Have You Lost the Fear of God? — David Wilkerson

This message is one of the Times Square Pulpit series. It was recorded in the Sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing to World Challenge P .O. Box 260, Lindale, Texas 75771 or calling 214 -963 -8626.

None of these messages are copyrighted and you are welcome to make copies for free distribution to your friends.

Just down a little wee bit. Are you hearing? Is everyone hearing? Are you hearing in the balcony alright? Alright, very fine. Thank you. Another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Why don't you go to 2 Corinthians 11th chapter please.

Another Jesus, Another Spirit, and Another Gospel

2 Corinthians the 11th chapter. I'm going to read verses 1 to 4. And this will be the basis of my message tonight. Another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. We do have a very fine staff nursery. If your children cry, it would be good for you to take them to the nursery.

And they'll help you there. There's been a lot of walking around in the balcony. We'd appreciate it if you find a seat and stay in that seat please. It disturbs if you're walking around. We appreciate it so much.

They're in the balcony. Thank you. Aren't you glad to be in God's house tonight? Praise the Lord. The Lord's been meeting us in every service. This church is just 8 months old. And all afternoon I was thinking of this time last year.

I was down in Times Square before the church even started. And I said, well Lord, where are the people going to come from? We have no musicians, we have no building, there's nothing. You just said come.

And folks, look after 8 months how the Lord has brought people from everywhere and sending a revival and doing such a work. What wonderful musicians the Lord has sent to us. We love every one of them, they're precious to us.

The Lord's put together a body. This El Shaddai that's coming to the church is a musical on repentance. It's based on the message we preach. And we need intercessors also that will pray because people will come.

We're inviting even show people from Broadway here who will come and hear a message of repentance. They may not come to hear any of us as preachers, but they'll come for the musical. And folks, it's one of the strongest messages I've ever heard.

There's a breaking, there's a melting. We're not going into theatrics here at this church, not at all. We are putting on a musical that brings people to the altar, bringing people to repentance. It's El Shaddai.

2 Corinthians 11, verse 1, If you want wood to God, you would bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that's in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which we have not, which you have not received, or another, what?

Gospel, which you have not accepted, you might, well, bear with them. Now, you see verse 4, the introduction of another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Look this way, if you will, please. This has been burned into my heart all week long, and I've asked God to give me a loving shepherd heart to preach it, but I feel what Paul felt, this need to warn this congregation of an invasion of other gospels that are coming, based on another spirit preaching another Jesus.

The Invasion of False Gospels

A minister called me this past week, and he was really disturbed. Now, the man preaches the crucified life, he preaches holiness, and he appeared to be, he sounded like a real man of God, and he said, Brother Wilkinson, some of my people are leaving.

They've been to conferences, they've been to seminars, and they come back, and he said, they tell me that they thought they were saved, and now they know that they're not saved. They say, Pastor, even though you thought you preached holiness, you don't know what holiness is.

We found something new. We found a revelation that's changed our life. We thought we knew something about the future and about prophecy. God's changed our whole concept on prophecy. We see something entirely different, and we don't even believe, Pastor, that you're preaching truth.

You're in error now. And he said, Brother Wilkinson, what's happening? He said, it's happening all over. He was calling from New England. He said, all over New England, and it's not just New England. I hear it from all the United States.

Letters and calls from pastors and churches everywhere. What is happening? There's so many new doctrines, so many new things coming down the turnpike, and people are suddenly saying, I didn't know anything.

Everything that's coming at me now is brand new, and people are not discerning between what is of God and what is of Satan, what is foolishness and what is righteousness. Now, this pastor is so right.

There are new doctrines, there are new revelations, there are new gospels that are coming up almost every day. And, folks, I'm telling you, it's going to get worse, according to the Word of God. It's going to get much, much worse.

Paul's Warning to the Ephesian Elders

Paul called the elders of the church of Ephesus. I remember he was going to be leaving. He was heading toward Jerusalem. And he said, You shall see my face no more. He was saying to his beloved saints, This is my last time with you.

You won't see me again. The Holy Spirit had revealed it to him. And so, what Paul says now has great bearing, because it's the last thing he's going to say to the church at Ephesus. And you know what he said to these people?

And, of course, they fell on his neck and they wept, and it hurt them that their beloved shepherd would not be seen again. And it hurt them deeply. But his final words to these beloved saints at Ephesus said, I know this.

