:53.38\00:16:55.04
by the same
power that first beast
00:16:55.08\00:16:56.68
is being empowered
by the devil himself.
00:16:56.71\00:16:59.21
Notice what Bible prophecy
says in Revelation 13:14.
00:16:59.25\00:17:03.42
It says, "And he deceives
those who dwell on the earth
00:17:03.45\00:17:06.62
by those signs
00:17:06.65\00:17:07.99
which he was granted to do
in the sight of the beast..."
00:17:08.02\00:17:12.96
Deceives, deceives, deceives,
deception, do not be deceived.
00:17:12.99\00:17:17.40
You see, this come up
over and over and over.
00:17:17.43\00:17:19.50
In fact, the word deceive
appears more than 70 times
00:17:19.53\00:17:25.07
in the Bible, I would
say that that's a big deal.
00:17:25.11\00:17:27.74
I would say that
that's God's effort
00:17:27.78\00:17:29.58
trying to reach
out to us and say,
00:17:29.61\00:17:31.05
"Look, I'm giving you the
sign that you can't believe
00:17:31.08\00:17:34.08
every little
thing you see in here.
00:17:34.12\00:17:35.85
Make sure you're
grounded in the truth."
00:17:35.88\00:17:38.79
As we said earlier, the
very essence of deception
00:17:38.82\00:17:42.02
is that you're unaware
that you are deceived, right?
00:17:42.06\00:17:44.46
I have never met a person
who if you were to ask them,
00:17:44.49\00:17:47.50
"Hey, are you deceived?"
00:17:47.53\00:17:48.86
That they just openly admit,
00:17:48.90\00:17:50.23
"Oh, yes, I'm living
in a state of deception."
00:17:50.27\00:17:52.20
I've never met anyone like that.
00:17:52.23\00:17:53.84
Because everyone who
is deceived believes that
00:17:53.87\00:17:56.60
they're absolutely 100% correct
in all aspects of their life,
00:17:56.64\00:18:01.18
or at least in the aspect
of their faith in Jesus Christ.
00:18:01.21\00:18:04.61
And therefore they believe
that they are in no wrong.
00:18:04.65\00:18:08.15
And that's a
scary state, my friends.
00:18:08.18\00:18:09.78
In fact, I used to be there,
00:18:09.82\00:18:11.55
I know that, I
know what it feels like.
00:18:11.59\00:18:13.19
It's a scary thing to know that
00:18:13.22\00:18:15.12
you've been
living all your life,
00:18:15.16\00:18:16.79
the majority of your life,
00:18:16.83\00:18:18.39
believing one
thing and that one thing
00:18:18.43\00:18:20.26
that you
believe are those series
00:18:20.30\00:18:22.00
of things that makes up
00:18:22.03\00:18:23.37
what you believe
to be the right faith,
00:18:23.40\00:18:26.03
only to find out
that all that time,
00:18:26.07\00:18:28.77
you were deceived.
00:18:28.80\00:18:30.74
You weren't living in harmony
by the truth of God's Word.
00:18:30.77\00:18:34.08
It's a scary, very
eerie feeling to know
00:18:34.11\00:18:38.25
or to feel at one
time that you were
00:18:38.28\00:18:39.65
just absolutely
convinced that you were right
00:18:39.68\00:18:41.48
when in reality
you were actually
00:18:41.52\00:18:43.99
not in harmony
with the will of God.
00:18:44.02\00:18:46.39
My friends, that's
a very serious thing.
00:18:46.42\00:18:49.06
In other words, you
think you are in the light,
00:18:49.09\00:18:53.63
but really, you are
blind to the fact that
00:18:53.66\00:18:55.60
you are walking in darkness.
00:18:55.63\00:18:58.87
You think that
you know what's right,
00:18:58.90\00:19:00.54
when in reality
00:19:00.57\00:19:01.90
you are completely
oblivious to the truth.
00:19:01.94\00:19:05.77
And let me tell you something,
as I'm speaking these words,
00:19:05.81\00:19:07.61
right now, there's probably
someone at home or somewhere,
00:19:07.64\00:19:10.21
wherever you are around
the world watching this.
00:19:10.25\00:19:12.61
And you're
probably saying to yourself,
00:19:12.65\00:19:13.98
"Well Ryan, all of those things,
00:19:14.02\00:19:15.35
of course, pertain to the world
00:19:15.38\00:19:16.89
because the world is lost
and the world is deceived."
00:19:16.92\00:19:19.72
But, my friends,
make no mistake about it,
00:19:19.75\00:19:21.36
when you study the
Word of God correctly,
00:19:21.39\00:19:24.26
rightly dividing
the Word of truth.
00:19:24.29\00:19:26.43
And you allow God to
speak to you from the Word,
00:19:26.46\00:19:28.16
let me tell you something,
God does not hide the fact
00:19:28.20\00:19:30.37
that in the last
days within the ranks
00:19:30.40\00:19:32.70
of what we consider Christianity
00:19:32.73\00:19:34.57
or the Christian Church,
there are many, many people
00:19:34.60\00:19:38.51
who are aiding to
this issue of deception.
00:19:38.54\00:19:41.18
Because the devil
has made his way in
00:19:41.21\00:19:43.18
and he has planted his tares.
00:19:43.21\00:19:45.11
He has planted his deceits
00:19:45.15\00:19:47.05
and only those who are connected
00:19:47.08\00:19:48.58
to the vine of Jesus,
only those who are living
00:19:48.62\00:19:51.12
according to
the true Word of God
00:19:51.15\00:19:53.52
are those who see and
understand these deceits.
00:19:53.56\00:19:57.23
In fact, what I would
like to continue on with
00:19:57.26\00:20:00.26
is I would like to look back
at 1 Thessalonians, excuse me,
00:20:00.30\00:20:03.16
2 Thessalonians 2:3.
00:20:03.20\00:20:06.10
We read this verse earlier,
00:20:06.13\00:20:07.47
but I want to highlight
something very clearly.
00:20:07.50\00:20:08.84
Again, we're
talking about the church.
00:20:08.87\00:20:10.51
2 Thessalonians 2:3, let's look
and see what that says again.
00:20:10.54\00:20:13.98
It says, "Let no one deceive you
00:20:14.01\00:20:15.44
by any means: for that day,"
00:20:15.48\00:20:18.88
that is the
second coming of Jesus,
00:20:18.91\00:20:21.72
"that day will not come,"
00:20:21.75\00:20:24.42
or it shall not come,
00:20:24.45\00:20:25.99
"except there come
a falling away first,
00:20:26.02\00:20:29.02
and that man of sin be revealed,
00:20:29.06\00:20:30.83
the son of perdition."
00:20:30.86\00:20:32.99
Now, what is
this verse telling us?
00:20:33.03\00:20:34.36
Let me highlight
this very clearly
00:20:34.40\00:20:35.73
because this is important.
00:20:35.76\00:20:37.43
This is a
prophetic verse, my friends.
00:20:37.47\00:20:40.04
This is speaking about
the state of the church
00:20:40.07\00:20:42.47
prior to the
second coming of Jesus.
00:20:42.50\00:20:45.37
In fact, what this
verse is telling us is that
00:20:45.41\00:20:47.48
right before Jesus returns,
00:20:47.51\00:20:51.31
there's going to be
those even in the church,
00:20:51.35\00:20:54.72
who will be taking part
in this great falling away
00:20:54.75\00:21:00.62
that must occur
before Jesus returns.
00:21:00.66\00:21:04.16
Now, what's interesting
00:21:04.19\00:21:05.53
is when you go and
look in their original,
00:21:05.56\00:21:06.90
I've brought this out before
00:21:06.93\00:21:08.26
in some of my previous messages,
00:21:08.30\00:21:09.63
but I want to
highlight it again,
00:21:09.66\00:21:11.00
in case there's someone at home
00:21:11.03\00:21:12.37
that has never
heard this before.
00:21:12.40\00:21:13.74
When you go into the
original Greek language,
00:21:13.77\00:21:15.14
and you study out the word
00:21:15.17\00:21:16.50
that's behind that
phrase, falling away,
00:21:16.54\00:21:20.18
it's the Greek word apostasia.
00:21:20.21\00:21:23.61
Okay, it sounds familiar, right?
00:21:23.65\00:21:24.98
Apostasia.
00:21:25.01\00:21:26.35
It's where we
get our English word
00:21:26.38\00:21:27.72
or our English
concept of apostasy.
00:21:27.75\00:21:30.62
And we know apostasy is
very much a strong thing.
00:21:30.65\00:21:33.49
It's a big issue in the church.
00:21:33.52\00:21:36.76
We don't want to
apostatize at all.
