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And as he preaches your word in Jesus name we pray, Amen. All right. First John chapter four, and we're continuing this evening with the book of first John looked down at your Bibles 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. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and 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. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And I want you to notice verse number one, where it says, Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God. Now what does that mean when it says that when John is instructing you, he says, Hey, you need to try the spirits. Well, when it says try the spirits, this isn't referring to some charismatic ritual, right? You know, where people feel like they have this ability to know what kind of demon is possessing an individual. It's like, well, you have the spirit of alcoholism, you have the spirit of lust, you have the spirit of covetousness, we can try that. You know, we see that demonic presence in you, and I've heard that before. When it says try the spirits, really what this is referring to is saying, it's basically stating you need to put that, you need to put the spirit to the test, okay? Put it to the test, prove it, etc. In fact, the Bible says prove all things, hold fast that which is good. You need to put it to the test. You say, well, what does it mean when it says try the spirits, to prove the spirits? Well, the spirits is often synonymous with word or doctrine or some sort of teaching, okay? That's what that's referring to, and in fact, if you remember when Jesus is teaching his disciples in John chapter 6, he says this, he says, it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. My words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. So you see that spirit is synonymous with his word, right? When like man, it's the same thing when it comes to false doctrine or wicked spirits, spirits of devils. Go to 1 Timothy, if you would, chapter number 4. 1 Timothy chapter number 4, if you would. So when it says try the spirits, it's literally saying you need to prove that what you're hearing. You need to put to the test that doctrine that you're receiving. You need to make sure that it's of God, okay? And really the admonition here is that don't just blindly believe everything that you hear. You know, the Bible says that the simple believeth every word, right? And someone who is just simple-minded, they don't really, they're not very cautious in regards to what kind of preaching they listen to, what kind of doctrine they're receiving. They're just willing to listen to anything and if the person says he's a Christian, if the church says Christian on it, you know, they say they believe the Bible, they're just gonna go ahead and believe it, okay? And that's not necessarily the attitude that Christians ought to have. We need to try the spirits. We need to prove all things and hold fast that which is good. We need to make sure that it lines up with the Bible, right? Look at 1st Timothy chapter 4 and verse number 1. It says, But I want you to notice, what does it say thereafter? And doctrines of devils. So doctrines of devils is synonymous with seducing spirits. He says, Having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Now obviously it's not the spirit that's saying this, right? It's not some devil who's saying this, it's the person who's possessed by that devil, okay? It's that false prophet who is possessed with the devil who's teaching doctrines of devils. But I want you to notice that he's synonymous or he makes that that connection there of seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. You see, we live in a world that is filled with false doctrine. And the reason it's filled with false doctrine is because it's filled with false prophets. And it tells us here that a lot of people are going to depart from the faith. Why? Because they're given heed to those seducing spirits. They're listening to false doctrine. They're believing false doctrine. And Paul's remedy to that in 1st Timothy 4, he says, Hey, in order for you to save yourself from that, you need to make sure that you give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, okay? How can you avoid being lied to? How can you avoid false doctrine? How do you avoid being fooled and beguiled? Well, the Bible says you need to read the Bible, okay? You need to read the Word of God. Why? Because when the lie comes, you can filter through it and measure it according to God's Word. You can try the Spirit and say, Hey, this is not of God. You know, I don't believe this. I don't see that in the Word of God. I'm not gonna believe it, etc. So when he says give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, it's synonymous with trying the spirits, putting it to the test. You know, you hear something new, like a new doctrine or, you know, something that some preachers are saying that maybe you've never heard before. You know, you want to take the Word of God, open it up and say, Hey, can I find that in the Bible? Is that something that explicitly is taught in the Word of God? And I'm not talking about variations of, you know, their interpretation of a parable, their interpretation of a dark saying that really doesn't affect major doctrine. We're talking about things that deal with like salvation, right? Things that deal with salvation or the deity of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, things that are essential in the Christian life, things that if you were to twist can become damnable heresy. So if someone comes at you with some sort of doctrine like that, we need to make sure that we as God's people are diligent to search the scriptures daily to see if those things are so. You know, we don't want to just say, Well, you know, he says he's a man of God, he says he's a pastor, he says he's a Christian, it says Baptists on the church building or whatever, you know. It said, they say they believe in the Word of God, therefore I'm just gonna believe it. Wrong. We need to make sure that we try the spirits to see if those things are of God. And look, this is why the Bible is constantly telling us to study the Word of God. Study to show thyself approve them to God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. And the Bible says that it takes work. It takes work to search the scriptures, it takes work to study the Word of God, to memorize it, to, you know, to adhere to what the Bible is teaching. And some people might say, Well, why go through all the work? You know, so much work. I just got to read to the Bible over and over again. I got to study these things. You know, why go through all the trouble? Well, this is why, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. We live in a false prophet infested world. And if we lived in a perfect world, like the millennial reign, or the new heaven, the new earth, we wouldn't have to worry about these things. But today we live in a world that is just infested with false prophets, with false doctrine, with damnable heresy, people who have the intention of damning souls to hell. And so because of that, he gives that instruction to say, You need to make sure that you prove all things, try the spirits, because there's