Buenas noches, hoy en día estamos en Revelación, p. 12, y la Biblia dice
"Y apareció una gran maravilla en el cielo, una mujer colgada con el sol, y la luna bajo sus pies y sobre su cabeza un hilo de 12 estrellas, y ella, siendo con la hija, lloraba,
despegaba en la muerte y estaba dolorosa para ser entregada. Y apareció otra maravilla en el cielo, y adoraba un gran reino de dragón, con siete caballos, y diez caballos, y siete hilos sobre su cabeza.
Y el caballo creó la tercera parte de las estrellas del cielo, y las cazó a la tierra, y el dragón estuvo ante la mujer, que estaba listo para ser entregada, para devorar a su hija pronto como se había nacido.
Y trajo a un hijo de hombre, que era para reír a todas las naciones con una cuchara de hierro, y su hija estaba atrapada ante Dios y a su triunfo. Y la mujer volvió en la madrugada, donde tenía un lugar preparado por Dios, que la deberían alimentar allí por 1.203 días. Y había guerra en el cielo. Michael y sus ángeles lucharon contra el dragón, y el dragón luchó con sus ángeles, y no percibió. Ni su lugar se encontró más en el cielo.
Y el gran dragón fue castado. Ese viejo serpiente llamó al diablo y al satán, que lo percibió todo el mundo.
Fue castado en la tierra, y sus ángeles fueron castados con él.
He oído una voz alta diciendo en el cielo, "Ahora ha venido salvación y fuerza, y el reino de nuestro dios, y el poder de su Cristo".
Pero el acusador de nuestro hermano fue castado, que acusó a ellos antes de nuestro dios día y noche.
Y les pertenecieron a él por el sangre de la lama y por la palabra de sus testimonios, y no amaban sus vidas bajo la muerte.
Por eso, rechazen, los cielos, y los que desnudan en ellos.
"Woe a los habitantes de la tierra y del mar, porque el diablo ha salido hacia ti,
teniendo gran raíz, porque se sabe que tiene solo un tiempo corto".
Cuando los dragones vieron que fue castado a la tierra, persecutaron a la mujer que trajo el infierno.
Y a la mujer se le dieron dos piernas de un gran hígado que podría volar a la Wilderness,
a su lugar, donde se alimenta por un tiempo y dos veces y una mitad de un tiempo, de la cara del serpiente.
Y la serpiente cazó agua de su boca como un fluido después de la mujer, que podría causar que ella se llevara del fluido.
Y la tierra ayudó a la mujer y la tierra abrió su boca y suelto el fluido que el dragón cazó de su boca.
Y el dragón se arrojó con la mujer y fue a hacer guerra con la remanente de su semilla,
que mantiene los comandantes de Dios y tiene la testimonia de Jesucristo.
Prueba, Dios, gracias por esta iglesia que nos ha dado, Dios, te agradecemos por el Padre.
Por favor, desgraciéndole a él ahora mismo que preste tu palabra a nosotros, Dios,
y que nosotros en la congregación puedan tomar estas justificaciones de mi palabra, Dios.
Prueba esto todo en el nombre de Jesucristo. Amén.
Bien, estamos en la revelación del capítulo 12 esta noche, y quiero que veas las Biblas de la
versión número 9. Dice, "Y el gran dragón fue castado. Ese viejo serpiente llamado
el diablo y Satan, que percibió a todo el mundo, fue castado a la tierra y sus ángeles
fueron castados con él".
Por supuesto, sabemos que la revelación del capítulo 12, es, en esencia, abordar el
periodo de tiempo en el futuro, en el que Satan es permanente ex comunicado desde el cielo,
después de la guerra que participa en contra de Michael y sus ángeles de arco.
Pero lo que quiero hablar sobre esta noche es algunas de las descripciones o nombres que
la Biblia aquí le da a Satan y cómo se relaciona con algunos de sus tácticos, algunos de sus métodos,
algunos de sus dispositivos que él trata de usar contra la gente de Dios.
Y en realidad, cuando miras a través de la Biblia, ves que Satan es nombre, tiene nombres
diferentes, varios nombres, y por supuesto, uno de los nombres que tiene, que no se menciona
en esta lista particular, es un nombre que agregamos el día de ayer, de Isaias 14,
y ese es Lucifer, ¿verdad?
Y por supuesto, la razón por la que se refiere a Lucifer es porque él es el hijo del mañana,
pero también él es el "Lightbearer".
Y una de las razones de que este es un nombre que es apto para Satan es porque el hecho de
que Satan es un counterfeit de Jesucristo.
¿Ves?
Él pretende traer la ley, pero realmente, Jesús Cristo es la ley del mundo, la que
es la luz de cada hombre que entra en el mundo.
Él es esa luz, Él es esa luz verdadera que es la luz de cada hombre que entra en el
mundo.
Y cuando creemos en Jesucristo, en turno, nos convertimos en la luz del mundo también.
En una ciudad que está montada en una montaña, no puede ser escondida, y habla de dejar tu
luz tan brillante para los hombres que puedan ver tus buenos trabajos y glorificar tu Padre,
que está en el cielo.
Pero el punto que estoy haciendo aquí, con su nombre siendo Lucifer, es el hecho de que
es un tipo de luz counterfeit.
Es un counterfeit de la verdad o de la sabiduría, es un counterfeit de Dios.
Él no es esa luz real.
Y en realidad, la Biblia dice que hoy, por ejemplo, hay falsos apostoles, trabajadores decepcionados,
transformándose en los apostoles de Cristo y no hay maravilla, la Biblia dice, porque Satan
mismo se transforma en un ángel de luz.
Ves, muchas personas piensan que Satan viene a las personas con el cuchillo de la punta,
con la punta y la punta, con la punta roja, pero en realidad viene como un ángel de luz.
Él viene de una manera muy decepcionada, que se trata de protegerse como ser de Dios.
Y es por eso que las personas fallan por sus tácticas, porque él es, en realidad, un ángel
de luz para el mundo.
Otro nombre que vemos en Revelación 12, que es dado a Satan, una descripción, es que
la Biblia le llama a él el gran dragón, ese viejo serpiente, ¿de acuerdo?
Y creo que estos son básicamente lo mismo, un dragón sería un serpiente, ¿de acuerdo?
No creo que un dragón sea, en esencial, este fairytale que la gente hace, o un dragón
de aire, o lo que sea.
Creo que es solo referente al hecho de que él es algo de un serpiente.
Y creo que originalmente eso es exactamente lo que él parecía, incluso desde su creación,
Dios lo hizo ser, para tener la similitud de un serpiente.
Y eso es fuera del escopo de este serpiente, pero obviamente la Biblia lo refiere a él como
un serpiente, y sabemos que los cheribim, según Ezequiel 1 y 10, son una criatura antiprimorfica
con cuatro fases, pero la diferencia entre ellos y Satan que es un serpiente, es el hecho
de que él es el anointed serpiente y que él es describido como un serpiente.
Y la razón por la que la Biblia en aquí, en Revelación 12, lo refiere a él como ser
ese viejo serpiente, es porque si has leído la Biblia, incluso las básicas de ella, es
un recorrido a Genesis 3, ¿verdad?
El hecho de que estaba en Eden, y en realidad la Biblia nos dice que el serpiente era más
sutil que cualquier bestia del campo.
Ahora, ¿qué significa ser sutil?
Bueno, ser sutil simplemente significa ser sutil, conciente.
Y esto no es necesariamente una connotación negativa, porque Dios nos quiere tener sutilidad
también.
Él nos quiere tener sabiduría.
Pero obviamente, esas cualidades pueden ser pervertidas y usadas por error, como lo hizo Satan.
Y la Biblia dice en Ezeca 28, versos 12, no tienes que volver ahí, "Hijo de un hombre,
saca la lamentación al rey de Tiris, y diga a él, así que diga al Señor,
"Habrás una suma llena de sabiduría y perfecta en la belleza".
Obviamente, nos está diciendo aquí que Satan es sutil.
