(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Second Samuel 20 verse 1 says, And there happened to be there a man Abedio, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichrai, a Benjamite, and he blew a trumpet and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse, every man to his tents, O Israel. So every man Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba, the son of Bichrai. But the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even unto Jerusalem. And David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took the ten women, his concubines, who he had left to keep the house, and put them in war, and fed them, but went not in unto them, so they were shot up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood. Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me, the men of Judah, within three days, and be thou here present. So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him. And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba, the son of Bichrai, do us more harm than did Absalom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after them, lest he get him fenced cities and escape us. And there went out after him Joab's men, and the Cherithites and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba, the son of Bichrai. When they were at the great stone, which is in Gideon, Amasa went before them, and Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins, and a sheath thereof. And as he went forth it fell out, and Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him, but Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand. So he smelt him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again, and he died. So Joab and Abishai his brother pursued after Sheba, the son of Bichrai. And no one of Joab's men stood by him, and said, He the favorite of Joab, and he that is for David, let him go after Joab. And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway. And when the men saw that all the people stood still, he removed Amasa out of the highway into the field, and cast a cloth upon him, when he saw that every one that came by him stood still. When he was removed out of the highway, all the people went after Joab to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichrai. And he went through all the tribes of Israel unto Abel, to Bethmakkah, and all the B-rites, and they were gathered together and went also after him. And they came and besieged him in Abel and Bethmakkah, and they cast up a bank against the city, and it stood in the trench, and all the people that were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down. Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Here, here, say I pray you unto Joab, Come near hither, that I may speak with thee. And when he was come near unto her, the woman said, Art thou Joab? And he answered, I am he. Then she said unto him, Hear the words of thine handmaid, and he answered, I do hear. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel. And so they ended the matter. I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel. Why thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel? Why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy. The matter is not so. But a man of Mount Ephraim, Sheba, the son of Bichrai by name, hath lifted up his hand against the king, even against David, Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said unto Joab, Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall. Then the woman went unto all people in her wisdom, and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichrai, and cast it out to Joab. And he blew a trumpet, and they retired from the city, every man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king. Now Joab was over all the host of Israel, and Benaniah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherithites and over the Pelethites. And Adoram was over tribute, and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahileth was recorder. And Sheba was scribe and zalach, and Abiathar were the priests. And Ira also, the Jairahite, was chief ruler about David. Alright, do you have any thought of being blessed with this message? Give us an awesome sermon, God, and in your name bless our pastor, bless our preacher at the moment, and fill him with your Holy Ghost in your name, amen. Amen. Amen. Alright. So I just wanted to say, just to thank everybody for the hospitality. This has been great, I mean, just looking at you guys, you know, and the zeal that you guys have is just very impressive, and I just don't want to ever see that, you know, go away. And thank you, Brother Mike, Ms. Rachel, for opening up your home, because I mean, all you guys are doing so much, and it really says a lot. I know that everybody in Verde and Sacramento is excited, you know, about the church starting here and all that. So I just wanted to say that. I'm not too sure how long I'm going to preach tonight, because I can tell my voice is going to go out, and just because of the traveling and whatnot, but do the best I can, and get started here. So we're in 2 Samuel chapter 20, and there's a lot of doctrine here, I mean, there's a lot of the Bible here, this is a very, very, very interesting passage, you know, a very interesting chapter at that. Now look down at verse number 9, the reason why I really, we're going to focus on two verses here, and that really gives the subject for the sermon. And so looking at verse number 9, it says, And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard, with right hand, to kiss him. Different culture back then. You know, just keep that in mind, verse 10. But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand. So he smote him therewith in the fifth rib, and shed out his bowels to the ground, and struck him not again, and he died. So Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued after Sheba, the son of Bihri. Now you might be thinking, like, who's Amasa, who's Joab, who are these guys, what's going on in this time frame? And we'll talk about that for a minute. So Amasa, so we'll back up a little bit further. So if you're familiar with when David went through his hard time in his life, where his son Absalom got, he won a lot of the hearts of Israel, and a lot of Israel began to follow Absalom, and you know, he was starting to take control of the nation. David was losing control, and David was on the run, and during this time period, Amasa was one of Absalom's generals, he was the top guy. So basically what happens, you know, David, you know the story, David winds up getting the victory there, and Amasa gets a pardon from David. David's like, okay, hey look, you know, I'm gonna forgive you, you can come back. And it doesn't say this, but Joab probably wasn't too happy about that. You know, he probably wasn't happy that Amasa got a second chance, because if you read throughout the Bible, you'll see this phrase, you know, where David's like, what am I to do with these, you know, sons of Sariah? You know, they were mighty men, they were warriors, they were basically, like if they were alive today, you would say they have PTSD. See these guys are crazy, I mean, the Bible says that they were chafed in their