You Know the Truth, Because the Truth Knows You | 1 John 2:19-21

ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church

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So, I wanted to point out a few things first, well one thing,

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I'll have an update. Like I mentioned, I got a chance to participate in some of the downtown evangelism with Brother Aaron, and it's always a blessing to go out with them and give out tracts and have conversations with folks and do some preaching, so that's a great opportunity, that's typically every other

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Saturday that they go out, and so I try to join them as much as I can, and I wanted to put that out there for you all as well, as an opportunity to do some evangelism and to give out tracts and some of our church information as well for folks who are there, and it's kind of easy to distribute because they're

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Spanish speaking and we're English speaking so it's kind of a nice separation of things there, we can just refer people if they prefer

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Spanish to them and if they prefer English and they can come to our church, so that's always a blessing to participate in, and another thing

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I wanted to point out too is that these catechism questions at the back that we recite every

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Sunday, these are a great tool to use for private devotions and family worship too, to go through them throughout the week and even also to reflect on the sermon, like that sermon, to go afterwards throughout the week and kind of meditate on these questions, look up the scriptures like Pastor David said, and also to kind of discuss and reflect on the sermon for that Sunday, so just some things to kind of encourage our walk and our sanctification with the

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Lord, and now, so that being said I want to do a brief recap of last week's message, because I wanted to make mention of some things that I kind of,

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I didn't really get a chance to point out, because in light of these passages in 1st

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John chapter 2, just in case you thought I was overstating my case about how often pastors should preach against Antichrist and false teachers, again which is what

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John himself in this very letter and all the other apostles did, right, they all did this, but just remember specifically how

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Paul, one example, how Paul urges the Romans, okay, and that word urge

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I wanted to bring out more, because urge, urge is urgent with urgency, there's a sense of obvious importance and urgency, and to urge them to do what?

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To mark, to mark, to keep their eye on those who cause divisions and stumblings contrary to sound doctrine, which they learn from the apostles, and avoid them, turn away from them, right, that's from Romans 16, 17, and remember also how the same apostle

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Paul preached every single day for three years, every day, night and day, on top of that, against the savage wolves that were coming, and likewise urges, similarly urges the elders of the church in Ephesus to be on guard, and to be watchful, and do the same, to do the same thing, to warn

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God's people against the wolves that were trying to devour them. If you turn with me to Acts chapter 20, in verse 25,

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I want to once again just bring out some things of this passage, in Acts chapter 20, verse 25, we will see, this is such an incredibly powerful and profound passage that really speaks to what a church should do, what elders should do, and what we should do in our day as well as a church.

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In Acts chapter 20, verse 25, God's word says, For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose and counsel of God, be on guard for yourselves as elders and for all the flock, for all the church, among which the

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Holy Spirit has made you overseers or pastors to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.

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I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves, men will arise.

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So they will come in from the outside and from within, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them.

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Therefore, be watchful, have a sense of urgency, remembering that night and day for a period of three years,

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I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now

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I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is also which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified.

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Amen. That is the power of God's word and the power of biblical preaching and teaching.

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It is lamentable how far we've gone, we've strayed from Paul warning the

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Ephesians day. And can you imagine that? How it would seem in our day for somebody for night and day to warn for three years straight against savage wolves.

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And now compare that to modern day preaching. How stark of a contrast is that?

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I mean, it's night and day, literally black and white, practically. And again, all the apostles, including

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John himself, admonished God's people in like manner, just like these passages that we've been covering in 1st

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John show, much like the prophets of old as well. But as I as I continue to to meditate on this passage, something else hit me.

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That in order to declare the whole purpose of God, like Paul did.

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And in order to preach the whole counsel of God, we who are pastors must warn the sheep against the savage wolves, against the false teachers, against the antichrist.

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We must if because if we are not warning the sheep, if we are not refuting those who contradict sound doctrine,

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Titus 1 9, if we are not tearing down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

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I'm not making this up, right? This is 2nd Corinthians 2 5. Then we are not equipping

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God's people with what they really need, with what they actually need. Because it is a failure to proclaim to them the entire counsel of God, God's word.

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Those go hand in hand. If you want to preach the whole counsel of God, you must therefore.

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Condemn the false gospels of false teachers and expose antichrist false teachers as well.

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Plain and simple. Again, not exclusively, not to the neglect of the rest of God's word and of all and of all the other sound doctrine, but regularly and urgently with urgency.

