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you you you you you you you you you you you you you you All right welcome back for Sunday night service shield of faith Baptist Church It's great to see everybody back this evening, so let's just go ahead and grab our hymn books, please And we'll turn to song number 39. How beautiful heaven must be great song Singing out with all our hearts song number 39. How beautiful heaven must be On the first It's made for the pure and the free Please choose in god's word he hath given How beautiful How beautiful heaven must be In heaven, no drooping, nor pining, nor wishing for elsewhere to be God's light is forever there shining How beautiful heaven must be How beautiful heaven must be Sweet home of the happy and free Fair haven of rest for the weary How beautiful heaven must be New waters of light there are flowing And old drink may be free Where jewels of splendor are glowing How beautiful heaven must be How beautiful heaven must be Sweet home of the happy and free Fair haven of rest for the weary How beautiful heaven must be on the last The angels so sweetly are singing Up there by the beautiful sea Sweet colds of their cold arms are ringing How beautiful heaven must be How beautiful heaven must be Sweet home of the happy and free Fair haven of rest for the weary How beautiful heaven must be Amen. Brother David, will you open us for prayer? Dear Father God, we just thank you for bringing us all here together on a Sunday evening to sing praises to your name, Lord, and hear your word be preached, Lord. We just ask that you please bless the service this evening. Bless Pastor John as he prepares to preach his sermon that you laid on his heart. And we just ask that you please bless the rest of this evening. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. All right, let's turn the song to 167, all hail the power of Jesus' name, amen. Let's lift up our voices, 167, all hail the power of Jesus' name. All hail the power of Jesus' name. Let angels cross the rainbow. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all. The chosen seed of Israel's grace he ransomed from the fall. Hail him who saves you by his grace and crown him Lord of all. Hail him who saves you by his grace and crown him Lord of all. Let every kindred, every tribe on this celestial hall. To him, O majesty, ascribe and crown him Lord of all. To him, O majesty, ascribe and crown him Lord of all. All that with yonder sacred throng he at his feet may fall We'll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. We'll join the everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. Amen. Good singing. All right, welcome back. Welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church. So we'll go through these announcements here real quick. Sunday mornings, 1030. Sunday evenings at 6 and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Underneath there is a list of so many times. We have Saturday mornings at 1030 meeting right here. Same time, same location every single week. If you're running late today, any of the other times, you can always call, text. Let us know, 208-391-5323. Back page. So tonight will be in the book of 2 John. All right. Hopefully the New Testament Bible reading challenge is going well. And we did talk about another challenge that's possibly going to be submitted next month. So we'll see about that. Let's see here. February 12th at 3 p.m. That is Miss Melissa's baby shower, which Vic is supposed to be planning. So we'll see. And Mike too. But we'll see how that goes. In honor of our third year anniversary, come join us Wednesday, February 23rd at 7 p.m. for preaching from Pastor Roger Jimenez from Verde Baptist Church. He'll be here. And it's going to be a soup potluck. So please bring your favorite soup or side dish or dessert to share. And birthdays and anniversaries. So today is Caden's birthday. And on the 9th, I think that's Wednesday, will be Briley's birthday. So don't forget to say happy birthday to them. This week's memory verse is a long one. It's Ecclesiastes chapter 8, verse 1, which says, Who is as the wise man, and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. We are a family integrated church. That means children and infants are always welcome in the service. Daddy baby room is right over here for now. And across the way is the mother baby room. So it should be all set up ready to go. Don't forget to turn your phone off or place it on silent so it's not a distraction. And the very bottom line of your bulletin says, The humble apologize, but the proud jeopardize. And that was from last Sunday morning. So that's it. We'll have one more song before we receive the offering. Let's go ahead and sing happy birthday to brother Caden. It's a big birthday. It's an important milestone birthday. So we'll sing happy birthday to him. Let us know. We appreciate it. Here we go. There we go. There we go. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, brother Caden. Happy birthday to you. Amen. Thank you for all you do. Amen. Let's turn to song number 325, Trust and Obey. 325, trust and obey. We'll walk with the Lord. The first four. When we walk with the Lord. In the light of His word. What a glory He sheds on our way. While we do His good will. He abides with us still. And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Not a shadow can rise. Not a cloud in the skies. But His smile quickly drives it away. Not a doubt or a fear. Not a sign or a tear. Can abide while we trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Not a burden we bear. Not a sorrow we share. But our joy doth richly repay. Not a grief nor a loss. Not a frown nor a cross. But is blessed if we trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. But we never can prove. The delight of His love. Until only yonder we lay. For the favor He shows. And the joy He bestows. All for them we'll trust and obey. Trust and obey. For there's no other way. To be happy in Jesus. But to trust and obey. Amen. Alright, well let's go ahead and pray. Thank you so much Lord for allowing us to be able to gather here again this evening. We pray that you would bless the service Lord. Help us to minimize distractions and we just pray that you bless the fellowship after the service. And again we do thank you for all that you do for us Lord in Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Alright, we're there in 2 John. The second epistle of John. And starting in verse number 1 the Bible reads. The elder unto the elect lady and her children. Whom I love in the truth. And not I only but also all they that have known the truth. For the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever. Grace be with you. Mercy and peace from God the Father. And from the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of the Father in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee lady not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee for that which we had from the beginning that we love one another. And this is love that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning you shall walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ has come into flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine receive him not into your house neither bid him God speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto you I will not write with paper and ink but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Brother Jeff would you pray for us? All right. Amen. Well the second epistle of John and I'm excited to go through this here. Hopefully the study guides have been a blessing to you guys and you've been able to use them and just mark them up. You know so you can save some space in your in your Bibles and so on and so forth. But with that being said we will get into this study right away. We've got a lot of stuff to cover here. So the title of the sermon this evening is the importance of the incarnation the importance of the incarnation. We'll get into explaining that here in a little bit. But let's start off looking at verse number one. It says this the elder unto the elect lady and her children whom I love in the truth and not I only but also all they that have known the truth. So we're going to stop right there. Now some people read the first phrase there and they say OK the elder unto the elect lady. And they start talking about the election and they try to imply Calvinism and predestination and all that sort of junk. We've already dismantled that we've already proven that's not what's going on here. But a lot of people will bring that up. OK. It's just something that we have to be aware of. So obviously it starts off the elder starts off who the letter was