Now, think, this is his last words. I know this. That after my departing, after I'm gone, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves.

And do you know, the whole time that Paul ministered to the Ephesians, and the whole time he ministered to all the churches that he established, he had a fear in him that would never leave him. He had it to his dying day.

It's a fear that any true shepherd has to have in him. I have it tonight, and that's the reason I preach what I'm preaching tonight. I know Bob has it because of what he preached this morning. I know Gary shares it, and I know Pastor Butte, all our pastors share this.

You can't be a true shepherd unless you have this kind of fear that Paul said he had. He said, by the space of three years, I cease not to warn you, every one of you, night and day with tears, I warned you that there would be wolves coming among you, that there would be perverse doctrines coming into the house.

He said, for three years, that's all I did. I warned you time and time again. And Paul said to the Corinthians, he said, I'm jealous over you with a godly jealousy. Now, Bob covered this very well this morning, about the jealousy of God.

He says, I'm not thinking of somebody stealing my sheep. I'm not jealous that somebody will come that's a better teacher, and I'm not saying, these are my sheep, I'm their teacher, leave them alone. We've got enough of that in New York City.

We have it all over the country. Shepherds are afraid they're going to lose some sheep. In fact, someone came to me last week, telling me a report of a pastor's family that was absolutely enraged, because a few of their people were coming to Times Square Church.

I mean, they were losing a few of their sheep, and absolutely enraged at us and this church, for which we can't help. I don't know what's being preached there. I don't even want to judge it. He's not talking about that.

He's not saying, they belong to me. No, there's another kind of jealousy. He said, I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste or pure virgin to Jesus Christ. Paul was not indignant that somebody would steal those people.

He said, I have one purpose and my one goal. There's only one thing I want. There's only one reason I'm your shepherd. I want to be able to stand one day and present you to Jesus, pure and holy and righteous.

And this is the desire that I have in my heart, burning. And I know these shepherds behind me have this burden to me, to one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and to hear your name called, and to see every one of you that sit under the sound of this ministry, stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, knowing that you stand there not being swayed by every wind and wave of doctrine, knowing that you have come through the test and the trial, and the Word of God is hidden in your heart, and that you have the fullness of Jesus Christ, and that you have not been tricked by the enemy, that we were able through the grace of God, and the power and the unction of the Holy Ghost, to instill in every one who comes to this house, something of the Spirit of God that would convict you of sin, turn you away from your unrighteousness, and have you stand strong and true, up to the last hour of your days.

Hallelujah! All His greatest glory, and the greatest joy of every true pastor, should be to stand on that day, and to see the sheep come one at a time, and hear, Well done, faithful servant! Not speaking to the shepherds, but speaking to you, as the sheep.

And I can look you right in the eye tonight, and tell you that's the one desire of my heart, and that's why I preach with the fire and the burning zeal in my heart, and that's why God's established this church, so that out of New York City, before the judgment day comes, there'll be a holy people rise up, full of the Spirit of living God, walking pure and righteous before Him, that we may present you as a pure blind.

Guarding the Church Against Doctrinal Deception

If Paul were living today, and he came and preached in Times Square Church, he'd be saying the same thing he said then, he'd stand up here and he'd say, Beloved, beware, there's going to come an invasion of false teachers, false doctrines are going to come and bombard you from all sides, they're going to introduce to you another Christ, there's going to be another Spirit, that's not the Holy Spirit, there's going to be another Gospel, it won't be the true Gospel.

And this is the fear Paul confessed to, listen to it, it's in verse 3, 11th chapter, look at verse 3,. But I fear, he said, there's a concern, I'm afraid, lest by any means, as the serpent deceived Eve, through his craftiness, or his deception, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ.

Do you know what Paul's inferring? He said, I'm afraid that some of you are too susceptible to false doctrine. Some of you, he said, you bear with it gladly, you put up with it. Now listen, I had people hand me tapes of books, and they said, read this, this is fantastic, I've never heard anything like this, this is really something, and everybody's talking about it, and I take it home and put it on my little tape recorder, and I listen to it, and it sounds good at first.

Now I've always learned that if there's anything false, if there's error, if there's anything unlike Jesus, if you listen long enough and you have discernment, you'll find it, it'll come out. It'll come out.