Y esto es por lo que no deberíamos tener esta atitud sobre Satan, como, "Oh, yo puedo
just defeat Satan easily. He's nothing". No, Satan is very much a formidable opponent.
He's very wise and cunning. He's been, you know, essentially destroying people for thousands
of years. He has been defeating Christians, unfortunately, for thousands of years. He's
had time to perfect his tactics against Christians because he's wise. And so we should respect
these celestial beings and not think ourselves to be, you know, individuals that, "Oh, I
don't have to worry about Satan. I'll beat up Satan." And you say, "Well, do people
actually think things like that?" Well, there's an entire sect of Christianity called Pentecostalism
that literally just believes that they're like defeating Satan or whatever. In fact,
I had a friend who was a Pentecostal or his dad was actually a Pentecostal pastor. And
of course this is not a Pentecostal church. This is a fundamental Baptist church. It's
not charismatic. And I believe that Pentecostalism and the charismatic movement is up the devil.
Okay. Because like Satan, it's a counterfeit of Christianity. It's a counterfeit of the working
of the Holy Spirit and the believer. But I had this friend and you know, they're all about
the speaking in tongues and all this nonsense. But he used to tell me, he's like, I got something
to tell you. He's like, my dad kills demons in his dreams. I'm like, really? And you
know, I don't think I was even saved at the time. I was like, really? He's like, oh yeah.
Every night when he goes to sleep, you know, he's like killing demons in his sleep. I'm
like, what? I'm like demons could die. He's like, yeah, he's killing them and they're,
you know, sending them to hell and stuff. I'm like, is this like Constantine or like,
you know, like, but obviously that's nonsense. And obviously, you know, his dad was a false
prophet who was under this major delusion. He just had too many onions on his burger
the previous night. You know, uh, he probably had a little too much Taco Bell the previous
night having all these dreams. And I'm not against Taco Bell, but it does give, it does
give some freaky dreams. I'll just be honest with you. Okay. You know, so, Hey, you don't
need drugs to trip out. Just eat some Taco Bell and you'll, you'll be having some fever
dreams in no time. But you know, he, he's having these delusions about defeating Satan
in his sleep. That's fake. My friends, you know, we don't defeat Satan by dreaming about
destroying demons with a sword and sending them to hell. You've been watching too much
Constantine and too many Hollywood movies. You know, the Bible says that we overcome
Satan by our faith and by our testimony. And, you know, our battle is not a physical battle,
it's a spiritual battle. But the point that I'm making here is that, you know, we're not
to bring a railing accusation against Satan or the devil and not, and we shouldn't undermine
his capabilities and his power. There should be a level of understanding and caution when
fighting against Satan and not have this, you know, prideful, arrogant attitude that
we can just beat people or beat up the devil up or beat demons up or something like that.
That's nonsense. And so he's referred to as the serpent, the dragon. He's also talked
about in Revelation chapter 12 as being the devil or Satan. Okay. And both of these essentially
mean accuser and adversary. Now what is an accuser? Someone who blames you, accuses
you of wrongdoing. And it is often said that what Satan will do is he'll tempt you. And
in fact, he's also called the tempter, but he'll tempt you to sin. And then once you sin,
he will accuse you to the father for sinning. And this is a major tactic of Satan to accuse
you to be your adversary, to fight against you. This is what the Bible says to be sober,
be vigilant for your adversary, the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom
he may devour. This is essentially telling us that as Christians, we can't let our guard
down. We can't just be careless in the Christian life and think that, well, I'm not going to
fight right now. I'm just going to put it in neutral. I'm just going to take a very
passive type of approach to the Christian life. No, we're in a spiritual battle. And
the moment that you decide to put your guard down, to just put it in first gear, to put
it in neutral, to put it in park and not fight against Satan, well, then the lion is going
to devour you because he's your adversary. He does not have your best interest in mind.
He's out to destroy you, to kill and to rob you of God's blessing. And so that's important
to know. And obviously, you know, the fact that he's the adversary and the accuser shows
us that, you know, he's the exact opposite of Jesus Christ because the Bible says that
Jesus is our advocate. We have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous,
and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins
of the whole world. So when we believe on Jesus Christ, we're forgiven of past, present
and future sins. But obviously through our Christian life, we're going to sin. We're
going to do wrong. We're going to do things that are not pleasing unto the Lord.
And so when that happens, you know, Jesus Christ advocates for us. He's like our lawyer.
And you know, I've heard in times past and obviously we can't prove it in the Bible,
but it's a good concept that when that happens is as if Jesus Christ comes to the father
and shows him the wounds in his hands and said, I've already paid for it. That's exactly
what happened, right? This is why we don't suffer the comp, the eternal consequences
of our sin because we're saved. We have that advocate rooting for us in heaven, praying
for us, interceding for us. He is the mediator. And so various names are given in Revelation
chapter 12 that essentially display some of his methods, some of his tactics. But another
one that we see here that's actually not explicitly named, but it talks about what he does is
the fact that it says in verse nine, it says the great dragon was cast out that old serpent
called the devil and Satan listen to this, which deceiveth the whole world. And what this means
is that he is a deceiver. He's a liar. Now go to John chapter eight, if you would, John
chapter eight, the title of the sermon this evening is the father of lies. And tonight
I really want to talk about the fact that, you know, Satan, I want to remind our church
that Satan is a master at lying. He's a master at constructing lies. He's a master at formulating
lies. And he's a master at causing people to believe lies, not just unsafe people, but
even safe people as well. And we need to make sure that as Christians, we are aware of that,
that we're not falling into the deception of Satan and various aspects of our lives.
Tonight is a sermon, I'm just kind of reminding you what the enemy is capable of and what's
one thing that he uses continuously because he's really good at it, and that is deception,
lies. Look at John 8 and verse 44. It says, "Ye are of your father the devil." And the
ye that he's referring to are the Jews, more specifically the Pharisees who are the religious
leaders of Judaism. He says, "Ye are of your father the devil. The lust of your father
will you do." He was a murderer from the beginning, associating him with who? With Cain, right?
"And abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie,
he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it." And what does that refer
to? It refers to the fact that Satan begets lies, okay? He creates lies upon lies and
he creates a web of deception for the world to believe. And here's the thing, obviously
we know that Satan is out to get you, he's out to get me, he's out to get Christians,
but not just Christians, he's out to just destroy all of mankind, okay? And, you know,
contrary to what Hollywood teaches you, he's not going to appear in human form to fight
you physically, you know, he's not going to try to like scare you by apparitions in your
bedroom or something like that. And, you know, cause sometimes people will think that, man,
you know, Satan's out to get me, how do you know why I saw a figure in my bedroom or
something like that? I saw a shadow or something, you know, you might want to just put away
the Ouija board and maybe that stuff will go away. How about that? But in my opinion,
a lot of that stuff is just like his minions. Cause Satan deals with like the top dogs of
Christianity type thing. He's attacking the people who are actually shaking things up
and doing something for the Lord. Those are the ones who he's actually threatened by.
But nonetheless, he still uses the same method and that is deception to try to bring people
down. Now, it says here that he's the father of lies, just as God is the father of lights,
right? You know, the Bible tells us every good gift and every perfect gift coming from
above from the father of lights and whom there is no shadow, no variableness, neither shadow
of turning. And so, you know, God brings light, he brings truth, he brings illumination,
he brings enlightenment to the truth. Whereas Satan wants to leave you in obscurity. He
wants to lie to you, bring deception, cause you to believe that which is contrary to the
word of God. And so let me talk about a couple of things here. The lies and who he directs
them towards. Go with it, if you would, to Deuteronomy chapter 11. And then we're going
to go to Romans chapter one, the lies that the devil speaks. And I'm going to broaden
this application first to the world, then to those who think that they're saved. And
then lastly, to us who are saved. Let's talk about those who just are in the world in general.