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Right. It's both. And we must do both. We need and we need both as God's people.

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We need both. And pastors must provide both. Otherwise, they are disobedient to the call of pastoring.

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We got we have to have that same sense of urgency today, much more so with the many antichrist that have proliferated.

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But I have a praise report. OK, turn with me to Revelation chapter two in verse one.

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There's a praise report here to celebrate, to praise

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God over. Because there's good news here. There's good news that the word of God reports to us regarding regarding the

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Ephesian church. Revelation chapter two, verse one, starting in verse one,

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God says to the angel of the church in Ephesus. Right. This is what the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand.

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Who is that, by the way? That's Jesus Christ, the righteous, the hero of the story. Amen. The one who walks among the seven golden lampstands says,

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I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, perseverance and that you cannot bear with those who are evil.

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And you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and they are not.

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And you have found them to be false imposters, antichrists.

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Right. And you have exposed them and driven them out. And you have persevered, you have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake, you have also have not grown weary.

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Amen. That's an amen to that praise report. Paul's labor and work paid off.

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The Ephesian church exposed the false savage wolves disguising themselves as apostles to try to undermine and subvert the church and tear it to the ground.

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And so be encouraged, beloved. This stuff, when we take heed to these things, we will be able to defend ourselves,

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God's people against the savage wolves and their false doctrine.

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Don't grow weary, beloved. This is I know our church has been through a lot, but there is much hope and grace and gospel promise to look forward to, which

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I will share with you all today in abundance. Starting with Hebrews 13, 5, the

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Lord is with us and will never, not ever, as John 10 also says, leave us nor forsake us ever.

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Amen. Now, turn with me back to our text for today. First John, chapter two, we'll start in verse 18.

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Turn back with me to 1st John, chapter two, starting in verse 18. We will see

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God's God's word says here, children, it is the last hour.

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And just as you heard that Antichrist is coming, even now, many Antichrist have appeared from this.

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We know that it is the last hour. They, the Antichrist, went out from us, but they were not really of us.

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For if they were of us, they would have remained with us. But they went out so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us.

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But you, you, beloved, have an anointing from the holy one.

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And you all know. OK, so just a general sense here of what's going on.

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Notice that the apostle tells us you, those of you who believe you.

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Christians, believers in Christ, you have an anointing from the holy one, and you all know now you'll find you turn on the

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TV today. You'll find all kinds of wacko ideas about what the anointing is.

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Right. Really, the anointing here. And that is what

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Christ also means. Christ means the anointed one. And. And it would be to anoint with oil in the

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Old Testament and things like that. However, here, the anointing specifically refers to something and that something is.

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What you all know, right, it's referring to knowledge.

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We have an anointing. We all have an anointing from God, and that anointing is the knowledge of the truth.

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Right. That is why the message is called, you know, the truth and are therefore anointed.

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But it's because the truth knows you. Amen. So let's stop here and take note of the emphasis once again in verse.

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But now in verse 19, so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us.

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OK, I want you to think carefully with me here now. Was this some oversight on God's part?

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You know, kind of like the like Greg Boyd and these these folks who are open theists, who they believe that God, you know,

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God is trying and he's not really omnipotent and he's not really omniscient. He's just trying to do his best. Did God overlook something in this?

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Why did he let many Antichrist sneak into the church and try to subvert it to try to lead many astray?

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Was this an accident? Was this an oversight on God's part or was this

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God's very purpose and design to begin with? Let's exercise once again the analogies of Scripture and of faith.

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Let's interpret Scripture with Scripture and logically put together these doctrines to see what

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God has to say. Turn over with me to First Corinthians chapter 11. First Corinthians 11, starting in verse 17.

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Very important, very important to understand these things.

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First Corinthians 11, verse 17. Here we read.

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But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you because you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

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For in the first place, when you come together, I hear that divisions, schisms, the

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Greek word is schismata, exist among you. Note the contrast here.

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And in part, I believe it. For there, what?

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There must also be factions. OK, this is the word for heresies.

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Heresies. False schools of opinion among you, there must be so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

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Wow. So does this not sound like what First John just said in his word, in his letter?

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Right. Almost exactly. Whereas First John says. They went out so that it would be manifested that they are not true, truly apostle, truly

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God's people here. These heresies, these factions, this false teaching must happen in the church in order to make it evident where the line is drawn and who the true people of God are as well.