people out there, wolves in sheep's clothing, who want to beguile unstable souls. Okay, you need to put those doctrines to the test. Turn with me if you want to Ephesians chapter number five, if you would, Ephesians chapter five. I'll read to you from Acts chapter 17 verse 11. It says here, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so. And this is referring to the Bereans. The Bible says that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica because of the fact that when Paul came and preached the Word of God unto them, they didn't say, Well, this is Paul, so we're just gonna believe it. They actually went back to the scriptures that they had on hand, searched the scriptures to see if it lined up with Paul's message. And it was because of that they received the Word of God with all readiness of mind, and in fact the Bereans got saved because of it. Now look folks, if unsaved people are diligent to do this, how much more saved people who have the Word of God, they already had that commandment to study the Bible, we should be diligent to do that as well. Look at Ephesians chapter 5 verse number 6. Let no man deceive you with vain words. That's a common theme in the Bible, deception, right? You know, deception, people are trying to lie to you, they're trying to deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. So the Bible is telling us here that because we're children of light, we're children of the day, we have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us, we need to be able to prove what is acceptable unto the Lord. Not just blindly follow whatever preachers out there, or just accept whatever doctrines are out there. Doesn't matter if everyone believes it, right? You know, some people have this attitude, well that's what we've always believed, and it's just like, well, I mean, you know, I get what you're saying, that the majority believes this, but if it's wrong, it's wrong. And if it doesn't match up with the Bible, then it's wrong, okay? We don't believe something because the majority believes it, right? We believe something because the Bible says it. And a good example of that is, for example, you know, the preacher relation rapture, the vast majority of independent fundamental Baptists, you know, they hold to the preacher relation rapture doctrine, and they say, you know, we've always believed this. Obviously, they don't know that. You got these 40 and 50 year olds saying the Baptists have always believed. Well, you're only 40 and 50 years old. How do you know that? Are you a hundred years old? Are you 200 years old? Do you know what they believed in back in those days? Now, I do, so you're 35. Yeah, but I have a 2,000 year old book, or actually more than 2,000 year old book, right? And all the preachers of this day believe the poster of pre-wrath rapture, okay? But what I'm saying is that, you know, they try to come at you and say, well, this doctrine is true because the vast majority of us believe it, okay? Obviously, that's not a good marker to see if something is true. Now, we need to go to God's Word. Bible says, prove all things, hold fast that which is good. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 10 says, to another the working of miracles, referring to the spiritual gifts, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another diverse kinds of tongues, to another interpretation of tongues, and I don't want to, you know, steal my thunder because I'm going to be going over this gift in the coming weeks, but you know, to some people, they have the ability to prove things and see if something is actually true or not. Discerning of spirits is not like, you know, they know when someone's possessed with the devil or something. Discerning of spirits is like they can hear something and say, I don't know if that really matches up with God's Word. That sounds weird. That doesn't sound godly, doesn't sound biblical. I'm able to discern, you know, that this is not of God, okay? And maybe you might not have that gift, but you can develop that ability though. And the way you develop is according to Hebrews chapter 5, right? You make sure that you're reading God's Word so you can discern between good and evil. You're able to distinguish whether something is of God or not because you know the Bible. Now, like with anything else though, obviously we understand that we need to prove all things, hold fast that which is good. It's important to filter teaching through God's Word and not just blindly believe everything. But like with anything else, a good thing can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, right? You know, when people come to church and they hear preaching but they can't enjoy the Word of God being preached or they can't learn anything because they're just suspicious of everything that's being said from the pulpit. You know, it's just like, I don't know pastor, you know, I need to prove all things, hold fast that which is good. I need to make sure you're not teaching false doctrine or something like that. And that's an unhealthy extreme. When people literally come to the church with this attitude, they just want to find some sort of fault in the preaching. That's wrong, okay? That's wrong. And most of the time it's done by babes in Christ, you know, new believers who, you know, they watched after the tribulation like 50 times so they know everything about the Bible, okay? They watched through the book of Revelation like 50 times so they just, they're just, they're just perfect, complete, you know what I mean? They received a certificate for discerning of spirits and they had that gift and, you know, this is obviously wrong, okay? And here's the thing, if you have willingly submitted yourself under the authority of a pastor, you obviously should just give them the benefit of the doubt, right? And you're constantly, if you're constantly coming to the church and you're just suspicious of the pastor, well you probably should just go somewhere else where you don't have to be suspicious of the pastor, okay? You know, we should never have this attitude, well you know, I'm gonna see if Pastor Mejia trips up here, you know, I don't know if I agree with this. Oh, you know, he said something a little different there or something. You're just constantly looking for fault in the preaching. Now, and you say, well how do you balance that out then, okay? How do you balance out, try the spirits with what you're saying? Well, because of the fact that trying the spirits has to do with just all kinds of preachers, right? And in the day and age in which we live, this actually applies to us even more because of the internet. You know, on the internet, there's all types of preachers out there and I'm sure there's people in our church that listen to other preachers out there and maybe not even new IFB preachers, maybe just preachers outside of Baptist circles, you know, you need to try the spirits and you need to make sure that they're teaching God's Word and it lines up with Scripture, but you should never really have that attitude when you're coming to a local church. Alright, no one's supposed to question your authority? Well, here's the thing, prove all things, hope, ask that, which is good, but here's the thing, that was fully known in my doctrine and if you've