1 00:00:01,833 --> 00:00:04,500 Thank you to our music ministry. 2 00:00:06,599 --> 00:00:07,099 Love 3 00:00:07,466 --> 00:00:09,099 I love our music. 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:10,900 It's the best. 5 00:00:12,833 --> 00:00:14,233 If you have your Bibles. 6 00:00:14,900 --> 00:00:17,966 Turn with me to 2nd Timothy 215. 7 00:00:18,199 --> 00:00:20,433 That'll be our first verse that we're going to look at. 8 00:00:20,466 --> 00:00:23,533 This is part three, and my 9 00:00:23,533 --> 00:00:27,000 last message on the topic of discernment. 10 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:32,966 We've been learning about how 11 00:00:32,966 --> 00:00:37,200 absolutely critical, it is, for 12 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,466 all of us to be discerning. 13 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:42,866 as Christians. 14 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,299 And I want to start off today with this verse that we looked at 15 00:00:47,299 --> 00:00:49,766 this verse last time in 2 Timothy 2:15. 16 00:00:50,166 --> 00:00:51,066 Look what it says. 17 00:00:53,433 --> 00:00:57,799 Be diligent, to 18 00:00:57,799 --> 00:01:01,633 present yourself, approve to God, as 19 00:01:01,633 --> 00:01:07,400 a workman, who does not need to be ashamed, 20 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,266 accurately handling the word of truth. 21 00:01:11,299 --> 00:01:15,266 Now, notice that title at the end, the 22 00:01:15,266 --> 00:01:17,133 word of truth. 23 00:01:17,166 --> 00:01:18,599 That is a title for scripture. 24 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,166 That's what the scripture is. 25 00:01:23,533 --> 00:01:27,433 The truth, the truth of God. 26 00:01:29,299 --> 00:01:32,366 This is the truth that justifies the truth 27 00:01:32,366 --> 00:01:35,433 that sanctifies the truth, that gives 28 00:01:35,433 --> 00:01:39,433 the hope of glory to all who believe it in saving faith. 29 00:01:41,333 --> 00:01:44,366 What could possibly, be 30 00:01:44,366 --> 00:01:48,266 more important in 31 00:01:48,266 --> 00:01:51,566 all of creation, than 32 00:01:51,566 --> 00:01:54,500 the truth of God, who is the creator of all things. 33 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:55,933 What could be more important? 34 00:01:58,033 --> 00:01:58,633 Consider this. 35 00:02:00,500 --> 00:02:05,099 It is on the basis of the truth of God, 36 00:02:05,099 --> 00:02:08,199 that we know what is 37 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:11,300 actual true reality 38 00:02:11,300 --> 00:02:14,833 about God, about man, 39 00:02:14,833 --> 00:02:18,433 about the Holy Spirit, about salvation, 40 00:02:18,433 --> 00:02:23,000 and everything else that matters most in the human experience. 41 00:02:25,033 --> 00:02:29,233 And that's why it's critical that 42 00:02:29,233 --> 00:02:32,900 we accurately handle the word of truth, 43 00:02:32,900 --> 00:02:36,633 as 2 Timothy 2:15, says, We 44 00:02:36,633 --> 00:02:40,333 are to be diligent workmen 45 00:02:40,333 --> 00:02:43,466 who are never ashamed of ourselves for an 46 00:02:43,466 --> 00:02:46,300 inaccurate handling of God's truth. 47 00:02:48,099 --> 00:02:52,233 And in light of that, also consider next what 2 Timothy 48 00:02:52,233 --> 00:02:55,333 3 1 says, but 49 00:02:55,333 --> 00:02:58,466 realize this, that in 50 00:02:58,466 --> 00:03:03,933 the last days, difficult times will come. 51 00:03:05,233 --> 00:03:08,366 Now, some translations say, 52 00:03:08,366 --> 00:03:11,366 dangerous seasons will come. 53 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,466 And that phrase really gets better at the 54 00:03:15,466 --> 00:03:18,500 meaning, because the Greek word for times here is not 55 00:03:19,099 --> 00:03:21,466 clock time, Cronos. 56 00:03:21,500 --> 00:03:24,599 It's a word that means epics, or 57 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:27,666 if you're from jollio, England, you say epochs, but 58 00:03:27,666 --> 00:03:28,699 we say epics. 59 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,866 Here are movements. 60 00:03:32,099 --> 00:03:34,699 And I don't think I have to make the case. 61 00:03:35,333 --> 00:03:38,666 for the reality that right now, we definitely live in 62 00:03:38,666 --> 00:03:41,800 a dangerous season of human history. 63 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000 We definitely live in difficult times. 64 00:03:46,033 --> 00:03:47,066 right now. 65 00:03:47,900 --> 00:03:50,666 And in these dangerous times that we live in. 66 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,300 It is also critical for us to handle the 67 00:03:55,300 --> 00:03:59,033 word accurately, because the greatest spiritual 68 00:03:59,066 --> 00:04:02,199 danger that the church and 69 00:04:02,199 --> 00:04:05,300 all Christians face today is the danger 70 00:04:05,300 --> 00:04:06,666 of deception. 71 00:04:09,199 --> 00:04:12,800 We are not only approximately 72 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,333 30 years right now into the internet 73 00:04:16,333 --> 00:04:18,199 age being in the general public. 74 00:04:18,300 --> 00:04:21,533 Different articles I've read, I've told you in the past, 75 00:04:21,566 --> 00:04:24,600 generally look at 96, 1996, is kind 76 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:25,733 of the year. 77 00:04:25,766 --> 00:04:27,866 There's give or take a few here backwards. 78 00:04:28,266 --> 00:04:32,933 96 was the first year I became aware of the internet. 79 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,166 So we're about 30 years or so into the internet age, 80 00:04:36,199 --> 00:04:39,266 but now, moving at a very 81 00:04:39,266 --> 00:04:43,466 rapid pace, we are moving into the AI age. 82 00:04:44,733 --> 00:04:45,899 Artificial intelligence. 83 00:04:47,533 --> 00:04:52,033 And it's increasing in its abilities, 84 00:04:52,033 --> 00:04:55,633 far faster, and far greater than any 85 00:04:55,633 --> 00:04:58,633 technology that we've ever seen in world 86 00:04:58,633 --> 00:04:59,633 history. 87 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,266 If you've not been keeping up with what's happening with AI, you 88 00:05:03,266 --> 00:05:06,866 need to, because things are going to be changing dramatically 89 00:05:06,866 --> 00:05:09,866 in our world, in the not 90 00:05:09,866 --> 00:05:11,233 so far off future. 91 00:05:13,733 --> 00:05:14,666 Think about it this way. 92 00:05:14,699 --> 00:05:17,866 We can logically put together in our thinking. 93 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:19,066 OK? 94 00:05:19,733 --> 00:05:22,866 On the one hand, if the truth of God 95 00:05:22,866 --> 00:05:26,033 is the most important thing that there 96 00:05:26,066 --> 00:05:29,466 is in human existence, then anything 97 00:05:29,466 --> 00:05:32,766 that assaults the truth of God is therefore 98 00:05:32,766 --> 00:05:35,899 the most severe danger, right? 