minds. I mean, these guys, I mean, think about it, face-to-face battles, hand-to-hand combat, swords, right, mixed martial arts, all that, you know, and that's what they do, it's like you guys in the background there, you know, you guys can relate to this, and that's great. And so, you know, these guys are crazy, and so he's probably thinking like, man, I just want to take his head off, I just, you know, I just want to kill him. And so he gets his opportunity, and he does, but look at the first part of verse 10 there, it says, but Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand. He took no heed. Now remember what I said this morning about the narrator, you see, this is a clear passage in the Bible, it's a narrative, it's the Holy Ghost speaking, and this isn't here by accident, right? But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand, and then, you know, the rest, Joab stabbed him, you know, and so what I'm preaching about this afternoon is the subject of discernment, being aware, on a congregational level, and also on a community level, because both are very important. You know, and this here's a picture of what we see all the time, like, you know, I'm sure everybody in here at some point has been stabbed in the back, right? I'm sure everybody in here has been stabbed in the back, or has heard of other people being stabbed in the back, people in ministry, pastors are constantly getting stabbed in the back. You know the story about Tyler Baker and Gary Kirchway and all that, and the people that they drug down with them, and you see, the people that get infected, they get infected by these false doctrines, this is a picture of that, it says, but Amasa took no heed. You see, the reason why they got infected with oneness is because they took no heed to those snaring words that were coming out of these people's mouths, and the Bible has a lot to say about discernment, and it's a big deal, and we're going to get into that. How many of you have heard of the Flat Earth Church in New York? Yeah, now, I just want to say, you know, if you're Flat Earth, look, I don't hate you, I'm not, you know, the reason, the main reason I'm mad is because they attacked our church, right? Because, you know, down in Sacramento and Barre, we have the globe back there, and I just take it personally, you know, if they just would have left us alone, probably wouldn't be as upset about it, you know, but if you watch the videos from that church, you know, the pastor is like, yeah, it only took me about eight minutes to convince our evangelist that the earth is flat. Well, you know why it took eight minutes? Because he took no heed to the Flat Earth doctrine that was in the pastor's hand. That's how it happened, and that's what you need to remember as we go through this. We ought to be able to take heed, and the only way you're going to be able to do that is by studying the Word of God. So you can lose your place there in 2 Samuel and go to Matthew chapter 13. So we're talking about discernment, right? We're talking about discernment. What does it mean to discern? The word discernment means to judge, and judge, or judging people, isn't something that the world likes to do today, is it? That is a bad word. I mean, you'd be better off saying four-letter words in somebody else's church than you would be saying the word judge. I mean, that is just something that is repulsive to most Christians today and to most people in the world. They don't like that. But you know what? The Bible speaks a lot about discernment. We ought to have discernment. We have to. We have to, and you're going to see why here. So turn to Matthew chapter 13. Let's see. Look down verse number 24. Matthew chapter 13, verse 24, it says, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From once then hath it tares. Verse 28, He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn. And the title of my sermon, I got the title of my sermon from this passage here, where it says, let's see, go back to verse number 25, it says, But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. And the title of this sermon is called the churches of tares. Churches of tares. And what are tares? Well, in the parable, they're wheats, but they're likened to false prophets, false teachers. People that want to come in with their sword, and like I said this morning, say, Yea, hath God said. Yea, hath God said that God would preserve his word throughout all generations? Or did God say just for some of the generations? Yea, hath God said the earth is spherical, or the earth is round? You can insert any false doctrine you want to. And like I said this morning, the devil is creative, and if we're not on the ball as a local church, we're going to be infected by this stuff, and we're going to wind up paying the price. So like I said, the title of the sermon is churches of tares. And this applies, like I said, congregationally to every single one of us, but it also applies on a community level, and you'll see that as we go through this. And tares are wheats. And you'll often wonder, if you've ever grown a garden, what's the point of having, why do these wheats grow? Why do these wheats grow so fast? Or maybe you don't understand, maybe some of your kids are like, what's the big deal with wheats? Who cares? The problem that wheats have, and the thing that they do to people's gardens is that they grow faster, right? They grow faster than the crop that you're trying to grow. And so it slows down productivity. That's why farmers hate them. That's why weed pulling is a thing that some people think that kids do. So what this parable is teaching here is that these are bad, because when we have tares come inside of our church, it slows the growth down of everybody here, and it affects everybody. I mean, think about it. You know, if two of us in here got sucked into some false doctrine, let's say one is, right? That doesn't just affect those two people. That affects everybody, because then we lose two good people that were with us, you know? And like I said, just because you're saved doesn't mean you can't get vaccinated, doesn't mean you can't be deceived into false doctrine, and so we need to be careful. We need to have a high level of awareness, and this sermon is about discernment. It's about God's people needing discernment, and like I said, discernment is the ability to judge well, and we need judgment, right? Not just for false prophets, but we also need judgment and discernment in our lives, right? Making decisions, you know, mothers making the right decisions for their children, fathers making the right decisions for their whole families. I mean, you ever made a bad decision, or maybe you're sitting here and you're like, man, I've been making a lot of bad decisions lately. You know, it might be time to check, you know, just check your life, check, you know, what are you, where are you getting the bulk of your wisdom from? Where are you getting your ideas from? Is it from God's word? Is it from reading the Bible? Is it from listening to preaching, or is it, you know, from TV, from movies? What is it? And that's a big factor, because when you put more junk into your heart from the world, the worse your