Who are just not saved, not religious. He lies to the world about God. And that seems
pretty general. But let me explain what I mean by that. You know, mankind has an innate
desire to worship. Okay. Meaning that no matter what part of the world you're in, no matter
what culture you observe or study, there's always going to be a people who are worshiping
something. Why? Because that's how we're created. We're created to worship. And obviously
the end game to that would be that we would find the Lord Jesus Christ, worship the God
of the Bible, the God of heaven and live the rest of our lives serving the Lord and such.
But obviously that's not the case. And why is that? Because of the fact that Satan has
deceived the world into false religion. Okay. And when we think of false religion, obviously
the first thing that comes to our mind is the bastardizations of Christianity, different
sects of Christianity that try to promote themselves as being Christian, but they're not. Mormonism,
Jehovah's Witness, Catholicism, things of that nature. But let's just go outside of that
and think about Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, paganism, all of these different types of
religions and religious practices of worship. These people are deceived. They're worshiping
the gods of stone, of silver and of gold. They worship idols. And you think to yourself,
how can you worship an inanimate object that can do nothing for you? You think to yourself,
how is it that you are carrying on your shoulders the Virgin Mary so that she doesn't drown
in the flood that has plagued your country and yet she's supposed to be the one who saves
you? I mean, it seems absolutely ridiculous that people would do such a thing, but I'll
tell you how they get to that point. It's called deception. The lie is so great that
they believe it. I mean, folks, I know I get on Catholics a lot, but there's 1.5 billion
of them in this world who are 100% deceived by that religion into thinking that it's the
one true church and the Pope is the vicar of Christ, he's the vicar of hell. That, oh,
I'm imperfect, but if I die, I'll go to purgatory and to essentially prune myself of all these
sins and then I'll get to heaven. Folks, every single Roman Catholic who has died has split
hell wide open and they can call it purgatory if they want. It's called hell and they will
never escape that. And you know what? That goes for every single Muslim that's out there.
Every Buddhist, every Hindu has died and gone to hell thinking that they were doing right,
thinking that that was the true way, thinking that that was the truth that was legitimate,
but they died and went to hell. Why? Because Satan has lied to them about worship. Look
at Deuteronomy chapter 11 verse 16. It says, "Take heed to yourselves that your heart
be not deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them." So obviously
Satan works in tandem with our deceitful hearts. This is why it's important to put the word
of God in your heart. Because you know, the world's always promoting what? Follow your
heart. That's like the worst piece of advice that you could ever adhere to. Why? Because
if your heart is not filled with the word of God, it's not saturated by preaching, it's
not saturated by biblical principles, it can lead you astray. We all have times in our life
and through our weeks and days where it's just like, well, I just feel like I should
do this. Well, I feel like this, right? Well, you better make sure that that lines up with
the Bible, especially if it's a major decision that you're going to make. Well, I just feel
like this is the right thing to do. Well, forget what you feel. Tell me what the Bible
actually says and align yourself with that. OK, our emotions can deceive us. And so when
you think about the world, who says why I feel like a burning in my bosom when I read
the Book of Mormon and it's just like, you know, that doesn't mean that it's a legitimate
book. You've been deceived and Satan is using your emotions to kind of help you to believe
that. I mean, Charismatics are like this. Let's just get a little closer to Christian
home, and that would be what? Like the non-denom churches, where in their services they feel
like they're worshiping God, raising up their hands and, you know, just having this emotional
experience and they think to themselves, well, I am worshiping God, but it's like, no, you're
not. You're just being emotional. You're just having this emotional experience because
you're not necessarily worshiping God in spirit and in truth. You understand what I'm saying?
And so Satan is really good at providing a counterfeit to what it is to worship God.
And you know, someone who goes to a church like that and comes to our church, I guarantee
you the majority of them will be like, these people don't know how to worship God, right?
Let's just be honest. You know, I guarantee you if we have people from non-denom churches
come to our church, they would not like the song service. They would not like the piano
playing. They would think that Alex Barreira is just not filled with the spirit. They would
think that Marco sucks and that, you know, he needs to get more in the spirit. They would
think that this is just, you know, boring. But why? Because they're judging it through
their emotions. They're judging it through their senses. But you know what? He that worships
with God must worship him in spirit and in truth. And the reason people feel that way
is because that word "feel". You know what we feel with? Our carnal nature. Whereas
the whole, the spirit that dwells within us worships God in truth. The spirit resonates
with the truth that's being portrayed. It resonates with the truth that's being sung
and it rejoices in the flesh. No, it rejoices in spirit. And so the point that I'm making
here is that the devil has deceived the world into what worship truly is. And this is why
you have countries, go to Romans chapter 1, this is why you have countries and entire segments
of the world who are just plagued by idolatry. You have the 1040 window, Southeast Asia, you
have Cambodia, Laos, with their animism and Buddhism and Islam. And one of the things
that I get sick and tired of hearing is missionaries and Baptists saying, well, they just don't
know the name of Christ. That's why they're in that condition that they're in. No, they're
in that condition that they're in because they know the name of Christ. That's actually
why. And in fact, the reason and don't tell me that in 2024 no one's heard of Jesus Christ.
That's a bunch of baloney because even like 10, 15 years ago, I remember missionaries
from Cambodia saying that he was going to like this really remote place with some hut
or something and you know, just people who are just living, just, you know, like in huts.
And the kid was just on there on his phone watching some YouTube video or something.
Give me that.
You know, they have the internet and in fact, most people around the world have the internet.
They have YouTube, they have Instagram, they have X, they have all the social media platforms
to learn the truth, to get the truth to them.
And you know what?
At the end of the day, the reason those countries are in the conditions that they're in is
because their ancestors rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I don't know about that.
That seems a little harsh.
Yeah, it is harsh.
It's a worthy punishment for a country and a nation that rejects Jesus Christ.
Look what it says in Romans 1, 18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness."
Oh, just kidding.
It's only revealed to the United States.
No, it says it's revealed to all men.
He says in verse 19, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for
God has showed it unto them."
So are you calling God a liar?
Well, you don't know, though, because there's these Cambodians out there that they really
don't know the name of Jesus.
Well, that's false because Islam exists in Cambodia and even Islam talks about Jesus.
Verse 20 says, "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
but they are without excuse, because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God.
Now they were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart
was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory
of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds and four-footed
beasts and creeping things."
What does it say?
It's saying that the world is being deceived by Satan to the point where he dupes them
into start worshipping animals.
Images of animals, images of serpents, images of false gods, it's a deception.
And I'm not saying that, you know, it's all on Satan because of this.
Obviously, people have a free will to choose what they want to worship, but Satan plays
a role in it.
He has constructed the system by which people can be deceived in this world.
Go to Galatians chapter one.
So his greatest tactic against mankind is deception.
This is how he's do people into false religion, but let's go closer to home.
Let's come to the United States and just different parts of, you know, the Western culture where
Christianity is prevalent.
There's a lot of churches, a lot of people that claim to be Christian.
Well, in this regard, Satan lies to mainstream Christians about salvation because you can
ask a ton of Christians, are they saved?
And they're like, yeah, but then you'll get like literally 15 different answers on how
to be saved though.
It doesn't matter if they claim to believe in Jesus, they believe in the Bible, they
go to a church, they go to a Baptist church at that.
Folks, you go to the South, there's all types of Baptist churches.
And you know what?
You'll knock on doors in the South and ask them if they're saved.
And they say yes, because they're Baptists and they'll give you a workspace salvation
as a testimony at the Bible Belt.
I mean, think about that.
And people always want to, oh man, the Bible Belt's the best, brother.
No, we're able to just talk guns and God and country, you're not saved.
What good is it?
You're not even saved.
Calling yourself a fundamental Baptist and you can't even give a clear presentation of
the gospel.
Why?
Because Satan has deceived pockets of Christianity, mainstream Christianity, into what salvation
really is.
And we never want to just overlook this and just kind of, you know, couple ourselves with
other Christians so-called, just because they call themselves Christians, just because
they call themselves Baptists, you know, we should always go back to what do you believe
about salvation though?