99 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:40,633 So Paul is warning young Timothy 100 00:05:40,633 --> 00:05:42,300 about this problem here. 101 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:46,366 Go a little further down in 2 Timothy 3, 102 00:05:46,366 --> 00:05:49,633 verse 13, where he says, 103 00:05:49,633 --> 00:05:54,133 But evil men, and impostors, 104 00:05:54,133 --> 00:05:57,633 will proceed from bad 105 00:05:57,633 --> 00:06:01,800 to worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 106 00:06:03,033 --> 00:06:07,100 And the idea here is with the evil men and impostors, false teachers. 107 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:13,233 false prophets who misrepresent the truth. 108 00:06:14,500 --> 00:06:19,300 It says they will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving, 109 00:06:19,899 --> 00:06:20,899 and being deceived. 110 00:06:21,833 --> 00:06:25,166 Now, it's important to understand that phrase there, look 111 00:06:25,166 --> 00:06:27,733 at it, last days. 112 00:06:28,233 --> 00:06:31,399 That phrase right there in verse one is referring 113 00:06:31,399 --> 00:06:34,466 to the days that started when Jesus arrived. 114 00:06:35,133 --> 00:06:36,899 This is not the last of the last days. 115 00:06:36,966 --> 00:06:40,333 This is what we can refer to as the Messianic 116 00:06:40,333 --> 00:06:42,566 era, the last days. 117 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:45,233 That's been going on for over 2,000 years. 118 00:06:45,300 --> 00:06:45,899 And guess what? 119 00:06:45,966 --> 00:06:46,866 We're still in it right now. 120 00:06:48,100 --> 00:06:52,199 And every day that goes by, takes 121 00:06:52,199 --> 00:06:55,333 us closer one day closer to the 122 00:06:55,333 --> 00:06:58,333 last of the last days, and we have no idea when those are 123 00:06:58,333 --> 00:07:02,000 going to be, and the second coming of Jesus Christ, right? 124 00:07:03,033 --> 00:07:05,100 Could be cranked up today. 125 00:07:06,033 --> 00:07:07,766 Could be 500 years from now. 126 00:07:08,333 --> 00:07:08,899 I don't know. 127 00:07:09,633 --> 00:07:12,733 And no man does know the day or the hour, right? 128 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:13,766 Isn't that what Jesus said? 129 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:19,100 But in general, Paul is basically saying, 130 00:07:19,100 --> 00:07:22,466 as these last days of the messianic 131 00:07:22,466 --> 00:07:26,300 era progress, here's what's going to happen. 132 00:07:27,300 --> 00:07:29,600 Deception is going to increase. 133 00:07:30,699 --> 00:07:31,300 And you know what? 134 00:07:32,133 --> 00:07:34,399 History has proven that to be true. 135 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,733 Just think of the 136 00:07:38,733 --> 00:07:42,000 massive false religions, alone 137 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,733 that proclaim the name of Jesus, that 138 00:07:45,733 --> 00:07:49,766 have come, and that have gone, with 139 00:07:49,766 --> 00:07:52,933 billions of people, since the time of the early church. 140 00:07:55,033 --> 00:07:58,933 I want you to just consider, for a second, the 141 00:07:58,933 --> 00:08:02,300 Mormons and the Jehovah Witness alone, just those two groups. 142 00:08:03,699 --> 00:08:06,033 Both groups name the name of Jesus as Savior. 143 00:08:06,066 --> 00:08:09,066 Both groups say that Jesus died on the cross 144 00:08:09,066 --> 00:08:11,766 for the forgiveness of sins, and he rose on the third day. 145 00:08:12,633 --> 00:08:16,033 They have the exact same words as us, but 146 00:08:16,033 --> 00:08:17,233 two totally different dictionaries. 147 00:08:17,366 --> 00:08:21,300 Everything I just said is defined completely different, 148 00:08:21,300 --> 00:08:23,633 including Jesus being a created being. 149 00:08:23,699 --> 00:08:24,733 All right? 150 00:08:25,899 --> 00:08:26,366 Guess what? 151 00:08:26,399 --> 00:08:27,300 I looked it up. 152 00:08:28,033 --> 00:08:28,566 Right now. 153 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,333 Just those two groups have 27 154 00:08:33,333 --> 00:08:38,100 million active members on the Earth, 27 million. 155 00:08:39,100 --> 00:08:41,266 And there's many more groups. 156 00:08:42,433 --> 00:08:45,666 that are false that name the name of Jesus. 157 00:08:45,733 --> 00:08:47,966 There's one, I can't say the name of it, it's in Mexico. 158 00:08:49,233 --> 00:08:53,166 I watched two episodes of cultish, a podcast that 159 00:08:53,166 --> 00:08:56,233 comes out of apology, a church about this huge group in Mexico, 160 00:08:56,233 --> 00:08:58,766 and they think this guy is Jesus, that leads him. 161 00:08:58,799 --> 00:09:01,200 It's hundreds of thousands of people adhere to it. 162 00:09:01,266 --> 00:09:03,500 It's completely false in the name of Jesus. 163 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,299 There's many all over the world like this. 164 00:09:07,933 --> 00:09:10,933 And the primary reason for 165 00:09:10,933 --> 00:09:14,366 the increase in deception in the last days, 166 00:09:14,366 --> 00:09:18,066 and remember, I'm talking about the messianic era, is 167 00:09:18,066 --> 00:09:21,500 because the truth landed fully 168 00:09:21,500 --> 00:09:25,533 and completely in the person and work of Jesus Christ on the earth. 169 00:09:26,233 --> 00:09:28,700 That's when the full truth landed. 170 00:09:28,766 --> 00:09:29,799 Now, understand what I'm saying. 171 00:09:29,833 --> 00:09:32,833 While the Old Testament is absolutely 172 00:09:32,833 --> 00:09:36,200 every word, the Word of God, 173 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,366 just like the new, as you know, the Old Testament 174 00:09:39,366 --> 00:09:41,466 didn't give us the full picture, right? 175 00:09:42,899 --> 00:09:45,899 The Old Testament revelation was 176 00:09:45,899 --> 00:09:48,899 progressive, and it's not that it went from 177 00:09:48,899 --> 00:09:52,866 error to truth, it is that it went from incompleteness 178 00:09:52,866 --> 00:09:54,133 to completeness. 179 00:09:54,266 --> 00:09:54,733 You understand? 180 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,233 We got types and shadows, but not the full 181 00:09:59,233 --> 00:10:01,466 picture, until Jesus came. 182 00:10:01,566 --> 00:10:04,566 For example, if all we had was from Genesis to Malachi, and that 183 00:10:04,566 --> 00:10:07,433 was our Bible, we would have an incomplete revelation, right? 184 00:10:08,833 --> 00:10:11,899 But with the final arrival of the full 185 00:10:11,899 --> 00:10:15,133 truth in Jesus Christ, and then add 186 00:10:15,133 --> 00:10:18,433 to that the completion of the New Testament, 187 00:10:18,433 --> 00:10:21,500 that is what brought about the escalation of 188 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:24,333 deception to assault the full truth. 189 00:10:24,366 --> 00:10:27,433 And it's been happening, since right at the very start, in 190 00:10:27,433 --> 00:10:30,566 the early church, in this ramped up progressively, to 191 00:10:30,566 --> 00:10:31,933 where we are today. 192 00:10:31,933 --> 00:10:35,000 Those dangerous epochs started 193 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,933 in the last days, beginning with the ministry of Jesus. 194 00:10:39,233 --> 00:10:41,666 And as time marches on, 195 00:10:42,533 --> 00:10:46,866 As I read my Bible here, according to Paul, they 196 00:10:46,866 --> 00:10:50,700 get worse and worse, as the deception continues to increase. 