00:21:36.79\00:21:38.63
We don't want to
be a part of apostasy,
00:21:38.66\00:21:40.53
we want to be in the
light of Jesus Christ.
00:21:40.56\00:21:43.90
But when you look up
what that word apostasia means
00:21:43.93\00:21:47.34
in the original Greek,
00:21:47.37\00:21:49.17
it simply means a defection
or turning away from the truth.
00:21:49.20\00:21:54.68
And a secondary definition
to that would mean to divorce.
00:21:54.71\00:21:59.51
So in other words,
what Paul is saying here,
00:21:59.55\00:22:01.38
what he's
revealing prophetically,
00:22:01.42\00:22:03.39
is before Jesus
Christ comes back,
00:22:03.42\00:22:05.29
there's going to be
00:22:05.32\00:22:06.65
such a strong state of deception
00:22:06.69\00:22:09.56
that many of the
people have fallen into,
00:22:09.59\00:22:12.66
that there's going to be a
Great Apostasy to take place
00:22:12.69\00:22:15.50
in which those in the church,
00:22:15.53\00:22:17.87
many of those in the
church will fully believe
00:22:17.90\00:22:21.80
that they're married to Jesus,
00:22:21.84\00:22:24.11
when really they
have divorced to Him.
00:22:24.14\00:22:26.91
They fully are convinced that
they're walking in the truth,
00:22:26.94\00:22:30.85
when really, they have rejected
the source of the power,
00:22:30.88\00:22:34.75
powerful source
of the Holy Spirit
00:22:34.78\00:22:36.55
to continue to cause
them to walk in that truth.
00:22:36.58\00:22:39.32
In other words,
they have defected
00:22:39.35\00:22:40.76
or fallen away or
fallen away from the truth,
00:22:40.79\00:22:44.56
all the while
deceived into believing that
00:22:44.59\00:22:47.26
they're still in God's way.
00:22:47.30\00:22:48.83
My friends, there is,
00:22:48.86\00:22:50.20
I can't think of any
scarier situation to be in.
00:22:50.23\00:22:53.50
This is not a
message to pull you down.
00:22:53.54\00:22:55.24
This is not a
message to discourage you.
00:22:55.27\00:22:56.84
This is a message calling
for revival and awakeness,
00:22:56.87\00:23:01.11
to awake us to the
reality that as we gain closer
00:23:01.14\00:23:04.35
and closer to the
second coming of Jesus,
00:23:04.38\00:23:06.01
my friends, we are told that
00:23:06.05\00:23:07.45
the Spirit of God is being
withdrawn from this planet.
00:23:07.48\00:23:11.19
And why is that?
00:23:11.22\00:23:12.55
Well, we're going to reveal
why that is in just a moment.
00:23:12.59\00:23:14.72
But I'm just
telling you right now,
00:23:14.76\00:23:16.12
we don't need to be
pushing the Holy Spirit
00:23:16.16\00:23:18.29
away from our
lives, we need to be
00:23:18.33\00:23:19.66
inviting the
leading guiding power
00:23:19.69\00:23:21.50
of the Holy Spirit in our life.
00:23:21.53\00:23:22.90
Because if we have any
hope of getting out of here,
00:23:22.93\00:23:24.63
it's because the Spirit of truth
00:23:24.67\00:23:26.47
is leading and guiding us
00:23:26.50\00:23:27.84
because we have
humbled ourselves
00:23:27.87\00:23:29.60
to its guidance.
00:23:29.64\00:23:33.07
I want to make that very clear.
00:23:33.11\00:23:36.71
The Spirit of God will
lead us unto righteousness,
00:23:36.75\00:23:41.62
if we humble ourselves
00:23:41.65\00:23:43.22
and allow
ourselves to be led by God.
00:23:43.25\00:23:49.26
So how will the
devil bring about
00:23:49.29\00:23:51.89
this great falling
away in the church?
00:23:51.93\00:23:53.90
How's he going to do it?
00:23:53.93\00:23:55.26
Well, it's very simple.
00:23:55.30\00:23:56.63
He's going to attack the truth.
00:23:56.67\00:23:58.73
And you say, "Well,
Ryan, that's nothing new.
00:23:58.77\00:24:00.34
The devil's always been
attacking the truth, right?"
00:24:00.37\00:24:02.27
Well, of
course, he's always been
00:24:02.30\00:24:03.64
attacking the truth,
00:24:03.67\00:24:05.01
but he's going
to attack the truth
00:24:05.04\00:24:06.37
in such a way
00:24:06.41\00:24:08.04
so to cause
confusion and division
00:24:08.08\00:24:13.31
even within the church of God.
00:24:13.35\00:24:17.59
Okay, I'm going to
say that one more time.
00:24:17.62\00:24:19.42
In what way is he
going to attack the truth?
00:24:19.45\00:24:22.39
He's changing his method,
00:24:22.42\00:24:24.03
so not to try to
completely get rid of the truth.
00:24:24.06\00:24:27.00
But if he can
distort it, twist it,
00:24:27.03\00:24:30.00
or cause confusion
00:24:30.03\00:24:31.83
among the ranks of God's people,
00:24:31.87\00:24:34.60
that confusion will bring
00:24:34.64\00:24:36.64
about division within the church
00:24:36.67\00:24:38.54
and if you have
division within your church,
00:24:38.57\00:24:41.11
oh, my goodness, my friends.
00:24:41.14\00:24:42.74
Let me tell you,
let me just remind you
00:24:42.78\00:24:44.25
what the Bible says about those.
00:24:44.28\00:24:45.61
We're going to
get to some scriptures
00:24:45.65\00:24:46.98
in a moment about
division within God's house.
00:24:47.02\00:24:49.25
That's not a good thing.
00:24:49.28\00:24:50.82
But yet, it happens to be
00:24:50.85\00:24:52.19
the reality of what
we're talking about today
00:24:52.22\00:24:54.62
all because of the enemy.
00:24:54.66\00:24:57.06
I want to take us
now to Isaiah 5:20-23.
00:24:57.09\00:25:01.13
Talking about the confusion
that he's going to sow,
00:25:01.16\00:25:04.30
the way he's attacking the truth
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.50
to bring about confusion even
00:25:06.53\00:25:08.07
within our very ranks,
00:25:08.10\00:25:09.44
even within the
Christian church today.
00:25:09.47\00:25:11.51
Isaiah 5:20-23.
00:25:11.54\00:25:13.98
Now these verses can apply
00:25:14.01\00:25:15.38
just as much to the
world as it does for church.
00:25:15.41\00:25:17.71
But let's hear it right now.
00:25:17.75\00:25:19.45
The Bible says,
00:25:19.48\00:25:20.88
"Woe to those
who call evil good,
00:25:20.92\00:25:24.85
and good evil, who
put darkness for light,
00:25:24.89\00:25:28.76
and light for darkness,
00:25:28.79\00:25:30.66
who put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter!
00:25:30.69\00:25:34.53
Woe to those who are
wise in their own eyes,
00:25:34.56\00:25:39.50
and prudent in their own sight!
00:25:39.53\00:25:42.80
Woe to men
mighty at drinking wine,
00:25:42.84\00:25:47.11
woe to men valiant for
mixing intoxicating drink,
00:25:47.14\00:25:52.35
who justify the
wicked for a bribe,
00:25:52.38\00:25:55.82
and take away justice
from the righteous man!"
00:25:55.85\00:26:00.02
My friends, if
there is ever a truer text
00:26:00.06\00:26:02.66
in all of the Bible
00:26:02.69\00:26:04.13
that could very much describe
00:26:04.16\00:26:06.23
the state of not just the world,
00:26:06.26\00:26:08.33
but also it seems
even the church sometimes.
00:26:08.36\00:26:11.33
And that is it seems
like that there's not
00:26:11.37\00:26:13.23
any clear
objective truth anymore.
00:26:13.27\00:26:15.44
There's so much
confusion and so much division
00:26:15.47\00:26:17.84
that you got
brothers and sisters in here
00:26:17.87\00:26:19.94
that are calling
evil good and good evil,
00:26:19.97\00:26:22.88
so much confusion so much that
00:26:22.91\00:26:24.65
that we have
people in the world today
00:26:24.68\00:26:26.58
who are saying
that light is darkness
00:26:26.61\00:26:28.08
and darkness is light.
00:26:28.12\00:26:29.45
Something that's
supposed to be right is wrong,
00:26:29.48\00:26:31.15
something that's
supposed to be wrong is right.
00:26:31.19\00:26:33.05
And so you just
sow that much confusion
00:26:33.09\00:26:36.22
and doubt in the
minds of God's people,
00:26:36.26\00:26:38.79
and it's going
to cause confusion.
00:26:38.83\00:26:40.93
And that confusion is
going to bring about division.