Because if they don't believe the right salvation, they're not our brothers and sisters in Christ.
And we need to, you know, go back to labeling people what they really are.
Well, hey brother, well, you know what?
If you're not saved, don't call me brother, because it's fact.
We're not brothers and sisters in Christ if you're not saved.
I'm saved.
I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And no, we're not brothers, okay?
Because what agreement had the temple of God with idols?
The Concord has Christ with Belial.
You know, I'm a son of God.
I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
You're a child of disobedience.
You're a child of wrath.
And obviously that can change if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ exclusively to be
saved.
But if you believe in a different gospel, we're not brothers and sisters in Christ.
It's not there.
Look at Galatians 1 verse 6.
I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ
into another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would
pervert the gospel of Christ.
So what is the same?
There's no such thing as different gospels.
And he says another gospel, but then he goes on to say, but there's not another gospel.
Really what there is, is there's the true gospel and then there's a perversion of the
gospel.
Okay?
So you have to understand, folks, is that just because someone says they're a Christian
doesn't mean they're saved.
Don't fall into this lie and this trap that Satan has put forth where he wants to paint
Christianity with a broad brush and say, well, because they have the knowledge of Christ
and somehow that means that they're saved.
You know, when I go soul-winding, I ask people if they go to church and if they say they
go to a Christian church, I'm not just like, oh, great, well, have a great day, saved,
for sure.
That's not enough.
Now, I will say this, I rejoice in the fact that they say they go to a Christian church
because what does that do?
That narrows it down some, okay?
It puts us in the same sport, so to speak.
You know, he's soccer, I'm playing baseball, now we're on the same field, so to speak.
And so then at that point, now I can ask him questions about salvation, but I'm not
going to assume that he's saved just because he says he's a Christian.
And I'm not going to assume someone's saved just because they say they're a Baptist.
And I'm not going to assume that they're saved because they say they're a fundamental Baptist.
Because at the end of the day, Satan has worked overtime into infiltrating churches with the
false gospel and giving people a false sense of security that they're saved even though
they believe in a wrong gospel.
And it's important, folks, that we as a church do not deviate from the importance of being
thorough in our gospel presentation and our questioning of people when we're at the door,
and not just assume, oh, you know, they're Baptist, oh, they say they're Christian, oh,
they say they're a believer automatically, they're saved.
Obviously, there's a possibility that they are, but it doesn't mean that they are.
And I know, you know, here's the thing, and it's not just for the person at the door.
Your favorite Hollywood actors, too, and your favorite politician, just because they accidentally
say Jesus doesn't make them saved.
Just because they, you know, the actor says, you know, God or something, and I just want
to thank God. For what? For being a pervert, just Covich's, greedy, vain person? Don't
credit that to God. Don't charge God foolishly with that nonsense. I think he'd say if he
could really do a lot, you know. What do you mean? Yeah, he's done a lot of damage
already. But you know what? But you have these churches that look up to these people, look
up to these famous actors and actresses and these politicians just because they slipped
in said Bible. You know, it's like, oh, then there's a chance. It's like, you know. Satan's
done a really good job deceiving Christians into thinking just because someone mentions
God. Like somehow that means they're a Christian. And I get it. You know, because our world
is becoming so just immoral and wicked and vile, it's like a breath of fresh air to
hear someone who has popularity to mention something about the Bible or God. But I'm
here to burst your bubble, though. I'm here to burst your bubble and say that's stupid.
That's a stupid way of thinking. We need to get back to what the Bible says and not just
assume that because they mention anything about God, that somehow that means they're a Christian.
And look, I see this on social media a lot, where you have Christians that will promote
other so-called Christians because they take a hard stance against sodomy, they take a
hard stance about moral issues of this culture, but then you look at the person's doctrine
and they believe you got to keep the Sabbath. They believe that we should still go under
the law and eat shellfish and all these things. They're like one is Pentecostals in belief.
They essentially deny the Godhead, the divinity of Christ, because they believe that Jesus
is the Father. Yeah, but you know, he votes for Trump though. Wow, I'll just canonize
him then or something, you know? But Satan has deceived mainstream Christians into thinking
that just because someone leans a little bit to the right of what the Bible says that somehow
that automatically means they're saved. It's not true. Don't be duped by that lie. And you
know, obviously there's people who are well-meaning out there who think that they're saved and
maybe they think that they're doing right and they're well-meaning, but they're sincerely
wrong. And this is what the Bible says. I bear them record that they have a zeal of God in
Romans chapter 10. You don't have to turn there, but not according to knowledge for they being
ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not
submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. Okay. And so, you know, he's deceived
many into thinking that they're saved even though they're not. All right. Now let's get
into my last point here, which is where I'm going to spend the majority of the sermon.
And that is lies that he promotes to save people. And I'm going to talk, I'm going to address
the church tonight and just kind of exhort you a little bit and remind you of some of
the lies that Satan has given me, has given you, has given people that I've worked with
over the last eight years of our church and some of the pitfalls that people have fallen
into because they've been deceived by Satan over these things. And don't think that just
because you're saved, that somehow that liberates you from the deception of Satan, okay? Obviously
it liberates us from hell and obviously Satan can never take away our salvation and we're
children of God, but we are not just automatically safeguarded from Satan's deception. We have
to purposely guard ourselves from these lies, okay? Now let's talk about first, you know,
when Satan has lied or promotes lies about downing the Bible, okay? Now an extreme version
of this would be Christians who are saved, but they've been duped into using like an
ESV or something like that, right? Because it's just a better version, it's more reliable,
and I don't write people off like that as just being completely reprobate, they're not saved,
because I guarantee you the vast majority of them have never read the ESV cover to cover.
Let me just be real honest with you, okay? Now the ones who just read it cover to cover,
they just love it, they quote it, they defend it, they've studied it and they love it, they're
probably not saved, I'll just be honest with you. But someone who just like uses it to
bring it to church, and they've never read through it, they've just been deceived by
God. And I do believe that there could be saved people using those Bibles. And I use
the term "use" loosely. I mean, like they bring it to church, they read the portion
that their little devotional book tells them to read, and that's it. And they've fallen
under the deception, "Yea hath God said." And this is why our church is King James only.
We believe that the King James Bible is the inspired and preserved Word of God for the
English speaking people, and it is superior to all modern versions of the Bible. And in
fact, all modern versions of the Bible are not only fraudulent, they are just horribly
written. They are geographically erroneous. They teach false doctrine. They remove entire
passages and verses. They add things to them. They pervert the deity of Jesus Christ. They
remove the blood. I mean, just to name a couple of problems with the modern versions.
And same goes for the Spanish versions, like the 1960, which fundamental Baptist can't
seem to kick out of their pulpits for whatever reason. That's just as bad. It's just, it's
just the ESV slash new King James version in English is what it is. But he promotes
that. And you know what, if he put, if he places an NIV or an ESV into the hand of
a safe person, they're not going to go very far in life. They're not going to have the
power of God in their life. They're not going to prosper and succeed in the Christian life
because those Bibles are fraudulent and can't do anything. The power is in the Word of God
and the incorruptible seed. But if we're to get more applicable to our church because
no one here is using an ESV, at least I don't think so. If you are, we have a section in
the back where you can place your ESVs and it's called the trash can. We'll get you
a brand new Bible. But sometimes people, even Christians, even though they're King James
only can doubt the promises of God. Okay. And often it's in relation to like what God
can provide. And in fact, this is something that I deal with as a pastor a lot is people
just doubting if God can protect and or provide for you in the most difficult of times, you
know? And let me just say this, okay, folks, one thing that will help you to have more
faith in the promises of God is stop listening to California haters who are just constantly
fear mongering you, even though they're the sissy ones who left California. Amen. You
know, they're constantly talking about against California, how bad California and how bad
you got it, how bad it is here, you know, but they're the ones who actually left because
they're scared. And here's the thing, I always tell them like, I'm doing fine. In fact,
I'm doing too good sometimes, which is why I got to go on a cut sometimes, you know?