197 00:10:50,766 --> 00:10:53,533 And history has proven that to be true again. 198 00:10:54,700 --> 00:10:57,733 And it only continues to escalate, and let me throw this 199 00:10:57,733 --> 00:10:59,666 in as technology increases. 200 00:11:01,533 --> 00:11:05,000 The truth continues to be under greater 201 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,366 and more sophisticated assault, 202 00:11:08,366 --> 00:11:12,266 as technology increases and more diverse assault. 203 00:11:13,299 --> 00:11:16,399 The number of false religions that have come 204 00:11:16,399 --> 00:11:19,466 and gone and still exist today that, in some way, name the name of 205 00:11:19,466 --> 00:11:20,600 Jesus, both large and small. 206 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,833 Let me tell you, they're more in number than we 207 00:11:23,833 --> 00:11:27,000 have ever seen at any other time since the early church. 208 00:11:28,299 --> 00:11:29,133 And think about this. 209 00:11:30,033 --> 00:11:33,200 With the most people living on the planet ever 210 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:37,266 in history right now, the 211 00:11:37,266 --> 00:11:39,500 numbers are continuing to grow. 212 00:11:40,633 --> 00:11:43,700 There are some things that you can ask AI that 213 00:11:43,700 --> 00:11:46,333 are general AI can give you some wrong answers. 214 00:11:46,466 --> 00:11:47,500 Have y'all learned that? 215 00:11:48,133 --> 00:11:51,299 But there are some general topics that you know you're going to get a right answer. 216 00:11:51,366 --> 00:11:54,533 I asked Groc, how 217 00:11:54,566 --> 00:11:57,033 many people currently population worldwide now? 218 00:11:57,066 --> 00:11:59,299 We've reached over 8 billion. 219 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,299 8.3 billion humans on Earth is 220 00:12:03,299 --> 00:12:05,233 the approximate number that I got. 221 00:12:05,299 --> 00:12:08,299 Now, you got to understand, I've been talking to 222 00:12:08,299 --> 00:12:11,399 you about false religions that name the name of Jesus 223 00:12:11,399 --> 00:12:14,166 that have millions and millions of people following them. 224 00:12:14,233 --> 00:12:15,899 I haven't even included yet. 225 00:12:15,966 --> 00:12:18,600 False religions like Islam. 226 00:12:18,733 --> 00:12:19,866 You know how many they have? 227 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:20,833 2 billion. 228 00:12:20,899 --> 00:12:22,833 Two billion people. 229 00:12:22,866 --> 00:12:26,000 Buddhism, somewhere between 350 230 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,066 to 500 million Buddhists on the Earth. 231 00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:31,633 Hinduism, one billion. 232 00:12:32,333 --> 00:12:36,200 We hadn't even got to all the new age and all the other things that are out there. 233 00:12:36,266 --> 00:12:37,233 Let me tell you. 234 00:12:37,333 --> 00:12:38,299 Paul was right. 235 00:12:38,899 --> 00:12:41,433 Religious deception abounds on the Earth. 236 00:12:41,466 --> 00:12:42,533 No question. 237 00:12:43,433 --> 00:12:45,966 Again, 2 Timothy 3:13. 238 00:12:46,266 --> 00:12:49,399 But evil men and impostors will 239 00:12:49,399 --> 00:12:52,500 proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and 240 00:12:52,500 --> 00:12:53,700 being deceived. 241 00:12:53,766 --> 00:12:58,166 Now, as an aside, maybe, 242 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,299 somebody, one day, can 243 00:13:01,299 --> 00:13:04,433 convince me otherwise, but from what 244 00:13:04,466 --> 00:13:07,466 I read in this Bible, it just looks like 245 00:13:07,466 --> 00:13:10,566 to me that the dangerous epics and 246 00:13:10,566 --> 00:13:13,633 religious deceptions of the last days that started with 247 00:13:13,633 --> 00:13:16,766 the ministry of Jesus just keep getting worse and more intense 248 00:13:16,766 --> 00:13:17,899 until Jesus comes back. 249 00:13:18,633 --> 00:13:20,299 That's the way I read the Bible. 250 00:13:20,366 --> 00:13:23,433 Our post millennial friends, see things gradually, 251 00:13:23,433 --> 00:13:26,566 getting better till we get to this golden age of Christianity. 252 00:13:26,666 --> 00:13:29,833 I'll tell you what, it ain't going to happen today, unless 253 00:13:29,833 --> 00:13:32,399 God regenerates about six billion people, right? 254 00:13:33,433 --> 00:13:36,666 So right now, we are in a very dangerous 255 00:13:36,666 --> 00:13:40,399 season in these last days, 256 00:13:40,399 --> 00:13:44,899 and you want to know what the extremely 257 00:13:44,899 --> 00:13:49,633 sad reality is, 258 00:13:49,633 --> 00:13:51,200 at a time in our nation's history, 259 00:13:52,533 --> 00:13:56,700 When deception is so formidable, 260 00:13:56,700 --> 00:13:59,799 and technology right now is advancing 261 00:13:59,799 --> 00:14:02,933 into a reality that we can't even conceive 262 00:14:02,966 --> 00:14:06,366 of right now with the future of AI, at 263 00:14:06,366 --> 00:14:09,666 this very point in history, the 264 00:14:09,666 --> 00:14:12,799 church in the United States of America is 265 00:14:12,799 --> 00:14:13,833 weaker than it's ever been. 266 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:18,500 The preaching that comes out of the majority of our pulpits is weaker 267 00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:20,766 than it's ever been in our nation's history. 268 00:14:20,833 --> 00:14:23,899 Christian colleges and seminaries are 269 00:14:23,899 --> 00:14:27,433 weaker than they have ever been in our nation's history. 270 00:14:27,566 --> 00:14:29,600 Just go look and read history for yourself. 271 00:14:29,666 --> 00:14:33,033 Ivy League schools, like Princeton and Harvard 272 00:14:33,033 --> 00:14:37,133 and Yale, at their start, they 273 00:14:37,166 --> 00:14:40,566 were rooted and grounded in sound doctrine, and the 274 00:14:40,566 --> 00:14:42,966 sound theology, and now, what are they? 275 00:14:43,100 --> 00:14:46,700 They are bastions of leftist, woke, 276 00:14:46,700 --> 00:14:48,799 cultural, Marxism, and communism. 277 00:14:48,899 --> 00:14:52,266 And that's rife throughout most of our universities in this country. 278 00:14:53,733 --> 00:14:57,000 And I'm not to say that there's not been positive gains for the Church. 279 00:14:57,133 --> 00:14:59,066 Of course we know the church is not going to be defeated. 280 00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:02,100 Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not 281 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:05,166 avail against it, but, and there have been positive 282 00:15:05,166 --> 00:15:08,299 things, like the resurgence of the doctrines of grace in the '90s, 283 00:15:08,299 --> 00:15:10,766 that continues to go on today, but let me tell you. 284 00:15:12,100 --> 00:15:15,166 If we add up the negatives and the positive right now, the negatives are winning. 285 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:16,333 No question about that. 286 00:15:16,399 --> 00:15:18,266 The slaughter of the unborn. 