written by. We know that to be John because of the style that is written in and the things that are being said the things that are being taught here. Now there's two ways that you can look at this letter. You can read it as if John wrote it to an actual lady or somebody who he got saved. Or you can look at it through the lens that we're going to look at it through which is that it's written to the church or to a church two churches. Because often in the Bible you'll see that the church is referred to as what the bride of Christ. Turn if you would to 2 Timothy chapter 3 and keep your place there because obviously we're going to come back to it. But let's take a look at this idea here because I think there's nothing wrong with reading this epistle here through that lens because all scripture is God breathed. It's all given for inspiration you know for instruction for all the things that we talk about on a weekly basis. And I think it makes it more personal when we read it through that lens that this is to the believers came to the body of Christ unto the elect lady. Now just to kind of show you what I'm talking about there look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine for reproof or correction for instruction in righteousness. Verse 17 that the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And the reason why I wanted to open up by reading that is because there are people out there that will say well you have to read this epistle. Knowing and understanding the culture and the times that it was written in and you know there are things that we can kind of make application for but really it was unto this special woman. She was elect. She was predestined. She was chosen before the foundation of the world. So you have to we have to understand these things were written unto her hermeneutically speaking. That's all garbage. That is a lie. If you don't believe me look at Matthew chapter number 25 go turn to Matthew chapter number 25. We'll start to ask this question and answer this question. Well why could this be written to a church? Well he says the elder John was an elder. Obviously by this point in time he was probably elder or older in life. But we know that elder is a term used to describe pastors as a term used to describe those who are holding a position of leadership inside of the church. And you would definitely give that attribute to John. He was an apostle for crying out loud. And so what is he doing? He's writing doctrine. He's writing reproof unto the elect lady which I think is the bride of Christ. It was meant for all time periods. It was meant for us today. It was meant for the time back then. It's going to be meant for the generations to come if the Lord tarries. Matthew 25 look at verse 1. It says this. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Go to John chapter 3. So again when Jesus is about to give this parable here what does he say? Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins. That is feminine. That is a female reference. Look at John chapter 3 and verse 29. John says this. He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled. So again just another reference. Go to 2 Corinthians chapter number 11. So another reference. The body of Christ is often referred to as a bride. So another term for that could easily be the elect lady. Not talking about being chosen before the foundation of the world. God doesn't choose some people to be saved, some people to be damned. We know that that is false doctrine here. Now look at what it says in verse number 2. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2. It says 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. Go to Ephesians chapter number 5. You'll see this concept all throughout the New Testament if you study it out. We don't have time to run all the references but we're going to look at just a few. Ephesians chapter 5 verse 30. You know that when Paul is teaching the Ephesians there he likens the kingdom of God, the church if you will, as unto a relationship like a husband and a wife. So look at verse number 30. Ephesians 5 verse 30 says for we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. Verse 31 for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh. It's kind of interesting that Jesus said, you know, if you want to be my disciple, you know, what did he say? You got to hate your mother, hate your brother, you know, hate your father, hate all these things. And obviously he's not saying hate as in, you know, like I hate your guts. You know, do you really, like we talked about this before, who thinks that Jesus would actually come down here and start questioning people. Hey, did you tell your mom and dad you hated them today? Well then you can't be my disciple. No, we spent a lot of time explaining what that means. But literally when you get saved, you should, if you want to be a disciple, you know, leave the rudiments of the world, leave the elements of the world. Leave those relationships behind because if you don't, they will drag you back to the course of the world. Have you lost your salvation? No, because you cannot lose your salvation, but you can lose your fellowship. You can lose your assurance. You can lose your joy. Okay? So again, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh. Verse 32. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Again, he likes to compare the church to a bride, to a lady, to a female. Just a couple more to go to Revelation chapter number 19. We'll look at another one here, Revelation chapter number 19. So it says this in verse number seven, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb is come. And his wife hath made herself ready. Well, who is the wife there? It's the church. It's the body of Christ. It's the kingdom of heaven. There's a lot of different names to describe it. Now, obviously I don't like to run around, you know, and say, you know, the church, the church is made up of all people who claim to be Christians, but there is some truth to that. Okay. There is definitely some truth to that. Every saved Bible believing Christian in the world is part of the church. The kingdom of heaven is the church. They're the same thing. So that is correct. Verse 32. So this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. So what is shield of faith Baptist church? Well, it's just a segment of that. You know, you can only hold so many people in a building, right? You'd only have so many people meeting together. So there was need to break up into local individual churches. Now, the problem, which we all know, is that when the New Testament church started, there were people traveling around. And we'll talk about it here in a moment. This started preaching false doctrine, drawing disciples after themselves. And now we have five million different denominations and people calling themselves Christians. And they're really not part of the kingdom of heaven. They're not part of the church because they are not saved in many cases. So verse number eight says this, says, And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. So one more. Look at Revelation chapter number 21. Revelation chapter 21 verse 1 says this, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away. And there was no more sea. Verse two. And I saw, or I'm sorry, and I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. So if you would go back to second John and let's read verse number one again, just with that in mind, okay? Now, obviously, you don't want to go around fighting people. Well, I, you know, somebody comes up to you, I think it was just a lady. All right, dude, just calm down. It's fine. It's totally fine. Okay, but I did give you plenty of references to explain my position. I believe that this is to the church, to the body of Christ. It was meant for everyone. And when you know that and you can pull these references out, you can hopefully straighten somebody out who's just pinned down by this hermeneutic note. You have to go back to the culture. You have to go back to the times that it was written in. Otherwise, you can't understand the Bible. That is such crap and garbage. I hate it with all my being. Okay? So with that in mind, let's look again at verse number one. The elder. Again, who is the elder? This is John. This is the John, the brother of James. He's one of the sons of thunder that we've been talking about. A guy who was in the inner circle of Christ. And something else I just kind of thought about here, I think it's interesting, you know, you got Peter, James, and John. Those three were in the inner circle. No doubt about that. And in our Bible, the way it's laid out, right, what are the epistles or what are the letters that are