I'm not going without God's protecting me. He's provided for me. He's been there. I have
not suffered like terrible losses or anything. It's like, no, no, it's not like that at all.
It's, you know, it's a blue state and you're screwed. Not from what I'm looking at. Our
church is growing. People are getting saved. I get to raise my family and the nurture and
the admonition of the Lord. And you know why you are so fearful at times? Because you're
listening to a bunch of red state Republicans trying to usurp God's promises in his word.
And this is what you do. Just shut them off and stick to what the Bible says. And look,
I get this a lot on social media. People are always telling me this on social media. They're
just appalled that I'm still here. They just can't believe it. And just even a couple of
days ago, someone was just completely just astonished. They're like, "You're in California?"
They're like, "Yeah, I'm in the best state." And they're just like, "How can you? I just
don't understand with all the craziness going on." And I'm thinking, "I don't see anything
crazy. What are you talking about?" I'm living the most normal life. I'm serving God. I'm
happy. I'm super joyful. I got my church. I got my family. These people act like I
live next to Newsome or something. People act like I see that guy once a week or something
like that. He's just lording over us or something. It's not the case, my friends. You know what?
People need to stop being so political and get more religious. It's time to cease being
so political about your ideologies and get a little more biblical about the things that
you believe and actually start increasing your faith in the Bible. I'm appalled every
time I quote verses to these people and they're like, "Oh, I know it says that, but there
is no but." Shut your butt up is what you need to do and just believe the Bible. You
¿Crees que la Biblia no nos aplica en 2024? ¿Crees que Dios... Folks, hay cristianos por miles de años que están bajo los mejores regímenes políticos que estamos en ahora, y han prosperado, han sucedido, Dios los ha dado cada vez.
Pero todo de repente, "No, estás en un estado azul, no vas a lograrlo"
Es mentira, mis amigos. No lo describo, no escucho eso. En realidad miro a eso, me molesto porque sé exactamente lo que dice la Biblia.
Y necesitamos más cristianos, escúchame, necesitamos más cristianos para parar de dudar de la Biblia.
Placar más confianza en lo que la noticia dice. Placar más confianza en tus puntos de hablar político.
Y en las noticias de Fox, en vez de solucionar la Biblia y decir "Para Dios, mostre que me vas a proporcionar".
Placar más tiempo con lo que la noticia dice, que con la vida de la praya.
Chicos, ¿sabéis lo que hace Satan? Le menten a ustedes que no tienen nada bueno aquí.
Mirad a toda esta gente feliz, en estos estados de humedad, en el medio de los bosques.
Pueden llevar armas, botas de cowboy, pueden hacer todas esas cosas y no están felices aquí.
Y yo no estoy diciendo que California es una tierra de promesas, aunque yo creo que sí.
Pero, ¿sabes qué es la tierra de promesas? Es donde están serviendo a Dios.
La tierra de promesas es donde están serviendo a Dios.
Y sí, ¿sabes qué es la tierra de promesas? Es en Texas, pero solo en la iglesia de sedes rápidos.
En mi opinión, la tierra de promesas es en Georgia, pero es esa iglesia de sedes rápidos.
Porque la tierra de promesas es donde están serviendo a Dios.
Goshen es donde están serviendo a Dios.
Y es difícil llegar a la roca de los cristianos a veces a decirles que cerran sus oídos al miedo,
porque están causando que te pierdan la fe en la Biblia.
Están causando que te pierdan la fe en Dios.
¿Por qué no creas tu fe por leer la Biblia y pedirle a Dios que te ayude a ser un cristiano fuerte?
Porque eso es realmente lo que es el desafío.
Quiero desafiarte a ser un cristiano fuerte por no confundir en la palabra de Dios.
Porque aquí está la cosa.
Si eres solo un aburrido, solo un cristiano aburrido,
ir a Florida no te va a ayudar.
Si eres solo un aburrido,
Tienes que tener cuidado.
Si eres un cristiano aburrido,
ir a Texas o Florida no te va a ayudar.
Tendrás que morir allí también.
Tendrás que estar con una bucha de otras personas
que creen que no suelen morir, como tú.
Que piensan, "Bueno, si cambié mi lugar geográfico,
eso me ayudará a no morir".
No, todavía te vas a morir como cristiano.
Porque, como a Jonah, no le ayudó mucho.
Cambiar un lugar geográfico no le ayudó a nadie.
Aún se encabezó, y al final de la día,
se fue donde Dios le dijo que ir.
Así que no compres las mentes de Satan
y sus minions, sus minions online,
que están constantemente intentando hacerte dissatisfied
con lo que tienes ahora mismo.
Porque esa es la técnica que utiliza.
Trata de mentirte y decirte que no estás muy feliz con lo que tienes.
Mira tu pequeño abode.
Mira tu auto.
Puedes tener mucho más.
¿Cómo no puedes ser contento con lo que tienes?
¿Cómo no puedes tener una baja expectativa
para que cuando tienes algo muy bueno,
te digas "¡Wow! ¡Esto es increíble!"?
En vez de solo ser desagradables y desagradables
y solo adherir a las mentes de Satan,
intenta hacerte dissatisfied con lo que tienes ahora mismo.
En cualquier estado en el que estoy,
he aprendido a ser contento.
Y eso debe ser la testimonia de los cristianos.
Stopa de la Biblia.
En realidad,
ponga los ojos en la palabra de Dios más si es tu.
Si eres una persona que se ha leído a los temores,
a las dudas, a las ansias,
a las especulaciones de si Dios va a proporcionar o no,
¿por qué no te sacas de la media social?
Y, mira, déjame decir esto.
Algunos de nosotros tienen que ir a la media social rápido.
Tienes que ir a la media social rápido.
Y disfrutar de la Biblia.
Encuentra esa proteína espiritual
para que puedas aumentar tu fe.
Y, ¿sabes qué? ¿Tienes que hacer eso por unos seis meses?
¿Six meses? Sí, ¿cómo de seis meses?
¿Tienes que hacer eso por unos seis meses?
Me garantizo que te cambie y me digas,
"mano, yo era tonto.
Estaba temblando.
Tengo mucha fe en lo que Dios puede hacer.
Dios se ha mostrado fuerte por mi lado.
Es una bendición servir a Dios, ¿de acuerdo?
Pero esto es una lia de sacerdote,
porque si no te sacas de la media social,
no se puede servir a Dios, ¿de acuerdo?
Pero esto es una lia que promueva Satan.
Aquí hay otro que promueva a los cristianos.
Serer a Dios no vale la sacrificio.
A veces, los cristianos sienten que es demasiado.
No vale la sacrificio.
Mira todo lo que tienen que hacer.
Tienen que ir a la iglesia en la tarde.
Tienen que ir a la iglesia en la noche.
Y entre ellos tienen que ir a lo solo.
Luego tienen que leer la Biblia.
Luego no pueden tener todo este divertido.
Y Satan promueva esta vida de vivir la vida cristiana
como si fuera algo grievo.
Y no voy a creer ese punto,
pero eso es una mentira que promueva a las personas
para mantenerlos de ser Dios.
No sabiendo que al final del día
Dios te recompensará.
Y cuando te servís a Dios
Él te da abundante sobre todo lo que puedes preguntar o pensar.
La pérdida que Él te da
es más lejos de lo que puedes imaginar.
Las bendiciones que recibes de ser Dios
son muy lejos de la alternativa.
Aquí hay otra mentira
que propone Satan a los cristianos.
Y este punto es para quienes
que están serviendo a Dios,
están haciendo lo mejor que pueden,
y pueden sentirse que su trabajo
para Dios no está haciendo una diferencia.
Y cada cristiano falla
bajo esta decepción
de una vez en la otra.
"¿Es esto todo? No creo que estoy haciendo un dente".
Vas a solucionar
y quizás tengas un área muy dura
durante los últimos meses.
¿Me estoy realmente haciendo una diferencia?
No he visto a nadie salvado en algunas semanas.
¿Qué estoy haciendo?
¿Estoy solucionando mi barco o algo?