been here for three years and you're still kind of like, I don't know, the problem's probably not with me, the problem's with you. You understand? You know, and I have to say that because, you know, I remember when I literally, when I was the evangelist of this church, there's some people who are suspicious of yours truly. You know, they thought I was like a false prophet, they're just like, you know, oh, you know, because of Tyler Baker and this guy's coming on the scene. Some people even thought I was like an infiltrator. I mean, no proof whatsoever. I mean, there's nothing that I said or anything, it was just like, oh, you're just a new guy, therefore, you're probably like an infiltrator or something, you know. Oh, you know, you just, you just, you just came out of nowhere, so therefore, that's just room to just kind of assume that you're probably some sort of infiltrator, okay. And, you know, that's a wrong attitude to have, okay. It's a wrong attitude to have, and look, maybe there's people out there who go to an independent fundamental Baptist Church and the pastor, the Baptist pastor there is not new IFB, he's probably pre-trib and Zionist and all these things that we don't agree with, you know, don't scrutinize that individual, okay. Don't give him a hard time, you know, don't, you know, the guy serving the Lord, if he has a church and he's soul winning and he believes the Bible, he teaches from a King James and he's right on salvation, you know, be content to be with that pastor. Be content to love that pastor, right. To love that pastor, care for that pastor, follow that pastor, be a blessing to that church. Now, obviously, if that pastor is just like this hyper dipstick who's just wrong on salvation and just, you know, is always on the wrong side of the fence when it comes to these major doctrines, then, you know, you need to get out of there. And there's some people in our church who would, they went to some church like that and they're just like, we're out of here. As soon as the archer started, like, we're out of here, you know what I mean. Because, you know, they're teaching weird heresy, a lot of heresy and weird stuff and it's just like, I'm not gonna put up with this. It's time for me to move on. And so that happens at times but here's the thing is that, you know, really this applies to just other preachers and I'm not saying, you know, don't prove what I'm saying, okay. But here's the thing, you've been here for three years, you probably know where I stand on a lot of essential doctrines, okay. And when I learn something new, you know, an interpretation of a dark saying or a parable, you're gonna hear about it from here because when I learn something, I teach you, okay. My interpretation of something and again we're referring to essential doctrines, right. Those are the most important things because I'm sure there's people here who disagree with me on certain end times Bible prophecy things, you know, my interpretation of certain parables etc but those things don't really matter in regards to, you know, just because we disagree doesn't mean I'm like a false prophet, doesn't mean you're a false prophet, just we have a different interpretation of a specific scripture. Now go with me if you would to Acts chapter 20, if you would, Acts chapter 20. Acts chapter 20. You see when I'm trying the spirits, when I'm proving all things holding fast that which is good, it's in regards to those essential doctrines, you know. And obviously there's people out there, there's even pastors who even, they'll talk about salvation, they'll say repent of your sins, right. And it's just like it kind of raises an eyebrow, like why are you saying that, you know. But here's the thing, sometimes you talk to that individual and you ask him, you know, what do you mean by that or you corner them and you kind of go back and forth with them and they say well I do believe it's by faith alone, I don't believe you have to turn from your sin. It's just like terminology that they've learned and they're just wrong on. And I ran into an individual like that last week, you know, I asked them what do you have to do to be saved, they're like well you have to trust Christ, you have to repent of your sins and then I went over all these scriptures and he said this, someone needs to tell him that, it's right over there, he's trying to come into that door there, he's like a thief, you know, just kidding. You got to come to the door man, he's coming through the window, no I'm just kidding. And so I was explaining the scriptures to him and then he said actually yeah you're right, he says I don't believe that. He goes it is by faith alone because I guess repenting your sins would be considered works and I don't believe that. And he's like I don't believe you could lose your salvation either, he goes I guess that's just the wrong way to say it. And he wasn't even looking at me, he was just kind of like coming to himself like oh yeah that's the wrong way to say it. So I believe that person's saved but they're taught to explain salvation wrongly, you know what I mean, or they've heard their pastor say that or individuals say that and no one's ever corrected them on that. It's just kind of part of their lingo, their Christian needs right. And it's important that when we run into individuals like that we teach them what is the right correct way. And now if that person were to say no I still think it's by repenting your sins you have to turn from your sins in order to be saved then we would say okay that individual is not saved. But if they're like actually no I don't believe that, that's the wrong way to say it, you're right about that. Then obviously that person's, he's saved. So we need to try the spirits and trying the spirits is basically trying, proving what's coming out of their mouths okay. Look at Acts chapter 20 and verse 29 says, for I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing a flock. Also of your own self shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. So this is why he says hey you need to make sure that you prove these pastors, prove these apostles, these so-called disciples because when I'm gone there's gonna be people who rise up even amongst your own ranks who feign themselves to be just men but then they're speaking perverse things. Why? To draw away disciples after them. And look even within the so-called new IFB we've had that happen where pastors have been enjoying themselves unto us and befriended us and say they believe just like us and then they end up being some devil teaching damnable heresy, denying the Trinity, you know saying that Jesus didn't go to hell, he didn't burn, you know he's not God, God can't die or whatever. Saying all these weird stuff what when you say well I thought that's not like an essential doctrine if Jesus went to hell or not. Yeah but here's the problem though when you have a pastor that taught that he went to hell and then all of a sudden like years later change on that and say that that's like the most blasphemous thing you've ever heard and it's just like yeah but you taught that though. You understand? We're trying the spirits and when we try those spirits it's like okay this person is probably a wicked individual because he flip-flops on these things. Okay he's a false