And you sit, and the first half hour it sounds pretty good, you say, this is not so bad, and then suddenly there's a restlessness hits you, and then something starts turning inside, you say, I'm not hearing anything that's really wrong yet, but something is not sounding right.

And if you just stay with it a little while, suddenly there it is. There it comes out, the error comes out, there's something there unlike Jesus, there's something there that you know is wrong, and Paul is saying, there are some of you that are susceptible to this, in fact he said, I'm amazed at some of you, I marvel that you're so soon removed from Him that called you to the grace of Christ, unto this other gospel, which is not really another gospel, that there be some who trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ, that though we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

He said, don't be so gentlemanly about it, don't be ladylike about it. If it is not of God, it's accursed. If it is not the gospel you've heard here, it's accursed. Paul is warning us, perversions are coming.

They're born of another spirit and they're going to trouble you, if you get caught up in it. Folks, do you realize how dangerous it is to just pick up some book, some tape, something and just listen to it, without having someone else with you listening to it, or you can listen to it, but don't accept everything that you hear, don't accept every book that's put in your hand.

There'll be, it'll sound, in fact, some people love it because it sounds new. It's not right just because it sounds new. In fact, sometimes the more complicated, the more new it sounds, the more dangerous it is.

I'm not telling you can't listen to tapes or books, and we don't have, we don't put down the wall here, we believe that if we present everybody here mature in Jesus Christ, they can recognize what is false.

And how susceptible, Paul said, some of you, you're so gullible, you're looking for something new all the time. You're looking for something sensational, you're looking for something mysterious. You're not satisfied with Jesus, you're not into the Word of God, you're not growing into the Word of God, you're looking for something new.

And that's dangerous, folks. It matters not if an angel appears and tells you it's of God. It doesn't matter if all your friends discern with you that it's all right. Folks, there's sometimes I don't trust my discernment.

I don't trust my discernment when it goes against this book. If it doesn't line up here, I don't care what the little voices say here, it's a curse of God, the Scripture says. What's the true gospel and what is accursed?

How False Teachers Conceal Their Deception

Let me say first of all, even the most demonic false teacher always begins by warning you against false teachers. Heard some of the most demonic teachers spend the first half hour saying, there will come false prophets, there will come false teachers, and they'll get you all set up as if they are not a false teacher by warning you against false teachers.

Has anybody heard anything like that before? Oh, they'll say in the last days, there'll come false doctrines and false teachers, and they'll scream loudly against false teachers. I've had more false prophets in my office in Texas in the last three or four years.

I mean, they prophesied everything against us. I had one, I told you, he got so mad he left his shoes outside my door. It's supposed to have been a curse. But you know, the first half hour in my office, all he did was say, Brother Wilkes, you know there are going to be false doctors, false prophets coming in the last day.

And I was sitting there saying, I am listening to one. But all he did was warn me of false prophets that are coming. He was setting me up to hear his message. And they'll set you up to hear the message.

It's not going to be the right thing just because someone said false prophets are going to come. Secondly, doctrine is not always right simply because the teacher appears to be holy, godly, pious and sincere.

In fact, that's what makes false doctrine all the more dangerous. The outward appearance of piety and holiness. Christ-centered teacher must be holy, sober and sincere. But the Bible said the devil is going to come as an angel of light.

And light means revelation, it means truth. He's going to try to come with new revelation. And Paul gives the key to knowing how Satan is going to deceive with false teachers and false doctrine in the last day.

He said, just as I fear this by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety or his deception. So, in the same way, in other words, he's not going to change his tactics. He's going to come against us in these last days just as he came against Adam and Eve in the garden.

And I want to talk about that for just a moment. Nothing has really changed. The false gospel introduced in the Garden of Eden is the same false gospel that's being preached today. Listen, this is so important, not my message, but what God is trying to say to us about false doctrine and false shepherds and teachers coming in the last day, God didn't leave it to guesswork.

I mean, this is as clear as anything He's ever made in His book, in the Word of God. Alright, first of all, any teaching, and listen closely, any teaching that undermines the fear of God in you is accursed.

Any teaching that undermines the fear is of the devil. Now, all false teachers have this one thing in common. It can't be that hard. Jesus loves you. Now, that's the message of the gospel. There's no question about the fact that Jesus loves us.