00:26:40.96\00:26:46.37
That's why Proverbs
14:12 says very clearly,
00:26:46.40\00:26:50.47
"There is a way that
seems right to a man,
00:26:50.51\00:26:56.21
but the end thereof
is the way of death."
00:26:56.24\00:27:02.15
We live in a world today
00:27:02.18\00:27:03.52
where everybody thinks
that their way is right.
00:27:03.55\00:27:06.32
Only because this little,
00:27:06.35\00:27:07.69
this, this, this, this
amazing part of their body,
00:27:07.72\00:27:12.03
I'm just going to say
this, an amazing muscle
00:27:12.06\00:27:13.76
or organ that's between,
00:27:13.80\00:27:16.26
you know, their
head here, in their head.
00:27:16.30\00:27:17.73
Many people believe
that what goes on up
00:27:17.77\00:27:20.84
there is that's
what's most right,
00:27:20.87\00:27:23.14
with the way
they perceive things.
00:27:23.17\00:27:24.84
But, my friends,
just because we perceive
00:27:24.87\00:27:26.21
something to be right
00:27:26.24\00:27:27.58
doesn't always
mean that it's right.
00:27:27.61\00:27:28.94
And just because we
perceive something to be wrong
00:27:28.98\00:27:30.81
doesn't always
mean that it's wrong.
00:27:30.85\00:27:32.41
Who is to decide
if something is right,
00:27:32.45\00:27:34.68
who is to determine
if something is wrong?
00:27:34.72\00:27:36.45
My friends,
it's the Word of God.
00:27:36.48\00:27:38.49
It is God, the
Creator of the universe.
00:27:38.52\00:27:40.69
But yet we are living in a world
00:27:40.72\00:27:42.56
where even people today
are taking this very Word,
00:27:42.59\00:27:45.56
they're twisting it
to their own destruction,
00:27:45.59\00:27:47.73
and calling that
which God said is right,
00:27:47.76\00:27:49.93
they're calling wrong.
00:27:49.96\00:27:51.30
And they're saying
that which is wrong that
00:27:51.33\00:27:52.83
God has clearly
described and declared as wrong,
00:27:52.87\00:27:55.37
they're saying
it's no longer wrong,
00:27:55.40\00:27:56.91
it's okay in the sight of God.
00:27:56.94\00:27:59.17
Confusion, confusion.
00:27:59.21\00:28:01.21
In fact, that's scripture
00:28:01.24\00:28:02.91
I read earlier
in Isaiah Chapter 5,
00:28:02.94\00:28:04.51
it goes on to say,
"Woe to them mighty,
00:28:04.55\00:28:07.02
woe to the men, the
mighty men who drink wine,
00:28:07.05\00:28:11.05
woe to men valiant
00:28:11.09\00:28:12.42
from mixing intoxicating drink."
00:28:12.45\00:28:15.02
My friends, do we
have a prophetic warning,
00:28:15.06\00:28:17.43
a prophetic message in
the three angels' messages,
00:28:17.46\00:28:20.06
in fact, more specifically,
00:28:20.10\00:28:21.43
the second angel's message
that warns us of a harlot
00:28:21.46\00:28:24.60
who has some wine
00:28:24.63\00:28:26.07
that she has made
the world drunk with.
00:28:26.10\00:28:29.40
And you sit here
today and you say,
00:28:29.44\00:28:30.77
"Oh, but Ryan,
there's no way in my church.
00:28:30.81\00:28:33.68
There's no way in my church,
00:28:33.71\00:28:35.84
that people are
drunk on Babylon's wine."
00:28:35.88\00:28:39.68
My friends, you
see at the very core
00:28:39.71\00:28:43.08
of this dilemma is
pride and selfishness.
00:28:43.12\00:28:48.22
Self-deceived intoxication.
00:28:48.26\00:28:53.33
Babylon's intoxicating
wine causes confusion.
00:28:53.36\00:28:58.17
And confusion
brings about not unity,
00:28:58.20\00:29:02.57
the opposite of unity.
00:29:02.60\00:29:04.37
It brings about division.
00:29:04.41\00:29:08.54
Remember, I said how Jesus
00:29:08.58\00:29:09.91
spoke on the
subject of division,
00:29:09.94\00:29:12.88
and how God's Church
must not remain divided.
00:29:12.91\00:29:17.19
Well, let's go to
Matthew Chapter 12.
00:29:17.22\00:29:19.12
You're going to see here that
00:29:19.15\00:29:20.49
Jesus has been
challenged by the Pharisees.
00:29:20.52\00:29:23.43
And they've been,
they've already accused Jesus,
00:29:23.46\00:29:25.29
they said, "Look, this brother,
00:29:25.33\00:29:26.66
he's doing all these
signs and miracles and wonders,
00:29:26.70\00:29:28.46
by the power of
the devil, Beelzebub."
00:29:28.50\00:29:32.13
And Jesus says, "What?
00:29:32.17\00:29:34.07
You think I'm doing all
this by the power of Satan?
00:29:34.10\00:29:36.54
I'm trying to unify the people,
00:29:36.57\00:29:38.24
but yet you're accusing Me
00:29:38.27\00:29:39.67
of using the
power of the one person
00:29:39.71\00:29:41.31
who's trying to
divide the people."
00:29:41.34\00:29:43.04
And He goes onto
say in Matthew 12:25-26.
00:29:43.08\00:29:47.05
Notice what the Bible says,
00:29:47.08\00:29:48.68
"Every kingdom divided
00:29:48.72\00:29:50.72
against itself is
brought to desolation,
00:29:50.75\00:29:54.86
and every city or
house divided against itself
00:29:54.89\00:29:58.89
will not stand."
00:29:58.93\00:30:00.26
And then notice verse 26,
00:30:00.30\00:30:01.66
"If Satan casts out Satan,
he is divided against himself.
00:30:01.70\00:30:06.33
How then will
his kingdom stand?"
00:30:06.37\00:30:09.54
Did you catch that?
00:30:09.57\00:30:11.81
Let me just go ahead
and just make it real clear,
00:30:11.84\00:30:14.61
disclaimer here.
00:30:14.64\00:30:15.98
Satan's kingdom
is the most divided.
00:30:16.01\00:30:19.81
Satan's kingdom is divided.
00:30:19.85\00:30:21.25
In fact, we know
his house won't stand
00:30:21.28\00:30:22.95
because the Book of
Revelation makes it very clear
00:30:22.98\00:30:25.29
that even he knows he has
00:30:25.32\00:30:27.39
but a short time,
he's on a suicide mission.
00:30:27.42\00:30:31.03
The devil is on
a suicide mission.
00:30:31.06\00:30:32.89
He knows that he
has but a short time,
00:30:32.93\00:30:34.90
and he's going to do all that
00:30:34.93\00:30:36.26
he can to take as
many people out with him.
00:30:36.30\00:30:39.47
And if you think
he's going to take
00:30:39.50\00:30:40.84
his attention off the church,
00:30:40.87\00:30:42.34
that's who he has
amplified his efforts to deceive
00:30:42.37\00:30:45.37
and to attack,
because the dragon is wroth,
00:30:45.41\00:30:48.41
he's mad, he's
angry with the woman
00:30:48.44\00:30:50.28
that is God's Church.
00:30:50.31\00:30:52.78
We even see, wouldn't it,
00:30:52.81\00:30:54.62
while we know
Satan's kingdom is divided,
00:30:54.65\00:30:57.15
we even see this very mentality
00:30:57.19\00:31:00.36
put on display in
Daniel Chapter 11.
00:31:00.39\00:31:02.69
Now, I'm not going to get into
all the details of Daniel 11.
00:31:02.72\00:31:04.73
That's a very complex chapter.
00:31:04.76\00:31:06.39
But I just want to
highlight the fact that
00:31:06.43\00:31:08.13
there's a king of the north
00:31:08.16\00:31:09.96
and a king of the
south in Daniel Chapter 11.
00:31:10.00\00:31:13.13
Neither one of them,
brothers, are any good.
00:31:13.17\00:31:15.10
I'm just going to tell
you, they both represent sin,
00:31:15.14\00:31:17.91
they both represent selfishness,
00:31:17.94\00:31:19.74
they both represent the world.
00:31:19.77\00:31:21.51
And guess who is
working both sides?
00:31:21.54\00:31:23.91
And you say, "Ryan, surely
that don't make any sense.
00:31:23.95\00:31:25.88
Why would the
devil work both sides?"
00:31:25.91\00:31:27.62
Of course, he
wants to work both sides.
00:31:27.65\00:31:29.68
He's on the side of
the king of the north.