Y a veces los cristianos pueden caer en esta caja
de satan que dice "No estás haciendo una diferencia".
¿Crees que tus dos salvaciones
en una semana, tus tres salvaciones
en un mes
están realmente haciendo algo?
¿Crees que nadie va a estar afectado por eso?
No es así. Pero, chicos, déjame decirte
que está haciendo una diferencia.
Y una cosa que los cristianos no se entienden,
y quizás no se entienden
hasta el reino milenial,
es lo grande
que hemos hecho en este mundo
cuando decidimos servir a Dios
y no vimos los resultados inmediatos.
Te lo aseguro, no sabes quién
está escuchando. No sabes qué
has plantado que se ha germinado
y ha causado a alguien a estar en fuego
por Dios. No sabes qué
Dios está haciendo en los corazones
de aquellos que se han salvado y quizás
no han llegado a nuestra iglesia, quizás han ido a una iglesia diferente.
No sabes la diferencia que estás haciendo.
Y sabes qué? Nunca sabes
este lado de la eternidad. Pero este lado de la eternidad
es la actitud de, ¿qué diferencia puedo hacer?
O sea, chicos, esto es una mentira
que siento que Satan me promueve mucho.
O es como, ¿sabes? Tu pastora en esta iglesia
es una iglesia pequeña, comparada
a otras iglesias, y
¿tú realmente crees que vas a alcanzar a todos estos católicos?
Hay tantos católicos y tantas falsas religiones
que son mucho más grandes y
pueden promover. Y puedo llegar a un punto
donde estoy como, ¿me estoy haciendo una diferencia?
Sabes, si haces un video
y entonces es como, todo el mundo es
contra ti y estás como, ¡maldita sea!
¿En serio estoy haciendo un impacto?
¿Hay alguien?
Pero chicos, te lo aseguro, hay.
Porque la palabra, escucha
a mi, la palabra de Dios
nunca vuelve a la ventana. Nunca vuelve a la ventana.
Y sabes que, estoy cansado de preguntar
si algo va a suceder. Sé que algo va a suceder
porque tengo confianza en la palabra de Dios que lo hará.
Y maestros, déjame decir esto.
Mamas con pequeños hijos.
A veces parece que no estás
haciendo la diferencia de la vida de ese niño
por esas espancas. Es como,
¡Maldita sea! ¡No está funcionando más!
Pero funciona.
Y déjame darles una ilustración.
Tengo una aquí, ¿sí?
No me dieron permiso por esto, pero no le estoy pidiendo permiso.
Gio se arrepentió cuando era un niño.
¿Verdad? ¡Se arrepentió!
Y, ¿sabes qué? Estoy seguro de que hay veces
en las que Miss Kelly pensaba que este chico
iba a ser un asesino de asesinos. No, estoy riendo.
¿Qué va a pasar con Gio?
Pero, ¿sabes qué?
Y, y, casi te aseguro que
si hablé con Kelly, ¿sabes?
Cuando él era un niño, perdón,
no tenía permiso, pero, ya sabes,
te darás una recompensa por esto más tarde o algo así.
Te aseguro que si le hubiera dicho que su hijo
iba a ser un hombre de Godly, que crea una familia de Godly,
que amaba al Señor, que iba a ser soleno,
ella no lo creería. Probablemente no lo creería.
Probablemente no sabía el impacto que tenía
en la vida de su hijo. No solo por su
influencia espiritual,
sino por su influencia como madre.
Porque, ¿sabes qué? Gio es Gio,
pero Gio es un hombre de Godly, ¿sabes?
Tenemos mucha amor por Gio, y estoy muy orgulloso de Gio.
Pero, ¿sabes qué? Mujeres pueden pensar,
"¿Es esto? ¿Es esto?"
Y ellos están gritando a ti,
"¿Esto es todo lo que tienes?"
Y, ¿sabes qué? Mujeres,
escucha, mujeres pueden ser discursos
y pensar, "No sé si estoy haciendo
un dentista o un impacto
en la vida de mis hijos, porque esto
no parece..." Y aquellos de ustedes que aún no están ahí,
van a estar ahí un día. Y te estoy diciendo
ahora mismo, hace impacto.
Mujer, mi madre me asustó cuando era un niño,
y hay veces que ella pensaba,
"Este niño va a ser solo un cholo un día".
Te garantizo, si alguien le hubiera dicho hace años,
que su hijo iba a ser un pastor de una iglesia,
llegando a un montón de personas,
ella probablemente no lo hubiera creído,
porque no lo ves inmediatamente.
No te dejes mentir a Satan, pensando que tus esfuerzos están en vaina.
No te dejes mentir a Satan pensando,
"Oh, solo tuve una alma salvada esta semana",
o "una alma salvada este mes" o algo así,
porque tenías una espelga blanca o algo así.
"Oh, no estás haciendo nada mal".
Eso es nonsensos, por supuesto que estás haciendo una diferencia.
Y déjame decir esto, una alma es una alma, una alma es una alma.
Y tú sabes qué?
Vamos a decir que teóricamente,
que solo ves una alma salvada en tu vida entera,
esa persona va a estar buscando por ti en el cielo.
Y agradecida a Dios por que te la has salvado.
Y yo conozco personas personalmente, en mi vida personal,
que no las he visto en años.
Y ellos, honestamente, probablemente creo que los he olvidado,
pero tenían un impacto significativo en mi vida.
Y yo deseo que puedan estar aquí para ver,
la fruta que trajeron a través de su inversión,
su inversión espiritual en mí.
Pero tú sabes, te garantizo que esa persona,
alguna vez en este mundo,
pensando que su labor por Cristo estaba en vaina,
no sabiendo que literalmente produjo un pastor.
Ella participó, esta mujer que usaba a la casa,
ella participó, esta mujer más vieja,
en la creación de un pastor.
Así que, chicos, tu labor nunca está en vaina.
No piensan, oh, hombre,
nunca voy a hacer una diferencia,
y quién soy yo, chicos.
Si tienes el espíritu de Dios limitado dentro de ti,
el efecto de rostro de tu influencia y el bendición que puedes tener,
puede ir por años y años.
Y, mamá, estás creciendo la siguiente generación.
Puedes estar creciendo la siguiente
¡Hellfire damnation preciosa!
¡Baptista!
Que se convierte en el mundo por Dios.
¡Eso es cómo tienes que verlo!
"Oh, sí, pero ¿qué son estos entre los muchos?"
"Oh, digo, él puede tomar un cuchillo de pescado y multiplicarlo
y, a lo largo de la medida, hacer algo super natural."
Así que, no piensan a ti mismo,
"No lo voy a intentar. ¿Por qué even trato de ir a Soho?
¿Por qué even trato de hacer una diferencia?
¿Por qué even trato de llevar a la gente a la justicia?
¿Por qué even trato de invertir en la gente?
¿Por qué even trato de traer a mis hijos y la nutrición?"
"No soy talentoso, no soy extranjero,
solo no estoy muy atento en esas áreas.
Haga lo que puedas con lo que tienes,
y Dios puede multiplicar tus esfuerzos
y hacer algo grande en tu vida."
Y no puede verlo en tu vida, pero lo verás.
Y déjame decir esto, along with that point,
people might think, "This church is too small.
What impact are we really going to make
with having a church this small?"
Well, technically, our church is actually larger
than your average church, first of all.
But second of all, we actually get more done
than most liberal churches get done,
because most liberal churches are not saved.
And even if they were, most liberal churches
don't even go so many.
So a church like ours, our church and churches like ours,
are picking up the slack for a lot of churches out there.
And so we are getting things done.
James chapter 4, if you would, James chapter 4.
Talk about these lies that Satan will bring to your attention,
will try to deceive you, to hinder you,
to slow you down, to get you to quit,
to get you discouraged, to get you out of the Bible.
Be aware of these things.
Don't take what I'm saying to you lightly.
Don't think, "Oh, this is just a Sunday night sermon."
No, this is the word of the Lord speaking to you right now.