But you see, the trick of the enemy is to get you to be totally from that awesome reverence and fear of a holy God who judges sin. False doctrine has this one... The fear of God in you wasn't that kept Adam and Eve from touching the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

It wasn't their love for God. It wasn't their communion with God. Not at all. Because they had not yet even learned. They hid from God when they sinned. But what was it that kept them from touching this thing?

What kept them from rebellion and disobedience? It was this. God has said, You shall not eat of it. That's the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

You shall not eat of it. Neither shall you touch it. Lest you... There was something in Eve that resented that. There was something that says, I don't like these parameters. I don't like to be restricted like this.

And the devil comes along and he appeals to the lust that's in her heart. That lust to shake off the yoke. And friends, there is a yoke. Whether you want to believe it or not, there's a yoke. You cannot serve Jesus without his yoke.

He said, My yoke is easy. My burden is light. In other words, if you're going to walk and live in the fear of God, the yoke becomes easy. If you rebel against it, it becomes hard. There was something in Eve.

She didn't like this restriction. And Satan knew that. And he came to Eve. And he said, Hath God said? No, he said, You surely shall not die. In other words, he's saying, God is not like that. What kind of a God do you have?

You have the wrong concept of God. You mean to tell me that God is going to deny you knowledge and wisdom when he has wisdom and knowledge himself? You mean to tell me that you have in your mind the picture of a God of judgment and wrath?

You're going to touch that fruit? You're going to die? What kind of a God do you think he is? You surely will not die. This is exactly what she wanted to hear. The devil began to undermine the fear of God in her immediately.

And I can just picture her getting closer and closer to that tree, and she keeps playing this in her mind, and she begins to shake off that yoke. Do you know there are some of you sitting here right now that have heard the strong word that comes forth from this pulpit?

You hear the judgment of God against sin, and it's a yoke. You chafe under it. You say, I don't like it. You don't understand, beloved, that this is the very thing that brings freedom. It's the very thing that brings peace and joy.

But you see that cry inside, I can't serve God like that. I want liberty. We've got a whole teaching in the charismatic movement now about a new liberty, about a new freedom. And people can come now and sing and shout and talk in tongues, and live like the devil.

Absolutely live like the devil. Freedom. No, it's not freedom. It's Satan saying, you shall not die. God is not hard. God is not like that. God is too loving, too merciful. And he found a gospel that suited the lust of her flesh.

And she's saying, I can't serve God with these restrictions. And so, her whole attitude is, I'll still visit with him. He's still my heavenly father, but I'm going after it. I can't live like that. And what it is, she wanted her lust and her father too.

And there's a saying out in the streets, now all this in Jesus too. And it can't be. I've heard from a number of pastors in the past month or two. These are youth pastors. Some of them have been fired from their church.

I'm thinking one now who called. He's ready to leave this very famous ministry. He told my son, he said, Look, even if you had a place, even if I had to come up there and sweep floors, I'd like to come.

He's so sick and tired, because he looked at his young people. And if I told you the name of it, you'd be so shocked, you'd weep. In fact, Gary was supposed to be down there and speak, and they cancelled him, because they hear our messages now, and they say we don't want our young people to hear that stuff.

And the young people, the young people in some of these churches, they see the rebellion, preachers, kids, especially living in absolute rebellion, sitting in church painting their toenails. They see young people living in absolute rebellion, knowing nothing of the fear of God.

And these youth pastors are calling, they're saying, I've never seen it like this, there's total rebellion. And the pastor, many pastors, don't want to upset the pastor, the parents, because the kids go home, because these young pastors start to preach holiness.

They're preaching separation, they're preaching the fear of God. And it's shaking these kids up, because they've never heard it. Totally devoid of the fear of God. Nothing of the fear of God. They've never seen the judgment of God.

They've never been through a depression. They've never been through a holocaust. They've never seen judgment on the land. It's always been money, money, money. It's been everything they've wanted. They wanted rock and roll, so we say, don't upset them, bring the rock and roll in the church, and give them Christian lyrics.

They say, they're going to have sex anyhow, so let's give them protection. They're going to shoot drugs, so let's give them clean needles. And all we've done, we've made God appear to be some great appeaser in the heavens.

To appease, appease, appease. And our young people have been appeased. And these young ministers are saying, it's enough, we've lost this generation. And folks, we have, we've lost a whole generation of teenagers.