287 00:15:18,366 --> 00:15:19,333 I mean, I can go on and on. 288 00:15:19,466 --> 00:15:22,299 Transgenderism, all the rest, all the false religion. 289 00:15:23,333 --> 00:15:24,433 All that to say is this. 290 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:27,366 This is not a time for weakness in the church. 291 00:15:29,899 --> 00:15:33,399 And that's why, with the very little small 292 00:15:33,399 --> 00:15:37,200 bit of influence in this society that 293 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,200 God has given me as a pastor and us as a 294 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,633 church, I'm telling you right now, with everything I've got. 295 00:15:44,733 --> 00:15:47,100 Till I can't do this no more, or I'm dead. 296 00:15:47,166 --> 00:15:50,633 I am 100% fully 297 00:15:50,666 --> 00:15:53,966 committed to what it says at the end of Jude, verse 3. 298 00:15:54,133 --> 00:15:54,866 Look what it says. 299 00:15:56,100 --> 00:15:59,200 To contend earnestly for the faith, 300 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,899 which was once, for all, handed down to the saints. 301 00:16:04,033 --> 00:16:05,000 So what I'm doing right here today. 302 00:16:05,700 --> 00:16:08,000 I'm contending earnestly for the faith. 303 00:16:08,700 --> 00:16:11,566 This is going out on the internet every week. 304 00:16:13,033 --> 00:16:14,766 This is what I've given my life to doing. 305 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:16,766 in service to the king. 306 00:16:17,899 --> 00:16:21,066 And I want to pass the torch down to my kids, my 307 00:16:21,066 --> 00:16:23,533 grandkids, and you should want to do that as well. 308 00:16:24,833 --> 00:16:28,466 So if there was ever a time in 309 00:16:28,466 --> 00:16:29,966 this very dangerous season, 310 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,166 Let's go back to 2 Timothy 2:15. 311 00:16:33,033 --> 00:16:36,133 There was ever a time for all of us as believers to 312 00:16:36,133 --> 00:16:39,666 be diligent to present yourself, approved 313 00:16:39,666 --> 00:16:42,733 to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, 314 00:16:42,733 --> 00:16:45,866 accurately handling the word of truth, that time 315 00:16:45,866 --> 00:16:47,233 church is right now. 316 00:16:49,033 --> 00:16:52,266 You should well know, by 317 00:16:52,266 --> 00:16:56,100 now, if you've been with us for any period of time, that 318 00:16:56,100 --> 00:16:57,966 I'm not a pragmatist. 319 00:16:58,633 --> 00:17:01,700 I mean, I have no interest 320 00:17:01,700 --> 00:17:05,666 whatsoever in being pragmatic 321 00:17:05,666 --> 00:17:08,900 and trying to figure out what methods 322 00:17:08,900 --> 00:17:11,900 and gimmicks and gadgets, as Ed Lacy used 323 00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:15,200 to say, I have to employ in 324 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,000 order to grow a church. 325 00:17:17,633 --> 00:17:19,033 You ought to know that about me, Mike. 326 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:20,299 I don't follow that. 327 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:21,000 plan. 328 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:21,833 I got one plan. 329 00:17:23,533 --> 00:17:24,366 One plan only. 330 00:17:25,433 --> 00:17:26,766 1 Corinthians 2, 2. 331 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,066 For I determine to know nothing among you 332 00:17:30,066 --> 00:17:32,766 except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 333 00:17:33,799 --> 00:17:36,900 And in line with that, the only plan I have is 2 334 00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:38,033 Timothy 4, too. 335 00:17:38,099 --> 00:17:40,033 Preach the word. 336 00:17:40,166 --> 00:17:43,466 Be ready in season and out of season, reproved, 337 00:17:43,466 --> 00:17:46,099 rebuke, exhort, with great patience, and instruction. 338 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,033 That's my plan. 339 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,166 The same plan I've had for 25 years. 340 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,400 If you can't handle that, this is not the place for you. 341 00:17:55,299 --> 00:17:58,366 And boy, have we seen many come 342 00:17:58,366 --> 00:18:01,400 and go, who figured it wasn't a place for them? 343 00:18:01,500 --> 00:18:04,433 Think about the visitors that we've had. 344 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:08,066 You know, last month, maybe three years we've been in this building? 345 00:18:08,166 --> 00:18:10,733 I forgot to mention that last week. 346 00:18:10,933 --> 00:18:12,966 Three years, we've been in this building. 347 00:18:13,099 --> 00:18:16,466 We've seen a lot of people come through the turnstile 348 00:18:16,466 --> 00:18:18,700 and go back out the other way. 349 00:18:18,733 --> 00:18:22,333 You know, we've actually only added two people in three years. 350 00:18:22,833 --> 00:18:25,200 We got Eric and Miss Linda. 351 00:18:25,266 --> 00:18:26,466 That's it, right? 352 00:18:26,533 --> 00:18:29,666 Now, I don't 353 00:18:29,666 --> 00:18:33,566 say that as some kind of, oh, man, we got the truth, and nobody else can handle it. 354 00:18:33,599 --> 00:18:34,733 That's why the church doesn't. 355 00:18:34,866 --> 00:18:37,866 Lord grows churches that have just as sound doctrine as we do. 356 00:18:37,933 --> 00:18:40,933 He's decided to keep us to this group, whatever his 357 00:18:40,933 --> 00:18:44,666 reasons are, I don't know, but I defer to him, and I trust him. 358 00:18:44,766 --> 00:18:46,200 And I believe his plan, right? 359 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:50,500 But the point is that this is not a time, 360 00:18:50,500 --> 00:18:54,000 no matter how big or how small we are, for 361 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,233 weak Christians, weak 362 00:18:57,266 --> 00:19:00,400 pastors preaching weak, watered down messages, 363 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,799 in this dangerous season that we find ourselves living in. 364 00:19:05,233 --> 00:19:06,666 This is a dangerous time. 365 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,433 And that means for Christians, for the true 366 00:19:11,433 --> 00:19:16,366 church, this is a time for discernment. 367 00:19:17,033 --> 00:19:21,366 Now, let's go back and think about that definition of discernment. 368 00:19:22,533 --> 00:19:26,000 It is the skill in distinguishing 369 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,166 truth from error. 370 00:19:28,933 --> 00:19:31,933 Now, maybe more importantly, in 371 00:19:31,933 --> 00:19:35,233 addition, it is the skill in 372 00:19:35,233 --> 00:19:39,566 distinguishing truth from error and half truth. 373 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:42,200 That's where we really have to be discerning. 374 00:19:42,833 --> 00:19:46,766 When you put a little truth in there, mixed in with error. 375 00:19:47,433 --> 00:19:50,766 We have to guard the truth. 376 00:19:50,833 --> 00:19:54,200 Look at what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 114. 