decision making is going to be, because that is the terrors of this world, and that's what we want to keep out of our churches. And then, you know, you might also be wondering like, okay, Brother Joe, this is, you know, kind of the same thing as this morning, but I have a couple questions. You know, why is it that it's so hard to find a good church to come to? I mean, and that's a good question. Why is it so hard to just find people, Christians, that believe the Bible as it is written, like Jesus said, as it is written, it is written. I mean, that's a very popular thing. And you know why? But while men slept, the enemy came and set a terrace. Why is it now that you can't walk down the street without seeing some faggot holding hands with another dude or some, you know, some dyke somewhere, and it's because while men slept. That's why. But while men slept. Why is it that this community has hardly any churches left and they care about the Bible? Because men slept. That's why. That's why. And that's exactly what we're going to work hard to prevent by being awake. I mean, those of you sitting here today seem to be awake. I mean, otherwise you probably wouldn't be here. Most people that aren't awake, that really aren't on fire, they don't like this kind of preaching. They don't like this kind of, this, this kind of, this kind of movement for that matter. They just can't stand it. And again, that's another reason why Jesus said, the Bible says, you know, cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet. You know, God's word is divisive. God's word will separate a mother, you know, from, from her kids and whatnot. And Jesus said, you know, that he came to bring a sword and discernment is a sword. And so we're going to, we're going to move on here, especially before I lose my voice. Turn to John chapter four. I'm sorry. First John chapter four. Turn to first John chapter four. I got some quick points regarding discernment. Do you mind thinking, well, you know, what's the deal here? Why do we need discernment or what's the big deal here, brother, what's going on? What on earth in the world are you talking about? So first John chapter four, first John chapter four. The first thing that I want to talk about is the reason for discernment. The reason for discernment. So first John chapter four, look down at verse number one, it says, beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. So like I said, point one is the reason for discernment. What's the reason for a sermon? Well, John tells you right here in verse one, look at the last, the last part of the verse there. It says because many false prophets are gone out into the world. It doesn't say a few false prophets are gone out into the world. It doesn't say some false prophets are gone out into the world. It says that many false prophets are gone out into the world. And we know that things breed forth after their own kind. It's not just the liberal churches that have false prophets. It's not just the old lame IFB that have false prophets. They're coming for everybody. Every church is susceptible to having terrors, to having false prophets. If you look at the first part of the verse there, it says, beloved, believe not every spirit. So we don't want to just believe every single thing that we hear. You shouldn't believe everything that I'm saying up here if you haven't checked it from the Bible first. It's a good idea when you hear preaching to write these things down or to come back later and check them against the word. You know, you have the ability to judge. God says that judging is okay. We are allowed to judge righteous judgment. We are allowed to be judges. People listen to the world out there saying, oh, you can't judge. Don't judge me. Don't judge this. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No judging. Coexist. Tolerance. No, that's a lie. God says otherwise. It says, beloved, believe not every spirit. And then look, he says, but try the spirits. But try the spirits, whether they are of God. The other day, I was on a job and this lady, she's like, just this really sweet, nice lady. She gave me a brownie that's like this big. I was like, no, I'm good. Yeah. She's like, no, no, no, no. You have to eat this brownie. I was working with somebody else. She's like, both of you guys have to eat this brownie. I'm like, that looks like a T-bone steak. You know? And she's like, no, just eat the brownie. Eat the brownie. Okay. Just eat the brownie. And she's making us drink orange juice and stuff. And you know, I'm trying to be, you know, we're trying to be polite. And then she comes out with, uh, with some more stuff. I'm like, look, I'm gonna, I'm not going to be able to finish working if I eat any more sweets. No, no blackberry pie. No, no peach cobbler. Just put all this stuff away. Right? She comes out with this tray of just different assortments. I'm like, I gotta, I gotta draw the line here. I gotta judge righteously and say, no, I am already out of shape enough. But she, uh, later on comes out with these pamphlets and you know, I'm like, what is this? It's like, she gives like three or four pages, you know, this material. And she's like, oh, this is, this is Christian stuff here. I just really wanted to give you this, this, these Christian, uh, flyers and please read them. She's like, your, your eternity depends on it. And I'm like, you know, try it. I try it, especially with customers, try not to talk to them about these types of things because it just never seems to go well. So she's like, just, just read them when you get home. Don't forget them. Don't forget them. And she's like, you're in a good mood because you just eat those brownies, you know, you just had orange juice, you know, so she's trying to butter us up is what it is. And this guy that I'm working with, he goes to, you know, your typical mega church, he's like, does that bother you that she gave you that stuff? I was like, I don't even know what it is, man. I don't really know. And he goes, well, I get this a lot and he goes, and so what I do is I just read it and if it feels right, if it feels right, then I just believe it and, and you know, I keep it and I thank him for it and ask him for more and I'm like, it feels right. What do you, I'm like, so that's your, that's your standard. That's your final authority. He's like, yeah, well, you know, God's just given us, you know, the, the spirit. Don't you know that Joe? Don't you know that Joe? He's just giving you the spirit. I'm like, what? I was like, he goes, he goes, how do you discern things? How do you? I'm like, by the Bible. He's like, what? I'm like, wait a minute, you're a Christian and you don't discern things by the written word? And he's just like, I'm like, you all right, man? I'm like, hey, hey, wake up. I'm like, well, what does the Bible say? I was like, oh, all right. All right. So I flip it over, right? It's focused on the family. You guys probably heard of focus on the family. What's that guy's name? Dobson. Yeah. Dobson the Nazarene. Yeah. Dobson the Nazarene. Probably find that guy over here at Northwest Nazarene University. And so I'm reading the back and it's big. It's word of salvation. It's real big to say the