We've lost them mainly because the pastor's too weak to preach the gospel in the pulpit, and parents are living a double life, and the kids know it. How do you expect, how do you expect your kid not to blow pot dead when you're blowing cigarette smoke?

How do you expect your kids to stay clean sexually when you're drinking and running around yourself, when you're watching dirty movies on television? How do you expect your kids to walk in holiness? These young people, these young pastors are being taught, we don't want to hear that's upsetting the parents.

I had a conference the other day with a young man who comes to this church, he was kicked out as a youth pastor of a church here in New York, and he just heartbroken, heartbroken because the parents don't want to hear it, the pastor didn't want to hear it.

He said, but if all I wanted to do was see those young people conform to Jesus, and they didn't want it. There's only a small handful of young people left in America today walking in any kind of holiness.

Our Christian kids are turning into punk music, into promiscuous sex and drugs and full of rebellion, turn to Romans 3 and you'll see why. Just go to Romans 3, Romans 3, 3rd chapter of Romans, look at verse 11 please, start with verse 11, and I think this pretty well describes this generation, there's none that understand it, there's none that seek it after God, they've gone out of the way, they all together become unprofitable, there's none that do it good, no not one, their throats are open, their tongues they have used to seek, and the poison of snakes is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known, there is what?

There's no fear of God before their eyes. Why are they promiscuous? Why is there no peace? Why is there turmoil? There is no fear of God before their eyes. Satan has undermined that fear, because, look at, you don't have to tell me, but Psalms 55 19 says, because things do not change, therefore they fear not God, because things do not change, they don't see judgment coming, everything seems to be going along smooth, everything seems to work out, so they lose the fear of God.

I had a brother write to me this past week, and he said, Brother Dave, I'll get your takes, from Times Square Church, and you preach so hard, he said, do you preach like that every Sunday night, and do the people take it?

You know what my answer is? Listen, are called to preach the gospel of Jesus, with such power and authority, that it will produce the constant fear of God in every hearer, until you're convicted of your sin, and you can't sit in this house and be comfortable, until if you're going to play with your sin, you're going to get out and find another church, that's going to call on your sin, that there'll never be a time, God helping us, you can sit here and be comfortable in your sins, and we'll do it with love, but those who don't want to forsake their pet sins, they'll not stay, they won't listen, because they're going to be offended, they'll go back, they'll hit the road, going church hopping, hear that sweet smooth sound, relax, God's word says, by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil, Proverbs 16 ,6, by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil, I want you to go to 2nd Timothy 4, 2nd Timothy, for the new converts, you turn right from Romans, keep going through Thessalonians, and get to Timothy 2nd chapter, 4th verse, 4th chapter, 2nd Timothy, 4th chapter, beginning to read verse 1, 2nd Timothy, 4th chapter, verse 1, I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead, it is appearing in his kingdom, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will come, when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust, they shall heap to themselves, teachers having itching ears, and they shall, what are they going to do?

They shall turn away from, their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables, means fiction, lies, but watch thou in all things, endure affliction, do the work of the evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