377 00:19:55,333 --> 00:19:58,566 Guard, through the Holy Spirit, 378 00:19:58,566 --> 00:20:02,099 who dwells in you, the treasure, 379 00:20:02,099 --> 00:20:03,766 which has been entrusted to you. 380 00:20:03,799 --> 00:20:06,066 The treasure is God's truth. 381 00:20:07,033 --> 00:20:07,933 He makes it clear again. 382 00:20:07,933 --> 00:20:10,099 In 1 Timothy 6:20, 383 00:20:10,166 --> 00:20:13,200 O Timothy, guard, what 384 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:15,133 has been entrusted to you? 385 00:20:15,266 --> 00:20:16,599 Look at this. 386 00:20:16,633 --> 00:20:19,633 avoiding worldly and 387 00:20:19,633 --> 00:20:23,400 empty chatter, and the opposing arguments 388 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,333 of what is falsely called knowledge. 389 00:20:26,466 --> 00:20:29,633 How many of you know that the internet is full 390 00:20:29,666 --> 00:20:33,200 of worldly and empty chatter 391 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,033 that opposes arguments with what is falsely called knowledge? 392 00:20:39,233 --> 00:20:40,400 And you got to think about this. 393 00:20:40,500 --> 00:20:41,099 starting with me. 394 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,633 We're going to stand before the Lord one day, every Christian. 395 00:20:46,933 --> 00:20:49,933 And we're going to have to get an account of what we did with our time from the moment we 396 00:20:49,933 --> 00:20:51,733 were regenerated to the moment we physically die. 397 00:20:53,599 --> 00:20:57,299 How much time do you spend scrolling on 398 00:20:57,299 --> 00:20:59,033 empty things? 399 00:21:00,033 --> 00:21:01,500 Useless things. 400 00:21:01,566 --> 00:21:04,633 Things will be of no value that will burn up 401 00:21:04,633 --> 00:21:07,633 like wood, hay, and stubble that 402 00:21:07,633 --> 00:21:10,700 you scrolled through when you're standing before your king, and you spent 403 00:21:10,700 --> 00:21:14,000 hours scrolling at empty, useless 404 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,099 things, falsely called knowledge. 405 00:21:16,166 --> 00:21:18,200 You're going to have to stand and give an account. 406 00:21:18,266 --> 00:21:18,733 So am I. 407 00:21:19,433 --> 00:21:22,766 For every moment that you did that, instead of things that are of 408 00:21:22,766 --> 00:21:25,000 eternal value, things that are spiritual. 409 00:21:26,033 --> 00:21:28,799 What I'm telling you is, we have to be thinking, Christians. 410 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:34,766 And we have to have the ability to separate between 411 00:21:34,766 --> 00:21:38,000 the thoughts and the ways of God, 412 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,733 and the thoughts and the ways of the world. 413 00:21:41,500 --> 00:21:45,200 Spiritual discernment is the ability to distinguish 414 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,033 God's truth from everything else. 415 00:21:49,433 --> 00:21:52,799 And there's everything under the sun on the internet right now. 416 00:21:53,933 --> 00:21:57,299 There's no greater way to honor God 417 00:21:58,799 --> 00:22:00,700 than to make that distinction in your mind. 418 00:22:00,799 --> 00:22:03,799 between God's truth and everything else that's out 419 00:22:03,799 --> 00:22:07,099 there, because God is honored. 420 00:22:08,233 --> 00:22:12,700 When his word is believed rightly, 421 00:22:12,700 --> 00:22:15,966 this is why there is so much instruction in the New Testament about 422 00:22:15,966 --> 00:22:19,099 the mind, the renewing 423 00:22:19,099 --> 00:22:23,233 of your mind, this is a mental process, this is a cognitive process. 424 00:22:23,299 --> 00:22:26,533 If you want to know what God approves, if 425 00:22:26,533 --> 00:22:29,666 you want to know what God wills and what God has said, 426 00:22:29,666 --> 00:22:32,733 you have to have your mind continually renewed. 427 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,799 Otherwise, you're just going to fall victim to 428 00:22:37,799 --> 00:22:41,333 the thinking of that which dominates the 429 00:22:41,366 --> 00:22:43,533 society around you. 430 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,166 All the empty clatter. 431 00:22:46,833 --> 00:22:49,633 that's out there, that is of no use spiritually. 432 00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:51,266 Listen to Philippians 19. 433 00:22:53,433 --> 00:22:54,500 And this I pray. 434 00:22:55,599 --> 00:22:59,200 that your love may abound, 435 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,000 still more and more, look at this, in real knowledge 436 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:06,000 and all discernment. 437 00:23:06,700 --> 00:23:10,166 That's love and truth, in perfect balance. 438 00:23:10,266 --> 00:23:14,166 Look at Colossians 1, 9 to 10. 439 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,833 For this reason, also, since the day we heard of it, we 440 00:23:20,833 --> 00:23:23,900 have not ceased to pray for you, and to 441 00:23:23,900 --> 00:23:27,233 ask that you may be filled with the knowledge 442 00:23:27,233 --> 00:23:30,733 of his will in all 443 00:23:30,733 --> 00:23:34,766 spiritual wisdom and understanding, 444 00:23:34,766 --> 00:23:37,766 so that you will walk, remember, that's 445 00:23:37,766 --> 00:23:41,000 way of living, in a manner worthy of 446 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:44,000 the Lord to please him in all respects, 447 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:45,033 bearing good 448 00:23:45,133 --> 00:23:48,900 fruit in every good work and increasing 449 00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:52,066 in what the knowledge of God. 450 00:23:52,266 --> 00:23:53,599 There you see it. 451 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:54,799 It's right here. 452 00:23:56,799 --> 00:24:00,500 And that brings us, lastly, for today some things for us to think about. 453 00:24:02,033 --> 00:24:05,466 Number one, how can 454 00:24:05,466 --> 00:24:07,933 I become a discerning person? 455 00:24:08,833 --> 00:24:10,200 Well, let me tell you what the first step is. 456 00:24:11,933 --> 00:24:12,966 You have to want to be. 457 00:24:14,833 --> 00:24:17,900 You have to have the desire in your heart and your 458 00:24:17,900 --> 00:24:21,433 mind to say, I want to be a discerning Christian. 459 00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:24,400 How important is it to you to be that? 460 00:24:25,733 --> 00:24:27,366 Well, this is where the rubber meets the road. 461 00:24:28,599 --> 00:24:29,733 Look at Proverbs 2. 462 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:33,799 Proverbs 2 is all about wisdom and understanding and discernment. 463 00:24:34,500 --> 00:24:37,766 Verse one, my son, if 464 00:24:37,766 --> 00:24:41,000 you will receive my words, and treasure 465 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,666 my commandments within you, verse two, make 466 00:24:44,666 --> 00:24:48,033 your ear, attentive to 467 00:24:48,033 --> 00:24:52,333 wisdom, and your heart to understanding. 468 00:24:52,466 --> 00:24:54,700 Now, I'm asking you, do you want that? 469 00:24:56,799 --> 00:25:00,033 You got to say to yourself, I really want to know God's truth. 