And as he preaches your word in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
All right.
First John chapter four, and we're continuing this evening with the book of
first John looked down at your Bibles at verse number one, it says, Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because
many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that
it should come, and even now already is in the world. Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he
that is in the world. And I want you to notice verse number one, where it says,
Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God. Now
what does that mean when it says that when John is instructing you, he says,
Hey, you need to try the spirits. Well, when it says try the spirits, this isn't
referring to some charismatic ritual, right? You know, where people feel like
they have this ability to know what kind of demon is possessing an individual.
It's like, well, you have the spirit of alcoholism, you have the spirit of lust,
you have the spirit of covetousness, we can try that. You know, we see that
demonic presence in you, and I've heard that before. When it says try the
spirits, really what this is referring to is saying, it's basically stating you
need to put that, you need to put the spirit to the test, okay? Put it to the
test, prove it, etc. In fact, the Bible says prove all things, hold fast that
which is good. You need to put it to the test. You say, well, what does it mean when
it says try the spirits, to prove the spirits? Well, the spirits is often
synonymous with word or doctrine or some sort of teaching, okay? That's what that's
referring to, and in fact, if you remember when Jesus is teaching his disciples in
John chapter 6, he says this, he says, it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh
profiteth nothing. My words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life. So you see that spirit is synonymous with his word, right? When like
man, it's the same thing when it comes to false doctrine or wicked spirits,
spirits of devils. Go to 1 Timothy, if you would, chapter number 4. 1 Timothy
chapter number 4, if you would. So when it says try the spirits, it's literally
saying you need to prove that what you're hearing. You need to put to the
test that doctrine that you're receiving. You need to make sure that it's of God,
okay? And really the admonition here is that don't just blindly believe
everything that you hear. You know, the Bible says that the simple believeth
every word, right? And someone who is just simple-minded, they don't really,
they're not very cautious in regards to what kind of preaching they listen to,
what kind of doctrine they're receiving. They're just willing to listen to
anything and if the person says he's a Christian, if the church says Christian
on it, you know, they say they believe the Bible, they're just gonna go ahead and
believe it, okay? And that's not necessarily the attitude that Christians
ought to have. We need to try the spirits. We need to prove all things and hold
fast that which is good. We need to make sure that it lines up with the Bible,
right? Look at 1st Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 1. It says,
But I want you to notice, what does it say thereafter?
And doctrines of devils. So doctrines of devils is synonymous with seducing
spirits. He says,
Having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Now obviously it's not the
spirit that's saying this, right? It's not some devil who's saying this, it's the
person who's possessed by that devil, okay? It's that false prophet who is
possessed with the devil who's teaching doctrines of devils. But I want you to
notice that he's synonymous or he makes that that connection there of seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils. You see, we live in a world that is filled with
false doctrine. And the reason it's filled with false doctrine is because it's
filled with false prophets. And it tells us here that a lot of people are going
to depart from the faith. Why? Because they're given heed to those seducing
spirits. They're listening to false doctrine. They're believing false
doctrine. And Paul's remedy to that in 1st Timothy 4, he says,
Hey, in order for you to save yourself from that, you need to make sure that you
give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, okay? How can you
avoid being lied to? How can you avoid false doctrine? How do you avoid being
fooled and beguiled? Well, the Bible says you need to read the Bible, okay? You need
to read the Word of God. Why? Because when the lie comes, you can filter
through it and measure it according to God's Word. You can try the Spirit and
say, Hey, this is not of God. You know, I don't believe this. I don't see that in
the Word of God. I'm not gonna believe it, etc. So when he says give attendance to
reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, it's synonymous with trying the spirits,
putting it to the test. You know, you hear something new, like a new doctrine or, you
know, something that some preachers are saying that maybe you've
never heard before. You know, you want to take the Word of God, open it up and say,
Hey, can I find that in the Bible? Is that something that explicitly is taught in
the Word of God? And I'm not talking about variations of, you know, their
interpretation of a parable, their interpretation of a dark saying that
really doesn't affect major doctrine. We're talking about things that deal
with like salvation, right? Things that deal with salvation or the deity of
Jesus Christ, the Trinity, things that are essential in the Christian life, things
that if you were to twist can become damnable heresy. So if someone comes at
you with some sort of doctrine like that, we need to make sure that we as God's
people are diligent to search the scriptures daily to see if those things
are so. You know, we don't want to just say, Well, you know, he says he's a man of
God, he says he's a pastor, he says he's a Christian, it says Baptists on the
church building or whatever, you know. It said, they say they believe in the Word
of God, therefore I'm just gonna believe it. Wrong. We need to make sure that we
try the spirits to see if those things are of God. And look, this is why the
Bible is constantly telling us to study the Word of God. Study to show thyself
approve them to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the Word of truth. And the Bible says that it takes work. It takes
work to search the scriptures, it takes work to study the Word of God, to
memorize it, to, you know, to adhere to what the Bible is teaching. And some
people might say, Well, why go through all the work? You know, so much work. I just
got to read to the Bible over and over again. I got to study these things. You
know, why go through all the trouble? Well, this is why, because many false prophets
are gone out into the world. We live in a false prophet infested world. And if we
lived in a perfect world, like the millennial reign, or the new heaven, the
new earth, we wouldn't have to worry about these things. But today we live in
a world that is just infested with false prophets, with false doctrine, with
damnable heresy, people who have the intention of damning souls to hell. And
so because of that, he gives that instruction to say, You need to make
sure that you prove all things, try the spirits, because there's people out there,
wolves in sheep's clothing, who want to beguile unstable souls. Okay, you need to
put those doctrines to the test. Turn with me if you want to Ephesians chapter
number five, if you would, Ephesians chapter five. I'll read to you from Acts
chapter 17 verse 11. It says here, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica,
and that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily whether those things were so. And this is referring to the
Bereans. The Bible says that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica
because of the fact that when Paul came and preached the Word of God unto them,
they didn't say, Well, this is Paul, so we're just gonna believe it. They
actually went back to the scriptures that they had on hand, searched the
scriptures to see if it lined up with Paul's message. And it was because of
that they received the Word of God with all readiness of mind, and in fact the
Bereans got saved because of it. Now look folks, if unsaved people are diligent to
do this, how much more saved people who have the Word of God, they already had
that commandment to study the Bible, we should be diligent to do that as well.