The True Gospel Produces Holiness and Conviction

Do you see what it says? They're going to turn their ears away from the truth, they're going to seek out teachers, to cater to their own lust, their ears are going to itch for a happy, easy, smooth, bless me now ministry, bless me clubs, I call them bless me clubs, bless me, bless me, bless me Lord, in my sins, bless me, let me tell you something, I believe if you're sitting under a true gospel, it's got to produce this, and I want you to listen to it, it's got to produce in you a hatred for sin, and pull down every excuse and alibi you've ever had, secondly, it's got to produce a conviction, of spiritual laziness and compromise in us, if we become spiritually lazy, we're not reading God's word, we're not seeking his face, we're laying in front of that Babylonian idiot box, we are just relaxing, and there's no urgency about the coming of the Lord, oh listen folks, believe, listen close, do you understand, that the Bible makes it clear that we, God's people, are bent on backsliding, that we have to have the word keep coming at us all the time, because that's the nature of humanity, that's the nature of Adam, we go along so far, we think we've arrived, and then when God starts blessing, and Bob was covering that this morning, and Jessalyn waxes fat, and then she gets lazy, Joseph gets fat, and then lazy, and God has to have preachers who come along, with enough of his holy authority, to pick our balloons, put a fire under us, it's got to produce an inner knowing, that God will not wink at sin, it's got to produce a conviction, that we're going to reap what we sow, it's got to make you know, that he's a righteous holy God, and also he's going to give you confidence, that he'll deliver you from sin, if you hate it, resist it, you know there was a couple, who came to brother Bob, I've had others come to me, saying the same thing, they were told by pastors, and other people, don't go to Times Square Church, all they're doing down there, is preaching fear, and doom and gloom, don't go, they're messed up, one lady said, her pastor said, I don't know what's happened brother Dave, he's got all mixed up, brother Phillips has messed up his mind, I heard a preacher say, brother Phillips is the most dangerous preacher in America, no clapping please, I said that about Don, and every one of these behind me, and it was said this morning, this Pope said it's dangerous, to sit under a message, that deals with the holiness of God, it's dangerous, too many Christians today, are not certain, they're not reading, well listen, we're only preaching what Jesus, told us to preach, you know what Jesus said, don't turn to Luke 12, 5, I will forewarn you, whom you shall fear, fear him, which after he's killed, have power to cast into hell, yea, I said to you, fear him, Jesus said that, do you know that Isaiah said of Jesus, that he will come forth, in the knowledge and the fear of God, even Jesus feared mightily, the reverence of his Holy Father, many Christians are really not convinced, of this matter of the fear of God, they're really not convinced, and I want to settle for you, once and for all, listen folks, if you don't get anything else out of my message, I want you to be absolutely convinced, that it's the fear of God, that keeps us from sinning, and I want you to know, God, it is scriptural, you've got to have it in your heart, and if you have not heard anything else, from the beginning of this church, hear it, and I want it wiped out of your mind, once and for all, I want to rob the devil, if any chance to lie to you, or any lying spirit, and I'm going to give it to you, turn to Isaiah, the 11th chapter of Isaiah, and let's get it knocked out, once and for all, because we're going to see, just talk to you about Jesus, and I want to show you something, about our blessed Savior, 11th chapter of Isaiah, boy, mark this, if you don't have anything in Isaiah, mark, you mark this, mark it well, and verse 1, chapter 11, Isaiah, there shall come forth a rod, out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch, shall go out of his roots, who is that?

Hallelujah, he's the branch, the stem, the root out of Jesse, and the spirit of the Lord, shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the spirit of counsel, and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear, that's Jesus, verse 3, and shall make him, of quick understanding, in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge, after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove, after the hearing of his ears, it's not as clear, in the New American Standard, verse 3, but in King James, it's clear, and he shall make him, of quick understanding, in the fear of the Lord, what's it say, in New American Standard?

Same thing, the fear of the Lord, who is he talking about? Jesus, the very Son of God, does that settle that for you, in your mind? Are we not to be, listen, if he walked that way, shouldn't we walk even more that way?

Living, and walking, and moving in the fear of God? Alright, I've got to move on to the next one. Firstly, secondly, beware of any gospel, which diverts you, from single-minded devotion, to Jesus Christ.

Single-Minded Devotion to Jesus Christ

Beware, of anything that would corrupt you, Paul said, from the simplicity, that is in Christ. That word simplicity, that means pure devotion, to Jesus. Simplicity doesn't mean simple, it means pure. Pure devotion, to Jesus Christ.

Hallelujah. Paul solemnly warns, that Satan is going to come, and transform himself, into an angel of light. He's going to raise up, ministers, false prophets, all of them posing, as ministers of righteousness.

The scripture says, in 2 Corinthians 11, 13, transforming themselves, into the apostles of Christ. Transforming themselves, into the apostles, of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look this way, for just a minute.

Can you, think of the terror of that, for just a minute. Think of it. To oppose the last days, the coming of the Lord, drawing nigh. Think of this now. The possibility, of coming down, to the last moment of time, under the influence, of an angel of light, under the influence, of another spirit, another gospel, and sitting there thinking, you are hearing, the true gospel, when in reality, there has come, a satanic, he is an angel of light, he is an apostle, he calls himself, an apostle of righteousness, and he is a satan himself.

Think of the terror of that. Well folks, there are some safeguards against it, and we are going to touch on that, before we close. But how can it happen? How can anybody, be given over to this? How can anyone, be sitting under this kind of gospel, that Paul is describing here, and not know it?

Very simple. He is talking about those, who have lust in their heart, and they heap teachers to themselves, having itching ears. They refuse to lay down, their lust. They refuse to lay down, their sin.