prophet and here's the thing people look at groups like us and say oh you guys are just always talking about false prophets well it looks like the Bible always talks about false prophets too. It's a pretty essential teaching in the Bible. Why? Because God is constantly warning us of these people. So look churches don't talk about it enough and that's why you go into these churches whether Baptist churches or non-denominational churches you'll find false prophets in there like crazy because the pastor's not teaching on it he's not trying the spirits he just wants to fill up the room he wants to make sure the tides are up he wants to make sure the building is getting built he can care less about doctrine and therefore they infiltrate and lead people astray damn people souls etc no we need to make sure that we are constantly working on this talking about this trying the spirits go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 and he says believe not every spirit right but try the spirits whether they are of God why because there are many false prophets that are gone out into the world look at 2nd Corinthians 11 verse number one says what to God he could bear with me a little in my folly and indeed bear with me for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ but I fear let's by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ for if he that cometh preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached or if you receive another spirit which he have not received or another gospel which he have not accepted ye might well bear with him that's a scary thought now look folks if people in Paul's day right Paul started these churches awesome preacher used to pen down the Word of God if people in those days were being deceived how much more today and he's saying look I'm afraid that like when I'm gone someone's gonna come with another Jesus another form of salvation another gospel another spirit and you're just gonna let him come in he's like he said ye might well bear with him you might just invite him into church and let him become a member and just let him have a free-for-all in the church this is what I'm afraid of okay and then again this is Paul who you know is the Apostle he is a man of God used to pen down the vast majority of the New Testament and yet he understood that this was a possibility even in his day how much more for us today okay and so that's why it's important that we make sure that we try the spirits we don't just believe any single every single doctrine that comes down the pipeline hey you know the Flat Earth doctrine is something that has been catching a lot of traction and momentum today right and you know why it's catching catching a lot of momentum today in churches because they're infiltrating churches that's why and no one is trying that spirit to see that it's of God because they're even using they're trying to use the Bible to try to conform itself to the Flat Earth teaching try to use it to prove that the Flat Earth is real or something you know and there's no pastors out there that are willing to say well you know this is wrong it's not what the Bible teaches they just kind of capitulate to that and just let it you know go unfettered and you know I see this a lot even in new IFP churches not new IFP churches but new IFP listeners type people you know you have your undercover Flat Earthers out there and they know exactly where we stand on the Flat Earth and that's why they don't say anything because they know they'll probably get the rear ends kicked out of church or something you say oh you know you're you kicked me out if I'm Flat Earth well I'd kick you out only because I know that Flat Earthers cause a lot of division and they're typically these cantankerous know-it-all prideful arrogant little punks and I don't like those kind of guys you know and they're eventually gonna cause trouble in the church and I have proof of that we've had people in our church we're Flat Earthers and they cause all kinds of issues in our church you know fortunately they left so they left before the axe come down on them but even after they left I brought the axe down anyways and so I don't want to chase that rabbit go go to first John go back to first John chapter four and I've had people tell me well that's not an essential you know that doesn't mess with salvation yeah but it's like the attitude that comes with being a Flat Earther though you know it's not a normal doctrine it's not even a normal heresy and I'll tell you why for some reason this is how you can tell that it's not a normal heresy okay why is it that everything goes back to the Flat Earth I could preach a sermon on just like the Bible preach a sermon on like the old testament prophets and then someone will be like yeah but you don't believe the earth is flat though so what does that have to do with prophets I could preach a sermon on modesty yeah I agree with you but you don't believe the earth is flat though you believe NASA's telling you the truth and it's just like did I mention NASA that I mentioned the moon landing that I mentioned that the earth is round that I mentioned that it's a sphere I mean well what I didn't mention anything about like stars or anything they just bring it up why because that's all they think about yeah and look you never want to be this unbalanced Christian where you just you just you side on this one doctor you're just so heavy on this one doctrine you're just heavy on Zionism you're just heavy on replacement theology you're just heavy on you know end times you're just heavy on this we got to be heavy on everything we need to be well balanced Christians right and I'm telling you mark it down someone is like just an unhealthily just heavy on one aspect of a doctrine there's a problem there okay you're not balanced they probably don't know a lot about other things in the Bible I want to know about the entire Bible not just about one little category little aspect of the Word of God I want to know about everything okay but I mean replacement theology is my favorite doctrine I'll just be honest okay but you know I need to make sure that I give a well-balanced diet when I'm preaching right I don't want to just talk about replacement theology all the time you know post the the end times Bible prophecy is one of my favorite doctrines I love talking about it I love preaching on it but I can't talk about all the time because of the fact that you know there's more in the Bible to it now obviously if we're doing a Bible study and it calls for it then we got to talk about it but I'm saying there's certain people that just just weigh in on one doctrine way too much okay look at verse 2 he says hereby know ye the Spirit of God every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is coming to 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 it is in the world year of God little children have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world now this is very practical very simple and really this statement alone helps us to basically eliminate a lot of so-called Christians right so John puts us here and he says look whoever confesses that Jesus Christ is God you know he's of God he's coming to flesh he's of God he doesn't that he's not and this is really important because it gives you