least, but yeah, it's total word of salvation. And I'm telling this guy, I'm like, look, this guy said, you got to turn from your sins, all of them to the savior. He's like, I don't think it's saying that. I'm like, well, what do you feel? He goes, that's good. I just feel like it's just a general Christian message of just salvation. I was like, okay, you know, and then he just keeps pressing the issue. Well, what does the Bible say about it? And so I'm having to give him the gospel basically, which is great. It's a great opportunity. You know, and I'm like, you know, what must I do to be saved? And he's like, you know, and I'm giving him act 16, you know, 30, 31, all that. And he's like, well, you know, just got to be on God's side and, you know, just make sure you put away the junk. I'm like, and there it is. There's your works salvation. You believe in works. He's like, no, I won't. Yes, you do. You know, and I'm showing him all this stuff and talking to him about it. And he's like, man, I don't, I don't understand. Is it how many times you read the Bible? I'm like, I hope this many times he's, he's like, I don't, I don't get it. I don't understand it. And I'm like, for the natural man to receive it, not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know that because they are spiritually discerned. And I say, like, you can't understand the Bible, man, because you're not saved. You need to get saved. I was like, you need to let me show you this stuff. And of course, you know, in the business world, things just, we just ran out of time. I'm hoping to actually get this guy saved. But, but think, think of this here. This guy has two ministries. This guy is a leader in the Christian community. And it just baffles me. You know, I mean, he doesn't, they're not teaching these guys anything. Like I said this morning, like he didn't know that Romans was in the New Testament. Didn't know, he didn't know what the book of Revelation was. And it's like, well, as I asked him, what does your pastor use? You know, we have eight pastors. I'm like, how do you feel about that? I was just like, well, I just feel like God's just pouring out his spirit everywhere, man. And this is great. You know, we've got all kinds of leaders. And then later on, he's like, hey, have you ever read the Yelp reviews of your church? And then he's like, it's a fair game, right? Because we're talking about marketing and different things like this. I'm like, yeah, I've read the Yelp reviews and Google reviews. I was like, I try not to because a lot of horrible things are said on there, huh? He's like, yeah. And I'm just, he's like, our Yelp reviews are really good. I'm like, yeah, that means you're doing something wrong. Anytime the world's on your side, you're doing something wrong, pal. You know, that guy's church is the Church of Terrors. It is the Church of False Prophets. And like I said, I don't hate people that go to these churches or anything like that. I do hate their leadership. The ones that actually come out and teach work salvation. The ones who are adamant about it. They are false prophets, the Bible says. They are sending people to hell. You know, the more you go knocking on people's doors and trying to give them the gospel, then you get so close, but you can't finish the deal because some guy said, well, unless you give up this sin, you can't be saved, right? I've had somebody saying, you know, because I can't give up living with my girlfriend and I don't want to get married, then I can't get saved. That's what my pastor said. I try to convince him otherwise by showing him multiple scriptures. Then he just would not accept it. And it's because of these churches. It's because of the mentality out there. And that's something that we have to get rid of. And so point number one, the reason for discernment is because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. And while men slept, they sowed tares among the wheat. Alright, point number two here is the foundation for discernment. The foundation is for discernment. My printer did not work for me. Look down at your first John chapter four. Look at verse number two. Hereby know ye the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Verse number three, that every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come and even now already is in the world. So look again at verse number three. Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this applies to these oneness people. I don't know if you realize that or not, but they're basically saying that Jesus Christ didn't come in the flesh because God's only one, only one person. They denied the Trinity. And so I just wanted you to see that there. But also, what is basically, I guess most of Christianity in America, most of the old IFP churches, what is the one thing that they love? And that's Zionism. Most of these churches love Zionism. And if you look at verse three, it says, in every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. You see, the devil likes to work in opposites. We've got a clear verse here that says that every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. That means all these Jews that are living in Israel today that reject Jesus Christ are not of God. But what do you have today? You have churches that worship these people. You've got a clear statement from the written record, from the written Bible here, that they are not God's people, but yet everybody just ignores this and they say, oh, they are God's people because you don't understand dispensationalism. You just don't get it. You don't have Clarence Larkin's stupid dispensational book. And so you don't understand that, brother Joe. You don't understand that the Jews are God's chosen people. Well, actually, I understand that they aren't God's chosen people. It's impossible based off of this verse. In every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. They confess that Jesus Christ never came and so they are not of God. It's actually a satanic doctrine. Did you know that? It's a satanic doctrine. Go back to the Garden of Eden. What did the Sermon say? Yea hath God said. And he spun God's Word 180 degrees. And that's what people are doing today. You know, same question. How did Zionism get to be as popular as it is today? But while men slept, the enemy came in and so tares among the weak. That's how it is, by while men slept. Because our fathers, because our previous generations failed the pulpits of America, now we have to come clean it up. Because they failed, the enemy was able to come in and so these tares among the weak. Jump down to verse number six. It says, We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So your foundation for discernment is the Spirit. How do you get the Spirit? By being saved, by getting saved. By having this book, by studying and meditating on the things of God. That's your foundation for discernment. Not by some commentary. Not just by watching YouTube videos and preaching. It's by this book. You're going to hear me say that a lot. Because the next big fight in our movement is prophesied by Brother Stuckey. He says it's going to be over the authority of the King James Bible. And I know that sounds crazy, but I think