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So it's both. It serves two purposes right here. And here's scripture is showing you both sides of the same, of the reason, the very purpose for why

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God predestines these things to happen. There must be factions because the devil is always trying to disguise himself as an angel of light and his ministers as ministers of righteousness.

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So therefore, in order to combat and oppose them, the heresies and schisms happen in order to draw lines and say, look, this is the side of truth.

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This is the side that God is on. This is the side that the devil and the error and the lie is on. Where do you stand?

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If you're in the lie, then you must be removed. Either you will leave or you must be removed.

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Amen. So this is God's explicit intent in keeping the church pure and holy and free of the savage wolves that are trying to devour her.

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This is how God works. We must. This is how God works.

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And many don't understand this. Many don't realize that God uses evil for good.

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Just like Joseph says when he was sold into slavery, left for dead by his brothers, you meant it for evil, my brothers.

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But God meant it and purposed it for good. That's powerful stuff.

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Only a sovereign God can take evil, something that contradicts him and turn it around and use it for good and judge it.

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He will still hold everyone accounted. Beloved, I assure you, vengeance is mine.

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The Lord says I will repay. He will not let the wicked go unpunished, but he will also save those wicked sinners like us into and justify us by the grace of Christ.

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So. He God uses, he ordains, he predestines and purposes controversy and conflict.

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Even factions, heresies within the church in order to prophetically draw the line between truth and error, which is what the prophets did.

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That's what the prophets do between Christ and anti Christ.

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Right. Take note of this. And ultimately for our good, all things are ultimately for our good and God's good purpose, good, bad and indifferent.

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Romans 8, 28, and also to root out the underlying problems affecting the church so that we can identify them and resolve them and, if necessary, expose them.

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Remember back in the series that I preached on knowing your enemy. This is why it's to bring these issues to light.

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It's to shine the light of the truth because we know the truth and we can identify the truth against the error.

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That is why the Lord has orchestrated and providentially purpose these things to happen within the church.

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And we have gone through this on more than one occasion. But it's for our good, beloved.

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Take comfort in that. Amen. It's for our good. Now, can you think of one example in church history, in the history of the church where this happened?

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Particularly, does anything in particular stand out to you in the history of God's people,

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God's church? And I'll give you a hint. Okay. It starts with Protestant and it ends with Reformation.

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That the Protestant Reformation and its conflict with Rome is one notable example in the history of the church where heresies and schisms were exposed.

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The lines were drawn in a way that really had never been drawn before.

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And it had worldwide impact when the gospel was recovered and restored to the true church.

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The true church was defined and was reformed.

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The church was reformed. The answer, therefore, and again,

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Antichrist was exposed and the truth was proclaimed and recovered.

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And Antichrist was exposed as the papacy and the whole body of traditions of men that the

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Church of Rome has doggy piled on itself to the neglect of the word of God.

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Just like Jesus said when he rebuked the Pharisees, you replace the commandments of God with your own traditions.

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But that's why Jesus prophetically called them out. And that's exactly what the reformers did.

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Not perfectly. They had their own shortcomings and faults and sins and grievous sins.

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But that was an amazing recovery of the truth of God. This is the answer to my initial question, which should be abundantly clear now.

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Right. There is no accidents with God. And Einstein, who was no

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Christian, did rightly say, God doesn't play dice. God doesn't just roll the dice and leave it to chance.

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Everything is for God's good purpose. And ultimately, if you belong to God, it's for your good, no matter how bad it is.

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I love what our good friend Gordon Clark has to say about this.

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He says, John was not so much concerned with a mere historical sequence or a mere recounting of historical events.

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He is interested in church history in the light of divine providence.

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There will be a final antichrist. There are many antichrists now.

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Such is God's plan. Therefore, God determined their exodus in their departure from the church in order to make their falsity evident to true believers, to God's people in order that their nature should be made evident is

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God's purpose. Amen. And then this is all part of God's divine plot of that divine drama that John presents to us in this passage.

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God is in control. He's in control. He's he's he's more than just he's not just directing the play.

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God is orchestrating all of it in a way that not even a director is a good analogy.

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Not by overriding. He's not a puppet master. Right. And it's not that he's a puppet master as if we had no will, but God orchestrates and purposes all things for the good counsel of his will.

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Like our confession also says. And like the Reformation also brought out the sovereignty of God, because that was also one of the truths of the

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Bible that was suppressed. Now, I need to inform you of a public service announcement of an important, an important public service announcement.