00:31:29.72\00:31:31.52
He's on the side of
the king of the south,
00:31:31.55\00:31:32.99
he's working both
sides because again,
00:31:33.02\00:31:35.52
his goal is to create
confusion and further division.
00:31:35.56\00:31:40.66
And we even see this
00:31:40.70\00:31:42.03
within the story
of God's chosen people
00:31:42.06\00:31:44.60
of the Old Testament, Israel.
00:31:44.63\00:31:47.30
It's so sad, but it's true,
00:31:47.34\00:31:49.87
that the very spirit of
the north and the south,
00:31:49.90\00:31:54.94
that the devil
infused and put within that
00:31:54.98\00:32:00.05
conflict of the king of
the north and the south,
00:32:00.08\00:32:01.98
he has infused that same spirit
00:32:02.02\00:32:04.52
of the divisional
north and the south
00:32:04.55\00:32:05.99
within the kingdom of Israel.
00:32:06.02\00:32:09.56
So much that not only do
we see a physical division,
00:32:09.59\00:32:13.26
where we see a northern kingdom
00:32:13.29\00:32:14.63
and a southern kingdom,
00:32:14.66\00:32:16.40
but the people
that God had chose
00:32:16.43\00:32:18.40
to be His
representatives on earth,
00:32:18.43\00:32:20.24
they were broken down
00:32:20.27\00:32:21.60
and their kingdom
did not stand, it fell.
00:32:21.64\00:32:24.37
Why?
00:32:24.41\00:32:25.74
Because the devil
was working both sides.
00:32:25.77\00:32:28.74
They turned their back on God.
00:32:28.78\00:32:31.48
They no longer listen
00:32:31.51\00:32:32.85
to the leading
guiding power of God's Word.
00:32:32.88\00:32:36.65
And the devil came
in, he caused confusion,
00:32:36.69\00:32:40.12
he spread deception,
00:32:40.16\00:32:42.16
and it divided God's people.
00:32:42.19\00:32:46.96
Even in the days of Jesus,
00:32:47.00\00:32:49.43
the nation of
Israel was divided.
00:32:49.46\00:32:51.73
They weren't united.
00:32:51.77\00:32:53.80
In fact, you can
see, interestingly enough,
00:32:53.84\00:32:55.30
if you go to John 8:31-36.
00:32:55.34\00:32:58.81
In fact, for the sake of time,
00:32:58.84\00:33:00.18
I'm not going to
read those verses,
00:33:00.21\00:33:01.54
but I'm
referencing John 8:31-36.
00:33:01.58\00:33:05.55
Jesus is having
again, kind of a showdown
00:33:05.58\00:33:08.95
between the people of Israel,
00:33:08.98\00:33:10.69
the leadership of
Israel, the Pharisees there,
00:33:10.72\00:33:13.36
and He basically is
having this conversation
00:33:13.39\00:33:15.42
with them about Abraham.
00:33:15.46\00:33:17.49
And it's
interesting because He says,
00:33:17.53\00:33:18.89
"If you abide in My word,
you are My disciples indeed."
00:33:18.93\00:33:21.30
Of course they like that
00:33:21.33\00:33:22.66
until He started
talking about Abraham.
00:33:22.70\00:33:24.20
And He said, and
they even answered Him
00:33:24.23\00:33:25.77
and said, "We are
Abraham's descendants,
00:33:25.80\00:33:27.54
and have never been
in bondage to anyone.
00:33:27.57\00:33:29.30
How can you say
you will be made free?"
00:33:29.34\00:33:31.34
Because Jesus said,
"You abide in My word,
00:33:31.37\00:33:33.21
you'll be made free,
00:33:33.24\00:33:34.58
because the truth
shall make you free."
00:33:34.61\00:33:36.78
But they didn't realize that
00:33:36.81\00:33:38.38
they had already been in bondage
00:33:38.41\00:33:40.75
because the Son of God
was standing in their midst.
00:33:40.78\00:33:43.12
And the majority of
them were rejecting Him,
00:33:43.15\00:33:45.62
they were
rejecting the Word of God.
00:33:45.65\00:33:47.72
They were too caught up in
the deceptions of the devil
00:33:47.76\00:33:50.56
had sown amongst them.
00:33:50.59\00:33:52.56
And let me tell you something,
this was an ultraconservative,
00:33:52.59\00:33:56.26
dogmatic, ritualistic
works approach mentality
00:33:56.30\00:34:01.27
among these people that
had dominated the hearts
00:34:01.30\00:34:04.14
and minds of the leaders
00:34:04.17\00:34:05.81
and the church
during the time of Jesus.
00:34:05.84\00:34:08.91
So that brings me to
my point at this point,
00:34:08.94\00:34:10.41
you see, we're
talking about a division.
00:34:10.45\00:34:12.85
And usually today,
especially in modern terms,
00:34:12.88\00:34:16.48
when you're talking
about a division in the church,
00:34:16.52\00:34:18.59
most people how they
categorize an individual
00:34:18.62\00:34:21.52
is based on the time
that they spend around them,
00:34:21.56\00:34:24.13
and they hear them
talk about spiritual things,
00:34:24.16\00:34:25.86
or they spend some time
00:34:25.89\00:34:27.23
around them enough to figure out
00:34:27.26\00:34:28.60
what kind of Christian they are.
00:34:28.63\00:34:29.96
Most of the
time, not all the time,
00:34:30.00\00:34:31.57
but most of the time,
00:34:31.60\00:34:32.97
we find and we
hear this language,
00:34:33.00\00:34:34.34
I'm just going to say it
00:34:34.37\00:34:35.70
because I've
just put it out there.
00:34:35.74\00:34:37.34
It's not a secret anymore.
00:34:37.37\00:34:38.91
Most of the time,
we will categorize
00:34:38.94\00:34:40.58
even a Christian as
either being liberal
00:34:40.61\00:34:43.61
or conservative.
00:34:43.65\00:34:45.65
So not only do we
do this in our church,
00:34:45.68\00:34:48.08
but also it goes
into the other world,
00:34:48.12\00:34:49.75
goes into the political world.
00:34:49.78\00:34:51.22
You know, are you
liberal or conservative,
00:34:51.25\00:34:53.02
based on the particular values
00:34:53.05\00:34:55.12
or the particular principles
that you believe in or live by.
00:34:55.16\00:34:58.89
You see the
people of Jesus' time,
00:34:58.93\00:35:01.63
these pharisaical minded people,
00:35:01.66\00:35:04.73
they weren't just conservative.
00:35:04.77\00:35:06.10
They were what people
00:35:06.13\00:35:07.47
someone would
call ultraconservative.
00:35:07.50\00:35:10.04
They didn't have
a balanced approach
00:35:10.07\00:35:11.54
to how to live
to believe for God.
00:35:11.57\00:35:13.64
And so because of
all of the deceptions,
00:35:13.68\00:35:16.64
that Satan was able to
sow among these people,
00:35:16.68\00:35:18.88
that particular nation
00:35:18.91\00:35:20.32
and those people in
that particular time
00:35:20.35\00:35:22.72
had become what you might call
00:35:22.75\00:35:24.49
an ultraconservative
pharisaical minded
00:35:24.52\00:35:28.72
believer or followers.
00:35:28.76\00:35:31.89
Notice what Jesus says,
in Matthew 13:13-15, again,
00:35:31.93\00:35:36.40
talking about
these type of people.
00:35:36.43\00:35:38.33
He says, "Therefore, I
speak to them in parables,
00:35:38.37\00:35:40.54
because seeing they do not see,
00:35:40.57\00:35:43.17
and hearing they do not
hear, nor do they understand.
00:35:43.20\00:35:47.41
And in them, the
prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled,
00:35:47.44\00:35:50.31
which says:
'Hearing you will hear
00:35:50.35\00:35:52.58
and shall not understand,
00:35:52.61\00:35:53.95
and seeing you will
see and not perceive,
00:35:53.98\00:35:56.79
for the hearts of this
people have grown dull.
00:35:56.82\00:35:59.65
Their ears are hard of hearing,
00:35:59.69\00:36:01.76
and their eyes they have closed,
00:36:01.79\00:36:03.96
lest they should
see with their eyes
00:36:03.99\00:36:06.29
and hear with their ears,
00:36:06.33\00:36:07.80
lest they should understand
with their hearts and turn,
00:36:07.83\00:36:10.67
so that I should heal them.'"
00:36:10.70\00:36:12.63
You know what Jesus is saying
00:36:12.67\00:36:14.00
about this group of people here?
00:36:14.04\00:36:15.37
He's saying,
"Look, they got eyes,
00:36:15.40\00:36:16.74
but they can't see.
00:36:16.77\00:36:18.11
They got ears they can't hear.