Look at Ephesians chapter 5 verse number 6. Let no man deceive you with vain
words. That's a common theme in the Bible, deception, right? You know, deception,
people are trying to lie to you, they're trying to deceive you with vain words,
for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them, for ye were
sometimes darkness, but now ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for
the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,
proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. So the Bible is telling us here that
because we're children of light, we're children of the day, we have the Holy
Spirit of God dwelling within us, we need to be able to prove what is acceptable
unto the Lord. Not just blindly follow whatever preachers out there, or just
accept whatever doctrines are out there. Doesn't matter if everyone believes it,
right? You know, some people have this attitude, well that's what we've always
believed, and it's just like, well, I mean, you know, I get what you're saying, that
the majority believes this, but if it's wrong, it's wrong. And if it doesn't match
up with the Bible, then it's wrong, okay? We don't believe something because the
majority believes it, right? We believe something because the Bible says it. And
a good example of that is, for example, you know, the preacher relation rapture,
the vast majority of independent fundamental Baptists, you know, they hold
to the preacher relation rapture doctrine, and they say, you know, we've
always believed this. Obviously, they don't know that. You got these 40 and 50
year olds saying the Baptists have always believed. Well, you're only 40 and
50 years old. How do you know that? Are you a hundred years old? Are you 200
years old? Do you know what they believed in back in those days? Now, I do, so
you're 35. Yeah, but I have a 2,000 year old book, or actually more than
2,000 year old book, right? And all the preachers of this day believe the
poster of pre-wrath rapture, okay? But what I'm saying is that, you know, they
try to come at you and say, well, this doctrine is true because the
vast majority of us believe it, okay? Obviously, that's not a good marker to
see if something is true. Now, we need to go to God's Word. Bible says, prove all
things, hold fast that which is good. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 10 says, to
another the working of miracles, referring to the spiritual gifts, to
another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of
tongues, to another interpretation of tongues, and I don't want to, you know,
steal my thunder because I'm going to be going over this gift in the
coming weeks, but you know, to some people, they have the ability to prove things
and see if something is actually true or not. Discerning of spirits is not like,
you know, they know when someone's possessed with the devil or
something. Discerning of spirits is like they can hear something and say, I don't
know if that really matches up with God's Word. That sounds weird. That
doesn't sound godly, doesn't sound biblical. I'm able to discern, you
know, that this is not of God, okay? And maybe you might not have that gift, but
you can develop that ability though. And the way you develop is according to
Hebrews chapter 5, right? You make sure that you're reading God's Word so you
can discern between good and evil. You're able to distinguish whether something is
of God or not because you know the Bible. Now, like with anything else though,
obviously we understand that we need to prove all things, hold fast that
which is good. It's important to filter teaching through God's Word and not just
blindly believe everything. But like with anything else, a good thing can be taken
to an unhealthy extreme, right? You know, when people come to church and they hear
preaching but they can't enjoy the Word of God being preached or they can't
learn anything because they're just suspicious of everything that's
being said from the pulpit. You know, it's just like, I don't know pastor, you know, I
need to prove all things, hold fast that which is good. I need to make sure you're
not teaching false doctrine or something like that. And that's an unhealthy
extreme. When people literally come to the church with this attitude, they just
want to find some sort of fault in the preaching. That's wrong, okay? That's wrong.
And most of the time it's done by babes in Christ, you know, new believers who, you
know, they watched after the tribulation like 50 times so they know everything
about the Bible, okay? They watched through the book of Revelation like 50
times so they just, they're just, they're just perfect, complete, you know what I mean?
They received a certificate for discerning of spirits and they had
that gift and, you know, this is obviously wrong, okay? And here's the thing, if you
have willingly submitted yourself under the authority of a pastor, you obviously
should just give them the benefit of the doubt, right? And you're constantly, if
you're constantly coming to the church and you're just suspicious of the pastor,
well you probably should just go somewhere else where you don't have to be
suspicious of the pastor, okay? You know, we should never have this attitude, well
you know, I'm gonna see if Pastor Mejia trips up here, you know, I don't know if I
agree with this. Oh, you know, he said something a little different there or
something. You're just constantly looking for fault in the preaching. Now, and you
say, well how do you balance that out then, okay? How do you balance out, try the
spirits with what you're saying? Well, because of the fact that trying the
spirits has to do with just all kinds of preachers, right? And in the day and age
in which we live, this actually applies to us even more because of the internet.
You know, on the internet, there's all types of preachers out there and I'm
sure there's people in our church that listen to other preachers out there and
maybe not even new IFB preachers, maybe just preachers outside of Baptist
circles, you know, you need to try the spirits and you need to make sure that
they're teaching God's Word and it lines up with Scripture, but you should
never really have that attitude when you're coming to a local church.