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OK, this passage, bear in mind, refers specifically to Antichrist and to false teachers, to deceivers, people who disguise themselves as believers.

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But in reality, they have a subvert. They have they have an ulterior motive.

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Right. There's an ulterior motive there. And sometimes they may not even realize it, but then it becomes evident, like John says.

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So we need to be careful not to over apply this to everyone and anyone who leaves our church.

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Right. We cannot we have to we cannot over apply it and say, well, everybody that leaves our church is

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Antichrist. That we can't do that. Right. That's not that's not a that's not a valid inference or conclusion to draw from this passage.

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We don't want to make that mistake. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're

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Antichrist or that they fell away from the faith. You know, we we once got involved with a cult, a

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Christian cult that was very I mean, they were these folks were very cult like.

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If you were out here living in society, you were in the world. And in order for you to be saved, you basically had to become an ecclesia, which according to them, that's the

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Greek word for congregation or church, the called out ones. You had to form these communes, these communities and live together.

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And they would often, you know, when we were very young in the faith, my wife had visited them and they would they would constantly talk about we would we would talk to them.

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And they were constantly talking about how when people would leave their their commune, their community, they left.

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They left back. They went back into the world. In other words, they left because they're not safe.

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And so that's a very cult like mentality to say, well, we are the one true church and everybody who leaves us is walking away from God or from from the faith.

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They are antichrist. That's that's how cults think. And the

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International Church of Christ, there's a lot of church, the Mormon church, a lot of churches have this mentality.

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And that's the beauty of the gospel is that we don't necessarily think that we're the one true church, a true church like the

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Reformation recovered. And the Bible teaches is that those who preach the gospel faithfully, the word of God and administer the sacraments of God, baptism in the

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Lord's Supper and administer church discipline, that is a true church. It doesn't matter what you call yourself, whether you might be

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Lutheran, you might be Protestant. Now, we're not going to make the mistake of C .S. Lewis and say, oh, you can also be

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Roman Catholic because they preach a false gospel. Right. They don't have the true gospel of justification.

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Being made right with God is only by faith alone, apart from works. Right. So we still we have to draw the line, but carefully and not to the not to the extent of condemning brothers and sisters simply because they left.

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Even if it was for the wrong reason, even if it was simply that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not believers. We have to be careful not to be like diatrophies and third

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John, right, because diatrophies was putting people out of the church. We have personal experience with this, right, with all paths church.

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That's a that's a spirit of diatrophies. And we don't want to we don't want to become that. Even though a lot of people have come and gone, we have to be mature and not over over apply this.

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So but, you know, that that that said,

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Christians, nevertheless, even true believers can still leave a church for the wrong reasons and even for sinful reasons, which has happened.

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It's happened more than once in our in our church. Right. And it sadly happens all too often.

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But again, remember, it's all God's purpose. It's all part of God's good purpose.

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But there there's a reason why this happens. There's consequences as to why this. This is a consequence for other larger issues going on in our churches in the modern church.

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There's a widespread ignorance of biblical church government and membership. How? How? Because many believers do not understand the way a church is supposed to function and the role that each one of us plays as church members.

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When we commit ourselves, when we covenant together as a local church body, which is what

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Christ has instructed us to do in his word. And we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves.

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We should not just forsake the assembling of ourselves and try to simply willy nilly leave and leave a church and visit a church and then leave.

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And then just we plant roots and then we start getting plugged in. You know what? This isn't cutting it for me anymore.

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I'm just going to go somewhere else now. And so that's the problem. That's that's not biblical.

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That's not God's design. That's not God's purpose for the church. And that's not God's purpose. That's not what

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God has instructed and commanded us to do as believers. We should commit ourselves to a local church body that is biblical.

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But people leave churches for all sorts of reasons, good and bad. There may be good reasons to leave a church, but there's and there are certainly bad reasons to leave the church.

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And yet, in spite of that, it does not necessarily mean because you leave that you are necessarily

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Antichrist. OK, I just want to make that clear. But it can mean that there may be a lack of maturity or unrepentant sin or error, a lack of knowing the difference between truth and error or Christ and Antichrist on either side, either on the church's side or on the side of the ones who are leaving the church.

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OK, but Jesus taught us to expect this. OK, and this is a sober reminder for me as well and for us to not get discouraged.