00:36:18.14\00:36:19.47
I have to speak to
them in a special way
00:36:19.51\00:36:20.84
because if I
were to speak plainly
00:36:20.88\00:36:22.21
to these brothers and sisters,
they wouldn't perceive it
00:36:22.24\00:36:24.21
because they don't have
the spiritual mind of Christ."
00:36:24.25\00:36:26.25
In other words, you know
00:36:26.28\00:36:27.62
what he would
probably call them?
00:36:27.65\00:36:28.98
Blind visionaries
and dumb geniuses.
00:36:29.02\00:36:32.65
Deaf listeners, blind visionary,
00:36:32.69\00:36:36.52
someone who thinks
they're just a visionary,
00:36:36.56\00:36:38.16
they see everything,
they understand everything,
00:36:38.19\00:36:39.83
when in reality, they're blind.
00:36:39.86\00:36:42.20
Someone who
thinks they're a genius,
00:36:42.23\00:36:43.73
they know it
all, they see it all,
00:36:43.77\00:36:45.10
they understand it all.
00:36:45.13\00:36:46.47
There's nothing
you can teach them.
00:36:46.50\00:36:47.84
But yet, in reality,
they're spiritually dumb.
00:36:47.87\00:36:50.11
It's someone who believes that
00:36:50.14\00:36:51.47
their spiritual ear is
so in tune with God's truth,
00:36:51.51\00:36:53.84
but yet in reality,
they are spiritually deaf.
00:36:53.88\00:36:58.08
Blind
visionaries, dumb geniuses,
00:36:58.11\00:37:00.98
deaf listeners.
00:37:01.02\00:37:04.55
And then you
have the second group.
00:37:04.59\00:37:05.92
So we just talked about
00:37:05.95\00:37:07.29
the
ultraconservative group, right?
00:37:07.32\00:37:08.66
Does any of this make a sense?
00:37:08.69\00:37:10.03
I hope this is
speaking to someone,
00:37:10.06\00:37:11.39
because there was
00:37:11.43\00:37:12.76
the ultraconservative
group in Jesus' day
00:37:12.79\00:37:14.13
but things begin to
happen down through time,
00:37:14.16\00:37:15.90
there's a little bit of a change
00:37:15.93\00:37:17.27
that occurred in the church.
00:37:17.30\00:37:18.93
And that's why we come
to Revelation Chapter 2,
00:37:18.97\00:37:20.94
Jesus begins to deliver
some messages to the churches,
00:37:20.97\00:37:23.64
and He delivers a
special message to Ephesus.
00:37:23.67\00:37:26.24
But in verse 6,
even though he had said,
00:37:26.27\00:37:28.11
"Look, you've
lost your first love,
00:37:28.14\00:37:29.48
you need to get
that first love back."
00:37:29.51\00:37:31.08
In verse 6, He commended
them for this one thing.
00:37:31.11\00:37:33.21
Notice what it says
here, Revelation 2:6.
00:37:33.25\00:37:36.28
It says, "But this you have,
00:37:36.32\00:37:39.02
that you hate the
deeds of the Nicolaitans,
00:37:39.05\00:37:43.63
which I also hate."
00:37:43.66\00:37:46.39
Okay.
00:37:46.43\00:37:47.76
Now, the reason why I read that
00:37:47.80\00:37:49.13
is because now
we're going to get
00:37:49.16\00:37:50.50
into the second group.
00:37:50.53\00:37:51.87
Remember, the
devil's causing division.
00:37:51.90\00:37:53.23
He don't care
00:37:53.27\00:37:54.60
which side of
the camp you're on,
00:37:54.64\00:37:55.97
as long as you're on
one side or the other,
00:37:56.00\00:37:57.34
and you remain
confused, deceived, and divide.
00:37:57.37\00:37:59.24
And that's all he cares about.
00:37:59.27\00:38:00.61
So he's got his
ultraconservatives way
00:38:00.64\00:38:02.04
over here, and way over here,
he's working on another group.
00:38:02.08\00:38:04.81
And this just happens to be,
00:38:04.85\00:38:06.28
Jesus illustrates
them through this example
00:38:06.31\00:38:08.85
of what he
calls the Nicolaitans.
00:38:08.88\00:38:11.35
And he commended
the Church of Ephesus,
00:38:11.39\00:38:12.79
He said, praise the Lord.
00:38:12.82\00:38:14.16
You're not bought
in or deceived by this,
00:38:14.19\00:38:16.76
these deeds of the Nicolaitans.
00:38:16.79\00:38:19.76
By the time he gets to
the church of Pergamos.
00:38:19.79\00:38:23.67
Now, let me
remind you in your Bible,
00:38:23.70\00:38:25.27
if you have a little subheading
00:38:25.30\00:38:26.63
there for that
church, it has been nicknamed
00:38:26.67\00:38:29.07
or called the
compromising church,
00:38:29.10\00:38:31.57
and that's not good at all.
00:38:31.61\00:38:34.41
So they by the time
He gets to Pergamos,
00:38:34.44\00:38:36.91
this is what he writes
in Revelation 2:12, 14-16.
00:38:36.95\00:38:42.92
So verses 12,
14-16, Revelation 2,
00:38:42.95\00:38:45.95
this is what it says."
00:38:45.99\00:38:47.32
And to the church
in Pergamos write...
00:38:47.36\00:38:50.46
I have a few things against you,
00:38:50.49\00:38:53.09
not because you have there
00:38:53.13\00:38:55.06
those who hold of
the doctrine of Balaam,
00:38:55.10\00:38:57.57
who..."'
00:38:57.60\00:38:58.93
Excuse me, "because you have
00:38:58.97\00:39:00.30
there those who hold
the doctrine of Balaam,
00:39:00.34\00:39:02.30
who taught Balak to
put a stumbling block
00:39:02.34\00:39:04.77
before the children of Israel,
00:39:04.81\00:39:06.57
to eat things
sacrificed to idols,
00:39:06.61\00:39:08.81
and to commit
sexual immorality."
00:39:08.84\00:39:12.21
But then notice
what he says in verse 15,
00:39:12.25\00:39:14.52
"Thus you also
have those who hold
00:39:14.55\00:39:17.85
the doctrine of the Nicolaitans,
00:39:17.89\00:39:20.39
which thing I hate."
00:39:20.42\00:39:23.79
And then he says, "Repent,
00:39:23.83\00:39:25.16
or else I will
come to you quickly
00:39:25.19\00:39:26.66
and will fight against them
with the sword of My mouth."
00:39:26.70\00:39:30.47
There's something
about these Nicolaitans.
00:39:30.50\00:39:32.83
I mean, God uses the
term of the word the concept.
00:39:32.87\00:39:35.77
He says, I hate it.
00:39:35.80\00:39:37.71
I mean, when the
Lord of the universe says,
00:39:37.74\00:39:40.14
I hate it, my friends,
your ears should perk up,
00:39:40.18\00:39:43.31
because He's saying it
about these Nicolaitans.
00:39:43.35\00:39:45.48
Now, what, who
are these Nicolaitans?
00:39:45.51\00:39:48.75
Well, I did some research.
00:39:48.78\00:39:50.89
And if you do a
little bit of research,
00:39:50.92\00:39:52.25
you'll run into the historians
00:39:52.29\00:39:54.99
by the name of
Hippolytus and Arrhenius,
00:39:55.02\00:39:58.36
and this is what
according to them,
00:39:58.39\00:40:00.03
according to
Hippolytus and Arrhenius
00:40:00.06\00:40:01.40
who lived during these times
of the time of the Nicolaitans,
00:40:01.43\00:40:03.73
this is what they said.
00:40:03.77\00:40:05.10
They tell us
that the Nicolaitans
00:40:05.13\00:40:07.70
were heretical
followers of Nicolas, okay?
00:40:07.74\00:40:10.81
Now Nicolas was one
of the seven deacons
00:40:10.84\00:40:13.01
that was
mentioned in Acts 6:5, okay.
00:40:13.04\00:40:16.18
And if this is true, of course,
00:40:16.21\00:40:17.88
Nicolas was one of the followers
00:40:17.91\00:40:20.08
that actually
apostatized from the faith.
00:40:20.12\00:40:23.28
So the Nicolaitans, get this,
the Nicolaitans were a group
00:40:23.32\00:40:26.22
who taught a radical dualism
between the body and the soul,
00:40:26.25\00:40:31.76
because they believe the soul
was this immortal, translucent,
00:40:31.79\00:40:34.10
ghostlike thing
that is liberated
00:40:34.13\00:40:35.80
and separated
from the body, again,
00:40:35.83\00:40:37.30
something that we know
the Bible doesn't teach.