Alright, no one's supposed to question your authority? Well, here's the thing,
prove all things, hope, ask that, which is good, but here's the thing, that was fully
known in my doctrine and if you've been here for three years and you're still
kind of like, I don't know, the problem's probably not with me, the problem's with you.
You understand? You know, and I have to say that because, you know, I remember
when I literally, when I was the evangelist of this church, there's some
people who are suspicious of yours truly. You know, they thought I was like a false
prophet, they're just like, you know, oh, you know, because of Tyler Baker and this
guy's coming on the scene. Some people even thought I was like an infiltrator.
I mean, no proof whatsoever. I mean, there's nothing that I said or anything,
it was just like, oh, you're just a new guy, therefore, you're probably like an
infiltrator or something, you know. Oh, you know, you just, you just, you just came out
of nowhere, so therefore, that's just room to just kind of assume that you're
probably some sort of infiltrator, okay. And, you know, that's a wrong attitude to
have, okay. It's a wrong attitude to have, and look, maybe there's people out there
who go to an independent fundamental Baptist Church and the pastor,
the Baptist pastor there is not new IFB, he's probably pre-trib and Zionist and all
these things that we don't agree with, you know, don't scrutinize that
individual, okay. Don't give him a hard time, you know, don't, you know, the
guy serving the Lord, if he has a church and he's soul winning and he believes
the Bible, he teaches from a King James and he's right on salvation, you know, be
content to be with that pastor. Be content to love that pastor, right. To
love that pastor, care for that pastor, follow that pastor, be a blessing to that
church. Now, obviously, if that pastor is just like this hyper dipstick who's just
wrong on salvation and just, you know, is always on the wrong side of the fence
when it comes to these major doctrines, then, you know, you need to get out of
there. And there's some people in our church who would, they went to some
church like that and they're just like, we're out of here. As soon as the archer started,
like, we're out of here, you know what I mean. Because, you know, they're teaching weird
heresy, a lot of heresy and weird stuff and it's just like, I'm not gonna put up
with this. It's time for me to move on. And so that happens at times but here's
the thing is that, you know, really this applies to just other preachers and I'm
not saying, you know, don't prove what I'm saying, okay. But here's the thing, you've
been here for three years, you probably know where I stand on a lot of essential
doctrines, okay. And when I learn something new, you know, an interpretation
of a dark saying or a parable, you're gonna hear about it from here because
when I learn something, I teach you, okay. My interpretation of something and again
we're referring to essential doctrines, right. Those are the most important
things because I'm sure there's people here who disagree with me on certain end
times Bible prophecy things, you know, my interpretation of certain parables etc
but those things don't really matter in regards to, you know, just because we
disagree doesn't mean I'm like a false prophet, doesn't mean you're a false
prophet, just we have a different interpretation of a specific scripture.
Now go with me if you would to Acts chapter 20, if you would, Acts chapter 20.
Acts chapter 20. You see when I'm trying the spirits, when I'm proving all things
holding fast that which is good, it's in regards to those essential
doctrines, you know. And obviously there's people out there, there's even pastors
who even, they'll talk about salvation, they'll say repent of your sins, right.
And it's just like it kind of raises an eyebrow, like why are you saying that, you
know. But here's the thing, sometimes you talk to that individual and you ask him,
you know, what do you mean by that or you corner them and you kind of go back and
forth with them and they say well I do believe it's by faith alone, I don't
believe you have to turn from your sin. It's just like terminology that they've
learned and they're just wrong on. And I ran into an individual like that last
week, you know, I asked them what do you have to do to be saved, they're like well
you have to trust Christ, you have to repent of your sins and then I went over
all these scriptures and he said this, someone needs to tell him that, it's
right over there, he's trying to come into that door there, he's like a thief,
you know, just kidding. You got to come to the door man, he's coming through the
window, no I'm just kidding. And so I was explaining the scriptures to him and
then he said actually yeah you're right, he says I don't believe that. He goes it
is by faith alone because I guess repenting your sins would be considered
works and I don't believe that. And he's like I don't believe you could lose your
salvation either, he goes I guess that's just the wrong way to say it. And he
wasn't even looking at me, he was just kind of like coming to himself like oh
yeah that's the wrong way to say it. So I believe that person's saved but they're
taught to explain salvation wrongly, you know what I mean, or they've heard their
pastor say that or individuals say that and no one's ever corrected them on that.