This is biblical principles being given to you right now.
Mark my words, you're going to need what I'm telling you tonight.
Why? Because if you're serving God, Satan is going to come after you with deception.
Here's another lie. And as a pastor, I've seen this.
And that is getting right with God is too hard.
During the lifespan of our church, we're going to have, unfortunately, we're going to have people backslide.
It's the saddest thing for a pastor to see people get out of church, backslide, get away from the Lord.
It breaks my heart. It breaks people's hearts in our church.
Especially if it's someone that you share spiritual memories with.
You have fellowship, you went, you took sweet counsel together to the house of God.
To see them to just get out of church and just backslide, it hurts.
And you know, as a pastor I kind of go through a range of emotions when it comes to that.
I'm angry sometimes. I'm just like, you know, why are you being so dumb?
Get angry, but then you also have a sense of empathy and compassion and sadness.
Because at the end of the day I know that they've been duped by the deception of Satan.
And what is that deception? Well, you know, sometimes Christians, you know, they backslide
and they think to themselves, well, I can't overcome this sin, so it's just not...
I can't come back because I can't overcome this sin, right?
Or they think, you know, I'm too far gone. Sometimes Christians can think that.
They get out of church for a month, two months, God forbid a year.
And, you know, they have that yearning to come back to church.
They have that yearning to get back into fellowship.
Because folks, when you're saved, you have the Spirit of God dwelling within you.
You have the new man. It yearns for those things.
You have to like purposely say shut up to not do those things.
It's called quench the spirit.
And I know for a fact that backsliding Christians, even they don't verbalize it.
I guarantee you they have a yearning for those things because they want that.
But then what happens is lies and deception from Satan come that says, well, you're too far gone.
You've already missed the train. You can't come back.
And you know what? That's a lie from the pit of hell.
Because folks, if you are breathing, if you are living, that is a testament to the mercy and grace of God
that he's not destroyed your life, then you can still come back to the fold.
Yeah, you know what? Did you screw up your life? Maybe, possibly, but are you intact?
Can you come to church? If so, then come back and you know what?
We'll pick up where we left off. Oh, I'm just too far gone.
Well, you're not dead, so no, you're not.
You know, if you die, you are too far gone.
You're so far, you're in heaven.
And at that point, you're in another church.
But too far gone, well, you know, I'm just involved in sin,
and I'm too far gone, and I'm just not where I need to be.
Of course you're not where you need to be.
That's why you need to get into church to get to where you need to be.
Don't allow Satan to lie to you and deceive you into thinking,
"Oh man, I just haven't been in church for so long.
It's just too late for me," or something.
That's a lie.
How about this?
I'm not coming back to church because people at church,
they'll just judge me, they won't accept me.
That's a lie.
I'm not here making excuses for sin, by the way.
Obviously, if someone is involved in a very wicked sin,
according to 1 Corinthians 5, according to Matthew 18,
and other portions of scripture, and they are unrepentant of sin,
they need to get excommunicated from the church, absolutely.
But let me just say this.
Most people, over the lifespan of our church,
since the beginning of the church until now,
they leave before the hammer can come down on them sometimes.
Because they know.
But what's unfortunate is that sometimes they stop committing that particular sin
when they're at a church, but they don't want to come back
because they feel like people will judge them.
But I don't believe that at all. I don't.
I've been here longer than most people have in our church,
because, you know, it helps start the church.
And in my assessment, my knowledge of the people of this church,
this is one of the most loving churches people that I've ever met.
And I've been in church for a long time.
I've been around Christians for a long time.
I've been saturated with the company of believers for a long time.
And so when I look at our church, I'm like, this is a very loving church.
And you know one thing I've noticed about our church is that
when people who have gone to our church or been back Sunday,
when they come back, people are not just like,
"Well, look who it is. Did you stop fornicating, huh?
What did you do? Dump you?
You're dumb, being a little alcoholic, drunker, pot-smoking.
I'm just messing with you."
Now, honestly, I would find that very hilarious
and I would be like, "That's so funny."
But you know, people in our church aren't like that.
In fact, in my assessment, in my observation,
when people have come back, people in our church
literally pick up where they left off with that person.
You see the brightness in people's eyes
when they see someone who they haven't seen in a long time.
There's like a brightness to them.
You know what it's called? It's called "I'm happy you're back."
It's called "the prodigal son is returned."
Let's party! Right?
It's not like, hmm...
You know, the holier than thou look is just like...
And you know what? That does exist. That exists.
And I hate to say it, but I don't hate to say it.
Old IFB churches are like that.
But you know what? I have not seen that here.
And I'm not saying it doesn't exist in our church,
but if you do that, you're an idiot.
You're a holier than thou, overly spiritual,
hypocrite, Pharisee,
fix your face.
But I don't think there's people like that in our church.
Most of the people in our church are just
genuinely happy that someone returned.
I'm genuinely happy when people return.
And in fact, one of the things that I do is that, you know,
if it's a man, I give him a hug.
I'm just happy to see them. I want to spend time with them.
We're not like, over here serving God,
this guy's over here doing sinfulness,
she's over here living like the world.
No one thinks that way.
No one in our church is just like
wanting to condemn people
because of past sins. And in fact, you know,
in my observation, most of our church members
just let them live it down
and they don't like talking about the past.
I don't like talking about the past.
I don't like bringing up past things of your life
or failures of your life. That's uncomfortable.
That's weird.
Like, hey, we could be friends but remember that one time?
Remember when you fornicated?
That's weird, huh?
No, that's weird that you would say that. Don't be stupid like that.
Let people live it down.
Let people move on with their lives.
And this is what you do. Pick up where you left off.
Go to Canes afterwards.
Go to Taco Bell. Go to Mickey D's.
Most people in our church actually just invite them to like a meal.
Like you want to hang out?
Because they're genuinely happy that the prodigal son has returned, that's why.
But you know what keeps people out of church a lot?
Is the deception that people are going to judge me.
They're not going to accept me.
They're going to think wrong of me.
They're going to look down on me.
But you know what? Satan keeps telling you that.
Because he knows what a loving church you have.
He knows how quickly you can be restored.
How quickly you can be restored.
How quickly you can just get back to doing
what you were doing before.
Like going soul winning.
It's not like, well you're involved in sin for six months
so you got to sit out for at least two to three months
before you can go soul winning again.
Just like, let's go soul winning. I'll see you next Sunday.
I'll see you on Thursday. Let's go hang out.
That's my assessment of our church.
And you know, obviously people
on internet land can't understand that.
Because they judge all of you based upon me.
They probably think that all of you
behave on a daily basis
the way I behave when I'm preaching against sin.
But who cares what internet land thinks.
You know, you got to be here
to know what's going on here.
And we do have a loving church.
I love the people in our church.
And you know, if I wasn't the pastor and I back said
I would love to come back to this church.
Because I know the people, how the people are.
Don't be deceived into thinking that
you cannot be forgiven. Look at James 4
verse 7, it says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God,
resist the devil, he will flee from you."
Oh man, it's so hard to get right with God.
It says in verse 8, "Draw an eye to God and he will draw an eye to you."
"Cleanse your hands of your sinners and purify your hearts,
you double-minded." It's not hard.
I don't know what to do. Just take one step forward
in the direction of the Lord
and he'll come to you. It sounds like God wants
to make it really easy for you to get right with him.
It sounds like all it is, is like a prayer
away. It's a phone call away.
It's a drive away. But Satan is the one
who creates that distance into making you think
that, no, that's way too hard.
No, no, getting right with, you know, God
is condemning you. He's angry with
you. He's not, no, actually
he says, come, let us reason
together, is what he actually says.
Because there's no one in this world who wants you to
get right with God more than God himself. You understand?
And so don't bite into this
lie. And, you know, God forbid, any of
you should ever backslide to that extent
where you just get completely out of church.
I would hope that everyone in here tonight
would stay, but obviously, you know,
the law of number says someone will backslide.