00:40:37.33\00:40:39.07
But notice,
based on this deceit,
00:40:39.10\00:40:41.44
this deception, this confusion,
00:40:41.47\00:40:43.47
they believed in
this radical dualism
00:40:43.51\00:40:45.21
between the body and the soul.
00:40:45.24\00:40:47.31
Therefore, they taught that
00:40:47.34\00:40:48.94
the believers are
freed from the law,
00:40:48.98\00:40:52.08
and that they can
do as they please.
00:40:52.11\00:40:55.72
In other words,
do what thou wilt,
00:40:55.75\00:40:57.89
do what you want.
00:40:57.92\00:40:59.25
Why?
00:40:59.29\00:41:00.62
Tell me if this sounds familiar,
00:41:00.66\00:41:01.99
because we're not under the law,
00:41:02.02\00:41:03.36
we're under grace.
00:41:03.39\00:41:05.23
Now we know there's a scripture
in the Bible that says that,
00:41:05.26\00:41:07.60
but do people
take that scripture
00:41:07.63\00:41:09.20
and twist it to
their own destruction?
00:41:09.23\00:41:11.90
Eisegetically
inserting something in there
00:41:11.93\00:41:14.30
that it doesn't say,
the idea that somehow
00:41:14.34\00:41:16.71
because we're not under the law,
00:41:16.74\00:41:18.07
and we're under grace,
that that gives us a free pass
00:41:18.11\00:41:20.04
to sin in the flesh,
because we're sinners,
00:41:20.08\00:41:22.88
where we sin is constant as
breathing, we can't help it.
00:41:22.91\00:41:25.18
We're just going
to continue to sin
00:41:25.21\00:41:26.55
until Jesus comes back.
00:41:26.58\00:41:28.15
Absolutely not, my friends.
00:41:28.18\00:41:30.25
But yep, that is the doctrine
of the Nicolaitan and God says,
00:41:30.29\00:41:33.02
"I hate it.
00:41:33.05\00:41:34.39
I hate that doctrine."
00:41:34.42\00:41:35.76
Because we know that God
00:41:35.79\00:41:37.13
did not come into
this world and die,
00:41:37.16\00:41:38.49
so that we could
just have forgiveness.
00:41:38.53\00:41:39.86
He came into this world to die,
00:41:39.89\00:41:41.23
so that we can also have
complete victory over sin now.
00:41:41.26\00:41:45.20
But that's not what
the Nicolaitans believe.
00:41:45.23\00:41:46.70
In other words, you
might have called them
00:41:46.74\00:41:48.84
or someone in
the world might call
00:41:48.87\00:41:50.44
these people
ultra-extreme liberals.
00:41:50.47\00:41:55.78
So you got your
ultraconservatives,
00:41:55.81\00:41:57.75
and you have your
extreme liberals over here.
00:41:57.78\00:42:00.72
And both sides believe
they're absolutely correct.
00:42:00.75\00:42:03.42
And both sides believe that
00:42:03.45\00:42:04.99
the other side
is absolutely wrong.
00:42:05.02\00:42:08.49
Oh, my goodness.
00:42:08.52\00:42:09.86
Does any of this sound familiar?
00:42:09.89\00:42:12.26
Can we resonate with
this type of mentality today?
00:42:12.29\00:42:14.80
Do we see this division
00:42:14.83\00:42:17.13
and this confusion
within the church today?
00:42:17.17\00:42:19.47
Sadly, I believe we do.
00:42:19.50\00:42:21.80
Who do you think is behind
00:42:21.84\00:42:24.07
those unbalanced
ultraconservative
00:42:24.11\00:42:27.58
pharisaical believers?
00:42:27.61\00:42:29.58
Who do you think is
behind that mentality?
00:42:29.61\00:42:32.01
Who do you think is behind that
00:42:32.05\00:42:33.38
extreme liberal
approach to Christianity?
00:42:33.42\00:42:37.75
Certainly not God.
00:42:37.79\00:42:40.09
But certainly the devil himself.
00:42:40.12\00:42:43.16
You see, if the devil can create
00:42:43.19\00:42:45.79
an unstableness
within the ranks of both
00:42:45.83\00:42:49.96
and convince both sides
00:42:50.00\00:42:52.40
to drink the Kool Aid,
okay, let's just say it.
00:42:52.43\00:42:55.07
If he can get them deceived,
00:42:55.10\00:42:57.97
then he has accomplished
the greatest deception of all.
00:42:58.01\00:43:03.11
Because taking consideration,
00:43:03.14\00:43:04.48
both groups claim
Jesus as Lord and Savior,
00:43:04.51\00:43:07.68
both groups claim the Bible
00:43:07.72\00:43:09.72
as their only rule of faith.
00:43:09.75\00:43:11.99
Both groups are convinced
that they are 100% wrong
00:43:12.02\00:43:15.09
and that the
other ones are right.
00:43:15.12\00:43:18.43
That seems to be the
world we live in today.
00:43:18.46\00:43:20.80
So much division.
00:43:20.83\00:43:23.93
Meanwhile,
there's a third group.
00:43:23.97\00:43:28.77
You see, this is the
group that I pray every day.
00:43:28.80\00:43:33.21
Lord, let me be
00:43:33.24\00:43:35.28
a part of the
true remnant church
00:43:35.31\00:43:41.25
that You are leading.
00:43:41.28\00:43:44.55
You see, God has a remnant.
00:43:44.59\00:43:49.16
A real remnant, let
me just emphasize that,
00:43:49.19\00:43:51.33
a real remnant, genuine.
00:43:51.36\00:43:56.20
They are balanced
00:43:56.23\00:43:57.70
in their
approach to serving God.
00:43:57.73\00:43:59.80
They are balanced in
their overall perspective
00:43:59.83\00:44:01.80
of true Christianity.
00:44:01.84\00:44:03.44
They are not ultraconservative,
they are not extreme liberals,
00:44:03.47\00:44:07.44
they are those
who follow the Lamb
00:44:07.48\00:44:09.94
wherever He goes.
00:44:09.98\00:44:12.95
These are they who have
the patience of the saints,
00:44:12.98\00:44:15.75
who keep the
commandments of God,
00:44:15.78\00:44:18.29
and have the love and
the testimony of the faith
00:44:18.32\00:44:20.96
of Jesus Christ.
00:44:20.99\00:44:22.96
They have
spiritual eyes that see,
00:44:22.99\00:44:25.39
they have ears that hear,
00:44:25.43\00:44:27.46
they have, they are
exercising the faith of Jesus,
00:44:27.50\00:44:31.07
because they have
adopted the mind of Christ.
00:44:31.10\00:44:35.20
We would call these
the true remnant of God.
00:44:35.24\00:44:40.44
And yes, even as I'm
saying this right now,
00:44:40.48\00:44:42.71
and I'm describing this remnant,
00:44:42.74\00:44:44.08
there's got to be,
there's someone probably
00:44:44.11\00:44:45.88
right now listening to
this, and they're saying,
00:44:45.91\00:44:47.52
"Oh, you know, praise the Lord.
00:44:47.55\00:44:48.88
I'm a part of that
remnant. I'm not a part of any."
00:44:48.92\00:44:50.89
You know what that
very well may be true,
00:44:50.92\00:44:52.59
but you got to believe
there's someone out here
00:44:52.62\00:44:54.02
listening to this, that saying,
00:44:54.06\00:44:55.39
"Hey, I'm a part
of that remnant,"
00:44:55.42\00:44:56.76
when in reality you're not.
00:44:56.79\00:44:58.13
Why?
00:44:58.16\00:44:59.49
Because many people believe that
00:44:59.53\00:45:00.86
just because they're a member
00:45:00.90\00:45:02.23
of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:45:02.26\00:45:03.60
that somehow that makes
them true remnant believers.
00:45:03.63\00:45:05.20
You see, if that
is your mentality,
00:45:09.60\00:45:12.07
then you are the very ones
00:45:12.11\00:45:13.44
for which this
sermon was created,
00:45:13.48\00:45:15.54
and the very
ones I'm preaching to.
00:45:15.58\00:45:21.25
You might call
yourself an SDA Christian.
00:45:21.28\00:45:25.82
But that does not
mean that you are.
00:45:25.85\00:45:27.72
You might call yourself
00:45:27.76\00:45:29.09
a member of the
remnant church of God,
00:45:29.12\00:45:30.63
but that does not
mean that you are.
00:45:30.66\00:45:34.06
See, it's just
like what Jesus said
00:45:34.10\00:45:35.43
to the church of Philadelphia.
00:45:35.46\00:45:37.40
In Revelation 3:9,
00:45:37.43\00:45:40.27
notice what he said to
the church of Philadelphia.