It's just kind of part of their lingo, their Christian needs right. And it's
important that when we run into individuals like that we teach them what
is the right correct way. And now if that person were to say no I still think
it's by repenting your sins you have to turn from your sins in order to be saved
then we would say okay that individual is not saved. But if they're like
actually no I don't believe that, that's the wrong way to say it, you're right
about that. Then obviously that person's, he's saved. So we need to try the spirits
and trying the spirits is basically trying, proving what's coming out of
their mouths okay. Look at Acts chapter 20 and verse 29 says, for I know this
that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing a
flock. Also of your own self shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
away disciples after them. So this is why he says hey you need to make sure that
you prove these pastors, prove these apostles, these so-called disciples
because when I'm gone there's gonna be people who rise up even amongst your
own ranks who feign themselves to be just men but then they're speaking
perverse things. Why? To draw away disciples after them. And look even
within the so-called new IFB we've had that happen where pastors have been
enjoying themselves unto us and befriended us and say they believe just
like us and then they end up being some devil teaching damnable heresy, denying
the Trinity, you know saying that Jesus didn't go to hell, he didn't burn, you
know he's not God, God can't die or whatever. Saying all these weird stuff
what when you say well I thought that's not like an essential doctrine if Jesus
went to hell or not. Yeah but here's the problem though when you have a pastor
that taught that he went to hell and then all of a sudden like years later
change on that and say that that's like the most blasphemous thing you've ever
heard and it's just like yeah but you taught that though. You understand? We're
trying the spirits and when we try those spirits it's like okay this person is
probably a wicked individual because he flip-flops on these things. Okay he's a
false prophet and here's the thing people look at groups like us and say oh
you guys are just always talking about false prophets well it looks like the
Bible always talks about false prophets too. It's a pretty essential teaching in
the Bible. Why? Because God is constantly warning us of these people. So look
churches don't talk about it enough and that's why you go into these
churches whether Baptist churches or non-denominational churches you'll find
false prophets in there like crazy because the pastor's not teaching on it
he's not trying the spirits he just wants to fill up the room he wants to
make sure the tides are up he wants to make sure the building is
getting built he can care less about doctrine and therefore they infiltrate
and lead people astray damn people souls etc no we need to make sure that
we are constantly working on this talking about this trying the spirits go
to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 and he says
believe not every spirit right but try the spirits whether they are of God why
because there are many false prophets that are gone out into the world look at
2nd Corinthians 11 verse number one says what to God he could bear with me a
little in my folly and indeed bear with me for I am jealous over you with godly
jealousy for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ but I fear let's by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtlety so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ for if he that cometh preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached
or if you receive another spirit which he have not received or another gospel
which he have not accepted ye might well bear with him that's a scary thought now
look folks if people in Paul's day right Paul started these churches awesome
preacher used to pen down the Word of God if people in those days were being
deceived how much more today and he's saying look I'm afraid that like when
I'm gone someone's gonna come with another Jesus another form of salvation
another gospel another spirit and you're just gonna let him come in he's like he
said ye might well bear with him you might just invite him into church and
let him become a member and just let him have a free-for-all in the church this
is what I'm afraid of okay and then again this is Paul who you know is the
Apostle he is a man of God used to pen down the vast majority of the New
Testament and yet he understood that this was a possibility even in his day
how much more for us today okay and so that's why it's important that we make
sure that we try the spirits we don't just believe any single every single
doctrine that comes down the pipeline hey you know the Flat Earth doctrine is
something that has been catching a lot of traction and momentum today right and
you know why it's catching catching a lot of momentum today in churches
because they're infiltrating churches that's why and no one is trying that
spirit to see that it's of God because they're even using they're trying to
use the Bible to try to conform itself to the Flat Earth teaching try to use it
to prove that the Flat Earth is real or something you know and there's no
pastors out there that are willing to say well you know this is wrong it's not
what the Bible teaches they just kind of capitulate to that and just let it you
know go unfettered and you know I see this a lot even in new IFP churches not
new IFP churches but new IFP listeners type people you know you have your
undercover Flat Earthers out there and they know exactly where we stand on the
Flat Earth and that's why they don't say anything because they know they'll
probably get the rear ends kicked out of church or something you say oh you know
you're you kicked me out if I'm Flat Earth well I'd kick you out only
because I know that Flat Earthers cause a lot of division and they're typically
these cantankerous know-it-all prideful arrogant little punks and I don't like
those kind of guys you know and they're eventually gonna cause trouble in the
church and I have proof of that we've had people in our church we're Flat
Earthers and they cause all kinds of issues in our church you know
fortunately they left so they left before the axe come down on them but
even after they left I brought the axe down anyways and so I don't want to
chase that rabbit go go to first John go back to first John chapter four and I've
had people tell me well that's not an essential you know that doesn't mess
with salvation yeah but it's like the attitude that comes with being a Flat
Earther though you know it's not a normal doctrine it's not even a normal
heresy and I'll tell you why for some reason this is how you can tell that
it's not a normal heresy okay why is it that everything goes back to the Flat
Earth I could preach a sermon on just like the Bible preach a sermon on like
the old testament prophets and then someone will be like yeah but you don't
believe the earth is flat though so what does that have to do with prophets I
could preach a sermon on modesty yeah I agree with you but you don't believe the
earth is flat though you believe NASA's telling you the truth and it's just like
did I mention NASA that I mentioned the moon landing that I mentioned
that the earth is round that I mentioned that it's a sphere I mean well what I
didn't mention anything about like stars or anything they just bring it up why
because that's all they think about yeah and look you never want to be this
unbalanced Christian where you just you just you side on this one doctor you're
just so heavy on this one doctrine you're just heavy on Zionism you're just
heavy on replacement theology you're just heavy on you know end times you're
just heavy on this we got to be heavy on everything we need to be well balanced