before the epistles of John? It's Peter, right? Kind of funny how they're right next to each other. You know, they're always next to each other. I don't know, just something fun I thought about there. This was the disciple that Jesus loved. So the elder unto the elect lady. And notice this. And her children. Okay? So what does that imply? Well, that implies that this elect lady is supposed to be reproducing itself, right? Through soul winning, through preaching the word of God, through making converts and producing children. And obviously having physical children too, right, by promoting family, which is something that these other jerks out here aren't doing. Okay? You'd be surprised, but a lot of these churches are actually totally on board and totally fine with fornication, abortion, divorce, all manner of wickedness that the Bible is against. And these people are just totally okay with it. Okay? So, and her children. Right? Well, that would be us. Okay? That would be us. Those who are saved. Says this, whom I love in the truth. We spent a great deal of time talking about love and we're going to revisit some of that in a moment. But one of the tests, which we'll again revisit and we'll take a look at, one of the tests for somebody in the church is whether or not they actually love the brethren. Somebody who is constantly trying to do harm to the brother, who hates the brother, that's a huge red flag. That is somebody we need to be aware of and keep an eye on because 10 out of 10 times those people have serious issues, wind up not even being saved and having to be thrown out of the church. But John is reminding us of that truth. He says, whom I love in the truth. Okay? Doesn't say whom I get along with in the truth, but whom I love in the truth. Okay? There are believers that we all probably don't get along with as well as others. Okay? But we are still commanded to love those people. And if they have a need, we ought to love them enough to fulfill that need, to give to that need. So he says, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. So again, John opens this epistle, making it very clear that this is for all believers, all believers that love the truth, that love the real Christ. Okay? So let's see here, with that being said, go to, lost my place here. Well, let's look at the second reason actually. So the first reason that I believe this is talking to the church is obviously because the church is described as a bride of Christ and all the things that we just talked about. But the second reason is because of the switch between the singular and the plurals in this chapter. So if you look at verse four, five, and 13, you're going to notice that that is singular. I rejoice greatly. Okay? Verse five, and now I beseech thee. Last verse of the chapter, the children of thy elect sister greet thee, thee, amen. Okay? And then verses six, eight, 10, and 12, we're not going to read them, but those are plural in nature. So I think because of this switch between the singular and the plural, I think is good reason to assume that this is definitely written to the elect lady being the church. And obviously, if you look at verse 13, the children of thy elect sister greet thee, well, that would be a neighboring church. Okay? And that would definitely correspond with what we read in Romans and, I mean, just basically all the New Testament epistles, right? You know, hey, read this epistle to the church in Galatia. Read this epistle to the church in Laodicea. You know, the saints of Rome greet thee. You know, Paul was always talking like that. Peter talks like that. John talks like that. All the apostles talk like that. Why? Because fellowship is so important for believers. We are working in the world. We have to be in this world, but we are not of the world. And the way that we get assurance, the way that we get confidence is really by our fellowship, obviously with Christ, which should reflect our fellowship with the brethren, with the elect lady, with those in the body of Christ. So let's move on from that and kind of remember that. That's how we're going to kind of read this chapter today or this epistle. Look at verse number two. So John says this, a purpose clause. You know, this is something unique with John here. But he says, for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us and shall be with us for ever. Why does he say that? Because John is really big on making sure that we understand. Look, once you're in his hand, you're not getting out. Once you're saved, you are always saved. It's a done deal. OK. I don't know why people have the need and feel the desire to continuously email us and tell us that we're wrong on that position. OK. It's ridiculous. There's no way you can read the Bible and come to that conclusion on your own. It's not going to happen. Verse three. Grace be with you. Mercy and peace from God the father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the father in truth and love. OK. So what is he talking about? Walking in truth and love. Here's the deal here. Look, first of all, you can't have the father if you don't have the son. And if you think they're the same exact person, that they just change hats, then you're not saved. OK. There's obviously an element in here teaching about the Trinity. Grace be with you. Mercy and peace. Notice those three words there. Grace, mercy, peace. Where does that come from? Where does that come from? From God the father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. You see that there? How many people today want to attack the doctrine of the Trinity, though? It happens even in so-called Baptist churches. And you would be shocked, right? But look what he says. The son of the father in truth and love. Look, if you're on probation, OK, that is not security. That does not produce confidence. If you don't believe me, go find somebody who is on probation from the Idaho state prison. We talk to them from time to time out in the community. And you know what? They're a little apprehensive, right? When you talk to them, what do they say? You know, I hope to get through this. I hope to meet everything that is required of me, of my parole. They're not experiencing grace. They're not experiencing mercy. And they're certainly not experiencing full peace and joy like we can get from putting all our faith and trust on Jesus. OK, so let's move on here. Verse number four. He says, I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth as we have received a commandment from the father. Look, getting saved is great. It's the first step. But what we need to understand and what we see is that people get saved. And what do they do? They take the grace. They take a little bit of the mercy that they get and the peace that they get in that moment. And they run. OK, they run. They forget everything else. They never come to church almost, right? They never come to church. And what happens every single time? You run into them later in all my life's imperils. I've got nothing but trials and tribulations. I had to move across town. I had to do this. Everything is falling apart. Everyone's against me. I'm paranoid. I'm this. I'm that. And it's because they're violating the commandments. Look, once he's your father, there are certain things that he wants us to do. And when we don't do them, it brings unnecessary trials and tribulations on our life. It is a commandment that we walk in truth. Why? Because this demonstrates love. You're going to see that here in a moment. Now, with that being said, go, if you would, back to 1 John, chapter number 2. And let's take a look at something here. Because John, if you remember, he gives us three tests. He gives us three tests, or three points, if you will, that we need to really focus on and understand as believers. Number 1, the reason why he does this is so that we can have assurance. Because we've talked about this idea of voices in our head. The old man doesn't like the fact that you're saved. He's always trying to pull you into doing the opposite of what the new man wants. The world is doing the same thing. And so it's almost like we're just fighting gravity almost, but much stronger of a force. But when we walk in the truth, and we walk in love, that gives us the assurance that we need. Look, we need this assurance in an ongoing capacity, not just one time. Look, I'm telling you, when you get people saved, they're joyous, they're excited, they're good to go. See them later on, they're just like, good to see you again. And then you see them a year from now. And it's just, my life is upside down. And it's kind of an assurance to us because it's like, well, yeah, let me tell you why. Let me tell you possibly