like a baseline where to start and look someone who is looking for the true God they want the right doctrine this is a good place to start period because at this point if you can get this down and prove this you just save yourself from a lot of false doctrine you know a lot of denominations and and sects of Christianity and Christian groups don't believe that that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh and you know they try to deceive people but here's the thing this automatically eliminates what the Jehovah's Witnesses so someone who just doesn't know anything about just anything at all any religion or cult or anything but they're sincerely looking for God this is a good place to start do they confess that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh well the Jehovah's Witnesses don't because they don't believe that Jesus Christ is God they don't believe that he is Jehovah they'll say that he is a god okay you know their New World Translation will say you know in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the word was a god that's what it says no Jesus Christ was not a god amongst many other gods he is God he's the I am that I am okay he is Jehovah and they'll say this well that's what it says in the original Greek though you know that's what it says in the original Greek and obviously that's that's a straight lie now look in Greek it does say in the beginning was the word of the word was with God and the word was the God okay and that's because in the Greek language they often put articles in front of God it's just part of the language but to translate it into English you wouldn't be able to do those things okay you know you would have to obviously take that away because it's not appropriate in the English language but has nothing to do with doctrine has to do with grammar it's not like well yeah he's the God or a god because he's one of many no that's just how the Greek language is okay those are the rules that they have there but look once you know this well that eliminates the Jehovah's Witnesses hey how about this that eliminates Mormonism you know the Jehovah's Witnesses deny that Jesus Christ is Jehovah and the Mormons teach that Jesus Christ became a god which obviously completely removes his deity in its entirety and then they teach that you can also be a god hey this eliminates the one is Pentecostals which I think you know people are more likely to give in to more than Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses because you know the general population already knows that JW's and Mormons are already a cult yeah right it was like oh those guys are that's a cult right there those people are weird you know Mormons they can give you that glazed over look when you talk to them it's just like like welcome just like and it's you know the people have often said like Mormons are really nice yeah but they're kind of creepy nice aren't they they're like something out of a Stephen King movie or something welcome come on in you know it's just like I'm like you kind of just want to wave your hand in front of it like are you there like it's weird JW's they're just slow when they walk and you know thankfully they all wear the same thing so it's just like you can spot them a mile away and if and if you don't spot them a mile away you know you can go do some groceries go do your errands come back and they'll still be walking because they're so slow but there's everywhere in their hats and their briefcases it's like you know they're Jehovah's Witnesses you know these groups are obviously deceitful because even you know 50 years ago Jehovah's Witnesses would not call themselves Christians yeah you know they would not call themselves Christians but now they do why because they're trying to deceive people okay but when it's Pentecostals they believe that Jesus is the Father they deny the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ so they don't believe prior to Jesus Christ coming to this earth that he was the eternal Son of God they believe he became the eternal Son of God when he came to this earth which is false doctrine it's heresy it's damnable heresy right because you're removing from the deity of Jesus Christ okay you know they call it oneness Pentecostal or modalism and they can deceive a lot of people but look they basically they denied that Jesus Christ came in the flesh because Jesus Christ is the Son of God even prior to his him being made flesh and dwelling among us right he was the Son of God in eternity past so if you know this if you know hey Jesus Christ whoever confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God okay well that eliminates a lot of cults right off the bat you can scratch that off the bucket list it's like okay well I know I'm not gonna go to the Jehovah's Witnesses I'm not gonna go to the Mormons and I'm not gonna go to the one is Pentecostal movement either because obviously they don't believe that you say yeah but we already know that you know it's people should already know that yeah but here's the thing if everyone knew that then why are there so many people within these cults a lot of people that are being deceived by the Mormon still being deceived by the Jehovah's Witnesses now I get it Mormons the reason they're growing is because you know they're polygamous or whatever they're inbreeding or something I don't know but you know hey the one is Pentecostals they're growing too and so John is giving some instructions on how to expose these pseudo Christians he's saying look baseline teaching is this you need to make sure that wherever you go that they at least confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh that's a good place to start now obviously they can confess that and teach other doctrines and you know some false doctrine regards salvation but he's just basically saying at a baseline base level that is something that you should be looking for and John is basically telling them look he's exposing these pseudo Christians these pseudo Christ pseudo prophets pseudo spirits and really this is what he doing throughout the book of 1st John he's explaining how it is to have fellowship with God to walk in the light but he's also constantly talking about the false prophets and the Antichrist not just the ones that are to come but the ones that are even existing in his day okay he's exposing the fact that Satan basically has a counterfeit for everything that God does and look I wish people would understand this today yeah I wish Christians would understand this I wish independent fundamental Baptist would understand us today that everything that Satan does is a counterfeit to what God is going to do or he has already done or who he is okay and everything is to prepare us for the end times right you think of the fact that Paul said you know we through much tribulation must enter into the kingdom of God that is true in his day but it's definitely true for us if you know the great tribulation comes in our day and just as there is Antichrist in these days guess what is Antichrist today but it's to prepare us for the coming Antichrist there's fault there's fault there were false prophets in those days but there's also false prophets today just as there shall be false prophets of the false prophet in the end times okay and