Christians right and I'm telling you mark it down someone is like just an
unhealthily just heavy on one aspect of a doctrine there's a problem there okay
you're not balanced they probably don't know a lot about other things in the
Bible I want to know about the entire Bible not just about one little category
little aspect of the Word of God I want to know about everything okay but I mean
replacement theology is my favorite doctrine I'll just be honest okay but you
know I need to make sure that I give a well-balanced diet when I'm preaching
right I don't want to just talk about replacement theology all the time you
know post the the end times Bible prophecy is one of my favorite doctrines
I love talking about it I love preaching on it but I can't talk about all the
time because of the fact that you know there's more in the Bible to it now
obviously if we're doing a Bible study and it calls for it then we got to talk
about it but I'm saying there's certain people that just just weigh in on one
doctrine way too much okay look at verse 2 he says hereby know ye the Spirit of
God every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
God and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh is
not of God and this is that spirit of Antichrist whereof ye have heard that it
should come and even now already is it is in the world year of God little
children have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he
that is in the world now this is very practical very simple and really this
statement alone helps us to basically eliminate a lot of so-called Christians
right so John puts us here and he says look whoever confesses that Jesus
Christ is God you know he's of God he's coming to flesh he's of God he doesn't
that he's not and this is really important because it gives you like a
baseline where to start and look someone who is looking for the true God they
want the right doctrine this is a good place to start period because at this
point if you can get this down and prove this you just save yourself from a lot
of false doctrine you know a lot of denominations and and sects of
Christianity and Christian groups don't believe that that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh and you know they try to deceive people but here's the thing this
automatically eliminates what the Jehovah's Witnesses so someone who just
doesn't know anything about just anything at all any religion or cult or
anything but they're sincerely looking for God this is a good place to start
do they confess that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh well the Jehovah's
Witnesses don't because they don't believe that Jesus Christ is God they
don't believe that he is Jehovah they'll say that he is a god okay you
know their New World Translation will say you know in the beginning was the
word the word was with God and the word was a god that's what it says no Jesus
Christ was not a god amongst many other gods he is God he's the I am that I am
okay he is Jehovah and they'll say this well that's what it says in the original
Greek though you know that's what it says in the original Greek and obviously
that's that's a straight lie now look in Greek it does say in the beginning was
the word of the word was with God and the word was the God okay and that's
because in the Greek language they often put articles in front of God it's just
part of the language but to translate it into English you wouldn't be able to do
those things okay you know you would have to obviously take that away because
it's not appropriate in the English language but has nothing to do with
doctrine has to do with grammar it's not like well yeah he's the God or a god
because he's one of many no that's just how the Greek language is okay those are
the rules that they have there but look once you know this well that eliminates
the Jehovah's Witnesses hey how about this that eliminates Mormonism you know
the Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus Christ is Jehovah and the Mormons teach
that Jesus Christ became a god which obviously completely removes his deity
in its entirety and then they teach that you can also be a god hey this
eliminates the one is Pentecostals which I think you know people are more likely
to give in to more than Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses because you know the
general population already knows that JW's and Mormons are already a cult yeah
right it was like oh those guys are that's a cult right there those people
are weird you know Mormons they can give you that glazed over look when you talk
to them it's just like like welcome just like and it's you know the people have
often said like Mormons are really nice yeah but they're kind of creepy nice
aren't they they're like something out of a Stephen King movie or something
welcome come on in you know it's just like I'm like you kind of just want to
wave your hand in front of it like are you there like it's weird JW's they're
just slow when they walk and you know thankfully they all wear the same thing
so it's just like you can spot them a mile away and if and if you don't spot
them a mile away you know you can go do some groceries go do your errands come
back and they'll still be walking because they're so slow but there's
everywhere in their hats and their briefcases it's like you know they're
Jehovah's Witnesses you know these groups are obviously deceitful because even you
know 50 years ago Jehovah's Witnesses would not call themselves Christians
yeah you know they would not call themselves Christians but now they do
why because they're trying to deceive people okay but when it's Pentecostals
they believe that Jesus is the Father they deny the eternal sonship of Jesus
Christ so they don't believe prior to Jesus Christ coming to this earth that
he was the eternal Son of God they believe he became the eternal Son of
God when he came to this earth which is false doctrine it's heresy it's
damnable heresy right because you're removing from the deity of Jesus Christ
okay you know they call it oneness Pentecostal or modalism and they can
deceive a lot of people but look they basically they denied that Jesus Christ
came in the flesh because Jesus Christ is the Son of God even prior to his him
being made flesh and dwelling among us right he was the Son of God in eternity
past so if you know this if you know hey Jesus Christ whoever confesses that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God okay well that eliminates a lot of
cults right off the bat you can scratch that off the bucket list it's like okay
well I know I'm not gonna go to the Jehovah's Witnesses I'm not gonna go to
the Mormons and I'm not gonna go to the one is Pentecostal movement either
because obviously they don't believe that you say yeah but we already know
that you know it's people should already know that yeah but here's the thing if
everyone knew that then why are there so many people within these cults a lot of
people that are being deceived by the Mormon still being deceived by the
Jehovah's Witnesses now I get it Mormons the reason they're growing is because
you know they're polygamous or whatever they're inbreeding or something I don't
know but you know hey the one is Pentecostals they're growing too and so
John is giving some instructions on how to expose these pseudo Christians he's
saying look baseline teaching is this you need to make sure that wherever you
go that they at least confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh that's a
good place to start now obviously they can confess that and teach other
doctrines and you know some false doctrine regards salvation but he's just
basically saying at a baseline base level that is something that you should
be looking for and John is basically telling them look he's exposing these
pseudo Christians these pseudo Christ pseudo prophets pseudo spirits and
really this is what he doing throughout the book of 1st John he's explaining how