470 00:25:01,799 --> 00:25:04,866 I want to know it so that it 471 00:25:04,866 --> 00:25:06,200 will have an impact on my life. 472 00:25:07,933 --> 00:25:11,066 I want to know it so that I can live a 473 00:25:11,066 --> 00:25:13,133 life that brings him glory. 474 00:25:13,333 --> 00:25:17,066 Verse 2 says, make your ear attentive to 475 00:25:17,066 --> 00:25:20,066 wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. 476 00:25:20,166 --> 00:25:21,066 How do you do that? 477 00:25:21,133 --> 00:25:23,233 Expose yourself to the Word of God. 478 00:25:24,333 --> 00:25:25,033 Read it. 479 00:25:25,633 --> 00:25:26,299 study it. 480 00:25:26,366 --> 00:25:29,200 Listen to it accurately preached. 481 00:25:31,099 --> 00:25:34,299 And how are you going to get to the point of real discernment? 482 00:25:34,333 --> 00:25:37,166 Well, look next in verses 3 to 5 here in Proverbs 2. 483 00:25:38,533 --> 00:25:43,099 For if you cry for discernment, 484 00:25:43,099 --> 00:25:46,166 lip your voice for understanding. 485 00:25:47,033 --> 00:25:50,166 If you seek her as silver, and 486 00:25:50,166 --> 00:25:53,466 search for her as hidden treasures, then you 487 00:25:53,466 --> 00:25:56,766 will discern the fear of the Lord, 488 00:25:56,766 --> 00:25:59,533 and discover the knowledge of God. 489 00:25:59,666 --> 00:26:00,400 There it is. 490 00:26:02,099 --> 00:26:03,466 So it really comes down to this. 491 00:26:04,833 --> 00:26:06,000 How badly do you want it? 492 00:26:08,299 --> 00:26:11,833 It's pretty amazing, the things that people will do to 493 00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:15,200 acquire wealth in their quest to 494 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,733 achieve the man centered American dream with their life. 495 00:26:18,799 --> 00:26:19,933 Their life is all about that. 496 00:26:21,333 --> 00:26:22,566 The commitment that they'll make. 497 00:26:24,033 --> 00:26:27,666 The kind of things that they will go through just 498 00:26:27,666 --> 00:26:31,500 to make more and more money, what 499 00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:35,033 level of commitment, are you 500 00:26:35,033 --> 00:26:38,233 willing to make, towards gaining 501 00:26:38,233 --> 00:26:39,599 discernment. 502 00:26:41,233 --> 00:26:42,366 The same kind of commitment? 503 00:26:44,099 --> 00:26:45,400 Are you after it like money? 504 00:26:47,099 --> 00:26:49,299 Are you after it like silver and treasure? 505 00:26:51,033 --> 00:26:52,766 If you don't run that race, you can't win it. 506 00:26:54,033 --> 00:26:58,099 If you don't pursue that goal, then you'll never achieve it. 507 00:26:59,700 --> 00:27:02,966 If you, in your life, right now, in your Christian life, 508 00:27:02,966 --> 00:27:06,133 if you are content with just a minimal knowledge 509 00:27:06,133 --> 00:27:09,866 of the truth, if you are content to 510 00:27:09,866 --> 00:27:13,000 just stay at the shallow end of the theological 511 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,099 pool, if you are content to 512 00:27:16,099 --> 00:27:19,466 not pursue, with your time, attention, 513 00:27:19,466 --> 00:27:23,000 and energy, the deep things of God, I 514 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,733 can promise you you will never get there. 515 00:27:26,099 --> 00:27:26,433 Never. 516 00:27:27,900 --> 00:27:30,633 As I said many times, it doesn't come through osmosis. 517 00:27:32,599 --> 00:27:33,933 It just doesn't just happen. 518 00:27:35,633 --> 00:27:39,333 You have to first want it, desire it, 519 00:27:39,333 --> 00:27:42,500 and then you have to diligently pursue it. 520 00:27:43,599 --> 00:27:44,566 I have all the books. 521 00:27:45,933 --> 00:27:49,766 In my library here and at the house, that 522 00:27:49,766 --> 00:27:52,933 you could possibly need to 523 00:27:52,933 --> 00:27:55,633 get this started in your life, but guess what? 524 00:27:56,599 --> 00:28:00,099 You have to crack them open and read them alongside your Bible. 525 00:28:02,233 --> 00:28:02,966 It takes time. 526 00:28:05,133 --> 00:28:06,299 It takes time to do this. 527 00:28:07,833 --> 00:28:09,366 And in our day, you know where that starts? 528 00:28:09,500 --> 00:28:11,433 Turn the TV off. 529 00:28:12,333 --> 00:28:16,033 Put the phone down and crack open your Bible. 530 00:28:16,733 --> 00:28:18,433 That's the only way you're going to grow as a Christian. 531 00:28:19,833 --> 00:28:23,533 If you make it a priority in your life, the 532 00:28:23,533 --> 00:28:26,700 pursuit of God's truth and God's wisdom, I promise you, 533 00:28:26,700 --> 00:28:28,500 then you will be discerning. 534 00:28:28,566 --> 00:28:30,500 If you don't, you won't be. 535 00:28:31,533 --> 00:28:36,266 And your discernment, if you gain it, will lead to greater worship. 536 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:37,833 You know why? 537 00:28:37,866 --> 00:28:41,000 Because you won't be worshiping out of a shallow understanding of 538 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,400 God, you will be worshiping out of a deeper, 539 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,866 puller, richer understanding of God. 540 00:28:46,933 --> 00:28:50,099 And I promise you, it'll make the most profound impact on 541 00:28:50,099 --> 00:28:54,133 your life, because naturally what'll start to happen, when 542 00:28:54,133 --> 00:28:57,133 circumstances and events come into your life, especially adverse 543 00:28:57,133 --> 00:29:00,133 ones, very automatically, you will bring the truth of 544 00:29:00,133 --> 00:29:03,900 God to bear on whatever that thing is, because you're already flowing in it. 545 00:29:03,966 --> 00:29:05,099 You're already in the middle of it. 546 00:29:05,166 --> 00:29:09,066 That way of thinking, we'll start to become your default 547 00:29:09,066 --> 00:29:12,233 go to reaction to things that happen. 548 00:29:12,366 --> 00:29:13,799 What's the word of God say about this? 549 00:29:14,933 --> 00:29:17,233 So first, you have to desire it. 550 00:29:18,700 --> 00:29:21,900 If you don't have it, ask God to grant 551 00:29:21,900 --> 00:29:23,566 you that desire if you don't have that desire. 552 00:29:23,700 --> 00:29:25,033 And that leads me to my next point. 553 00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:26,599 Prayer. 554 00:29:27,333 --> 00:29:29,533 Look at James 1, 5 through 6. 555 00:29:29,599 --> 00:29:30,500 You know, we studied this. 556 00:29:32,433 --> 00:29:33,866 But any of you lacks wisdom. 557 00:29:34,633 --> 00:29:36,566 Involved in wisdom, of course, is discernment. 558 00:29:37,133 --> 00:29:40,700 Let him ask of God, who gives you all generously, 559 00:29:40,700 --> 00:29:43,933 and without reproach, and it will be given to 560 00:29:43,933 --> 00:29:47,166 him, but he must ask in 561 00:29:47,166 --> 00:29:50,633 faith, without any doubting, for 562 00:29:50,666 --> 00:29:54,000 the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven 563 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,500 and tossed by the wind. 564 00:29:56,733 --> 00:29:59,766 So you have to start with full confidence. 