00:45:40.30\00:45:42.57
He said, "Indeed, I will make
00:45:42.60\00:45:44.14
those of the synagogue of Satan,
00:45:44.17\00:45:46.64
who say they are
Jews and are not,
00:45:46.68\00:45:48.44
but lie, and indeed
I will make them come
00:45:48.48\00:45:51.08
and worship before your feet,
00:45:51.11\00:45:52.61
and to know that
I have loved you."
00:45:52.65\00:45:57.32
Did you hear that?
00:45:57.35\00:45:58.89
They say that they're
Jews, but they really ain't.
00:45:58.92\00:46:03.83
They lie.
00:46:03.86\00:46:05.66
They say that
they're remnant Christians.
00:46:05.69\00:46:08.03
You see, but
God knows the heart.
00:46:08.06\00:46:09.60
He says, "I can see the heart.
00:46:09.63\00:46:11.63
They're lying. I know."
00:46:11.67\00:46:13.50
He says, "And I will bring,
them" notice, "I will make
00:46:13.54\00:46:15.50
those of the synagogue of Satan,
00:46:15.54\00:46:17.27
who say that they
are Jews and are not."
00:46:17.31\00:46:18.94
A Jew is anyone
who is in Christ.
00:46:18.97\00:46:22.34
If you are Christ and
you are of Abraham's seed
00:46:22.38\00:46:25.61
and heirs
according to the promise,
00:46:25.65\00:46:28.22
but if you claim
to be a spiritual Jew,
00:46:28.25\00:46:30.85
if you claim to be of
God's remnant movement,
00:46:30.89\00:46:34.86
but yet, you are
not in Christ genuinely,
00:46:34.89\00:46:38.53
then you are deceived.
00:46:38.56\00:46:42.40
But there's a
cure for deception.
00:46:42.43\00:46:45.53
There is hope.
00:46:45.57\00:46:48.04
I was once deceived,
00:46:48.07\00:46:49.47
I once was lost,
but now I'm found.
00:46:49.50\00:46:55.14
I once was blind but Ryan Day
00:46:55.18\00:46:57.45
can tell you that right now,
00:46:57.48\00:46:59.55
I have never seen
clearer in my life,
00:46:59.58\00:47:01.42
not because of what I've done,
00:47:01.45\00:47:03.02
but because what I have
allowed God to do in me.
00:47:03.05\00:47:06.65
And I'll be the first
to tell you, my friends,
00:47:06.69\00:47:09.16
I'm not where I need to be.
00:47:09.19\00:47:12.66
I'm striving toward the goal.
00:47:12.69\00:47:15.26
I'm running the race.
00:47:15.30\00:47:17.23
But I haven't quite
finished the course.
00:47:17.27\00:47:19.93
But praise the Lord,
00:47:19.97\00:47:21.30
even though I'm not
where I need to be just yet.
00:47:21.34\00:47:25.14
Praise God, I'm
not where I once was.
00:47:25.17\00:47:29.71
I want to read
you one last quote,
00:47:29.74\00:47:31.31
it's rather lengthy.
00:47:31.35\00:47:33.21
But I believe
all of this sums up
00:47:33.25\00:47:34.82
what we're talking about today.
00:47:34.85\00:47:36.18
And I want you to
really focus in on these words.
00:47:36.22\00:47:38.15
This comes from
Desire of Ages, page 309.
00:47:38.19\00:47:42.32
And what she's talking about
00:47:42.36\00:47:43.69
here is what was happening
00:47:43.73\00:47:45.86
in the time of
Jesus, in Jesus' day.
00:47:45.89\00:47:50.27
But here's what's interesting,
this, she takes that mentality
00:47:50.30\00:47:52.73
and she says that
00:47:52.77\00:47:54.10
it's still the same issue today.
00:47:54.14\00:47:55.64
So even though we
were some 2,000 years
00:47:55.67\00:47:58.01
almost from the time of Jesus,
00:47:58.04\00:47:59.44
many people have the mentality,
00:47:59.47\00:48:00.81
oh, we live in a different time,
00:48:00.84\00:48:02.18
we live in a different age.
00:48:02.21\00:48:03.55
It's much different
today than it was then.
00:48:03.58\00:48:05.15
Well, I'm about to
prove all that wrong,
00:48:05.18\00:48:06.51
because the same issue
00:48:06.55\00:48:07.98
that was the
problem in Jesus' day
00:48:08.02\00:48:09.65
is very much still
the same issue today.
00:48:09.68\00:48:12.12
Let me read this.
00:48:12.15\00:48:13.49
Again, this is the
Desire of Ages, page 309.
00:48:13.52\00:48:16.99
Notice what it says.
00:48:17.03\00:48:18.43
"The greatest deception
00:48:18.46\00:48:20.73
of the human
mind in Christ's day
00:48:20.76\00:48:25.50
was that a mere assent
00:48:25.53\00:48:27.80
to the truth
constitutes righteousness.
00:48:27.84\00:48:32.64
In all human experience,
00:48:32.67\00:48:35.38
a theoretical
knowledge of the truth
00:48:35.41\00:48:38.21
has been proved
to be insufficient
00:48:38.25\00:48:41.48
for the saving of the soul.
00:48:41.52\00:48:44.65
It does not bring forth
the fruits of righteousness.
00:48:44.69\00:48:48.76
A jealous regard for
00:48:48.79\00:48:50.56
what is termed theological truth
00:48:50.59\00:48:53.86
often accompanies a
hatred of genuine truth
00:48:53.90\00:48:58.03
as made manifest in the life.
00:48:58.07\00:49:01.60
The darkest chapters
of history are burdened
00:49:01.64\00:49:05.14
with the record
of crimes committed
00:49:05.17\00:49:07.61
by bigoted religionists.
00:49:07.64\00:49:10.85
The Pharisees claimed
to be children of Abraham,
00:49:10.88\00:49:14.58
and boasted of their possession
of the oracles of God,
00:49:14.62\00:49:17.82
yet these advantages
00:49:17.85\00:49:19.85
did not preserve
them from selfishness,
00:49:19.89\00:49:23.02
malignity, greed for
gain, and the basest hypocrisy.
00:49:23.06\00:49:29.00
They thought themselves
00:49:29.03\00:49:30.37
the greatest
religionists of the world,
00:49:30.40\00:49:33.67
but their
so-called orthodoxy led them
00:49:33.70\00:49:37.54
to crucify the Lord of glory.
00:49:37.57\00:49:42.18
The same danger still exists."
00:49:42.21\00:49:46.35
Let me say that one more time,
00:49:46.38\00:49:47.92
the same danger still exists.
00:49:47.95\00:49:53.15
"Many take it for granted
that they are Christians,
00:49:53.19\00:49:57.46
simply because they subscribe
00:49:57.49\00:50:00.80
to certain theological tenets.
00:50:00.83\00:50:03.77
But they have not brought
the truth into practical life.
00:50:06.80\00:50:12.34
They have not
believed and loved it,
00:50:12.37\00:50:15.34
therefore they have not
received the power and grace
00:50:15.38\00:50:19.41
that come through
sanctification of the truth.
00:50:19.45\00:50:23.95
Men may profess
faith in the truth,
00:50:23.99\00:50:28.12
but if it does
not make them sincere,
00:50:28.16\00:50:31.39
kind, patient,
forbearing, heavenly-minded,
00:50:31.43\00:50:37.17
it is a curse to its possessors,
00:50:37.20\00:50:41.00
and through their influence
it is a curse to the world."
00:50:41.04\00:50:46.68
My friends...
00:50:46.71\00:50:48.04
Wow.
00:50:52.61\00:50:55.25
You see, there's a
part of that message,
00:50:55.28\00:50:57.05
all of that
message is very powerful.
00:50:57.09\00:50:59.55
But there's a part
that sticks out to me.
00:50:59.59\00:51:00.96
And I want to read out,
00:51:00.99\00:51:02.32
I want to speak to
my brothers and sisters
00:51:02.36\00:51:04.33
very candidly right
now, very transparently.
00:51:04.36\00:51:08.46
Because I believe
we're coming to a time,
00:51:08.50\00:51:11.77
we're beating around the bush
00:51:11.80\00:51:13.13
and sugarcoating
something as not,
00:51:13.17\00:51:14.90
that never has
been the way to go.
00:51:14.94\00:51:17.64
But definitely in the
times that we're living,
00:51:17.67\00:51:19.57
we need to be very clear
and transparent with each other
00:51:19.61\00:51:23.31
if we're ever going to
prepare for the kingdom of God.
00:51:23.35\00:51:27.85
I want to read you
one of those sentences
00:51:27.88\00:51:29.22
that was just in that
and I want to read it clearly
00:51:29.25\00:51:31.75
and make a point here.