it is to have fellowship with God to walk in the light but he's also
constantly talking about the false prophets and the Antichrist not just the
ones that are to come but the ones that are even existing in his day okay he's
exposing the fact that Satan basically has a counterfeit for everything that
God does and look I wish people would understand this today yeah I wish
Christians would understand this I wish independent fundamental Baptist would
understand us today that everything that Satan does is a counterfeit to what God
is going to do or he has already done or who he is okay and everything is to
prepare us for the end times right you think of the fact that Paul said you
know we through much tribulation must enter into the kingdom of God that is
true in his day but it's definitely true for us if you know the great
tribulation comes in our day and just as there is Antichrist in these days guess
what is Antichrist today but it's to prepare us for the coming Antichrist
there's fault there's fault there were false prophets in those days but there's
also false prophets today just as there shall be false prophets of the false
prophet in the end times okay and look folks just as there's a Trinity right a
real Trinity Father the Son and the Holy Ghost these three are one in like manner
there is an unholy Trinity as well from Satan's perspective okay from Satan
Satan's counterfeit there is a pseudo Trinity okay now go to Isaiah chapter 14
now one of the best teachings on the Trinity is actually found in first John
right first John chapter 5 and he talks about the Trinity there but I believe
he's also sprinkling some teachings on this fake Trinity even throughout the
book of first John and the first one he talks about is obviously the devil he
mentions the devil quite a bit but if you think about it Satan is obviously a
counterfeit of God the Father okay Satan is a counterfeit of God the Father he
seeks to be like the Most High right he wants to be God look at Isaiah 14 verse
12 how art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer son of the morning how art thou
cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations for thou hast said in thine
heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I
will sit also upon the most of the mountain of the congregation and the
sides of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like
the Most High so what was Satan's goal to be like God to be God right but he's
the counterfeit to that and obviously when you look at Satan he pales in
comparison to God the Father now turn with me if you would to 2nd Corinthians
chapter 4 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and look folks when you look at these false
religions these cults or these false doctrines it's a twisted perverted
version of the real thing right every form of salvation out there by other
churches or cults is a perverted version of the real salvation they just add
works but that's a perverted version because the real work is done by Jesus
Christ whereas the perverted version the work is done by the individual trying to
get to heaven it's a perverted version of it okay think about this though even
when it comes to God making people reprobates for example right the Bible
says he has blinded their eyes right doesn't that Bible say that that you
know when someone they can get to a point where they can no longer be saved
even in this lifetime they can no longer be saved to become a reprobate he
darkens their their heart he he blinds their eyes and they can no longer be
saved look what the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 4 it says in whom
the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine
unto them so think about this just as God the Father actually blinds the
hearts of people so they can no longer be saved you know Satan has sought to do
the same thing the difference is this is that we could still get those people
saved so even then he's still trying to blind the minds of the people just
period you know so they don't become they don't get saved but the difference
is this is that the minds of the people he's trying to blind are not necessarily
wicked people they're not these haters of God these are just people who may
want salvation but he's trying to keep them from the truth so this is a
perverted version of what God does what God does is justifiable what God does is
right when someone says I hate God I don't want God in my life I don't want
to retain him in my knowledge God blinds their hearts and their mind so they
cannot believe he basically does them a favor right he's like okay I'm just
gonna give you what you want fourfold if you don't want to retain me in your
knowledge I'll help you out with that the difference is is that Satan just
wants to do that to the entire world yeah and obviously he cannot sear their
conscience he cannot make them a reprobate but he can he can block them
from the truth okay because it says lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them and this is why we go
out and preach the gospel right we go out to get people saved to shine the
light upon them what's the point that I'm trying to make is that Satan is
simply a counterfeit of God the Father now go with me if you would to go back
to go to 1st John chapter 2 so we have God the Father God the Son God the Holy
Spirit this pseudo Trinity you have Satan as the counterfeit of God the
Father and then you also have the Antichrist who is the counterfeit of
Jesus Christ right how is he a counterfeit well how about this his
coming is anticipated yeah right look what it says in verse 18 to first John
chapter 2 little children it is the last time as and as ye have heard that
Antichrist shall come now look folks let me just park it here for a little bit
what when he says as he ever heard that Antichrist shall come the insinuation
there is that they've been preaching on this right this is a topic that they've
talked about because he says as you have heard so you don't want to the common
Sunday morning sermons that they probably heard they probably were
listening to the Antichrist shall come just preaching on the Antichrist
preaching through Matthew 24 Mark 13 you know preaching through Luke 21 talking
about the fact that there's gonna be an Antichrist who's gonna come one day this
is your Sunday morning preaching not you know oh you know let me just motivate
you for the rest of the week kind of thing I'm not saying people don't need
that but they're like hey has he ever heard okay that Antichrist shall come
well obviously we're anticipating the second coming of Christ but we obviously
understand that he doesn't come until after the tribulation that's what the
Bible says and look this is this is another reason why the preacher rapture
is so dangerous because the preacher of rapture teaches the immanency of Jesus
Christ which means he can come in at any moment but we know according to the
Bible that the one that can come at any moment is the Antichrist not Jesus
Christ that's why it's dangerous because a lot of Christians out there when the
Antichrist shows up they're gonna be like well this is like the preacher
rapture this is it right and in fact think about this in Revelation chapter
19 when Jesus Christ comes for the third time not his first come not a second
coming his third coming when he comes to establish his millennial reign he comes
on a white horse and in Revelation 6 when talking about the Antichrist he
also comes on a white horse why because he's a counterfeit of Jesus Christ he's
trying to fool mainstream Christianity and the vast majority of mainstream
Christians will be fooled by this they will be deceived by this why because
mainstream Christianity doesn't teach the right salvation and so they're gonna
be deceived by this and look our our pre-trip buddies out there those who are
saved the Baptist they're gonna they're gonna come to our side eventually it's