why. You're ignoring just a ton of wisdom in the Bible that could cause repentance unto salvation from those issues that you created. So with these three tests, if you remember correctly, the first one was love. A lot of 1 John is spent talking about the subject of love. And again, look, it's funny, people will ask me this, especially in a work setting. Like, you know, I'm really struggling with this and that. I'm thinking about getting married, but I just don't feel like I love my fiance. I just don't feel like I love this person anymore. I just don't feel, love is not a feeling. You know, it is an emotion that we have and it can produce feelings, but love needs to be turned into action. Otherwise, you're going to be in big trouble. You're going to get caught up in the cycle of new beginnings. I mean, think about it. This is one of the reasons why I hate like these romance type shows and these novels is because they glorify new beginnings. They try to put, oh, these two people are falling in love and it's great. And you're sitting here, been married for 10, 15, 20 years. And it's like, man, I don't feel like that anymore. And it's true. You know, life gets you. You get complacent. You get all these things. Right. But guess what? The answer is in the Bible. Walk in the truth. Walk in love. Love is action here. Look at verse number seven. First John chapter two, look at verse seven. So he says this and delivered just lot vexed with a filthy conversation. Oh, wait, I'm in. Hold on. Nevermind. I was skipping to like next week's sermon or something. Always goes back to the sodomites, right? Always goes back to them. But anyways, that was funny. Look at verse number seven. First John chapter two, verse seven. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him, in Christ. Okay. He says this. And in you, because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth, verse nine, he that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. Okay. And so again, when someone comes into a congregation and it's revealed, I've got beef with you, you, you, you, you, you, and you most of the time, and you, and you, and everybody, all the time, everyone else is wrong but me. Okay. We gots a big problem. That is a problem. That is, look, oh, don't judge, don't judge, don't judge. Isn't that what we're always taught? Look, we need to judge. We need to judge how people respond in the body of Christ because it can tell us, okay, if they're saved, obviously there's something that needs to be addressed, something that needs to be brought up. And another thing it could tell us is we could be dealing with an imposter, somebody who is an antichrist. Okay. But let's see, where are we at? Verse 10. Let's just read that. It says, he that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. Okay. Look at verse 12. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. Look, that is love. Love is action. Okay. Love is an action, something that needs to be ongoing. For God sent his only begotten son into the world, right? What did God do? He did something. He demonstrated. He commanded his love toward us. And then while we were at centers, Christ died for us, the Bible says. Real quickly, go over to chapter number three and look at verse number 11. It says this, for this is the message that ye heard from the beginning that we should love one another. Look, let me just stop right here. Every time I preach this, every time, without a doubt, without an occasion, 100% of the time that I preach this, the soul-winning time before I preach this, you guys run into some new evangelical who is rude simply just by knocking on their door. Right? And that happened today. Right? This guy tells brother Jeff, I'm a door greeter at this church. And he's being stupidly rude. And it's like, okay, what does that tell us? He's not saved. Look. Hey, I'm from Shield of Faith Baptist Church. I'd like to invite you to church. Know who I am, boy? I'm a door greeter. What love is that? What does that demonstrate? Well, it's a pretty good indication that he's not saved. And the preceding conversation, which we don't have time to get into, would definitely let you know that that individual is not saved. But what does John tell us here in verse 11? For this is the message that he heard from the beginning that we should love one another. At a bare minimum, it tells you he's not a disciple. He's not a disciple. We've gone into great detail about that, so we're going to skip that for now. But look at verse 12. It says this, not as Cain, who was of that wicked one and slew his brother and wherefore he slew him? Because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous. You see, they know because God has written his law on their hearts, they know when you knock on the door and they realize you're a Christian, guess what? They know that their works are unrighteous. They know that and it comes into their mind and they hate it. And because they don't have the new man, they have the old man, right? That devil that's influencing them, that devil that's influencing their teaching comes out. I'm serious. That's what happens. It's like, who in the world, like 50 years ago, 60 years ago, if you were to knock on someone's door that went to like a Lutheran church, look, they probably, and I've talked to old-time soul owners, they didn't come at you like that. That's something really new today. And look, I'm telling you, these new evangelical churches out here are extremely wicked. They preach wickedness to each his own. Like, they're doing not only what's right in their own eyes, they're doing what's right in the devil's eyes. And they're not even ashamed about that, okay? Let's see, let's jump down here real quick. Verse number 17. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? So here's a situation where somebody who's probably saved, because it says a brother, right? But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shuts up, or shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? So here's an example of somebody who's out of fellowship. You know, but how often is that really the case out there when you're knocking on somebody's door and they go to Eagle Life Church, or what is that, Life Center on Franklin and Eagle, right? Yeah, yeah, most of the time, because of the church doctrine, we know that they're not saved. But hey, sometimes we do knock on people's doors, and they probably are saved. They give us the right answers, and they start getting all snooty and rude. You know, and this is why here. Because the love of God doesn't dwell in them, because they're out of fellowship with him, okay? Verse 18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Again, love needs to be put to action, okay? That is what John is telling us here. And when we don't see that, that is a good testimony, if you will, that something is wrong with someone, okay? If they're saved, look, they're out of fellowship. We need to come up with a way, put them on the prayer list, do something to get them back into that fellowship with Christ so that we can then, in turn, get along with them. And obviously, if they're not saved and they're amongst us, we realize, hey, we got a wolf in here. We got somebody who's trying to take a sledgehammer to our foundation, okay? So the second one that I want to bring up here, let's see, go back to 1 John chapter 2, is John talks about this, walking in his commandments, okay? Walking in his commandments. You say, why is this a test? Well, this is a test for ourselves, again, just like love, okay? When we're walking in his commandments, okay? And I'm not saying when we're not sinning, because we all know we sin every single day, but when we're doing the teachings, when we're applying so we're not dying, that gives us assurance, right? That gives us that hope that we need on a daily basis to navigate in this world here. 1 John chapter number 2, let's see, you look at verse number 3. It says this, It says this, Again, talking about fellowship here, he says in verse 4, Well, what truth? The truth that we just read about there in verse number 3, okay? Knowing that fellowship, okay? And what happens when someone's at a fellowship? Well, Christ is literally like outside the door of your heart, knocking, and trying to come in to sub, trying to get that fellowship restored, okay? Why is that important? Because when that's quenched, when you quench the Spirit, and you quench that desire of fellowship, look, you could go down the road, possibly even to sin unto death. I mean, you know, it happens all the time. We talked about this last week, right? Ananias and Sapphira, okay? The Corinthians, right? They were abusing the Lord's Supper. Many of