look folks just as there's a Trinity right a real Trinity Father the Son and the Holy Ghost these three are one in like manner there is an unholy Trinity as well from Satan's perspective okay from Satan Satan's counterfeit there is a pseudo Trinity okay now go to Isaiah chapter 14 now one of the best teachings on the Trinity is actually found in first John right first John chapter 5 and he talks about the Trinity there but I believe he's also sprinkling some teachings on this fake Trinity even throughout the book of first John and the first one he talks about is obviously the devil he mentions the devil quite a bit but if you think about it Satan is obviously a counterfeit of God the Father okay Satan is a counterfeit of God the Father he seeks to be like the Most High right he wants to be God look at Isaiah 14 verse 12 how art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer son of the morning how art thou cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations for thou hast said in thine heart I will ascend into heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will sit also upon the most of the mountain of the congregation and the sides of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the Most High so what was Satan's goal to be like God to be God right but he's the counterfeit to that and obviously when you look at Satan he pales in comparison to God the Father now turn with me if you would to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and look folks when you look at these false religions these cults or these false doctrines it's a twisted perverted version of the real thing right every form of salvation out there by other churches or cults is a perverted version of the real salvation they just add works but that's a perverted version because the real work is done by Jesus Christ whereas the perverted version the work is done by the individual trying to get to heaven it's a perverted version of it okay think about this though even when it comes to God making people reprobates for example right the Bible says he has blinded their eyes right doesn't that Bible say that that you know when someone they can get to a point where they can no longer be saved even in this lifetime they can no longer be saved to become a reprobate he darkens their their heart he he blinds their eyes and they can no longer be saved look what the Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 4 it says in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them so think about this just as God the Father actually blinds the hearts of people so they can no longer be saved you know Satan has sought to do the same thing the difference is this is that we could still get those people saved so even then he's still trying to blind the minds of the people just period you know so they don't become they don't get saved but the difference is this is that the minds of the people he's trying to blind are not necessarily wicked people they're not these haters of God these are just people who may want salvation but he's trying to keep them from the truth so this is a perverted version of what God does what God does is justifiable what God does is right when someone says I hate God I don't want God in my life I don't want to retain him in my knowledge God blinds their hearts and their mind so they cannot believe he basically does them a favor right he's like okay I'm just gonna give you what you want fourfold if you don't want to retain me in your knowledge I'll help you out with that the difference is is that Satan just wants to do that to the entire world yeah and obviously he cannot sear their conscience he cannot make them a reprobate but he can he can block them from the truth okay because it says lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them and this is why we go out and preach the gospel right we go out to get people saved to shine the light upon them what's the point that I'm trying to make is that Satan is simply a counterfeit of God the Father now go with me if you would to go back to go to 1st John chapter 2 so we have God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit this pseudo Trinity you have Satan as the counterfeit of God the Father and then you also have the Antichrist who is the counterfeit of Jesus Christ right how is he a counterfeit well how about this his coming is anticipated yeah right look what it says in verse 18 to first John chapter 2 little children it is the last time as and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come now look folks let me just park it here for a little bit what when he says as he ever heard that Antichrist shall come the insinuation there is that they've been preaching on this right this is a topic that they've talked about because he says as you have heard so you don't want to the common Sunday morning sermons that they probably heard they probably were listening to the Antichrist shall come just preaching on the Antichrist preaching through Matthew 24 Mark 13 you know preaching through Luke 21 talking about the fact that there's gonna be an Antichrist who's gonna come one day this is your Sunday morning preaching not you know oh you know let me just motivate you for the rest of the week kind of thing I'm not saying people don't need that but they're like hey has he ever heard okay that Antichrist shall come well obviously we're anticipating the second coming of Christ but we obviously understand that he doesn't come until after the tribulation that's what the Bible says and look this is this is another reason why the preacher rapture is so dangerous because the preacher of rapture teaches the immanency of Jesus Christ which means he can come in at any moment but we know according to the Bible that the one that can come at any moment is the Antichrist not Jesus Christ that's why it's dangerous because a lot of Christians out there when the Antichrist shows up they're gonna be like well this is like the preacher rapture this is it right and in fact think about this in Revelation chapter 19 when Jesus Christ comes for the third time not his first come not a second coming his third coming when he comes to establish his millennial reign he comes on a white horse and in Revelation 6 when talking about the Antichrist he also comes on a white horse why because he's a counterfeit of Jesus Christ he's trying to fool mainstream Christianity and the vast majority of mainstream Christians will be fooled by this they will be deceived by this why because mainstream Christianity doesn't teach the right salvation and so they're gonna be deceived by this and look our our pre-trip buddies out there those who are saved the Baptist they're gonna they're gonna come to our side eventually it's what a glorious day that will be right I promise you it's gonna happen cuz when the Antichrist shows up they're gonna be like dang this guy was right and they're gonna eat crow they're not gonna eat crow but what I'm saying is like they're gonna realize man this I guess we're wrong cuz look they're saved and because they have God in them the Spirit of God dwelling within them they're gonna be able to try that spirit and say oh crap this is the Antichrist this is not Jesus Christ right because he's making war with the Saints Jesus why are you killing us why are