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If you turn with me to now to Mark chapter four, this is a very powerful reminder from the words of our

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Savior himself to to this helps us to understand exactly what's going on.

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Not just in our church, but in a lot of in a lot of churches that are being faith, that are just striving to be faithful to God and his will and his word under the guidance of his spirit,

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Mark chapter four, the gospel of Mark, chapter four, starting in verse three, I want to read to you all together the gospel,

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I mean, the parable of the seeds and the sower. Listen to this.

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Behold, Jesus says the sower went out to sow and it happened that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road and the birds came and ate it up and other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil.

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And immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun rose, it was scorched.

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And because it had no root, it withered away. And other seed fell from among the thorns and the thorns came up and choked it and it yielded no crop and Other seeds fell into the good soil and as they grew up and increased they were yielding a crop and produced 3060 and a hundredfold notice that that seed that grew it stuck around It wasn't devoured.

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It did not leave and it did not get Choked up it stuck around and it planted firm solid roots notice that and He was saying

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Christ He who has ears let him hear and when he was alone his followers Along with the twelve began to ask him about the parables and he was saying to them

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To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside Everything comes in parables now.

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Why why did Jesus do that? Why did he speak to them in parables he explains verse 12 so that while seeing they may see and not perceive and While hearing they may hear and not understand lest they return and be forgiven that this is the

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God of Scripture that many have a hard time accepting

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But this is what Jesus says, this is what Christ himself Explains why why why did he preach in parables because it was to deny people the opportunity to see the truth

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He obscured his teaching in parables in order to reject those that God did not intend to save Literally what

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Jesus said right here That is why there is false teaching in heresies

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Similarly, right and he said to them. Do you not understand this parable?

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How then will you understand all the parables? So this is the key beloved to understanding every just about every other parable this is the spiritual meaning of a lot of the parables and He explains the sower sows the word

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That's the one who shares the Word of God Evangelizes preaches the gospel and these are the ones

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These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown When they hear immediately

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Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them right and In a similar way, these are the ones being sown in the rocky ground the places those who when hearing the word immediately receive it with joy

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So there's a positive response and they have no root in themselves, however, but are only temporary

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Temporary then when affliction or persecution arises because of the word

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Immediately they fall away and Others are those being sown among the thorns

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These are the ones which have heard the word But the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for anything else

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Enter in and choke the word and it becomes Unfruitful and those are the ones who were sown on the good soil

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They who hear the word and accept it are bearing fruit 3060 and a hundred fold

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Notice now this under this helps us to understand exactly what's going on with our church.

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Okay notice Jesus said and in many churches faithful churches

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Notice most of the responses that occur when the gospel is preached when the word is preached

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Most of the responses are negative Jesus describes like four negative ones, right?

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He describes several negative responses the rocky ground beside the road the thorns the you know, so there's only one of them is a good response only one and It's the one that sticks around It's the one that sticks around that develops roots

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Deep roots and it grows and doesn't the the elements do not beat it down the the devil doesn't doesn't come and uproot it and The trials and temptations of this life and false teaching do not devour it

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Because it is firmly because those people know the truth why because God the truth knows them

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That's why Jesus taught in parables this is a hard this is one of those hard sayings of Jesus Right and a lot of people in churches today reject this a lot of people reject the reality of God's purpose for false teaching and for speaking in Parables so that the people hearing would not hear and would therefore not believe and therefore not be forgiven

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These are like Y 'all I'm not these are not my words.

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These are the words of our Savior Himself And if you have a problem with this you have a problem with God We need to reconcile these things.

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Okay, this doesn't even require interpretation. It's just a straight -up Recounting of what

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Jesus said, okay So but be encouraged. Okay, this happens to God's people for good reason and by in God's good providence

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Some might turn away and some have all all might abandon us But the

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Lord always sustains us by his grace and also has others that will encourage us

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Others will come and have come and this beloved blessed me so much that even this happened

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Even to the Apostle Paul on more than one occasion Turn with me to 2nd

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Timothy chapter 1 verse 15 We I really this is such an encouragement to me

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And I hope to us as a church 1st

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Tim 2nd Timothy Chapter 1 we're gonna we're gonna read a couple passages here verse 15

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God the Apostle Paul under the breathed out inspiration of the

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Spirit of God says You are aware of this that all who are in Asia all who are in Asia turned away from me

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Among whom are five jealous and hermogenies speaking of naming names right calling names out

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That There you go The Lord give mercy to the house of honest on on a syphilis