he's right. I think he's right. You know, you can just see the way that these megachurches are going and the way that the old IP is denying the word of God. It makes sense that the devil's going to send people into our churches that subtly, I don't know how they're going to do it, but somehow they're going to subtly pull that yea hath God said. You know, that they're going to do that. There's going to be terrorists that come in here and just try to cause some shadow of doubt. Maybe just a little tiny bit. You might not even realize it. Just like Amasa didn't realize the sword that was in Joab's hand. Right? He didn't realize the sword. He just couldn't. He wasn't aware. He didn't understand it. You know, he was too quick to trust. Right? It's going to be the same thing. They're going to be people that come in here and try to sway us from the truth. So point number two is the foundation for discernment in verses two, three, and six. Now number three is the promise of discernment. So look at verse number four. It says, you know of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And keep your place there, but go one chapter over. Go to 1 John chapter five. So we just read the year of God, little children, and have overcome them. Well, how do you overcome them? By becoming, by being born again. Look at 1 John chapter five, verse four. It says, for whatsoever is born of God over cometh the world. And this is the victory that over cometh the world, even our faith. So you're saved tonight. You're saved. You're sitting in here. You're listening to this. You have the spirit inside of you. You have the promise of discernment. Now, I know that discernment's listed as a gift, and some people just have this gift. Like, they could just, they just have great discernment in everything, right? They make the best decisions. You know, y'all know people like that. A lot of you are probably like that. You know, I have to work hard at it. I got to read this. I got to listen to tons of preaching, because I make some pretty stupid decisions. I'm kind of like a door kicker. I'll just, you know, what are we doing? You know, I'll just, let's just go do it. I'll just kick the first door down. I see him go inside and be like, hey, you know, I'm here. You know, no organization, no nothing. That's kind of my style. But that's not always the wisest way to be. And point number three is the promise of discernment. We have the promise of discernment. Now, we may not all have the same gift, but it is something that you have access to. It's something that everybody in here that's saved has access to. You have the spirit inside of you, and therefore, you can and you will hear God's voice, and you will be able to increase your level of discernment. Then verse five says, who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believeth that Jesus Christ is the son of God? The Jews don't believe that. They cannot overcome the world. And, you know, it's no wonder. It's no wonder why, you know, the Christians in this community can't understand truth. It's no wonder that you go down to Northwest Nazarene University down there, and they're going to have women pastors, and they might even have animals for pastors now. I mean, who knows? You know, you'd probably learn more doctrine now, to be honest with you. And it's not that women can't teach. It's just that they have no regard for God's word. They just don't care. You know, the Bible says that, you know, men have one role, women have another. They say, no, you know, we don't believe that. God's word's open for interpretation. We can just do whatever we want. Okay, so we're going to move on here. We're going to take a look at some statements about false prophets, about terror. So go to 2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2. 2 Peter chapter 2. Before I started going to Verdi Baptist Church in Vancouver, I went to a church up in Tacoma, Washington. You know, I'm a whole live church pastor. He was a good preacher. You know, he really was. And I kind of have the same story as you guys. I got disenfranchised after the Orlando sermon. Basically, you know, that all went down. That's what basically put my family and our friends on the map there, is the pastor kind of woke up and was like, oh, this is the kind of stuff that these guys were listening to. And he began to listen to Pastor Anderson and Pastor Menes. And he would say little things here throughout the sermons, and my friend Justin would be like, dude, he's listening. He's becoming a listener, you know. And he's like, but not in a good way. You know, just little things that you take little jabs at us here and there. And one thing led to another. They started a church in Vancouver. I told them, hey, I'm not going to be here Sunday night because I got an opportunity to preach at this new church. And he was just like, just walked away from me. I was like, oh, that's weird. Because this guy wanted to train me for the ministry, and at the time I was kind of considering, you know, maybe he's like, I'll send you out. Well, he just walks away from me. I'm like, yeah, that's weird. And so I'm down in Vancouver. I preach, and I get this text message from this guy, and he's like, hey. He's like, I really want to know more about this movement. It was just really hot. He's like, I want to know more about it. I want to know the documentaries. I want to know this. I want to know that. And I was like, this is strange. And then what this guy was doing is he was taking all that information I found out, and he was giving it to the pastor. And the pastor, the way he would talk to me is he'd always tell somebody in the congregation. You know, when we first got there, this guy would come up to me like, hey, pastor wants to know if you wouldn't mind having him training you. Pastor wanted me to ask you if you could help us put chairs away. I'm like, weird. You know, I've been in the military. I was in the military for eight years. I understand chain of command, but that's a little extreme. So I was like, no, OK. So anyways, I'm down in Vancouver. We just got done preaching. We're eating dinner or something like that. I get a text message from this guy, and he's like, hey, you're not welcome back here anymore. Pastor doesn't want you to come back because we can't have people that have hate in their hearts or that follow other people that have hate in their hearts. It's wrong. And I was like, don't you just hate that? You know, I just like that. Don't you just hate that? You know, and then he just responds to that with some nasty stuff. But anyways, this guy that's texting me, this guy is a horrible person. I mean, he's a serial adulterer. He's been reviewed for this by the pastor. He's been going around to people's wives in the middle of the night texting. He's like, hey, come to this chat room with me. Hey, come to this chat room. Multiple people's wives doing that kind of stuff. And the point I'm trying to make here is that that pastor would rather have that guy in his church than a group of people that just believe them differently on the Rapture, that believe differently about God's chosen people. We actually believe what the Bible says, you know, that if you hate