565 00:30:00,933 --> 00:30:04,166 that God alone is the source of wisdom, and 566 00:30:04,166 --> 00:30:07,333 with that confidence, you have to pray, 567 00:30:07,333 --> 00:30:10,566 and ask him, ask God. 568 00:30:10,700 --> 00:30:11,599 You know what I like to pray? 569 00:30:12,633 --> 00:30:16,166 Lord, please grant me ever increasing measures of wisdom. 570 00:30:17,133 --> 00:30:18,133 I pray that all the time. 571 00:30:19,633 --> 00:30:22,700 Wisdom, grace, courage, strength, 572 00:30:22,700 --> 00:30:26,233 perseverance, give me ever increasing measures of those things. 573 00:30:26,299 --> 00:30:29,533 When you're reading and studying scripture and 574 00:30:29,533 --> 00:30:32,766 you crack open your Bible, you say, Before you start, Lord, 575 00:30:32,766 --> 00:30:34,733 please help me to understand this correctly. 576 00:30:35,833 --> 00:30:39,666 Please lead me to whatever resources I need to help me understand this correctly. 577 00:30:40,799 --> 00:30:44,599 God, grant me, ever increasing measures 578 00:30:44,599 --> 00:30:47,233 of discernment as I'm growing in grace. 579 00:30:47,299 --> 00:30:47,666 Pray that. 580 00:30:49,099 --> 00:30:52,166 It's a matter of a desire to want to be a discerning Christian. 581 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:55,866 Secondly, it's a matter of prayer, and thirdly, it's a matter of pattern. 582 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:57,266 Now what do I mean by that? 583 00:30:58,299 --> 00:31:00,333 Well, hang around people who have discernment. 584 00:31:02,433 --> 00:31:04,799 Listen to preachers who have discernment. 585 00:31:06,299 --> 00:31:07,700 Get everything you can out of them. 586 00:31:08,500 --> 00:31:11,566 Listen to people who particularly engage in 587 00:31:11,566 --> 00:31:15,200 apologetics in ministry, which is 588 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,200 pointing out error, and false religion, people 589 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,833 like Dr. James White, read his books, he's got some great books. 590 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:27,566 Get connected with people who know how to answer the heresies 591 00:31:27,566 --> 00:31:31,166 in the church, who know how to identify 592 00:31:31,166 --> 00:31:33,266 error from the word of God. 593 00:31:33,266 --> 00:31:36,633 And also, follow the example of mature Christians. 594 00:31:36,666 --> 00:31:38,400 Look at Hebrews 5 14. 595 00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:43,966 But solid food is for the mature. 596 00:31:45,633 --> 00:31:49,033 Who, because of practice, have their, what, senses, 597 00:31:49,033 --> 00:31:52,500 trained, to discern, good and evil? 598 00:31:52,566 --> 00:31:54,200 Again, it goes back right here. 599 00:31:54,299 --> 00:31:57,299 Find, spiritually mature people 600 00:31:57,299 --> 00:32:00,366 who have been walking with the Lord for a good long 601 00:32:00,366 --> 00:32:02,299 while, and learn from them. 602 00:32:03,599 --> 00:32:04,766 Make them your pattern. 603 00:32:06,700 --> 00:32:09,733 Now next, you have to be totally dependent, as 604 00:32:09,733 --> 00:32:11,900 you already know, on the Holy Spirit. 605 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,566 Look at 1 John 2, 21. 606 00:32:16,433 --> 00:32:17,366 Writing to Christians. 607 00:32:18,133 --> 00:32:21,133 But you have an anointing from 608 00:32:21,133 --> 00:32:24,133 the holy one, and you all know, I have not 609 00:32:24,133 --> 00:32:28,099 written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it. 610 00:32:28,833 --> 00:32:31,866 And because no lie, is of the truth, 611 00:32:31,866 --> 00:32:34,933 the reason that we know the truth, and the big meta 612 00:32:34,933 --> 00:32:37,933 picture is because we have an anointing from the holy one. 613 00:32:38,066 --> 00:32:39,033 Look at verse 27. 614 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:42,366 As for you, the anointing which you received from him, 615 00:32:42,366 --> 00:32:43,433 abides in you. 616 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:46,099 And you have no need for. 617 00:32:46,166 --> 00:32:49,233 anyone to teach you, but as his anointing teaches you about all things, 618 00:32:49,233 --> 00:32:52,433 and is true, and is not a lie, and just that has taught you, 619 00:32:52,466 --> 00:32:54,099 abide in him. 620 00:32:54,133 --> 00:32:57,200 Now, understand, John is not denying here the importance of 621 00:32:57,200 --> 00:32:58,700 gifted teachers in the church. 622 00:32:58,799 --> 00:33:01,933 We know that to be true from other scriptures, but rather, 623 00:33:01,933 --> 00:33:05,466 what he's teaching is the reality here, that all teachers 624 00:33:05,466 --> 00:33:09,299 of scripture and all believers, for that matter, 625 00:33:09,299 --> 00:33:11,233 are totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit. 626 00:33:12,099 --> 00:33:15,366 He is our resident, truth teacher, 627 00:33:15,366 --> 00:33:17,000 above all. 628 00:33:17,066 --> 00:33:20,900 And he dwells, as it says here, in every believer. 629 00:33:21,533 --> 00:33:24,666 If you're a believer, he's in you, and he is your 630 00:33:24,666 --> 00:33:26,766 resident truth teacher, and he promises. 631 00:33:27,799 --> 00:33:31,633 To disclose the truth of God to you as you 632 00:33:31,633 --> 00:33:34,766 expose yourself to the Word of God. 633 00:33:34,866 --> 00:33:37,866 He will illumine the scripture for you. 634 00:33:40,299 --> 00:33:42,466 And that leads me to our last point. 635 00:33:42,566 --> 00:33:45,333 I think I said last point earlier, but I didn't really mean it. 636 00:33:45,366 --> 00:33:47,299 I wanted to make sure you were paying attention. 637 00:33:48,700 --> 00:33:50,000 Study the Bible. 638 00:33:51,333 --> 00:33:52,033 diligently. 639 00:33:53,733 --> 00:33:56,700 Remember the Bereans from Acts 17. 640 00:33:56,900 --> 00:34:00,066 They studied the scriptures daily to see if the things that Paul said 641 00:34:00,066 --> 00:34:03,066 about the Messiah out of the Old Testament were really so. 642 00:34:04,433 --> 00:34:04,933 Let me tell you. 643 00:34:06,133 --> 00:34:09,133 As you study the Word of God, and 644 00:34:09,133 --> 00:34:12,300 you pray, and you depend on the Holy Spirit 645 00:34:12,300 --> 00:34:16,033 to be your teacher, I promise 646 00:34:16,033 --> 00:34:19,500 you, discernment will begin to develop in 647 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:21,966 your mind, and in your life, 648 00:34:22,433 --> 00:34:25,033 And in addition, I want to re emphasize what I said earlier. 649 00:34:26,699 --> 00:34:31,533 Then find out those who demonstrate 650 00:34:31,533 --> 00:34:34,699 spiritual maturity, theological 651 00:34:34,699 --> 00:34:38,066 knowledge, years of 652 00:34:38,066 --> 00:34:41,166 exercising, discernment, and make 653 00:34:41,166 --> 00:34:42,233 those people your heroes. 654 00:34:44,333 --> 00:34:47,900 Next year, Mark's 30 years that 655 00:34:47,900 --> 00:34:51,000 I've been living the Christian life, which is wild 656 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,699 for me to even utter those words to you. 657 00:34:55,199 --> 00:34:59,833 But from the start, almost from the start, 658 00:34:59,833 --> 00:35:03,066 I had heroes that I exposed 659 00:35:03,066 --> 00:35:06,066 myself to, and that I learned from, 660 00:35:06,066 --> 00:35:09,433 who modeled discernment, and 661 00:35:09,433 --> 00:35:10,633 spiritual maturity. 