what a glorious day that will be right I promise you it's gonna happen cuz when
the Antichrist shows up they're gonna be like dang this guy was right and they're
gonna eat crow they're not gonna eat crow but what I'm saying is like they're
gonna realize man this I guess we're wrong cuz look they're saved and because
they have God in them the Spirit of God dwelling within them they're gonna be
able to try that spirit and say oh crap this is the Antichrist this is not Jesus
Christ right because he's making war with the Saints Jesus why are you
killing us why are you chopping off our heads but mainstream Christianity you
know like the Joel Steens the haggis out there the Rick Warren's the non-denom
churches that teach a wrong way of salvation they're gonna receive the
Antichrist with open arms because they're gonna think he is Christ because
he is a counterfeit Christ he comes in the place of Christ okay and this is why
Matthew 24 tells us then if any man shall say to you lo here is Christ or
there believe it not for this shall arise false Christ and false prophets
and shall show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they
shall deceive the very elect now look this is applicable to even save people
so listen folks anybody tells you hey he's in the desert he's over there go
you know go check him out don't believe it because if you do and you go there
you know you're gonna see Jesus it's just not gonna be here you're just gonna
meet your maker cuz they're there to kill you is what it is okay you're gonna
see Jesus it's just not gonna be on the terms that you thought you're gonna meet
him in okay and what a lame way like oh yeah he's here but he's in the desert
like why is he in the desert he has to catch a cab or something we have to
drive over there go see him we're like how does that work folks the Bible says
that every eye shall see him and so you see how he is the counterfeit there his
appearing resembles the third appearing of Christ that's why when he comes he's
gonna establish his earthly kingdom just as Jesus Christ establishes his earthly
Kingdom of Revelation chapter 19 okay how about this the fact he's gonna
resurrect he's gonna receive a deadly wound to the head he's gonna die and I
believe he's gonna resurrect three days later cuz the Bible says he's gonna come
back to life and in fact the Bible specifically tells us that he's the
beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit I think it's gonna be three days
later because that'll add more credence to the fact that he's the Jesus he's the
Christ so remember that wall this is Jesus because he's coming back three
days later just like the Bible says it okay and he's gonna proclaim himself to
be God go to Revelation 13 if you wouldn't Revelation chapter 13 so Satan
is the counterfeit of God the Father the Antichrist is obviously the counterfeit
of Jesus Christ and the false prophet is the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit
it says in first John chapter 4 you in Revelation 13 beloved believe not every
spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets
are gone out into the world so it uses those spirits anonymously with those
false prophets okay now why would the false prophet be the counterfeit of the
Holy Spirit well because the Holy Spirit what is his job what is his
ministry is to testify of the Sun right it's to point people to the Sun to draw
people unto the Sun right one like man that's exactly what the false prophet
does he points people to the Antichrist look at verse number 11 of Revelation 13
it says and I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth and he had
two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon and he exercises all the power of
the first beast before him and causes the earth and them that dwell therein
to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed and he do with great
wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men you know the way the Holy Spirit made fire come down so to speak they
were they received cloven tongues like as a fire and deceive it them that dwell
on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the
sight of the beast saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make
an image to the beast which had made which had the wound by his sword and did
live not only that but his power he has power to give life to the image of the
beast just like the Holy Spirit quickens right it brings people spirit to life in
like manner he shall be able to bring the image of the beast to life verse 15
says and he had power to give life into the image of the beast that the image of
the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the
image of the beast should be killed but how about this he causes people to
receive a mark on her forehead which seals them to damnation because anybody
who receives the mark of the beast is damned forever it's your one-way ticket
to damnation you will never be saved if you take the mark of the beast right
don't listen to John MacArthur right and he's other fools and idiots to tell oh
yeah well if you take the mark of the beast you can still be saved people can
take the mark of the beast still be said they could repent of that you know
or how about this Jean Kim Robert breaker I've said this many times
before but it's worth saying again you know they teach you could get the mark
of the beast and still get right with God and still get saved Jean Kim says
this he says yeah all you have to do this is all you have to do you gouge out
your own eye at that point I'm like wait what back up a little bit gouge out
your own eye reach in and take the mark out he literally said that he obviously
has no idea it has little understanding of human anatomy whoa into the
individual who actually does that and it's just like really he's just like
looking like I feel where is that thing I'm in horrible pain right now he
literally said that Robert breaker he had a you know Jean Kim he's on that
that's crazy he Robert Reagan looks at him and says now
you're crazy that's not you don't have to do that Robert Reicher says this just
chop off your head he says if you get the mark of the beast and you want to be
saved problem solved chop off your head and you're good to go and you listen to
how you like so people actually listen to this guy they actually click on that
like yeah that's a good idea insane folks folks whoever gets the mark of the
beast will never be saved he seals them with that seal of damnation just as the
Holy Spirit seals you unto the day of redemption he seals you for redemption
once you have the Holy Spirit within you I mean you're sealed you're never gonna
die you will have you have eternal life forever it will never be taken from me I
mean you're you're set you're good to go so he seals the world with damnation
Susan verse 16 and he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and
bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads and that no
man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the
number of his name go back to 1st John if you wouldn't chapter 4 he said why
spend time talking about this pseudo Trinity well because of the fact that
that's really what the book of first John is about it's about testing me
these things and not taking these things lightly you know Paul I've not Paul John
is saying hey you know you're gonna have Antichrist you're gonna have false
prophets the wicked one is gonna seek to overcome you these are your enemies
don't just take it lightly you know Satan's not gonna come at you with the
pitchfork and a tail with horns he's gonna come under the guise of false
doctrine mixed with a little bit of truth in order to deceive you and you
need to make sure that you try the spirits okay look at verse 5 they
referring to what the false prophets the spirits they are of the world therefore