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For he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains But when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me the

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Lord granted him to find mercy From the Lord on that day and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus what an amazing

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What an amazing encouragement that even the up the Apostle Paul the man of God who wrote

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So much of the New Testament Who performed miraculous signs and wonders one of the

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Apostles of God himself was turned? Forsaken by everyone in Asia It even happened to him and yet God still brought people to him that were faithful like on a syphilis

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Some will leave for whatever reason others will come and encourage us

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Turn turn over a few chapters now to chapter 4 in 2nd Timothy Let's hear about a very similar

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Passage Starting in verse 14

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Alexander the coppersmith showed me much harm Speaking of name -calling once again, you cannot avoid it in Scripture I mean we asked the church has to do these things in our day as well

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The Lord will award him according to his deeds. That is a that is a that is a pronouncement of judgment

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That is an imprecatory judgment on Alexander the coppersmith be on guard against him

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Yourself for he vigorously opposed our words Speaking of again warning the church

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That is what the elders of the church must do warn against these men false imposters who who are

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Antichrist Now read look at this in verse 16 at my first defense

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He was put on trial No one supported me But all deserted me and yet may it not be counted against them

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But the Lord himself listen to this beloved stood with me and strengthened me and So that through me the preaching might be fulfilled and that all the

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Gentiles might hear. Amen to God's Amazing providence and I was rescued out of the lion's mouth

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The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed the Lord himself Will uphold and sustain us and he will save me unto his heavenly kingdom to him be the glory forever and ever.

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Amen Amen Amen, I could just keep saying amen for 20 more minutes and let that be the end of the sermon

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Praise God, that is a beautiful gospel promise beloved. God is always with us even when

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Men will fail us men fall men sin Even people that we look up to they sin they fall friends will betray us even believers something that some of us are going through right now and Yet God is always

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Faithful and will always be with us to stand with us when nobody else will and strengthen us

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Amen, I can't say that enough. Amen. This is such an encouragement now pick up let's pick up back to 1st

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John chapter 2 verse 20 as we Finish up the last part of this

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Passage today 1st John chapter 2 verse 20 This is a starting of verse 20

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God's Word says but you Beloved have an anointing from the

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Holy One and you know, you all know I have not written to you because you do not know the truth

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But because you do know it and because no lie is of the truth notice

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Okay, let it let's get a general sense of what he's saying Black and white categories, right?

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You either know the truth and you are therefore not of the lie because no lie is of the truth

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You cannot have it both ways you either know the truth or you believe the lie No lies of the truth.

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Those are Mutually exclusive categories and it's simple logic

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Right let your yes be yes, you're no no, you cannot contradict the truth. Otherwise, it's no longer the truth

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Emphasis notice the emphasis once again on knowledge This isn't the anointing that is presented here to us is an anointing of knowledge

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Not in emotional or ecstatic experiences not in some oh

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I had this wild spiritual experience and I just felt so may overwhelmed and I was in Crying and you know people people would tell me these stories about how they they went to a concert or they went to a

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Pastor or whatever and it wasn't a good church and they got they got all emotionally worked up They got so emotional and sadly a lot of people can't determine they can't tell the difference between God God's Spirit and his convicting work and The feeling you get when you go to a secular concert

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You see people passing out and falling out when their idols are up performing and they are

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Worshiping literally worshiping their idols and that is a very similar false

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Holy Spirit effect that you see because they are worshiping idols and you you see ecstatic experiences

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You see people falling out and passing out and all this stuff similar to the

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Hindus and their Kundalini their false Holy Spirit and they how they start shaking violently and all of these false speaking in tongues.

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Those are demonic tongues false manifestations of the Spirit false emotional

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Ecstatic expressions that are not that are not of God the true anointing of God is one of knowledge of the truth

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That's what it fundamentally is That is what it is

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So we need to be careful to avoid these imbalances of these emotional emphases and fixes and pietism elevating emotional experience over knowledge of the truth

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Because that is what grounds and guides and all of our other actions. We must know the truth and Therefore be anointed so beloved know the truth.

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If you know the truth you are anointed of God Amen, that's a gospel promise Notice now, let's bookmark this with a question though.

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How do we how do we come to know the truth? That's the big question for today

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Okay, let's pick up on verse 22 Who is the liar but the one who denies?

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The one who rejects that Jesus is the Christ not merely out of Ignorance, but this is with intent.