Jesus Christ and call yourself a Jew or maybe you are a religious Jew, that you're not God's chosen people. I mean, what in the world? I mean, this really is like the Twilight Zone. And so we're going to kind of talk about it. We're going to talk about the characteristics of false prophets here. We're going to talk about their character, and we're going to talk about their capabilities. And so 2 Peter 2, Luke 1 says, but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who probably shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Now, same thing here, same thing here in Peter, right? There will be false teachers among you. There's no shortage of them today. There's no shortage of them in churches, on the internet, everywhere. You know, they're out there. They're in the world. But notice what it says for a characteristic here. It says, even as there shall be false teachers among you who probably shall bring in damnable heresies. So there's one characteristic. They do it privately. They do it privately, right? We just had this up in Danku. The guy was taking people aside. Hey, you know, yeah, they're doing the flatter thing. Like, literally, like, hey, you know, the Bible does say it's a serpent. It's like, what's the big deal? You know, just get out of here. But it was other things, too. It was, hey, you know, you know, are you sure that you have to call upon the name of the Lord? Are you sure you have to call upon the name of the Lord? Are you sure you have to expound the Bible verses? Are you sure you have to actually teach what the Bible says? And then you go to IFB church. This stuff happens. So number one, notice that they privately do this. They bring in damnable heresies. That is a damnable heresy. You can't just go up to somebody and say, okay, let's see, believe it, believe not, you know, just read a Bible verse and then be like, you want to get saved? I mean, I've seen that before. I've seen this little, when I was at an old IFB church, this little kid who's like eight years old. He was fine. He didn't even need no harm by it. He didn't know. Maybe he was like seven, but he ran up to this lady, right? He goes, hey, you. And she's like, yeah. And you know, I'm not in between doors and I'm watching her. And he's like, you want to get saved? And she's like, saved for what? He's like, you want to go to hell? And she's like, no. He's like, what's wrong with you? And he's like, well, if you don't pray this prayer with me right now, you're going to hell. And she goes, okay. And he's like, bow your head and repeat after me, you know. And she was like, being quiet. And he's like, hey, that sounds good after me. And so she repeats his prayer and is like, yes, one saved. And they actually counted it, which is sad. But anyway, so that's kind of cute. You know, his dad took him afterwards and was like, hey, uh-huh. You know, he's like, I didn't realize he was doing that. You know, he knows better. But we have adults. We have grown men doing that today. And that is satanic. You cannot do that. You have to teach people the Bible. They don't understand it. They're not saved. You have to explain the verses clearly. So they privately do this. They privately bring in damnable heresies, heresies that will send people to hell, even denying the Lord that Bob does, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. So that's their reward, is the swift destruction. Now notice, it says, even denying the Lord. And you might be thinking, well, how do they deny the Lord? They have the same vocabulary. You go down to Northwest Nazarene. Go anywhere you want. They'll say, oh, Jesus, we love Jesus. In fact, the guy I was working with was like, dude, I love Jesus. I love Jesus. I'm so glad that you want to start a church now. I love Jesus. And I'm sure, I don't know, like a pagan heathen level, he believes that. But it's just not true. Because look what the Bible says here. It says, even denying the Lord that Bob did. How do they do that? It's by denying the word. In the beginning it was the word, and the word was with God. Yeah, you deny the Bible. The authority, the fact that this book is living, this is you. So first number two. And then again, that's the warning. So here's some more characteristics. Covetousness, right? Fain words. A lot of these false properties, have you ever noticed that Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, a lot of these popular pastors, they're well-spoken. They're well-spoken. You know, if you were to go back into my history, for example, and talk to my teachers, and be like, hey, Joe's trying to be a preacher. They'd laugh at you. The guy never talks. The guy doesn't talk when he does. He stutters, and he gets his words mixed up. But hey, God can use people like that. God can use anyone like that. You don't have to be an eloquent person. But it's just something I've noticed, that the devil does like to take people that look really good, that are eloquent, to make them eloquent speakers. That's how they trap people. That's how they snare people. Look at verse number four. For if God spared not the angels at sin, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment, and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the ape-person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly, and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemning them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly, and deliver just a lot of vex with a filthy conversation of the wicked. Verse eight. For that righteous man dwelling among them, and seeing and hearing vex's righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds. And then, you know, that's just basically explaining. I gotta get moving, but just explaining their reservation in hell. That's what I'm saying. These false prophets, these terrorists, they have a reservation in hell. And so what can we learn from that? Well, they can't be changed. When someone's a reprobate, when there's no hope for you, when you have your reservation in hell, you're not gonna change them. You're not a superhero, okay? You can't do it. God has set them without revelation, or, yeah, without reservation into hell, so guess what? Don't feel sorry for them. When you see them get thrown out of church, don't be like, oh, brother, I'm sorry, you know, I still, no. They bring in, these are the characteristics. When people display these characteristics and they get thrown out of church, you need to be on the side of the pastor. You need to be on the side of the church. Otherwise, you're a partaker with their evil deeds. Verse number nine. The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust until the day of judgment to be punished. But chiefly, then, they walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Assumptuous are they, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. More characteristics of a false prophet of a terror. Whereas angels, which are greater in power, might bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. And so, look down at verse number 12. But these, as natural, brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption. So that's their destiny, that's their fate. That's the course that God has set for them. And look, we're not Calvinists here, right? God didn't make these people from the womb that way. They chose to reject God. They chose not to follow the truth. And God said, okay, I'm done with you. Here's your course, here's your reservation. Verse 13, and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the daytime. Spots are they, and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you. Notice that, while they feast with you. I'm not saying that anybody here is like that, but I'm saying there's coming a time where they will come in here. You just need to be on guard. Look at verse 14, having eyes full of adultery, and they cannot cease from sin. So more characteristic, they got eyes full of uncleanness, full of adultery, they cannot cease from sin. Beguiling unstable souls, just like the devil. That's what he does, looks for them. Weakly, he's just walking around, seeking whom he can devour. Let's see here, look at verse 15. Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray. Following the way of Balaam, son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but was rebuked for his iniquity, the dumbass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever. There's your reservation again. Look at verse 18. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity. See, and that's what I'm talking about. These people here are masters of just speaking the right words, the great swelling words of vanity. They allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escape from them who live in error. And that's what they want. They want that fresh meat. They want to come after us. Verse 19, while they promised them liberty, they themselves are servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome of the same as he brought in bondage. Now, go to the book of Jude. So 2 Peter and Jude, they line up perfectly. They're like, I mean, read 2 Peter, Jude, and then read the book of Jude. And just let this stuff sink in. So the next point that I want to make is the capability of false prophets. Like I said, these are interchangeable, the characteristics and the capability. When I say capability, I mean, think of Catholic priests. Right, you got that right? You got that collar on backwards, you know, and the pope's got the fish hat and all that. I mean, think of their capability. What are they known for? They're known for molesting kids. They're known, they're all pedophiles. You know, that's just what they do. You know what? And I bet if there was more of an investigation into the Mormon religion around here, you're going to find the same thing. You're going to find the same thing, and we're going to see that. All right, look at Jude, verse 1. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. Mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied. Verse 3, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Notice that it says that we are to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, not the faith that's continuously being delivered unto the saints. That's what the Pentecostals teach. That's what the charismatic losers teach, that God's revelation is ongoing. It's just how you feel, right? It's just what our prophet said. It's just what the guy who spoke in tongues in our service said. That's their final authority. But we are to contend for the faith. But if you don't have the right sword, you don't have the right tools, all you've got is your gut feeling, you're not going to be a very good contender for the faith, now are you? No, you're not. Look at verse 4. For there are certain men crept in unaware, do you see that? Just over and over again. For there are certain men crept in unawares who were beforeable, ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. You see how this lines up with 2 Peter 2? It's like the same thing. Look at verse 5. I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord having saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterwards destroyed them that believed not, and the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Verse 7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication and going after, now pay attention to this, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. So we've got 2 Peter 2, which focuses more on the characteristics of false prophets, more of the characteristics of the tares, both individually, congregationally, and on a community level. Now, what do we have here in Jude? What does it say? It says that they go after strange flesh, right? And going after strange flesh. Look, the capabilities of these people is the Catholic Church. If you've just read the Bible, it makes perfect sense. False prophets are not nice people. You might say, well, I don't believe every false prophet is a child molester, and you know what? It's just because they haven't gotten to that age yet. It's just because maybe they haven't had the right opportunity. They might be just because they're new, or it's just because they do a good job at hiding. Look, no one has discernment in these other churches today. They don't have any discernment, so how are you going to know about it? Look, Baptist churches, I mean, I don't know if you've heard about the scandal with that Gio Vannelli guy. Anybody heard about that? Yeah, I mean, these Bible colleges are just, you know, the Bible colleges and these churches today, they're just sweeping these false prophets, these terrors, these people that go after strange flesh and molest people, they're just sweeping it under the rug. They've got a big rug and a big broom, and that's all they do is just sweep it under the rug. Hey, Bob Gray said, if you didn't see it happen, then it didn't happen. Oh, really? You want to send your kids there? You want to go to church there? I don't think so. Not if you love your family you don't. Not if you love your kids you don't. Now look at verse number eight. Likewise, also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. So what are we talking about? We're talking about the capability of these people, the capability of terrors, and you can see it. They go after strange flesh. They are disgusting. The Bible says that they are filthy dreamers and that they defile the flesh. They defile people. They molest people. They are bad people, and that's why we have to be so on guard. That's why this is a family integrated church. That's why we don't separate the kids, is so that we can minimize that. You know, if you're a child molester, you're probably not going to want to come to this church because the preaching over the next coming months and years is going to really offend you, for one. And two, we're just not going to give you that avenue of approach. We're just not going to make it easy for you. And then if we do find you, well, it's on. All right, look at verse 9. It says, Yet Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring railing... I'm sorry, durst not bring against him any railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they knew not. But what they know naturally as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. I gotta hurry up. Look at verse 12. It says, These are spots in your feast of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear, clouds they