you chopping off our heads but mainstream Christianity you know like the Joel Steens the haggis out there the Rick Warren's the non-denom churches that teach a wrong way of salvation they're gonna receive the Antichrist with open arms because they're gonna think he is Christ because he is a counterfeit Christ he comes in the place of Christ okay and this is why Matthew 24 tells us then if any man shall say to you lo here is Christ or there believe it not for this shall arise false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect now look this is applicable to even save people so listen folks anybody tells you hey he's in the desert he's over there go you know go check him out don't believe it because if you do and you go there you know you're gonna see Jesus it's just not gonna be here you're just gonna meet your maker cuz they're there to kill you is what it is okay you're gonna see Jesus it's just not gonna be on the terms that you thought you're gonna meet him in okay and what a lame way like oh yeah he's here but he's in the desert like why is he in the desert he has to catch a cab or something we have to drive over there go see him we're like how does that work folks the Bible says that every eye shall see him and so you see how he is the counterfeit there his appearing resembles the third appearing of Christ that's why when he comes he's gonna establish his earthly kingdom just as Jesus Christ establishes his earthly Kingdom of Revelation chapter 19 okay how about this the fact he's gonna resurrect he's gonna receive a deadly wound to the head he's gonna die and I believe he's gonna resurrect three days later cuz the Bible says he's gonna come back to life and in fact the Bible specifically tells us that he's the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit I think it's gonna be three days later because that'll add more credence to the fact that he's the Jesus he's the Christ so remember that wall this is Jesus because he's coming back three days later just like the Bible says it okay and he's gonna proclaim himself to be God go to Revelation 13 if you wouldn't Revelation chapter 13 so Satan is the counterfeit of God the Father the Antichrist is obviously the counterfeit of Jesus Christ and the false prophet is the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit it says in first John chapter 4 you in Revelation 13 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 it uses those spirits anonymously with those false prophets okay now why would the false prophet be the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit well because the Holy Spirit what is his job what is his ministry is to testify of the Sun right it's to point people to the Sun to draw people unto the Sun right one like man that's exactly what the false prophet does he points people to the Antichrist look at verse number 11 of Revelation 13 it says and I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb and he spake as a dragon and he exercises all the power of the first beast before him and causes the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed and he do with great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men you know the way the Holy Spirit made fire come down so to speak they were they received cloven tongues like as a fire and deceive it them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had made which had the wound by his sword and did live not only that but his power he has power to give life to the image of the beast just like the Holy Spirit quickens right it brings people spirit to life in like manner he shall be able to bring the image of the beast to life verse 15 says and he had power to give life into the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed but how about this he causes people to receive a mark on her forehead which seals them to damnation because anybody who receives the mark of the beast is damned forever it's your one-way ticket to damnation you will never be saved if you take the mark of the beast right don't listen to John MacArthur right and he's other fools and idiots to tell oh yeah well if you take the mark of the beast you can still be saved people can take the mark of the beast still be said they could repent of that you know or how about this Jean Kim Robert breaker I've said this many times before but it's worth saying again you know they teach you could get the mark of the beast and still get right with God and still get saved Jean Kim says this he says yeah all you have to do this is all you have to do you gouge out your own eye at that point I'm like wait what back up a little bit gouge out your own eye reach in and take the mark out he literally said that he obviously has no idea it has little understanding of human anatomy whoa into the individual who actually does that and it's just like really he's just like looking like I feel where is that thing I'm in horrible pain right now he literally said that Robert breaker he had a you know Jean Kim he's on that that's crazy he Robert Reagan looks at him and says now you're crazy that's not you don't have to do that Robert Reicher says this just chop off your head he says if you get the mark of the beast and you want to be saved problem solved chop off your head and you're good to go and you listen to how you like so people actually listen to this guy they actually click on that like yeah that's a good idea insane folks folks whoever gets the mark of the beast will never be saved he seals them with that seal of damnation just as the Holy Spirit seals you unto the day of redemption he seals you for redemption once you have the Holy Spirit within you I mean you're sealed you're never gonna die you will have you have eternal life forever it will never be taken from me I mean you're you're set you're good to go so he seals the world with damnation Susan verse 16 and he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name go back to 1st John if you wouldn't chapter 4 he said why spend time talking about this pseudo Trinity well because of the fact that that's really what the book of first John is about it's about testing me these things and not taking these things lightly you know Paul I've not Paul John is saying hey you know you're gonna have Antichrist you're gonna have false prophets the wicked one is gonna seek to overcome you these are your enemies don't just take it lightly you know Satan's not gonna come at you with the pitchfork and a tail with horns he's gonna come under the guise of false doctrine mixed with a little bit of truth in order to deceive you and you need to make sure that you try the spirits okay look at verse 5 they referring to what the false prophets the spirits they are of the world therefore speak they of the world and the world heareth them so how is it that Joel's thing has so many like people in his church because the world here with them everybody loves Joel's thing everybody who's unsaved cuz he is of the world he's a false prophet who is of the world so look folks if you want to know what kind of right church to go to go to the one where people just don't like the pastor or his message go to that one why I want to go to the one where people like the pastor well if that's the one you want to go to then you have a problem because the world hears them yeah