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Okay. This is the Antichrist the one who denies Consciously denies the father and the son everyone and Anyone who denies the son does not have the father and is therefore consequently

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Antichrist Right, but the the converse the inverse is also true the one who confesses the son has the father

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Also, why because of the analogy of faith because God Preaches and God reveals to us a system of doctrine and that Doctrine includes the doctrine of both the son and the father the

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Trinity That is why the analogies of scripture and of faith are so important.

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We don't just believe isolated doctrines we believe a system of doctrine that has been revealed to us and If you therefore confess the son properly, you will also confess the father you will affirm and have the father also

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But it's dangerous because if you deny the son then you don't have anything If you deny the son you have nothing else and that is a dangerous thing a play a state to be in spiritually

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So then how is it that we come to know the truth and have this anointing?

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Let's turn to Matthew 16 verse 13. I know this has been a scripture saturated sermon, but this is how

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There's just so much good stuff here that I wanted to share with you all and I hope it has been a blessing to you and continues to be

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Gospel of Matthew chapter 16 verse 13 now

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Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi He was asking his disciples saying

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Who do people? Say that the Son of Man is and they said well some say

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John the Baptist some thought Jesus was John the Baptist and Others thought

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Jesus was Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets Notice okay, are any of these

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Are any of these true confessions of who the Son really is Notice that these confessions are not

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Confessions that Jesus Christ that Jesus is the Christ And are therefore against him they are against Christ and therefore

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Antichrist because in the words of our Savior he who is not with me is against me

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Right and he who does not gather with me scattereth abroad right

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Matthew 1230 so We must understand this There are many different Christs out there, but there is only one true

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Christ and Oprah's Jesus ain't gonna cut it and A lot of these other false religions that have the

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Antichrist religions that have sprung up so And he said to them, but who do you say that I am?

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Who do you say that I am and Simon Peter answered and said you are the Christ The Son of the

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Living God now that is a true confession Amen and Jesus answered and said to him blessed are you

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Simon Barjona because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you.

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But my father who is in heaven Amen Hey, so Did we come to our own understanding of these things?

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No My foot our Heavenly Father revealed these things to us

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Reveals the truth to us and that is why it is also called an anointing because the anointing represents

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God's Spirit and we receive God's Spirit gives us knowledge of the truth and That anoints us

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The Spirit of God is a spirit of truth Amen, and Remember that Christ is the true light that enlightens everyone

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John 1 9 Christ is the light that shines To all men

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It is all part of God's plan to reveal himself to his people and to save them By his mercy and grace alone and for his glory alone so You know and I want to take this opportunity to correct

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To clarify and correct something I said in my previous sermon in reference to John 10 26

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But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep Where Jesus says that and I misspoke

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When I said that we are not I said that we are not saved because we believe the gospel

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We believe it because God saved us and chose us first That wasn't very clear.

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What I meant to say is that we are saved by believing the gospel The gospel itself is the power of God unto salvation to the one who believes

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Romans 1 16 right however, the reason we believe the reason we believe the cause of our faith is

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First and foremost by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone because God himself

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He chose us in him Before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before him in love by Predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself

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According to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace Which he graciously bestowed on us in the beloved in Him alone.

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We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our transgressions according to the riches of his

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Grace and if it sounded like I was reading scripture, that was straight out of Ephesians 1 4 through 7

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That is an amazing passage. I could keep reading that and finish out the sermon with that I encourage you all to read the letter of Ephesians.

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That is an amazing letter of how God saves us completely on his prerogative and by his power

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Not our own will and it is not our own flesh and blood but the

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Spirit of God that Alone that saves us by his grace and mercy and you know this whole notion

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This is what and I mentioned Oprah because one of the things that made Oprah fall away from the faith and become

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Antichrist was that she did not like the idea that God was jealous That God was a jealous

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God and jealous of his people and jealous of his name That God doesn't like to be called a false

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God like Kali because Kali is a goddess of death abortion and destruction or the devil or any other false

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God that is an abomination and is not reflective of the God of truth But she doesn't like that.

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She doesn't like that. God is jealous. He's like who cares what you call God Well, I've got news for you.