speak they of the world and the world heareth them so how is it that Joel's
thing has so many like people in his church because the world here with them
everybody loves Joel's thing everybody who's unsaved cuz he is of the world
he's a false prophet who is of the world so look folks if you want to know what
kind of right church to go to go to the one where people just don't like the
pastor or his message go to that one why I want to go to the one where people
like the pastor well if that's the one you want to go to then you have a
problem because the world hears them yeah and they what they have in common
you know they have something in common with the false prophets and the
Antichrist the world hears them you know because the Antichrist shall be loved
and admired in worship of the entire world and so will the false prophet you
know Jesus said I am NOT of this world I
mean he was so hated that he just got crucified three years into his ministry
think about that they hated him so much that it just literally crucified him
three years into his ministry because the world hated him verse 6 we referring
to John here and obviously we can we're in that category as well we are of God
he didn't know with God hereth us he that is not of God here with not us
hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error so look don't become
discouraged when the world just doesn't accept your message or those lame
limpers that Christians out there don't accept the message because here's the
thing he didn't know with God here with us he didn't know with God you know a
person who is saved doesn't matter how radical the message gets they can't deny
the truth we know that we know God we know that people who know God will
listen to us because of the fact that we have the Spirit of God dwelling within
us you know how do we know who is an Antichrist or a false prophet today well
ask yourself this do they listen to John do they listen to Paul do they listen to
Peter do they listen to Jesus you know think about this how many times have you
gone to someone and you read them a scripture and they're just like why don't
believe that so-called Christians right you're just like this is what the Bible
says and you know you don't have to work for salvation you don't have to repent
your sins let me show you what the Bible says you read it and they're just like
why don't believe that that's not what God would do that I just read you all I
did was read the scripture or you read it you read a portion of scripture and
they're like that's your interpretation it's like interpretation I just read it
right I didn't even like interpret I just read the Bible for you well that's
your interpretation so what are they saying that's God's interpretation yeah
well that's just God's interpretation you know we need to make sure that we
recognize that if we're God we will listen to what the Bible has to say no
matter how crazy it is how controversial it gets how it rubs you know today's
culture the wrong way if it's in the Bible we need to believe it okay and
look there's some things in the Bible that will rub you the wrong way there's
some things you might not know that I'm gonna be preaching on the coming weeks
or whatever and it's gonna it's gonna step on your toes it might offend you
but you know what if it's in the Bible you need to embrace it accept it love it
so that's what God says look we all go through that period right yeah where we
hear something like man I'm in disobedience or man I need to change
this or man I need to change what I believe about this because that's what
God says okay go to John chapter 10 we'll be done right there
John chapter 10 he that is not of God heareth not us hereby know we the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error okay when we expound something they say I
don't believe it that's the spirit of error that's not a spirit of truth okay
and here's a good way to explain look at John chapter 10 verse 1 it says verily
verily I say unto you he that entereth not by the door and to the sheepfold but
climbeth up some other way the same as a thief and a robber that's what I was
telling you Vitor don't climb in through another door you know you got to go
into the right way but you're not a thief and a robber all right so I'm just
joking look at verse 2 but he that enterth in by the door is the shepherd
of the sheep to him the porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice and he
calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out and when he putteth
forth his own sheep he goeth before them and the sheep follow him for they know
his voice and a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him for they
know not the voice of strangers so what is he saying you know when the Word of
God is being put forth it doesn't matter what spiritual level you're at you know
the voice of the Shepherd yeah you know this is actually true doesn't matter how
badly it rubs you how bad it feels you you know this is of God now the fine
irony okay this is the funny thing about this passage I love this passage right
here he says in verse number five he's preaching to the Pharisees and he's
saying a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him for they know not
the voice of strangers this parable spake Jesus unto them but they
understood not what things which were which he spake unto them they're like
what do you mean it's like exactly point proven you don't know my voice he says
this parable spake Jesus unto them but they understood not what things they
were they were which he spake unto them they're like huh what and he's like
point proven right there you're my next illustration why don't why didn't they
understand what he was saying because they're not the sheep they don't know
his voice they weren't saved okay and what we can walk away from this from
this passage of scriptures learning is this is that we need to try the
spirits to see if they're of God and the reason we were able to do this because
we're of God we know the Bible we know what the word of God says okay and
obviously when I say we know that we know the Bible I'm not saying we know
from cover to cover everything there is to know about the Bible but you know
what we know enough that when the Bible is being preached and if it's biblical
we know this is of God look I've run into I've had people come to church who
you know not new I have be not this conspiracy theorist or even truth or
anything like that and they come but because they're saved I preach some
pretty hard truths and you know I went to go talk to an individual and they're
just like everything you say was actually true about what it's
completely true like I have a hard time like with that truth but I know that
it's true because they have the Spirit of God in them you understand and so you
know that is like it's a blessing to know that if the Spirit of God dwells
with an individual doesn't matter how radical or controversial truth is they
will accept it because of the fact that they have the Spirit of truth not the
Spirit of Aaron amen inspire heads and have a word of prayer father we thank
you so much for your word thank you for the book of 1st John Lord help us to
continue to being like the church at Ephesus that tried the spirits they
tried them which say they are apostles and we're not and they found them liars
Lord and this is important and obviously you expect us to to prove all things and
hold fast that which is good and not just blindly follow teachings from
pastors or doctrines out there Lord this is why we encourage everyone to bring
their Bibles to church so they could see it for themselves and not just be
simple-minded and believe every word I pray God that you'd help us to continue
to do so and protect us Lord from the wolves and sheep's clothing I pray that
you continue to make manifest the folly of the infiltrators as they come and
bless us as we go on our way in Jesus name we pray amen