662 00:35:10,699 --> 00:35:12,500 I had men like Huey Moat. 663 00:35:13,133 --> 00:35:14,166 And Ed Lacy. 664 00:35:14,933 --> 00:35:19,166 Early on in my Christian life that I learned from personally, 665 00:35:19,166 --> 00:35:22,766 one on one, and then other heroes that 666 00:35:22,766 --> 00:35:26,066 all of you know, who I begin to learn from in 667 00:35:26,066 --> 00:35:29,133 my very earliest years of the Christian life, 668 00:35:29,133 --> 00:35:32,166 heroes to many of you, and many besides me, like 669 00:35:32,166 --> 00:35:33,599 John MacArthur and R.C. 670 00:35:33,599 --> 00:35:36,599 Sproul, who we had this morning in Sunday school, Martin 671 00:35:36,599 --> 00:35:38,233 Lloyd Jones, C.H. 672 00:35:38,233 --> 00:35:41,699 Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, I could just go down the list of 673 00:35:41,699 --> 00:35:42,966 these names that you know, 674 00:35:43,933 --> 00:35:47,066 who have exercised and modeled discernment, and whose writings 675 00:35:47,066 --> 00:35:48,333 are still being published today. 676 00:35:48,433 --> 00:35:51,733 100 years later, 200 years later, and more. 677 00:35:53,633 --> 00:35:56,699 Don't make the fancy people of the 678 00:35:56,699 --> 00:35:57,833 world your heroes. 679 00:35:58,900 --> 00:36:02,166 Make the discerning and spiritually mature 680 00:36:02,166 --> 00:36:04,633 people, your heroes, and learn from them. 681 00:36:07,199 --> 00:36:08,199 Well, let's close this out. 682 00:36:10,300 --> 00:36:11,599 with Philippians 19. 683 00:36:13,333 --> 00:36:17,433 Again, Paul says, 684 00:36:17,433 --> 00:36:21,300 and this, I pray, that your love will 685 00:36:21,300 --> 00:36:25,266 abound still more and more in what? 686 00:36:25,333 --> 00:36:29,400 In real knowledge and all discernment. 687 00:36:29,466 --> 00:36:32,599 So he's saying, I want your love to be 688 00:36:32,599 --> 00:36:36,800 the product of real knowledge and all discernment, 689 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:40,933 because the more you know of God's truth, the more legitimate your love will be. 690 00:36:41,699 --> 00:36:44,699 Your love for him and your love for others, 691 00:36:44,699 --> 00:36:46,500 because you'll understand it more deeply. 692 00:36:47,599 --> 00:36:49,666 You'll understand it spiritually. 693 00:36:50,633 --> 00:36:52,500 And then Paul says, Next, look in verse 10. 694 00:36:53,433 --> 00:36:56,699 So that you may approve the things that 695 00:36:56,699 --> 00:36:59,866 are excellent in order to be sincere 696 00:36:59,900 --> 00:37:03,733 and blameless until the day of Christ. 697 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:05,966 This is still Paul's prayer in this section. 698 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,000 He says, so that you may approve the things that are 699 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,466 excellent, so you can make distinctions. 700 00:37:12,900 --> 00:37:15,933 When you can make distinctions, you will be what it says next. 701 00:37:16,033 --> 00:37:19,033 Look, sincere and blameless until the day 702 00:37:19,033 --> 00:37:21,133 of Christ, and for all of us. 703 00:37:21,933 --> 00:37:25,466 Look, that's either the day that Jesus returns, 704 00:37:25,466 --> 00:37:28,800 or, by way of application, the 705 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:31,633 day you go to be with the Lord, before the second coming. 706 00:37:32,433 --> 00:37:34,266 One way or other, you're going to meet him. 707 00:37:35,433 --> 00:37:38,533 And let me tell you, this prayer that Paul prays 708 00:37:38,533 --> 00:37:40,933 here, this is my prayer for you too. 709 00:37:41,900 --> 00:37:42,766 Like I've said before. 710 00:37:43,699 --> 00:37:45,266 What am I doing here, Christian? 711 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:47,900 I'm just trying to get us all ready to meet Jesus. 712 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,000 And I know that he's going 713 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:56,066 to hold you to account for what you 714 00:37:56,066 --> 00:37:59,833 did with your time, your tension, your energy, and your Christian life. 715 00:38:01,133 --> 00:38:04,166 So, I want you to be able to stand there, just 716 00:38:04,166 --> 00:38:08,133 like for myself, saying, man, I gave it my all. 717 00:38:08,933 --> 00:38:12,199 in the Christian life, because I was so thankful that you saved 718 00:38:12,199 --> 00:38:15,966 me from what I deserve, namely, the wrath of God in hell forever. 719 00:38:17,633 --> 00:38:18,900 Well, Paul finishes the prayer. 720 00:38:19,733 --> 00:38:20,599 In verse 11. 721 00:38:21,933 --> 00:38:25,266 Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness 722 00:38:25,266 --> 00:38:28,266 which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory 723 00:38:28,266 --> 00:38:30,199 and praise of God. 724 00:38:30,266 --> 00:38:31,933 Isn't that the goal for all of us? 725 00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:34,766 To live a life that praises God? 726 00:38:36,099 --> 00:38:38,366 To live a life that glorifies God? 727 00:38:38,466 --> 00:38:40,266 That honors Christ? 728 00:38:41,500 --> 00:38:44,900 Being a person who can choose what 729 00:38:44,900 --> 00:38:47,900 is truly excellent because you 730 00:38:47,900 --> 00:38:51,633 have real knowledge, 731 00:38:51,633 --> 00:38:55,400 biblical knowledge, spiritual knowledge, and 732 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,033 all discernment. 733 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:00,266 So that's my word on discernment. 734 00:39:01,199 --> 00:39:03,099 And three, messages. 735 00:39:03,133 --> 00:39:04,566 My prayer is this. 736 00:39:06,500 --> 00:39:09,699 that what you've heard will motivate you to 737 00:39:09,699 --> 00:39:12,900 strive for discernment, because 738 00:39:12,900 --> 00:39:15,900 we're all going to need it, as 739 00:39:15,900 --> 00:39:19,333 we get ready to go on this journey together, and studying 740 00:39:19,333 --> 00:39:20,966 the book of Hebrews. 741 00:39:21,599 --> 00:39:22,099 Let's pray. 742 00:39:23,133 --> 00:39:24,199 By the way, thank you, Lord. 743 00:39:25,633 --> 00:39:29,900 For all of these scriptures that we've looked at today, that 744 00:39:29,900 --> 00:39:33,666 Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, made it 745 00:39:33,666 --> 00:39:36,733 so clear for all of us about the critical nature 746 00:39:36,733 --> 00:39:38,166 of discernment. 747 00:39:38,233 --> 00:39:41,233 I pray that today, the 748 00:39:41,233 --> 00:39:46,000 word that has been proclaimed would motivate all believers here 749 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:49,099 to desire first, to be 750 00:39:49,099 --> 00:39:51,866 discerning, and then to act upon that desire. 751 00:39:52,633 --> 00:39:53,833 in a fresh and new way. 752 00:39:54,699 --> 00:39:56,900 We pray we honored you today and brought you glory. 753 00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:58,066 In Jesus' name we pray. 754 00:39:58,166 --> 00:39:58,699 Amen.