are without water, carried about with winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved, the blackness of darkness forever. Look, these people have a reservation in hell. They cannot be changed. And it's just over and over. I mean, how many times does God have to tell us this before we're gonna believe it? And why does believing the Bible make you the bad guy? Why does that make us the bad guy? I'll tell you why. It's because while men slept, the enemy came in and sowed tears among the weak. And then Joab came with a sword, and Amazah took no heed to it. No heed. No heed Christianity. No heed Baptist Church. That's what we have today. And so, like I said, these points, the characteristics and the capabilities of false prophets go hand in hand. Point number three. I'm almost done. Point number three is the main theme and the push and the teaching of these false prophets, you know, these tares, the main thing that they like to push is love. Right? Anti-discernment. And they just like to talk about love. Look at 1 John 3. Look at verse number one. It says, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth us not because it knew him not. If you go through this chapter, we're not going to read it for the sake of time, but there's a lot of talking here about love. Right? And then by the time you get to chapter four, all of a sudden, John's talking about false prophets. Right? Beloved believe, believe not every spirit. And then if you get down to, let's see, look at 1 John 4, verse seven, all the way to the end of the chapter, verse 21. I counted the word love about 25 times. Yeah, about 25 times. So it seems like John's really trying to make a point here. Right? In John chapter three, or 1 John chapter three, and most of 1 John chapter four, you have the subject of love, what real love is, you know, true love. And then right in the middle, you have this teaching about false prophets. And it's for a reason. It's because God's trying to tell us something here. God's saying, God's saying, hey, look, these people, their message is gonna be love. But like Pastor Mena said, you can't have love without hate. You can't love flowers if you don't hate weeds. You can't love your kids if you don't hate child molesters. I don't care what Ray Comfort says. Ray Comfort is a piece of crap. Yeah, that guy is a liar and probably is a child molester. I mean, I'm not saying that for sure. I don't know. The guy's going to hell. His reservation isn't hell. And he can take his stupid repent of your sins garden right along with him too. I hate that guy. What am I talking about? Oh yeah, okay. I'm new, all right. See, I get so worked up. Okay, Psalm chapter five. You don't have to turn there. Psalm chapter five, verse five. It says, the foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. And I'm reading that to you because I just want you to understand that God does hate. The Bible says, the foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. And we don't have time to get into this but if you read Matthew chapter seven, you'll see that Jesus said, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. God, you know, Jesus Christ, God. He hates workers of iniquity. God hates Ray Comfort. I hope you know that. Ray Comfort, God hates you. That is a true statement and I can prove that from the Bible. Now, I know I got the title of my sermon from a parable and before I close the sermon, I do want to mention this too because I think it's important. We have to be careful in getting doctrines from parables, right? You need to be careful. Now, I got my doctrine from a parable but I've also shown you numerous scriptures that back that up, right? You need to be careful when people don't do that, when they just pull something out of a parable and teach it to you with doctrine. You need to make sure that they're backing it up with clear statements in the Bible and that's just a good little tidbit there for you guys to remember. So, real quick here, how do we obtain the sermon? How do we obtain the sermon? Go to Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four. So, I gave you all these problems, right? State of the problems. Now, real quick, we need to learn how do we obtain the sermon? How do we get there? How do we get the sermon? Hebrews chapter four, look at verse number 12. Real popular verse. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. You see, this book, I don't have to know what each and every person's sins are. All I gotta do is just pray and ask God to lay something on my heart and help me to write a sermon and preach it and the word does the job for itself. God does that job. When you hear the Bible preach, that discerns your thoughts and intents of the heart. So, how do we obtain the sermon? By listening to preaching, by listening to the good Bible preaching, by reading, meditating, all the stuff I've been saying all day long. Now, go over one more chapter. Hebrews chapter five, verse 14. Hebrews chapter five, verse 14. It says, but strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised should discern both good and evil. Now, I want you to look at that verse again. Now, look at the last part of the verse. It says having their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Just like some of you guys, you exercise your bodies, right? You exercise your bodies. Some people like to exercise their mouths. I mean, you know, we all exercise something, right? But the Bible here is saying having their senses exercised. Well, how do you do that? You're gonna do that by sowing every week, right? When you knock on people's doors and they say these weird things to you and you have to go back and look them up, that's exercising your senses. That's gonna build your discernment. Showing up for all those church services. That's a word. That's an exercise. That is exercising your senses and that is going to bring discernment to you. That's why it says having their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. In closing, I just want to say that no matter what the world says, you know, we do have to be aware. We need to be aware of our surroundings. I'm not saying we need to start suspecting each other, right? That's not what I'm saying. But just like Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand, you know, we don't want to be like that. God put that in there for a reason. In the parable of Matthew chapter 13, but while men slept, the enemy came in and sowed tears. It's important that you know that. It's important that we remember that, especially being a young church, especially being a new church. Because like I said earlier, if I was a devil, I would start coming back. I would start coming around once in a while looking. Right now, it's only brother Josh that's got most of the problems. But in the future, it might be somebody else. I always pick one guy that I have to just pick on a lot. I know brother Josh can take it, so that's fine. Anyways, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. I want to thank you again for this church and the mighty works that you're doing here. I just pray you bless everybody and bring us all back next week for it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.