them were weak and slept prematurely, all because they refused this fellowship and wisdom here. So let's see here, look at verse number 13. So walking in these commandments, look at where verse 13 says, Father, now look at, let's see here. I think I might have got the wrong one there, but you get the point, okay? This is why John is writing these things. This is why he's commanding us to do the commandments. It's for our own benefit, but it's also so that we can do what verse 1 says of 2 John, right? And get some more children in the church, get some more children for the kingdom of God, okay? Let's see, go over real quickly to chapter 5, 1 John chapter 5. And look at verse number 1. So again, whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, okay? And we've talked about this. It has to be the right Jesus, fully man, fully God. And everyone that loveth him that begot loveth him also that is begotten of him. So again, this is somebody who understands the Godhead, not understands it and can explain it with a perfect analogy, but understands that these three are one. They understand 1 John 5, 7, okay? Let's see here. So he says in verse 2, By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments. So again, keeping the commandments are not grievous, we'll see. It's for our assurance. It's for our own benefit. Verse 3, For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not grievous. His commandments are love in action. When we keep these things and we love the brethren, we love the church, we love Bible reading, we love these things and we do them, guess what? That gives you joy. That restores that fellowship that we desperately need as God's children. Now you can go back to 2 John and I'll also say this. You don't have to turn there, but Luke 6, 46, Jesus said this, Why call you me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? And I think that's a great bottom line. That's the best one you could ever come up with. That's the word of God. That's Jesus Christ saying that. Why do people say Lord, Lord, and do not the things that he says? Right? What do the new evangelicals do today? They say Lord, Lord, and they don't do the things that he says. I'm talking about all the way back to the basics. What must I do to be saved? Right? They hear that word and they're just like, I don't even want to deal with that. I don't even like that word. I don't even like that language. Saved? What do you mean saved? They get offended by that. Well, the question I have for you then is the same question that Christ is going to have for you. Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? So let's move on here to number three, which is doctrinal truths about Jesus Christ specifically. Okay? Doctrinal truths about Christ specifically. Okay? You're going to see the Trinity, again, woven all throughout these epistles here, but I had you go back a little prematurely. Go to 1 John chapter number one. So we have number one, the three tests that John gives us here. Okay? The three things that we need to be squared up on that we need to know and understand or love, walking in his commandments, and the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of the Messiah, which specifically we're going to be talking about today is the incarnation. But before we get there, let's look at something here. 1 John chapter number one, again, verse one says, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard. Stop right there. Okay? Go, let's see here. Yeah, go to 1 John chapter number five. So again, that which we have heard. How do we hear the word of God today? Is it audible? Does he come down and speak to us audibly? Do we have visions in the night? Does he send a prophet like Elijah unto us, and God speaks directly through him to us individually? Or do we have a written word that is above every other book on the planet? Yeah, that's right. It's the Bible. That is how we hear these things. Okay? And we've talked about this. You can't separate Jesus, the Messiah, Jesus Christ from the word of God. And that is a huge issue today. It's one that's going to get brought up for, until I drop dead, okay? Because that's how important it is. So that is a test that we always give people. What have we been doing out soling when people give us the right answers? They say, oh yeah, it's by faith alone. Yep, I know it's once saved, always saved. And you're just kind of thinking like, how did you get that from Rock Harbor? Did you ever go to a Baptist church? No. And you ask, do you believe that the Bible is perfectly true, that it's without error? Oh, of course not. Almost like at least eight out of ten times. Of course not. Of course not. And the other two times it's like, well, I did go to this vocational Bible school, you know, I was put on by this independent Baptist church back then. Yeah, but okay. But yeah, okay. That's where you got saved at, pal. Don't even try to lie to us, okay? So doctrinal content about Christ specifically, okay? Always under attack. Something to look out for. When people come in here like, you know, the individual who came in here a couple of years ago who he threw out very quickly, the perfect storm, okay, right off the bat, what did he do? He attacked the doctrine of Christ. He tried to separate Jesus Christ from the written word. Why? Because he wanted to write himself his own Bible version and sell that and probably make a ton of money. Look at verse number seven, 1 John 5, verse number seven. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. When people attack that and they try to mesh that or say that doesn't belong in the Bible, in the early manuscripts, that verse wasn't there. It didn't say that. You were dealing with a heretic. You were dealing with somebody whose mouth needs to be stopped and needs to be absolutely shut up, okay? So pay attention to people and how they view Jesus Christ. Do they separate Christ from the Word like the guy at cross-examine does, like Paul Washer does, like Ray Comfort does, like so many, like, I mean, just pick one of these fools on YouTube and that's exactly what they do. That's how you know you're dealing with a heretic. That's one of the ways, okay? The other one, obviously, is people that attack the Trinity, okay, and we've had people amongst our sort that attack the Trinity and have started other churches, okay? Very dangerous thing to subscribe to. Not okay. So let's now go back to 2 John and look at verse number five. Okay? We'll get into the incarnation, which definitely applies to number three there here in a moment. But just kind of remember these three tests, love, walking in commandments, and doctrinal truths about Christ. Those three tests can really tell you where someone's at spiritually that's saved and where someone could be at if they're not saved or however you slice it. Either way, when you understand those three concepts, it's gonna really tell you a lot about a person, okay? Verse number five, let's move on here. It says this, And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. So, again, he's starting to emphasize the importance of this love. It's not just a feeling, well, I just don't feel the same about the church that I did before. It's probably because you're not doing anything. It's probably because you're not praying, you're not soul ending, you're not reading your Bible. There are things that you are not doing to demonstrate that love, and once you stop doing those things, guess what? You're trusting on a feeling, which is gonna go out the window, and there goes your fellowship. Verse six, and this is love. You say, what is love? I wanna know what the definition is. It's right here in verse six. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. Boy, that would preach all day long. That we walk after his commandments. What does that mean? That means action. Love is action, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment. That as you have heard from the beginning, that ye should walk in it. Why does he say should and not must? Because there's only one thing you must do to be saved, and that's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that you would be saved. Okay? We tell people this all the time. There are a lot of things that we should do in the Bible, and we really should do them, okay? But those don't save you. Those don't keep you saved. If we don't do them, we just bring unnecessary trouble to ourselves, and I'm not trying to say that lightly, because it's a big deal. Nobody wants to be chastened hardcore by the Lord, right? Let's let the chastening be that to purify our faith, okay? Let's go down that road, because I've been under the hand of God. I've been chastened. You know, this guy in this room over here, you know? And it's hard. It's difficult, and it's just a part of life. But let's look at verse number seven. He says this, okay? This is why this is so important for us to understand. He says this, and we're gonna break this verse down here, but he says, For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist, okay? What does John say at the beginning there? For many deceivers are entered into the world. Now, this really happens one of two ways, or both ways, depending on how you want to talk about it. And the first one is 1 John chapter two, verse 19. Just go back there if you would real quick. It should be just a couple pages back in your Bible. So the first one is that they were among us and went out from us, but were never really part of us. So again, let's look at verse 19. John talks about this. Back up to verse 18. He says this, Well, who are the they? It's the antichrists, okay? He says there are many antichrists. This is what John is saying here in this epistle. He's saying there are many, and they, verse 19, they went out from us, which is super dangerous. This is very dangerous because they know how we operate. They know what we teach, and they have time to sharpen their tongues just like an adder, okay? They have time to come up with crafty, subtle arguments, which can overthrow people's faith that are not as well-versed in the Bible. So he says they went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us. And this is something to really rejoice in. When we have a situation where we know someone is bad, but we can't prove it, God will eventually manifest those people. And we have seen that time and time again inside of this church here. He says this, though, they would no doubt have continued with us. We gotta be careful here, okay? This is true. But just because maybe somebody gets a job in another state or decides to move, you don't want to call them up and be like, hey, you know you're going to a verity now? Oh, you backstabber? I knew you were an anti-Christ. Look, somebody just got a job and had to move, or they don't like Idaho, or they don't like me, whatever, right? But if they still believe the same things, they're still right on the love, walking in the commandments, and they still hold to the doctrine about Christ, it's like, give them a pass. They're good to go. They just had to move on. It's okay. It's not a big deal, okay? So again, go back, let's see, go back, if you would, to 2 John. So again, it says, for many deceivers are entered into the world, okay? And so with that being said, you have one group that's going to come out from us, and then you're going to really have another group that are kind of like traveling missionaries of misinformation, okay? These, especially, you kind of get this implied when you read the New Testament, especially when you read the Galatians, and the Corinthians, there were people, especially Jews, who would go around, and they would, you know, just, hey, you got to follow the law, you got to follow the commandments, you got to get circumcised, and start preaching all this weird stuff. And so John's trying to address this and trying to let them know like, hey, you know, beware of these people who just show up in the church saying, hey, I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe he's come in the flesh, right? We need to take it a step further, a few steps further. Well, which Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is the Bible? Do you believe that the Bible's perfect? Do you believe, you know, the Trinity? I mean, do you believe any of that stuff, right? They need to understand who Christ is, especially before they ever come up here and start teaching, okay? So we get emails from time to time of people saying, hey, we're in town here, and we're a traveling, preaching, you know, band, and, you know, we just wanted to come in and bless your church with some music, and, you know, maybe preach a message here or there, and it's like, I don't know you. I don't know you. And they'll say things like, hey, we come with a letter of recommendation from our church, right? And it's good. I don't care. I want the test that John gives. Let's see the love for the brethren, because here's the thing. There is a big problem amongst independent fundamental Baptists, especially when it comes to Zionism and the pre-trib rapture. You tell that person emailing the church, hey, guess what? We are, you know, we don't believe that physical Jews of today are God's chosen people, and we believe that the rapture comes after the tribulation. Guess what they think? Oh, you're a heretic. No fellowship. They want to rip your head off, don't they? Okay? What does that say about their actual fellowship with this book here and with Christ? It says something pretty bad, doesn't it? Not saying they aren't saved at all. I'm just saying there's a problem. And so I don't want, and you don't want people like that coming in here and just giving the platform to speak. It's not going to happen inside of this church. I don't care what they come in with. Oh, and one guy was like, oh, we've got the banjo, and we'll bring our own keyboard, and we synthesize this music real way. It's going to be great and buzzing. Delete. Not happening. I don't know you, and I don't live by these letters of recommendation, okay? I want to see what you can do. I want to have a discussion with you. I want to see you come in here, you know, and even if you do, I'm not interested in the whole ban thing. Now, Jeff, you guys, David, you guys want to put a choir together when the church grows more? Go ahead, man, okay? But at least we know the people. They've been amongst us, and we can kind of give that test, you know, the three things that John's talking about, and we don't have to worry about it, right? Don't even worry. But this was a real thing, a real problem. And actually, this is kind of what led to churches coming out with letters of recommendation, letters of transfer. Let's license preachers, right? Yeah, these bozos over here in this episcopal church are licensed. These perverts down here in the Catholic church, they're licensed. And they're all going to hell, and you know that. Okay, let's move on here. So verse 7, we just talked about this. For many deceivers are entered into the world. And obviously, what do they do? They either come into a church like this, learn about us, go out and bash us and constantly attack us, or they just travel around like that cue ball that was in here trying to bring their doctrine of cue and on in here, and we ain't having that garbage. Did you know that the shadow reality is in the Bible? It's not in the Bible. It doesn't talk about that. Nancy Pelosi's not dead. Joe Biden's not dead. We wish they were dead, but they're not dead, okay? Elon Musk is not a robot, okay? Mark Zuckerberg's not a robot. They're both clucks. That's what they are. They're giant clucks. Stupid people. Oh, but they get a lot of work done during the day. Who cares? Who cares? They're not saved, and they speak against our Lord and Savior. Why bid them any kind of Godspeed? Okay, so let's move on here. So for many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, okay? And I've told you this story before. I had this guy, and he was a friend of mine, and he would say, you know, you really need to stop, you know, talking bad about Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, John Hagen, all these guys, because they do profess Jesus Christ. You know, he's like, just because you don't agree with him on the doctrine, he's like, there's a lot of stuff I don't agree to, but they are brothers, you know? And in his mindset, in so many people's mindset, if someone just says Christ, well, they're a brother. I had a guy walk up to me, and he's like, you know, John Jones is a brother. I'm like, what kind of brother? What do you mean? Because he's got some Bible verse tattooed on his chest that makes him a Christian? Now, obviously, he might be. He might actually be saved because of the way he lives, right? He might be a believer, you know? So I don't know. I've never seen his testimony. I've never heard it. Hopefully he's saved, you know? That'd be nice. That'd be great. But you get the idea here, okay? What does he say? Who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh? The title of this sermon is The Importance of the Incarnation. This is so important for us to understand because it goes with point number three about the doctrines of Christ. People that are messed up on these need to be straightened out, but people that are messed up on these and won't change need to be thrown out, okay? That is a fact. So I'm talking about a public verbal confession of who Jesus Christ is. He is the Word of God, okay? Now, if you look at the verse again, I want you to notice something here. So John says this. For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus is come. You notice that? Is come in the flesh. What tense is that? Well, that's present tense. Is come in the flesh. No, not first. Go to the Gospel of John chapter one. John chapter number one. Gospel of John chapter number one, okay? And let's talk about some things here, okay? John chapter number one. We know this doctrine about Christ. Who is he? He is fully man and he is fully God. John chapter one verse 14. And the Word was made flesh. Who is the Word? It's the Lord. It's God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. Go to 1 Timothy chapter number three. 