and they what they have in common you know they have something in common with the false prophets and the Antichrist the world hears them you know because the Antichrist shall be loved and admired in worship of the entire world and so will the false prophet you know Jesus said I am NOT of this world I mean he was so hated that he just got crucified three years into his ministry think about that they hated him so much that it just literally crucified him three years into his ministry because the world hated him verse 6 we referring to John here and obviously we can we're in that category as well we are of God he didn't know with God hereth us he that is not of God here with not us hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error so look don't become discouraged when the world just doesn't accept your message or those lame limpers that Christians out there don't accept the message because here's the thing he didn't know with God here with us he didn't know with God you know a person who is saved doesn't matter how radical the message gets they can't deny the truth we know that we know God we know that people who know God will listen to us because of the fact that we have the Spirit of God dwelling within us you know how do we know who is an Antichrist or a false prophet today well ask yourself this do they listen to John do they listen to Paul do they listen to Peter do they listen to Jesus you know think about this how many times have you gone to someone and you read them a scripture and they're just like why don't believe that so-called Christians right you're just like this is what the Bible says and you know you don't have to work for salvation you don't have to repent your sins let me show you what the Bible says you read it and they're just like why don't believe that that's not what God would do that I just read you all I did was read the scripture or you read it you read a portion of scripture and they're like that's your interpretation it's like interpretation I just read it right I didn't even like interpret I just read the Bible for you well that's your interpretation so what are they saying that's God's interpretation yeah well that's just God's interpretation you know we need to make sure that we recognize that if we're God we will listen to what the Bible has to say no matter how crazy it is how controversial it gets how it rubs you know today's culture the wrong way if it's in the Bible we need to believe it okay and look there's some things in the Bible that will rub you the wrong way there's some things you might not know that I'm gonna be preaching on the coming weeks or whatever and it's gonna it's gonna step on your toes it might offend you but you know what if it's in the Bible you need to embrace it accept it love it so that's what God says look we all go through that period right yeah where we hear something like man I'm in disobedience or man I need to change this or man I need to change what I believe about this because that's what God says okay go to John chapter 10 we'll be done right there John chapter 10 he that is not of God heareth not us hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error okay when we expound something they say I don't believe it that's the spirit of error that's not a spirit of truth okay and here's a good way to explain look at John chapter 10 verse 1 it says verily verily I say unto you he that entereth not by the door and to the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way the same as a thief and a robber that's what I was telling you Vitor don't climb in through another door you know you got to go into the right way but you're not a thief and a robber all right so I'm just joking look at verse 2 but he that enterth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him the porter openeth and the sheep hear his voice and he calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out and when he putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice and a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him for they know not the voice of strangers so what is he saying you know when the Word of God is being put forth it doesn't matter what spiritual level you're at you know the voice of the Shepherd yeah you know this is actually true doesn't matter how badly it rubs you how bad it feels you you know this is of God now the fine irony okay this is the funny thing about this passage I love this passage right here he says in verse number five he's preaching to the Pharisees and he's saying a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him for they know not the voice of strangers this parable spake Jesus unto them but they understood not what things which were which he spake unto them they're like what do you mean it's like exactly point proven you don't know my voice he says this parable spake Jesus unto them but they understood not what things they were they were which he spake unto them they're like huh what and he's like point proven right there you're my next illustration why don't why didn't they understand what he was saying because they're not the sheep they don't know his voice they weren't saved okay and what we can walk away from this from this passage of scriptures learning is this is that we need to try the spirits to see if they're of God and the reason we were able to do this because we're of God we know the Bible we know what the word of God says okay and obviously when I say we know that we know the Bible I'm not saying we know from cover to cover everything there is to know about the Bible but you know what we know enough that when the Bible is being preached and if it's biblical we know this is of God look I've run into I've had people come to church who you know not new I have be not this conspiracy theorist or even truth or anything like that and they come but because they're saved I preach some pretty hard truths and you know I went to go talk to an individual and they're just like everything you say was actually true about what it's completely true like I have a hard time like with that truth but I know that it's true because they have the Spirit of God in them you understand and so you know that is like it's a blessing to know that if the Spirit of God dwells with an individual doesn't matter how radical or controversial truth is they will accept it because of the fact that they have the Spirit of truth not the Spirit of Aaron amen inspire heads and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for your word thank you for the book of 1st John Lord help us to continue to being like the church at Ephesus that tried the spirits they tried them which say they are apostles and we're not and they found them liars Lord and this is important and obviously you expect us to to prove all things and hold fast that which is good and not just blindly follow teachings from pastors or doctrines out there Lord this is why we encourage everyone to bring their Bibles to church so they could see it for themselves and not just be simple-minded and believe every word I pray God that you'd help us to continue to do so and protect us Lord from the wolves and sheep's clothing I pray that you continue to make manifest the folly of the infiltrators as they come and bless us as we go on our way in Jesus name we pray amen