Someone will get out of church. That's just
the way it is. But may you be reminded
of what I'm telling you at this moment.
Don't ever think that it's too hard to get
right with God. When you get out of church,
if, God forbid, if and when you get out of
church one day, you get out of serving
God, just mark my words, come back.
You can come back anytime you want.
And we can just pick up where we left off.
Let me go over this last one,
and I'll be done.
And that is, you know, God can't fix
my situation. Some situations are
messed up. Hard. It's like sin in this world
just destroys everything.
Sometimes we make bad decisions, and sometimes
we just do things that are contrary to the Bible.
And Satan loves that.
Because he likes to bring
this lie that, "Oh man, your situation is so
far gone. You're not going to be...you think going to
church is going to fix that?" You think that
God can really just fix
your situation, fix your relationships,
you know,
you think you can really be happy,
you think your financial situation
is going to be fixed, like, you know,
you're in the state that you're in,
you think your health is going to be fixed,
here's the thing is that, yes, God can fix
anything, actually, so that's a stupid question.
Yes, He can fix everything.
And given, maybe He will not
restore to what it once was,
but that doesn't mean He can't make a blessing
out of it, because all things,
and all really means all,
work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.
God is the master potter,
and even though the potter can be
in His hands based upon your decisions,
He can make something completely new out of it.
And, you know, obviously,
if you're just too,
what's the word,
self-analytical, self-critical,
what's the word I'm looking for, is that the right word?
What's the word I'm looking for?
I need a thesaurus over here. Someone who just,
what? Oh, nothing? You guys got nothing?
When you analyze yourself too much,
what's the word I'm looking for? Huh?
Overly critical, I'll use that one.
Overly critical of yourself, you can often
think to yourself, well, what are all the
avenues? What are all the end results
that can happen from this situation?
And you can come to the conclusion that none of them
work, and that none of them are what you would want.
But you're leaving out one element, and that is God.
Because literally, God
can actually just not go with A,
Plan A, B, C, or D.
He just brings a new one, something that comes from
left field. So don't ever think that your situation
is just unfixable, ever.
What you should do is just make God a priority,
make serving Him a priority, make others a priority,
and just wait. Just be patient.
Just wait and be patient. Don't listen to the
lie of Satan that, "Oh man, my situation
is just too far gone. I can't fix it."
Yeah, you know what? You're not going to be able to restore it
to what it once was, but that doesn't mean
it's not fixable, okay?
And then lastly, and I'm done, go to
James chapter 4, is
here's another lie that the devil gives
to Christians, and that is, you can
always serve God tomorrow. You can always serve
God tomorrow. Hey, I know you want to get committed!
I know you're zealous! Do it tomorrow, though.
I know you made a commitment to read the Bible!
Amen! Do it tomorrow, though.
Oh, I know you want to go soul winning next week.
Oh, man, you saw that sermon online?
Great. You want to be there? Alright, just wait
next week. Just keep putting it off.
Here's one of the greatest deceptions
that Satan will give to Christians,
and that is, just wait till tomorrow.
And the reason why that's such a big deception
is because tomorrow never comes. The Bible says in
James 4.13, "Go to now, ye that say
today or tomorrow we will go into
such a city, and continue there a year
y compras y vende y ganas, mientras que no sabes lo que será mañana.
Por qué es tu vida? Es incluso un vapor que apareció por un poco de tiempo y luego desapareció.
Por que debes decir que si el Señor quiere, debemos vivir y hacer esto o eso,
pero ahora rechazas en tus cosas, todo lo que rechazas es malo,
por lo tanto, a Él que lo sabe hacer bien y no hacerlo, a Él es un pecado.
Si sabes que debes hacer bien hoy, hazlo hoy.
Si sabes que debes hacer bien hoy y no lo haces a Él,
hazlo hoy a Él.
¡Hazlo hoy! ¡Hazlo hoy!
¡Oh, me voy a empezar a ir a la iglesia la semana pasada!
¡La semana pasada! ¡Hazlo hoy!
¡Me voy a perder en una barbacoa!
¡Para la barbacoa! ¡Solo ir a la iglesia y ir a tomar barbacoa después!
¡Estás actuando como si la barbacoa fuera a algún lugar!
¡El animal está muerto! ¡No va a ir a ningún lugar!
¡Hazlo hoy! ¡Hazlo hoy a Dios!
¡Recuerda ahora tu creador y los días de tu joven!
¡Hey, jóvenes! ¡No piensan que cuando yo sea de 30, 40, lo serviré a Dios!
¡No, te servirás a Dios hoy como niño!
¡Te servirás a Dios hoy como niño!
¡Te servirás a Dios hoy como joven!
¡Te servirás a Dios con la fuerza que tienes hoy!
¡No piensan en la mentira de Satan!
Que dice... ¡Puedes soltar tus huesos extraños ahora!
¡Comentar tu vida a Dios después!
¡Servir a Dios después!
¡Listar la Biblia después!
¡No, hazlo ahora!
Y aquí está la cosa, chicos...
O sea, esto es...
Esto es un buen consejo que les voy a dar.
Como que estoy tratando de perder peso.
¡Hazlo hoy!
Voy a comer.
Voy a ir al déficit.
Voy a ir al gimnasio.
La próxima semana.
Nunca va a pasar.
¡Hazlo!
¡Hazlo Nike!
¡Hazlo!
Porque Dios quiere que te pongas a cabo.
Y que no te compres con esta mentira.
Que puedes seguir poniéndola.
Continuar poniéndola.
Continuar procrastinando.
Porque nunca viene.
Estas son las mentiras que yo he tenido...
Oh, man, reí mi Biblio.
Que he tenido que lidiar con como pastor.
Personalmente.
Solo cosas que...
Siento como que Satan me ataca.
Los pensamientos que me da.
Las tentaciones que me trae a mi camino.
Pero no solo a mí.
A las personas que yo también ministro.
Y...
No toques tan fácilmente, por favor.
Chicos, te digo porque te amo.
Porque soy tu pastor.
Y quiero ver que nunca te caigas en los colchones de Satan.
Y que te toques en sus mentiras.
Sabes...
Necesitas poder discernir cuando estas están llegando a tu camino.
Y no solo pensar en ti mismo.
¿Sabes qué?
Solo no pienso que esto va a funcionar.
No pienso que estoy haciendo una diferencia.
Solo pienso que puedo servir a Dios.
No compres eso.
Suelta a Dios hoy.
Crea en la Biblia hoy.
¡Hey!
Quedate bien con Dios hoy.
¡Preguntemos!
Padre, muchas gracias por tu palabra.
Y Dios, gracias por ser tan gracioso con nosotros.
Señor y...
y...
gentil y bendecido, Señor.
Y sabemos que el bendecimiento de Dios nos lleva a la arrepentimiento.
Y espero que, Señor, nos ayuden a ser vigilantes.
Cuando vivimos nuestro día a día de vida cristiana.
Porque la decepción siempre está alrededor de la esquina.
Satan siempre está intentando atraparnos y apretar a nosotros, Señor.
Y ayudarnos a no fallar por las mentiras y la decepción.
Y una de las mejores formas de hacer eso es saturar nuestra mente con la verdad.
Y yo pray, Señor, que nos ayuden a hacer eso.
Y una de las peores cosas para un pastrero es la experiencia de las casualidades espirituales en una iglesia.
Y Dios, yo solo pregunto a los que se van del Señor.
Que ustedes puedan trabajar en sus corazones, Señor, para volver.
Y podemos seguir con nuestras vidas.
Podemos seguir serviendo a Dios juntos, Señor.
Y yo pregunto al Padre de Dios, que nos ayuden a amarte en Tu palabra.
Y continuar con las cosas de Dios todos los días de nuestra vida.
Que estemos en la casa del Señor todos los días de nuestra vida.
Te amamos, te agradecemos.
Prueba esta canción en el nombre de Jesús. Amén.
La canción número 19 es nuestra última canción.
"Hay una montaña".
La canción número 19.
Vamos a verla en ese primer verso.
Cantar.