1 Timothy chapter number three. So what I want you to see here in 2 John, what he's doing, he's using this phrase, Jesus Christ is come. We need to be on the lookout for people who agree with that. But the real Christ, the Word of God, is come, meaning present tense, like he is coming, like he is here right now. The continuous, I'm sorry, the continuation of Jesus' humanity is what he's referring to, okay? 1 Timothy chapter three, if you would, look at, let's see, verse 16. It says this. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. Don't miss this. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Now go back to 1 John this time, 1 John chapter number one. 1 John chapter number one, because I want you to see something here. 1 John chapter number one, look what it says. It says this. How does he start this letter off? He says, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled well, our hands have handled the word of life. He's talking about Jesus Christ being fully man, fully God. Obviously, John saw him before the resurrection and after the resurrection. Who did he see? Fully God, fully man, Jesus Christ, okay? Because there are people out there that don't understand this, and we need to explain that to them. Or there are people out there who try to separate this. They'll say, well, after the resurrection, it was only the God part that rose from the dead. That's not true. So what happened is that God breaks into time. He breaks into time and becomes a man and dwelt among us. And guess what? That didn't go away. He is still today in 2022 fully man and fully God. And what does the Bible tell us? Great is the mystery of godliness. You can't explain. I mean, you can quote the verses and teach people that and say, hey, this is something that we need to believe. We need to understand. Look, did Allah or Buddha or any of these other false gods claim or even do anything like that? Not a chance. They couldn't break through anything. The only thing they broke through was the soil when they dropped dead, okay? And that's a fact. Go to 1 John chapter number four. 1 John chapter number four. So really, the first thing about the incarnation that I want us to really understand is the continuation of that. Jesus Christ right now is fully man, fully God. He broke into time, became man, dwelt among us and is now resurrected at the right hand of the father, drawing all men unto himself. Now, John says some similar stuff here in 1 John chapter number four, but he uses a perfect tense and he's kind of talking about the historical, the historical, blah, sorry. Let me drink some of this real quick. There, the historical aspect of it, okay? Verse two, 1 John 4, two. Look what he says. Hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. Same thing. Just because someone says, well, I believe that Jesus came. Well, I believe that. That doesn't mean they're saved. It doesn't mean that what they are saying is true. Which Jesus, okay? Because when someone says, well, it wasn't the God part that died. It wasn't him that died on the cross. It was just the man part. Okay? That is heresy. Look, people that go to a church like that, people that subscribe to that, look, that is a huge problem. That is what John is warning us about. We need to believe that it happened and we need to believe that he still is Jesus the Christ. Fully man, fully God. That he dwelt among us, okay? So look at verse three. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. So is manly perry of God or not? No, he's not. And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come and even now already is in the world. And what does he go on to say? Go back to 2 John, or go forward if you would to 2 John, verse number seven. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. When people attack the incarnation of Jesus Christ, guess what? They are a deceiver and an antichrist. They are against Christ. This is so important for us to understand. So that we can discern what we're dealing with, okay? Sometimes you'll be talking to somebody at the door and they don't get it. Totally fine. Let's explain it to them. Let's make sure they understand it so they believe on the right Christ. Amen? That's what we are supposed to do. But when someone comes in here and we discover that that's not what they believe, look, we're having a big time conversation and you're probably going to get the boot. Because how could you come to this church or a church like this for months or years and then all of a sudden come out and say, well, I don't really believe that. I'd only believe it was the man part on the cross that died. It wasn't the God part. Look, he experienced the second death. Very clear in Acts chapter two. Jesus Christ went to hell for our sins. He became the offering for us. I believe that. That's what it says. That upsets so many people today, though. And you know what? That's just a shame and shame on them. So let's move on here because we've got to get moving. Verse number eight. 2 John 1, look at verse number eight. He says this, look to yourselves. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought. Rot means to work, to bring forth. He says, but that we receive a full reward. So he's trying to edify. He's trying to explain this constant, hey, look, if you've got a history and you're reading the Bible, you're studying, you're praying, hey, we ought to work to never lose the word. Hey, we ought to work to never lose those rewards that those things bring for us. But we also don't want to lose the attitude and the countenance and the boldness and the things that we work to achieve through wisdom. I mean, so many people in the Christian faith, they'll get into church, they'll get on fire, they'll read, they'll study, they'll sow, and they'll do all these things. And then they make some mistakes and they get out of fellowship and they're out of church. And you know what? That's just a sad thing, because what does it say? You're not going to receive a full reward. Go to 1 Corinthians 3, just for a quick reminder about this here, okay? This is something that we need a constant reminder of because it's a big deal. It is such a true fact that we will go to the judgment seat of Christ. And look, I've told you before, the whiteboard theory, not happening, okay? I know the Chick Jack, you're going to be up there, oh, look, okay. I know you're saved, but you know what you did to that guy over there at that red light, okay? Yeah, I saw what you said. No, Christ isn't going to put us on blast like that, but you know what? We are going to experience a judgment for what we did with what he's given us, right? We don't want to become a people that's buried the talents that he's given us in the ground, okay? Look at verse 10, 1 Corinthians 3, 10. He says this, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder. Can't we be a people that decide we're going to be a wise master builder, right? And not lose that? He says this, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. So we ought to take heed. We ought to pay special attention on how we are building our lives on the foundation of Christ. We get saved, that's the first step. We should then proceed to increase in wisdom and to increase our faith and so on and so forth. Verse 11, he says this, For other foundation can no man lay, then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Okay, again, super, super important. He is the propitiation for our sins. The only thing left for us to do is to believe. And then after we believe, the only thing left for us to do is to work as hard as we can for him, okay? Look at verse number 12. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, okay? You've got the foundation. You have the Holy Ghost. You are indwelt by him. You are in his hand. You are saved forever. So he says, Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble, look at verse 13, Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. And let me just stop right there. We all have wood, hay, and stubble. We all have to go out in the world. We gotta work. We've gotta, you know, we gotta have a little entertainment. You know, we gotta have a little break. It's good to kick back and go fishing, you know, do some fun activities, you know, beat each other up with those rubber nunchucks back there. It's good to go, okay? But we're not gonna get rewards for doing that, right? Let's just make sure that the gold and silver outweighs the wood, hay, and stubble. That's what he's trying to tell us here, okay? Look at verse 14. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. Do you see that? Look, let's make sure that we commit to not losing those rewards. Look, we're almost at our three-year anniversary now. And those of you who have been with us for any length of time need to commit to, you know what? I don't wanna lose that which I've wrought, okay? Verse 15. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. So at the end of the day, you know, amen, praise God, you're saved, right? But you have the opportunity to go into eternity with so much more than only the foundation. You can build. You can be a wise master builder. Why on earth would you wanna throw that away? You believe the truth. You know you're gonna go into eternity. Why risk throwing that all away like John is trying to warn us against? So go back to 2 John, and we're almost done. 2 John, verse number eight. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that which we have wrought. But that we receive a full reward. And you know, don't be like, oh, you missed the service, huh? Now you get sick, yeah, there goes your reward. No, we don't wanna do that, okay? Not good, definitely not good to go, okay? He's basically saying, hey, don't toss all this stuff. Don't just quit. Verse number nine, let's move on. He says this. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. Now that's a sobering statement. Again, somebody who separates Jesus Christ from the word of God, not saved. Somebody who separates the humanity from the deity, not saved. He's fully man, he's fully God. He was fully man, fully God when he was born and he broke into time and did that and became manifest among us. And he is still today fully man, fully God. Knowing that, understanding that will help you with your discernment, okay? Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. Period, done deal. You say, don't judge, too bad. We're commanded to judge. That is why we are reading this. He says this. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Something these stupid, oneness Pentecostals and these apostolics out here cannot grasp. They cannot understand this, which is why they have to go around knocking on people's doors saying, hey, would you like to know how to get to heaven? We have a class on how you can repent of your sins and how to actually achieve that. That's what they do here. It's disgusting. Look at verse 10. If there come any unto you, look, if there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him, not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. So look, people that don't bring this doctrine to our church, you know, like Cuba, we don't bid him Godspeed. Get the hell out of here. With speed, by the way. You can get that kind of speed. How about that? But we're not going to bid you Godspeed. We don't want to try to give God's blessings on these types of people. Now, at the same time, I'm not trying to box him and wrestle him out on the apartment complex unless they attack first, but that's a whole other story. A fool's mouth called for stress. Just joking around. Just trying to keep your attention. Looking for verse number 11. Very simple to understand. Verse 11. He says this. For he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds. And let me tell you something. All of these lovey-dovey, coexist, non-judgmental Christians that are siding with the queers that have to email all the time, just emailed a little while ago, okay, guess what? They are partakers of their evil deeds. Okay? Look, I'll tell you right. Saved, born again, independent, fundamental, King James only Baptist that want to side with the queers and be like, oh, yeah, they can be saved. We've got to love them. And, you know, this person wrote today, and I shared this with some of you, and they're like, how dare your, I read your statement of faith that you won't even allow them into your church. How are they supposed to get saved? They can't be saved. They've been given over to a reprobate mind. Read the Bible. And then, you know, what, 20 paragraphs later, he tells me, you know, I used to love being a homosexual, you know, but I was saved. This is what he said. He said this. He said, God hath granted me the power to turn from all of my sins and the desire, and so now it disgusts me. Again, this epistle right here will tell you that individual is not saved. He believes on a different Jesus Christ, man. It is not the Christ that we trust and believe in. Okay? For he that binneth him, God speed is a partaker of his evil deeds. So let's say that guy comes down here, or someone like that comes down here. Again, get out. Get out. You've got five seconds to make it out that door, is what you have. And I better stop right there. Let's read the rest of this. Verse 12. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face that our, what, our joy may be full. That is why he's writing these things, so that we can have full joy and we get that how? By fellowship with Christ and with the believers, right? With the saved. Verse 13. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Okay? And this is why we ought to greet people from other saved churches. Okay? You know, people always email this too. Always. I mean, this is just a nonstop battle. I need to sign somebody to answer these emails. I'm sick of these people. They're just like, are you associated with any kind of other church whatsoever? And if so, you are not independent. You know what? I respect Verity Baptist Church. It's where I was trained and came from. You know, I love Pastor Mejia. Okay? All the new IFB churches. We love them. And you know what? There are old IFB churches and I love their pastors and the believers in them that are saved as well. They might have some beef with me and some beef with you, but you know what? We still love them. And if I had the means to help them out, I would do it. The way you'd have to do it is you'd have to be slick about it because they wouldn't want to receive something from a, you know, a post or a pre-wrath guy, but still we want to help these guys out. Right? The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Fellowship is important. Look, when this church first started, you know, Faithful Word Baptist Church sent people to preach to you guys. That was a blessing. Okay? A lot of churches did. Verity, you know, they would rotate. You know, Pastor Thompson, he sent people here to preach. Right? It was a collective issue. You're just following one man. You're just following one guy. Man, shut your mouth. Okay? That's the advice I have for you. You're completely out of fellowship and you're way out of line. So stop with the emails. I'm just going to start hitting delete. I don't know. So that's it. We'll do the third epistle next week. And let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, again, for these great deep truths of your word. I just pray, Lord, that you would help us to constantly remember these things and to never give in to any kind of desire or influence that would forsake our fellowship with you, Lord. And I just pray that you would bless our fellowship after the service, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. All right. So for our final hymn this evening, let's grab those hymn books and turn to song number 187, Jesus Loves Me. A great song. 187, Jesus Loves Me. This I know. On the first. Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me. He who died. Heaven's gate to open wide. He will wash away my sin. Let His little child come. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Jesus loves me. He will stay. Pause beside me all the way. Thou has plan and died for me. I will henceforth live for Thee. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. Amen. Brother Kaitlin, will you close us with a word of prayer? All right, dear Lord, thank you for this time we have to hear your word be preached. I ask that you please help us to remember what was preached and take it to heart. Lord, I ask that you please bless the fellowship after the service. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.