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Miss Oprah God cares Because I am he alone and there is none other

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No other is like me and I have a name and my name is

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Yahweh Right Before Abraham was

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I am Jesus said I am The great I am the Yahweh of the

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Old Testament. That is his name and we are that is the first commandment

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That's the first commandment That is Antichrist Okay, very popular today in our new age, you know everybody

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You can't we all just get along don't we all just worship the same God? No, we don't No, we don't

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Because there are many Antichrist so Let's close out now with a

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Galatians chapter 4 verse 3 verse 3 Galatians chapter 4

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Another amazing line gospel passage here for us to chew on as We think on these things beloved

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Galatians chapter 4 verse 3 so also

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While we were children We were enslaved under in other words while we were unbelievers

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We were enslaved under the elemental things of the world Remember the world remember what first John words about the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life but when the fullness of time came

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Right the last hour God sent forth his son the drama of redemption unfolds

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Because God sent forth his son Born of a woman born

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Under the law so that he might redeem those who were under the law under the condemnation of the law that we might receive the adoption as sons and Because you are sons

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God sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts with that anointing crying

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Abba Father that is who God is he is our father Not mother not a woman

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Now God is spirit, and he doesn't have a body, but he is masculine father God Abba Therefore you are no longer a slave

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But a son and if a son then an heir through God praise amen

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However at that time when you did not know God you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods

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They are not gods Idols are not gods They are false gods, but now having known

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God or rather Having been known by God We know the truth because the truth knows us first beloved

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How is it that you now turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things to which you want to be enslaved all over?

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again, oh Man, so good so much law and gospel here There's there's a rod of reproof and and and the the gospel of promise here

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Very powerful gospel indicatives and promises for all of us who believe who know the truth because we have been known by God And are saved by him

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Amazing stuff We love because he first loved us.

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Amen first John 419 But Paul is also warning and rebuking the

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Galatians because they were bewitched by Antichrist by the false gospel of Judaizers They were bewitched and they felt they were they were

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They were their their focus. They had lost their focus from the gospel and they had lost sense of What the gospel was?

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Unlike the Ephesian church right who identified the false apostles and Expose them as Antichrist You see the difference there.

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How should we respond? Obviously not like the Galatian Church We should respond like the

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Ephesian Church and be like the Ephesian Church and call out the Antichrist false apostles and teachers and teaching

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Amen beloved I Hope this has blessed you all and to close out

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I want to read to you from Romans 5 verse 8 through 10 because God Demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners and did not know

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God Christ died for us Much more than having now been justified by his blood

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We shall be saved from the wrath of God through him once you are saved once God has known you you will be

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Preserved to the very end unto eternity for if while we were Still enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of a son

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Much more having been reconciled. We shall be saved by his life and God's people said hearty.

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Amen Amen beloved so let's go ahead and close out with a word of prayer our gracious father heavenly father

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The the almighty Yahweh of the old and New Testaments Lord and and we thank you so much for your blessed your blessed word and the amazing truths of Scripture that you have given us before us today to to to drink and to and to Feast on father

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God of the amazing power of your law and your gospel Rightly distinguished and applied to our lives

01:02:03

Lord help us father to not be discouraged to not lose heart in the the fact that Many many have come and gone, but we know

01:02:14

Lord that there are still people out there that we That that you will you have in store for us that you have brought before us and that you will continue to bring before us

01:02:26

Lord help us to be a faithful church and witnessing the truth before unbelievers and in our evangelism and in our lives so that we may be salt in life father

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God and continue to draw people in And to it to our church and to advance your kingdom and your righteousness

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Lord help us to be salt and light help us to grow in grace and in and to be

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Comforted that knowing that we have the anointing that even though man may fail us even though Friends may hurt us even though Sin my divide churches

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We can still take heart in knowing that you will never leave us nor forsake us father

01:03:10

But you will always be with us to strengthen and encourage us and convict us when we sin Lord help us also to do those things and to reconcile to to to pursue the discipline of The church of your church that we have that you have instructed for us

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We thank you father, and we ask these things in Jesus almighty all -powerful name of our ball names

01:03:33

The great I am amen Thank you for listening to the sermons of thorn crown covenant

01:03:43

Baptist Church where the Bible alone and the Bible in its entirety Has applied to all of faith and life we strive to be biblical reformed historic

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Confessional loving discerning Christians who evangelize stand firm in and earnestly contend for the

01:03:58

Christian faith if you're looking for a church in the El Paso, Texas area or for more information about our church sermons and ministries such as Semper Ephraim on the radio and thorn crown network podcasts

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Please contact us at thorn crown ministries comm and may the mercy peace and love of our triune