00:51:31.79\00:51:34.59
It says here,
"Many take it for granted
00:51:34.62\00:51:38.73
that they are Christians,
00:51:38.76\00:51:41.13
simply because they subscribe
00:51:41.16\00:51:44.20
to certain theological tenets."
00:51:44.23\00:51:47.64
Twenty eight fundamentals.
00:51:53.58\00:51:57.85
You see, what makes you a part
00:51:57.88\00:52:01.88
and a member of
God's remnant church
00:52:01.92\00:52:04.09
is not because you subscribe
00:52:04.12\00:52:05.72
to a few theological
principles or teachings.
00:52:05.75\00:52:09.56
But yet we live
in the world today
00:52:09.59\00:52:11.19
where even within our own ranks,
00:52:11.23\00:52:13.19
we hear people
say, "Oh, I'm a third,
00:52:13.23\00:52:15.00
fourth fifth
seventh day generation,
00:52:15.03\00:52:17.17
Seventh-day Adventist,
00:52:17.20\00:52:18.53
or I've been in
the church, you know,
00:52:18.57\00:52:19.90
I've been a
Baptist for, you know,
00:52:19.93\00:52:21.67
50 years or
I've been a Methodist
00:52:21.70\00:52:24.44
now all my life.
00:52:24.47\00:52:25.81
My grandma was a Methodist.
00:52:25.84\00:52:27.18
My grandma, my
papa was a Methodist."
00:52:27.21\00:52:29.08
My friends, at
the end of the day,
00:52:29.11\00:52:30.61
and I'm going to speak
to my brothers and sisters
00:52:30.65\00:52:32.05
and even in my church,
00:52:32.08\00:52:33.42
the Seventh-day
Adventist Church,
00:52:33.45\00:52:34.78
again, certainly
theological tenets
00:52:34.82\00:52:36.69
just because you subscribe,
00:52:36.72\00:52:38.95
and sign on the
dotted line or say yes,
00:52:38.99\00:52:41.32
I make a profession of faith,
00:52:41.36\00:52:42.86
that this is what I believe
00:52:42.89\00:52:44.23
doesn't necessarily
mean that you are now signed,
00:52:44.26\00:52:47.13
sealed and delivered for heaven.
00:52:47.16\00:52:50.67
What makes you
a genuine believer
00:52:50.70\00:52:52.97
in Jesus Christ, my friends,
00:52:53.00\00:52:55.70
is when you are alive, awaken.
00:52:55.74\00:52:59.47
You can see clearly,
00:52:59.51\00:53:01.14
hear clearly and
are spiritually mentally
00:53:01.18\00:53:03.81
led by the Holy Spirit
enough to humble yourself
00:53:03.85\00:53:06.98
and submit your entire life,
00:53:07.02\00:53:08.98
your entire will to Jesus Christ
00:53:09.02\00:53:11.09
on a daily basis in
every aspect of your life.
00:53:11.12\00:53:15.49
I have met and I
just want to go down here.
00:53:15.52\00:53:17.33
Let me just read
these just right down here.
00:53:17.36\00:53:19.06
May men, men may
profess faith in the truth.
00:53:19.09\00:53:22.10
Notice this, "Men may
profess faith in the truth,
00:53:22.13\00:53:25.97
but if it does
not make them sincere,
00:53:26.00\00:53:28.40
kind, patient, forbearing,
00:53:28.44\00:53:30.67
heavenly minded,
00:53:30.71\00:53:32.24
it is a curse to its possessors
00:53:32.27\00:53:34.38
and through their influence,
it is a curse to the world."
00:53:34.41\00:53:37.01
My God help us,
have mercy on us.
00:53:37.05\00:53:42.78
Oh, my friends, if
there was ever a time
00:53:42.82\00:53:46.65
that we as a people
need to be awakened,
00:53:46.69\00:53:50.29
that these dry
bones need to be awakened
00:53:50.33\00:53:52.99
and put some
flesh on them, it's now.
00:53:53.03\00:53:57.57
Oh, how I hear
00:53:57.60\00:53:58.93
so many of my
brothers and sisters say,
00:53:58.97\00:54:00.57
"Well, you know I
believe in the truth,"
00:54:00.60\00:54:02.30
or, "I'm a Seventh-day
Adventist Christian."
00:54:02.34\00:54:04.47
And just because again,
00:54:04.51\00:54:05.84
you believe in
these truths that we teach
00:54:05.87\00:54:08.24
doesn't necessarily
00:54:08.28\00:54:09.61
make you a genuine
believer of Christ,
00:54:09.64\00:54:13.68
because you can
believe in those truths.
00:54:13.72\00:54:15.75
hey, the five foolish
virgins had their lamp.
00:54:15.78\00:54:21.49
The five foolish
virgins put their trust
00:54:21.52\00:54:24.26
in the Word of God
00:54:24.29\00:54:25.63
and their faith in the fact that
00:54:25.66\00:54:27.40
the bridegroom
was going to return
00:54:27.43\00:54:28.80
and get them, in fact,
00:54:28.83\00:54:30.17
they even got up
and showed their works
00:54:30.20\00:54:31.67
and faithfully
going out to meet Him.
00:54:31.70\00:54:34.50
But yet, when the
midnight cry was heard,
00:54:34.54\00:54:40.48
that lamp that had
a little bit of oil
00:54:40.51\00:54:42.68
when they first went
out, it had burned out.
00:54:42.71\00:54:45.51
And when they reach down
00:54:49.22\00:54:50.55
into their vessels
to retrieve extra oil,
00:54:50.59\00:54:55.06
they had none.
00:54:55.09\00:54:56.79
Why?
00:54:56.83\00:54:58.16
Because they had
professed to believe in this,
00:54:58.19\00:55:03.37
but the power behind this
00:55:03.40\00:55:05.97
they had not submitted to.
00:55:06.00\00:55:10.24
You see, when we talk about
00:55:10.27\00:55:12.14
being sincere, kind, patient,
00:55:12.17\00:55:16.98
forbearing, heavenly-minded.
00:55:17.01\00:55:20.75
You see, all of these are things
00:55:20.78\00:55:22.72
that only a submission to
the Holy Spirit can give us.
00:55:22.75\00:55:28.09
In fact, those are
fruits of the Spirit.
00:55:28.12\00:55:32.23
How do you know
00:55:32.26\00:55:33.60
if someone's truly
led by the Spirit of God?
00:55:33.63\00:55:36.56
Do they have the
fruit bearing in their life?
00:55:36.60\00:55:40.97
Do you sense the
love and the compassion,
00:55:41.00\00:55:44.04
and the joy and the kindness
00:55:44.07\00:55:45.67
and the patience and
all of that that comes
00:55:45.71\00:55:48.94
with being led
by the Holy Spirit?
00:55:48.98\00:55:51.78
Oh, my friends, we can say that
00:55:51.81\00:55:55.38
we are Seventh-day
Adventists all day long.
00:55:55.42\00:55:58.95
We can say we
believe in all these truths,
00:55:58.99\00:56:01.66
we can teach
them like a champion.
00:56:01.69\00:56:06.13
But if we do not have love,
00:56:06.16\00:56:08.86
and we do not
show each other love,
00:56:08.90\00:56:11.90
and we do not come together
00:56:11.93\00:56:13.94
in the unity of
the faith in love,
00:56:13.97\00:56:18.94
then who are we?
00:56:18.97\00:56:22.98
I'll tell you who we are.
00:56:23.01\00:56:25.61
If we think we're
going to get to heaven,
00:56:25.65\00:56:28.78
knowing all of this
but having that legalistic,
00:56:28.82\00:56:34.32
ultraconservative
pharisaical mindset,
00:56:34.36\00:56:37.43
you are a blind visionary,
00:56:37.46\00:56:39.86
a dumb genius,
and a deaf listener.
00:56:39.89\00:56:44.47
And the same thing
goes for those others
00:56:44.50\00:56:45.97
if you think you're
going to get out of this world
00:56:46.00\00:56:48.44
denying the truth of God's Word,
00:56:48.47\00:56:51.11
being extreme
liberal, my friends,
00:56:51.14\00:56:54.38
you are a blind visionary,
00:56:54.41\00:56:55.74
a dumb genius and
the deaf listener.
00:56:55.78\00:56:59.68
May we submit
ourselves to Jesus today.
00:56:59.71\00:57:03.05
And then we ask Him unto
our heart to transform us.
00:57:03.08\00:57:07.99
Father in heaven,
give us Your Holy Spirit.
00:57:08.02\00:57:12.36
Create in us a
clean heart, O God,
00:57:12.39\00:57:14.86
and renew a
right spirit within us.
00:57:14.90\00:57:16.50
We ask in Jesus' holy name.
00:57:16.53\00:57:19.83
Amen.
00:57:19.87\00:57:21.40